FOREVERWORLD BOOK'S CREATIVE MISSION All role-playing games inadvertently work towards some larger goal(s), whether or not the players (or even the creators) realize it. Our overall mission is to equip gamers with the best means of creating and exploring imaginative new worlds, inspiring them to reach beyond the mundane and strive for creative and personal excellence. (And have as much fun as possible while doing it!) To achieve this, we endeavor to: * Create original cultures and environments. * Redefine archetypes common to most FRPGs. * Present a more realistic outcome system, without substantially increasing gameplay difficulty. * Present realistic character growth. * Recreate the spirit of exploration common to the European and early American pioneers. * Foster a spirit of giving in players, rather than one of taking. Create original cultures and environments The essential meat of the NeverWorld product line involves numerous culturebooks that delineating the particular cultures existing in NeverWorld. Every plausible aspect of the chosen culture will be described over the course of 130-200 pages, including geography, weather, politics, religion, magic theory, technology, organizations, philosophy, social structure, economy, unique skills/abilities, and daily life. As an example, the first original culture published by FEW Books was the Hourani (a noble race of bipedal lupines who can appear human), included with the boxed set. Besides the mentioned categories, this book also delineates the nine Hourani houses (and their occupations), the Fidei Draconus religion, high-level Wizardry developed by the Hourani, in addition to important historical and legendary data. By creating Hourani and other new cultures, we seek to inject new material into the gaming tradition. Redefine archetypes common to most FRPGs After twenty years of RPGs hitting the market, our common myth and lore pool has been substantially dredged, leaving little original material left on which to base new civilizations. What's strange, though, is that these supposedly "overused" elements (including elves, dwarves, dragons, and undead) are still extremely popular with gamers, no matter how often they appear in print. To appeal to the gamer's familiarity with these archetypes, FEW Books has chosen some of these creatures and races to appear in NeverWorld. However, one major problem with these archetypes is that they're often used as simple obstacles or plot devices, rather than being treated realistically and properly developed. These long-standing myths deserve better (and so do you!), and NeverWorld wants to give everyone what they deserve. So, along those lines, our game redefines familiar races and creatures in sensible and unique fashions. Rebuilt from the ground up, our cultures have been carefully thought out in context of their environments, physiques, and social affiliations, and matured through millenia of history to see where they would have ended up. With unique creatures (such as Dragons), we aim to restore the sense of awe that a normal person would feel upon coming into contact with them, rather than viewing them through the eyes of jaded gamers who have seen everything before. We work to create the new and reinvigorate the old. Present a more realistic outcome system without substantially increasing gameplay difficulty Obviously, the big concern with most RPGs is balancing ease with complexity: accurately describing the outcome of a character's action with the least amount of difficulty. NeverWorld uses sensible and realistic outcome rules, relegating any involved computations to times other than actual gameplay. Values/statistics that will be used during adventuring are determined during character generation and between gaming sessions, so that when your character performs an action, only one die roll added to a base number (compared to the enemy's roll and base number) is needed to determine success. The system's most obvious feature is the Rolling Outcome Chart (or ROC), which offers eight possible outcomes to a particular action (all being various degrees of success or failure). All roll results are referenced on the ROC to determine the level of outcome. Present realistic character growth NeverWorld is a skill-based (rather than class-based) system. When generated, characters choose from a wide selection of cultural skills, as well as raise any combination of attributes. In addition, skills and attributes are improved during gameplay as they would be through real life: through repeated use, formal teaching, magical intervention, or improving one's professional expertise. New skills can be learned from teachers as well. The more a skill is used, the more it will improve. Characters can move up the professional ladder as they meet the minimum skill and attribute requirements for more demanding jobs. Characters can also be self-employed but then do not receive the skill and asset benefits associated with some jobs. Each character has three important scores: Social Level, which describes social impact; Fiscal Level, which describes overall financial equity; and Professional Level, which describes professional accomplishment/expertise. These three scores combine to determine a character's Life Level. Life Level is a concept similar to "lifeforce": characters with higher LLs are better esteemed, more able to resist unwanted domination, and are considered to have made a notable impact on their societies. In a way, LL describes a character's success as a real person. Instead of fixed alignments, NeverWorld uses the dynamic Giver/Taker philosophy to mark a character's progress between self-centeredness and other-centeredness. A character's moral concept has a definite impact on his place in society, as well as his abilities. With an evolving character-growth system, NeverWorld inserts the concept of roleplaying back into the acronym "RPG". Recreate the spirit of exploration common to the European and early American pioneers Although every gaming system offers some chance to explore the unknown, NeverWorld builds the concept straight into its premise. All cultures have been isolated for centuries, knowing nothing (except perhaps rumors and ancient lore) of each other's existence. In addition, many skills, magics, religions, and philosophies are unique to particular cultures. How will new civilizations be uncovered, and what will happen when two long-disparate cultures finally stumble into each other? How will they affect each other's economies, beliefs, social structures, and technology? NeverWorld thrills players with the possibilities inherent in discovering unknown civilizations and participating in the formation of new ones. Foster a spirit of Giving in players, rather than one of Taking Possessing a realistic and dynamic morality system for characters, NeverWorld acts as a microcosm for players to see the effects of selfless (Giver) and selfish (Taker) behavior on both individuals and societies. The mechanics system endows both styles of behavior with logical benefits and weaknesses, and permits them to lead to their ultimate conclusions. If viewed in terms of long-term versus short-term gratification, Givers sacrifice when inconvenient in order to earn what will truly last in the future, while Takers grab whatever they can in the present and eventually find that they have nothing of substance. Because of this, Giver characters usually find their lives more fulfilling and substantial, while Takers will become fearful of losing the power they continually try to wield over others. Still, players have the option to go for whichever outcome they desire. Players will find their gaming experiences more enjoyable if they are willing to give of themselves to the other players and GM, rather than always insisting on being the center of attention and placing their own characters in the spotlight. Chapter 5 of the NeverWorld Tome provides more detail on how the Giver/Taker philosophy that works for characters also applies directly to the player's gaming experience. We firmly believe that the values a player learns while gaming with other people need not be forgotten in the real world. In fact, a positive and considerate gaming experience can often be used to make the real world a better place to be. ---------------------------------------------------- (c) 1997 by Erin Laughlin. (written by David Mc) Material to be used solely in regards to examining my credentials for employment.