A&R

[SomeGuyFr]

Hello all, I'm new here and not sure how to do this. But I'm going to run a homebrew fantasy TTRPG campaign named A&R! I only need 1 or 2 more people and heard this might be a good place to post. Here's the hook for the campaign:

A&R - “A World Where There is Completion In The Incomplete.”

 

The world remembers everything.

Not in stories or scriptures, but in the bones of the earth, the rust of a sword, the breath of a dying word.

 

Every person is born with a fragment of meaning, either as an A, who can speak reality into motion through living Word.

Or an R, who bears the echoes of those Words through Relics.

 

To hold a Word is to change reality.

To bear a Relic is to carry the will of the dead.

To live between them is to risk both destruction and transcendence.

 

Centuries of creation, death, and remembrance have reshaped the world beyond recognition.

Forests hum with old syllables. Seas reflect forgotten names.

Even the people and animals have begun to change, their bodies marked by generations of inherited meaning.

 

Four civilizations endure in this fragile balance between what is spoken and what is left unsaid

 

The Funa: Nomads who live in rhythm with the land, where Words are sacred and Relics are buried with their dead.

 

Modesta: Builders of cities and systems, a place where everyone is something... a tool for progress.

 

The Palvanari: An ancient empire of order and artistry, ruled by The Vanti, whose Words shape both law and legacy.

 

The Luthiel: Silent ascetics in hidden wintered ruins, who seek transcendence not through power, but through stillness.

 

Each holds a piece of the world’s truth.

Each believes their way brings Completion.

 

But in a world where every act of meaning reshapes what is real, can the world ever truly be whole?

Or is wholeness itself an illusion, found only in what’s left unfinished?

 

This is the heart of A&R.

A world of Words and Relics.

A world that endures in fragments.

 

A World Where There is Completion In The Incomplete.

 

[DreamsnThings]

Sounds like a solid idea for a setting/campaign!

What system is this going to be in? (Dnd, pathfinder, one of the powered by the apocalypse systems, etc?)

Im interested in hearing more

[SomeGuyFr]

1 hour ago, DreamsnThings said:

Sounds like a solid idea for a setting/campaign!

What system is this going to be in? (Dnd, pathfinder, one of the powered by the apocalypse systems, etc?)

Im interested in hearing more

It's a homebrew system actually. But it does take mostly from D&D 5e.

[DreamsnThings]

ah o.o well it being a homebrew system that will be interesting to say the least!...

without knowing anything else im not sure what to say... but it seems neat!

[IsabellaRose]

That's an interesting game world concept. 

Being me, I have questions. Please don't take them as any kind of attack or confrontation. I'm curious and might take things a bit too far sometimes. Here they are:

What experience is your system trying to create? How crunchy is it? How far from the "feel" of D&D is it? What are the biggest differences from 5e? Is it a class/level system, or do characters improve through some other mechanic? How do social conflicts work? Since you're running it here, I assume (possibly incorrectly?) that there's some sort of lewd or ecchi content/mechanics... is that the case? Is there a written rules document? Has it been playtested? I love trying new systems, I just like knowing whether I’m stepping into a polished game or helping refine something experimental. 

Depending on your answers, there may or may not be follow-up questions. 

[SomeGuyFr]

8 minutes ago, IsabellaRose said:

That's an interesting game world concept. 

Being me, I have questions. Please don't take them as any kind of attack or confrontation. I'm curious and might take things a bit too far sometimes. Here they are:

What experience is your system trying to create? How crunchy is it? How far from the "feel" of D&D is it? What are the biggest differences from 5e? Is it a class/level system, or do characters improve through some other mechanic? How do social conflicts work? Since you're running it here, I assume (possibly incorrectly?) that there's some sort of lewd or ecchi content/mechanics... is that the case? Is there a written rules document? Has it been playtested? I love trying new systems, I just like knowing whether I’m stepping into a polished game or helping refine something experimental. 

Depending on your answers, there may or may not be follow-up questions. 

1. Whenever I make a system for a campaign (I've made a couple), I try to make it fit the campaign's theme or essence, or at the very least that's what my past few campaigns systems have tried to accomplish. For this one, I would say the experience is to do the campaigns motto, so finding a level of completeness when there's more to accomplish.

2. I'm a bit confused what you mean by "crunchy". 

3. Well, it has AC, some of the abilities will be formated in a Spell like style, different races have different traits, there's alignment, action types are the same with the exception of reactions which are used differently. The stats are derived from D&D 5e also and there are criticals.

4. The biggest differences are reactions, defense, and the lack of skills. And there aren't any classes or d20s, it runs off of 2d10s along with the stat and any other bonuses.

5. Well there isn't any improvement stat wise, at least through any level or milestone mechanic. "Improvement" would mostly come from the character learning more about what they have and obtaining other Relics (for Rs) or Words (for As). While stats and rolls matter, it's how you choose to use what you have that really matters.

6. I run social conflicts like in all of my campaigns, using charisma (I believe it's Voice in this camp) just influences their decision. The influence is based on the "defending" and "attacking" roll, so if the defender rolls a 4 and the attacker a 22, then it would heavily influence their decision. But if it goes against their core beliefs or is something they would never do, then they aren't obligated to do anything. You don't even really need to use a roll, I'll only require it if the NPC needs it to be rolled against them, even then depending on the dialogue I give players boosts. And I'll rarely, if ever, use charisma on a player as an NPC unless the player themselves requests it.

7. I was actually planning on running it on Minimal Roleplay (unfortunately). There aren't lewd or NSFW elements inherently in the campaign, but I know the audience I'm attracting and I don't mind accommodating for them if that's what they want. (One of the few good things about Minimal Roleplay is that it has direct character messages.)

8. There isn't a document per say, but I have most of the core rules written down in the scenario section of Minimal Roleplay in the campaign. I find it that players don't always want to read and usually just want something to reference. And not everything is written down because some of the mechanics I plan on introducing in players' individual session 0s.

9. It has been trial ran. But if I do find something that the players don't like I try to change it so everyone can enjoy.

If you have any other questions, I'm sure I have more answers.

1 hour ago, DreamsnThings said:

ah o.o well it being a homebrew system that will be interesting to say the least!...

without knowing anything else im not sure what to say... but it seems neat!

I probably should've given you more than just saying that it's a homebrew system, that's my apologies. I was a bit busy at the time. I did answer some questions from IsabellaRose though, if that may help. If you're interested, I guess just DM me (I don't know if they have that here) about whether you'd want to be an A or R, and what Nation you're interested in. Obviously any questions as well and whenever you have time we can work on a backstory if you don't have one in mind.

[IsabellaRose]

Wow! That was quite the thorough response. Thank you! I usually get a lot less detail. This at least reassures me that you've put some thought into this. 

12 hours ago, SomeGuyFr said:

I'm a bit confused what you mean by "crunchy". 

A game would be "crunchy" if it has (like D&D) a lot of modifiers, very complex/detailed rules and subsystems, and generally prioritizes simulation over narrative flow. Some of the crunchiest games I've played were GURPS, old school AD&D and even D&D 3.5, Shadowrun, Pathfinder, Burning Wheel, and Mutants & Masterminds. D&D 5e is still pretty crunchy, but not as much as earlier versions.

Compare those to rules-light systems that are more narrative-driven like PbtA games, Fate, Fiasco, Ten Candles, and even stuff as minimalist as Honey Heist or Everyone is John.

Based on your description, I'm guessing your system leans more into crunch that into rules-light territory.

- - - 

I'm curious why you make a new system for each campaign. That seems like a lot of work. Don't get me wrong, I sort of do the same thing if I'm using Cortex, Fate, or even one of the older, crunchier systems like GURPS. But those are mostly modular systems with different bits you can add and use depending on the world you're playing in. D&D 5e is pretty fixed in its class/level/combat mechanics, so I would assume a system modded from it would also similarly be pretty well established in its rules. 

I'd love to see your resolution mechanics so I could get an idea of how it plays out. It sounds like you kept the parts of 5e combat you liked and modded some stuff you didn't like. The 2d10+stat reminds me of Kult which uses a similar mechanic but is PbtA based, and it sounds like your social conflicts are run pretty similar to D&D and other combat-heavy games. I'm wondering about the lack of classes, levels, milestones, and advancement. Do characters start out at hero capability or are they still like Level 1 shleps and need to collect Relics to be capable?

 

Anyways, feel free to ignore my "too many questions" self, and thank you for taking the time to reply with so much detail!

[SomeGuyFr]

18 minutes ago, IsabellaRose said:

Wow! That was quite the thorough response. Thank you! I usually get a lot less detail. This at least reassures me that you've put some thought into this. 

A game would be "crunchy" if it has (like D&D) a lot of modifiers, very complex/detailed rules and subsystems, and generally prioritizes simulation over narrative flow. Some of the crunchiest games I've played were GURPS, old school AD&D and even D&D 3.5, Shadowrun, Pathfinder, Burning Wheel, and Mutants & Masterminds. D&D 5e is still pretty crunchy, but not as much as earlier versions.

Compare those to rules-light systems that are more narrative-driven like PbtA games, Fate, Fiasco, Ten Candles, and even stuff as minimalist as Honey Heist or Everyone is John.

Based on your description, I'm guessing your system leans more into crunch that into rules-light territory.

- - - 

I'm curious why you make a new system for each campaign. That seems like a lot of work. Don't get me wrong, I sort of do the same thing if I'm using Cortex, Fate, or even one of the older, crunchier systems like GURPS. But those are mostly modular systems with different bits you can add and use depending on the world you're playing in. D&D 5e is pretty fixed in its class/level/combat mechanics, so I would assume a system modded from it would also similarly be pretty well established in its rules. 

I'd love to see your resolution mechanics so I could get an idea of how it plays out. It sounds like you kept the parts of 5e combat you liked and modded some stuff you didn't like. The 2d10+stat reminds me of Kult which uses a similar mechanic but is PbtA based, and it sounds like your social conflicts are run pretty similar to D&D and other combat-heavy games. I'm wondering about the lack of classes, levels, milestones, and advancement. Do characters start out at hero capability or are they still like Level 1 shleps and need to collect Relics to be capable?

 

Anyways, feel free to ignore my "too many questions" self, and thank you for taking the time to reply with so much detail!

No problem, I don't mind answering questions at all. It's sorta something I expect since I don't run traditional systems. 

If that's what crunchy means then I'd say so, yeah. It has a decent bit of stuff, but it's not really complicated either. Just a bit unorthodox is all.

Well it started back in 2021, I think? When I ran my first campaign. I wasn't comfortable with running a D&D 5e campaign because I still was learning about it through playing with friends and I felt like it would make for a poor time. So I decided to make my own from scratch, incorporate things from other campaigns I've played that I liked, but still keep certain D&D aspects because my first players were my friends and I didn't want them to be completely confused. From there, depending on the campaign, I kept some of the core functions like dodge, block, counter, etc. and removed others like AC, or added some things to replace levels/milestones (this just something I did recently and only once with an MHA themed campaign), all really to make it feel like a different world... Or because I like to make game system, probably both.

I chose 2d10 for this campaign because there's this mechanic called "Echoes", which happen on a 10 or 1. While getting a singular 1 of 10 won't do much, and will just be minor narrative or combat related effects (since I feel like a 10% chance to mess up stuff is a bit too high), getting a double 10 or double 1 is where things become "critical". I don't believe I made them to be autohits in the sense that the attack won't miss, but they will have a great impact on what the character wanted to do and the world itself. Well, unless they're just attacking normally, then it'll be an autohit, double damage, complete miss, or misfire.

I would say hero capacity depends on their stats (2 sets of 6d10, and drop the lowest stat, with an optional sewer slide roll: a final set that discards the other rolls for ta chance to get something better) and their words/relics, but mostly the latter. Rarely anyone's stat will be over a 10, which is the defined cap, and the in-world average stat is a 3-4, representing below average and average respectively. With every point above that signifying another level of quality/proficiency in that skill. This can be offset with better words, relics that someone is really attuned with, or just creativity. I wanted to make it so stats aren't the end all be all, since I know someone will likely roll piss on their stats.

Yeah, basically the only shlep part of their character would probably be them figuring out how to work their relics and how to use their words. And some of the other mechanics too.

[IsabellaRose]

Interesting. I like the double 10/double 1 mechanic. I'm always into anything that has that once in a while crit roll feel. Makes for fun gameplay around the table.

Out of curiosity, have you played many other game systems than D&D? Depending on the feel you're going for I could imagine something like Fabula Ultima working pretty well. Or maybe even Cypher system, which might fit your relics pretty well. Personally, I had to leave the old d20 systems behind because they just didn't scratch the roleplay itch I had. I moved away from simulationist games toward games where the mechanics engaged with the narrative instead of with the physics of the world. But that's just me, and it's definitely not for everyone. 

If you don't mind someone who asks too many questions, I might be interested in trying out this game, depending on post frequency requirements and whatnot.

[SomeGuyFr]

17 minutes ago, IsabellaRose said:

Interesting. I like the double 10/double 1 mechanic. I'm always into anything that has that once in a while crit roll feel. Makes for fun gameplay around the table.

Out of curiosity, have you played many other game systems than D&D? Depending on the feel you're going for I could imagine something like Fabula Ultima working pretty well. Or maybe even Cypher system, which might fit your relics pretty well. Personally, I had to leave the old d20 systems behind because they just didn't scratch the roleplay itch I had. I moved away from simulationist games toward games where the mechanics engaged with the narrative instead of with the physics of the world. But that's just me, and it's definitely not for everyone. 

If you don't mind someone who asks too many questions, I might be interested in trying out this game, depending on post frequency requirements and whatnot.

Besides D&D and variants of it, I've played Cyberpunk Red and the simplified and advanced version of Fate system. I think I've played one other but I can't remember the name. Then there's other homebrew systems my friends have made, but I'm not sure how much that counts. 

I don't mind any questions, I encourage them. I'd rather my players not be confused, lol. Usually I run off sessions when players are available, but for the start or at least a decent portion of the camp, players will be with themselves and NPC(s) or someone who's in the same Nation, so it'll be a post when you can type of thing.

Also, I might look into the Cypher system. Thank you for that! If you want to join, which Nation were you interested in and were you interested in being an A or R?