Looking for a game

[Kennon]

Hopefully this is a right place for this post.

I was hoping that someone might be able to help identify an RPG that I'm trying to track down. I had found it once a couple years ago here, I believe. I think I recall that it was a 24hr RPG project. I recall that it had an urban fantasy feel set in what might have been a pseudo Victorian city. I recall that it wasn't a modern day city. Also, I recall that there was only the single city left and that there was something unusual to do with the sky. It rained every day, or rained soot? Something along those lines. I also recall that I was impressed by how high quality the PDF layout and templating were for a free product.

I know these random tidbits filtered through a few years worth of poor memory make this difficult, but does any of that description ring a bell with anyone?

[Chainsaw Aardvark]

Welcome to 1km1kt.net. Enjoy your stay.

The first game that comes to mind is , by none other than Rob Lang - fellow mod and author of ICAR. I know there might be a few others that could fit that description - does Verge sound familiar?

[Kennon]

Wait a sec! Verge does actually sound familiar! Let me go run a search and see if that's it!

[Kennon]

Yes! It was a little tricky to find, but Verge was indeed it! Thanks so much!

[Onix]

See, I vote that we hook up an EEG to CA's head and then use the results as the new search engine for the site. It works every time!

[Evil Scientist]

[Rob Lang]

It was Verge.

Am I too late?

Damn. It's been a while since I've nagged Nathan Russell to extend it. Perhaps it's worth giving him another prod?

[Kennon]

That would be superb! I reread it after finding it once again and still think it looks awesome. If it was wrapped up with a few of the other things that the intro mentions he wasn't able to get to (like a magic system), I would totally want to run this for my first time DMing.

I've been contemplating ad hoc'ing something using the Reputation system to power magic, in the meantime.

[Rob Lang]

Excellent! I have given him an email prod in this direction. Let's hope the His Greatness Nathan Russell joins us soon.

[Kennon]

I finally got off my duff last week and decided to work up some kind of rough magic rules, so I thought I'd see what people think.


True Magic

Though mankind has attempted to sever all ties with the Great Betrayer and the wood that spawned it, the natural world is no easy thing to leave behind. Even the spirits that roam the City still bear some faint traces of connection to the vast web of life outside the Cage. From time to time, a human is still born with the ability to tap into this strength. Most have little more than an easier time influencing the spirits that teem through the City, but some rare few are capable of much greater feats. True magic, though, is a dangerous tool for those who utilize it and such power comes with a cost. Each time a true mage uses this power, they provide a conduit for the Great Betrayer’s power into the City. Many times, small uses may not cause the wielder harm, but whispers abound that mages have seen body parts spontaneously turned to wood. These must then be excised and burned before the Great Betrayer’s influence becomes too strong. There are even darker rumors among the City’s hidden True Mages that many years ago some fell completely into darkness and became Bark Spirits.

Players wishing to play as True Mages must take the True Mage Edge with at least 1 point. While resolving successes during a feat, a player may opt to take one true magic action. To do so, that player rolls a number of magic dice equal to their True Magic points and compares this against their corruption points. If the number of successes on their roll exceeds their current corruption points, they may make a single additional success statement this feat in conjunction with one of their normal successes. The additional statement must describe the magic used. A player that fails this roll takes a gains a point of corruption and does not make the additional statement.

Once a player’s corruption points equal or exceed the number of points that player has in their True Magic Edge, that player takes 1 wound as a piece of them turns to wood. Once they deal with this condition, the GM may optionally reset their corruption back to 0.

Cold Iron

Many years ago, humankind discovered a new and potent form of magic. No longer based on the increasingly archaic ties with the natural world, this new power embraced the cold metallic strength of their increasingly potent alchemical discoveries. Did this shift, this break in the ancient order of things have a hand in what eventually became the war with the Great Betrayer? No one knows for sure, but either way, mankind was loathe to part with this new found power and as the City was built, the Iron Lords laid claim to these arcane secrets. They jealously guard this knowledge and impart it only to the Cold Iron Corps, a guild of alchemical mages and sometimes warriors who answer only to the Iron Council themselves.

Players wishing to utilize this power must begin with at least one point in the Cold Iron Edge. Each point in Cold Iron represents a portion of their metallic supplies with are burnt or consumed when using their abilities. Once per feat, a player may burn any number of Cold Iron points in order to reroll any equal number of dice.

Cold Iron mages are considered to restock their supplies and thus restore burnt points following any significant rest in the City, pending GM approval.