Guiding Principles

Kamisekai is curated with a few guiding principals. They're going to be documented here to help remember what they are. In essence, this is a mission statement.

This guide should be seen as a kind of reference for writing new moves.

Fun!
The goal of the game is not to torture it's players, but instead create a framework for them to have fun with. Moves and Spells should allow for more creativity, not less.

Flexibility
Kamisekai is designed to allow GMs and players to create novel solutions to novel problems, intending to avoid over-prescribed solutions or irrelevant details whenever possible.

Speed
The system is intended to provide quick resolution to gameplay questions, and things like combat. There is heavy focus on avoiding having to spend a lot of time figuring out how to resolve a spell or move.

Ease of Play
The system is designed to be easy to GM and easy to play. Moves should tell you what they do and how they resolve at a glance. Spells should have obvious (or easily interpreted) effects. The GM should not need more than the character sheets and basic move list to play the game in most cases.

Moves should:

• Be powerful, awesome tools that the players use to face threats or overcome obstacles.
• Put limits on how much power a single player should have.
• Be useful in a few different circumstances.
• Be useful throughout the session.
• Have short, to the point descriptions describing their effects.
• Leave some room for growth in their relative strength.
• Leave some room for customisation, through perks.

Moves should avoid:

• Specifying consequences for failure, leaving that to the GM in most cases.
• Leaving the player worse off for using or having them, that's what consequences are for!
• Reproducing functionality produced by another move of the same stat-type.
• Specifying lore, leaving the creative “how” and “why” parts up to the players and GMs.
• Complex requirements for using them.
• Complex steps from the GM or players for their use.
• Mechanics which slow down play.

A well written move;

• Will be something players wish they could do.
• Will make players find it hard to give up for something else.

Perks should:

• Complement their associated move.
• Have short, simple descriptions that make their utility obvious to GM and Player alike.
• Have short, memorable, fun names!
• In most cases do one or more of the following;
  • Add another way for the move to be used entirely.
  • Add more potency to a specific aspect of the move.

Perks should not:

• Add complicated mechanics to Moves or anything else.
• Have effects on other moves.
• Overlap effects with other perks.
• Give the move functionality similar to another move of the same or different type.
• Take away options from the player.