Example Setting: Storyguide Characters
2 months ago
– Fri, Sep 20, 2024 at 06:02:16 AM
Hello there, Ultra-backers!
Welcome aboard to all of our new backers who have joined as we're digging into our final week of the campaign. Two quick bits of campaign stuff to talk about before we get to today's sneak peek.
First up, for backers who have just joined in - please make your voice heard!
The final version of the Storypath Ultra Core Manual will have three example games - these will be settings with systems and rules in place to run right out of the book, but serve an even more important job as examples of how the rules can be used to build your own game and implement your own ideas. The Storypath Ultra Core Manual is a book full of lego bricks, and these three examples are just some of the cool ways to build your own cool structures.
The first of the included example settings,
Pinfall from Grace, Body Slams from Hell, not only offers a complete game set in the parallel version of the year 2000, but also illustrates exactly how Story Path was implemented and adjusted. Onyx Path has plans to write two more, and as a backer you'll be able to vote on which ones you prefer.
For our Sci-Fi example, backers have chosen "An experimental space flight flings the player characters into a distant galaxy full of strange and alien sights."
For the final poll, you'll be voting on a Fantasy setting example. Your options:
- A cozy fantasy game where explorers look for ingredients to help heal their sick dragon friend.
- A war-torn world ripped apart by a devastating magic war, and a few surviving wizards try to prove who is the best among them.
- A group of young heroes are blessed with magical armor and weapons in order to defeat an evil sorcerer queen seeking to destroy their land.
Voting will run until the Crowdfunding campaign ends on September 26th when the campaign concludes. You must be a backer of this project to vote for this setting.
I love to gather around the table with my gaming group and roll dice, but I find that we're mostly getting together online to play these days. The last Stretch Goal and next Stretch Goal are there to provide some tools to help a bit with online play. We've just unlocked one goal and are now ready to look at our final goal for the campaign.
ACHIEVED - At $45,000 in Funding – VTT TOKEN PACK - Digital assets will be created to support online play for Storypath Ultra games, including key character and creature tokens from the book. This online asset pack will be added to the rewards list of all backers.
At $52,000 in Funding – DISCORD DICE BOT - Onyx Path will work with an external developer to create and maintain a Discord Dice-Bot for Storypath Ultra.
We'll have a review or our Stretch Goal accomplishments and bonus rewards next Wednesday as we head into our final day.
Throughout the campaign, as we've shared sections of the manuscript, we've followed up with some examples of how bits from those chapters could be used as illustrated by our example setting, Pinfall from Grace. Our last chapter was all about Storyguiding these games, so today we're going to look at some Storyguide Characters from our example setting. These are just some excerpts, but you'll be able to read the entire
Pinfall from Grace, Bodyslams from Hell chapter next Monday when the final chapter of the manuscript becomes available to backers.
Storyguide Characters
The Y2K World is a fascinating place full of adventure, intrigue, and mystery. But all in all, the whole concept of wrestling matches between angels and demons would fall flat if there weren’t any opponents to wrestle. Here we present a handful of antagonists to use in your games of Pinfall from Grace, Body Slams from Hell, and to inspire you to make your own using the antagonist advice.
Demonic Wrestlers
Demonic wrestlers use the same antagonist rules as in many other Storypath games. However, because of how they interact with the new rules presented in Pinfall from Grace, Body Slams from Hell, we’ll recap some things to keep in mind as you portray or create your own antagonists.
- Demonic antagonists use the same templates as Storypath, but the templates have different names. “Worker” is equivalent to “Grunt,” “Talent” is equivalent to “Professional,” “Star” is equivalent to “Villain,” and “Lord” is equivalent to “Nemesis.”
- Storyguide characters don’t have Grace or miracles — just Qualities and powers. If you want to give a character a miracle (to emulate a Storyguide character angelic wrestler or to provide an equivalent demonic ability), you can convert it into a power. Just use the rules for the miracle but note that it can only be used a certain number of times, such as once a scene or a few times a story.
- During matches, antagonists can only use powers marked as “match only.” Qualities still work during matches, however. “Natural Weapon” does not incur the Foreign Object Complication when used in matches. Generally, match-only powers are used once a match.
- Antagonists have a wrestling style like Wrestling Style Paths, to allow them to purchase relevant Moves. They can even have more than one wrestling style, unlike player characters (although typically only Stars and above have more than one style). However, antagonists don’t get Enhancement to purchase those Moves, although they can use their inherent Enhancement to purchase them as normal. If you want to make a demonic wrestler that’s closer to a player character wrestler in terms of Enhancement, give them one of the championship titles.
New Antagonist Powers
Below are some additional powers used by antagonists from Pinfall from Grace, Body Slams from Hell.
Demonic Defense (Match Only)
The antagonist can resist more damage than normal. Once per match, it may double its Defense for a number of turns equal to its Desperation Pool.
Drain (Match Only)
The antagonist steals the life of its foes. Once per match, the antagonist can purchase to the following Move:
Drain (1-3 hits): Deals 1 damage for each hit. Further, the antagonist gains a +1 Enhancement that stacks on the next action it takes against the character.
Slippery (Match Only)
The antagonist proves difficult to hold. Once per match, they can ignore the
Establish Grapple or
Educated Feet Moves.
Ricki the Rhymer
“When you face me, you count to three. When you fall, I’ll win it all. Only when you… oof! Hey! You hit my nose before the match goes!”
Ricki is one of the lowest orders of demons, the rhyming demons. This diminutive, green-skinned goblin of a wrestler can’t help but speak in rhyming poetic meter. Combined with its propensity to wearing gold and shiny jewels, it is sometimes mistaken for appropriating modern hip-hop culture, but in truth it’s simply a speed demon with delusions of adequacy and only the faintest idea of what’s going on, let alone understanding human society.
Template: Worker
Primary Pool: 6 (high-flying style, slippery escape)
Secondary Pool: 4 (rhyming, confidence)
Desperation Pool: 3
Defense: 1
Integrity: 1
Injuries: 1
Armor: 0
Initiative: 3
Qualities: Extraordinary Speed
Powers: Slippery (Match Only), Summon Ring
The Queen Bee
“Ffffloat like a butterffffly? Hardly. I ffffly directly into your nightmares, toady to angels.”
The Queen Bee looks like a bee twisted into humanoid form. It has muscular limbs, but a bulging abdomen and a stinger at the end which it uses in the ring. It likes to toy with its opponents, wearing them out through a variety of technical moves and draining stings before ending the match.
Template: Talent
Primary Pool: 8 (technical wrestling style, disgusting opponents)
Secondary Pool: 6 (flight, attacking with stinger)
Desperation Pool: 4
Enhancement: +1 on flight
Defense: 1
Integrity: 1
Injuries: 4
Armor: 0
Initiative: 4
Qualities: Flight, Natural Weapon (Piercing tag)
Powers: Drain (Match Only), Summon Ring
Ornar the Obstacle
“You cannot stop me. You cannot even touch me. I am the obstacle to all your hopes and dreams.”
The ravager of souls. The wrecker of dreams. The indigo assassin. This towering purple monster with ram’s horns and a black unitard has been called by many names, but the most important name of all is “Chaos champion.” It has held the Chaos Championship since the war started, and its implacable, tenacious style makes it unlikely that anyone will take the title from it anytime soon.
Template: Star
Primary Pool: 10 (monster and brawling wrestling styles)
Secondary Pool: 8 (resist pain, intimidation)
Desperation Pool: 5
Enhancement: +2 on attacks with ram’s horns, +1 on intimidation
Defense: 2
Integrity: 1
Injuries: 8
Armor: 2
Initiative: 5
Qualities: Invulnerability, Stable, Weakness (silver objects)
Powers: Chaos Championship title, Demonic Defense (Match Only), Summon Ring
If you look at these excerpts and start to think about how you'd write up some of the different tier villains in your Thundarr the Barbarian-inspired game, then the examples are already working! These example settings will be about 30,000 words - brief but to the point, streamlined but playable - and serve as examples and inspiration as well as games in their own right.
And yes, I said Thundarr the Barbarian because I'm voting for Option 2, and that's my take on it!
Final Week Program
- Sept 21 - Manuscript Preview #5 - Quick Conversion Appendix
- Sept 22 - Reward Tier & Add On Review
- Sept 23 - Manuscript Preview # 6 - Pinfall from Grace, Bodyslams from Hell
- Sept 25 - Stretch Goal Review
- Sept 26 - Final Day Checklist & What Comes Next
#StorypathUltra
FINAL WEEK COUNTDOWN
2 months ago
– Thu, Sep 19, 2024 at 08:58:38 AM
Hello Ultra Backers!
There are moments it feels like we just started this campaign, but in truth we've been running for since the start of the month and we're now officially in our FINAL WEEK COUNTDOWN!
Over this final week I'll be sharing a handful of instruction and review-type posts about Reward Tiers & Add Ons, Stretch Goal reviews, and What Comes Next, so if you've got any process questions or are wondering about how the Crowdfunding steps work, I'm hoping to clarify any remaining questions before we finish. Of course, if you're still wondering about something, please ask and I'll help as best I can.
Final Week Program
- Sept 21 - Manuscript Preview #5 - Quick Conversion Appendix
- Sept 22 - Reward Tier & Add On Review
- Sept 23 - Manuscript Preview # 6 - Pinfall from Grace, Bodyslams from Hell
- Sept 25 - Stretch Goal Review
- Sept 26 - Final Day Checklist & What Comes Next
The Campaign ends on September 26th at 2:00 PM EDT... sort of.
We get to pick our Path, and some of those paths lead just past our planned finish line. We're going to try something with this campaign and see what happens! It's called "OVERTIME MODE" and it allows us to keep the campaign rolling as long as backers are pledging.
Overtime ModeOvertime Mode extends the campaign past its original end time to give backers a final chance to make their pledge and adds an interesting twist to the end of the campaign. How long will it extend? That’s entirely up to backers: The campaign will keep going for an additional 10 minutes as long as pledges keep coming in – a chain of back-to-back pledges is called the
Backer Train. The campaign will end only when the Backer Train stops after a period of 10 minutes passing without any pledges.
You’ll know we’re in Overtime Mode when the campaign’s Backer Train counter displays a bright rainbow border and a new countdown that resets to 10 minutes after each new backer joins that final Backer Train ride.
So, we've scheduled the campaign to conclude on September 26th at 2:00 pm EDT, but it'll be extended in 10 minute chunks as long as backers keep pledging. Will we add an extra 10 minutes? An extra 20? Or will it all finish up as we programmed? Who knows, but we'll find out together! Ultra indeed!
Vote Until the End
Overtime Mode not only impacts our exact finish time, but also our backer poll, which runs until the campaign ends! The longer we extend the campaign, the longer the poll runs.
The first of the included example settings, Pinfall from Grace, Body Slams from Hell, not only offers a complete game set in the parallel version of the year 2000, but also illustrates exactly how Story Path was implemented and adjusted. We have plans to write two more, and as a backer you'll be able to vote on which ones you prefer.
For our Sci-Fi example, backers have chosen "An experimental space flight flings the player characters into a distant galaxy full of strange and alien sights."
For the final poll, you'll be voting on a Fantasy setting example. Your options:
- A cozy fantasy game where explorers look for ingredients to help heal their sick dragon friend.
- A war-torn world ripped apart by a devastating magic war, and a few surviving wizards try to prove who is the best among them.
- A group of young heroes are blessed with magical armor and weapons in order to defeat an evil sorcerer queen seeking to destroy their land.
Voting will run until the Crowdfunding campaign ends on September 26th. You must be a backer of this project to vote for this setting.
Recruiting New Backers
I know, this is something I've already said many times (and seem to say during every project!), but for this final week, you are officially a Storypath Ultra Ambassador. It's time to share your excitement for SPU! Basically, we want to recruit as many curious backers as possible to see how long we can keep our Backer Train running over this final week.
I know I've ended many update posts with "Keep spreading the word! Invite others to join in!" - but what does that mean, and how do you do it?
Easy answer - don't stop talking about Storypath Ultra until 2:01 PM EDT next Thursday September 26th (and then as long as we continue running in Overtime Mode). Yes, family and friends are tired of me talking about it. But what else have I got to talk about? And they've learned to tolerate me during a crowdfunding campaign. But here's the thing - there are others around who haven't heard or don't know about the campaign.
There are many, many Onyx Path and Storypath fans who haven't yet heard about this campaign and would love to join in. We're right in the middle of a very busy season - tons of different things competing for our attention and changing schedules and big events on the horizon - so it's not surprising that new backers are just finding out about the campaign every day. If you have an opportunity to let someone know, please do and let's make sure they have a chance to join in before the end.
Resources to Share
If you're inviting new backers, or if you are a new backer (hi new backers!), here are a few key resources to be aware of for this campaign.
Backers are able to review the (soon-to-be) complete manuscript for this book before the campaign closes and any pledges are processed. With the exception of the quick conversion Appendix coming on Saturday and our example game (Pinfall from Grace) coming next Monday, the entirety of the rules and options from this book are available for download and review by backers!
Anyone who pledges to this campaign before the end can read the entire book now AND provide feedback directly to the developers to help guide the manuscript through the final phases of development and editing!
And, if you join now, as I've noted, you'll be able to vote on the third example game setting that gets included with the final version of the book!
Talking About the Book
Wanna learn more about this book? If you've got friends you want to tell about Storypath Utra, why not let the experts do it? You can listen to the Onyx Path team talk about SPU at these links:
This podcast came out just before we launched our Crowdfunding Campaign, and you can hear the team talk all about the Storypath Ultra Core Manual.
And back even further to earlier this summer when Danielle and Eddy talked with Terry Robinson about Storypath and answered some questions about the evolution of the system.
Beyond the podcast and convention panel and entire draft version of the manuscript, you can also
download a free outline of the Storypath Ultra system <here>.
Storypath Ultra Chat
The Discord is particularly lively, but you might be able to gain further insight and some in-depth conversation at any of these Onyx Path discussion zones:
Share the Links!
1) Don't forget to share a link to the Crowdfunding page in any discussion you have (where appropriate) - and feel free to pass any of the links above to those who may need more info (or, just point them to this post!)
2) Don't forget to tell us about any post or review or discussion you write! Come to the comments section and let us know so we can all go read and watch and contribute! Like
Awkward GM Corbin's First Impressions video <link> or
interview with Eddy discussing SPU <link>. I know I keep saying it, but really - these last days are key. Keep the enthusiasm high and keep on inviting others to join in, either directly ("Come see...") or just by setting an example of your enthusiasm and interest.
I'm really interested to see if we can get a backer train going at the end of the campaign and wondering if we can keep rolling for another 10 or 20 minutes past our set end time!
Final Week
We've got one week to go, everyone! Thank you all so much for your support! We work together because it's the right thing to do, and because backers make it better! Let's finish strong! And let's continue dreaming up what we can do with the SPU engine, sharing our feedback with the writers and delving into the draft manuscript, and let's see if we can't get another Stretch Goal before we review next Wednesday!
At $45,000 in Funding – VTT TOKEN PACK - Digital assets will be created to support online play for Storypath Ultra games, including key character and creature tokens from the book. This online asset pack will be added to the rewards list of all backers.
#Storypath Ultra
Storyguide Advice - Manuscript Preview #4
2 months ago
– Wed, Sep 18, 2024 at 06:19:51 AM
Hello Storyguides,
The fourth section in our manuscript is for you!
As a Storyguide you design the world your player character’s live in, the stories they pursue, and the obstacles that get in their way. You play the entire world and draw attention to what is important in your character’s lives. You’re the guardian of the setting and the keeper of secrets.
International Shipping – Collected in the Pledge Manager
One quick note about Shipping before we get into the manuscript previews.
First up, it's amazingly expensive to ship, especially from Onyx Path's home base in the US. We get that, but there's not much we can do at this time. Onyx Path is in a difficult space where the company is big enough that they're not saving money by fulfilling out of Rich's garage, but small enough that they can't really set up international partners to handle portions of the fulfillment. So we are where we are - for now.
The best we can do at this point is to plan carefully, advise everyone up front that international shipping will likely be expensive (see our projections on the main page) and only charge what it costs us when the time comes. We’ll be charging for shipping in the Pledge Manager once the books are being printed and we can deal with the actual shipping charges rather than using our best-guesses this far out. If you live outside the US and aren't sure you want the hardcover or other physical items, you can pledge to the PDF tier now and upgrade your pledge in the Pledge Manager once we know the final shipping costs.
BACKERS VOTE ON CONTENT
The first of the included example settings, Pinfall from Grace, Body Slams from Hell, not only offers a complete game set in the parallel version of the year 2000, but also illustrates exactly how Story Path was implemented and adjusted.
The Onyx Path team has plans to write two more, and as a backer you'll be able to vote on which ones you prefer.
For our Sci-Fi example, backers have chosen "An experimental space flight flings the player characters into a distant galaxy full of strange and alien sights."
For the final poll, you'll be voting on a Fantasy setting example. Your options:
- A cozy fantasy game where explorers look for ingredients to help heal their sick dragon friend.
- A war-torn world ripped apart by a devastating magic war, and a few surviving wizards try to prove who is the best among them.
- A group of young heroes are blessed with magical armor and weapons in order to defeat an evil sorcerer queen seeking to destroy their land.
Voting will run until the Crowdfunding campaign ends on September 26th at 2:00 PM EST. You must be a backer of this project to vote for this setting.
DRAFT MANUSCRIPT PREVIEWS - BACKERS ONLY
Remember, thanks to BackerKit magic, these download links are visible to Backers only - you must be logged in and reading this on the website to have access to the manuscript preview links. So, if you're reading this via e-mail, click that "Reply to this Update" link on the bottom and I'll see you below the Feedback Form image.
WE WANT YOUR FEEDBACK
I'm going to be sharing the manuscript in sections - building blocks, even - over the next weeks, Part of the reason for that is to keep focus on one section at a time so that the team can gather feedback to help guide the manuscript through the next steps of editing and development. To that end, they've created a special Feedback Form for you to submit your comments after reading each section!
Example Setting: Wrestling Matches
2 months ago
– Tue, Sep 17, 2024 at 10:27:23 AM
Hello Ultra Storypathers,
In the Building Blocks chapter for Storypath Ultra that backers received last week, we saw some examples of rules systems that could be dropped into your game to give certain aspects more structure or a different procedural process. That's the kind of thing that can flesh out a setting and provide an identity and point of differentiation for your game - it hightlights a bit that's important or unusual, certainly.
Wrestling Matches
Most of the time, when wrestlers want to fight in The Y2K World, it works the way you’d expect it to — people bring guns to knife fights, hide behind cover, aim for vital spots, and so on. In those situations, combat works the same way it’s spelled out in the Storypath Ultra action-adventure rules, with the added wrinkle of player characters using miracles to make the combat just a bit more interesting.
There is one exception to this, however: An angelic host can’t kill a demonic host outside of the ring, and vice versa. If they intentionally, willfully kill or allow a rival to die, they also die. If a rival dies unintentionally, the wrestler responsible instead gains the Taken Out status effect. The Storyguide should let players know of this rule before they make the decision to kill another character outside of a match. (Note that an angelic host can kill another angelic host with no additional consequence, and the same is true between demonic hosts — it’s only characters that should be facing each other in the ring as part of the war that end up getting slain by their own hand.)
Once a wrestler steps into the magically reinforced ring, however, things change. The predetermined conditions of the war between angels and demons supersede reality, and mere physics takes a back seat to the etiquette of the squared circle. Wrestlers are forced to confront each other in a very different way, and the rules of the game are adjusted to account for this surreal, supernatural state of affairs.
Summary of the Rules of the Ring
The following is a summary of the changes to the action-adventure rules for Pinfall from Grace, Body Slams from Hell wrestling matches.
You can’t purchase tricks or use miracles during a match; Moves replace them. Actions using the Close Combat Skill buy Moves at a higher cost.
Characters can’t go beyond short range within the ring. Moving the action outside the ring can lead to a character being counted out and losing the match.
Attacks with weapons can lead to a disqualification, which ends the match.
When a character successfully uses the End the Match Move, they win the match.
Bonds only work in specific circumstances.
The Rules of the Ring
Here is a list of exceptions, changes, and new rules to add to the existing action-adventure system.
Ranges and Areas
Characters can move to short range while within the ring Area. The Area outside the ring is called ringside, which is a different Area, but the character is still considered to be in the match. In tag team matches, the tag partner not currently acting in the match is at ringside, and thus at medium range from the acting wrestlers. (Moving past the ringside Area typically leads to the moving character being disqualified.)
The rules for moving are unchanged, so moving between close and short range and short and medium range is still a reflexive action, but a character who wants to go from ringside to close range in order to attack needs to take an action to do so. The same applies for moving from close range to medium to tag a partner.
If any active character in a match stays for their entire turn in the ringside Area, all subsequent actions have the Minor Complication of Countout. If the Complication is not bought off, the character is disqualified by the referee and loses the match. Moving from the ringside Area to the ring Area removes the Complication.
Similarly, if a character not participating in the match moved from the ringside Area to the ring Area to interfere with the match, their action also gets the Minor Complication of Interference. If the Complication is not bought off, the wrestler who benefits from the interference is disqualified.
Attacks
Attacks are performed with the following modifications:
- Unlike the rules outside the ring (see above), angelic wrestlers can kill demonic hosts in a match, and vice versa.
- When performing an attack, instead of a dice roll emulating a single kick or grapple, it covers an entire exchange of blows. If the attack succeeds, they do one damage as normal, but the attacker can also narrate the entire exchange. If the attacking character fails, their opponent gets to narrate the exchange.
- Enhancing these attacks is done via Moves, which replace the use of tricks and maneuvers during a match.
- Any attack in which a weapon is used comes with a Moderate Complication of Foreign Object. If the Complication is not bought off, the referee notices the weapon and immediately disqualifies the attacker, ending the match. Light objects that fit in one hand, such as a wrench or a pair of brass knuckles add +1 Enhancement. Heavier objects that require two hands, such as a steel chair or a metal road sign add +2 Enhancement. Large objects that require setup like a ladder or a table add +3 Enhancement. Other objects may offer different Enhancement or other benefits.
- Any attack with the Close Combat skill increases the cost of all Moves by +1 hit, to a maximum of 3 hits. Moves that cost 0 hits do not have an increased cost.
- Other Skills can be used for an attack in place of Close Combat, and still do damage. If the description of how the skill applies to the attack is reasonable, and the Storyguide agrees, the attack is made as normal, but there is no increase in the cost of any Moves.
Remember that antagonists don’t have skills, so the previous two points don’t apply to them — demons don’t care about how obvious or stale an attack is, as long as it gets the job done. However, the other rules do apply to them.
Damage
Damage works as normal. If a character takes an Injury but has no Injuries left, instead of gaining the Taken Out status effect, they gain the Pinning Position status effect. (Antagonists, who don’t normally gain the Taken Out status effect, also get Pinning Position if they lose all their Injuries. There are also other ways to give characters the Pinning Position status effect.)
Status Effect: Pinning Position (Combat)
The character is exhausted, hurt, and unable to resist being defeated, as long as their opponent has the ability to take advantage of the opportunity.
Resolution: The character spends an action or a Momentum, or immediately takes an Injury, to remove the status effect, or an opponent purchases the End the Match Move.
Characters with Pinning Position can spend an action or a Momentum, or take an Injury, to remove the status effect from themselves during a match.
If a wrestler can use the End the Match Move on a character that has the Pinning Position status effect, they win the match. Typically this means the defeated wrestler has been pinned or indicated their submission to their opponent, but some matches may have specific scenarios for losing, such as the winner escaping a cage around the ring or the loser being forced to verbally admit that they quit.
All damage gained in a match stays with the character after the match, although once the match is over, the wrestlers can be healed as normal.
Other Rules
- Miracles and other supernatural powers cannot be used during a match in either the ring or ringside Areas. However, Graceful Moves can be used during a match. Antagonists can only use powers marked as “match only.”
- The only bonds a player character can use is their bond with their angelic partner (demons do not have bonds with their hosts). During a match, wrestlers can use bonds with a stablemate if they are both in the match at the same time as tag team partners, but the Enhancement generated by the bond can only be used to purchase Moves that have the partner keyword.
Under the Mask: Expanded Combat
“The Rules of the Ring” is a section of rules that expands combat. Like the expanded combat section in Chapter Two they build on the existing action-adventure rules to give more nuance and flavor to this setting, but you may notice this section doesn’t use many of the options presented there. Specifically, these rules are here mainly to set up the utility of Moves, which we’ll cover below, as well as reframing Close Combat. As discussed earlier in character creation, Close Combat is a vital skill for Pinfall from Grace, Body Slams from Hell, but if it were the only skill used in wrestling matches, every conflict will ultimately boil down to the person with the most dice eventually winning. By adding restrictions like making it harder to use weapons (an easy source of Enhancement) and incentivizing the use of other skills instead, it opens up more tactical options for players as they make their way through the match.
No matter what, it’s often good to add a short list covering all the changes at a high level, so readers know going in what kinds of changes they can expect before digging into the details of what those changes entail.
Moves
A wrestling match is comprised of a variety of wrestling holds and attacks, collectively called “moves.” In Pinfall from Grace, Body Slams from Hell, rather than a move being a distinct, single action within a match, we consider the move to be the high point of a small segment of the match. For example, throwing a single punch is a wrestling move, but in Pinfall from Grace, Body Slams from hell we ignore just a single punch and focus on all the punches, kicks, and other moves that lead up to the bigger, more narratively significant move of the final punch that knocks an opponent to the ground or out of the ring. In Storypath terms, these are a kind of trick or maneuver, which we call Moves (with a capital M, to distinguish the game mechanic from the in-world wrestling term).
Like tricks and maneuvers, players can only purchase each Move once an action unless specifically mentioned otherwise.
Basic Moves
Basic Moves can be purchased by any character during a match. Some have a keyword, which indicates a specific source of bond Enhancement that can be used to purchase them:
-
Face: Enhancement from positive Audience bonds can only be used to purchase Moves with this keyword.
-
Heel: Enhancement from negative Audience bonds can only be used to purchase Moves with this keyword.
-
Partner: Enhancement from bonds with other members of your stable in this match can only be used to purchase Moves with this keyword.
These sources of bond Enhancement can be added after an action is determined to be successful.
Any basic Move can be purchased with hits, regardless of what keywords it has. Keyworded Moves simply mean that Enhancement from the specific sources can only be used to purchase those Moves. If the wrestler chooses not to use that source of Enhancement to purchase a relevant Move, that source of hits is gone.
Heel Turns
Since any basic Moves can be bought with your roll’s hits, it’s possible to purchase heel Moves if you have positive Audience bond. However, these moves indicate flagrant cheating on the part of the wrestler, which alienates the audience. Any heel Move purchased while you have a positive Audience bond comes with a Major Complication of Heel Turn. If not bought off, the positive Audience bond reduces by one level, or is removed if the bond is already at positive 1.
Wrestlers with negative Audience bond have no penalty for purchasing face Moves. Sometimes it pays to be the bad guy! (However, from a design perspective, note that this is balanced out by Graceful Moves, below.)
Break the Pin (3 hits; partner): If your tag team partner is pinned, you can break that pin up. Remove the Pinning Position status effect from your tag team partner.
Break Up Grapple (1 hit; partner): When targeting a character who is part of a grapple (that you are not in) you may use this Move to end the Grappled status effect.
Critical Strike (3 hits): Deal an additional damage to your target.
Disarm (2 or 3 hits; face, partner): You pull or twist your opponent’s weapon or item out of their hand. You may spend an additional hit to knock the item to the ringside Area.
Distract the Ref (2 hits; heel): You cause a commotion with your exchange, distracting the referee. If your next action incurs the Countout, Excessive Violence, Foreign Object, or Interference Complication, ignore that Complication for that action. This also applies to your opponent’s next action as well.
End the Match (3 hits): When used on an opponent who has the Pinning Position status effect, you end the match and are declared the winner.
Establish Grapple (1 hit): You force your opponent into a grapple. Apply the Grappled status effect (p. XX) to your opponent. You may purchase any basic Moves on your attacks against them for 1 hit less, to a minimum cost of 1 hit.
Knockdown/Trip (1 hit): Knock your opponent prone where they stand.
Hulk Up (2 hits; face): You’re ready to really nail the next move. Add +2 Enhancement to your next action.
Pull Your Punch (0 hits): You choose not to deal damage to the target and instead gain 1 hit to spend on a Move.
Seize (2 hits; heel): You take an object held by (but not strapped or attached to) your opponent. You must have a free hand to use this Move.
Under the Mask: A Trick by Any Other Name….
Keen-eyed readers may have noticed that, despite the rule on p. XX saying that no tricks can be purchased during a match, many of the Moves here are quite similar to a number of Combat tricks. This is for two reasons. The first is to make the interaction between tricks and Moves cleaner — since so much of how matches work revolve around the use of Moves, its easier if you simply ban one entire category of rules and reincorporate the exceptions, instead of worrying about what happens if you buy one trick and one Move that are very similar. The second is the new Moves are not all completely identical to their equivalent tricks, and it’s easier for players to understand and reference a complete list instead of parsing a number of exceptions and modifications to the existing tricks. Similar to the character creation section, the rules for tricks are so short it actually takes less space to reprint what’s necessary and adjust that text directly over writing a list of references.
We'll see additional Moves - we'll actually see the entire
Pinfall from Grace game! - when that section of the manuscript goes out to backers next Monday, Sept 23rd!
Between now and then, we've got two more bits of the manuscript coming out for backers on Thursday and Saturday, along with one more example from our sample setting dealing with Storyguide Characters.
Remember, Pinfall from Grace, Body Slams from Hell is just our first example setting and game in the book to illustrate exactly how StoryPath was implemented and adjusted. We have plans to write two more, and as a backer you'll be able to vote on which ones you prefer.
For our Sci-Fi example, backers have chosen "An experimental space flight flings the player characters into a distant galaxy full of strange and alien sights."
For the final poll, you'll be voting on a Fantasy setting example. Your options:
- A cozy fantasy game where explorers look for ingredients to help heal their sick dragon friend.
- A war-torn world ripped apart by a devastating magic war, and a few surviving wizards try to prove who is the best among them.
- A group of young heroes are blessed with magical armor and weapons in order to defeat an evil sorcerer queen seeking to destroy their land.
