salutations

Another small patch this time! A number of adjustments across the board based on playtesting, and the introduction of a new Quick Action (Step) and Opportunity (Breathe) that’ll hopefully make combat feel smoother by allowing for some more flexibility. Also some more copyediting done— looking to focus on making everything more readable by getting more help soon, and then ideally to start implementing some content for Chapter 4 (Gameplay Expansions for genres like mysteries and horror, rules for social interaction or exploration, etc.) for a 0.6 version.

A full changelog can be found in the document for anyone curious. The biggest adjustments/additions this update are:

The Push and Epiphany PP options now refund 1 PP if the reroll ends in a Failure, mainly acting as compensation for bad luck. Shift can now be used after the roll is made, making it more valuable among the 3 PP options.

A new Quick Action called Step that lets you take another Movement, alongside some other tweaks to Movements (including adjusting the Paces for higher Range Bands). This should make mobility in combat more flexible.

A new Opportunity called Breathe that allows characters to recover their Speed. This is meant to act as the simple, go-to Opportunity if you don't have anything else in mind.

Salutations! Thanks to everyone who has read ARCS since its release this month. I've received a bunch of valuable feedback that this update focuses on addressing, namely related to readability and formatting. There will be more work done toward this across future patches as I enlist more copyediting help, so consider this one a basic "first pass / cleanup job." New content will likely come with the next full patch.

The links for all the rules and materials are the same as always, but just in case anyone new wants to check them out (or if you just want to click them from here lol):

Greetings and salutations! For the past year or so, I've been working on designing my very first TTRPG, a passion project built to embody all the things I've grown to love about this medium. Now, at this point of development and playtesting, I'm happy to finally share a version I consider “complete” as a fully playable core experience. Without further ado, allow me to introduce ARCS: A Roleplaying Cinematic System!

What is ARCS?

ARCS: A Roleplaying Cinematic System is a tabletop roleplaying game driven by the creation, exploration, and resolution of structured narrative “Arcs.” Gameplay revolves around the unique personal directions defined by the table, including the individual Character Arcs of each Protagonist, the shared Story Arcs told across every session, and the collaborative World Arcs that shape the setting. Players are rewarded for making the journey matter through roleplaying and engaging with the narrative, which advances them forward whether or not they succeed or fail to accomplish their goals in the end. In ARCS, narrative and mechanics are closely intertwined to produce an experience unique to what roleplaying games can create. Its design strives to uphold a cohesive balance between a traditionally challenging and a story focused game, where the pursuit of narrative elements are what empower Protagonists to overcome the detailed, cinematic conflict the system centers around. Mastery of the game means mastering compelling, collaborative storytelling. The ruleset for ARCS provides a framework that is deep, dramatic, and adaptable at every level, built around an intuitive core expanded by support for a variety of genres, playstyles, and options. For anyone interested in immersing themselves into their stories and characters through gameplay, ARCS is a modern TTRPG with plenty to offer.

The game can be found on itch.io as PWYW (effectively free, though if you'd like to donate anything to show support to an aspiring developer, it'd mean so much), though you can also check it out directly from this Google Link (also on the itch.io download). Its semi-automated character sheet and custom tabletop can also be copied from these links, if you're curious about making a Protagonist or setting up a table yourself. There's also the ARCS Discord Server, though it's currently a bit sparse since the main focus has been on development.

Now that the system is in a relatively finished state, I'll be organizing the second playtest campaign using the Delta Green setting / modules. For anyone interested in trying out the game, be on the lookout for recruitment forms in the coming days! Otherwise, the immediate plan for the future is to create playable Season Primers for starting games in different settings (currently SPIRALS for Delta Green, DEATH WISH for Deadlands), though these will take some time to release.

Here's an excerpt for a new mechanic from the most recent patch for my TTRPG project, ARCS! Been working hard for the past few months to get the system to a point where I feel it's representative of everything I'm striving for. Now, I can confidently say that the base game is in a state where I think it has some real merit.

Dramatic Confrontations

The baseline rules for Health and Conflicts in ARCS are designed to emphasize the importance of any given Injury. Violent situations can often start and end in just a few moments thanks to a decisive Check. While this approach lends itself to a sense of heightened stakes, it can be a challenge to consistently produce the kinds of climactic, extended fights seen in more battle-centric stories under this structure. The Dramatic Confrontation guidelines introduce a new layer of depth to combat within ARCS through Tension Gauges, while still maintaining the essence of what makes ARCS’s conflicts special. These should be used for important, high-level encounters between Protagonists and major foes, such as back-and-forth duels, boss battles, and the like. Whenever a Dramatic Confrontation begins, it's time for the black bars on the screen to shift and fit the spectacle into a wider aspect ratio.

The next coming updates will involve implementing a series of Expansions, with the concepts for each listed in Chapter 4. In the mean time, I plan to start organizing the first playtest for this game using the Deadlands: Weird West setting! I'll share some more about what it'll be about and, if I need players, who I'm looking for in a future post.

Here's a link to the Game Document, Character Sheet, and even an Example Protagonist from Deadlands for anyone who wants to take a look!

took 2 months of procrastination but managed to get some decent work done, overhauled a lot of previous chapters and added probably well over 100 traits

next updates will probably be working more on inventory stuff, doing some of the basic genre frameworks for ch4 (namely abilities and exploration probs), and making stuff for the game to be playtestable

if anyone checks the game out lmk :3 still very early in development but most of the cool core stuff has been detailed