Author: Jared Hunt

I’m working on the player section of my James Bond hack. What do you think of this wording for one of the player/agent responsibilities:

Piece together the villain’s evil plan. You’ll start off with very little information, but you’re brilliant operatives with years of experience and millions of dollars worth of training and conditioning, so most of your speculation will be accurate. Be sure to share that speculation with the team (and the GM).

The next round of basic moves for my James Bond hack (tentatively entitled “Agent World”). Comments and suggestions are welcome!

Intro

“While you’ll find traces of Jason Bourne, Black Widow, Evelyn Salt and Ethan Hunt in these pages, the primary inspiration for this game’s fiction is James Bond. I’m a big fan of the newer Bond movies, but these rules will steer you more toward Connery than Craig. If you’re not interested in glamorous celebration of hyper competence and sexuality, this might not be the game for you.”

Get Violent

When you get into a serious fight, roll+deadly. On a 10+ all 3. On a 7-9 choose 2. On a 6- there are complications; you’re hurt or captured or some other nasty thing the GM comes up with.

– You finish it quickly

– You don’t draw too much attention

– You avoid getting roughed up yourself

This move doesn’t trigger every time you draw a gun or raise your fists. In many cases, your talent and training will make the outcome of a scuffle a forgone conclusion. Conversely, the GM may rule that the opposition is overwhelming even for someone of your ability. In both cases, the move doesn’t trigger and no roll is made – the GM just describes what happens in the fiction and you’ll have a chance to react to it. This move is for those occasions when the exact outcome of the fight is in question.

Chase

When you reach the climax of a chase, roll+sharp. On a 10+ you get away (or catch your target). On a 7-9 something goes wrong; the GM will offer you some irreconcilable goods or the lesser of some evils. On a 6- you get caught (or your quarry escapes).

Remember that this move triggers at the climax of a chase. If fictional circumstances dictate an early conclusion, it’s quite possible no roll will be necessary.

Beautiful Foil

When the mission depends on an asset you’ve developed through sex appeal, roll+suave. On a 10+ all 3. On a 7-9 choose 2. On a 6- choose 1.

– They are willing to betray their boss

– They already have the information you need

– They don’t get compromised

This move is not about developing the asset, that simply happens or doesn’t happen based on the game fiction. This move triggers when you need the asset’s help.

Contact

When your local contact helps you find something or someone critical to the mission, roll+connected. On a 10+ choose 3. On a 7-9 choose 2. On a 6- choose 1.

– They get you what you need

– They take you where you need to go

– It isn’t a trap

– They survive the encounter

This move doesn’t help you find a local contact, it just determines how effective your previously developed contact is when you need them (and whether they’ll be around to help you again in the future).

Just where I want you…

When you’ve been captured and the bad guys have you at their mercy, describe how you turn the tables at the last second. If you do it by…

…clever planning or exploitation of your environment, roll+sharp.

…convincing them to let you go, roll+suave.

…getting rescued by allies, roll+connected.

On a 10+ choose up to 3. On a 7-9 choose 2. On a 6- choose 1.

– You find out something important about the villain’s plot

– You don’t get left behind

– You don’t reveal anything important

As with all of the moves, this move only triggers based on the narration you provide. It also assumes you’re at least temporarily at the villain’s mercy – after all, that’s when they’re most likely to gloat and reveal part of their master plan.

Gadgets

At the beginning of each mission, swing by Q branch and roll+connected. On a 10+ hold 4. On a 7-9 hold 3. On a 6- hold 2. During the mission you can spend your hold, 1-for-1, to have exactly the gadget you need to solve the problem at hand.

Only one agent on the team gets to make this roll for each mission. Note that you can only use the hold generated by this move if you describe the gadget and how it solves the problem.

The beginnings of a James Bond PbtA game…

When you try to kill someone you’ve never met before, roll+deadly. On a 10+ you do it quickly, without drawing too much attention and without getting roughed up yourself. On a 7-9 choose 2. On a 6- the GM will introduce complications.

When you fight someone you’ve met before, describe how you overcome them. If you do it by:

Exploiting their weakness, roll+sharp.

Taking a beating and pressing on, roll+tough.

Humiliating them, roll+suave.

Using your superior fighting skills, roll+deadly.

On a 10+ you take them out, describe the end result. On a 7-9 they’re down or out, but it will cost you; the GM will tell you the price. On a 6- there is a serious complication – you get captured or something equally nasty.

When someone tries to kill you, roll+sharp. On a 10+ you totally saw it coming. On a 7-9 you get a little roughed up but it’s no big deal. On a 6- there is a serious complication; you’re hurt or captured or some other nasty thing the GM comes up with.

When someone tries to get you to talk, describe how you turn the tables on them at the last second. If you do it by:

Clever planning or exploitation of your environment, roll+sharp.

Surprising them when they think they’ve crushed your spirit, roll+tough.

Convincing them to let you go, roll+suave.

Getting rescued by allies, roll+connected.

On a 10+ you get free and gain some information from them. On a 7-9 you get free but fail to gain any useful info. On a 6- you reveal something important before you escape.

Once you’ve had the mission laid out, swing by Q branch and roll+Connected. On a 10+ hold 4. On a 7-9 hold 3. On a 6- hold 2. During the mission you can spend your hold, 1-for-1, to have exactly the gadget you need to solve the problem at hand.

Stats

Deadly: hurting and killing people

Suave: looking cool and getting people to do what you want

Sharp: noticing everything and knowing what to do about it

Tough: taking a beating without compromising the mission

Connected: recognizing people and being able to call in favours from them

Wizard World Update

It’s been a while since I checked in, but it looks like I should be done with the 60 hour work weeks for a while, so I’m getting back to fairly regular gaming. I did squeeze out a few hours here and there over the last few months to do some copy-editing and the most recent version of the rules is available here:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/aefq6ggar4jf1yh/Wizard%20World.pdf

Feedback is very welcome. I’ll be using this project to refresh my InDesign skills in the near future and, with your help, I’m confident this can be a great tribute to Ars Magica.

Alexander Davis did you manage to keep your campaign going?

Playbooks and reference sheets are available here:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/zzyb71bscypdssf/Wizard%20World%20Playbooks%20and%20Ref%20Sheets.pdf

https://www.dropbox.com/s/aefq6ggar4jf1yh/Wizard%20World.pdf

Any thoughts on hacking Robin Laws’ Feng Shui?

I didn’t see anything on http://nerdwerds.blogspot.ca/2012/12/all-of-playbooks.html but I feel like someone must have done this already…

I’ve had a few requests for an AP report on Wizard World so I wrote this up from my notes for our last playtest session.

Cast (note that these characters were created before I completed the name lists for all the houses so some are a bit goofy):

Primus Razvan of Verditius (aka Honorificabilitudinitadibus)

Liaison Dominus of Guernicus

Militant Liviticus of Flambeau

Vicarius Gilera of Bonisagus

Absent: Felix of Bjornaer and Soteris of Tytalus

Our last session went overtime so we started off by going through lab activities for the previous season. Three of the magi spent the season working on new spells while the fourth devoted himself to gathering vis for the covenant. He was joined by both of the absent magi (who made their choices known before the session).

The Deal with The Order move was a 7-9 and the Primus chose not to risk an obligation even if it meant gaining a boon from The Order. Fortune smiled on the covenant and they not only had some new grogs join but the ailing aura also waxed in power – for now. Last season’s jobs were not particularly productive, however, and it seems that a hunting party may have be waylaid by the Moorish invaders.

A long and occasionally heated Council session resulted in the following decrees:

– Dominus (stepping in as Librarian to ensure a quorum) decreed as Quaesitor that all magi must be actively pursuing apprentices. Failure to produce some kind of result by the next council meeting will result in their destruction. While he was able to quote several important precedents from the Peripheral Code, his delivery of the ultimatum was not at all well received. (Guernicus playbook move 7-9 result).

– After much debate, it was decreed that a significant portion of the treasury was to be spent financing an addition to Gilera’s lab (Gilera’s lab was less developed than the others so he made a ruling as bursar). A further expenditure was decreed to purchase heavy crossbows for the warband (ruling made by the Militant). While both expenditures could have been borne by the covenant by accepting a few lean seasons, it was decided that a withdrawal from the treasury was in order so that overall income could remain stable.

– The least controversial decree was that the covenant must make a response to the recent invasion by Moorish forces. An assault was to be launched on the Moorish vessels blockading the island.

While Razvan set off in search of an apprentice, Sir Jarl (The Knight – played by Razvan’s player), Liviticus, Dominus and Gilera took advantage of Razvan’s new flight spell (it was added to the library via his Brilliant Writer advanced move so everyone could learn it). When they reached sufficient height, Dominus attempted an Intellego Imaginem spell to quickly survey the area and pinpoint hostile vessels. Unfortunately he underestimated the sheer amount of information the spell would provide and the backlash not only prevented him from gathering useful information but it also debilitated his choleric humour. A longer and more prosaic search eventually revealed the invader’s flagship.

Despite previous discussions of more subtle approaches, Liviticus launched an assault on the ship with his new Conflagration of Doom spell. A minor mispronounced syllable lead to an unexpected pillar of flame pinpointing his location, but he didn’t seem to mind much – at least until answering arrows began flying past him.

While Liviticus’ spell had decimated the midship, there were still several Moorish combatants returning fire with their deadly recurve bows. Sir Jarl swooped down and began cutting through the rigging to create confusion and provide cover for the magi. Liviticus landed boldly on the foredeck where he promptly incinerated several more of their enemies. Despite the power of his magic, he was struck by several arrows and it was only the timely intervention of Sir Jarl that saved him from an assassin’s deadly strike.

Gilera quickly annihilated the assassin, showcasing his gruesome proficiency with Perdo Corpus magics. He then turned his mastery of Corpus to friendlier use by rebalancing Liviticus’ depleted sanguine humour.

While the others tended to the mundane foes, Dominus found and confronted the Moorish maga. While her non-hermetic magic was disconcerting to him, Dominus managed to break through her protective spell which allowed Sir Jarl to finish her off with a thrown dagger (accelerated by a Petition move that required him to undertake a quest after the battle).

With their mission accomplished the magi returned to the covenant (bearing a non-hermetic artifact that will require much study). Their lab moves included new spells, the addition to Gilera’s lab and training of Razvan’s new apprentice.

Aftermath

While they successfully broke the blockade, their discovery of a cabal of non-hermetic wizards is sure to provide lots more conflict. They’ve also got an artefact to study and a quest to complete. Their list of complications continues to grow… [cue evil laugh]

And another Wizard World update.

– Rework of the Bonds section.

– Added Bond questions for all of the houses and companions.

– Corrected some minor errors on the playbooks and reference sheets.

– Added date stamps to the bottom of each page to help anyone who is suffering through my revision cycles. 😉

– A few clarifications of some advanced moves.

– Random minor edits for clarity throughout.

Let me know what you think!

https://www.dropbox.com/s/aefq6ggar4jf1yh/Wizard%20World.pdf

Wizard World update.

Based on some playtesting and some great conversations both here and on the AW forums, I’ve made some revisions, clarifications and streamlining. I also added some more links to make navigation of the PDF even easier.

Let me know what you think!

https://www.dropbox.com/s/aefq6ggar4jf1yh/Wizard%20World.pdf