Archetype Beta Test: Sci-Fi Sandbox

ARCHETYPE

This session is scheduled for 3 hours and will be recorded.

The game we will be playing has the working title of Archetype and it is my own game currently in beta-testing. The system is an intuitive light-to-medium-weight system based around character archetypes and is primarily designed for a player rivalry style of storytelling. It is classless and immensely flexible, allowing you to play pretty much any kind of character you want. It is designed for a role-play-heavy style of gaming with lighter rules that don’t get in your way and for minimal prep on the GM side.

It’s primary innovation compared to other types of games you may have played is that character failures and complications translate into player rewards called Story Points (SP) as well as Experience Points (XP). XP allow your character to improve their skills, while SP fuel your character’s Heroic Powers and allow the player to turn the odds and the story in their character’s favour. The neat thing about Archetype is that players rather than GMs control the nature of the failures. Essentially, you trade failure on your own terms for better odds of success when you need it. Another unique feature about Archetype is that players set their own role-playing goals and are rewarded SP for pursuing them, and they even create their own Heroic Powers!

IMPORTANT: This is a sandbox style game which means it is setting agnostic, although I’ve narrowed the setting down to a Sci-Fi setting of some kind so that ya’ll know what you’re getting yourself into. The first session will largely be devoted to constructing a world and beginning the process of creating our characters, which could stretch into the second session as well. The rest of the time will be devoted to exploring the world and characters we have created. As such, it’s very important that you attend and RSVP to all sessions! Session dates are Sundays in October: the 6th, 13th, 20th, and 27th at 11am EST.

This event abides by the Gauntlet inclusivity policy. We’ll be using the X-card for all 4 sessions.

2019-10-06T15:00:00Z2019-10-06T17:00:00ZSession 1
2019-10-13T15:00:00Z2019-10-13T17:00:00ZSession 2
2019-10-20T15:00:00Z2019-10-20T17:00:00ZSession 3
2019-10-27T15:00:00Z2019-10-27T17:00:00ZSession 4

Designer’s Note: The best settings, IMHO, are one that you create with your friends at the table - inspiring and delighting one another - so I wanted to make a game to support that kind of gaming which it seems to me most designers are moving away from. I also wanted to make a game that inspired role-play, rather than stifle it with complex or mechanic-ridden character sheets filled with numbers and lacking soul. More emotional valence was another one of my goals, and I baked it right into the mechanics, hopefully adding depth and humanity to what often can be superficial and cliched proceedings. Lastly, I wanted to the mechanics to be simple and intuitive but with enough depth and flexibility to tackle tricky situations. I hope to succeed in my goals and I’d really love it if you could help me.

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