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It started with a vision of a universe where Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs traveled the galaxy to restore a kingdom. And I love the vision. But the execution has not come together as I hoped. Rather than tossing it away entirely, I've determined to use what I have gathered to tell a story the way I always have. Perhaps this is not the right place for storytelling, though I have found that storytelling in itself works very well into roleplaying. (Just that the scope of this story did not seem large enough to have any replayable value beyond the story itself.)
Anyway, for those who were hoping for a Dwarf Star game, sorry to disappoint. Maybe someday it will reach fruition. For now, if you enjoy reading a light space opera, please visit the serial Dwarf Star at
iffixysantaph.deviantart.com
Thanks again for all who have offered their support.
- Iffix
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Many D20 games put up a safety net between characters and opponents. They do this, for example, by giving your character defensive saves. If the opponent doesn’t beat your defensive save, no damage is done. This makes for a long game of hits and misses. Boredom ensues. And it’s not at all cinematic, nor climactic.
So Memory 20 system works another way. Using your melee or ranged attack modifier (depending upon weapon used) in conjunction with your survival modifier, make 1 roll; that roll will reveal about yourself whether you attack your opponent and whether you fall prey to your opponent’s attack. This roll is made by all players involved, regardless of initiative order, at the start of a combat round. While players do not act on their roll at this time, it provides a series of target numbers. Rather than being secretive, these numbers are revealed for all to see. Your allies and your opponents know your defensive stats; an opponent will become aware that you are the weakest in a group, and when his turn comes, he can launch an assault on you. You also become aware of which opponents you have the ability to attack. Swords are swinging, lazers are flying all around you, an animalien pounces with claws poised to slash.
ENTER FEATS, ENERGY POINTS, HERO POINTS, AND ALLIES…
Numbers being thrown aside, you have the best opportunity to work with your randomizers and strategize with what can happen. If you already know you’re under attack, you can raise your guard. If an ally knows you are under attack, he can launch an attack to weaken your opponent. Battles exercise the mind, while you cling to life by the skin of your teeth.
WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE?
GM Dave rolls for the venomous Skorparen. Using its stat-block to determine modifiers, its defense is 12, and its attack is 19 (should GM Dave decide to keep the attack value) Jendra rolls an 11 for defense, a 13 for attack. Bram rolls a 17 for defense, a 11 for attack. It looks as though Jendra will fall under the chopping block this round. However, Jendra also make a successful attack.
A 2nd ROLL – Having determined whether to pursue an attack, a player may forfeit the attack to instead use an alternative skill, such as perception, or grapple.
In this case, Bram knows that he can’t attack. However, he knows his best chance to protect Jendra is to access a grapple. In this case, he also has a Spear that works as a grapple, does significant damage, and prevents the Skorparen from attacking during the current round.
Alternatively, if neither Bram nor Jendra has attacked during the current battle, as a ranger, Jendra can attempt to pacify the beast with a Charisma check. She also has acquired the feat to allow her to begin combat with initiative.
If the beast attacks, it may use claw damage. To inflict bite damage requires a grapple check to be made. The bite attack does significantly more damage, but is harder to activate.
Movement also matters; if any player or opponent is out of range, no damage can be done. For this reason, a player who falls under attack may opt to retreat. However, movement speeds also vary depending upon which characters and opponents are being played.
Unique situations may also occur; a player or opponent may be poisoned, for example. Different poisons have different effects. Some are fast acting, some may take effect over several rounds. Some may cause blindness, coma, even death. Most have cures, though you may need to travel a great distance to find a cure. For this reason, poisons are a great story hook. What happens, though, if a player character becomes poisoned, is incapacitated, even killed?
The answer lies with a mechanic in Dwarf Star which combines roleplaying with action strategy. This will be explained in another article.
For now, a question to consider: please feel free to share feedback.
IS A SECOND WIND OR HEALTH INSURGENCE PRACTICAL IN A GAME WHERE HEALING ALSO BECOMES AN INTEGRAL PART OF PLAY? How should we address it? Second winds are very useful when health becomes critically low in a combat situation. On the other hand, they prevent players from healing one another and improving in their healing skills. Note too that some classes allow for healing in combat. Any practical advice is greatly appreciated.
Mon Feb 20, 2012 10:35 pm
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Once Upon a Galaxy...
(If you can't believe I just wrote that as an opening line, bear with me.)
A great war broke out. The kindly king was dead, killed no less by his own cruel avaricious sister. In his time, the galaxy thrived. She wanted the prosperous kingdom for herself; unfortunately, she failed to realize that it was her brother's altruism that made the galaxy great. Scores of followers, Karesh and Gwalf alike, would not follow her blindly; nor would they bow to her tyranny. Many were imprisoned in what became a slave age. The kingdom had entered dark times. And the war that followed would ravage the galaxy. The Karesh expected to die; the Gwalf fled; and many other species would never see freedom.
It was into this galaxy that a new race entered; they were not as advanced as the sovereign race - they would never understand the Archaean ways, nor begin to unlock their technologies. But, for what it was worth, they were human - kind to their allies, they could be as treacherous as any foe; they were a wild card in a deadly game. They took pity the Karesh, and joined in this great war. The Archaeans were not powerful enough to fend off their numbers. They fled - never to return.
UNLESS...
If the Archaeans could find a way to vanquish their enemies from the inside, they could retake the galaxy.
THE TIME HAS REVEALED ITSELF...
Using Archaean technology to embrace a human's form, the Archaean queen reentered the galaxy. The human king succumbed to her tremendous beauty. From her position as queen, she could bring down the humans from the inside.
As she awaited the king's death, never truly coming to love him, filled with hatred, she began to build armies for herself. Armies of alien mutants and Karesh automatons. And suddenly, quite by surprise to most, the king fell ill. His death came suddenly. He left behind the wife who had poisoned him and the daughter who would never see the throne ...
NOT IF GRIMHILDE COULD HELP IT.
A mutated slave assassin was hired to poison her; somewhere in Ress Janoa, while serving as an ambassador, the princess disappeared without a trace.
ENTER A PARTY OF CURIOUS GWALFLINGS...
A curious alien was found on the edge of death in an abandoned alley. The Doc was alerted, but nothing could be done to save her... unless these same youngsters were willing to defy the gwalf code, and leave the city, to brave the dangerous world outside.
If they could somehow return alive, perhaps the young maiden might live.
THEN THE TRUE ADVENTURE BEGINS...
An unusual mirror-like portal found in the cavern is tied to a mysterious key held by a young maiden who doesn't even remember her name. What lies beyond the portal? Will you embrace the curiosity? Will you explore the incredible worlds beyond? When the time comes, will you stand to protect these worlds from an alien threat, and help a young princess return to her throne?
There's the pitch... (And that was exhausting...)
Meanwhile, the world around the gwalflings is also an ever changing place. Decisions they make will mean the difference between returning Snow White to her throne, and an impending death. Around them, the Karesh world continues in motion, struck by trauma as the dark queen's plans unfold. Ancient weapons and technologies are unearthed. Alien races turn against one another, wars break out, and where the story goes is anyone's decision.
BACKGROUND
This vision became about much more than Snow White; additional species and worlds meant new visions. A large galaxy waiting to be built.
I was blessed to work with some really talented artists who made my vision come to life. Now, I need to add life to theirs.
Please visit [url http://dwarfstar-rpg.deviantart.com/]this link[/url] to see the unique artwork contributed by artists whose visions I seek to round out. As always, comments are welcomed. Thanks for sharing my vision.
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Welcome to what has been dubbed the Memory 20 System. The system began with the concept of a simple ruleset that is easy to follow but helps to tell an engaging story. It was also the objective of Memory 20 to show step by step progress in your character.
The Memory 20 System is D20 based; a 20-sided die is used for most rolls, whereas other dice: D4, D6, D8, D10, D12: are used to calculate damage received through play. However, this is where the similarities end.
The Memory 20 System, as expressed, is a simple ruleset. How simple? It is based on 7 target values achieved with a D20.
1) Base Value is equal to your current level. In any rolling situation, you are expected to attain this base value to avoid any negative effects. Traditional D20 systems have view this as rolling a Critical 1. There is a slight difference, which will be explained later in this article.
2) Simple Value is your current level +5. In a situation that most anyone could find success, this becomes the target value. Each player taking on a challenge rolls his own value with a 20-sided die.
3) Mild Value is your current level +10. In a situation that might pose some slight difficulty, this becomes your target value. Each player taking on a challenge rolls his own value with a 20-sided die.
4) Moderate Value is your current level +15. In a situation that usually poses difficulty, this becomes your target value. Each player taking on a challenge rolls his own value with a 20-sided die.
5) Difficult Value is your current level +20. In a situation that imposes a great challenge, this becomes your target value. Each player taking on a challenge rolls his own value with a 20-sided die.
6) Heroic Value is your current level +25. In a situation that you are most certain to fail, this becomes your target value. Each player taking on a challenge rolls his own value with a 20-sided die.
7) Team Value is the average level of all players +10 per player. In a situation where players will need to rely on each other for strength, team value becomes your target value. All players pool dice values.
THIS POSES THE QUESTION: WHY IS LEVEL ADDED TO YOUR ROLLED CHECK? To gain a solid understanding, we need to understand how level is determined.
In many D20 based systems, a level is determined based on experience that is given at the end of a gaming session. For less serious gamers, this may mean randomly assigning experience or granting a level. More serious gamers will slave over their game with a calculator for hours determining how much experience is deemed appropriate. Neither way is effective. Neither way encourages the players to get involved in the story-telling: that is a bold statement. Let me back it up.
Bram and Jendra are traveling through a cavern. At any precise moment, if the characters are truly involved, Bram goes left down one corridor, Jendra goes right, and the party is split. Note that Bram may have any number of players on his team; Jendra may likewise. At the end of the encounter, both will have had a time period where they have different experiences. Jendra may decide to go a way that the game master didn't even consider. Bram may fight a beast along the way that Jendra had no part in attacking. It's a fact of life, not all characters will think alike, just as not all players think alike. Experience will change. And as game masters, unless we write down and assign experience for each new twist that we didn't plan, we can't possibly come up with reasonable experience. If, on the other hand, we hold the players to a certain course, that cuts out the creativity and makes for a boring game night. And if you simply say, "All members gain a level", what happened to the point where Jendra remained silent and Bram did all the work? That's not quite fair either. So let's take this scenario and throw it out; instead, let's make the characters responsible for their own experience. Rather than assigning peculiar numbers to everything, let's make it look something like this:
What is that? Well, it's a way to simplify down, take out the numbers, and calculate the story as it happens. Does it distract? Experiences have shown that it doesn't detract from the game any more than having a regular character sheet in front of you. Players actually take an interest in leveling up, and try to enhance their characters as they play. This is a good thing. Every person on this planet has some idea what they want to be when they grow up (even me... someday  ); why shouldn't a character?
As you look at this character sheet, you will likely notice traditional wound counts (sometimes called Health Points, Hit Points, or HP), a somewhat traditional condition track, which is an alternative way of keeping tabs on your health, and which adds a negative modifier to any checks while impaired. You have a character name, a character class, a species (in this version of Memory 20, a species comes with its own unique traits), and a level, Your character will have an inventory of various items they pick up, and currency they carry. An additional variable which is used in some D20-based systems is the Energy and Hero point, which will be explained at a later time; however, much about their differing functions can be determined from the character sheet. But you will also notice a few new items.
Skills in many D20 systems were based on attributes; these attributes were determined at random via rolling dice. A bad roll from the beginning ruined a character, although flaws also add a degree of charm, since no character is invincible. However, the choices made with the attributes still made for a character that excelled in ideal ways, this was not realistic. Friends became competitors to see who could craft the best character. That defeats the purpose of role-playing. A better way is to see how you can fit into a place where you are needed most; the gameplay becomes much more methodical with each character in his place. But how can this be generated effectively?
Rather than 6 stats with many skills, why not remove stats and make skills the base? The outcome would be less to keep track of, making gameplay easier, setup faster, and more time could be focused toward the story being told.
The Memory 20 system has 8 skills with subsets: Ranged Attack, Melee Attack, Agility, Learning, Technology, Charisma, Medicine, Survival. As you will see, the subsets are also rather vague. This vagueness is not without reason - it allows for more to fit into an area. It allows a character to be practical.
A traditional D20 based game might have had Lock Picking for example. A skill that was useful once in a while, but not often. When it came time to choose a feat that might support it, as opposed to an all purpose feat that fit multiple situations, the skill was overlooked.
In the Memory 20 system, you could reason that a character broke a lock to escape from a prison; if this was the case, the character was using survival skills. It could be the lock was simply a challenge of circumstance - everyone locks their doors. Perhaps the person improvised to break the lock. Learning might then be impacted. The character may have used the blunt end of a sledge hammer to bust it open - perhaps it was an agility skill or a melee attack being used. Rather than consulting 500 pages for an obscure ruling, consider as a party and as a character which skill was used.
Having decided how a skill was used, put a check with a pencil next to the skill in the boxes provided. Having used 4 attributes of a skill successfully - having met the check requirements 4 times, your modifier will increase.
Different characters will excel in different abilities, and their modifiers will increase accordingly. At the end of a gaming session, add the total of all modifiers and divide by 7. This determines your level and is added to the check requirement.
That brings us to a screeching halt... 7? There are 8 skills.
True, but your character will have to decide which skills to progress and which, unused, will become harder to use later. With what outcome? Each character in a party will have areas where he excels and areas where he falls short. And the party will need to rely on one another to find success in a mission.
As the game progresses, the levels increase, the difficulty of target values increases, the game becomes more challenging and more rewarding each time you play. Meanwhile, because of simple target values, the game becomes easy to learn for newcomers. And because the characters' decisions lead the gameplay, there is no longer a morbid fear of trying to determine a difficult question on the spot, when characters diverge from the path you've initially envisioned.
MORE TO COME...
CLASSES AND FEATS
COMBAT
SNOW WHITE'S ADVENTURES IN SPACE
HOW CAN I HAVE A SHARE?
As the game continues through its development, more information will be released; anyone who reads anything posted can and should feel welcome to share comments. After all, this game will be ours to play. Why not make it worth your while?
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Greetings,
I started developing Dwarf Star over 3 years ago. This might be construed as normal for some. I am a relatively new developer. I had this idea in mind for a story I wanted to tell, and as the story progressed, I saw another story I wanted to tell, and many stories began to overlap into what will hopefully be a unique and interesting role-playing experience.
This first post in this venture is to invite all developers who wish to have a share to leave comments and ideas. Dwarf Star began development with the idea of a free-to-play tabletop RPG. And as long as others share this understanding, the game should be a success upon its release.
If you're interested, please continue on to learn more about the simplified gaming system and the overall story line. Thanks for your consideration.
- Iffix Y Santaph
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