I like the fel of this game, and you've done a good job of expressing that feel in your writing.
Question/suggestion: can the player of a dead character still spend compassion? I can see the recollection of a fallen colleague being inspiring.
Entry: Terra Nova
18 posts
• Page 2 of 2 • 1, 2
by rpoppe » Mon Mar 13, 2006 1:32 pm
Hi Doug,
I had assumed so, but I need to make that clear. Thanks for raising that. I really wanted this game to include flashbacks and fever dreams also, but the time frame is just too tight. I don't think I'll be able to.
I had assumed so, but I need to make that clear. Thanks for raising that. I really wanted this game to include flashbacks and fever dreams also, but the time frame is just too tight. I don't think I'll be able to.
- rpoppe
- Marmoset
- Posts: 55
- Joined: Thu Mar 09, 2006 1:50 pm
by Mark Bravura » Mon Mar 13, 2006 1:53 pm
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I'd very much like some feedback, if anybody is interested. The card mechanic is taking shape and is pretty solid, but I'm interested in how to promote the role-playing element within what amounts to a ten minute scene repeated ten times.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I think you ideas with flashbacks would definately provide a good role-playing element, provided you can, indeed, fit it in. This looks like it'll be a real pleasure to play, with an [almost] "wooden ships and iron men" feel to it.
Keep up the good work!
M.B.
I'd very much like some feedback, if anybody is interested. The card mechanic is taking shape and is pretty solid, but I'm interested in how to promote the role-playing element within what amounts to a ten minute scene repeated ten times.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I think you ideas with flashbacks would definately provide a good role-playing element, provided you can, indeed, fit it in. This looks like it'll be a real pleasure to play, with an [almost] "wooden ships and iron men" feel to it.
Keep up the good work!
M.B.
- Mark Bravura
- Tamarin
- Posts: 34
- Joined: Mon Mar 13, 2006 11:54 am
by rpoppe » Mon Mar 13, 2006 5:38 pm
I dorked out today and went to the library, digging up a couple of absolute gems, to whit:
Leonard Huxley, ed. Scott's Last Expedition, Vol. I. Being the Journals of Captain R. F. Scott, R.N., C.V.O. New York: Dodd, Mead and Company, 1913.
Leonard Huxley, ed. Scott's Last Expedition, Vol. II. Being the Reports of the Journeys and the Scientific Work Undertaken by Dr. E. A. Wilson and the Surviving Members of the Expedition. New York: Dodd, Mead and Company, 1913.
Two volumes of undiluted amazingness. I scanned about a million photographs and paintings that are super inspiring, including a wonderfully morbid 1913 Punch cartoon. I know Game Chef isn't about the art, but man:
If this game is fun I'm totally going to publish it, so I scanned everything at 600 dpi.
Leonard Huxley, ed. Scott's Last Expedition, Vol. I. Being the Journals of Captain R. F. Scott, R.N., C.V.O. New York: Dodd, Mead and Company, 1913.
Leonard Huxley, ed. Scott's Last Expedition, Vol. II. Being the Reports of the Journeys and the Scientific Work Undertaken by Dr. E. A. Wilson and the Surviving Members of the Expedition. New York: Dodd, Mead and Company, 1913.
Two volumes of undiluted amazingness. I scanned about a million photographs and paintings that are super inspiring, including a wonderfully morbid 1913 Punch cartoon. I know Game Chef isn't about the art, but man:
If this game is fun I'm totally going to publish it, so I scanned everything at 600 dpi.
- rpoppe
- Marmoset
- Posts: 55
- Joined: Thu Mar 09, 2006 1:50 pm
by Mark Bravura » Mon Mar 13, 2006 5:52 pm
I gotta give you Serious Accolades- you definately take your Game Design above and beyond the call of duty!
M.B.
M.B.
- Mark Bravura
- Tamarin
- Posts: 34
- Joined: Mon Mar 13, 2006 11:54 am
by rpoppe » Tue Mar 14, 2006 11:05 am
Here's the hardships fleshed out a bit with suggestions and examples. What do you think?
HARDSHIPS
When a quality falls to zero, the character is faltering. A character beyond the breaking point will rave, or scheme, or lash out. Without aid from other characters, anyone with a quality at zero cannot march on their own. They will need to be carried or pulled.
When a character descends to this state of affairs, one of three things can happen.
1. Someone can spend a point of compassion to raise the quality above zero. In this case, the character can function normally.
2. Another character can sacrifice a point in the same quality that has reached zero in their team-mate, lowering their own by one, in order to bring the degraded character along on the journey. With this option, the poor wretch remains at zero.
3. If no one is able to - or wishes to - assist, the degraded character must be abandoned, and dies immediately.
The player of a character past the breaking point has the privilege of narrating their descent into the pit.
When the physical, mental, or social pressure becomes intolerable, hardship follows. Sometimes a man will keep his dangerous passions well in hand, and other times he'll be pushed over a precipice of insanity, lashing out. In these cases, the underlying raving and scheming was obviously well-hidden from the team by pride, vanity, and a sense of duty. If Captain Scott's player is particularly perceptive, he'll recognize this is gentlemanly behavior in extremis.
SLIPPING DISCIPLINE
The quintessential stiff upper lip will carry the burden only so far. Discipline can refer to general misbehavior - refusing to obey an order, for example - but it can also indicate a lapse in self-discipline. When the heavy hand keeping a character's terror in check begins to shake, all hell can break loose.
If the low card is a two, hallucinations creep in.
- He thought he put new hay in everyone's finnesko boots, but he didn't.
- He saw a pony, or a dog, or a Norwegian darting among the nunataks.
- His hand, hideously blistered with frostbite, doesn't hurt at all.
If the low card is a five, there is a breakdown involving paranoia.
- He insists on sleeping by the tent door, "so he can get away".
- He second guesses every command.
- He checks the team supply of morphia before every meal "so he won't be poisoned".
If the low card is an eight, something valuable will be destroyed. The player whose character is experiencing the hardship must choose to involve another character in his narration, and that player muse lower a quality of his own choice (it need not be discipline) by one.
- He lost his sledgeometer (a sort of pedometer for gauging distance traveled) on the march; it is lost in the snow forever.
- He carelessly cracked a sledge runner dragging it over rock-hard sastrugi.
- He used pages ripped from the geologic notebook to prime the stove.
If the low card is a Jack, group discipline fails, and chaos ensues. This is a rare and serious problem. Everyone is involved in the scene, and everyone loses a point of discipline. A wave of frantic chaos washes over the entire team - perhaps panic, perhaps terror, perhaps lunatic insubordination.
FADING HOPE
If the low card is a three, a character slips into fantasy.
- He talks endlessly about chocolate bars.
- He has an impassioned conversation with an imaginary companion.
- He obsesses over the details of his wife's daily life.
If the low card is a six, someone begins to have suicidal thoughts.
- He spends more and more time alone in the snow.
- He begins to make dangerous mistakes, like leaving his snow goggles around his neck instead of wearing them.
- He begins to talk openly about ending his misery.
If the low card is a nine, a character engages in self destruction. The player whose character is experiencing the hardship must choose to involve another character in his narration, and that player muse lower a quality of his own choice (it need not be hope) by one.
- He tries to end his life by stealing morphia from the medical kit.
- He deliberately cuts his hand "to keep from having to haul any more".
- He walks out into the polar night unannounced and unequipped.
If the low card is a Queen, the entire team falls into an orgy of self-destruction. Perhaps, in despair, Scott simply stops pushing them - they set up camp and spend a day in utter, despondent silence. Everyone is involved in the scene, and everyone loses a point of hope.
WANING STRENGTH
If the low card is a four, the character deceives his team.
- He denies the obvious agony his injuries are causing him.
- He lies to them about elapsed distance "to give them hope".
- He covers up for his exhausted lagging with elaborate stories.
If the low card is a seven, the character collapses.
- He has a gruesomely frostbitten extremity, like finger, knuckle, or nose.
- He is, literally, worn to the bone and badly dehydrated.
- He has scurvy and is horrendously undernourished.
If the low card is a ten, the character consumes resources he shouldn't. The player whose character is experiencing the hardship must choose to involve another character in his narration, and that player muse lower a quality of his own choice (it need not be strength) by one.
- He secretly takes medicine "to stay on an even keel".
- He burns extra fuel the team can ill afford to lose, maybe to make extra water to drink to quench his thirst.
- He sneaks extra food whenever he can.
If the low card is a King, everyone abandons pretense and tears into the supplies like the starving, desperate men that they are. Everyone is involved in the scene, and everyone loses a point of hope.
EXAMPLE
Bill, playing Wilson, is forced to lower his hope to zero. The card that caused the crisis was a nine, which indicates self destruction - Bill narrates Wilson breaking down and walking out into the blizzard in his underclothes, determined to die.
Leland, playing Oates, has a six of hearts as one of his compassion cards. If he plays it, he can completely restore Wilson's hope to its original level. Unfortunately Leland and Bill have made a show of their character's dislike for one another, and Oates isn't about the help the poor doctor.
Pete, playing Bowers, doesn't want to see the doctor die. He's out of compassion cards - if he had one, he could use it to raise Wilson's hope to one and save him. Instead, Pete narrates charging out into the storm to retrieve the suicidal doctor, sacrificing a point of his own hope just to drag him along and keep him alive another week. It's a fool's bargain, but the right thing to do.
HARDSHIPS
When a quality falls to zero, the character is faltering. A character beyond the breaking point will rave, or scheme, or lash out. Without aid from other characters, anyone with a quality at zero cannot march on their own. They will need to be carried or pulled.
When a character descends to this state of affairs, one of three things can happen.
1. Someone can spend a point of compassion to raise the quality above zero. In this case, the character can function normally.
2. Another character can sacrifice a point in the same quality that has reached zero in their team-mate, lowering their own by one, in order to bring the degraded character along on the journey. With this option, the poor wretch remains at zero.
3. If no one is able to - or wishes to - assist, the degraded character must be abandoned, and dies immediately.
The player of a character past the breaking point has the privilege of narrating their descent into the pit.
When the physical, mental, or social pressure becomes intolerable, hardship follows. Sometimes a man will keep his dangerous passions well in hand, and other times he'll be pushed over a precipice of insanity, lashing out. In these cases, the underlying raving and scheming was obviously well-hidden from the team by pride, vanity, and a sense of duty. If Captain Scott's player is particularly perceptive, he'll recognize this is gentlemanly behavior in extremis.
SLIPPING DISCIPLINE
The quintessential stiff upper lip will carry the burden only so far. Discipline can refer to general misbehavior - refusing to obey an order, for example - but it can also indicate a lapse in self-discipline. When the heavy hand keeping a character's terror in check begins to shake, all hell can break loose.
If the low card is a two, hallucinations creep in.
- He thought he put new hay in everyone's finnesko boots, but he didn't.
- He saw a pony, or a dog, or a Norwegian darting among the nunataks.
- His hand, hideously blistered with frostbite, doesn't hurt at all.
If the low card is a five, there is a breakdown involving paranoia.
- He insists on sleeping by the tent door, "so he can get away".
- He second guesses every command.
- He checks the team supply of morphia before every meal "so he won't be poisoned".
If the low card is an eight, something valuable will be destroyed. The player whose character is experiencing the hardship must choose to involve another character in his narration, and that player muse lower a quality of his own choice (it need not be discipline) by one.
- He lost his sledgeometer (a sort of pedometer for gauging distance traveled) on the march; it is lost in the snow forever.
- He carelessly cracked a sledge runner dragging it over rock-hard sastrugi.
- He used pages ripped from the geologic notebook to prime the stove.
If the low card is a Jack, group discipline fails, and chaos ensues. This is a rare and serious problem. Everyone is involved in the scene, and everyone loses a point of discipline. A wave of frantic chaos washes over the entire team - perhaps panic, perhaps terror, perhaps lunatic insubordination.
FADING HOPE
If the low card is a three, a character slips into fantasy.
- He talks endlessly about chocolate bars.
- He has an impassioned conversation with an imaginary companion.
- He obsesses over the details of his wife's daily life.
If the low card is a six, someone begins to have suicidal thoughts.
- He spends more and more time alone in the snow.
- He begins to make dangerous mistakes, like leaving his snow goggles around his neck instead of wearing them.
- He begins to talk openly about ending his misery.
If the low card is a nine, a character engages in self destruction. The player whose character is experiencing the hardship must choose to involve another character in his narration, and that player muse lower a quality of his own choice (it need not be hope) by one.
- He tries to end his life by stealing morphia from the medical kit.
- He deliberately cuts his hand "to keep from having to haul any more".
- He walks out into the polar night unannounced and unequipped.
If the low card is a Queen, the entire team falls into an orgy of self-destruction. Perhaps, in despair, Scott simply stops pushing them - they set up camp and spend a day in utter, despondent silence. Everyone is involved in the scene, and everyone loses a point of hope.
WANING STRENGTH
If the low card is a four, the character deceives his team.
- He denies the obvious agony his injuries are causing him.
- He lies to them about elapsed distance "to give them hope".
- He covers up for his exhausted lagging with elaborate stories.
If the low card is a seven, the character collapses.
- He has a gruesomely frostbitten extremity, like finger, knuckle, or nose.
- He is, literally, worn to the bone and badly dehydrated.
- He has scurvy and is horrendously undernourished.
If the low card is a ten, the character consumes resources he shouldn't. The player whose character is experiencing the hardship must choose to involve another character in his narration, and that player muse lower a quality of his own choice (it need not be strength) by one.
- He secretly takes medicine "to stay on an even keel".
- He burns extra fuel the team can ill afford to lose, maybe to make extra water to drink to quench his thirst.
- He sneaks extra food whenever he can.
If the low card is a King, everyone abandons pretense and tears into the supplies like the starving, desperate men that they are. Everyone is involved in the scene, and everyone loses a point of hope.
EXAMPLE
Bill, playing Wilson, is forced to lower his hope to zero. The card that caused the crisis was a nine, which indicates self destruction - Bill narrates Wilson breaking down and walking out into the blizzard in his underclothes, determined to die.
Leland, playing Oates, has a six of hearts as one of his compassion cards. If he plays it, he can completely restore Wilson's hope to its original level. Unfortunately Leland and Bill have made a show of their character's dislike for one another, and Oates isn't about the help the poor doctor.
Pete, playing Bowers, doesn't want to see the doctor die. He's out of compassion cards - if he had one, he could use it to raise Wilson's hope to one and save him. Instead, Pete narrates charging out into the storm to retrieve the suicidal doctor, sacrificing a point of his own hope just to drag him along and keep him alive another week. It's a fool's bargain, but the right thing to do.
- rpoppe
- Marmoset
- Posts: 55
- Joined: Thu Mar 09, 2006 1:50 pm
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