Topic: [made the devil do it] conflict resolution
Started by: chris_moore
Started on: 2/15/2007
Board: First Thoughts
On 2/15/2007 at 6:57pm, chris_moore wrote:
[made the devil do it] conflict resolution
So I love the basic concept of Sorcerer, but I wanted a game that would have a different focus. I also love the category conflict resolution system of Otherkind.
Here's a couple snippets of what I have so far:
Each player plays a demon owner and another player's demon. The game would create a series of vignettes (intertwined or separate) about each protagonist's struggle with their demon. The player's would create the demon, then hand it off to a randomly determined other player in the group. Players who are neither owner nor demon in a scene could take on NPC roles.
The only conflicts that I care about in this game are the power struggles between the demon and the sorcerer (called "binder", here). So, when (and only when) the binder commands their demon to do something, they both roll a die pool (binder's dice are black, demon's dice are red). Only even rolls can be used. Then, the demon player and the binder player alternatively place their even dice on certain resolution elements that are represented on some kind of mat. They are:
1) Narration: If a black die sits here, the demon player narrates the resolution. If a red die, the binder narrates.
2) Hurt: If a black die sits here, the binder is hurt somehow during the resolution, which lasts for one scene. The more black dice that are placed in this category, the bigger the hurt (up to dead).
3) Binding: If a black die sits here, the bond that fetters the demon is loosened. If that score hits zero, demon wanders the Earth free.
4) Evil: The more black dice here, the more "collateral damage" the demon has caused in obeying the binder's command.
So, a kind of back-and-forth thing happens here. Demon puts a die on narration, I can replace it with my own. Demon puts three dice on Hurt, I can knock it down to two, one, or zero (if I have the evens for it). When both sides have run out of dice, or give, the resolution gets narrated with these elements as constraints.
By the way, the demon has a dice pool equal to the number of powers it has at creation. I don't know how to do the binder's dice pool yet.
Questions: Does this kind of conflict resolution system mirror the dynamic that's going on in the fiction?
Would I have to change this game to make it not too much of a rip-off?
Thanks, Chris
On 2/21/2007 at 6:49pm, johnwedd wrote:
Re: [made the devil do it] conflict resolution
very nice system, i like the concentration on demon/binder relationship. the one other thing that would make it better is the situations they're in. could be mundan stuff, like dealing with a mugger, or trying to steal a pack of ciggerettes. and another, what if the demon starts to like the partnership?