A Giant hack

Hello. Among other things I'm working on an AW hack where the players are Giants in midieval England. The idea germinated in this story-games-thread: http://story-games.com/forums/discussion/comment/429872 As you can see it was Potemkin that had the great idea from the beginning but then revised his outlook. I continued on with the original premise.

Now I've gotten stuck on the moves. The stats I've settled for are Violence, Cunning, Finnicky and Wyrd. Violence and Cunning are pretty self-explanatory, Finnicky is everything to do with humans and Wyrd is to do with the domain of spirits.

So far these are the basic moves I have:

Rage - swift and mindless violence is dealt. Roll +Violence +1. Add one to Fatigue/Hunger.
-6 Fail, You suffer Harm as established and the MC can make a hard move
7-9: Success, You suffer Harm and Deal Harm as established
10+: Success, You suffer Harm and Deal Harm +2 as established

Attack - violence is dealt in a controlled manner. Roll +Violence
-6: You suffer Harm and Deal Harm as established
7-9: Success, you suffer Harm and Deal Harm as established and choose one from the list below
10+: Success, you suffer Harm and Deal Harm as established and choose three from the list below
Suffer less Harm (you suffer -1 Harm)
Deal greater Harm (you deal Harm +1)
Rout the enemy
Take hold of something important
Gain the advantage

Demand - Threaten to get what you want. Roll +Violence
-6: Fail, the MC can make a hard move
7-9: Success, they do as you want but you must promise something first and keep this promise.
10+: Success, they do as you want but you must promise something first. It is up to you if you keep your word or not.

Foraging and Hunting - The giant spends a day Foraging and Hunting. Roll +Cunning

-6 Ravaging! The Giant cannot control its hunger and cleans the area of anything edible. The area of the map is turned fallow and the Fatigue/Hunger stat is reduced by two. Also any settlements in the area get their Wealth reduced by one. If this means a settlement gets reduced to zero wealth that settlement is deserted and left in ruins.
7-9 Overeating. Despite the Giant’s intentions he or she cleans the land. The Fatigue/Hunger stat is reduced by one and the area of the map is turned fallow.
10+ Foraging and hunting. The Fatigue/Hunger stat is reduced by two.

Read a situation - See where opportunities and dangers lie. Roll +Cunning OR +Finnicky depending on the opposition (Giants or Humans)
-6: Fail, the MC can make a hard move
7-9: Success, you can ask one question from the list and the MC or player will answer truthfully
10+: Success, you can ask all questions on the list and the MC or player will answer truthfully
Who is most dangerous?
How can I escape?
What are the motives of the others?
How can I gain the upper hand?

Manipulate - Get another giant to do what you want, Stat: Cunning
-6: Fail, the MC can make a hard move
7-9: Success, they do as you want but you must promise something first and keep this promise. The other Giant marks experience when doing it.
10+: Success, they do as you want but you must promise something first. It is up to you if you keep your word or not. The other Giant marks experience when doing it.

Talk to the spirits - Get knowledge from the spirits, Stat: Wyrd
-6: Fail, you loose something important and the MC can make a hard move
7-9: The MC will tell you something new and interesting about the current situation, and might ask you a question or two; answer them
10+: The MC will give you good detail. If you already know all there is to know, the MC will tell you that.

Demand of the spirits - Control the weather, increase fertility of the land, etc, Stat: Wyrd, must give up something vital (a finger for minor stuff, all of childhoods memories for more important stuff).
-6: Fail, you loose something important and the MC can make a hard move
7-9: The spirits accept your offering but demand a promise. If you follow through mark experience.
10+: The spirits accept your offering.

Haggle - Bargain with humans, Stat: Finnicky
-6: Fail, the MC can make a hard move
7-9: Success, you get your deal but you must promise something first and keep this promise.
10+: Success, you get your deal but you must promise something first. It is up to you if you keep your word or not.

OK, so I realize a bit of these rules make no sense without the other rules but I'm just wondering if you spot anything missing if the players are 20ft Giants ravaging peasants in 17th century England?

Just wanted to say thanks for picking this up.  I loved the original concept and I didn't want it to fall out of existence.

X

Perhaps I am overlooking something, I don't know. The only glaring problem I see with this hack in particular is the lack of antagonism or conflict. If we take AW as an example, the threats come in many forms; environmental, resource-based, people, etc. Here though, unless I've missed something, I can't see when or where there would be such a conflict.

Sure it may be that giants simply just fight each other and it's complete chaos (if so, great; how can we tease this out further) but I think the moves should reflect, to some degree, furthering or prohibiting conflict. With regards to the violent moves in particular, I think these are fine but violence - in my mind - is the consequence of conflict rather than the cause (as opposed to, say, hunger for example).

That said, I might be overanalysing this a tad.

EDIT: My apologies; the original pitch does indeed cite one locus of conflict, that being hunger. This is great but I think we need more, maybe?

Thanks for the answers. The main conflict is indeed the one about hunger, in the game a compound stat of Fatigue/Hunger. Effectively only the Bond giant will have his or hers sated by being provided by the bond settlement. All the other playbooks will have hunger as a built in drive. Even if a player takes a defensive stance and stays in one area it will go fallow soon forcing the Giant to move on. Given enough time this will force the giant into conflict and that's when the moves will come into play.

When setting up the game the players and the MC together roll on tables to see what the map ends up like. Where the rich settlements are, where the king resides etc. This will hopefully guide play as well.

I'm also thinking of making a "big-things-happening-in-the-small-peoples'-world" table that introduces further complications for the poor giants. In AW there is no status quo but in Giants it is pure tragedy: everything is going to hell. Regardless if your a gentle giant or a monster, your time is up.

I can't spot anything glaringly missing from the basic moves myself but I have yet to playtest it. The only thing I see when re-reading is that Manipulate and Haggle could be merged as they are the same move but with different targets.

On another note this is what I have as the MC agenda:
*Make everything dirty and harsh and make beauty and kindness rare
*Make the Fatigue/Hunger seem real
*Make sure interests conflict and affairs spiral out of control
*Make every decision count
*Give life to the small people
*Be a fan of the Giants on their way to hell

Also, the first rough draft of a playbook:

The BondGiant
The BondGiant is a giant that has sworn an oath of bonding to a city or a town settlement. It provides tribute and the Giant provides protection against other giants and roving bands in times of war. In some cases the Giant provides the guidance and help of the spirits and is the focal point for local religious practice, much to the chagrin of the church.

Name (choose one):    Geoff, Jeffrey, George, Howe, Adam, Carst, Mound, Milly, Anne, Regala, Bodie, Patty, Millie, Crag, Loeb, Everett, Ed, Gwyneth, Thyla.

Surname (choose one): the Courageous, the Gentle, the Strong, the Just, the Generous, the Honest, the Valorous, of Iron, of Stone, of Bone, of Blood, of Spirits.

Or make up a fitting one.

Choose one column:
Violence    +2 / +1 / +0
Cunning    0 / +1 / 0
Finnicky    +2 / +2 /+2
Wyrd        0 / 0 / +2


Starting Area: You start in the area containing your Bondtown.

Moves:

Bondtown
Choose a town or city on the map, that can support you, as your Bondtown. Normally, you cannot choose the Kings seat as your Bondtown. Your Bondtown will provide you with their Wealth in Tribute each day. Choose one bonus from the list.:

Iron rich area: The area is riddled with iron mines and your Bondtown is full of smithies. Choose one: Giant Armor: you take -1harm from violence when wearing your armor OR Giant iron club: you always deal additional 1harm when wielding your iron shod club. Human armies cost less to arm in this area.

Bessex’ breadbasket: Double the wealth of your Bondtown. Additionally the area is Flourishing, the first time it is turned Fallow during a year nothing happens.

Well defended: Your Bondtown has high walls designed to repel Giant assaults. Add +2 to the Garrison of your Bondtown. Additionally all settlements in the Area gain +1 garrison.

Stonehenge: Your Bondtown has it’s own circle of standing stones. You gain a +1 modifier to any Wyrd moves done in the circle.

Choose one additional move:
Use Gold
You know the human secret of gold. You can turn any Wealth into gold.

Influence at court
You influence the goings on at court considerably. Either by proxy or directly in person. In case of the latter you can have the King’s seat as your Bondtown.

Size of Legends (must be Giant to choose)
You are one of the biggest Giants ever born. You are over 40ft tall and suffer -1harm from other giants’ violence and deal +1harm in addition to other modifiers. You also gain one additional Fatigue/Hunger each day due to your size (i.e 2 total for being Giant and the Size of Legends).

Friend of spirits
You can use unused wealth to sacrifice to the spirits instead of the usual sacrifices. Each wealth after the first adds an additional +1 to the wyrd roll.

Another playbook idea. I re-used "Size of Legends" because I thought it fitting. I also poached the "arresting skinner" move from AW. I couldn't resist it...


The Excised (must be Giant)

A scottish Giant run out of the highlands by the Banding of the Big-Men. Gentle or angry the Excised is a lean killing machine formed by the harsh and unforgiving Scottish territories. Comes with a nemesis who has hunted the Excised down from Scotland.

Name (choose one): Angus, Alistair, Airdagh, Barra, Brandubh, Breannan, Carmag, Cowan, Donnach, Eadan, Fyinn, Lachlainn, Naomhann, Rúadh, Sionn, Caitir, Ceana, Fionnaghal, Ròs, Sorcha
...of the Hills.

Or make up a fitting one.

Choose one column:
Violence    +2 / +2 / +2
Cunning    +2 / +1 / 0
Finnicky    0 / +1 / +2
Wyrd        +1 / +1 / +1


Starting Area: Choose one of the northernmost Areas to start in.

Moves:
Nemesis You have a nemesis that has hunted you down from the highlands. Be it a slighted Big-Man Clangiant or a Giantslayer whose entire village you destroyed your nemesis will not rest until you are dead and retribution has been had. Regardless of who your nemesis is an encounter will end badly if on your own, that is why you are fleeing from it. Detail the whys hows and whats of your nemesis. Each time you fail a roll the nemesis comes one area closer.

What’s under the kilt?
Many a tale has been told about what the scottish giant has under his kilt. Everybody who watches is transfixed as you hoist it up and cannot do anything as long as you show what you have.

And choose one additional move:

Greater destiny
You are a Giant with a Geás, a destiny. If you are killed roll +Wyrd. -6: Alas, this was your destiny. 7-9: You are destined for something else but you will bear the scars of this brush with death. You suffer a -1 on subsequent Greater Destiny rolls due to your mauling. 10+ This is not where you die! You return to 2harm and can continue you search for your Geás.

Woodsman
You have mastered the skill of surviving on what the land provides. Instead of making a Foraging and hunting move roll you can automatically succeed and reduce your Fatigue/Hunger by one.

Iron sense
You have a feel for where iron is hidden in the ground. You can improve a settlement by selling them the knowledge or just telling them. The settlement becomes Iron rich after a month of in-game time and increases its Wealth by +2, only usable as gold.

Size of Legends
You are one of the biggest Giants ever born. You are over 40ft tall and suffer -1harm from other giants’ violence and deal +1harm in addition to other modifiers. You also gain one additional Fatigue/Hunger each day due to your size (i.e 2 total for being Giant and the Size of Legends).