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SystemChangeIntroductionEvery game world has some little idiosyncrasy that changes a rule here or there in the roleplaying system that is used to run games in that campaign world. Sharna is no different in this manner, and most of the differences are really minor or just things to differentiate Sharna from Thirteen, the default Anime RPG campaign world. Rules DifferencesImprovisationThe biggest rules difference on Sharna is that unrestricted improvisation is forbidden. As a result of this, all characters (including non-player characters) on Sharna are Type-I or Type-II characters. A Type-I character is a character that mostly uses example abilities from the rules. Most new players make Type-I characters and they are generally considered a bit less versitile and more cookie-cutter than other types of characters. A Type-II character is a character that mostly makes up their own abilities, at least some of which are entirely new. Most players make Type-II characters after they get used to the system with Type-I characters, and some new players familiar with other roleplaying systems may jump right in to a Type-II character. In the standard Anime RPG system, improvisation is considered the hallmark of the Type-III character, in which you make up your abilities as the need arises. Improvisation is typically expensive in some manner (time-expensive, energy-expensive, or both typically) but allows a character to possibly handle any situation one could throw at them. Most veteran players primarily play Type-III characters, and nearly all high level characters outside of Sharna are Type-III. However, Sharna is primarily used online or in games with players new to the system. With online playing, improvisational abilities take a very large amount of real time to use and tend to slow down an already slow game, and new players should be heavily discouraged from making Type-III characters anyway. Also, this Evil EM had noticed that practically all high level characters (NPC and PC) were Type-III characters and wondered what a high level Type-II character battle would be like. Thus, when the system changed from the Returner's Final Fantasy RPG (where there was no improvisation to begin with) to Antimerus' Anime RPG system, I kept in the improvisational restriction. Any characters coming in from another campaign world where Improvisational Abilities are allowed would need to temporarily swap out the improvisational abilities with something more static. This does not mean that improvisation is impossible, however; only improvisational abilities are restricted. For instance, the example Illusion spell is a multi-use spell that defines what it does and not what it could be used for. One could use the Illusion spell to make someone think they were about to be eaten by a flying shark to make them run away - this is improvisation, but not an improvisational ability. Scan and other spellsThe Scan spell is a throwback to the roleplaying system Sharna had been run under in the past. When I had thought about cause and effect in Sharna, one of the biggest things that amused me was the Final Fantasy Scan spell. This spell gave HP, MP, Level, Class, Status Effects, Strengths, and Weaknesses. In a world where this spell exists, the medical field would be revolutionized - you instantly knew if something was wrong with the person being checked out. You could outright find out if a random monster/person was stronger than you and you actually knew your precise limits on what you could and couldn't do. Such a spell would dramatically change a world, especially with how low level the spell was in Final Fantasy, and I reflected that in Sharna. When it came time to change systems, I didn't want to give up that spell, even though it wouldn't be a valid spell in the Anime RPG system. So, I made it one. Detailed stats on the Scan spell can be found on the Meta Scan page. If a Sharna character goes on an adventure outside of Sharna, ask the EM if you need to swap out your Scan spell(s). Other common spells on Sharna can be found here. LanguagesIn the default world of Thirteen, there is only one language - Japanese. It is supposed to be an anime, after all. However, that didn't fit the world that I had already set up - people spoke different languages and even the "common" language wasn't necessarily the same everywhere in the world. On top of it, "Ancient Languages" and "Obscure Languages" were existing skills on Thirteen, and that wasn't the way I wanted to run Sharna. Sharna instead has a non-combat skill for each language. Proficient is good enough to be able to read and write the language, and the skill must be either bought at level 1 or you'd have to have some exposure to the language (buying a self-help book on learning a language would count). In addition, each PC starts with two language skills for free - the Regional Language (defined by what continent you come from) and the Local Language (defined by what country you come from); if these two languages are the same, you get one free language from a neighboring country. In essence, this is how Dungeons and Dragons handles languages (except they base the two languages on race instead of ethnicity). An interesting side effect of this method is that it is entirely possible to have a Human born in Cencilia, learning Elven and probably Dwarven, and never actually learning their own native language. Two languages are considered special - Impish and Moogle. These languages are psionic languages and thus do not have both a verbal and physical component to them. Moogles use sound and psionics to communicate, thus do not actually need to see each other or text in any way. Yes, this means that Moogles essentially "write" in invisible ink. Imps use physical movement and psionics to communicate, thus do not actually need to make any sounds at all. Yes, this means that Imps can communicate while sneaking with no issues. The two races can also understand each others language marginally, as both languages were based on the same root (and neither realize it). However, Moogles always feel that anyone speaking in Impish is being horribly rude and monotonous in whatever they are doing (a side effect of not being able to hear inflection) and Imps always feel that anyone speaking in Moogle are speaking extremely slowly and any sublty or double meanings in the speech are lost (a side effect of not being able to see alternate meanings). They are unable to comprehend each others' written forms. Proficiency in these skills can only be obtained at level 1 or if taught to you by someone with the Teaching skill (at full price). If a character coming in from an outside campaign world doesn't use the Sharnan language system, they are considered proficient in the regional and local language of the place they arrive at (even if that makes no sense). If they have the Ancient Languages skill, they also learn the ancient dilect of the same language. If they have the Obscure Languages skill, they learn Moogle. If a Sharnian character goes on an adventure outside of Sharna, consider the character Proficient at Obscure Languages if they know three languages, Well Practiced if they know four or five, Expert if they know six or seven, and a Master if they know eight or more. Treat the character as knowing Japanese. Background and non-rules changesCurrencyUnlike Thirteen, nearly all of Sharna uses the same currency - Gil. However, nothing in the Anime RPG rules lists Gil as a currency conversion. Although it wouldn't exactly be easy to find a currency conversion shop for most of these currencies, a rough currency conversion table is below:
Starting Funds:
Starting Non-Combat SkillEach country on Thirteen had its own starting skill. The same can be said of Sharna. Check the relevant country listing in the Geography section for what each country offers. RaceAlthough there are no mechanical differences between races (with one exception), choosing a race is very important on Sharna, as it will change preconceived perceptions about your character depending on where you are. Common Weaknesses and Elemental ImmunitiesThe six classical elements (Fire-Heat / Air-Wind / Water-Ice / Earth / Darkness / Light) are all considered Common for the purposes of weaknesses on Sharna, as would Evil, Metal, Magic, and Wood. Guns would only be considered a common weakness in countries of the Renaissance tech level up to the Cybernetic tech level, uncommon otherwise. Holy would only be considered common in the Spirit Domain, uncommon otherwise. A weakness to any of the common races (Dwarf, Elf, Human, Zard) plus Imp and Kassandra would be considered common. A weakness to any of the other races except Taurian, Esper, and Dragon are considered uncommon, the rest are rare. Elemental weaknesses and immunities are FAR more common on Sharna than in a normal Anime RPG game, and most characters have one (along with most enemies). Unique RaceNone of the races in the wiki beyond Dragon, Taurian, and Yeel could count as a unique race. Taurians and Yeel can only count as a Unique race for a Sharna non-space campaign. ClassClasses are just a simple one to two word generalization of your abilities. The Anime RPG system doesn't have classes normally, and I just have them because of the Scan spell. Unlike class-based RPGs, your class does not define you - in fact, you define your class. Someone that uses a sword and has a lot of weapon maneuvers would probably have the class "Swordmaster", for instance, but his class of Swordmaster doesn't prevent him from casting spells if he had the relevant skills. Magical CategoriesSome characters have restricted magical casting abilities - for instance, a character whose spells are restricted to defense/restoration. For ease of terms, I've just called that "White Magic" (based off of the old FFRPG). All spells fall into one of the magical categories. For 99% of the casters in the game, this means absolutely nothing with no rules change whatsoever. Armor CategoriesInstead of grouping armor into "metal" and "not metal", I have armor grouped into "Light", "Medium", and "Heavy", more like how Dungeons and Dragons 3.x has them grouped. To my knowledge, no EM has had a problem with separating it this way instead, so this is really only a distinction between characters made for Sharna and characters made for elsewhere and not really a rules change. A disadvantage restricting a category of armor grants 2 SP per category. Equipment ListsI have specialized equipment lists for each country that will be linked inside of the country profile on the Geography page. It isn't yet though, namely because this EM is lazy. You can still use the standard one in the rules, it just means that the numbers will be all funky due to currency conversions. ContinuityContinuity on Sharna is kind of like a college student refusing free pizza. Sure, it could happen at some point, but no one has ever seen it happen. Player characters do not age unless if they have an ability or disadvantage saying that they do. Even though Imp lifespans are dramatically shorter than Elven lifespans, you gain no advantage or disadvantage from this. Sharna's in-game time progresses at the same rate as real life, so if a year has passed in real life, a year has passed on Sharna. Of course, time is ignored perpetually whenever appropriate (for instance, if there is a two part adventure where the second part is supposed to occur immediately after the first but there is a two week real-time gap between, we ignore that gap ever existing) and even when not appropriate (there is a good chance that the fourteen year old leader of Goug will be fourteen forever, even though she was fourteen during a war that happened three years ago). Also, events on Sharna happen FAR more frequently and faster than they would on Earth or really in any other RPG. A beast that has been trapped for a thousand years to be released at the start of a videogame would probably have only been held for about three or four years on Sharna. Kingdoms rise and fall within a year and a nation can go from being early Industrial Age to setting off their first nuclear weapon within three months. This may not be normal for Earth or any other RPG, but it is perfectly normal for Sharna. Why? Really simple - a boring campaign world leads to a boring campaign. Sharna is meant to be anything BUT boring. As players, just ignore time, it is significantly easier. |