I’ve had a game concept rattling in my brain for a little while, ever since I picked up and read #DungeonWorld, and…

I’ve had a game concept rattling in my brain for a little while, ever since I picked up and read #DungeonWorld, and…

I’ve had a game concept rattling in my brain for a little while, ever since I picked up and read #DungeonWorld, and I’m wondering if a similar #PbtA game exists already.

Back in 2E AD&D, a setting called Birthright existed – perhaps you may have heard of it? Anyway, the idea was that each player’s character was the ruler of a region. Each turn, the leader made decisions for the military, economy, and other domestic and foreign policies. Each player took their turn, and where conflict arose, dice were rolled.

Anyway, I thought that perhaps this could be made to work in a PbtA system by stitching together Dungeon World and Legacy – Life Among The Ruins. Of course, the Family moves from Legacy might have to be amped up to fit a Kingdom/Principality/Earldom/etc..

Just a thought exercise, but I’m curious if anyone had done this before, or what your thoughts may be.

22 thoughts on “I’ve had a game concept rattling in my brain for a little while, ever since I picked up and read #DungeonWorld, and…”

  1. Luke Green I mentioned Legacy in my post – it is geared toward a “Family,” so the concepts therein would need to be pumped up a bit in scope to give it a “kingdom” flavor.

  2. Luke Green I mentioned Legacy in my post – it is geared toward a “Family,” so the concepts therein would need to be pumped up a bit in scope to give it a “kingdom” flavor.

  3. Yes, but the family is the basic social unit upon which all the others we have were based. It’s just a matter of the scaling a la the Fate Fractal.  I could suggest that you look at Void Star Games’ Strands of Fate as it has some useful advice on adjusting scale while keeping to the same mechanics. It’s gameplay is not my favorite form of Fate (though I quite enjoy the character creation) and it is $9.99 for a pdf, so I’m not sure how much you want to take that advice, but in general, Fate and the concept of the Fate Fractal can easily be used to ramp up PbtA mechanics to represent larger groups.

  4. Yes, but the family is the basic social unit upon which all the others we have were based. It’s just a matter of the scaling a la the Fate Fractal.  I could suggest that you look at Void Star Games’ Strands of Fate as it has some useful advice on adjusting scale while keeping to the same mechanics. It’s gameplay is not my favorite form of Fate (though I quite enjoy the character creation) and it is $9.99 for a pdf, so I’m not sure how much you want to take that advice, but in general, Fate and the concept of the Fate Fractal can easily be used to ramp up PbtA mechanics to represent larger groups.

  5. Luke Green Interesting – I’ve heard of Strands Of Fate, and am aware of the Fate fractal. I’ll think about this some more. Thanks for the tip!

  6. Luke Green Interesting – I’ve heard of Strands Of Fate, and am aware of the Fate fractal. I’ll think about this some more. Thanks for the tip!

  7. Interesting, Mark Perotti. I don’t know of anything PbtA that does that precise thing, but there are some low fantasy PbtA games in which lords and holdings play a prominent role. AW: Dark Ages had something like that (but who the hell knows what’s going on with it), and I believe SCUP does so as well.

  8. Interesting, Mark Perotti. I don’t know of anything PbtA that does that precise thing, but there are some low fantasy PbtA games in which lords and holdings play a prominent role. AW: Dark Ages had something like that (but who the hell knows what’s going on with it), and I believe SCUP does so as well.

  9. The other thing about Birthright is that the rulers have inherited some level of divine power which grows as they gain followers or influence so that there is a demonstrable difference between the common mage and a scion from a bloodline. The setting really plays up the divine right of kings angle.

  10. The other thing about Birthright is that the rulers have inherited some level of divine power which grows as they gain followers or influence so that there is a demonstrable difference between the common mage and a scion from a bloodline. The setting really plays up the divine right of kings angle.

  11. Luke Green The divinity possibly could be simulated by added basic move(s), or just covered by Dungeon World’s conceit that the PCs are “special” in the world. I’m not sure how that would work, to be honest.

    Jason Cordova I’m not familiar with AW:Dark Ages or SCUP. I will look into them. Thank you!

  12. Luke Green The divinity possibly could be simulated by added basic move(s), or just covered by Dungeon World’s conceit that the PCs are “special” in the world. I’m not sure how that would work, to be honest.

    Jason Cordova I’m not familiar with AW:Dark Ages or SCUP. I will look into them. Thank you!

  13. I’d look at the Nova from Masks. It has a Burn move that can be used to simulate semi-divine miracles by a leader. Combine with elements of the “Dealing with…” Moves from MotW Professional and Initiate for their organizations. Success gives you consequence free hold that can power your miracles. Failure implies a disruption in your domain affecting you’re divinity.

    Though the available miracles would likely be more subtle than the Flares for the Nova are.

    Corruption in a ley line, active rebels trying to overthrow an empowered tyrant, whispers of a scandal for a priest, etc.

  14. I’d look at the Nova from Masks. It has a Burn move that can be used to simulate semi-divine miracles by a leader. Combine with elements of the “Dealing with…” Moves from MotW Professional and Initiate for their organizations. Success gives you consequence free hold that can power your miracles. Failure implies a disruption in your domain affecting you’re divinity.

    Though the available miracles would likely be more subtle than the Flares for the Nova are.

    Corruption in a ley line, active rebels trying to overthrow an empowered tyrant, whispers of a scandal for a priest, etc.

  15. Jason Cordova Is AW: Dark Age not officially released yet? A quick Google-Fu move finds nothing other than playtests and previews. Perhaps I rolled a 6-.

  16. Jason Cordova Is AW: Dark Age not officially released yet? A quick Google-Fu move finds nothing other than playtests and previews. Perhaps I rolled a 6-.

Comments are closed.