Inkforged
Fantasy Roleplaying Game
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Medium Crunch
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High Creativity
What is Inkforged?
If you are unfamiliar with Inkforged, don’t worry, it’s not so different from other roleplaying systems that you are likely well versed in. It isn’t quite the same however, if it was there would be no reason to buy this book! There are dozens if not hundreds of small and subtle differences of mechanics and flavor in Inkforged, but there are 5 fundamental differences that make playing Inkforged feel unique.
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Defined by Dice
Inkforged uses the standard set of roleplaying dice and characters are defined at their most basic level by assigning a separate die to each Trait and Skill category. This combination of Traits and Skills generates the core competency of the character. You want an agile swordsman, like a fencer? Then put your d12 in both Agility and Melee Combat. Prefer to make a charming illusionist? Slot the d12 into Charm and Magic. This is a very quick and intuitive way to customize any starting character you can dream up.
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No Character Classes
There are no character classes, professions, or careers in Inkforged. As noted earlier the dice assignments define the base concept of the character. As you level up, you further define your character by picking Spells, Abilities, Skill Foci, and Bonuses. These all work together to define what type and quality of person your character is in the game. This allows you to create just about any character you want without being locked into class restrictions and predetermined development paths.
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Negotiate For Advantage
We encourage you to communicate with The Narrator as often as possible to help write your character’s stories in the world of Inkforged. When facing a challenge, inside of combat or out, you can increase your chance of success by negotiating with The Narrator to lower the challenge ranking. Look for things described in the environment, flaws in the opponent’s defense, or Skills and Abilities that might provide an advantage.
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Simple and Frequent Advancement
In the game of Inkforged characters level up fairly frequently, and each time you do, you get 1 build point to purchase a specific improvement of your choice. This could be increasing your character’s Agility, or learning a new skill ability, whatever makes the most sense for your character at the time. Even though they are simple improvements, each is a meaningful and significant mechanical improvement to your character.
A Beginning and End
Each campaign of Inkforged is meant to start by bringing the characters into The Story and end with each character growing and becoming better people, not just in The Story, but hopefully in service of the life they wish to return to in the real world. Inkforged campaigns work best with this in mind, built around solid character development arcs to provide proper closure to thrilling adventures.
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What is The Book?
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The Book can appear anywhere at any time on the face of the Earth. It doesn’t always have the cover, page count, or even title. It can be written in any language, including braille and exclusively images, but it is always a book. There are no known electronic, digital, recordings, or non-physical versions of any kind. There is no Author noted on or inside the book cover, nothing to indicate who wrote any part of it.
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The book simply exists, and it appears where and when it does for reasons we cannot fathom. But it always appears to one person at a time. A hundred people could pass by The Book on a shelf in a library, or in a pile of complementary reading at a coffee shop, yet only one person will actually see it. That person will feel compelled to pick it up and take a closer look.
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Most readers will see some variation of the title: My Stories. These readers will read The Book, casually at first, but then growing in intensity as they come to realize that some of the stories within hold great insight into their own lives, offering guidance to navigate personal struggles and difficult life events.
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Others will see a different title: Your Stories. These few readers will find themselves drawn to a particular chapter or story within that once they begin to read, they will be unable to set the book down before finishing. These readers will devour the words voraciously and connect deeply with the story, once again finding great insight into the troubles that are impacting their lives. The Book will have a long term impact on their lives, and they will remember it fondly, yet the specifics of the story that impacted them so greatly will elude them. They won’t feel any pressing need to find The Book again and rarely ever do.
The last rare few see yet another variation of the title: Our Stories. These select few readers are those that find themselves pulled into The Story and start new lives as Ikons.