So, this is mostly likely a precursor to another, larger post on the same topic, but for now I’m just looking for a little bit of help.
I’m currently designing a mechanic for my high fantasy *World hack that fills a design space somewhat similar to Hx, Strings, and Bonds, and have hit somewhat of a dead end. So, I figure it’s time for me to do some research and look at as many different solutions to this problem as possible, instead of just stumbling around in the dark. That said, what games (and what structures therein) do you guys recommend I explore? I’m looking for mechanical representations of interpersonal relationships, as well as ideas of personal goals/character development/individual subplots.
I’m pretty new to the more ‘storygame-y’ side of tabletop RPGs, since I come from a D&D background, so I’d be pleased to receive even the most obvious suggestions. Thanks!
Apocalypse World, Fiasco, Freemarket, Mouse Guard, Burning Wheel, Pendragon…
I know this isn’t all, but it was what quickly jumped to mind for social mechanisms…. published in English.
Might not be a bad idea to look into those Japanese Table Talkies, and quite appropriate to see what you might get from those Seinen/Josei — Eroge, Harem, Yaoi, Yuri, Bishōjo, and Otome games… but, that might require more translation.
those Japanese designers are kinda ahead of the west in this sort of thing.
…
My Life with Master, Acts of Evil, Bacchanal, Nicotine Girls, The Valedictorian’s Death… I suppose these are all written with these kinds of play in mind… but I don’t have direct familiarity with the mechanisms, only direct familiarity with some people who do…
I’d hate to be a bother to Anthony Boyd, or Emergent Play, for this… but I am betting they might be more directly familiar with a larger list than myself.
Pretty broad question, but definitely a common one. Maybe a starting point would be to ask, is it actually necessary to render character relationships through a mechanic?
What does Hx do in your game?
Jonathan Reiter raises a question I’m sure has come up before, but it’s still worth considering. That said, Relationship stat shows up in pretty much every xW I’ve seen (counterexamples?) and I think having something to ground that type of interaction on is useful.
Question, Colter: What is your game trying to say? What are the novel Agendas/Principles/Moves?
e.g. If the game is about power and how status affects the way people deal with their world, you could consider a zero-summing Dominance stat.
(Players and notable NPCs each track it for the relationship, when one side takes an action that increases their stat, the other side is accordingly reduced. Some moves generate Dominance as one of their Hold options, and so on.)
You could use statements.
Write evocative phrases with built in blanks for the characters. When they act on a statement, or one of their statements complicates their circumstances, they gain hold. You could then give them a few fictional and mechanical uses for this hold.
Some possible examples.
“I want ________, and I don’t care what it costs to get it.”
“I trust ________, and will always support them”
“________ is wrong, and I will always oppose it/them!”
“I am the chosen guardian of ________“
“I know the truth about ________“
“I have sworn vengeance against ________“
“I can’t resist ________“
“I don’t understand ________“
“I know ____ as the truth about ____.”
(because it may or may-not be truer than something else… but retains a defined verisimilitude in my conviction towards it…)
I know the composition of green cheese as the truth about the moon.
I know the Hardholder as the truth about the object of the Maestro D’s undying adoration.
I know being a confidence swindler as the truth about the identity and motives of the stranger with the postman’s uniform.
I know an obscure secret location as the truth about the Nuka Cola bottling plant.
I know the name Ryan Cawdor as the truth about the name of the legitimate heir of the Fort Royal redoubt.
I know the operation of a rebellious hide out as the truth about the backroom gang meetings in the Maestro D’s franchised establishment.
I know the Savvyhead’s nanobot plague experiments as the truth about the maelstrom’s weird electricity nullifying effects.
I know the Governor known as Mr. Eyepatch as the truth about the person responsible for putting the wandering pilgrims in the zombie pits.
I know secretly embezzling all the painkillers and booze like a paranoid addict, as the truth about Colonel Jim Porter.
😀
I think I like this format as;
knowledge about something (believed to be true.)
The rest of those are great as worded Adrian Thoen.
😀
Hx in Apocalypse World is straight out of Trust in The Mountain Witch by Timothy Kleinert.
Off the top of my head, other games to look at for different takes on mechanical or otherwise formalized relationships:
Best Friends by Gregor Hutton
1001 Nights by Meguey Baker
Shooting the Moon by Emily Care Boss
Bliss Stage by Ben Lehman
It’s Complicated by Elizabeth Shoemaker Sampat
Poison’d, In a Wicked Age, Dogs in the Vineyard by yrs trly
Hx was absolutely critical in my recent con outing with AW.
It helped set the context in all sessions and some players ran little scenes to explain why they chose what for who (a big plus side of so many experienced systemless people being around I think is their seizing of improv clues!).
If/when I do this again I might have some more specific Hx moves that people can use.