WARNING
Shadowbound has the attention span of an eight year-old with ADD
I've been bouncing around an idea in my head for awhile is a character-driven storyNES. I dropped it when SteamNES came out, because that was what I'd like to do, and worked quietly on my SpaceNES. But thanks to the wonderful people at NESchat, I've changed course entirely back to this. ShadowNES: The Empty Throne has the vague skeleton of a ruleset now, after a weekend of work when I should've been doing something else.
The storyline of the Empty Throne is pre-developed, and hinges on the Kings illness. Certain quests will uncover more information about the illness, with a standing reward of a noble title and lots of money going to anyone able to cure the King before he kicks the bucket. Foreign empires are sniffing around the borders, while marauding tribes take advantage of the weak central authority to launch raids. The nobility can also take advantage of the power vacuum to increase their own power, take the throne, or break off from the Kingdom entirely.
One thing I specialize in is the creation of open-worlds, having created two for D&D games. In both of them, the party was free to roam about and explore, able to change the course of a plot that advanced with or without them. This is an idea I am trying to recreate with The Empty Throne.
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Name/Player:
Reputation:
Prowess:
Cunning:
Charisma:
Will:
Destiny:
Traits:
Character Creation
When creating a character, on entering the game for the first time or after your previous character dies, you have 12 experience points, or XP, to work with. Each experience point can be spent to increase one of your stats, which are Prowess, Cunning, Charisma, Will, and Destiny, by one. They can also be used to purchase traits. Stats can be raised easiest at character creation, but certain traits cannot be taken after your character enters the game.
Name/Player: ???/NPC
Reputation: 0
Prowess: 1
Cunning: 1
Charisma: 1
Will: 1
Destiny: 1
Traits: None
Name: Names have power. The True Name of a being describes its very soul, all that it was to begin with and all it can be at the end. Few know their True Names, however, and most refer to themselves by given names, placed by mortals upon mortals.
Reputation: A name carries with it a reputation, for good or ill. Reputation is a stat from 0 to 5, with one or more adjectives in parentheses. These describe how well your character is known, and just what others think of you.
Prowess: The riddle of steel is that it isnt steel thats strongest; its the flesh behind it. Prowess is the skill of a character in physical combat, their ability to fight off foes and champion their cause with arms.
Cunning: Discretion is the better part of valor. It is simple thing to outfight a foe, but outwitting them is often easier. Cunning lets your character avoid fights and complete their goals at less risk to themselves.
Charisma: Certain men are born to lead others, just as there are always those who will follow. Charisma lets your character persuade NPCs to believe and support him.
Will: The strength of your belief can drive you to succeed, even when you have no reason to. Will is the mental fortitude of a character, stopping them from running or doubting themselves and serves as the foundation of magical strength.
Destiny: When all else fails, theres the irrefutable proof that your character is meant for something greater than a normal life. Destiny is not like other stats, it can be permanently expended improve your chances of success, and it will automatically be used to prevent your character from dying. Destiny can only be regained by performing incredible deeds.
Traits are acquired or inborn talents that are in addition to your stats. They open up other options in the game that arent available to a character thats simply a bunch of high numbers.
Example Traits:
Nobility
Your character was born into a noble house. Rules on founding or joining a house can be found under the nobility section.
Cost: Special
Can only be taken during character creation.
Royal Blood
Your character has an acknowledged claim to the throne, and is a cousin, niece, or nephew to the king through a legitimate marital tie.
Requirement: Nobility
Can only be taken during character creation.
XP Cost: 2
Royal Bastard
Your character has an unacknowledged claim to the throne, and was born out of lawful wedlock.
Can only be taken during character creation.
XP Cost: 2
Elf-Friend
Your character can walk among the deep woods and avoid being turned into a badger, and find the hidden refuges of the wood elves. Though bereft of much of the power wielded by the distant or dead Elven Empires, they still have secrets and magic at their disposal.
A character cannot take both Elf-friend and Known to Goblins
XP Cost: 2
Known to Goblins
Your character is known and respected by the hobgoblins, either as a worthy enemy or as someone they can do business with. They usually dont try to enslave you when they meet you.
A character cannot take both Elf-friend and Known to Goblins
XP Cost: 2
Wizard
Its a dangerous thing, to dabble in the True Art. Youre either confident or desperate, and draw on the secrets of the ancient world regularly. Others fear you for your power, but it gives you insight that they do not. You can spend an action point to ask one question of the mod every turn, which will be answered truthfully. A more specific question will get a more specific answer. However, you cannot look into the future.
Requirement: One of the Magical [Prowess, Cunning, or Charisma] traits.
XP Cost: 3
Magical [Prowess, Cunning, or Charisma]
Your character knows the arts of magic, of how to bend the natural laws into a form more convenient for the task at hand. You can substitute half of your Will score for one of Prowess, Cunning, or Charisma.
This trait can be taken multiple times.
XP Cost: 3
Demon Summoner
To someone who abandons superstition, demons are easy to control. Theyre easily manipulated into giving oaths of service, often for nothing more than the right to walk the earth. The summoner can spend 2 action points to create a demonic Follower, with a number of XP equal to his Will score. The follower has no need of a loyalty score, and will remain faithful to the wizard until he is banished or dismissed. The summoner must expend an action point every turn to maintain the demon, but it is able to act independently, with no limit on distance. He can summon a different demon each time. He can summon multiple demons at once, the only limit being his action points.
Requirement: Wizard
Cost: 4 XP
Faustian Pact
The Wizard forms a permanent bond with a powerful demon, which agrees to serve the wizard for the duration of his mortal life in return for certain
benefits once that comes to an end. The wizard creates a new demonic follower, with a number of XP equal to his Will Score +10. This follower can be summoned as normal, but the extra XP cannot be respent to summon a different demon. The Wizard can take this trait multiple times.
Requirement: Demon Summoner
Cost: 5 XP
Arcane Duelist
Opening up to True Art bears its risks, and the least of them is those that are simply mortal. Youre able to confront other mages through the realm of magic, fighting them in both the physical world and the mental one. If another character has one of the Magical traits, you can use your own Will stat in any conflict against them, instead of Prowess, Cunning, or Charisma.
Requirement: One of the Magical [Prowess, Cunning, or Charisma] traits.
XP Cost: 5
Dirty Fighting
There are smarter ways to fight than those taught in fancy halls and tournaments. These are tricks with knives, feints, and misdirection that few live long enough to see. You did, and youre able to take advantage of them to turn them against proper fighters. You can add half your cunning score to your prowess, though this cant increase your effective prowess above 10.
XP Cost: 4
Attribute Increase
Through study, training, or simple experience youve been able to improve yourself. You gain an extra point to one of Prowess, Cunning, Charisma, or Will.
Cost: 2 XP
Traits and stats would be increased by XP. Stats would be easier to increase at character creation, while certain traits could only be purchased at character creation. I havent assigned a cost to most of the traits yet.
Experience points, often abbreviated as XP, are used to purchase new traits. XP represent your characters knowledge and skill. They are acquired through story-writing.
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Gameplay
ShadowNES: The Empty Throne is divided into turns, each lasting ten days. During this time period, players are able to spend action points, which represent an investment of time on some task, such as traveling. Players receive three action points each turn, they can carry over one of these action points to the next turn.
An action point can be used to:
1) Investigate a quest
2) Perform a quest
3) Activate a trait
4) Travel a single movement radius (found on the map)
5) Fight another player
6) Manage estates or troops
A Quest is a location or event on the map. It can be a location, such as a dwarven ruin, or an event, like a Lukin raid. Quests offer story opportunities, loot, and the opportunity to drive along the main plot or a sub-plot.
Characters can investigate the quest, by scouting out the site or gathering rumors about the event before they move to it. Investigation allows you to better assess the risks involved and possibly approach the challenge from a better angle if you have the necessary abilities.
When a character performs a quest, they send orders on how they approach it. They could train villagers in how to fight against brigands, or they could hunt down the bandits themselves. Certain ways will be easier for different characters, as they have different abilities.
For various reasons, players can come into conflict.
Nobles, and other individuals that own castles and fiefs, are able to manage them when inside them. Wealth that no member of the house orders to be spent will be banked. If the orders of two members of the house conflict, then those of the one that contributed the most XP to the house will usually be followed.
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Nobility acts as a game within a game. When a player takes the Nobility trait, they can choose to contribute XP to their Noble House, sacrificing some of their personal power but building up a force of supporters. Multiple players can contribute to a single Noble House, with the first player becoming the founder.
A single XP can purchase the following.
1) A castle (2 XP)
2) A fort with a garrison of 40 men-at-arms
3) 100 men-at-arms
4) 10 knights
5) A lightly defended fief
6) Two improvements for fiefs and castles
A castle consists of a heavily fortified stone fortress, built to withstand long sieges. It also comes with a small fief around it, but the income is devoted entirely to maintaining the castle. A castle does not come with a garrison, but even a few men are able to hold it against many times their number.
A fort is a wooden fortress, typically built to defend a fief or important chokepoint. It comes with its own garrison, who patrol the surrounding area. The garrison can be removed from the fort.
Men-at-arms are household, professional troops retained by the nobility even in peace-time. They are armed with swords, spears, and bows, and typically have some light armor. They are dependable troops that often form the core of any army raised by Midland, backing up the knights and keeping levied troops in line.
Knights are heavily armored members of the lesser nobility, with a lifetime and small fortune invested in learning to wield a lance and ride a horse. They typically rule over lesser fiefs of their own, which they rely upon to outfit them with their armor and mounts.
Fiefs are the main source of income for the nobility, with peasants giving a lord a portion of their crops and income in return for protection. A fief has a 30% chance of generating a point of wealth every turn, odds that can be increased by improvements.
Improvements increase the income of a fief or the fortification of a castle. Each improvement to a fief increases the odds of generating a point of wealth by 10%. Each improvement to a castle improves its ability to withstand a siege. Improvements also increase the number of troops that can be raised.
Wealth is generated by fiefs, and can be spent on the following. It can be banked. An XP invested into a House after the game starts can be spent as a one-time income of 3 wealth.
1) Building an improvement on a fief or castle.
2) Recruiting 25 men-at-arms
3) Building a fort (2 wealth)
4) Attracting the services of 5 knights
Fiefs and castles can be levied. Fiefs can contribute 200 conscripts, with an additional 50 for each improvement. Castles can contribute 100 conscripts, with an additional 100 for each improvement. Conscripts are peasants pressed into service and given basic training with simple weapons. They form the bulk of any war-time army, relying on numbers and the support of better trained troops to overcome an enemy. They have poor morale, and work best with a charismatic leader.
New fiefs can be created if land is cleared out of the wilderness, or captured from another nation or house. If unclaimed land is taken, then wealth must be spent convincing peasants to move to the fief. If land is seized, then typically it will need time to be secured before it can start contributing wealth, and the former owner may be angry.
Whats a follower? Im a lazy ass and Ill write it later. Theyre basically lesser characters, bought with wealth or XP. Instead of charisma they have a stat called loyalty, which is how loyal they are to their employer, and how hard it would be to convince them to work for someone else.
