[Grey Ranks] The Big Grid

[Jason Morningstar]

I just posted some marginally coherent notes over at Fair Play - I'll return with a new post once I polish them.

[Troy_Costisick]

Heya,

One thing I really like about your game, Jason, is that it has a graphic organizer- the Grid in your case.  I wish more games would start using them.  Maps and character sheets have been around a long time, but I think we can start innovating beyond those.  I think your Grid really gives your game a leg up and I applaud you for including it in your design.  It's something that should really catch on.

Peace,

-Troy

[Jason Morningstar]

I've revised the grid a little, here.

It's smaller and simpler. If you visit any corner twice, your character is written out of the story. So you can flirt with suicidal depression and earn a d12, but if you wind up in that corner a second time, it's curtains. It's possible to do that as early as scene seven (out of nine). The central square is now a miserable d2, and begs to be avoided. I'm hoping a bit of tactical gameplay will emerge as players try to avoid certain outcomes that would drive their characters into dangerous territory. Let me know what you think.

[Narf the Mouse]

I don't know if this is intentional, but the game seems to lack a reward for winning.
Not a problem for everyone, of course.

[Ben Lehman]

Hey, Jason --

This system strongly rewards momentum.  If, to start, you win, you want to keep winning.  If you lose, you want to keep losing.  If you have a complicated win/loss pair, you want to keep having the same pair.

Is that what you want for the game?

yrs--
--Ben

[Jason Morningstar]

Narf:  You can't win, that's a central point.  You are going to get kicked in the nuts.  You can guide the process, you can do it with passion, style and elan, you can save the things that are important to your soul and sanity, but at the end of scene nine Warsaw is flattened and you are either dead or a POW or worse.

Ben:  I think it is, but playtesting will tell. 

I really want the die pool to be a contentious resource, and I do worry that disparate "corner" goals may take the drama out of that.  The guy angling to constantly fail and the guy angling to constantly succeed are not really at odds. I'm still mulling over group penalties and rewards based on mission success or failure - right now they are weak.

I want the thematic corners to be attractive and important, and the center to be avoided.  I want this to reinforce a natural story progression when coupled with situation elements.