Summary
Oh no! Role-playing games again! Won’t he ever stop with this? We had enough of it already! Just shut the fuck up you stinking nigger! Can’t you see that we crave for deep emotional texts, gladly with a poetic structure that makes us barely capable of comprehending of what you want to say so we can ignore the whole text and just nod in agreement and then forget about everything? Why must you always write these meaningless posts about role-playing games that is so uninteresting and badly written that we rather spend our time on something completely different. Like a love story written by a cheap-whore or a gay-man we don’t even remember the name of? Well, enough of the parade of irony and sarcasm. This is meant to be a summary of the game play we managed to do so far, even though I cancelled the last two days.
Well, to begin with, I have now profiled and done a in-depth analyze and segmentation of your characters together with you. Some of you needed two sessions for this due to the correction of the history. Other of you finished this on the first session and was ready to play already on the next session. During these sessions I’ve tried to bring up as much as possible of the in-game changes that also will greatly affect you and my game mastering. I know that some of you have gotten a little bit less in some areas that others but that doesn’t matter right now. The important stuff is that we have developed your characters a little bit further and that we have started, together, to create a history for your character.
So what kind of changes do we have, so let’s remind you all;
Categorization
The world will always be categorized, this is a fantasy world, so to make it easier I’ve done the same. But as always things don’t need to be as strict as it seems but well, mostly it is anyway for some strange reason, this does apply to reality as well. As some of you pointed out, most of these categorizations already existed before, but that’s not really correct. Now we have two big categories; Normal and Special. Since I’ve changed some things in-game and given some things more thought and depth, it’s possible to play normal characters too, even though the game-play will be hugely different and most likely be more scenario-based. However, the main difference from a normal to a special is their abilities, attributes and potentials. They will have a much harder time to do something, but they will also have it easier in the community and the world in whole. Special people have abilities that are pretty powerful, higher attributes, strange powers and great potentials beyond what’s normal1.
Normal Category
Under this main category we have hundreds within hundreds of different subcategories. These are all different depending on where you are, which age and so on. But for instance you can be a normal For2 and so on. It mostly depends on the system or hierarchy you are in for the moment. So this varies from time to time, but mostly every country has a couple of different people and set of rules, racism, and considerations of different races. Some have a close cooperation with other races, or even live in harmony together, but mostly not. Everyone is using each other for their own selfish purpose. Remember, this world is medieval fantasy, people are even more openly selfish here than in our world. This is mostly because here they need to be selfish to survive, in many countries it’s impossible to manage without having that in mind. Note though, that power and influence doesn’t have anything to do with these categorizations, so a normal person with high influence and power may be a real pain in the ass.
Special Category
Here we have divided them into two main levels and six subcategories. The subcategories are Abominations, Celestials, Immortals3, Potents, Star Crossed4 and Type-born. The reasons for the dividation within these are because that the powers between them are on two completely different and distinct levels. Not that that it makes it impossible to kill or defeat them, actually they are just simple plain humans5, with a little bit longer to live or some strange power. Before, the world didn’t divide the races and creatures into different categories. Only type-born and star crossed. The reason to why they do right now is because they know more and less about the different types of people in my revision of the societies and so on. But let me tell you a little about these.
Abominations
To be an abomination is even harder than being an Orc or Littleman right now. Though some less educated would even categorize an Orc and a Littleman or even a dwarf as an abomination. To begin with all abominations can be hurt by turning6 because they in one way or another breaks the holy laws of creations. They have been altered, if you alter yourself in anyway you will become an abomination too. The other thing that marks an abomination is their special needs and differences from all other creatures. Vampires, one of the biggest groups of organized abominations, for an example can’t eat food and need blood to live. Many abominations have natural strange powers that are relatively safe compared to other energies that only they can use.
Celestials
These are almost like abominations in a way too. The only difference is that they have been changed or rather rewarded, by Gude, Sate or Vordén with celestial powers which makes them amongst the most powerful beings on the planet. To be a celestial mean that you have been rewarded or given a special task from the gods for one or another reason. Sometimes you’ll given a limit instead and with the golden rule to never interfere directly with the order of things. The Celestials are in other words the ones who actually run the planet. But they aren’t immortal for real. You can trick them; you can defeat or even kill them.
Immortals
An immortal is one who have only been given the gift of eternal life and youth, to live forever. Actually this is only so you can be able to fight or help to win the apocalypse. The gods are the ones who give you this gift, even though there a number of different elixirs and potions that is supposed to do the same, even though they don’t. To be an immortal mostly means that you’ll have a more time to train and prefect your skills or to gain some special ability. So immortality doesn’t change you from the others, it only gives you a great possibility to become stronger. The difference from the immortals now and then is that the only ones that become immortal aren’t that powerful anymore and not that many either. Many immortals are just old heroes that have been given immortality so they can improve the chances for survival of the apocalypse.
Potents
This class of people is completely new for the society. The first main reason for me to introduce these is to balance the world more. A potent is a person with potentials above the normal boundaries. They can reach higher limits than the race and become better than the rest of their race. Potents are born state, but many of the world, about half of it, are born as a potent in at least one area. Most players will probably play as a potent in many different areas in the future. But the main idea of potent is to restrict as well as enable the attributes. This concept also makes it completely impossible to compare the attributes from Nianze to reality when most of your attributes and skills are adjusted by many different factors the game master controls. All to make it less epic and more balanced. This will bring problems in-game as well as opportunities. A person with a great potential in some skills will be hunted by some and praised by others.
Star Crossed
These are what makes the world events spin around, and around, and around… It’s their fault or thanks to them that the world develops towards the apocalypse. There are always twelve Star Crossed in the world, when one dies an other emerge somewhere. Even though they won’t do anything they will tend to get into trouble and just happen to start events that later will lead to revolution or war. These are more extreme than before and most of them dies when they are finished or before that, and very few survives to the end. My players won’t play character of this category as much as before. Here is where the epic sagas are developed and what will lead to the world’s salvation or damnation.
Type-born
As before, less than two percent of the world is type-born. I will later in the myths explain the origin of types, but they aren’t natural but it’s not abominable either. It’s an enhancement that allows one to surpass the normal speed, and power of a normal person. There’s different ways to become one of type without being born as one, but that’s another story. However type is rare, but not unknown of. In total about 5 percent of the planet have a type.
These are the categories that will divide the world. But note that it’s not that a big difference from a normal person anymore. Just because you are a type-born potent abomination you can’t move or do anything better than a normal person all the time. So yes, a normal person can win over a type-born fast striker vampire in running, even though it seem very unlikely. However, everything is relative to your race, gender, potents and abilities so some things aren’t possible to calculate your chance so succeed anymore. Especially in social situations, but you can’t get over 20 as often as before.
Energies
Hum, categorization, relative chance, what more do we have? Well I think that’s it. That is the biggest differences except for that all energies and all powers have greater disadvantages than ever before. Before almost everything seemed without risk and according to me it also seemed like the world knew everything about all energies. So just because that they knew too much about everything I’ve taken away lots and given it more superstition and mystique. A magician doesn’t know everything about magic, a magician can’t even control magic in full. They know lots about magic and can control it to one extent, but they are still like kids with very dangerous toys. They aren’t even sure that everything they know will be true always. Spells as well as items and procedures may be different and have different outcomes from time to time without the magician even being able to know why or calculate the risk. But that applies to everything that isn’t just pure physics. Ki is an even more mysterious power, and Mantra is a really dangerous but really powerful thing that enables great things for a cost.
I told you this because you shouldn’t become too surprised when strange things start to happen around you when you use energies of different kinds or the many times when it doesn’t do what you want to do at all. But this is very important to note; YOUR CHARACTERS DO NOT SEE IT IN THAT WAY. Many things are just seen for their positive effect and their powers. Of course they know to be careful, but they won’t be as careful as a modern human would be. I know that telling you things you don’t know makes it harder, but I will try to be very strict about your characters opinions and viewpoint that are too far from what’s logical for a person living in this world.
This brings me to the subject that your way of acting, thinking and just being with your character will be of much more importance for the future gaming. I will cancel or stop the session and say when I see things I don’t like and notice that you think in a way your character shouldn’t. I call this STOP, and I will do it and either have a discussion with the whole group or just the person involved when this happened. I don’t care if this disrupt the order of the game, cause from now on I will put more effort in things like that than before. If you don’t like it say so, but still, that only gives opportunity to improve. This is also why I think that some of you will think that my new way of game mastering will be too much, too into the game…
Well, that’s it.
Best regards,
Herid Fel
PS: It’s vital that I get your comment and oppinion on this here on the blog, I think that this will show your interest in my new ways and your approval, so hopefully I won’t just get a half-assed comment; “Yes I agree…” … :DS
Yes, I agree…
I think the introduction of STOP is a good thing. None of us are perfect and everything will just be better off if we stand corrected immediately instead of just attracting the anger of the game master.
I will continue to comment more on this later on, but it’s getting rather late now and I’m tired.
The opening of new categories of people is a good idea. Earlier it was pretty much only the powerful people and the normals. Now it is more structured and balanced. There are individuals in between.
It results in a more living world since there are not simply two mayor camps, there is a whole spectrum. It also explains in a more coherent way why some are more powerful than others instead of just blaming it all on the type-born.
The world seem more real this way.
The segmentation of the specials seem logical; not only type-born are powerful, power can be achieved in a variety of ways. From becoming blessed by the gods, born into it in some extend or another or simply be unlucky. Typeless abominations can still be powerful, nothing odd there.
Celestials also has their place. They are still mortals but have some kind of deal with the gods. The fact that they run the planet seems like the right thing, due to the fact that the new World of Ninaze is very religious. The gods have a central role, too bad theres no holy addendum.
The change of immortals fit in with the other. The ascension to immortality is all about the survival of the apocalypse. Old heroes surviving to help out when the time comes.
But are the immortals really immortal now, or is it just like it was before? You can kill them, but they won’t die of age or disease.
And are the celestials immortal in that old sense of the word?
I like the new structure of the Star Crossed, the word also has a nice ring to it. The fact that there are always twelve of them simply fits in. They are there by the rules, they don’t simply pop up.
I am also positive to potents. They bridge a gap from before – it makes the almost normals more like the other specials. It makes things fit together, I don’t really know why but it makes me think that Nianze feel more like the story from a book. And that is something I feel as good. If the world seem like it would fit in a good book, it is moving in the right direction. I have fore some reason been making these parallels for a while now.
And a question atop of that. Does potent levels directly affect the difficulty of dice rolls and such things? Or does it only offect indirectly in the sense that a potent character can have higher values?
And then there are the type-born. Not the only ones that are powerful now. I look forward to the nianze myths post about them.
On to the now more mystical energies. Magic seem like it will be really dangerous for everyone around… We will have to wait and see just how dangerous, but the fact that knowledge has been taken away in favour of superstition might be a good thing. A little bit less epic fantasy where mages can do anything. Sure, they can still be really powerful. But it is not almighty, and it really fits in with the mistrust of mages that exist in some cultures.
Ok lets see..
I feel like you are taking a more active role to make the game even more in-depth and mysterious, which I like.
Well to me the biggest change is the whole concept itself.. most of the things are still there but given abit different role in-game and more of a story-based reason(like immortals) and also that you have put a more definitive and structured view of the whole system.
And about Potents I think its a neat idea and it looks promising on the paper atleast but I cant really say more than that until I see how it plays out in-game. I can only say that it feels better to be a potent than a star-crossed all the time hehe..cause that was what it felt like before when something weird happened.
I wont comment much about celestials and Immortals except that I feel its good that they have been abit “nerfed” so too speak, before they felt untouchable but atleast by reading the new description they feel powerful but still manageable.
Then we have energies, looks promising aswell with the more mysterious feel to it, although I dont really agree that some things were “harmless” before especially not some Mantras atleast, was kinda annoying to get like -20 TMs(for one fight) before and if its gonna be even worse that you might start getting more permanent things like for instance, blindness. Well I cant say more than that since I dont know how it will turn out when we actually start playing but all I know is that it wasnt painless to use before.
Anyway about Magic and Ki I think it will just be more interesting if it gets more mysterious and unreliable, although my biggest concern there was items and such, since from a game-mechanical point of view you would still want to be able to have a item in youre possession without “dying” or the items exploding in youre face just after a couple of uses, but that is just speculation since I dont know how it will turn out, just saying and hoping that items and such things wont become un-useable.
Although our characters might not think this way it will still be annoying if every item is gonna have a “huge” chance of backfiring.
Anyway all in all most of the things look very promising.
It’s good that you that have commented so far like the changes and the new structure. The thing with this is also that these structures have much to do with the rules as well. Rules will apply different between different kinds of types – that are idea at least.
I see that you have managed to implement some questions in your comments which is good, then I can clear something out right now without needing to repeat myself.
First, the immortality you get from being an Immortal or Celestial Immortal is hugely different. There are even different kinds of celestial immortalities. However, it’s not known to other than the celestials how their immortality works, only that it’s more perfected than the other immortality that people know about. The “usual” immortality makes you somewhat resistant to sickness, you can still die from poisoning and some plagues but you are very resistant and can actually outlive a plague or a disease, you are not immune and you can still be tormented by it. It also affects your aging; you usually stop ageing at the age you got your immortality so you will be that age forever with all its good and bad sides. That’s the only thing that is commonly known about Immortals, that strange enough manages to become famous pretty quick due to their age…
About dice rolls and potent my answer is the first suggestion is more correct. It will have a more direct effect on your rolls your potent as well as some other factors will come in play, your age, your gender, your race, your background etcetera. That’s what I told you about with relative chance to success. Three almost identical characters in potents and class and such but only with different genders and races may all have a different chance on their die.
Ah, the whiner is active, as always. Well, I didn’t like the modifications actually. Yes, you should gain many modifications, that’s the point but according to me that’s not harmful. It only wears you out nothing more, nothing less. Energies you don’t know anything about you can only use in some certain ways and just because you don’t know, and aren’t capable of knowing how they work, they will ALL be very unreliable. This is that sometimes they may not give you a side effect, and the side effect may change depending on what you do, what you do, how many times you’ve done it before and so on. That means that things that you’ve done lots of times will have a lower chance to fail or have any side-effects than things you’ve done only once or twice or even never at all. When it comes to Mantra’s they are the worlds’, most likely, most unknown energies. Not even the gods, alive, can explain them. They have hidden side-effects and are very dangerous but VERY effective. You WON’T be able to use it all the time, or as much as before, but the effect is often greater than before.
As for other energies I won’t kill you, or mostly I won’t =P. They will backfire every now and then, and that’s the reason. Ankan have played recently and one of his things backfired during the session. That wasn’t so bad now, was it? However, you are in a lucky age right now. Magic is the most reliable energy at the moment, and the items are less dangerous than usual. However, nothing is safe. But to tell you something, this with items makes it more vital to have the skill needed to use the items to lower the risks. I will tell you more about this later but I’m afraid that it WILL explode a lot, and it will cause damages and things like that depending on how you use it and dozens of other things only I will know.
I want to say that all changes so far seem good to me. About the energies I think they are more interesting than before, due to the added mystical elements. About drawbacks, to me a terrible drawback would be appropriate for some circumstances, like when you use swift and turn your body to ki in conjunction with a hidden roll with a bad result. Getting a big drawback from something like using a minor ki ability when no special circumstances are a foot, yet a bad hidden roll, seems inappropriate to me (I’m talking big drawbacks like blindness and exploding heads).
I don’t mean by this that I think all seemingly normal situations should not result in exploding heads, just that i think it ought to be some determinacy behind it, not just that in any situation you can be blind from using ‘slagblick’ if the rolls are bad. If my head explodes or I’m permanently blinded from something I want to feel atleast that it just wasn’t a bad roll (I’m not assuming anything on how you want it to be, just saying what I think). I’m guessing astronomy have something to do with determining ki risks, by the way.
Anyway I’ll go to bed now, we will see if I have anything more to comment on tomorrow.
I will speak of ‘powerful artefacts’ as artefacts that are powerful and in some way use a mystical energy. It seems to me from what you (Oskar) said about powerful artifacts blowing up makes powerful artefacts not undesirable, but not desirable, atleast to the player. Having a powerful artefact ought in my eyes to be desirable for the player, not always, but generally i.m.o..
Why? Well, if I acquire a legendary artefact I don’t just want to think; “Crap, I had hoped for this not happening, but I’ll restrain my displeasure and go ahead and use it like my character should”. Shouldn’t it really be a time for rejoice when you get some new shiny toy?
Offcourse, an artefact that is powerful can turn a grim situation to a good one, and after an explosion or something (given I survive), I might learn that using it is not as safe as I thought. Also you might know about the risks about an artefact or are just careful for some other reason, and thus use it carefully. (This is an example of me answering my comment.)
The thing you’ve written seem a little… odd or something. I think I understand what you speak of but what you say is not what I’ve said. So this seems to be a misunderstanding mixed with some of your concerns and thoughts.
To begin with, I’ve not mentioned how artefacts work at all. And explosions will not always occur. Actually things like explosions and destructive things like that aren’t the most common things that happen with artefacts. Explosions are mostly considered good and can actually be used to ones advantage very often. The penalties and disadvantages of items are often more subtle and when discovered impossible to do anything about. Some things will just malfunction quite often and others will stop working or not work at all some times. Weapons for example will not explode, unless the special magical or function of the weapon is to explode. An axe that for one example deals freezing damage or electrical damage to your foes may give you a shock or freeze your hand and that’s the drastical effects that you may notice and that may happen every once in a while, but maybe you shield yourself from that and after a while you notice that you get very ill or even that something seem wrong with you, and this MAY be due to the weapons effect on your body that you’ve noticed and nobody knows exactly how magic effects the body.
So what I mean is not that if you find powerful magical weapons or artefacts you won’t think as player; “Damn, this thing will destroy me, I won’t use it unless it’s a very grave situation.” You won’t even know or think that a magical thing may affect you badly in the ways you can’t see or feel even though much will affect you in this way. That’s my point that I want to make clear to you all. You will most likely sometimes fall over these “shiny toys” and most likely your character will use it and NOT be more careful with this weapon than a usual one.
One thing too that’s different is that it’s not always easy to see if something is magical, or even made with a mystical energy. You may wield and use a special artefact that are very powerful but not knowing it, maybe never knowing it.
I have always wanted the world to be a more “player-friendly” world where you do not have to follow a strict survival rulebook to survive.
You can be a thief and steal small amounts from people on the street and don’t have to worry about if this person is a lord super imba extreme bad ass. Earlier if someone saw what you did by the wrong person you had 0 chance of getting away or atleast very slim. That seems to have changed.
I am also glad that you are creating a deeper society for every nation. Will make local rpging easier and funnier.
About the different types of categories for npc/player I can only give you positive response. A strict system which still gives you some freedom in imagination.
And about mantras, magic and artifacts, I LOVE it but then again I am a sadistic person who want a evil world to play in. Earlier Nianze was in my eyes a fluffy wonderful green world until some new omega conflict ariesd unless you where living in Sancho, Taraien or Icea. Or was a “stjärnfödd”.
Well I am happy with every change we have spoken of or I have read here. So keep it going!
Sorry for waiting so long with a reply.