1.3 Structure of This Book

This book is structured in chapters with individual sections. I’ve tried to arrange the chapters in a way that allows you to create and play, if you want to, as you read through the game.

After the basic chapters are out of the way, we get into explanations, options, and lists. These provide details on some aspects that were already introduced, contain essays to help you make the most out of the game, and finally list your options during character creation (mainly powers) all in one place for ease of reference.

The following is a quick walkthrough for the whole book, to give you an idea what’s ahead of you.

1 Introduction

You’re most of the way through it already. Keep up the good work! :)

Part I: The Basics

2 Roleplaying
This chapter introduces you to roleplaying with Anima Prime, whether you’re new to the hobby or have some preconceived notions from other games about how roleplaying works. Things might be a bit different in Anima Prime.

3 Setting the Stage
This chapter describes how to pick or create a mood and setting (background world) for the game, determine the type of content you want to see, and lets you create a “group story seed” that will tie all of the main characters together.

4 Player Characters
Now you get to make the main characters of the story and figure out who they are, what they can do, and how they are connected to each other and the setting.

5 Character Scenes
Characters interact in various ways. In Anima Prime, this often plays out in character scenes, which are comparable to cut scenes in video games or scenes in movies. This chapter tells you how to set up scenes and gain character benefits from them.

6 Conflicts
Sometimes characters fight monsters, antagonists, giant robots, fiends, evil summoners, or even each other. This chapter tells you how to set up conflicts, establish goals, and use your powers to figure out who wins and at what price.

7 Goals
The key to getting the most out of your Anima Prime experience lies in mastering the use of goals. This chapter introduces some different categories of goals and shows many examples of how to use them well.

Part II: The Options

8 Character Development
In some stories (and most games), characters grow in power over time. This chapter provides you with several options on how that can be handled in Anima Prime, depending on the kind of story you’re telling.

9 Factions
In many stories, powerful factions vie for supremacy, whether they are demonic invaders, rival Houses that want to claim the throne, religious orders, and so on. This chapter provides you with the tools to put your characters square in the middle of all of these and let them have a big impact on how these stories go.

10 Optional Mechanics
Once you’re comfortable with the basics, you might want to introduce some more complexity to your game or otherwise modify it. This chapter contains suggestions, from the easily implemented Threat Die that provides pacing to an example system of magical items and materials.

11 Essays
These essays are my attempt at explaining techniques, playstyles, and other factors that you can use to make the most out of Anima Prime. They’re not meant to be scientific or persuasive; they’re very specific to this game and my preferences. I hope they’re of some use to you as well.

Part III: The Listings

12 Settings
This chapter provides you with the tools to create your very own settings, which I think is the best way to start your own story. I’ve also provided a couple of example settings to show you how that works and to let you play a quick game in those premade settings to test out the game before you jump in fully.

13 Core Powers
This is a listing of the powers in this game that characters can possess, which are passive powers as well as those you activate with charge dice earned during a conflict.

14 Soulbound Weapons
Some characters own weapons that are imbued with special effects. This chapter tells you how to acquire, create, modify, and use these Soulbound Weapons.

15 Summoning
Some characters summon creatures to assist them in conflicts. This chapter explains how to become a summoner and bond with these so-called eidolons, as well as how to conjure and use them during a conflict. I’ve also provided a detailed listing of almost a dozen common eidolons as well as rules for making your own.

16 Conditions
Some powers, as well as goals and other circumstances, inflict or grant conditions on characters. This chapter explains how to deal with Blinded, Poisoned, Quickened, and other conditions, and how to tie them into goals in a conflict.

17 Boons
This is a listing of the boons for factions (see chapter 9). There are two kinds of boons: general boons that appear in most settings, and special boons that only appear in some.

18 Example Characters
I’ve provided five example characters that use powers in interesting ways, to give you an idea of what finished characters look like and what all you can do with the various powers and mechanics in this game.

19 Index
All of the important concepts of Anima Prime are listed in this index for ease of reference.

20 Attachments
In the attachments, you’ll find a summary of the conflict mechanics, a sheet for adversity during a conflict, a sheet for keeping track of the story seeds in your game, and a character sheet for your main characters.

Seeing that this is a beta version, I’m open to feedback on the structure of the book. Post it or send it in my direction just like with feedback on actual play.