Unreleased Draft from [3-18-17]: Developing rapid synopsis system

One of my private goals this year is to develop a random synopsis tool. This could be used to create story ideas as well as adventure quest seeds.

The need comes from both writing and adventure creating perspectives.

The Character Generator that I made is part of this system. However, I am trying to retool my ABS12 Story Engine to present more story possibilities.

That way I come up with a random synopsis pieces that may present something like.

Keywords generated: Investigator, metamorphose, internal conflict, society, war

A young inquisitive man goes through a metamorphosis in the hellish battlefields of Armageddon. 

So, I kind of know how I want it to work. I just need to actually make the pieces to produce the breadth of results that I want, yet fits my current die roll limits.

[Notes to this previously unreleased draft: This longer 2nd post last updated the same day as the prior post sketches out in further detail of what the structured sentence was hoping to help create. Grammar fuel has been a massive expansion of this initial concept, which I admit now reaches further than I thought back then. I imagined the 144 tools back then, which is referred to as "my current die roll limits," as the created main vehicle for helping to create such a synopsis, but back then also wished for something more massive, open world, and flexible. If you have inferred this because of my use of the words "die roll limits" then you are correct.

Currently, I may have created an even more ambitious goal than the Grammar Fuel series, which I don't know if it will ever be created beyond a few notes and experiments that I have here or there. Sometimes I make new goals after creating something, if doing so still interests me.]

JAGS: Difficulty Modifiers in more common language

JAGS is a free downloadable universal role-playing game found at http://mchacon8.wixsite.com/jagsrpg. It also can be purchased in book form.

Test played Reviews: JAGS Revised
JAGS: NPC list & skills
JAGS: Creating wild west creatures
JAGS: A) OGL 5e SRD conversion to JAGS
JAGS: first batch of directly converted wild west creatures
JAGS melee reach
JAGS: Difficulty Modifiers in more common language

JAGS wild west bestiary

Brown Bear

Mountain Lion, Cougar, Puma

For JAGS, on p 17 in the JAGS Revised edition, there is a small amount of guidance for picking difficulties to modify skills and attributes during checks.

Using a mixture of different difficulty charts, this is my attempt to fill in a little more detailed gradual list of adjectives to describe difficulty. I take a little from p. 17, GURPS 4e, 3.5 edition, and even 5e to blend it together to form this list.

Difficulty Description	modifier
Impossible
Nearly Impossible	-10
	-9
Dangerous	-8
Heroic	-7
Extremely Difficult, Formidable, Very Hard	-6
Challenging	-5
Difficult, Tough, Hard	-4
	-3
Very Unfavorable	-2
Unfavorable	-1
Average, Medium	0
Favorable	1
Very Favorable	2
	3
Easy, Simple	4
	5
Very Easy	6
	7
Trivial	8
	9
Nearly Automatic	10

I'm going to try this list out and see how it performs.

ABS12: Changing powers

All the changes from this page will be added to the complete master game page at A Basic System 12 (ABS12).

ABS12: Powers & Magic revisted

In the last post I presented an optional powers system structure that isn't fully developed or tested. It was just my quick notes.

I'll use that Magic User from the last playtest - Madi vs the giant rat.

The magic user is PL1.

Species

Life

Spd

Def

Def Type

BP

Damage

D Type

Mag

Sc/Tc

BP

Verb

Adj/Adv

BP

Verb

Adj/Adv

Cost

Magic User

2

2

3

Cloth

2

1d12/6

Staff

4

5

Fireball S

1d12/2

3

Net S

3

15

Fireball vs Adjective Verb Noun

Instead of the 5 Fireball spell that does 1d12/2 damage, under the test system it might be 5 power of the verb power Destroy and 5 of the noun power of Fire, combined to be called Greater Destroy Fire with the same damage of 1d12/2 which goes at normal spell casting distance. Destroy and Fire would be two separate verb skills, when combined create a manifested power.

Changing Verbs + Fire

Other verb power verb skills could then combine with fire. Covert Fire might be the ability to hide in flames, or blend into flames. Reveal Fire might let a character sense where fires are located within a certain range.Travel Fire might let a character walk through fire or move as a ball of fire through the air, if they also have air noun powers.

Two Manifestation Aspects

Also in that last chart I added stuff like armor, size, and duration. Maybe powers can manifest in two chosen ways. In the fireball's case, it is in range and damage.

Flexible Two Manisfestations

Maybe the same power can manifest using two other aspects from the five: scale of damage/heal, range, duration, armor, size, and duration.

For example, the same verb level of 5 Destroy Fire might also be used at no range - encompassing one spot near the caster, yet last a longer duration in this case a Long time - maybe 5 rounds. Or maybe it can be used defensively surrounding the character in a ring of fire that does 1d12/2 damage to those that touch it. Or maybe instead of high damage, the character wants to do a 1damage fire spread out across a Large area of 5 units big - like grids or meters instead of one.

For now,  picking two aspects of powers seems like a good rule of thumb.

A Basic System 12 (ABS12)
Index of my blog

ABS12: Powers & Magic revisted

All the changes from this page will be added to the complete master game page at A Basic System 12 (ABS12).

Current rough magic system: skill based

My first magic system began with two spells - fireball and life heal.

A few weeks ago I switched to skill based magic.

Magic Users Spells: disease, poison, splinter smash, firecone, corrupt touch, fear, drain touch, corrupt stare, petrification, charm, dig, fly, immune (to one element or poison/disease), aware, defense (increase defense temporarily), covert (invisible), or offensive bonus. Each build point raises damage up the scaling damage chart from 1 to a current max of 6 damage levels [(1d12*3) /4].

Considering next power system 
I considered this system in a message to one person that I exchange messages with.

I'm just getting to magic more recently, still trying to keep things simple reusing skills and creature abilities as the basis for magic atm. I may switch to an 'adjective', 'verb', and 'noun' system like 'minor destroy fire', 'greater summon earth', or 'fast heal life' tying the parts of a created spell name to mechanics and allow the player to describe the magic visual effects and form. Maybe do that as soon as I have the basic down.

This post I wanted to begin looking how such system may look like.

Here is a chart that I made up. I will place it as an option for now in the system.

[Click to enlarge]

A Basic System 12 (ABS12)
Index of my blog