Game Chef 2012 - Why do I do this to myself

This is what I've got so far. It's 1k words and now that it's out maybe I'll pretty it up before the deadline, but whatever. It is what it is. Introduction Magic is everywhere. It’s in the air you breathe, the water you drink, and in your fellow human being no matter where they are on the continent. Sometimes, it will bring out the darkest part of your soul and you’ll find yourself cut off from half of your power. You are one of those unfortunate mages who has lost their shadow, and must undo the damage that has done. You must heal any wounds that have been caused, relationships that have been strained and the magic that has gone awry. Character Creation 1. Cut out all the necessary cards A. 1 Character Card per player B. 30 Spells Cards C. 10 Location Cards D. 10 NPC Cards E. 5 Item Cards F. 5 Shadow Cards 2. Create your character A. Add a name B. Choose Three Disciplines (Necromancy, Elemental, Nature, Spiritual, Healing), one at rating 3, one at rating 2, one at rating 1. C. Spend 4 points on your Offense and Defense D. Write down one trait that describes you. 3. Draw 5 Cards Turns 1. Draw a card from the pile 2. Fill out and/or Play a card A. There is an order. Locations need to be played before NPCs can be played, and NPCs need to be played before Items can be played. B. If you are playing a Blank Card, fill in the appropriate details as listed in the card section. 3. Attack. Pick a character you are “attacking” and describe a scene with them in it. You have control of any NPCs or Locations you play, unless someone takes control of the location. 4. The player can talk about what they want to do, other players may join the scene as well but they give the attacked player final control over what happens to that character. Any allies may use skills or items that they control. 5. Any scenes are resolved, status are changed and play goes to the left. Filling out cards 1. Filling out Locations Locations need the following information filled out. These will be the various places that your mages will come across. You’ll tend to want to make them as connected as possible, so if there are a lot of jungle places, putting arctic places next to it would make less sense. You can do it, just realize that you’re a jerk unless you’ve got a reason for it. Note the VALUE of a location marks its importance to the story. A. Name of Locations B. What type of location is it (City, Village, Forest, Swamp) this is just one or two words to describe the place. C. What Magics get a bonus here D. Problem that’s going on E. Splitting points (found in the bottom right corner of the card) between Off/Def Note: Locations should only have OFF value if there is something dangerous about the place itself. 2. Filling out NPCs NPCs have the following information filled out. These are the people you will be playing. They have a variety of statuses and that can impact how they react. However, while you maintain possession, you ultimately control the reaction of those NPCs. Note the VALUE of an NPC marks its importance to the story. A. Name of NPC B. Description of NPC, a one or two word description of the NPC C. Affinity for one Magic Type D. A Secret 3. Filling out Spells Spell cards need the following information filled out for them. Spells are like skills. If you can’t narratively come to a conclusion, you may use a spell to act as a skill in the game. You can also have the spell have an extra effect A. Name of Spell B. Type of Magic C. Effect of the Spell, you can have as many effects as levels of the spell. Any unused effects count as a bonus. You don’t need any extra effects as long as the spell name is like a skill. If Majority of other players don’t like the spell, the effects or that use of it, they can counter your spell and it is wasted. 4. Filling out Shadows You don’t. All Shadow cards are already filled out before the game. 5. Filling out Items Items are artifacts that you find in the game. You can put Items on a location, and a character can then look for things at that location if every it’s attacked in that location. The VALUE of an Item marks its importance to the story. A. Name of Item B. Two Word Description C. Special Ability (Note it can’t have special abilities greater than its value). Resolving Conflicts If you can’t narratively resolve a conflict, then you go to the dice and the cards. Here are the steps to resolving a conflict. 1. Describe what you want to do 2. Play an appropriate Spell (note that if you want to convince someone, or change something on the card then the spell had best say that, or else it’s not going to work no matter how much you try). 3. If your opponent is also a mage, they can play a spell they think is appropriate too. 4. If Spell Power + OFF Skill >= DEF skill of NPC or Location then you succeed. If not, you fail. 5. If Spell Power + OFF Skill >= DEF Skill + Spell of Opposing Mage you succeed. If not, you fail. Playing Shadow Cards When there are enough VALUE on the table, through ITEMS, NPCs and LOCATIONS people can begin to play shadows to the table. Once a Shadow has been played, it can be anyone’s shadow and it will not stay still. Once a Shadow has been attacked in a location, it will move according to the Shadow’s whim which is listed on the card. Once a Mage has absorbed his or her shadow, they can continue to help other players with their shadow or they can stop them, or even kill them if they want, though it should be noted that only when a Shadow is found can a mage kill another mage. Special Conditions NPC Love = Will not attack anyone at this location. Hate = Will attack any player at that location. Injured = OFF and DEF are /2 rounded up. If Injured again, character is dead. Scared = NPC Must move a location Location Burned = Location has been burned, any items placed here are lost Abandoned = No human NPCs can be assigned here. Destroyed = It’s stats are reduced to 0 and any NPCs here are discarded.