The System

I’ve now begun to look at the system and the rules once again. The game must have a rule structure even though most will be determined and controlled by the Game Master. This of course is fine with me, rules makes directions and help some to get a sense of what’s actually happening. I finished the Necromancer rules today with some additions and changes here and there. In the big picture, it’s much the same and the rules don’t say everything for every situation but that won’t ever happen. If I decide to make Nianze rules so that others shall be able to play and game master it, it will be much guidelines and rules for the basic system. I think that most good RPG that exist today are meant to be like that, that the Game Master is meant to rule the game, maybe not as much as in Nianze.

I’ve been game mastering RPG since I was nine, which now is almost twelve years, and I’ve played RPG since I was six. This of course have gotten more serious over the years and in the beginning I didn’t understand what I actually was doing but the concept felt cool at least. I don’t think I was fully able to understand a rulebook until I was of the age of eleven. Before that I tried but had a very hard time understanding exactly how they meant for one to do things. This is why Nianze became what it became as it is today. I had a hard time understanding why things were as they were and why rules where needed for everything so I created my own game. But well, this post isn’t about that…

The system need some updates, which is how the rules will apply with potents, abominations and type-born. The Celestial are quite clear already and the rules for them are just that they have some powers that are greater than the others. However, I’ve now created a preliminary system for how this will work. I’ve now created a template for every race; every race has the sum of about 200 points. Their stats are also set to a specific maximum, like Orc are the only ones that can reach 20 in strength without having to have a potential in that area. However, this template is made so if you go above the maximum for your race in one property a property linked to that one, will drop, but still your maximum will be 200. So you can’t come above 200 to begin with…

Now there is two ways to raise your stats above this perimeter. One way is to breach your first level potent, which will set your maximum to 240, and the other way is to step by step train each property properly¹. The second alternative is the most common one and also the hardest one in it’s own way. This requires a teacher, often of the same race, but never a player, unless I’ve given a player the power of teaching. And you need a teacher and a great long period for every step, which makes it slow to raise your skills above that level. The first alternative is to find someone that can raise all your potents at the same time. Someone capable of this, is a Sage or a Master Trainer. These are rare and very few, but they exist, though your characters aren’t allowed to see one if I don’t think it’s logical for your character to know about these legendary trainers.

However, there is another rule except for this. There is three limits, the first is 200points, the second is 240 points and the third is 280 points. The last one though is only possible if you are an immortal. The second rule except the limit rule of potent is that you can’t have 20 in more than at most 8 properties. This is quite a complex thing actually. You need to train gradually to be able to raise maximum skills to 20. But here comes yet another thing to think of, though this is not a real rule… your 20 don’t even need to be considered 20. This makes it all more trickier to know if a 20 is worth it or not. But that’s kind of the point, your number shouldn’t matter as much… it’s more individually.

This is what I explained earlier, you may all have the same value, but yet have different probabilities. Therefore your value of 20 may sometime be equal or less to someone that have 15. One thing you can know is that the maximum gap will probably be 8 points. So The worst you can experience is to have 20 and be beaten by someone with the value of 12. This is why you need to more see the situation socially than in numbers. A good example, to beat an orc that have 16 in strength you need to have at least 8 over him, which means that you need to get a buff of some kind. This assuming you both has the same class, skills, and powers…

So well, I think I got it all worked out with potents and how it works when you create a character, so to sum it up, you have a racial template that you modify if you are a potent, and if you’re not then you just have to be within the limits. The next step, that is different is your skills. You can’t have all skills or languages, even though you can afford it in points. You need to have to fit in into your story and your background. So before you take some skills that aren’t coming along as special skills, you need to ask yourself the following questions;

Why do I know how to do this?
How good am I at this?
What use does my character have of this, in-game?
When did I learn this, and where?
Am I interested in knowing these skills, from my characters point of view?

After you’ve done your character and the potent is set, I will go through this with you before you get your character sheet. Skills you have bought and have on your character that aren’t really matching with the rest will be removed. Like, my character tells occasional lies therefore I have the skill bluff, is not acceptable. You need to have used it pretty often or be a experienced liar just to have this skill on N. The skill will make difference just by allowing you to be able to bluff your way out of some situations. Even though your character in all other aspects has high properties that are connected to this you will need the skill to be a liar to this extent. This applies to all your skills, therefore don’t buy something you don’t need. Some things, like small things, don’t need skills, skills makes a difference therefore you don’t need every skill to do simple things. Not to mention that buying skills once again will go up in costs, so you won’t be able to buy as much skills, even though right now you can’t even fill your slots…

This is because skills will make a much bigger difference. Some skills, like the primary skills, won’t be so much different, but the secondary skills may be a little more useful. But don’t you worry, many things that you have skills for is possible to do without skills. It’s just that skills makes much more difference and have much more use than just a simple combination of your potent, personality, how it fits and your probability of success.

More changes is that many durations have been transformed to phase duration instead of round durations. I’ve done this to nerf some things and to buff other things. Magic is more dangerous when most spells have side-effects and secondary effects. Fire have a long duration and if you don’t take an action to turn it out, you’ll burn to death, ice will slow you down, electricity will paralyze you, mud and earth may slow your movements and avoidance and so on. Their effect are often over time and quite great, but then again this is a must if a magican shall be useful to play. Powerful and dangerous both for himself as well as towards others, and to make any sense of why they are some mages in the world you need some good things.

One change, in-game, on the magic front is that you can’t play a character that are a magician that are young. You need to be at least middle-age or old. IF you want to play as young, no matter which year and age you play in, you will be very, very, exposed and desirable. Magicians, sorcerers, wizards, shamans and even Aguin’s dreadful Witch Hunters, will hunt you down. You won’t be alone, and with that much potential to become a mage, you will even be fought over within the Mage’s Guild and it all will probably end in a disaster where you are killed in the cross-fire… if not the Witch Hunter gets to you first.

Well, that’s it for now. The rest of today I will take it easy and rest. Today is Monday, even though this post is posted on Sunday. So well, I hope you enjoyed this new information and it’s very vital that you understand it too. This is the explanation for many things, and this is something you even might have some use of when you will create a new character and in your understanding of my almost strange system.

Best regards,
Herid Fel

PS: PB had his birthday today, as you might have seen in the calendar… I rememberd it… strangely enough… :DS

1. Funny sentence, don’t you think? Hehe ↩