Trying Something Different

These are some of the goals for the DXD game engine:

Encourage social narrative features. 

Everything of the character description is available for a +1 bonus for nearly every social situation. If a character has a simple descriptor stating "Curious", then when the player establishes the narrative by stating something like "... because I'm curious, I will look around the room to see if I find anything." The GM could then respond either with "you find something | nothing", or allow a DM +1 for a Search test.

1. Characters are given a heritage group including their species, ancestral lineage, childhood environ, social strata, social rank, culture, and worship. These any many more are "cues & hooks" which provide the players and GMs controlling character ways to interact with others. In the world of Sarna Len, two characters with something in common are going to behave differently than those without commonality, and each could provide DM +1 for social interaction.

2. Everything on the character description can be leveraged for experience points. The player establishing the descriptor "Curious" will achieve some experience points [ XP ] for the character.

3. Characters are also able to establish Emotional Commitment to another character, usually an NPC, to derive additional dice modifiers [ DMs ] for various Tests if it can be narratively established as relevant. If the NPC fulfilling the role of "my dear beloved" is injured, is at risk of harm, or other social event, the player can decide to narratively respond that the relevant event is important and receive DMs according to the degree of importance. This provides the short-term bonus DMs, but also creates a history associated with that NPC regarding that level of commitment. As a leverage for the NPC, the GM, and perhaps even the player-character.

4. Characters can learn of Kompromat against NPCs and use them similar to Emotional Commitment, but for social leverage against their intended targets. 

Magic Crafting

This is hard to achieve in any game system, but DXD attempts to provide the following by allowing small adjustments to existing elements such as spells, concoctions, and items (weapons, armor, and equipment).

1. Tailoring spells

2. Tailoring concoctions

3. Tailoring weapons, armor, and equipment

Skills and Traits Abundance

Traits are keywords with mini-rules which apply to one or more context with other keywords such as Psychology, Combat, or Social. 

Skills are traits which can be improved. Some traits are Virtuosities, which are uncanny or reality-breaking. Some of these are also skills. The relatively common ability to use magic to cast spells is a Virtuosity.

Characters begin with 20 to 30 skills and traits just from their heritage group. They'll add 10 to 20 more skills, and some traits, from their trade and profession.  Finally, they'll be able to further tailor their character's with a few more skills, or improve those skills they've already been assigned. This provides for a strong sense of the capabilities of each character, and provides for uniquely defined characters. 

Here are the most important files. Downloads.

The DXD rules and setting are within the Sarna Len RPG file. The Character Record Sheet [ CRS ] is its own file. And sample characters, taken via screenshot from Tabletop Simulator, are in another file. There's a bunch more.

See these downloads at https://sites.google.com/site/sarnalen/downloads

Here are some maps.

These are of the major regions upon Sondgara, the Overland of Sarna Len where a character will normally begin their journey. They show the major Empires which are run from huge metropolises known as "city-states". Each city-state is huge and walled with a protected area within containing towns and villages. City-states all began as conurbations thousands of years ago where cities and towns grew large enough to grow into each other. In the convention of the times, each city-state is named Citystate Something such as Citystate Qualg or Citystate Boral. 

At the palaces of each city-state there usually will be a regent known as an autarch or monarch. These persons rule with an iron-fist and dislike uprisings. They are aided by their vassal states which are smaller kingdoms and cities nearby. Furthermore, there are living "gods" roaming the surface of the Overland interfering with the daily lives of all citizens. These Deities, as they are named, have fickle personalities and seek favor and worship where they go. They are more than happy to burn down a town or a country side to keep worshippers and non-believers in line. What holds them back are other Deities and the powerful wizards who go against them.

Connecting each settlement, be it a town, city, metropolis or city-state, are the highways. On the maps below each hexagon measures 24-miles across flat-side to flat-side. This is a "Day hex" and how far a person under ideal conditions can walk in a single day, allowing about 12 hours of rest and sleep. The large red lines connect from the city-states into smaller cities and towns. They are multi-tiered, patrolled highways made of cement, brick, and cobblestone. Along their path are numerous guard towers, keeps, and holds for weary travelers and military patrols. The thinner red lines connect from the major highways into towns and eventually villages or hamlets. Not shown are the lesser dirt roads which connect like spider webs between the smaller communities.

The yellow dotted lines represent the unofficial borders of each kingdom or empire. These are always changing and the visual information shown here is about a thousand years old. These maps, like many others, in-game, are stored at the various vast libraries at the center of each Citystate under the control of the Cartographer's Guild.

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