Ways to Play
A Quick Summary
The Vorcrux is a High Fantasy Sci-Fi Mix TTRPG exploring the rise and fall of an empire. The world is divided into five Overzones, each strictly segregated by technological tiers ranging from Iron Age to High-Tech.
Character Creation: Players follow a sequential process to build their characters: selecting Species, choosing a Copse Cluster, generating Vital Statistics, and detailing starting Itemization.
Progression: Growth is driven by gameplay experience (exp). A character's Level is determined by the formula Level = exp/10. Players earn Growth Points for every experience point gained, which are used to grow new Root, Branch, Leaf, and Crown Effects.
Action Economy: Gameplay utilizes an Active Phase Cycle where characters manage Action Slots. These mechanics apply across three primary Engagement Types: Combat (physical conflict), Social (negotiation and debate), and Critical Exploration/Survival (environmental and temporal challenges).
This is a living document. It will be updated from time to time as MIV continues to grow.
Old School Table Top
For now we have to grab ourselves some pen and paper or open up a doc to make our Characters. Not too far off in the future we will have a fully functional character sheet application. We gather together with some friends or acquaintances, take an evening to set expectations and establish boundaries, then sit around our table physical or virtual and enjoy our moments.
The Table, The Story
A table is made up of several players and a story guide. Every player and story guide are unique. We’ll see some clichés and find moments testing our morality. We will find victory and defeat. We may even see moments of sparked romance, and moments of loss and grief. All of the scope of stories is possible.
Why use a System?
The rules and mechanics are for function, consistency, and determining outcomes to maintain the element of uncertainty which is the icing on the cake. Whether you fail forward, get roadblocked completely, or roll a swinging success, the mechanics are there to ultimately provide inspiration to what may be possible.
Narrative Design
Our greatest focus from both the player’s and the story guide’s perspective is narrative design. For Players it is the writing of the back story, and the continued writing of their story both past and present. While Story Guides work on macro histories and personal life stories for their supporting characters, events, locations, and blurbs which unfold the setting, players have a chance to tell the story which accounts for their character’s life tale.
The deeper story is always in the hands of the players. The world around the players is full of highlights and little moments, but within the player’s character is the potential for thousands of moments. Flashbacks, segues, unwritten rivals and enemies, old lovers, family moments, and other connections all play in to the campaign, and provide a reference point for the player to tell their character’s story.
Character Design during Character Creation
We don’t necessarily need ten pages of back story to begin the game. A few strong paragraphs which cover the basics. The things you might tell someone meeting them for the first time at the library or the local tavern. Answering the basics is an excellent start. “Where you from?,” “What do you do?,” “Where’d you get that scar?,” “Where you been and where you going?,” “What do you want out of life?,” “What do your parents do?,” or any other question you yourself feel the need to answer. Bonus points for asking yourself and answering the obvious follow up questions.
Setting Design
Among these pages you’ll find an increasingly long list of opinions about setting design for story guides. You’ll also find setting elements ready for use as a board to play or improv. World building is important and meeting major characters is a possibility but not always a guarantee. Not every faction we offer will be a data set you’ll use for your campaign. As it is all optional.
