A Bit of Game Design History
Saturday, January 02, 2010
From: Tony Dowler
To: John Harper
Date: Tue, Aug 21, 2007 at 1:08 PM
Subject: In a Wicked Age Dice
I have some suggestions of my own for how to handle the stats and dice.
Currently Art, Grace, Guts, and the endeavors have little meaning.
So instead, you have six forms:
1. with violence
2. with love
3. covertly
4. directly
5. for others
6. for myself
Each of your dice is assigned to one of these forms.
Each action you take uses two of the forms, chosen by you.
Your action must reflect the forms narratively.
Each mastery names a form that you must use when you use that mastery.
Each mastery names a form you MAY NOT use with that mastery.Most people don't know that Tony invented that. I was going through old emails today and thought it would be nice to post a reminder.
Labels: iawa
On the Wicked Range...
Wednesday, January 07, 2009
We played In A Wicked Age... last night in a Western setting, and it was great. I'll tell about it in another post.
We used the Western Oracle from Abulafia, plus some custom sheets I made up for the occasion. Figured y'all might be of a mind to download 'em for yer own use. The PDF contains a selection of the Western oracle entries as well as custom Western-themed sheets for PCs and NPCs.
On the Wicked Range PDF [336KB]
[IAWA] Block, Dodge, Take the Blow
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
After fighting the 503 errors on the Forge for an hour (can you tell I'm annoyed?), I was able to read this excellent thread where Vincent explains the resolution system from In a Wicked Age in terms of Block, Dodge, and Take the Blow actions from Dogs in the Vineyard. It's very clever and clear, and should help out anyone who has ever struggled with explaining just how IAWA works.Also worth a read: [IAWA] Breaking Bad Habits
And another one: Describing injury and exhaustion. "I rip his ears off!" Ouch.
Gotham
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Characters:Assistant District Attorney Harvey Dent
The prosecutor. Harvey is an ambitious young man who wants to make cases and make a name for himself. Is justice more important than his career?
Detective Jim Gordon
The investigator. Even though he's new to Gotham, Jim has been around the block. He has an easy, confident way about him. He knows how to do the work and put a case together without cutting corners. Will Gotham corrupt him?
Officer Renee Montoya
The cop. Before being assigned to the Major Crimes Unit, Montoya walked a beat in The Narrows, Gotham's toughest neighborhood. She is as hard as nails and doesn't need to prove anything to anyone. Or does she?
Detective Harvey Bullock
The brute. His cronies in the GCPD will swear up and down that he is a good cop, despite his reputation for taking bribes, police brutality, and ties to organized crime. Harvey always takes the role of "bad cop." Is it just an act?
Lt. Gerard Hennelly
The guns. Jerry runs the Quick Response Team, Gotham's SWAT unit. When it's time to kick down a door, Jerry and his team get the call.
Mario Falcone aka "Roman"
The boss. Mario has fought to establish a powerful criminal enterprise in Gotham and has some of the city government and the police on his payroll. Can he hold on to what he has?
Vincent Hightower aka "Tower"
The dealer. One of Falcone's lieutenants, who runs the drug trade in the Narrows. Poised to make a move and take over territory from his rivals. Will he spark a gang war?
Johnny Crane aka "Scarecrow"
The addict. Johnny is hooked on the heroin that Falcone is pushing in the Narrows. He's almost always high as a kite, but he sees everything that goes on, even if it doesn't always make sense. He sometimes works as a CI for Montoya. Will he make his life work, or succumb to the streets?
Bruce Wayne
The businessman. Wayne runs a powerful Gotham corporation primarily concerned with real estate development, especially in the poorer areas of the city. As the heir of the Wayne family fortune, Bruce's ties to Gotham run deep, connecting him to money and power both legitimate and dirty. Will he profit from human misery, or be an agent for change?
The Kicker:
The Bat
The demon. The bat is a thing of darkness that preys on those whom it deems corrupt and evil. It's a creature of mystery that only a few know to be real and not just urban legend. The Bat has upset the status quo, striking down people of all stripes -- cops, councilmen, criminals, and citizens. Who will learn to summon the demon, and can it be controlled?
-----
This is The Wire meets The Shield with a touch of Sorcerer, in Gotham City.
We'll use the Anthology Engine, modified. Most significantly, the Owe List will apportion screen presence rather than control which characters recur. In other words, the core cast members can always recur, but if you have your name on the Owe List three times then you have SP 3 when you're in an episode. SP can be crossed off for advantage dice as normal and is earned in the usual way (go into conflict with smaller dice).
The Oracle draws will set up the crimes, opportunities, and situations that the cast will have to deal with for a given episode.
While writing this and poking around on Wikipedia, I found out about Gotham Central, which looks like an interesting parallel idea (less demony, I'll wager).
Decemberists Oracle
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
I'm making an oracle for In A Wicked Age based on the songs of The Decemberists, one of my favorite bands. If you know them, you know their lyrics are ripe for this sort of thing.I think I'm off to a good start, but I'm running out of steam at only halfway done. I'd like to have around 50 total (52 to be exact). Here's what I have so far. Please join in the fun!
- A white crane, helpless and bloodied by an arrow, not at all what it seems.
- A luckless mariner, haunted and wild-eyed at the bulwark, bent on revenge.
- The sole survivors of a shipwreck, huddled close and fearful.
- A whispered curse, the last words of an old woman dying from heartbreak.
- A pale and lovely stranger, arrived at moonrise beneath the birch boughs, wielding secret talents.
- A sudden transformation, revealing truths better left concealed.
- A harbor lost within the reeds, home to an ancient sleeper, fouled with piles of tiny bones.
- A new-born babe, foretold by sages, rocked within its cradle of briars.
- The landlord's daughter, threatened with word and pistol at the hands of a wandering rogue.
- A fresh corpse laid to rest by the water's edge, coins for weights upon its eyes.
- A soldier's sweetheart, vigilant for his return against all rumors of his death, beginning to show her condition.
- Two families, locked in a blood feud, muskets at the ready and no quarter given.
- The betrayal of a secret romance, with deadly consequences.
- A gang of murderous youths, knives glinting under the gaslights, the boogeymen of children's lore.
- The ill-timed arrival of a raft of refugees, seeking new homes far from the war.
- The ghost of a soldier, heedless of his fall in battle, marching ever homeward.
- The lamp-lit tent of a teller of fortunes, redolent of cinnamon, cardamom, and myrrh.
- A sickly legionnaire, veteran of exotic wars, the last of his laudanum clutched in his bony hands.
- A veiled young virgin on camelback, the prince's betrothed, conveyed by night to her lover's hiding place.
- A bejeweled palanquin on the back of an elephant, centerpiece of the the Queen's procession.
- A fine robe of gold and silk Arabian thread, the burial robes for one of surprisingly low station.
- A teenage lookout on a signal tower, sentinel for a convocation of burglars.
- A deadly accusation, pointed at the wrong man, but the lie believed.
- A sweaty bagman, dreading watchful agents, anxious to be rid of the evidence.
Crossposted with Story Games.
Labels: iawa
Hellboy BPRD Oracle
Sunday, January 13, 2008
I made a Hellboy BPRD Oracle for use with Vincent's "Anthology Engine" game system (from In A Wicked Age). It gives results like this:- A cadre of battle-hardened mercenaries, in the employ of forces they do not understand.
- The daughter of a great sorcerer, nearing the consummation of her betrothal to a terrible entity.
- The reanimated clockwork body of a long-dead Atlantean science wizard.
- A security professional, assigned to protect an initiate wizard during her journey to her new master.
Labels: iawa
A long time ago...
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
Matt Wilson and I were having fun writing oracle entries (in the style of In A Wicked Age) over email today.- A princess in exile, the keeper of a powerful secret coveted by the wicked.
- The master of a dark order, more machine than man, twisted and evil.
- The commander of a massive battlestation, supremely confident in its powers, heedless of unseen dangers.
- A tough Corellian smuggler, captain of a fast ship, deep in debt to a crime lord.
- A tenacious droid, entrusted with a crucial mission.
- An ancient weapon of light, destined to find the hand of its rightful owner.
- A bug-eyed bounty hunter, determined to rise in the ranks.
- A disfigured outlaw, on the run, with a death sentence on twelve systems.
- A newly-appointed fleet admiral, promoted by the death of his superior.
- An alien spy, trading secrets to the military government of a desert world.
- The local spaceport, a wretched hive of scum and villainy.
Fun!
Labels: iawa