“It was from out the rind of one apple tasted that the knowledge of good and evil as two twins cleaving together leaped forth into the world. And perhaps this is that doom that Adam fell into of knowing good and evil, that is to say, of knowing good by evil.”
-John Milton

By now I can almost guarantee that some of you are starting to get impatient. I can almost picture you, twiddling your thumbs or glancing at your watch. “Rain. That’s nice. Writer’s block. Too bad. Interesting setting stuff. Yes, yes, that’s all nice, but when are we going to see some more rules!” If that is the case, then be of good cheer. Today I am going to discuss more game mechanics.

Before we begin I feel that I ought to state a simple game design principle. It is simply this: creating mechanics for a game element places emphasis on it. Therefore, since D&D creates detailed mechanics for combat, D&D games tend to emphasize combat. Little Fears has mechanics for Innocence in order to place the game emphasis on it. The corollary to this principle is this: do not create mechanics for an element that you do not wish to emphasize. Therefore, Little Fears does not have skill lists, and D&D does not incorporate detailed hit location charts. Those elements would detract from the design goals of the game. So how have we applied this to Alyria?

First, I will touch on what we have not included in Alyria. There are no hit points in Alyria. In fact, there is no damage mechanism at all. There is no skill list. Character effectiveness is defined purely in terms of the attributes Force, Insight, and Determination. There are no levels or skill points. Adjustments to the attributes are done when desired by the player with approval of the Narrator.

Why have we done this? Remember the principle. If Alyria is about moral conflict, why do we need to worry about any of the items that I mentioned? They will only get in the way of our design goal, so they have to go. Otherwise they will just clutter up the design and prevent the system for achieving a measure of elegance.

However, this process cannot merely be negative, only throwing away non-critical elements. Instead, the elements that are included must support the design goal of the game. I have already shown you how the system of Virtue and Traits is used to focus game play on moral conflict. Now I am able to explain Inspiration and Corruption to you.

By definition, every character in Alyria is trapped in a moral struggle. Good and evil are pulling at him with varying levels of success. The hold that good or evil has on a character is represented by Inspiration and Corruption, which are measured by two separate meters on the character sheet. As a character experiences good or performs good deeds, his Inspiration meter increases. Conversely, as a character experiences evil or performs evil deeds, his Corruption meter increases. Fairly simple, right?

However, these two meters have a profound effect on the game. The first effect is the simplest. Each meter gives a guide to the player as to how to portray his character’s moral growth or decay. If a character’s Corruption outmatches his Inspiration, then he is beginning the downward spiral. If his Inspiration is higher, however, then he is striving upwards towards good.

Secondly, Inspiration and Corruption can be used to cancel each other. A character can reduce his Inspiration or Corruption by spending points from the other meter. This is fairly significant, as I will explain later.

Thirdly, Inspiration and Corruption act as the metagame resource. If the Narrator calls for a die roll to resolve a scene, a player may instead choose to burn a point of Inspiration or Corruption to resolve the scene without rolling. If Inspiration is used, the scene resolves in a way that strengthens Good. If Corruption is used, Evil is stronger because of the events of the scene.

Fourthly, Inspiration and Corruption act as the character development system. Inspiration can be spent on increasing good Traits or weakening evil ones, with Corruption having the opposite effect. Also, if one of the meters fills up, all the points are spent on shifting Virtue in the appropriate direction (e.g. more good for Inspiration, more evil for Corruption).

Finally, Inspiration and Corruption act as a “plot point” system, allowing players to add new elements to the storymap. Spending Corruption on the new element will make it an evil element. Perhaps a nemesis arises against the character. Inspiration, however, will provide a good element. Maybe an old friend finds the character and decides to offer his aid.

Quite a bit wrapped into one rules system, isn’t it? However, I think that it is most appropriate and produces effects precisely in keeping with the overall goal of portraying moral conflict in Alyria. To explain this, I am going to use Frodo from Lord of the Rings for several examples.

The easiest example, of course, is Frodo’s carrying the Ring. As the quest continues, the temptation to claim the Ring grows ever stronger. This would definitely be a constant influx of Corruption into Frodo. Left unchecked, eventually this evil would overcome him. We even see the Trait of selfishness for the Ring developing in Frodo. In other words, he bought this Trait with some of the Corruption that he was earning from carrying the Ring. So why did he not submit altogether?

The answer, in part, is the ministrations of Sam, who faithfully follows his master and cares for him, even in the darkest pit of Mordor. This provides Frodo with Inspiration, which he was using to cancel out some of the Corruption that he was earning. His time is Lorien or with the Rangers of Ithilien probably provided him with Inspiration as well.

What of Gollum himself? Certainly he was involved in the story earlier, but could not his joining the party be seen as adding an element to the storymap? Again, Frodo spends Corruption and Inspiration to create this new story complication.

I trust that these examples clarify my intent with this system. Inspiration and Corruption are not secondary matters, tossed into the mix as extras. They are central to the development of the characters and the flow of the plot.

And that’s it. No, really, that’s it. There is nothing more to tell about the system. I have covered everything. Attributes, Traits, Virtue, Inspiration and Corruption. That’s all. You now have the full overview of the entire Diverse Lunacy system.

I will bet that some of you are looking at this and thinking that I am crazy. “That’s not enough to run a game,” you are thinking. “What about the Blessing? What about that wacky Keeper technology stuff? The dragons do stuff, right? How is that covered in the rules? I don’t think that this Diverse Lunacy stuff is going to cut it.” Be honest with yourself. These thoughts flashed through the minds of several of you. I can guarantee it. All I can say to you is this: you’re looking at it the wrong way.

By definition rules constrain. They set boundaries and parameters, saying, “Thou shalt…” or “Thou shalt not…” The rewards and punishments that they establish guide our actions. Having some rules is good, as it gives structure to our lives. Too many rules, though, stifle possibilities and set up a tyranny. This is just the same in a roleplaying game. I wonder if gamers think that having lots of rules in their games opens up more possibilities. Rather, I think that having lots of rules closes possibilities, stifling options and forcing all actions into a predefined mold. If the action does not fit, then it cannot be done.

So when you look at Diverse Lunacy, do not see formless confusion or minimalist nonsense. Instead, see freedom. We have defined some boundaries to structure your game play, but within the lines there is freedom. Look around. The possibilities are endless. Spread your wings and fly.