Better late than never!

Alright, alright, so I'm already late on my promise from last week and for that, I apologise - but as the title says "better late than never!". I'm still determined to try to do an update each week featuring my current progress or whatever else is on my mind.

Elrahna
This week I have been working on the rules for the game. This part is WAY more complicated than I imagined and I'm gonna need to playtest this WAY more than I anticipated, but seeing as more people have asked to help out (thanks guys!) I'm fairly confident that this won't be a problem. What's going to be a problem is actually getting a system of rules together for actual playtime!
So far I've been spending time checking up on the rules of the systems I've played in the past, along with a couple of new systems (www.numenera.com and http://www.evilhat.com/home/fate-core/) mostly to get some ideas of where to begin building, but obviously, the reading is also a way of getting to know the rules I'd like to get a chance to work on professionally ;) and I have to be honest: Fate Core Rules are REALLY making it hard to stay focused atm. these rules are awesome, plain and simple - check them out if you have the chance.
Alright back to Elrahna - I've started working on the basics - stats, skills, talents and combat. Stats are pretty much set in stone, as I think I have come to the conclusion that I want them in the game, although again Fate is making this hard to argue!
The stats are:

• Might - Power and Stamina
• Finesse - Dexterity and Reflexes
• Mind - Reasoning and Memory
• Willpower - Determination and Discipline
• Charisma - Manipulation and Presence

Futhermore a system of "pools" is gonna determine how many actions a character is able to take before starting to suffer from exhaustion, both physically and mentally.

Lastly I'm still in a heated debate with my pillows and floorboards about whether or not "wounds" should be a part of this system or if the "Physical health" pool should be the only manner of determining when  character goes down.

I wan't this setting to be epic, heroic, dramatic and wonderful in every way possible, but at the same time I wan't the players (and the GM of course) to also feel a sense of danger in making their choices. Other systems offer lots of opportunities for heroics and drama, but very often the characters are never in any kind of actual danger. I wan't to change this. In Elrahna, there's always a chance for failure, a chance to get hurt, even a chance to die at every turn of a corner. I wan't this setting to be gritty, dark and dangerous, while at the same time offering all the fantastic and wonderful experiences as any other setting out there.

I realise that this may seem like a bit of a stretch, but think about it. We all want to be heroes. We all want to save the Princess from the Dragon. We all want the big, shiny treasure, but very often we're not willing to take the risks involved with all these and this is where I think most other systems and settings fail. The GM is very often reduced to the game manager, who basically just rolls a few dice and takes a few notes, while the players grind away at every challenge prepared for them. Elrahna is going to put the GM in the middle of things with new opportunities to throw the players a "curve ball" with intrusions and other unforeseen experiences that puts the players on their toes, while still keeping the story flowing.

The System

So far I haven't set anything in stone, regarding which type of system I want. The ones that are "on the table" are: d6(DC), d6(succes), d100(%), d100(DC) and stat-less (as mentioned above, this one is here ONLY due to the recent influence of Fate!). It all started with d100(DC) due to my early years of using Rolemaster as my go-to system, but since beginning to actually work on this thing I'm beginning to think this might not be the best idea. The reason for this is that Rolemaster, which is the only reference I have, was very math-heavy and often time-consuming on a level that made the story go into hibernation for long periods of time. Very often an entire night of gaming would revolve around a single combat, which isn't really what I'm trying to do here.

I need to figure out exactly what I want to do system-wise, before I can actually move on from here and I'm convinced a few playtests will be essential in making this choice.

Maybe that should be it for now. I think I will be spending my time figuring out a basic system type, before moving on from here. A few maps and such might be developed along the way, but for now, I think we'll leave the system to the playtesters.

Remember: @ramucorp on twitter for (almost) daily updates and other nonsense!