On again, Off again.

Alright... Not much has been done here for about a month, but the RL issues that have kept me tied up have eased down and I might find the time and headspace to get back to this in earnest. While I've not really been writing, I have gone back and edited what I already have a few times on the TAGE material and I am on the fence about two specific points. One is purely cosmetic and the other is something that would affect EVERYTHING as it is at the core of the rules.

The cosmetic issue deals with the order in which the rules sections are presented, one format distinctly seperating the rules into distinct sections and the other mixing them up a lot more and presenting it in a purely logical order without much concern over seperating rules into catagories or sections. I started writing it the first way, all neatly formated, but the more I work with it, the more I find myself thinking that just presenting it all in a blended explanation of rules may not only be easier to make work but actually be easier for a new reader to follow... If I decide to do the rewriting needed to change formats, I can assure you multiple versions of Indexes will be presented for helping to find specific rules.

The rules issue is one that is really hard to explain without getting about 1000 words into explaining the attributes system. In vague summary, though, it has to do with limitations on attribute purchases in character design. Either way, all attribute are bought up from 0 and they are purchased in layers from general to very specific that are added together to achieve the exact value of attribute applied on an almost case by case basis. The particular rule I am on the fence about concerns whether or not subsets of the broadest attributes can be purchased in negative levels to get points back, or if the rules should be set up in a way that ALL attribute purchases will be positive values... If it comes down to which is simpler to work with in the big picture, it would actually be permitting a limited number of attribute subsets to be purchased at a negative value.

I know... If I read that last paragraph I'd be really curious what was meant by attributes and subsets of attributes, so I will take a moment to give a super-brief on what I mean. In TAGE, there will be 3 bodies that any character can have, the physical body, the mental body and the spiritual body. Each is governed by 1 Root Attribute, which are Body, Mind and Soul. Within each of those Root Attributes are 3 sub-attributes that fall within the realm of that form. Body has Strength, Agility and Health, Mind has Intelligence, Perception and Charm, and Soul has Will, Lucidity and Essence. Each of the sub attributes is added to it's Root to get the total value. This subsetting of attributes goes one additional layer of specialization, but I won't even get into explaining that here.

So, with myself able to find a little bit of peace and a little bit of time, I'd be expecting this site to become semi-active and maybe even have new documents linked to it in the near future, but I am not going to promise much. My other interest is photography and it's Spring/Summer when I am usually busiest. Infact, this summer I will be quite busy from this weekend till August with photography work... I have extensive photography work to do in relation to the Oregon Country Fair - My getting in with a full camping pass has everything to do with the fact that I will be bringing my cameras with me. I took about 2000 pictures last year, and I plan to be taking a LOT more than that this year. I still haven't finished editing all the pictures from last year, and that's something else I need to do soon, as my chances of making any money this year at the fair is directly proportional to how much I have to sell in the way of Fair Pictures.

At any rate, these plans here have not been dropped or given up... They are just not on my front burner right now. Once summer has passed, though, this will probably be what most of my time will be going into.