Anima Prime RPG Rulebook
Character/Adversity Sheets

I'll be doing a new kind of RP: tabletop! I've always wanted to try hosting an RP with a game system, but DnD wasn't cutting it for me. My biggest problem with DnD was its movement-based system. The game seems to be balanced around movement mechanics, and in a text-based forum RP, that's just not feasible. Worse, DnD seems to be fairly complex, and as I have little familiarity with DnD, I'm not at all prepared to get into it.

So I found an RP game system that's free and more suited to forum gaming: Anima Prime. In a nutshell, gameplay looks something like this:
* You take up to 3 of your 10 Action dice (it's kinda like Energy from those bad MMOs) and pick a Skill (worth 2-4 dice) you'd like to use.
* Roll the combined Action+Skill dice to "Maneuver" your character in a position to strike. Characters in anime and video games don't launch their serious attacks every second; they jump and run around, testing each other, prying for an opening. When they find one, then they make their serious move. That's kinda what Maneuver rolls are, in-character.
* Successful rolls (a 3, 4, 5, or 6) fill your Strike pool. Rolled 6s can go into your Charge pool. You can earn up to 5 dice through Maneuvering. In-character, it means you've gained an advantage or built up enough power to deal damage. You haven't actually struck yet, but you're getting ready to. Charge Powers are your special abilities, fueled by Friendship, Rage, Save Everyone Syndrome, etc.
* Roll up to 6 of your Strike dice, plus any Charge powers you wanna use. If the number of successful dice exceed the enemy's defense value, you inflict a "wound." IC, it doesn't necessarily have to mean an actual wound. Maybe you or the enemy got knocked around a little, like slammed into a cliff wall or something.
* If all wounds are inflicted (default is 3), the opponent is defeated. Defeated players get Knocked Out of the fight. IC, it can mean whatever you want; the main thing is that the character is no longer capable of putting up a fight.

The specifics can be found in the rulebook linked above. I like the system because it makes so much sense in a forum RP context, almost like it's designed to be written out instead of physically played.

As for the plot, there's a story I've been wanting to tell for some time. It takes place in my custom setting, The Faraway Land, which is basically a High Medieval Fantasy world explained by a hidden sci-fi backdrop. The player characters would be knights in service of a warmongering Empress, and their goal is to conquer challenges (if not the world) in her name.

Any thoughts or feedback for me?

Sounds cool. I own a copy of the fancier pay version of it, but never played or ran it.

Would you have issues with the summoner and or soulweapon character options clashing with your idea?

Not at all! In fact, I've been studying the summoning mechanics to see if there's anything I can take advantage of. Do you think a definitive bestiary would be fun to play with?

P.S. What are soul weapons? Is that different from soulbound weapons?

As in the summons are part of the list of things to fight? Sure, go for it.

And yes I meant soulbound weapons. I forgot their name but I remember what they are; fancy gear you put in points for having powers and more damage.

Yeah, Soulbound Weapons definitely fit. One idea that occurred to me was leveling up by enemy reclassification. In other words, enemies that were once treated as Individuals may be reclassified as Squad units following certain upgrades or level-ups. Squads, in turn, may be reclassified as Swarms when you get even stronger. So for example, in the beginning of the game, Knight of Vermach would be treated as Individuals units, so being surrounded by a dozen of them could get you killed. However, if you acquired your Soulbound Weapon, those same soldiers would be treated as Squad units, so a dozen of them would be like having only 3 or 4 enemies, much more manageable.

For summons, I'm toying with the idea that some (though not all) of them would come from the same world as the PCs. So you could occasionally encounter species in the wild that you're capable of summoning. I'm not keen on playing Pokemon, so I don't want to emphasize this part, but I do think it could be fun to discover creatures you'd like to tame and recruit. In fact, some of these monsters could be sentient enough to have their own factions.

What do you think?

I think I've done that before in games with enemy tiers. It's a pretty useful tactic to help sell the progression in strength. I don't like the soulbound weapons having that effect, since it would overvalue it. It and summoning are supposed to be optional elements that you enter into.

I'm fine with the summonable monsters being something you can encounter in the wild. As well as some of them being intelligent and capable of being talked to and stuff.

Yeah, you've got a point. Maybe these level-ups happen after the party completes Power Unlocking quests or something. I'll mull it over.

Also, it occurred to me that leveling through failure could introduce power gaps between characters. I'd been so immersed in the details that I didn't think about it from a game-balance perspective. We'll have powers come the traditional way - through winning conflicts. Perhaps they could also be acquired by calling in Favors from the Empress? :P

For the identity of our empress, I think I'll add a dash of Fire Emblem: Three Houses to the mix: Casca del Raege (KAS-ka del rage), Empress of the Dragan Empire.

EDIT: PLOT UPDATED

Never played fire emblem so that goes over my head. But basically the setting is like one of those 80's turbo-edglord gorefest anime movies. And so wretched that unleashing some manner of apocalypse could be seen as merciful.

So is there a reason you want to make the progression system different from how anima prime does it?

The idea was to offer players a meaningful choice before and during every battle: to walk along the edge of defeat to get stronger, or choose easier fights to obtain more rewards? The ongoing war would fuel a variety of different missions, and the players would have a choice in what missions they wanted to participate in. Some would be mandatory, of course, but most would be up to the players' discretion.

As the war progresses and (if) peace returns to the land, political intrigue would take a larger role in the story, and Anima Prime's game system works rather well for that too.

Maybe another way to handle that is to simply take the System out of it. As GM, I can assign different rewards to every fight. I could reward tougher fights with powers, and easier fights with Favor or Gold. Favor could be used to gain story benefits, such as gaining allies for a battle, earning conquered territory, or even getting a moment alone with Her Majesty. Gold, on the other hand, would be used for more tangible yet transient benefits. You could buy body armor that raises Defense but breaks when you take a wound, an ultra-powerful weapon that's permanently lost when disarmed, and stuff like that.

P.S. If you're not keen on the story details, I have a few other variants in mind.

@Jerkchicken
I'm working on creating NPCs and units for the various factions. Got any NPC/Eidolon/Adversity recommendations for me?

EDIT: Characters updated

Well that sounds like you could tie it into an additional source of rerolls and awesome dice. You probably saw the item creation stuff on the author's webpage so getting temporary items works too. I'd hesitate to call it progression though, and the system isn't that geared for it to begin with. It's more like they're meta-resources like fate points or whatever. The difference being the resources/rewards are tangible things that exist alongside the characters.

As for NPCs, I guess Void Hunter Morgana?

Favor could be used to gain story benefits, such as gaining allies for a battle, earning conquered territory, or even getting a moment alone with Her Majesty.

So are we like a dating sim now? Where the players are competing to be best boy or girl and fill the Emperess's dark soul with light?

How many favor points does it take to hold hands?

So are we like a dating sim now? Where the players are competing to be best boy or girl and fill the Empress's dark soul with light?

How many favor points does it take to hold hands?

It's not really meant for romantic stuff, unless the story happens to flow that way. She's a busy woman, slaying her enemies, rallying the troops, mustering resources, and stuff like that, so if you want her ear for a particular matter, you'll have to call in a favor.

I'm getting the impression the grim setting isn't your cup of tea? I have a couple cheerier, more upbeat plots in mind if that's more to your liking. One is a ridiculous romp of a war against a superior, hi-tech foe, and another is a much more subdued story about rebuilding a broken nation. I don't mind changing up the story as needed.

Regarding NPCs, I figured you might have an eidolon in mind if you were keen to play with one. The Immortals will be getting their own character sheets, though they're more background lore at the moment than active plot elements.

I was being partially facetious, but not like the Fire Emblem character art doesn't detract from that perception. Since from what I know of the game is that there's an aspect of pairing characters together for stuff.

As for the setting's tone, yeah kinda. Although I'm more ambivalent about it than anything else. The initial description or pitch of the game of being a knight under the command of a warmongering empress was ample enough for me to create a character that could work. But the ensuing details made him unsuitable for the tone of the game world, and I don't have any suitable replacement. I'm having difficulties coming with an angle and something to care about, but it's kinda hard since everything is terrible. That being said, you don't have to change the setting for me. You still have yet to get other players and they might be fine with your setting as is.

As for NPCs, I don't have any eidolon ideas. My character was going to be a soulbound weapon user. But I could make a few up once I reread the rules for making them.

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I don't at all mind changing the setting. I've been having second thoughts about it anyway, and for much the reasons you've articulated. I'll whip up something better in a day or two.

Cool go for it then.

Elixir of Immortality

"I thirst."
"Allow me to fetch you a glass of water, Your Majesty."
"Tis not water of which I speak."
"Ah, wine then."

Empress Casca hopped off her throne, folded her hands behind her back, and approached the butler. She lifted her chin as the corner of her mouth turned up slightly. "I had something a bit more intoxicating in mind. Fetch me the knights."
"Yes, Your Majesty."

The butler returned with all the knights in tow. Sir Charles Ramsey, a young blond fellow who looked perpetually about to crack up a joke, bowed low, then splayed out his hands and complained, "We're told you summoned us all here, with all haste and from many leagues away, for a cup of spirits?"

The Empress dipped back her head and laughed. "Right you are, Charles! I am indeed fond of a good drink. Perhaps a little too fond, as some of you discovered last week. I trust you've all forgotten as instructed."

Sir Elbert Welkin, a man whose very face threatened murder and long poems, spoke in his usual quiet tone, "I cannot recall Her Majesty ever calling the king of Vermach a 'lily-livered pansy and a hamster.' My memory of that night is rather foggy."

The Empress's face pinked. "Ahem. As it should be. This time, I had a much more...pleasant drink in mind."
Charles facepalmed. "I bet it's vodka. Don't tell me it's vodka. Is it vodka?"
"It is not vodka."
"Don't keep us in suspense, then! What is it?"

"The Elixir of Immortality."

Silence fell over the throne room.

At length, all the knights went "Huh?" all at once.

Casca smirked and withdrew a book from behind her back. "You've heard the tale of the Black Tower, yes? As the myth goes, when the three gods alighted on this world, they created elixirs of immortality and with them ascended three other men, that they might join the other gods in ruling the universe. Now, you know me; I am no pagan worshipper of any pantheon. But this..." She shook the book. "This myth, there is a grain of truth to it, I believe. To discover the truth, we must travel to the far north, where the water is hard as stone and the sun sheds not her light upon the earth. We will pass through many nations, friendly and hostile, and encounter monsters beyond imagining. But waiting for us at the end is such a feat as will be sung for generations to come."

The Empress grinned and stretched out her hand.

"So, good knights, will you join me for a drink?"

This system sounds interesting, but I need to read through this later. My eyes are tired.