Has anyone here ever played this game?
It's pretty old (2009 I think) and due to release shenanigans didn't made the news (in spite of getting an Ennie nomination).
So, here are the reasons I like it, and want to attract more attention to it:
>Combat mechanics
Your character learns fighting styles, represented by a sheet containing it's available move, organised into lines and rows that you "navigate" with a token, ion order to choose your move. No "action points", no "times per day" limitations. You start combat in one of your "Rebalance maneuvers" (your basic moves that that style allows) and work your way to the good stuff. Combat also revolves around stopping your opponents (and they trying to do the same to you) from getting their best moves as well. Easy to learn, hard to master.
>Social encounters
As in many other games you use Charisma in social encounters, but a few changes make these encounters interesting. You can deal damage to a character's Mood to get information, persuyade him, or to make him reveal his Inspirations (another cool mechanic of the game). There's social-enhancing gear, and a Reputation mechanic as well.
>Inspirations
What inspires your character has a bearing on the rules, but also on the game's setting. Inspirations give you extra bonus dice on rolls, and might even prevent death. Literally, the universe conspires against your death if you have too much love or ambition (hence defeating the BBG in battle is not enough, you have to attack his inspirations as well). This is recognised in the game, as a kind of magic of it's own. Which brings us to…
>Magic
Magic in the Kingdoms is wild, causing magical mishaps on a critical failure. In the setting, this means that commoner's receptivity to magic may vary, since it might be seen as a danger, or as a necessary risk. Which brings us back to Inspirations being seen as magical, and therefore, as dangerous.
>Atmosphere
The nobility see as their duty to protect the people from the dangers of magic, even if it's from the people's own Inspirations. This brings us to a heavilly regulated victorian world. Where the lords will dictate what people may like, love, think, and how passionate they can be about it.
>Do I have to buy this? Is OP a fucking shill?
Not if I can help. I purchased a PDF back in the day. Didn't play much of it, or of any tabletop game since, due to being too busy to dedicate any time to the hobby. So, here's my request to the elegan/tg/entlemen of this board:
How the shit do I remove watermarks from a PDF? As soon as I can remove my personal data from every page of mine, I can share it with you.