OOC (Rules discussion and other)

There are six Virtues of LEGEND: Leon, Eyrie, Grand, Enlight, Nemesis, and Daimon. If you are familiar with D&D's famous ability score system, the concept is similar on the surface.

Leon is the Virtue of the Heroic Lion Spirit. It reflects your ability to overpower and destroy.
Eyrie is the Virtue of the Heroic Wing Spirit. It reflects your ability to outmaneuver and evade.
Grand is the Virtue of the Heroic Beast Spirit. It reflects your ability to outlast and endure.
Enlight is the Virtue of the Heroic Sun Spirit. It reflects your ability to outwit and learn.
Nemesis is the Virtue of the Heroic Conflict Spirit. It reflects your ability to educate and recall.
Daimon is the Virtue of the Heroic Hooded Spirit. It reflects your ability to manipulate and charm.

You will be rolling 1d6 at all times. Depending on how good your Power Value is (or PV), good rolls may allow a limited number of extra dice to be rolled as well. Power Values range from 1 to 9, and can be boosted or reduced. Unlike most stat systems, the Virtues of LEGEND range from a debilitated child or mouse (1) to godlike (9). A human's normal would be around 3-5 depending on which Virtue we're talking about (and which human). Because of this, stats are handled differently than you might expect. More on that later.
Here is the simple table of how Power Values work:

If your Power Value (PV) is 1:
When you are asked to roll a PV check, roll 1d6. If the result of that die is a 1, it is considered a Failure. Anything 2-6 is a Success. These terms will be explained below. If your result is a 6, add a die. Do not add further dice for additional 6's.

If your PV is 2:
Same as PV 1, but if your result is 5 or 6, add a die.

PV 3
If your result on the first die is 5 or higher, add your second die. If your result on the second is 6, add your third die.

PV 4
If your result on the first is 4 or higher, add the second. If your result on the second is 5 or 6, add your third.

PV 5
If your result on the first is 3 or higher, add the second. If your result on the second is 4 or higher, add your third.

PV 6
For the first two dice, 3 or higher will add a die. If your result on the third is a 6, add your fourth die.

PV 7
For the first two dice, 3 or higher will add a die. If your result on the third is 5 or 6, add your fourth die.

PV 8
For the first three dice, 3 or higher will add a die. If your result on the fourth or fifth is 6, add a die.

PV 9
For the first three dice, 3 or higher will add a die. If your result on fourth or fifth is 5 or 6, add a die. If your result on sixth or seventh is a 6, add a die.

This may seem "hard to memorize" at first, but your stats will not change throughout the game, except in extraordinary circumstances. Just think of it as "roll 1d6" no matter what, with a certain number of bonus dice depending on how good you do.

When I have you roll, I may ask you to "roll a PV check for Successes" or "roll a Skill check." Alternatively, I may say "roll for total."

If I say to roll for successes, the number on your die doesn't really matter that much. You just don't want to roll 1's. Every die you roll that is 2 or higher is a point toward completing your task successfully. The difficulty of such a check is determined by me, based on how difficult I feel the task should be. I will set it to a number between 1 and 3 (with rare exceptions) and you must get that many successes. Normally, a "Failure" is just a die roll that does not count as a Success. If the situation calls for Successes minus Failures in the rules, I will inform you before you roll. For the record, "Success" does not mean you win, and "Failure" does not necessarily mean you fail. They are just die values.

If I say "roll for total" or ask for a Skill check, you will add up the numbers on your dice rolled, and then add your Skill ranks. There are no Successes or Failures in such a roll.

If you roll a PV check (for Successes) and get your full amount of dice, but your final die gets a failure result, that is a "Botch." Something will go wrong, whether you pass your check or not. My favorite example is if you try to jump a 10 ft. gap. I say "alright, roll an Eyrie PV check. You need 1 success for each 5 ft. increment." If you then roll two successes, you make it across. If you fail the roll without a Botch, you just miss the jump and might be able to save yourself (like grabbing the edge with one hand, or slowing your fall). But if you roll a Botch, you could fall in headfirst and take a lot more damage. The only thing a Botch cannot do is turn a check you would have passed (Complete Success) into a check you fail (Complete Failure). Otherwise, the GM can do anything imaginable with them, depending on the situation.

You might be used to rolling your stats randomly, or buying them from a pool of points. But in Oldest World, the Birthright you pick is not just the equivalent of a player race, but also assigns base values for all six Virtues. These are the average capabilities for someone of your kind. Having a higher number would not mean being slightly better, but being peak human (like Batman or Captain America), or even superhuman. Not only this, but your highest PV determines your "basic class." This just means what the "color" of your subclass will be like -- destructive, graceful, deceptive, etc. -- as you are then able to choose a "subclass" that is more like what you're probably expecting from a fantasy class. If you have two or more PV tied for highest, you get to choose both.

However, you can affect the results. If you take a Reduction, then you take a penalty every time you roll that Virtue. This does not turn a 4 into a 3 and so on, but labels it. For example, PV 4 (reduced). The penalty is thus: the lowest die in your finished roll takes a -1 penalty. In canon, this reflects some disadvantage your character has in feats of that nature. Maybe they have a bad back, or they're naturally rude, or they don't have much "book-learnin'." When selecting your basic class, a reduced PV counts as being 1 lower (e.g. a 4 counts as a 3). This does not reflect how it actually performs, just alters your class options. If you don't take any double-reductions, you can take a maximum of 3 reductions.

If you take a Double Reduction, the PV is labeled like this: PV 4 (double-reduced). Not only is it treated as reduced, but the outcome of your lowest die becomes a 2 (if it was already 2, it becomes a failure; if it was already 1, nothing happens). When selecting your basic class, a double-reduction counts as being 2 lower (e.g. a 4 counts as a 2). If you take a double-reduction, you can only reduce one more Virtue, and cannot take another double-reduction.

In return for taking a normal Reduction, you also receive a Boost in another Virtue. A boost means that, with every roll on that Virtue, your highest die receives a +1 bonus. If a 6 receives this bonus, it doesn't become a 7, but a botch is removed (if there is one). In canon, this reflects some kind of advantage, like ambidexterity, a favorite topic in school, or being good with a certain demographic. When selecting a basic class, boosts raise the same way reductions lower.

In return for taking a Double Reduction, you must choose to take two Boosts in separate Virtues, or a Double Boost in one. A double boost does everything a normal boost does, but also reduces the number of failures by 1. If rolling normally, this means you get one additional success. But if subtracting your Failures from Successes, you do not gain anything; you just have less of them to subtract. If the roll has no failures, the lowest roll receives the +1 bonus as well.

For the purposes of this playtest, I will allow you to play one of the following Birthright options: Rudhir, Galura, Zeel, Jasil, Sini, Porph, Sorcelled, Felbreed, Blackwing, or Choaster.

Rudhir are the Red-Blooded People, blessed with the gift of the Lion Spirit, but rejected by the Sun Spirit. This is because they are so prone to displays of rage, brute strength, and overt destruction, having a slightly higher Leon PV, at the cost of a lower Enlight PV to represent their diminished reason and ignorance.

Galura are the Orange-Blooded People, blessed with the gift of the Conflict Spirit, but rejected by the Wing Spirit. This is because they are so prone to displays of wisdom (especially use of Nature magic or Soul magic), having a slightly higher Nemesis PV, at the cost of a lower Eyrie PV to represent their diminished elegance and distaste for quick kills.

Zeel are the Yellow-Blooded People, blessed with the gift of the Wing Spirit, but rejected by the Conflict Spirit. This is because they are so prone to displays of violence and grace, having a slightly higher Eyrie PV, at the cost of a lower Nemesis PV to represent their diminished wisdom and oblivious nature.

Jasil are the Green-Blooded People, blessed with the gift of the Beast Spirit, but rejected by the Hooded Spirit. This is because they are so prone to displays of fortitude (especially Body magic), having a slightly higher Grand PV, at the cost of a lower Daimon PV to represent their diminished charm and simple honesty.

Sini are the Blue-Blooded People, blessed with the gift of the Hooded Spirit, but rejected by the Beast Spirit. This is because they are so prone to displays of charm and deception, having a slightly higher Daimon PV, at the cost of a lower Grand PV to represent their diminished health and weakness.

Porph are the Black-Blooded People, blessed with the gift of the Sun Spirit, but rejected by the Lion Spirit. This is because they are so prone to displays of reason and enlightenment (especially Cosmic magic or Mind magic), having a slightly higher Enlight PV, at the cost of a lower Leon PV to represent their diminished strength and passive nature.

Sorcelled are among the Modified humans. Unlike the Purebleeds above, they are looked down upon as perverse, like common criminals who committed the crime of being themselves. The special modification of the Sorcelled is that they have been enchanted, bestowed with magical properties beyond those of most mages. Not all Sorcelled are mages, but there are many in their number.

Felbreeds are among the Impure humans, shunned as "untouchable" outcasts in most forms of society. They are only half human, being born to one parent of a non-human Birthright. You might be a Fair Demure (half-elf), Wild Demure (half-pixi), Changeling (half-starshine), foul demure (half-dwarf), putrid demure (half-goblin), wretched demure (half-goblin), nephilim (half-blackwing), cambion (half-demon), court-born djinnar (half-genie), or shadow-born djinnar (half-ghoul).

In my setting, angels and demons are playable. But they are very powerful, and I'm not ready to run a game with angelic PCs yet. So instead we have the Blackwing. When an angel is cast down from on high as punishment, or a demon manages to earn parole, they walk the earth as extraordinarily strong and healthy humanoids with an innate sense for battle, and a functional pair of black feathered wings. This is all that remains of their angelic power.

The Choaster, simply put, is like a sasquatch. They are the only variety of giants, or Rafa, which I'm allowing for play at the moment. They are bigger and hardier than most humans, but slower and not as bright. Like the Purebleeds, they come in six varieties favoring the Virtues. This option is least likely to blend in, as there are very few human settlements that have adapted to the presence of a single Rafa, not to mention accepting a cultural minority.

Please express interest in as many or few Birthrights as possible. When you have selected them, I will give you the Power Values and other features that those Birthrights grant. Note that the Purebleeds are easiest to play, followed by the Blackwings, then the Sorcelled, then the Felbreed, then the Choaster.

I like the sounds of both zeel and porph. I like the speed and evasiveness, but im also interested in the enlight virtue. Can I be a specialist in these two and sacrifice other PVs?

I like the sounds of both zeel and porph. I like the speed and evasiveness, but im also interested in the enlight virtue. Can I be a specialist in these two and sacrifice other PVs?

Also, I'm new to Gamersplane. Can you roll dice within the forum?

I grabbed a Porph, but there can be two veeeeeery dofferent Porphs might be interesting.

It is in fact doable to have decent scores in both, and you can also boost them to improve on things further. Also yes, you can roll dice in the forum. You click the tab that says Advanced, and make a roll there.

There can easily be three or four Porphs who are entirely different characters otherwise. I know the tendency when people make characters is to be as different as possible, but there are so many options and being a Porph is such a small part of it. In fact, given how rare it is to see a Porph outside their homeland, it would make more sense that two of you are traveling together.

Ok I'm down with that I like alliance stories between PC's anyways.. I'll go porph, but I would like to boost my eyrie stat somehow for sure

Good to hear it. Let's try and keep character creation choices inside the proper thread, please.

Hey everybody, if I could have your attention please!

We've lost a player, so I'm moving ahead with the schedule. I need each of you to reply in here with your time zone, when you tend to get on Gamers Plane most often, and when you usually get off. This will allow me to match up everyone's schedules best, so no group is held back. We have about six players and no new applicants since a while, so I'm thinking we'll probably do groups of three or four.

I'm EDT and pop in between 9:30 and 11:30 AM and/or between 10:15 and midnight on days I work. The days I am off work, the times are random, depending on what I am doing that day. I try to check GP at least once a day and reply to my stuff at least once.

Hey everyone, I don't know if you've read my Absences posts, but I wanted to be 100% sure you know. I am very sorry for what I've put you through getting ready for this playtest, but I have terrible news. I'm going to be without a home and internet soon, and there's nothing I can do to prevent that. Since the computer I've been using to communicate with you all is not mine, I will be going into this new environment without any reliable way of continuing the project (aside from library use). If every single one of you walks away, I will totally understand.

However, if any of you are still interested when I recover from this difficult phase of my life, I will do a playtest one day and you're all invited. Your ideas and your interest in my system have given me more inspiration than you can ever understand, something I will be able to take with me. I will remember and cherish each one of you.

...geez, look at me getting all dramatic. The playtest is canceled, my most excellent people. Thank you for trying.

I wish you the best luck in dealing with these issues! Definitely understandable for the playtest to be canceled due to these major life events. I'll keep my Oldest World character sheet saved for the time when our paths cross again.

grousemetal, you've been such a good sport through all of this. Thank you so much for pitching in!

hey Walker

very sorry to hear that
but kudos for everything hang in there and get in touch whenever you get your situation settled

best luck onwards

I will! Thanks!