[Design] The Basic Framework

A quicker post...

I figured I should probably have an idea of what my final product is going to look like, in terms of composition. So, I wrote up a loose allocation of page space, to give me an idea of the time I should spend on each section. OF course, this is a loose estimation, but it may give you an idea of where I'm going with this:

Core Rules: 4 Pages
Combat & Damage: 4 pages
Levelling/Experience: 1 page
Character Creation: 2 pages
"Feats": 1 page
Adrenaline Powers: 1 page
Skills: 5 pages
Psychic Powers/Rules: 8 pages
Gear: 3 pages
Foes/NPCs: 5 pages
Setting: 5 pages
Adventures: 4 pages
Map: 1 page
Total: 44 pages.

A few explanations. "Feats" are really a catch-all term for character abilities, and are really a way to flesh out your character a bit. Since I plan on using skills as the primary way to define a character, I don't need to spend too much on so-called "feats", but I think they should be there.

"Adrenaline Powers" are a subsystem I've been tinkering with for a few years, and I feel it's time to include them into the game. Essentially, they function much like a combination of action points and encounter powers in 4e D&D - each character can spend action points, but each PC has a different pool of abilities that they can spend action points to activate. They allow the PCs a little bit of wiggle room in a rather violent game.

As you can see, there is a fair amount of space (10%) dedicated to skills. This will be a skill-based system, and I want to include a mechanic that allows PCs to gain abilities as they level their skills. For example, if you get athletics to level X, you increase your speed by 1, that sort of thing. So, there won't be a huge number of skills, but each skill will get a fair treatment. I also plan on including relevant rules within the skills, to save space (so, the rules for repairing stuff are under the repair skill, scavenging rules are covered by the scavenging skill, etc...).

"Adventures" will be a selection of adventure ideas, and a quick discussion of various campaign models. If I have space, I also plan on including a few random tables to get the creative juices flowing.

Setting doesn't get a huge chunk of space, because I feel that, if done right, much of the setting will be reflected elsewhere in the product.

And, finally, I need to include a map - not everyone knows the Pacific Northwest as well as I.

You'll notice I left myself 6 pages of "Wiggle Room", which is just plain good sense. If everything follows according to my plan (ha!), I'll have six pages to add "goodies". More likely, I'll be able to use those six pages to cover some unforeseen expansions of other chapters.