Foresworn Confessions — Week Two

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I worked more than 55 hours this week. Plus the standard “taking care of the family” obligations. And my temptress of a wife is upstairs saying “there’s a retelling of Taming of the Shrew on BBC America.” These are the things that stand between me and a finished game. But the overtime is the truly the biggest culprit. Thus:

Forgive me, Foresworn, for I have slaved. It’s been one week since my last confession.

My goals for this week were:

  • Settle on a list of resources and stats (i.e., be able to write up game stats for a character)
  • Stat out two example characters
  • Self-test the die-rolling mechanic with said characters

I only got the first two done this week. The self-testing will move to goals for next week. Life happens.

Here’s a little more about Foresworn. It’s a game about knights and feudal society. But not about chivalry. It’s about upholding one’s oaths when the only code of behavior is the one you make for yourself.

Being me, I’m not interested in details of Setting and evocative Color. I want Situation. All. The. Time.

Characters have a number of Oaths, that give them certain abilities, but if you break your Oath, you lose said ability. Foresworn will require the players to manage Resources (finite, expendable dice that are generated by villages, manors, orders, and other social groups) and their own Stats (reusable dice that belong to an individual character) to acheive the goals required of them by their Oaths. Here are the Resources and the Stats:

Color Description Resource Stat
Green physical needs Food Body
Yellow wealth of the world Goods Skill
Blue the pull of society and the approval of one’s peers Standing Charisma
Red violence Might Ferocity
White spirituality and insight Wisdom Soul

I also statted up Sir Stone, a young knight in love with Agnes, the youngest daughter of the head of his order, and Sir Will, the head of the order who has promised that Agnes will enter the local nunnery. You don’t get to see them, yet.

In the coming week I intend to:

  • Self-test the die-rolling mechanic with Sir Stone and Sir Will (probably w/ Agnes thrown in for luck)
  • Write up at least ten different Oaths, one focusing most heavily on each of the 5 Stats and 5 Resources.

Next weekend is Labor Day, so I may hold off on updating this until Monday.

4 thoughts on “Foresworn Confessions — Week Two”

  1. Keep on steppin’.
    Maybe you didn’t take all of the steps you wanted to take but you took steps.
    Rock on and keep on putting one foot in front of the other until you are at Dreamation ’07, running this game for me and some of my Ithaca buddies.
    But don’t get blinded by the horizon.
    A few more steps this week.
    Good luck, Michael.

  2. Keep on steppin’.
    Maybe you didn’t take all of the steps you wanted to take but you took steps.
    Rock on and keep on putting one foot in front of the other until you are at Dreamation ’07, running this game for me and some of my Ithaca buddies.
    But don’t get blinded by the horizon.
    A few more steps this week.
    Good luck, Michael.

  3. I love reading your progress Michael – it’s interesting, and more selfishly important, inspiring. I will try to emulate. Shit. There is no try, there is only… I will emulate the Master.

  4. I love reading your progress Michael – it’s interesting, and more selfishly important, inspiring. I will try to emulate. Shit. There is no try, there is only… I will emulate the Master.

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