Hey thx for this! REALLY helped. (As a relatively new GM) I had some difficulties understanding how the whole Fatigue, Balance and Conditions all work together from the QS. Thx again! gonna host a game with some friends soon
Thank you for expanding on these mechanics. As someone new to TTRPG games as well as a GM in training, I was having a hard time figuring out exactly how these things factored into the game. I still wish to learn as much as I can before the game is officially released, so I look forward to your future videos as more information about the game is released over the coming months. Great job and keep up the good work!
Thanks for the video! The visuals are helpful :) this is gonna be my very first ttrpg and I’m going to attempt at being Gm so I’m really excited but kind of nervous. I’m already coming up with stories though ! Yay!!
This was extremely helpful!! This is going to be my first time ever GMing any game and I want to get it right. I already have so many people that want me to GM for them. I've only ever played D&D so the combat system was just confusing for me. If I could recommend another video for you to do that would help... could you make one giving different walkthroughs of what different full fights would look like with different PCs and NPCs? Thanks for the help already!
Thanks for saying so! We likely won't be making any more videos about Avatar RPG until the official rules come out early next year. That said, I wouldn't get too worried about getting all of the rules exactly right. This system (as opposed to D&D) is designed to be pretty loose with the rules and more focused on building a narrative. So, just have fun and play how you want! There is no wrong way to play a RPG :)
This system is so focused in role-playing. The numbers almost don't matter. I wouldn't be surprised if a master could create a campaign without dice, just pure role-playing.
Powered by the Apocalypse is a very narratively driven system, much more so than your Dungeon & Dragons and the like. That said, when the GM and the players work together to build that narrative, the end result can be a fantastic experience.
Hey i dont know if you will reply. I saw you having a editable character sheet. I might be a computer noob. But if u found a online editable sheet id love to know or if u can explain how you did it thank you :)
I always reply! ...well, that's not true, but you know lol Sorry to remove some of the movie magic, but I don't have an editable character sheet. I just used photoshop to draw on the PDF. That said, that is a fine (if a bit clunky) way to do it!
Just going to say this, and don’t care about the “negativity”. I can and will criticize what is good and bad about this. Good: The alignment means something. Very good. I would change ‘role’ to ‘Destiny’ as it’s easier to understand with the context given. The mechanics are basically a more complicated Will save. The fatigue system is also good. Using fatigue to do things and have limits is good. The progression of learned techniques is a good start. Taking a quest to master it is a great way to story tell. The bad: Ugh where to I begin. Your definitions are way to broad. Players can and will take advantage of this. You might think it makes the gameplay fun, but no. It will make everyone mad at everyone and will be riddled with Main Character Syndrome. “The DM doesn’t role any dice”. Do I even need to say why that’s a horrible idea? The dm doesn’t have any freedom to make the encounters challenging. The reason DND, Pathfinder, Star Wars RPGs, and call of Cthulhu are so memorable are the challenging encounters. How is the dm supposed to have bosses use special abilities, different phases, or other techniques? The challenge is gone and will get boring very quickly. THIS IS BAD BECAUSE IT MEANS IT WONT SELL. If it doesn’t sell, you will have killed any chance of ATLA rpgs in the future. It also means your careers are over as you cannot be trusted to make a good product. The initiative system is all kinds of messy. Who goes first when they both choose to be aggressive? This is why things like Dex bonuses matter in other games. Speaking of which- Why are there no physical stats!? Creativity, Focus, Harmony, passion. Those are all mental Stats. Do I really need to roll a Passion Check to lift a heavy chest? Makes no sense. Using different stats for your combative approach is awful. It’s confusing, inconsistent, and will make combat significantly longer than it needs to be. Handed weapons like swords should use the character’s strength, ranged should be their dexterity, etc. plus without physical stats, how can I be a tanky Earthbender who keeps the party breathing by taunting enemies? Rolling dice to see what technique you use? No… just No. your character should be able to use their techniques as long as they meet the fatigue requirements to use them. The way I would do it is to have the more extravagant techniques be unavailable if you have higher fatigue. For example, I can’t create an earth bridge of more than 10 ft if I have a fatigue of 4 or more. Conclusion There really needs to be mechanics and storytelling similar to what Fantasy Flight Star Wars does. What you have here is a Fanfic simulator rather than a role playing game. While that would appeal to some, there’s a reason that most ttrpgs are mechanically driven and are more popular than Powered by the Apocalypse.
Mainly addressing “the bad”. You seem to be approaching this from a very DnD/mechanic heavy bias/mindset. This is based on Powered by the Apocalypse, which is much more narrative and free. “The DM doesn’t roll any dice.” This isn’t necessarily bad. The levels are set by the results being based on 10+ for big success, 7-9 for hit/partial success, and 6- for a miss. NPCs controlled by the GM in combat get to use techniques without rolling, and the amount of techniques is based on type of NPC (solo vs group) and their single principle track (higher principle, more techniques used). The gameplay is more narrative than mechanical, as opposed to DnD. Initiative system: not that messy. It’s actually said in the rules itself. If NPC and PCs pick the same approach, PCs go first, and they can decide in which order they go. The stats..are a bit tougher to explain. But they are not quite as unintuitive. If you’re “relying on skills and training”, you might be more focusing on what your doing. If you’re “pressing your luck”, you roll Passion as your more taking a gamble based on your drive (both rely and press your luck are the actual moves). In terms of being “tanky”, they may have other techniques to help with this, but we know the icon playbook can make a wall of defense to protect anyone in reach from an attack, and the Guardian playbook can divert attacks toward allies in reach toward themselves, and there are possibly more in the full release, especially in the elements. The rolling for techniques is, well, it’s an rpg. If an Earthbender has been trained to where they can make a bridge, then they roll “rely”, and if they aren’t, it’s more pushing themselves. This isn’t that far off from, say, rolling to use a Force Power in FFG Star Wars. And even a 6- can still be a success in a way as opposed to outright failure, but it could instead add complications to the story. “You make the bridge, but you exhaust yourself further” or “you manage to make the bridge, however as you finish, you feel the footfalls of Fire Nation soldiers as they catch up to you.” Heavy mechanics, really, aren’t as necessary as some think. A narrative focus like this can work very well, and this isn’t the first time Magpie has done this. But it is very much a shift if you are used to mechanics heavy. (As a note, the kickstarter campaign is at $7m)
Thank you for being respectful in your reply. You did clear up some things like initiative, and thanks for that. But I still don’t think this is the best way to do it. To me it really does need more mechanics in order to respect the bending and it’s limitations instead of: I can use whatever firebending I want because it’s in my head.
Elder Liddle, I can see why one may take that stance, especially as it’s a system that worked for years. The quickstart has a good explanation for why they opted for this route though (and, if I heard correctly, Masks by the same group uses a similar style). Bending is a part of their everyday culture, and the devs thought having such hard rules might take away from that aspect, and feel this would allow more free storytelling. And they encourage the players, from what I’ve seen, take a more involved role in the story telling, and have more conversations with the DM when it comes to those things and figuring out the best ways to use it. From the QS: “Bending in Avatar Legends: The RPG works the same way- you use it constantly...but it’s not your story. All of the Trainings, including bending, are tools your character uses to get stuff done, whether that’s fighting to protect the innocent from immediate harm or attempting to convince the political leaders of a place to take the problems of ordinary people seriously….What does that look like in the game? Trainings don’t have a lot of limits, so you get a chance to say when and how your Training is useful. Sometimes, it’s obvious-“I want to waterbend that boat back to us so we can save the people on it!”-but sometimes it’s a bit more subtle-“I want to earthbend out little handholds all up the side of this building so we can climb it!” I highly recommend, alongside this video, Dicebreaker’s runs with Magpie’s one DM, Simon Moody, m.ruclips.net/video/cXD6s9w3koc/видео.html, or High Roller’s run m.ruclips.net/video/6Zh9Hr9Fx38/видео.html. Seeing it in action can really help.
![I.N "HALLUCINATION" | [Stray Kids : SKZ-PLAYER]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/n5B5q1Hwt_U/mqdefault.jpg)
![Felix "Unfair" | [Stray Kids : SKZ-PLAYER]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/Oswujxm2Ag0/mqdefault.jpg)
Hey thx for this! REALLY helped. (As a relatively new GM) I had some difficulties understanding how the whole Fatigue, Balance and Conditions all work together from the QS. Thx again! gonna host a game with some friends soon
Thank you for expanding on these mechanics. As someone new to TTRPG games as well as a GM in training, I was having a hard time figuring out exactly how these things factored into the game. I still wish to learn as much as I can before the game is officially released, so I look forward to your future videos as more information about the game is released over the coming months. Great job and keep up the good work!
Thank you, Lord Vader. 😐
The best breakdown of the combat system so far!
This video was super informative! Will host my first session next week and this explanation really cleared a lot of questions
Will you make a video about campaign creation?
Thanks for the video! The visuals are helpful :) this is gonna be my very first ttrpg and I’m going to attempt at being Gm so I’m really excited but kind of nervous. I’m already coming up with stories though ! Yay!!
That's awesome! Good luck! You'll do great! 😁
There should be a open-world Avatar RPG game.
I play DND and it takes me forever to set up a character sheet. I’m glad they made it fairly simple for this! I might try to Gm a game for my friends
Really appreciate these videos on Avatar: Legends. Do you only have the two videos?
thank you for this video, clears a lot of things that are not clearly stated on the QS
Sometimes it really helps to have things explained in a different way for them to really click.
Glad you enjoyed the video!
can someone explain me how to get the game i cant donwload it and i dont see anywhere how to do it?
This was extremely helpful!! This is going to be my first time ever GMing any game and I want to get it right. I already have so many people that want me to GM for them. I've only ever played D&D so the combat system was just confusing for me. If I could recommend another video for you to do that would help... could you make one giving different walkthroughs of what different full fights would look like with different PCs and NPCs? Thanks for the help already!
Thanks for saying so!
We likely won't be making any more videos about Avatar RPG until the official rules come out early next year. That said, I wouldn't get too worried about getting all of the rules exactly right. This system (as opposed to D&D) is designed to be pretty loose with the rules and more focused on building a narrative.
So, just have fun and play how you want! There is no wrong way to play a RPG :)
omg so excited!!!
This system is so focused in role-playing. The numbers almost don't matter. I wouldn't be surprised if a master could create a campaign without dice, just pure role-playing.
Powered by the Apocalypse is a very narratively driven system, much more so than your Dungeon & Dragons and the like. That said, when the GM and the players work together to build that narrative, the end result can be a fantastic experience.
perfect and marvelous video. thanks a lot!
What a perfect and marvelous comment!
This is going to be my first TTRPG game so this will really help! I just need friends to play with xD
what about the L P and M?
Hey i dont know if you will reply. I saw you having a editable character sheet. I might be a computer noob. But if u found a online editable sheet id love to know or if u can explain how you did it thank you :)
I always reply! ...well, that's not true, but you know lol
Sorry to remove some of the movie magic, but I don't have an editable character sheet. I just used photoshop to draw on the PDF. That said, that is a fine (if a bit clunky) way to do it!
Can I still buy the game pdf if I didn't back? ):
Is the game for sale or where is the site to play?
thanks. Want more for ATLA legends.
How do u even get to play. Do u have to purchase?
You can download the Quick Start guide for free from the link in the video description.
But the Kickstarter campaign has less than 24 hours remaining!
WHERE and which device is it on?
This is a tabletop RPG. Like Dungeons & Dragons. Not a digital game.
Me: stealing mechanics for d&d 5e... Why hello there, sexy.
Just going to say this, and don’t care about the “negativity”. I can and will criticize what is good and bad about this.
Good:
The alignment means something. Very good. I would change ‘role’ to ‘Destiny’ as it’s easier to understand with the context given. The mechanics are basically a more complicated Will save.
The fatigue system is also good. Using fatigue to do things and have limits is good.
The progression of learned techniques is a good start. Taking a quest to master it is a great way to story tell.
The bad:
Ugh where to I begin.
Your definitions are way to broad. Players can and will take advantage of this. You might think it makes the gameplay fun, but no. It will make everyone mad at everyone and will be riddled with Main Character Syndrome.
“The DM doesn’t role any dice”. Do I even need to say why that’s a horrible idea? The dm doesn’t have any freedom to make the encounters challenging. The reason DND, Pathfinder, Star Wars RPGs, and call of Cthulhu are so memorable are the challenging encounters. How is the dm supposed to have bosses use special abilities, different phases, or other techniques? The challenge is gone and will get boring very quickly. THIS IS BAD BECAUSE IT MEANS IT WONT SELL. If it doesn’t sell, you will have killed any chance of ATLA rpgs in the future. It also means your careers are over as you cannot be trusted to make a good product.
The initiative system is all kinds of messy. Who goes first when they both choose to be aggressive? This is why things like Dex bonuses matter in other games. Speaking of which-
Why are there no physical stats!? Creativity, Focus, Harmony, passion. Those are all mental Stats. Do I really need to roll a Passion Check to lift a heavy chest? Makes no sense. Using different stats for your combative approach is awful. It’s confusing, inconsistent, and will make combat significantly longer than it needs to be.
Handed weapons like swords should use the character’s strength, ranged should be their dexterity, etc. plus without physical stats, how can I be a tanky Earthbender who keeps the party breathing by taunting enemies?
Rolling dice to see what technique you use? No… just No. your character should be able to use their techniques as long as they meet the fatigue requirements to use them. The way I would do it is to have the more extravagant techniques be unavailable if you have higher fatigue. For example, I can’t create an earth bridge of more than 10 ft if I have a fatigue of 4 or more.
Conclusion
There really needs to be mechanics and storytelling similar to what Fantasy Flight Star Wars does. What you have here is a Fanfic simulator rather than a role playing game. While that would appeal to some, there’s a reason that most ttrpgs are mechanically driven and are more popular than Powered by the Apocalypse.
Mainly addressing “the bad”. You seem to be approaching this from a very DnD/mechanic heavy bias/mindset. This is based on Powered by the Apocalypse, which is much more narrative and free.
“The DM doesn’t roll any dice.” This isn’t necessarily bad. The levels are set by the results being based on 10+ for big success, 7-9 for hit/partial success, and 6- for a miss. NPCs controlled by the GM in combat get to use techniques without rolling, and the amount of techniques is based on type of NPC (solo vs group) and their single principle track (higher principle, more techniques used). The gameplay is more narrative than mechanical, as opposed to DnD.
Initiative system: not that messy. It’s actually said in the rules itself. If NPC and PCs pick the same approach, PCs go first, and they can decide in which order they go.
The stats..are a bit tougher to explain. But they are not quite as unintuitive. If you’re “relying on skills and training”, you might be more focusing on what your doing. If you’re “pressing your luck”, you roll Passion as your more taking a gamble based on your drive (both rely and press your luck are the actual moves). In terms of being “tanky”, they may have other techniques to help with this, but we know the icon playbook can make a wall of defense to protect anyone in reach from an attack, and the Guardian playbook can divert attacks toward allies in reach toward themselves, and there are possibly more in the full release, especially in the elements.
The rolling for techniques is, well, it’s an rpg. If an Earthbender has been trained to where they can make a bridge, then they roll “rely”, and if they aren’t, it’s more pushing themselves. This isn’t that far off from, say, rolling to use a Force Power in FFG Star Wars. And even a 6- can still be a success in a way as opposed to outright failure, but it could instead add complications to the story. “You make the bridge, but you exhaust yourself further” or “you manage to make the bridge, however as you finish, you feel the footfalls of Fire Nation soldiers as they catch up to you.”
Heavy mechanics, really, aren’t as necessary as some think. A narrative focus like this can work very well, and this isn’t the first time Magpie has done this. But it is very much a shift if you are used to mechanics heavy. (As a note, the kickstarter campaign is at $7m)
Thank you for being respectful in your reply.
You did clear up some things like initiative, and thanks for that. But I still don’t think this is the best way to do it.
To me it really does need more mechanics in order to respect the bending and it’s limitations instead of: I can use whatever firebending I want because it’s in my head.
Bro, this RPG has raised over $4,000,000. While I share your concern about the gameplay, the game itself is absolutely selling well.
It's past $7M now with a few days left
Elder Liddle, I can see why one may take that stance, especially as it’s a system that worked for years. The quickstart has a good explanation for why they opted for this route though (and, if I heard correctly, Masks by the same group uses a similar style). Bending is a part of their everyday culture, and the devs thought having such hard rules might take away from that aspect, and feel this would allow more free storytelling. And they encourage the players, from what I’ve seen, take a more involved role in the story telling, and have more conversations with the DM when it comes to those things and figuring out the best ways to use it.
From the QS: “Bending in Avatar Legends: The RPG works the same way- you use it constantly...but it’s not your story. All of the Trainings, including bending, are tools your character uses to get stuff done, whether that’s fighting to protect the innocent from immediate harm or attempting to convince the political leaders of a place to take the problems of ordinary people seriously….What does that look like in the game? Trainings don’t have a lot of limits, so you get a chance to say when and how your Training is useful. Sometimes, it’s obvious-“I want to waterbend that boat back to us so we can save the people on it!”-but sometimes it’s a bit more subtle-“I want to earthbend out little handholds all up the side of this building so we can climb it!”
I highly recommend, alongside this video, Dicebreaker’s runs with Magpie’s one DM, Simon Moody, m.ruclips.net/video/cXD6s9w3koc/видео.html, or High Roller’s run m.ruclips.net/video/6Zh9Hr9Fx38/видео.html. Seeing it in action can really help.
🤔 Hmm, i have a bad feeling about this...