Tuesday, June 25, 2019

Savage Worlds: Square Up

MOMENTUM
Similar to Conviction in SWADE, Momentum is a new resource that only available to one Wild Card at a time. You gain Momentum when you hit with a Fighting Attack and you lose it when you're hit by one. When you have Momentum, the Multi-Action penalty becomes a bonus (-2 becomes +1, -4 becomes +2, -6 becomes +3). This bonus applies to Attacks (Fighting and Shooting), Grappling, Pushing, Tricks, and thematically appropriate Powers.


ZONES
For larger maps you  might abstract movement from strict unit measurements to zones. If you do, then you need to decide if characters are slippery or sticky. If characters are slippery then you can move from zone to zone without risking Free Attacks from other characters in the zone. If fighters are sticky, then characters are considered in combat when they enter the zone. When they try to leave then they can decide to you escape \Clean or Messy.
Clean- Roll your Running + Wild Die, if you succeed then you avoid Disengaging Strikes.
Messy- Roll Athletics + Wild Die, if you succeed then you avoid Disengaging Strikes but bring all opponents into the next zone with you.


SCALE 
Scale conceptually models mid and final boss characters, denoting martial mastery and power rather than perpetually raising Traits. Higher Rank = high Scale. You lose your Wild Die when you attack a higher Ranked Wild Card (ex: Novice vs Seasoned) and they treat you as an Extra when they strike back, requiring one Raise to take you out.
So save your Bennies.
This also goes the other way, lower Ranked Wild Cards lose their Wild Die when they attack you. When you attack them, you treat them as Extras. Opposing Wild Cards without an Experience Rank are treated as below your Rank.


Monday, June 24, 2019

Sunhome's Shadows: Izzet League

"The only action worth taking is one with an unknown outcome."
Daniel at Detect Magic laid out Mouse Guard's game structure for generalized use and posted an example adaption for a crew of thieves. I'm applying it to the guilds of Ravnica, maybe I'll make it through all 10. I started with the military police force known as the Boros Legion, now following up with the mad scientists of the Izzet League.
 

MISSIONS - Choose 1, should also include field testing some dangerous equipment.
  1.  Acquire - A member of the Izmundi is leaning on you. By hook or by crook you've gotta get the power source, dragon egg, or rare material; otherwise you're never gonna get free. That's how that works, right?
  2.  Repair -Whether an alchemical fire fed by water, a turbine breaking free, or the shattered laws of gravity; Ravnica hosts disasters beyond the usual authorities' abilities. That's when they call you. Maybe you need to contain an industrial accident from getting any worse.
  3.  Sabotage - Maybe they're researching weird containment, experimental metallurgy, or temporal stitching; no way the rival research team rolls out their research project first. The fastest fix is throwing a wrench in their works. Copy it before you destroy it, never know when it'll come in handy.
  4. Observe - The World City is far from fully explored and catalogued. Plumb the Undercity and soothsay the Restless Tomb, or infiltrate the High Halls to transcribe the sphinxes' existential riddles to distract the Firemind. You're only temporary but knowledge is eternal.
ENCOUNTERS - Choose 2
  1.  Bounty Hunters -The Senate, the Legion, and the Conclave could all have good reasons to bring you in and get answers for your... unapproved urban remodeling.
  2. Collectors -Maybe you needed to supplement the research grant with a bit of jingle or pry some secrets from a rival's head since they don't write anything down. Either way, your shady connection is here to collect with interest.
  3. Raid -The Clans and the Cult both like to smash stuff up. Unfortunately they often target the utilities because the way havoc ripples outward.
  4. Interlopers - The League thinks big, often parallel to the Combine's behemoth dreams and the House's dagger-sharp secrets. All three treat intellectual pursuits as a zero-sum game with one winner and 9 losers. They've sent someone to hobble you.
EXAMPLE DOWNTIME ACTIVITIES
  • Research - The League's practical purpose is to push the limits of knowledge and find out more, more, more, about how the plane works. Get your head in the lab and
  • Schmooze - In an organization as egocentric as the League, it's important to associate with the right people, attend some salons, and be seen in orbits of influence. Remember that chaos is a ladder and you might find yourself uniquely positioned.
  • Community Service -If you mess something up you can always turn around public perception with some gladhanding and performative humility. Doesn't really matter how bad the accident is, memories are short.
  • Recovery - Knowledge work is still work. Sleep in. Sip some fine brandy. Kick your feet up. Whatever it takes to forget the lab and the toxic gas leaking into the neighborhood.

Friday, June 7, 2019

Sunhome's Shadows: The Boros Legion

"When I meditate I see the world as it should be. All that does not fit, I remove." 
- Alovnek, Boros guildmage


Daniel at Detect Magic laid out Mouse Guard's game structure for more general use and an example adaption for a crew of thieves. I'm going to adapt the structure for Ravnica's various guilds, starting with the military police - the Boros Legion. I also included some example downtime activities.

This is a conceptual warm up for the 5e Ravnica game I'm running tonight for some of my fellow Minionworks members.

MISSIONS - Choose 1
  1.  Investigate - Uncover a spy in your midst, trace a Legionary who's skipped duty, or probe the neighborhood after a crime. Spice it up with murder and/or body snatching.
  2.  Arrest - Gruul raiders, Orzhov racketeers, and Rakdos demagogues sow disorder and discontent among the Guildless. Bring 'em in and adjust their attitude.
  3.  Intervention - Whether it's elementals amok, rioting, disaster or Selesnya beautification outta hand; sometimes you gotta suit up and get involved.
  4. Cover Up - Absolve a fellow Legionnaire or yourselves. Steal evidence, intimidate witnesses, and cut backroom deals if you have to.
ENCOUNTERS - Choose 2
  1. Rowdy Citizenry - Vigilance committees, guild affiliated gangs, and guildless hooligans all threaten the Boros' Guildpact mandate on legitimized violence. Don't let them skate.
  2. Rival Officers - The Legion, the Senate, and the Syndicate all pursue the same thing - Order. They just don't agree how to establish it.; violently, preemptively, or economically. Hold the line.
  3. Wilderness - Giants, beasts, and unnatural weather. Ravnica is so close to being tamed by urban planning that the remaining wilderness fights back with tusk and thorn. Prune the hedge.
  4. Interlopers - Take the wrong turn and you stumble onto something you shouldn't have. Maybe the Shattergang Brothers or the Cult of Yore. Maybe House Dimir, the mythical tenth Guild. Straighten them out.
EXAMPLE DOWNTIME ACTIVITIES
  • Ongoing Investigation - Maybe someone killed your mom and it was closed to no conclusion. Maybe you're haunted by the look in the deceased's eye. Maybe your mentor killed himself and you need to know - why?
  • Getting Out - You've seen one bad thing too many and the Legion doesn't like to let go. You'll need leverage if you want out of their grip.
  • Unwinding - After a long day of training for war that will never come and putting boots to asses, you need to let you hair down; grab a drink, catch a show, or play some cards.
  • Getting Even - Someone screwed you over and no one gets away with screwing you. Likely suspects are: an Azorious arrester beating you to a collar,a Golgari findbroker refusing the release evidence, or a Simic honeypot who's blackmailing you. Maybe an advokist won't leave you alone for using excessive force last month.