Domain-Level Play Rules for Everway

Last week, I shared a simple stat block and some examples of companies/organizations/guilds in for use in Everway. Today, I am sharing a very simple framework for using these organizations in your Everway campaign. Inspirations include the Everway mechanics themselves, as well as the rules for companies in REIGN and the organization rules in Starblazer Adventures/Legends of Anglerre (FATE).

The overall architecture below is FATE. I will use the term Beads in place of Fate Points, as in my earlier Aspects and Beads posts.


Please keep in mind that what follows is just an outline at this point.

OGL MECHANICS

An organization may be played by one or more players/PCs, or by NPCs and the GM.

Conflicts between organizations occur whenever an organization engages in an activity designed to harm another organization or its interests. This harm may occur through:

• Physical/military means
• Economic means 
• Interventions in the realm of thought, ideology, and knowledge
• Interfering with another organization's political/social influence and influence

These conflicts occur through the use of four organizational Skills. Organizational skills are coded by the four Western elements:

• Fire (Force) - physical/military force and magical might
• Earth (Resources) - economic wealth (including agricultural, mineral, and human capital) and wealth
• Air (Knowledge) - intellectual capital, abstract or theoretical knowledge, and practical knowledge, know-how, and expertise
• Water (Influence) - soft power, prestige, and influence

The first step before an organization takes an action opening up a conflict is for the player to determining what the organization intends to do. Is it making war, expanding trade routes, introducing new ideas, or engaging in character assassination doing something else?

Each layer and the GM must each decide for each organization they control. Once the first organization to declare an intent has done so, a conflict between two or more organizations is initiated.

The first to declare an intent is normally the first to act. Of course, disputes between organizations about which should act first can be resolved by having the organization with the higher Fire (Force) Skill score - regardless of the nature of the conflict engendered (military, economic, ideological, social) - act first in the conflict.

Organizations can Take A Bead on one of their own Aspects for a +1 Fire Skill score increase for the purpose of acting first. They player of one organization may also Take A Bead on a rival organization's Aspect to take one away from the Fire score of the other organization. Of course, in this situation, the player of the rival organization must agree to taking this disadvantage, and the player offering to Take A Bead must pay a Bead to the rival organization's player.

Next time, we'll elaborate the conflict sequence.