R E F L E C T I O N S
game mechanics and other sundries
This campaign will follow a somewhat unusual set of game mechanics; this format is experimental, and will doubtless undergo revision as the campaign progresses.
Initially, players will develop character concepts, in discussion with each other, and the GameMaster (GM). No actual character generation, in the mechanical RPG sense of the word, will be done. Instead, throughout the first few sessions, when a situation which would normally require stats to resolve arises, players will be asked to supoprt, anecdotally, reasons for their characters to succeed or fail in the task they are attempting. The GM will take notes, do the dice-rolling, and determine outcomes from there.
After the initial sessions, the GM will put together character sheets in some standard form, either fully or partially filled out. These sheets may or may not ever be shown to players. Similar, players may or may not ever end up rolling their own dice. This will depend on the tastes of the players involved, and what the GM feels is and isn't working well.
The intent is to make the mechanics as invisible to the players as possible, in the long term. At the stage of initial genesis, it also leaves players free to determine the direction of their characters without being bounded by what the stats say the characters can do. Given that the events at the beginning of the campaign will have a profound impact upon the futures of the characters, it is also more fair to allow players to decide the directions that they want to take, based on an expanded knowledge of the campaign world, without needing to spoil surprises by revealing too much detail about the world from the very beginning.
The game system is Ars Magica 4th Edition, more or less, with elements from a number of other systems, including Harnmaster 2nd Edition and Chivalry & Sorcery 3rd Edition. The combat rules are unique to the campaign.
This is a cooperative game. Lone wolf characters take too much of the GM's time and are unfair to other players. If a character ends up in a situation which forces him to split from the party for extended periods of time, the player will most likely be invited to retire the character and generate a new one. When doing character creation, the ability to get along with other characters is important; characters should have a strong reason to work together and look out for one another. All characters should also have heroic potential, though they don't have to be "good guys" in the traditional sense.
Reasonably regular attendance is expected of players. As a courtesy to the GM and one's fellow players, planned absences should be stated as far in advance as possible, and, in general, the GM should be notified of cancellations and expected lateness as early as possible. Indeed, the GM should be warned if a cancellation or lateness is a possibility, so the week's scenario can be planned around it if necessary. Games will be cancelled if there aren't at least three players plus the GM.
Maintained by lwl@godlike.com
Created 03.09.98 | Revised 09.01.98