SYMA!

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Tyson Fraleigh - December 14, 2022

War brews and oppression looms, adventurer. The zealots are at war with the lords in SYMA, a rules-lite Incense & Iron RPG inspired by works such as Elden Ring, Bloodborne, and Dark Souls. Traverse this dark world as you attempt to survive each danger you come across, fleeing religious fanatics, bloodthirsty soldiers, undead minions, and monsters beyond imagination.

SYMA will not be a typical campaign setting. The world is for your to explore together – including the Game Master. There will be some lore information about the world, typically in the form of monster blocks, roll tables, and other none direct forms of storytelling. This is a world that the Game Master is meant to make for themselves, and allows everyone to help make a little piece of the puzzle.

The game system is a modified version of the Breathless game system created by Fari RPGs. Your characters’ skill bonus is determined by the dice you have associated with that skill: d4, d6, d8, d10, d12. Every time you take an action in an encounter, you start with the die in that specific skill. Whenever you use that skill more than once in the same encounter, you must use the next lowest die for the roll (ex. if you make a Sneak skill check with a d12 during an encounter, you would need to make your next Sneak check in the same encounter with a d10, then a d8, etc.). You continue you this until you get to a d4. If you score a 1-2, you fail miserably and things get worse. Score a 3-4, it is a minor success. Score a 5+, it is a major success.

The key is to not let the exhaustion set in. When you have a second to recharge, use the Catch Your Breath ability to recharge all of your dice back to their original dice rating. However, be careful when you rest – you never know what beasts linger just behind those trees…