What is Old, is New Again!

I'd be curious to know if there's a single person in the universe who has ever created a tabletop RPG that didn't find the creation of a magic system as the most challenging chapter in their game. I wouldn't be surprised, as creating rules for something that doesn't actually exist is challenging, to say the least. If I had decided to make magic "NPC only", this game would have been finished 2 years ago.

All of that being said, the most difficult part of this journey has also been the most fun I've had in making this game. From the beginning, making this game has always adopted what I like to call, "The Goldilocks Method" to game design. The first attempt was "too light". The second attempt was, "too heavy". I'm hopeful that this 3rd attempt is "juuuust right".

To be perfectly honest, this is a redesign of the first magic system I put together. While functional, it was bland and uninspiring. What I've tried to do this time around was to inject more flavor and reinforce the Sword & Sorcery genre while keeping the system simple and intuitive to use.

This magic system is based on one of the sample magic systems in the original Fate RPG, called the "Door to Shadow" system. It's a free-form system, where you simply run through a list of several questions to determine the spell's difficulty, cost and parameters. I added a number of Sword & Sorcery elements around the system and tweaked the modifiers to create what I believe will be the magic system for the game.

I know that I could have saved myself a lot of time, trouble and stress by simply creating a list-based magic system, but for this game, that simply wouldn't do. The rest of the game is built with the intention of putting most of the "heavy lifting" on the GM's shoulders, freeing up the players to focus more on description and roleplaying. I believe that a free-form magic system helps maintain that design goal.

Here are the highlights of the system.

• Spell default is Poor [-2]
• Spell cost comes in the way of Wounds to the caster:
• Poor [-2] to Fair [0] Spells = Minor Wound
• Good [+1] to Superb [+3] Spells = Serious Wound
• Legendary [+4] or higher Spells = Critical Wound
• Spell Questions
• Casting time (default is 1 minute0
• Scope, or area (default is "nothing")
• Number of targets (default is 1)
• Special effects (wounding, incapacitating, transformative, "something from nothing")
• Duration (default is 1 Exchange)
• How will spell affect story?
• Spell Requirements (can mitigate difficulty)
• components
• focus items
• special timing
• special location
• animal or human sacrifice
• research or preparation

For some of the flavor elements, there are a few "Laws of Magic" to encourage the Sword & Sorcery genre.

"Success Begets Success" - When a spellcaster is successful with a spell, their next spell will get a bonus.

"Magical Energy is Impermanent" - When a spellcaster dies, all of their spells dissipate, and any magical items they have created turn to dust or shatter into a million pieces.

"Magic, Like the Universe, Demands Balance" - Whenever the caster has a major failure, the spell backfires in the worst possible way.

"Magic Protects Itself" - While not sentient, magic has some sentient-like behaviors.  Once per day, if the caster is wounded and in fear of their own demise, they can create a defensive blast of magical energy that affects everyone in the same Zone as the caster.

"The Spellcaster's Soul" - Those who spend their lives unlocking the secrets of magical energy bond with that magical energy.  This means that any caster who meets the gaze of another caster or magical being, they can instantly recognize them as a user of magic.  The caster may also gaze into the soul of another caster or magical being to try and discover the true nature of their sorcery.

I am very anxious to test this system and finalize the magic system, once and for all!

The Final Draft is Nearly Complete!

With only a couple of chapters to go, I can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel!  The latest revision has definitely been the most challenging.  In addition to many of the revisions in the rules from play testing, I'm also trying to edit things down in order to be as concise as possible.

I also have more artwork as well, so I'm very excited about that!

One last update; I've begun pre-production planning on a series of videos that will teach new players how to play Blood, Sweat & Steel.  In addition to the tutorials, I'm hoping my face-to-face group will volunteer to provide some "actual play" videos as well!

Here's a laundry list of the most recent revisions:

• Character Templates have been reduced from 3 to 2.  Instead of having 3 character templates (Whelp, Adventurer & Legend), there are now 2 (One-Shot & Campaign).  This should make character creation a bit easier, and I think it makes more sense to have the templates apply to the style of the game being played, rather than the character's relative "power".
• Skills have been streamlined.  There are now just 18 Skills, which can all be further detailed by adding Talents.  Here is the Skill List:
• Athletics
• Contacts
• Craft
• Cunning
• Fists
• Horsemanship
• Insight
• Intimidate
• Investigate
• Lore
• Magic
• Melee Weapons
• Provoke
• Ranged Weapons
• Rapport
• Stealth
• Survival
• Thieving
• Using Boons/Flaws instead of Qualities.  I was really hoping that Qualities would have "stuck", but the overwhelming result of play testing gave the nod to Boons/Flaws instead.  While I think most players appreciated the elegance and duality of Qualities, Boons/Flaws are straightforward, which I believe makes them easier to use in play.  I think they are easier for GM's as well as Players.
• An optional Alternating Exchange combat system has been added.  It's based on a brilliant approach I found on an RPG.net discussion.  It's a simple, but intuitive system that adds a level of strategy to the game that I think many players will find enjoyable.  This system adds a new Attribute, called Quickness.  Quickness is the sum of the Agility, Awareness and Brains Attributes.  In this system, everyone who wishes to act in a given Exchange will have the opportunity to do so.   Everyone who wishes to do something in a given Exchange makes a Quickness Check, which is (Quickness + Skill + Fudge roll).  Everyone is sorted from slowest to quickest, so the slowest get to try and act first.  If no quicker combatants wish to interrupt the slower combatant, their action is resolved. However, any quicker combatant can "interrupt" a slower combatant's turn and take their turn first.  This gives quicker combatants a strategic advantage.  GM's can use this system to run a more "traditional" game by having everyone make a Quickness check at the start, as it's pretty much an initiative roll.  You can also use it as a hybrid system, after you've broken the scene up into groups.
• The Magic System has been streamlined.  While it still uses the 4x5 approach, the parameters have been simplified to make it easier to use the system.  There is still some play testing to do to the system to make sure that there is a distinction between Spells and Rituals, and that the system adds to the game without overpowering it.
• I spent a good portion of the book explaining my "5 D's" approach to roleplaying.  It's a simple way to organize the flow of the game.  The "5 D's" are:
• Describe Intent - The player describes what their character intends to do.  The GM should encourage the player to speak from the character's point of view, and not worry about using game stats or game mechanics in their description. (Player: "I've had enough of this monster's taunting!  I'm going to charge the beast with my axe, and try to separate its head from its body!")
• Determine Resolution - Now that the GM knows what the character wants to do, it's time to figure out how to resolve the action.  Is it a Check or a Challenge?  Are there any Conditions that need to be applied?  This is where the GM takes everything into consideration, to determine the difficulty of succeeding with the action, what, if anything is opposing it, and any other Conditions that may affect the outcome.  (GM: "Okay!  You'll be using your Melee Weapons Skill, plus any Talents that apply.  Don't forget that you're moving 1 Zone away, so you'll get a -1 to your Action.  The monster will be trying to attack you with its claws.")
• Dice - Once you know what the opposing sides want to do, and you have added all relevant modifiers, it's time to throw the dice to find out who won their Action, and what happened! (GM: "Alright, the monster has a Fair [0] Skill, and it rolls Good [+1], for a Total of Good [+1].  You have Great [+2] Skill with your axe, but you are charging into another Zone, so that will lower your Skill to Good [+1].  You Rolled Great [+2], for a Superb [+3] Total.")
• Determine Results- Once everyone has calculated their Actions and rolled their dice, it's time for the GM to see who won their Action, and what happened. ( GM, to the Player: "The Monster has a Good [+1] Total, and you have a Superb [+3] Total, which means you have won your Action with 2 Successes.  Since you're attacking the monster, that is 2 points of Harm, which is a Minor Wound.  The monster will be at a -1 to its Action on the next Exchange.")
• Describe Outcome -  Both sides have acted, and one side has won.  The winner now knows their relative degree of success, so it's time for them to describe their Action (The winner of the Action always describes the Exchange). (Player: "I charge the beast, unleashing my war cry, axe held high.  The monster tries to pummel me into the ground with one of its massive paws, but I dive out of the way, rolling directly under the beast, slashing its front leg and positioning myself directly beneath it!"
• The character development chapter has also been updated.  The system is largely based on the Fudge objective character development system.  Progression is slower than many games, due to Fudge's granularity, but there are many ways in which a player can make changes to their character over time.
• I'm adding 2 new chapters; "Player Tips" and a "GM Tips".  I want to provide some tips on getting the most out of the game, and I also want to include some tips to give it that Sword & Sorcery "feel".  There are a lot of different playing styles out there, so these chapters serve as a guide to play.  Some groups will find the tips useful, and I'm hoping that even for those who don't find them useful, it will stoke their creativity to help define their own approach to the game.

I'm hoping to have all of this finished in the next couple of weeks, but based on progress so far, I'm sure it will take a bit longer.