Fallen London-based RPG; feedback welcome!

Fallen London
1

I’ve begun work on a FL tabletop RPG! Here’s a very early draft of the manual:

For now I’ve only managed to write down some basic rules for main mechanics and characters, but I already have in mind how to handle more specific stuff, along with ways of translating FL mechanics and lore into the game.

I do realize that as of now it’s only barebones, but being on winter break right now I expect to be able to work on it enough to get a more playable version soon; however I would still like the community to give their opinion on it, even at this early stage, to make sure it becomes as good as possible!

2

I have one suggestion and one only: the GM should be called Mr. Games.

3

I’m thinking about potential &quotRaces&quot and modifiers:

  • Longshanks (former Urchins): +S -D Bonus to Elusive on Rooftops (Spite/ Flit)
  • Tomb-colonist: +D -P Bonus to Savage on Closed spaces (Mausoleums/ Dungeons/Sewers etc.)
  • Drownie: +D +S -2P Bonus to Savage in the Zee and other waterways
  • Zailor: No stats change, Bonus to Savage, Elusive and Baroque in the Zee
4

@Schmidt: I really like your idea, I’ll change the GM to Mr. Games when I edit the rules, which should be pretty soon.

@truthseeker: I can assure you that cutting out the &quotNone of the above&quot gender option was never on the table; in fact, I dare say it never even came close to said table, as it was kicked out of the saloon entirely for crimes against good taste. In regards to quirks, those should mostly be up to the GM, since they depend on the character’s behaviour over the course of the game, and not just on a quirk checks.

@Pyrodinium: They sound good, although content like races and backgrounds should wait until the main mechanics are set in stone and tested, or else they risk being unbalanced.

Yesterday I managed to hold a short session with a few friends; with all the exposition and narration we only managed to get an encounter against an Auroral Megalops (don’t worry, they were on a ship) but it made clear what my priorities should be for now:

[ul][li]Establish guidelines on checks’ DC (wasting time coming up with them on the spot wrecks pacing)[/li][li]Establish rigorous rules for combat and teamwork [/li][/ul]Part of the combat system should be specialization: in FL each character can do pretty much anything, but having that in a tabletop would just make the characters boring and combat the same for everyone; to avoid this I plan on adding different weapons and martial arts training which characters have to specialize in.
Expect an update to the doc soon!

5

Heare are some more guidelines on checks
--------Watchful checks--------
Making out a sound: 5
in crowded area +4
in silence -2 or -1 depending on distance
Locating a sound: 10
in crowded area +4
with present echo +6
Spoting something: 7
standing out -1 or -2 depending on situation
Detecting a lie: 1/2 shadowy

--------Shadowy checks--------
Sneaking: 10
in the shadows -1 to -5 depending on darknes
outdors at night -3
with guards present + 1/2 watchful
in crowd +2
Pickpocketing: vs. target Watchfull
if sneaking +5, discovered on fail
if target is distracted +2
edited by TheDapperTeaFox on 12/30/2015