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brainstorming & development / Re: Boarsdraft
« on: January 07, 2013, 12:27:27 PM »LOVE THIS.
Some thoughts:
For stats, like the basic approach. Maybe it needs to be personalized, though? Like, maybe reduce the +2s from origin to be +1s, and let them add +1 to one stat of their choice?
Thats a good call. I think that is what I will go with, thanks!
The stat names aren't parallel--Stalwart is an adjective while the others are nouns. Also, Stalwart & Courage are too close. I'd recommend changing to: Ambitious, Bold, Curious, Stalwart.
Stalwart came out of me trying to pare down the stats to four. I had the Hufflepuff-like abilities split up between Patient and Loyal. The best word I could find that mixes the ideas of patience and loyalty was Stalwart. I think there is enough distinction between Courage, which I perceive as active, and Stalwart, which I perceive as more passive.
"Tattle" seems off, name-wise. "Tattle" implies finking someone out, telling on someone, throwing them under a bus. I think such a move should exist, with +Ambitious.
The move currently labelled "Tattle" is good, and should be there as written, but I think it needs a better name. "Speak Truth" isn't quite right, but something along those lines.
Tattle is a bit of a perspective shift. This is how the adults perceive the action. Truth to Power could work I suppose.
Patrol seems a little weird to me. Is Stalwart supposed to be steady/cool/brave? Or true/honest/a good friend? If the former, it's too close to Courage. If the latter, I don't see how it works with "wander the halls of Boarsdraft aimlessly."
Patrolling works in conjunction with my view of Stalwart as a more passive stat. You are not exactly looking actively for trouble but you are there when the shit goes down.
Make Friends: if you're rolling +Ambitious, that implies that you're attempting to make friends for personal gain (despite the "give up all your strings" part). Doesn't feel right to me. Could be a +Stalwart roll (if you interpret Stalwart as being the "true & good" stat). Or a +Popularity roll. Or a +resource spent roll. But honestly, I think "making friends" might be what the game is actually about, and thus shouldn't have a basic move associated with it.
Making Friends is associated with the Friends Advanced Move which turns your friends into a permanent bonus to your Popularity which allows you to move groups well without having to build up your Popularity each time. It is a calculated maneuver and hence Ambitious.
Possible alternative to Make Friends would be something like Read a Person rolling +Ambitious, with questions like "What would please them?" and "How are they insecure?" and "How could I get them to ___?" (I don't think kids at Boarsdraft should be able to ask if people are lying, at least not right away)
I think I may make this the other core Ambition move and move Make Friends to Advanced Moves.
For Learn Magic... maybe make it a +Curiosity roll. On a 10+, you pick one and the GM may pick another. On a 7-9, you pick one and the GM may pick two. On a miss, the GM picks two, three, or four.
I am torn here. I like the neutral position that everyone who is magical can learn magic. I also like setting the difficulty of learning a given bit of magic squarely in the GM's hands. I'll keep it the way it is for now but if you playtest, feel free to use your version and report on it. It may solve a problem I'm not seeing yet.
For casting magic, maybe it should be "When you declare that you are using a spell you have your sheet to make a move, make that move at +1." Maybe.
I'll have to reread that, that was my intent though I also want to allow players to pile on spells for multiple +s.
More Strings!
This is something I really do need to work on. Strings, Popularity, and Friends need to do more and balance each other in a way.