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Here's how it works. Based off this, but there will be changes here and there to keep things interesting. Monsters might not have quite the same abilities as what the CYOA suggests for example.
The basic premise is four people (I think anymore would be too much) are hanging in lovecraftville, having been recently forced to move there by X monster. You need to defeat the monster in any way possible, or else the monster will kill you.
Investigation, exploration and searching is key in this game. We'll be using this map for the time being because its a nice semi-isolated town in the middle of nowhere.
Death is permament (you don't get a new character if you die), and depending on the situation could come at any moment. So keep on your toes at all times and be very cautious. I'll do my best to give detailed descriptions of everything you sense going on, some of which may well hold a clue as to what is about to kill you. So don't just rush through without reading the descriptions or else you'll probably be in trouble.
This is essentially a test run for the concept so there'll be a bit of working things out as we go, but here's the base stuff.
Character Creation
Character creation works by choosing from the following. Some give extra benefits like letting you pick a second of something else, just follow the CYOA and note why you're picking extra.
A) Bloodline. Pick 1
B) Skills. Everyone picks 2.
C) Instincts. Everyone picks 1.
D) Magic. Everyone picks a magic type (pick from below, not the CYOA). You start with one starting spell of that type of your choice.
E) Guns. Everyone picks 1.
F) Artifacts. Everyone picks 1.
Team Creation
Things that affect the entire team so you should choose them together, are:
A) Hideout. Choose 1.
B) Provocation. Choose 1. Can either be decided on as a team (if all your characters took part in the provocation) or by a single person (if the rest of you are hired help for the person who actually provoked the monster, family who are in trouble because the monster is targeting the entire bloodline, etc).
GM Choices
What I choose for you. The monster, environmental factors, and rather than character factors. With some exceptions, these won't always be immediately apparent.
A) Pursuer. Because what horrific monstrosity you've accidentally provoked isn't up to you. You will be told what the basic type of this monster is when the game begins.
B) Complications. Not immediately apparent. You've only just arrived in this town, so until you explore a bit you won't know what issues there are.
C) Madness. You'll be told.
D) Silver Linings. I'll roll a dice for this. You will be told if the silver lining is one that should immediately be apparent, e.g. head start.
E) Nails in your Coffin. I'll roll a dice for this. If it's something that would only affect one person, I'll roll for who gets it, and then I'll roll again for another until I get a Nail that doesn't only affect an individual player. Don't worry, for every extra Nail a player gets, they can grab another Skill, Artifact, Instinct, or Silver Lining (I'll roll for which of those 4 you get but after that you can choose). Again, if this is something that should be immediately apparent / already known (e.g. wounded) you'll be told, otherwise you'll need to work it out.
Things that don't get chosen at all:
A) companions. You are each other's companions.
B) "What you see". Because the little story of that CYOA doesn't exist here and there is no mysterious stranger leaving through a portal for you to see something on the other side.
Ranking
Everything AP, Dura, Spells, Resistances, Madness, etc) is going to be ranked by tiers, from 1 - 5.
AP > dura and Hax > Resistance when it comes to tier. Tier 1 Hax will work against tier 1 resistance. Tier 1 AP can effectively damage tier 1 dura.
Things have significantly reduced effects on anything one tier above them, but do still work (e.g. tier 1 AP will only be able to slightly damage tier 2 dura). Anything two or more tiers above is completely unaffected. Tier 1 cannot affect tier 3+, tier 2 cannot affect tier 4+, etc.
There's also Tier 6 "Ultimate" stuff. These are rare, and the only tier 6 enemy you'll find is a fully manifested cosmic deity. There are also tier 6 spells and artifacts. You're not going to just find these lying around anywhere, but if you do happen to get your hands on one, have fun throwing an infinite dimensional black hole at someone / instantly killing your target along with everyone related to them up to and including their extradimensional archetypes / summoning an outer god / just plain hitting them with infinite force. After spending a few in game days searching for the right ritual materials and then spending a few more performing the ritual of course.
Madness
As you can see, your character will have some form of debilitating madness attached. To begin with this will just make you less effective with one of magic/skill/guns/etc etc, whatever the madness says on that CYOA. What's different is that madness has ranks and can worsen like everything else. Madness starts at Rank 1. For Ranks 2 and 3, this is just you getting less and less effective. However, at Madness Rank 4 (or higher), your character will ocassionally do things without your control (e.g. a paranoid person might suddenly lash out at someone with accusations, a megalomaniac might throw someone else in the path of the monster to escape, etc). Finally, at madness rank 6, your character goes completely mental and does something related to their madness that makes them no longer playable. In other words, Rank 6 = death.
Magic
Tier 1 and Tier 2 class spells can both be done on the fly with nothing but your hands and your words, thought Tier 2 spells take longer to cast than Weak spells. Tier 3, 4, 5 and 6 spells all require a ritual. Rarity of materials you need for the ritual, difficulty of performing the ritual, and the length it takes to do the ritual are proportional to their rank. There is no chance of starting and finishing a Tier 4 Ritual in time if the monster is already breaking down the door to your room.
Furthermore, as magic involves learning the knowledge of how to harness powers or summon eldritch beings from beyond the stars, learning any Greater, Master, or Ultimate Spell will worsen your madness by one, two and three ranks respectively.
Types of Magic
Banishing - spells aimed around forcing things out of the world. Primarily effective against "Summoned" class entities, but higher tier spells can also work on non-summoned creatures. No dangers, other than the possibility of failure when the Rending Terror of Ysgoth (TM) is trying to claw your face off.
Starting spell: Weak Banish (Rank 1. Banishes summoned entity with Rank 1 Banish resist. Weakens summoned entity with Rank 2 banish resist)
Cursing - nasty spells aimed at debilitating the target. Dangers include the threat of backfire, and attracting the attention of beings more attuned to magic due to curses being easier to detect than other spells.
Starting spell: Coughing Fit (Rank 1. Target starts coughing uncontrollably for about 30 seconds. Not enough to stop them breathing) OR Headache (Rank 1. Gives the target a mild headache)
Divining - spells aimed at finding people or objects. Dangers include that some things can sense they are being found, don't like it and trace the spell to find you right back.
Starting spell: Pointer (Rank 1. Enchants a compass to point in the direction of a target. Works on Divining Resist Rank 1. Compass will randomly spin if the target has Divining Resist Rank 2 and is nearby. Requires an item closely linked to the target, and slowly consumes this item once the spell is active. When the item is fully consumed, the spell stops) OR Bloodhound (Rank 1. Requires target's blood. When spell is active, blood is slowly consumed. Allows the user to smell if the target has been somewhere in the last 12 hours, and potentially follow said smell. Undetectable)
Warding - spells aimed at protecting against various types of interference, ranging from physical attack to diving spells to interdimensional.
Starting Spell: Weak Physical Ward (Tier 1. Draw circle on the ground. Creates a PHYSICAL barrier that protects against Tier 1 attacks for one minute. Can defend against ONE tier 2 physicaly attack then shatters) OR Weak Spiritual Ward (Tier 1. Draw circle on the ground. Creates a SPIRITUAL barrier. Can defends against Tier 1 attacks for one minute. Can defend against ONE tier 2 attack then shatters) OR Weak Interdimensional Ward (Draw circle on the ground. Creates INTERDIMENSIONAL barrier. Prevents tier 1 summoned entities from being summoned or banished within the ward, entities from teleporting in or out, as well as protecting against tier 1 interdimensional attacks. Delays summoning of tier 2 summoned entities for several seconds and alerts caster to their iminent arrival)
Summoning - spells aimed at moving things into our reality. Dangers are entities are not always fully controllable, or are capable of following only simple instructions / doing simple actions.
Starting Spell: Baby Xthusian Wasps (Tier 1. Draw sigil in the air with your finger, chant the words. Summons a dozen tiny Xthusian Wasps in your hand. Wasps will fly at the first target they see and sting it, killing themselves in the process, but also poisoning the victim with tier 1 poison (hallucinogenic). Potency of hallucinations depends on number of stings) OR Kthun Tendril (Tier 1. Draw sigil in the air with your finger, chant the words. Portal will open in front of palm, Tendril will whip out in a small cone, grab the first object or person in its path, then drag it back with tier 1 force. Portal closes just before object enters portal) OR Belian Ants (Tier 1. Summon a horde of Belian ants. They are tiny, fangless, clawless, have no venom and can easily be crushed by anyone stepping on them. However, all together they can support the weight of an average person. Once on the move, they will lift the first large shiny object they find and bring it back to their "queen" [the summoner] before trying to crawl back inside the "hive" [the summoner])
Illusions - spells that create images in our reality. They work by finding an object or event in an alternate universe, then opening a window to that object or event. Basic spells can only open windows for individual senses of still objects, higher tier spells can create "windows" that work on all the senses and can keep these windows locked on moving objects. Windows may be created in the word, or right on top of the target's sensory organ so only they can see it. Dangers are: sometimes creatures on the other sides of the windows can see back. And sometimes they can break right through the window. Illusions are not affected by interdimensional wards as they are just creating a window, not moving anything across dimensions.
Starting Spells: Illusionary Shrub (Tier 1. Creates a small visual illusion of a stationary shrub about the size of a torso. Could maybe hide you with some extra cover if you curled up in a ball) OR Illusionary Beast (Tier 1. Creates a small visual illusion of the head of a terrifying beast. Best used in the dark, because while a floating head might be scary to some, more knowledgeable enemies will realise it's just an illusion if they see it in good lighting) OR Illusionary Dawn (creates a small visual illusion, within which can be seen a rising sun. Although its use seems limited, if used correctly it could bring hope and cheer, or trick a nocturnal enemy into retreating for a time)
Cosmic - actual hard hitting pure damage spells. The only class of magic that spells of any tier can be done on the fly. Dangers are quite serious - cosmic spells can temporarily worsen your madness rank on use, using these spells have a higher chance of attracting attention from eldritch gods, and its possible to just physically burning yourself out from the power coursing through you. Only available for cosmic bloodline class.
Starting spells: Sunburst (Tier 2. Harnesses a miniscule amount of energy from a solar flare and projects it through your eyes. Does Tier 2 physical damage and sets target on fire. Causes temporary blindness as the eyes recover) OR Gravity Well (Tier 2. Creates a dense centre of gravity and throws it. Pulls surroundings towards it with tier 2 gravitational force. Make sure everyone has a firm grip on something locked in place before you use it. Causes temporary severe numbness and loss of fine motor control in hands when used.)
Players
('FULL ')
The basic premise is four people (I think anymore would be too much) are hanging in lovecraftville, having been recently forced to move there by X monster. You need to defeat the monster in any way possible, or else the monster will kill you.
Investigation, exploration and searching is key in this game. We'll be using this map for the time being because its a nice semi-isolated town in the middle of nowhere.
Death is permament (you don't get a new character if you die), and depending on the situation could come at any moment. So keep on your toes at all times and be very cautious. I'll do my best to give detailed descriptions of everything you sense going on, some of which may well hold a clue as to what is about to kill you. So don't just rush through without reading the descriptions or else you'll probably be in trouble.
This is essentially a test run for the concept so there'll be a bit of working things out as we go, but here's the base stuff.
Character Creation
Character creation works by choosing from the following. Some give extra benefits like letting you pick a second of something else, just follow the CYOA and note why you're picking extra.
A) Bloodline. Pick 1
B) Skills. Everyone picks 2.
C) Instincts. Everyone picks 1.
D) Magic. Everyone picks a magic type (pick from below, not the CYOA). You start with one starting spell of that type of your choice.
E) Guns. Everyone picks 1.
F) Artifacts. Everyone picks 1.
Team Creation
Things that affect the entire team so you should choose them together, are:
A) Hideout. Choose 1.
B) Provocation. Choose 1. Can either be decided on as a team (if all your characters took part in the provocation) or by a single person (if the rest of you are hired help for the person who actually provoked the monster, family who are in trouble because the monster is targeting the entire bloodline, etc).
GM Choices
What I choose for you. The monster, environmental factors, and rather than character factors. With some exceptions, these won't always be immediately apparent.
A) Pursuer. Because what horrific monstrosity you've accidentally provoked isn't up to you. You will be told what the basic type of this monster is when the game begins.
B) Complications. Not immediately apparent. You've only just arrived in this town, so until you explore a bit you won't know what issues there are.
C) Madness. You'll be told.
D) Silver Linings. I'll roll a dice for this. You will be told if the silver lining is one that should immediately be apparent, e.g. head start.
E) Nails in your Coffin. I'll roll a dice for this. If it's something that would only affect one person, I'll roll for who gets it, and then I'll roll again for another until I get a Nail that doesn't only affect an individual player. Don't worry, for every extra Nail a player gets, they can grab another Skill, Artifact, Instinct, or Silver Lining (I'll roll for which of those 4 you get but after that you can choose). Again, if this is something that should be immediately apparent / already known (e.g. wounded) you'll be told, otherwise you'll need to work it out.
Things that don't get chosen at all:
A) companions. You are each other's companions.
B) "What you see". Because the little story of that CYOA doesn't exist here and there is no mysterious stranger leaving through a portal for you to see something on the other side.
Ranking
Everything AP, Dura, Spells, Resistances, Madness, etc) is going to be ranked by tiers, from 1 - 5.
AP > dura and Hax > Resistance when it comes to tier. Tier 1 Hax will work against tier 1 resistance. Tier 1 AP can effectively damage tier 1 dura.
Things have significantly reduced effects on anything one tier above them, but do still work (e.g. tier 1 AP will only be able to slightly damage tier 2 dura). Anything two or more tiers above is completely unaffected. Tier 1 cannot affect tier 3+, tier 2 cannot affect tier 4+, etc.
There's also Tier 6 "Ultimate" stuff. These are rare, and the only tier 6 enemy you'll find is a fully manifested cosmic deity. There are also tier 6 spells and artifacts. You're not going to just find these lying around anywhere, but if you do happen to get your hands on one, have fun throwing an infinite dimensional black hole at someone / instantly killing your target along with everyone related to them up to and including their extradimensional archetypes / summoning an outer god / just plain hitting them with infinite force. After spending a few in game days searching for the right ritual materials and then spending a few more performing the ritual of course.
Madness
As you can see, your character will have some form of debilitating madness attached. To begin with this will just make you less effective with one of magic/skill/guns/etc etc, whatever the madness says on that CYOA. What's different is that madness has ranks and can worsen like everything else. Madness starts at Rank 1. For Ranks 2 and 3, this is just you getting less and less effective. However, at Madness Rank 4 (or higher), your character will ocassionally do things without your control (e.g. a paranoid person might suddenly lash out at someone with accusations, a megalomaniac might throw someone else in the path of the monster to escape, etc). Finally, at madness rank 6, your character goes completely mental and does something related to their madness that makes them no longer playable. In other words, Rank 6 = death.
Magic
Tier 1 and Tier 2 class spells can both be done on the fly with nothing but your hands and your words, thought Tier 2 spells take longer to cast than Weak spells. Tier 3, 4, 5 and 6 spells all require a ritual. Rarity of materials you need for the ritual, difficulty of performing the ritual, and the length it takes to do the ritual are proportional to their rank. There is no chance of starting and finishing a Tier 4 Ritual in time if the monster is already breaking down the door to your room.
Furthermore, as magic involves learning the knowledge of how to harness powers or summon eldritch beings from beyond the stars, learning any Greater, Master, or Ultimate Spell will worsen your madness by one, two and three ranks respectively.
Types of Magic
Banishing - spells aimed around forcing things out of the world. Primarily effective against "Summoned" class entities, but higher tier spells can also work on non-summoned creatures. No dangers, other than the possibility of failure when the Rending Terror of Ysgoth (TM) is trying to claw your face off.
Starting spell: Weak Banish (Rank 1. Banishes summoned entity with Rank 1 Banish resist. Weakens summoned entity with Rank 2 banish resist)
Cursing - nasty spells aimed at debilitating the target. Dangers include the threat of backfire, and attracting the attention of beings more attuned to magic due to curses being easier to detect than other spells.
Starting spell: Coughing Fit (Rank 1. Target starts coughing uncontrollably for about 30 seconds. Not enough to stop them breathing) OR Headache (Rank 1. Gives the target a mild headache)
Divining - spells aimed at finding people or objects. Dangers include that some things can sense they are being found, don't like it and trace the spell to find you right back.
Starting spell: Pointer (Rank 1. Enchants a compass to point in the direction of a target. Works on Divining Resist Rank 1. Compass will randomly spin if the target has Divining Resist Rank 2 and is nearby. Requires an item closely linked to the target, and slowly consumes this item once the spell is active. When the item is fully consumed, the spell stops) OR Bloodhound (Rank 1. Requires target's blood. When spell is active, blood is slowly consumed. Allows the user to smell if the target has been somewhere in the last 12 hours, and potentially follow said smell. Undetectable)
Warding - spells aimed at protecting against various types of interference, ranging from physical attack to diving spells to interdimensional.
Starting Spell: Weak Physical Ward (Tier 1. Draw circle on the ground. Creates a PHYSICAL barrier that protects against Tier 1 attacks for one minute. Can defend against ONE tier 2 physicaly attack then shatters) OR Weak Spiritual Ward (Tier 1. Draw circle on the ground. Creates a SPIRITUAL barrier. Can defends against Tier 1 attacks for one minute. Can defend against ONE tier 2 attack then shatters) OR Weak Interdimensional Ward (Draw circle on the ground. Creates INTERDIMENSIONAL barrier. Prevents tier 1 summoned entities from being summoned or banished within the ward, entities from teleporting in or out, as well as protecting against tier 1 interdimensional attacks. Delays summoning of tier 2 summoned entities for several seconds and alerts caster to their iminent arrival)
Summoning - spells aimed at moving things into our reality. Dangers are entities are not always fully controllable, or are capable of following only simple instructions / doing simple actions.
Starting Spell: Baby Xthusian Wasps (Tier 1. Draw sigil in the air with your finger, chant the words. Summons a dozen tiny Xthusian Wasps in your hand. Wasps will fly at the first target they see and sting it, killing themselves in the process, but also poisoning the victim with tier 1 poison (hallucinogenic). Potency of hallucinations depends on number of stings) OR Kthun Tendril (Tier 1. Draw sigil in the air with your finger, chant the words. Portal will open in front of palm, Tendril will whip out in a small cone, grab the first object or person in its path, then drag it back with tier 1 force. Portal closes just before object enters portal) OR Belian Ants (Tier 1. Summon a horde of Belian ants. They are tiny, fangless, clawless, have no venom and can easily be crushed by anyone stepping on them. However, all together they can support the weight of an average person. Once on the move, they will lift the first large shiny object they find and bring it back to their "queen" [the summoner] before trying to crawl back inside the "hive" [the summoner])
Illusions - spells that create images in our reality. They work by finding an object or event in an alternate universe, then opening a window to that object or event. Basic spells can only open windows for individual senses of still objects, higher tier spells can create "windows" that work on all the senses and can keep these windows locked on moving objects. Windows may be created in the word, or right on top of the target's sensory organ so only they can see it. Dangers are: sometimes creatures on the other sides of the windows can see back. And sometimes they can break right through the window. Illusions are not affected by interdimensional wards as they are just creating a window, not moving anything across dimensions.
Starting Spells: Illusionary Shrub (Tier 1. Creates a small visual illusion of a stationary shrub about the size of a torso. Could maybe hide you with some extra cover if you curled up in a ball) OR Illusionary Beast (Tier 1. Creates a small visual illusion of the head of a terrifying beast. Best used in the dark, because while a floating head might be scary to some, more knowledgeable enemies will realise it's just an illusion if they see it in good lighting) OR Illusionary Dawn (creates a small visual illusion, within which can be seen a rising sun. Although its use seems limited, if used correctly it could bring hope and cheer, or trick a nocturnal enemy into retreating for a time)
Cosmic - actual hard hitting pure damage spells. The only class of magic that spells of any tier can be done on the fly. Dangers are quite serious - cosmic spells can temporarily worsen your madness rank on use, using these spells have a higher chance of attracting attention from eldritch gods, and its possible to just physically burning yourself out from the power coursing through you. Only available for cosmic bloodline class.
Starting spells: Sunburst (Tier 2. Harnesses a miniscule amount of energy from a solar flare and projects it through your eyes. Does Tier 2 physical damage and sets target on fire. Causes temporary blindness as the eyes recover) OR Gravity Well (Tier 2. Creates a dense centre of gravity and throws it. Pulls surroundings towards it with tier 2 gravitational force. Make sure everyone has a firm grip on something locked in place before you use it. Causes temporary severe numbness and loss of fine motor control in hands when used.)
Players
('FULL ')
