That is a good question! I can only assume I typo'd it in my notes and copied them into Substack directly. I'll pop into the footnote and remove the individual dice results. I hope I got the final result right and just typo'd the individual numbers -- that's a pretty big flub if not. :-\
"Sometimes in PbtA games, series of weak hits like this can feel frustrating, but for me, they’re a great source of drama — when you think about great fights in fiction, often the protagonist is on their back foot until they finally maneuver, reverse the momentum, and land a decisive blow, which is exactly what Anwen accomplished here."
Brava! I wonder though, how do you negotiate how much pressure to apply during weak hits? With an active imagination "what the fiction demands" can feel loose, like, I can imagine a lot of those near misses easily having been damaging. For instance, why not "Damage + she regains her footing."? How much of the decision is what would be dramatic, and how much is mechanical must-dos?
Good question -- I think the generalized guidance in PbtA is you apply pressure according to the stakes and danger of the situation: Rather than lowering the likelyhood for success, Apocalypse World and its successor games increase the cost of failure.
In this situation, given that the specific danger that Anwen was trying to avoid was Bertrim's knife, it would feel like a betrayal of the Defy Danger result to hit her with it (especially since we established that it might be poisoned in an earlier episode). In fact, the "hard choice" offered to Anwen's player might've been "You can regain your footing and take the initiative, but Bertrim will get a hit on you." The player, recalling that Bertrim poisons his dagger, would probably not take that trade. In-character, it could be justified by Anwen's inexperience -- she's not yet confident enough to take a blow in order to strike back harder.
Possibly, if she were dueling with Ivan, these weak hits would deal damage (maybe at disadvantage?), since he's established to be an incredibly dangerous fighter, whereas Bertrim is just a sneaky bastard.
“You already have,” Bertrim sneers, dropping to a crouch and ducking under the table between them.
Yoooooo this was perfect. I was thinking the same thing. What a reminder that she's still got that heart of gold. She'll kill if she has to, but she'll give you a chance to kill her first 🙃. #Sentiment. Very characterful, frustrating, and clever. Also Bertrim is a tool and I hope he falls into the deep. Shame 'bout his poisoned knife, though. I'd have wanted that as a trophy.
Just starting this now, and I realize how anxious the recap always makes me - like, I remember what happened last week, but not quite enough for me to skip it, and also one does not simply "skip" PTFO bits 👌🏿. Furthermore, thanks for introducing me to all of these words: donjon, gaol, and oubliette (which I knew but hadn't heard since I was a kid reading about knights and castles, so let's count it).
Another strong and satisfying episode! I really appreciate the little descriptive touches you add: Anwen swatting the fly, the smell of the bakery, the colours of the wildflowers. Kudos!
Thank you for the kind words! I'm really glad the descriptive elements are coming through -- it's something I struggle with in live tabletop situations so I'm definitely trying to work on that muscle in this project.
I have been doing some light pondering about what might be the next PTFO campaign, though this one still has a lot of story to tell (I think!) I've never actually read Thousand Year Old Vampire's rules -- might be worth checking out. :)
“Graves are for the living, not the dead,” Padrig says. “Ionas said that, once. ‘You bury your regrets with the body, so you don’t carry them on your shoulders.’” 😟🥺
Perhaps it is a trick of the shadow, or perhaps a dark, squamous mass coils around Bertrim’s body before he disappears silently beneath the green-black lake below.
In footnote 7: you mention the die roll was a 7 & 2 +1. How did you roll a 7 on a d6? :)
That is a good question! I can only assume I typo'd it in my notes and copied them into Substack directly. I'll pop into the footnote and remove the individual dice results. I hope I got the final result right and just typo'd the individual numbers -- that's a pretty big flub if not. :-\
"Sometimes in PbtA games, series of weak hits like this can feel frustrating, but for me, they’re a great source of drama — when you think about great fights in fiction, often the protagonist is on their back foot until they finally maneuver, reverse the momentum, and land a decisive blow, which is exactly what Anwen accomplished here."
Brava! I wonder though, how do you negotiate how much pressure to apply during weak hits? With an active imagination "what the fiction demands" can feel loose, like, I can imagine a lot of those near misses easily having been damaging. For instance, why not "Damage + she regains her footing."? How much of the decision is what would be dramatic, and how much is mechanical must-dos?
Good question -- I think the generalized guidance in PbtA is you apply pressure according to the stakes and danger of the situation: Rather than lowering the likelyhood for success, Apocalypse World and its successor games increase the cost of failure.
In this situation, given that the specific danger that Anwen was trying to avoid was Bertrim's knife, it would feel like a betrayal of the Defy Danger result to hit her with it (especially since we established that it might be poisoned in an earlier episode). In fact, the "hard choice" offered to Anwen's player might've been "You can regain your footing and take the initiative, but Bertrim will get a hit on you." The player, recalling that Bertrim poisons his dagger, would probably not take that trade. In-character, it could be justified by Anwen's inexperience -- she's not yet confident enough to take a blow in order to strike back harder.
Possibly, if she were dueling with Ivan, these weak hits would deal damage (maybe at disadvantage?), since he's established to be an incredibly dangerous fighter, whereas Bertrim is just a sneaky bastard.
“You already have,” Bertrim sneers, dropping to a crouch and ducking under the table between them.
Yoooooo this was perfect. I was thinking the same thing. What a reminder that she's still got that heart of gold. She'll kill if she has to, but she'll give you a chance to kill her first 🙃. #Sentiment. Very characterful, frustrating, and clever. Also Bertrim is a tool and I hope he falls into the deep. Shame 'bout his poisoned knife, though. I'd have wanted that as a trophy.
Just starting this now, and I realize how anxious the recap always makes me - like, I remember what happened last week, but not quite enough for me to skip it, and also one does not simply "skip" PTFO bits 👌🏿. Furthermore, thanks for introducing me to all of these words: donjon, gaol, and oubliette (which I knew but hadn't heard since I was a kid reading about knights and castles, so let's count it).
Hoping this goes smoothly
Another strong and satisfying episode! I really appreciate the little descriptive touches you add: Anwen swatting the fly, the smell of the bakery, the colours of the wildflowers. Kudos!
Thank you for the kind words! I'm really glad the descriptive elements are coming through -- it's something I struggle with in live tabletop situations so I'm definitely trying to work on that muscle in this project.
I'd LOVE to see what you come up with for Thousand Year Old Vampire or Ironsworn
I have been doing some light pondering about what might be the next PTFO campaign, though this one still has a lot of story to tell (I think!) I've never actually read Thousand Year Old Vampire's rules -- might be worth checking out. :)
Just downloaded it - can't wait to read! Won so many ennies!
Yeah I was going to comment about this too! I really enjoy descriptions of the scenery, makes me feel the warmth of summer :)
“Graves are for the living, not the dead,” Padrig says. “Ionas said that, once. ‘You bury your regrets with the body, so you don’t carry them on your shoulders.’” 😟🥺
Perhaps it is a trick of the shadow, or perhaps a dark, squamous mass coils around Bertrim’s body before he disappears silently beneath the green-black lake below.
Where's vahid when you need him!