Rise of Æster LARP Demo Rules

Note: This is only a brief overview of the complete rules set, sufficient for running a demo game such as the Captain's Table.

The goal of Rise of Æster is not measured in the strength of skills or successes against challenges, but rather the quality of the story told by the game as it unfolds.  Roleplaying is key, and the character attributes here are intended to guide that activity, not dominate it, nor to somehow establish a particular player’s stature or power in the game.

To this end, the design of characters at the start is intended to leave weaknesses, and limit strengths, as it is overcoming those weaknesses that can produce the best story. In fact, we think that some of the best roleplaying can arise as a result of failures rather than successes. (To that end also, the system is intended NOT to be promptly lethal…)

Please keep that in mind as you create your own avatar in the Rise of Æster world.

Character Skills

A skill is a character attribute that describes a specific ability of an individual, and their level of facility with it. It provides an abstraction of training, experience and native ability which the actor may not actually have.

Character skills are organized by trait, based on subjective evaluation of which trait is most key to one’s competence in it. A list of skills is provided which is by no means complete. Actors will most certainly imagine and describe additional skills pertinent to roleplay. It is up to the actor and navigator to determine the trait to which a new skill belongs.

A player’s facility in a skill is identified by level, of which there are 5: Superior, Great, Good, Fair or None.  Skills are ordered by SUPERIOR, GREAT, GOOD and FAIR.  Any action taken which is not listed on your sheet as a skill will be treated as having the quality “No Skill”. Skills can be further modified by GLOBAL skills and WEAKNESSES.

Example Skills

Organizing Skills

Characters start with 2 GREAT, 4 GOOD and 6 FAIR skills to be set in one of the three Traits, as determined by their chosen Vocation.

Actors will order these three traits as Primary, Secondary and Tertiary, and then assign skills to each trait using descriptors of the Player’s choosing.

What level of skill you may apply in a trait, and what level it may achieve is dependent on how you order your Traits. You must place a minimum of 4 skills in your Primary, 3 in your Secondary, and two in your Tertiary Trait.

GREAT skills may only be applied in a player’s PRIMARY or SECONDARY traits; however, one GREAT skill *must* be applied to the player’s PRIMARY trait.

GOOD skills may be applied to any trait; however, a character may only have one GOOD skill in their TERTIARY trait.

FAIR skills may be applied in any trait.

As Actors can use any skills that are accepted by the presiding game Navigator, a wide variety of skills could be used.  Actors are encouraged to be creative, but to also think of skills that are specific enough to be useful without being overreaching.

GLOBAL skill - Players may exchange both GREAT skills for a GLOBAL skill in their primary trait.  A GLOBAL skill gives players a base level of FAIR in any skill in that trait.

SUPERIOR skill - A character may exchange both GREAT skills in order to take a SUPERIOR skill at character creation. The SUPERIOR skill may only be added to the player's PRIMARY trait. A SUPERIOR skill must also be very narrow in scope. For example, a player may not have “Guns” as a SUPERIOR skill, but may have “Revolver” as a SUPERIOR skill.

When a player chooses a SUPERIOR skill, they must also select a specific WEAKNESS to balance that ability.   This is a roleplaying requirement, and must be approved by the local Navigator.  At any event, the officiating Navigator may choose to relegate a SUPERIOR skill to GREAT, and eliminate the player-selected weakness.

Weaknesses:

Mathematical incompetence

Social ineptitude

Clumsiness

Egotistical

Shyness

Resolving Challenges

As a normal consequence of play, actors will be presented with various challenges which they will need to address and overcome (or not).  The point of the game and the intent of the Navigator are to use these events to shape roleplaying and the evolution of the story.

The types of challenges break out generally into two categories – physical challenges on the one hand which may take place as part of interaction with other players or NPCs, and most every thing else, which are actions executed by the actor in interaction with the environment.

Normally, if a Skill is on the Character Dossier, it can be used without challenge or risk of failure under most circumstances.  If you know Navigation, for example, under most situations your character can figure out which way to travel and estimate distance and time to destination.

However, there will be frequent occasions when some challenges, typically physical, will be between players or players and NPC's, who seek to achieve opposite ends.  At these times, relative skill levels are evaluated and the following procedures used.

Automatic Success - Any contest between skills separated by two or more levels is always a SUCCESS for the higher-skilled player.

RANDOMIZATION - When skills are equal, or separated by only one level, RANDOMIZATION is triggered.  The outcome is then determined by one of two modes, UNEQUAL or EQUAL, depending on the relative skill levels of the actors. The resolution of these randomization modes will determine the actor’s SUCCESS or FAILURE.

In both modes, at an agreed signal, both actors simultaneously display a number of fingers from one hand, including NONE.  NONE is denoted by presenting the thumb alone to represent no fingers. Any other single finger will represent ONE.  Any other combination of fingers and thumb represent the appropriate number TWO through FIVE.  Presenting the thumb alone will always and only be used to represent NO fingers.

When the fingers are presented, they are evaluated to determine if the total fingers displayed by both actors is odd or even in number.  For UNEQUAL RANDOMIZATION, they are also evaluated to determine whether both actors are displaying the same number of fingers (a TIE).

Resolution

UNEQUAL randomization occurs when the actors involved in a contest have different skill levels.  The player with the higher skill level wins on any ODD result, or, when the actors hold up the same number of fingers (a TIE)

EQUAL randomization occurs when both actors involved in a contest are of the same skill level. When the mode is EQUAL, the total number of fingers presented by both actors is counted. If the result is ODD,  the INITIATING player wins.

Multiplayer Combat Resolution:

Going Up the Chain

The instigator of the attack is considered the Initiating Actor, and should be the player with the highest skill in the type of combat to ensue. The Group's starting skill for the attack is that of the Initiating Actor. Going “Up the Chain” works by increments of two players: the first assistant, and then every subsequent pair of assistants raises the group’s effective skill by one level until SUPERIOR is reached.  (the 1st, 3rd, 5th and 7th assistants) Once SUPERIOR skill is reached for the group, the defensive skill of the Defender begins going “Down the Chain”. (See the illustration for “Down the Chain”)
	Defender has a GREAT Skill in Parry. Attacker 1 (Initiating Actor) has FAIR Skill in Saber.   Attacker 1 will always lose against the Defender. In a contest between a FAIR Skill and a GREAT Skill,   success automatically goes to the GREAT Skill, as they are separated by a whole skill level.
	Going “Up the Chain” Attacker 1 is joined by an ally According to the “Rule of Twos”, Attacker 1’s Saber skill is raised by one level from FAIR to GOOD . Initiating Actor +1 Assistant = Two people (+1 skill level) Because there their skill levels are adjacent in value, the contest should be resolved as an UNEQUAL CONTEST, with the Defender having the ADVANTAGE. (GOOD Saber vs. GREAT Parry)
	Continuing "Up the Chain" Attackers 1&2 are joined by another ally. They gain no benefit from the second ally according to the “Rule of Twos”.   Initiating Actor +2 Assistants = 3 people  (No benefit) The contest should still be resolved as an UNEQUAL CONTEST with Defender having the ADVANTAGE. (Still GOOD Saber vs. GREAT Parry)
	Continuing "Up the Chain" Attackers 1, 2 & 3 are joined by yet another ally. According to the “Rule of Twos” Attacker 1’s Saber skill increases another level, from GOOD to GREAT.   Initiating Actor +3 Assistants = 4 people (+2 skill levels) The contest is now resolved as an EQUAL CONTEST.   (GREAT Saber vs. GREAT Parry)
	Continuing "Up the Chain", once again Attackers 1, 2, 3 & 4 are now joined by two more allies According to the “Rule of Twos”, they raise the Initiating Actor’s Saber another level, from GREAT to SUPERIOR.   Initiating Actor +5 Assistants = 6 people (+3 skill levels) The contest is now resolved as an EQUAL CONTEST, but with Attacker 1 having the ADVANTAGE. The skill levels are still adjacent, so no automatic victory. (SUPERIOR Saber vs. GREAT Parry)

Going Down the Chain

Once SUPERIOR skill is reached, a group can go no further "Up the Chain", and hence additional assistants will begin reducing the Defender's skill "Down the Chain". This concept is the same as Going Up the Chain, but in reverse and affecting the opponent's defensive skill or the difficulty of a challenge. Once the Group's SUPERIOR skill is reached, the process of Going Down the Chain starts freshly as if the entire group is the Initiating Actor. The first additional assistant will reduce the opponent's skill by a level, continuing a single level with every subsequent pair of assistants.
	The Initiating Actor (Attacker 1) begins with GREAT skill in Saber. The Defender possess GREAT Parry. If the fight remained thus, it should be resolved as an EQUAL CONTEST, with no advantage to either party.
	Attacker 1 is joined by an ally According to the “Rule of Twos”, Attacker 1’s Saber skill is raised by one level from GREAT to SUPERIOR. Initiating Actor +1 Assistant = Two people (+1 skill level) Because there their skill levels are adjacent in value, the contest should be resolved as an UNEQUAL CONTEST, with the Attacker having the ADVANTAGE. (SUPERIOR Saber vs. GREAT Parry)
	The Group's skill can go no higher than SUPERIOR, so "Going Down the Chain" can begin. Additional pairs of assistants reduce the effective level of the challenge by going “Down the Chain”.  So the Defender’s GREAT Parry skill will begin to be reduced. The Group is considered a single unit, and the “Rule of Twos” applies, so: Attackers 1&2 (Group) are joined by another ally. The Defender's GREAT Parry is reduced by one level to GOOD. As there is a whole level between SUPERIOR and GOOD, the Attackers gain automatic victory. (SUPERIOR Saber vs. GOOD Parry)
Just remember that the odd-numbered additional assistants change the skill level, so the 1st assistant will change the skill, then the 3rd, the 5th, 7th, 9th etc.  When the group reaches SUPERIOR by Going Up the Chain, that progression is complete. The process begins anew for Going Down the Chain, with the entire group considered "The Initiating Actor", so that the Rule of Twos will reduce the challenge/defense level with the next 1st assistant, then again with the 3rd, 5th, 7th, 9th. In Combat, once the group has reached SUPERIOR against a GOOD skill, no further assistants are necessary, as  victory is automatic for skill levels with a difference of a whole level. However, in environmental challenges that have a time value relative to the Challenge level, the group can add assistants up the chain until the group level is SUPERIOR, and continue until the challenge level is effectively NO SKILL. The amount of time to complete the challenge should be reduced with each drop in level until the challenge is overcome.

© 2011 Aesterlight Steampunk Studios, LLC