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[Skywalker]

I have completed the playtest version of Tears of Vykyris. It is a self contained scenario that is designed to give you everything you need to experience the the world (and game) of Anima.

The rules have been significantly hacked to be closer in feel to Anima Tactics so as to make it both less intimidating to first timers and also allow focus on the setting and story in the restricted timeframe of a single session.

I will playtesting it in January and will make changes to the document that arise from that session.

The document itself is 66 pages long, graphic heavy and 14MB. It can be found here: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/14355510/ToV.pdf

The document also uses a font called Dragon Master for headings that some PDF readers may not read. I attach it here in case people want to see the document as intended: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/14355510/Dragon_Master.ttf

I would love to hear feedback and I am happy to field any questions people have.

Enjoy.

 

[The Dread Polack]

I'm unlikely to run this module, as I'm already an anima player, but I am curious. Why did you choose to use a rules system that is so different from the actual rules? You could have stripped down to the basics. I forget its name, but there is a intro adventure that does this.

I actually like what you did with it, but some people might like your demo, and when they go for the actual game, they might be surprised, even disappointed by the difference. Your demo doesn't seem to represent the actual rules very well.

[Tywyll]

Dude... this is made of total win.  I've just flipped through it, but I've played a bunch of con games before and none have had this level of awesome in their set up.

[Skywalker]

I'm unlikely to run this module, as I'm already an anima player, but I am curious. Why did you choose to use a rules system that is so different from the actual rules? You could have stripped down to the basics. I forget its name, but there is a intro adventure that does this.

I actually like what you did with it, but some people might like your demo, and when they go for the actual game, they might be surprised, even disappointed by the difference. Your demo doesn't seem to represent the actual rules very well.

Good question. The answer is complex.

1. IMO Anima is more about the stories it tells and the setting than the mechanics. So they took precedent.

2. I recently ran Shadows Within Dreams using a cut down ruleset (you can find the PC sheets here: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/14355510/SWDPC.pdf). It worked OK but mechanically it felt soulless. I just don't think you can cut down Anima's system and give it any kind of respresentative justice in a one off sceanrio with all the competing priorities.

3. This is written for a local Con, which has a very high standard of Con gaming (things are quite competitive amongst my peers ). The expectation is to use every aspect of the scenario to serve the experience as best as possible. That was one of the main drivers to why the system changed.

4. I know Anima Tactics pretty well and know that many Anima RPG fans do too. Its seemed like a good compromise.

FWIW I am considering making official rules version of the NPCs and PCs if I have time and would welcome any assistance in that regard.

Oh and the other Demo you are referring to Nightmares Become True I believe.

[Skywalker]

Dude... this is made of total win.  I've just flipped through it, but I've played a bunch of con games before and none have had this level of awesome in their set up.

Thanks. Its going to be challenge to run but I hope the experience will be awesome.

[Sharpandpointies]

I am...most impressed. 

Well done.  I feel you've captured the flavour of Anima. 

[Skywalker]

I am...most impressed. 

Well done.  I feel you've captured the flavour of Anima. 

Thank you.

[The Dread Polack]

Good question. The answer is complex.

1. IMO Anima is more about the stories it tells and the setting than the mechanics. So they took precedent.

2. I recently ran Shadows Within Dreams using a cut down ruleset (you can find the PC sheets here: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/14355510/SWDPC.pdf). It worked OK but mechanically it felt soulless. I just don't think you can cut down Anima's system and give it any kind of respresentative justice in a one off sceanrio with all the competing priorities.

3. This is written for a local Con, which has a very high standard of Con gaming (things are quite competitive amongst my peers ). The expectation is to use every aspect of the scenario to serve the experience as best as possible. That was one of the main drivers to why the system changed.

4. I know Anima Tactics pretty well and know that many Anima RPG fans do too. Its seemed like a good compromise.

FWIW I am considering making official rules version of the NPCs and PCs if I have time and would welcome any assistance in that regard.

Oh and the other Demo you are referring to Nightmares Become True I believe.

Makes sense.

Possible Tangent:

This could be a whole other debate, but personally, I think if you want a game to emphasize the story, then there should be mechanics to back that up. Take a look at the Fate system for instance (Spirit of the Century, Starblazer Adventures, Legends of Anglerre, the Dresden Files RPG). They have fairly minimal, but solid mechanics that actually emphasize what you're there to do- weave a story, instead of having a miniatures battle, for instance. The solution to creating a game like that is *not* to write a bunch of rules, and then tell players to ignore them, the solution is to write rules for what you want players to do, and just never bother writing rules for things you don't. I really like your system, and it would make a wonderful "Sword opera" RPG system of its own. In fact, you should do that

End of rant.

[Skywalker]

That really is a tangent I am familiar with FATE and it helped informed this system in some regards. Some parts of the NPCs are an extrapolation on situational Aspects for example.

On saying that, I do actually like the full Anima system (though I would to see it cleaned up for playability). The idea was to try and give a sense of what a full Anima game could be like but in a very limited timeframe.

[Tamuz]

I agree that the story set up is awesome. Would love to see the NPCs/PCs converted into the official rules set. What levels/classes do you envision them as being?

[Skywalker]

I agree that the story set up is awesome. Would love to see the NPCs/PCs converted into the official rules set. What levels/classes do you envision them as being?

Wren is a Paladin on an accelerated advancement Path. She would start at level 1 and grow to level 5 or so by story end (2 levels per Act).

Jarl is a Technician level 5, though possibly his first couple of levels would have been WeaponMaster.

Molly is a Warrior Mentalist level 3 and an Ebudan Nephilim

Rayne is a level 6 Wizard, but does not want to use magic until Act 3. I might go Warlock to balance him for a one off.

Brooke is a level 4 Warrior but with special powers due to her corrupted soul or lack thereof.

Kyan is a level 3 Shadow.

In fact, that list when compared to what I ended up using kind of shows why I preferred my approach. Anima, like most RPGs is designed for long term play, and the exceptions, twists and oddities that make an intense short term experience aren't really supported without very high player knowledge of the game, which kind of defeats the purpose of the exercise

[Skywalker]

Playtest done. It went well, despite how challenging this sucker is to run. I have made quite a lot of minor edits and reorganisation. Timing over events has been fine tuned considerably. I will post up the final version within a week.

[shogunboy]

So if a new player wanted to learn more about anima and its actual rules, how would a GM explain to the said player?

[Skywalker]

This scenario is about the tone and the world of Anima first and foremost. So, it introduces many concepts of the world and helps inspire PCs and stories suitable for the game.

In terms of mechanics, there are some base concepts built into the system that come from Anima's system. The base dice rolling, damage system, stats (the 8 have been condensed into 4), different power types and character types are all there to some extent. The implementation is admittedly very different, but an upfront explanation of that and the reasons given above should explain the difference.

If for some reason the above wouldn't work, say you are really just wanting a test drive of the mechanics, then you may want to try Shadows Within Dreams or Nightmare Becomes True instead.

[Skywalker]

Final version can be found here: http://db.tt/g1OrsEeM

As before, the DragonMaster font, linked to above, will be needed to view the PDF properly.

This version had the benefit of a playtest and lots of minor changes to improve the text and play.