About Pando

So, why Pando?

Pando came about as a response to all the game systems I've previously played--and their combined shortcomings. While just about every game excels at some feature or other, most still leave something to be desired. D&D established a great foundation for future games and has a wondefully compiled rules system--but it has terribly unimaginative gameplay and depends on rules far too much. GURPS is a fine step in the opposite direction: Character creation is a pleasure (and often more fun than anything that follows) and the game's modularity allows much flexibility... But I never quited enjoyed the gameplay or character progression. Other games I've come across are similarly faulted. Often their attempts at solving an issue with one aspect of gameplay leads to faults with other aspects.

With Pando, I wanted to address all the problems I've come across in an efficient manner and avoid any potential downfalls. As such, Pando was created and is developed with these goals in mind:

• Realism

  RPGs are meant to make use of the imagination. No question there. But the imagination should be a complement to the game's mechanics, not a substitute, as it is more often used. Rolling a D20 and adding a number doesn't realy feel as though a character is taking an action. The onus of making things feel real is on the player. The game only offers a way to evaluate the success of the roll (and in this case, in a fairly one dimensional way).

  Pando strives to promote realism. This doesn't simply mean designing a character class that properly emulates a profession or specialty (Pando doesn't use classes), but rather that the actual gameplay mechanics mirror reality. Convincing an NPC to help a cause shouldn't be exported to a simple roll + CHA (or Charm, or Coercion, or whatever the game happens to use). A player's combat turn should be more than moving over and rolling a die to simulate attacking. Charming should make the player feel as though she is actively convincing an NPC on a personal level! A player's combat style should present itself as more than just flavor text!

  This is perhaps the biggest drive behind Pando's setup and mechanics. Ideally, players should find that the game allows them to do more than just describe their character's actions. It should allow them to express those actions through gameplay, and in a satisfying manner.

• Flexibility

  Having a thoroughly fleshed out rules system is great--But having a game that needs a rule for everything isn't. As any seasoned RPGer knows, it's impossible to predict what sort of situations players will get themselves into, and even more unpredictable is what insanity will be wrought in their escapes from those situations. A well formed game should be prepared to deal with those situations in an easy and intuitive manner, without needing to search for a game rule that deals with that specific context. Pando is designed with this flexibility in mind, both to allow players to do anything that strikes their fancy and to prevent any nervous breakdown a GM may consequently experience.

• Modularity

  Perhaps most influenced by GURPS, one of the major goals of Pando is to allow game modularity. This means a few things:

  • 1. Creating a mechanics system prepared for use in any setting: Pure fantasy and magic, dramatic space operas, medieval wars, The Notebook tributes... It should allow for any setting the players aspire to play in. And it should accomodate each with minimal to no rules changes.

  • 2. The game should easily allow for Plug-N-Play features. One example of this will be the available magic systems. The game will include rules for several types of magic systems: mana-based, Vancian, and more. Choosing one of the plugins won't change the core rules. It will only add further functionality.

  • 3. Creating an easily moddable game. Pando isn't meant to be a game controlled by its designers--We encourage anyone out there to make their own 'mods' for the game and share them.

• Enjoyability

  This feels like a given, but the game should be enjoyable. No point in playing a game if its not fun, right?