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Message: <blockquote data-quote="GMMichael" data-source="post: 9571824" data-attributes="member: 6685730">Do you:<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">love reading about RPGs?</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">consider yourself a grammar fanatic?</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">enjoy bashing on RPGs that aren't yours?</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">have a minimalist streak?</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">want a new, free, game to play?</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">exhibit none of the above?</li> </ul>If so, follow the link below to an 11-page, medium-type-size .rtf of Modos RPG game rules presented in a newly discursive format.  11 pages is a lot for anyone to read these days, so you can use the table of contents to quickly find what might interest you, whether that's a grid-free movement system (Positioning with Postures), a skill-based, non-Vancian magic system (Magical Powers), or how you might give your werewolf a fearful howl even when there's no rule for it (Standing out with Hero Points).  The rules are discussed in a progressive order, so if something doesn't quite make sense, you might want to look at an earlier section for more explanation.<a href="https://drive.proton.me/urls/QDJP1R3VPC#6sfLwvsIhDGf" target="_blank">Free view on ProtonDrive</a> (1st draft)Please let me know what works for you and what doesn't, because my goal is to provide a simple walkthrough of the rules that's more interesting than the 5-page rules catalog (which is still at ObsidianPortal but harder to access), and less bulky than the 80+ pages of Modos 2.  I'm intending to add some charts to aid with visual learning, and to add some level of formatting and graphic design, so the file is just fodder for wordsmiths at this point.Share your (hopefully updated) opinion in the poll, ask or comment on whatever you'd like, and I'll update the link when the file gets updated.Thanks for reading, and thanks will also be in the form of a free module once this is all finished!GMMichaelUpdate:  Consolidated and Spoilered module sections follow.        [SPOILER="Getting Started"]Getting Started (000, 001)One player chooses to act as the Guide of Modos (GM) who will set the scenes, moderate the rules, and adjudicate player-character (PC) ideas as well as non-player-character (NPC) activities over the course of the game.  The rest of the players role-play as protagonists: the PCs.  It is important for the Guide to prescribe general expectations for game play by creating a Campaign Theme for the game, which will help to guide the GM- and PC-decisions later in the game.  The campaign theme is a general statement about the game that can describe what's in the game, what might happen, and how the game will be played.    For example, when starting a game, a Guide asks the players what kind of game they'd like.  Based on their replies, the Guide writes the very short campaign theme: high fantasy with titans and strategic combat.   The Guide keeps this as a reminder and as a notice for future players who might consider joining the game.  This theme helps the Guide decide how many modules will be needed for fights (like basic, extended conflict, combat, and possibly a fourth module), what should be included in the lists (like lots of magic spells and big, powerful monsters), and how to interpret some individual rules, like what an average person in the setting might be like, and what announcement will alert the PCs that they are in combat.    A typical Modos RPG game will use a standard set of polyhedral dice.  You can play games online, on a tablet, even around a campfire, so paper and pencil are optional, and miniatures might be fun, but they're certainly not required to play.  When in doubt, ask your Guide![/SPOILER][SPOILER="The Contest"]The Contest (002, 003)Before you start making your character, there's one mechanism you'll need to know about, because the game revolves around it: the Contest.  It is your d20 roll versus the Guide's d20 roll, and you will usually add an attribute bonus to yours, while the Guide adds Difficulty (more on these later).  The Guide asks you to roll a contest to decide if something occurs favorably or unfavorably for you.  There are three types of contest outcomes: Pro, Con, and Tie.  If your roll is higher than the GM's roll, it's a Pro, a favorable outcome.  If it's lower, it's called a Con, an unfavorable outcome.  Sometimes the results will Tie, which can then be rerolled or treated as a neutral result.  Whatever the result of your contest, you should have an idea of what that result means - what happens - so you can help the Guide continue the story.    For example, you want (your character) to balance a crystal on an art display where it belongs, because you just accidentally knocked it over.  The Guide says, "if you do it fast enough, the docent won't notice that you're damaging the art. Roll a physical contest."  You roll a d20, add your physical bonus, and get 4!  The Guide rolls against you and says, "Con.  What happens?"  You reply, "I put the crystal back in place, and quickly pose like I'm appreciating the art.  But I did it too fast, so the crystal falls again and clinks around on the floor."[/SPOILER][SPOILER="Starting Your Character Sheet"]Starting Your Character Sheet (100, 101, 102)Just as essential as the contest is your character sheet, where you'll record all of your character elements.  The character sheet is also a good place to display or draw a picture of your character, and you might use it for other things as well, like tracking damage, counting actions with a paperclip, ticking off arrows used, etc.    A good way to start making your character is to imagine and record a Character Concept: the short description of the character you'd like to play.  The concept can include a profession, personality, history, vision - whatever you want!  However, your concept should always have a Goal: something that motivates the character.  Your concept also needs a Flaw, something that hinders your character, because no one's perfect.    Before your character gets any other character elements, you can consider your character to be an Average Person as implied or described by the Guide's campaign theme.  This means that you can do and have what an average person might, unless your concept suggests otherwise and the Guide agrees.    For example, if the average person in the campaign has wings, you do too, and you can fly around just as well as anyone else can!  Your Goal might be to "be more grounded," or something more grand like, "see the earth from space."  If your Flaw is "missing a wing," you really set yourself apart from the average person, and you add some complexity to your goal choice.[/SPOILER]</blockquote>

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