Is this a bad idea?
Due to a quirk in formatting, I'm able to list two columns of Bonds and Credits in Dragon World.
At first, this was just more list hooray. More people and communities you can bond with!
And then it occurred to me: Why not use this to divide the world?
For bonds, and put the PCs wherever you want:
For the Paladin, the righteous and the fallen. Start with your deity.
For the Fighter, the bloodied comrades and the unknown. Start with a guard.
For the thief, colleagues and marks. Start with a thief.
For the Wizard, PCs and Other. I like this one the least. Start with your mentor.
For the cleric, the congregates and the redeemable. Start with a priest -- I should probably make this a parishoner.
For the Ranger, the Trusted Friends and People & Animals. Start with your pet, if you have one.
For the Bard, Potential Patrons & Players. Start with a patron, if you want one.
For credit, and put the PCs wherever you want:
For the Paladin, communities and the political. Start with home and your church. I don't love this one. Ideas?
For the fighter, communities and militaries. Start with home and your garrison.
For the thief, straights and thief guilds, Start with home and a thieve's guild.
For the wizard, communities and places of power. Start with home and your school.
For the cleric, communities and temples. Start with home and your church.
For the ranger, Towns and the Wilds. Start with home and home.
For the bard, Towns & Sundry, and Performing Troops. Start with home and your theatre.
You get some number of points to start in Bonds and Credit, with descriptive dungeon-world style bonds to start. Sure. Then put each of those into the appropriate categories.
This might be a shitty idea. Having each class think of both people and communities in two distinct groups may be a terrible idea. I'm not sure!
The clerics are community oriented -- they have moved that trigger off their credit in communities and get more points in it. The Paladin is bond with deity oriented, getting moves related to how close they are to a deity.
Thoughts / Comments / Questions / Criticisms / Gripes?
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The Credit one leaves me a little cold, but I like the idea of the Bonds separation, especially because it focuses player attention on what draws members of each class to others. Fighters care about those who've shed blood with/for them; clerics about the ability to save souls. In that vein, Wizards might care about those who know the secrets of the magic, so maybe their dichotomy would be Fools and Wise?
ReplyDeleteI am a little worried that these could become false dichotomies and undercut an overall positive tone in the writing. The fighter one is really nice; it's not so limiting because it breaks the world into friends and maybe-friends. Ranger, too, divides into friends and also friends. On the other hand, the paladin one can be very judgmental: friends and failures (my suggestion for the Wizard does this too; friends and useless people). This could build drama, but it runs a little counter to the spirit of cooperation in The Principles.
That said, that can be good-spirited competitive drama. "I'm no fool! I'll show the wizard how smart I can be as I talk my way past this guard." "It's the paladin who's fallen from her principles; look at the death you've left in our wake."
John Dornberger Yeah, I am exactly worried about the false dichotomy. About putting people into on of two groups, and seeing in black and white. That's kind of OK for the Paladin or Cleric -- but the Fighter? The thief? That seems less likely.
ReplyDeleteInitially, it was PCs and NPCs. But that's kind of even worse!
It's a great way to highlight the kinds of relationships, alliances, or animosities the archetypes are likely to hold.
ReplyDeleteThe Fighter's other one could be cowards or the weak.
For the wizard, something like Scolars, or enlightened, and the twisted or otherworldly?
Maybe the wizard (who is called The Mage, because gender) sees people divided into the Aware and the Dreaming, and communities into the logos and the mythos.
ReplyDeleteThose're good, powerful words that make me think of White Wolf's mage's without necessitating it. Players will bring their own biases, which is perfect.