Drifter III

#This is hopefully the final major change I will make to the Drifter system (which is why
#I am commemorating the "version release" with these pretentious Python-comment hash-
#marks). It is very different from anything I have ever seen, and more importantly, I feel
#it captures the essence of magic in The Fall of Integrity, which was my original goal.
#Red text should be ignored. It is preserved to keep track of progress and will be removed
#when it has been ascertained that everything pertaining to the old versions has been
#updated.

Main Stats
Identity: Hybrid of mana, magic power, experience, and armor. Identity begins at 100 and increases by
1% per day (this figure is tentative, and right now I'm leaning toward between 1 and 5 percent per
hour) and remains so until updated; the amount of Identity after any update is given by the equation I =
s(r)^h, where s is the amount before updating, r is the growth rate (starts between 1.01 and 1.05,
customisable; can be boosted), and h is the time in hours since the last update (GMs can set the amount
of precision; I recommend accurate to hundredths but always round down, though I have not tested this
yet). Certain actions—for example, killing if you’re an Avenger—increase this percentage r
temporarily; if one of these boosts wears off and you haven't used it yet, you must update your Identity
right when it does (and you get the bonus). Identity is occasionally expended permanently (most
importantly, you can buy skill points for 100 Identity points (pending adjustment) every time you use
that skill) and controls how much benefit you get from a single concentration point. When Identity is
negative, characters are vulnerable, but absolute value is used for skill checks (so a very negative
Identity is as powerful as a very positive one until you actually make contact with the mind, at which
point you can kill them with no skill check or saving throw of any kind).
Identity represents your force of will and conviction to remain a sapient being. It is expended when
some spells are cast and can be negative; however, at zero or less, characters behave erratically and are
in danger of succumbing to the Paradox. It is occasionally in conflict with intelligence, since in this
universe anything sufficiently smart can easily prove that no mind can affect what another perceives;
however, this is only true for those whose Identity is overpowered by this proof, and Intelligence is also
important for magic use.

Intelligence: The main health stat, in addition to controlling some aspects of magic (I’m not entirely
sure what yet, but it will probably be the main part of the randomness factor) (now that I think of it, it
might define the maximum number of non-concentration skill points). It will have several important
interactions with Identity; for example, if one is ten times as high as the other (which means they are so
far apart that they are forced to clash every time you take an action), you lose points from both every
time you cast a spell (from the lower one fastest). Intelligence is increased by permanently expending
Concentration points.
Intelligence represents your ability to analyze information and to abstract your thought processes. It is
never expended and only takes damage when Identity is relatively low. Though extremely high levels
are counterproductive with respect to magic, a creature with no intelligence can take no actions unless
controlled by the Paradox, and magic is much smaller in scope at lower intelligence (since you are
unable to coordinate your efforts effectively).

Concentration: Though it is actually a skill, concentration is important enough for an entry in the main
attributes section. It is 90% cheaper than other skills (10 Identity points) and is used for all non-
instantaneous spells (and most actions count as spells, since muscles etc. are generally non-functional
or non-existent for Drifters): 1 concentration point (you start with 10, and can use no more points than
you have points in the skill) means that you use 10% of your Identity for the skill check. At first there
is a maximum of 10 points in any action; skill points in most other skills increase this maximum by one
point per skill point.
Concentration represents your ability to apply your intelligence while distracted. Mortals use it mainly
to give their full attention to a single task; immortals are able to separate their thought processes into
several independent trains that can each use the entity’s full abilities (this should be impossible, but
Identity is linked rather closely to Paradox). Being a skill, concentration will rarely take damage, but
the main form of close-range magic combat is the use of raw magic in the form of what I visualize as
invisible (non-spatial) tentacles to breach and destroy an opponent’s mind; these tentacles will be
represented by an investment of concentration points and will have “health” equal to their skill check
value.

Combat is done mainly through insta-kills from afar; however, there is also the close-range combat
mentioned above, which takes place instantaneously unless someone specifically tries to slow it down
and which may be combined with ranged or hand-to-hand weapons (usually one of the enemy’s
names). Killing an opponent’s body will require a reflex check for them to survive; reducing their
intelligence to zero causes them to instantly become a Paradox, and if their Identity is zero or lower,
you can slay them outright (if you have made contact with their mind) and devour their skills
(concentration may or may not be auto-converted to intelligence). Stoneborn can insta-kill through the
close-range magic combat, but only if they have positive Identity.

Interactions
While intelligence is lower than Identity, increasing it makes spells cheaper. When it is higher than
Identity but less than ten times as high, increasing it makes spells stronger but more expensive.
Between 10 and 1000 times as high, it makes spells more expensive but does not make them stronger.

While Identity is more than 10 times higher than intelligence, characters must act erratically (?). They
are also more vulnerable to takeover by the Paradox.

If either intelligence or identity is over 1000 times higher than the other, that character dies and
becomes a Paradox. This does not count if identity is negative.

Blinking
Though it is overall instantaneous, blinks proceed in rounds in which up to one "tentacle" is created (by
each player), then up to one of each player's can "latch" to something (a mind or another "tentacle"),
then all "latched tentacles" can attack. Tentacle power is determined by the adjusted concentration
value (number of concentration points invested * 10% of character's Identity). Identity can be expended
to deal more damage or take extra turns. A tentacle latched to a mind with non-positive identity can kill
it instantly (usually devouring its skills), control it (in which case its identity regeneration slows by half
and the contact must be maintained at all times), or apply any mind effect.