Quote from: Ghost Whistler;475979What i mean is that if you attack first during the round and hit your opponent, you are going to give him Wind points where you yourself will gain none. If I allow those points to be spent to add dice and such, they gain a potentially unfair advantage - just for being attacked and not for attacking first.

Yes, I understand that when you make the attack you have to make it count or you're in trouble.

If you attacked out of the blue the victim's Turbulence after the attack would probably exceed his existing Wind so he's Hurt anyway.

Victim strikes back with Wind - if he succeeds he's Hurt you, giving you Wind for the next round. If he fails you counterattack - possibly Hurting him more.

I suppose I should be asking 'How many times must a character be Hurt to be Defeated  ?'

Anticipating player strategy - PC parties would probably gang up on a Major opponent in the hope of defeating him in the first round, probably from a distance using a ranged attack - but if you have it so the most harm that can be taken per round is Hurt, then he's not executed in that first round of confrontation.

I'm thinking there will be three 'resistance' traits: Body, Reputation, and Spirit. A hero is defeated if his Turbulence exceeds his (Wind + resistance trait, as aprpropriate). The values for these are dynamic: narrative play rewards the hero with points in either from a starting base. Thus the player doesn't track a pool of hit points, but if he roleplays being physically impressive (and also succeeds in such accomplishments), of good character and reputation, and spiritually strong (including in terms of pursuing evil powers as is an option for demon hunters) or resolute, his resistances increase.

Originally I was intent on not having a hit point/damage model. However I think the current idea is too vague and open to potentially enornomous collections of points. Instead I think I will go with this for damage, keeping the ideas the same. Force and Chi will still resolve much the same way (two opposing rolls) to determine damage, that specifically will be addressed later.

***

Damage is abstracted into a singular force known as Turbulence, no matter the origin. It represents the force ranged against the Hero from reaching his destiny as a true warrior and hero of the galaxy.

As it accumulates it moves toward a limit determined by the Hero's current Rank (plus any points of Wind). When that limit is reached, the Hero is defeated and cannot reach his destiny.

If a Hero has points of Wind these automatically and continually increase his current limit. However they also create the chance that, when being hit by any kind of attack, the Hero might also suffer a Weakness (becoming either Wounded, Taunted, or Cursed). While a Hero has Wind he can spend it to add to dice rolls, but, as Wind is lost or spent, the Turbulence he has accrued may trigger his defeat.

A state of Weakness doesn't itself cause further Turbulence gain, but imposes a set of conditions onto the Hero in keeping with the nature of that Weakness. The nature of the Weakness is dependent on the trigger:

A Wounded Hero gains no more Wind nor can he roll more dice for Order of Combat, than his Chi. Likewise his diminished strength inhibits his ability to attack and so his Force dice, in total, are limited to his Chi as well. This state can only lifted by medical attention though Chi Arts can help.

A Taunted Hero must direct his aggression/frustration, where possible, to the source thereof unless it puts him directly in danger. While doing so he rolls 1 more Force dice when attacking, but 1 less Chi dice when defending. Turbulence cannot be removed when facing any other target (such as in defence). This state can be lifted if the source is defeated, admits his 'wrongdoing' or guilt as appropriate, or the Hero receives due attention, usually through Chi Arts.

Curses are specific conditions imposed according to the rules thereof. Each dictates its own terms to a Weakened Hero as well as the means of its removal, however, as with a Taunt, application of Chi Arts can help.

It has been a while since I indulged my ego posting these ideas. Life as ever gets in the way and so the project proceeds slowly, but it at least proceeds. Here is a writeup on one of the Five Heavens; the realms of space that comprise the overall setting of the 10,000 stars:

Qing Azure

Among the worlds of Qing Azure is the home of the Luduan, Righteous Lion Palace. Upon this world once sat the greatest of the courts of the Five Dragon Republic tended by the Dragon Constables whose knowledge of law and duty toward justice was legendary. They had a fearsome reputation for pursuing wrongdoers. During the Chi Wars the Dragon Constables disappeared, presumed killed, as the legal machinery of the Republic fell into chaos. It was the Luduan that preserved their knowledge fostering the rise of the Lion Mandarins. The great writs of the Dragon Constables are stored in the halls of Lion Palace as well as guarded by the Wulin; chief among these learned establishments is the Sovereign Court of the Ten Thousand Stars. These places are still used, at least within Qing Azure, as its courts of law. Beneath the Court is the greatest prison of the realm; under the watchful eye of the Lion Mandarins their greatest foes are incarcerated and indoctrinated in the values of the Dragon Constables and the ways of Law.
It is also home to the Library of the Celestial Mandate, the greatest archive of history (as well as the target for the revision thereof, particularly from the Iron Empire) and culture in the Five Heavens. Its territory encompasses several worlds throughout Qing Azure, all connected by the last known functioning Tien Gate. Travel through this portal, however, requires a certain level of inner mastery. Traditional weapons are forbidden within the Library as the only form of combat not proscribed by the Lion Mandarins These are a local sect of scholars, and members of the Wulin, that protect the Gate and the Library using Writs and their weapons and powerful Kungfu based on oratory, wisdom and philosophy. They have even given the Iron Emperor pause. The sect serves the Azure Magistrates, the council of scholars that now rule Qing Azure. The first Azure Magistrate and the founder of the Lion Mandarins is generally held to be Luduan.
Qing Azure thus breeds the greatest scholars and thinkers; many Lotus Junzi are sent here for education - at least until such time the Iron Emperor can annex Qing Azure for itself. Thus, the realm enjoys a cautious peace with many, as time passes, turning to supporting the cause of the Iron Emperor. The Lion Mandarins oppose this (with many indefatigable considered arguments) as they see the tyranny he brings to a place of learning. The realm has always been a place for the free exchange of ideas and has been a haven for the peaceful exploration of such.
That is not to say it is without an underbelly - the Lion Mandarins are often opposed, within their own borders by the secretive cult known as the Teachers of Darkness. They operate from a permanent underworld haven. Called Opium Moon, this is a planetoid held within a permanent aspect of the Shadow of Feng Du. Opium Moon is and has always been a smuggler's den, but has long been a sanctuary for corruption. It isn't a Hell World - because it doesn't need to be. No Hell World has manifested within Qing Azure throughout it's recorded history.

Quote from: Ian Warner;473144No more stupid than Dilithium.

Well-said. +1

I return to this project thinking that actually different races is a bit...twee (with the exception of robots). I like the idea of giving heroes different abilities (that were ostensibly racial) and thus roles to play - or bonuses for playing a certain role within the party. But the notion of a group of different races just felt a bit too cartoony and even a bit too anime, which isn't what this is about. You don't really see different races in wuxia or even much in the way of that in the mythology of china (other than really weird shit that just wouldn't work). Some settings/mythologies lend themselves very well to this: Hellas makes a good fist of it with centaurs and medusa and such, but china doesn't really have that (other than dragons).
So I devised this, the Chosen of the Dragons:

The Tien, during their reign, knew how to control the five elemental powers - the Celestial Dragons. Their sovereign, the Golden Dragon, mastered these during his lifetime and used them to best the Demon Emperor, Feng Du, finally destroying his mortal form.

Being wise Golden Dragon saw that none, not even an emperor, should cling to power forever. He sublimated his power, his greatest legacy, into the five elemental forms - dragons - we know today, and in doing so transcended the mortal realm. Unfortunately the Tien disputed his wisdom and in coveting the collected power of the elements destroyed themselves. Thus ended the reign of the Tien.

In the modern age there are those marked by Destiny to have the means to tap one of the five elemental powers. They carry within them the technological inheritance of the Golden Emperor through one of the five Dragons. The greatest of these chosen is the Iron Emperor who seeks to control all the elements and seeks to prevent others like him from developing their inheritance.

That inheritance, the technology within their very cells, is known as the Machinery of Joss. It grants the individual power over reality, through their Chi. What the chosen do with this power is entirely up to them.

Those with this mark of destiny are gifted with the means to contact the Heavenfield directly without external hardware. They have the means to call on the Hsien within to serve them using the voice of the Golden Dragon. Chosen are also marked by a greater degree of inner power or mastery. Such individuals are remarkably capable at using Martial, Chi or even Demon Arts.

The Panku Equation remains their greatest weakness: those who know its power or have access to even a portion of it, specifically the shadowy Architects of Panku, have potentially great power over chosen of the Dragons.

So players can have an elemental power themed according to traditional chinese thought, fire, water, wood, metal, earth, the usual. It has a basis in technology (nanotechnology by another name, something I usually avoid because it's too nebulous in an rpg format really). The only problem is that it does sound like midichlorians; the shittest idea in star wars.

Quote from: Ghost Whistler;473758I then discover that's exactly what the Serenity 'verse is. Bummer. Maybe a little creative theft ain't no bad thing.

All art is theft; bad artists copy, good artists steal.

Also, there is more than a little Fading Suns in there with all the mysticism as well.  You could look to that game for some inspiration, perhaps.