Torchbearer 2nd ed: first impressions

[Manbearcat]

I asked on the Discord but I'll ask you guys too. Thoughts on Jury-Rig-Wise for an Outcast looking to add a little interpretive engineering with found objects to his Sapper/Laborer/Etc skill set? I was thinking of it as a -wise that could add a little creative mayhem around the edges when it comes to in-the-moment problem solving. I'm not saying McGuyver precisely. But McGuyver if McGuyver were a cunning and sadistic medieval-adjacent dwarven craftsman.

I don’t see any issues with that. The issue is when Wises become so broad that they can apply to most Conflicts and Tests. That isn’t the case here. Pretty sure I’ve seen it or similar in a game in the past.

 

[Fenris-77]

I don’t see any issues with that. The issue is when Wises become so broad that they can apply to most Conflicts and Tests. That isn’t the case here. Pretty sure I’ve seen it or similar in a game in the past.

I don't know when or how, but I'm going to play this character at some point. He probably cackles and mutters to himself while he's turning your helmet into a microwave.

 

[AbdulAlhazred]

I don't know when or how, but I'm going to play this character at some point. He probably cackles and mutters to himself while he's turning your helmet into a microwave.

Ruby might give him some grudging respect, by like staying far away from his contraptions!

 

[Fenris-77]

Ruby might give him some grudging respect, by like staying far away from his contraptions!

Everyone should probably stay far away. The work against belief - gain persona - use for channeling nature play loop is something I'd be hitting hard, and I suspect that would involve rather a lot of things unexpected blowing up or stabbing you through the knee. Same with using his Cunning Trait against himself to gain checks, I expect some mayhem there although perhaps less collateral damage than the first example.

 

[Fenris-77]

I have to say, the more I read TB the more I appreciate the overwhelming slickness of the mechanics. All the parts actually do work, and the right work to produce the desired play experience. Unlike 5th edition, where the mechanics occasionally seem like someone has tried to use a watermelon and the color purple to construct a simple lever.

 

[AbdulAlhazred]

Everyone should probably stay far away. The work against belief - gain persona - use for channeling nature play loop is something I'd be hitting hard, and I suspect that would involve rather a lot of things unexpected blowing up or stabbing you through the knee. Same with using his Cunning Trait against himself to gain checks, I expect some mayhem there although perhaps less collateral damage than the first example.

Hmmmm, so maybe I could work the same sort of trick with something like Hidden Depths or Quick Witted, lol. That would be kind of funny, every time Ruby does something clever it ends up blowing up in her face, and its always of the nature of "Oh, I cleverly tossed the malfunctioning gizmo at the bad guys so it wouldn't blow up Joe, but somehow it went off in my face..." which then drives gain persona (because I have a belief of reciprocating in kind to my allies) lol. I'll have to work on how to make that work. The upshot would be something like "No good deed goes unpunished" basically, but every such setback just makes her incrementally more stubbornly determined to come out ahead in the end, lol.

 

[Fenris-77]

That particular loop really highlights the need to write a really good belief for a concept. You need to be able to work both with it and against it in ways that are interesting and appropriate.

 

[AbdulAlhazred]

That particular loop really highlights the need to write a really good belief for a concept. You need to be able to work both with it and against it in ways that are interesting and appropriate.

Yeah, you want to avoid the sappy sort of beliefs that are just truisms and work with something specific enough to be contravened in an interesting way. PACE interestingly can go to the same place if you express a trait as a weakness, like having one of your traits be "habitual liar", lol. Often you can play against it, which is not as easy with positive traits. OTOH it opens up chances for the GM to really stick it to you also! lol.

 

[Fenris-77]

I do like how important it is to forward character progress that you plan for interesting failure and GM shenanigans.

 

[Fenris-77]

So, rules for seafaring. A couple of people have some interesting ideas for Earthsea-like archipelago settings, which I think would be super cool, but it would require some mechanics for journeys by boat. My thought is to have two types of journey there. One, established sea routes from X to Y that have established rutters - thus the perils and whatnot are known and the whole shooting match can probably be elided barring RP type stuff on board. However, if you leave the established routes then you need to get fancy, and I was thinking something like the camp phase with roles and linked skills (not a brand new idea, I know). But it keeps the whole group involved, it mitigates for seafaring backgrounds that will get actual use, and I think the mechanic would sit pretty lightly on top of what's already there. SO you have a navigator, a pilot, a lookout, a guy who climbs on ropes (I'm not a sailor, sue me). Then just use the same roles for determining possible crisis, type and roll determined by role.