The gamemaster takes character powers into account when adjudicating actions, but there is no separate mechanic for using powers. ![]() It's a grainy measure of power level, but it's precise enough for free-form play. For each answer Yes, the power costs 1 point, with a maximum of 3. Each power is rated on whether it's versatile, whether it's potent, and whether it frequently makes a difference in play. Powers I've seen in play include prophetic visions, the ability to drain life energy from others, and the posession of the mummified hand of the character's dead lover (a fetish that channels fiery attacks). The system has to be able to take any power that a player has dreamed up and assign a "value" or "power level" to it, so that it can be balanced in the overall character equation. Character PowersĮverway has no list of special powers from which players choose. This step is also a hook for the gamemaster, who uses it to see what is central to each character's personal story. This step helps the player take the broad character concept and sum it up. Virtue, Fault, and Fate: Each player chooses three cards from the Fortune deck to represent a personal strength, a personal weakness, and some personal conflict to be resolved. In Everway, each player chooses a motivation so that each character has some reason to get involved in the conflicts that are going to make the campaign interesting. The player, in order to play "in character," avoids conflicts, and a character that avoids conflicts is boring. Motive: A common flaw in free-form character concepts is that the character has no motivation. In such a case, the gamemaster can ask, "What sort of circumstances would motivate your character to get involved in trouble or danger?" Personality TraitsĮverway has four "personality" traits to ensure that the free-form character has direction: Motivation: Standard RPG characters come with built-in motives, such as "find treasure" or "defeat supervillains." Free-form characters, however, are sometimes conceived as unlikely to get involved in the plots that are going to drive the campaign. If the character has no apparent combat abilities, the GM might ask, "How would your character handle herself in a fight?" If the character has multiple combat abilities, the GM might ask which is the character's best combat tactic. Combat Abilities: Standard RPG characters have their combat abilities finely detailed, but free-form characters can have poorly defined combat capabilities. It makes character exposition much more engaging. The Q&A process, however, turns the monologue into a dialogue. It's like listening to someone recount a dream: it means a lot more to the talker than to the listener. Engagement: Listening to a player talk about their character is widely recognized as dull. For the gamemaster, however, it's an opportunity to be sure that the free-form nature of character creation hasn't left the character missing important details. ![]() This step helps players develop their characters more thoroughly and engages the whole group in each player's story. ![]() Then they take turns asking questions about the other players' characters. Question and Answerĭuring character creation, players show each other their vision cards and explain who their characters are. The challenge in designing Everway was helping the gamemaster be ready to accommodate any possible character that players could dream up. In general, the cards represent the character and scenes from the character's life, but they can also represent visions, goals, enemies, etc. Each player chooses five cards and invents a character based on them. When creating a character for Everway, the first thing a player does is select from a deck of several trading-card size "vision cards." These cards depict warriors, monsters, temples, magicians, exotic animals, and other fantastic characters, creatures and settings. Accommodating Free-form Character Creation in Everway Character stats determine the likely outcome of an action, and the card draw provides a conceptual result that the gamemaster interprets creatively to determine the actual result. Action resolution uses cards drawn from a Tarotlike deck rather than dice. Everway is a free-form tabletop fantasy RPG in which players take the roles of heroic figures that travel among countless parallel worlds.
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