[The Big House] Characters & Basic Mechanics

[Eric J. Boyd]

I am developing a game to play prison dramas--everything from "day in the life" games focused on just getting by to games focused on planning and executing an escape. My intent is to craft a game that coherently promotes narrativist play. I see play as being structured around players requesting scenes by identifying the key trait they want the scene to feature, from which a GM aggressively frames an appropriate scene. Along the way, points of Tension accrue from the die rolls of players. Once Tension reaches a pre-agreed upon level, the Lockdown occurs. The Lockdown will be something like the end game in My Life With Master, with different levels of character traits resulting in different final scenes for each character--everything from a successful escape or being released on parole to being executed or dying during a prison riot. 

Here are the basic character creation and core resolution mechanics.

Charater Creation

Characters have ten basic traits, grouped into pairs of opposing tendencies.  Each trait represents a sphere of activity and a mental or physical state.  Each pair of opposing tendencies has five points allocated between the two traits at the beginning of the game. At least one point must be put into every trait. During the game these traits will rise and fall as part of resolving conflicts, but the traits cannot go above six or below one.  Conflicts may require a character to test one of their traits against its opposing tendency or another trait to determine a character's course of action, or they may involve the character testing one of his traits again a trait of another character, The Gangs, or The Guards.  The ten basic traits are:

The Shiv – Determines your ability to do violence and your level of hate and frustration.
The Lord – Determines your ability to make peace or placate The Gangs, The Guards, or The Warden and your level of calm and inner peace.

The Crime – Determines the seriousness of your crimes, giving you a reputation and the ability to intimidate others.
The Guilt – Determines your ability to resist the old temptations that brought you to The Big House and your remorse for your crimes.

The Snitch – Determines your ability to lie and manipulate The Gangs and curry favor with The Guards and The Warden, as well as your level of selfishness and capacity for betrayal.
The Block – Determines your ability to make alliances with The Gangs and your level of loyalty and friendships.

The Yard – Determines your ability to procure and sell contraband items with The Gangs and your level of mental and physical vigor.
The Cell – Determines your ability to stash contraband and conduct a hidden activity so The Guards or The Gangs cannot find it and your level of loneliness and isolation.

The Institution – Determines your ability to "get along" in The Big House without making waves and the level to which your mind has been shaped by the system.  Generally, The Institution is not tested.  Instead, a point of The Institution can be taken to double your pool for an action where the character tests The Lord, The Crime, The Snitch, or The Cell.
The Outside – Determines the strength of your ties to the outside world and the hope you have for being free again one day.  Like The Institution, The Outside is not typically tested.  Instead, a point of The Outside can be spent to double your pool for an action where the character tests The Shiv, The Guilt, The Block, or The Yard.

Defining Traits (They Can't Take That Away)
In addition to the ten basic traits, each prisoner also has one or more defining traits, listed under the heading They Can't Take That Away, that represent the defining concept or special abilities that make the prisoner unique in The Big House.  Examples include: Accountant (the main character in The Shawshank Redemption), Knows the Blueprints (the main character in Prison Break), Mob Connections, Love of a Good Woman, Innocent Man, etc.  Allocate 5 points among these traits.  A player may spend one or more points from one of these defining traits to reroll one failed dice in any test that involves the defining trait in some way.  Unlike the basic traits, a defining trait can be brought down to zero.  The player must narrate how the defining trait motivates or affects the character in a way that helps him overcome a near failure.  These defining traits can be "recharged" by being featured as the key trait of a scene.  Recharging adds one to that defining trait's value, up to a maximum of six like other traits.

Dice Mechanics

In order to resolve a conflict, the different sides first declare their intended result.  Next, they each state which trait they will test to try and achieve that intent.  Each side of the conflict rolls a pool of d6s equal to the trait being tested.  The player who initiated the scene typically rolls a number of d6s equal to the trait they are testing.  The GM or other opposition rolls a number of d6s equal to another one of the character's traits (in the case of an internal struggle) or equal to the trait being used by The Gangs, The Guards, or another character. 

A result of 4 or 5 on a player's die is a success.  All of the dice that roll a 6 can be converted into successes as well, but only if the player is willing to accept the price of doing so — adding one point to Tension for each 6 and narrating a Beef (complication) that will take place at the beginning of the character's next scene.  The more 6s, the quicker Tension rises in The Big House and the bigger the Beef that must be narrated.  This is an all or nothing proposition — all 6s are converted and the consequences suffered or none are.

A result of 4, 5, or 6 on the GM's dice is a success.  Yes, this means The Gangs and The Guards have an advantage over a lone inmate — suck it up muthaf&@!%*. 

If the initiating player's number of successes meets or exceeds the number of successes rolled by the GM or other opposition, then his character has achieved his intent.  Such a success is normally narrated by the GM, but additional player successes can be spent for extra effects.  Each benefit can only be bought once per conflict.  For one extra success, the player can narrate a successful action or they can raise or lower the winning trait by one point.  For two successes, the player can raise or lower any other basic trait by one point (including The Institution or The Outside) or they can cancel one point of Tension that would accrue from the roll.  Before any traits can be altered, the player must either narrate or suggest (if the GM is narrating) how this action's results could cause the change.

An insufficient number of successes means that the initiating player did not achieve his intent, while the GM or other opposition did.  Such failures are narrated by the player after the GM or other opposition determines how to spend any extra successes they rolled.  One success can be spent to raise Tension by one point or to allow the GM or other opposition to narrate a Beef that frustrates the player's intent in the conflict but allows a marginal success or an insight into how to proceed — a "Yes, but" or "No, but" result.  Two successes can be used to raise or lower the losing trait of the initiating character by one point.  For three successes, any basic trait can be raised or lowered by one point.  Each penalty can only be purchased once per conflict.

If multiple players' characters are in a scene, more than one may succeed if their intents are not incompatible (e.g., The Block is being searched by The Guards and each character is testing The Cell to hide their contraband).  Test the relevant traits against GM or other opposition and compare the number of successes rolled on an individual basis.  The player whose character failed to achieve his intent with the most rolled failures narrates after hearing suggestions from successful players and the GM.  If all players are successful, they can bid more than one extra success to narrate the resolution of the conflict.  All successes bid in this manner are spent and cannot be used for other benefits.

One character can aid another instead of pursuing his own intent.  Narrate how the aid occurs and identify the trait being used to help (it may be different than the one the initiating player is testing).  Roll 1 die (or 2 dice if the trait being tested to aid is rated 4-6).  Any successes add to the successes rolled by the initiating player and can be used in any way they deem appropriate.  The initiating player, not the aiding one, decides whether to convert 6s to successes and suffers the consequences.  If all of the aiding dice come up failures, the GM or other opposition can spend extra successes to affect the aiding character as well as the initiating character.

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First off, thanks for reading. Here's some questions I could use insight on:

• I'm trying to capture the atmosphere of great prison dramas--think The Shawshank Redemption or The Great Escape--are the mechanics supporting such a feel?
• Do the basic traits cover enough ground, or are there other types of actions I've neglected to cover?
• Does having the traits do double duty as a type of action and mental or physical state work effectively or is it too confusing?
• I'm thinking of adding kickers to character creation, in some cases for the group (like in an escape game) as well as for each character--any thoughts on this?
• Is the price for converting 6s rolled by players into successes too high? Is this an effective means of creating Tension which leads to The Lockdown?
• How does the currency between extra successes and the things to be bought with them look--are there benefits that are over- or under- costed?
• Does having different chances for success for the players and their opposition make things too unbalanced?
• I'm struggling with how much prison slang and obscenity to use in the game text--any thoughts on the appropriate amount?
• Any other feedback? Any thoughts as I start to work on The Lockdown and defining the roles of The Gangs, The Guards, and The Warden?

[Blankshield]

First off, thanks for reading. Here's some questions I could use insight on:

• I'm trying to capture the atmosphere of great prison dramas--think The Shawshank Redemption or The Great Escape--are the mechanics supporting such a feel?
• Do the basic traits cover enough ground, or are there other types of actions I've neglected to cover?
• Does having the traits do double duty as a type of action and mental or physical state work effectively or is it too confusing?
• I'm thinking of adding kickers to character creation, in some cases for the group (like in an escape game) as well as for each character--any thoughts on this?
• Is the price for converting 6s rolled by players into successes too high? Is this an effective means of creating Tension which leads to The Lockdown?
• How does the currency between extra successes and the things to be bought with them look--are there benefits that are over- or under- costed?
• Does having different chances for success for the players and their opposition make things too unbalanced?
• I'm struggling with how much prison slang and obscenity to use in the game text--any thoughts on the appropriate amount?
• Any other feedback? Any thoughts as I start to work on The Lockdown and defining the roles of The Gangs, The Guards, and The Warden?

In the interests of full disclosure, I'm also in the middle of writing an RPG about life in prison: Do Your Own Time.  Looks like we aren't overlapping too strongly, though, except in the broad strokes.  I'm aiming for a game that specifically targets the risk and the payoff of making friends on the inside, and only touches on the broader drama briefly, if at all.

Looks pretty good to me, although I'll caveat this with the note that I don't really get a good feel for mechanics until I play a game.  The one thing that I will note is that The Yard and The Cell seem a little out of step with the others.  I think it's mostly the 'mental and physical vigour' part of the The Yard... Physical vigour and lonliness often go hand-in-hand, especially in a prison context, where working out is often just a way of letting time slide by until you're out.  I love the other pairs, though.

For your questions about currency and balance - playtest the hell out of it.  That's really the only way you'll get useful data.  Asking here will get you opinions, but without sitting down and playing, those opinions are just that.  Playtest. 

For your 'feel' question, take the advice of Structured Game Design.  Sit down and figure out what an ideal session of play would look like.  Then go in and see where your mechanics would plug in, and if they get you to that gameplay, or have to be worked around.  Fiddle until it fits.  Also, playtest.

Regarding slang and obscenity in the text... that's a tough one, and I'm struggling with it myself.  Certainly it's a huge part of the genre, but at the same time, there has been plenty of good fiction about prison that hasn't involved it.  I'm thinking about handling it in a similar fashion to how Emily handled sex in Breaking the Ice.  (If you don't have a copy of that yet, go get one.)

Hope that was helpful!

James

[lumpley]

Slang and obscenity:

There was once a guest minister at my wife's church. The church is UU, the guest minister was UCC - which means, essentially, that he included God and Jesus in his sermon. He gave the best sermon I've ever heard, hands down the best. What he did was, he offended me just so much that I didn't quite get up and walk out. He was skilled at his craft, that guy - he kept me quite literally on the edge of my seat. Outraged enough to pay close, critical attention, and this was ten years ago and I still remember exactly what he said.

So I see two things you have to get right, wrt swearing in your game text. (You and everybody - the generic you.)

The first: how much swearing does the subject matter demand, vs. how much will your intended audience be comfortable with, vs. how much will give your audience the correct impression of you, the author?

My strong advice would be to not let the middle concern dominate. Take it into account, but it's a toy to play with, not a hard constraint. I like to aim for 10% more swearing than my audience would prefer, for instance.

The second: do you sound like a native speaker?

(You personally now: the first thing you have to kill in yourself is the second-guessing that makes you bleep out words. Swear or else don't swear, motherfucker.)

Anyhow, no matter how much swearing you have in your game text, it'll be too much if you write it unnaturally. Contrariwise, if it sounds natural to your audience it'll be the right amount. Offend them if you want, they'll listen all the harder - their offense is just another emotion for you to manipulate to your own end. But make them go "there's a guy's trying too hard" and you've lost them.

-Vincent
who claims a certain cred on the subject.

[Troy_Costisick]

Heya,

For an interesting (and disturbing) take on foul language in a RPG, I highly recomend reading this recent submission to the 24hr RPG site.  http://www.1km1kt.net/rpg/Untitled_RPG.php

I think the author uses his words very well to describe the emotions and mental state of the character(s).

Peace,

-Troy

[Eric J. Boyd]

Thanks for all the replies so far.

In considering the slang and obscenity issue, I definitely had kpfs in mind, so it's great hearing your analysis of the issue, Vincent. I'll try out my "bad ass muthafucka" voice in the next draft and see if I can carry that bitch off. I actually don't curse much in my everyday speech, but I'll see if I can get my head in that space for writing.

On the same issue, do you see any value in using a different voice when discussing the setting versus the mechanics--something a lot of non-indie games have done? I'm leaning toward making it one voice throughout myself.

James, thanks for confirming my suspicion that The Yard and The Cell haven't come out quite right yet. My trouble is that while the physical spaces are opposing tendencies, the actions and states I've connected to them don't have that same feel yet. I'll definitely run through the exercise of "Structured Game Design" and see how the mechanics shake out.

It's funny that you brought up Breaking the Ice. I've been thinking of using its approach in relation to the graphic violence and particularly the homosexual violence and rape that has to be considered in any prison game. Using the same approach with respect to in-game obscenity by the GM/players makes good sense too.

Thanks again.