Introducing: The Animancer

Below is my first draft description for Animancers in Hostargo. Basically a sorcerer of sorts, Animancers bend the power of memory to their will. Please check it out, and let me know your initial thoughts! 

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Animancers have the ability to see “memory” as it flows about the world.  Memory can be thought of as spiritual energy that is released from all living things.  It slowly leaks out of us, consistently and steadily (though slightly faster while one is sleeping). This appears to Animancers as a dull, purplish light, almost like an aura of wispy fog around someone’s head. 

When one dies, their memory is released into the world as one whole, humanoid entity, and depending upon how peaceful the memory is, this form may or may not appear sentient in nature. These memories, when powered by the emotions and willpower of their previous host, form what common folk refer to as “ghosts” or “spirits”.

Animancers know the full and true power of memory. Memory, in forms such as a ghost, can interact with the physical world; lifting objects, creating noise, lights, or heat, and even speaking to those still living (albet with only a reflection of true intelligence). But only an Animancer can see it all happening; see the purplish energy manipulating the physical world around them.

And they’ve studied this energy. Through intense research and dangerous experimentation, Animancers have learned to control the memory they see; reading it, shaping it, and eventually bending it to their will.  They record their work in books, scrolls, and often large grimoires - finding that writing is in itself a form of memory - allowing them to keep their secret, complex concoctions close at hand.

Often mistaken with simple street magicians or religious fanatics, Animancers have taken to the words “spell” and “ritual” to describe their art.  Animancers are able to cast spells at will, shaping memory and using it to a variety of relatively simple effects.  Rituals, on the other hand, require in-depth planning and preparation, often leading to hours or even days of stressful concentration; the payoff for which is normally on a grand scale.

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Some follow up questions:

What kinds of spells would you want to see from a memory-mancer?

What would you expect this character to be capable of?

What is your favorite part about this idea?

What is your least favorite part about this idea?

Thank you as always!

Solo Design & The Lack of Motivation

I don't really have a good excuse.  Sure, I've got my fair share of life's curve-balls, but nothing's really draining my motivation other than the sheer amount of work I still have left to do.

It's kind of a lonely place to be.  I want to share all of my thoughts and ideas; through this blog, through conventions, through just word of mouth. But I'm having trouble lately producing any good content to really talk about. It's not that I'm not excited - I surely am. It's not that I have a lack of ideas either. On the contrary, I feel like I have too many, coming too fast, too consistently.

I lack focus. When I sit down to my google document, I scroll through the outline (which itself is getting impressive) as the massive amount of TODOs and unwritten book sections stare back at me. I have all of it here, in my head. The hard part, of course, is actually getting it down on paper.

What do you do to get into the "jive" of things? For me, I like specifically setting out blocks of time where I can really dig in.  I find that the half hour sprints or few minute breaks just aren't cutting it.

Classes & Callings

This post is a simple update on my current design thoughts/goals.  During the last playtest of character creation, it was mentioned that it would be helpful to know your character's "class" before choosing anything else, so that you know a bit better where you are going to end up. But that's not the point; you're supposed to be pleasantly surprised by the outcome, and be building a unique character each step of the way.

This is one of the problems I had with Life Paths in The Burning Wheel: it was hard to "pick a direction" without knowing where you wanted to end up. A helpful solution to that is the random rolls that can be used, but not everyone likes randomly rolling characters.  So I started thinking about why the players wanted to know their "class".

Initially, classes determined special abilities, available upgrades, and stat/skill bonuses.  They determined if you had magic, and of what type. Because these classes were all "innate" abilities that one was born with, the players felt as if it should have been the first upfront idea that was determined.  I agreed completely, but I didn't want to force the idea of "class" onto the players right off the bat.  I want the characters to grow throughout their creation, in a natural way, much like Life Paths.

So I've decided to attempt splitting the old "classes" into two parts: classes & callings.  Callings, in this case, are the innate special abilities (e.g. magic, leadership, tech adept).  Callings are still not chosen first, but they come right after "upbringing", "quirk", and "flair".  Basically, sometime during your late teen/early adult life, your calling manifested itself.  You get to decide how and when, and how you and the people around you reacted to it.

Then, one of the last things you choose is "class".  Now, instead of special innate abilities, classes have turned into specializations of law enforcement, giving the players access to "trainable" skill packages (much like D&D's feats) that they would learn through their training as a SEA agent. These are mostly martial skills, like stealth, combat, negotiation, and knowledge, but could possibly include strange/surreal abilities as well.

This mix gives the players both something innate and something trained, to gain at the beginning and at the end of character creation.  I think this mix is dangerous to design, in terms of game balance, but it opens up a ton of possibilities, and I want to explore them.

Do you have an idea for a cool "agent" specialization or other martial class? Let me know!

Anchoring into the World

Immersion gamers love the feeling of being part of a game world.  They want to care about the places, the people, and the things that they are interacting with.  Getting detailed information about the setting they're playing from their GM in is great, but having players help build some of those details themselves pulls them even deeper into the depths of their imagination.

There's a distinct line between hand-feeding people every nitty gritty detail of a setting, and making them work to come up with all of those details themselves. The goal should be to provide a solid backdrop for the players to explore; a sandbox that lets them both see new sights as well as shape the landscape.

On one end, you have games like Dawn of Worlds, where a party might spend an entire day or more detailing out a whole new world to play in.  On the other, you have settings like the Mistborn game, which is so focused on the world that's already been built, it leaves little room for players to be creative.  For a happy middle ground, games like The Burning Wheel and Beyond the Wall have systems in place that tie the player characters directly into whatever world the GM presents.

For Hostargo, I've tried to follow the middle path, and come up with enough setting and backdrop about the world so that the players feel like they understand how the world came to be like it is. I've got a couple pages of history, a map that only has regions outlined, and of course the city of Hostargo described in great detail.  But, I wanted the players to come up with their character's hooks into the world, so the very first thing they do in character creation is help build up some of the world that surrounds Hostargo.

Below is my version of these hooks, in the form of questions presented to the player.  These questions drive the creation of people, cities, organizations, creatures, trade, traditions, and all sorts of other minor details that can help bring the world to life for the player.  And, because they created it, the hope is that they care about the setting, right from the start.

As always, I'd love to hear your questions, comments, and suggestions! I'm sure there are other questions I can ask, and other details that might be missing in my explanations.

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Upbringing

Your upbringing is an important first step, as it highly affects the way you were brought up to think, react, and treat others.  Your upbringing should give you an idea of what you think of “the law”, and how that law applies to your time in Hostargo.

No one started in Hostargo.  The relatively new city is a melting (boiling) pot of cultures and people that is constantly bubbling over, spewing chaos and destruction in it’s wake.  Everyone’s got a history to share, and yours begins here.

When asked questions, write your answers down on the back of your character sheet.  They do not have any mechanical effect on the game, but give you an important perspective about how your character views the world.

You can specifically choose your upbringing, or you can get one randomly by rolling a d6:

Roll Result	Upbringing	Stat Boost (+1)
1	Islander	Spirit
2	Outlander	Spirit
3	Mountaineer	Grit
4	Cliffhanger	Grit
5	City Slicker	Wit
6	Nomad	Wit

Islander

Gain +1 Spirit

There are hundreds of small, separated land masses in the East Isles, with each island part of larger grouping controlled by different clans. The islanders usually value honor and tradition, and many fight over culture just as much as land or resources. Which clan do you belong to? What are they known for (your clan’s “specialty”)? What is one of their biggest traditions? Who are their allies? Who are their enemies?  What is something your clan would consider “dishonorable”, that people in Western cultures (e.g. Hostargo) do fairly regularly?

You gain knowledge: Eastern Isles

You gain knowledge: <Clan Specialty>

Outlander

Gain +1 Spirit

Once humanity could survive most of what the wilderness could throw at them, people spread west.  But these small communities have been long separated from the civilizations of the east, and many have formed their own government and cults.  What is your hometown called? What is one of your village’s customs; one that most would think strange in modern society? Does your town have it’s own governing body, such as a circle of elders, or a cult? Who was an important figure to your people, and why?

You gain knowledge: <Hometown>

Mountaineer

Gain +1 Grit

The mountain people are a hardy bunch, and they usually form a tight-nit community around a mine. What is your town called? What does your community mine? What type of food and drink do your folk produce, given the generally rough terrain? What was a common danger that your people had to face, and how did they face it?

You gain knowledge: Mining: <Town’s Production>

You gain knowledge: <Common Danger>

Cliffhanger

Gain +1 Grit

The cliff people are down-to-earth, easy going, and are generally a successfully mixed bunch. Between the exhilarating clifftops, deep inner caves, lively hanging shops, and rowdy seaside docks, where was your favorite place to hang out? Who’d you hang out with? Primarily traders between the Eastern Isles and the mainland, the cliff people always have grand stories to tell. What is your favorite, and why do you like to tell it?

You gain knowledge: Folklore

City Slicker

Gain +1 Wit

You’ve seen the poor, the rich, and everything in between.  You’ve seen gang wars rage across your streets, and politics rule over gross sums of money. What social or economic class were you raised in? Were your parents part of a gang, corporation, or other organization? What was your favorite food joint? Do you prefer the city environment, or were you looking for a way out?

You gain knowledge: <Parent’s Organization>

Nomad

Gain +1 Wit

You were raised on the road, always traveling from one place to the next.  How big was your caravan of travelers? What goods & services did the group provide to survive? How were your people received in the places they went? What was one of your favorite places to visit and why?

You gain knowledge: <Caravan's Expertise>