Uncouth

Uncouth is a variant of Exalted by Wordman that keeps much of the systems intact, but entirely replaces charms with something more manageable. Even without charms (hence the name), Uncouth still allows a flexible method of generating most of the style of Exalted. Using the Munchkin card game as part of its inspiration, this system provides a way of mixing and matching effects into tests, providing a much smaller set of special rules than thousands of charms.

Within these pages, the word "Uncouth" refers specifically to the system described here, while "Exalted" specifically means the "canonical Exalted system".

Progress

These pages are about 80% done, but likely won't get updated much more.

They are in decent enough shape to playtest with at this point, though some specifics still need to be filled in. Almost no playtesting has been done. (If you want to give them a shot and report the results, see theUncouth/Playtesting page.)

These rules will likely be updated a bit when the Infernals book comes out and a lot when Graceful Wicked Masques is released. Comments will probably also create situations where the Examples section will get more love. Otherwise apart from minor revisions, only real playtesting will cause any more work to be done on this idea.

Terms

Uncouth uses specific definitions for certain elements of its rules, and tries to make sure that these terms are only used in that specific way in the rules. These include:

• action: how the character spends his or her moment.
• attack: largely a synonym for test.
• boon: a specific mechanical alteration that can be made to a test or defense. Boons are learned in association with a given Trait to form an effect.
• break: describes an attempt to "shake off" a mental effect.
• defense value or DV: a number that opposes a test.
• effect: a magical trick that a character knows, usually used to enhance a test or a defense. Each effect combines a trait, a boon and a rank.
• exclusive: an type of boon that cannot be stunted.
• intensity: a measure of how much much concentration (i.e. Willpower) is required by a supernatural metal effect.
• moment: the tick on which a character takes an action.
• primary effects: the set of effects a character can use within a single cycle, without having to pay extra for activation.
• rank: a measure of how long a character can make an effect last.
• secondary effects: any effects activated in a single cycle that are not primary effects. These cost extra to activate.
• sphere: a method of tracking time, in which time passes in ticks of a fixed duration. Play can, and often does, exist within multiple spheres at once.
• subtlety: a measure of how much the target notices a supernatural mental effect.
• tenacity: a measure of how easily a target may break a supernatural mental effect.
• test: a single roll of a dice pool.
• tick: the smallest resolution of time within a sphere.
• threat: a rating measuring the number of effects to which an entity has access.
• threshold: the number of successes remaining after the defense value is subtracted from the successes generated by a test.

Outline

The following chapters describe the Uncouth rules variant:

• Uncouth/Mechanics details the basic mechanical concept of the game, and details on how it is brought to bear in various ways.
• Uncouth/Combat offers a simplified version of Exalted combat, some changes meant to mesh with the replacement for charms, some meant to address weaknesses within Exalted's combat system.
• Uncouth/Effects replace charms, and this chapter shows how.
• Uncouth/Stunts are more versatile and important.
• Uncouth/Character considerations are mostly the same as Exalted, with a few variations.
• Uncouth/Paths address the other "specialty" types of magic, such as sorcery, shapeshifting, astrology, etc.
• Uncouth/Analysis holds various number crunching done on the mechanics, consider it an appendix.
• Uncouth/Playtesting contains reports on playtesting. Feel free to add to it.

Comments

Please leave any comments about this system here, and none on the sub-pages.

I like your partitioning of charm effects. This catalog could be useful for charm building, even if one didn't want to change the system over entirely. I see that by this system, a Solar could have an Intrinsically Perfect Ability at essence 9. Is there a way to defeat such a person? - IanPrice

Should there be? I'll need to think on that. A slightly less flippant answer is: use effects that don't rely on damage. One way to prevent such a thing would be to arrange it such that an effect like that requires Essence 11 to attain (i.e. not possible). This would mean raising either the "Essence" rating of the ranks, or the Perfect ability, or both. Once I get the text tightened up a bit more, I'll play with the numbers better. By the way, re: the "catalog" you mention, try CharmTypes2E for something more generic. - Wordman

There should probably be a way to explain why the Primordials could possibly be defeated, why the Solar Deliberative ever fell, why the Deathlords can ever fail at anything, why Sol Invictus, God of Perfection isn't immune to the Games of Divinity's lure... etc. Many of those beings seem likely to have Intrinsically Perfect Everything, if designed using Uncouth. Perfection is a tricky design concept, which must be applied narrowly, or the system becomes less fun to play with. - IanPrice

A slight cop out here by adding arbitrary rank limits to Perfects. Probably makes the game funner, though. - Wordman