Today’s session of Grant Howitt’s Warrior Poet was much better than the one we played last year. The game has a few funny things going on, mechanically-speaking, particularly as it relates to turn order and scene-framing, but they are issues that can be easily dealt with by doing a bit of house-ruling.
Importantly, we had a lot more fun with the haiku-fueled duels this time around. We put a strict 1-minute time limit on writing each line of haiku, which sped things up considerably. The time restriction also made the process feel a little more duel-like because of the pressure to get your line done quickly. It felt good.
Ultimately, this is one of those odd games every story gamer worth their salt should try out. The character creation process is still one of the most enjoyable out there, and the mechanics are admirably ambitious, even if they need to be massaged a bit. I don’t think I have as much affection for Warrior Poet as Dan does, but I can’t help but respect it as an artistic effort.
Thanks to Daniel Lewis, Jeff Burke and Ferrell Riley for being beautiful today.
I’ll post our haiku record in a comment.
Warrior Poets
A contest of haiku words
Was it fun? Maybe
Warrior Poets
A contest of haiku words
Was it fun? Maybe
Here is our haiku record:
Tongues sharpened like blades
Blades now drawn in jealousy
Jealousy blooms hate
A duel fought in court
A duel of words, without blows
I think she likes me
Foes measuring swords
A lovely maiden looks on
Can violence win hearts?
For a woman’s heart
I was blinded and beaten
I think she likes fire
Hearts like brittle leaves
Easily consumed by flame
Love will die today
Our past we once knew
Opposing forces joining hands
The cursed homeland weeps
Water, fire, and air
Old allies turned enemies
The realm in peril
Saved from Summer’s heat
The astrologer installed
A great debt is owed
Seasonal balance
Prelude to secrets and lies
Ambition takes all
A court decision
Earth clan rises above all
Discontent wells up
Here is our haiku record:
Tongues sharpened like blades
Blades now drawn in jealousy
Jealousy blooms hate
A duel fought in court
A duel of words, without blows
I think she likes me
Foes measuring swords
A lovely maiden looks on
Can violence win hearts?
For a woman’s heart
I was blinded and beaten
I think she likes fire
Hearts like brittle leaves
Easily consumed by flame
Love will die today
Our past we once knew
Opposing forces joining hands
The cursed homeland weeps
Water, fire, and air
Old allies turned enemies
The realm in peril
Saved from Summer’s heat
The astrologer installed
A great debt is owed
Seasonal balance
Prelude to secrets and lies
Ambition takes all
A court decision
Earth clan rises above all
Discontent wells up
I think we’re in dire need of a new edition, now, over a year after release. Aside from the 1-minute restriction on haiku (which I definitely support) what other changes did you make?
I think we’re in dire need of a new edition, now, over a year after release. Aside from the 1-minute restriction on haiku (which I definitely support) what other changes did you make?
I believe the main change was the one minute time limit. We played the rest of the game fairly straight from the rules I believe, Daniel Lewis would have better info.
As one of the players, an area I would like to see revamped would be the actual battling, to me it seemed to have too much back and forth. I did like the fact that there was a choice on “do I interfere or assist, which may cause me to not have a primary narration scene this season”, as that does keep someone from just jumping into every scene.
I’m half and half on suggesting that your character descriptions come in more often. I loved the character creation, helped me perfectly get into character. But it does feel like nothing on it, excepting the glories section, is there just as an elaborate set dressing.
All in all, I like this game, and should you release v.2 I will eagerly devour it! Hopefully my comment has been more on the helpful side, and less the braying of beasts. And thanks for making it 🙂
I believe the main change was the one minute time limit. We played the rest of the game fairly straight from the rules I believe, Daniel Lewis would have better info.
As one of the players, an area I would like to see revamped would be the actual battling, to me it seemed to have too much back and forth. I did like the fact that there was a choice on “do I interfere or assist, which may cause me to not have a primary narration scene this season”, as that does keep someone from just jumping into every scene.
I’m half and half on suggesting that your character descriptions come in more often. I loved the character creation, helped me perfectly get into character. But it does feel like nothing on it, excepting the glories section, is there just as an elaborate set dressing.
All in all, I like this game, and should you release v.2 I will eagerly devour it! Hopefully my comment has been more on the helpful side, and less the braying of beasts. And thanks for making it 🙂
Grant Howitt Like Ferrell said, the only change we made yesterday was the time restriction on writing haiku lines. Having played it a couple of times, though, here are my thoughts on what I would do in a second edition:
1. Allow each player to frame one scene each season, and allow a duel to take place regardless of whether the opposition has already dueled in the same season. As written, the players are incentivized to behave in weird ways, such as passing on opportunities to support other players in order to guarantee they get to frame a scene, or to frame a scene in such a way that no one can oppose them because the natural opposition has already dueled this season.
2. Simplify the end-of-duel process. I think the victor of the duel should get to narrate the final outcome of it, regardless of degree of success. I also think it would be neat if the duel’s judge got to write the resolution haiku.
3. I like it when the story is squarely about these warriors and their problems, desires, and jealousies. A lot of the external threats, at least in our game, felt unnecessary. I realize they are just inspiration for places the story can go, but for a one-shot, just a single, MacGuffin-style plot hook should be sufficient to get the players going.
Anyway, those are my thoughts. I hope they’re helpful.
Grant Howitt Like Ferrell said, the only change we made yesterday was the time restriction on writing haiku lines. Having played it a couple of times, though, here are my thoughts on what I would do in a second edition:
1. Allow each player to frame one scene each season, and allow a duel to take place regardless of whether the opposition has already dueled in the same season. As written, the players are incentivized to behave in weird ways, such as passing on opportunities to support other players in order to guarantee they get to frame a scene, or to frame a scene in such a way that no one can oppose them because the natural opposition has already dueled this season.
2. Simplify the end-of-duel process. I think the victor of the duel should get to narrate the final outcome of it, regardless of degree of success. I also think it would be neat if the duel’s judge got to write the resolution haiku.
3. I like it when the story is squarely about these warriors and their problems, desires, and jealousies. A lot of the external threats, at least in our game, felt unnecessary. I realize they are just inspiration for places the story can go, but for a one-shot, just a single, MacGuffin-style plot hook should be sufficient to get the players going.
Anyway, those are my thoughts. I hope they’re helpful.
It’s always helpful to get feedback!
I’m honestly not happy with Warrior-Poet; it’s a gorgeous idea but it’s kind of unwieldy, in practice. I think there’s a way I can make the duels snappier and more meaningful and, possibly, more like haiku – brief, brisk, slightly out of sync with reality, a slice of an experience.
I’m wary of putting more rules around the chargen to have it as more than set-dressing, mainly due to the GMless nature of the game, but I agree that there should be some payoff for it other than a different colour of dress.
It’s always helpful to get feedback!
I’m honestly not happy with Warrior-Poet; it’s a gorgeous idea but it’s kind of unwieldy, in practice. I think there’s a way I can make the duels snappier and more meaningful and, possibly, more like haiku – brief, brisk, slightly out of sync with reality, a slice of an experience.
I’m wary of putting more rules around the chargen to have it as more than set-dressing, mainly due to the GMless nature of the game, but I agree that there should be some payoff for it other than a different colour of dress.
Yup, the timer was the only change we actually made. Other things I would be tempted to change if I ran it again:
– Make all of the problems facing the kingdom pit two player factions against each other. The “[cult] is going to murder the emperor” and “[rival power] is going to invade us” problems felt really inconsequential. They were each solved through unopposed actions, so they didn’t add much to the story. Pretty much just a cheap way to grab glory.
– The requirement that one participant in each duel hasn’t dueled yet that season leads to weird situations where, if 3 people duel during the first action of the season, for the rest of the season, only the 4th player can stop anyone, so if they don’t antagonize him, they can completely hose each other through unopposed actions.
There definitely needs to be some restrictions on how many duels happen, so every action doesn’t just turn into a 3-way duel, but I think maybe putting a limit on the total number of duels each player can participate in would accomplish the same thing without feeling quite so arbitrary. Like you have 6 boxes on your sheet, you check off one every time you duel, and at the end of your 6th duel you die or fade away.
– I’m going to disagree with Ferrell Riley and say that I think the back and forth of the duels is great. Trading lines of narration feels really cool and duel-y.
Yup, the timer was the only change we actually made. Other things I would be tempted to change if I ran it again:
– Make all of the problems facing the kingdom pit two player factions against each other. The “[cult] is going to murder the emperor” and “[rival power] is going to invade us” problems felt really inconsequential. They were each solved through unopposed actions, so they didn’t add much to the story. Pretty much just a cheap way to grab glory.
– The requirement that one participant in each duel hasn’t dueled yet that season leads to weird situations where, if 3 people duel during the first action of the season, for the rest of the season, only the 4th player can stop anyone, so if they don’t antagonize him, they can completely hose each other through unopposed actions.
There definitely needs to be some restrictions on how many duels happen, so every action doesn’t just turn into a 3-way duel, but I think maybe putting a limit on the total number of duels each player can participate in would accomplish the same thing without feeling quite so arbitrary. Like you have 6 boxes on your sheet, you check off one every time you duel, and at the end of your 6th duel you die or fade away.
– I’m going to disagree with Ferrell Riley and say that I think the back and forth of the duels is great. Trading lines of narration feels really cool and duel-y.
Daniel Lewis Check boxes! That is exactly what this game needs, Grant Howitt 😉
Also, I agree with Dan on the back-and-forth of the duels. I really liked that part, too.
Daniel Lewis Check boxes! That is exactly what this game needs, Grant Howitt 😉
Also, I agree with Dan on the back-and-forth of the duels. I really liked that part, too.
I ment the rule mechanics felt like it was dragging me back and forth. The narration I liked!
I ment the rule mechanics felt like it was dragging me back and forth. The narration I liked!