The System, used in many of my works, is a literary device that addresses the question, “What if video games were real?” Characters within The System have access to a game-like interface, complete with statistics, levels, skills, quests, and more. Each person in the story has access to their own Profile or System Sheet that describes who they are as a person and as a character within the “game.” As people go about their daily lives, they earn experience by accomplishing tasks, solving problems, completing quests, defeating enemies, or engaging in various other activities, later using that experience to improve their game statistics to become more powerful.
As a gamer myself, I designed The System to be viable as an actual game that can be played. While I use The System primarily as a literary component in my stories, it’s also important to me that the rules be consistent and playable as an actual game. I wouldn’t call it a “complete” game, as there are definitely gaps that need to be filled in and more content to be added; however, it is definitely a playable experience.
Living in The System
There are five main aspects in The System which all persons must master: Attributes, Aptitudes, Abilities, and Actions & Augments. The details of how these work are rarely clearly explained within the narrative or available to an individual, and gaining additional insight and understanding of The System and the details of how it functions is the lifelong goal of many living under its power.
System Checks
Attempting anything of note within The System is covered by a System Check. The System secretly generates a random number, applies the relevant bonuses, penalties, and other modifiers, and then compares that to another number representing the difficulty of the task. If the total of the check equals or exceeds the difficulty, then the attempt is successful.
For most things, The System uses a roll of three six-sided dice adds the person’s most relevant Attribute, Ability Rank, and any Augments that apply to the roll.
Attributes
The eight Attributes determine the basic physical, mental, and esoteric characteristics of an individual. These are Might, Fortitude, Dexterity, Agility, Intellect, Guile, Presence, and Luck.
Measuring the Attributes
Each Attribute is tracked only as the modifier that will be added to the System Check. Few individuals will have Attributes lower than -3 or higher than 3, with a score of 0 being considered average.
Aptitudes
Where Attributes measure what a person can do, Aptitudes instead measure the limits of what each person can become. Each Ability has an associated Aptitude which limits the maximum Rank of that Ability. Even the most Mighty of individuals will never become a great warrior if their Prowess Aptitude is low; their Prowess related Abilities will simply never grow strong enough.
The eight Aptitudes are Prowess, Mana, Psi, Spirit, Soul, Qi, Aether, and Eldritch.
Measuring the Aptitudes
Unlike Attributes, an individual’s Aptitudes are never considered when making System Checks. Except in rare situations, an Aptitude serves only as a limit on a individual’s potential. No Ability a person possesses can ever have a Rank higher than its governing Aptitude. Aptitudes begin at 0 and, in theory, have no maximum limit. An Aptitude of 7 is generally considered quite good, and scores in excess of 10 are rare unless an individual is unusually gifted or divinely blessed.
Abilities, Actions and Augments
Abilities are the skills that a character possesses and can be potentially anything from Archery to Zoological Studies. Any activity which is governed by The System has an Ability which controls an individual’s potential to perform that activity.
Actions are specific implementations of an Ability. For example, an Ability focused on the use of swords might have one Action to attack with quick, light jabs, another Action covers attacking with powerful two-handed blows, while a third covers taking a defensive stance to better parry an enemy’s attacks.
Augments are special modifications which apply to Abilities. This can manifest as a bonus when attacking with particular weapons or an increased chance to dodge attacks, a higher quality when manufacturing goods or harvesting resources, a more compelling voice when singing, or even animals being more friendly with you than expected. Augments only ever apply to the Ability to which they are tied.
In short, an Ability is a skill you have, an Action is how you use that skill, and an Augment is using that skill better.
The full list of Abilities, Actions, and Augments is too long to include here, but some examples of each can be found elsewhere on this site. Of note, any Ability, Action, or Augment included in one of my books will have an entry here.
Using The System as a Roleplaying Game
As I mentioned above, I’ve worked to flesh out The System into a playable tabletop roleplaying game. While I would not consider is as “complete” as many of the leading games out there, it is definitely playable. There are some glaring gaps, however, as I primarily develop content for the game based on what is needed for the narrative of my stories or based on games I play locally with friends.
When it comes to writing, I enjoy the freedom to just narratively write whatever I want, but when it comes to playing a game, I greatly enjoy knowing precisely how the mechanics of a game system work. In writing rules for The System, you’ll find that there is an unusual balance of the two approaches. On one hand, there is a large amount of hand waving and approximation where the narrative of the story being told through gameplay is more important than having a precise simulation of events but that when it comes time to roll the dice, the mechanics are much more defined and specific. My philosophy when designing and running The System is that everything is fluid and serves to tell a good story, right up until the dice are rolled. Once dice hit the table, everything becomes concrete, and you (or at least the person running the game) know the outcome without room for doubt.
If you’re interested in exploring more about The System itself or playing a game using it, I would direct you to The Rules of Adventuring.