Last night, in conversation with Parker D Hicks regarding Stargate SG-1, d20 Spy games, and AW, we talked about modelling weapon in RPGs. You can have tables and tables, or something like this:
P90: 2-harm, near/far, reload, loud, accurate, automatic.
Ma'Tok Staff: 3-harm, near/close, terrifying, high-tech, ap.
And moves like this:
When you use a P90 to kill enemies, roll +cool. On a 10+, hold 3. On a 7-9, hold 1. Use your hold, one for one, to:
-- Take out an enemy
-- Force a group of enemies to retreat
-- Force an enemy to surrender
When you use a Ma'Tok staff to terrify a population, roll +hard. On a 10+, hold 3. On a 7-9, hold 1. Use your hold, one for one, to:
-- Force them to give up their arms
-- Make them worship your false god
-- Make them bring their precious belongings before you.
Especially with the move, it is clear that the Jaffa Staff weapon is a weapon of terror and initimidation, while the P-90 kills people.
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Totally! And in a game that grows organically, with a GM/MC who can spin off custom moves like sneezes, that's great!
ReplyDeleteBut really, isn't 3d10 DAM, TKD, IMP (for the weapon qualities Takedown and Imprecise) just shorthand for the same thing?
You could argue that one is more fiction forward, perhaps, and I'd agree. If you port the "to do it, do it" principle over, is that a meaningful difference?
TKD and IMP don't get terrifying, which is a crucial part of the weapon. Is there a tag for that?
ReplyDeleteThe qualities versus tags are effectively the same thing -- game effects to be brought up when the weapon is used. I'd claim having a list of possible effects and damages makes it easier to build the weapon you want than trying to pick between a P90 and an MP5 on a table. But, then, I don't care about the difference in small-arms -- so far as I'm concerned those two guns are the same weapon, and I don't see it mattering much in the fiction I care about.
Which actually gets to a philosophical underpinning of mine: A difference that makes no difference is no difference at all. And, well, the differences between a P90 and an MP5 aren't ones that I care to model.
Its the moves, ultimately. This puts the decision into the PCs hands, and does so in a way that makes them choose from what the weapon is good at. You can still do Go Aggro, or H&S (depending on the system), but these moves let you do something greater.
I have thoughts, mostly the agreeing kind, but I thought I'd tag in Travis Biggart, since he's the other player in the Spycraft game. More in a bit.
ReplyDeleteI have done something similar for my zombie apocalypse hack. I've got separate custom moves for burst fire, using a shotgun, grenades, etc.
ReplyDeleteEd Gibbs I've seen some of that. It is an interest, albiet different, solution to the problem. In the zombie case, it can make a lot of sense to stress the capabilities of the person. In the SG-1 case, it can also be used to stress capabilities of the weapons. Both use fiction-first nonsense to what you can do.
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