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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Umbran" data-source="post: 8189377" data-attributes="member: 177">Okay, fine, work was slow, so I read over the rules...This game looks to be a pretty clean adaptation of the Cortex rules framework (as opposed to a "hack", where the framework is significantly bent or changed to make it do what you want).  So, if you are familiar with Cortex, it will be easy to pick up.  I won't describe the fullness of the rules, but I can note some relevant things that lead to this fitting the show pretty well....They've chosen some good statistics to use, to match what's important in the Dragon Prince series.A character has a die rating (from d4 to d12) in each of six Attributes (Agility, Awareness, Influence, Intellect, Spirit, Strength) - very much like D&D attributes in what they cover. A character has a die rating in each of six Values (Devotion, Glory, Justice, Liberty, Mastery, Truth) - These indicate how much a character is dedicated to that value, and how much drive the character gets when that value is relevant. There is a balance to these, such that being high in some means being low in others. Rayla, for example, has a high die in Devotion, as she's strongly driven by her devotion to her friends or cause.  She has a low die in Glory, as she isn't seeking fame. A character will have three Distinctions (all rated at a d8, to start with).  Typically, one has to do with a character's background, kindred, or ancestry. Another has to do with their training, vocation, or role.  The third is a memorable personality quirk or feature.  Rayla, from the show, as distinctions "Moonshadow Elf", "Reluctant Assassin", and "Act First, Think Later"The Cortex system has a few options for how to deal with failure.  The standard is Complications - if a Complication gets too hairy, then you can't work around it and it renders you ineffective for the rest of the scene.  Other Cortex games take a form of Life Points.  Tales of Xadia has instead opted to work with Stress - when you are on the losing side of a conflict, you take a die of Stress.   Also, the Narrator can use one of your Stress dice when building a pool to roll against you.  There's a bunch of different types of Stress.  You can be Afraid, Angry, Anxious, Corrupted (like, by black magic), Exhausted, or Injured.  If any of your Stress dice go over d12, you are Stressed out, and no longer effective in the scene.Super cool design choice - this is not fully detailed in the playtest rules, but you get credit to use for character advancement by clearing stress.  If you always succeed, and don't take a lot of stress, you won't grow.  If you try risky things, and sometimes fail and take stress, when you reduce that stress down to nothing, you get points for growth.  Now, here's the real important bit that many D&D players might struggle with.... Let us imagine... Orc and Pie.  You walk into a room, there is an orc, and a pie.  If you try to just take the pie, the orc is going to resist you.The typical D&D player response is, "I enter combat, kill the orc, then I can do what I want with the pie."  Combat ensues, the orc dies, and the PC can take the pie unopposed.In Tales of Xadia, the player response is, "I'm going to take that pie.  If the orc wants to stop me, he'll have to enter a Contest with me, in which I will beat him about the head and shoulders with my mace."  The Contest is joined, the orc loses, takes some stress, and the PC gets the pie.Unless the actual goal is "I wanna kill that guy!" then that guy is unlikely to actually die.  But that's okay, because killing is not necessary to get what you want.</blockquote>

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