Design Decisions¶
This page records major design decisions made during recent system revisions.
Its purpose is not justification for players, but clarity for future development.
Kaernest has been iterated for decades.
This document exists so that solved problems stay solved.
Why Health Is Determined by Vigor¶
Health in Kaernest is no longer purchased through Gifts or point-buy.
It is derived directly from Vigor.
This change was made for three reasons.
First, survivability needed to be intrinsic, not elective.
Allowing players to buy durability created pressure to optimize for survival rather than identity. Tying wound capacity to Vigor reinforces that physical resilience is a core trait, not an optional upgrade.
Second, the previous Health Gift created a false choice.
Extra health was nearly mandatory for frontline characters, which meant it was not a real choice at all. Folding health into Vigor removes that tax and simplifies character creation.
Third, monsters and NPCs needed a scalable, consistent model.
Deriving wound tracks from Vigor allows creatures to scale naturally beyond player limits without introducing parallel systems or special rules.
The resulting wound table scales cleanly from Vigor 0 through Vigor 12, supports both PCs and monsters, and keeps survivability legible at the table.
Why Critical Hits No Longer Add to Impact¶
Earlier versions of the system allowed critical hits to increase Impact directly.
This was removed after playtesting.
Impact already represents how badly something went.
Adding critical effects on top of Impact produced excessive spike damage and made outcomes feel arbitrary rather than earned.
Instead, critical hits now: - Guarantee or enhance Conditions. - Trigger weapon or skill-specific effects. - Create narrative leverage rather than raw lethality.
This preserves the excitement of a critical hit without destabilizing the damage model.
Critical hits now answer the question:
“What extra thing happens?”
Impact answers:
“How bad is it?”
Keeping those roles separate improved clarity, balance, and pacing.
Where Impact Came From¶
Impact was introduced to unify several competing mechanics: - Degrees of success. - Damage severity. - Consequence escalation. - Non-combat conflict resolution.
Rather than tracking damage as a number to subtract, Impact represents how much the situation worsened as a result of an action.
Impact is derived from: - Margin of Success. - Relevant physical or narrative force. - Weapon or situational factors.
Impact is then translated into: - Wounds in combat. - Conditions in social or investigative scenes. - Permanent or temporary consequences.
This allowed Kaernest to move away from hit point attrition while still using numbers where they matter.
Impact is intentionally reused across subsystems.
It is not a combat-only concept.
Why Armour Absorbs Impact Instead of Modifying Rolls¶
Armour now absorbs Impact after it is generated, rather than modifying attack or defense rolls.
This change was made to: - Speed up roll resolution. - Preserve the meaning of MoS. - Reflect real-world experience where armour mitigates injury rather than preventing hits.
Armour is now valuable because it reduces consequences, not because it makes characters harder to hit.
Shields, by contrast, increase defense and positioning, which matches their real-world use.
This division improved both realism and mechanical clarity.
Why Effort Exists (and Why the GM Has It)¶
Effort exists to smooth partial success and prevent binary outcomes.
Player Effort allows: - Fixing near-failures. - Improving partial success. - Buying bonus dice or mitigating consequences.
GM Effort exists for the same reason.
Giving the GM a limited Effort pool: - Removes the need for hidden adjustments. - Encourages visible, fair pressure. - Keeps scenes moving.
GM Effort always flows back to players, reinforcing the idea that pressure does not disappear, it redistributes.
This is a pacing tool, not an adversarial one.
Why Initiative Is Player-Directed¶
Initiative is determined by the highest Leadership score at the table, not by rolling.
This change: - Removes swingy initiative rolls. - Prevents enemy turn stacking. - Encourages party coordination. - Shifts tactical responsibility to the players.
The GM does not control initiative order.
The world reacts, but the party decides how to act.
This reinforces Kaernest’s theme that preparation and judgment matter more than reflex lotteries.
Why Load Is Visible and Narrative¶
Encumbrance is handled through Load, not granular weight.
This decision was informed by real-world experience: - Carrying more gear makes you slower and more obvious. - The problem is not weight alone, but commitment and visibility.
Load communicates: - What you can plausibly hide. - How prepared you appear. - What social and physical costs you are carrying.
This supports infiltration, intrigue, and travel play without excessive bookkeeping.
Why the System Is Intentionally Asymmetric¶
Kaernest is not balanced around perfect parity.
Magic is harder to access and weaker early.
It becomes stronger later.
Some backgrounds open doors others never will.
Some choices trade safety for leverage.
This is intentional.
The system is designed to reward: - Commitment. - Context. - Long-term consequences.
Not every option is meant to be equal.
They are meant to be meaningful.
Closing Note¶
If a future change contradicts one of these decisions, it should do so deliberately.
If a rule feels uncomfortable but aligns with these principles, it is probably working as intended.
This page exists so that future revisions move forward, not in circles.