How to Play
Note that this Chapter assumes that you already know your way around a typical Tabletop Role Playing Game and a Percentile Dice. If you do not, please check the "New to RPG" chapter to learn more.
Basics of SysCards:
At its core, SysCards is played with SySCards and a pair of Percentile Dice. But we strongly suggest the Game Master to prepare illustrations, maps, ambiance music, and any kind of media to enhance the immersion experience.
Although the SysCards rule sets are designed for a Card based RPG experience, the SySCards can be used to play as a pure Card Game without any RPG settings whatsoever. Feel free to design your own rules and SySCards if you wish to play so.
Starting a New Game
Once the Master's preparations are done, (see "New to RPG"), it's time for the Master and Players to create a Character for each Player.
Depending on the Master's wish and story, it's always a good idea to let Players decide what type of Character they want to play, based on what is available in the Master's Game World, of course.
But the Master may also force already prepared Characters if he shaped the story according to these Characters.
Introduction to Core Points:
When you start a new game, the Master gives each Players 100 Core Points and 1 SySCard to us as a Character Card. Core Points are a currency which allows Player to purchase Items from "The Log". "The Log" is simply the list where all Items the Master has put for sale are listed.
There are three kinds of Items for sale in The Log: SySCards, Attributes and Commodities.
Commodities can be in game items or tools belonging to the Game World which Players may want to purchase for their Character. (such a house or a boat, a horse, weapons, etc...). But it can also be Items to accommodate a better game experience such as Efficiency Rates, or an Extra Life.
Any Items in The Log is prepared by the Master. Therefore they are automatically compatible with his Game World. The Log's purpose is to allow Players to develop their Character alternatively to "in-game mechanics", and also propose them fun elements to add to their arsenal while playing.
Starting a Character:
Once a Player has decided the Character he wants to play, all that he has to do is to take his SySCard, and edit the properties of the Character as stated by the Master, depending of the Master's Game World and Creature Types he made available. (Will it be a human or elf Character? What kind of special powers it will have? etc...). You will learn the details of each properties on the SySCard in the following chapters.
Free Attributes for Specific Creature Types:
Some creatures like elves, dragons, giants, etc..., may come with specific Attributes without cost. These details are specified when creating the Game World. Also, the Master may ask extra CP, (Core Points), to allow a Player to play a specific Creature Type just because it comes with some perks. Therefore, during the creation of the Character, the Master is always free to administrate any extra Attributes or #efc% he sees fit, without the requirements of any CP or ask for extra CP to play a specific Character.
According to SysCards Core Rules, each SySCard with a #efc% comes with a default of 1%. The Master is free of course to change this starting rate with any percentage he wishes.
Once Players have their Characters ready and made their purchases from The Log, the game is ready to be played.
The game obviously starts with the Game Master's narration. In SysCards, there are several Game Modes to facilitate the way the Master interacts with players to describe the Game World, their interactions, their actions, and different events they or their Characters perceive. These are called Narration Modes. Thanks to these modes, the Master is able to lead the game with different pace reflecting the tempo of the story.
Narration modes:
Demo Mode:
Active Mode:
How to Earn Core Points?
At the end of each game sessions, the Master will call "Deal Mode", and distribute Core Points to players based on their "Role Play" performance through out the game. The following performances are always taken into consideration by the Master and are awarded with a fitting Core Point amount. The Game Master has the responsibility and heavy task of rating these performances and reward them with suiting Core Points. He can of course add custom performances to rate related to his own Game World.
Role Play Performances and their Reward:
All performances are rated from 1 to 5 CP, 3 being the reward for an average performance and 5 being the reward for an excellent performance.
- Survival: Any player character who survived a game by staying alive at the end of the Game Session receives at least 5 CP. Note that the end of a Game Session can be called only by the Game Master.
- Involvement: The involvement of a player with the game. Did they accept the Game World as it is and try to discover its mechanics and elements? If you feel that a player is interested in the Game World and explores it with his character by engaging the environment and NPCs to learn more about it, then this is Involvement.
- Initiative: An adventure can't be pushed by the Game Master all the time. Sometimes players have to show some initiative to plunge into the adventure. When you see a player who is not afraid to take decisions, show directions, take the lead, or jump into action, then you know that he is taking Initiative. It's up to you, as the Game Master, to reward him accordingly.
- Persistence: Sometimes players forget that they are impersonating a character in another world. This can bring some confusion and give birth to many contradictions in the decisions they take. When you see a player who's character is coherent in all his decisions and actions, then you know that this is Persistence.
- Perspicacity: When players not only bring up interesting ideas and angles to solve different situations, but also keep reasoning until they do, then they prove their Perspicacity.
- Acting: Some players prefer to play in the 3rd person. Some prefers to act directly as the character they are impersonating. You can reward the latter based on his acting performance.
- Players Choice: At the end of a session, each player has a total of 5 CP to distribute between any other players of their choice. They can also chose not to distribute these 5 CP, but they can't use it themselves. These 5 CP can't be accumulated and will be burned if not distributed at the end of the game session.
Note: Amounts can be raised by the Game Master as he sees fit, but never lowered.
The amount of CP the Master will distribute is completely based on his decision. Once players get their newly acquired CP, they can purchase new Articles from the Log.
Notes:
- The log is unavailable during the game session. The Log is available only before a game session, and after a game session. The game master can make certain Articles available, while making some others not available. The Game Master may block the acquisition of any Article as he sees fit.
- Obviously, Role Play Performances are rewarded before accessing The Log.
- Note also that the game master should make Articles available for purchase according to how much it makes sense in the game context and goes smoothly with the story line.
- The Game Master is advised to be discrete while taking notes during the game for the CP distribution after the game.
- Articles on the Log can be unlimited, limited or unique, (unique as in depleted upon one purchase), to promote diversity and avoid matching Characters.
- Full Character Restoration, (see below), restores a Character only at the next game session. The Game Master will decide in which conditions the Character will be restored.
- For Scaling purposes, The Log lists "Power" as a percentage of the Maximum Power of the Entity on the SySCard, the Power is purchased for.
The Offical URPGS Log:
Starting Character Gifts: 100 Core Points, 1 Character Card.
- Any one single SySCard: 10 CP
- Attribute: 5 CP
- 5% of #efc%: 5 CP
In game commodities:
- Expensive clothing: 1 CP
- Expensive Gear: 3 CP
- 1 Vehicle: 5 CP
- Large Vessel: 30 CP
- One Full Character Restoration: 40 CP (Effective on the next game session).
- 1 Building: 50 CP
- 1 Artifact: 60 CP
- 1 High Income Source: 70 CP
Basics of SysCards:
At its core, SysCards is played with SySCards and a pair of Percentile Dice. But we strongly suggest the Game Master to prepare illustrations, maps, ambiance music, and any kind of media to enhance the immersion experience.
Although the SysCards rule sets are designed for a Card based RPG experience, the SySCards can be used to play as a pure Card Game without any RPG settings whatsoever. Feel free to design your own rules and SySCards if you wish to play so.
Starting a New Game
Once the Master's preparations are done, (see "New to RPG"), it's time for the Master and Players to create a Character for each Player.
Depending on the Master's wish and story, it's always a good idea to let Players decide what type of Character they want to play, based on what is available in the Master's Game World, of course.
But the Master may also force already prepared Characters if he shaped the story according to these Characters.
Introduction to Core Points:
When you start a new game, the Master gives each Players 100 Core Points and 1 SySCard to us as a Character Card. Core Points are a currency which allows Player to purchase Items from "The Log". "The Log" is simply the list where all Items the Master has put for sale are listed.
There are three kinds of Items for sale in The Log: SySCards, Attributes and Commodities.
Commodities can be in game items or tools belonging to the Game World which Players may want to purchase for their Character. (such a house or a boat, a horse, weapons, etc...). But it can also be Items to accommodate a better game experience such as Efficiency Rates, or an Extra Life.
Any Items in The Log is prepared by the Master. Therefore they are automatically compatible with his Game World. The Log's purpose is to allow Players to develop their Character alternatively to "in-game mechanics", and also propose them fun elements to add to their arsenal while playing.
Starting a Character:
Once a Player has decided the Character he wants to play, all that he has to do is to take his SySCard, and edit the properties of the Character as stated by the Master, depending of the Master's Game World and Creature Types he made available. (Will it be a human or elf Character? What kind of special powers it will have? etc...). You will learn the details of each properties on the SySCard in the following chapters.
Free Attributes for Specific Creature Types:
Some creatures like elves, dragons, giants, etc..., may come with specific Attributes without cost. These details are specified when creating the Game World. Also, the Master may ask extra CP, (Core Points), to allow a Player to play a specific Creature Type just because it comes with some perks. Therefore, during the creation of the Character, the Master is always free to administrate any extra Attributes or #efc% he sees fit, without the requirements of any CP or ask for extra CP to play a specific Character.
According to SysCards Core Rules, each SySCard with a #efc% comes with a default of 1%. The Master is free of course to change this starting rate with any percentage he wishes.
Once Players have their Characters ready and made their purchases from The Log, the game is ready to be played.
The game obviously starts with the Game Master's narration. In SysCards, there are several Game Modes to facilitate the way the Master interacts with players to describe the Game World, their interactions, their actions, and different events they or their Characters perceive. These are called Narration Modes. Thanks to these modes, the Master is able to lead the game with different pace reflecting the tempo of the story.
- Tale Mode
This is the most common and unique mode to all table rpg games. The time flows normally, as the master describes the environment, and different actions taken by the non player characters. Players act freely, and describe their own actions.
It is a constant fluent interaction between the players and the master. Brief in some parts, accelerated in others, describing situations in details. Tale mode is also the considered the default Narration Mode of the game.
A more technical description would be to say that in Tale Mode there are no dice throws. If a dice throw is needed, then the game enters Action Mode.
No Dice Throw in Tale Mode / Auto Success:
In Tale Mode there are no Dice Throws. The #efc% of the SySCard is considered effective automatically. As soon as a Necessary Value is required to reach, then a Dice Throw becomes necessary, and so starts Action Mode.
No Dice Throw in Tale Mode / Auto Success:
In Tale Mode there are no Dice Throws. The #efc% of the SySCard is considered effective automatically. As soon as a Necessary Value is required to reach, then a Dice Throw becomes necessary, and so starts Action Mode.
- Action Mode
When in an adventure, if an Entity, usually a Character, faces a difficult situation which Challenges its efficiency, than a dice throw is needed. Action mode is where the master describes everything that happens second by second. As the first dice throw is made, the master will start counting the rounds one by one, describing every action in slow motion. (as in movies when they slow time to a maximum to see better moves made by different characters). Action Mode is some kind of slow motion where each creature's Act is processed at the same time.
The round by round count of each Act in Action Mode is called "Actography", and it's explained in depth in the "Core Rules" chapter.
The round by round count of each Act in Action Mode is called "Actography", and it's explained in depth in the "Core Rules" chapter.
Demo Mode:
This is the most important mode, for "story telling". In this mode, the game master tells stories about his world and describes interactions between non player characters to add some excitement to the game.
It helps a lot to give some crucial information about the game world, and the background of players, as the master can also tell about the player characters. In demo mode, only the master is talking, as player aren't allowed to perform any action.
The Demo Mode has the following rules:
In Demo Mode, the game master has the right to control the player characters, but should not imply any negative or positive effect on the Player Character. (Except if it is part of the plot, and players would agree to see to that challenge).
The Master can sometimes decide that some players will be in Demo Mode, while one or more will not. This is specially used when the story focuses on events concerning the background of one specific Player Character.
In Demo Mode, when characters interact with each other, the Master may give the right to players to bring neutral interactions, helping the interactivity of the demo sequence.
A game master can use "demo mode" to make non player characters, crucial to the story, interact with player characters without risking an unnecessary conflict. This is very useful specially for averagely powerful NPCs who are needed to appear at certain moments of the story. They could easily be harmed by player characters, but in Demo Mode, they will, appear, do they thing, and leave without Player's interference.
Demo Mode is only used for storytelling, and to protect some important NPCs. Even if in demo mode, the master still can't make player characters take decisions, or make them perform moves against their will.
Partial Mode:
This mode is almost the same as Demo Mode with the difference that one or some of the players are in interactive mode. Sometimes in the story, one situation can only really affect one of the PCs. The master perhaps will wish to see only the concerned PC acting and playing, while asking the others to not interfere. This is not easy in normal games since every player always wants to do something.
SysCards gives you the power to put the chosen character in "Partial Mode", while you will turn the other PCs in Demo Mode. The PC in Partial Mode will be able to interact and play normally, while the others will be in stand by. (waiting for their friend to face his own challenge). It is a mode used in very important and dramatic moments in a story. Do not forget that this Mode was created to avoid any disturbing interference of a player while the story concentrates on a specific player.
Active Mode:
Active Mode is a different style of playing Role Playing Games which is suggested only to very advanced RPG Players. In "Active Mode", players are allowed to elaborate a part of the Master's Game World, to which context their Character is linked, by directly contributing in its elements. It helps to stop the Constant "Master Consulting" of one player to tell the same info he just received to other players just because his character is supposed to know elements of the story.
Sometimes, a Player's Character will suppose to have experience on the context where the game is being played in the Game World. In Active Mode, the Master allows that Player to take the reign of the game and let that Player improvise that part of the game linked to its context to create a more realistic Character.
A simple example: Imagine a Player who plays an Elf Ranger in a medieval world, and the Characters are about to enter a Forest this Elf Ranger knows very well. In normal RPG, all players would ask the Master a description of the forest as for any event happening. Even the Player playing the Ranger who is supposed to already know would do so. The Player's Character may know the forest but the Player doesn't, so he'll be the first to ask the Master about any elements of the Forest.
But this diminishes the Character realism during the game. With "Active Mode", the Master allows the Player who plays the Ranger to improvise and describe events in the Forest as he wishes. Anything goes. From simple descriptions to encounters, etc...
The Player may even create easier or harder time in the game. Of course the Master is always free to intervene and balance the contributions of that Player.
Sometimes, a Player's Character will suppose to have experience on the context where the game is being played in the Game World. In Active Mode, the Master allows that Player to take the reign of the game and let that Player improvise that part of the game linked to its context to create a more realistic Character.
A simple example: Imagine a Player who plays an Elf Ranger in a medieval world, and the Characters are about to enter a Forest this Elf Ranger knows very well. In normal RPG, all players would ask the Master a description of the forest as for any event happening. Even the Player playing the Ranger who is supposed to already know would do so. The Player's Character may know the forest but the Player doesn't, so he'll be the first to ask the Master about any elements of the Forest.
But this diminishes the Character realism during the game. With "Active Mode", the Master allows the Player who plays the Ranger to improvise and describe events in the Forest as he wishes. Anything goes. From simple descriptions to encounters, etc...
The Player may even create easier or harder time in the game. Of course the Master is always free to intervene and balance the contributions of that Player.
Deal Mode:
And the final Narration Mode is the "Deal Mode". When a Character has Core Points to spend, and, has enough "in game" free time ahead, like a break between adventures or a long journey, he will be able to ask for Deal Mode. Technically it's when the players character have enough time in the game to take a break and allow Players to purchase items from The Log.
This gives the opportunity to players to deal freely with the Game Master for new Attributes, SySCards, or Rates, listed on The Log.
This gives the opportunity to players to deal freely with the Game Master for new Attributes, SySCards, or Rates, listed on The Log.
The Log:
Before listing The Log, let's first see how to earn Core Points to purchase Items from The Log.
Before listing The Log, let's first see how to earn Core Points to purchase Items from The Log.
How to Earn Core Points?
At the end of each game sessions, the Master will call "Deal Mode", and distribute Core Points to players based on their "Role Play" performance through out the game. The following performances are always taken into consideration by the Master and are awarded with a fitting Core Point amount. The Game Master has the responsibility and heavy task of rating these performances and reward them with suiting Core Points. He can of course add custom performances to rate related to his own Game World.
Role Play Performances and their Reward:
All performances are rated from 1 to 5 CP, 3 being the reward for an average performance and 5 being the reward for an excellent performance.
- Survival: Any player character who survived a game by staying alive at the end of the Game Session receives at least 5 CP. Note that the end of a Game Session can be called only by the Game Master.
- Involvement: The involvement of a player with the game. Did they accept the Game World as it is and try to discover its mechanics and elements? If you feel that a player is interested in the Game World and explores it with his character by engaging the environment and NPCs to learn more about it, then this is Involvement.
- Initiative: An adventure can't be pushed by the Game Master all the time. Sometimes players have to show some initiative to plunge into the adventure. When you see a player who is not afraid to take decisions, show directions, take the lead, or jump into action, then you know that he is taking Initiative. It's up to you, as the Game Master, to reward him accordingly.
- Persistence: Sometimes players forget that they are impersonating a character in another world. This can bring some confusion and give birth to many contradictions in the decisions they take. When you see a player who's character is coherent in all his decisions and actions, then you know that this is Persistence.
- Perspicacity: When players not only bring up interesting ideas and angles to solve different situations, but also keep reasoning until they do, then they prove their Perspicacity.
- Acting: Some players prefer to play in the 3rd person. Some prefers to act directly as the character they are impersonating. You can reward the latter based on his acting performance.
- Players Choice: At the end of a session, each player has a total of 5 CP to distribute between any other players of their choice. They can also chose not to distribute these 5 CP, but they can't use it themselves. These 5 CP can't be accumulated and will be burned if not distributed at the end of the game session.
Note: Amounts can be raised by the Game Master as he sees fit, but never lowered.
The amount of CP the Master will distribute is completely based on his decision. Once players get their newly acquired CP, they can purchase new Articles from the Log.
Notes:
- The log is unavailable during the game session. The Log is available only before a game session, and after a game session. The game master can make certain Articles available, while making some others not available. The Game Master may block the acquisition of any Article as he sees fit.
- Obviously, Role Play Performances are rewarded before accessing The Log.
- Note also that the game master should make Articles available for purchase according to how much it makes sense in the game context and goes smoothly with the story line.
- The Game Master is advised to be discrete while taking notes during the game for the CP distribution after the game.
- Articles on the Log can be unlimited, limited or unique, (unique as in depleted upon one purchase), to promote diversity and avoid matching Characters.
- Full Character Restoration, (see below), restores a Character only at the next game session. The Game Master will decide in which conditions the Character will be restored.
- For Scaling purposes, The Log lists "Power" as a percentage of the Maximum Power of the Entity on the SySCard, the Power is purchased for.
The Offical URPGS Log:
Starting Character Gifts: 100 Core Points, 1 Character Card.
- Any one single SySCard: 10 CP
- Attribute: 5 CP
- 5% of #efc%: 5 CP
In game commodities:
- Expensive clothing: 1 CP
- Expensive Gear: 3 CP
- 1 Vehicle: 5 CP
- Large Vessel: 30 CP
- One Full Character Restoration: 40 CP (Effective on the next game session).
- 1 Building: 50 CP
- 1 Artifact: 60 CP
- 1 High Income Source: 70 CP
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