You know the table references on the grid? They point to this. This is a rough version - I’ll be cleaning it up and shuffling some items around and generally making each choice punchier and more awesome. The individual elements are culled from a list of 288 I previously thought up or culled from actual events.
I’ve revised the grid (and maybe need a better name for it). It’s smaller and simpler. If you visit any corner twice, your character is written out of the story. So you can flirt with suicidal depression and earn a d12, but if you wind up in that corner a second time, it’s curtains. It’s possible to do that as early as scene seven. The central square is now a miserable d2, and begs to be avoided. I’m hoping a bit of tactical gameplay will emerge as players try to avoid certain outcomes that would drive their characters into dangerous territory. Let me know what you think.
CREATING CHARACTERS
THE THINGS YOU HOLD DEAR: SOUL
There are six things your character might hold dear. You and your friends will each choose one for yourselves, and they must be unique - they cannot overlap between characters. Faith, patriotism, love and duty are all tightly bound in the choice. It is literally the Soul of who your character is.
In play you will be forced to destroy these things you collectively hold dear when your characters fail under pressure. The destruction will probably - but not necessarily - be metaphorical. Read the rest of this entry »
Everybody has a position on the grid, starting out at the exact center. A character’s location on the grid indicates the size of the die they contribute to the pool, as well as the table from which they draw their situation element. Success and failure move a character around the grid. The further from the center you get, the larger your die size and the more insane the situation choices. If your character moves into a corner (love that d12) and then beyond it, he’s written out of the story.
Vignette win = move toward LOVE, up
Vignette loss = move toward HATE, down
Mission win = everyone moves toward ENTHUSIASM, left
Mission loss = everyone moves toward EXHAUSTION, right
Mission is won if over half of the individual gambits are successes.
3 players = 2+ gambits succeed
4 players = 3+ gambits succeed
5 players = 3+ gambits succeed
In the upper left corner = LOVE + ENTHUSIASM = Recklessness, immortality, doomed heroism
In the upper right corner = LOVE + EXHAUSTION = Shell shock, battle fatigue
In the lower left corner = HATE + ENTHUSIAMS = Derangement, insanity
In the lower right corner = HATE + EXHAUSTON = Suicidal depression, hopelessness
The grid (.pdf) is a group character sheet. You can tell where each character’s physical and emotiona state is at a glance. It looks a little complicated but I think it will work very well.
Holy crap, did I have a good time at Nerdly. Read the rest of this entry »
