Diceless conversion quagmire

[Bailywolf]

What I'm trying to preserve, therefore, is threefold: first, I want to retain the use of Virtue scores as a Pendragon-esque personality mechanic, where acting against the dictates of your Virtues costs you something; second, I want to retain the ability to use Virtues for metagame influence, which strikes me as a good mechanic for epic heroes; third, I want to retain the idea that the accumulation of psychological stress inevitably results in episodes of acting out.

Gotcha.  I'm still thinking on using the storyteller system as the skeleton for a diceless game, so let me hit you with a solution.

A character accumulates Limit (this is such a bland-ass term... there has to be a better way of describing it) when they act againt their Virtues.  When they accumulate more Limit points than they have in their Virtue, they suffer a Break.  Now, they cn burn points off their Virtues for metagame bousese to totals, just like essence or willpower.


The advantage to this is that a break can crop up from accumulating too much bad disonance or by cashing in your virtues for extra power.

The hang is, which Virtue (if they have more than one) controls limit break tolerance?  The highest?  The lowest?

[Seth L. Blumberg]

I'm still thinking on using the storyteller system as the skeleton for a diceless game

In that approach, I'd just keep the Limit rules as they are (which is within shouting distance of what you suggest). Why monkey just for the sake of monkeying?

Wait a minute. Did I just say that? Maybe I need to rethink my approach here.

[Bailywolf]

If I understand the origional complaint with the system as is- it goes fiddly-bit crazy (virtues, willpower, limit, essense in two flavors).  A great example of White Wolf Pain In The Ass Game Design.  But personal bias aside...


Simplifiy it; When you act againt a virtue, reduce it by one.  When you burn a point for a bonus, reduce it by one.  When it hits zero, Limit Break- you freak out and overcompensate (or whatever).  Like shifing into Primal Form, sometimes surendering charcter control is worth the benifit short-term.

You can then ditch keeping track of Limit.