First Look: The Warbrand Fantasy RPG (Patreon)

(This article is not covered by the OGL)

I suspect it shocks no one to know I have been working on my own core RPG... for decades. Several of them, actually. 

Many turned into supplements for other games. Some are currently at design dead ends. A lot are cold, dusty files at the very back of my hard drive that haven't seen the light of day for years.

But some I have kept tinkering on, and keep getting closer and closer to being something I could announce and publish.

One of the closest at the moment is Warbrand, which I am desperately trying to make exactly my preferred magical mix of fast, flexible, simple, elegant, and customizable.

You know... a unicorn. With miniatures.

It's still not ready for its big reveal. But, for reasons that may seem obvious, given it's not a direct descendent of anyone RPG (or such an RPG's system resource document, for example), I've been thinking about it a LOT, recently.

And, there are aspects I can share. At least with proven supporters, which definitely include all you awesome Patrons.

This isn't a design document. It's a preview of some elements of a game I'm working on, a behind-the-scenes teaser of a thing I may or may not ever finish.

But I'd like to.

(Working cover. Cover art by lobard)

The Basics: Warbrand characters have abilities, such as Strength, which are rated as a number you add to Action Dice (d20s), skills, and class features. Damage is dealt in Hit Points, and most things are a d20 Action Die check to see if you succeed.

Warbrand Core Mechanic: Every time you attempt to do something, you roll one or more Action Dice (a d20) and add a bonus against a Target Number. If you meet or beat the number, you succeed. If you used multiple Action Dice, and more than one succeeds, you earn Exploit Points. These can be used to perform special maneuvers or gain bonuses. For example, attacks can add damage with Exploit Points, or some classes might be able to disarm someone or throw a hex at them with Exploit Points.

Most characters will have some category of thing they gain an extra Action Die when doing. For example, a core Warbrand ability (one of the pregenerated classes) is to add an extra Action Die every time they make an attack. Spend one Actin Die on an attack, and you roll two. Spend all three, and you roll four.

If all the Action Dice you roll turn up a natural 1, and your total value is below the task's Target Number, a Complication occurs.

Classes: There are character classes in Warbrand... but they're optional. Beyond attributes and skills, all a character's abilities are defined by edges (major abilities) and talents (more minor abilities). A number of pregenerated classes (Spellstaff, Shadowwise, and Warbrand being examples) provide sets of edges and talents that a player can pick from without worrying about any prerequisites. But if you want to build your character from all edges and talents you can do so, rather than stick to a class list, but then you need to make sure you meet the prerequisites of each.

At 1st level, all characters gain two edges, and three talents. There will be special rules for 0-level characters who begin with fewer -- normally one talent and no edges -- and select new edges and talents as they go through introductory adventures and slowly add the base abilities that make them 1st-level characters.

(Currently there's also a middle level of complexity, in that every class is built from two lists. For example, the Warbrand is made of Warrior abilities (all combat oriented) and Firebrand abilities (all morale oriented), and the Spellstaff is made of Spellcaster abilities (all about spellcasting) and Staffbearer abilities (all lore and wisdom oriented). A character could mix-and-match any two of those four elements without having to worry about prerequisites, so the Warcaster, Warstaff, Spellbrand, and Staffbrand are all also viable off-the-shelf classes.

Several categories of talents can only be accessed if you have a Core Edge. For example, there's a Core Spellcasting edge, which is one of the two edges a Spellstaff gets at 1st level, which grants access to spell-related talents.

Vigor: Every character has a pool of Vigor, a deep well of extra effort that can be called upon to achieve remarkable things. Some characters also learn to use Vigor to tap into ki powers, or create runes, fling hexes, cast hexes, or perform amazing stunts.

Every character has a base set of things they can do with Vigor. Every Core Edge gives you new things you can do with Vigor, and some talents can as well. The base amount of Vigor is the same for every character, though character choices may vary that.

So the character resource a Spellstaff can use to add Action Dice to magebolt attacks, or to cast spells? A Warbrand has the same number of the same resource, and can use them to add Action Dice to weapon attacks, or to rally their allies and intimidate their foes.

All characters begin with a few combat and noncombat uses for Vigor, and a character can stop there if they want. Or they can explore the various options in edges and talents to gain new abilities to manipulate magic, inspire others, push their luck, befriend chaos spirits or wild animals, and so on. The more Vigor-based abilities a character has the more flexible they are, but the total number of Vigor they have doesn't expand just because they've learned new ways to use them.  

At higher levels, some edges instead boost the effectiveness of the basic uses of Vigor. A high-level Warbrand, for example, might end up being able to add two Action Dice to a weapon attack by expending a Vigor, rather than just adding one Action Die when they do so.

Feedback: Like the sound of any of that? Hate it? have specific questions? Let me know!