What is New Game+?

New Game+ is the code name for our newest campaign as well as a new system we will develop here as a Guild. This will become the cornerstone upon which the Guild will rise and grow.

Why are we creating our own system when there are so many good ones out there?

I agree that there are a lot of amazing systems out there and D&D will always be near and dear to my heart. However, we have witnessed enough drama in the TTRPG space to last us the rest of our lives. I want to create a system tailored to us and what we want to do. I have had the privilege of playing many amazing systems under many amazing game masters and I have taken all of my favorite aspects of them and reshaped them into something that will fit the idea I have for our games.

Additionally, the mechanics of each system are good for what they each focus on but are not always great at being adapted to different areas they were not meant to focus on. Take for instance Call of Cthulhu’s combat system. Since the game was not meant to focus on combat except in very specific and preplanned situations, it doesn’t give a ton of options. Dungeons and Dragons has a very slow combat system. It can take several minutes per player in very tense and strategic situations because it gives a plethora of options between all the classes but without coordinating with table talk, one character’s actions could completely mess up what another player was going to do and it drags it out. This can be corrected with homebrewing but if we are already homebrewing why not start from the being and build up from there?

What is this system going to be like and focus on?

This system is going to be my answer to the, I want to play a character from “x” universe in a TTRPG format. With the increasing popularity of the Isekai genre of anime, the rise and subsequent fall of many amazing MMO’s, and the amazing literature and games that have come out in the fantasy space, I want to capitalize on that and create something that will allow for those characters to come to life in a game or be a place where someone can envision themselves escaping the real world and interacting with something completely new and unique.

This system will allow for limitless character customization through the use of skill trees as opposed to classes. This will feel a little like Skyrim in the way you can choose to play as someone who uses offensive magic while wearing plate armor like a fireball shooting tank, or a true support character focusing on crafting items for your allies and using healing and buffing magic in combat while staying hidden with stealth abilities. This will be the most challenging aspect of the system in balancing these abilities but I feel it is doable.

So what is the campaign going to be about?

(TLDR: It depends on your character's origin but over all. Main Plot - You are trying to stabilize the world by venturing out to the Anomalous Zones and anchoring them. Sub Plots - Too many to name, just as the world is being created so is the campaign. If you can think it, you can do it here. You choose if you will place as an NPC-style character, as a player within the world, or as a real person stuck in this world.)

The world is in the process of being created and is unstable. Since you are an inhabitant of this world currently you need to help shape the world and make it adhere to some form of logic (or not, it’s completely up to you.) You will also be in the middle of a power struggle between the Guilds and the Noble Houses. Most adventurers join one of the smaller factions within these two powerful groups and use the support that they provide to propel themselves forward. There is a third group called the Independents or Indies but they are without many of the resources that the major factions provide.

The world is infinite and ever-changing. You can seek to take control of an anomaly for yourself or your faction and tip the balance of power or plumb the depth of these Anomalies for objects of reality-breaking power. Knowledge that is so forbidden it cannot be comprehended by normal minds lies within tomes written by the hands of those from another realm of existence. Magics and Technologies from the ancient past, as well as the distant future, lie within the anomalies. You may even be lucky enough to stumble upon a dungeon from your nostalgic youth breaking the 4th wall in a way that will give your character a distinctive edge while fear grips you from knowing what lies at the end.

That is what this campaign is going to be about. The limitless possibilities of a cocreated world built for the sake of having fun and creating a memorable story.

That sounds great, give me a lore dump.

The campaign is going to kick off in the capital city of Az’mar. This world is in the process of being created. A powerful force of unknown origin seems to be systematically creating the world around you trying many countless combinations of environments and locations until deciding on one that fits perfectly. However, as with all things, nothing is perfect. With help from those who brave the chaotic and dangerous expanses of the Half-Made, and the Unmade Lands, those Anomaly Zones and be anchored and shaped into something inhabitable and safe.

This is extremely important not only for the obvious reasons of safety but also because this world is a refuge for many who were displaced from their worlds. Since this world was created, people have been appearing through portals with no way to return to the place they were once from. The vast majority of the people who founded the city of Az’mar came from another world that was on the brink of destruction. It was only through the collective efforts of the greatest mages, the most brilliant inventors, and the powerful members of the Noble Houses and the Guilds that they were able to escape before the entirety of the world and its people were lost. While it is rare, there are still those who are escaping from the world of Arcanum and appear in Az’mar despite it being more than 200 years since the original exodus.

You will be playing someone who has found themselves within this world. Here is the 4th wall breaking part, you can either play as a character within this world who is experiencing this as any other good roleplaying player would. Or, you could play as someone who is entering this game as an MMO player would. You are the mind controlling the character.

Your character will be from 1 of 3 possible origins (currently.) These options are NPC, MMO Alpha, and Isekai.

• NPC - the typical TTRPG character. You have a backstory and have lived in this world, or another world and ended up here, your whole life. There is no meta-connection between the Player and the Character.

• MMO Alpha - You work for a game company, or won early access to the game, or are playing a leaked version of this game. The game was created using a team of very advanced AI and a dedicated team of game devs, authors, artists, and other experts. As part of the agreement to play this game, you cannot break character while in the game or your access will be terminated. Plus the characters in the game will likely just write you off as a crazy conspiracy character shouting about the world be a simulation… sound familiar?

• Isekai - You are stuck in the game. Either your VR set malfunctioned, you died while playing, you were struck by Truck-kun after playing the game and were still thinking about it, whatever it may be. You are You in the game and either are in your current body, or the body of the avatar you made as an MMO Alpha. Regardless you have a deeper and more intimate connection to the game and it’s functions. You would be seen as a bug in the game if it were to ever come to light.