zodacoo

zodacoo

@zodacoo

tall bitch of history

i draw and sculpt and do gamedev. i have three heads to kiss my girls

log inask
zodacoo
@zodacoo
nowitsabby
@nowitsabby
nowitsabby
@nowitsabby

Introduction to [DARK]

CHARACTERS | CORE MECHANICS 1 | CORE MECHANICS 2 | SKILLS | ADVANCES

What is [DARK]

The [DARK] role-playing game is a set of rules with the goal of telling stories that feature horror, mystery, and deadly, frantic combat. These rules are setting agnostic and meant to be extended to fit whatever world you wish to tell these sorts of stories in.

[DARK] assumes lower powered characters than many other role-playing games might. The players control exceptional individuals, but they cannot survive being stabbed or shot that much more than your average human might.

[DARK] is about investigation into the hidden worlds that endanger us: secret cults, clandestine government experiments, and world ending prophesies. Can there be dungeons? Can there be dragons? Yes, to both, but [DARK] aspires to making getting to them at least as important to the experience as conquering them.

I figured if I want anyone but my partners to care about this I should post some more concrete teasers :P

@zodacoo shared with:
You must log in to comment.

in reply to @nowitsabby's post:

JesTheRed
@JesTheRed

It’s a cool idea. I just… Hmm.

The character fragility is what’s sticking in my mind. Even with my brief second hand experience with Call of Cthulhu, even there characters can take a fair bit of bearing both physically and mentally.

I don’t know if I like the idea of being fragile. That may just be personal preference as my go to in pretty much every game is to be able to take at least a few hits well, if not straight up tanking. Sometimes by necessity in some party comps, but that’s outside of this comment.

I’m interested in seeing more and seeing how this turns out. I’m just not sure it’s for me. Sorry for being a downer here. :(

login to reply
nowitsabby
@nowitsabby

Don't worry, there's way to 'be tanky' and I'm not trying to make combat a failure state. I haven't shared any of the combat rules in yet, but the keys to survivability are 1) not taking the hit in the first place and 2) wearing armor (which reduces damage). There's also a mechanic that essentially translates to 'extra lives' that I'll get to sooner than later, the number of which can be adjusted for different desired tones or difficulties.

What I mean by 'fragile' is that combat shouldn't ever stop being dangerous. In a d20 system, or any system where hp out strips damage, you lose some tension, as it takes more and more hits to bring down a character.

In [DARK] the hope is that you're still on edge when bullets start flying even if it's not a boss

login to reply