User blog:SensibleCenobite/Generic Light Weight Story System.

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StrangerThings, I haven't heard from you in a while, but here's what I've been up to, and I think this is as light weight as it gets. I don't know what kind of system you wanted for you pen and paper game, but I think that an emphasis on words over math is the way to go, in addition to KISS {Keep It Simple Stupid}. Let me know what you think.

Credits: His Majesty Mr. Russel Hammond for protecting my freedom of speech all the way from Brazil, IanWatson for creating the wiki, Atvelonis the wiki manager, StrangerThings, the top contributors for the week [BroDavid, JC10169, Mn70os, Brad Tungis], new contributors [Spectollder, Mn70os, Brad Tungis, Fydr, Antoniogiovanni, AbsolutGrndZer0, ShiroEnya], FANDOM, and lastly my Chantry for liking/hating the chromatic orbs.

Language VS Math: It's been proven that language is an innate ability that humans have hard wired into their brains, but math isn't. There are tribes in the amazon that have words that roughly translate to "few", "some", and "more." It seems that areas of the brain that are highlighted with a MRI when most math calculations are performed are separate from sectors of the brain that are highlighted when language is performed.

http://discovermagazine.com/2009/jan/039

https://www.pnas.org/content/113/18/4909

https://theconversation.com/when-did-humans-first-learn-to-count-97511

https://theconversation.com/did-artists-lead-the-way-in-mathematics-75355

Generic Light Weight Story System:

Story Stuff:

Characters: Each Player designs a Character focused on words, not dice results that fill up charts on some paper. Instead of numbers, each Player picks four adjectives, nouns, and verbs to describe major aspects of their Character. Each Character will need the following to start; Age, height, weight, hair and eye color, a short description of the Character's looks, a back story, motivation before game start, motivation at game start {day to day activities}, goals {long term objective that would move the story forward in a major way or end it out right}, and a hidden agenda XOR a secret {Doesn't have to be incriminating or even known to the Character}.

Who/What/Where/When/Why/How?:

Main Non Player Characters: Write up three antagonists, neutrals, and protagonists that will interact with the group.

Narrative/Motivation/Consequences/Cause/Effect: The narrative arc is just a bunch of stuff that happens in order, but what drives a story is motivation, consequences, cause, and effect.

Location, location, location: Write up three to nine main locations and describe the people/organizations that run the property. Roll the dice or draw a card to give the Story Teller a basic idea of that location's current financial status. Don't worry about the specific numbers associated with day to day operations, instead use the result to get a general sense how well off the location is.

Give the Players agency: Instead of a full blown story written by the Story Teller {Which will be destroyed in less than twenty minutes}, let the Characters tell you the story, based on the Non Player Characters and the locations. I like to use “Yes, but...” or “Yes, and...” to let my Players do what they want, but they still have consequences to attend.

Random chaos generation:

Purpose: The need to generate chaos is only necessary if it would add drama to the story, end an argument, or end a tie, not every time a Character opens the door or says “hello” to a stranger. If a Player wants their Character to “do” something that is more than mundane, have them roll 2D10 or draw a tarot card(s).

Bell Curve: Use 2D10s to go from 0 to 99, and 65% as the target number for all rolls. All modifiers add and subtract from dice rolls, not the target number of 65%.

Tarot Cards: Have the Player draw a tarot card from the deck and the whole group interpret the results as best as possible. If a number is needed, all card decks I've seen have a proper order by number, suit, or both. The group will have to come up with custom rules on what suit and number mean.

Skill/Chance: Bell Curve: Anytime that a Player has one adjective, noun, and/or verb associated with an action, they receive a +5% bonus per word up to 15%. Any time the Player doesn't have an adjective, noun, and/or verb associated with the action {and that action is still possible}, the Story Teller may assign a -5%/-10%/-15% penalty, based on how difficult the Story Teller thinks the action is. Sometimes there are outside forces, circumstance, negative words, or equipment that would help or hinder the Character, and in those cases, give them a 5%/10%/15% bonus or -5%/-10%/-15% penalty to their roll. All numbers rolled in the range of 0 to -30 are bad, interpreted democratically by the Story Teller and the group, while all numbers in the range of 99-129 are done very well, interpreted by the Player.

Skill/Chance: Tarot Cards: Anytime that the Player has one adjective, noun, and/or verb associated with an action, let the Player draw an extra card per word and pick the one they want. Any time the Player doesn't have an adjective, noun, and/or verb associated with the action {and that action is still possible}, the Story Teller may have them draw 1 to 3 extra cards and then the Story Teller picks the one they want, based on how difficult the Story Teller thinks the action is. Sometimes there are outside forces, circumstance, negative words, or equipment that would help or hinder the Character, and in those cases, have them draw an additional 1 to 3 cards, then they pick the best one or the Story Teller picks the worst one.

Respond to an action: If another active entity is aware of a Character's action, they may react to the action and try to help or oppose it. For an opposed roll, they both roll dice or pick cards and who ever beats their target number by the most or whoever has the most auspicious card wins the opposed action. If an entity is trying to help, let them roll/draw first, and if they succeed, grant the Player who declared the action a bonus, else they failed the roll and didn't help, so impose a penalty on the Player instead.

Final Resolution: The Story Teller gets the executive veto IF the group is dead locked.

Experience/Learning/Life:

First hand: After three to ten game sessions, let each Player pick an adjective, noun, or verb for their Character. These words should probably be related to the Character's activity during those sessions.

Study: A Player may decide to have their Character study in between missions, but they may not do side work with the group. After ten to twenty sessions, let them pick an adjective, noun, or verb associated with their studies.

Trauma: These are negative adjectives, nouns, and verbs that become associated with a Character after they have a bad session. For example, if a Character gets cut on the face with a roll from 99-129, make them take the word scarred or ugly. If a Character is caught stealing, make them take the word wanted or criminal.

Example Character:

Name: Jimmy Quick Pick

Age: 17

Height: 5', 2”

Weight: 110

Hair: Green

Eyes: Red

Description: A short boy covered in a mish mash of clothes minus a pair of shoes, feet and legs covered in grim from the long hours spent in the river scrounging for baubles, a cocky smile when you meet him for the first time, bright eyed since he's not in the work houses any longer.

Back History: Jimmy only remembers his early days at the work houses, his friends maimed in work place accidents, his other friends the mice that ran across his body at night, and the harsh beatings he received when his quota wasn't met. Jimmy finally met the right scallywag who taught him how to pick locks with bits of metal they gathered off the floor, and it wasn't long after that he met his new crew, The Baby Ducks.

Motivation before game start: Don't get recaptured by the work houses, learn street etiquette, drink grog to forget about life.

Motivation at game start: Help the local dirty kids as best as possible, sneak into work houses and teach kids how to pick locks,

Goals: Find out who his real parents are, get back at the work houses,

Hidden agenda XOR secret: Secret {Jimmy doesn't know it}, Jimmy was kidnapped by the thieves and pressed into slavery. He has a birthmark on his lower right calf shaped like a unicorn which could prove his identity as, James Paterson Oneal.

Verbs:

Gather information, quick talk authorities, gather rubbish in the river, pick locks.

Adjectives:

Quick, aware, dirty, cunning.

Nouns:

Role in society: Scavenger/Thief

Contact: Freddy “Four Fingers” the fence, whenever Jimmy and the crew actually pull a big one on the work houses, good old Freddy Four Fingers knows how to make it disappear.

Item: Set of lock picks.

Animal Companion: Sir Isaac Newton, An orange tabby that hangs around the river where the baby ducks work, always very friendly to the children, will come from a few blocks a away if he's called by any of the Baby Ducks.

Joke of the Day: A young hillbilly comes home for the holidays and has many conversations with the family. At some point his uncle comes over to him and wants to hear about “that higher education stuff,” so the youngster says “pi r squared.” The uncle looks at him dumb founded and says, “That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard, everybody knows pie are round.”

Circles are complete; Triangles are immutable. Hallelujah, Hail Cthulhu, Praise Evolution, TheBeardedDragon