Genesys, A New All-Purpose RPG System Coming From FFG

June 28, 2017 by brennon

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Fantasy Flight Games have thrown their hat into the RPG ring once again with a new system called Genesys. Much like FATE, AGE and GURPS they are trying their hand at an all-purpose role-playing game system using their Narrative Dice.

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The Genesys system will work in all manner of settings, from Sci-Fi to Fantasy and even Weird World War or Steampunk. Inside the book, they have included ideas and ways to tweak the story to fit your chosen world but it's all driven by the Narrative Dice which work as the core of the game.

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The dice may be familiar to those who have played their Star Wars RPG for example. The basic gist of the dice is that you need more successes than failures on the dice in order to pass checks. BUT, the twist is that advantages, triumphs, threats and despair are all thrown into the mix.

Using these symbols you are meant to twist the narrative to reflect changing fortunes. For example, you may have succeeded in picking the lock on that prison door but because of the threat generated you wake up the jailor. It's all about those margins of success.

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The storyteller adds in dice to your pool and takes them away based on your situations and any justifications you make. It sounds like a good system for those looking to tell a story rather than grind through mechanics.

While custom dice can also be a bit of a turn-off to some I'm seeing this as an interesting opportunity to try out a more narrative approach much like with Mouse Guard or Torchbearer.

What do you think of their new system?

"Using these symbols you are meant to twist the narrative to reflect changing fortunes..."

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