Now that I have my B&B - System Principles and Goals I will reward myself by giving me some time to work on mechanics !
Although for this Game Jam I want to add only the minimal amount of new mechanics and to stick with Songs and Sagas SRD as much as possible, I still feel like I could add just a few more things to better represent the thematic and atmosphere of the game.
This mechanic is something I also took from my current project, where Radiance is a power left behind by the Dragon-Gods. Here, I will call it instead The Burning.
The Burning, or the Soul-Burning is an affliction that touch the very soul of any human entering the Broken Lands. Corrupted by the ambient curse, the soul is slowly being changed and twisted. If left unchecked, the soul will end up consumed by it, destroying any humanity one can have.
But that’s not the only thing.
I always liked the trope of corrupting power, having characters slowly going down this slope of increased power all the while consuming themselves into it. It can bring forth good stories and especially changes which are a central element of good storytelling.
The setting of the Broken lands, which is a place where everything is always being twisted around and corrupted, would perfectly fit with this idea. The more characters progress into the Broken Lands, the more they burn their soul, and the more they gain power.
On a side note, since the source of the power is an advanced technology brought by the Dragon-Gods, I can also make a parallel with the misuse of forgotten technology, in that case the Burning could be compared to nuclear radiation (amped up to 11 of course). And yes, S.T.A.L.K.E.R is a video game that I was (am!) particularly fan of !
With this vision becoming clearer, I “only” had to convert it to a playable, fun and fair mechanic.
Easy. (not it is not)
Before diving further, I started to list down the fundamentals of this mechanic based on what I talked above as well as the Design Principle of Power at a Price.