Genesys: All the Star Wars goodness, without all the Star Wars lameness...

[Calithorne]

I have discovered a relatively new roleplaying game called Genesys, put out by Fantasy Flight Games using their narrative dice system created for Star Wars.

Let me just say this: the game is AWESOME.

If you want to GM Genesys, you will have to do a lot more work because this is a game without a pre-created setting, you will have to make your own, and you even have a choice of genre: fantasy, steampunk, weird war, modern, sci-fi, or space opera. This is not a limit on genres, you could make another genre just as easily.

Because the game allows any genre, there is little setting specific details, like the equipment list for each setting is short, and there are few pre-generated monsters for your players to fight. You will have to make this up yourself.

I ran my space opera setting, which I have used before, so the amount of work I personally did was minimal. Also, I found I could use Star Wars opponents, with only slight modifications to their weapons, etc.

I highly recommend this game, because so far we have had great fun with it, our group has already started three campaigns using Genesys.

 

[Imaculata]

Interesting, I'm not familiar with this game. But they have a pretty unique dice system.

"Blast hordes of reanimated skeletons with holy fire, explore new worlds in a steam-powered zeppelin, match wits with alien warlords, or invent your own entirely unique world. Unlimited adventure awaits you in a new roleplaying system limited only by your imagination!

Fantasy Flight Games is proud to announce Genesys, a new roleplaying game system compatible with any setting, and featuring the critically acclaimed Narrative Dice System.

The Genesys experience begins with the Genesys Core Rulebook, which features an explanation of the narrative dice system and core mechanics of the game, an overview of five different settings in which to place campaigns, and advice for Game Masters to craft a myriad of adventures with unparalleled freedom."

A Dynamic Dice System

"Genesys utilizes the Narrative Dice System which allows for creative storytelling that goes beyond success and failure, and allows every dice roll to impact the story in dramatic ways."

"Every challenge your character faces will have them rolling some combination of Ability and Difficulty dice, known as a dice pool, to determine the results. Ability dice come from your character’s unique skills and characteristics, and provide Success and Advantage symbols. Difficulty dice come from the difficulty of the task your character is trying to achieve, and provide Failure and Threat symbols. Lockpicking an old, rusty door may only provide one Difficulty die, while hacking through a hi-tech firewall designed by a master codesmith may provide many more Difficulty dice. To succeed in whatever task your character is trying to accomplish, a player simply must roll more Success symbols than Failure symbols.

While this may seem simple, the addition of the Advantage and Threat symbols make the results far from binary. Rolling more Advantage symbols yields some positive side effect, regardless of success or failure of the task. This can include things like finding unexpected cover in a firefight or remaining unnoticed while hacking a computer. Meanwhile, rolling Threat means some negative side effect has occurred. Maybe your character drops their weapon after a successful attack or takes longer than expected to track their quarry through the wilderness.

When your character is an expert in the field, or when a task is truly difficult, Ability dice and Difficulty dice can be upgraded to Proficiency and Challenge dice, respectively. Proficiency dice, like Ability dice, feature Success and Advantage symbols, but also include the Triumph symbol. The Triumph symbol not only represents a Success, but also provides a massive side benefit to your action. This might be inflicting a critical injury on a foe or triggering a powerful ability on a weapon. Inversely, the Challenge die features Failure and Threat symbols, but also includes the powerful Despair symbol. Rolling this icon not only counts as a Failure, but indicates a significant bane or side effect to your action. Your character may fall off the rope they are trying to climb, or run out of ammo in the middle of a gunfight. These effects can drastically impact the course of your game, and make every dice roll an exciting event."

"Your dice pool can further be modified by Boost and Setback dice. Boost dice feature Success and Advantage symbols, and are added to your roll when the circumstances around the task you are trying to achieve are beneficial. Maybe your character has hacked a computer like this before, or they have ample time to complete the task; your GM will likely add Boost dice to your pool. Setback dice, on the other hand, feature Failure and Threat symbols, and represent complications to the task at hand. Maybe your character is trying to act in the dark, or they don’t have the resources they need.

With the variance provided by these clever Advantage and Threat icons, the possibilities of results are limited only by you and your GM’s creativity."

 

[StanTheMan]

It's pretty much an RPGnet darling, but with very good reason; the thing just sings at the table.

I'm slowly putting together a few ideas for it (especially a Roman Republic campaign) and I love how the dice work. I ran a Star Wars campaign before and really like how the system moves. In fact, I'll be getting Realms of Terrinoth soon, to see how they implemented a fantasy world. Should be some good info there, even though I've no real interest in Terrinoth itself.