We recently started playing The Veil and we ran into a few mechanics we didn’t know how to handle:

We recently started playing The Veil and we ran into a few mechanics we didn’t know how to handle:

We recently started playing The Veil and we ran into a few mechanics we didn’t know how to handle:

– Negative tags – when should they come into play? I understand that for Cybernetics they probably come into play when the thing is used, but how about the tags for weapons? How to treat Catabolist’s Reload tag on a gun? Does that mean they have to spend turns reloading during a Duel, or what?

– How should the various weapon tags be handled in general? I’m guessing whoever has the better gear in a Duel gets that +1 forward?

– During Duels, there is an option to force a change of location, which gives +1 hold for the next bout. As any other choice, it still costs 1 hold, so that means you’re not getting any bonus in the end? Or do the holds not transfer over between bouts? Or should that be +1 forward?

– We were looking into how to get information from The Veil. Unfortunately, the game itself is called The Veil, so it’s hard to tell where one can find information on The Veil in The Veil. I’m guessing page 312 is the proper page for that part of the setting? The book also talks about Lifting the Veil while talking both about disconnecting from the Veil to look at the real world and going deeper into the Veil to find some information there… So at any rate – what are the mechanics for finding the needed information from the Veil? Roll the move, GM asks you some esoteric questions, then you may get the answer based on the roll?

– How lax should the rules for invoking “moment of intimacy” be? A lot of the playbooks seem to benefit a lot thematically from them taking place on regular basis, but they can fail the roll and get nothing (for example, I’m playing Apparatus and have failed about 4 out of 4 attempts at invoking its special)

– If a Belief is reaffirmed, should the character get an XP from it? Say – “Humanity is a disease; only through the integration of cybernetics might we live.” – would that give XP if the character succeeds only due to their cybernetics, or do the believes need to be tested in a way that may make the characters change their ways?

4 thoughts on “We recently started playing The Veil and we ran into a few mechanics we didn’t know how to handle:”

  2. Tags are just there simply for fictional positioning, negative tags are the same so the MC could bring them up in play, but generally are used when misses occur. If you’ve got a a gun with reload and then roll a miss, if the MC chooses to do so, that’s the time when your gun runs out of ammo.

    Yeah better gear will get you that +1 forward, but mostly tags are there to establish how much harm is being traded and what that looks like. The type of damage and the range in particular so everyone knows if you have the fictional positioning to even be exchanging harm. A lot of people overlook range, for example.

    Hold doesn’t transfer between bouts and again, the fictional positioning is important. If there are civilians in the line of fire, or you’re pressing an attack and they have the advantage because of their location or some time of natural shielding. They have the upper ground, etc.

    Beyond the fact that The Veil is a source of information and perpetuates a hybrid reality, it is undefined so it can suit whatever setting you all come up with. It is meant to be nebulous and undefined while being revealed through play. The MC asks questions and incorporates the answers from the players in order to suss that out. If you’re an Architect, for example; what The Veil ends up being is radically different than if that playbook is not in use. It should be different every time. Kind of like the psychic maelstrom in Apocalypse World proper, but being defined mostly through play, not beforehand as much with players.

    Intimacy should be just when the player truly believes it was a moment of intimacy as long as they’re playing the game in the spirit of it and not just trying to get the mechanical benefits. As for not getting a hit on them, the MC could always just say, ask one anyway and then make a move based on the response, if they chose to do so. Often times it’s helpful to get more information to make your move anyways.

    For XP it should be when it is tested, and proven correct or incorrect. If it gets you into trouble, or if it’s resolved. So if you know the answer already because of that affirmation, I would say you’d get the XP for resolving it and should pick something that isn’t completely solidified. They are meant to develop the character not as a farm for XP.

Comments are closed.