Game System v1

Kookaburra Sat 09 Jan 2010, 7:46 am

Groovinborough Manor

Groovinborough Manor,
Freshdale, Wales, 1920s.
Genre: Comedy/Mystery/Supernatural

You have received summons to be of service to Earl Grey of Groovinborough Manor; a powerful and eccentric man with a twisted and irrational agenda. In return for assisting him with investigating unusual places and happenings the earl gives you access to his bountiful resources. You are about to find that topics that were once laughed off as ludicrous or unspeakable are indeed dangerously real.

Gameplay:
Common sense is mandatory. This is a short-post role-playing game where you cooperatively role-play with others within a story guided by a Storyteller. This is not a competition of novel writing, nor is it a competition for the strongest character. The aim of the game is to develop your Character in an enjoyable environment with a group of friends.

Dice Rolling:
The dice rolling system is a safety mechanism to solve disputes between players. In normal circumstances it needn’t be used, but if you have issues with another player, are unsure about something or want to display your character’s ability, you are free to use it. The dice represent only how well you performed that task, and is not an indication of failure. The dice roller can be found at the bottom of your posting window to calculate how well you performed. The die size is decided by any Skills you have (or by the Storyteller). You roll the dice a number of times equal to the Character Trait it is based on, including any Stuff that may enhance it. The highest result of your dice roll is the number you use. Should you have no Skill in something and want to roll on a task, use d4 dice (or whatever the Storyteller dictates).

The Earl Grey

Character Diary:
In your forum profile there is a tab called Diary where you may privately keep track of your character’s development. It is where you log changes to your Skills and Stuff.

Glossary of Terms:

Spoiler:

Expertise: (#xp)
Expertise is your character's experience in the world. The more you post In Character, the more Expertise you earn. You additionally earn Expertise point each day and upon completion of Storylines.

Budget: Your Budget is basically the currency of the game, it encompasses the money, material wealth and people who can help you provided by Earl Grey. Your Budget determines how much of each Grade of Stuff you can buy or make Stuff. Your Budget may be increased by interaction within Storylines and general role-playing. Your budget remains private from other people; it may or may not be identical to other players. You can see a table with the details of your Budget in your Diary.
Character Traits:
Traits are your core strengths and weaknesses they are divided into four categories:

Body (strength, dexterity, stamina, health)

Mind (intelligence, creativity, willpower)

Soul (magic, psychic power, spirit, divine power)

Heart (personality, charisma, luck, charm)
You have ten points to distribute between your Traits, each one can be between zero and five points. Each of these points represents a die roll for a Skill. A zero represents a major character defect, it means you don’t have that Trait and can do nothing related it. A zero in Body may be a ghost, a zero in Mind may be a zombie, a zero in soul may be a vampire, a zero in Heart may be a machine or construct. Your Traits may slowly change over time, as your character develops.

Skills: [d#]
A Skill is a specific ability you have acquired. They have five levels represented as multi-sided dice:

d6

d8

d10

d12

d20
Each Skill uses one of your Traits as a base to determine how many times you roll your dice. You can use Expertise to learn a new Skill or to improve a Skill; the cost is equal to the Skill’s dice number. When you learn a new Skill, the points are not physically subtracted from your forum total. Crafting skills used in a storyline use normal dice rolls to create the item and must be in line with your Budget. You must roll the right amount to get the grade you want (4,6,10,20,100). Whereas crafting Skills used privately always succeed. The combined total for all your skills may only reach 100 points. Once you reach 100, you may only use Expertise to trade points between new/existing Skills.

Speciality: [d100]
This is the unique Skill you have that is better than anyone else, it uses d100 dice and does not contribute to your total of Skills.

Stuff: [g#]
Stuff is... stuff. Regular items like clothing, food and tools. They come in five grades representing their quality. You may obtain everyday Stuff without considering your Budget; however, high grade Stuff will affect your Budget. Higher grade Stuff may also compliment or hinder your Skills by adding or subtracting dice rolls. The downfall of using higher grade Stuff is, if you don’t have a Skill associated with it, the dice roll bonus may be subtracted instead of added to your total (depending on the situation). Higher-grade stuff additionally needs a related Skill or Craft level to obtain it (How would a mechanic access legal documents?). Stuff you have is stored in your Closet (located in your Dairy) and you are free to trade Stuff as you see fit. The table below lists requirements and descriptions for different grades of Stuff.

Grade . . .	Required to Buy / to.	Craft . . .	Dice . . .	Example
g1	No Requirements	d4	−	Everyday Stuff (food, clothing).
g2	Related Skill	d6	−	Cheap Stuff (accessories, basic tools).
g3	Related Profession	d10	+/-1	Expensive Stuff (jewellery, cars).
g4	Related Speciality	d20	+/-2	High Quality Stuff (houses, blimps).
g5	Can Not Buy	d100	+/-3	One-of-a-kind Stuff (the Mona Lisa, the Taj Mahal).

Should you have no Skills related to the Stuff you want; you can negotiate with Earl Grey and/or do a number of coin tosses equal to the grade of the item. If all coin tosses are a success, you can obtain the Stuff.

On-hand:
On-hand literally means what is in your hand ready to use at that moment, something that is in your pocket or bag is not on-hand. Your character may only carry one piece of Stuff on-hand at a time. However you may spend the time of one post to change the piece of Stuff you are using.

Storyteller:
By posting a topic in the Storylines forum, you become the Storyteller for that topic. Anyone can become a Storyteller. The Storyteller’s role is to act as the organizer for the story. They must create an environment in which the players can interact and control the non-player aspects of the game. A Storyteller may make use of their own character during a Storyline within reason. The Storyteller is able to invoke Paradox upon any player should they deem their role-playing unsuitable.

Paradox:
The universe is a stubborn thing, breaking its laws will often result in a backlash affecting the source and (depending on the severity) the area around it too. When Paradox is invoked, dice rolls are disregarded and the Storyteller adds undesirable effects. Paradox is the punishment for unsuitable role-playing such as god-moding, use of player knowledge, not posting in character and abusive behaviour.

Technicalities Examples:

Spoiler: