Upgrade your account to a Community Supporter account and remove most of the site ads.

Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="Manbearcat" data-source="post: 6634386" data-attributes="member: 6696971">Going to try my hand at a post with a little more meat here and answer AA's question (and further/clarify our conversation pemerton).So Cortex +'s Smallville has always felt very much an evolution of Vincent Baker's Dogs in the Vineyard.  There is a mechanical evolution there as both are "Dramatic Roleplaying Game Systems" and they have some overlap in thematic portfolio; exploration of the Values of Duty, Justice, Power, and Truth.  The setting/backdrop is obviously enormously different and while the other two Values that Smallville explores (Glory and Love) can find their way into Dogs, they aren't inherent.So then, onto Cortex Plus Hacker's Guide of DRPGs (p12, 157-160).A game needs 6 Values that the players buy into universally.  These are the settings "big ideals".  Each PC has a die rating associated with each Value (1 @ d4, 2 @ d6, 2 @ d8, 1 @ d10).  This die rating indicates the relative importance and prioritization of this Valuein the PC's ethos.  Then you create a statement that reflects/explains the character's feelings about that Value.  These statements will subtly change through the course of play and their die rating will change with them (stepped up or back).  They need to be emotionally provocative and neither absolute or generic; eg d10 Duty My country comes before my king and his God.  You use your Value dice when its statement is relevant to that action you're undertaking.So my guess is that the Chaos vs Lawful game pemerton is going for would feature something like:* Authority - about bringing down the establishment or bringing order to chaos.* Community - about bringing people together, tearing them apart, or protecting what you've got against those would would undo it.* Duty - about regiment, direct consequences, where failure means innocent people get hurt, and examining the need of personal freedom.* Individuality - about rebellion and revolution, resisting control, sacrifice of the common weal for self-actualization.* Justice - about balancing the scales no matter how grim/harsh the effort is to get there.* Power - about where power comes from, about the underdog triumphing, or exerting control when necessary.So take that Paladin in that example (with the Elf and the Ranger above).  He might be something like:d10 Authority The long arm of God's law connects to my torso.d8 Duty My country comes before my king and his court.d8 Justice No man, big or small, is beyond the chopping block.d6 Power A lamed dog that's cornered will maul a healthy one twice his size.d6 Community My men all have families that deserve to see them again.d4 Individuality I love the look on a huckster's face when I lock him up.We getting there, running in place, or are we further apart?  Thoughts, etc?</blockquote>

Verification