The Campaign Builder's Guild

(http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5447/9534607404_8649a1a065_b.jpg)

[note] 1.   Never hunt boar on your own clan's land
2.   Never eat the meat of a particular animal
3.   Never give your name to strangers
4.   Must keep head bare at all times
5.   Never eat when others are present
6.   Never leave your castle for more than 9 nights at a time.
7.   Must spend the winter season surviving in the wilderness.
8.   Carry the head of each enemy you have killed wherever you go.
9.   Never chase birds.
10.   Never go under a certain lake.
11.   Suffer no marauder to live.
12.   Never grow a beard
13.   Never lay with one whose hair is longer than yours.
14.   Never take arms until given them by a certain authority.
15.   Always fight naked.
16.   Never refuse a challenge.
17.   Must recover a relic of a Faery ancestor before the next full moon.
18.   Offer battle to all descendants of an old enemy you meet.
19.   Never strike an enemy who cannot see you.
20.   Suffer no Oath-breakers to live. (Meant to be enforced strictly)[/note]
Geas is a Role Playing Game system I am crafting for my Cad Goleór (http://www.thecbg.org/index.php/topic,209360.0.html) setting.  It is a skill-based point-buy system, meant to model the epic myths of the Celts.  It is rules-light, with a "Yes you can!" attitude.  It takes a lot of inspiration from Sparkletwist's Quick and Dirty (http://www.thecbg.org/index.php/topic,209736.0.html) system, which has been applied to Cad Goleór for our Balor's Head game on IRC.  However, Geas makes several changes from Q&D, and the eventual goal is to create a new, definitive system for games in Cad Goleór.  

It is still very much a work in progress, and I am asking for input to help this develop.  As this is intrinsically linked with Cad Goleór, all reviews, critiques, and helpful comments will be awarded the new Cad Goleór review badge: (http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3732/9519527556_b22eccf204_o.jpg) (http://www.thecbg.org/index.php/topic,209360.0.html)

What is a Geas?
You may be wondering just what a geas is.  The system is named after them, so they must be important!  In Celtic literature a geas (pl. geasa) was, put simply, your fate: a personal quest or prohibition.  It might require you to spend every winter season surviving in the wilderness, not knowing the comfort of a warm bed, or it might forbid you from ever hunting the boar of a certain forest.  Some geasa apply to everyone: Never turn away a traveler who asks for shelter, for instance; but a geas that pertains to you alone is a mark that fate has something special in store for you.  Breaking one's geas always met with disaster.   Sometimes it could not be helped: sometimes a hero had two different geasa that required different actions, so to fulfill one, they must break the other.  

All Player Characters (PCs) have at least one geas that is special to them.  They may also have geasa from their region, but the personal geas marks them as special.  It is why THIS person does not fit in with the normal structure of society, and why they feel compelled to seek adventure, glory, riches, or their true selves out on the road.  This will be treated as a situational compel, meaning a character MUST act in a certain way.  Each time they obey their geas, however, they receive a Geas Point, which can be used to "bend the rules" later, or to break a geas later on.  The latter, however, should be done with extreme caution, if ever, as to break one's geas is court disaster.  While the tone of the game at large is very allowing and positive to character actions, a GM is encouraged to pile misfortunes on those who break their geasa.  These can take the form of penalties to skills and abilities, a disease, a string of unfortunate events and circumstances, or whatever else the GM can devise.

That said, this is a game.  It should be fun.  The harshness of fate should only go so far, and a PC (as opposed to a doomed mythic hero) should have a chance of overcoming the misfortune brought on by such an infraction, and should either not suffer permanently, or should be given clear avenues to atone for the error, and remove their affliction.

Players are free to give their characters geasa that will rarely or never come into play, but to do so is to avoid the spirit of the game, and also means that the PC will not acquire Geas Points.  GMs are urged to work PC geasa into the game, and are encouraged to be creative with "unlikely to interfere" geasa, to make them relevant.  

You say it is skill-based?
Yes.  Skills form the core mechanic of the system.  A list of 20 skills makes up the range of basic abilities for a PC.  These are measured on a scale of 1-10, where 5 is the normal human maximum.  A few epic heroes may go up higher, but this can only be done by purchasing certain special traits, such as Sidhe Blood, or Mystical Training.  

Does this mean there are no classes?
Not exactly.  Geas has classes, but this decision is not as pivotal to character creation and development as in some other games.  In games like D&D, a PC's Class determines everything that he is capable of doing, including what skills she can take.  In Geas, A PC's class complements, shows off, and enhances his skills, and provide a handful of rule-bending "stunts" for the character to perform.  Skills are the core, class is the sauce.  Each class has 2 skills which get d8s for free.  

Geas has nine classes to choose from, which model different kinds of people in Cad Goleór which might be called to adventure, or find themselves the focus of a story.  Three come from the Warrior Caste, three from the "Gifted" class, and three from the Expert Caste.  Within each caste, there is a skilled class, a "noble" class, and a magical class.

Stunts are one of the things that define classes.  Some, like the Gaestat's Riastrad, are very distinctive, and special to each class.  Others are more general stunts that can be taken by anyone belonging to their caste.  These aim at being roughly equal in power, so that nobody feels like there are being punished for choosing a certain kind of character.  That said, some classes will excel in situations that others will not.  

(http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2818/9532746491_bd139a532c_c.jpg)
Skills
[note]Skill List
•   Animals
•   Athletics
•   Charm
•   Craft
•   Deceit
•   Fortitude
•   Heal
•   Insight
•   Inspire
•   Intimidate
•   Knowledge
•   Melee
•   Occult
•   Perception
•   Performance
•   Ranged
•   Reflexes
•   Subterfuge
•   Survival
•   Willpower
[/note]All rolls involve a d20.  This represents the sway of fate in one direction or another.  But Player Characters (PCs) can use skill dice to sway fate in their favor.  Each point the PC has in a skill gives them 1d6 to add to their roll.  However, PCs can also purchase d8s in skills of their choice as well, though at higher cost.  

Task Resolution is determined by comparing the sum of this dice pool to the difficulty of the task.  The DC (difficulty class) is a number representing how challenging an action is.  If the roll meets or exceeds the difficulty, it is a success.  If it falls short, it is a failure.  However success and failure come in degrees.  Any success up to the DC+9 is a standard success, and is treated normally.  Succeeding or failing by 10 or more is an epic success or an epic failure, and should be treated as such.  A roll between DC-9 and DC are failures, but not utter failures.  They often set a player up for future successes.  So, an Athletics roll to leap across a chasm that only fails by 3 does not necessarily result in the hero falling to his death.  The hero might grab hold of a root protruding from the other side, or a ledge with a hand-hold, and be able to climb up.  A failed attack might teach the hero something about his enemy, granting him +2 on his next attempt.  This kind of failure complicates the hero's life, but does not ruin it.  Only an Epic Failure has that chance.  

Roll (vs. DC)	Result
DC+10 or higher	Epic Success
DC or higher	Success
DC-1 or less	Failure
DC-10 or less	Epic Failure

Epic Failure, Epic Success: The effects of an epic failure or success should be left up to the GM.  They should be significant either way, but the details are not dictated by the game.  A critical hit (doubling the damage dice) would be appropriate for an epic success in combat, but such a success could also impose some kind of penalty on the target instead, like losing a turn.  

An Epic failure should result in something appropriately bad happening.  And epic fail of an athletics check could result in a horrible fall or a debilitating sprain—an epic fail of Subterfuge in attracting the attention of the whole castle guard.  

Difficulty
Each skill use is rolled against a difficulty.  Sometimes the difficulty is determined by an opposed roll, but the following standards for stable DCs give a baseline understanding of levels of difficulty.  The baselines below are measured in multiples of 5, but this is not a requirement for DCs, it simply provides a scale for challenges.

This admittedly steals pretty heavily from sparkletwist's Q&D, but adjusts the numbers to be more fitting to the model, and expands the list slightly. These numbers may still need to be tweaked.  

Difficulty (DC)	Explanation
Simple (5)	Anybody with half a brain can do it.  Don't bother rolling.
Easy (10)	Even a person with no training has a good chance of success.
Average (15)	A normal person has trouble with this, but might get lucky now and then.  Adventurers handle this stuff daily.
Challenging (20)	Beyond the scope of a pedestrian.  Time to call in a professional.
Heroic (30)	This is a job for heroes!
Climactic (35)	Dire straits even for the most illustrious of champions.
Legendary (40)	The odds of success are so bleak, victory makes you the stuff of legends.
Mythic (50+)	Challenges this great are worthy of the gods.  They may not even be possible for mere mortals....

Static DC: When the Difficulty is something unchanging, a skill is rolled against a static DC.  Jumping across a chasm, navigating a woodland without getting lost, and forging a sword are always static challenges, because the task doesn't fight back, it just is what it is.

Opposed DC: In some cases, the DC is determined by the abilities and efforts of an enemy or opponent.    This is seen most dramatically in combat, where the difficulty of striking on enemy is determined by that enemy's ability to defend themselves.  Such skills use the enemy's skill dice roll as the DC.

Skill Descriptions
[note](http://th07.deviantart.net/fs70/PRE/i/2012/251/9/4/weland_by_dewfooter-d5dr3mg.jpg)[/note]Animals:This skill applies to any checks that depend on handling, commanding, or otherwise influencing animals.  Anything from soothing an angry wolf, to driving a chariot, training a guard dog, or hunting with a falcon would fall under the animals skill.  Sometimes this might be against a set DC, such as teaching a dog a new trick.  Others, like a horse race, might be an opposed roll against your opponent's animals roll (or whatever is appropriate)

Athletics: Athletics is the skill you roll when you want to attempt some physical feat.  Anything from climbing to balancing, to jumping, to swimming would fall under this skill.  A particular leap might have a set DC, whereas a footrace would be an opposed roll.  

Charm: The Charm skill applies to any kind of "friendly" influence.  It can be used for bartering and haggling; to talk down someone who wishes you harm, or to seduce the object of your desire.  Charm is typically an opposed roll, though there are exceptions.  The GM might assign a set DC for placating an angry mob, for instance.  Charm is considered a type of mental attack for purposes of resolving social encounters.

Craft: Craft is unusual, in that it is not strictly speaking one skill.  It refers to one of a number of craft skills, which might include blacksmithing, leatherworking, woodcarving, stonemasonry, or a handful of other crafts.  Crafts are organized by what materials and basic types of objects they involve.  Blacksmithing, for instance, allows a player to make any kind of metal tool—bronze or iron, and anything from tongs, to a sword, to a suit of armor.   These are meant to be somewhat broad in nature.

Deceit: Lying, cheating, withholding information, and confusion fall under deceit.  Deceit is distinguished from subterfuge in that Subterfuge is a physical attempt to hide, either oneself, or an action, whereas deceit is the attempt to fool, trick, or talk your way out of a situation by staying a step ahead of your target.  It applies equally well to bluffing your way out of a tight spot as it does to selling a cover identity.  Breaking rules without being caught or speaking in code without others picking up on the secret messages also falls under this skill.  Deceit can be used both to determine if a single falsehood is believed, and also as a mental attack in social encounters.  

Fortitude: Your Fortitude represents your ability to take a beating, to resist the effects of fatigue after long hours, endure extended physical strain, and withstand exposure to the elements.    Fortitude therefore has two functions: the first is that each rank in Fortitude affords the character 1d6 hit points in the physical track; the second is to act as a physical defense in situations where the PC is attempting to shrug off damage from the elements or tiredness.

[note](http://fc08.deviantart.net/fs71/f/2010/213/0/5/05423fe459a43cecc4d47a725e328a4f.jpg)[/note]Heal: Medicine in Cad Goleór takes the form of tightly wound bandages and herbal remedies.  These often correspond with some degree of magical healing, as the healers of the world are often also either priests or spellcasters.  The heal skill is used to administers salves, potions, and herbs that will cure sickness & affliction, and relieve stress on the hero.  Heal is used to relieve physical stress from the hero, healing him by 1d4 HP on a successful roll, or 1d8 on a critical success.  Alternatively, it could remove some affliction the PC carries.

Insight: Insight represents your ability to detect lies, assess motives, and read body language.  You use this skill to determine if someone is hiding something, to uncover clues about them, and be observant.  Insight is a mental defense, which is usable against deceit and some uses of subterfuge such as feinting or misdirection.  It can be used actively (on the player's turn if they suspect something) or passively (ordered by the GM at a relevant moment).

Inspire: This is your ability to speak words that make others want to be great—to fill them with hope, desire, and the drive to achieve their goals.  It can motivate, express leadership, or rally people to your cause.  It can be used to cure the effects of Intimidate, in which case the successful intimidate roll becomes the DC.  It can also be used to grant your allies a +1 luck bonus for the upcoming encounter (this must be made before the encounter begins, when you know it will be taking place), or as a mental attack in certain social encounters (like a debate).

Intimidate: Your ability to bully, insult, frighten, or put down are covered by the Intimidate skill.  It is a mental attack in social encounters, and can be used in combat to paralyze an enemy, or draw their attention towards you (and away from a more vulnerable ally).   Mental damage caused by Intimidate can be cured with Inspire, and Intimidate is resisted with Willpower.  

Knowledge (type): Like Craft, Knowledge is a set of several different skills, rather than one skill.  It represents your understanding and expertise is certain matters and certain subjects.  These subjects include the Arts (music, metalworking, etc), Metaphysics (gods, magic, the three worlds, & faerie lore), History (of the region, of a clan, of the island, of various important events), Law (rights, prohibitions, punishments, enforcement), and Nature (tree lore, if a plant is safe to eat, animal habitats & predation).  This is generally treated as a utility skill used simply to find a piece of information, but in some cases, Knowledge can be used as a defense against deceit, if your knowledge base could allow you to spot a fake.  

Melee: This shows your character's skill at close-quarters combat.  Anything from swords, axes, and spears, to shields use melee.  No warrior would be trained to attack without receiving at least as much training in defense, so Melee is both a physical attack and a physical defense against itself.  Melee rolls are always opposed, but the GM is free to give a shorthand roll for NPCs based on the average of their skill dice.

Occult: There are mysterious things in this world, and only a few know what to make of them.  The occult skill is used to conduct rituals, get a sense of the supernatural, and, in classes with access to them, to cast spells.  Occult can be used for making a sacrifice to the gods, to sense the presence of fae, identify a curse, or the properties of a magical weapon.  Spellcasting characters can sometimes use occult to make a direct mental attack (in which case occult may well be the defense as well).

Perception: Skill at using and interpreting the 5 senses falls under perception.  Any character trying to notice something subtle happening (whether by spotting, listening, or even smelling or tasting) would use the perception skill.  It is also used to search for something specific, and to defend against subterfuge.  

Performance (type): The ability to stir emotions through any performative art is covered with this skill.  Performance is broken up into several sub-skills, like Craft and Knowledge are.  These could be acting, dancing, music (the player should specify what instrument(s) they play), singing, or poetry, among others.  This covers most any application of performance, from making a living at it, to a bard's magical songs, to a PC's attempt at cathartic musical therapy that heals mental damage (at the GM's discretion).

Ranged: This is an attack skill, and applies to any physical attack that does not qualify as melee.  It does not matter whether it is performed with a thrown javelin or with a bow; these attacks may have different ranges, but both use the Ranged skill.  It is a straightforward physical attack, defended by Reflexes.  

Reflexes: Your reflexes indicate how quick and agile you are.  Dodging ranged attacks, initiative, and tumbling are all determined by your reflexes skill.  Reflexes is almost always an opposed roll, though, the GM may choose to average out an NPC's attack to simplify things.  

Subterfuge: Subterfuge is the skill that rules stealth, palming (including pick-pocketing), misdirection, and other kinds of trickery.  It can be used at -5 to feint in melee as well, and if successful, the enemy cannot defend against your attack.    The DC to hit an enemy who failed to detect a feint is 10+Shield+Misc.  Subterfuge is defended against with Perception.  

Survival: This is the skill for getting along in the wilderness.  It is used to determine success at foraging for food, finding (or building) shelter, and keeping warm in the cold.  Most things to do with not dying of starvation, poisoning, or exposure in the wilderness require a Survival roll.  It is a physical defense therefore against the natural world.  Depending on the area, things will be harder or easier.  There are dangers everywhere, but trying to survive high in the mountains of Niflmawr is much harder than getting along in the gap of Cill Bearna.  

Willpower : Your sense of self, your indomitable will, this skill is used for resisting temptation and coercion, withstanding mental stress, and keeping your mind strong.  Willpower is the mental equivalent of Fortitude.  Each rank of willpower grants the PC 1d6 permanent mental hit points.  Additionally, the skill can be used to defend against mental attacks, such as Charm and Intimidate.  

Reserved for Classes

You haven't really talked much about health and how damage will function yet but I just wanted to throw in my own two cents there based on my experiences running the Slaine RPG for the last year or so - include Enech as a form of social 'health' that is healed by noteworthy deeds, damaged by cowardice or taunting and insults and which is safeguarded by the Bard as a 'healer' in much the same way a Cleric normally maintains health.

Quote from: HippopotamusDundee
You haven't really talked much about health and how damage will function yet but I just wanted to throw in my own two cents there based on my experiences running the Slaine RPG for the last year or so - include Enech as a form of social 'health' that is healed by noteworthy deeds, damaged by cowardice or taunting and insults and which is safeguarded by the Bard as a 'healer' in much the same way a Cleric normally maintains health.

It's definitely an idea I've been working with.  I currently have separate HP tracks for Physical and Mental strain, and I was thinking of having one for Enech/Social standing, though the last time I brought it up, it was not well received. 

Not well received by this community or someone(s) else?

Quote from: Theopteryx
Not well received by this community or someone(s) else?

I meant here.  It wasn't vitriolic or anything, the people who commented on it just didn't think it was a good idea.

Quote from: Seraphine_Harmonium

Quote from: HippopotamusDundee
You haven't really talked much about health and how damage will function yet but I just wanted to throw in my own two cents there based on my experiences running the Slaine RPG for the last year or so - include Enech as a form of social 'health' that is healed by noteworthy deeds, damaged by cowardice or taunting and insults and which is safeguarded by the Bard as a 'healer' in much the same way a Cleric normally maintains health.

It's definitely an idea I've been working with.  I currently have separate HP tracks for Physical and Mental strain, and I was thinking of having one for Enech/Social standing, though the last time I brought it up, it was not well received. 

I remember the thread in question (for the record, I'm still with you in favor of a separate track to measure Social stress) but I think as far as those arguments go the distinction here is that Enech wouldn't just represent social stress but also honour and public opinion, which receive enough emphasis in the Celtic cycles that in this milieu there is definitely a place and a need for something like social stress to track that.

You can break a man's body, you can break his mind, and you can break his pride.

I heartily endorse any system that successfully models all three.

Oh yeah. Your art selections are fantastic also.

So, I'm going to rant about geasa. In theory, I like how you've given the Celtic idea of a geas some fluff and crunch significance that intertwine nicely, and created a certain "hook" for why player characters are adventurers and not turnip farmers. However, I can't say I'm particularly fond of your actual implementation at all.

First of all, I don't really like how geasa are almost inevitably going to be a lot more specific than the ill-defined criteria that cause compels to happen in Q&D; really, they're even far more defined than FATE's aspects. This means that the kind of circumstances where characters get compelled and the kinds of things they'll be compelled to do are going to be a lot more rigid than in other games, which, in turn, makes the mechanic seem more inflexible.

Inflexibility is my biggest issue with it. Since you're using Q&D as an inspiration, I don't think I'm presuming too much to assume that the idea of geas points is inspired by Q&D's "awesome points,"  but you seem to have stripped away a lot of the usefulness. You're vague on what "bending the rules" means, so you could have a lot more in mind-- but, aside from that one offhand mention, and the fact that they are called geas points, it seems like the only thing that geas points are really good for is avoiding geasa. So, you have a certain set of narrative control meta-points, but there isn't the trade-off that systems like FATE (or vanilla Q&D) have where the game occasionally takes control of your character (that's what a compel basically is, after all) and in exchange you can then turn those resources around to take control of the game sometimes, through getting bonuses or making declarations or just plain taking control of the plot for a little while. Instead, you just have a situation where your character gets compelled to do stuff and get points to let you sometimes avoid that... but that's all the points are good for. In other words, it's turning a mechanic that is designed to increase player empowerment into a mechanic that actually reduces player empowerment. It's all stick and no carrot.

If you need any help playtesting this system, I'd be glad to provide some :)

I actually love the Geas point system, because it functions as a way of justifying "narrativist" game mechanics in-universe (very immersion-fostering, that).  I agree with sparkletwist that it'd be good to get a list of things Geas points could commonly be used for, and I think your emphasis that geasa should be broken only in times of extreme duress and that there will always be complications is a smart move.  So yeah, an expansion of what Geas points can be used for would be awesome.  I actually quite like the idea that "compels" have to be super-specific.

I think the skill list looks good, and I like the fairly simple levels-of-success chart (more complicated than d20, less than Q&D).

How're you going to handle wounds?  Hit points?  Some sort of wound track system?

Quote from: sparkletwist
So, I'm going to rant about geasa. In theory, I like how you've given the Celtic idea of a geas some fluff and crunch significance that intertwine nicely, and created a certain "hook" for why player characters are adventurers and not turnip farmers. However, I can't say I'm particularly fond of your actual implementation at all.

First of all, I don't really like how geasa are almost inevitably going to be a lot more specific than the ill-defined criteria that cause compels to happen in Q&D; really, they're even far more defined than FATE's aspects. This means that the kind of circumstances where characters get compelled and the kinds of things they'll be compelled to do are going to be a lot more rigid than in other games, which, in turn, makes the mechanic seem more inflexible.

Inflexibility is my biggest issue with it. Since you're using Q&D as an inspiration, I don't think I'm presuming too much to assume that the idea of geas points is inspired by Q&D's "awesome points,"  but you seem to have stripped away a lot of the usefulness. You're vague on what "bending the rules" means, so you could have a lot more in mind-- but, aside from that one offhand mention, and the fact that they are called geas points, it seems like the only thing that geas points are really good for is avoiding geasa. So, you have a certain set of narrative control meta-points, but there isn't the trade-off that systems like FATE (or vanilla Q&D) have where the game occasionally takes control of your character (that's what a compel basically is, after all) and in exchange you can then turn those resources around to take control of the game sometimes, through getting bonuses or making declarations or just plain taking control of the plot for a little while. Instead, you just have a situation where your character gets compelled to do stuff and get points to let you sometimes avoid that... but that's all the points are good for. In other words, it's turning a mechanic that is designed to increase player empowerment into a mechanic that actually reduces player empowerment. It's all stick and no carrot.

Quote from: Steerpike
I actually love the Geas point system, because it functions as a way of justifying "narrativist" game mechanics in-universe (very immersion-fostering, that).  I agree with sparkletwist that it'd be good to get a list of things Geas points could commonly be used for, and I think your emphasis that geasa should be broken only in times of extreme duress and that there will always be complications is a smart move.  So yeah, an expansion of what Geas points can be used for would be awesome.  I actually quite like the idea that "compels" have to be super-specific.

I think the skill list looks good, and I like the fairly simple levels-of-success chart (more complicated than d20, less than Q&D).

How're you going to handle wounds?  Hit points?  Some sort of wound track system?

Thanks Steerpike and Sparkletwist for your thoughts.

First, I would like to say that a lot of the information has not been presented yet.  I have been thinking about what you say though, and currently the idea posited does mean points are not going to be super abundant.  I do plan for the characters to be able to use their geas points to be awesome with crazy abilities from time to time, and I will provide a list of two of what kind of things those might be.  I know I have not provided anything yet, and I might need some help and/or advice to get there, but the end goal is definitely that the uses of geas points (aside from breaking your geas) will be totally awesome. 

I am thinking that there may also be situational "compels" in certain cases.  An honorable character would be compelled to accept a duel or face a loss of Enech, for instance.  I have not decided absolutely if Enech will be measured like social HP yet, or whether it will operate more generally in tiers or levels, but it will definitely play a role. So that could potentially be the source of another point. 

Quote from: HippopotamusDundee

Quote from: Seraphine_Harmonium

Quote from: HippopotamusDundee
You haven't really talked much about health and how damage will function yet but I just wanted to throw in my own two cents there based on my experiences running the Slaine RPG for the last year or so - include Enech as a form of social 'health' that is healed by noteworthy deeds, damaged by cowardice or taunting and insults and which is safeguarded by the Bard as a 'healer' in much the same way a Cleric normally maintains health.

It's definitely an idea I've been working with.  I currently have separate HP tracks for Physical and Mental strain, and I was thinking of having one for Enech/Social standing, though the last time I brought it up, it was not well received. 

I remember the thread in question (for the record, I'm still with you in favor of a separate track to measure Social stress) but I think as far as those arguments go the distinction here is that Enech wouldn't just represent social stress but also honour and public opinion, which receive enough emphasis in the Celtic cycles that in this milieu there is definitely a place and a need for something like social stress to track that.

Quote from: Theopteryx
You can break a man's body, you can break his mind, and you can break his pride.

I heartily endorse any system that successfully models all three.

Oh yeah. Your art selections are fantastic also.

Thanks both for your opinions!  I think I will try the Enech as social HP model, and at least try to playtest and refine it.  If it turns out that I can't make it work, I can always change it later.  But for now the Triad lives!  (I will get right on a post about all this)  Should be up in a few hours.

And you guys, Hippo, Theopteryx, Steerpike, Sparkle, can all take review badges.  (http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3732/9519527556_b22eccf204_o.jpg) (http://www.thecbg.org/index.php/topic,209360.0.html)

And Ghostman, I will definitely take you up on your offer to help playtest at some point!

I'll playtest too.

It'll be like the normal group. :grin:
(Maybe I could even try making a Sorcha in the new system!)

Quote from: sparkletwist
I'll playtest too.

It'll be like the normal group. :grin:
(Maybe I could even try making a Sorcha in the new system!)

Sorcha is shaping up to be Cad Goleór's first "Iconic." :D
In other new, I appear to have lost the post I was preparing on Combat and Stress, as my internet completely froze up a little while ago.  So that's a pisser!  :explode:

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Stress and Combat
"The great Gaels of Ireland are the men that God made mad, For all their wars are merry, and all their songs are sad."--G.K. Chesterton

Let's face it: combat is a huge part of adventure RPGs.  It's expected, and it's one of the things we look forward to when playing such games.  Having our characters pick up a blade and lay into their enemies is just plain fun!  Perhaps we all have those violent fantasies, and the legends and history of the Celts certainly does carry an undertone of madness and love of fighting.  But whether your character loves it or not, they will eventually see combat.

Before we begin, it is important to know that in Geas RPG, there are three different forms of "Combat" each involving different skills and Stress gauges.  

Physical combat, the kind we most often think of, is governed primarily by three skills: Melee, Ranged, and Reflex.  A handful of other skills may occasionally see combat application, but these three cover the large majority of combat actions.  Physical combat makes use of the Health (HP) gauge, and damage is cured by the Heal skill.

Mental combat, a test of wills and other mental forms of competition, covers a broad range of skills, from Charm, Deceit, and Intimidation to Willpower and Insight.  Mental combat makes use of the Psyche (PP) Gauge, and damage is cured by Inspire.

Social Combat, contests of rank and social heirarchy operates on some of the same skills as Mental Combat, but follows a different stress gauge called Enech (EP).  Enech needs to be discussed on its own, as it functions just a little differently, but damage can often be healed by Performance or Inspire.

Initiative: Often the first thing to happen in combat is attempting to "get the drop" on your enemy.  At the beginning of Round 1 of combat, all players and the GM roll 1d20+Reflex for initiative.  As would be expected, the highest results go first.

Attack and Defense
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The bread and butter of combat is attacking and defending.  In close-quarters, the Melee skill handles both.  Combat at a distance pits the Ranged skill against Reflex.

Attacking: Unless special circumstances dictate otherwise, you can only attack on your turn.  Roll 1d20+Melee (or Ranged)+Misc. and compare your result to your target's defense score.  Tie goes to the PCs, so if your attack roll meets or exceeds your target's roll, your attack is successful and inflicts stress.  Your attack roll can be modified by conditions, class abilities, or magic.

Defending: Unlike attacking, defending is an instant action, meaning you get to do it on your enemy's turn as soon as they start their attack.  Roll 1d20+Melee (or Reflex)+Misc to determine your overall defense against that attack.  If your roll equals or beats your opponent's attack, you have successfully fended off their attack, and take no stress.  Defense rolls can be modified by shields, conditions, magic, or class abilities.
[ooc]Optional rule #1: Each character in combat only rolls defense once per round, and attacks from multiple opponents all use that value as the DC.  This is to speed play.
Optional rule #2: NPCs can instead be given a set defense set at the average of their defense skill roll results.  This speeds play even further by removing the need for NPCs to ever spend time rolling for defense.  It keeps the attention on the PCs.[/ooc]

Stress
[note](http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7405/9544014058_353f4a0f1c_o.jpg)[/note]Stress refers to any kind of wear on a person, whether it is physical damage to their body, or the mental and emotional strain of arguing with a close friend.  A person can only take so much stress before they collapse.  Each character has a base stress threshold of 6, or the max on one Hit Die in each Stress Gauge.  A character can take additional stress equal to their fortitude in encounters where stress is physical (combat, wilderness survival, etc.) or their Willpower when stress is mental or emotional (political debate, personal argument, or resisting a seduction attempt).  Social health and stress function somewhat differently, so we will talk about that on its own.  When a character uses up all of their stress, they become incapacitated for the rest of the scene, and as long afterwards as is appropriate.

Being incapacitated is not the same as being killed, even in combat situations, unless it is that kind of game, or such a moment in the "plot" of the adventure.   It can be as simple as becoming winded, or can indicate being knocked unconscious, or suffering any other injury that would take you out of the fight.  Perhaps you have been stabbed, and have to put pressure on the wound to avoid bleeding out.  Enemies are generally assumed to ignore these characters, as they are not currently a threat.  However, if the GM wants a villain to threaten the death of an incapacitated PC, or for that matter if the PCs want to threaten someone a villain cares about, that can be done too.

Health (HP)
Also called "Hit Points" the Health gauge represents all forms of physical strain, not only bodily injury.  Health also tracks Stress from diseases, fatigue, or exposure to elements.  Health is governed by the Fortitude skill.  Each level of Fortitude grants the character 1d6 Health, on top of the standard 6 that all PCs receive, regardless of whether they possess the skill or not.  Short of incapacitation, HP lost during combat typically goes away once the encounter is over.  The results of incapacitation usually carries over into later encounters, and can sometimes result in penalties until PC recovers completely.

Wits (WP)
[ooc]I am playing with a few different terms for this.  The above "Wits" is one of them, but I am also working with "Mentality," "Equilibrium," "Psyche," and "Will."  I am taking suggestions on these options, or other alternatives.[/ooc]
Also to be referred to as "Wit Points" or "Will points," these represent your mental and emotional health, your will, and your sense of self.  This is governed by the Willpower skill, which gives d6es in WP in the same way levels of Fortitude grant HP.  Wits models how well you handle mental strain, whether from attempting to uncover information (Knowledge), resisting temptation (Willpower vs. Charm), or trying to spot lies (Insight vs. Deceit).  Like with Health, stress to this gauge usually evaporates after the encounter is over.  Incapacitation via mental stress can mean one of the following: You have given in to the urging of another, you have had a nervous breakdown and are curled up in the fetal position, you are now having a psychotic episode and are mindlessly destroying things until you can come to your senses, or something you and the GM find appropriate.

Enech (EP)
A form of honor, Enech functions a little differently than Health and Wits.  While it functions similarly as a measure of social "health" Enech is not improved by one particular skill.  Enech Points are gained and lost through deeds and actions.  You can use the Intimidate skill to insult someone, thereby damaging their Enech, but if they perform a feat of valor, that damage can be restored.  All increases and decreases in Enech are considered permanent.  A successful use of the Perform skill (inspired by a feat performed by the subject) can increase Enech, however, only one attempt is allowed per feat.  Note that the feat itself (if there were witnesses to it) can improve Enech.  Performance serves to increase it by spreading the hero's reputation.  Some characters will care more than others about maintaining their Enech, however, losing Enech should not be taken lightly: Incapacitation in this Stress gauge means you have lost all social standing whatsoever, and have no legal rights.   Any of your enemies would be perfectly within the law to kill you, and you would have no legal claim to property, or even yourself is someone should desire you as a slave.

The biggest problem with Enech (or any sort of "social HP" really) is that, unlike physical or mental HP, which are more or less inherent, something like Enech is highly context-sensitive. If you get hurt or psychologically harmed or whatever, and go to another town, you'll still have those injuries. On the other hand, social status is generally not so transferable: people won't instantly know of your triumphs or your disgraces, so to have your "social health" as a number that follows you around seems kind of counterintuitive.

I am not a fan at all of rolled HP. In particular, it wasn't something I had in mind for Q&D at all. Of course, this isn't really Q&D any more, so your mileage may vary with "things that worked for Q&D," but I'll just throw that out there.

Speaking of which, I'm not sure how you're going to handle damage, but one of the big things I've learned through playing Q&D (that I intend to revise in Q&D2 in some way or other) is that pure rolled damage isn't "interesting." Characters should get bonus damage from their stats/skills (like D&D) or overflow success (like WoD, FATE, etc.) or maybe even both (like Asura) because otherwise it feels too randomly swingy and kind of takes the fun out of combat.

Quote from: sparkletwistThe biggest problem with Enech (or any sort of "social HP" really) is that, unlike physical or mental HP, which are more or less inherent, something like Enech is highly context-sensitive. If you get hurt or psychologically harmed or whatever, and go to another town, you'll still have those injuries. On the other hand, social status is generally not so transferable: people won't instantly know of your triumphs or your disgraces, so to have your "social health" as a number that follows you around seems kind of counterintuitive.

I think there are three ways around this problem:

1) Make it so that Enech is only gained or lost through truly impressive/dishonourable deeds and actions - deeds of valour or wickedness that are so significant they will follow someone around, because they generate rumours and stories.  Like, for example, in A Song of Ice and Fire Jaime Lannister would have low Enech due to the Kingslaying (everyone knows of this deed - so much so that he is known as the Kingslayer) while Barristan Selmy, as one of the greatest knights the Seven Kingdoms have ever seen, would have high Enech (mention the name "Barristan Selmy" and everyone knows you're talking about one of the most chivalrous men the realm has ever seen).  Here, Enech represents not only the greatness/awfulness of your deeds, but also how well you are known.  Just doing a nice thing for someone or screwing someone over wouldn't necessarily improve or drain Enech... but slaying a powerful monster (with witnesses) or burning a village to the ground would.

2) Make it so that the consequences of having high or low Enech only apply in context-appropriate circumstances - like when your legal standing is important.  In this sense people really did have "social health" of a certain kind.  There are lots of examples of this throughout history - excommunicates during the middle ages, for example, were shunned, banished, and shamed.  In circumstances where the character is able to conceal their identity, their Enech simply isn't relevant because it's effectively being obfsucated.  This could lead to some very interesting roleplaying situations (disguises, aliases, etc).

3) Incorporate visual markers of Enech i.e. brands, tatoos, trophies, badges, etc.  I'm not sure whether this solution fits well with the historical feel of the setting.

And of course some/all of these could be combined...

Quote from: Seraphine_Harmonium
Optional rule #1: Each character in combat only rolls defense once per round, and attacks from multiple opponents all use that value as the DC.  This is to speed play.

While that makes no difference at all to a character who is the target of an attack at most once in a round, it makes enormous difference when a character is attacked several times during a round. A single exceptional roll could leave the character practically defenseless against all the attacks coming his way, or make him nearly invincible for the round. This would certainly make misc modifiers to defense rolls worth a lot more than modifiers to attack rolls.

Quote from: Seraphine_Harmonium
Each level of Fortitude grants the character 1d6 Health, on top of the standard 6 that all PCs receive

When are these HP dice rolled? At character creation/when increasing the skill? Or every time when combat begins? Why should HP be randomized at all, instead of eg. making it a flat +3/Fortitude bonus?

The same goes for the WP (which I'd prefer naming "Will Points" over "Wit Points")

One easy way to solve the roll vs. flat bonus issue is to just present two options (i.e. you can roll 1d6 or just pick +3).

Yay comments!  Ok, let's see...

Quote from: sparkletwist
The biggest problem with Enech (or any sort of "social HP" really) is that, unlike physical or mental HP, which are more or less inherent, something like Enech is highly context-sensitive. If you get hurt or psychologically harmed or whatever, and go to another town, you'll still have those injuries. On the other hand, social status is generally not so transferable: people won't instantly know of your triumphs or your disgraces, so to have your "social health" as a number that follows you around seems kind of counterintuitive.

Ok.  I get this.  I think you mentioned this the last time I brought up the idea of social HP, and it's totally a valid concern.  However, the world this system is designed for places such a high value on honor and reputation--and indeed, in a metaphysical sense often links these traits with general health--that "Social Hit Points" really AREN'T counter-intuitive, at least not in principle.

I think the way Steerpike talked about it is totally appropriate.  It applies pretty much just to actions that follow you around, creating rumors and wide-spread reputation, and the benefits or penalties only apply when contextually appropriate.  I may also provide a scale showing how well known you are outside your own area based on your Enech.

Quote from: Steerpike3) Incorporate visual markers of Enech i.e. brands, tatoos, trophies, badges, etc.  I'm not sure whether this solution fits well with the historical feel of the setting.

Interesting idea.  I mean, there is some precedence for this: the torc (neck ring) was a symbol of authority, and therefore might be something that can only be worn by someone with a high enough Enech to warrant it.  Thereby, having one would be a visible marker wherever you go, of your honor and "Social Health," allowing it to transfer over. 

Not going off of a real practice here, but there could be something in the idea of branding as well.  I am thinking of the face that "Enech" comes from an Old Gaelic word meaning "face."  What if those who lost their enech (and this would have to be ALL of it) were branded on the face.  It would be a very visceral "defacing" of the dishonorable, and a permanent mark of shame.

Quote from: sparkletwistI am not a fan at all of rolled HP. In particular, it wasn't something I had in mind for Q&D at all. Of course, this isn't really Q&D any more, so your mileage may vary with "things that worked for Q&D," but I'll just throw that out there.

Speaking of which, I'm not sure how you're going to handle damage, but one of the big things I've learned through playing Q&D (that I intend to revise in Q&D2 in some way or other) is that pure rolled damage isn't "interesting." Characters should get bonus damage from their stats/skills (like D&D) or overflow success (like WoD, FATE, etc.) or maybe even both (like Asura) because otherwise it feels too randomly swingy and kind of takes the fun out of combat.

Quote from: GhostmanWhen are these HP dice rolled? At character creation/when increasing the skill? Or every time when combat begins? Why should HP be randomized at all, instead of eg. making it a flat +3/Fortitude bonus?

The same goes for the WP (which I'd prefer naming "Will Points" over "Wit Points")

Quote from: SteerpikeOne easy way to solve the roll vs. flat bonus issue is to just present two options (i.e. you can roll 1d6 or just pick +3).

Randomized HP is not something that is crucial to my conception of the system, so I am willing to entertain flat HP advancement.  I am totally willing to go with Steerpike's suggestion of the choice between rolling and taking a flat +3, at least for the time being.  That said, to answer Ghostman's question, I had intended for the rolls for HP (and WP) gained to take place when the skill was taken/increased.  That had been included in my first draft of the post (which I lost when my internet crapped out) and I forgot to include it this time around.

Now, speaking of damage: this is another thing I forgot to include, and will soon go back and fix.  I do not plan to have a separate set of "Stats" as in D&D.  What I WAS planning to have, however, is a set of traits, so that someone can choose "Strong" if their character is particularly strong, and that trait would provide a bonus of 1 or 2 on damage rolls (and other relevant situations).  I appreciate the simplicity of the Q&D model of damage determined by importance of character, or basic weapon size.  I want something in between the latter, and the D&D model, where every weapon's damage die is charted individually.  I really like all my crazy dice.  I love rolling d4s, d10s, and d8s.  So I want weapons to deal a range of damages. 

I like the idea that Enech tracks overall social influence of a sort.  Perhaps it might best be considered as a combination of social status and your reputation in the world.  Perhaps EP can be positive or negative and serve directly as a modifier to social rolls?  So a person of average social status with a moderate reputation might have EP +1 or +2, which serves as a bonus when he wants to assert some of that social influence, but if he's a known coward, he might have EP -3, which serves as a penalty to his social skill rolls because people don't like him from the get-go.

The only issues I see GMs having to adjudicate with EP are situations where a PC's Enech might not be known (somewhere no one has heard of Arngrim Faebane might just see a big dude instead of the guy who cuts down unseelie for giggles) or similarly, when someone's social clout is not readily visible (a ruler could just take off his torque and go unnoticed).  Depending on how fluff works, the latter is a voluntary and temporary downgrading of one's Enech (removing the symbols of his station), but I'm not sure how to handle the former outside of just winging it.

Now, at the risk of MOAR STATS to track, you could break Enech into Social Standing and Reputation, which could simply apply or not apply based on the situation.  You could also have social traits (Band of Brothers, You Can Crash Here Anytime, I Owe You One, etc.) that tie into Enech but are too specific for a general rating like EP.

Will there be rules for...

1) Fighting with two weapons?
2) Two-handed weapons?
3) Sneak attacks/Surprise?
4) Called shots?
5) Wounds or injuries/maiming (beyond just losing HP)?
6) Maneuvers like disarming, sundering, tripping, etc?
7) Reach weapons?
8) Mounted combat?
9) Morale/fear?
10) Critical hits?
11) Fatigue?
12) Mass combat?

Quote from: Steerpike
Will there be rules for...

1) Fighting with two weapons?
2) Two-handed weapons?
3) Sneak attacks/Surprise?
4) Called shots?
5) Wounds or injuries/maiming (beyond just losing HP)?
6) Maneuvers like disarming, sundering, tripping, etc?
7) Reach weapons?
8) Mounted combat?
9) Morale/fear?
10) Critical hits?
11) Fatigue?
12) Mass combat?

Some yes, some no, some will be abstacted, but I guess you leave me no choice but to go down the list. 
1.  Maybe.  I hate how complicated it got in D&D to fight with 2 weapons, and tracking ambidexterity, two weapon fighting, weapon size, and so forth.  I like the idea of having the option, but given the choice between complicated rules and no rules, I'd go with no rules.  I guess 2 attacks in exchange for lack of a shield might work, though it feels overpowered.
2. Yes, I will work something out.  It will probably give a slight bonus to damage.
3. I do plan on having a "rogue" class, so yes, there will be sneak attacks in some form.
4. There will PROBABLY be called shots of some kind, taken at a penalty or at a higher DC.
5.  At current, injuries and maiming are looking like they will be optional, and would be incurred as possible consequences of being dropped to 0 HP.   Or, alternatively, as possible results of a critical hit.
6.  Yes, I think there will be maneuvers, and they will probably function pretty much like Q&D.
7.  Not sure.  None of the rules so far involve a grid, or anything that gets specific enough about distance for "reach" rules to become relevant.  If I recall, ORE has reach weapons provide a bonus to initiative, since you can attack them before they attack you.  I don't especially love that way of modeling reach, but it would fit in a bit better than the way D&D does it.
8.  To some extent, but they probably won't be very intricate.  The Animals skill would cover riding, keeping your horse under control, and things like that.  Not sure how detailed this will get though.
9. Well, I do know that you would use the Willpower skill to defend against fear, and Inspire can provide what could be called a "morale bonus" so in some form yes.  And there will probably be magic that causes panic. 
10.  Absolutely!  Critical hits are just the combat application of "Epic Success."  (No messing around with "critical threats") They typically double the damage dealt (though I may include consequence injuries and maiming as possibilities)
11.  As mentioned briefly under health, fatigue is one form of physical stress, and is represented by a simple loss of HP. 
12.  Mass combat will probably just be abstracted.  Like a general roll for one group vs. another.  If the PCs were involved, the "mass combat" might just be in the background, while a smaller more personal immediate combat allowed them to fight normally.

Quote from: Humabout
I like the idea that Enech tracks overall social influence of a sort.  Perhaps it might best be considered as a combination of social status and your reputation in the world. Perhaps EP can be positive or negative and serve directly as a modifier to social rolls?  So a person of average social status with a moderate reputation might have EP +1 or +2, which serves as a bonus when he wants to assert some of that social influence, but if he's a known coward, he might have EP -3, which serves as a penalty to his social skill rolls because people don't like him from the get-go.

Emphasis mine.  This is basically what was planned for it already.  Now, the idea of negative enech is interesting.  I mean, I definitely want there to be a clear "No Enech" point, as that is what the Fuidir are (people who are enslaved for breaking the social codes to the point where they have no honor left).  Though I do like the idea of a mirror-imaged "infamy" that could serve as a form of "street cred" in the seedier underbelly of society.  Having highly negative Enech could therefore result in bonuses with certain very specific types of people you would never get attention from with normal "positive" enech, but would make you be avoided like the plague by polite society.  I'll play with the idea.

Quote from: Humaboutonly issues I see GMs having to adjudicate with EP are situations where a PC's Enech might not be known (somewhere no one has heard of Arngrim Faebane might just see a big dude instead of the guy who cuts down unseelie for giggles) or similarly, when someone's social clout is not readily visible (a ruler could just take off his torque and go unnoticed).  Depending on how fluff works, the latter is a voluntary and temporary downgrading of one's Enech (removing the symbols of his station), but I'm not sure how to handle the former outside of just winging it.

Now, at the risk of MOAR STATS to track, you could break Enech into Social Standing and Reputation, which could simply apply or not apply based on the situation.  You could also have social traits (Band of Brothers, You Can Crash Here Anytime, I Owe You One, etc.) that tie into Enech but are too specific for a general rating like EP.

No, I don't want to split it up Enech into more things that mean less.  I like the trio.  Now, some application of the traits you mention though, might be possible. Traits are definitely something I had in mind.  I just have to figure out where to draw the line between Traits and Class features (which i currently plan will also be "pick-and-choose").

I might also give characters ways of conveying their Enech when it is not known.  If there is a bard in the party an appropriate perform skill to relay the deeds would be sufficient, I think, though there may be other ways if no such bard is present.  Having a local there who knows you introduce and vouch for you would also work, if that local was of sufficient Enech of their own. 

Quote from: Humabout
The only issues I see GMs having to adjudicate with EP are situations where a PC's Enech might not be known (somewhere no one has heard of Arngrim Faebane might just see a big dude instead of the guy who cuts down unseelie for giggles) or similarly, when someone's social clout is not readily visible (a ruler could just take off his torque and go unnoticed).  Depending on how fluff works, the latter is a voluntary and temporary downgrading of one's Enech (removing the symbols of his station), but I'm not sure how to handle the former outside of just winging it.

Now, at the risk of MOAR STATS to track, you could break Enech into Social Standing and Reputation, which could simply apply or not apply based on the situation.  You could also have social traits (Band of Brothers, You Can Crash Here Anytime, I Owe You One, etc.) that tie into Enech but are too specific for a general rating like EP.

There could be a mechanic for recognizing someone by name/reputation. Such a rolling a Knowledge check, with the DC based on how "foreign" the character you're trying to recognize is. Someone from the same village as you might require no check, while someone from a little-known location on the opposite end of the landmass could be quite obscure.

Quote from: Ghostman

Quote from: Humabout
The only issues I see GMs having to adjudicate with EP are situations where a PC's Enech might not be known (somewhere no one has heard of Arngrim Faebane might just see a big dude instead of the guy who cuts down unseelie for giggles) or similarly, when someone's social clout is not readily visible (a ruler could just take off his torque and go unnoticed).  Depending on how fluff works, the latter is a voluntary and temporary downgrading of one's Enech (removing the symbols of his station), but I'm not sure how to handle the former outside of just winging it.

Now, at the risk of MOAR STATS to track, you could break Enech into Social Standing and Reputation, which could simply apply or not apply based on the situation.  You could also have social traits (Band of Brothers, You Can Crash Here Anytime, I Owe You One, etc.) that tie into Enech but are too specific for a general rating like EP.

There could be a mechanic for recognizing someone by name/reputation. Such a rolling a Knowledge check, with the DC based on how "foreign" the character you're trying to recognize is. Someone from the same village as you might require no check, while someone from a little-known location on the opposite end of the landmass could be quite obscure.

That's true!  Actually that's pretty good.  I love it in principle, though it sounds like something that would want mathematical calculation.  Enech itself seems like it should be a factor, as should distance/foreignness....  Well, I'll have to work on it so it's not complicated to determine, but thanks Ghost!  Take a review badge! (http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3732/9519527556_b22eccf204_o.jpg) (http://www.thecbg.org/index.php/topic,209360.0.html)

And Humabout, let's be honest, you earned a review badge for Cad Goleor a long time ago.  You deserve one too!

Quote from: Seraphine_HarmoniumHowever, the world this system is designed for places such a high value on honor and reputation--and indeed, in a metaphysical sense often links these traits with general health--that "Social Hit Points" really AREN'T counter-intuitive, at least not in principle.

I understand that, but the thing about honor and reputation is that they require context. People have to know something about you and know something about the context to know anything about your reputation, and that reputation is context-sensitive.

For example, if Village A really hates Village B, and you've led a successful attack against Village B, then you're probably a hero in Village A, a hated foe in Village B, and in Village C that is unconnected to the conflict, they might not even know or care who you are. How does that translate into a numerical Enech?

I also think that this broader "reputation" is more of a persistent stat than something like HP-- like where you get into a fight, you lose HP, and you recover and they get better. Like, it seems like we're talking more about a maximum level of Enech rather than something that gets temporarily reduced when you get into a social conflict or whatnot. (Which may be one way of handling it, then it'd work like FATE's stress boxes where it gets reset at the beginning of every conflict)

Quote from: Seraphine_HarmoniumI am totally willing to go with Steerpike's suggestion of the choice between rolling and taking a flat +3, at least for the time being.

That's essentially just saying some people always roll a 3. It doesn't actually solve any of the issues with rolled HP.

Quote from: Seraphine_HarmoniumI love it in principle, though it sounds like something that would want mathematical calculation.  Enech itself seems like it should be a factor, as should distance/foreignness....

If you use Enech as a bonus/penalty itself, you can simply add it to the Knowledge roll - the more influencial you are, the more widespread knowledge of you would be.  A simple table should suffice for "foreignness":
+5......Someone you know (why are you rolling this???)
+2......A casual acquaintance.
+0......Someone from your town who doesn't frequent the same social circles as you
-2......Someone from the next town over/from the local region
-5......Someone from a distant city within your country
-10.....Someone from a neighboring country
-15.....Someone from a distant country
-20.....From the other side of the known world.

Warning: I've not done d20 in a while; penalties may not be fitting, but the idea is there.

Quote from: sparkletwistFor example, if Village A really hates Village B, and you've led a successful attack against Village B, then you're probably a hero in Village A, a hated foe in Village B, and in Village C that is unconnected to the conflict, they might not even know or care who you are. How does that translate into a numerical Enech?

In theory (if not always in practice), a code of honour can exist independently of political/personal motivations - in fact, there's often a conflict between "doing what's honourable" and doing what's advantageous for your family/liege-lord/monarch.  Village A and Village B may be fighting, but Village B may recognize that Village A's heroes are perfectly honourable combatants.  They're still enemies, but enemies with a respect for one another.  This might have all sorts of consequences - if your enemies consider you honourable, for example (because your deeds are measured against a sort of "objective" code of honour), they might be more inclined to treat you well if they capture you, or be more willing to conduct diplomacy with you, or believe your word even though you're enemies.  If they know you're an honourless dog with no legal rights they're more likely to just cut your throat.

For example, if you lead a very successful attack on Village B for Village A but are careful to avoid killing children or descrating their sacred grove, Village B might consider you a foe, but an honourable one, whereas if you burnt down their grove and left the heads of their children piled outisde the village gates they might see you as both a foe and as dishonourable.

Quote from: sparkletwistThat's essentially just saying some people always roll a 3. It doesn't actually solve any of the issues with rolled HP.

I don't understand your point.  By giving two options, you're setting a standard, fixed amount, but giving players a chance to gamble, and be rewarded or punished for their choice to leave things to the hands of fate.  What's the issue exactly?  That some combatants are going to have more hp than others, and thus luck becomes a factor in combat?  Some people like that.  Those that don't could just choose the fixed amount.

Quote from: sparkletwist
I understand that, but the thing about honor and reputation is that they require context. People have to know something about you and know something about the context to know anything about your reputation, and that reputation is context-sensitive.

For example, if Village A really hates Village B, and you've led a successful attack against Village B, then you're probably a hero in Village A, a hated foe in Village B, and in Village C that is unconnected to the conflict, they might not even know or care who you are. How does that translate into a numerical Enech?

I also think that this broader "reputation" is more of a persistent stat than something like HP-- like where you get into a fight, you lose HP, and you recover and they get better. Like, it seems like we're talking more about a maximum level of Enech rather than something that gets temporarily reduced when you get into a social conflict or whatnot. (Which may be one way of handling it, then it'd work like FATE's stress boxes where it gets reset at the beginning of every conflict)

The first two paragraphs were addressed pretty well by Steerpike, so I at the moment refer to his answer for that.  Though I am thinking that it might not actually be a problem if Honor is context-sensitive.  It fosters a degree of ties to a character's homeland.  When you go elsewhere, you may have to prove yourself again (or get a fresh start).

In response to paragraph 3: You know you are right, and thank you for reminding me of that.  I did want to be a more real "HIT POINT" gauge. So in that sense, I am thinking that Enech needs to have a way of take temporary damage.  A contest of insults could result in each person dealing Enech "damage" to the other.  This will go away over time (probably not IMMEDIATELY, but over a period of days or at most weeks).  The events that we described: the MAJOR actions that make or break you as an honorable person are the things that change your Max Enech, but are not the same as losing and healing "Enech Points" in the same way you lose HP. 

Quote from: sparkletwist

Quote from: Seraphine_HarmoniumI am totally willing to go with Steerpike's suggestion of the choice between rolling and taking a flat +3, at least for the time being.

That's essentially just saying some people always roll a 3. It doesn't actually solve any of the issues with rolled HP.

Then, what exactly IS the issue with rolled HP?

Quote from: Seraphine_HarmoniumThen, what exactly IS the issue with rolled HP?

The issue is that it's unbalancing in a way that adds nothing to the game. That is to say, you could build two identical characters, but Character A rolls a 6 for HP and Character B rolls a 1. Character A is just objectively better than Character B, and not even in a way that adds any depth or roleplaying diversity. That makes the game harder to balance (you can't be sure what "being level X" even means) and can lead to player frustration as their characters become less capable through absolutely no fault of their own.

I don't think the detrimental effect to the game is worth it at all just to indulge some people's desire to gamble. Attack and damage rolls add enough of a luck element.

I'm not sure if it's been covered yet, but has there been any thought regarding honour as an excplicitly metaphysical quality? That is, it means the same thing anywhere and in every context because it is a measure not of social esteem but of cosmic rectitude?

Quote from: sparkletwist

Quote from: Seraphine_HarmoniumThen, what exactly IS the issue with rolled HP?

The issue is that it's unbalancing in a way that adds nothing to the game. That is to say, you could build two identical characters, but Character A rolls a 6 for HP and Character B rolls a 1. Character A is just objectively better than Character B, and not even in a way that adds any depth or roleplaying diversity. That makes the game harder to balance (you can't be sure what "being level X" even means) and can lead to player frustration as their characters become less capable through absolutely no fault of their own.

I don't think the detrimental effect to the game is worth it at all just to indulge some people's desire to gamble. Attack and damage rolls add enough of a luck element.

Ok, I see where you are coming from but it does not feel like as big a problem as you make it out to be.  As Steerpike pointed out, some people actually like it.  If one person rolled all 1s, then they would have 11 HP when they maxed out Fortitude.  Next to someone who rolled all 6s, to a result of 36, yes, that sucks.  However, most characters would have between 21 and 26 HP when Fortitude was maxed out.

Granted, the "some people are more resilient than others" could also be a matter of how many points you have in Fortitude, and if something more was needed, a trait of some kind.  And I'm still not necessarily opposed to having HP advancement be more uniform.  Having all characters gain 3 HP per point of Fortitude could work fine for me.

Quote from: Theopteryx
I'm not sure if it's been covered yet, but has there been any thought regarding honour as an excplicitly metaphysical quality? That is, it means the same thing anywhere and in every context because it is a measure not of social esteem but of cosmic rectitude?

I like this very very much.

Quote from: HippopotamusDundee

Quote from: Theopteryx
I'm not sure if it's been covered yet, but has there been any thought regarding honour as an excplicitly metaphysical quality? That is, it means the same thing anywhere and in every context because it is a measure not of social esteem but of cosmic rectitude?

I like this very very much.

Ok, this is very interesting.  There certainly are metaphysical underpinnings and implications of Enech, so having it actually be a measurement of cosmic virtue would be an interesting way of reflecting that.  It would still reflect your deeds, but would take them into account whether anyone saw them or not.  So, if this was the case, would Enech still have any social meaning?  Would it be that everyone intrinsically knows this person to be honorable because of some Aura they can sense?

Would Cosmic Enech still be applicable as social HP, and just have a metaphysical SOURCE?  What would that mean if someone's insults could wear down your cosmic standing?  It seems rather strange for that to be possible.  Would this mind of metaphysical honor then be not something connected to society at all, but instead to your own soul and spirit?  An interesting thought, and it could have some interesting effects when it comes to game mechanics, but this would be starting to stray a bit far from the original concept, I think.

Quote from: Seraphine_Harmonium

Quote from: HippopotamusDundee

Quote from: Theopteryx
I'm not sure if it's been covered yet, but has there been any thought regarding honour as an excplicitly metaphysical quality? That is, it means the same thing anywhere and in every context because it is a measure not of social esteem but of cosmic rectitude?

I like this very very much.

So, if this was the case, would Enech still have any social meaning?  Would it be that everyone intrinsically knows this person to be honorable because of some Aura they can sense?

I would recommend that the songs of the Bards are what tells Ogma (or whoever else) of the value of the deeds of great men (possibly the animate spirits of the mortal world assist) and that this standing and these great deeds are then writ large in Ogham runes across the sky (or whatever else) where they can then be read by druids, intuited by witches, sensed as inspiration by other Bards etc. wherever you go in the world. But this is not a perfect system and while your base Enech score represents your cosmic standing, your score at any given moment represents how you are perceived in the mortal world - that is, how accurate a gauge of your standing that the bards and seers have given and how that has been affected by public opinion through insults or honourable deeds.

But this is just a suggestion.

Quote from: Seraphine_HarmoniumWould Cosmic Enech still be applicable as social HP, and just have a metaphysical SOURCE?  What would that mean if someone's insults could wear down your cosmic standing?

Someone's insults would not be wearing down your cosmic standing so much as by letting someone dishonour you and your gods-given reputation in that way you would be damaging your own cosmic standing with your cowardice and silence.

>> However, most characters would have between 21 and 26 HP when Fortitude was maxed out.

Most players I know would just re-roll.

Count me in Sparkletwists' column- randomization in battle rolls is fine; randomization in HP and statistics can be crippling- it lasts from session to session to session to session... until the character is dead...which thankfully will come sooner rather than later.

Quote from: Aitch DizzleSomeone's insults would not be wearing down your cosmic standing so much as by letting someone dishonour you and your gods-given reputation in that way you would be damaging your own cosmic standing with your cowardice and silence.

That's what I was thinking. I imagined honour as your deeds reflected in your manner and bearing. Scoundrels might disguise their low honour with deceit or, if that would be too powerful, attempt to explain how their apparent cravenness is in fact nothing of the sort.

Quote from: Gleaming Snakebirdrandomization in HP and statistics can be crippling- it lasts from session to session to session to session... until the character is dead...which thankfully will come sooner rather than later.

Pretty much this. Don't do it man.

Ok, so pretty much everyone wants to do away with HP randomization.  So.  If I had 6 be the base, and added 3 HP per level of fortitude, that would be an HP progression of 6, 9, 12, 15, 18, 21.  Having the final maximum HP be 21 kinda ircs my mild OCD tendencies though.  It's so close to 20 that I would rather the max just be 20, but that would mean shortchanging the last level.

An alternative would be to have the base HP instead be 10 instead of 6, and have each level of Fortitude grant an extra 2.  Fort would be less powerful, but would evenly progress 10, 12, 14, 16, 18, 20.  And there could be some appeal in saying that someone who works really hard at is can take twice as much strain as a normal person.

Of course, if I started at 10 and still went up by threes it would end at 25 which is a nice number too.  And if it went up by 4 each time, it would end at 30, which for characters of potentially mythic stature might be better.  Have them be three times as tough as a normal person instead of just twice as tough. 

I could do the "based on what kind of game it is" thing and leave it up to the GM how much each level gives.  Like if they want to run a fae-themed horror game, have each level only add 1, whereas epic adventure gives the full base HP total for each level.  (6, 12, 18... or 10, 20, 30...)  I am not sure if I want it to be THAT level of open-ended or not.

Quote from: Seraphine HarmoniumI could do the "based on what kind of game it is" thing and leave it up to the GM how much each level gives.  Like if they want to run a fae-themed horror game, have each level only add 1, whereas epic adventure gives the full base HP total for each level.

I like this idea quite a bit.  For the record, I'm not some huge fan of randomized HP or anything - just thought I'd provide an alternative.

Changing the value based on the type of game/group preferences would also alter the relative worth of Fortitude vis-a-vis other skills. Whether that would be a problem or not is another matter though - the usefulness of all skills will inevitably fluctuate based on what sort of challenges the PCs are going to face, after all.

Shortchanging the last level exclusively probably isn't the best idea, but you could have some sort of diminishing returns if you want to encourage skill diversity. FATE sort of does this with its stress boxes. What if fortitude levels mapped to HP like this:

0 levels = 6 HP
1 level = 10 HP
2 levels = 13 HP
3 levels = 16 HP
4 levels = 18 HP
5 levels = 20 HP

Quote from: sparkletwist
Shortchanging the last level exclusively probably isn't the best idea, but you could have some sort of diminishing returns if you want to encourage skill diversity. FATE sort of does this with its stress boxes. What if fortitude levels mapped to HP like this:

0 levels = 6 HP
1 level = 10 HP
2 levels = 13 HP
3 levels = 16 HP
4 levels = 18 HP
5 levels = 20 HP

Interesting idea.  I will consider this.

While we are somewhat on the subject, what would people think if, rather than in Q&D where you can just put as many points as you want into what you want right from the get go, what if it was a bit more like D&D, and had a max starting "ranks" per skill.  Now, in this scenario it would still be a lot more open ended than D&D because, lacking a true "level" system as such, you could just put points into skills as you acquired them from experience.  If you want to put 2 points into Craft in a row, rather than spread them out, that's fine; but there will be other things you won't be able to do as well in the mean time.

Enech
[ic]The circle of farseers sit before their black scrying bowls amid the ring of ancient stones.  The runes carved ages ago into the face of the rock glow slightly with the pulse of the earth.  The seers hum and chant, swaying as they gaze into their bowls.  The image of a hero appears, leaping across a moat to rescue the trapped inhabitants of the castle.  The farseers nod to one another, and sing the song of his deed.  Blue patterns snake across his skin, marking his flesh with the tale of his actions.[/ic][note](http://www.thecimmerian.com/wp-content/uploads//2009/01/bran.jpg)[/note]
The bards say that the world was constructed from the thoughts of the gods in a song of runes, and that its essence was pure spirit made solid.  Whatever it's prima materia, however, the mortal realm of Abred is built on deeds and legends.  They shape the word, and give it meaning, bringing it to life.  Enech measures one's spiritual power in a world where truth and honor are paramount.  Lies, cowardice, and cheating leave their mark upon one's soul, as do generosity, noble bearing, and steadfastness.  

People in the Gaedhelic Isles undergo an initation ritual at their coming-of-age, wherein they bind their physical bodies to their enech.  Superficial wounds will never leave scars on one with sufficient enech, but instead upon the completion of deeds, they will be marked with a kind of magical tattoo by the farseers of the realm that proclaims to all who see it the worth of it's bearer.  The body just heals better when one thusly bound is injured.  Maimings, decapitations, and other killing blows are not prevented by this effect.  One with especially incredible enech may be covered from head to toe in the designs.  Many heroes choose not to obscure their markings with armor or cloth, often going semi-, or even fully nude to completely display their Enech and their deeds.  Heroes of both genders are known to do this, even in battle.  

Contrasting with the mystic tattoos of the honorable are the scars and welts of the disgraced.  Those with no enech, or negative enech, find themselves covered with patterns of scars, revealing to everyone the crimes of the villain.  

Enech points are gained by performing great deeds.  They reflect your bravery, honor, and largess, and they affect you character in multiple ways.  It represents your social standing, your reputation, functions as a kind of "social hit points" gauge, and is a source of spiritual power.  Your enech score, though it can change over time, largely remains a constant which follows you wherever you go, and is reflected on your person in the form of magical blue tattoos.  These can be "read" by someone with sufficient occult skill (often a bard or druid) and thus spread around wherever you go, allowing your reputation to travel with you.  This score can provide bonuses to social interactions.  Functioning as spiritual/social hit points, you may take enech "damage" in the form of stress which results in temporary social repercussions.  Someone who simply loses a social contest (thereby looking inferior) would take temporary stress to their enech, but this would be recovered easily with a day's rest (and removal from people).  More serious issues result from being reduced to 0 by stress.  In this case the target can become a laughing stock, and permanently lose enech, or may be stripped of titles and offices with enech requirements.  

A strong Enech, however, also has other benefits.  Fostering your righteousness and honor provides noticeable power.  Such figures display a kind of radiant power, which seems to allow them to channel the magical energies of the world into fantastic abilities.  For some, these are spells, for others, they take the form of incredible feats of arms, strength, or athleticism.  Each Enech point can be spent to channel an ability you possess.  Multiple points can be used at once to fuel more powerful abilities.  

Uses of EP

• Dance on Spear Tips: You spring across the battlefield on the tips of your enemies' spears, unhindered and unharmed, to reach your goal
• The Ricochet Shot: You can strike several enemies with a single sling stone, causing it to ricochet between them.
• The Song of Laughter: A roomful of subjects are reduced to helpless cackling for several minutes.  One of a bard's runesongs.
• Steal the Heart of Courage: Fear washes over a group of enemies, and robs them of the will to fight.  Druid Spell.
• Snatch breath: Your awen spirit steals away the breathing of an enemy, causing them to suffocate as long as you maintain concentration.  Witch power.

Possible Consequences of Enech "Knockout"

• Ridicule (permanent EP loss)
• Embarrassing nickname (can be something hateful or just demeaning)
• Enslaved (if permanent Enech reduced to 0)
• Outcast (if permanent enech falls below 0)
• Loss of offices and titles
• Glam Dicin (essentially excommunication)

[ooc]I would be glad to hear input on this model.  Will edit this soon to include a table that lists the effects of higher and lower enech.  Anything I forgot to talk about?  Anything that sounds like it doesn't work?  General comments?[/ooc]

I am playing with an idea here, of having there be 7 specific action types.  This ties in with my runic magic system, where there are 7 "Verb" runes that indicate different things being done with magic.  I was thinking of having the same set of action types apply to "mundanes" as well, so that magic is functioning to create the same basic effects as nonmagical actions. 

Attack—Harm, hamper, or destroy someone or something.
Sample skills: Intimidate, Melee
Rune: Thorn

Build—Used to both make something new or improve the condition of something.
Sample Skills: Craft (Type), Heal
Rune: Breo

Control—Influence someone or something, cause something to happen.
Sample Skills: Animals, Charm
Rune: Tyr

Defend—This would be used for preventing, enduring, and ending stress, conditions, and bad situations.
Sample Skills: Reflexes, Willpower
Rune: Iss

Gain—To acquire something you want, or increase something you have.
Sample Skills: Charm, Perform
Rune: Gra

Learn—Used to gain some knowledge, perception, or understanding.
Sample Skills: Insight, Knowledge (Type)
Rune: Dag

Maneuver—Alter your circumstances, or those of another.
Sample Skills: Athletics, Deceit
Rune: Each

Ooh, I like this.  I like how it integrates different aspects of CG into a single unified philosophy.  It feels consistent.  I think you have a good start for your seven actions, but I would recommend expounding on them more.  You could do that here or give a rundown of each action as applied to a "noun" within the nouns' descriptions.  The latter might make for easier reference.  Whenever you are trying to convey a specific way of thinking to people who may not think that way, examples, benchmarks, and copious explanations are your friends.  You certainly have a great start here, though.  I'm (still) looking forward to seeing how this develops!

Quote from: Humabout
Ooh, I like this.  I like how it integrates different aspects of CG into a single unified philosophy.  It feels consistent.  I think you have a good start for your seven actions, but I would recommend expounding on them more.  You could do that here or give a rundown of each action as applied to a "noun" within the nouns' descriptions.  The latter might make for easier reference.  Whenever you are trying to convey a specific way of thinking to people who may not think that way, examples, benchmarks, and copious explanations are your friends.  You certainly have a great start here, though.  I'm (still) looking forward to seeing how this develops!

Thank Hum!  I certainly will expound.  In fact, I will start working on that now.

What these verbs leave me wondering is how they directly translate into mechanical effects. What does a "Maneuver" really do? What can I "Control"? Some are more obvious, of course, like "Attack," although how I'd "Attack" with skills like Animals or Willpower is not something I can really figure out. If it's the case that not every verb can be used with every skill, then I wonder if you can't simplify the system further-- in a lot of cases, you're just saying "I'm going to use this skill for what it's good at," and using a different verb is superfluous to the mechanics.

(Alternatively, you could think of things like FATE, where each skill has "trappings," where you explain the types of actions that the skill might be used to perform, and those trappings usually boil down to some heavily-abstracted task within the game rules, like placing an aspect or whatever.)

The verbs are a way of classifying actions that unites the magical with the mundane.  Though the precise effects are different, magic can be used to accomplish the same kinds of tasks that skills do, and vice versa.  Yes, there may well be a way to make this all simpler without them, but I like having them.  And maybe not every skill will be useful for every action, but all will have multiple utilities.

I cannot think of a way to make Willpower into an attack either.  However, it is definitely useful as a defend, and in some situations might be used as a control, or a gain (get what you want through sheer stubbornness) for instance.

Attacking with animal might be allowed if you are ordering an animal whose obedience is not in question to make an attack (sicking an attack dog, for instance).  If you know Craft (Wooden Structures) and there is an enemy in a watch tower above you shooting down arrows, perhaps you could make an Attack with Craft to take out a strategic support and have the whole tower collapse.

I am still working on getting a list up.  things have been REALLY busy.

This is incomplete, but I wanted to show what I had come up with so far:

Attack: an attack action is any aggressive attempt to harm, hamper, or destroy.  Though throwing a punch or swinging a sword may be the most obvious expressions of the attack action, attack actions are not confined solely to the Melee and ranged skills, nor are attacks confined to purely physical assaults.  You can attempt to seduce someone as a charm attack, or interrogate them with an intimidation attack.  These forms of attack wear down the opponent's Will Points in the same way a melee attack might wear down their Hit Points.

•   Charm: A charm attack is used when you wish to convince someone to grant you a favor, or succumb to your desires.  You can seduce someone, talk the guard into letting you past that door he's guarding, or some other form of using your charm to overcome someone's will. Charm attacks are defended against with Willpower, unless the GM rules otherwise for a particular scenario.
•   Deceit: A deceit attack can be used just like charm or intimidation to wear down someone's Will (or their Enech).  If you spread a lie about someone to damage their reputation, they could take Enech damage.  A Brehon interrogating a suspect might use deceit to make their captive believe his case is airtight, and extract a confession.  Insight defends against deceit attacks.
•   Intimidate: An intimidate attack mean bullying someone into behaving a certain way, with threats, violence, and insults being used to wear down willpower.  In some cases, Intimidate can be used to publicly insult someone, and wear down their Enech points.
•   Melee: A Melee attack is obvious.  It is a physical blow with the body or a weapon.  It is defended against with Melee, or in some cases, perhaps with Fortitude.
•   Occult: An occult attack most likely takes the form of some kind of spell or curse, though at the GM's discretion, it might be an undifferentiated psychic assault.  Defense against such attacks varies.
•   Ranged: A ranged attack is as obvious as a melee one.  It indicates any throwing, shooting, or otherwise launching of a damaging object towards a foe or target.  It is usually defended against with Reflexes.

Build: A build action most likely will not take place during combat.  Any action that attempts to create something, or improve its state of being can qualify as a build action.

•   Animals: Calming a frightened animal qualifies as a form of build action, because it improves the animal's state of being by removing the "frightened" condition.  The animals skill can also be used to heal injuries of mounts, pets, or animal companions, in place of heal.
•   Craft (Type): The most obvious skill for a build attack, Craft allows you to make an object within your area of expertise, or repair similar objects. 
•   Heal:  Heal is primarily a build skill because it focuses on improving the state of a person by healing their wounds and tending to their injuries, removing Hit Point damage.
•   Inspire: Inspire can be used to build up an ally's confidence and spirit, healing mental damage, or raising one's enech temporarily.  When no mental damage is present, Inspire can also create a sense of optimism that grants a +2 bonus to a chosen skill for a limited period of time
•   Occult: An occult build might be a spell to remove a curse, bolster one's health, or increase fertility.
•   Performance (Type): There may be a way to use perform to build.

Control:  Control actions are used to influence someone or something else, or to cause something to happen.  Control is more often a mental action than a physical one, though physically restraining and carrying or forcing someone can sometimes be considered a control action.  In most cases, however, a control action is to attempt to utilize a skill in order to control the game narrative in some way.

•   Animals: A control action with animals occurs when you are attempting to command an animal to behave a certain way.  This includes falconry, where you order the hawk to fly, to hunt, and to return to your arm, or to make a horse charge into battle.  It can also be used to teach an animal a new task or trick.  An animal that has successfully learned an action usually does not require a control roll, unless there are special circumstances where success matters.
•   Athletics: Athletics can be used to wrestle someone into submission.  Pinning them down so they can't move is a form of physical control, as would be carrying them or pushing a resistant target. 
•   Charm: A form of social power, Charm control is not quite the same as a charm attack.  Whereas charm attacks involve whittling down a subject's will until they belong to you, a charm control is a singular attempt to cause or prevent a certain action.  It cannot be used to stay the hand of a hostile enemy, but it can be used to stop someone from leaving the room, for instance.
•   Inspire: By using rhetoric and public speaking skills, you can use inspire to rile up the public to revolt against an oppressive leader, or appeal to their power to get them to vote for a particular leader, or turn around a routed army for one final stand.
•   Intimidate: 
•   Occult: an occult control action can take many forms, from commanding a sidhe spirit to do your bidding, animating plants or laying a geas upon someone.

Defend: Like attack, defend actions tend to me more-or-less straightforward.  They protect you from something—either by blocking or diverting the effect, or by interfering with the attacker.  Just as attacks can be physical, mental, or spiritual, so too must their defenses.

•   Animals: As with an animals attack, the beast in question must be trained and loyal to you.  This can be used to have an animal harry a foe to prevent their actions, or to have it stand between you and danger. 
•   Athletics: Athletics can be used to resist someone trying to pin you down, to pace yourself to avoid overexertion, or something similar.  In certain cases it may overlap with Fortitude or Reflexes, and such matters may require GM arbitration (or the player making a case for using one over the other)
•   Fortitude: as a form of physical endurance, fortitude functions well to defend against physical strain.  This can be strain from exposure to the elements, to exertion and exhaustion, or to fight off poison or disease.  Under these circumstances, fortitude can be used to deflect HP damage from these sources. 
•   Insight: Insight is used as a defense against Deceit and some uses of Intimidate and Subterfuge.  It represents your understanding of people and your ability to read what's going on in their heads.  It therefore helps you avoid being tricked, bullied or otherwise taken advantage of. 
•   Knowledge: If your knowledge base in a certain subject would conceivably allow you to spot a fake or a liar, then you may defend against Deceit with the Knowledge skill.
•   Melee: Since no combat training is complete without both attack and defense, the melee skill serves to defend against itself.  It can always defend against any physical attack or a maneuver in combat.
•   Occult: Occult can be used to defend against the occult mental attacks of another character, or to shrug off enemy magic. 
•   Perception: Having heightened senses can be incredibly useful when you are defending yourself.  It can be used to defend against subterfuge, thereby spotting the trick.  It may also be used against some uses of Deceit.
•   Reflexes: This is used to avoid taking physical damage by not being hit.  It can defend against Ranged attacks and to avoid physical damage from effects such as falling (by rolling and tumbling).  In some cases it might overlap with Athletics, and require GM arbitration. 
•   Survival: The Survival skill is a defense against physical damage from the elements, and to keep fed if one runs out of food in the wilderness.

I'm going to have to read this when I get off work. I want to see how this is developing!

Alright, so I am debating something here:
Since Rose-of-Vellum started showing off Penumbra (based on Numenara) I have been thinking about the stat pools in that system, which function both as a form of "Hit points" and an energy pool from which to power abilities.  I find this an interesting system and I was wondering if it makes sense for Geas. 

As it is, I have the Fortitude skill at least partially determining Hit Points, The Willpower skill determining "Will Points" (mental HP) and I had a social HP Enech which determined your reputation, and which I was considering tying into magic in some way.


Now I am considering the following:
Might/Vigor: A stat that would both serve as HP, and would also power feats of strength and power, such as hurling boulders, "Salmon Leaping" great distances, and other such abilities.  Your Might/Vigor score might possibly provide a bonus to certain skills, and/or to physical damage.  I don't know if this should be a static bonus, wherein the Vigor Score (representing the undamaged "max HP") determines the bonus, or if it should be determined by how much strength the hero has left.  So a hero who is fresh for the fight might hit harder than he would after he's spent his strength shrugging off blows and ripping the arms off of trolls with his bare hands (ala Beowulf).

Agility/Coordination/Senses: In a sense it could be HP, but in the sense of the PCs ability to move with grace, and to reliably trust their perceptions.  So losing points of this would make the hero dizzy and clumsy.  Their directional hearing might be off, causing them to wander astray, or they might have double-vision, causing them to miss a target in combat.  It would be depleted by rogue talents, or by fenian stunts like running at full speed through obstacles. 

Sovereignty: This would be the new Enech, merged with Willpower.  A king must be "without fault" meaning both in fantastic physical condition, as well as being the image of honor.  Well, in our conversations about Enech and social HP, and how to make it universally relevant, we discussed the idea of there being a kind of metaphysical quality to it.  Now I am thinking that if I rebrand it as "Sovereignty," it incorporates the idea of physical presence and reputation in a more absolute sense.  It becomes your ownership, first of yourself, then of your surroundings.  As you gain or lose a sense of honor and esteem, your sphere of "sovereignty" is reduced.  Something in the idea of honor could be said to be the ability to control one's impulses to act selfishly when to do so would be a detriment to the community.  Someone lacking in Sovereignty might not be able to control themselves, and therefore would be seen as lacking in honor as well.  Now, if Vigor is used to power feats of strength, and Agility to power sniper skills, and the like, then Sovereignty could be used to power a number of things: Magic, as you exert your sovereignty over nature itself, or for the "mundane" classes, perhaps to call out a foe for single combat, or issue commands to troops.