Silence is Golden

I have not been idle in my work on 214. Silence does not mean idleness. If anything, silence means doing more work. Neither angels nor game mechanics can summon themselves into existence without assistance…

I have been pondering on the core principles – and therein the core mechanical tricks – of the system.

I do not want to inhibit character success.

I also want to encourage a sense of team and an interest in the characters. The Dee Sanction, for example, is firmly about the people who have been faced with the choice between serving the Crown or rotting away in a cell.

So, all characters have (about) eight particular skills, areas of lore, or otherwise snippets of expertise. Outside of these, they tend to suck. Not ultra-bad, but roughly a 17 in 20 chance of failure bad. Sort of sucky bad.

However, I would rather they move forward with a ‘Yes, but…’ than not. Onward to fun, right?

Not to say that certain collateral damage might accrue and members of the team might die horribly. However, it should probably be the die horribly that reeks of either heroism or crass and uninhibited stupidity.

If you have all the warning signs that the next encounter will result in agonizing death, to go on must mean you’re either a glory seeker or a fool. Obviously, I will allow players of either character narrate the final moments of their beloved creation.

On matters of the core rules of the game, I have started working on a rough draft with every intention of posting it up here somewhere. Anyone interested can then give the game a try and hopefully give me some feedback.

I would hope that anything I post here will have rules and an adventure, so you can both give the game a go and see where I think it should be going thematically.