System Testing

Testing

While I work on my own system in the background, something I know can’t be balanced through mere thought or in a month's time, I want to develop the world through actual play. To that end, I chose Savage Worlds: Adventure Edition (SWADE) as the basis for my design.

First: Power Points

It has a power-point system instead of a slot-driven one. I was introduced to role-playing through Rifts and its over-the-top power-point system; slots feel too limited. SWADE offers a rich point system that uses a small number of points, not crazy marks, to reach. This aligns with my goal of survival because there should be resource attrition, and you feel like you can run out quickly. I know, in practice with Bennies, it is unlimited; you're still burning meta resources to fill up your power points.

Second: Power Trappings

Even with powers, it has a very flexible system for them. Trappings allow you to have the feel of a spell associated with a bolt spell to create fire bolts, acid bolts, ice bolts, or even psychic bolts, all mechanically the same while being resisted differently. This is an added bonus of flexibility in the system that I hope to match in my own system. Now, because of the nature of my lore and personal feelings, some powers are going to be removed; teleport and resurrection are among the top candidates.

Third: Classless

Character design options. I know I grew up with a class system to denote power in all my youth; Rifts, D&D, and RoleMaster, but I’ve always felt that was wrong. I’ve always wanted to mix and match abilities to create unique, unbalanced concepts. SWADE doesn’t have that level of baked-in support; it is a truly classless system. As the Game Master, I can build whatever wild thing I want, but its system is grounded, so it can pretty much build whatever the player wants. I know their companion books and interpretation of Rifts gives the illusion of classes through arcane background choices, but if you want a fighter mage, you can do it without requiring a special class for it.

Fourth: Ancestry Building Blocks

Ancestry building blocks: Using the system of building blocks, it is possible to build an ancestry and have it balance against another fairly well. Incredibly, 16 ancestries using the building blocks, you can see their statistics in the ancestry part of the lore. Still, it lets me create the vision I saw for them all, down to adding some once-per-encounter ancestry edges that I thought were important to the ancestry's flavor. Of course, those need to be tested to ensure they are neither too powerful nor too weak. I choose per encounter not to overshadow higher-level edges that might do similar things.

Fifth: Setting Rules

I know there are a lot of reasons, but in the end, they are all important to get the feel of Xethos Lands right. Setting rules that can be adjusted per setting to make a feeling that fits the world. From limiting wounds to 4 to address the dice's explosive nature, the one aspect I do like is adding more skill points, because people would (in theory) take basics like electronics to cover basic use of high-tech devices. This flexibility lets me build the world I envision.

Closing

SWADE has some problems inherent to its system for my personal choices, which I’ll work around in my own system. Still, as a starting point, it is a good place to start because it is so flexible and can make pretty much anything with the right applications of edges and powers. I only hope to emulate its freedom of choice.