Anyone want to critique my prep for a one-shot I’m running on Friday?
(its setting is Tyria from Guild Wars 2, hence the different races present)
Anyone want to critique my prep for a one-shot I’m running on Friday?
Anyone want to critique my prep for a one-shot I’m running on Friday?
It’s very interesting. I’d love to know how the custom moves work in practice. In a weird way, they remind me of my Labyrinth Move in that there is this really high level of abstraction to it. That abstraction is helpful in the context of a vast labyrinth, because no one has time to map out all those details (much less play them). I’m curious what will be gained by abstracting out the sort of forensic details of an investigation versus just using a combination of DR and Spout Lore. I’m not criticizing it at all (on the contrary: I think it’s really interesting), but I’m curious about your goals there.
It’s very interesting. I’d love to know how the custom moves work in practice. In a weird way, they remind me of my Labyrinth Move in that there is this really high level of abstraction to it. That abstraction is helpful in the context of a vast labyrinth, because no one has time to map out all those details (much less play them). I’m curious what will be gained by abstracting out the sort of forensic details of an investigation versus just using a combination of DR and Spout Lore. I’m not criticizing it at all (on the contrary: I think it’s really interesting), but I’m curious about your goals there.
The Labyrinth move was definitely the inspiration. Well, that and, oddly enough, Goblin Quest. The goal for me was to add a strong sense of forward progression. Part of this was due to the nervousness of creating a mystery-style game without knowing exactly what the mystery would be, so I wanted to make sure that there were mechanics in place that would lead the party to a resolution. Also, I designed this as a one-shot, and so I wanted to make sure a resolution was possible within the confines of an evening of play. Whenever I play DW, things tend to spiral out.
I’m still debating whether or not to use them. I actually added them pretty last minute. I think that’s because of my desire to always tinker with and try new mechanics.
Actually, now that I think of it, the CLUE system might work better as GM notes taken behind the screen rather than explicit custom moves.
The Labyrinth move was definitely the inspiration. Well, that and, oddly enough, Goblin Quest. The goal for me was to add a strong sense of forward progression. Part of this was due to the nervousness of creating a mystery-style game without knowing exactly what the mystery would be, so I wanted to make sure that there were mechanics in place that would lead the party to a resolution. Also, I designed this as a one-shot, and so I wanted to make sure a resolution was possible within the confines of an evening of play. Whenever I play DW, things tend to spiral out.
I’m still debating whether or not to use them. I actually added them pretty last minute. I think that’s because of my desire to always tinker with and try new mechanics.
Actually, now that I think of it, the CLUE system might work better as GM notes taken behind the screen rather than explicit custom moves.
Try it! I’d like to know how it works.
Try it! I’d like to know how it works.
So, ended up completely abandoning it. Was going to use it but everything the players were doing kept advancing the plot and I felt no need to. And when the pace slowed down, I just started throwing enemies at them until they figured it out. I do think adding the move was really a mixture of me not being confident enough in my prep and improv skills (probably due to this being for a group of strangers who were also noobs) and just wanting to try new things, but it was pretty clear early on that they were unnecessary when playing. And the players seemed to really like the game.
So, ended up completely abandoning it. Was going to use it but everything the players were doing kept advancing the plot and I felt no need to. And when the pace slowed down, I just started throwing enemies at them until they figured it out. I do think adding the move was really a mixture of me not being confident enough in my prep and improv skills (probably due to this being for a group of strangers who were also noobs) and just wanting to try new things, but it was pretty clear early on that they were unnecessary when playing. And the players seemed to really like the game.
Devin White I thought that’s how it might end up. Kudos for being able to intuit that and adjust on the fly. It’s too bad you didn’t get to experiment with a new move, but it was probably better to do so with a more seasoned DW group anyway. I’m glad they had fun.
Devin White I thought that’s how it might end up. Kudos for being able to intuit that and adjust on the fly. It’s too bad you didn’t get to experiment with a new move, but it was probably better to do so with a more seasoned DW group anyway. I’m glad they had fun.
I think the move might get some more use out of a mystery with a slower burn. I can imagine rolling+CHA could be used for talking to people on a street looking for witnesses or +INT when you are looking at a body trying to find cause of death.
I think the move might get some more use out of a mystery with a slower burn. I can imagine rolling+CHA could be used for talking to people on a street looking for witnesses or +INT when you are looking at a body trying to find cause of death.