Avatar: The Second Age

I've been working on a full conversion of FFG Star Wars to Avatar since September.

Here is what I have so far:

docs.google.com/document/d/1SCD0NBMaCJ54njx0uXVjzsV60iw-L7ViEWJndwom3vQ/edit?usp=sharing

Feel free to leave comments. I have not play tested or balanced any of this content yet and the content is still severely lacking in terms of late-game bending techniques, adversaries, gear & equipment, and adventures....

But if you're interested in exploring this universe, check it out!

Other urls found in this thread:

moptop4000.deviantart.com/gallery/25272209/Avatar
docs.google.com/document/d/1SCD0NBMaCJ54njx0uXVjzsV60iw-L7ViEWJndwom3vQ/edit?usp=sharing
twitter.com/NSFWRedditImage

I've played and enjoyed a lot of EotE, AoR, and F&D. I think that Fantasy Flight Game's narrative dice system lends itself very nicely to the Avatar universe due to the way the core mechanic tries to emulate episodic, fast-paced stories. FFG created the system to explore a vast universe which facilitates the same desire in players who want to explore the Avatar universe.

The core mechanic for Star Wars is the narrative dice which relies on a success/fail mechanic. You want to perform an action and you either succeed or you don't. The nuance is that sometimes you fail, either due to the environment or other narrative circumstances which can be quantified in negative modifier dice. Sometimes, even though you fail your action, you may still gain some sort of advantage and sometimes you succeed but with unintended negative consequences.

I think the combat system is what needed the most work to really emulate the fluid and often ad-hoc nature of the fights in the Avatar world. So when it comes to bending, entrenched techniques (like the water whip) are outlined as though they were Force techniques. This means you start with a basic technique but each technique can be upgraded along a tree to enhance the ability in ways to make it more powerful, potent, or to boost the form's utility.

So specific bending forms are handled by a Bending skill (itself reliant upon *any* of the characteristics depending on the nature of the ability) whereas generic moves that are narrative, like sliding across an ice path or using earthbending to enhance your ability to climb a steep cliff, are handled by a Bending Arts skill to represent the utilitarian nature of bending.

By separating certain techniques into outlined abilities (Bending) and free-form maneuvers (Bending Arts), I've provided players with definitive mechanics for combat as well as the narrative flexibility for improvisation.

...

Bampu

If anyone has questions or insight, I am here to answer!

I don't know really anything about the ffg starwars games beyond your post, but I have wanted to see something built around Avatar for ages.

I get off work in an hour and will be able to inquire further. I just want to tell you I think you're doing god's work user.

Thank you friend!

I'm intrigued, both by your conversion and FFG's Star Wars. i'll be checking this later.

Firstly, I'd like to know, does this conversion require only Edge of the Empire?

I'm reading through the document now. I'll be sure to let you know what I think

The conversion is essentially stand alone. I've synthesized elements from EotE, AoR, and F&D for a single, cohesive experience.

I'm going to download and check this out, but my first question sight unseen is if you kept the Duty/Obligation/Morality systems intact, picked only one, or came up with some replacement for them?

Also, I assume non-bending characters are viable? The explanation post was fairly focused on Benders, but I always liked when the cool-guy warrior types like Mai and Lakota showed up and fucked Benders up (especially without Ty Lee's pressure point shit)

I came up with a replacement for them called Honor. It works like a synthesis of all three systems.

Like Obligation, a character's Honor can have unintended consequences and create plot hooks if left unaddressed.

Like Duty, Honor can be accrued and used as a resource for additional insight or to meet characters; for example, a certain Earth Kingdom petty king may refuse to meet with the party unless they're 'honorable enough' to request an audience. Likewise, characters who are *too* honorable might not be able to convince a Triple Threat gang leader to work with them.

Like Morality, Honor should be a reflection of the characters' actions throughout the story. So if they do something particularly heinous or if they go against their own vows, they should realistically expect to lose some of their Honor.

Non-bending characters should be viable, I've modeled many of them after classes from the rest of the Star Wars games.

There are the four bender specializations, as well as 6 generic non-bending classes each with 3 relatively unique specializations.

I have not had the opportunity to play test everything just yet so I don't know whats completely broken and what's overpowered or underpowered.

Also, please feel free to use this thread to dump really cool images I can use in the rulebook.

I'll bump the thread periodically with some neat shots.

In line with what said, non-bender characters are indeed intended to be viable. In part because not everyone wants to play a bender character, but also because the show itself clearly demonstrates that nonbenders frequently hold their own against benders.

One class, the Martial Artist, has the Chi Blocker specialization. A Chi Blocker has the unique talent, Chi Disruption, which works as follows:

>As an action, the character may perform an Average (2) Martial Arts check to deal strain rather than wounds in addition to blocking a bending opponent from using their forms and bender talents until the beginning of their next turn. This damage ignores soak.

As you gain more experience, Chi Disruption can be upgraded to 'Expert' and 'Master' variations:

Chi Disruption (Expert):
>Each rank in Chi Disruption (Expert) lowers the difficulty of the Chi Disruption skill check by one.

Chi Disruption (Master):
>Chi Disruption immobilizes the target until the end of their next turn.

As you can see by the title, Avatar: The Second Age, the rules are written in the context of a Korra timeline. There are a number of reasons I went down this route, chief among them that my friends and I all want to play during this timeline, which is why I started the conversion in the first place.

The game itself, whenever the first adventure is completed, will take place immediately after Season 3 of Korra - after the assassination of the Earth Queen and after Korra received mercury poisoning and goes on a 3-year hiatus. With the Avatar on hiatus, it gives the characters an opportunity to explore the world with little-to-no interference by a God-like character.

Additionally, new and unique air bender characters make sense canonically and with Tenzin reorganizing the 'Air Nations' into nomads once again, air bender characters have a lot of inherent plot hooks.

Finally, it gives me, as narrator and GM, a chance to explore some cool concepts for a story that I feel Korra missed out on:
- more Equalists and politics
- more unique uses of old bending techniques
- more canon to support the possibility of players becoming lightning, metal, or plantbenders

Plus, it means I get to bring pic related back to life.

That being said, the rules are definitely flexible enough that any GM or player interested in exploring a timeline before Korra and Aang absolutely can do so. All you have to do is cut out the fluff you don't like (such as Satomobiles or electric gloves).

Thus far, this is the backdrop for the adventure I'm writing to play-test:

The Earth Kingdom territories are in turmoil after the assassination of Earth Queen Hou-Ting at the hands of Zaheer, a rogue airbender seeking to introduce chaos into the world. The city of Ba Sing Se, capital of the Earth Kingdom, is in disarray without its ruler which is precisely the fire Zaheer had intended to stoke. Unrest and uncertainty permeate through to the outer rings; with the Earth Queen dead, the line of succession is unclear and many residents of the megacity have begun to question whether they need a monarch at all. For Zaheer, once again apprehended by the Avatar and the White Lotus, this is an accomplishment. For the rest of the world, these unsure circumstances translate to a lack of security.

This perfect storm of uncertainty has emboldened petty Earth monarchs throughout the Earth Kingdom provinces to lay claim to the throne while others seek to use the chaos to bolster their political goals. One such aspiring leader, being dubbed the ‘Great Uniter’, has used this chaos to her advantage, rallying Earth Kingdom citizens behind her cause through nationalist rhetoric to unite the disparate Earth Kingdom under the banner of a new Earth Empire, beginning by quelling the unrest in Ba Sing Se. To do so, the Great Uniter has established a network of covert and overt supporters throughout the Kingdom and within Republic City to foment unrest or rally support for her cause.

With the Avatar missing in action, the future of the world remains uncertain as it is thrown out of balance.

Something I'm really excited about is to play with a group of friends who are also in love with the setting.

There are so many unexplored mysteries, ruins, and histories that I've created an entire class (Scholar) to explore them.

The Scholar class includes the Tinkerer, Archaeologist, and Astronomer specializations, each filling its own little niche.

bumpin

Seriously, any scenery shots you can find from the series would be greatly appreciated.

It's sad how underappreciated some of the backdrops are.

...

Thank you, user!

Ba Sing Se is also another place I am *really* excited to flesh out in the narrative. Little bits like pic related that were essentially glossed over in the show likely host a multitude of interesting characters and plot elements.

Np i have a few more.

Sounds awesome. One thing i'm always worried about when i want to play an Avatar game is how to get the feeling of Atla right. I'm not entirely sure what i'm even looking for but i know i want it.

I also like the idea of taking that same feeling to LoK somehow.

These are very nice references! Please tell me you have one for each of the elements?

Also, what sort of *feeling* are you trying to recall user? I think a lot of those feelings would be the responsible of the GM to try and emulate through consistent worldbuilding and exploration.

Unfortunately no, but i have some different ones.

I guess the feeling is a sense of mystery and exploration. There was something magical about watching Atla to me and it's quite hard to say exactly what it was about it.

Maybe some of the friendship stuff and overcoming the odds?

I'm also usually the GM, but my group is very much not like an Atla party, which might hinder the feeling.

...

That's okay!

I happened to find the original artist and although they don't have something *entirely* similar for all of the elements, they do have a lot of other concept art for bending:

moptop4000.deviantart.com/gallery/25272209/Avatar

hmm, I definitely hear ya - the mystery and adventure from the series was its biggest appeal to me when I first watched the show.

Since you're usually the GM, and your party is not very much like a group of friends overcoming the odds, might I recommend the possibility of introducing a couple NPCs that they should [hopefully] befriend?

Maybe give them an Archaeologist or Astronomer character they have to guide into the Si Wong Desert to try, once again, to find Wan Shi Tong's Library ... only to be resisted by sandbenders, maybe one of which can join the party and explain to them that the library has been moved permanently to the Spirit World.

Since the rules are meant to take place in the time of Korra, those Spirit Portals are technically open...you could make an adventure out of getting to the portals and preparing the party to adventure into the Spirit World to find the Library with the scholar.

Just posting the last of these.

Thanks for helping me keep the thread bumped!

I'll try to pop in and out throughout the day to continue answering any questions and providing insight as to how the system *might* work.

Also so I can post kick-ass reference and concept art like pic related.

I've got a few more scenic backdrops!

Just a reminder that the Google doc for the rulebook is open for reading AND for commentary. You are free to comment on whatever sections you find confusing or whatever you believe should or could be more fleshed out.

docs.google.com/document/d/1SCD0NBMaCJ54njx0uXVjzsV60iw-L7ViEWJndwom3vQ/edit?usp=sharing

AW SHIT
Gimme a minute; I've been thinking up a Rockstar-made Republic City game in my spare time and I've got some ideas I think you might like.
before you ask, yes, you'd be able to go nonbender. Then it becomes GTA mixed with Soulsborne

Oh this sounds great!

I'm all ears...

>FFG Star Wars
FUCKING WHY?!

FFG Star Wars if terrible at making supernatural powers work. Why would you use it as a base for a game where the supernatural powers are the most important part?!

It actually fits pretty well: as a benders skill increases, they don't just get better numbers, they acquire new uses for their bending styles.

Did you at least give them more than just 1 force die that only gives a success 50% of the time?

I'm not the author.

Personally, I chose it because its the system with which I am most familiar and *also* because the people I'll be playing with love the system.

Pragmatically, I chose it because I felt the system works for a game that is heavily-driven by a narrative. A narrative dice system suits Avatar best, in my humble opinion.

I also believe that FFG had the right idea in outlining certain Force abilities with their own technique skill trees. I think this approach works beautifully for an Avatar setting because it gives player characters the ability to focus their experience on whatever abilities they prefer.

Force die don't even come into the mix. In order to enhance or use certain bending techniques, Bender characters will have to voluntarily suffer strain. As they gain experience, they can unlock Class talents that:
- provide additional strain
- mitigate the strain spent OR

they can upgrade the abilities to require less strain to use.

I abandoned the Force dice because of the exact reason you point out, it's incredibly stupid that the technique would only work if a secondary type of dice requires it. Bending "Forms" - unlike Force powers - simply require a Bending skill check, the difficulty of which is determined by the form and any other circumstances the GM feels is relevant.

Did the author at least give them more than 1 force die that only give a success 50% of the time and can only be used on sub-par combat powers?

So the biggest thing I wanted to focus on was what I consider the most criminally underused element of LoK: street gangs. For all the politicking that came up, for all the talk about it being like the 1920s, organized crime plays almost no part. I just read an article about how the formation of jazz greats was influenced by what the mob wanted to be played, since they owned lots and lots of clubs. And since it'd be a Rockstar game, making crime pay would be a good place to start.
The PC would be a new recruit in the Triple Threat Triad, the only (!) multi-ethnic gang in the city. They've got everybody, and they organize their squads to cover all weaknesses. You ok an element at the beginning, which influences not only what you bend but how people treat you - a firebender in a sandbender ghetto might get shit on.
If you go nonbender, everyone within the game is at least mildly-bigoted towards you. Aside from mechanical considerations, my favorite part of this so far has been the Masters.

I also think the street gangs are criminally underutilized in Korra. Ideally, they'll play a much larger role in the game (for my party anyway - it's up to each individual GM to decide what route they take).

With respect to your entire Rockstar-game concept, you could *very easily* emulate that kind of setting and playstyle with the rules I've drafted up. There are plenty of non-bender specializations to throw into the mix, too.

I like where you're going, because I really *really* want to explore the politics and social climate of Republic City.

>Force die don't even come into the mix
Bueno

>mitigate the strain spent
>require less strain to use
Is the stress mitigated "to a minimum of 1" or other gay shit like that, or can you use some powers for 0 strain?

In Avatar, as in all Kung fu stories, you need someone to teach you in order to get new and better techniques. The other gangs would do all their teaching in-house, but the Triad would instead employ contractors from outside, since their whole philosophy is built around being okay with working with The Other if it gets the job done. Each Master is a philosophical corruption of their element, as established by Iroh.
>Water
A bunch of surfer-dude layabouts who happen to be really, really excellent Waterbenders. In return for their services, the Triad provides them with drugs made from Spirit World substances. They may ask you to get them a specific drug that's said to actually astral project you into the Spirit World. Water is the element of change, but rather than be the change, they are themselves tossed to and fro by life, and their loyalty is tenuous at best.
>Fire
The Circle of True Thunder, a group of old-school firebenders who decry the cheapening of lightning in this new age. What was once a sacred art mastered only by the truly worthy is now an industrial tool in the hands of plebeians, and worse, cops. In return for their services, they get cash for prostelyzation efforts and a chance to show the world through you what lightning is all about. They may ask you to get them one of those fancy electric weapons, to better understand their heresy. Fire is the element of power, but that power is made manifest in what is clearly a cult.

Great question! All ~complex~ bending techniques are classified separately from regular talents as "Forms." Unlike talents, which are one-off or sometimes tiered, Forms were described above as analogous to Force powers with their own talent trees.

For example, the waterbending ability to phase shift water from ice or ice to water is its own talent; specifically, it starts out as a maneuver and can be later unlocked as an incidental.

Water Whip, on the other hand, is a ubiquitous combat technique that each and every waterbender trains endlessly to perfect. To reflect this, the Water Whip is a Form technique.

Pic related is a rough draft (unbalanced) proposal of how the water whip (and other forms) will function mechanically.

As you can see, all Forms start out with a base technique that can be enhanced and upgraded with respect to that particular technique. As the waterbender gains experience and "through training" hones their craft, they can upgrade their Water Whip in a variety of different ways, including the 'training' necessary to remove the strain cost of the base technique.

In addition, all bender specializations (Earth, Fire, Air, Water) have access to the "Chi Channeling" Talent.

Chi Channeling
>Maneuver. Once per encounter, until end of turn, may perform one Bending Form without taking strain.

This talent is usually down a ways on the skill tree, but its written in such a way that a Bender could potentially use a Water Whip - and fully enhance it with all of the upgrades - without incurring any strain at all during that turn.

Dude I am loving these ideas and I sincerely hope you would be willing to let me lift and adapt them for use in some pre-written adventures for Avatar: The Second Age.

>Air
The newest addition to the Triad's forces, a former Air Acolyte who went full Airbender after season 2. He was kidnapped and is being blackmailed with some secret info into teaching the airbender recruits from around the city how to employ a largely nonviolent art in criminal pursuits (namely cat burglary). He/she may ask you to arrange a meeting with his/her family, who believes he/she is dead. Air is the element of freedom, but this Master has resigned himself to his enslavement.
>Earth
The owner of a nation-spanning chain of McDojo belt factories, the idea of which was touched upon in "The Blind Bandit". In return for that sweet, sweet mob money, he/she holds closed sessions for the Triad. He/she may ask you for help opening up a new location on the opposite side of the city. Earth is the element of substance, but instead of building something worthwhile that will stand the test of time, he/she has made a living off of substandard teaching.

Congratulations, you're officially a better game designer than FFG

I'd love to be involved in the writing process

I could use some assistance in that department for sure.

Your ideas for each of the elements in the criminal underground - and the way you outlined how each one's plot hooks could work - are really great and I can tell there's a lot of substance to work off of there.

Please feel free to shoot me an email: [email protected]

We can work together for sure!

I just realized that's actually the older version of water whip. The latest iteration has two different "Manipulation" upgrades in the second row. The second one allows the bender to create a second water whip, as a maneuver for 1 strain. The two whips can be used as though the bender were Two-Weapon Fighting.

Make there be more talents and more talent tiers than in FFGSWRPGs. A master waterbender could pull off way more than 2 such whips, with effort.

Talents are tiered off:
- Basic
- Expert
- Master

(See Chi Disruption example: )

Bending Forms are also tiered off and I'll just copy/pasta that section of Chapter VIII: Bending:

Basic Forms
>Newly created bender characters and young learners in the game have only just attained a beginner’s understanding of the bending arts. Unseasoned benders still struggle to manipulate even handfuls of the element and have trouble sustaining and controlling the manipulated matter for extended periods of time.

Advanced Forms
>Veteran benders have gained a familiarity over the basics and are able to finely manipulate their respective elements. Advanced forms are techniques that really start to push the bender to her limits, but enable her to perform more powerful techniques and technical feats. Benders can sustain and and chain techniques together for potent combinations.

Expert Forms
>Expert bending forms are the result of truly dedicated benders who spend much of their time training and honing their art. Experts can manipulate multiple instances of the Basic and Advanced forms at the same time, can sustain techniques almost indefinitely and can really transform them into devastating powers.

Master Forms
>Certain, rare forms are attainable only in unique circumstances. These are not forms that your average bender can teach themselves, but must be taught or learned through other means. Bending Masters and bending scrolls are two sources for these powerful abilities which can turn benders into a formidable force of nature.

So yeah, a Master waterbender would theoretically have the ability to develop and train the 'Octopus Form' bending technique which I've planned to be a Master (or Expert) level Form with the prerequisite that the character has unlocked the Water Whip technique.

I've found some surprisingly good concept art on DeviantArt.

...

I mean, just look at these beautiful ruins just RIPE for exploration!

This has been an especially productive and insightful thread for me.

I especially want to thank the user with the street gang ideas, as well as the all of the anons who asked me questions about how certain mechanics are intended to capture the magic of the series (figuratively and literally)!

Encouraging field trips outside the city has to be key

It absolutely does, which is part of the reason I want to work out the last few chapters, which are essentially just fluff chapters. It's a lot of work, most of which has simply been copying and pasting (sometimes editing) directly from the Avatar wiki (avatar.wikia.com)

I am working on an adventure as mentioned before:
I've got a few adversarial NPCs in mind already and then this user
had some awesome ideas to explore Republic City's underground life.

Final bump for the night!

Will you have rules for energybending? I'd be interested in that, especially if you took stuff like astral projection from air and spiritbending from water and put them into energybending.
Partly because I want to use an alt. Amon who's a spiritbender instead of a waterbender.

...

The rules aren't there *yet* - right now I am focusing on the four core elements but all subsets will make an appearance, including spiritbending.