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From your vantage point atop Wakapikchu, the dead are legion. Some lay where the Hukpa plague struck them down. Others sprawl in grotesque tableaux, contorted by the demon weapons of the Chuqiqari.

All you have known -- all you have loved -- is gone. In its place, a bloating, rotting mass of corpses remains.

Descending from the demon mountain, it is impossible to escape the hoary clutches of the dead. Their moldering digits tug at you; their pustulent orbs stare at you from beyond the void. As the wind gives momentary relief from the putrescence, it whispers to you in a shrill and mournful tone,

"Avenge me."





The protagonists are Tukuri Awqalli -- the last warriors. They have miraculously survived the plague and plunder of Pizarro and Cortez. The dessicated remains of a glorious civilization quite literally call out to them. Over the course of their adventures, the protagonists will be visited by the Pachak Nunas -- the one hundred ghosts. Each ghost will have some connection to one or more of the protagonists, and will have a significant effect on the course of the story.


Pachak Nunas is set in an alternate history -- the protagonists are all that remains of the Apu Runa ("The People of the Sacred Mountain" who are based on both the Inca and Aztec). The Hukpa (foreigners) and Chuqiqari (metal men, or conquistadors) of our world exist, but the devastation they wrought is infinitely worse. The smallpox that the Spaniards brought to the new world did not merely weaken the aboriginal population, but decimated it.

The Tukuri Awqalli are blessed and cursed with an immunity to the deparavations of the Hukpa. However, their invincibility is tied directly to fulfilling the posthumous desires of the Pachak Nunas who alone can grant them Qallalla Tiqti -- the wine of life.

Throughout the game, the Tukuri Awqalli will follow their own road -- some may seek vengeance, others may search for justice or peace of mind. However, their exploits will constantly be tempered by the wishes of the uneasy dead.

As the Hukpa sweep across the land, can the Tukuri Awqalli salvage anything of their civilization? Will history remember the Apu Runa?

YES.

Sorry. I've always wanted to see an Incan-flavor RPG, but haven't had the time to do research enough to even get it off the ground. It already smells delightful, I can't wait to see how it ends up after cooking.

-Nathan

Hey. Thanks.

Whoops. In keeping with my dour and smack-talkin' persona, what I really meant was:

"well, duh. it's obviously good. better than any of the rest of the trash here. which wouldn't take much."



as a cheat sheet, here's the Coles Notes:

PACHAK NUNAS

Theme: Inspired by the conquest of Latin America (c. 1521 - 1532 AD) by the Spanish.

Ingredients:
Invincible - the protagonists are immune to the smallpox brought by the conquistadors. Perhaps they're immune to the interlopers in general?

Companion - the titular Pachak Nunas represent ghostly companions to the protagonists. They drive the story, and represent complications as well as goals. Additionally, the Companions will be played by the players -- you will be the demon on your neighbour's shoulder.

Wine - as the protagonists achieve the goals laid out for them by the ghosts, they will be rewarded with the wine of life, which is the resource that they must manage to overcome the Conquistadors. It is also what gives them their immunity to the plague.

Rules Limitations
These are a bit up in the air right now, as I've spent most of my time working on how I want play to progress, not how I'm going to achieve it. Options include:

1) no character generation -- preset character archetypes, similar to what Clinton is doing in City of Brass.

2) color plays a role in resolution -- I'm thinking of tying color to different aspects of Incan and Aztec myth and belief, and using that

3) custom cards -- I'm pretty sure that cards will play some role in the creation and goals of the ghosts. I may also try to make the same deck work as a conflict resolution tool.

Back to the garden, to earn bronie points from "she who must be obeyed" so that I can work on this in earnest tonight.

Hacked by *She who must be obeyed* -
" Yeah, right, really, I'm your monkey. Admit it. Credit where credit is due!

And if you are gonna sass me, don't ask me to read what you've done so far!

It looks like it is shaping up. I really like the flavour of the intro. You can almost smell the rotting flesh."

:P

I've got time down the road to pretty this up, but I really want to put the mechanics out there to maybe put a little buzz into my thread.

Um, I mean...

The garnish will top off this lovely, spicy dish in such a fashion as to make the angels weep. Beneath its simmering surface, this avant-guarde compote holds the secrets to culinary ecstacy. And it's 100% ninja-free.




GAMEPLAY (basic stuff)
- traditional GM & player arrangement (minimum of 2 + GM)
- GM takes on scene framing duties
- GM or players may propose (and take responsibility for establishing the stakes of) conflicts
- conflict resolution using opposed dice pools (d6)

GAMEPLAY (specific stuff)
- each player plays 2 characters -- their own "flesh & blood" character, and another player's "ghost" character
- dice pools derived almost entirely from roleplaying & narrative interaction
- character death strictly a function of resource management and totally within the players' control (note that that players' isn't a typo)
- multiple qualities of the die roll are analyzed to determine success/failure, narrative rights, resource growth, and metagame rights
- characters are differentiated (mechanically) not by the size of their dice pools, but by the ways in which the results of the rolls can be manipulated




PROTAGONIT CHARACTER GENERATION
- develop character concept & kicker
- write short character precis
- assign 6 points between 3 stats (min 1 in each): Rage - actions of the heart; Reason - actions of the head; Resolve - actions of the backbone
- record starting Qualla Tiqti (wine of life) level (chosen by group concensus, 3 is suggested)

INITIAL GHOST GENERATION
- determine control of ghosts so that no player controls their own ghost, and that there are no closed systems. (eg: each player's ghost is controlled by the player to their left.)
- ghost player examines their "host" character to look for dramatic opportunities
- develop ghost concept
- develop ghost's desire (sort of like a kicker, but more of a focus for what the ghost wants)
- choose what type of ghost it is; Rage, Reason or Resolve. Most ghosts are ghosts of Rage
- record ghost's Power level (this should be predetermined, but I haven't crunched the numbers yet for how to do it. I'd also like to have Rage Reason and Resolve play a role in some way)

CONFLICTS
Players or GM may call for a conflict. Additionally, players may call for a conflict in either capacity that they fulfill -- protagonist or ghost. However, all conflicts are Resolved by the Protagonist and the GM.

Procedures:

Protagonist-Initiated Conflict
1. Player frames conflict, including stakes
2. GM evaluates. If in agreement to need for role, proceed.
3. Ghost has opportunity to choose sides in the conflict, or remain neutral. If side is chosen, Ghost gifts between 1 and X dice to either the player or GM. (X = lowest of: remaining power/subject character's rating in Ghost's type {rage/reason/resolve} ) Note that this is a gift -- the dice are gone.
4. Establish opposing Pools (see below) and Type of Conflict (Rage/Reason/Resolve)
5. Roll
6. Resolve
7. Narrate

Ghost-Initiated Conflict
1. Ghost Player frames conflict
2. GM evaluates
3. Protagonist's player evaluates
_ a) if yes, proceed to 4.
_ b) if no, Ghost and Protagonist engage in a closed bid of Power/Qalla Tiqti.
__ i. if Ghost bids more than Prot, Prot's appropriate stat is increased by the margin for the duration of the conflict.
__ ii. if Prot bids more than Ghost, points equal to margin are gifted to Ghost's power from Prot's Qalla Tiqti.
__ iii. treat ties as a win for the ghost, with margin=0
4. Ghost gifts dice to Prot. Min=1, Max=Bid
5. Establish Pools & Conflict Type
6. Roll
7. Resolve
8. Narrate

GM-Initiated Conflicts
1. GM frames conflict
2. Ghost chooses sides
3. Establish Pools & Conflict Type
4. Roll
5. Resolve
6. Narrate


DETERMINING DIE POOLS
- Player pool: 1 base. +1 per: evocative framing/vivid stakes; clever use of setting or character; advancing the plot. -1 per: bland framing/obtuse stakes; facile use of setting or character; stonewalling the plot.
- after player base pool is determined, add ghost dice if any.
- GM pool: essentially a judgement call. TBA + ghost dice.


RESOLUTION
note: a sequence is a series of dice in order (ie: 4, 3, 2)
- roll opposing pools
- success determined by highest die (next highest breaks ties, etc)
- longest sequence chooses either narrative rights OR resource improvement (loser of success evaluation wins in case of sequence tie)
- "loser" gets the leftovers
- longest spare sequence granted Metagame resource (in case of tie, both parties gain one)


DICE TRICKS
- players can manipulate their rolls depending on the Type of conflict (R/R/R) and their Prot's rating in that stat. All examples assume a rating of 2 in the appropriate stat.
- RAGE: any dice <= stat may be "removed" from roll, but adds +1 to highest die (eg: 4,3,1,1 can become 6,3)
- REASON: any ONE die <= stat may be altered to read any number from 1 to stat+1 (eg: 5,4,1 can become 5,4,3)
- RESOLVE: any dice <= stat may be "lumped" (added) together to form a new die (eg: 6,5,2,2 can become 6,5,4)
- GMs normally may not perform dice tricks, but may do so with Metagame resources

That's the basic nuts and bolts of the system.

More to come:

Resource (Qallalla Tiqti) Management & Costs
Protagonist Death
Metagame Resources
Shedding and Gaining Ghosts
Character Improvement

Intoxicating? No no dear Kenjib. The accepted turn of phrase is "make the angels weep". Screw that! Make the heavens weep.

Now, what we aren't mentioning is why the heavens are weeping...

Thanks for the question -- and the answer is that there isn't a direct mechanical stimulus to get the ghost to antagonise the protagonist. Here's my reasoning why:

1) the ghosts aren't meant merely as antagonists, but also as helpers. so skewing the mechanics one way or the other would drastically alter the colour of the game.

2) there is a reinforcement mechanic, which falls under the resource management portion of the game. (to be detailed) As the game progresses, the GM gets to "ramp up" the amount of Qallalla Tiqti that each protagonist needs to maintain his/her invincibility. This raising of stakes isn't reversible -- once the bar is raised from 1 to 2, it stays there. The players' only source of Qallalla Tiqti is in fact their ghosts. Protagonists will have to potential to gain Qallalla Tiqti in rolls that are both benefitial and detrimental.

3) since the ghosts are specifically created with "good dramatic potential" in mind, then it's implicit in the creation of the ghost that its player think s/he'll enjoy playing it, especially as it relates to the protagonist.

Do you think that's enough? I don't want the ghosts to be an "optional rule", but a vital relationship in the game. If there need to be extra mechanics, I need to start working on them now...

Well, it's been a short, wild ride.

Consider this dish in the disposal.

I'd love to blame it on RL, but the honest truth is that I'm out of steam for this one. I don't have it in me to finish it before the deadline, and I'm not willing to submit a half-assed product *AGAIN*

I'm a big, whiny quitter.

But at least, I'm 100% ninja free.