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Sin/Zen
Sin/Zen Lite
The Sin/Zen System and
Γνοθη Σεαυτον
by Plot Device. All rights reserved
1
Sin/Zen Lite
Overview
So I decided to give a go to a few ideas that I am
not sure will fly as full games concepts. I began by
thinking of some of the more esoteric ideas I have come
up with. Then I started mixing them up in my head.
A game in 24 hours. Madness. But a challenge,
and like a foolish young upstart, I see the gauntlet at
my feet and cannot help but take it up. Now, somewhat
more the wiser for this work, I cannot help but cry:
Woot! Ha-Ha! Did it! Have I learned anything? Hmmm.
First of all, I have always wanted to try to see
what could be made of a game using the Seven Deadly
Sins of Medieval Christian thought. Next, take a bit of
inspiration from the White Wolf gaming system (in
particular Wraith), and its fundamental simplicity of
statistics. Take a helping of Nephilim concepts, and a
dash of the GURPS points based character building.
Add to the mix the concept of Enlightenment vs.
Materialism and the Zen state. Toss in a gaming
concept of my very own: the success of actions during a
crisis are not governed by ability but are rather
governed by motivation. Ability in turn governs results
and the effectiveness of success. Then, turn on the
mental blender.
Ok, so it is not very polished. So this forward is a
bit unprofessional. I am very tired. But what the heck,
you haven’t had to do more than put some time and
bandwidth into looking at this work, so you are
probably somewhat forgiving. I hope.
My name is Evan, and I am trying to make a go
of producing some materials for games. And here, in
order that I show off some of the strange things I have
going on in my head, is an entire game built within 24
hours. See
www.24hourrpg.com
for info on this event
and on why people like me are doing it. I hope you
enjoy it.
I call this monstrosity Sin/Zen because of the
primary driving forces of the system, and their
philosophical origin. It is a system designed for games
where abstracted motivational absolutes are the main
thrust of game play. It is in no way focused upon
material success, or even realism; but rather is
designed to focus upon motivations and psychological
flux of character development.
When I began, I figured this was the perfect
opportunity to try something experimental rather than
classic. Experimental ideas do not get much of chance
to be aired. The work needed to get them out there is
usually too large to make them viable as a risk. There
are long odds stacked against innovation.
The Sin/Zen System and
Γνοθη Σεαυτον
by Plot Device. All rights reserved
2
Sin/Zen Lite
I intended to give at least a couple of full world
sections at the end of this, but ran out of time after I
had began only one. Have a look in the last section of
this and you will see some of the ideas I came up with
within the time allotted by the great event / challenge.
like a mad person to get to this stage. It is 1am, and I
am feeling mighty tired. I have a short amount of time
to write an index and format this, then convert it over
to PDF. I will have to upload this tomorrow… dial up
internet at home, and no convenient way to use it from
the bedroom. Check of total words: 6992 (index not
done). Almost there…
For anyone who is interested, here is the timeline
for how this game evolved:
Some proofing and formatting done. File converted.
Minutes to spare.
Thursday 22
nd
August: I first hear of the 24hour
challenge on
www.rpg.net
. I spend some time
considering the idea.
Index
Friday 23
rd
August: I wake up mildly discouraged and
go to work. I come up with a game idea for a Fusion
system taking the Seven Deadly Sins as the primary
factor. I spend some time think this through after
work.
Overview ……………………………………………. 2
The Passions ……………………………………. 4
Crisis ……………………………………………. 6
Chi ……………………………………………………. 7
Distemper ……………………………………………. 7
Calm ……………………………………………………. 8
The Zen State ……………………………………. 8
Elementals ……………………………………………. 8
Abilities and Spheres ……………………………. 9
Physical Abilities ……………………………………. 10
Mental Abilities ……………………………………. 11
Spiritual Abilities ……………………………………. 12
Character Creation ……………………………. 14
Gnothi Seafton (Ancient Greek Game World)….. 15
Afterword ……………………………………………. 17
Saturday 24
th
August: After much running around to
and shopping, I sit down at the end of the day and
seriously consider the structure of the game system. At
approximately 1:30am I write down some notes, and
realize I have started the challenge. I put together the
base plan, write a few sample tables and paragraphs
and resolve to get some sleep.
Sunday 25
th
August: I wake up at 7am after 4 hours
sleep, turn on the laptop and seriously begin. 9am my
wife awakens: I do the house husband tasks, stealing
half an hour to write some more notes, then we go out
to lunch with my brother who is leaving for England.
We get home at 5pm and I manage a couple hours
before I make dinner. We watch the last episodes of the
current season of 24, and go to bed at 10pm. I write
(Didn’t make it to 24 pages. Just cracked the 7000
word mark though, so I suppose that is something.)
The Sin/Zen System and
Γνοθη Σεαυτον
by Plot Device. All rights reserved
3
Sin/Zen Lite
The center of the
Zen/Sin game mechanic is the
basic assumption that a
character’s Abilities determine
what they are capable of, but
their Motivations (or Passions) are what determine their
base chance of success in a time of Crisis. As this is a
highly abstract mechanic, the assumption is made that
the characters might be of any kind of origin or
background, so for the purpose of this section we shall
refer to them as Entities.
Envy drives the senses;
an entity that is envious always
wants to know what others are
doing and what they have.
Envy is thus the active
principle in all Sense Abilities.
Reciprocally, Envy is vulnerable to Fusion
Abilities. An Entity that is envious is ineffective in
resisting Abilities that involve sharing.
Gluttony
The Seven Passions
This Passion is the desire to consume, absorb or
manipulate things. A Gluttonous Entity is not satisfied
unless they can change things by their presence, action
or desire.
Entities are driven by their motivations. The
Sin/Zen system revolves around a dynamic interaction
of several elements of motive, or Passion that might
drive an entity to act. Passions are rated from 0 (lowest)
to 6 (highest).
Gluttony empowers abilities that absorb, devour
or change. Gluttony is thus the active principle in all
Alter Abilities.
Table 1: The Passions
Passion
Active Ability Passive Vulnerability
Envy
Sense
Fusion
In turn, Gluttony is vulnerable to Acquisition
Abilities. An entity that is focused upon changing
things by their presence is disinterested in holding onto
things.
Gluttony
Alter
Acquire
Greed
Acquire
Alter
Lust
Fusion
Coerce
Pride
Coerce
Resist
Sloth
Resist
Conflict
Greed
Wrath
Conflict
Sense
This Passion is the desire to own everything, and
be as personally powerful as conceivable. A Greedy
Entity desires all things to be theirs, all power to be
theirs, all abilities to be theirs. Greed does not stop
with owning things; it includes self-advancement.
Envy
This Passion is the desire to know the nature or
possessions of others, and the empty wish to have that
other nature or thing as one’s own.
The Sin/Zen System and
Γνοθη Σεαυτον
by Plot Device. All rights reserved
4
Sin/Zen Lite
Greed empowers abilities that steal, learn or own.
Greed is thus the active principle in all Acquire
Abilities.
Proud individuals are not likely to have thought
through that others might resist their desires. Thus
Pride is vulnerable to Resist Abilities.
Where Greed is weakest is against Alteration. A
Greedy entity is focused upon owning things, and
things that change or manipulate what they own are
beneath their notice.
Sloth
This Passion (if it can be called that…) is the
power of inertia. A Slothful Entity prefers not to act at
all, or is resistant to action. Some see this as laziness,
but the Slothful are not likely to be concerned what
others think of them. Or in fact, concerned about
anything at all.
Lust
This Passion is physical desire, but more than
this, it is the desire to procreate, to meld with another,
to mix things in the world and blend them. A Lustful
Entity desires interaction with all things.
Sloth empowers avoidance or resilience against
action. Thus Sloth is the active principle in all Resist
abilities.
Lust empowers abilities that mix things,
amalgamating them or using them together. Lust is the
active principle in all Fusion Abilities.
A Slothful Entity is vulnerable to conflict. They
are less likely to resist violence than others. Thus Sloth
is weak against Conflict abilities.
A Lustful entity is vulnerable to Coercion. They
are more likely to listen to others and be swayed by
them. They can be more easily persuaded because of
their Lust.
Wrath
This Passion is anger, hate, and force of desire
for triumph over others or revenge. A Wrathful Entity
flies into a rage if provoked. Wrath is the most violent
of passions and one of the more dangerous because of
this.
Pride
This Passion is the assumption of pre-eminence.
Prideful Entities are likely to believe in their own
supremacy in all things. Sometimes this Pride is a self-
fulfilling prophecy, but other times not.
Wrath empowers violence and force. Thus Wrath
is the active principle in all Conflict abilities.
Pride drives supremacy. An Entity that is proud
will seek dominance over or affirmation from others.
Pride is thus the active principle in all Coerce Abilities.
A Wrathful individual is less focused upon
awareness. Wrath is thus particularly vulnerable to all
Sense Abilities.
The Sin/Zen System and
Γνοθη Σεαυτον
by Plot Device. All rights reserved
5
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