Core Concepts
This system is defined by several concepts that are not present in most modern day roleplaying games. There is heavy emphasis on tactics, clear decision making, and consequences for bad decisions. The following are core and critical foundations to mastering the game mechanics.
The Sage
In other Roleplaying games this role may be named a “Game Manager” or “Dungeon Master.” The Sage drives and manages each gaming session, and plays a large part in developing the stories that will feature throughout the Saga. Although it is always best if the stories are informed by the characters the players control.
It can sometimes be a thankless role, and everyone who takes up this role does so because there is an element of joy and fulfillment that only this role can bring. Not everyone can be a Sage, but everyone who does will bring their own perspective, style, and flair to the role.
The Sage has five critical functions:
1. Manage the flow of the Saga, Book, Chapters, Arcs, and Scenes
2. Design, ideally with player input, the stories that undergird the overall Saga
3. Control, manage, and dictate the actions of all NPC’s.
4. Adjudicate any disputes in the rules, and make final decisions when needed
5. Do their level best to provide a story, and an environment, that allows players to have fun, while maintaining in-story consequences for their characters
The Players
The Players are people playing in the game that is being run by the Sage. Why don’t players get a special title like “Sage?” Because they have the privilege of managing all the actions of their Character, around whom the whole of the Saga revolves.
The Characters (PCs)
Characters are created by and managed by the Players, and sometimes referred to as PCs. A Character can die. They can overcome obstacles. They can grow and evolve into heroes, or fail, regress, and become villainous. The Character is the binding element of the Saga, and are the greatest, and most important source for story elements. Players may have multiple characters they want to play, but only one character is played in the Saga. If that character dies, or exits the story, the player can play a different character in the Saga.
Non-Player Characters (NPCs)
These are characters in the Saga expressly under the control of the Sage. Everyone from the bartender at the local tavern, to the regional Baron, to the enemies the characters have to face, are Non-Player Characters, or NPC’s. They are nearly as important to the story as the PC’s, and are used to drive the Saga forward.
The Saga
Your stories are the Saga. The Saga is the complete collected tales of the PC’s and their exploits. A Saga can run for as long as you and the Sage are enjoying it, or until the characters die, or the goal of the Saga is met.
A Saga doesn’t need to have a goal, as it could be entirely episodic with no discernable thread running between each Chapter. Sagas are composed of Books, which in turn are comprised of Chapters, which are made up of a series of Arcs, which have within them a number of Scenes..
The Book
A Book is a section of the Saga that has a clear beginning, middle, and an end, over an extended period of time. This, normally, aligns with the Tier of the game level. Characters that exit the Adventurer Tier can consider all their exploits before moving into the Renowned Tier, as a completed Book.
While this does not have to perfectly align it should be close enough to be felt. Players should know they have entered into a new Book. Old enemies are defeated, and new, more powerful enemies, have hinted at their presence.
Each character should experience one Heroic Moment in each Book, a moment where their decision affects their nature, their growth (or failure to change), and leads them on to the next step in their destiny.
The Chapter
The Chapter is the heart of an adventure. It is composed of multiple scenes, and anywhere from three, to six arcs. A Chapter should be anywhere between one and three gaming sessions to complete. At the conclusion of the Chapter, players receive Character Points to progress and advance their character.
The Arc
Arcs are components of a chapter. There are as many as six Arcs in a chapter, though some chapters may not have as many.
Exposition Arc
This is the “Call to Adventure.” The characters are presented with the leading threads, or clear demand for adventure, and must heed its call. Or the characters may be thrust into a situation, and may seek to extricate themselves from it. During the exposition the threats, or their shadows, are presented to the characters, and their course must be charted.
Rising Action Arc
Of all the arcs, the Rising Action is largely dictated by the characters. This portion of a chapter could be spent gathering information, investigating, acquire equipment, traveling, visiting with contacts, etc. There may be some minor challenges in the Rising Arc, but these will simply hint at the real dangers to come during the Climax. Still, player actions could lead to the short circuiting of this Arc, relegating it to a few minutes of discussion before they make a direct line to the throat of the threat. This, however, can often turn out poorly for the characters.
Climax Arc
The characters’ preparations, planning, and actions have led them to this moment. The climax can be capstoned with a tense battle, a machinating social event, a nail biting infiltration and extrication, or any number of challenges that will require their full attention, skill, and resources to overcome. At the end of the Climax Arc, the principal challenge of the Chapter is resolved (or failed).
Falling Action Arc
In the Falling Action, characters sometimes may need to deal with the fallout they created in the Climax. This can range from tending to their wounded, breaking news to the widow that they could not find her daughter, or burying the fallen. The results of the Climax are felt here, and the march to their victory feast, or funerary repast, is completed. Like the Rising Action Arc, some Chapters may not have a need for a Falling Action Arc.
Conclusion Arc
The Chapter ends. Final rewards are doled out. The players receive their Character Points. The Sage may hint at what may yet come in the next Chapter (if they know what happens next), and any loose ends are tied off by the characters, ending this story. During the Conclusion Arc, the players evaluate material changes to their character’s psyche as a result of their actions. This may lead to a change in their character’s overall mental state.
Downtime
The time between Chapters can be just as engaging for the players, as here they have full autonomy on their activities. Downtime can be spent convalescing over their injuries, learning new disciplines, plying their trade and talents for wealth, or producing great works. Downtime can also provide the characters mechanisms for managing their traumas from the past few chapters.
The Scene
Within each Arc may be one or more scenes. Scenes are set pieces of story within which the characters drive the outcome. Some scenes are designed by the Sage, while others can be completely originated by the players. Scenes have different overlays depending on the kind of scene it is.
Scene Types
There are multiple kinds of scenes, each with their rule mechanic, and purpose in the chapter. It is possible to inject scenes inside of scenes. A Combat Scene may suddenly turn in to a Chase Scene, or a failed Infiltration Scene could be interrupted by a Combat Scene. These are all woven together to create the flow of a Chapter.
Chase Scenes
In a Chase Scene, the characters are either trying to catch up to an escaping enemy, fleeing from an enemy, or racing to get somewhere first. It pits the characters against a series of obstacles, where time is of the essence.
Combat Scenes
The foundation of most chapters, and the most detailed scene type, Combat Scenes can be battles, skirmishes, or ambushes. The characters face off against beasts, undead, mortals who stand against their designs, or terrible creatures of legend. Their very survival is at risk.
Cut Scenes
In a Cut Scene, the Players are told of events that their characters are not aware of. This can be used to foreshadow coming events, give insights into the implications of the actions of their characters, or reveal tantalizing clues about the motivations of their enemies. Cut Scenes provide for the players, not their characters.
Exploration Scenes
Exploration Scenes sees the characters finding their way through ruins, caverns, or open environments. They are also used to give the characters opportunity to find secreted items, clues, and places. The ruins of Khel’manthor were said to be somewhere in this canyon…
Infiltration Scenes
Sometimes the hardest thing to do is to avoid discovery. Infiltration Scenes shepherd the characters through scenarios where they must escape notice, infiltrate places, and spy on enemies, or help allies escape a prison, or even to steal something that is well guarded. They are one step of being discovered, and jeopardizing the end game with a poor decision. Do you try and tackle and restrain the guard? Or do you distract him and sneak past?
Narrative Scenes
The most common of the scene types, Narrative Scenes are open roleplaying situations. Sometimes this is between the characters and NPC’s, or sometimes it is strictly within the adventuring party. Narrative Scenes allow the players to dictate their actions and endeavors, and the Sage to freeform where their activities lead.
Planning Scenes
Planning Scenes see the characters piecing together the Intelligence they have gathered in an effort to plot out their next course of action. Planning Scenes normally occur right before the Climax of a Chapter, and give the players opportunities to better prepare for the challenge ahead.
Social Scenes
A tense treaty conclave with a Duke, an elegant ball with all manor of influential attendees, a hostage negotiation with a ruthless bandit, are all Social Scenes. In a Social Scene the characters must navigate their tone and stances to produce the most beneficial outcome for their agenda.
Travel Scenes
Sometimes the conflict is between man and nature, and travel scenes can see the characters struggling to make a journey through disease ridden swamps, or desolate wildlands bereft of meaningful resources. Travel Scenes are about the management of resources, exertion, and time.
Beacon
Beacon is a track of a character’s mental state and emotions. It is called “Beacon” because the mortal soul exists in the spirit world, connected to their body in the material world, and the more emotional turmoil a mortal has, the brighter their spirit flares in the void. Beacon is an evolving score, and over time, without careful management of their emotional state, Beacon becomes a source of stress and dysfunction in the character’s life.
Beacon has ten emotions, split into two groups of five: Visceral Emotions, and Ethical Emotions. Visceral emotions are reactive and spontaneous, felt in the moment, while Ethical emotions come later, as we process our experiences. Beacon that gets too high, or too low, are the source of Stress.
Character Points (CP)
At the end of every Chapter, players receive Character Points (CP). Like in Character and Creation, these points are used to increase your character’s abilities, attributes, skills, etc. They are also used to determine which Milestone and Tier the character is in.
Character Death
Who wants to live forever? This is a game where death can happen suddenly and without recourse for the character. Unlike some fantasy roleplaying games where death is a minor stumbling block, grievous wounds, or overwhelming damage can undo the mightiest of heroes here. This allows players to take on the role of a new character, and enter the Saga from a fresh perspective. Character Trees are important for maintaining story continuity over the course of a Saga.