Design Goals
Rules aimed towards Equal Opportunity
The core goal of this game is that every character should have equal opportunity for play regardless of their stats. Stats are not a measure of importance — they are a direction. Each set of stats directs a character toward one of the three main facets of the game:
- Shadows; knowledge, perception, and secrets.
- Strings; politics, resources, and social leverage.
- Strength; physical dominance, combat, and raw expression of the Beast.
Note that even being weak in a facet grants play in bartering for what you need with what you have.
Setting with Many Openings
The setting is designed to produce a fractured and dynamic political landscape. Many characters should be able to be activated by the same event, each pulling on a different thread and in the direction of their loyalties.
This serves two purposes:
- It lets players and Storytellers collaborate in spreading play fairly across the whole table without sacrificing immersion.
- It makes the world feel alive and reactive, where power is genuinely contested and no single approach dominates.