JAGS Have-Not Book 1 [Focus on Approach Chapter]

[Marco]

We are nearing completion of our post-apocalypse world book Have-Not (for the free JAGS system).

Our first book (setting) is close to done--and we have a draft of it up--however, since it's not (mostly) rules--I normally wouldn't post it here.

However:

During playtest and development we realized (from discussions here and elswhere) that there were many, many ways to possibly play the game--different emphasises (for the first few games there were no Vehicle rules--later, there were some--that altered the focus).

But we realized that making assumptions about how everyone would see our setting (and there are numerous new rules--and even a Level system which is discussed in book 2) would differ based on past experiences.

So we started taking the big questions we'd run into when figuring out how to present the world and we created a chapter called How To Play. But we realized we didn't want to/couldn't tell people "How To Play" so we re-named it "Approach" as in our take on Approaches to the game.

It's on pages 14-19 of a 53pg PDF.

And I'd like to know what anyone who's interested in looking at that chapter thinks of it (I wish I'd broken that document out by itself--but maybe the context helps).

There are a few specific things.
1. I use the term Ethos as 'ways of playing' (I avoided genre since that would get sticky in several fashions). Does anyone think that's a correct use of the term?

2. I have avoided a section here about the progression of PC's in power save to say that it happens--and have left the specific rules (as I said, a Levels system--for a game that really, mostly, avoids "levels") for the cahracter's book where those rules actually are applied. Is there enough mention of the concept in those five pages?

Anyway, it can be found here:
http://jagsgame.dyndns.org/jags/content/Book1.pdf

As I said, the proof-reader has yet to get back to us--so there're mistakes. But structrually that's really close to what it'll look like.

-Marco
WARNING: The file is big. 2-3MB. If you view it, I *highly* suggest you use the disk icon to save it to your hard-drive and re-launch from there (using the Acrobat Reader) rather than trying to view it in a browser.

Also: JAGS as a system is avaliable here:
http://jagsgame.dyndns.org

[deadpanbob]

And I'd like to know what anyone who's interested in looking at that chapter thinks of it (I wish I'd broken that document out by itself--but maybe the context helps).

There are a few specific things.
1. I use the term Ethos as 'ways of playing' (I avoided genre since that would get sticky in several fashions). Does anyone think that's a correct use of the term?

2. I have avoided a section here about the progression of PC's in power save to say that it happens--and have left the specific rules (as I said, a Levels system--for a game that really, mostly, avoids "levels") for the cahracter's book where those rules actually are applied. Is there enough mention of the concept in those five pages?

Marco:

I've downloaded and read JAGS in my reflexive need to read every freely available RPG on the net as a form of 'research' (and by research I mean avoiding working on my own game).  I have never played JAGS - so my feedback may not matter.

In any case:

1) I would use either modes or methods instead of Ethos.  The text itself reads a lot more like an owners manual for the game (i.e. it tells us how to set the dials, and what the dial settings mean in the context of the game).

2) You're fine here.  Having read JAGS, I didn't have any problem understanding what was said in this chapter without the full rules on leveling up.  In fact, the reference to the leveling up could be entirely removed from this chapter without losing anything, IMHO.  The only thing you'd lose is an index link to a set of rules that you may feel are an important distinction between this world book and basic JAGS.

In terms of general comments - and remember that a lot of these are highly personal:

1) The layout seemed too busy to me.  I occasionally had a hard time figuring out what text went with what.  This is most definitely just me own opinion, so you should probably disregard it.

2) The general style and voice are cool, seem consistent with the vibe of the book and the vibe I got reading JAGS.

3) I was left thinking that there could be more dials besides the ones you mentioned in terms of modes of play/how to play/ethos' of play.  You mention meta-plot, vehicles, McGuffins, economics, and the basic structure of the game.  It seems to me, just as one example, that starting character power level might be another dial based on whether or not one wanted to start a game in the BoneYard versus the Ring.

That's about all I got.  BTW - in my quick read through, I only caught one or two small grammatical errors - so if this thing hasn't been proofread yet - hellagoodjob!

Cheers,


Jason

[Marco]

Awesome feedback.

Was the general layout too busy (main text with sidebar) or the (somewhat funkier) Approach section (where I got a little wilder with tables).

One of the things that affected what went into that chapter was how those decisions would inform play--I agree that starting other places *will* make a difference.

But all I could come up with was that the "why" of starting somewhere else was what was important ("wanna focus on cyber-punk, start in the Yard")--yes, the starting characters would be built on more points--but I'm not sure what *beyond* the intended focus would really make the difference.

But, y'know, maybe alternate starting locations would be a good section (we *do* touch on it there, yes, but as you noted, not heavily).

I appreciate the look.
-Marco

[deadpanbob]

Was the general layout too busy (main text with sidebar) or the (somewhat funkier) Approach section (where I got a little wilder with tables).

...SNIP...

But, y'know, maybe alternate starting locations would be a good section (we *do* touch on it there, yes, but as you noted, not heavily).

The general layout was easier for me, and I definitely had more problem following the Approach chapter.  It may have been, now that you mention it, that I say the Approach chapter as incongruous with the rest - but the differences are subtle to my untrained eye, so I'm still not entirely sure.

A section discussing the dial of starting location would be good, again IMO, and one other thing I thought of is PC mortality.  You touch on this tangentially when you talk about economies and about hazards - but a more explicit discussion of the dial of PC mortality (i.e. how willing is the whole group to 'play it to the bone' and accept the outcomes of their actions and the dice no matter what?).

Cheers,


Jason