PbtA elements in ICRPG

pbta
#6

After writing a bunch of DW content, I came to the conclusion that MOVES are very very fun to write and horribly cumbersome to PLAY. The specifics are so cool when imagined, and so annoying to reference in the heat of battle.

As for RESULTS, I found there was too much chin scratching at the table for what those mixed results could be. It’s hard enough for me to provide cool binary descriptions, much less invent new variables every other turn.

All that said, DW is a brilliant read and case study in innovative thinking, and I think all RPG designers should give it a go-through.

#7

Oh, thinking on it more…I forgot ICRPG is also about effort. Giving an invention a few heart of effort, can also balance risk reward. There is a lot going on in the players head with that.

Effort is central.

My only experience with narrative play has been one shots. With few and far between. So I really don’t know the flow the game has with a practiced group.

Thank you very much for the kind words. Go forth and have fun!!!

#8

Yeah the million different playbook moves thing and so many triggers to be alert to activating them is one of the reasons I’ve never been in a rush to try to play DW though I greatly respect the accomplishment and have mined it and the stuff made for it often. (Perilous Almanac is a goldmine for rolling up specific details on the fly.)

I mean ultimately the basic moves would be fine-ish if held consistent across all characters, but that loses all the narrative engine that is PBTA strongest selling point. But I kind of prefer the more traditional Moves where the PC goes “I swing my Axe” and that triggers the GM to say “Roll STR against Target 12.”

I will say though that Fronts blew my brain open just a lil bit. But even there I realized they yanked the landing by recommending the Grim Portents be planned out all the way to the Impending Doom. Improv Fronts where you make the next badness up as you go… so much more workable and fun IMHO.

#9

FWIW, the mixed success component of PbTA has roots going way back in RP. If it helps here’s a d20 version from 2001’s 4th edition of Talislantia:

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#10

I feel soooo old now. Way back is now 2000 for gaming;-p :rofl:

I played one shots of a game called critters that mechanic by having dice with only certain numbers colored in. That was late 80’s or 90s. Whatever year magic the gathering came out.
To think that a card game would turn the RPG world on it’s head (mostly for the better) is still mind boggling to me.

#11

I should have qualified my statement a bit (I’ve also been playing since the late 80s and have seen mixed success tables going back that far in solo wargaming.) - RP hasn’t been around that long in the scheme of creative gaming stuff though and this table was the first d20 one I could dig up in a jiffy :slight_smile:

#12

I’ve reread the OP a couple of times but am not seeing what PbtA actually means. Someone mind helping a brother out?

#13

Powered by the Apocalypse

#14

Ah, ok. I’ve heard that name but not enough to know it by acronym alone. :slight_smile:

Thanks for the quick reply. I’ll make a point to look into it when I get a chance.

#15

http://apocalypse-world.com/

#16

Thanks @Ezzerharden!

I gave it the once over and it doesn’t look like my bag (ICRPG has absolutely spoiled me in offering so much with so little complexity). But I’m sure it has some good elements to pick up on. I’ll investigate MOVES & RESULTS a bit more.

Either way reading over the class descriptions tells me the author(s) has some writing chops!

#17

Extremely late to the party. I’m working on a mashup (hack) that combines what I love about ICRPG and Monster of the Week.

  • I’m keeping the prompts from the playbooks. They are essentially narrative TAGs that create the backstory of
    the character and their team. I’d have to work individually with players when TAGs include actual mechanics.
    The results of the prompts would go into the Story section of a modified character sheet (see below).

  • I’m keeping the D20 with 6 Stats and Weapon Effort.

  • I’m dumping Room Target and using a modified version of the tiered success mechanic:
    1-10 Fail
    11-15 Partial success
    16-20 Full success

  • I’m replacing Luck with Mojo using a descending D8. The D8 functions as a Surge die with the following
    caveats:
    It can be used indefinitely
    If you roll a one on the Mojo roll, your roll fails and your following rolls start at the next lower die. Thematically,
    this would reflect you losing your Mojo. The regression would go D8 - D6 - D4 - Coin toss - out of Mojo.

  • Leveling up/Milestones/Mastery - With the tiered success mechanic, I’m using failures to tick off the Mastery
    boxes. Each playbook has Improvements and Advanced Improvements. Improvements would happen after ticking off the 20 boxes. After 5 Improvements, options from Advanced Improvements are available.

Following is a modified character sheet first draft:

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Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

#18

Version 2, based on first bit of feedback. This is to clarify damage taken.

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#19

Very cool! Although it is obvious, it should be said you are keeping the moves. Do the ICRPG characteristics perfectly map to those of MotW? I never played it so wouldn’t know.

Did you already play with your mashup?

Now I’m thinking of an ICRPG-Ironsworn mashup :wink:

#20

I’ve tried to do some Ironsworn mashup. I used 2d20 for the challenge dice and a d12 for the action die.

#21

i already use this in my games it adds to the depth of the session plus it gives the player a choice if succeeding is worth it. SImple but profound

my rule of thumb is as long as they meet the easy target a partial success can be offered

#22

Not yet. I wanted to get some feedback on here first. I’m looking at next weekend if I can get some victims… I mean playtesters.

#23

I really like the simplicity of this. Might be fun to add some tough choices to my players in these sorts of situations.

#24

Agree with extreme prejudice! Moves, be they Basic, Class, Heritage, Earned (XP or Loot), etc., provide a large framework for players to “find” what they could attempt - while constrained by the environment, blah - blah. Analysis Paralysis quickly overwhelms.

Many die mechanics or range tranches can emulate the 6, 7-9, 10-12 of PbtA. Both for RPG and TT wargaming, I’m working on a playable version of the PbtA method. For TT wargaming the “6-” is a referee activity or target action (like opportunity fire). 7-9 is the Success “BUT” range, and the 10-12 is the Success “AND”. Wargamers love tables so these states have corresponding d10 or d12 outcome tables. This creates a 1 or 10, 12 critical fail or success on that secondary roll. RPG gets this treatment: 6- is GM Full Action, 7-9 is BUT = GM adjusts within desired narrative, 10-12 is AND resulting in a GM and Player coordinated “Better” / “Best” narrative. Eeeks, am I this late to the thread.

#25

I wanted to reply here, but then my response somehow turned into a separate post. So here it is: Make failures more interesting: degrees of success in ICRPG