Dost see not the Alder-King, with crown and train?
Another project I'm working on (on and off) is a kind of proto-Resistance 1700s horror game. It's inspired by Darkest Dungeon, Otfried Preussler's Krabat, as well as all kinds of horror and Gothic fiction.
The concept is very basic: A group of idealists and misfits are tasked with hunting a monster preying on a small village in Bohemia/vague central European place. There are such 'character classes' or callings as The New Priest, The Disgraced Officer, The Brokenhearted and The Coffin Birth.
The project started as a version of a sanity/mental stress mechanic which I'm crudely bolting on to a simple version of the Resistance rules (the die mechanic, really) found in a game called The Beast.
The mechanic is as follows:
HOPE (starts at 6, but your choice of calling may change this)
CERTAINTY (starts at 0, but your calling may change this)
How HOPE is gained and lost
Hope is faith in providence, a belief in goodness being the stronger impulse. It is clinging to meaning, or dulling the lack of it with pleasure and ritual. You gain HOPE through indulging, which means something different for each calling. If you defeat a wicked and unnatural entity you may gain HOPE as well.
HOPE is lost through encountering wicked and unnatural beings, through witnessing the dark arts being used (or using them yourself), and through suffering. When you encounter such a situation you may roll Persevere to avoid losing HOPE.
When your character encounters bloodshed, the unnatural, loss, and profound meaninglessness, she is in danger of losing HOPE. When this happens she must roll her Persevere skill against 1D10+a number of D10s equal to the HOPE she has already lost. Some player characters start with a less than perfect HOPE-score (which is 6), and thus roll against more than one D10 from the outset.
How CERTAINTY is gained
CERTAINTY is the knowledge that humanity is wicked, that salvation is a consolatory fable, and that unfathomable entities are the architects of our doom.
You gain CERTAINTY when you obtain knowledge of the unnatural, be it creatures or the dark arts. If you have something to investigate or study, you may decide to accept a number of CERTAINTY-points in return for information about the opposition. The information will give you a lead to follow as well as a concrete advantage in the struggle against the opposition. It might be a weak point, a grim ritual to banish it, or some occult weakness.
You choose whether you want to accept any points, and the GM will inform you of how many points are available.
You can never get rid of CERTAINTY. It pulsates in the mind and cannot be unlearned.
When CERTAINTY exeeds HOPE you can no longer roll Persevere to avoid losing HOPE. Your character has an episode. Roleplay the anguish and clarity she has gained. Ask the GM for an insight into the horror she is pursuing. Others who are listening to your character run the risk of losing HOPE from this dark intuition.
When all HOPE is lost your character runs wild. If she has no CERTAINTY she may perform one last act of self-destructive heroism, or take flight for parts unknown (and may be taken in by kindly people somewhere down the road).
And example calling and manner of indulging (it's early days!):
The Disgraced Officer
Your line of ancestors is a long one, and there were plenty of stories about valor and horsemanship, conquest and camaraderie. You set out to war as was right and proper, your spirits stirred to a fever pitch by the bugle and the drum. When you came to battle there was no music, only the thunder of cannons and the cawing of carrion crows. There were no comrades, only frightened farm boys fumbling with swords and rifles.
It was when the man next to you had his face torn off by grapeshot you found your resolve. You spurred on your horse and fled the battlefield.
Your cowardice has haunted you since. In your dreams you ancestors spit on you as crows pluck out your eyes. In this village they need brave folk who can save it from half-glimpsed shadows and ogres. Surely no forest fiend can be as horrible as a cannonade.
Starting HOPE: 4
Starting CERTAINTY: 0
Starting Skill: Strike
Indulging: Lying
Abandoning the battlefield was the only sensible thing to do, and it was an act of cowardice. Both these things are true, and they tear your soul apart. To regain HOPE you must lie about your exploits in war to at least one other person. You must continue the deceit that enticed you into uniform.
1: You regain 1 point of HOPE, but gain a point of CERTAINTY as well.
2-7: Regain 1 HOPE.
7-8: Regain 2 HOPE.
10: Regain 1 HOPE for each person listening to your tale.
Choose Three Skills:
Charm
Deceive
Endure
Intimidate
Scholar
Shoot
Strike
Vigilance
 |
| The English title is a bit more descriptive. |
The concept is very basic: A group of idealists and misfits are tasked with hunting a monster preying on a small village in Bohemia/vague central European place. There are such 'character classes' or callings as The New Priest, The Disgraced Officer, The Brokenhearted and The Coffin Birth.
The project started as a version of a sanity/mental stress mechanic which I'm crudely bolting on to a simple version of the Resistance rules (the die mechanic, really) found in a game called The Beast.
The mechanic is as follows:
HOPE (starts at 6, but your choice of calling may change this)
CERTAINTY (starts at 0, but your calling may change this)
How HOPE is gained and lost
Hope is faith in providence, a belief in goodness being the stronger impulse. It is clinging to meaning, or dulling the lack of it with pleasure and ritual. You gain HOPE through indulging, which means something different for each calling. If you defeat a wicked and unnatural entity you may gain HOPE as well.
HOPE is lost through encountering wicked and unnatural beings, through witnessing the dark arts being used (or using them yourself), and through suffering. When you encounter such a situation you may roll Persevere to avoid losing HOPE.
When your character encounters bloodshed, the unnatural, loss, and profound meaninglessness, she is in danger of losing HOPE. When this happens she must roll her Persevere skill against 1D10+a number of D10s equal to the HOPE she has already lost. Some player characters start with a less than perfect HOPE-score (which is 6), and thus roll against more than one D10 from the outset.
How CERTAINTY is gained
CERTAINTY is the knowledge that humanity is wicked, that salvation is a consolatory fable, and that unfathomable entities are the architects of our doom.
You gain CERTAINTY when you obtain knowledge of the unnatural, be it creatures or the dark arts. If you have something to investigate or study, you may decide to accept a number of CERTAINTY-points in return for information about the opposition. The information will give you a lead to follow as well as a concrete advantage in the struggle against the opposition. It might be a weak point, a grim ritual to banish it, or some occult weakness.
You choose whether you want to accept any points, and the GM will inform you of how many points are available.
You can never get rid of CERTAINTY. It pulsates in the mind and cannot be unlearned.
When CERTAINTY exeeds HOPE you can no longer roll Persevere to avoid losing HOPE. Your character has an episode. Roleplay the anguish and clarity she has gained. Ask the GM for an insight into the horror she is pursuing. Others who are listening to your character run the risk of losing HOPE from this dark intuition.
When all HOPE is lost your character runs wild. If she has no CERTAINTY she may perform one last act of self-destructive heroism, or take flight for parts unknown (and may be taken in by kindly people somewhere down the road).
And example calling and manner of indulging (it's early days!):
The Disgraced Officer
Your line of ancestors is a long one, and there were plenty of stories about valor and horsemanship, conquest and camaraderie. You set out to war as was right and proper, your spirits stirred to a fever pitch by the bugle and the drum. When you came to battle there was no music, only the thunder of cannons and the cawing of carrion crows. There were no comrades, only frightened farm boys fumbling with swords and rifles.
It was when the man next to you had his face torn off by grapeshot you found your resolve. You spurred on your horse and fled the battlefield.
Your cowardice has haunted you since. In your dreams you ancestors spit on you as crows pluck out your eyes. In this village they need brave folk who can save it from half-glimpsed shadows and ogres. Surely no forest fiend can be as horrible as a cannonade.
 |
| Anachronistic, but evocative. Veteran of the Crimean War. |
Starting HOPE: 4
Starting CERTAINTY: 0
Starting Skill: Strike
Indulging: Lying
Abandoning the battlefield was the only sensible thing to do, and it was an act of cowardice. Both these things are true, and they tear your soul apart. To regain HOPE you must lie about your exploits in war to at least one other person. You must continue the deceit that enticed you into uniform.
1: You regain 1 point of HOPE, but gain a point of CERTAINTY as well.
2-7: Regain 1 HOPE.
7-8: Regain 2 HOPE.
10: Regain 1 HOPE for each person listening to your tale.
Choose Three Skills:
Charm
Deceive
Endure
Intimidate
Scholar
Shoot
Strike
Vigilance
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