Advanced Mechanics, 'Naked' Playtest Edition

The Scattershot mechanics are designed in 5 variations; hands-free, basic, intermediate (aka tournament), advanced, and collectible cards.

In this game, you create a persona (or milieu, if you're the gamemaster). The relationships and interactions between these is the play of Scattershot. Spoken word and imaginary interactions are the whole of play. Good gamesmanship is closely related to teamwork.

There are 4 levels of play in Scattershot; solitaire, general, basic and mechanical. As you become familiar with these mechanics, you will find the transition between the levels becoming an unconscious process and that the other players will know implicitly which is currently at play.

Solitaire play is when you play apart from your group. You can make only changes and decisions about the stuff you 'own' (and within reason), usually your persona. Dice are rarely used; when they are it is only to create extra detail. You could even roll up a whole persona, if you wish.

Basically, you play your persona through a series of integrated, hypothetical situations involving the other players, overseen by the gamemaster (in his milieu). The point of view of your persona is the context you play from. The circumstances and relationships to other persona, props and the milieu are what frames your hypothetical thinking. Your persona will also interact with the background and props implicitly (using Scattershot's mechanics to augment the results).

The most basic way to make a persona is to idealize it's sine qua non. From wherever you derive your inspiration, try to think of the most basic and necessary components of this persona. Focus on those aspects that would significantly alter the persona if you took them away; the rest is all detail. The K.I.S.S. principle in Scattershot is 'Keep It Simple and Share'.

An easy mnemonic for sine qua non is '3 up / 3 down'. This means you should write down the first three things you want people to think of about your persona and then write down the last three things you want them to forget. When you have time, share these with the other people in the game before you write everything up. You'll find that people will enjoy helping make your persona better and it prevents them from accidentally writing up something too similar; it also helps keep the persona fitting in the milieu too (even if the milieu must change for it).

The best thing to start a persona with is a simple description. Use any creative outlet you like (drawings, photos, prose, lists, et cetera) and make a simple illustration on the top of your persona write-up. Keep your sine qua non in mind, but try to make it more fluid and intriguing.

Most aspects of a Scattershot persona are represented by rating numbers or rating degrees. Many ratings will come with a base number; this is a starting point for your persona's ability in that realm. When you raise a rating by 1 point, it costs 1 development point. If you increase the degree of a rating, it will also cost you a development point. Likewise, if you wish to lower a rating or degree by 1, it also costs a development point.

There are also a number of optional ratings (such as skills, advantages, disadvantages and abilities) which will cost development points to add to your persona write-up; once purchased these will provide a base number for their rating. The number of optional ratings you can take is unlimited.

There are no limits on the number of development points available for persona creation. Likewise, the gamemaster is not allowed to restrict them. Players can certainly get together and form development point cost challenges or other agreements, but cannot be held to them. If you choose to use significantly more development points than any other player, first consider how that will make them feel; have good gamesmanship win out in the end.

Next you need to make a space on your write-up for the persona's ratings. These measure the capacities and actions they will do with Scattershot's mechanics.

Ratings are either numeric, measuring magnitude, efficacy or resources or they are 'direct', representing advantages, disadvantages or 'character' (notable details) about the persona.

There are 6 statistics every persona has. When creating your persona's statistics you start with base number of 10.

This is a measure of the raw muscle-power magnitude of the persona. Many actions are limited by how much strength a persona has.

This is a measure of the untrained physical prowess / efficacy of the persona. Success at more risky physical actions is determined with this stat.

This is simply a measure of the 'fight left in ya' as a resource statistic. It also suggests the health of the persona.

This is a rating of the persona's 'response time' or timing as an efficacy measure.

A persona's ability to gather the relevant information available (to their senses) is measured for its efficacy by this stat. The amount searched in one 'action' is also measured by the magnitude of this stat (on UE chart, more later).

This is a unique statistic, used alternatively as the magnitude measure of a persona's special abilities or as a resource spent using them.

These are optional efficacy ratings for specific actions a persona is capable of. These ratings may make use of a statistic as a limitation of magnitude. Each degree comes at a different cost:

Talents and training are purchased in the same way (after which all are combined). The difference is only in the persona's description.

These are based on the Power stat (using the UE Chart for magnitude).

These flashy superhuman abilities have narrowly defined effects (see list) and use no power expenditure. There are fairly simple mechanics for customization and create of these.

These thematically restricted, supernatural effects expend Power (as a resource); they can create any effect imaginable.

These discrete, magical abilities are reusable like any skill and require on Power expenditure.

Each advantage or disadvantage is a persona-specific, special efficacy or deficiency (frequently with residual modifiers). They act as ways to receive experience dice (rewards for the player) and creatively limit play. Advantages often come from a persona's origins, precipitating events, drives, kharma or fate. Others are kept secret to form mystiques and create intrigue during play. They can also act as modifiers bonuses or penalties, rated by situational variables.

More mechanics-based than the persona description, 'character' is the things that help in terms of developing or evolving your persona and each issue of Scattershot will contain many genre specific mechanics for this. Anything that embellishes who your persona is within the scope of the game but didn't cost any development points is also 'character'. As things occur to your persona in play making small but noticeable changes, you will note them between scenes in the 'character' section of your write-up (because, after all, role-playing builds 'character'). So called 'free' skills are also listed in the character section because of their reduced cost (which reflects their reduced importance in play).

These are not priced as usual skills because of their limited opportunity or usability. You can buy from this 'laundry list' at the rate of up to 5 Free Skills for each development point spent. The starting level of each Free Skill is given on the skill lists. Any increases are at normal cost, but push these skills up into the usual skills section.

More to come!