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True, but unless they've taken "Functioning Vice," they'll overindulge like crazy with that strategy.
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Sep 29, 2019 06:15
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I mean, why wouldn't you? It's one of the most effective special abilities in the game, because the stress economy is the lubricant that makes everything else work.
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Sep 29, 2019 06:29
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Ilor posted:True, but unless they've taken "Functioning Vice," they'll overindulge like crazy with that strategy. overindulgence isn't that bad once you realize you can just bring in a different character. which is fine, i loved seeing my players come up with new characters that would then become recurring
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Sep 29, 2019 15:49
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Serf posted:overindulgence isn't that bad once you realize you can just bring in a different character. which is fine, i loved seeing my players come up with new characters that would then become recurring
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Sep 29, 2019 16:50
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Serf posted:overindulgence isn't that bad once you realize you can just bring in a different character. which is fine, i loved seeing my players come up with new characters that would then become recurring Yeah, the natural loop in Blades seems to be
You don't gain XP as much, but if you're Desperate all the time you'll ramp up fast.
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Sep 30, 2019 14:44
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Sure, but if you're always starting from a desperate position, you may advance relatively quickly, but you'll also likely take traumas quickly and/or outright fail on a lot of scores. That generally means all heat, no coin, which in turn complicates down-time.
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Sep 30, 2019 14:53
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Ilor posted:Sure, but if you're always starting from a desperate position, you may advance relatively quickly, but you'll also likely take traumas quickly and/or outright fail on a lot of scores. That generally means all heat, no coin, which in turn complicates down-time. which is why the gm has to make desperate positions actually desperate. its an interesting balancing act, but imo a theoretical 2e of blades needs to cap resistance at something below 4 dice. its the system's most glaring flaw. and its why i'm interested in blades against darkness, which has your resistance be a single value that starts out great but degrades each time you use it
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Sep 30, 2019 14:59
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This all speaks to the importance of system mastery in Blades. I love the game but it’s not immediately obvious how to play and I think players really need to engage with the rulebook to get the most out of it. Which is not everyone’s cup of tea, and that’s fine! My players and I have all vastly enjoyed our year long campaign but I won’t go back to the system next time for this particular group.
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Sep 30, 2019 15:58
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There's definitely a lot of mechanical incentive to do things for the betterment of your character(s) to the detriment of your crew. "Don't be a dick", etc., but since "being desperate" often comes across as being heroic and cool, it can be hard to trace the "well, we're hosed now" back to two hours ago when Amanda fought those thugs on a rooftop by lighting a ghost on fire and using it as a weapon.
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Sep 30, 2019 16:22
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if there's one mechanic i wish i could use in every game it is position/effect. its basically the best way i've seen so far to handle setting the stakes of a roll
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Sep 30, 2019 16:44
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Serf posted:if there's one mechanic i wish i could use in every game it is position/effect. its basically the best way i've seen so far to handle setting the stakes of a roll Going back to resistance for a minute, it's important to note that it's up to the GM whether a successful resistance roll merely mitigates or completely removes a consequence. In general, the more dire the consequences the more apt I am to have resistance merely reduce the consequences rather than eliminate them all together. The rulebook itself talks about how this principle is applied being an important way to set the overall tone for the game. A desperate fight against a sword-wielding Red Sash maniac is going to go badly for you if you get a failure or even a partial success. You will almost certainly take significant Harm, and while resistance will mitigate that somewhat (say level 2 as opposed to level 3), you're still taking a hit - and that hit hampers you in the future by the wound effects of reduced effect or dice - which are an easy thing to forget but which can have a HUGE effect on the game. BitD definitely has a "death spiral," and things can go to hell in a hurry even when you are not also eating a ton of stress because you resist well.
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Sep 30, 2019 22:17
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Ilor posted:See, I find it's actually one of the biggest drawbacks of Blades - not because it's a bad idea; it's not, and I agree that it's a great way to handle setting stakes pre-roll. No, the problem I find is that because position and effect are fungible quantities that can be modified or exchanged, there can be quite a lot of discussion/negotiation at the table prior to the die roll. Throw in the idea of the Devil's Bargain and whether or not the player thinks that extra die is worth it and you have a situation where there is very good clarity about what is about to happen with the roll, but during which the narrative flow of the game comes to a screeching halt while we hash out the mechanics. Compared to something as simple as AW's "Oh, you want to stick a gun in his face and demand he hand over the Loc-Nar? Awesome, Roll+Hard," it's a night and day difference in session pacing. This is far and away my biggest issue with Blades, which I think for the most part is a really well-constructed system, mechanically speaking. i think we're the opposite style in this arena. my issue with pbta is there's no middle ground between "roll" and "don't roll" unlike blades where i can go "okay, yeah you can try that but your effect will be limited" or "that's going to be a desperate position" for things that are cool but should have an outside chance of working correctly Ilor posted:Going back to resistance for a minute, it's important to note that it's up to the GM whether a successful resistance roll merely mitigates or completely removes a consequence. In general, the more dire the consequences the more apt I am to have resistance merely reduce the consequences rather than eliminate them all together. The rulebook itself talks about how this principle is applied being an important way to set the overall tone for the game. A desperate fight against a sword-wielding Red Sash maniac is going to go badly for you if you get a failure or even a partial success. You will almost certainly take significant Harm, and while resistance will mitigate that somewhat (say level 2 as opposed to level 3), you're still taking a hit - and that hit hampers you in the future by the wound effects of reduced effect or dice - which are an easy thing to forget but which can have a HUGE effect on the game. BitD definitely has a "death spiral," and things can go to hell in a hurry even when you are not also eating a ton of stress because you resist well. we did do the "resistance just lowers the degree of consequence" thing, and it turns out when you have 4+ dice to a resistance, you will most likely suffer 0 stress or get 1 back, and then you can roll again. so perhaps one way to go would be to limit it to just one resistance roll to reduce the consequences, i dunno. but there's lots of hacks out there now that have novel ways of dealing with the base mechanics of blades, and i like a lot of what they're doing
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Sep 30, 2019 22:48
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You definitely can't roll a resist twice on the same consequence, what?
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Sep 30, 2019 22:53
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Yeah, you can only resist a consequence once. Further, even when using armor it's important to note that it's instead of making a resistance roll - you can't do both.
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Sep 30, 2019 23:27
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poor phrasing. i mean resisting the different consequences individually. reduce that harm down, then anything else you might has suffered. with enough dice you have a decent chance of coming out with less stress than you started with
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Sep 30, 2019 23:36
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Hey thread. I've posted a few times before about a PbtA game I have been working on for playing monster hunters in 17th century Europe (Malleus). The writing of the game is unfinished, particularly the advice and GMing stuff, but the game itself is completely playable (if in need of smoothing out). However, I haven't done anything with it maybe a year, and have stalled out pretty hard on it. I also feel like at least a generation of refinements in PbtA design have passed me by since I started working on the thing, and I feel like maybe its a bit old fashioned now. That said, given how much I have put into it, I would like to see it as a finished thing one day. As such, I'm looking to find someone with some PbtA design/writing experience to do some work on it. I know there are a few goons who meet that description, but I'm also open to suggestions of people that might be worth approaching. To be clear, I am looking for someone to do paid work on this.
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Oct 5, 2019 04:16
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Send me a PM, I remember helping you revise earlier versions.
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Oct 5, 2019 07:05
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Hey, so is the official "Barf Forth Apocalyptica" forum on Vincent's site gone for good? If so, I wish someone would have warned me. I would have archived some of my ramblings from there before it went offline.
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Oct 16, 2019 21:44
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Ilor posted:Hey, so is the official "Barf Forth Apocalyptica" forum on Vincent's site gone for good? If so, I wish someone would have warned me. I would have archived some of my ramblings from there before it went offline. It does appear to be gone. However, I'm gonna make your day. It appears that the Wayback Machine archived it. You can try to find what you need that way. General Archive: http://web.archive.org/web/*/http://apocalypse-world.com/forums/ Last Backup: http://web.archive.org/web/20190721033301/http://apocalypse-world.com/forums/
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Oct 16, 2019 23:48
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Awesome, you rock.
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Oct 17, 2019 00:55
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I think it's just down and the Bakers are at a convention, it should eventually be back up.
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Oct 17, 2019 03:58
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Flavivirus posted:Yup, I’ll check up with Modiphius what’s going on with that.
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Oct 17, 2019 07:40
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Foglet posted:Any news on that front, by the way? Oh jeez, is that still not done?? I’ll get on it ASAP.
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Oct 17, 2019 10:01
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Alright this is kind of a weird question but I swore I saw a Rhapsody of Blood book for like, building a good Castle as a DM aid or whatever. But now I can't find it or any link to purchase it, does it actually exist or did I dream it?
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Oct 19, 2019 02:29
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Double Plus Undead posted:Alright this is kind of a weird question but I swore I saw a Rhapsody of Blood book for like, building a good Castle as a DM aid or whatever. But now I can't find it or any link to purchase it, does it actually exist or did I dream it? It exists -- behold, Terra Incognita!
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Oct 19, 2019 04:58
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Blind Azathoth posted:It exists -- behold, Terra Incognita! Thank you!
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Oct 19, 2019 14:37
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Flavivirus posted:Oh jeez, is that still not done?? I’ll get on it ASAP. Only End Game remains now, which is not yet on DTRPG anyway.
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Oct 22, 2019 11:11
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Foglet posted:The links for Free From the Yoke and The Engine of Life have just arrived, thanks a lot! Glad to hear they finally arrived! I've been trying to set End Game's release up with Modiphius today - likely 6th of November, I think?
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Oct 22, 2019 14:10
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I decided one of my hacks needed a section on community building roughly the size of the combat chapter. So I put this move into one of the playbooks that's oriented towards hearts and minds. First draft of course. Community Building When you organize a group around a common interest or need, start a clock of 4-8 segments (ask the GM). Your group takes advantage when rolling moves that further this agenda; tick the clock once on a 10+. When you act directly to advance your agenda, roll +charm. On a 10+ tick the clock twice. On a 7-9, tick it once but also create a new need or put an existing one into an acute state. When you complete the clock, remove a need, create a surplus, or implement other effects at the GM’s direction.
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Oct 24, 2019 06:50
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Flavivirus posted:Oh jeez, is that still not done?? I’ll get on it ASAP. Is there a point at which these should all have been distributed? because I still haven't gotten any.
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Oct 25, 2019 00:56
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malkav11 posted:Is there a point at which these should all have been distributed? because I still haven't gotten any. I’m gonna try and fix it today. PledgeManager is such garbage compared to BackerKit - wish Modiphius hadn’t convinced me to use it for Legacy 2e. Rest assured I’ll get you your PDFs as soon as I can!
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Oct 25, 2019 09:48
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So I'm thinking about doing quick custom homebrew pbta systems for future games I'll be running. Design the basic moves, agenda/principles/GM moves, stuff like that. No playbooks, instead I'll work with the players to design moves specifically for their characters. This is in part because some of my players prefer more freeform character generation than playbooks provide for. The top of my docket is a Ranma 1/2 inspired game. Any suggestions for games to pillage for inspiration?
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Oct 25, 2019 16:11
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Kaja Rainbow posted:So I'm thinking about doing quick custom homebrew pbta systems for future games I'll be running. Design the basic moves, agenda/principles/GM moves, stuff like that. No playbooks, instead I'll work with the players to design moves specifically for their characters. This is in part because some of my players prefer more freeform character generation than playbooks provide for. It's hard to make a recommendation for that without knowing the agenda/principles/GM moves first.
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Oct 25, 2019 17:10
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Capfalcon posted:It's hard to make a recommendation for that without knowing the agenda/principles/GM moves first. I'll have to get back to you about that but a principle that's firmly stuck in my mind is "spare no character from embarrassment". It's basically going to be a campaign about idiots getting into martial art fights for stupid reasons. Some self-discovery is most likely given since it'll be an explicitly queer take on Ranma 1/2. Lots of entanglements including unwanted fiancees and such. Plenty of comedy.
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Oct 25, 2019 21:05
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Kaja Rainbow posted:I'll have to get back to you about that but a principle that's firmly stuck in my mind is "spare no character from embarrassment". It's basically going to be a campaign about idiots getting into martial art fights for stupid reasons. Some self-discovery is most likely given since it'll be an explicitly queer take on Ranma 1/2. Lots of entanglements including unwanted fiancees and such. Plenty of comedy. That's a very clear agenda. A few ideas to think about, then: How do you the rules encourage characters to do foolish things? Do people even get hurt in this game? Comic slapstick seems very in genre, but people tend to react very poorly to HP going down on their character sheet. Influence from Masks versus Strings from Monsterhearts. Influence being binary Yes/No that gives passive benefits and Strings being a currency with no benefits until they are spent give relationships a very significant feel. Monsterhearts relationships are transactional and quantifiable. "I will spend this string, offering you an XP, if you do a thing for me." Alternatively, you can have Influence over someone and just get +1 to moves targeting them, because you know them very well. I'm not saying either of these are right for your game, but think about what you want to happen around the table and try and encourage that. Also, for games that want to revolve around romantic (particularly unwanted romantic) relationships, Safehearts and the X Card are basically mandatory reading.
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Oct 25, 2019 21:30
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Yeah the players will be deciding who if anyone their characters are engaged to and such. lovely parents are a thing in Ranma 1/2. That said, reading Safehearts and the X card does seem like a good idea. There's a lot of violent slapstick in the inspiring work, yeah. As such there won't be lethality. I'll likely just have a stress track that tracks both physical and mental stress received, or something like that. Max stress will just result in the character passing out, being captured, or the like.
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Oct 25, 2019 21:43
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You might even consider a system more like Fellowship's, where instead of winning because they ran out of HP, you win because you got an advantage over them (e.g. by outwitting or confusing them) and then do a cool finisher move and that's the fight. That could fit flashy slapstick fights a bit better. You might also check out Lash Out Physically from MH, which deals damage, but is actually more about the implications of smacking somebody. In MH's case that's aimed at drama, but you could do a similar deal for comedy. In general my suggestion for writing moves is to watch/read the thing you're making the move for, and pay careful attention to what actions get the spotlight in those situations. Kill Bill's one of my favorite movies, and there's a whole lot of stabbing dudes in that, but there's even more talking to dudes about how you're gonna stab them and / or someone else, and what awful thing they did to you personally that means they totally deserve it, and how their wicked backstory made them so bad-rear end... but not bad-rear end enough. So you'd better believe I'm going to hit pause and write a move: "When you introduce a new enemy and describe why he deserves to die, ..." and then make it give bonuses when you do this. I want to reward my players mechanically when they do the narrative things that make the genre interesting.
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Oct 25, 2019 23:08
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Flavivirus posted:I’m gonna try and fix it today. PledgeManager is such garbage compared to BackerKit - wish Modiphius hadn’t convinced me to use it for Legacy 2e. Rest assured I’ll get you your PDFs as soon as I can! Definitely fixed for me, at least. Downloading as we speak. 
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Oct 25, 2019 23:38
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Going to be playing Apocalypse World soon for the first time. Anyone have any cool APs/PbPs I can read?
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Oct 26, 2019 01:22
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The Island is a pretty classic AW PBP (though it may require archives?).
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Oct 26, 2019 02:03
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