Seafaring, Swashbuckling, & Style

[The_Confessor]

Greetings everyone,

  I just finished writing my second RPG Seafaring, Swashbuckling & Style: A Cinematic Role-Playing Game in the Age of Piracy. It was written loose and fast, and in less than a day. So, needless to say, it's probably a little raw. I don't even have it in PDF yet. The link above is in Word. Anyway, if you're feeling frisky, take a gander and tell me what you think. Thanks!

[Jeph]

Hmm. Very nice, a good cinematic feel to it, much style in the attribute names. However, that's about all in the game that has anything to do with the genre: the attribute names. You might want to consider adding in some more piratey mechanics, such as a system for loot and booty, the benefits of drinking ale and buying whores, and something to track the fearsomeness and reputation of a pirate.

[The_Confessor]

I thought about going into detail on natical combat and perhaps a more detailed dueling system with S3, but I really wanted a fast game. I decided to give some narrative control to the players and focus on what the heroes do, not the statistics of how they do it.

  Does it matter what D'Artangan rolls to defeat Richfort? No. Does it matter how Jack Sparrow uses the broken compass to find Isla De Morte? Of course not! It's cool, and that's what matters. Because of this, I kept the mechanics very broad.

 Also, I considered doing drinking rules, but I gave up on that idea for two reasons: 1) On a personal note every time I think about a PC getting drunk in game I think of the Dead Ale Wives skit ("Cool! Roll the dice to see if I'm getting drunk!") 2) Being drunk, in my opinion, should influence role-playing more and statistics less. If a character wants to deal with the details of being drunk, they can spend an Attribute Point to take narrative control.

[Mike Holmes]

But if the system doesn't have anything specific about it other than the ability names, that makes it produce piratical play, why should I play this game, and not just use FUDGE along with my copy of GURPS Swashbucklers? Or some other free light generic game, and source material from the library?

What about your game do you think makes it uniquely better than other systems for running games in this genre?

We're not saying it has to be any more complicated, just that it ought to do something to promote the sort of play we want to see. As it stands, all the system does is get out of the way. And there are about a zillion systems extant that do that just as well as yours.

Mike

[The_Confessor]

Well I personally have niether played nor read Fudge or GURPS, so I know little about the details of the systems or settings. S3 was designed primarily from my own dissatisfaction from what I have in my library. This coupled with the fact that I have no money, means I must resort to writing my own games.

[mrteapot]

Well I personally have niether played nor read Fudge or GURPS, so I know little about the details of the systems or settings. S3 was designed primarily from my own dissatisfaction from what I have in my library. This coupled with the fact that I have no money, means I must resort to writing my own games.

Actually, Fudge and Gurps Lite are both available for free online.  

http://www.fudgerpg.com/fudge/getting.html
http://sjgames.com/gurps/lite/

As stated, if your system is specifically geared towards a specific genre, you could just use an existing rulesset to play your game, rather than build your own.

Not that making your own game is bad, but an existing system has some advantages, like playtesting and semi-professional effort put into it.  These would be balanced out in my mind only if the new system had something special in it (ie, new ways of encouraging the desired play).

[The_Confessor]

One of the things I was trying to do in S3 (and yes, this has been done in other games) is add a more narrativist element into the swashbuckling genre. Even 7th Sea, the grand daddy of the swashbuckling genre, doesn't quite grant the freedom I'm looking for in a game.

[Valamir]

Even 7th Sea, the grand daddy of the swashbuckling genre

I had to chuckle a bit at this...grand daddy?

What does that make Flashing Blades, or En Garde?  Downright methuselahs on that scale ;-)

[Jeph]

One of the things I was trying to do in S3 (and yes, this has been done in other games) is add a more narrativist element into the swashbuckling genre. Even 7th Sea, the grand daddy of the swashbuckling genre, doesn't quite grant the freedom I'm looking for in a game.

What you have right now is a great, generic, narrativist RPG. Just tweak the stat names, and its works anywhere! Now, if you want it to be specifically a pirate game, producing play more geared to pirating than The Pool set in 1670 Carribean, it needs a beit more focus.

Not neccessarily a nautical combat or dueling system, or anything like that. You're right, those are not in any means required. However, you should have something a bit more concrete than names to gear the game towards piracy and swashbuckling.

[The_Confessor]

Ahh, now I see what you're getting at Jeph. Not a bad idea. My fear is that by expanding and then focusing on the pirating element specificly that I will end up creating a system that becomes too complicated and loses the game's fast-paced nature.

Oh, and Valamar... as far as the "grand daddy," it's just me showing my age. ;) Besides I ment more in scope than actual age.

[xiombarg]

Well, none of the games mentioned so far have the narrative control mechanic -- but that's still not especially piratey or swashbuckling. Tho I think that color counts for a lot more than the rest of you do, it seems. ;-D

Regardless, how would y'all make it more pirate-esque or swashbuckling without increasing complexity overmuch? Add a gambling mechanic? Reward over-the-top actions in some fashion? What MAKES for a swashbuckling game, anyway?

[Daniel Solis]

What MAKES for a swashbuckling game, anyway?

When I think of swashbuckling, I think of outlandish, completely off-the-wall stunts. It's big personalities with bigger egos clashing blades for a chance at an even bigger prize, be it lost treasure or the love of a fair maiden.

The types of play I'd expect to be rewarded would be those of extremes. Nigh-caricaturistic personalities: A pirate so arrogant that he maintains his dignity even while coming into harbor on a sinking lifeboat; A lieutenant so duty-bound that he'll fight to the death for even a foolish order; An amoral commander willing to sacrifice the lives of the innocent if it keeps the peace.

That's pretty much it, as far as I can tell. Stunts and personalities. Stunts  could be done something like Wushu, where every embellishment of a described combat action actually adds bonuses to a die roll.

Appropriate traits could provide the option of even further bonuses, so long as they are justified through further embellishments. I think of it as a game of narrativist one-up-manship.

"I leap over the balcony (+1), catch the chandelier (+1), leaving a lit bomb (+1) in front of you!"

"Oh yeah? Well, shoot the chain of the chandelier (+1), causing it to fall towards barrels of gunpowder (+1), and throw the bomb (+1)right back at you!"

[The_Confessor]

I made some small, but signifigant changes to S3. I added a rule that if you decide to spend two Attribute Points, you are allowed to narrate your own success.

I also did a little grammar clean up, as well as minor rules notes. (Like what to do if dice tie, etc.)

As far as making S3 a universal system and doing suppliments, I don't think that would work. A large part of S3 is the three specific attributes that fit it to the genre. The concepts and mechanics of S3 might work for other high adventure or action games (Something like Star Wars or Indiana Jones, etc), but I think in order to turn S3 into a universal system it would require the GM to sit down ahead of time and decide (What are the three focuses of this game?), and then build specifics around that. But I'm not 100% sure it would work. S3 is so rules-lite that it doesn't even have a death or combat mechanic. This could prove troublesome.

It was designed and built to be focused on high adventure and piracy. What makes it swashbuckling? I am a big believer in color helping to establish feeling, and I like to believe that the way S3 is written inspires a swashbuckling tone. Also, with a mechanic that doesn't allow for horrible, stupid, and unheroic mistakes, this immediately creates a setting ripe for swashbucklers.

It is ment to lend itself to a swashbuckling tone, but in the end I think what determines whether a game is anything (swashbuckling, gothic-punk, high fantasy, paranoid conspiracy, etc) is the effort placed into the game by both the players and the GM.

[Mike Holmes]

It is ment to lend itself to a swashbuckling tone, but in the end I think what determines whether a game is anything (swashbuckling, gothic-punk, high fantasy, paranoid conspiracy, etc) is the effort placed into the game by both the players and the GM.

So, what you're saying is that system doesn't matter?

Mike

[The_Confessor]

So, what you're saying is that system doesn't matter?

Not exactly.

What I'm saying is that while system can assist or detract from establishing the tone and theme of a game, in the end it the players (including the GM) who finalize exactly what that tone is.

For example, I've played in more than one Vampire game that had tone destroyed because none of the other players seemed interested in playing in a "World of Darkness" or a "Gothic-Punk" environment.

System can influence, but does not determine, tone, genre, and mood.