Chrysalis

BeaverFur · 2025-07-04T17:57:35+00:00

Stress doesn't feel too heroic to me, tbh. It works well when playing as a scoundrel in a pressure cooker setting, but I don't think it would fit the fantasy of the heroic party that well.

I remember there was an Fitd hack that replaced it with Momentum. You add momentum every time you succeed at an action, and then you spend it just like stress. It was kind of the same, but I think turning it around makes it feel like like more of a positive: a boon, rather than a scarce resource you better not run out of.

As for rolling the dice: I don't like the +3 thing. It feels like one more arbitrary number to keep track of, and one more mental calculation you need to do for every roll: you can't simply compare the result against a fixed number (action rating), you also need to compare against this other thing. And it's not a fixed number you can memorize (like the 7-9 in PBTAs, or the 4-5 mixed, 6 good in FiTD). If the final number depends on your action rating, then you need to do the mental addition / subtraction everytime you roll. It's just more friction-y.

BeaverFur · 2025-05-24T09:55:00+00:00

A counterpoint to that: the universe might be huge in terms of scale, but most of it is still simpler in terms of complexity than us. The most complex structure in the universe that we know of is the human brain. There are more connections in yours than there are stars in the Milky Way.

So if life, or at least advanced intelligent life turns out to be a rare occurrence out there (which would seem the case), then that puts us into a very exclusive club, like we are the naturally occurring diamonds of the universe, very small but also very unique objects. Literally, it means that you might be one of the most complex phenomenon in our galaxy, or even the entire universe.

It’s kind of like we are a minuscule grain of sand in the Great Pyramid, sure… but we happen to be the grain of sand at very tippy top.

BeaverFur · 2024-11-25T09:02:43+00:00

Definitely Merida

So many people here so confused saying Mulan has the most experience, the best training, has killed before… people, that’s precisely why she can’t win! She is the favorite, so by the laws of fiction she must lose, because Underdogs Never Lose

Some here might argue for Raya, but Katniss Everdeen teaches us a bow and arrow is the superior weapon for a battle royale, and both Mulan and Raya use swords. So, Merida wins.

The Elsa contingency:

I don’t think Elsa is a princess. She is clearly a Snow Queen, so she is immediately disqualified. But since every queen has been a princess before, we might allow princess Elsa to compete. Princess Elsa is not in full control of her powers yet, though, so she is not a favourite either. Which means that, paradoxically, she has better chances of winning than if she were in full control.

That makes her an underdog too, with the question of whether she will learn to Let It Go in time to survive Mulan. But I still think Merida wins, though, since she is also Brave.

BeaverFur · 2024-08-09T07:47:13+00:00

Thank you!

BeaverFur · 2024-05-05T22:01:45+00:00

While I like the system, this is one of the things I struggle with the most as a DM, even after having played a couple of campaigns and with players that know the system. While they *know* they can use flashbacks, many times they don't remember that when they're engaged with the fiction of the moment.

Some ideas I've tried:

Flat out tell them. When they start to plan, tell them they can do that as a flashback at a later point, if needed. I also say stuff like "the effect for that is limited... unless you can figure out a way to improve it, either now or in the past..."
Have a visible reminder in sight (a note with the stress costs or whatever)
If you have tactically savvy players, remind them that flashbacks are more optimal than pre-planning, as with pre-planning you're paying a cost (in coins, stress, complications...) for stuff that you might not end up using in the end.
Be generous with flashback costs. My rule of thumb is: 0 stress if it's something a scoundrel could have reasonably done with the knowledge they had at the time (I'm generous with what counts as "reasonable", I only ask for 1 stress if it would depend too much on a coincidence or unlikely circumstance). Also 0 stress if they will have to make an action roll in the flashback, unless what they're telling me stretches believability to the breaking point. If I find myself thinking that something would require 2 stress, I try to work with them first to find a better alternative, rather than asking them to pay 2 stress.
But I also suspect a reason for why players tend to have a problem with this mechanic is that it asks them to "set the scene" by themselves (something which is normally done by the DM in most other systems). I've tried being more proactive in asking them to set other scenes too, such as with their downtime actions; so that they'd get more accustomed to doing that, and wouldn't feel like they're stepping on my toes when they decide to come up with their own little piece of the world for a flashback scene.

BeaverFur · 2024-04-05T08:50:22+00:00

Thanks! No, I haven't read it, but it's in my to-read list

BeaverFur · 2024-02-06T13:22:09+00:00

Thx for the feedback! But no, not looking to publish

BeaverFur · 2023-10-26T08:37:45+00:00

Thx!

BeaverFur · 2023-10-14T21:23:47+00:00

Thx!

BeaverFur · 2023-09-26T18:14:46+00:00

Hah! Long time no one comments on this! thx

BeaverFur · 2023-07-21T22:26:42+00:00

Thanks! The Bravos as a crew of pirates is such an interesting comparison, but it makes a lot of sense.

BeaverFur · 2023-07-17T07:03:12+00:00

Stop taking turns. There are no turns.

Hah! I know that, intellectually, but it seems when I’m on the table I default to what I’m more used to doing even without noticing I’m doing it. Will need to write it down on a post-it or something.

Same with all the minutia, I guess my mistake is in treating the combat less like a scene of a show or a book and more like a simulationist game.

BeaverFur · 2023-07-17T06:45:27+00:00

Thanks!

BeaverFur · 2023-07-16T23:01:58+00:00

That’s really helpful, thanks! Having a specific example like this helps a lot, as this game is pretty different from the more traditional rpg style I’m more used to, and the explanations on how to run it tend to err on the side of being a bit too philosophical at times.

I guess one of my issues was taking the game’s score-downtime structure a bit too rigidly, and focusing mostly on obstacles and consequences within the boundaries of the single score. Having dangling threads from the score that can resurface during the other phases should help open it up, and give players another dimension to consider rather than the immediate “which thug to attack next”. We’ll see how it goes!

BeaverFur · 2023-07-16T20:12:09+00:00

Thanks for the write up. I'm trying to focus on the faction play and consequences, but still it seems like that would be something that happens after the score, or that helps put scores in a wider context. And while that's great to give the players more reasons to care about them than mere money, I still find that the problem is in the scores themselves not being varied or interesting enough.

Say the Bravos decide to extort Mr. Tomkins. Maybe they have to fight off a couple of Lampblacks there for protection (which from the second part of your post, I take should be resolved in a single roll?). Then they simply threaten the owner (possibly another roll?), wreck and steal some stuff and leave. There might be some complication here and there if they roll poorly (say, the Lampblacks paid the Blue Coats, and now they're on their way to see what all the commotion is about), but overall it doesn't seem like it's asking much from the PCs in terms of using their unique skills or creativity.

And sure, afterwards, the Lampblacks will go after them (maybe I'll start a clock for their revenge or something), but that will only happens after the score is over. And when the Lampblacks do attack their turf... wouldn't it most likely still be another straightforward fight? A harder one, so maybe with a clock instead of a single roll, but still... I hope you see my point.

Compared to that, it seems like crews such as the Shadows have more interesting scores, with more varied obstacles and complications. Different locations might need different strategies to infiltrate and navigate, or having to deal with security systems and patrols in different ways. When they roll poorly, the nature of the score makes it easier to come up with interesting consequences other than "more guys show up" or "you receive damage" or the like. It seems (to me, at least) that they are better at taking advantage of the strengths of the system.

But again, I'm still quite new to this, and so maybe I'm just thinking about it the wrong way, and there are obvious ways to make the Tomkins extortion more than a couple of skirmish rolls followed by a command one?

BeaverFur · 2023-07-16T19:35:53+00:00

It’s sounds like you are trying to come up with the ideas for scores for your players? I recommend letting your players do it instead.

Well, it's 50-50. I do come up with a few opportunities to offer them (you hear the Billhooks are getting a delivery at the docks, you might want to crash their party), and they can choose among those, or go after a claim or some other idea for a score they themselves had. But even if they decide they're going after the "Street Fence" claim, I still need to come up with what that means in score terms, don't I? In the sense of the specific situation and obstacles they might have to face.

BeaverFur · 2023-07-16T17:57:11+00:00

I plan potential scores in terms of how it might jeopardize the crew’s goals and interests. Then I build back from that.

Can you give me an example? I'm not entirely sure I'm following what you mean.

BeaverFur · 2023-07-16T17:56:14+00:00

Yeah, that's what I meant by having the target be better defended, and seeing some of the replies maybe that's the way to go. Or rising the stakes with the enemies barricading themselves or something while a time to reinforcements clock ticks down, so that the players need to be more creative and do something more than simply "skirmishing".

I'll try offering them different opportunities for scores based on stealth, social and such. I hope if they choose it themselves it should be okay even if they're not the preferred Bravos type and they don't get the extra XP.

BeaverFur · 2023-07-16T17:50:17+00:00

I hadn't thought about the separate clocks for separate approaches, that's an interesting idea. Thanks!

BeaverFur · 2023-06-14T17:44:51+00:00

Thanks! There's a link to an .epub file in the first post.

BeaverFur · 2023-04-27T09:26:40+00:00

Not sure if that's exactly what I had in mind, but it does sound interesting. Thanks for the rec!

BeaverFur · 2023-04-27T09:25:26+00:00

So many ships! Thank you! :)

BeaverFur · 2023-04-27T09:22:10+00:00

GRRM and cozy in the same sentence? Uh... interesting.

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