The Boy and The Girl

So, I've made a hack! It's a two-player (one GM, one player) fantasy thing based on child adventurers going on epic quests much bigger than themselves. You fight Monsters, run from Goblins, and try to get a kidnapped princess back to her home in another dimension.

You play a Goblin who's made 7 or 8 years old, cast out by your kind, trying to get the princess (a weirdo human-esque girl from another dimension) back to her home. But the Demon King is after you, and you'll have to defeat the Monsters he's hidden his soul in first before the way is laid bare.

You can find the playtest document here: https://docs.google.com/open?id=0BwQFfBABRn2BeFJVZUtJbmhSc0NWY0RrbVVnQnhaQQ

A moves sheet is here: https://docs.google.com/open?id=0BwQFfBABRn2BRm9DamM3SmZUWENISnBuQ0I2dEZuUQ

And a character sheet!: https://docs.google.com/open?id=0BwQFfBABRn2BejJBdFpUR0dSN2FuRDJmenJ2a2JLdw

An MC sheet is coming shortly.

I'm looking for people who can throw in one or two sessions (or more is fine!) by the end of March!

(came up with a solution to just publicly post the playtest, so we're solid! Disregard any previous nonsense this post said)

In the mean time, I'll use this thread to post up art for the final project as it trickles in, answer questions, and discuss anything related to it. Thanks!

Could you flesh out the game a little more? Are you using the stats and moves as written in AW or have they been hacked? What sort of moves does the Goblin have? And the MC? Sounds intriguing, so don't tease, give us a few more details please! :-)

I'll do you one better! The playtest document is up on google docs, just check the first post. Get a look at it and see if you're interested!

Looks very nice, but a potential issue with the dice:

• Because the lower die in a roll gets +1...
• and the Boy wins ties...
• ...then a White d4 beats a Black d6 15 out of 24 times, or 5 out of 8, but a White d6 only beats a Black d6 21 out of 36 times, or 7 out of 12.

So, from the player's point of view, a d4 is slightly more likely to be high than a d6. There are quite probably other incosistencies like this, given the system.

I'd suggest either dropping the +1 bonus for the lower die or ruling that a tie means the conflict gets interrupted somehow, so the Boy doesn't get what he wanted, but he can immediately try a different move.

Alternatively, move the hack back towards basic AW: use only d6s and add the results together, but bad stuff happens when the black d6 is higher than the white.

On an unrelated note, have you seen the Jim Henson film Labyrinth? It was the first thing I thought of as I started reading the playtest doc. [/list]

I have seen the Labyrinth, but so long, long ago, all I remember is that muppets are involved!

The "just do it like AW, but have bad stuff happen with the black die" was something I considered at one point. I don't know. I'd have to fiddle with it.

I'd say for now, if the +1 is the easy fix, try it that way.

Promo art! Art is slowly trickling in, I've got a folder full of sketches and references and back-and-forths between myself and the artist.

I so do like this. Hope I can try it out soon.
The artwork is awesome.

I do have my doubts with the rolling mechanism (a tad more complicated, mechanical than it does bring benefit - is what i feel) but since I havent tried it yet I really cant tell.

The previous version was a bit wackier. I trimmed a lot of junk out to streamline. If you get a chance, please do give a try, tell me if it ends up as complicated as you fear!

If anyone's testing it and finding the d4 problematic, try this:

Instead of white 1-3, each move works on a white 1-2.
Instead of a white 4-5, each move works on a white 3-4.
Instead of a white 6+, each move works on a white 5+.

I'd suggest trying it with and without the +1. The bonus using the +1 means that even now, a d4 can reach the highest option - it's just difficult!

A friend and I are currently playtesting this, and we're not quite through the first session, but the player currently has some issues with the dice system, and I'm inclined to agree. It just feels too random. There's no real feel that the Boy is especially competent at anything.

It might have just been bad luck (The boy failed his first four rolls, with d6 stats against d6s and it didn't especially feel like there was anything he could have done to get an edge) but the boy's player ended up with the general feeling of being more like Lara Croft in the tomb raider prequel trailer (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wDFigGBbXuE) than of being an equivalent to Link or Ico or Wander. The boy was relatively helpless and set upon by the environment rather than having any real way to actively respond to the threats.

I think part of this is that it's pretty difficult to get a real idea of how good you are at any given task, on account of the probability not being as easy to read as a standard bell curve. Right now, we're thinking about making it into an AW-style 2d6 roll to see how that feels. Aside from the dice mechanic, though, we're really enjoying the aesthetic and the feel of the game when we're not actively trying to resolve moves, so we're looking forward to seeing where this goes.