Category: Mechanics

The nature of Avatars is remarkably diverse. “Who or What is Playable” defines Avatars as potentially any sentient life form. This includes not only humanoids but also beasts, creatures with evolved minds, and even “gestalts” — composite beings formed from multiple life forms sharing a single consciousness. This diversity implies that Avatars themselves may possess…

One avatar may have up to 10 items attuned to themselves, but an item can only have one person attuned to it. When someone attunes to an item that has been attuned to someone else the former attunement process is broken. The former attuned person can feel when this happens. Most items do not require…

There are two different decks of cards of chance. The red deck is drawn from when a 1 is rolled on a die and the attack fails. These “Failure” cards are dangerous and are negative in nature for you and your allies. The green deck is drawn from when the highest number for the die…

Items may not have an active Immunity below tier 3 and only one Immunity is allowed per item. If an item has an Immunity listed, it is carried forward but ignored until tier 3. If there is more than one immunity listed on an item, the player gets to choose which is active after tier…

A sash is a large and usually colorful ribbon or band of material worn around the body, draping from one shoulder to the opposing hip and back up. More rare are ceremonial sashes that are found in a V-shaped format, draping straight from both shoulders down, intersecting and forming an angle over the chest or…

In the world of Saṃsāra, the concept of “Titles of Power and Skill” serves as a unique form of recognition and empowerment for characters, avatars, and creatures. These titles are more than mere honorifics; they imbue individuals with enhanced capabilities, prestige, and sometimes, specific magical abilities or enhancements to their existing skills. The acquisition and…

This could become gory and should be discussed in session zero to see what the Guide Manager (GM) and players want. This is a highly populated world with a high level of magic. Most creatures live in groups that may become towns, cities, or metropolises. There is a high amount of intermingling between the creatures…

Avatar specifications can be handed out by the Guide Manager (GM) or created by a player. Just know that there is a lot of work to create an Avatar. When the GM hands out Avatars to the players the GM should have at least 3 avatars available for each player to choose from. This ensures…

Use manual entry to set points. You may have a total of 10 points spread across your abilities. This will affect your Saving Throws and Hit Points. Explained further on the character sheet… Remember to fill in your back story and current information. Add information to your back story in your character sheet along with…

This is the background of the reincarnated character. This can be as vague or as detailed as the player wants. The more detailed the information the more fun the player will have with roleplay. This may also be defined over the course of the game. The character fully remembers their former life from anywhere and…

Having a backstory gives you an idea of who your character is and where they come from, and it helps the Guide Manager (GM) think of plot hooks to engage you. Information wanted is who, what, where, and when. This is the in-world life of the character up to the point they began to play.…

The West Marches play style is a specific approach to running a tabletop role-playing game. It was developed by Ben Robbins to address certain issues he encountered in traditional campaign structures. This style emphasizes exploration, player agency, and a dynamic, player-driven narrative. For the world of Saṃsāra here are the key characteristics and principles of…

Saṃsāra has four different time speeds. Two of which are alike (as in can be mixed) but do different things. To provide a more conventional framework for gameplay focus, there are three broader Pillars of Play that align with the game’s evident themes and mechanics:

Items normally have a title name. This can be a duplicate of another name but be different items. Items can be duplicated in exact detail by an artisan capable of doing so. Item information can also be created or falsified to hide what the item can do. Items have tags that may contain naming information.…

The number of slots per avatar is limited by the gods. Long ago a group of the gods decided that it was unfair for an avatar to carry too many items. They then petitioned the rest of the gods to limit what can be worn. Most of the gods agreed and made it so that…

Playable characters (PCs) or Avatars can be any life form, from beasts, creatures, or beings that have evolved a sentient mind. Sentient simply means they are self-aware or conscious. That means they know they think, have knowledge, and are intelligent. In many cases, this can take the form of gestalt. A gestalt is a group…

When attacks are being made the game goes into turn based mode. The order is based on the initiative rolls made by players and foes. Friendly bystanders, or grumpy watchers may not be part of the initiative or turns. This all depends on the dynamics of the situation. They can also be added to the…

Your beginning maximum possible training (skill level) is 5 plus your tier level. You gain a new level of maximum possible training (skill level) for each tier of play. This is the maximum number of points you can put in any one skill. You gain a new training point for each day of downtime. This…

A player may only have a single character with one or multiple avatars. Until you have 6 (non-held) tear-1 items that are attuned you may not level up to the next tier. When you have 10 attuned items you must level up. Only after you are tier-2 can you activate a tear-2 item.Until you have…

Avatars are strong when close to the rest of the party. When in a party a member of a party may use tier die depending upon the tear level they have reached. This is character based but passed on to the avatar when rolling for attacks. Teir Level Dice used 1 1d4 2 2d6 3…

In combat the current attacker can announce they are going to target a worn or carried item of a foe. By doing so the item is harder to hit. The items AC becomes the target characters AC plus their tier level plus the roll of their tier die. If the item is hit It is…

Benefits or abilities of items are not usable when in extradimensional storage. Personal: Only accessible by an avatar of the character. If the storage is turned inside out the contents will be emptied. No time passes in personal storage. If a lit candle is put in personal extradimensional storage, then when it is taken out…

If any items in the list below were missing on the avatar when it was first possessed the character receives the missing items from the following:

When the character is tier 1, they dominate 100% of the avatar’s soul which they have possessed. When the character is tier 2, they dominate 50% (on average) each of the 2 avatars souls which they have possessed. When the character is tier 3, they dominate 33% (on average) each of the 3 avatars souls…

Are based on a percentage of chance using the following formula. 10 times characters tier level.Plus, roll a d20.Plus, roll characters tier die.Plus characters skill level, (both trained and temporary). This gives an absolute minimum of 12% = (10+1+1+0) for tier 1.Also gives an absolute maximum of 102% = (50+20+12+20) for tier 5. If two…

If a character attempts something where the outcome is uncertain and failure has consequences, they make a saving throw, or “save”. If the Difficulty Check (DC) is specified for the save in question, then use that number. Otherwise, to make a saving throw, add the bonus of the relevant ability to a d20. If the…

There are levels of safety in different areas. This is for all characters including foes. Designated safe areas:In a designated safe area AC is tripled. This is in guarded areas. Most places that rent rooms are guarded areas. Somewhat save areas:In a somewhat safe area AC is doubled. This is normal inside a walled town…

Roll to hit is a d20 + tier dice + (item bonuses if any). Minimum at tier 1 is 1d20 + 1d4 = 2.Minimum at tier 2 is 1d20 + 2d6 = 3.Minimum at tier 3 is 1d20 + 3d8 = 4.Minimum at tier 4 is 1d20 + 4d10 = 5.Minimum at tier 5 is…

In the world of Saṃsāra, renown points are a measure of a party’s reputation, recognition, and accomplishments within the realm. Renown points are like another type of currency that can be used in the world. Renown points represent how well-known and respected a party is among various factions, communities, and individuals. These points reflect the…

If you possess an item that grants you the ability to execute a reaction during another player’s turn, you are restricted to using one such reaction per turn cycle that does not belong to you. This means that you may use one reaction for each player’s turn. Additional reactions may only be taken prior to…