Fear the Dark - Introduction
Fear the Dark is my tentatively titled NSR RPG that I've been idly writing about in my notebooks for the past couple of years. It's set in the same Jewelsea setting as the Thekkish conlang that I've been working on, a world drawing primarily from the civilizations of the ancient Mediterranean and Indian Ocean.
I've realized that I'll never get this thing off the ground if I don't start trying to piece together the several hundred pages of loose, contradictory notes into something playable and playtestable, so in the spirit of Prismatic Wasteland's Year of the Beta, I've started working on drafting a playtest copy of the rules. I'm hoping to have something I'll be able to run at Forge Midwest in early May, but I've put this off long enough that who knows if I'll get there in time.
What follows is my first draft of the section introducing the basics of the mechanics and what players will see when they look at the character sheet.
how to roll dice
There are three basic types of randomization in Fear the Dark - checks, saves, and combat tests.
Checks are made when a character deliberately undertakes a risky course of action. If they have the time, skill, and tools necessary to complete a task, there's no need to roll. However, adventurers are often under pressures that short them one of those three things. If they don't have at least two of the three, they can't attempt the check. If they have exactly two, test 2d20 against a relevant attribute. If either die is successful, the action attempted succeeds. If both are successful, the action doesn't have any follow-on consequences.
Saves are made when characters are presented with an unexpected or unplanned danger; one they must react quickly to avoid. Saves test a d20 against an attribute. If successful, the danger is mitigated or avoided completely. If failed, the danger takes its full effect.
Combat tests are made in combat, whether attacking, defending, or maneuvering to gain a better position or outwit enemies. A combat test involves rolling 2d6 and taking the better or worse die depending on the specific combat action chosen and relative positioning in combat.
the character sheet
name
Everyone has one. So do you.
age
You're not getting any younger. At least not yet.
level
This is the number of times that you've advanced become a bit better at fighting.
culture
All characters come from somewhere. This tells you a bit about where that place is.
backgrounds
Everyone had a life before they took up adventuring. These tell you what sort of things you did in that life, from childhood up to not long ago.
languages
The Jewelsea is an extremely diverse place. It's important to be understood if you want to succeed in your goals, and knowing the local lingo helps a lot with that. This section lists the dialects that you know.
attributes
Characters in Fear the Dark have three basic stats - Prowess, Cunning, and Steel.
Prowess
represents strength, agility, and conditioning. It's tested in situations involving athleticism, nimbleness, and feats of physical aptitude.
Cunning
represents wits, charm, and creativity. It's tested in situations involving quick thinking, social grace, and XXXXXX
Steel
represents willpower, endurance, and XXXXXX. It's tested in situations involving persistence, stubbornness, and refusing to submit to the horrors of the world.
guard
Guard protects characters from the vicissitudes of adventuring. So long as a character has guard remaining, they can't be injured in a way that removes them from play. Once a character's guard is broken, all bets are off. Characters begin with one guard die, rolled to reset their guard every time they are able to take a breather. As play continues, they are likely to earn more guard dice by performing mighty deeds.
fate
Fate represents a character's luck. Some believe that those who are lucky have the gods looking out for them. Others think that those who are confident enough simply bend the world around them. Whatever it is, those who have a higher Fate are more likely to find a way out of moments of extreme peril. All characters begin with a Fate of 2.
injuries
Anyone who spends enough time wandering the wilderness or exploring a dungeon is likely to get hurt at some point. Injuries are ranked from one to six by their severity. The worse an injury is, the more it impedes a character and the longer it takes to recover. Those characters who suffer injuries beyond rank six are likely to die.
conditions
Conditions are other effects that may affect characters beyond the mere physical. They include things like anger, fear, exhaustion, or hunger.
advancements
As characters gain experience, they'll learn to get better at traversing the dangerous environments of the world, resisting the attacks of their inhabitants, and fighting back. This is where those improvements are recorded.
inventory
You are not a pack mule, but you'd still like to carry as much treasure away as you can. That loot is competing for pack space with your weapons, armor, tools, and supplies that you need to make sure you don't die a miserable death far from anyone you've ever loved. It's recorded here. Each slot can be filled with one item. Some items are small enough that they can be packed together with other similar items. Carrying containers -- whether satchels, backpacks, or sacks on a sarcina -- is an effective way to get more carrying space.
disciplines
Disciplines are abilities that characters can acquire that allow them to do things others might not be able to. They require time and effort to maintain, but they're worth it if they save your life when you're in a tough spot.
rituals
People are able to manipulate reality by performing certain actions and using the relevant tools and sacrifices. Some believe they are beseeching the gods, while others say this is manipulating the structure of reality itself. What matters for you is that they work. This section lists the rituals you know how to perform.
spells
Spells are finicky entities, prone to causing trouble if you don't know how to control them. Anyone can cast them, but mages who have sacrificed a bit of themselves in a process called harrowing are the ones who are able to most reliably create the desired effect. This section lists the spells you have available to you.