I was spoilt for choice when it came to illustrating this article. The one that I’ve eventually chosen is “brick-1-1166510” by ilker, courtesy of freeimages.com. I’ve saved the others to use in illustrating an article series that will be rather trickier to accompany!

It’s still not certain which game system will be used for the Zener Gate campaign, but discussion with one of the players clarified many of the concepts of the original game system that was forming in the back of my mind as an option.

As I thought the process and ideas might be of interest to readers, I’ve decided to set them down – and my thoughts – for all to see.

This is not a finished game system – just a rough blueprint of the content that will be incorporated into the game system if I go ahead and write it. The goal is to be mechanically fast, with a flexibility that comes from being relatively abstract.

Stats

Not sure how many of these there will be yet, nor what they will all be named in the end, but some are fairly clear.

• STR – Strength, i.e. physical force.
• CON – Constitution, i.e. health.
• END – Endurance. Starts equal to CON.
• RES – Resistance to physical harm, assuming maximum defensive armor. Lighter armors will subtract from it.
• NIM – Nimbleness. Heavier armors will subtract from it.
• HP – Hit Points. Equal to 2 x CON + RES + NIM.
• SHK – Shock Threshold. equal to 1/5th HP, round up. If an attack does this much damage or more in one round, the character must make a CON save or be rendered unconscious for d10 time on the universal scale (see below). For every point that the shock threshold is exceeded, there is a -1 penalty to the save and +1 modifier to the time roll.
• ACC – Accuracy with aimed weapons.
• MEL – effectiveness with Melee weapons & unarmed.
• DEX – overall measure of manual dexterity, used for manipulating tools and keyboards. The stat rolled is averaged with NIM to get the actual stat value. Hand protection will subtract from it.
• PRAC – the character’s aptitude for Practical skills.
• THEO – the character’s aptitude for intellectual/analytic/Theory skills.
• ENC – Encyclopedic Knowledge, the character’s knowledge bank of facts and processes.
• LAN – the character’s capacity for quick-learning Languages. Discussed below.
• INT – Intelligence. Equal to 1/4 of (PRAC + THEO + ENC + LAN), + 1d6, -1d6.
• AWA – Awareness of the environment around the character, used for “spot” and “listen” checks.
• PERS – Personality, a combination of Presence, Charisma, and Persuasiveness, the foundation of any interpersonal skills.
• KARMA – The universe’s debt to the character’s good fortune. Initially 10, -1 for each stat with a score of 17 or better, +1 for each stat with a score of 8 or less. Karma can be sacrificed in-game to gain a lucky advantage or to buy off a restriction placed on the PCs by the campaign background, the latter at prices to be determined by the GM. Some penalties must be bought off collectively by all PCs contributing to a pool. The GM can also throw unlucky circumstances at the PCs which turn into a Karma boost if the PCs overcome the circumstance indirectly, i.e. without directly countering with PC Karma, effectively adding to the XP that the characters get for the adventure.

There may be more, but those 18 seem adequate for now.

Rolling Stats

Stats are populated in four steps.

1. Generation

To generate a character, the players roll 4d6, re-rolling sixes, until they have a list of results half again as long as the number of stats. Presently, there are 18 stats, but INT, HP, SHK, and Karma don’t count because they are handled as calculations, so currently 21 rolls would be needed; list the results on some scrap paper.

For the record, the potential results are 4 to 20, the average is 12, and the chance of each result (out of 625) are: 1-4-10-20-35-52-68-80-85-80-68-52-35-20-10-4-1.

2. Selection

Characters must select the single highest result AND the results immediately above and below that roll. Assume the list “wraps around”. If there’s a tie, the player can pick which one to use. Copy selected rolls to a separate list and cross them off.

Characters must select the single lowest result AND the .results immediately above and below that roll, pretending any results crossed out are not on the list. If there’s a tie, the player can pick which one to use. Copy selected rolls to a separate list and cross them off.

Characters must select one 13, 14, or 15 result AND the results immediately above and below that roll, pretending any results crossed out are not on the list. If there’s a tie, the player can pick which one to use. Copy selected rolls to a separate list and cross them off. NB: Ordinary NPCs must use 11-12-13 for this step.

The Character can pick any one remaining result. The rest of the original list are then discarded.

3. Allocation

The player should already have selected a profession for the character. The stat rolls are allocated to the different stats as the player sees fit, to reflect the proficiencies required for that profession.

4. Calculation

Finally, the INT and HP scores are calculated (round in the character’s favor).

An Example

Although the language I?ve used above is slightly different, and (I hope) somewhat clearer, one of my players had trouble understanding the process until I did a quick back-of-an-envelope example to illustrate the procedures. So let?s do a quick example for anyone who hasn?t quite followed.

I start by generating a list of 21 rolls of 4d6, re-rolling all sixes:
&nbsp:

	2, 3, 3, 5	2, 4, 5, 6 → 2	5, 5, 5, 6 → 2	2, 2, 3, 5	2, 3, 4, 6 → 4
	=13	=13	=17	=12	=13
	1, 3, 5, 5	3, 5, 5, 6 → 3	1, 1, 3, 6 → 6 → 2	1, 2, 4, 5	2, 2, 3, 4
	=14	=16	=7	=12	=11
	4, 6 → 3, 6 → 4, 6 → 2	3, 3, 4, 6 → 3	1, 3, 5, 5	5, 5, 5, 6 → 5	2, 3, 3, 4
	=13	=16	=14	=20	=12
	3, 3, 4, 5	1, 1, 4, 6 → 5	4, 4, 5, 6 → 6 → 3	2, 3, 5, 6 → 4	1, 3, 4, 5
	=15	=11	=16	=14	=13
	2, 4, 5, 6 → 2
	=13

 

(Practical Advice Note: I found it a lot easier to roll the dice in batches of 5 lots of 4 dice, exactly the way it?s shown in the table above).

 

13, 13, 17, 12, 13, 14, 16, 7, 12, 11, 13, 16, 14, 20, 12, 15, 11, 16, 14, 13, 13.

 
(It’s necessary to imagine these in a column running down the page).

The single highest result is the single 20 result. Immediately ?above? that is a 14, and below that, a 12. So that?s our first trio of selected rolls, which are crossed off the original list:
 

13, 13, 17, 12, 13, 14, 16, 7, 12, 11, 13, 16, 14, 20, 12, 15, 11, 16, 14, 13, 13. 14, 20, 12.

 
The single lowest roll (by miles) is the 7. Above that is a 16 and below it is a 12. So we copy those three rolls into the selected rolls list and cross them off the working list:
 

13, 13, 17, 12, 13, 14, 16, 7, 12, 11, 13, 16, 14, 20, 12, 15, 11, 16, 14, 13, 13. 14, 20, 12, 16, 7, 12.

 
There are lots of 13, 14, and 15 results to choose from. The decision has to be based on the rolls above and below it.

• The first result is a 13. Above that (wrapping around from the end of the list) is the last result, another 13, while below it is a third 13, for a group 13, 13, 13. Their total is 39, so that?s the score to beat.
• The second result is a 13. Above that is the first result, another 13, while below it is a 17, for a group 13, 13, 17. This has a total of 43, so that?s the new best result.
• The fifth result is a 13. Above that is a 12, and below it is a 14, for a group 12, 13, 14. This has a total of 39 ? as good as the first choice but not as good as the second.
• The sixth result is a 14. Above that is 13, below that is an 11, because the 16, 7, and 12 have been crossed out. So that?s a group 13, 14, 11. They have a total of 38, which is a new low.
• The eleventh is a 13. Above it is an 11, and below that is a 16, for a group 11, 13, 16. This is a total of 40, making it the second-best choice.
• The thirteenth result was a 14, but it?s been crossed out and can?t be used.
• The sixteenth result is a 15, Above it (ignoring the crossed-out numbers) is 16 and below that is 11, for a group 16, 15, 11. These add up to 42, becoming the new second-best choice.
• The nineteenth result is a 14. Above it is a 16, and below it a 13, for a group 16, 14, 13. They total 43, matching the best choice on offer.
• The twentieth result is a 13, but the numbers above and below it are 14 and 13, so the resulting group isn?t really in the running.
• The twenty-first and last result is a 13. Above that is another 13, and below it (because the list is treated as wrapping around back to the beginning) is the first 13. But a 13, 13, 13 combination won?t cut it.

So the choice is between 13, 13, 17 and 16, 14, 13. Since the next step is to cherry-pick from the remaining answers, it?s best to pick the one that has more high scores, even if one of the scores is less than the best In the other group. So the choice is the 16, 14, 13 group. Add it to the chosen results and cross them off the list:
 

13, 13, 17, 12, 13, 14, 16, 7, 12, 11, 13, 16, 14, 20, 12, 15, 11, 16, 14, 13, 13. 14, 20, 12, 16, 7, 12, 16, 14, 13.

 
With nine of the 14 stat values now selected, there are two different philosophical approaches to consider for the remaining 5 scores. Some players like to add color to their characters by deliberately choosing one or two of the lowest remaining scores on the list ? the roleplayers. Power-gamers will simply pick the five best scores that aren?t crossed out. If I assume that I?m rolling up an NPC, I?ll usually tak the first approach except when designing a villain. For the sake of the example, let?s pick one low score and the four best, something of a compromise between the two philosophies.

There?s an 11. In fact, two of them ? those are the lowest scores. The four best are 17, 16, 15, and 14. Not used are an 11, a 12, and a bunch of 13s. So the final list of stat rolls are:
 

13, 13, 17, 12, 13, 14, 16, 7, 12, 11, 13, 16, 14, 20, 12, 15, 11, 16, 14, 13, 13. 14, 20, 12, 16, 7, 12, 16, 14, 13, 11, 17, 16, 15, 14.

 
Or, if I list them from low to high:
 

13, 13, 17, 12, 13, 14, 16, 7, 12, 11, 13, 16, 14, 20, 12, 15, 11, 16, 14, 13, 13. 7, 11, 12, 12, 13, 14, 14, 14, 15, 16, 16, 16, 17, 20.

 
Next comes allocating the scores. I would normally select which two were going to be my dump stats (the 7 and the 11) and then prioritize from the high roll down ? the 20, the 17, the three 16s, and then the 15. From the stats that are left, pick the ones that are to get the 12s and the ones that are to get the 14s, leaving the last one to get the 13. But how a player might choose to handle that is up to them.

Stat Checks

These will be relatively rare but not unheard-of, especially when the character doesn’t have an applicable skill. To make a stat check, the character rolls 3d6 plus a modifier from the GM that reflects any circumstantial modifiers and the inherent difficulty of the task. The total must be less than or equal to the character’s stat in order to succeed.

Skill Foundations

Divide each stat by 2, rounding up. Add 2. That is the base value of any skill that is used with the stat for the basis of skill checks. Since stats have a maximum value of 20 (as rolled), that gives a range for skill foundations of 4-12.

Skills

Characters start with skill points equal to their INT x 2.

Characters define their own skills. Their profession must be the first such skill listed. Skills are Holistic in nature, not precise.

Skills are classified by the GM as Specific, Narrow, or Broad, depending on how much is implied by the label applied by the player. Specific skills are only useful for one small, closely-related set of tasks; Narrow skills are useful for a somewhat wider variety of tasks; and Broad skills are useful in a wide variety of applications. These cost 1, 2, or 4 skill points, respectively.

For example, the first four skills listed by a character might be:

Homicide Detective
Boy Scout
Fisherman
Park Ranger

While ‘Homicide Detective’ is a Narrow skill-set, it implies experience as a general police officer, which is a broader skill-set. So it’s a 4-point purchase.

‘Boy Scout’ implies a lot of practical experience, so it is also a 4-point purchase.

‘Fisherman’ is very restricted in what it can be used for, so that’s a 1-point purchase.

‘Park Ranger’ is also fairly restricted, but clearly broader than ‘Fisherman’; it’s a 2-point purchase. So these four skills total 11 points.

Purchase gives the skill a base value of 5 ranks in that skill.

Skill Checks

When the PC attempts a task, he lists any skills he feels are relevant. The GM selects a stat basis that he thinks is most relevant. The player adds his ranks in the skill and the stat basis value to get the target value. He then rolls 4d6 and must get less than or equal to the target to succeed.

Secondary Bonuses

If a character has more than one skill that might be relevant, he must select the most relevant one, breaking ties in favor of narrowness. Each additional skill, if the GM agrees that it is relevant, adds 2 to the target value for the check.

For example, when Fishing, a character’s Fisherman skill and DEX are the logical foundations, but Boy Scout is potentially relevant as well. The GM agrees. “Fisherman” is a narrower skill than “Boy Scout”, so “Fisherman” is the primary skill for the check, and “Boy Scout” adds 2 to the target that must not be exceeded.

This means that it’s beneficial to list both a general skill and any more specialized skills in which the character wants to have additional expertise over and above his general proficiency. The idea is that the general skill provides a definitional ‘safety net’ for all the things that the character doesn’t have a specialist skill in.

Weapon Skills

Characters can take weapon skills. These are broadly defined, and cost 2 skill points each, or general category skills, costing 3 skill points each. “Gun” is a general category, and so is “Firearm”. “Handgun” or “Pistol” or “Rifle” are broadly defined weapons types. If characters want to waste their points, a specific skill in a specific model (1 point) can also be applied.

Unproficient

If a character attempts a task in which his only skill is incorrectly specialized and he doesn’t have a general catch-all – for example, using a 44 Magnum when his only firearms skill is “.33 special” – he is considered to have No ranks in the relevant skill and his chance of success is defined by the relevant Skill Foundation alone, +1 for each indirectly-related skill the GM deems appropriate.

Improving Skills

Characters can buy additional ranks in skills at the price of 1 skill point per rank. Because narrow-focus skills take usage preference over broader skills, the benefits of improving a broader-application skill are counterbalanced by the frequency of occasion when that improvement won’t actually apply to the skill, permitting the one-price-fits-all simplicity.

Improving Stats

During Character Generation, Stats can be improved at the rate of +1 to the stat for 3 skill points. Stats can also be reduced by 1 to obtain an extra 2 skill points.

Disadvantages

These are ranked in terms of applicability of circumstance by the GM and awarded values of 1, 2, or 4 points, (specific to general). Specific disadvantages cause a reduction in proficiency in one particular skill or similar area of activity. Two points affect a broader range of activities, while 4 point skills affect a very wide range of activities. For example, “Poor at Mathematics” is a 2-point disadvantage.

If the Disadvantage is one that isn’t readily/directly applicable to skill checks, the impact on the character’s life and freedom of choice should be assessed and a value chosen based on a skill penalty of similar impact.

Multiple ranks can be taken in a Disadvantage; each confers the equivalent of two negative ranks. Each additional rank reduces in value by 1 point to a minimum of one point.

So, for example, five ranks in a Disadvantage is worth:

• 1+1+1+1+1=5 points for a specific disadvantage;
• 2+1+1+1+1=6 points for a narrow disadvantage,
• 4+3+2+1+1=11 points for a broad or general disadvantage.

Karma Limits

There is a limit to the total number of ranks that a character can have in a given disadvantage equal to his starting Karma.

There is a limit to the number of disadvantages that a character can earn points from that is equal to his current Karma.

Removing/Reducing Disadvantages

Before a Disadvantage can be removed, it must be reduced to a single rank. Normally, only one rank can be removed from a given disadvantage per adventure but this restriction can be varied by the GM if it seems appropriate.

To remove a rank in a disadvantage, the character expends 1 point of Karma, reducing his Karma total accordingly..

Karmic Debt

If a character’s Karma drops in the course of an adventure to the point that he is forced to reduce one or more disadvantages because they would exceed the Karmic Limit described above, he is forced to experience a Complication. This is a player-invoked setback that worsens one or more other disadvantages by one rank for each rank in the Disadvantage being nullified. If he can no longer do so because his disadvantages are at the maximum permitted level, another stat is semi-permanently reduced as a consequence of the setback. Note that this has to happen in-play. For example, a minor stroke might impair one of his intelligence-deriving stats, or a torn muscle or cracked bone might impair his Nimbleness, or he might contract a disease that impairs his CON. The nature of the setback offered by the player and the number of stat points lost determine the value of the Complication – minus one point in one stat is worth one rank in the setback. That means that the scale of the Complication should be set to match the total unpaid Karmic Debt accrued by the event. Another form of setback that is acceptable is for the player to deliberately blow a mission-critical roll for his character and refuse a re-roll.

Setbacks are treated as “negative-karma disadvantages” and can be paid off when the GM deems it appropriate by the expenditure of earned Karma, i,e, XP (see below).

Karmic Starvation

If a reduction in disadvantages means that a character has expended more on skills than his disadvantages can pay for, he experiences Karmic Starvation. This mandates a Complication, as above, but instead of reducing ranks in Disadvantages, it reduces the amount of skill points expended by two skill points per rank in the Complication.

Other uses for Karma

Karma can be used to re-roll a failed roll at the player’s discretion, or to give another character a +5 in a mission-critical roll. These applications consume one Karma.

Karma can be converted into additional Skill Points at the rate of 2 Skill points per point of Karma consumed.

Karma can be converted into a stat bonus at the rate of 2 Karma per +1. Once a stat exceeds 25, this cost doubles, and for every +5 to the limit, it doubles again. Note that this is far more expensive than adjusting stats during character construction.

Karma can be expended during character construction to modify rolled stats. Every point of Karma consumed permits one stat to be reduced by 1 and another to be increased by 2. Note that this also affects the character’s Starting Karma.

Karma can be expended to obtain a stroke of good fortune in the course of an adventure. The player tells the GM what “good luck” he would like to have and the GM counts the number of successful rolls that he would normally require in order to achieve the same outcome. That count is the cost of the stroke of good fortune in Karma. If the cost is more than the character can or is willing to pay, the GM may propose a lower-cost variation that gives the PCs some or even all of what they want; the GM is expected to work with the players in this respect.

Karma can be expended to reduce or remove a limitation placed on the characters by the campaign setup or background, for example to expand a character’s Meitner Field Radius, permitting them to carry more equipment through a Zener Transition. An explanation for this change will be incorporated into the next adventure by the GM, and the benefit will take effect from that time, NOT immediately.

Finally, Karma can be expended to delay the next Zener Transition long enough for the PCs to complete their current adventure.

Experience

Experience is earned for surviving an adventure. More experience is earned for helping the locals deal with whatever problem they are experiencing when the PCs arrive – +50% XP for a solution to be implemented by the locals following PC advice, double XP for a solution to the problem that is put in place by the PCs, and these are doubled again for a permanent solution to the problem. Example: Catching a killer might be worth 2 XP if the characters simply deduce who it is and let the locals apprehend him, 3 XP if the characters do some investigation, or 4 XP if the characters capture the killer themselves and hand him over to the authorities for judgment. Behaving in a selfish or amoral fashion normally reduces whatever the XP award is by 1 point, but this can be waived if the whole purpose of the plotline is to benefit the PCs in some way.

XP is paid in additional Karma, and based on the length of the adventure and the difficulties that had to be overcome.

If the GM chooses to, he can introduce an additional complication into the adventure, at the cost of immediately giving the directly-affected character or characters 2 Karma, or he can give an NPC +10 to a roll (GREATLY increasing their chances of success) and increasing the Karma of one or more PCs by 1. He can do this AFTER a roll is made, turning a failure into a success . These immediate payments are in addition to any Karma earned in the course of the adventure. Increasing the difficulty can also increase the Karmic Reward at the end of the adventure. However, setbacks and complications from Karmic Debt or Karmic Starvation do not affect the Karmic Payout.

If a PC chooses to, he can sacrifice Karma to nullify or redress this interference through a stroke of good fortune, as described earlier; doing so means that the complication introduced by the GM also doesn’t count toward the end-of-adventure bonus.

Unspent Karma is always a handy thing to have – but spending it improves the self-reliance of the PCs. Having too much unspent Karma effectively reduces the effectiveness of the PCs, having not enough can induce Karmic Debt or Karmic Starvation. The margin that a player considers safe is up to him!

As the PCs discover the situation that they are in, the GM may choose to symbolically reflect each piece of bad news for the players with a token representing an increased XP value for the adventure. The more impossible the situation seems to be, the more Karma he makes “up for grabs” – if the PCs are clever enough to earn it!.

Equipment

Equipment in general is defined in the same way as skills (broad, narrow, specific) but is never the basis of a check. They do count for the purposes of “other appropriate skills” or “indirectly-related skills” however, provided the equipment is actually being used for the task – actually having a “.33 special” doesn’t help in firing that 44 Magnum.

Unless noted otherwise as part of the circumstances, a skill implies having the appropriate terms and equipment; buying the equipment specifically in addition to the skill implies that the character has something that’s been customized or modified to suit them. So “Fisherman” implies having a rod and reel, or the needs to improvise something equivalent, actually buying a Fishing Rod in addition is unnecessary (but does provide a bonus to your fisherman skill checks).

If circumstances have left the character without those implied tools, that’s a factor that the GM takes into account with his circumstantial modifiers.

There are three exceptions: weapons, armor, and Campaign MacGuffins.

Armor

Armor is slightly different to other forms of equipment. It costs skill points in the same way as other equipment, but has multiple factors that have to be purchased.

• Hardness (1-10 scale) – each step on the scale increases the protection provided by the armor in the form of bonus Resistance.
• Coverage (1-4 scale) – each step on the scale increases the amount of protection provided by the armor by approximately 25%, so one-quarter coverage, half-coverage, three-quarters coverage, or whole-body coverage.
• These are multiplied together, The penalty imposed to Nimbleness is then decided based
  on what the GM considers reasonable; the difference is three times the cost of the armor in Skill Points.

This cost is halved (round up) if the character takes an appropriate skill in the armor’s use.

Note that there are currently severe limitations on the armor that can be worn while experiencing a Zener Transition. Armor that is only available for the one adventure and has to be “obtained” by the PCs in the course of the adventure is free.

Weapons

Weapons are also handled slightly differently.

• Base Damage: 1 point for 1/3 d6, 2 points for 1/2 d6, 3 points for 1d6, 4 points for 2d6, 5 points for 3d6, and so on. The base damage inflicted by a weapon is up to the GM. As a rule of thumb, most melee weapons will be 1d6 or smaller, most handguns will be 2d6, most rifles will be 3d6, most shotguns will be 4d6, most grenades will be 5d6, most anti-vehicle weapons will 6d6 or more.
• Rate Of Fire: 1 point for 1 shot per round, 2 points for a short burst per round (conferring an extra d6 on the damage), 3 points for full auto (confers an extra 2 1/2 d6 per round).
• Additional Damage: 1 point for each +1 to damage.
• Maximum Range: The above costs are added together and compared to the universal index table (see below) to determine the base range. The GM can then restrict this to an “effective range”, reducing the cost of the weapon 1 point for every 2 steps up the table. Weapons defined as “Melee” automatically have zero range, but additional range can then be bought as “reach”.

This cost is halved (round up) if the character takes an appropriate skill in the weapon’s use.

Note that there are currently severe limitations on the armor that can be worn while experiencing a Zener Transition. Armor that is only available for the one adventure and has to be “obtained” by the PCs in the course of that adventure is free.

Campaign MacGuffins

Some of the campaign limitations are so “big” that they have to be bought off in stages, for example constructing a reliable communications link back to Zener Command. Less-reliable comms will become available as plot devices in the meanwhile. Each point of Karma expended for the purpose by ALL PCs adds to the total invested in “Campaign MacGuffins” and is translated into a component of the whole or a refinement of the design or construction that will be incorporated into the next adventure. These tangible Campaign MacGuffins will be given suitable names in-game, e.g. “crystal radio set”. When the GM feels that the characters have accumulated enough of them, an improvement will be made in one restriction. These amounts are being left flexible for now, but the rough scale is intended to be 4 points for a minor improvement, 10 points for a new capability, 20 points for the complete removal of a limitation..

The Universal Scale

This is an idea being lifted directly from TORG. It consists of a number of values arranged in a table in geometric sequence and given a unified common index. Look up a character’s STR on the index, and you get how much he can lift. Look up the distance to a target and you get the range modifier to hit that target with a ranged weapon. If a skill roll is “failed” but the PCs should be able to succeed, given time, looking up the amount by which they failed on the index and getting the corresponding time value tells the GM how long it will take for them to succeed. Similarly, looking up the difference between two indexed time amounts states the penalty for a character rushing, looking up the area gives the bonus to attacks for the size of the target, and so on.

Hit Location

A hit location system may or may not be used.

Outstanding Questions

There are a number of questions that I have not yet made decisions on.

• Initiative is a big one.
• Whether or not to roll attacks using a d20 is another.
• Radiation Damage is a third, though I have some ideas that aren’t yet fully worked through.
• Language Handling is a fourth, though the inclusion of the LAN stat hints at my still-incomplete thinking.
• Critical Hits and Fumbles are a fifth.

In fact, I have vague ideas on all of these but have not yet had time to think them through – that’s why there’s no section on “Combat Resolution” yet. But, as you can see, an awful lot of the work is done already; it only took a couple of hours’ discussion and one evening of typing to set it all down. And, stripped of explanations and presented as concisely as possible, the in-play necessities should all fit on a page, maybe two – which is part of the design objective.