Setting Cards?!

Setting Cards are designed to allow content creators (need to come up with a catchy name for Simple System Content Creators) the freedom to make any kind of game they want with the tools Simple System provides. Here's how each type of setting card can be used to accomplish this:

• Skill Cards - You can do just about anything with these, including granting players advantages to setting specific attempts (i.e. track dragons, fly airships), substitute one ability for another in specific attempts, handle certain kinds of weapons, whatever.
• Flaw Cards - Any kind of negative trait or inherent flaw you can think of, with an emphasis on roleplaying hooks. Maybe there is a specific disease in your setting that your player has contracted, or a social stigma for individuals born with blue hair, etc.
• Powers - In some settings there will be the potential for all kinds of powers, while others will have variations on a limited number. This is how you insert all manner of limited-use super-human abilities, and in combination with skills you can pretty much accomplish anything you can imagine for powers.
• Item Cards - Does your setting have swords and spears? Revolvers and shotguns? Chainsaws and hatchets? Lasers and Jetpacks? Go crazy with all of the set pieces here to give your players everything they would expect to find in your setting, or surprise them!
• Opponent Cards - From the dumbest lackey to the baddest dragon, opponent cards fill your setting with interesting and challenging opponents. BTW opponents are not restricted to the same character creation rules as player characters, so you can make their defense, life points, etc. whatever you want even if their base abilities don't add up the same as PCs (creative freedom trumps the rules in this case).
• Race/Class Cards - These optional cards allow content creators to introduce specific classes and races into the game without slowing down character creation, and can have unique starting abilities and inherent skills and flaws in addition to those chosen at character creation. This can make for character builds wildly different from what other players are creating and introduce exciting roleplaying opportunities (wait till you see the race cards I'm working on for examples of what I mean!).

Then there are vehicle cards, status cards (which I haven't even mentioned publicly yet), each with the same potential to make something unique and fun. Simple System is a platform, its intention is to provide the tools for people to create the game world that they want, and players interact with it using the same familiar, fun, and easy to learn rules. Where your setting uses setting cards to "bend" or makes exceptions to those rules is probably what will make it stand out, but these aren't really 'house rules' because they are official to your setting and within the freedom allowed by Setting Cards. The advantage is that only the player making use of that particular exception has to be aware of its effects, which he will always have right in front of him in the form of a setting card, and everyone else can play with complete confidence with a knowledge of just the basic rules.

So far those that have run ideas for Setting Cards by me have all had ideas on how to use them I hadn't even thought of, but still well within the freedom they provide. I'm sure we haven't even scratched the surface of what this deep system can do to create unique games even though they are all built on the same platform.

I hope that answers your question!

Also, we're currently brainstorming a wargame supplement for Simple System, for large scale combat. We're keeping it intentionally vague right now, untill more info on vehicles is available.

PS: Simple SysAdmins? ;D

I had the same idea last night! What do you think of "Setting Smiths"? That way we could abbreviate "Simple System Setting Smiths" to 4Sers (pronounced "four-essers")?

I like Simplesmiths actually, it captures the simplicity of the Simple System design philosophy and has the name of the game in it. By creating content, we are essentially smithing the larger Simple System!

Simplesmiths for the win!