Far From Home (Power 19) - working title

[ghashsnaga]

1. What is your game about?
It's about what are adventuers willing to do (or give up) in order to kill the dragon, steal the booty, and maybe rescue a prince (or princess).

2. What do the characters do?
The characters go out (or are forced into) and adventure while trying to maintain their former lives.

3. What do the players (including the GM if there is one) do?
The players setup scenes to help their characters become adventures and figure out ways to maintain their  relationships. The GM competes directly (and openly) with the players and tries to wear down their relationships by setting up scenes (adventures).

4. How does your setting (or lack thereof) reinforce what your game is about?
There is no specific setting just a generic late Dark Ages feel. I would like this game to be dropped into any setting the players like or used to create a setting (like Burning Empires).

5. How does the Character Creation of your game reinforce what your game is about?
I am not there yet. I am still figuring out what parts or mechanics are necessary to drive the main purpose of the game.

6. What types of behaviors/styles of play does your game reward (and punish if necessary)?
Hopefully reward shared narratives, player teamwork, .... there are some others I want as well.

7. How are behaviors and styles of play rewarded or punished in your game?
Not sure yet. I am thinking about mechanics like Burning Wheel Artha or maybe something like the system used in Lacuna.

8. How are the responsibilities of narration and credibility divided in your game?
Shared by all players and GM

9. What does your game do to command the players' attention, engagement, and participation? (i.e. What does the game do to make them care?)
Hopefully players will wonder what happens to a hero's farm, family, pets, etc when the hero goes away. What do you have to give up or compromise on to become a hero. The game woulld also provide a fun atmosphere for adventuring like Falling and Drowning or the Cheap and Cheesy Fantasy Game.

10. What are the resolution mechanics of your game like?
Not sure yet? Any ideas?

11. How do the resolution mechanics reinforce what your game is about?
See 10

12. Do characters in your game advance? If so, how?
Yes. Possible by a mechanics similar to Agon.

13. How does the character advancement (or lack thereof) reinforce what your game is about?
The greater the hero the more your relationships fall apart.

14. What sort of product or effect do you want your game to produce in or for the players?
I am not sure what this question means.

15. What areas of your game receive extra attention and color? Why?
The relationship mechanics. Because that is the focus of the game.

16. Which part of your game are you most excited about or interested in? Why?
The relattionship aspects. I have always wondered who takes care of the farm and family while the hero is away. What happens to the parents? If you bring your favorite dog a long are you will to sacrifice the dog for greater glory?

17. Where does your game take the players that other games can't, don't, or won't?
Hopefully dealing with the homefront.

18. What are your publishing goals for your game?
Self publishing and free

19. Who is your target audience?
hmmmm ?

Thank you for reading and providing feedback.

Ara

[Anders Larsen]

Hi

I like this idea. It is always fun to look at the more real world problem in a tale about heroes.

I have tried to summarise what i think is the central ideas of the game (please correct me if I have missed the point):

It seems like you want three important aspects related to the character:

* His tie to his home and family.
* His relation with his companions.
* His dedication to the adventure.

You will properly also have some general abilities tied to the character. And, as a suggestion, you might want to have something that indicate how renowned he is.

You want a mechanism like: The more dedicated he is to the adventures and the more of a hero he become, his relations and ties to his family will begin to suffer. And you properly want it to be possible for the hero to strengthen his ties and relations if he choose to spend time with his friend and family.

To this I have a couple of questions:

Can you give some example of how the relations begin to wear down? What is it that can happen between the hero and his friend and family that is a sign of trouble?

When the GM tries to wear down the character's relationships, what approach does he take. Does he try to temp the hero with wealth and fame and hope the hero will leave his family and friends behind? Or does he attack the relationships directly? Maybe both, or something else?

- Anders

[Troy_Costisick]

Heya,

I'd like to focus on this one for a sec.:

6. What types of behaviors/styles of play does your game reward (and punish if necessary)?
Hopefully reward shared narratives, player teamwork, .... there are some others I want as well.

Okay, I'm seeing that more than one player working in concert at the same time is important to your game.  That's cool.  What your game will need, then, is mechanics to help players do this.  So, for an example, let's say we've got two players.  Their characters want to break into a library vault to steal a map to the Dragon's Lair.  There are two guards.  That's our situation for this scene.

Now, what you have to come up with is a way for these two players to use various components from their characters (and perhaps a mechanic or two from your rules) to overcome the guards, open the safe, and escape unnoticed by the city's Night Watch.  The way you want your game to work requires that each character have something the other character needs to do his job.

So, what does Player-character A have that Player-character B needs to complete his mission, and vice-versa. What does Player-character B have that Player-character A needs to achieve his goal?  What can they give each other to help each other?  I'm not talking about gear in this case.  I'm talking about the mechanics of your game.  To achieve the cooperative narration level you are wanting, the two characters must work closely together at the same time.  What are your mechanics to achieve that?  (in other words, how would this look in play?)

Peace,

-Troy