Random thought/idea of the day:
Random thought/idea of the day:
Borrowing from Monsterhearts somewhat.
What if, instead of unlocking the higher tier advancements for your character when you reach 5 advancements, you unlock them for the rest of the protagonists too and for the remainder of the campaign?
Thoughts? Concerns? Do you like it?
We ran our first of three sessions last night.
We ran our first of three sessions last night. Here are some of the details and my thoughts. The game is set in Boston at the suggestion of a small rpg community I moderate.
Our PCs are composed of:
** Heru, an Egyptian Wizard and professor of Religious Studies at Boston College.
** Gus, a Specter killed at the 1883 World’s Fair in Boston and who is now drawn a mysterious woman named Amy.
** Jessica, a young Hunter originally from New Orleans who hunts vodoun created zombies and their sorcerous masters.
** Audrey, a Fae and proprietress of a flower shop specializing in rare breeds which are used in occult practices.
** Lt. Danny O’Mara, an Aware police officer who is working with Jessica is investigate a series of murders in the Beacon Hill district.
Some of the things we learned about the world through play:
** Audrey had taken a body for Edmond, an Immortal member of the Power faction, and let her flesh eating scarabs devour it.
** Audrey depended on Heru to use his credentials as an academician to order more of the illegal flesh eating scarabs, but he failed and owed her.
** Heru is being hounded by a cult based around the worship of Set. They want to gain legitimacy for their beliefs and need something Heru is in possession of.
** Gus is haunting Jessica. The Huntress defeated a mage who possessed a small black obelisk that once belonged to Gus and his spirit came with it.
** Gus hangs around Fenway Park at night and witness a strange rift attempt to reach out and take the soul of a janitor.
** Lt. O’Mara is confounded by a rash of murders with bodies that have no obvious signs of murder and victims with no medical history of fatal conditions. They are being found in the Beacon Hill area which leads him into conflict with the Mages’ Cabal.
** Boston is most definitely run by the Power faction. In the wake of the Salem Witch Trials, instead of fleeing the magic users made a mass exodus to reclaim the region in their name.
I’m enjoying the system so far, though most of the first session was understandably building these characters and the initial facts of the world. I’m looking forward to really exploring the Faction and Debt aspects of the game even further in our next session.
Hi all 🙂
Hi all 🙂
I’m running my first session a bit under 24 hours from now.
One player asked about the PCs and if the are allowed to be friends and are in a party.
Our *World experience is mainly Dungeon World and a little Monsterhearts.
I get the impression PCs in Urban Shadows are indebted to each other but may not have any other real connections. Is that the intent? Are they likely to stick together for scenes or split up more? What makes them a group of PCs rather than just four separate people with separate interests? Is it just the debts?
Any help on this aspect and handling the PC relationships and interactions would be appreciated.
Cheers.
Kicking off a 3 part campaign in about 4 hours.
Kicking off a 3 part campaign in about 4 hours. Any last minute pointers or tips? Things I need to keep in mind? I’ve run *World games before but am looking for what specific about this system that will make it run beautifully.
So, I was wondering about one of the options for Escape, specifically the option where you mark Corruption,…
So, I was wondering about one of the options for Escape, specifically the option where you mark Corruption, specifically I was wondering what this option is supposed to represent fiction-wise. Is it that you have this moment of shame over your cowardice? Does anyone have any examples from games they were in where someone chose this option?
Had a game tonight with Dragon and Immortal.
Had a game tonight with Dragon and Immortal. Dragon really needs an update but was fun. Immortal was REALLY fun using Poker Face. The Dragon and Immortal were both trying to figure each other out…that was difficult (in a good way)!!
Honestly didn’t care for the Immortal power “Into Your Ken”. The reason is that it seems too much as most GM’s I know already have a story idea in mind and how to incorporate the players. I would say it needs to be something related to Knowledge or Resources as when you think immortal, you think he must know or have something!
Also along the same lines we are only using the “Session Intro” to mark faction and generate hold but not the rumor/opportunity as we’ve already built those into the games.
On a positive note: REALLY love the new advance system of marking factions versus experience! This played out wonderful tonight as I think even the worst players should get 2 marks a game towards an advance if not all 4.
REALLY love the Corruption moves on updated Archetypes as well. Well Done!
So, I am a huge, huge fan of Dogs in the Vineyard, and I was thinking today that, with Urban Shadows’ feel, that it…
So, I am a huge, huge fan of Dogs in the Vineyard, and I was thinking today that, with Urban Shadows’ feel, that it would be an awesome setting for the Escalation mechanic.
For those not familiar with Vincent Baker’s amazing DitV, Escalation is a mechanic where you can escalate a situation from Talking to Violence to Gunfighting, in order to get a boost to your action. Basically, if you’re losing the argument, you can throw a punch to make a point. Its about how far you’re willing to go, because Escalating will block “damage” and give you a healthy advantage. But it asks the question of whether or not you’re willing to shoot someone over a simple argument just to win.
Urban Shadows already captures a bit of that with its Corruption mechanic, but rather than asking you to push the situation and your morality, it asks you to inch closer to oblivion for a taste of power.
I was just thinking about how things would play out with the addition of a single Basic Move: Escalation: If you escalate a situation/confrontation, take +1 forward.
The move basically encourages you make situations more complicated/dangerous for the sake of not wanting to lose.
Additional thought was adding: “You may also mark 1 Corruption to ignore the results of your last miss in the scene.”
More a thought experiment than anything else, but I figured I’d throw it out there!
More nitpicking.
More nitpicking.
Just noticed the Gaelic name of the first Fae corruption move, and I’m sorry to say but the phrase doesn’t actually make any sense in modern spoken Irish.
‘Gach’ means every, and ‘cumhachtach’ means powerful: as a compound, every powerful. Yeuch.
It could work if you use ‘cumhachtach’ on its own (Powerful), or you could have ‘gach cumhacht’, which would mean Every Power.
A question about character motivation.
A question about character motivation.
When i play my character; what drives me to get involved with what is going on in the game? There is all that faction politics thing going on, there might be threats to the city etc. But nothing of that might matter to my character right?
In Apocalypse World i need to deal with the people in power because otherwise i don’t get to eat. Scarcity is driving me to get involved. There are less people and so there are less jobs. I need to get my jingle from somewhere so i do weird jobs.
That is not true in a modern city. I can work a normal job in a callcenter and get my food at the Walmart. I can have normal friends that don’t deal with the supernatural politics that are going on.
How do you deal with such a character? It is perfectly reasonable to do so. The only thing I am seeing right now is the beginning of session move; when i fail it. Otherwise i can just live a really normal live, especially as a mortal.
How does the system handle that?
Regarding Werewolf Territory.
Regarding Werewolf Territory.. anyone have thoughts on additional Troubles to pick from? With such a limited quantity, it feels a bit weird as I build various territories.
You’ve got Violent (automatic), Crime, Obligations, Encroachment, and Haunted.
Now, Violence & Crime already seem at least a little redundant (especially when to get rid of Violence, you’re taking something that says the people work hard to keep the place safe…but yet you can still end up with Crime?) But otherwise, it just feels a bit crowded with having to pick 2 out of 4.
Especially when you factor in a blessing like hunting ground, which seems to suggest your territory is like a woodsy area. Where’s the crime/violence coming from?
Also, is there a reason that Violence is the default + Pick 2, rather than just Pick 3? Or Crime might be the better default (just to represent the darker areas of the city a Werewolf would hang out) with Violence being a Trouble that you’d have to pick, since Violent Crime would be a step above break-ins, drug dealers, and prostitutes. And like I mentioned, what is the Violence if not itself Crime? What else is it supposed to represent?
Just to be clear, I love the idea of Territory, I’m just thinking the Troubles list needs to be expanded by at least 2-3 more options, and the default Trouble reconsidered.