11/10/2017 The Others

A Limitless Game

Shannon Kalvar
ASPECTS OF GAMING
An Introduction As human beings, each Other also Background,
a mix of education and experience that shapes
The Others was originally conceived of as a
the knowledge of the Dark Realm and its many
rejection and answer to the 1991 Vampire: The
facets. A Background describes the Other’s
Masquerade icons of being a monster preying
Aptitudes (general talents) and Skills
on humanity, struggling with one’s internal
(knowledge and training in specific areas). Skills
demons. The mechanics have, thankfully,
are further modified by Expertise, which expand
changed over the years but the core protest
the Other’s range of options in specific
remains: stories are the key to a life well-lived
circumstances.
and we must take care to make them ones
which will sustain the world. Eventually each Other will Align himself
somewhere between the House of Ivy, which
The Others believes that stories of heroism and honor are
The world is divided into the Dark Realm, the
the best way to change the world, and the
world we know and live in, and the Bright
House of Thorn, which believes that mortals
Realm, a land woven from mortal dreams,
dream more strongly of fear and terror. Both
separated by the Veil, forged of dreams and
stand opposed to The Shattering, the loss of
starlight by the Fae long ago. The Others are
dreams and meaning which leads to the death
individuals who somehow bridge between the
of everything.
two.

Each Other comes from a Lineage, a tradition

The Shattering
The conflicts between Ivy and Thorn, mortal
and sometimes bloodline with specific
and Fae, and the fluctuations of the Veil form
responsibilities and corresponding gifts.
the primary story engines powering the setting.
Dreamers create the world the others live in.
Yet behind them all lurks The Shattering, the
Knights long ago swore oaths to uphold specific
death of dreams.
duties. Ogres find their physical forms both
twisted and empowered by the Bright, while An individual becomes Shattered when he is
the Touched share in the blood of the Bright stripped of his dreams and can no longer
Realm and can act as living bridges between connect to the great stories. His Shattering is
worlds. Witches connect with and create the infectious but also curable if someone dares to
mythic places. do so.
Each other Other also embodies an Archtype, a An area becomes Shattered when it holds no
mythic role which grants opportunities for both place in the hearts of mortal kind. It is not a
great success and failure. As a hero succeeds home, not a setting for the little stories of life,
within his Archtype the Bright adheres to him, just a place. Those trapped in such areas may
empowering him and illuminating his Lineage. become Shattered themselves.
If he fails, then the Bright abandons him.
Common Archetypes include Champions who The Limitless Engine
fight for a cause; Storytellers who delight and The Limitless Engine is a simplified resolution
inspire; Tricksters who delight in chaos; and mechanic in which a player rolls a d20 to
Wayfarers who walk the worlds searching for determine whether he achieves a desired goal.
something. If the dice shows a number equal to or lower
than the character’s chosen Aptitude + Skill (the

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character’s Limit), he achieves the goal. If he of the heroes who complete them. The Great
rolls higher he fails. Challenges include but are not limited to:

Two special cases apply to the dice engine Of Steel and Will: it is easy to forget when
described above. In a case where the player’s bullets fly and steel sings that a struggle among
roll is exactly equal the character’s Limit he Others is as much about the will of those who
gains an Inspiration, which can be exchanged fight as it is their skill in destruction.
for experience to invest in his Background,
Of Shadow and Wisdom: riddle games, tricky
Bright, or an additional action. If the dice is a 20
puzzles, and intricate art are as much a part of
(a natural 20) then the character gains a point
an Other’s life as song and steel. They are also
of Doubt, which when accumulated can cause
just as deadly, pitting the Other’s mind and
the character to become Shattered.
cleverness against forces as old as time itself.
In many cases a single challenge (d20 roll) is
Of Song and Words: the greatest victory lies
sufficient to achieve the goal. In other cases,
not in an enemy’s defeat but in making his
the character may have to amass progress,
cause unimaginable to future generations, so
representing incremental gains along the path.
that it fades from the world. Such total victory
This progress may be measured in terms of
can only be won in the dance of Song and
successful challenges; modifiers from Skills,
Words, the shaping of the stories which people
Archetype, and Lineage abilities; or some
remember through performance and pure will.
combination of these and other factors.
Of Journey and Desire: a journey in both the
Each character also has Attributes derived from
Bright and Dark Realms, beset by danger and
his Alignment, Archetype, Background, and
strife, which the heroes must resolve to achieve
Lineage. These include Endurance which
some goal.
measures the character’s physical stamina and
Grit which measures the character’s mental Successfully resolving a Great Challenge carries
fortitude. A hero will sometimes also sustain with it the chance for a character to step
Injury, which reduces his Limits, making it more beyond his Archetype and Lineage, forging his
difficult to successfully meet challenges. own iconic moments and the ability to relive
them in the game mechanics through the
Death is a strange concept for an Other; he is as
creation of a unique, personalized Lineage
much a story as he is a person, as much a myth
ability.
as man. Upon the destruction of his body he
becomes a denizen of the Bright Realm, one of A Game of Others
the immortal Fae, and may in time return to The Others was originally set in the US in the
begin the cycle anew. early 1990s, but this was a convention of the
time rather a requirement built into a system.
The Great Challenges
One can imagine any number of other
A game involving The Others can be resolved
possibilities including:
using just the Limitless Engine. However, some
kinds of challenges are common enough, and Guardians at the Gate: the heroes take on the
important enough to the setting, that they role of defenders of a mythic place, one where
deserve additional attention. the Veil between the worlds thins and beings
both Bright and Dark come to seek the
These Great Challenges are as iconic as the
mysteries.
Archetypes and just as embedded in the myths

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Lamplighters: set between WWI and WWII, the
heroes might find themselves fighting to keep
the Nazis from winning the dance of Song and BRIGHT, DOUBT, INSPIRATION
Words, transforming the world into a hell-scape
before hostilities start.
Bright represents the power of stories and
Knights out of Time: the heroes might be the the hero’s ability to tap that power to
last members of an Order founded in the mists perform great feats. A character uses
of time. Alternately, they might be the Bright as follows:
founders of an Order, or both – living both the
1) She gains abilities from her
end of the Order in the Dark Realm and
Lineage based on his current
dreaming of the founding in the Bright.
Bright total;
Other, PI: the heroes work as private 2) He may spend a point of Bright to
investigators, dragged from one thinning of the reroll one normally failed (not a
Veil to another. This might be set at any time, roll of 20) challenge;
though the 60s, 70s, and 80s all seem to 3) She may spend Bright to perform
present interesting adventure opportunities. an action associated with his
Archetype;
Through a Mirror Brightly: the heroes live 4) He may spend a point of Bright to
ordinary lives but in their dreams, they journey buy off a point of Doubt;
the Bright Realm, having fantastic and terrifying 5) She may share her Bright with
adventures. Their heroic selves may be far another to help fight back The
removed from their mystical ones until some Shattering.
event draws the two together.

Through a Mirror Darkly: the heroes are Doubt accumulates as the hero suffers
denizens of the Bright Realm, Fae, who find catastrophic setbacks. For each point of
themselves dreaming in the Dark Realm and Doubt a hero holds, the “Doubt range”
interacting with beings who gave up on childish increases by 1, expanding the numbers on
fantasies long ago. the dice which generate automatic failure.
For example, a hero with 4 Doubt has a
fails and gains Doubt on a natural 20, 19,
18, 17, or 16 (noted as 16 to 20).

Inspiration occurs when the hero rolls

exactly his Limit. Highly talented
characters, whose Limits exceed 20, gain
an extended “inspiration range” which
enables them to accumulate Inspiration
more quickly. In cases where the Doubt
range and the inspiration range overlap,
Doubt overrides Inspiration.

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