[DiTV ] All the Dogs do is talk!
phargle:
We started a new Dogs game last night, and it went well. The guy who had played before loved getting back into his old character, and the two new folks thought the game system was neat and interesting - although my wife said it didn't feel like gaming in some ways because of how much gaming of the system occured when deciding what dice to put forward.
One thing we noticed is that there was not any tension about what was worth escalating on. The Dogs seemed to always have enough dice to shut down randomly-generated NPCs verbally. I tried a few tricks such as having the NPC give and then launch a followup conflict, and also used NPC experience from fallout to boost social skills, but that wasn't enough. The only time the Dogs escalated was when they wanted to do so, and it was to gratuitiously kick someone. The guy who did that had enough dice to not escalate and win if he had wanted to keep talking. This made it feel like there's never a "screw this, I punch him" moment. I notice that a confrontation with a sorcerer can bring in some big, bad d10s, but I also sense that my Dogs will think that it's _always_ worth it to escalate versus a sorcerer even if the stakes themselves are not worth shooting over.
How do y'all deal with the Dogs having such powerful Jedi mind powers? I think we all hoped to have an opportunity to break out the Colt Dragoons, but the players, intent on talking people down if possible, even used those guns as props when talking (to make threats). I don't think anybody wanted to intentionally blow the talking phase of conflicts just so they could get to the later phases, either.
All I can think of is this: start the conflict with the NPC realizing he's going to get mind-tricked and have him throw a punch. The players will _probably_ (but not assuredly if it's two to one, and not at all if it's three to one) not have enough dice to win a fist-fight and may have to decide whether to shoot the guy, and that could provide some neat tension if the original fist-fight is over something trivial (to the Dogs). But, if they know the system, they could also choose to escalate . . .back to talking. Square one.
This also brings up a mechanical question. I had three Dogs confronting one guy. He was running out of dice on an issue that was important to him, so he wanted to escalate. The problem is that he ran out of dice on the first Dog's turn, and there were two more Dogs still able to do stuff because we could get to the NPC's action. What if the NPC chose to escalate with "screw this, I punch him"? I could roll his dice, put forward a See, and then the other two Dogs could yammer those new dice away before it gets to the NPC's turn. I am not sure how the NPC could have his See narrated other than "He cocks back his fist to punch you."
Thanks for the help!
David Artman:
By my (still developing) understanding of DitV, your Dogs' Traits are doing exactly what the players (seem to) want them to do: be effective in arenas which interest them. They have Big Talk Power because they want the game to be about Big Talks. If you want to "beat" them at that, make Big Talker NPCs or have them deal with a mob of NPCs all shouting them down.
Or perhaps what's really at issue is that you don't enjoy Big Talk games of DitV--you want to get some fist-swinging, gun-blazing action going, yes? So, (as you said) start a conflict with a Big Puncher/Shooter opening up, flinging mounds of Possession and fighting Trait dice. Avoid 3 on 1 (Dogs v others) conflicts, which--yes--are totally one-sided in favor of the Dogs (this is generally true, regardless of escalation level or Trait distribution).
Anyhow... there's more experienced GMs on their way to this thread, I'm sure. Just a few ideas for how to push for your agenda in play (or, perhaps, to let go of it and go with the flow of the majority of players).
David
dindenver:
Hi!
Well, there are a couple of things you can do:
1) If you want the PCs to escalate, you need to push their buttons. Remember, the model for a broken town starts with Injustice and moves straight to Pride and False Worship. All three of these are direct paths to pushing a Dogs buttons. Injustice leads to a passionate argument about how the Town Steward or whoever has done them wrong. Pride leads to an argument over who is right, the NPC or the Dog and False Worship leads to a fanatical idealistic clash in which neither side is willing to give up because they are "right"
2) Use relationship dice to add more NPCs to your side, or even bring more NPCs to the encounter. I mean Dogs showing up in town is newsworthy, and no one who is willing to confront a Dog (much less three) is going to do it alone...
3) Separate the group so you can get some one on one time. This will give you a chance to see what the Dog is like and what they think on their own without outside influence. And that will give you fuel for more button pushing...
4) Escalate yourself, don't wait for the Dogs, bring it on. You may not be playing to win (these are your friends after all), but the NPC is. Even if you have less dice, tyou can game the dice to make a Dog take a blow. I keep 2 big dice around to drop on them after they pummel me a little as payback, you can too!
5) Don't sweat it, if everyone is having fun, work with what you have!
Good luck man, ditv is fun!
Indy Pete:
You know, I wish I had your 'problem' :)
All the Dogs do when we play is murder folks! The way the players see it, talking is something the Devil loves to do, and they don't want nothing to do with it. I might introduce the Steward, and if they don't behead/stone cold shoot/hang him it's only because they have been too busy beheading/stone cold shooting/hanging some other poor Faithful person!
DitV has become as exercise in me as the GM creating Towns full of Soon-to-be-Murder Victims and then watching the heads roll as the Dogs systematically murder everyone in the Town that dares disagree with them. I'm feeling pretty burned by it :) I'm going to give DitV another go because I am totally energised by the idea of the game: however, I'm going to try it out on another totally different group of folks just to see what comes out in the wash.
Maybe it's the way I tell 'em :( I hope not.
Man, 'too much talking': <bleat/>, I wish!
Ben Lehman:
Remember that the Dogs aren't the only ones who can escalate. Escalate to gunfire with your own guys. Then taking the blow looks a lot worse for them. Remember, also, that possessed people get the demonic influence dice, which should be more than enough to lay a smack down on a talky Dog.
That all said, the Dogs should be able to win any conflict that they're really concerned about. The trick is to make the fallout not worth taking (d10 fallout).
yrs--
--Ben
Navigation
[0] Message Index
[#] Next page