The Cogs That Grind

When I first set out developing the system for A Clockwork City, the first thing that was needed was a system that did away with classic mechanics. The use of stats, then need for a skill tree or even the need for a damage system became an encumberment to the need for the system to be fluid.

the easiest way to do this is to focus on the narrative, to allow your system to feed from the background and profession and personality of your character, not the other way around. This allowed for the use of anything that has a description to be pulled from. A monster that is a acid slime creature can do the kind of damage that is as visceral as it sounds, and suddenly combat and armour, cover and evasion are all part of how the narrative works. Because damage is narratively described, it became the most visceral and realistic combat i've ever experienced in an RPG.

I found myself feeling a bit sickened by one attempt to stop a foe with a fire axe. Swinging the axe at his head as he tried to run passed produced something that in most games doesn't usually get taken into account, the gritty realism of the axe cutting through his ear and cleaving into the side of his skull. The skin flapping back as the blade is quickly pulled out, and blood pouring to the ground as the foe desperately tries to hold his wound shut, stumbling and falling to the ground. The sickening visuals and the repercussions from realising what I had done to this other person, as they clambered to their feet dizzily, wild eyed and afraid they attempted to flee, blood still pouting out from the cleaved into skull. The shock of watching as they stumbled through the door to then fall to the ground, dead, blood pooling around their head.

Obviously it all comes down to the narration, and the realism is only as good as the knowledge of the GM, but it really did set me on edge. At that moment I also realised something else... If I can kill someone that easily, then what is stopping the same happening to me?

In many games and action movies, combat is romanticised, the reality of what damage can be inflicted is dulled down in favour of action and moving along to the next dramatic explosion. But the gritty realism of combat is fast, deadly, gruesome, and not fun at all. That is not to say that i've essentially destroyed combat in A Clockwork City, There are may ways players can evade deadly blows or even gain the upper hand, but combat is not the main focus, and taking on a horror from beyond would easily end in your death if you try to destroy it.

At the end of the day, the system relies on logic and narrative to define everything, and as such, is one of the most fluid yet stable systems i've played in a while.