In a modern world of magic and artistry, mages defend society from encroaching corruption. L'Avenement, launching its crowdfunding campaign on November 2nd, pits the forces of creation against those of destruction. The Mages and Sorcerors who keep the world stable channel their powers through objets d'art, like musical instruments or painting implements. At time of writing the Dramaturge's book and major adventure Black Circle Selection are essentially written, lacking art but with mostly completed text. Funding will help complete these books, in French and English, as well as the player's guide.
The setting is clearly influenced by Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, while the mechanics bear shades of World of Darkness. The little art we have so far is evocative, minimalist, and unique even in a sea of ostensibly similar red and white pieces.
Each character has 9 attributes and a set of skills, all at values from 1-10. The base mechanic involves rolling a d10 and adding your attribute and skill value, compared to a difficulty threshold. You can reroll any 10 you roll and add the new result, while rolling 1 for 2 rolls in a row is a critical failure. You will also buy skill specialties if your base value is high enough, granting you extra successes and abilities as you master your craft.
The main thrust of L'Avenement scrutinizes art and the cost of producing it in a hostile world. Your powers are influenced by art, but all the while you will have to stave off the forces of corruption, whether from your own Hybris or Defilement at the hands of ennui. These two forms of corruption eat away at you, physically and psychologically, forcing you to seek a balance on both spectrums or be devoured by your work fighting monsters.
Eclat is the major form of magic, available to your characters. The attribute is immensely powerful, directly boosting your other abilities, but can only be improved through gameplay as opposed to via upgrade points. Each character has a particular instrument that can only use magic thematically in tune with it. For instance, makeup could alter your appearance, but could not change people's moods the way a violin would. These function as skill rolls, with a +3 difficulty class for any times you use them in a scene beyond the first.
Combat is relatively simple: each character has one Active and one Passive action per turn. Active will usually be attacking or using an ability, while Passive would be moving or using an item. You will roll contested attack vs. defense rolls, with damage making up the difference if an attacker succeeds. Eclat allows you to absorb any one attack, but with magical effects so obvious as to be impossible to ignore as supernatural. You then have a few Fatigue points which offer no penalty when depleted. Take more damage, however, and you will take 1 of 2 Wounds, which each add a hefty -3 penalty to future actions.
I won't give any spoilers for the adventure, but to say it's a good introduction to the magical espionage nature of the game. I'm a little unclear on the limits and powers of the magical mechanics, but we're fairly early in development. If you want to learn more yourself, you can sign up for the email list here and be notified when the campaign launches.
