Kick ALL the Starters, Part III: Fund ALL the Crowds!

[Mamorien]

One path reaches its end and a new one begins.

In 2017 Onyx Path unveiled the Storypath System, the rules engine that has come to power many of our games: the sci-fi universe of hope, heroism, and peril known as the Trinity Continuum, the modern-day stories of old gods and titans called Scion Second Edition, and the trope-focused exploration of genres that is the They Came From! series, and more.

We're extremely proud of what we’ve done over the years with Storypath, but felt it was time to tighten up the rules, smooth off the rough edges, and get rid of anything that got in the way of telling amazing stories. As a result, we’ve created the Storypath Ultra Core Manual.

Storypath Ultra isn’t a new edition, nor is it a replacement rule set — many of the concepts we developed and refined from the Storypath System are still there, even as they rearrange or rename things to make them as clear as possible. Think of it as a new take on Storypath: It’s the same great game but spruced up and tweaked to be the best possible version.

What makes Storypath a great system for our role playing games?

First, competence. Player characters are assumed to be competent in their area of specialization. These rules aren't always meant to assume success or failure. They're used to determine influence over the story and to the degree to which the character succeeds.

Next, enhanced combat. Storypath combat uses range bands, area effects, and tricks, allowing players to contribute more to a fight beyond just damage. They're also convertible to miniature play or for use with virtual tabletops.

Then there's bonding. Storypath uses group mechanics to create a collaborative storytelling experience. Bonds formed during character creation and over sessions bring new overarching mechanics and collaborative themes into play.

Finally, there's scaling. Gods or superheroes can fight each other on mostly equal grounds, while the mere mortals can do the same to one another. It's only when the psychic superhuman deals with an average person, the mechanics such as advantage come into play.

This will be, as far as I can tell the first truly generic TRPG rulebook based on a fork of the Storyteller System, but it will include three worked examples of settings: one fantasy, one sci-fi (both of which will be voted on by backers), and one... lower fantasy?

Pinfall from Grace, Bodyslams from Hell is a darkly humorous setting featuring player characters with unusual powers and an angelic companion hunting down demons that have controlled the world. It’s Street Fighter meets Fist of the North Star via professional wrestling. We also provide a lot of sidebars explaining the reasons behind some of the design decisions of the setting, to act as a comprehensive example of creating a setting and adapting Storypath to that setting.

If this sounds like your cup of beverage: https://www.backerkit.com/c/projects/ony...les-manual