What's So Cool About Dogs in the Vineyard?

[tetsujin28]

The only downsides that I can think of were

2) it is often advantageous to plan to lose an encounter to improve your character - a bit metagamey in that respect.

I can't see that as a downside.

 

[Tinner]

Completely different.

I wouldn't say "completely".
Both have the option to play a quasi-Mormon lawgiver/judge.
Both involve these judges seeking to root out evil (supernatural or otherwise) from their communities.
Yes, DitV has the whole moral quandry thing, but any GM worth his salt is going to include tough moral choices in his games. And anytime you put PC's in a position of authority you'll have to face the possibility of that authority being abused.
DitV's Escalation mechanic is only novel in the way it allows PC's to avoid fatalities.

Are the two games different? Sure.
Completely different? Not so much.

More to the point - would there be a DitV without Deadlands? I doubt it. YMMV.

 

[Paka]

Are the two games different? Sure.
Completely different? Not so much.

More to the point - would there be a DitV without Deadlands? I doubt it. YMMV.

Having run a Deadlands campaign for a year and a half and run well over a dozen sessions of Dogs in the Vineyard, I can tell ya, there is nothing alike about them.

The original Deadlands had a system that was really interesting but in the end, the dice, chips and cards were a whole lot to manage. We did it and it was fine but it was a real effort.

Dogs in the Vineyard's system is a real beaut and it is explained in what I think is one of the best-written RPG books ever done, not because it is filled with fiction (it is not) but because it prepares you to run the game.

Its really fun.

I don't see a relationship between Deadlands and Dogs system-wise at all and thematically, they are both just set in a west that never quite was - second cousins twice removed at best.

 

[Hairfoot]

Do the game mechanics allow for non-godly PCs?

Can I use the DitV system to run a campaign with a quasi-Mormon church as the party's foe?

 

[tetsujin28]

Do the game mechanics allow for non-godly PCs?

Well, the mechanics are just he mechanics. As mentioned above, there's plenty of settings that people have come up with for it that don't involve Mormonisms.

Can I use the DitV system to run a campaign with a quasi-Mormon church as the party's foe?

I suppose. But that honestly just sounds kinda lame and mean-spirited.

 

[tetsujin28]

I wouldn't say "completely".
Both have the option to play a quasi-Mormon lawgiver/judge.
More to the point - would there be a DitV without Deadlands? I doubt it. YMMV.

I think they're more based upon the Mormon gunslinger 'magicians' in the old WW Sorcerer supplement.

 

[LostSoul]

Do the game mechanics allow for non-godly PCs?

Can I use the DitV system to run a campaign with a quasi-Mormon church as the party's foe?

There's been talk on the lumply games forum about using Dogs to play Firefly/Serenity. Which sounds like fun, but you'd have to re-write the town creation rules a bit.

You could do a Dogs game against the church if you wanted to.

 

[Hairfoot]

that honestly just sounds kinda lame and mean-spirited.

To some, I'm sure it does.

However, as a secularist I'm more interested in a game which lets me test religious morals as an antagonist rather than a member of God's police. Especially if that game has good mechanics and setting flavour.

 

[Teflon Billy]

To some, I'm sure it does.

However, as a secularist I'm more interested in a game which lets me test religious morals as an antagonist rather than a member of God's police. Especially if that game has good mechanics and setting flavour.

That does sound cool