Aesca Sneak Peak
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Warning: This is a work in progress and things may change. It looks like it may be available to test in late December/January.
Aesca is a blend of magic, fantasy, technology and myths as two separate worlds are once more linked and how players can found/grow their realms, reclaim what was lost and collaboratively fight their way against a world pitted against them. Initially, players will play an elf within competing courts vying for power and supremacy to influence the elven queen Aelfwynn and the Elves of the March as the worlds of magic and science are colliding and only one will win. It is based more on D&D 5e rules currently. XP is gained by all characters on completion of an adventure chapter which may span months. I imagine it'd be played by 5-10 players, I don't see it growing large or popular. I am planning this game to be run and built on Ares.
You can read more about Aesca here.
Background
The world of Aesca is one where magic exists readily and technology is far more medieval. It’s a dark world with raiding orcs, abominations lurking in dark forests of amber, oceans frozen in jade and darkness encroaching all around. Most ancient cities have been lost as have their knowledge, and it leaves the elves of Aesca struggling to understand what has happened after a great cataclysm and the total destruction that event caused. Strange portals are opening, linking a strange foreign world filled with terrors and cruel strangers but also rich in resources not available in Aesca. Of rumors of a magical nation long thought destroyed coming back. The gods may have gone quiet, however the major and lesser incarnations still are somewhat active and cults spread their influence and power across the people with mysteries trying to be understood and explained. Aesca, the planet herself, is alive; magic intertwines within her core as she calls you, the March elves, to fight the encroachment of Gaia’s poison which will destroy her.There have always been stories and myths of magic, gods being real and terrors of the imagination. However, as time moved on especially with the Renaissance, humanity replaced those beliefs with science. Occasionally, a faith healer or miracle is attributed to some belief system, but Gaia has been transformed through the impact of technology that science has birthed. Capable of incredible and unimaginable destruction on a global scale, sculpting land so vehicles can transport at incredible speeds, the vast flow of information at an unprecedented availability and speed, technology has destroyed magic in humans. However, humans have the unique ability to use electricity, harness the atom and other wonders that magic simply cannot do. But lately, unexplained things have been happening. Strange things. Where people say they’re abducted by aliens, where monsters of folklore appear in stories, where folks go missing and crazy conspiracies of an unseen group controlling the real world are hinted at. How climate change is rapidly creating problems for everyone as resources seem to be draining away. Gaia is alive, science and technology bound to her core as she calls you, the humans, to fight against the warped and twisted chaos of Aesca which will destroy her.
Systems of Fun
- Domains. Players have the capability and are encouraged to explore, improve and build their realms so that sub-domains are made and those lower tier nobles are tied in service and bound to their higher overlord. It will require resources and players to explore, and a domain is started by building a stronghold and thereby expanding. Expand too fast, and the enemies of the March may overrun you. Expand too slow, and your people might not have enough resources to maintain your rule while your competitors leap ahead. Actions for domain would be done on a monthly basis with logs referenced and a request submitted.
- Politics. The March is set up similarly to a constitutional monarchy, where the elven Queen Aelfwynn acts as a non-party head of state however she is assisted by the two major Courts (Summer and Winter) who make up her Privy Council in their respective seasons. This allows for the people of the March to have a continuity of the head of state who maintains history and tradition, and as Queen Aelfwynn is not a party to either of her Courts, it creates a sense of balance and allows those with different viewpoints to have the ability to climb the ladder of power. Each court oversees across their respective time period, have different goals and methods to attain them, but while they may clash with the other court they work collaboratively as neither court is able to solely do everything.
- Magic. The Elves are born with one of two affinities affecting their inherent magical ability. There are then eight paths of magic, and four magical orders which a magical elf can join and participate in. One cannot master all magic paths, and the two affinities offer great power but come at a price that requires collaboration with someone from a different affinity.
- Houses. Currently there are six main houses of the March, however more can be player created as time goes on. This is important with it tied to the Domain system.
- Individual Combat. Using 5e rolls to support the focus on RP. Coded combat isn't quite yet capable.
- Domain Combat. This will be done on a monthly cadence as armies are raised, maintained, directed and managed by the domain leadership.
- Races. Currently, elves (main) would be available however humans would open up later on in the game. Humans would have a WoD Technocracy vibe to them. There are other nasties like the Orcs of the Black Hand, the Dwarves of the Underkingdom, the beings of the White Throne, etc.
- Religion. It's encouraged for players to create cults to try and explain what they encounter, and the offices of the incarnations may be opened up to players depending on their choices and actions.
- Grids. There is planned for two grids which are able to be connected to one another, Aesca and Gaia.
Feel free to critique, give feedback and input or submit ideas.
Warning: snappy turtle is snappy.
Creating the world of Aesca. -
@Bananerz I like how it seems you've prioritized players' ability to create things and explore. I totally wish you well on this.
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I am excited about this game. It looks like a very detailed out world that will be fascinating to play in.
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Yes, please.
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This looks like it could be great fun! And it's awesome to see more Ares games being contemplated.
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I think 5-10 players may be a low estimate
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@WildBaboons said in Aesca Sneak Peak:
I think 5-10 players may be a low estimate
Extremely low. I actually see this being quite a popular game.
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I think this raises a question: is this really planned as a quasi VTT 5e game being advertised here, or as a full MU that will get as many players as it gets?
Because yeah. Given the lack of medieval/fantasy games that aren't Arx, you'll probably have a LOT of interest.
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@bored Really good question. The game is hindered by my lack of coding skills, and Ares has some great addons like FFG that I will most likely implement to help cover my weaknesses. It will be a MU running on Ares with grids to explore and RP in, although certain things will feel like 5e as you use the dice on the game to roll on your skills to see how things pan out.
The game is planned to most likely be interesting and engaged with a few players, I actually don't think once I have the grid opened and tested that it will have a lot of players as certain things like crafting/etc can't be supported as I just can't code it.
Edit: This isn't to be a VTT like how I've played at Roll20/etc. This is to have a world where players can interact with one another without needing a DM present, and where the players can begin creating theme and lore built on the basics given them.
Warning: snappy turtle is snappy.
Creating the world of Aesca. -
While I love crafting.
I find this game very appealing even without the crafting. The richness of the world, the depth of the story being created for this world and well my personal experience with your rp and storytelling, having me quite eager for the game.
I am not sure how much interest it will generate, but I think it will be more than ten players who end up asking to app in.
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Yeah, I don't think crafting would be a barrier. It does appeal to a lot of people, but I don't think it's the primary draw for anyone. IME, what makes a game popular is a lot of activity at the front, and a premise that excites people, rather than the bells and whistles.
(The bells and whistles might make them STAY for longer, but that's a whole other set of things.)
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@Bananerz I think you're (possibly vastly) underestimating the appeal, even with code limitations.
So you may want to seriously consider when you say 'planned to ... be interesting and engaged with a few players' how you will deal if you get more. You may need to consider player caps (and after the Spirit Lake situation, raise them in advance) if you're planning on more intimate STing that won't support a literal horde of people.
Because... I think you're going to get a horde of people.
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@bored I'm very interested that in the initial test with a handful of players that they're given a few character templates to pick and choose, flesh out those characters and them run some historical settings of Aesca in which those characters then become part of the lore. Not necessarily at the huge battle where the Dark Wind started, but at the March capital Myrr and the "Oh my god!" initial reaction.
But you have hit on a worry of mine. I want every single player to feel that they're supported, that they're heard and what they do matters. I'm trying to build initially that players have all the tools available to actually impact the storyline, theme, etc. There's a few things that initially I or a group of admin need to run each month around Dominion, but if I put the rules out there, I think maybe players can follow it and then a player council can help oversee things aren't able by me to be coded.
Or someone can say "Hi I'll help code!" and then tada, we can start incorporating these rules into Ares as long as they'd agree anything made goes to the Ares Addons so other games can use it too.
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What Can Players Do?
Create. "Better to give than receive". Players are encouraged to create PRPs and adventures that link with the current chapter of the game's story which they all share. The more PRPs and adventures that are ran, the higher the XP that can be earned and the higher challenges that can be attempted. We'll have a PRP Guide for players to follow. There will be a set goal of PRPs and adventures with appropriate challenge levels before we can proceed as a group to the next chapter. This way, we're encouraged to generate and make fun for others, so that we can all progress.
Impact. "As on earth, so in heaven". Unlike other games, players will have a unique place in Aesca where they are able to create theme based on the foundation lore of the game and the guidelines given so the game changes based on their actions and interpretations which creates a more living world. This puts a significant amount of power to the players as an important component in the Collaborative Creative Process. Players can impact on the entire world by the choices they do together. This means though it takes effort and collaboration, rather than a single person. With logs and monthly submissions on their PRPs and adventures, what they've done will become approved theme.
So I've created then the Chapter and Story Progress System (CSPS).
The CSPS is designed with the following in mind:
- Players are in control of pacing.
- Players are responsible for creating and impacting the game.
A chapter covers a significant span of time (ie. 6 months) of which there are four episodes. In order to complete the chapter, players must earn an amount of Adventure Points (AP) before the game can progress to a new chapter with new episodes. The four episodes will cover Combat, Domain, Politics and Religion, and each episode component is worth 25 AP. Player-generated Role Play adventures can span a range of Challenge Ratings, with higher risks equating to higher chances of rewards and higher AP. Each episode will have a general area to deal with, and require that any any one component of Combat, Domain, Politics or Religion being at max 30% of the total to that episode AP value. All PRP logs are publicly available so that it becomes general player information.
For example
Chapter 1: Ripples Across Aesca 14/100 Episode A "The Amber Forest" 14/25 Combat 4 PRP Link PRP Link PRP Link PRP Link Domain 5 PRP Link PRP Link Politics 3 PRP Link PRP Link Religion 2 PRP Link -
I think you should prepare for a huge influx and rush at the beginning, and then just do the best you can to choke down drinking from the firehose until a good number of people will wander away in the first few months, and then you'll know what your base size is more realistically. This surge can be a real gamekiller/burnout machine if you are not mentally prepared for how you will deal.
Because I do absolutely believe you will have a huge rush at the beginning at the very least!
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@mietze said in Aesca Sneak Peak:
I think you should prepare for a huge influx and rush at the beginning, and then just do the best you can to choke down drinking from the firehose until a good number of people will wander away in the first few months, and then you'll know what your base size is more realistically. This surge can be a real gamekiller/burnout machine if you are not mentally prepared for how you will deal.
Because I do absolutely believe you will have a huge rush at the beginning at the very least!
The surge can also backfire if it causes delays if not enough of CGen is automated. A game's own popularity can kill it if a bunch of players are having to wait too long to be approved and give up.
- He who takes offense when not intended is a fool. He who takes offense when intended is a greater fool.
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@Arkandel I do not think that an automated cg that spits a ton of people out onto the grid quickly solves the problem and may in fact exacerbate it especially on an original themed game where there may need to be some front in quality control.
But yes, you will lose some people (possibly very loudly) if you do not adhere to their timetables. I'm not sure that I think this is a bad thing because there's always going to be some bottleneck. "OMFG approval took 4-7 days even though there were 75 applications!" Easily evolved into other time crunch angst.
I think if you do not have any chill or patience, it is better to wait to app in for a few weeks and let the staff work out the kinks. Especially if you do not plan on apping in/going for a high mucketymuck on a place where it is first come first served.
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@mietze said in Aesca Sneak Peak:
@Arkandel I do not think that an automated cg that spits a ton of people out onto the grid quickly solves the problem and may in fact exacerbate it especially on an original themed game where there may need to be some front in quality control.
But yes, you will lose some people (possibly very loudly) if you do not adhere to their timetables. I'm not sure that I think this is a bad thing because there's always going to be some bottleneck. "OMFG approval took 4-7 days even though there were 75 applications!" Easily evolved into other time crunch angst.
I think if you do not have any chill or patience, it is better to wait to app in for a few weeks and let the staff work out the kinks. Especially if you do not plan on apping in/going for a high mucketymuck on a place where it is first come first served.
This.
But also I am seriously trying to figure out how to put a 'number of open jobs' thing in Ares for players to see, so that they know how much workload the staff actually has.
Racism isn't Tinkerbell. It doesn't need you to believe in it for it to exist.
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It's like someone stole my crib notes for the game I have in development.
This looks totally awesome.
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Just to clarify.. does everyone have to play an elf?
