Conflict Mechanics

The goal of this system is to create an environment that is fair, low-pressure, fun, and easy to run and play in.

The system is designed to help create a shared context for roleplaying. Very little roleplaying is documented in the system itself, instead the system is used solely for mechanical adjudication. The system is designed to maintain fairness and equal opportunities for engagement across the player base.

(Not) Winning and Losing
In case it’s not obvious, there isn’t really any winning or losing a game like this. The point is to create interesting and fun RP, not to accomplish a specific goal or win a special prize. Players are encouraged to stay in-character, play sub-optimally, and not meta-game.

Actions
Once every week, players submit their character's action for the following week to the GM. An action is anything the player and GM feel the character can reasonably accomplish in one week, and should be reasonably specific as to apply to one skill. Actions should be formatted to explicitly state or at least heavily imply their intended goal."Wrong: I solve the mystery.""Right: Using 'Charm', I gather clues from witnesses about the accident."The GM and the player then "play out" the player's action for the week, usual in a google doc. If multiple players are "teaming up" for the same action, then multiple players might share the same doc. The action always succeeds and is in some way productive, unless another player interferes.

Missing Weeks / Actions
Players should not feel that they need to post an action every week in order to stay involved in the game. Everyone has times when circumstance crops up that prevents a player from engaging. No matter how long a particular character or house has been biding it's time or staying out of the lime-light, it can always jump back into the action at a later date.

It is strongly discouraged that GM’s try to back-track our ‘make up’ actions and weeks from the past. This system is designed to keep the action moving forward, and trying to “rewind” or sub in past actions can play havoc with that goal.

Conflict
If a player takes an action that contradicts or interferes with another player or their action, Conflict occurs. Examples: Players should be careful not to play too "hardball". Actions have consequences in this world, and the Templars don't look too kindly on anyone stepping outside the bounds of fair play. Maiming or (Mother forbid) killing someone will likely earn you the attention of powerful houses, the Templars, and the Drowners.
 * Player A spies on player B.
 * Player A and player B both try to steal the same item (and are not working together)
 * Player A is guarding a place Player B is trying to sneak into.

If one player has an Advantage relevant to the action and the other does not, then the player with the Advantage succeeds while the other character fails. Likewise, if one character has a Disadvantage and the other does not, that character fails.

If both characters have an advantage, a disadvantage, or neither, then the conflict is considered a Wash. The player with the greatest amount of "Frustration" wins the conflict, and loses 1 point of "Frustration."

If neither character has an advantage, disadvantage, or are matched in "Frustration", than the GM will randomly decide which character wins, usually by a coin toss or a roll of the dice. Whichever character "lost" the throw will gain one point of "Frustration" which should help them get stay out of a losing streak.

Typically, if one character takes an action that the other character's action does not conflict with, but still conflicts with the player (is spying on another player), both characters use the skill chosen by the aggressor for purposes of resolving the conflict. For example, if one character uses Larceny to steal something from another character, the other character would also use Larceny to defend.

Assistance
If one character “assists” another directly, or performs an action that could be construed as assisting another player, than than the player they assist gains an additional “Advantage” during any conflicts. A character with two advantages succeeds over a character with one advantage. If a character has an advantage and a disadvantage, the two cancel each other out.

Skills, Advantages, and Disadvantages
Characters are defined by their Advantages and Disadvantages. At the discretion of the GM, Characters can have any amount of Advantages and Disadvantages, so long as the number of Advantages equals the number of Disadvantages (Recommended: No more than 3 each).

Provided below is a skills list. At the GM’s discretion, other possible skills can be added at the request of players. Players can choose skills to have advantages and disadvantages in. Example:
 * Charm - getting your way by being nice to people.
 * Intimidation - getting your way by being not-so-nice to people.
 * Humanities - Knowledge of art, literature, and other related fields.
 * Sciences - Knowledge of physics, mathematics, biology, et-cetera
 * History - The study of the past.
 * Magic - Making the impossible, possible.
 * Crafts - The art of making and understanding things.
 * Athletics - Running, jumping, swimming, et-cetera.
 * Melee - Hand-to-Hand, Blade-to-Blade, Mano-y-Mano combat.
 * Archery - Combat at a distance.
 * Strategy - Directing groups of people, both on and off the battlefield
 * Stealth - Going unnoticed.
 * Larceny - Breaking into and taking things that don’t belong to you.
 * Finance - Business, power-brokering, and straight-up having money.
 * Medicine - The study of what goes wrong with people.
 * Sails - Not just for ships! This skill applies to rigging boats, riding horses, directing carts, or just knowing where the heck you're going.

Hannibal Barca

Advantages: Disadvantages:
 * Charm - Hannibal possesses a silver tongue.
 * Strategy - Hannibal is a general, first and foremost
 * Athletics - An ancient injury makes it difficult for this old man to move quickly.
 * Sciences - Hannibal is no expert on the matters scientific.

Specializations
Characters may choose to excel in one particular area "within" a skill. Say a character is reasonably strong with most forms of travel, but excels on horseback. She might take the specialization "Sails (Horsemanship)." When it comes to weaknesses / disadvantages, if a player is generally "bad" with a skill but is particularly awful at a specific aspect, they might list a "Disadvantage" specialization.

Specializations are also slightly more powerful than regular advantages and disadvantages, in that if a player has a specialization that applies and another merely has an applicable advantage, the player with the specialization will win. Conversely, if a player has a disadvantage and the other has an applicable disadvantage specialization, the player with only the disadvantage would win out.

As with normal Advantages and Disadvantages, specialized Advantages and Disadvantages must be equal.

Correct:

Advantages: Disadvantages: Incorrect:
 * Larceny (Lockpicking)
 * Melee (Swordsmanship)

Advantages: Disadvantages:
 * Strategy
 * Sails (Rowboats)

"Narrow" Skills
Sometimes, characters may want to get a little more granular with their Advantages and Disadvantages. Say for example that a character is an excellent horseman, but doesn’t know anything about ships. In this case, characters can specify a "Narrow" skill such that an Advantage or Disadvantage only applies to one aspect of the skill. A "Narrow" skill is distinguished by having parentheses around the skill's name.

As with normal Advantages and Disadvantages, "Narrow" Advantages and Disadvantages must be equal. A "narrow" skill can really be anything under the sun, but the advantage and disadvantage should match in utility. For example, it would be unfair for a character to take "Brawling" as an advantage and "Underwater Basket Weaving" as a corresponding disadvantage.

Example:

Advantages: Disadvantages:
 * (Lockpicking)
 * (Swordsmanship)