THE PITCH

New Game: Campaign Premise

Introduction

It began with a thousand of us on an expedition to a new world. Channeled through the power of a cosmic force known as the Starbridge, we could walk between planets like one might cross a river. We were assigned a new planet, one that offered the promise of new resources, new friends, and salvation for an overpopulated and starving home.

Arriving on the planet we discovered fundamental differences from our home, particularly as they related to biophysics. Our first night here everyone vomited up strange and distinct stones. We quickly learned that these stones were lifelines, and should one be lost or destroyed then so too would the owner’s breath be snuffed away. By the end of our first week, the plasma cores from our firearms went stagnant and our technology began to fail.

We tried to leave that very moment when our respirators stopped filtering out the sting of a fresh and unfamiliar atmosphere; one untouched by chemical and magical pollution.

But the Starbridge no longer heeded our call. We became stranded.

 …

That was nearly twenty five years ago. Since then, we have lost more than half our taskforce to the hostile environment and dangerous denizens surrounding our outpost. A new generation has been born as we settle this savage land, but attrition is outpacing survival.

We will likely never see deliverance from this land, and hope is fading. Rations are long gone. Our only option now, after so much time relying on technology, is to make contact with the indigenous people – assuming there even are any – all the while avoiding the dangers of this new realm. We must venture forth, or perish trying.

Campaign Vibes

The description above paints a picture of explorers coming to a new land, finding themselves stranded, and then squandering their time because they think rescue is coming. Now a new generation has the responsibility of moving forward into the world to help your group find a way home. Casters have to learn new magic, and divine servants must learn to worship the new gods.

This campaign aims to bring a sense of expedition and survival to the table in a new world, where every core encounter – be it roleplay or combat – serves a purpose. Hunting monsters will yield monster parts and souls; an abundance of resources that can be purposed for crafting and magic.  Exploration will yield new insights into the world and character capabilities.

Cards and terrain will be prepared for this campaign in advance and used to bring an unprecedented level of immersion to the game.

New Game: New Rules, New Mechanics

The motivations behind creating a new system are manifold; each game I’ve DMed for has possessed deficiencies that diminished the quality of the game.

  • In Pathfinder 1 combat, especially at higher levels, is a major slog. Rules saturation creates potential for abuse or high power disparity between characters.

  • Pathfinder 2nd Edition added excellent action economy, but emphasized balance so much that the feeling of being “heroic” is hard to grasp.

  • 5th Edition has a few innovative mechanics and does an excellent job of streamlining, but lacks complexity in character builds - after early levels there simply aren’t many choices.

Other games, like BESM or WOD have given me great insight into other systems, and have taught me that the D20 may not be the be-all end-all. These systems all serve as inspiration for my system, and you will see elements of all of them. This system has new elements and readapted elements, and follows the 5e philosophy of "rulings, not rules." It will emphasize roleplaying, rule of cool, and character growth.

SYSTEM HIGHLIGHTS

The following are some of the major changes this system employs.

New Attributes

Attributes are split into three primary groups:

  • Body (Physical)

  • Mind (Mental)

  • Soul (Spiritual)

Each grouping has two operative components, inspired by an axis of power and finesse. For example, the Body array is Strength and Agility. Then each group has one defensive component. Using Body as an example again, there is Resilience (serving as a blend of constitution and a con saving throw). This means for a game with 9 stats to invest in, and ensured diversity between characters.

This new game world introduces the concept of the soul as a tangible element and a spiritual array serves to mechanically represents the affairs that encompass spiritual interactions. Things like auras of power, spiritual combat, soul magic, and more become possible with stats to empower their abilities.

Character Advancement

Imagine a game where every time you played you got a reward. Combat went long? Well, your character still learned something. No treasure today? At least you can get a cool ability. The game is designed to advance organically based on gametime served - every session you play you gain a level. A level provides points which can be used to flesh out lacking aspects of your character or gain new abilities related to a chosen path (see below). There are 50 levels, which means a full campaign is expected to last 50 sessions.

Classless Design - Paths

The name of the game is character choice, and this means building your character any way you want. Instead of traditional classes there are paths, and these paths have tiered feats and abilities underneath them. Whenever you level, you may select these abilities to shape your characters power. You can invest and specialize in particular paths, or choose abilities from many to create synergies. When you invest in a path, you gain unique abilities within that path.

You can also choose how you build your character’s progression, increasing hit points or enhancing skills when leveling up (Skills are gained in other ways too, including in game by training under a skill master).

Action Economy

Taking a page from DC20 and PF2e, a round of combat grants action points that can be spent on abilities. Strike for 1 AP, move for 1 AP, and yes - you might even be able to cast multiple spells in a round if you have the AP.

Arcane spells show two entries in their cost: that of AP and that of MP. Easy to track your magical resources in combat!

Distinct Magic

Speaking of magical resources, magic has been reworked so each tradition of magic has its own rules and governance, making each system feel distinct from others. This is what I am currently working on and finishing up - so these systems are subject to change.

Arcane Magic uses mana to power spells, creating mages that are a combination of wizards and sorcerers. Feats from the path associated with this focus on metamagic, casting glyphs, and expanding the mana pool. This casting type is the most “traditional”.

Divine Magic focuses on the relationship of a character and their deity. The more devout a character is the more Grace they earn, enabling them to expend that grace on miracles. Spells in this tradition are unstructured, allowing a player to state their character’s need and the deity to interpret and enact upon that. Some divine characters will want to retain their Grace, as keeping it in reserve empowers special benedictions that serve as passive buffs.

Primal Magic is subject to the River of Fate, an effect that treats spells as having lifecycles akin to that of a plant. The further grown a spell is, the more powerful or flexible it becomes. Players with this magic type are faced with the choice of using spells not fully grown at a higher cost, or waiting for them to grow and gaining stronger effects or damage.

Occult Magic relates to the pacts between characters and other entities. Whether it be a patron, a deity, or a vestige - there is usually an impartment of power, albeit sometimes that power may come at a cost. Occult magic uses these pacts to gain more dice in their pool, which can be expended to augment spells in fun ways.

Initiative

When the GM calls for it, you’ll kick combat off by drawing a single card from your personal initiative deck to determine your place in the initiative order. Drawing initiative marks the start of an encounter, with each round prompting a new draw. As you gain abilities, many will call for upgrading your initiative deck with new cards, phasing out basic starter cards with unique abilities that trigger when drawn. For example, the card “Burst of Energy” awards the player with an extra 5’ movement speed in the turn that it is drawn. If your character moves that round, they make use of its benefit.

In addition to custom effects, the initiative deck also houses conditions. A poison card might be in your deck if you fail to resist a poison, or a spell cast on you might include some stun cards that render your character paralyzed but only if drawn. Food buffs, pulled from the cooking specialty, also introduce long term positive buffs that go into your deck.

Initiative cards will serve to add some excitement to combat, drawing players in each round as they compare numbers to the enemy or gain unique bonuses they have picked to boost their deck.

Skills

Skills, inspired by World of Darkness, consist of a dice pool formed by your skill level + your relevant stat. Designed to be a more cinematic and role-playing centric aspect of the game, skills have more sway and presence at the table. Its just fun to throw a big pile of d10s. The dice make skill checks distinct from combat, lending focus to roleplaying scenes.

Skills can also be trained in game, purchased during leveling, or even given as rewards for story arcs. This adds flexibility in their gain so players can decide what pace they want to specialize in skills.