MPNP Flourish

A Flourish is the system whereby players can attempt something extraordinary.

A flourish is based on the player--rather than the character--'s ability, specifically their storytelling-prowess. In order to execute a flourish, the player must attempt to describe, in detail, the exact actions of their character. Depending on the level of detail, the GM then assigns a Flourish Level to the description, and the player gains a number of d20's to roll in the check they are about to attempt.

Examples

The GM assigns a flourish level 0-4, 0 being essentially a completely failure. In extreme cases, the GM can also declare that the character has failed whatever check they were attempting automatically(without rolling). In the following examples, a character is going to attempt to steel an apple from a vendor on the street. The use of " " in this section denotes the player describing what his character is doing.

• Level 0: "I walk by and grab the apple of his cart while he's not looking."

• Level 1: "I walk by, watching the shopkeeper's gaze, and make sure he's looking away from me while I take the apple."

• Level 2: "I walk by, watching the shopkeeper's gaze, and make sure he's distracted with another customer while my hand lashes out, grabs the apple, and tucks it quickly inside my long, puffy sleeve."

• Level 3: "I wave to the shopkeeper as I approach, making sure I have his attention and then direct it excitedly to some commotion behind him, brazenly snatching the apple while his back is turned and sneaking a quick bite out of it before hiding it up my sleeve. I interlace my fingers behind my head, absently quipping about the weather and giving him a hearty airwell as I continue along my path."

• Level 4: "I approach the shopkeeper, immediately engaging him in conversation. I pick up several apples, asking him questions about their quality, type, etc, all while excidedly making eye-contact and putting on a friendly air. I start to expertly juggle the apples, first one, then, two, then three, grabbing various pieces of fruit off of his cart and returning others. While mis-directing the shopkeeper, I drop one apple down my sleeve. When onlookers are entranced by my show, I start tossing pieces of fruit to them, while they clap and accept the free snack. As the enraged shopkeeper attempts to reclaim his wares, I saunter casually away, all the while having escaped detection."

Rules

Much like the GM can declare failure on a poorly-executed flourish, the GM can also declare success, based souly on the strength of the description. The above example has the player executing a MPNP Deception-check, in the event of a Level 4 Flourish, the GM could simply declare the character succeeded in stealing the apple without the need to roll any dice.

This same rule applies in combat: a player attempting an instant-kill move can, at the GM's discretion, succeed merely by describing the attack in graphic-enough detail(meaning the GM can declare that the target of the attack is killed without the need to roll damage)

Flourish Failure

If a player attempts a flourish and does very poorly at it, the game master is encouraged to punish them for it. The severity being proportional to the failure. In the above example, a good response in the event of a level 0 flourish might be:

"The shopkeeper catches hold of your arm and jerks you backwards with such force that it sprains your wrist, screaming 'Stop, thief!' in the process. Guards appear as if out of nowhere, and, sensing that you are about to resist arrest(or perhaps merely being slightly racist because of your stupid hairstyle) pull out their clubs and immediadely start beating you senseless, while the shopkeeper kicks you and calls you names. Roll 1d6 for the number of guards and 1D20 for the severity of the beating, take 1d4 damage per severity level for each guard + the shopkeeper."

Effect-Kills

An effect-kill is when a player uses something in the environment, in conjunction with a highly-successful flourish, tokill an enemy. An example would be shoving the badguy into a pool of molten lava. In the case of an effect-kill, the GM can simply declare the mob dead without rolling for damage.

Channel

Channel is a system related to flourish that allows players to make up spells for their character literally on the fly. Pretty much just describe how you are casting the spell and what you want it to do. Much like the flourish system, the GM is then responsible for deciding how much MP it costs you and what the ultimate effect is.

Basic Guidelines for Channel

You probably want the player to succeed on at least a level 3 flourish. Whatever they describe cannot be too outlandish, although as established by the Course Books the capabilities of magic are really pretty much endless. Based on the spell being cast, you(the GM) can decide what proficiency they need to use. Although, if they are managing at least a level 3, it probably doesn't matter too much at that point.