Element Born
A TTRPG set in a fantastical apocalypse world dominated by monsters with a dynamic d12 system and flexible character creation/progression
The Project
Element Born is a TTRPG setting and system that I created while attending NYU. Started in the Spring of 2017 as a final project for Introduction to Narrative Design, I pitched the concept and was joined by Brenner Cheu-Chen and Mateo Juvera Molina. After I continued working on the project by myself, turning it into my Capstone Project for the Fall of 2018. Set in a post-apocalyptic high fantasy, players take on the role of skilled Elementalists from one of the few remaining human cities. Tasked with exploring the ruins of humanity’s once great civilization and fending off the monsters that spelled its destruction, in Element Born players have the freedom to customize how their characters tackle the challenges of a dangerous untamed world using a variety of mundane skills and elemental magic.
The World
Element Born is set in the fantastical world of Erstia, a land where humanity once flourished by the grace of the thirteen gods. Then one day, centuries ago, the God of creation, Ort the First, died. Suddenly the diamonds associated with them turned to coal and monsters wielding the elemental powers of the other twelve gods appeared in mass and without warning. It was all humanity could do to survive, pushed back by the monster horde to a small collection of overpopulated cities. Thankfully they had their magic to call on, for every person in Erstia is born with potential to wield one of the twelve elements depending on the month they are born. I created this lore for Element Born while working with Brenner and Mateo, taking inspiration from properties like Destiny, RWBY, Dragon Age, and Attack on Titan. It was interesting working collaboratively with them to create this world that had that right tone. There needed to be wonder in it, with anchoring details for players to attach to but also this sense of danger that would lend itself to epic adventures that would challenge players. Working together to see how we naturally gravitated to different areas of the lore made me considering things I hadn’t before and by working together we were able to refine our setting.
Player Characters
Mechanically the inspiration for Element Born came from a frustration with the lack of flexibility for most classes in D&D 5th Edition. While I love D&D, your class is for the most part a linear track that you progress along, rarely offering choices to the player during leveling up. Often times a class or subclass has an ability or two that doesn't fit with the player’s vision. In Element Born I wanted players to be able to customize their character to fit perfectly. Maybe they play like a barbarian, rogue, wizard, or bard but maybe they take a mix of abilities from all four. To that end, alongside Brenner I designed a Skill system instead of a class system allowing players to customize their abilities to reflect their unique character vision. Beyond that there is a story telling aspect to character creation in Element Born as characters are meant to be recent graduates of a program that trains
them to handle the dangers of Erstia. As such the Skills they take during character creation represent the lessons they took and the player characters would have been in each other’s orbit prior to the start of the game. Then as they progress, the new Skills they take are meant to be tied to their accomplishments and actions during missions. Since a Skill system can be more overwhelming for new players we created a group of presets that gives players a starting off point.
D12 System
I’ve wanted the rolling system for Element Born to be dynamic. Basic successes and failures are okay but they don’t always create exciting moments. However it wasn’t until I was working on Element Born on my own that I moved away from the d20 system that D&D popularized. To help give me inspiration I looked at other TTRPGs like Savage Worlds, Fate, Edge of the Empire, and Call of Cthulhu. During this I realized there was a die that didn’t get a lot of love and would also thematically match my setting, the D12. The lore already leaned on the number 12 through its connection of the elements and the months of the year as well as the twelve living gods, so mirroring that number into the mechanics felt right.
To make rolling dynamic and exciting I added two features to the system. The first is variable successes through a raise and fumble system. If the player rolled significantly higher than they needed to, they would earn raises on the action, which they can spend to make their performance more impactful. In combat this might be to make an attack deal more damage or push an opponent away. Out of combat actions could be made to take less time or inspire your companions. Raises were contrasted by Fumbles, which required the player to explain an extra penalty they take for significant failure. However I put this choice in the hand of the player and not solely the game master, to give them narrative agency and I expected them to try and find a way to mitigate the penalty of a Fumble. It’s a negotiation and in my playtests has made players think about their actions beyond the basics. The second feature was to introduce dice explosion. If a player rolls a 12, they get to roll the die again and add the two rolls together for a single check, and this could happen more than once. It is a swingy mechanic, one that allows for exciting moments as a player could get a really high roll, earning them multiple Raises, even on an action their character isn’t particularly suited for. Together these mechanics create a sense of hope and despair in every role.
Exploration
Element Born is supposed to be about exploring a dangerous and wild world. Relying on just health felt lacking. From early on Element Born was going to skew towards players generally having a low amount of health, to make each point of damage impactful. I later made mundane healing, especially while out in the wilderness, weak to further push the same effect. Players can fight if they have to but it encourages them to be careful and shifts what victory could be. However it still wasn’t enough. Looking back at my TTRPG inspirations, I settled on introducing a Morale and Fatigue System. Two values that could change during gameplay to represent mental state and physical exhaustion respectively. Morale could be positive or negative adding a modifier to every role depending if the character is hopeful about their chances or despairing the oncoming doom. It adds a whole new element to party dynamics, one that a bard or face type character can excel in, bolstering the party’s Morale by performing, joking, and giving inspiring speeches. Fatigue meanwhile can only become a penalty as the party grows tired from travel and physical exertion. Having a physically fit character that helps the other players climb mountains and ford rivers or a survivalist who finds easy to travel
paths now become important. Both add as new levers that players have to manage and ways to make new types of encounters have a long term effect. These systems were important so that the systems set the right tone for the world, making it feel dangerous and things like bad weather or being unable to find food could become interesting moments for roleplay.
Reflections
Ultimately Element Born always exists in the back of my head. It was a passion project, one that I was glad to have gotten to work on. In the years since there have been many ideas I’ve tinkered with to make it better. Making magic modular and less clunky. Improve inventory to create interesting decisions so that it fulfills its role in a survival focused game. Having this framework in my head helps me in thinking of new ideas, even if I never incorporate them into Element Born. As a whole it has made me think about the wide genre of TTRPGs, their systems, and the conventions that we take for granted. Having taken such a close look has been valuable to me as a designer.