Trollbabe: Kissing Cousins with those Folk from the Vineyard

[Judd]

I made up a character with Janaki last night and I'm really impressed with this game and happy I purchased it.  The making of the character and its success is another post in the Actual Play forum.

What interests me is the relationship between Trollbabe and Dogs in the Vineyard.  The narrow PC possibilities, the way the GM sets the stakes, the role of a Trollbabe in society.  It all feels quite a bit like Dogs in the Vineyard to me, right down to the GM's advice in the back of the book.

Honestly, I only showed interest in this game initially because of Stranger Things but now its a love in my gaming heart all its own.

More on my burgeoning relationship with Trollbabe later but for now, its relationship to Dogs.

[Judd]

After thinking about it for a few minutes, the above post is entirely inspired by Ron's diagram that he was showing around at Gen Con.

It was percolating in my noggin and I didn't realize it.

Sorry, Ron, wasn't meaning to scoop ya in any way, shape or form.

[Ron Edwards]

Hello,

Sigh ... I have been doing my best to conceal my impatience with stuff like this for over a year now.

Guys, Trollbabe is Dogs' parent game. It's explicit. Vincent cites the game very clearly for a reason. Town creation is exactly the same; I just don't hold the reader's hand like Vincent does.

What Dogs brings is the moral weight of "he who comes to judge" in absolutely stunning terms, whereas in Trollbabe, the same effect is achieved in the target audience via iconography.

The problem with me bringing it up is that it looks like whining, or that I'm saying "Vincent did nothing new" or whatever. When in fact Dogs is an amazing achievement, in its own right, in all kinds of ways. But when you post "Gee, these games are kind of alike," I get testy. Trollbabe is the parent and direct influence. Credit where it's due, to both of us for the right things, would be great.

Best,
Ron

[lumpley]

Yes. I'm not sure how to say it strongly enough.

Here's me a couple years ago struggling with the relationship map stuff in Sorcerer's Soul, and Ron writes Trollbabe, and it's like he's shone a light straight into my brain.

-Vincent