GMMichael
Guide of Modos
Writing a rules patch and in it, I want to talk about turning the rules of combat (or conflict) into the story.
In Modos RPG, a round's events proceed by action, not by turn. The character who begins each action is the initiating character, and characters take turns being the initiating character (as long as they still have actions to use). When the initiating character acts, any other character can use an action to react, and all non-initiating characters resolve their actions by initiative order if sequence would make a difference.
For example, Ser Alliser, Jon Snow, and Jon's steward are in a conflict. Their initiative contests are:
Ser Alliser - 13
Jon Snow - 10
Jon's steward - 5
Ser Alliser passed on his turn (watching Jon walk into the middle of the crowd), and Jon used a move action to push through a throng of Night's Watch (and find his Traitor post). Then he ended his turn. Now, Jon's steward is initiating, so Ser Alliser and Jon wait on his action. Jon's steward uses an action to draw a dagger, and neither Alliser nor Jon react. He uses his next action stab Jon in the gut. Jon has an action still, so he uses it to defend. Since Ser Alliser can react too and has one action remaining, he goes in for another stab at Jon. Since Jon's steward is the initiating character, his stab goes first. Then Ser Alliser's and Jon's actions resolve in initiative order, as long as sequence matters. So Ser Alliser goes in for his stab, and Jon tries to defend against his steward.
Given this structure, how would you, as GM, prefer to resolve the actions? Would you take the mechanical approach and have Jon's steward announce and roll, then go around to each player in order of initiative, asking for reactions and rolls?
Or would you ask for all actions first, and tell the story of the round on a per-character basis, asking each player for rolls as you go?
Or would you ask for all actions and necessary rolls, and then weave each segment into a single story that you tell once you have all the relevant information?
Finally, should I recommend a particular approach in the rules patch, or just lay out the required steps and let the Guides of Modos do the rest?
In Modos RPG, a round's events proceed by action, not by turn. The character who begins each action is the initiating character, and characters take turns being the initiating character (as long as they still have actions to use). When the initiating character acts, any other character can use an action to react, and all non-initiating characters resolve their actions by initiative order if sequence would make a difference.
For example, Ser Alliser, Jon Snow, and Jon's steward are in a conflict. Their initiative contests are:
Ser Alliser - 13
Jon Snow - 10
Jon's steward - 5
Ser Alliser passed on his turn (watching Jon walk into the middle of the crowd), and Jon used a move action to push through a throng of Night's Watch (and find his Traitor post). Then he ended his turn. Now, Jon's steward is initiating, so Ser Alliser and Jon wait on his action. Jon's steward uses an action to draw a dagger, and neither Alliser nor Jon react. He uses his next action stab Jon in the gut. Jon has an action still, so he uses it to defend. Since Ser Alliser can react too and has one action remaining, he goes in for another stab at Jon. Since Jon's steward is the initiating character, his stab goes first. Then Ser Alliser's and Jon's actions resolve in initiative order, as long as sequence matters. So Ser Alliser goes in for his stab, and Jon tries to defend against his steward.
Given this structure, how would you, as GM, prefer to resolve the actions? Would you take the mechanical approach and have Jon's steward announce and roll, then go around to each player in order of initiative, asking for reactions and rolls?
Or would you ask for all actions first, and tell the story of the round on a per-character basis, asking each player for rolls as you go?
Or would you ask for all actions and necessary rolls, and then weave each segment into a single story that you tell once you have all the relevant information?
Finally, should I recommend a particular approach in the rules patch, or just lay out the required steps and let the Guides of Modos do the rest?
