GAME SYSTEM // v2.0.WEIRD
Neon Ascension
A LitRPG tabletop RPG system where players are “Awakened” individuals who can see reality's underlying code and manipulate it through personal paradigms.
Core Concept
The game blends mechanics, narrative, and substance use as thematic elements. Players discover they can see past the veil of ordinary reality into the raw code of existence itself, each perceiving it through their unique paradigm.
Core Systems
Character Stats
Raw power
Speed & grace
Endurance
Knowledge
Mental fortitude
Social force
Creative resonance (unique to this system)
Basic Rolls
1d20 + stat modifier + skill rank + Flow bonus vs DC 10-20Higher Flow provides mechanical bonuses and unlocks reality-bending abilities. At 15+ Flow, characters risk involuntary ascension.
The Flow State
Players build Flow (0-10+) through creative, paradigm-aligned actions. This is the key mechanic that separates Neon Ascension from other systems.
- 0-3: Normal human capability
- 4-7: Enhanced perception, minor reality manipulation
- 8-10: Signature abilities unlocked, local physics bend
- 15+: Risk of involuntary transcendence
The Five Paradigms
Each paradigm represents how a character perceives and interacts with reality's underlying code.
The Beat
Reality has rhythm. Violence becomes sonic art. Those who follow The Beat perceive existence as an eternal concert, with combat as the ultimate performance.
The Code
The universe runs on discoverable logic and exploitable patterns. Reality is a program, and you're learning to hack it.
The Story
Existence is narrative. Genre awareness grants power. Those who understand they're in a story can bend its tropes to their will.
The Flesh
Everything hungers. Magic operates through biology. The Flesh paradigm sees reality as an organism, with power flowing through visceral transformation.
The Dream
Reality sleeps. You are a lucid dreamer in the cosmic unconscious, shaping existence through willful imagination.
Combat: Rhythm Duels
Combat functions as performance art with four-beat rounds. Actions include basic attacks/defenses and Flow-powered signature moves.
DAMAGE TRACKS
- Body: Physical damage
- Mind: Psychological strain
- Core: Existential integrity
MODIFIERS
- Environmental factors
- Crowd reactions
- Music/ambiance
Substances & Transcendence
Drugs serve mechanical purposes in Neon Ascension, providing gameplay effects while creating narrative consequences.
Glitter
Provides Flow
Data
Enhances intellect
Dream Milk
Blurs consciousness states
Sustained use triggers transcendence states granting special abilities. Withdrawal creates narrative consequences and potential character development.
Major Factions
The Corporatocracy
Monetizing transcendence for profit
The Collective
Artistic anarchists fighting for creative freedom
The Synthesis Church
Seeking to digitize consciousness
The Meat Market
Biological extremism and flesh magic
System Security
Enforcers of consensus reality
Dungeons & Domains
Domains are neighborhoods with personality stats and local reality rules. Each district has its own feel, factions, and quirks.
Dungeons manifest as spatial impossibilities reflecting psychological breaks. Clearing dungeons involves defeating a dungeon consciousness rather than simple combat.
Tone & Content
Darkly comedic. Explicit content around substances and sexuality. Treats apocalypse as mundane backdrop for personal drama and transcendence-seeking. The world has already ended; now we're just living in the aftermath and trying to have a good time.