Hi Cezar, will you ever put up an example of a combat? I played one and found myself struggling; without hit points, the consequences I create are either easily ignorable ('it gives you a cut on your leg' which in fact changes nothing) or, on the contrary, they make any monster super fearsome, because using the complications table, even the dumbest monster can leave me with one (I'm referring to table 08). Do you happen to have any suggestions for me?
Hi there,
Thank you for reaching out! Yes, I do plan to publish a longer example of play with commentary as a separate document in the future. For now, though, I can offer you some guidance.
First, even a small consequence like “a cut on your leg” can carry meaningful implications. While it doesn’t have a numeric value attached to it, it should still influence the narrative and gameplay. For example, it could impose drawbacks in situations where the injury might hinder you, and it can color how you interpret the results of dice rolls and your character’s levels of success. The narrative impact of even minor consequences should shape what your character can do and how well they do it.
Another way to handle combat consequences, if you want something between a purely narrative effect and a full-on complication from the table, is to create a spark. Condition sparks work particularly well for this. For instance, instead of immediately breaking your ribs with one hit, you can create a spark that represents cuts and bruises accumulating over time, leaving you more exposed until you eventually collapse.
For more detailed guidance, I recommend checking out the “How To” sections of the book. Specifically:
• How to Forge Evocative Monsters
• How to Keep My Encounters Balanced
These sections offer helpful suggestions for managing combat encounters and consequences.
I hope this helps! Let me know if you have more questions, and good luck with your next encounter!
I've read the chapters you recommended, and I can indeed use a new Spark this way, but... I can't help but wonder: does using all these Sparks really make the game as easy and beginner-friendly as it claims to be? I realize that with this question I'm going a bit off-topic, but in a classic game, combat is like 'you took 10 damage, you have 2 armor, so you lose 8 hit points.' Here, on the other hand, I would need to start a new Spark in addition to all the ones I already have for everything that's happened to me previously during the rest of the game, ending up with a table full of Sparks to keep track of all at once.
For now, I've only simulated a couple of isolated situations; I haven't played a full session yet. But so far, I have the feeling that relying on Sparks so often doesn't make the game as simple as it seems...
You don’t need to use sparks for everything or anything really. The base mechanics are the simplest for new RPGers or us veterans looking for more story and less convoluted or overly complex mechanics.
At the base it’s just a range how well you did on a D20. No modifiers.
Think about your example. what does tracking HP really do? Nothing until you are dead. Some games have a negative modifier or other limit at a low HP threshold. HP is nothing but a countdown or a tracker until you can’t do something.
Everspark skips all the tracking unless you want to use a spark.
Just remember, before you roll, define what success and failure looks like. In a typical game, a successful attack means you lower some enemy HP and the enemy goes, does the same and you roll back and forth until a winner (yawn).
In Everspark, Let’s say I come across some goons, they stop me. Now I have to decide what to do. Can I reason with them. Maybe 5 or less on a d20 lets me reason. Rolled an 11. Nope, they don’t want to talk… they want to fight.
So I attack. If I get a success, it means I defeat the goons. Failure, means I am stopped, and defeated in some way.
I will say failure means I am captured.
I roll a 8. Ugh. So I succeed but have a complication. So I defeat the goons but I am left with a wounded leg that will make the next encounter harder if I don’t heal. Or maybe now my travel will be slower leaving my quest in danger.
So you don’t need to look up modifiers for range, weapons, skills etc.
Define what success and failure looks like and simply roll.
jot down notes for each encounter so you know what happened. This way you can adjust what success and failure look like based on what has happened.
I understand where you're coming from. HP seems easy because it is so ingrained in the culture, and it doesn't require narrative. It is simple math, but it does not tell a story. 'I lose 8HP' means what? What do we see in the screen? What happened to you? What changed? By removing HP, we open up story avenues.
The struggle you're feeling now is part of our assumptions that we need a mechanical translation of an effect for a result to feel valid. Everspark invites you to consider it differently. Beginners, especially because they don't have experience with other RPGs, jump into the narrative train easily, from my experience. "I rolled an 8, hmmm, perhaps it grabs me by the sword and shakes me to the side!" Fun! What now? Where do I go from here? We can see that scene in our minds. We can't see "I lose 8 HP".
Sparks can be fun, but they should be used mindfully. If you do rely on Sparks for everything, it will be overwhelming, as you said. That is why it is one of the Spark Principles I highlight in the book. Go easy on them as you start. I have a table with 8 beginners, and after 23 sessions, everyone is happily going crazy with them now.
But mostly, embrace narrative consequences. How does your position to affect the story changes after a bad roll? Close your eyes and see it as a movie, not a video game.
I hope that helps a bit! And thank you for your questions, they are very important! I encourage you to give it a go for a few sessions with that in mind. Feel free to ask more clarifications, if needed. Also, Tony examples above are great too!
Here is a quick down and dirty….
My character, Bosco, armed with a sword and shield faces 4 skeleton goons trying to stop him from delving further into the catacombs.
I create a spark…. “Defeat goons” with an overturn of overwhelmed and pushed back- forced to find another path…
they are goons and I am kind of a bad ass so I will say an OK hit is 1 ray, 15 is two and 20 is three.
However, I might just add an element of time so I create another spark. A bad or very bad as a ray to the spark “exhausted” with an overturn of 2nd wind.
So now I engage the skeletons, take a mighty swing and roll! 7… ugh. So I will add a ray to both sparks and check. Didn’t hit a ray..: whew… gather my self up after a poor attack, and take another swing…. 14! Heck ya! 2 rays on defeat goons! Check… 4 bummer… still going…
I am getting the better of them, I am gaining confidence and shield bash a few! Roll… 9…. I will add another ray to defeat goons and check.. 1! The last skeleton falls to bones with my mighty shield bash…. If I go, continuing my journey deeper into the catacombs.
Set clear expectations before combat about what success and failure looks like.
The second spark could have been an injury spark. If I hit that I would take an injury…. “Injured arm.” If I would hit that, then might reduce my success and make hits worth less rays or even reduce the defeat goons by one ray