Guides

Guidance on extending the game system with additional sub-systems or custom modules.

The game system is designed to be a generic and universal engine that can be used to support a wide variety of genres, settings and campaign types. To support this the game system was designed to be modular, allowing it to be customized and extended. Options are customization points that adjust parts of the core rules and mechanics that effect basic game play. Extras build and extend on the core game system by combining rules and mechanics together to support performing complex tasks or specific types of situations.

Guides support the goal of how to overlay broader game themes and modalities found in popular genres and adventure categories using the existing core game rules and mechanics, options and extras to avoid having to define entirely new sets of rules.

Extras are used to enhance and extend the core rules and game mechanics to tailor the game to support a wide variety of genres, settings, and campaign types.

• Supporting Settings: If the game is set in a unique world with distinct elements not covered in the core rules, extras can be added to introduce new mechanics or adapt existing ones to fit the setting's theme and atmosphere.

• Special Situations: Extras can be used to add rules and mechanics to match specific types of encounters or situations such as social intrigue, underwater combat, or vehicle chases.

• Porting Games: When adapting content from other roleplaying games, extras can be used to supplement the core rules and mechanics to mimic features from the source game system.

• Unique Abilities: Extras can help represent special powers, magic systems, or other modules that require their own set of rules.

• Choice Lists: Options can be used to constrain freeform elements of the game when necessary to require players to pick from a pre-generated list of choices.

• Homebrew: Extras can be used to capture the specific play style and preferences of a group.

The following extras are included to provide guidance and support a set of game rules and mechanics commonly found in many tabletop role-playing games. These extras include some pre-defined options you can simply choose to include in your own campaigns or serve as an example for how to create your own extras to customize the game system.

• Backgrounds: How to create rules for background elements like species, ancestry, lineage, heritage, and/or race for characters.

• Backstory and Hooks: Tips for highlighting significant elements of a character backstory that can have an impact on the narrative during game play.

• Encumbrance: Methods to track and manage the weight and bulk of items carried by a character.

• Equipment: How to create non-player characters that represent vehicles, vessels and complex equipment.

• Freeform Powers: How to support special powers like magic, psionics, mutations or other supernatural powers.

• Wealth and Capital: Creating game rules related to wealth, capital and resource acquisition.

When crafting new options or extras it is recommended to consider how to leverage the existing rules and mechanics rather than create new ones. This allows the game to be enhanced without increasing complexity.