Game Principles

A good game has mechanical elements that make people want to play it, and mechanical elements that
keep people coming back for more. A good game also has thematic elements that make the game
intriguing that is, a good game has a unifying theme.
We want flexible game mechanics and an intriguing theme. That is to say, the game mechanics should
not be such that they must be used in a medieval setting, or only work in a sci-fi RPG. However, to
have powerful and interesting mechanics, specialized rules are required. Compromise: there are core
rules that govern how the game is played, similar to the engine in a video game. On top of that, there
are setting rules, which are specialized rules that govern certain settings. It is important that the settings
rules do not conflict, because we want the players to be able to mix-and-match settings. For example,
the sci-fi settings rules do not conflict with the fantasy rules, so the GM, if he so desires, can have a
medieval fantasy game where time-traveling outlaws suddenly arrive.
We want flexibility, but we also want players to spend more time at the table actually playing the game,
rather than crunching numbers. The problem is that number-crunching is required for deep mechanics.
Compromise: the vast majority of the number-crunching occurs during character-building sessions outof-game, and can be done alone, while actual gameplay requires only a minimum.
To minimize the tedium of homework, we use incorporate an element of strategy into character
advancement, so that building one's character becomes a game unto itself.
We want a unifying theme that is consistent in any setting from a modern action movie (d20 Modern)
setting to a medieval fantasy (D&D) setting to a sci-fi setting to an ancient setting, and so on.
I propose a unifying theme of power. The game's fluff and mechanics are both oriented around
the theme of power. We can explore all aspects of power; the lust for increasing power, loss of
power and defeat, negation of the drive for power and asceticism, etc.
Game Mechanics
Every action in this game takes a number of turns to complete; this may be anywhere from multiple
turns to a fraction of a turn. Part of the strategy lies in maximizing the effect of one's actions. If a
character has three possible actions that take of a turn and three possible actions that take of a turn,
then the player has to choose: Two of the turn actions? All three of the turn actions, sacrificing a
quarter of turn to get that specific combination of effects? One turn action and two turn actions?
There are also actions that take 0 turns, equivalent to free actions in 3.5e.
I want a game that does not have PC classes, but nevertheless allows for a consistent theme in building
a character. I propose an interlocking skill system for this. The interlocking skill system works like this:
for any action your character takes (besides basic actions, such as moving and speaking), that action
requires a skill roll; the player rolls a die (a dx stands for a die with some arbitrary number of sides)
and adds their skill ranks to that roll. Players accumulate ranks in a skill through repeated use of that
skill. Each skill has a base learning curve. A skill's base learning curve is the number of times that
that skill must be used in order to gain a new rank. All skills begin with -1 ranks.
The interlocking part comes from the fact that every skill has a list of sibling skills. For any action
that requires a skill roll, the player who makes that action adds the appropriate skill score (call that

score, P). The player also adds the skill score of every skill that is sibling to P.
Additionally, characters can attempt to use skills in which they have no ranks, provided that the skill is
a cousin or sibling of the skill being used. Refer to the skill chart graphic. The circles represent skills;
any two skills connected by a line are siblings. Assume that Sally has 4 ranks in skill nine, and -1 rank
in all the other skills pictured. A skill that is connected to nine by a line is a sibling of nine; for
example, skill seven is a sibling of nine. A skill that is connected to nine through other skills is a
cousin. So, for example, skill eight is a cousin of nine, because it's related to skill seven, which is a
sibling of nine. Refer to the skill chart2 graphic, and you'll see that skill nine is green, since it's the
required skill for the task the character is rolling for. Yellow-green skills are siblings, and yellow skills
are cousins.

1 The process for Sally to roll for a task that requires skill P is as follows:
1.1 If P is unlocked, then Sally rolls a d20 and adds the total ranks for P to her roll, as well
as the total ranks for all siblings of that skill.
1.2 If the skill is locked and has at least one unlocked sibling, then Sally takes the total of
all siblings of P in which she has ranks, adds them, and cuts them in half, rounded down,
and then adds that to her d20 roll.
1.3 If the skill is locked and has at least one unlocked cousin, but no unlocked siblings
then Sally rolls a d20 and subtracts P's base learning curve from her roll.
The fluff justification for this is that sibling skills require very similar proficiencies, while cousin skills
require somewhat similar proficiencies. If skill nine is shooting a pistol, skill six is shooting a machine
gun, and skill three is shooting a grenade launcher, and Sally has 4 ranks in skill nine, then Sally can
shoot a pistol without being particularly bad at it. Her ability to shoot a pistol carries over somewhat to
her ability to shoot a machine gun, although the two tasks are different enough that she only gets a
slight boost from being able to shoot a pistol. Her ability to shoot a pistol carries over to a grenade
launcher just enough that she can do it and have a chance of succeeding, although she'll need a lot of
luck to make it work, especially since a skill at shooting a grenade launcher will most likely have a
high base growth class.
2 The process to gain a skill is to unlock it in one of four ways:
2.1 At character creation, the character gains certain skills. Some are automatic (such as
unarmed attack; everyone begins with a 0 in this), while some are chosen fom a
(forthcoming) list of beginner skills.
2.2 Sibling acquisition is when a character attempts a task using a locked skill that is
sibling to at least one unlocked skill. The player uses the process from 1.2 for this. If the
character succeeds, the new skill is unlocked (increased from -1 rank to 0 ranks).
2.3 Cousin acquisition is when a character attempts a task using a locked skill that is
cousin to at least one unlocked skill. The player uses the process from 1.3 for this. If the
character succeeds twice in a row in one roleplaying session, the cousin skill is unlocked.
2.4 Envelopment is when a character unlocks all siblings of a skill whose base growth
class is equal to or less than its number of siblings. If skill one has skills two, three, and
four as siblings, then unlocking two, three, and four unlocks skill one by envelopment. Note
that cousin acquisition may, but does not necessarily, trigger envelopment: if skill two has
skill one as a sibling and skill three as a sibling, an those are skill two's only siblings, then
cousin-acquisition from skill one to skill three unlocks skill two. However, if two has

siblings besides one and three, then it is not fully enveloped.

There are multiple skill maps, all of which are fully compatible with (although not connected to) one
another. The (provisional, preliminary) list of skill maps is as follows: combat (separate maps for timeperiod-apppopriate weaponry), magic, social. The social skill map begins with several basic skills
unlocked at 0 ranks and an opportunity to assign one to three points, either to acquire new skills or gain
ranks in existing ones. The PCs have from one to three unlocked skills in the combat and magic maps.
More basic skills with lower base learning curves are at the center, while more advanced skills with
higher base learning curves are at the edges. One consequence of this design is that characters begin by
being relatively homogeneous and then individuate as they gain new skills.
Possible additions to these skill maps are knowledge, psychic, technology, and so on.
In addition to base learning curves, skills also have growth classes. The growth class is added to the
base learning curve each time a new rank is achieved. For example, a skill with a base learning curve of
5 and a growth class of 2 would increase from 0 ranks to 1 rank after 5 successful uses. The growth
class would then be added to the learning curve, increasing it to 7. After 7 more successes, the learning
curve increases to 9 and the skill is at 2 ranks. If a player loses track, they can find the current learning
curve of any skill by multiplying the growth class by the number of ranks in the skill and adding that
number to the base learning curve. Skills with a high learning curve and low growth class represent
skills that are difficult to pick up, but easy to master, while a low learning curve and high growth class
represent skills that are easy to pick up but difficult to master.
PCs begin with a base health of 20 points. At 16 points, the character takes a -1 on all skill rolls,
reflecting a rough condition condition. At 8 points, the character takes a -2, reflecting an injured
condition. At 4 points, the character takes a -5, reflecting a desperate condition.
Anything in D&D that would be handled by metamagic, spell lists, concentration checks, and so on, is
handled by skills in this game. Each spell is a skill, and casting a spell under normal conditions is a
difficulty roll equal to the base learning curve of the spell. This means that, once the character has a
number of ranks in the spell equal to the base learning curve (minus 1, since the lowest roll on a d20 is
a 1), the character auto-succeeds on that spell and need not roll under normal conditions. Spells
normally take a full turn, but may be cast at a +5 difficulty to reduce their casting time to half a turn,
and at +10 difficulty to reduce their casting time to a quarter of a turn. Spells in this game can be more
basic or more advanced, as reflected by their learning curve and growth class; in general, however,
most spells will be useful for long stretches of the game, and this is accomplished by having certain
variables (e.g. damage) depend in some way on the number of ranks in the spell, until the spell reaches
its maximum number of ranks. The maximum number of ranks for a spell should be equal to its base
learning curve plus ten, so that a character who has achieved maximum ranks for a spell can cast it,
under normal conditions, in a quarter of a turn, with guaranteed succcess. Bonuses from sibling spells
can cause the player to gain this ability more quickly, but negs from low health or other sources can
quickly overcome this; overkill is thus necessary to ensure guaranteed spellcasting.
The growth class of each spell, as well as modifier benefits from the number of ranks in that spell, must
be carefully calibrated such that, by the time the character is able to auto-succeed, new ranks will come
increasingly slowly, in order to prevent the spell's variables from becoming too powerful. Spells should
be profoundly affected by skill rank, such that damage, duration, range, buff/debuff strength, and so on,
are all affected by the increasing skill ranks; crunching the new stats for each spell should be a
homework problem.

Combat is a similar story, with maneuver skills being tied to weapon categories. This is best illustrated
with an example.
Let there be a long blade category, with skills that include parry, disarm, attack, called critical,