"Exigency" means an urgent situation, or a situation requiring abnormal effort or attention to resolve.
But more specifically… Exigency began life as a play-by-post homebrew game based off a simplistic six-attribute system and a single-roll approach. Now in its third iteration, it's gotten a little more complicated than that!
Exigency was the campaign name of the first game played online, now alas lost to posterity. But it stuck; it seems pretty damn appropriate considering the setting's themes.
The setting itself has a collaborative element, with several characters, technologies, and even planets resulting from player input. And while the likes of Maintonon may have been around since the beginning, his personality ("cybernetic bastard", to quote a PC) definitely came about through his interactions with players.
To this aim, the system was designed to be narrative-led and rules-light. And even though the rules got heavier and a little less abstract, the core tenets never changed;
- Assume competency.
- Do your own thing. The Exigency rules set is and always will be in a state of flux. If you don't like a rule, ignore it or reinterpret it. If you think you can make it better, tell us!
- A cyborg with a sledgehammer is overpowered. It's traditional at this stage.