Hexx, Land of the Lich

[Llum]

Ok, so the design philosophy behind the Hexx system. I want each character to be highly customizable, highly modular and different.  [note]I'm approaching this from what I'm familiar with, so more in the perspective of a computer game or something. I'm not terribly familiar with tabletops and what not. So this probably won't be terribly familiar to everyone who plays tabletops (unless you play RPGs on a computer or something).[/note]

I like the idea of different moves targeting different defensive attributes. A melee strike will hits someones armor, but a mental assault would hit someones mental defenses, while some spells won't be blocked by armor so need to be dodged and finally I see some kinds of things as un-dodgeable so a character just has to take a hit and weather it, stuff like diseases and poison would probably fit under here.

I've yet to decide specifically how advancement works, though I do know this much. I want it to be item influenced, artifacts are big in Hexx, when it comes right down to it having the right artifact at the right time means more then a million other factors. I want this to trickle down as well, having the correct tool for the job at hand should be important. I'd also like the system to be something like a node-based web, where each node has multiple tiers of things to learn. Once a character gains enough experience they can ether move nodes or access the next tier on their current node. Something like that.

At the moment that is all I have.

[LordVreeg]

I do love the Hornet crown.  Who made it and why?  who has possessed it?

[Llum]

I do love the Hornet crown.  Who made it and why?  who has possessed it?

It was made, originally some two and a half thousand years ago, by a scholar and sage known as Severn Caduceus. Severn was a Drake historian and explorer. He was fascinated by the caverns under Ecks. He was the first to map the first layer of caves and identified many properties and dyes during his travels.

In middle age he became a scholar and eventually learned how to perform non-racial magic. Over many years he expanded his power base but gained many enemies. Growing paranoid he wanted absolute protection from anyone who tried to kill him, with his natural Drake magic he was safe from most Oreling. He hired several Eidolon bodyguards to help protect him from the physical thread of other Drakes and Eidolons This left only Lichs to guard himself against.

The Hornet Crown was his response to riots in the growing Rat Lich population. The grown counteracts most Rat Lich natural magics. It is one of a set of seven artifacts that he created to guard himself against Lichs.

Several other notable people have possessed it over the following centuries. Horace Longcrux used it to overthrow the Sapphire Sultan, it was later used to by the descendants of said Sultan to regain power. Lazarus Lichbane gathered the Hornet Crown and five of the other artifacts in the set on his quest to eradicate Lichkind, he was eventually slain by his sister reincarnated as a Karma Lich.

More recent uses of the Hornet Crown have been by the oreling crusader Kedd Havok three hundred years ago. Afterwars it was used by the eidolon assassin Sumptuous Pattern to kill the Forgotten Five. It was last said to be in the possession of Hope Caduceus, a descendent of Severn Caduceus, while exploring the caverns under Ecks. She was said to have reached nearly four thousand feet under the city before never being heard from again.

[Llum]

Kedd Havok

Kedd Havok was an oreling tribal leader of great charisma who lived three hundred years ago. Born as part of the Highpeak clan he spent his youth traveling with his merchant father seeing most of Hexx. Disillusioned with his tribes status, the Highpeak clan lived a couple days travel outside of a minor crossroads town. Kedd left the mercantile empire his father built and retreated to a nomadic herding existense for many years.

After a dozen years he returned to his tribe to find them more or less in the state they were when he left. His families mercantile empire was less then it was a dozen years prior due to poor handling by his family after his father died. Filled with contempt for his tribe he vowed to raise them to new heights. Gathering a band of unhappy youths he started his first crusade.

The first crusade began with Kedd and his band uniting closer oreling tribes and nomadic groups. Some he gathered to him by sheer presence and charisma, converting them to his cause after a powerful speach. Others he took by ruthless action and strength of arms. Over seven years he had gathered together over three thousand orelings to form the Nation of Elsk.

The second crusade, often called the soft crusade by scholars started before the formation of the nation of Elsk. Here Kedd took over his families mercantile empire. Through the near monopoly on various resources (a special kind of herbed goat cheese famous around Hexx and a special pigment that glowed under the light of Tau derived from wisdompedes). The fortune that Kedd amassed was quite large, but still minor compared to those of the most powerful kings and largest cities. To increase his hoard Kedd allied himself with the Gold Lich Skalec Oh'urden.

The third crusade, the blood crusade, involved the military expansion of Kedd Havoks empire. With gold to hire mercenaries, loyal oreling troops that included the newly formed Panderkin tribe Kedds armies lost very few battles. Over the next seventeen years Kedd would convert another ten thousand orelings to the Nation of Elsk. During this time, the wanton spending of his fortune worried his partner Skalec Oh'urden. Skalec would break their allianced, taking most of Kedds mercenary forces with him. Skalec retreated to Grand Tuk, a city ruled by the twins Time Lich Horven Oh'urden and the Probability Lich Zaramastrien. Unable to continue to expand without the mercenary support Kedd halted his third crusade.

The final crusade was one of vengeance. Kedd rallied the Nation of Elsk and marched on Grand Tuk with a force of ten thousand orelings comprimising Panderkin and wisdompede tamers as well as recruiting immortals and even a Scion loyal to Gray Cactus. The final battle was a slaughter for all those involved. The mercenary companies of Phonon's Phalanx, Verminshank, The Serpentines Resplendent were wiped out, several immortals were slain, four thousand orelings were lost and the Scion Gomenwyrm and Kedd Havok were both slain by three Karma Lichs known as the Wheels of Destiny.

[Llum]

Artifacts

Demilune Armlets

Demilune Armlets are some of the most common artifacts. The original cache was found deep in the Eidolon storage under Vayne. Appearance varies but the Demilune Armlets are gold bands that are inscribed with ancient sigils. Other caches have been found deep under Sky Lake and under other cities as well. Often they can be found near Ancient tombs. They vary greatly in power.

These Armlets are extremely versatile, and often in demand by the powerful. What they do is enhance racial magic. For example a Drake who wears one could have his minor weather controlling magics enhanced to the point where he could conjur up vast windstorms or cyclones, such as is the case with Tempest Mucalinda.

[Llum]

Everyday Artifacts

Amberglass Lens

The gaze of a Drake is a dangerous thing, it causes paralysis and in the stronger racial mages can cause death or blindness. This causes difficulty for Drakes wishing to intergrate in multiracial societies. This problem was solved nearly fifteen years ago by Holly Terrapin, a Drake invetor. Amberglass is a magically tempered crystal with a deep amber color, it is quite strong and flexible. The significance of Amberglass is that it stops a Drakes gaze from have any negative effect. Usually a Amberglass plate is woven into a bandana that is wrapped around the eyes, with the plate covering the eyes of the wearer. Both Drakes and non-Drakes can wear the Amberglass to stop a Drakes gaze.

Amberglass was easily produced to those who know the method, currently only a single consortium of artisans who collaborate with Holly Terrapin. Over the last decade the demand for Amberglass Lenses has increased rapidly.

[Llum]

After further though on the system this is what I have so far. It's fairly complex, maybe too complex, so we shall see how it works out.

There are Main stats that breakdown into sub-stats. I'm thinking something like 5 main stats that each break down into 2-4 sub-stats. The total sum of your sub-stats should be 2*main stat. However no single sub-stat can exceed its parent Mainstat in skill.

The Mental stat breaks down into
-Will, mental stamina and the ability to apply ones mental faculties.
-Intelligence, raw intellect and logic.
-Sanity, how one perceives the world.

In the above example if a character has a Mental stat of 3, then they could have 2 in each Will, Int and Sanity, or 3 Sanity, 1 Will and 2 Int.

Now I've already said I'm going to use my slider idea, this is going to be the "limit" on magic and abilities, so someone can't just cast fireballs all day long. Eventually they're going to have to "cool down" by using spells that lower their warmth. Vice versa for frost spells. Not too sure how I'm going to restrict spell/ability selection. Combat and non-combat abilities/spells will share the same sliders.

I want to use dice pools, I think that there will be a maximum number of dice a character can hold at one time (derived from some stats), a number of dice regained/regenrated per turn/time interval (derived from different stats) and a cap on how many dice can be spent on any single skill at one time (derived from a third set of stats).

Any questions or comments? I understand this is all kind of vague at the moment.

[Llum]

Quick update. As for the power curve/progression, I don't want more experienced characters to be touhger/stronger/faster/smarter then newer characters. I want them to have more options in the same situation.

That being said, I think most advancement will be through gaining new artifacts.

[Llum]

The system won't be a traditional level system, and it won't be a skill-based game ether. XP is earned for doing various things (combat/quests/whatever you wish). You also gain AP for doing various things. XP is spent on different things (buy extra AP, using non-racial magic[crafting artifacts],changing web nodes, advancing node tiers, buying node skills/abilities/things, etc).

AP is spent to enhance racial magic, skills/abilities bought from nodes, enabling/enhancing weapon/armor uses, enabling artifact slots.

[Llum]

Timeline

Ancient times(-20000 to -2000): World created by the Demi-gods (or by the God, according to some), Ancient prosper and create many cities across the globe.

-1256: Catastrophe, Ancients disappear.

0: Ruins of Vayne become inhabited by significant amount of people, becomes first city.
11: Memnoch Stone crashes into the desert.
27: Grand Tuk becomes the second significant population center.
43: Exiles from Grand Tuk colonize Ecks.
345: Phontix Mantylla born.
366: Phontix Mantylla consumes his first soul, earning him the ire of Gray Cactus.
366: Vordolf Rings discovered.
405: Phontix Mantylla, now known as The Devourer fo Souls, slain.
514: Mantylla rises as the Famine Lich, given the monicker The Devourer.
691: The Devourer settles in Ecks, cuisine gains some popularity
1200: Sapphire Sultanate founded by Yemm Sapphire, the first Sapphire Sultan.
1667: Major earthquake, damages Vayne exposing Eidolon hibernation chambers.
2500: Severn Caduceus creates the Hornet Crown.
2767: Horace Longcrux overthrows the Sapphire Sultan.
3211: Sapphire Sultanate refounded
3800-4100: Lazarus Lichbane crusades and nearly wipes out Lichkind.
4689: Kedd Havok begins his crusades.
4978: Amberglass invented by Holly Terrapin.