[Dwarf Fortress] whoops! it's Right to Dream play!

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Abkajud:
Alfryd,

Done and done. Good call, dude. I'm going to focus on choosing between work and family, safety and duty. I'll post some examples soonish.

Callan S.:
You sort of know what to do. So I'll just say that dwarf fortress reminds me of the campaigns in the nar essay where they go 'remember that one time when...' and maybe something notable happens once a year but most times nothing. Except in dwarf fortress as alot of play is automated, it maybe takes minutes or a few hours to get such a moment. It's like the game didn't aim for human (okay, dwarf) stories, but by accelerating simulation the pain and gusto of the dwarves sort of erupts in just the sort of ouja board way the nar essay describes. But as said, it's simply from massive acceleration.

Mathew E. Reuther:
Nothing stops a tabletop game from having time-dilation though. Could be generational stuff that is played out, instead of the day to day, week to week stuff.

Abkajud:
Callan, Matthew, good call.

I'm actually working quite a bit on a relationship system that puts fortress politics over makin' stuff.
In fact, makin' stuff is now sort of the piston in the engine of conflict - it's simple, straightforward, and non-fiddly, and you basically go through all the laboring dwarves in the fort to see what gaps in the supply you can deal with. If you're missing something critical, the GM is advised to exploit that lack as best s/he can. Alternately, you can commission special projects, but these not only take valuable resources away from others, but run the risk of being Doomed - i.e. they might go horribly awry when used, at the worst possible moment.

But food shortages and collapsing bridges are only ways of providing fodder for the web of relationships in the fortress. Whenever you try to get someone to do something for you, you get one relationship d6 - based on how you approach them, how you convince them, etc., either Fear, Love, or Duty. Each time you roll a 6 while making demands of someone, you can take another d6 in that relationship (max of 3). Each time you roll a 1, you lose a d6 from it. [I'm debating whether to have folks choose when to drop a die or not, or whether they should lose the randomly]
To convince somebody to do something, you roll your dice in that relationship all at once, and compare the total to a target number based on how in line with dwarf ethics (the good of the fortress, to hell with the nobles, etc.) the GM thinks the demand is.

Each time you gain a die in a relationship (beyond the first), you lose a die in all relationships of a different type - for example, if you gain a die in Fear with one of the other blacksmiths, you lose a die in all Love- and Duty-based relationships.

I'm going to see if my idea for combat mechanics from that Ancient Rome concept (over in First Thoughts - http://www.indie-rpgs.com/forge/index.php?topic=30668.0) makes sense for this, too - I want to keep combat straightforward and quick.

Abkajud:
I've completely rewritten the game.
Links to the new rules I'm working with now:

- main document: http://www.mediafire.com/?rbq3ljlu1afd6x3
- additional notes for starting the game: http://www.mediafire.com/?8zey91fn8ebe95h

You can send me a PM with any feedback, or email me at zac dot dettwyler at gmail dot com.

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