Description System

The Description System, the one that this game uses, relies on a prose description of characters, items and challenging situations. These are used in order to bid various of these traits which are then compared against other characters or against difficult situations – along with a dice roll to represent the whimsy of lady luck – and to determine who succeeded, who failed, who won, who lost and whether you slay The Beast or receive a lesson on kicking.

People are described using adjectives, adverbs and occupations. For example, Dave the Taxi Driver might be described thusly:

“Dave is very experienced(+1) and is well-built(+1) with a husky(+1), solid(+1) frame coupled with a disarming(+1) air that tends to get people to open up. Despite his experience he drives like a novice(+1) but is a professional when it comes to The Knowledge.(+3)”

A difficult task, like climbing over a wall, might be described like this:

“The wall is tall(+1) and very slippery(+2) with moss and slime. The bricks at the top are fragile(+1) and look like they might crumble away at any minute.”

If Dave tried to climb over the wall he’d have a hard time of it. He doesn’t have any traits that are appropriate meaning he would only get to roll a dice, all by itself to see if he could climb over. The wall would roll a dice and add four (‘very’ means the trait counts twice). He might have a better chance of smashing it down.