Since I have started trying to knuckle down on actually writing this damn system now, and because of that I am telling people about it, it behooves me to have some kind of explainer to point to so I have to repeat myself less, so if I've just sent you this link thanks so much for showing an interest!
During this first round of playtests I've been describing Epitaph as a FitD/Wildsea-like by way of the OSR/FKR, which has lead to a number of reactions between "I like your funny words magic man" to "That doesn't make any sense, what the hell are you talking about". This suggests I need a better elevator pitch. With Legends in the Mist now out and about, it would probably work to call this game a "Mist-Like" as it seems to share quite a bit of thought with that system. Though I haven't read CitM or the new Legends until very recently, I'm excited to try to get Legends to the table and see how it compares, and what I can learn from it. However, I do think Epitaph is doing things a bit differently, so I would like to explain my nonsense description I laid out at the top.
FitD/Wildsea-like - The core dice system of Epitaph is the d6 pool common to both Forged and Wild Words systems, and keeps the idea of Bargains from Blades (always having the choice to take a success with a complication) and Aspects from Wildsea. Aspects I feel are an important tech that crosses the design floor, as it were, over to the OSR.
This is an Aspect from Wildsea. Not only is it a mechanical structure (allowing you to add a die to your pool if it would be useful to a situation) it is also a bundle of fictional permissions. Your character does not weigh anything. This has major implications for the fiction, and you can invoke this Aspect without rolling to do all kinds of actions that would otherwise be impossible.
This to me feels very strongly in the spirit of the OSR, your character has abilites (often strange and particular ones) and they allow you to act on the world in specific ways. It's certainly a different framing than the OSR is fond of, but it functions along the same lines as common Old School advice for magic items. This is also something the FKR appreciates. Aspects interface with the mechanical core, but they are foremost Things that are true about the world.
These are some of the Titles from the first playtest. They function identically to my earlier description of Aspects. They add a die to your pool if they're relevant, and they are a bundle of fictional permissions and expectations.
You'll also notice their similarity to LitM themes, hence my interest getting that on the table.
OSR/FKR - The OSR play tradition prides itself on creative problem solving and treating the imagined world as real, these are ideals I absolutely want to be true about Epitaph. I think BitD's Bargains fits this perfectly. If you only roll when there is a risk of failure, and that risk is known in advance, then in most cases the player should be able to choose whether they change the conditions of the test, or risk the consequences.
As I understand it, the FKR has a very strong position vis a vis bargaining for outcomes. This is precisely that, and this opening in the rules allows for a lot of play to go on without being interrupted by dice, saving they more complex dice pool procedure for more pivotal moments.
One place I do move away from the low system fundamentals of the FKR is that there is a seperate dice pool system for contested rolls, which I was very nervous about during the playtest due to the inherent danger of designers liking their own fiddly math nonsense more than is reasonable. It went over well though, and I really enjoy having a difference between rolls against an object an rolls against another character. It lends a lot of anima to the world when a river or a mountain can contest the players directly.
The OSR also prides itself on magic, and the many ways designers have worked to make magic feel magical or mysterious. And I think this magic system is cool and so I want to talk about it.
These are some of the Lores of Magic in Epitaph. Each is a grouping a magical skill that anyone has access to (provided you have some training) and the philosophy associated with it. A mage uses a combination of a Lore and a Focus (an item who's story is know to the character) to produce magical effects, A couple very cool examples from the recent playtest -
Using the Lore of Echoes and The River Stone to walk across the memory of a stone wallUsing the Lore of Cycles and the Walking Stick to make a ensorcelled sundial Which I just think is sick as fuck if I'm honest, I love that shit!
I think that's as good as I'm going to get for an explanation of inspiration, at least mechanically. I hope a rules primer and some sort of beta packet will be ready soon, and before that likely a write up on some bits from the previous system Caravan that ended up of the cutting room floor. Until then, Thanks for reading!
