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Gwent Stefani
@madadric.bsky.social
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Thinking about what makes sense probability-wise VS what "feels" fair from a player perspective
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Gwent Stefani@madadric.bsky.social |
118 followers 137 following 296 posts
Creator of rpg Impulse Drive. Perpetually exhausted. Adrian, he/him adrian-thoen.itch.io
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Gwent Stefani
@madadric.bsky.social
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Thinking about what makes sense probability-wise VS what "feels" fair from a player perspective
0 replies 1 reposts 1 likes
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Gwent Stefani
@madadric.bsky.social
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Basic Moves for the pilots of my mech game, focusing on social interactions or not completely mission focused.
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Gwent Stefani
@madadric.bsky.social
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Thank you! The concept is to show the 3 elements of player charaters in the current TTRPG I'm designing. The mech, the pilot, and the weird AI trapped in the glowy crystal that powers the mech and is bonded to the pilot.
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Gwent Stefani
@madadric.bsky.social
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I have no idea hoe to draw mechs
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Gwent Stefani
@madadric.bsky.social
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Things start to fall into place design wise once I start building the character sheets. A lot of my design style seems to be tools-focused.
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Gwent Stefani
@madadric.bsky.social
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rough cycle of play. I'm currently trying to get the nomenclature down for the game an create consistent terms for directions in moves, which is fiddly but worthwhile for consistency
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Gwent Stefani
@madadric.bsky.social
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Thanks! A lot of the particulars are in flux right now, but the core cycles feel pretty solidy and very much my flavour of design (do something to fill a little track and pop off when the track is full)
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Gwent Stefani
@madadric.bsky.social
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noticed an oversight in my mech gear list
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Worlds Away Podcast
@worldsawaypod.com
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Thank you @madadric.bsky.social for creating Impulse Drive (the game system we use) and for this amazing breakdown of our latest episode, Eclipse (Part 2).
If you'd rather listen to the episode first, check us out:
open.spotify.com/episode/2jZd...
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Gwent Stefani
@madadric.bsky.social
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In closing, the @worldsawaypod.com team are some very cool people who are so much fun to listen to and worth your time. If you like high quality APs or radio dramas, or scifi adventures, check them out!
t.co/1F9axDsDmI
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Gwent Stefani
@madadric.bsky.social
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I think it's also worth noting when a game can take credit for contributing to the fun you have playing games, and when the credit belongs solely to the players. My game didn't create cool friends for you to hang out with!
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Gwent Stefani
@madadric.bsky.social
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Perhaps it's something that seems self-evident, but being explicit, stating it in the game, helps players be aware of it, and recognize it's a part of play.
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Gwent Stefani
@madadric.bsky.social
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and while that stuff isn't a part of the fiction, and only some of it is a part of "the game" as an object or process, it is 100% a part of play. I don't think RPGs acknowledge this enough, or describe it in clear enough terms to players.
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Gwent Stefani
@madadric.bsky.social
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But just as important, is their table talk. their rules discussion, their descriptions of the mechanics they're engaging with, deliberation between the group of how something works, their wonderful commentary and banter about the rules, and the platform they're playing on.
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Worlds Away Podcast
@worldsawaypod.com
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Happy #WorldsAwayWednesday! Episode 23 – Eclipse (Part 2) is out now 🌔
The crew captures the would-be assassin and Nasir speaks to the Verge. Arnaud & Mara follow up on a new lead. Lila mulls over a past mistake.
Tune in for end of the Eos mission:
open.spotify.com/episode/2jZd...
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Gwent Stefani
@madadric.bsky.social
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The character performances are great, and the production of @worldsawaypod.com
is very clean and deliberate. There is a lot I'm sure the crew does behind the scenes to produce something that sounds so good but still feels natural.
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Gwent Stefani
@madadric.bsky.social
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So, a fantastic scene expertly and entertainingly played and performed. And while i want to get distracted and gush about how John & Mo created an entire playbook for their game, I want to discuss table talk, and the important role it plays in our fun playing TTRPGs
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Gwent Stefani
@madadric.bsky.social
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Mo narrates a moment of reconcilliation and bipartisan support, a moment where the 2 opposing sides of the conflict have united in a public, emphatic moment of peace and solidarity.
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Gwent Stefani
@madadric.bsky.social
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John calls for a roll of Nasir's signature move - Crowd Pleaser. The dice are finally generous and he rolls a 13, massive! Mo says he has an outcome in mind unless John has thoughts, and John hands the reins of narration over to Mo
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Gwent Stefani
@madadric.bsky.social
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He speaks on their philosophical disagreements but their mutual commitment to peace and choice. He delivers a promise of respecting this world's choice to join one of the factions or stand alone, and a commitment to peace.
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Gwent Stefani
@madadric.bsky.social
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Rivka finishes her speech, about her difference of opinion with the crew but her respect for them and their diligence. She passes the moment on to Nasire to speak on behalf of his faction.
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Gwent Stefani
@madadric.bsky.social
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Once the Warhorse is treated, it's time for Nasir to shine. Lauren actually shifts the spotlight to Mo as she describes her attention switching to Nasir as he steps up to the mic. He speaks to the crowd, there's some exchanges pregnant with meaning before she steps up to the mic.
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Gwent Stefani
@madadric.bsky.social
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We cut back to the stage where Mara uses one of her Intellect playbook's Moves & and a use of her Tactical Pack gear to treat Arnaud's GSW, something that would mechanically usually require surgical intervention.
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Gwent Stefani
@madadric.bsky.social
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Helie describes Leila belting the crap out of the assassin until more armed authorities arrive to take the situation under control. She checks in to see if the speaker Rivka is OK and we get some fun banter about not checking in on Arnaud.
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Gwent Stefani
@madadric.bsky.social
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John weaves between several perspectives to get a feel on each of the players' intentions before coming back to Mara's skirmish with the assassin. mara uses her special Mystic Gear, the Mystic Weapon - described as a Baston, discharging and dealing 6 Harm!
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Gwent Stefani
@madadric.bsky.social
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Even with Advantage granted by Arnaud's Stoic Wall Move, it's only a partial success, giving Helie less mechanical choices. There's some great table talk calling back to previous bits lamenting the dice roller in @playrole.bsky.social where Helie rolled very well and everyone else didn't.
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Gwent Stefani
@madadric.bsky.social
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We get some good discussion and deliberation between which move to use in this situation - Firefight or Alpha Strike. Alpha strike is suitable for when you have an enemy dead to rights, but for narrative tension (and a better stat roll) they go with Firefight.
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Gwent Stefani
@madadric.bsky.social
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We then switch to Helie's character Leila's perspective as she faces down the would-be assassin and goes to shoot.
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Gwent Stefani
@madadric.bsky.social
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(I have a whole thread's worth about how the @worldsawaypod.com team adapted Impulse Drive to suit their table and how that is also a part of the game included in the Drifting chapter but let's not go too tangential right now.)
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Gwent Stefani
@madadric.bsky.social
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John also sets up an opportunity for Mo to use a move from his characters custom playbook to influence the crowd. Mo is playing the Icon, a notable figure that represents a movement or ideal and has to deal with political machinations.
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Gwent Stefani
@madadric.bsky.social
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Mo describes Nasir kneeling down to check on Arnaud. Describing his condition, foction and mechanics and we get a joke about him being Hurt Bad, fictionally and mechanically.
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Gwent Stefani
@madadric.bsky.social
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Lauren describes her character Mara rushing to Arnaud, ready to useher expertise and some gear to treat his wound.
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Gwent Stefani
@madadric.bsky.social
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After establishing the mechanical and tactical decisions of the Move, John gets Mike to narrate Arnaud's heroic action. The other players describe what they're doing
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Gwent Stefani
@madadric.bsky.social
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We get to see hear their thinking in the show. The players aren't afraid to put their characters through the wringer because they have a solid understanding of the tools at their disposal and they still have agency of choice in bad situations.
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Gwent Stefani
@madadric.bsky.social
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This system allows players to make tactical and fictionally resonant decisions on how their characters get hurt. It would have been within the rules to convert all of the damage to stress, but the stakes of the situation gav Mike the opportunity to play his character hard.
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Gwent Stefani
@madadric.bsky.social
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1 point is mitigated by Arnaud's rechargable shields, but taking all that damage directly to harm would still kill the character in a single shot. After discussion with the group, Mike decides to mark 3 points as Harm, taking Arnaud to "I'm Hurt Bad" 2 Harm is taken as stress.
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Gwent Stefani
@madadric.bsky.social
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The group runs through what each choice in the Move means in the current situation with some discussion. Mike choses t take all 3 right now instead of holding on the any. The sniper rifle is discharged and deals 6 Harm - a mechancically lethal amount.
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Gwent Stefani
@madadric.bsky.social
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And the tension is released with a good roll, a 10 - an unmitigated success. John still takes a moment to establish the seriousness of the stakes and we get to know what Move mike rolled, Stoic Wall. A thematically perfect move for this situation.
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Gwent Stefani
@madadric.bsky.social
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A tense assassination situation, where the player expresses nervousness about their chances, especially after a string of ...less successful rolls last episode. Delicious tension building by Mike!
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Gwent Stefani
@madadric.bsky.social
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Mike laments that all his playbook Moves run of the Stalwart stat instead of Volatile. There's some fun banter about the Move he's making being "Stalwart as fuck" It's a fun bit, but it's also elevating the mechanical stakes for the players and audience.
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Gwent Stefani
@madadric.bsky.social
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After setting the scene, John, the space master (the master of ceremonies for Impulse Drive) asks for mike, playing Arnaud the Warhorse to make his move in defese of Rivka the speaker.
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Gwent Stefani
@madadric.bsky.social
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The episode opens with a recap to set the stakes - the crew is running security for a political figure making a speech There is a sniper posted nearby taking aim at the speaker, two of the crew near the speaker on stage, &one rushing to intercept the assassin about to snipe her
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Gwent Stefani
@madadric.bsky.social
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I'm going to focus my discussion on the first part of episode 23, so spoilers ahead if that's something that bothers you feel free to bookmark this thread, go listen to several amazing hours of play and performance and then come back to finish reading.
t.co/YxGwCKGT2S
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Gwent Stefani
@madadric.bsky.social
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Now a quick disclaimer, John and the Worlds Away team are playing Impulse Drive, a game I wrote so you could argue I have a vested interest in glazing them up. I do. But I think this also allows me to speak from a position of expertise about the game.
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Gwent Stefani
@madadric.bsky.social
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@worldsawaypod.com just published ep. 23, the climax for their latest arc and I want to gush a little bit and use it as a platform to discuss playing RPGs both as games and as a porformance, and how including table talk like rules discussion & commentary is an important part of play.
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Gwent Stefani
@madadric.bsky.social
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Can a single Move for infiltrating hostile territory and patrolling your own territory work?
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Dan of La Mancha
@knitdan.bsky.social
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This feels like it has BlueSky energy
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Gwent Stefani
@madadric.bsky.social
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Very much so! I think TTRPGs can learn a lot from looking at fun, tactile mechanics a lot of board games have. Playing a game of tetris for item management or the storage of dangerous materials in your secret base, or tapping cards or putting "mana" tokens on a card to use an ability or spell
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Gwent Stefani
@madadric.bsky.social
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squeezing Move text into a card can be squishy though...
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Gwent Stefani
@madadric.bsky.social
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It's a shame POD cards tend to be so expensive because cards solve a lot of problems in TTRPG design space as fard as modularity and customisation are concerned. I also think PBTA Moves on cards is very interesting.
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