Troll: The Culling

Hey! I'm also involved with this!

This sounds mad cool and I’m stoked.

Troll: The Culling - Important Update

Hello, all! There have been some very recent events behind-the-scenes that have significantly impacted the development of Troll: The Culling, and, without getting into too much specifics, I wanted to kind of lay out what that means for the project as a whole.

To preface this post: Troll: The Culling is still in active development, and will remain that way as long as I am able to work on it. This is not a cancellation notice. That being said, things are going to slow down a bit for reasons detailed below.

So let's jump right in.

Part 1: DevTeam Changes

The most important part of this is that my Codeveloper, for very understandable reasons that I won't get into, has decided to step down from Troll: The Culling. I harbor no ill will towards them in the slightest and completely understand and resonate with their decision. They've been invaluable in getting the project to where it's at now, and their contributions are all greatly appreciated. Unfortunately, that does mean that, for the foreseeable future, I am the sole developer.

Part 2: Balancing Act

As much as I am continuously frustrated by this, I am, in fact, a real person and not an ambiguous online entity, which means that I have real-life things to manage on top of all of the different fan projects I'm trying to do. Troll: The Culling is, as it always has been, a passion project for me, and unfortunately passions sometimes have to take a backseat to reality. I can't work on this non-stop, as much as I would like to. I have to balance it between real-life work and my TOH stuff, and now that it's just me working on it, that balancing act becomes a whole lot harder.

Part 3: What's It All Mean and What's Next?

The two points above basically translate to a much slower development cycle. Again, I'm not giving up on Troll: The Culling. It's not going away, and it's certainly not dropping scope. I genuinely love the project and enjoy every minute I spend on it. It's just slowing down significantly now that I'm the only one spending minutes on it.

As for what's next: I keep working. There's a lot of work left for Troll: The Culling, especially in the lore/story department, and, since it's just me for the foreseeable future, that work is gonna take time. I'm planning on starting weekly updates under this thread to catch up with where it is on my Tumblr and Twitter profiles, though, so there should at least be some semblance of progress.

Part 4: Playtesting

Playtesting is a slightly different story. I am still planning on running Playtesting Sessions at some point, but that slightly-ambiguous "in the coming months" has shifted to a very ambiguous "as soon as I am able" now that it's just me working on the system.

I am, however, still keeping the interest form open. I do genuinely plan to run a few Playtesting Chronicles to hammer out mechanics and get feedback from people outside of my tiny little bubble. If there's one thing that I hope this post has made clear, it's that I'm still deeply passionate about this system and want it to be the best version of itself it can be, and a vital part of that is playtesting.

Some good news, though, is that I've figured out the gist of how I plan on doing Playtesting. I plan on doing at least two sessions with four players each (with the potential for more sessions depending on how many players sign up through the google form in the next paragraph). These sessions will be Bi-Weekly and will run concurrently, with dates and times to be determined based on consensus from the players. Something important to note is that these sessions will be 18+. I'm not age-restricting this out of malice or anything, and obviously folks can do as they like after T:TC comes out. It's just that I don't personally feel comfortable running more mature topics (the stuff WOD is seeped in) with a -17 crowd.

As a minor incentive for filling out the survey, everyone who signs up for Playtesting by the end of August gets access to the full system (not just the Playtesting version) early. I also plan on, if it's ok with the individual player, "canonizing" (for T:TC, anyway) the Trolls from the first two sessions. If you're interested in either or both of these incentives, head to this link (https://forms.gle/ShNDqjVLUqNBds736) for the survey. Like I've said in the usual spiel: anyone is welcome, regardless of your level of experience with the involved fandoms! All perspectives are valuable!

Part 5: Closer

If you've made it this far, thanks for reading through this absolute wall of text! I want to take one more chance to reassure those interested that Troll: The Culling is still being worked on. I'm really passionate and excited about this system, and I promise that this is going to be a thing no matter how long it takes, so stay tuned for more info! Thanks again for reading, and I'll see you all in the next update!

TLDR: T:TC is down to one developer who, unfortunately, exists in the real world and isn't some nebulous entity that has unlimited free time. Work is slowly progressing but progressing nonetheless, and the Playtesting form is open.

Super cool, i will be keeping an eye on it lol!

TROLL: THE CULLING - PART 1: THE BASICS

Troll: The Culling is heavily reliant on many of the features from the Storyteller System, so it’s beneficial to go over them before really biting into the meat.

The Storyteller System

The Storyteller System is a numbers-light Role Playing Game that relies more on storytelling and narrative than numbers and maps. The primary resolution method is a dice pool system that uses pools of 10-sided dice to resolve conflicts. The System’s key Character Traits are Attributes, Skills, Health Levels, Willpower, Backgrounds, Merits, and Flaws.

Troll: The Culling is specifically built around the v5 system seen in the most recent versions of Vampire: The Masquerade, Hunter: The Reckoning, and Werewolf: The Apocalypse. As such, it uses its own version of ‘push your luck’ mechanics (Mutation Dice), Superficial and Aggravated damage, and the newer morality trackers (Stains, Touchstones, and Convictions).

Troll: The Culling adds a few new or modified mechanics to this system: Castes, Adaptations, Abnormalities, Lusii, Duties and Duty Norms, Mutation, and Stability. Each of these will be covered with more depth in their respective sections. Additionally, Troll: The Culling has its own set of Factions that interact with each other in different ways.

Most things in the Storyteller System are tracked by Dots, which function like a rating system rather than using complex numbers. The only value not tracked by Dots is EXP, which is tracked using actual numbers.

Attributes

The nine Attributes measure a character’s innate abilities. They are split into three categories (Physical, Social, and Mental), and are limited to ratings between one and five dots, with 1 being relatively bad, 2 being average, and up to 5 representing peak ability. In Troll: The Culling, the classic WOD Attributes have been renamed to match the theme and are now labeled as follows:

Physical

Grit - A character’s physical strength
Vim - A character’s agility and dexterity
Pulchritude - A character’s stamina and hardiness

Social

Chumminess - A character’s general charisma
Sleaze - A character’s underhandedness
Panache - A character’s composure

Mental

Acuity - A character’s intelligence
Gumption - A character’s resolve
Rationality - A character’s wit

Health and Willpower

Health

Health is the measure of a character’s physical condition. It tracks how injured the character is in two different ways, and is calculated by adding three to a character’s Vim rating. Health has a total range of one dot to ten, but freshly-created Player Characters will usually be between four and eight dots.

Health can be used in certain rolls, but its primary use is to track how much damage a character has taken. There are two different types of health: Superficial and Aggravated. 

Superficial Damage

Superficial Damage represents smaller, surface-level wounds. Scratches, Cuts, Bruises, etc. Things that are painful, but not debilitating. Superficial damage is represented by a single slash through a health dot, and can be recovered in various ways (Medicalizers, Food or Drink, Radionics, etc.). Additionally, depending on the Storyteller, some amount of Superficial Health may be healed between sessions or nights.

Aggravated Damage

Aggravated Damage, on the other hand, represents serious injuries. Broken bones, deep gashes, burns, etc. Things that are both painful and debilitating, and potentially life-threatening. Superficial damage is represented by an “X” over a health dot, and is not so easily healable. Aggravated damage can only be recovered through the use of Medicalizers, Medblocks, or through high-level Radionics abilities.

Willpower

Willpower is the measure of a character’s force of will. It indicates a character’s overall determination and strength of personality, and is calculated by adding a character’s Panache and Gumption ratings. Willpower has a total range of one dot to ten, but freshly-created Player Characters will usually be between two and nine dots. Willpower can be spent to reroll failures, and is sometimes used as part of a roll’s pool (a Stability Roll, for example).

Skills

Skills are more specific abilities that a character may or may not be able to do. These are also split into the same three categories as Attributes, and are rated between zero and five dots, with no dots meaning they have no knowledge or formal training, one meaning that they have basic knowledge, two meaning general knowledge, three meaning a professional Skill level, four meaning they've specialized, and five meaning mastery of the Skill. Troll: The Culling uses all of the same skills as WOD, except for Animal Ken, which has been renamed to Lusus Ken. The skills are as follows:

Physical

Athletics - Sports and physical movement in general.
Brawl - Hand-to-hand combat
Craft - Creating, Building, and Shaping objects
Drive - Operating vehicles like Scuttlebuggies or Hoofbeasts
Firearms - Using ranged weapons like Guns or Bows
Larceny - Thievery skills like Lockpicking or Safecracking
Melee - Using close-range weapons like Swords or Bats
Stealth - Going undetected and blending in
Survival - Surviving in the wild

Social

Lusus Ken - Knowing and understanding Lusii to handle and work with them
Etiquette - Knowing and understanding social norms to blend in with different groups
Insight - Reading body language, facial expression, and emotional cues
Intimidation - Using menace or force to ensure compliance, submission, or fear
Leadership - Motivating, inspiring, and commanding others
Performance - Showcasing some form of art, such as singing, dancing, or oration
Persuasion - Convincing others through argument, reasoning, or emotion
Streetwise - Understanding the rules and norms in urban or criminal settings
Subterfuge - Deceiving or manipulating others

Mental

Academics - Knowledge of the “humanities” and arts, such as history or philosophy
Awareness - Vigilance of one’s surroundings and environment
Finance - Knowledge of how to handle money, legally or not
Investigation - Reading an area for clues or hints towards some mystery
Medicine - Knowledge of the diagnosis and treatment of injuries and diseases
Occult - Knowledge of supernatural, mystical, and otherworldly things
Politics - Knowledge of the inner workings of government and society
Science - Scientific knowledge and theory of the real world, such as biology, chemistry, or physics.
Technology - Knowledge of computers, internet, and other technological devices

Specialties

Characters may also have specialties in these skills, which provides a boost in certain situations. For example, a character may have a specialty of “Surgery” in the Medicine Skill, giving them an additional die to all pools involving surgery. The Academics, Science, Performance, and Craft skills all come with a free specialty.

Touchstones, Convictions, and Tenets

Touchstones

Touchstones are a Troll's closest connections beyond their Lusus, the people they confide in and fight for. They could be a mentor, a quadrantmate, or anyone else that a Troll sees as important to them. Each Touchstone is represented by a Conviction, an important personal belief or rule that a Troll lives by. These can be as simple as “don’t kill kids” or as complex as “lying is a tool, and, like any other tool, there are proper and improper ways to use it.", but they have to be something that the Troll lives their life adhering to as best they can. Breaking a Conviction or harming a Touchstone, intentionally or not, causes significant psychological turmoil within a Troll that may ultimately lead to a loss in Stability.

Chronicle Tenets

Chronicle Tenets are guidelines by which the Chronicle will run. These should be agreed upon by both the players and the Storyteller, and can encapsulate anything from genre or period emulation to dramatic irony or personal taste. Chronicle Tenets apply to all players in the Chronicle regardless of whether the player’s Troll holds this belief personally. Breaking a Chronicle Tenet results in one or more Stability Stains, depending on the severity of the action.

Rolls

Troll: The Culling’s primary resolution method is Dice Pools. When called for by Abilities, Merits, Flaws, or at the Storyteller’s discretion, a player will roll a number of ten-sided dice calculated by their dots in one or more areas (Attributes, Skills, Adaptations, etc.). The roll is made against a difficulty rating, again determined by whatever triggered the roll, and each die that rolls a five or above is counted as a success, while each that rolls below a five is counted as a failure. Success on a roll requires a number of individual successes equal to or greater than the difficulty of the roll.

Critical Failures

A critical failure is one in which the player rolls no successes and at least one 1. Critical failures have consequences beyond just failing the roll. Trying to shoot something? The character’s weapon jams. Trying to hack a computer? It locks the character out permanently and alerts its owner. The consequences are ultimately up to the Storyteller, but they’re rarely anything but detrimental.

Mutation Dice

Depending on their character’s Mutation and Stability levels, one or more of a player's dice will be replaced by Mutation Dice. These are a representation of how mutated their character has become as a result of using their Adaptations, and can affect a roll in various ways. These effects are called Mutated Successes and Failures, and will be more closely covered in the Stability Section but will be briefly addressed here. 

Mutated Successes happen when one or more of a player’s Mutation Dice roll a 10, and, while considered a success, can cause unpredictable side-effects, typically relating to a character’s Adaptations. Mutated Failures happen when there are no successes and one or more of a player’s Mutation Dice rolls a one, and, similar to critical failures, can have disastrous consequences relating to one’s Adaptations. The consequences of both are, once again, up to the Storyteller.

Experience Points

Experience Points are Troll: The Culling’s primary reward system and can be used to upgrade characters. Players can spend EXP to increase their Attributes or Skills, add dots or extra abilities to their Adaptations, purchase additional Merit dots, or buy back Flaws. Players may not buy back Rejection Flaws, nor can they use EXP to purchase Abnormalities.

Experience Points are earned at the discretion of the Storyteller, but all players should gain some number of points each session.

Outro

Hey, all! Long-ass first post, but I wanted to get this out of the way before hitting the cool, new stuff (like I did for the original posts). This is going to be the longest mechanics update, given that I went over every non-original system (outside of one which I'm saving for later), but it's important to give a bit of a foundation before really digging in. Anyway, next week we'll be tackling the first of Troll: The Culling's core mechanics: Mutation, so stay tuned for that!

Big Playtesting Announcement

In the Shake-Up announcement that came a few weeks ago (2 posts up from here), I unintentionally told a tiny little lie, that being that I didn't know when Playtesting would start. At the time I didn't know it was a lie, but very recently things have picked up, and I'm confident in saying the following: Playtesting will start in Late September/Early October! The systems are finished, the backstory is coming along quickly now that I'm really in the zone, and I'm confident that things will be ready for playtesting by then. I'll start contacting everyone who signed up for Playtesting around the middle of next month, so if you've filled out the form keep an eye out for a friend request from me on Discord!

Anyway, on to the usual: The Playtesting Interest Form (link here: https://forms.gle/ShNDqjVLUqNBds736 ) is still open, and it'll stay that way until the end of next month (hey, we have a deadline now). If you are interested in participating in the first round of playtesting (and having your Troll immortalized within the digital pages of Troll: The Culling's source book), go fill it out! Like I've said the last few times, it is 18+, since, again, mature themes and all that, but any level of experience with WOD or TTRPGs in general are welcome! As a reminder, everyone who fills it out, whether they're part of playtesting or not, gets access to the Sourcebook earlier than the general public, and everyone who participates in playtesting can have their Troll added to the Sourcebook as an official T:TC character if they so wish.

Thanks for reading, and see you all next week with Part 2: Mutation!

TROLL: THE CULLING - PART 2: MUTATION

Mutation is one half of Troll: The Culling's two core systems, with Stability being the other. These are the game's primary mechanics, and thus their most important components. All other new mechanics added by Troll: The Culling, as well as some of the original WOD mechanics that this system alters, link back to them. The Mutation Mechanic is somewhat similar in form to Vampire: The Masquerade's hunger mechanic, but it has significant differences in function and effect on the Chronicle.

Mutation happens naturally over the course of a Chronicle. It’s representative of a Troll's body being internally warped and twisted by the biological stress of their Adaptations, and, as a result, is entirely unavoidable. There are ways to accelerate the Mutation process, primarily through a Troll using their Adaptation Abilities, but there are also ways in which it can be managed, decelerated, and even reversed. The process cannot be stopped, however, and is always a looming threat over any Troll’s head, no matter how little they use their Adaptations.

Mutation Level

A Troll's Mutation Level is a measure of how mutated they are from using their Adaptations. It ranges from zero, meaning no significant effect, to five, indicating a significant risk of instability. Each time a Troll uses their adaptations in any significant way (meaning something they have to roll a Mutation Check for), they run the risk of increasing their mutation level and potentially bringing themself closer to Rejection.

Mutation Check

A Mutation Check is a simple, one-die roll to determine whether a Troll's Mutation Level rises or not. Mutation Checks are performed after Mutated Successes or Failures, as required by a Troll's Adaptation Abilities, and at the beginning of each session. If the roll is succeeded, the Troll's Mutation Level stays unchanged, but upon failure the Level is increased by one. If a player whose Troll is at Mutation 5 fails a Mutation Check, they receive a stain on their Stability.

Mutation Dice

Mutation Dice are special dice that impact all of a player’s rolls. They replace a certain number of dice in a dice pool based on their Troll's Mutation Level and Stability Rating. The exact amount is calculated by adding the Troll's Mutation Level to the Base Mutation Dice of their Stability Level. If a player’s total Mutation Dice exceeds the pool for their roll, they do not add any additional dice and simply roll the pool on Mutation Dice. Mutation Dice affect a player’s rolls in two potential ways: Mutated Successes and Failures.

Mutated Success

Mutated Successes occur when the player rolls a success and one or more of their mutation dice rolls a ten. While counting as a success, these rolls often result in unpredictable side-effects. A Troll attempting to punch someone, while landing the punch, may injure themself in the process. A Troll trying to take someone out from a concealed position may succeed in taking the target out while also revealing their position to everyone around them. If a player rolls a Mutated Success on any roll, not just those involving Adaptations, they must make a Mutation Check.

Mutated Failure

Mutated Failures occur when the player rolls a failure and one or more of their mutation dice rolls a one. Similar to Critical Failures, these rolls have consequences beyond just failing the attempted action, though these consequences are often far more severe. A Troll attempting to heal another with Radionics may end up cooking them alive by disrupting their homeostasis. A Troll trying to use Hypnotics to try and take information from another’s mind may end up deleting the information they were looking for, if not more, from the target’s mind entirely. Similar to Mutated Successes, Mutated Failures must always be followed by a Mutation Check.

Managing Mutation

Mutation may be lowered through fulfilling a Troll's Duty Norm and pleasing their Lusus through Doting Actions. If a player does any of these things, they make another Mutation Check. If the check succeeds, their Mutation Level is lowered by one. Otherwise, their Mutation Level stays the same. Each of these can lower a Troll's Mutation Level once per session. It's extremely important for a Troll to keep track of and manage their Mutation Level, as ignoring it for too long can lead to drops in Stability.

Outro

So that's the first of the two core mechanics down! Mutation and Stability are both equally as important as each other, but I figured I'd get Mutation done first since Stability is pretty heavily reliant on it. There are a couple of terms in here that'll get more of an explanation in next week's entry, like Stability Stains and Rejection.

Anyway, obligatory playtesting blurb go!

The Playtesting Interest Form (link here: https://forms.gle/ShNDqjVLUqNBds736 ) is still open, and it'll stay that way until the end of next month. Slots for the first two sessions are almost full, so if you're interested in participating in the first round of playtesting (and having your Troll immortalized within the digital pages of Troll: The Culling's Sourcebook), go fill it out! Like I've said, it is 18+, since, again, mature themes and all that, but any level of experience with WOD or TTRPGs in general are welcome! As a reminder, everyone who fills it out, whether they're part of playtesting or not, gets access to the Sourcebook earlier than the general public, and everyone who participates in the first round of playtesting can have their Troll added to the Sourcebook as an official T:TC character if they so wish.

Thanks for reading, and I'll see you all next week with Part 3: Mutation!

TROLL: THE CULLING - PLAYTESTING CALL

Hello, all! I've got one major announcement and one minor announcement to share today regarding Troll: The Culling, so please give them a read if you're interested in the system!

Major Announcement: Playtesting Call

Seeing as playtesting begins next month, I going to be doing a couple of playtesting calls that aren't tied to any specific post. My main goal with these is to remind/inform people that the Playtesting Interest Form (link here: https://forms.gle/ShNDqjVLUqNBds736 ) is still open! All levels of experience in any of the associated fandoms are welcome, and slots for the first round are almost full. If you're interested in Playtesting Troll: The Culling, getting the sourcebook early, and potentially having your Troll added as a T:TC-Canon character, go fill it out now (as long as you're 18 or older). I'll be closing the form on October 1st, so don't miss your chance!

Minor Announcement: Public Discord (18+)
I am working on setting up an official Discord Server for Troll: The Culling. This'll probably be where I put the Sourcebook first (after the Playtester Sign-ups get it, of course), so keep an eye out for that link to pop up. The server is going to be 18+. I may be doing some "official" Chronicles in there (way after playtesting, of course), and World of Darkness is a more mature playing field anyway, so I'm gonna keep the same restrictions that I have for playtesting.

Outro:

Bit shorter of an update than the last one, and you'll be seeing more of the first chunk every week as we get closer to playtesting, but I'm really excited about starting Troll: The Culling's first two Chronicles and I want to share it with as many players as I can manage. Anyway, thanks for reading through all that! Tune in this Thursday for Part 3 of the intro series (which is Stability, not Mutation) and next week for another Playtesting Call!