What’s hero forge?

<Snipped quote by Crimson Flame>

Hero Forge

So the bodies they'll inhabit are made from their own DNA correct? How much leeway would there be in terms of changing? Is it entirely species based (orc, elf etc.) or is there some room for what they would want? Like if someone wanted to be taller as a very basic example.

I think I could have an interesting character point if there's wiggle room.

My hope was that we'd get at least eight people on board, but if not, six is good. I'm working all through this weekend and next week, but hopefully I'll have some time to work on getting this RP up and running next weekend.

I will admit to being interested in the premise, but the one thing that is kinda stopping me from leaping on this is the system. If I understand this right, a single dice roll determines your performance for an entire combat scene in every aspect? If that's the case, I really can't jive with that. It's too much of a gamble, and to me, it wouldn't feel like I have a lot of agency in my character's future. It means every combat essentially has a preset result, rather than ups and downs.

<Snipped quote by Lewascan2>

Well, you would be the one writing your own combat scene. I would introduce enough enemies for each player to have the opportunity to write a battle scene between their character and one or more opponents, kind of similar to how normal RPs work. The focus is still primarily narrative, the dice rolls just give a general idea of how well the characters perform.

Perhaps part of my mistake was not clearly defining what I meant by Combat Scenario. I didn't envision it as an entire dungeon or anything of that scale, more like the equivalent of a single battle in a Final Fantasy game or something. Like, each player would write between three and five paragraphs for a single Battle Scenario. So that dice roll would only dictate that single three to five paragraph post.

An example of a common Battle Scenario might be a bandit attack while they are traveling. Let's say we have one bandit for each player to write out a three to five paragraph scene of their character fighting that bandit. Let's say you roll a 1. While the ultimate outcome of that post may be somewhat predetermined, it's up to you to decide how it gets there. Maybe you want to write your character totally kicking ass at first and then the bandit gets him with a poisoned dagger at the end. You still have new complete creative freedom for that post, the only thing the dice roll is determining is the overall performance of your character in that single battle post.

Far be it from me to tell you how to run your own game. Again, I apologize for any negativity I've inadvertedly brought. I love the premise, but the present system is just a huge deal-breaker for me in many ways. If you decide going full narrative is for you, more power to you! I'd be genuinely elated, but if you have a vision for this present system, don't feel pressured to drop it just like that. I do think it would be worth keeping the levels around in either case as a way to ground progression.

<Snipped quote by Lewascan2>

No worries! I think I've come up with a good compromise - the dice rolls won't be mandatory and you can do as many as you want for your post. One dice roll, many dice rolls, or zero dice rolls. I'll throw opponents out at the start of each Battle Scenario and then I'll leave it up to each of you to decide how you want to write out that scene. I'll use the same method for my own characters as well.