By The Stars — Sickness & Health — Week Thirty

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It’s Monday morning and I should be recovering from a too-full day of too-much gaming fun at NYC’s RECESS yesterday. Instead, I’m recovering from a nasty stomach flu that filched most of my weekend from me. I’m frustrated for not being able to go to RECESS, confer w/ the NYC nerds, actually play some games. But it’s times like these when it’s hardest–and most important–to remember:

Falling down isn’t important. Standing up is.

I’ve got less than two weeks to prepare for my first open playtest. I’ll be using the WGP… enrichment process for the core resolution mechanic, but I need something that will force players to take actions that betray their Oaths. But it can’t be linked to a random event or a flip of a certain card. It must be clearly caused by their early decisions. I’m thinking of a sort of “favor” exchange system, where you can avoid the consequences of a failed conflict by giving your opponent one of your favor tokens. You’ll have a number of favor tokens, and can keep on dodging repercussions, until one of the other players amasses more of your favor tokens than you have and decides to cash them in. Then, you need to do what they ask of you, or destroy part of your own character to get out of it.

Thoughts?

16 thoughts on “By The Stars — Sickness & Health — Week Thirty”

  1. Michael,
    You want a resolution mechanic to enforce corruption and self-betrayal? That sounds like what’s missing from Sorcerer… 😉
    P.S. Sorry to hear about the stomach flu… viruses can really make life miserable, can’t they?

  2. I’m thinking of a sort of “favor” exchange system, where you can avoid the consequences of a failed conflict by giving your opponent one of your favor tokens.
    I LOVE this idea!
    should the Cashing in of Favor tokens wait until a player has a certain amount-
    There could be a scale of what kind of thing vs. chips cast.
    1 chip = verbal sell out of Oath
    2 chips = a neglect of Oath
    3 chips = an act against an Oath
    4 chips = making MY Oath a higher priority than your oath….
    or something like that.
    -kat

  3. Michael,
    You want a resolution mechanic to enforce corruption and self-betrayal? That sounds like what’s missing from Sorcerer… 😉
    P.S. Sorry to hear about the stomach flu… viruses can really make life miserable, can’t they?

  4. I’m thinking of a sort of “favor” exchange system, where you can avoid the consequences of a failed conflict by giving your opponent one of your favor tokens.
    I LOVE this idea!
    should the Cashing in of Favor tokens wait until a player has a certain amount-
    There could be a scale of what kind of thing vs. chips cast.
    1 chip = verbal sell out of Oath
    2 chips = a neglect of Oath
    3 chips = an act against an Oath
    4 chips = making MY Oath a higher priority than your oath….
    or something like that.
    -kat

    • By “cash them in” I mean that if you have a bunch of my favor tokens and you want me to betray my Oath, then you give them back to me and I have to do what you want me to.
      Incidentally, since every character has one Oath that will focus on rewriting another character’s Oath, everyone has a reason to work against someone.

      • Ok, that was the part I was missing. If the players have an Oath that require them to rewrite someone else’s Oath that would be the incentive. Is it your intention to have By The Stars as a competitive game as opposed to cooperative?

        • Both competetive and cooperative. Since I want the game to run without a GM, other players will have to provide adversity. But there will be similarities of interest–Everyone has 3 Oaths. #1 is something you want for yourself. #2 is something you want for someone else. #3 is to rewrite someone else’s Oath #1 or #2.

  7. By “cash them in” I mean that if you have a bunch of my favor tokens and you want me to betray my Oath, then you give them back to me and I have to do what you want me to.
    Incidentally, since every character has one Oath that will focus on rewriting another character’s Oath, everyone has a reason to work against someone.

  8. Ok, that was the part I was missing. If the players have an Oath that require them to rewrite someone else’s Oath that would be the incentive. Is it your intention to have By The Stars as a competitive game as opposed to cooperative?

  9. Both competetive and cooperative. Since I want the game to run without a GM, other players will have to provide adversity. But there will be similarities of interest–Everyone has 3 Oaths. #1 is something you want for yourself. #2 is something you want for someone else. #3 is to rewrite someone else’s Oath #1 or #2.

  10. No doubt Sunday will flesh out how cool this is BUT I think it sounds awesome. I like the idea of people just constantly screwing each other. It creates this great balanced dysfunctional relationship 🙂

  11. No doubt Sunday will flesh out how cool this is BUT I think it sounds awesome. I like the idea of people just constantly screwing each other. It creates this great balanced dysfunctional relationship 🙂

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