StoryPathGame

1. What is Storypath?

Positioning: Storypath is a flexible, modular tabletop role-playing game system focused on narrative-first storytelling, designed to empower players to drive character-driven stories within diverse settings. It serves as a foundational engine for various distinct game lines published by Onyx Path Publishing, such as Scion and Trinity Continuum.

Functional Panorama: The system covers core gameplay mechanics including a d10 dice pool system for action resolution, a “Stunts” mechanic for enhancing outcomes, a “Conditions” system for narrative tags affecting characters, and a “Scale” mechanic to adjust for the scope of actions. It also incorporates “Character Pillars” to define motivations and “Maneuvers” for structured conflict resolution. The system’s design emphasizes modularity, allowing for easy adaptation to various genres and narrative styles through specific game lines.

2. Storypath’s Use Cases

• Game Masters can use the Storypath system to run dynamic, character-focused campaigns across a multitude of genres, easily adapting the core rules to fit their desired setting and narrative themes.
• Players can use Storypath to create deeply motivated characters through the “Character Pillars” mechanic, engaging in stories where their choices significantly impact the evolving narrative and world.
• TTRPG Designers/Creators can utilize the Storypath engine as a robust and adaptable framework for developing new settings and game lines, leveraging its modularity and narrative focus to build unique play experiences.
• Educators and Storytelling Enthusiasts can employ Storypath as a tool to explore collaborative storytelling, character development, and improvisational narrative techniques in a structured yet flexible environment.

3. Storypath’s Key Features

• Modular Core System: The Storypath engine is designed for adaptability, allowing its core mechanics to be easily integrated and customized for various game lines and genres.
• Narrative-First Design: Emphasizes player agency and collaborative storytelling, with mechanics like “Stunts” and “Conditions” directly influencing the ongoing narrative rather than solely numerical outcomes.
• Dice Pool Resolution: Utilizes a d10 dice pool where successes (8s, 9s, and 10s on a die) determine the outcome of actions, providing a clear and scalable system for resolving conflicts and challenges.
• Conditions System: Characters acquire temporary or lasting “Conditions” that represent narrative states, injuries, or advantages, dynamically impacting their capabilities and opportunities within the story.
• Recent Game Line Expansion: The Storypath Ultra system continues to expand its applications with new game lines, such as the recent Kickstarter launch for Trinity Continuum: Aegis, demonstrating its ongoing modularity and development across diverse settings.
• User-Praised Narrative Depth: Users frequently commend Storypath for its narrative depth and character-driven focus. Community discussions often highlight the desire for more streamlined rules explanations for advanced mechanics like extended maneuvers or complex scale interactions.

4. How to Use Storypath?

Official Workflow:

1. Character Creation: Define a character concept, assign points to Attributes and Skills, choose Paths and Knacks, and establish Character Pillars that inform motivations and provide mechanical benefits.
2. Scene Framing: The Game Master establishes the scene and initial conflict. Players describe their character’s actions and intentions, contributing to the narrative’s unfolding.
3. Action Resolution: When an outcome is uncertain, the player rolls a dice pool of d10s, counting 8s, 9s, and 10s as successes. The number of successes determines the degree of achievement.
4. Applying Conditions: Outcomes of actions, successes, and failures can lead to characters gaining or losing Conditions, which have both mechanical and narrative impacts on gameplay.
5. Utilizing Stunts: Players can describe clever or risky actions to earn “Stunts,” which can add dice to their pool, grant bonus successes, or provide narrative advantages to their actions.

Pro Tips:

• Embrace the Narrative Flow: Both GMs and players should lean into the narrative outcomes of Conditions and Stunts, allowing them to organically reshape the story rather than viewing them merely as mechanical bonuses or penalties.
• Pillar-Driven Roleplaying: Actively roleplay your character’s Pillars to earn “Beat” points. These points can be spent to remove negative Conditions or gain other advantages, fostering deep character immersion and driving the narrative forward.
• Modular Rule Integration: For GMs, selectively incorporate advanced rules like specific Maneuvers or Scale modifiers as needed for the tone and complexity of your campaign, rather than using every rule simultaneously, to maintain narrative fluidity.

5. Storypath’s Pricing & Access

• Core Rulebooks: Access to the Storypath system is primarily through its core rulebooks, available for various game lines in both PDF and print formats. PDF versions of core rulebooks typically range from $20-$30 USD, while physical print copies generally retail for $50-$60 USD.
• Digital Distribution: Official Storypath products are widely available through digital storefronts like DriveThruRPG.com, offering immediate access to PDF versions and print-on-demand options, making the system highly accessible globally.
• Limited-Time Offers: Onyx Path Publishing frequently runs sales and bundles on DriveThruRPG, with recent promotions in Q2 2024 offering discounts of up to 50% on various Storypath-powered game lines and supplements, providing cost-effective entry points for new players.
• Tier Differences: While not a subscription model, different game lines represent distinct adaptations or evolutionary stages of the system, often requiring their own core rulebooks and supplements to access specific settings, rule variations, and content.

6. Storypath’s Comprehensive Advantages

• Exceptional Narrative Flexibility: Storypath distinguishes itself from many traditional TTRPGs by explicitly prioritizing narrative over rigid simulation. Its “Conditions” and “Stunts” mechanics directly feed into narrative progression, allowing for stories to unfold organically without being overly constrained by exhaustive rule sets.
• Deep Character-Driven Engagement: The “Character Pillars” system provides a robust and unique framework for player motivation, a distinct advantage over systems that rely solely on character alignment or background. This ensures characters are deeply invested in the story’s outcomes, enhancing player agency.
• High Modularity for Diverse Genres: Compared to many single-setting game systems, Storypath’s modular design allows it to power a wide array of genres—from mythological urban fantasy to hard sci-fi and horror—with relative ease, demonstrating its versatile and robust underlying architecture for diverse creative applications.
• Strong Community & Publisher Support: Onyx Path Publishing maintains an active developer blog, forums, and a consistent release schedule of new content, supplements, and errata. This fosters a vibrant and supportive ecosystem for players and GMs.