Hey all,

A generic thread title to accommodate my ever-mutating abomination.

Useful discussions:
Forge thread 1 of 2: http://www.indie-rpgs.com/forge/index.php?topic=32007.0
Forge thread 2 of 2: http://www.indie-rpgs.com/forge/index.php?topic=32027

The Merry Wanderers is the latest version of ASH (V3.00) http://ashrpg.wordpress.com/

1.) 4 pages long.
2.) Refined the game to promote Fluidity and Creativity.
3.) Shares the fictional world of previous ASH versions but shifts its focus to the shapeshifting Proteans.
4.) You play as a Protean, you can acquire the traits of any defeated opponent and later use those traits (Identities) to your advantage.
5.) Both Character Creation and Conflict Resolution are extremely fast (less than 10 min) and fluid.

Questions

1.) How well do you think Fluidity and Creativity are maintained in tMW? Are these design goals met? Strengths and weaknesses? (Honesty invited, of course.)
2.) Does the concept (shapeshifting PCs) grab your attention as a player? If yes (or no!), why?
3.) Do the Metamorph (2D10 + 0-6) and Mimic (2D6 + 0-10) "classes" seem mathematically balanced? i.e. do you believe both are viable options for the game-as-designed? [link to the dice probabilities: http://anydice.com/program/c30 click on "graph"]
4.) Are you more attracted to Metamorph or Mimic (as a player)?
5.) What setting details would interest you as a prospective "GM"?
6.) I've introduced dice for the first time. Do you feel the game is better served as diceless?

Thanks for your time! Ask. Me. Anything about tMW (or previous ASH versions). I look forward to your esteemed perspective!

T

Shortening the game makes it easier to grasp in some ways, and more difficult in others.  Reading this, I find it lacking the in-world context that usually serves to help a reader grasp the concept.  Perhaps this problem will go away when you get a more complete setting writeup in there.

1)  I think play will go pretty quickly once the playgroup masters the rhythm of conflict resolution, and this will probably allow them to put more thought and energy into creative handling.  On the weakness side, the text uses too many acronyms.  You've shortened the rules almost to note-form in some places, which makes them harder to grasp.  And again, there's very little setting material in there for inspiring a playgroup.

2)  I do like the idea of shapeshifting PCs.  Again, a more in-depth writeup about what a Protean looks like, experiences, and feels when he shifts form would be really cool.  Nothing rulesy, just fluff to get people more into the Protean role.

3)  The dice probabilities seem balanced to me, although it's hard to weigh, as the 2d10 advantage is balanced against not just the Mimic Identity advantage, but, ostensibly, a whole host of advantages that could be roleplayed in the fiction.  Mimics are superior "specialist" shapeshifters, is the feeling I'm getting from this, so that gives the player more room to narrate cooler shapeshifting feats.  Again, a more thorough description of the classes would go a long way in illustrating the balances between the two.

4)  Hard to say.  I'd probably start with Mimic, just because it's less identities to keep track of.

5)  Were I to GM this, I'd really like a world map, a detailed itinerary of the available technologies in different places, and a synopsis of societal hierachies and customs around the world.  Monsters can always be created out of thin air, but human or Protean enemies will be harder to create without some setting info to hold fast to.

6)  As far as I can see, the dice primarily serve as an AP generator.  A Metamorph, being more the jack-of-all-trades type, learns and adapts more quickly.  This seems to jive well, for me.

And hello!  Sorry for my long absence, my creative space has been fully consumed with music for the past while.  Now I'm done with a few projects, though, so I'll be having more time to bum around here and doodle with the ol' pnp.