Comments on: PnP Game Design http://www.cultoftheturtle.com/2010/01/06/pnp-game-design/ Games, turtles and other things Wed, 18 Jan 2012 18:18:49 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 By: Joe Tortuga http://www.cultoftheturtle.com/2010/01/06/pnp-game-design/comment-page-1/#comment-308 Joe Tortuga Wed, 06 Jan 2010 20:55:37 +0000 http://www.cultoftheturtle.com/?p=16#comment-308 There's a game called "Spirit of the Century" which is based on Pulp Adventure Novels (character creation partly involves saying what novels you were in :) where all your attributes are terms the players pick. You can tap them for bad things or they can use them for good things (passing tokens around as 'payment'). The more colorful the attribute, the more it can be stretched and used in game (and there's a player benefit to having it be used against you.) I get the push/pull between gaming and writing. Add in programming and I get yanked three ways. I think that's why I've had such long blank periods of publishing my writing, as I was off doing something else. Now I write about what I'm doing *laugh*. There’s a game called “Spirit of the Century” which is based on Pulp Adventure Novels (character creation partly involves saying what novels you were in :) where all your attributes are terms the players pick. You can tap them for bad things or they can use them for good things (passing tokens around as ‘payment’). The more colorful the attribute, the more it can be stretched and used in game (and there’s a player benefit to having it be used against you.)

I get the push/pull between gaming and writing. Add in programming and I get yanked three ways. I think that’s why I’ve had such long blank periods of publishing my writing, as I was off doing something else. Now I write about what I’m doing *laugh*.

]]> By: Shon http://www.cultoftheturtle.com/2010/01/06/pnp-game-design/comment-page-1/#comment-306 Shon Wed, 06 Jan 2010 19:13:26 +0000 http://www.cultoftheturtle.com/?p=16#comment-306 I pretty much gave up gaming for writing but I went through this a dozen times. Combat is my bane and most D&D games run like WoW these days. The last game I did run was based on rules from Atlas's Over the Edge. I hate running combat too and those rules provided terribly easy rules that I enjoyed. The best part was that players created their own stats. For example, a werewolf had these stats Werewolf- 4 dice Secret Agent- 3 dice Charming guy- 2 Dice When you need a dice roll, you pick the skill that applies. Attacking someone with your claws fell under werewolf. Shooting a gun came under secret agent. Getting the Baroness to look the other way required Charming Guy. The fun came from watching players stretch to explain their abilities which I consider a plus. You want to pick a lock and you think your secret agent skill cover that? Ok. Combat was straight up you roll dice to attack and your foe rolls dice to defend. Damage is the difference multiplied by the weapon. HP eludes me right now but I bet I could rig something together lol. I pretty much gave up gaming for writing but I went through this a dozen times. Combat is my bane and most D&D games run like WoW these days.

The last game I did run was based on rules from Atlas’s Over the Edge. I hate running combat too and those rules provided terribly easy rules that I enjoyed. The best part was that players created their own stats. For example, a werewolf had these stats

Werewolf- 4 dice
Secret Agent- 3 dice
Charming guy- 2 Dice
When you need a dice roll, you pick the skill that applies. Attacking someone with your claws fell under werewolf. Shooting a gun came under secret agent. Getting the Baroness to look the other way required Charming Guy.

The fun came from watching players stretch to explain their abilities which I consider a plus. You want to pick a lock and you think your secret agent skill cover that? Ok.

Combat was straight up you roll dice to attack and your foe rolls dice to defend. Damage is the difference multiplied by the weapon. HP eludes me right now but I bet I could rig something together lol.

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