Samurai World

So I am starting a Kurosawa samurai film styled hack.

Death is a constant threat anytime someone puts hands to steel, so I am thinking of a move to deal with Dueling.

Here is what I have already.

Stats to be reskinned as the japanese elements.

Earth -Immovability-  (Cool)
Water -Absorption/Mutability -(Smarts)
Fire  - Violence and passion  (Hard or Hot)
Wind -redirection-(Smarts)
Void -Emptiness and spirit (Weird)

Duel

Roll +void
 
Duels always end in death. do not break out these rules unless you are willing to kill the other character or your own.

When faced in a formal duel the participants step out after compasing their death poems and writing a letter to their Daimyo

1) they announce their names and lineage
2) they would bow and show respect
3) they take form and their postures
4) death


Roll +Void
on a 10+ you choose to kill the other opponent or end the duel in their dishonour
on a 7-9 you choose one of the following and win the duel but not decisively
on a 6 or lower your character dies and choose 2 from the following

- a visible scar to show your shame
- Loss of  hand or limb




anyone have ideas for additional things for the list?

-----------------------------------

I am also looking at the basic moves and rewriting them for the feeling then I am going to move on to the first playbooks.


Thanks so far to Steve Hicky, Mike Sands and Charles Chinn for their advice and allowing me to steal their ideas.

i hope this happens

Paul, I really like this idea.

When we talked in the weekend, I asked you whether you would bake a starting situation into this hack, and you mentioned that you might set in the middle of a war between two kingdoms or imperial families. Is that still the plan?

The creation of 'Situation' is definitely one thing I'm still not clear on when it comes to AW hacks. With Monsterhearts, it seems to come from the backstory between characters and the origins of their monstrous sides. With Monster of the Week and Dungeon World, it's inherent in their premises ('kill monsters'; 'go into dungeons'). With AW, I think the situation comes from scarcity and the aggressive destablisation of status quos.

I'm looking forward to seeing your basic moves. One thing that might help you with that: what sorts of conflicts (both the obvious ones and the subtle) do you see happening in the movies that are inspiring you?

i hope this happens

thanks for the vote of confidence.

Paul, I really like this idea.

When we talked in the weekend, I asked you whether you would bake a starting situation into this hack, and you mentioned that you might set in the middle of a war between two kingdoms or imperial families. Is that still the plan?

The creation of 'Situation' is definitely one thing I'm still not clear on when it comes to AW hacks. With Monsterhearts, it seems to come from the backstory between characters and the origins of their monstrous sides. With Monster of the Week and Dungeon World, it's inherent in their premises ('kill monsters'; 'go into dungeons'). With AW, I think the situation comes from scarcity and the aggressive destablisation of status quos.

I'm looking forward to seeing your basic moves. One thing that might help you with that: what sorts of conflicts (both the obvious ones and the subtle) do you see happening in the movies that are inspiring you?

the Situation and motivation I have been thinking of might be easier. If I have the default setting be taking down "the empire"

I was thinking that the characters are a group formed for that specific goal. If there is a defined goal then it has a goal. That way we can have people of shame and people of honour working for the same goal.

I am working on the basic moves, at the moment just looking at the basic moves from AW and MOTW renaming and reflavouring them.

the definate one I need to add is to TAKE BY STEALTH. this way I can have NINJAS!

Thinking about 13 Assassins, I think there might also be a Basic Move in 'Conceal Your True Intentions'...

Thinking about 13 Assassins, I think there might also be a Basic Move in 'Conceal Your True Intentions'...

Such a good movie!

Now I want to watch it and pull it apart for moves...

I know!

That first conversation between <... checks Wikipedia ...> Shinzaemon and Hanbei (the mad Lord's samurai) is amazing.

And there's stuff like 'When you travel by stealth' and 'When you engage in battle, first say if you are conducting an ambush or fighting on an open field'.

Paul, you might want to look at Simon's 'World of Conan' hack. It's got a neat move in it - I think it's something like 'When you go to war' or 'When you lead your armies into battle'.

That duelling move is cool but for something that epic, why not make a move that's a bit more detailed and dramatic?

Like:

When two characters are duelling to the death,

Answer the following questions for your character. The MC will answer for NPCs.

Are you ready to die? If yes, hold 1.
If any player doubts your word on this, say what you will to convince them. If they still doubt you, don't hold 1.

Are you free of remorse or hesitation to kill? If yes, hold 1.
If any player doubts your word on this, say what you will to convince them. If they still doubt you, don't hold 1.

Are you completely calm within yourself, free from self-doubt? If yes, hold 1.
If any player doubts your word on this, say what you will to convince them. If they still doubt you, don't hold 1.

At the moment of the clash, spend your hold. Whoever spends the most holds wins, and the loser is killed. If you spend the same amount of hold, roll a die to determine who wins, and the loser is given a terrible scar.

That's how I'd do it, anyhow. You could do a similar thing for archery.

Simon and I were just chatting on twitter, and we wanted to add these as options to Simon's move:

- "If you survive, convert any unspent hold to XP"

(or)

-  "Convert your opponent's spent hold into XP"

The creation of 'Situation' is definitely one thing I'm still not clear on when it comes to AW hacks. With Monsterhearts, it seems to come from the backstory between characters and the origins of their monstrous sides. With Monster of the Week and Dungeon World, it's inherent in their premises ('kill monsters'; 'go into dungeons'). With AW, I think the situation comes from scarcity and the aggressive destablisation of status quos.

Don't discount the playbooks in the creation of situation. In AW, they reinforce the scarcity/instability. In MotW I have tried to create sources of friction in the playbooks: the moves and history picks have elements that should push towards dark and apocalyptic plots as well.

Hi all due to looking for a new house, loosing a hard drive and expecting a baby this has gone on to the back burner I am going to drop what I have here over the next little bit.

I will be back though.

YES! Do this thing!

I wouldn't worry too much about mapping elements to AW stats.

Earth could be Hard, because it is blunt and strong, but it also could be Sharp because it is natural talent and awareness, but it also could be cool, because it it can endure blows.

But you know, a Samurai doesn't really operate on those wave lengths, I think samurai need moves like Fire -> Cut down your foes.  Air -> Speak in Court; Save Face, etc. And not worry about how they are analogous to the core AW stats at all. Some will be for sure, but don't let it hold you back.

That is an excellent point, Sean.