Post by Trailfoot on Mar 23, 2009 9:57:34 GMT -8
It's bad when the admin of a forum isn't sure on the right board to post something in... this is a mechanic, but it's one specifically dealing with the fluff of the setting. But I'm putting it in mechanics 'cause that's how I roll. 
Anyway... there was a question asked earlier about how we're going to do rolls and grids and things. I didn't answer at the time because I was still contemplating it myself. I didn't see a good way to do it, and still don't... if we drop to initiative every time there's a fight, the game will grind to a halt as people with different life schedules try to act in turn order, and that's just not fun at all. Yet... there's a degree of control over events that comes with game mechanics. I actually wrote a long post on the WotC boards earlier about why mechanicless games are a bad idea overall.
So I came up with an idea, and bladedancer helped me flesh it out. This idea is Plot Coupons.
Each player (not each character!) gets a "hand" of plot coupons at the beginning of the campaign. The hand is set (I haven't figured out exactly what it will be) - everyone gets the same selection of cards. A card can be "played" in a post to change something. There are two types of plot cards - Effect Cards and Schrodinger's Cards.
Effect Cards have a specific effect on the game... they change one specific thing. There has to be a way that the new truth can be described that fits with what has already been seen - if Morden kills an NPC important to Quel, Quel can play the "They Survived" effect card. When he does that, the NPC lives through the attack, wounded and unconscious, but they will survive long enough to receive treatment.
Schrodinger's Cards simply change a detail that has not been actively observed (described in a post) yet. If I say that there are barrels in a room, you could play Schrodinger's Card and define what's in the barrels. Schrodinger's Cards come in three varieties:
Schrodinger's Housecat: This modifies a minor detail - the contents of a container, placing a specific book onto a shelf, how sticky the Troglodyte Most Feared's sword is in its scabbard. The new detail has to be something that would reasonably be expected in this situation - the barrel might have fish, but it's unlikely that a barrel that the troglodytes are porting around would have magic healing berries.
Schrodinger's Panther: This modifies a significant detail - places a secret passage behind the bookshelf, makes it so that the villain's lieutenant is actually planning a coup. It can also be used to change a minor detail into something surprising - the bookshelf in the poor peasant's house DOES have the second copy of the Kroninomicon!
Schrodinger's Lion: This modifies a major detail - there's now a huge storm on its way to the Keep, or the King's wineglass was poisoned by his chief advisor. Schrodinger's Lion can modify the campaign's story in major ways.
At the end of a storyline, everyone gets to choose a certain number of used plot cards to replace, though I'm thinking they can't replace used Schrodinger's Lions.
Thoughts?
Anyway... there was a question asked earlier about how we're going to do rolls and grids and things. I didn't answer at the time because I was still contemplating it myself. I didn't see a good way to do it, and still don't... if we drop to initiative every time there's a fight, the game will grind to a halt as people with different life schedules try to act in turn order, and that's just not fun at all. Yet... there's a degree of control over events that comes with game mechanics. I actually wrote a long post on the WotC boards earlier about why mechanicless games are a bad idea overall.
So I came up with an idea, and bladedancer helped me flesh it out. This idea is Plot Coupons.
Each player (not each character!) gets a "hand" of plot coupons at the beginning of the campaign. The hand is set (I haven't figured out exactly what it will be) - everyone gets the same selection of cards. A card can be "played" in a post to change something. There are two types of plot cards - Effect Cards and Schrodinger's Cards.
Effect Cards have a specific effect on the game... they change one specific thing. There has to be a way that the new truth can be described that fits with what has already been seen - if Morden kills an NPC important to Quel, Quel can play the "They Survived" effect card. When he does that, the NPC lives through the attack, wounded and unconscious, but they will survive long enough to receive treatment.
Schrodinger's Cards simply change a detail that has not been actively observed (described in a post) yet. If I say that there are barrels in a room, you could play Schrodinger's Card and define what's in the barrels. Schrodinger's Cards come in three varieties:
Schrodinger's Housecat: This modifies a minor detail - the contents of a container, placing a specific book onto a shelf, how sticky the Troglodyte Most Feared's sword is in its scabbard. The new detail has to be something that would reasonably be expected in this situation - the barrel might have fish, but it's unlikely that a barrel that the troglodytes are porting around would have magic healing berries.
Schrodinger's Panther: This modifies a significant detail - places a secret passage behind the bookshelf, makes it so that the villain's lieutenant is actually planning a coup. It can also be used to change a minor detail into something surprising - the bookshelf in the poor peasant's house DOES have the second copy of the Kroninomicon!
Schrodinger's Lion: This modifies a major detail - there's now a huge storm on its way to the Keep, or the King's wineglass was poisoned by his chief advisor. Schrodinger's Lion can modify the campaign's story in major ways.
At the end of a storyline, everyone gets to choose a certain number of used plot cards to replace, though I'm thinking they can't replace used Schrodinger's Lions.
Thoughts?
