First time running (haven’t played either) a PbtA game, after much study (reading several games, listening to tons of podcasts, etc). Been playing trad RPGs on and off since the 70s. I think I get it, want to try.
So just starting a one-on-one play by post game (slack) to get the hang of the system, and the player is taking the Crooked (Burglar) playbook and asking about The Crew move and whether that would help him as a solo player. My first thought is that he won’t need it, but of course could help. We still have a DnD type mindset mostly, so I am sure he is thinking that more people on his side means better ability to survive combat – I get that it doesn’t have to work like that. On the other hand, dramatically that can work too.
But the question is – how to handle allies/teams/crew in the game? I understand the narrative effect that it has – he can have one of his crew distract the guard while he sneaks in, have someone else cut the power at the right time, etc. But what mechanical effect does it have? If he has a crew member distract the guard so he can sneak in, he is still likely going to trigger a move, and then it wouldn’t matter if he had crew help or not. Or maybe, because the crew member helped, he doesn’t trigger a move trying to sneak in and just does it. I realize I may even be asking the wrong question about mechanics, and the answer is that the mechanics just enforce the fiction or something, but I am stuck on it.
Let me give you an example – Crooked has a Crew of “bodyguards.” (say the crooked is a 90lb weakling type and the Crew are his muscle). Crooked runs into a few of the BBG’s human minions and a fight breaks out. If Crew shoot at minions, as they likely would, do I just make the move “inflict harm as established?” I could hand wave the whole thing, one of the reasons trying something besides a trad game is because I don’t want to keep track of hit points for a bunch of bad guys, but I want to make sure the Crew is useful to the Crooked at the same time not too useful, if you know what I mean (maybe it is ok to be too useful, since I am a fan of the Crooked, but don’t want to blow the whole scene is his bodyguards just gunning down the minions. Or maybe I do.). I guess mechanically I just use the keeper moves, but hard to figure out how that will look with a group of evil minions, the Crooked and the Crew.
I know you guys will have some great thoughts on this. Thanks!
The Crooked is my favorite playbook. In my experience, here’s the core thing – the Crew establishes fiction for and against the Crooked. So yes, they can cause distractions and dole out harm. A Crew member who’s causing a distraction is tied up. The computer game Shadow War does a good job of modelling this, also see Burn Notice.
The other thing to remember is to give them all names and reasons for belonging. Sure, they can help the PC in a scrape, but they also have home lives. Nobody criminals full-time, and they could come to him (or each other) for help in that sphere as well. And since you have one PC, this is a great way to create a semi-ensemble feeling.
Also consider what happens on partial successes and misses. Having some people in your corner can mean the worst consequences are mitigated, or that you can handle them better.
In a battle between crew and minions, you can just decide how it plays out – no need to go into every detail, except where the hunter is directly involved.
Thanks, Aaron B, Burn Notice is good to have in mind, love that, or Sneaky Pete. If much of the adventure ends up about managing the Crew and we like that, then no problem! Great point from Michael Sands as well, I didn’t think about the Crew helping mitigate partial successes. Also gives somebody for the Big Bad to kill, harm or capture to up the stakes considerably.
Are the allies mostly controlled by the Keeper or the Player? I guess that is a negotiation between keeper and player.
More specifically on mechanics though (yes, as a mostly trad guy, can’t let it go) if a member of the Crew does something at the direction of the Crooked’s player, could that trigger a role by the player? Or is it always just an opportunity for a keeper move? Or sometimes one and sometimes the other? For example, Crew member needs to dodge past the monster or avoid tripping the alarm – does trigger Act Under Pressure and the player rolls? Or I just decide. Thanks!
Marko Jankovic As Keeper, I tend to let the player control allies in general, but take over when it’s relevant. But it’s up to each group exactly how to manage that.
Marko Jankovic You decide based on what’s interesting and what’s going on in the fiction. Typically that means you make moves, and avoid unnecessary die rolls. But make sure that you reward the character’s in game actions – if there’s a detailed plan and the Crew is executing The Plan, then Act Under Pressure is appropriate.
I cribbed the idea of the Die of Fate in such cases (roll 1d6, 1 is bad while 6 is good, everything between is a spectrum) and I use the results to guidepost which moves I use. Unless I need to establish how deadly something is.
Another idea – If you want a contentious relationship between the hunter and his Crew then you might want to add the Pack Alpha move from the Chopper’s playbook as a Basic Move. You can find that here – https://nerdwerds.blogspot.com/2012/12/all-of-playbooks.html
It sure can be confusing for D&D players when first encountering PbtA games to figure out what to do with supportive NPCs.
When it comes to combat between a PC and a big bad, it’s easy: the PC triggers a move, rolls dice, and the dice give you an idea what the consequences are. There’s risk, and three tiers of outcome whenever the dice are rolled.
NPCs don’t roll dice. So… how do you resolve their conflict with the big bad? It depends.
Sometimes what the NPC is doing to help will mean that the PC triggers a move and rolls for it.
Sometimes the NPC’s actions will just set up an advantage giving the PC a +1 forward
Sometimes you have to make GM moves and narrate the outcome.
The PCs are the main characters; they’re the stars of the show. Supportive NPCs are there to help show off the PCs, not to steal the spotlight from them. If an NPC support character is becoming too much of a crutch, it’s time to kill them off to force the PC to step up and be the main character.
I would have allies mostly controlled by the Keeper. They’re people, and their relationship with the player is fodder for good story drama. They are willing to do what the PC asks of them, until narratively they have a reason not to.
Monster of the Week, in particular, is way more interesting when you delve into the relationships PCs have with their allies and all the drama around the monster-hunting world. That’s the heart of the story; fighting monsters is just the backdrop.