Driving home tonight I came up with an idea for a game/world for either pen and paper RPG or video games. It’s a little bit off the wall but very similar to a lot of previous ideas I’ve had (Bathos, Gemini, Quipu, Bit Depth, Ubiquity, Refuge). If you have no idea what any of this is or this post confuses you, like always with the internet, you’re welcomed to skip it. That or ask me questsions.
The basic idea:
Quantum + Buddhism + Cyberpunk + “Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.”
Far, far future multiverse game pulling many concepts from nondualistic religion (incl. Buddhism, Hinduism, Taoism, Shintoism, Sufism, Kabbalahism) many modern interpretations of Quantum Mechanics (incl. Many-minds, decoherence, relational, etc), many modern Metaphysics and psychology concepts (incl. Morphic Residence, memes, archetypes), cyberpunk futurism, other rpg games (Unknown Armies, Mage, Rifts, Bathos, D&D, etc), anime (Noein, Chaos Head, etc), video games (Digital Devil Saga, Star Ocean, etc), and movies (Matrix, Existenz, etc), books (Childhood’s End, etc).
World
The “Maintime” (the base setting for the game) is highly post-apocalyptic. Many things that are or were possible still are, but they require too much energy or coherence to pull off or to make it worth it.
In this future, nano technology is ubiquitous in the sense that technology is found in many things – and it’s still called ‘nano’ because the name stuck, but the technology is much ’smaller’. Humankind has also evolved, transcended, and other beings have been met. Belief and Energy are the most important commodities. With enough energy and belief reality can become like clay. However, both are in short supply. Quantum decoherence and entropy are causing the known world’s fabric to crumble. Belief in one’s self is not enough to keep one existing – all things need confirmation in some way from their surroundings. Particles are energy are falling ever towards the heat bath. Similar to the Samvartakalpa. Or similar to Noein’s future world for those who’ve seen it. There are many planes of existance (with infinite side pockets and timelines), and they have names many (though their Buddhist, Kabbalahist, and Greek names are most common) – from planes of Demons and things imagined in nightmares (and so dreamt, they are), to realms of only spiritual energy (Arayashiki / Alayavijnana). The universe is found to have something called “The Recycling” – all things go through a minutae of creation, existance, and destruction and then creation as something else. These ‘Crushing Gears of Time’ advances the concept of time forward and without them there would be no time or movement.
But we’ve found ways around it. Through technology we can codeify the memories and existance patterns of a soul and rebuild them after a recycle to provide full continuity. These is done through external watchers, and is the same way we are able to shift dimensions and time (though into strictly non-re-entrant timelines – no stupid paradoxes pls). Also, see Noein – the Umbillicum (see also Astral Cord, Quantum Entanglement (within a relative quantum mechanics view), Morphic Residence, etc).
Mechanics
What this means in game mechanics terms is that you don’t play a “Character” per se. More like a meme. You spend points in “Archetypes” and “Skills”, which you can carry from existance to existance. This allows a couple types of play:
- Session-based ‘travel’ – Much like a period piece or an episode of Doctor Who, you keep the archetype but create a new character in the setting you are playing in. This can be thought of as either experienced through the umbillicum, logging into a cyberspace world, dreaming, or whatever as best suited by the campaign.
- Jumping – ‘rerolling’ effectively without changing much if any mechanics during a session. This means that death is not as non-trivial as in other games. And the experiences gained from each existance carry over.
- Mindfuck play – Being multiple people/places/times at once, possession, observer reinforcement, observer decoupling, etc
- Racial unity/disparity – As any world can be a period piece, a history, a shared vision, etc, it may be decided that the characters are all human, or all non-human, or it doesn’t matter
- Magic and Technology – Now play nicely together.. or not. Bring your own favorite SoP (Source of Power), but don’t expect that it works the same for all others.
By now you’re asking… how is this different from Rifts / Whitewolf / Planescape / Unknown Armies / insert your favorite game here.
Well, the primary difference is that the ‘real’ (for all intensive purposes) world/character exists in the hyperfuture and that the other worlds and concepts are ‘places’ (you just occupy a place with a new ‘form’ – or craft it based on your original form). The game requires a shared set of belief in the rules and concepts or a will to pretend to believe them (by setting it in a relativist reality, character dogmatism doesn’t really work and is heavily controlled by the rules). So it’s a bit more wishy-washy, or wabi-sabi – take your pick.
The most important thing you should get out of this is that the character concept / mechanics are largely developed up front but do not dictate the setting or the specific avatarization.
I’m going to use ranks similar to Whitewolf / BESM / Hero / etc… but I’m on the fence as to how to base the dice system for diced games (any suggestions out there?). I’m leaning towards dice pools of D6s (like roll 1d6 per rank, etc) – either with a target number or a target number of 4+ values. I’m going to do some statistics math on it all – tough to find the right medium between granularity and randomness, but I want this to be more random than most of my games based on BESM (2D6 + mod). Because this is a more random world concept, and because for pure irony – God does not play dice.
Stats
The primary stats are:
- Karma – your XP: can be spent on things (many things) – the game’s main currency
- Coherence – your ‘health’ for all intensive purposes (lots of things modify this however – think of it more like the strength of your existance in that form)
- Energy – soul power / magic points / whatever – carries over from form to form
These are all “pools” (there are skills out there that draw from any of them). Karma, Coherence and Energy have ‘terminal’ points (i.e. maximum) after which the benefit of adding to them cannot be sustained. Yes, even Karma – this means you need to spend it or lose it (this prevents some ridiculous karma battery tactics). To increase the Terminals, you will generally need Archetypes.
Archetypes
Then you have ranks in zero or more Archetypes. Archetypes are sort of like a cross between class / job / and primary attributes (strength, manipulation, body/mind/soul, etc). Instead of having 2 points in Manipulation, you have 2 ranks in The Trickster. Mechanically, they are passive skills and roll-check systems – and new ones can be added on the fly. On a recycle, Archetype points can be shifted slightly based on a number of factors with the use of a couple skills if you have them. Also note they are totally optional unlike other games (a ‘jack of all types’ hasn’t committed himself to any particular Archetype but this means that they aren’t benefitting from any buffs or suffering any hindrances of any archetype). And I might allow negative points in this but I’m on the fence (if so they would probably be very specific and not zero-sum negatives).
Some example archetypes:
- Warrior (The Chariot) – can temporarily increase Coherence and Terminal Coherence based on the number of combatants/adversaries that can perceive you
- Scientist (Justice) – increased ability to filter assaults (disbelieve reality shifts directed at the scientist)
- Magician (The Magician) – can draw more energy per rank
- Guardian (Strength) – permanent increase in Terminal Coherence through self-belief
- Assassin (The Hanged Man) – extra rank towards all void attacks, decreased Terminal Coherence
Skills
Skills exist with ranks and have prerequisites (see also WhiteWolf, BESM, etc). Skills have a number of ‘variables’ which are like talents. When you use a skill you may edit the variables but this edits this cost (probably via a power-of-two). However, you can improve a variable permanently and this becomes your new starting point.
Also thoughts: possible damage types (Chaos, Void, Form) or (Mind, Soul, Body)
Some example skills:
- Jump – reincarnate as a new being (variables: distance control-, dukkha- (unease after), form control+)
- Counter Shift – prevents a reality shift from occuring
- Sunyata – Voids a control, sustained, shift or effect (disenchant basically)
- Support – Reinforce what someone else is attempting (backing them up with your ranks)
- Observe – Heal ability – increase coherence on a target other than yourself
- Null – A void attack directed at a single target (does direct damage)
Finally a random notepad of sects/divisions/glossary terms:
- Architects: Form (being) follows Function (purpose) – they call the self the Form
- Buddhists: Seek release from the recycling
- Weavers: Try to connect all things to form utopia of oneness and control
- Neuros: Reprogram thought patterns, nano augmentation
- Divers: Explore time and space for fun and profit
- Believers: Summon a deity to empower them
- Summoners: Summon a being for them to empower
- Jumpers: Master the art of jumping
- Illusionists: Alter the beliefs of others
- Collectors: Subjugate others to affirm themselves
- Recyclers: Executioners (bring early recycle)
- Ghosts: Nano cluster existances – very hard to kill
- Clones: Automated jump technology – typically into another machine or constructed shell
- Nightmares: Quantum magic accidents, tapping the subconscious
- Sleepwalking: Walking another plane by dreaming yourself there