System Mechanics & Character Creation

In Storygame, players collaboratively create a story, scene by scene, through writing posts that describe what one or more characters are experiencing, thinking, feeling, and doing. They can character]], they use a personal character's sheet and the Event Die mechanic to shape the narrative. This doesn't have to happen every post or even every scene.

Making a character sheet and letting system mechanics help determine what characters knows and can accomplish is a fundamental aspect of tabletop RPGS. The Storygame mechanics were specifically built to facilitate text-based, online roleplay.

The D10
In Storygame, a 10-sided dice is considered to range from 0-9, rather than 1-10. 9 is the highest or "best" outcome that can come from a dice roll and zero is the lowest or worse outcome. In Storygame, no one rolls a material d10. Instead, a dice bot or app is used via the troupe's Discord or other voice/text chat application or a site like The Storyteller's Guild.

Attributes
Attributes (or "Stats") are some general characteristics possessed by all characters. In the Storygame system, they are measured on a numerical scale ranging from 1 to 5. A character can't be alive (or even a sentient ghost) and have an attribute of 0.


 * 1 = abysmal, severely handicapped, cursed.
 * 2 = below average, flawed, mediocre
 * 3 = average, ordinary, standard, passable
 * 4 = above average, talented, gifted, skilled, good
 * 5 = extraordinary, uncanny, amazing, phenomenal

Storygame has seven standard attributes we think are useful for chronicles of any genre. There is also an eighth and very customizable attribute that may or may not be applicable to your chronicle. Each attribute covers a small group of related characteristics; talents and flaws can be used to get a little more specific about your character's strengths and weaknesses beyond a general sense based on their attributes.


 * Agility = coordination, reflexes, balance, hand-eye coordination
 * Awareness = perception, intuition, danger sense, mindfulness
 * Brawn = Physical muscle power, carrying capacity, stamina, endurance
 * Charm = charisma, persuasiveness, personal appeal, force of personality, presence
 * Cunning= ability to plot, strategize, deceive, lie, set traps, out maneuver opponents
 * Tenacity= will power, stubbornness, conviction, stress resilience.
 * Wisdom = prudence, memory, logic, rationality, intellectuality, reason


 * Mojo = psychic energy, chi, élan vital, orgone, spirit, soul, magickal potential

Troupes should feel free to re-name any of the attributes or define them differently. You can create additional ones for your chronicle if you like. What works for your group works for your group.

Character Types
Character types aren't necessarily the same thing as character races. Every character within a specific character type can have their attributes easily measured against one another, they have the same baseline of what average is. Super-hero and Super-villains share a character type that puts them at a higher baseline than an ordinary person. Character types are measured against other character types by eschelons, which also have a five point scale with mundane humans like us players ourselves squarely in the middle. Not every chronicle will have all character types. Using the echelon system is only important when your chronicle has at least two.


 * 1 Tiny Beings (1) = playable races that have a dramatically lower baseline in all or almost all of their attributes than an IRL person. They can't defend themselves well at all if cornered by an mundane human.


 * 2 Subhumans (2) = playable races that have at least 3 attributes with a lower baseline than mundane humans; they might be any combination of smaller, slower, less cunning, tenacious or intelligent on average than actual human beings are. Under ordinary circumstances, they aren't likely to win a fight or argument with a mundane human.


 * 3 Humans (3) = playable races that have the same baseline of attributes as humans or in the case of a chronicle without humans at all? The most ordinary and average of all the playable races.


 * 4 Metahumas (4) = playable races that have at least 3 attributes with a higher baseline then ordinary humans (or the most ordinary character race in the game). Creatures like vampires, jedi, werewolves, action heroes, androids, demigods are good examples. Under most circumstances, they are going to win a fight or elude pursuit against a human opponent.

%5 Gods (5) = playable races that have all or almost all their attributes at a dramatically higher baseline than an IRL person. No human being would be able to defend themselves against them.