Introduction and difficult choices in 9W (long)

[Fétide Grigou]

Hi ! I'm a french player and I intend to play 9W very soon.

I was really impressed the first time I read the playtest version because I found a threefold interest in this game :
first of all, the setting is really rich and offers a broad scope of adventures ;
second, the game mechanics are simple and original ;
and last, but not least, this game totally twists the way of roleplaying in my opinion : I would say, if I wanted to be pompous, that it reversed my "paradigm" of RPGing !

After twenty years of RPGing, Nine Worlds gives a new and refreshing way of playing my favorite hobby and I intend to spread my feelings to my friends.

And now for something completely different...

After my third reading of the playtest version and my perusing of the threads in the forum, I made some choices to build my campaign :

- The Muses mechanics : the last modifications concerning this matter didn't satisfy me, so I keep the version presented in the playtest version that seems simpler and more free-form.

- In the chargen, the Muses linked to the setting sound cool, but that means that the players are already Archons at the beginning of their first adventure. So I plan to make a two-step chargen : first, I tell my players that they will play a one-of-a-kind character who achieved some kind of success, living on earth in 2004;  the players write a brief description of their character and then are contacted by Prometheus who gives them a rough outline of the current cold war between Eternals and Titans following the second Titanomachy. Prometheus leaves and the players are free to roam the Nine Worlds during one year, but this period is not roleplayed (not yet !).  Next comes Chargen – Episode II : they apply the Rule of Nines to end the chargen, and now, with a vague understanding of the setting, they can extrapolate "setting-linked" Muses, using their knowledges concerning Greek mythology.
At last, I could use the "free" one-year period to weave some interesting adventures (I hope !) and flashback scenes.

What do you think of my choices ?
I wish to read your reactions.

Fétide Grigou (that could translate into "Fetid Skinflint")

(Excuse my english, it is not my native tongue)

[Matt Snyder]

Hello Fétide! (Is that your name, or is that an online name? I assume it's an online name based on the translation.)

Thanks very much for posting. I'm very excited that you enjoy Nine Worlds so much.

I hope you'll be excited to hear that I'm making excellent progress on writing the setting chapter. This game will defintitely be available this summer -- hopefully by July. The setting chapter will, I hope, answer questions many people have had about the game, and it will get people excited in the game. There is now much more detail than previously released.

Now, on to your questions/ideas:

It's a really good thing you stuck with the original Muse rules. That's because I've almost returned to those mechanics. I'm revising the Muse section currently, and the revisions will return to many of the ideas presented in the playtest document. If you use those guidelines, you should have little problem "converting" to the newer Muse rules if you wish to buy the full game this summer.

I think your ideas for character creation are excellent. I think there is ample room in the game for flashback scenes. The abstract mechancis, and rules like "elastic" reality (when attributes "bounce back" without a lock), really make those scenes workable for your group.

The real issue for the game will be good construction of Muses for each player. I recommend having players work together, face-to-face, and help each other build interesting Muses that are related to one another.

Here are a couple teasers to look for in the full game (I have mentioned these online before, I think):

Muses should be constructed such that they can be "completed." That is, "Hates Kronos" is not a good muse. However, "Challenge Kronos for Primacy of Saturn to exact the ultimate revenge" would be a workable Muse (but a challenging one!)

Here's why: When players complete a Muse, they may earn that Muse's rating as Trump. This means that they have points with which they can "trump in" during conflicts and make their playing card suit Trump. It defeats all other card suits regardless of Fate value.

So, for example, if an player trumps in with his Archon's Metamorphosis Urge (Hearts suit), then all other players will lose unless they, too, play Hearts. Or, they may try to bid more points to win Trump. So, another player could bid 2 points to make his Archon's Chaos suit trump. Then, the two players may enter a bidding war to see who wins the rights for Trump.

These trump points (they're called Pride and Valor) are also useful for two more things. Players may spend Valor to permanently increase their characteristic ratings WIHTOUT use of a Lock. So, a player could increase his Arete, or maybe his Chaos urge, etc. Alternatively, players may spend Pride (the trump points for Hubris) to create Talismans for themselves. Talismans are like mini-characters, though they could be magic items, spells, powers, objects, allies, sidekicks, and so on. These are entities that draw from the player's deck, and allow the player to have multiple goals during a conflict.

These trump points rules are the major missing element from the current playtest. They're meant, mainly, as a system for increasing character effectiveness and expanding the scope and reach of conflicts characters can enter.

For example, to actually take over Primacy of a world, the character really MUST have Trump points to have a chance at beating a very powerful immortal (and note that the immortal has THE WORLD ITSELF as a very powerful Talisman!)

I hope this answers questions you have. I'm always eager to answer more!

Thanks,
Matt

P.S. Your English is quite good. No need to apologize. We Americans are too stubborn to learn languages half as well as you have!

P.P.S. Where are you in France? How many people in your area play role-playing games? Are there any clubs? Do you participate in those? I'm always interested to know what other countries are doing with RPGs, and France always seems to have very interesting games and gaming cultures.

[Fétide Grigou]

Some geographical facts...

I live in Nîmes (south of France, 100 km west of Marseille), a medium-sized town according to french standards (140000 inhabitants).

Nîmes is 2000 years old, with many roman monuments downtown(amphitheater, temples, gardens and thermae) because the city was founded by roman veterans from the Egypt campaign of Cesar.

Prior to the roman installation, the city was inhabited by a gallic tribe (the "Volques-Arécomiques") who named the area Nemausa (which will transform later in Nîmes). Nemausa was the name given to the female spirit living in the local water spring.

Some gaming facts...

In Nîmes, we have 3 clubs : some funny dressed guys shooting paintballs (the paintball club !) ; some serious guys pushing cardboard pieces or pewter figurines on maps (the historical simulation club !) ; and at last, a small group (20 to 30 players) living wondrous adventures by the sheer might of their imagination (the RPG club !).

I'm the treasurer of the latter. We have 20 "paying" members but with the occasional players-by (as in passers-by) from the surrounding villages, we have seen nearly 50 players in our club.

The games played : L5R, Nephilim, D&D, Vampire, Mage, Godlike, Fading Suns, Call of Cthulhu, Torg and some amateur creations (and soon 9W !). This list is not exhaustive and we are open to all the games/experiences.

Friendly yours.

Fétide Grigou

PS : Thanks for the details on the new Muses mechanics.

[Valamir]

Hey Fetide, I'd hate to derail one of Matt's 9W threads, but perhaps you'd care to start up a thread on your club experience over in one of the other forums...Actual Play perhaps.

I'd be interested in particular on a couple of angles.  

1) how you find and recruit that many members and what a typical play gathering looks like...how often the whole group (or nearly so) meets together and what sort of facility you use to accomodate them.  Whether the club organizes play or primarily provides social introduction for the members to organize their own play with each other...that sort of thing.

and 2) the difference it makes to you whether an RPG is available only in English, or whether there is a French translation of English games, vs. playing native French RPGs.  I've been approached a couple of times now about translating Universalis into French, but I don't really have a feel for whether a translated version would sell.    I ship dozens of copies to France as it is (in English) and am very curious to know if there is a sizeable untapped market of potential customers who would be interested in the game if it were available in French.