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Live System
Modernised OGL System
Review by C. Demetrius Morgan
Synopsis
The Live System SRD presents a rules system- released under v 1.0a of the OGL and presenting several new rule conventions- based on the D20/OGL SRDs, specifically portions of the D&D SRD and D20 Modern SRD. The Live System SRD, published by Postmortem Studios, is available through RPGnow for $8.50.
Rating: Considering the Gatesian PDF issues as weighed against the actual content, which means considering overall usefulness for the D20/OGL segment of role-players, the Live System gets a tentative 6 out of 10 Golden Apples. However, if you cringe at things D20, or hate OGL products, then any rating becomes instantly moot.
Initial Impressions top
To be perfectly honest I was not sure what to make of Live System at first glance. It is a SRD struggling to be a core rules book, yet never quite fully making it as either a proper and fully functional core rules book or an easily accessible SRD document. Here is a role-playing system that could have been, had it just been more fully developed into an independent system. Instead Live System must be summed up as little more than a variant of the existing D20/OGL SRD rules. A variant that the vagaries of gamers short attention spans and the realities of the market may cause to fade away before it’s received its just due. Yes, portions of the system could be considered little more than tweaks to existing rules. However with LS, much like the Action! System core rules that I reviewed many moons ago, once the surface is scratched it soon becomes apparent that what is offered is intended to be more than specialized rule tweaks. If anything LS is designed to foster a certain style of role-play. Actually that isn’t quite accurate. What the Live System does is present a set of rules that can be used to foster a certain genre of slipstream action adventure. In my review of Cloak of Steel (Postmortem’s campaign world published using the Live System rules) I stated that this game had “the feel of being more a fusion of equal parts anime, high fantasy, and action adventure plugged into a console arcade world of slipstream science fiction” and that is precisely what LS has been designed for.
By comparison Gold Rush Game’s Action! System attempts to present a scalable system whereby GMs can adapt, in fact have to actively tweak, the rules in order to establish the style of play that is desired. The Live System rules establish the style out of the box. No tweaking necessary. A major plus. Too, Action! System did two things LS does not. 1) It limits these styles to Realistic, Cinematic, or Extreme; 2) Presents all new Stats that make it virtually incompatible with existing D20/OGL products. Live System’s strength is that what it changes is how the engine operates, not the specifications of the engine itself. The attributes are the same core attributes as found in the SRDs, basic class concepts are retained in the sample skill packages, basic task resolution is unchanged, yet enough of the remaining rules have been modified to make for a game with different style and tone. Alas that does not change the fact that, as an OGL release, Live System is likely to cause only small ripples in a very large pond. But perhaps more memorable ripples than had the system been released independently. A sad summary. top
Setting: None provided, though the system is supported by other products. In tone and flavor LS is intended for pseudo-modern cinematic role-play. top
The System: The reasons the author gives for the creation of the Live System are very telling: “I'd written several d20 books based on the 3.0 edition but felt constricted by the limitations and expectations of the system and format. I wanted to do something … So, basically, I cobbled together my personal system changes … slotted together the best parts of material I'd seen in the SRDs and other open material and set it down.” This as part of an effort to present a “…more modern, looser, more accessible game…” that is “designed to be used together (with published campaign worlds like “Cloak of Steel”) or to be plugged into existing games of any compatibility.” And just how well does Live System rank on the compatibility front? top
Compatibility: Overall Live System, as presented, should be 50-70% compatible with standard OGL and D20 products. Which means that intrepid Game Masters should be able to easily integrate LS into their house rules. More narrowly LS is at least 33% compatible with the Anime d20 SRD, roughly 20-40% compatible with the Action! System SRD, and probably about 38% compatible with the d20 Modern SRD material. If you think of each set of rules as defining a style governing the level of campaign reality then moving back and forth should not be that difficult, assuming you care to role-play such differences out. The differences are minor yet very real. Consider these diverse systems as the rules governing each campaign world’s physics and the differences in game rules the barrier limiting movement between realities. The greater the difference in the rules the more difficult making such trips would be. Indeed, while LS allows for a very distinct really through the modes of play it is designed to promulgate, the actual differences in the underlying game engine are minimal. Which isn’t to say gamers couldn’t just as easily take the rules they like and run with them, just bear in mind each of these rule sets were designed for a specific style and flavor of campaign setting. top
Summary top
Make no mistake to release OGL system at this point in time requires a special something to lift the system above the constant swell of mediocre D20 supplements and specialized OGL genre rules systems. It could be that such systems will fall to the way side like leaves in the wake of a tornado, but only the future can tell. A future with vision. And what sort of vision was behind the Live System RPS? When asked what led to the development of the Live System RPS Mr. Desborough had the following to say, “When running my own games using d20 I was dissatisfied with a lot of the system. I felt d20 to be a massive let down, especially the d20 modern book. I was hopefully expecting a more modern, looser, more accessible game and instead got a redressed old clunker.
“Feats were a good innovation though and the systems universal appeal, if not universal utility, were a draw as a writer. Here was a metric sh*tload of new supplements and materials coming out which a lot of people would pass by since they didn't like the system. That was a shame.”
In the face of such disappointment Mr. Desborough states implicitly that, “I'd written several d20 books based on the 3.0 edition but felt constricted by the limitations and expectations of the system and format. I wanted to do something different for _me_.
“So, basically, I cobbled together my personal system changes that I'd made for my games, slotted together the best parts of material I'd seen in the SRDs and other open material and set it down.”
Thus was the Live System RPS given shape and form.
Game Mechanics: Mixed in amidst the expected OGL rules fare are rules for Vehicles, including Stunts and Vehicle Combat, some information on Disease effects, Psionics, and bits and pieces on creation and converting monsters with some 15 odd pages of sample creatures. However the main distinguishing difference that LS advertises is the lack of classes and levels. Indeed, in my review of Cloak of Steel, I noted that the system presented therein touted the fact it was classless and level less. That this wasn’t just some campaign world gimmick. This is the core alteration underpinning the Live System RPS, however it further dubs itself as a “modernized OGL system”. Which will lead many to ask why they should bother as they already have a perfectly good (relatively speak) D20 Modern rule set with freely available SRDs. To answer this we have to examine the system, beginning with the several minor departures. For instance Success Factor is introduced, a stat that replaces DC; as are Hero Points, which can be used to alter die rolls; Hit Locations, essentially a new method of handling Hit Points; Defense Class, a replacement for Armor Class; and perhaps the biggest departure is in magic. Magic in LS is powered by Feats. Level Advancement is effectively replaced by Categories. (Think of categories as age stereotypes that outline the expectation of character advancement in years of life as opposed to levels of experience.) But is it really classless? Read on. top
Character Creation: Not sure exactly how attributes are generated, otherwise character creation is pretty straightforward as outlined below.
1. Determine Character Concept. Basically decide what type of character you want to play and try to design the character accordingly.
2. Select Race. Unlike in Cloak of Steel players have the standard fantasy races to choose from with some minor alterations to fit them into the LS rules.
3. Create Skills Package. Now here’s where the classless claims, in my opinion, become frayed. Essentially this section provides skill packages that do nothing less than recreate standard archetypes from Barbarian and Bard to Rogue and Sorcerer. Classes, in fantasy RPG terms, fulfill two functions: 1) They present a codified hierarchical structure, usually linked into an level advancement system; 2) Present a standard set of archetypes which constitute the bulk of what defines a player character. The Skill Packages presented herein do not fully divorce themselves from the strictures of archetype and it could be argued that the Category structure (see below) is essentially a new type of hierarchical structure.
4. Select Category. Now here’s the gem of the system, for it is what replaces the old standard level advancement system. There is no experience, no progression through levels; rather what we have is an age specific system where your character concept defines your Category. Given categories include Kid, Teen, Apprentice, Journeyman, Master, Grizzled Veteran, Old Master, and Venerable Ancestor. Each “Category” pretty much defines what is expected of a character by the time they reach that age bracket.
5. Select Abilities. This is summed up with all of a paragraph of text. I could quote it all here and you’d be none the wiser for it. I’ve read it several times and still am unclear on how to summarize it. This, in my opinion, is the weak link in an otherwise well forged chain of rules.
6. Select Skills. Self-explanatory.
7. Select Feats. Same as above.
8. Select Bonuses & Detriments. Ever played GURPS? This is roughly equivalent with the concept of Advantages and Disadvantages.
9. Record Hero Points. Determined based on Category, Reputation, and Luck.
10. Calculate Derived Statistics. Secondary attributes.
11. Determine Reputation. That’s right. You get a Reputation from the very start.
12. Spend Detriment Bonus. Determine advantages and disadvantages. top
Magick: I know what some of you may be thinking, that’s magic with a “K”, and almost nothing good has ever come from a set of role-playing rules that has tried to change the spelling of words to sound kewl. But whether it’s spelled “mana”, “manna”, or “spell points” doesn’t matter. In fact it is plainly stated, “there is no differentiation between divine and arcane magick”. However characters must first have the Spellcaster Feat, as it is this ability that gives a character the capacity to learn additional Magick Feats. Technically there are no spheres, schools, or domains to speak of. Spells have an attached mana cost and are effectively feats that have to be rolled vs. a TN to determine degree of success or failure. Which is not to say all magic has been reduced to a simple list of effects which cost X amount of mana to cast, rather magic is categorized into Styles. Sample Styles include Kata Magick, Material Magick, Word Magic, Prayer, Written Magick, and Sword Magick. There is a sample spell template included, which is as follows:
Spell Type: The type or ‘school’ of magic…
Spell: Name of the spell.
Tier: Level one, two or three…
Mana: Mana Point cost to cast spell.
TN: Target Number of skill check to cast spell.
Effect: Outline of what the spell does.
Notes: Anything else that needs to be known about the spell.
There is a problem. The point at which above is listed (PDF page 57) in the text one would assume that this should be a recap of information, but it is not. There was no satisfactory explanation of mana, much less an introduction to the working of the mana point system. For a newbie this is a critical fumble. If a reader can’t, at a glance, find the salient points of a rules system without having to sit down and thumb through pages or use a Boolean search then the odds are stacked against them. The harder it is for a newbie to pick up a set of rules and sit down and begin playing then the less likely they are to bother with that system. Granted how Mana Points are generated is mentioned in passing on page 12, but 5 sentences hardly an in depth explanation make. More to the point that’s 45 pages separating the section on magic from the only place such an explanation appears. There is not reason why a brief recap could not have been included or a page reference pointing to where the pertinent information is located. The same holds true for “Spell Type”, which should have referred to the appropriate reference table but did not. This is important since even veteran role-players will complain about having to flip pages to find information, even if the book has an index. The time that players spend rummaging through pages looking for information is directly proportional to the time that they will spend complaining about the same. top
Appraisal top
Say what you will about D20 and it's impact on role-playing game design but OGL games appear to be here to stay. More than that, from the research I have done for this review, it appears that OGL game designers are seeking to cut out a piece of the niche genre market. But whether the niche genre market that authors of such products aiming for can sustain a steady stream of variant rule sets remains to be seen. Certainly the generic rules niche and the alternative to xD&D niche are mined with regularity, whereas independent genre rules packages come and go. The difference with Live System is that it already has some supporting material in the campaign world of Cloak of Steel. But is that enough?
Until recently most OGL products appear to have been mostly comprised of rules aides such as collections of spells, magic items, or related supplementary materials. However since the recent changes in the D20 license OGL products have seen some diversification. Published to date have been such diverse offerings as OGL Horror, OGL Cybernet, OGL Ancients, and the notorious OGL Book of Erotic Fantasy. For the most part OGL products offer alternative rules that are attempts at true genre generica. If the trend continues OGL could become the next GURPS, with a sourcebook out for just about every spin, twist, and shade of genre fiction imaginable. That is if OGL products can come out of their cousin’s shadow. That cousin, of course, being D20 branded products. And what is the difference between D20 and OGL games? Not a lot. Both make use of the D20 SRD, and that confuses some.
PDF Issues: The main issue with the PDFs is that pages chosen to print at random appear to black out the text, not all of it, but most of it. It‘s like reading a FOIA document. Luckily you can print to file and copy and paste to your hearts content without a problem. Which is great so long as you don‘t mind having to format the text in a word processor. As a comparison test I have printed random pages from over half a dozen unrelated PDFs without problem, save in one PDF that printed two blacked out lines. According to the PDF properties page the file was created with something called ‘TeX”, whereas Postmortem‘s files are created by Adobe InDesign, one assumes two totally unrelated programs. This leaves me totally baffled. Too, I continually find the PDFs returning a “drawing error” that forces me to close the PDF and re-open it as pages blank on screen and become unreadable. While none of these issues should reflect upon the actual content, accessibility issues that keep one from accessing the content are more than minor annoyances.
It should be noted that a few days ago I wrote the following: “I am becoming seriously annoyed with Postmortem’s PDFs. Yes, the Live Action PDFs seem to allow you to copy and paste {{and print}} fine. But when I went to use search I received the following error message: “There was an error processing a page. A drawing error has occurred.” I left that box opened just long enough to write the error down and then, when I went to close the box, my computer SHUT DOWN! I thought it was going to reboot, the screen went black, the power went off, then all of a sudden the power came back on and my desk top was (luckily) just sitting there with the PDF open and everything else just as it had been. I’m assuming this error somehow triggered my computer to go into hibernate mode, but I am just not sure of anything, save that as I write these words I am royally cheesed. For the record the same error box pops up in both PDF files when the search in conducted. Though, so far, only the “print version” has shut my computer off.” There is nothing more annoying than phantom computer glitches, which I am now forced to attribute the above to. Not only have I not been able to re-create the shutdown but, aside from getting the error message listed above, neither were the folks at Postmortem Studios. Since I first received that error I have checked my system for viruses and spy-ware, all seems well, so this is looking more and more like a Gatesian phantom glitch. top
Negatives: What are Hero Points? How are/should attribute scores be generated? I can find no ready answers to these simple questions. Sure how Hero Points are to be generated is explained but, in typical SRD fashion, there is no actual text explaining what they are. Which is a problem as this isn’t technically an SRD document but rather a set of core rules you are paying for. As such I’d expect to have basic concepts fleshed out with some explanatory text, never mind flavor text, but a few words telling potential Game Masters or players what Hero Points are is necessary. Not just how they function in bland game terms. Is this par for the course with commercial OGL game systems? In all honesty I cannot say, as I’ve not looked at a lot of commercial OGL materials. But then that may be the point here, Live System would seem to be aimed specifically at that segment of the role-playing market made up of gamers who have already invested heavily in various D20/OGL lines of products. When considered as such this is a fine supplement. Alas that’s also the problem; it’s a great supplement. It is my opinion that this set of rules would have been better served released as a straight set of SRDs that other game designers could build upon or developed into it’s own independent system. top
Positives: Postmortem Studios is aware of the reported PDF issues and is working to resolve them. If anyone encounters this, or similar problems, it is requested that they inform Postmortem studios forthwith with details about any problem or issue encountered. With 6 pages of index, which salves the lack of bookmarks, and a functional Search feature, LS is a lot easier to navigate than CoS. Granted CoS was designed to be a finished product, and as such only the lack of a TOC kept me from singing its praised as being ready made for POD publishing. Live System is the engine powering Cloak of Steel and the author has a very healthy attitude about it. For instance when faced with snaky comments about the seeming lack of originality of certain of the rules mentioned in my previous review Mr. Desborough was seen to comment, “No, it ain't innovative or new or anything but it does drag the OGL/D20 system kicking and screaming to being something vaguely up to date that might attract a few of the people who don't otherwise like it, or who like the material presented in many d20 books but feel unable to use it.” (The preceding quote from RPGnet.) No grand claims are made for Live System, nor does it pretend to be more than it is. top
Rumors: And what does the future hold? Mr. Desborough offered the following, “(Postmortem Studious) will continue to release material though I'm having to have a rethink on what manner of items I'll be putting out.” In other words, what Mr. Desborough’s tactful reply means is, in all probability, what the future holds for Live System will largely depend upon how the market reacts to it? If interest, and sales figures, prove good their will likely be more related products released sooner than later for use with LS. But regardless of the market the tentative plans, to date, are for: “The first book is for creating characters and alien species, animals, 'monsters' and character types. The next ones will cover planet and society building, technology and psionics with the last book covering a default setting and the possibility of a combined edition, if it sells well.” Too, there are some unrelated projects that may be marginally compatible. For instance Mr. Desborough offered the following: “I'll also be working freelance, quite a lot for Cubicle 7 (upcoming guys doing new SLA Industries material) and doing work for as many other people as possible.” top
Happy gaming!
Copyright © 2004 C. Demetrius Morgan