I suppose there still isn't really. Break!! happened because I wanted to write a game and Grey want's to draw one. The product itself represents a synthesis of our various desires in a tabletop RPG - most revolving around a game that is easy to learn, play and customize. The hope is that fulfilling those three things will also provide a satisfying toolbox for people, one they can enjoy for a (theoretically) limitless duration. Nothing terribly new here, I suppose, but I think it's our personal style and execution that will really make the game stand out.
The game's inspirations come from many sources; Anime, Retro Video Games, Comics, Pulp Novels, Old Myths, etc - but is not beholden to any of them. We are not attempting to create a game to emulate something so much as to cherry pick the best bits from them and spin them in our own way. Adorable witches will team up with grizzled soldiers, the sensibly armored will leap into the fray alongside their more risque clad comrades. You may use a barque styled Mecha to do battle with a dragon, or sail a landscape where day and night are geographical features, rather than temporal ones.
I suppose I should include some cold, hard facts here too, huh?
- Break!! uses a handful of funny Dice, but most of the game is played with a d20 and d12. You could get away with each player having one of each, and a few other dice to be shared between the table
- Characters have a Calling, which is basically an archetype that is a broad version of Jobs or Classes you might see in other RPGs. Each Calling also has a bunch of different elective abilities to choose from, allowing plenty of options while still providing a sturdy framework.
- On the GM's side of things; lots of setting info, monsters, items and other goodies are readily available in the book, but so are guidelines for you to create your own stuff.
- There is also a character's species, trait and quirk, which are all also important without being too complicated.
- The game is an "Old School" one in many ways, but as stated before, it's not beholden to the concept. I liked to think I concentrated on the things that make those sorts of games fun and accessible. Only time will tell.
- We are trying really hard to keep page count down for the sake of making things concise and easy to read, but Grey is drawing a lot of really sweet pictures so we may not succeed as much as we'd like in that!
As always, questions and comments are welcome!
Is this game meant for use with a specific setting, or will it encourage a specific style of play? The way you've described it here sounds like a kind of blank system, like the FATE engine minus any setting or fluff, but the bits of illustration and story bits scattered throughout this blog suggest something a bit more exotic.
ReplyDeleteKind of both? The main rules suggest a setting but they are not so attached to it that using them for another one is out of the question.
DeleteWe do have a rather specific world in mind though, and we'll get to showing it off more and more once we have the rules framework a bit more out in the open. The items, sample characters, creatures and landscape featured here are all part of it.
In the future, I'd love to work on adding a few rules here and there as well as different settings - I've got ideas for the "modern" world that some characters come from, as well as a Space Opera universe.
You mentioned that Grey likes to draw out things. Does he do commissions as well? Depending on whether my parents will allow me to pay for such a thing, I would like to purchase one. Also, I like that you have kept up with your work for so long and are still determined to see it through. I'm not sure if I would have the patience to work on something like this.
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