Peint en noir

[Wannabe writer]

So I have been busy - I have an idea for a game and my own system. I play tested it a few times and even have a few rewrites and screaming matches in my mind about it.

So for a little advice on how things are going I present you a small section of Peint en noir (which I hope if Google translate has not failed me is French for Painted Black).

Setting wise -

Peint en noir is a roleplaying game in which you play a French or French allied soldier on the great retreat from Moscow in the winter of 1812. As the abandoned and scattered soldiers of the Grand Armee not only do you have to deal with fights over food and rags whilst dodging the predications’ of the Cossacks, but it seems the frozen mists hold ancient evil that seeks now to feats on those that have violated its land.

Rules wise I am using the following formula

Attribute + Skill + (Resource) + (Hope) +/- Affliction +/- optional modifiers* + D6
Versus Target Number of 9 (always 9 this number does not change).

Attribute = Physical, Mental or Social
Skill = there is a short skill list but I have tried to keep it to the Risis titled Dozen endeavors.
Resource = bonuses collected by looking for particular resources for example want to have physical bonuses you need Clothing, Mental - Fuel for fires and finally Social - food. these are arbitrary numbers and point don't represent bread or blankets but metaphorically represent the supply and comfort gained by eating or possessing them. These are lost if the roll is failed, 1 resource is always consumed per day forcing the player to move on and look for food.
Hope = the characters will to survive, adaptability and desire to return home. Hope follows all the rules above given for resources also hope can be used in any situation and with a resource. Only hope is used up when it is used this is different as Resources are only use up in a failed roll but Hope is used up whether succeed or fail. Hope is also the characters wound tract, any sort of wound taken by the character is removed from hope before becoming and affliction. Characters generate hope whenever they succeed in a roll, this is also different to Resources (as they need to be gathered).
When Hope reaches levels marked on the Character sheet players can choose to continue gathering hope (maximum of 10) or choose to sacrifice 5 Hope for a skill increase of 10 Hope for an attribute increase.
Afflictions = represent the injuries characters can receive in the game and can affect them in certain situations, obviously physical wounds will be used in physical rolls. Afflictions can be removed from a character with a successful Medicine skill roll, or rest in days equal to the level of the affliction. Characters can take only certain amounts of afflictions before succumbing to either death or unconscious slumber.

There are some rather nasty stuff I unleash on players;
The Horns of the Cossacks, don't let players get the thoughts of holding out somewhere. A keep or a nice well defended village looks great but lots of Cossacks and the Russian army are on the way and French accented villagers are kinda dead give away. Cossacks arrive in certain ways - Fiat, roll a d6 add the number of players this is the number of unsuccessful rolls before their horns are heard then half the original total and that is how many rolls before the Cossacks show up and finally they could already be there! its entirely up to the storyteller.

Black Dice, a bit of a helping hand to good old Baba Yaga and her minions, start with 1 per player gaining one for each failed roll and for each Hope point gained over 10. Black dice can be used like resources and Hope points for Non-player Characters especially villains.

I moved this from my old blog here, as I was afraid it was getting missed. So any thoughts or suggestions?

[Wannabe writer]

any thoughts?

[Evil Scientist]

The system seems solid enough!

But I don't see the allure of the game yet. I don't see how it is supposed to play out. I guess with a niche topic like this (mind, I like the idea of this game! You picked a very interesting and dramatic period!) you really need to try hard to "sell" the game to potential players, by showing them how a session would look like. So far, the thing that bothers me is that the constant flight/retreat turns gameplay into a special kind of railroading - running away from the train

But if you present your vision of this process better, I think the game would really bloom.

For example, I really like the "Horns of the Cossacks" encounter. You should add more like this, it would be a "Bestiary" of sorts...

[Anastylos]

I like the idea and the setting. Maybe I will make a Battlestar Galactica Hack once your game is finished.

[Wannabe writer]