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Ataraxia is a tabletop role-playing game that focuses on emergent complexity, minimizing bookkeeping, and integrating narrative with gameplay. It's inspired by the legacy of Dungeons & Dragons, tailored for player-created characters navigating a world through dice-mediated actions under the guidance of a Game Master (GM).
- Introduction
- Dice Mechanics
- Character Creation
- The Game World
- Equipment and Magic
- Conflict and Gameplay Loop
- Exploration and The World Module
- Support and Copyright
Welcome to Ataraxia, a game where characters evolve from their birth through various lifepaths, encountering challenges that range from societal structures to fantastical elements. This RPG aims for a balance between narrative depth and gameplay simplicity, allowing for a rich yet streamlined experience.
Dice rolls in Ataraxia determine outcomes of actions, using standard six-sided dice. Characters’ abilities are represented as stats, influencing the dice rolled in tests for success or failure.
Characters in Ataraxia are developed through a lifepath system, gaining skills, traits, and resources that reflect their journey from birth. Stats such as Will, Intellect, Strength, Fortitude, Agility, and Endurance form the core of character abilities, influencing tests and conflicts throughout the game.
Ataraxia’s world is a tapestry of medieval analogs, undefined yet richly implied through lifepaths and game mechanics. It encompasses societal structures, languages, and a historical setting akin to sixteenth-century Earth, with allowances for anachronisms to suit fantasy narratives.
Characters equip themselves for adventure, managing inventory slots based on their attributes. Magic in Ataraxia involves constructing spells through arcane words, offering a flexible system to alter reality within the game's mystical constraints.
Conflict resolution cycles through intent, task, test, and resolution phases, driving both character development and the story forward. The gameplay loop encapsulates exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution, structuring gameplay into coherent narratives.
An optional module uses Tarot cards to generate terrain, weather, and conflicts, offering a procedural method to explore The World of Ataraxia. This system provides a framework for dynamic world-building and adventure creation.
Ataraxia is a collaborative creation, supported by a community of players and developers. It is released under the MIT license, allowing free sharing and adaptation of the game material.
Special thanks to the RPG community, friends, family, and all who have contributed to the development of Ataraxia. Your support and feedback have been invaluable.
For more detailed information on gameplay, rules, and character creation, please refer to the full ruleset under src/.
Version 2.0.3 – October 22nd, 2022