Dungeon World Meets Blades in the Dark

[Fenris-77]

The playbook looks good. Im getting to the point here where I'll need to see the thing all at once to really be able to comment on certain sorts of things

 

[Manbearcat]

The playbook looks good. Im getting to the point here where I'll need to see the thing all at once to really be able to comment on certain sorts of things

Ditto.

I'm just trying to build it out sufficiently to playtest it. Once I playtest it, I'll know what sucks, whats good, and be able to iterate accordingly.

 

[hawkeyefan]

My last iteration is something kindred with what you have here. What did you think about it?



So, this would be an alternative to the model I presented above.

Going with something like this might be systemitized where (a) Folklore and Legend are on the same 12 point gauge and (b) Folklore fills from left to right and Legend the opposite. (c) Legend basically blocks you from Tiering up because of that so the Company has to spend Legend to have proportionately (more Legend spent at any one time = higher Magnitude event or Tier threat) dangerous event/threat manifest either against them directly or against a Friend/Ally or Positive Faction. These (d) "Doom Adventures" wouldn't give Coin or Folklore as Payoff. They would remove Legend in proportion to the Adventure (= to what Coin would have been).

This (i) would give the players more control of the firehose of adversity that Doom is (when and to what degree it manifests) and (ii) incentivize them to manage it so they can Tier up.

It needs to be punitive though and I don't want it to be formulaic in the management (eg its always strategically best to alternate between a chosen Adventure and a "Doom Adventure")

Thoughts? You think that is better/worse/just different than my conception a few posts above?

It is a bit different, and I have to say I like the tug of war nature of Legend and Folktale being sides of the same track. I think it does incentivize players to keep their Legend managed so that they can tier up, or to let it build if they need to focus on other things. Potential for some interesting decisions there. Would this approach remove the Doom state that is similar to being at war that you described in your previous post? What would trigger a "Doom adventure" as you describe it here? If the entire 12 track filled with Legend?

What happens when Folktale and Legend meet on the track? It sounds like Folktale would halt; would Legend as well? Or would it overtake the Folktale and continue accruing?

I kind of like this idea if you can get it to work. I'm not crazy on the names of Folktale and Legend in this context (they seem similar enough so that having them in opposition seems odd) but that may just be my preference.

 

[Fenris-77]

I might prefer Deeds to Folktale. Deeds is still adjacent to Legend, but also somewhat in opposition. Sometimes the Legend matches the Deeds, and sometimes it doesn't, for good or ill.

 

[Manbearcat]

It is a bit different, and I have to say I like the tug of war nature of Legend and Folktale being sides of the same track. I think it does incentivize players to keep their Legend managed so that they can tier up, or to let it build if they need to focus on other things. Potential for some interesting decisions there. Would this approach remove the Doom state that is similar to being at war that you described in your previous post? What would trigger a "Doom adventure" as you describe it here? If the entire 12 track filled with Legend?

What happens when Folktale and Legend meet on the track? It sounds like Folktale would halt; would Legend as well? Or would it overtake the Folktale and continue accruing?

I kind of like this idea if you can get it to work. I'm not crazy on the names of Folktale and Legend in this context (they seem similar enough so that having them in opposition seems odd) but that may just be my preference.

I'm not married to any of Folklore, Legend, or Doom.

In the iteration being imagined above, the loop would be like this (for this instance, let's sub Legend for Folklore - so Rep - and sub Doom for Legend - so Heat).

1) The Company has undergone the play loop enough such that they are now at 7 Legend and 5 Doom.

2) They're "stuck." They can't gain more Legend because of the Legend - Doom "traffic jam."

3) The only way they can increase Legend, and therefore Tier up, is to remove the Doom.

4) However, the're only Tier 2. The odds that they could handle either a Magnitude 5 Event or a Tier 5 Faction/Front (Legend on the guage/meter = the Magnitude/Tier of the threat) is extraordinarily remote.

5) Therefore, they're going to elect to go on a Doom Adventure against a Magnitude/Tier 3 Threat and then a 2nd one after that (in the next play loop) against a Magnitude/Tier 2 Threat.

6) Doom Adventures would be against their selected opposition that they selected at the beginning of play (see the first page).

7) Payoff in Doom Adventures would sub Coin for subtracting Doom (everything else would stay the same in Payoff).


Make sense?

 

[hawkeyefan]

I dig the playbook and company. The Fighter sounds like what we expect, and that's good. I like the ability names chosen. I think having a couple of base abilities right away is a good idea.

For the Avengers, the focus on cohorts and experts jumps out at me as a bit odd for the concept, but that may be in isolation without others to compare it to, as you guys suggest. Otherwise, it seems solid.

I would imagine that once you have a skeleton for each and maybe see them in play, then you can shift for thematic reasons as needed.

 

[Manbearcat]

I might prefer Deeds to Folktale. Deeds is still adjacent to Legend, but also somewhat in opposition. Sometimes the Legend matches the Deeds, and sometimes it doesn't, for good or ill.

Check out the latest formulation?

Legend (Rep) and Doom (Heat) both on the same guage.

 

[Fenris-77]

Does that kind of thinking not strike you as a little too meta?

 

[hawkeyefan]

6) Doom Adventures would be against their selected opposition that they selected at the beginning of play (see the first page).

7) Payoff in Doom Adventures would sub Coin for subtracting Doom (everything else would stay the same in Payoff).

And the amount of Doom paid off would be equal to the threat? so the Magnitude/Tier 3 threat would reduce 3 Doom?

Other than that question, yes, I think that makes sense and looks good!

 

[Manbearcat]

Does that kind of thinking not strike you as a little too meta?

Nothing strikes me as too meta!

I would think justification within the fiction would go something like this:

* Your enemies are on the move.

* They're doing bad stuff to the people that would canonize your Legend.

* Therefore, your Legend "stalls out", until you resolve this.

And the amount of Doom paid off would be equal to the threat? so the Magnitude/Tier 3 threat would reduce 3 Doom?

Other than that question, yes, I think that makes sense and looks good!

That's right.