From the blurb: Eidolon: Become Your Best Self is a tabletop RPG for 2-6 players. Look deep inside yourself to find the power lying dormant within, nourish that power through the bonds you build with others, and use the reality-bending abilities it grants you to fight for your ideals, fighting against the pull of the Undertow, the psychic tides that dictate the collective unconscious!
From me: Eidolon is a game that draws from influences such as Jojo's Bizarre Adventure and Persona. Players take on the role of otherwise ordinary people who have--either through internal struggle or external influence--manifested the force of their personality into an entity called an Eidolon, and thereby gained extraordinary powers. With these powers, they must fight against those who seek to manipulate the collective unconscious of humanity for their own gain--both to preserve their own lives and to prevent the eventual subjugation and ruin of mankind. Along the way, they can draw upon the strength of their bonds with their teammates and NPCs to achieve greater feats than they are capable of alone, and--eventually--will have to face down their own fears and shortcomings in order to proceed.
The system started out as a Powered by the Apocalypse hack in its first edition, and the second edition keeps some of those bones, but it replaces the dice-based resolution mechanic with one based on drawing Tarot cards.
The game deck is made up of the 22 cards of the Major Arcana; each of them is assigned a polarity which determines what level of success the "roll" has, and a forecast which the GM can use as a prompt for describing the outcome.
When a player character takes an action that has a chance of failure, they draw a number of cards from the deck indicated by the relevant character stat, and choose one from the spread; its polarity and forecast determine the results of their action.
Cards that are used are discarded until the deck is exhausted and reshuffled; that means that each positive card you use makes a negative result more likely down the road, so with each choice it's necessary to think about how important success really is.
Example: A player draws to break into a secure location. Their ELEgance stat is 2, so they draw two cards: The Emperor and The Moon. The player selects The Emperor. That card has a neutral polarity, so the player succeeds, but their success is qualified or incomplete. The forecast of the Emperor is "You break something", so the GM declares that they manage to gain access, but the lock they tried to force is broken, and the next guard to come along will notice.
(I can share the full rules upon request via DM)
Full disclosure: This is not my first time GMing, but it would be my first time GMing play-by-post, as well as my first time running this particular system. I have concerns about how the resolution mechanic will translate to play-by-post, since it requires a back-and-forth between the GM and the player rather than just a straight dice roll, but I'm excited enough about this system to try working that out.
Other Notes: Though the sourcebook does make it clear that you can run other settings, I'm planning to go with the default "present day, present time", likely set in a medium-sized US city (TBD). I'm also leaning towards something with more of an action focus rather than something slower-paced and cerebral, but I'm happy to let the players choose a direction for that in the moment. As far as group size and level, I'm looking for 3-5 players who can post at least one or two well-written paragraphs at a time.
(Side note: If you're curious about seeing the system in action, the makers have a playtest podcast under the name "Eidolon Playtest"; the 2E rules are in use from the 3rd season on.)
From me: Eidolon is a game that draws from influences such as Jojo's Bizarre Adventure and Persona. Players take on the role of otherwise ordinary people who have--either through internal struggle or external influence--manifested the force of their personality into an entity called an Eidolon, and thereby gained extraordinary powers. With these powers, they must fight against those who seek to manipulate the collective unconscious of humanity for their own gain--both to preserve their own lives and to prevent the eventual subjugation and ruin of mankind. Along the way, they can draw upon the strength of their bonds with their teammates and NPCs to achieve greater feats than they are capable of alone, and--eventually--will have to face down their own fears and shortcomings in order to proceed.
The system started out as a Powered by the Apocalypse hack in its first edition, and the second edition keeps some of those bones, but it replaces the dice-based resolution mechanic with one based on drawing Tarot cards.
The game deck is made up of the 22 cards of the Major Arcana; each of them is assigned a polarity which determines what level of success the "roll" has, and a forecast which the GM can use as a prompt for describing the outcome.
When a player character takes an action that has a chance of failure, they draw a number of cards from the deck indicated by the relevant character stat, and choose one from the spread; its polarity and forecast determine the results of their action.
Cards that are used are discarded until the deck is exhausted and reshuffled; that means that each positive card you use makes a negative result more likely down the road, so with each choice it's necessary to think about how important success really is.
Example: A player draws to break into a secure location. Their ELEgance stat is 2, so they draw two cards: The Emperor and The Moon. The player selects The Emperor. That card has a neutral polarity, so the player succeeds, but their success is qualified or incomplete. The forecast of the Emperor is "You break something", so the GM declares that they manage to gain access, but the lock they tried to force is broken, and the next guard to come along will notice.
(I can share the full rules upon request via DM)
Full disclosure: This is not my first time GMing, but it would be my first time GMing play-by-post, as well as my first time running this particular system. I have concerns about how the resolution mechanic will translate to play-by-post, since it requires a back-and-forth between the GM and the player rather than just a straight dice roll, but I'm excited enough about this system to try working that out.
Other Notes: Though the sourcebook does make it clear that you can run other settings, I'm planning to go with the default "present day, present time", likely set in a medium-sized US city (TBD). I'm also leaning towards something with more of an action focus rather than something slower-paced and cerebral, but I'm happy to let the players choose a direction for that in the moment. As far as group size and level, I'm looking for 3-5 players who can post at least one or two well-written paragraphs at a time.
(Side note: If you're curious about seeing the system in action, the makers have a playtest podcast under the name "Eidolon Playtest"; the 2E rules are in use from the 3rd season on.)
