Characters and Index Cards

The ideal character sheet for Omnia consists of a few index cards. One card lists the character's capabilities. One card is used for tracking wounds and other conditions. Other cards may be added to list equipment, accomplishments, etc. Cards can be easily rearranged to suit the player, and cards can be added as the character's experience expands. Perhaps most importantly, the moderator can make copies of the players' most important cards for easy reference. This reduces unnecessary out-of-character inquiries (such as, "Do you have an Ability that lets you do x?") that both break immersion and waste time. And they are infinitely customizable. The power of index cards as a tool for role-playing has been known since the dawn of the hobby, and I can perceive no reason not to make use of it.

[See also "RPGaDay 2023: Day 26 (Favourite Character Sheet)" in Applied Phantasticality.]

All Things in Moderation

What is the most neutral term for "one who runs an adventure"? Referee? Judge? Game Master? "Referee" sounds too neutral—like a nonparticipant who is there merely to observe and occasionally impose penalties. "Judge" sounds more active, but in a strictly judicial sense. Judges adjudicate, but they don't create. "Game Master" is a loaded term and less than desirable (to me, at least) for reasons I describe in "Promoting Clarity in Gaming" in Creative Reckoning. "Moderator" is my own preference (again for reasons explained in the aforementioned article), and since this is my game, it will be the official term used in Omnia. (Although "Omnipotent One" has potential...)

Omnia Update 2023-08-31

There will probably be two versions of the primary Omnia rule book—one with illustrations and one without. I might make dual versions for the supplements as well. Eventually, I might even commission art for additional illustrated versions to reflect different styles. But I am getting ahead of myself. I need to tweak several rules, playtest the game, decide which Creative Commons license to release it under, and release it. Then I can focus on the style and method of illustration.

The Tone of Omnia

Omnia is a personal project meant to appeal to myself and those who share my preferences in a role-playing system, and as such, its tone is direct, informative, and, I hope, instructive. I have no intention of adopting the corporate tone typical of most commercial projects. There will be no "hype." There will be no negative advertising. There will be no fill-in-the-blank press releases. There will be no attempts to appeal to the lowest common denominator. There will be no assumption that readers are gullible. I shall assume that those who play Omnia and read Omnia Pro Omnibus are intelligent, imaginative, and discerning. I wish to write what I prefer to read: honest communication between parties with a shared interest. Life is too short and too precious to be wasted on business speak.

Omnia Guidelines of Visual Presentation

The most salient complaint I have about most role-playing games is their visual presentation. If I cannot get past the visual barriers, I cannot even begin to address the rules, concepts, or even the quality of the writing itself—at least, not without difficulty and a certain amount of resentment. More than once I have had my enthusiasm for a game extinguished by those responsible for its layout and typography. With this in my mind, I have made this list of guidelines for the visual presentation of Omnia and all supplemental material. I intend to adhere to these principles, and I encourage anyone who contributes original Omnia material to do so as well.

Typefaces and Type Sizes (Fonts)

Above all, the typeface ought to be as legible as possible and of a size that can be read effortlessly by most readers. For printed Omnia material, I intend to use Atkinson Hyperlegible, which was created to maximize readability (especially for those with impaired vision and/or dyslexia). For material presented on sites such as this that do not offer Atkinson Hyperlegible, I am using Arial. In both cases, I shall be using a standard size of 12.

(I learned about Atkinson Hyperlegible from Accessible Gaming Quarterly, which will be using it in future issues.)

Color and Contrast

The text and background ought to contrast as strongly as possible without being uncomfortable to the eye. In most cases, the text will be black and the background will be white to promote readability.

Layout

Layout ought to follow a logical flow. It ought to be uncluttered and simple to follow.

In printed material and PDFs, chunks of information will be confined to a single page or a single spread as much as possible. This makes it easier to use at the gaming table.

A Kindred Manifesto

Quite coincidentally, on the near-eve of my release of Omnia, an article appeared from Revenant's Quill entitled "Brutalist Adventure Game Design." I say coincidentally because my design philosophy for Omnia has been guided by every single principle of this manifesto without any thought of the Brutalist movement. There are a few other design principles I have kept in mind as well (many of which are shared with those of Fudge), but those described in the aforementioned article are core. I mention this here because I am comforted by the fact that I am not alone in my design goals and gaming preferences.

All for All.

The Purpose of Omnia

What is Omnia and why am I devoting time to it?

Omnia is a minimalist universal role-playing game that utilizes a binary randomizer pool system.

I am devoting time to it because I want to run, play, and design material for a role-playing game that:

• Promotes quick, easy, and fun character creation;
• Encourages role-playing and creative problem-solving;
• Can be adapted to nearly any genre or setting; and
• Keeps it simple.

If any of the above sound like your cup of tea, follow or bookmark this blog. You'll hear about it here first.

Omnia Update 2023-05-17

I have not yet released Omnia in any format as I have been busy refining it, rewriting it, fighting my doubts about it, and generally procrastinating, but I am optimistic that I will feel semi-comfortable releasing it in the near future. One of my biggest obstacles is the question of which license, if any, I ought to use. I am strongly inclined to choose Creative Commons, but I will still have to choose which version to use. It's a daunting task, because it requires me to think about the game's future when I utterly failed to pursue a career as an oracle. I can't wait to see what I decide to do.

Be seeing you...

Welcome

Omnia Pro Omnibus is the online home of Omnia, a universal role-playing game that is everything you need to role-play anything you can imagine. (Imagination required.)