Introducing EXODUS
Announcing EXODUS: a narrative sub-system designed for exploration in dying and alien worlds. If we do the job right, you should be able to use these resources for your own fantasy worlds though, or sci-fi, or what have you.
The main goal of EXODUS is to create stories and scenes during exploration. For us, exploration is the most enjoyable when the table is constantly discovering new things, interacting with unseen ideas, and adding these discoveries to the overall story. To this end, every tool and resource in EXODUS is aimed squarely at producing story prompts that can be used for scenes, overarching narratives, tension, and so on.
The secondary goal of EXODUS is to structure exploration. This doesn't mean a ton of small rules that the table has to keep up with. EXODUS is rules-lite, and is meant to be used alongside D&D or other games that lack a strong exploration component. It will equip the GM (or, rather, the Red Scribe/RS) with advice, guidance, and a flexible structure for having exploration go down at the table.
EXODUS is, again, designed to minimize rules overhead. Instead of giving you tons of hard and fast minutia rules, it gives you procedures, generators, and frames — and it aims to do so in a way that ensures that the mechanics are kept out of the way and don't break immersion. A lot of tables these days, mine included, really want the rules out of the way or for the rules to create interesting situations in the in-game world. EXODUS is how we plan to achieve this.
Below is the outlined "Gameplay Structure" of EXODUS. This is what the core experience of the mini-game is all about.
First, the scavengers tell the RS which of the five Prime Goals they want to find on the upcoming expedition, and what their chosen Expedition Genre is. These goals are: Armaments, Heads, Natural Resources, Precious Treasures, and Shardscience, with the genres being: Headhunting, Research, Search & Rescue, Tower Raising, and Treasure Hunting. A scavenger should only make one suggestion, and if it is a repeat suggestion, the RS should take this as a note to include more of that discovery category on the expedition. Ideally, there should be no more than 3 Prime Goals decided on.
Once the scavengers’ know what they want, the RS will tell them how many days they’ll be traveling, how many regions they will go through, and the Threat Tier of each region (ranging from perilous to cataclysmic). This part is important; make sure the scavengers know how dangerous this expedition is, and let them do some in-universe research towards this. Rules and story prompts for this research can be found in the Bizarre Rumors & Strange Tales section.
Next, the scavengers will begin preparing their scavenger ring for the upcoming expedition. If this is their first expedition, the scavengers will start with one Favor per scavenger. Scavengers will spend those favors to gain supplies, hired help, and so on. Each time a favor is spent on something, a story prompt is generated and played out at the table.
Finally, the scavengers embark on their expedition! The RS will describe their journey to various regions, ask the scavengers what Scavenger Activities they want to take, and introduce Points of Interest as they’re discovered. Scavengers will Consult Omens as needed, play out the story prompts they generate from their Scavenger Activities, deal with Moon-Kissed and Sun-Cruel Dangers, and engage with the Points of Interest.
When the scavengers are ready to return to their homebase, they’ll generate 1-2 more story prompts from the regions they’re passing back through.
The scavengers return to their homebase, meet with their patron, and deal with their whirlwind lives — all as they wait for news on their next expedition.
Note the amount of story prompts above. Not ALL story prompts have to be played. The RS will be given advice on pacing so that the scavengers don't feel they need to spend 4 hours of real time prepping the expedition. Each step of the process can be as long or short as the table wants.
When a Point of Interest is discovered, the rules usually switch back to the core game you're using, which for SCAVENGER is a modified version of D&D 5E. However, there's only one dice mechanic at work in EXODUS; the only other time dice are used is to generate story prompts, Dangers, events, and so on.
That core mechanic is called Consulting Omens.
Consulting Omens is easy. The scavenger will build a pool of d20, roll them all, and take the highest rolled number as their final result. Build the dice pool like so:
One die is granted automatically.
A second is granted if the scavenger who picked the activity has a relevant proficiency; only one is used for this roll.
A third is granted if the scavenger has a specific tool, apparatus, or item to assist with the activity; only one is used for this roll.
Every other scavenger that helps adds 1d20 to the pool.
The target number (TN) that the scavenger needs to roll above is determined by the region’s Threat Tier or similar factors. The baseline target number is 15. A table has been drafted that explains when the TN rises or falls.
Regardless of the TN being beaten or not, the activity succeeds and a story prompt is generated. If the TN is not met by any of the dice, then an Expedition Setback is generated on a d10 by the RS. This Expedition Setback will affect any scavenger that participated in the Consulting Omens roll.
Also, note that you are spending Favors for supplies. These supplies aren't the assumed stuff, which is bundled into another system facet (Supplies' Quality), but instead includes new vehicles, specialty items, and hired help. For basic supplies, you'll be purchasing a tier of quality, AKA he Supplies' Quality. As you go on your expedition and suffer potential setbacks, the Supplies Quality will drop, which sometimes incurs penalties on the players. Certain activities and other events can lead to that Supplies Quality increasing in tier again.
Expect playtests of EXODUS to drop for free sometime soon. We’ll be using these playtests to polish the system, make sure the guides and advice are truly helpful, and for ensuring this product is as well-made as SCAVENGER was. If you want to join in on these playtests, make sure to join our discord server, found here: https://discord.gg/2Cdj9EudsU
