Tag: Dave Bozarth

So for those without a Something Awful account, here is my submission to the monthly design contest. Rock and Roll Racing World Extreme!

Its still very much a work in progress, but I am digging where it could go.

So I am working on a hack for the Something Awful August contest. I started with a Sliders meets X-Com+Stargate+Fringe/worthy kinda thing with Loresheet inspired research and base management but this kept popping into my head:

Rock & Roll World Racer Extreme!

In a way its really two games, all the “wacky” adventures off the Track and then the Race Day. The stuff off the track was pretty easy to handle , though not as archetype driven as most PbtA games, it puts Megacorps as Fronts that try to get as much advertisement for their sponsorship dollars, the Handlers that keep the talent from dwelling on their futures and Drivers that have to kill each other on Sunday and then go to an Event on Tuesday evening. Essentially, its the worst parts of being in a band and extreme sports. Wanted to get some feedback on this:

Agendas

Fill the PCs lives with Bullshit!

Make the PCs feel like a commodity

Keep the story Extreme!

Principles

Fill the Void with Rock and Roll

Address yourself to the characters, not the players.

Make your move, but misdirect.

Make your move, but never speak its name.

Occasionally, Show the Party from the other-side

Make the Party the only place you want to be

Give everyone a life, dues to be paid, and ties to each other

It should be all rise, baby! 

Happiness is always one more payday away

Ask provocative questions and build on the answers.

Be a fan of the PCs.

Treat your NPCs like stolen cars, owned by another PC

Give your NPCs simple motivations that divide the PCs

Sometimes, disclaim decision making.

And, I am a little conflicted on path I have gone down though for detailing the race day as it gets a bit board-gamey.  Essentially, you use a deck of cards to lay out the track with card numbers being an obstacle rating and the suites determining the roll involved. The course is ambiguous until defined by the PC that first encounters the feature who gets to detail it and have the others face it as well.

Thoughts?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rock_n’_Roll_Racing

So I had a thought while working on my AW hack… would hacks (especially setting rich hacks) benefit from a Character set of Agenda, Principles and Moves (covered in their playbooks and with Basic Moves)?

I am thinking of using this (or similar) for my game/hack and thought I would share

At the End of each Session, answer the follow questions: 

Did your character grow as a person? If so, ask yourself how. If not, think of situations that could help you grow in the next session and share that with the GM.

Did the character learn something new about the world? If so, what? If not, what do they seek to understand. Share that with the GM.

Did the character next to you do something awesome? If they did, they gain a String on you. If they didn’t, ask them how you could help them create a moment of awesome. If you help them by doing what they suggest gain 1xp.

Did the character next to you do something shocking? Tell them what they did, gain a String on them. If they did not, tell them what you would like to see. If they do it , they gain 1xp.

For each Yes, take +1 forward on the next roll. Roll +No Stat

12+ Take a Move of your choice

10-11 Gain +1Lore, a String of your choice, and regain 1Mana

7-9  Gain +1Lore, a String of your choice, OR regain 1Mana

6 or less Gain one of the above anyway, but something unresolved from this Session hangs over you.

*Lore is like a String, but on the Setting

So I have been thinking of Tags a bit and what they have been used for in AW and in its hacks and I had a thought I need to just get out… Is it me or is a Condition nothing more than a Tag applied to a character and if so, aren’t some of the Moves (such as Insano like Drano or Breathtaking) are just a more permanent version of a Condition…