Rules ideas - starting from scratch (again)

New rules (Take whateverythehellitisnowdearzombiejesuscan'tIjustpicksomethingandgetonwithplayingSkyrim?!)

OK.  I'm knackered from my new job, but I played with some rule ideas of Christmas and this is what I came up with.  I don't have the same guys around to argue it with, so feel free to kick the tyres. 


I have a bunch of principles that basically run along the ideas of keeping it idiot friendly (I'm the idiot in this example; I hate having to remember more than a couple of numbers at a time), easy to grasp but very flexible in the long term. 


Oh yeah, and rules should support play and setting.  You'll see what I mean with the virtue/vice thing.

Characters and character generation:

At this point rewards can change, but the basic system is predicated on using Drama points as currency.  You gain them by playing to their sins (and creating drama) and spend them on boosting your stat+skill test result. Wyrd points are more powerful Drama Points.  Of course, all of this is unstable - it only lasts until I think of better ideas.

           Each character begins with named traits.

Destiny	Your destiny is your ultimate goal and should be suitably epic; if you are uncertain, or new, ask the ST to create one for you, with some input.  The reward for advancing your destiny is to receive Wyrd point(s).
Passions (5)	Passions are your smaller objectives; anything from the political ('become renowned at duelling') to the personal ('woo the lady Serafina').  The player gains XP for advancing their Passions.  They also gain a one-off payment of XP upon completion of their Passion. Passions are basically goals and exist on top of the GM-inspired plots.  A little player power in defining what they want to do and getting a reward for it.
Strength	The character has taken one of the Seven Virtues to heart (see table). The player may take a bonus based on ½ their Spirit stat at a critical juncture in their Task.  Not sure about the reward on this one, but I like teh idea of a temporary buff for doing something like that.
Sin	The character is prey to one of the Seven Sins (see table). The player regains Drama Points in-session by giving in to their weakness and creating drama.  I totally got the idea for this after playing ICONS.  FS is often about human frailty and players are notoriously frit of showing or acknowledging ANY weakness, so this is a gentle push.

Here are the quick-and-dirty descriptions of FS's virtues and sins.

The Seven Virtues
Virtue	Patron	Tasks
Questing	Paulus the Traveller	Investigating mysteries.
Loyalty	Lextius the Knight	Upholding a pledge.
Compassion	Amalthea the Healer	Aiding those in need.
Protection	Mantius the Soldier	Defending the faithful.
Justice	Maya the Scorned Woman	Punishing the guilty.
Wisdom	Horace the Learned Man	Learning something new.
Humility	Hombor the Beggar	Selfless acts of charity.
Discipline	Ven Lohji the Alien	Investigating occult mysteries.

The Seven Sins
Sin	Acts
Pride	Insisting on primacy; ignoring the social order.
Greed	Extracting too much from others, be it money or other goods. Stealing.
Lust	Overt seduction, lascivious excess, miscegenation (xenophilia).
Envy	Acts designed to deny or take a desired person or object from another.
Sloth	Failing to advance a Passion.
Wrath	Becoming angry or violent against those weaker than thyself.
Oathbreaking	Choosing not to honour agreements/contracts.
Technosophy	Relying on technology to do something for you.

            Characters have three main traits: Body, Mind and Spirit.  These traits act as health tracks and limits - a character cannot have a skill rating higher than their trait rating.

            A character's Body represents how much damage they can take before falling unconscious.  Health is lost through physical conflict, with each point of damage removing one point of health.  See the Combat section for more details.

            A character's Mind is the measure of their mental stability and their defence against the Darkness Between the Stars.  Stability is lost when the player comes across horrific situations (grisly occult rituals, facing the Darkness Between the Stars  and so on).  Players can also make mental attacks against one another, seeking to sow confusion and uncertainty in their enemies through debate.

            A character's Spirit is their worthiness, be it in the Pancreator's eyes or their own.  Theurgic or Psychic characters need a strong soul to control their abilities, while the ungifted may offer their Spirit points to demons in unholy bargains.  A character's conviction is lost when installing cyberwear, or engaging in spiritual combat.

Falling to Zero 

            When a character's trait falls to zero, they are temporarily taken out of play. 

A character with zero Body is grievously wounded and unconscious. They can recover through healing, be it chemical, technological or mystical.

A character with zero Mind is insane and must be locked up for their own good.  Psychological healing is a limited art in the Known Worlds; instead, many go on quests to recover their minds, exploring their history in order to recover their personality.

A character with zero Spirit no longer abides by their own morality; instead they act as they please. A character must either return to their path through spiritual acts, or choose an alternative, such  as soul death through transhumanism, or demon worship.

Stats work like in Dr. Who: the actual stat number is reduced, which has a knock-on effect on taking tests.  Body works fine, and Mind is generally OK (not sure of the PVP thing, but as PVP is a big part of the game I guess I'll have to work something out.  Spirit...sucks.  I have no idea how to work this one yet, although I do like the idea of selling soul like a certain Patchwork Prince).  

Combat is sketched out but basically runs like this: a character's total health is their Body + any armour rating (armour is extra health).  If all the armour points are used up, its effectiveness in subsequent battles is 1/2 total until repaired and is halved again every time it's used up.  

Energy shields protect against a range of damage values for X many hits.

Weapons do X damage.  That's basically it.  

Things to add: Feats(?), a proper skill list, crafting and whatever else I've forgotten.