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[Poison'd] Reservoir Boat Dog Pirates
summeryclept
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
Poison'd - A pirate game.
About The Game
About The Game
The rules are really simple, and I can explain them to you in the span of a single post. Don't worry about that. They're also brutal and unforgiving, and your stay as a pirate will be pretty rough. But the learning part, yeah, no problem! It's rolling one stat versus another, and seeing who wins. You're all making Success Rolls, trying to do pirate-ey things like be sneaky, be violent, endure pain, stuff like that, and you get Xs (they mark the spot!) as a reward. When you've got a fight on your hands - and you will, it's built into the game's rules that you're racing towards a fight every second of the game - you get to use those Xs to help you out in various ways. Easy-peasy.
But the fun part, why you should play, is the thread's title: it really is Reservoir Dogs on a boat. That's how the game's creator describes it. You have to trust people you really shouldn't, and the guy you should trust, you totally can't. Loyalties switch in a second. The current captain? He's just a quick jerk of the knife away from dead, and then you're captain, and then you get all the loot. And everyone in the game has this mentality. It's awesome.
I'll be running it on IRC. I'm on the east coast, USA, so convert all time to EST - I'm looking to play once a week, preferably Saturdays or Sundays, but any day is fine as long as it's between 2-6pm (the exception is Saturday, which can be anytime between 2pm to, let's say midnight). Those are hard deadlines and I can't tresspass - I got funky hours at work, you see.
We really can't do this without a bulk of players. We need four or five. I don't want to do much more than that to keep scheduling to a minimum. Check the requirements below and then give me a !sign up if you're into this sort of thing, and let me know of any scheduling issues that might be a concern.
==========================================
CHARACTER CREATION
Everyone's a pirate, obviously.
One - choose your position under Brimstone Jack.
- Boatswain (“bosun” – sails, rigging, anchor, cables; also the day to day work of the crew)
- Boy (light labor, service & training)
- Carpenter (the soundness of the ship’s masts, yards, boats & hull, patching holes under fire)
- Gunnery Master (the ship’s cannons, powder & balls; the gunnery crew)
- Quartermaster (the ship’s purse, books & accounts, and the provisioning & quartering of the company)
- Sailing Master (navigation and steering the ship)
- Sailor (manual labor, gunnery, fighting)
- Surgeon (medical care of all on board)
- X’s Mate (eg Boatswain’s Mate, Captain’s Mate, Carpenter’s Mate, Cook’s Mate)
Two - which of these sins have you committed?
- Adultery
- Blasphemy
- Idolatry
- Murder
- Mutiny
- Rape
- Robbery
- Sodomy
Pick a sin twice if you do it excessively. It's blasphemy if you're a woman posing and living as a man. Twice so if you've contrived to get some hot girl tail as a woman.
On your character sheet, write down "Devil". It's equal to the number of sins you've chosen. If you chose less than 2, it's bumped to two. If you chose more than 6, it's still 6.
On your character sheet, write down "Soul". It's equal to 8 minus your Devil.
Three - which of these brutalities have you suffered?
- Accursing
- Arrest
- Attempted murder
- Beating
- Branding
- Damnation
- Disownment
- Impressment
- Imprisonment
- Lashing
- Mutilation
- Rape
- Torture
Mark an X next to any that Brimstone Jack did to you.
On your character sheet, write down "Brutality." It's equal to the number of these you just picked. Bump it up to 2 or down to 6 if you went over or under, just like Devil.
Four - what are your ambitions?
- To be captain
- To own land
- To be pardoned
- To be revenged upon (here name another player’s pirate)
- To be revenged upon (here name a man beyond your station)
- To fuck (and here name another player's pirate)
- To fuck (and here name the son or daughter of a man beyond your station)
- To spit in the eye of God
- To spit in the eye of the devil
- To live forever
- To be remembered forever
- To be regarded highly by society
On your sheet, write down "Ambition", and it equals how many of these you picked. Same with Devil - if it's less than two or more than 6, it's two or six.
If you want your pirate to treat personal danger casually and without fear, choose a higher Devil than Ambition.
If you want your pirate to prefer cunning, stealth, and deceit, choose a higher Ambition than Brutality.
If you want your pirate to be ruthless, conscienceless and violent, choose a higher Brutality than Soul.
If you want you pirate to endure punishment and torture ithout breaking, or to be calm and skilled in chaos, choose a higher Soul than Devil.
Five - Your brinksmanship.
Brinksmanship equals the highest of your stats. If Devil is highest, then Brinksmanship equals Devil. Brinksmanship is your will to fight, your eagerness to struggle and continue on.
Six - Calculate your Profile.
You own a wicked knife, a sword, and a pistol. Additionally, pick up to two (or none):
Also, if your pirate’s suffered mutilation, name a disability your character suffers accordingly: a lost limb, a lost eye, a split tongue, terrible scars.
Your Profile, write this down on your character sheet, equals 2 + the number of weapons you chose - the number of disabilities you chose (at most 1)
- A second sword, for the off hand, as the Florentines do
- A brace of pistols
- Some distinctive hand weapon, like a hatchet, a cudgel, a slaver’s whip, or a blacksmith’s hammer
- A sharpshooter’s long musket
- Grenades
- Not a weapon, but your pirate’s a great hulking brute with fists like big stones
- Not a weapon, but your pirate’s tattoos and savage demeanor are frightening in themselves
- Not a weapon, but your pirate is, while slight, nevertheless quick, wiry-strong, and vicious
Also, if your pirate’s suffered mutilation, name a disability your character suffers accordingly: a lost limb, a lost eye, a split tongue, terrible scars.
Your Profile, write this down on your character sheet, equals 2 + the number of weapons you chose - the number of disabilities you chose (at most 1)
You also have Outstanding Bargains with the other players, but those come in once everyone's done.
Here are some facts about pirates, true for this game if not in real history.
Pirates are in their mid to late twenties. Pirates get rich and retire sometimes, a plantation out in Jamaica, but they only live to about fifty or so.
A privateer is a ship with commission from the crown to attack or sink or even seize enemy ships, and to receive a share and bounty from. Privateering is lawful. Pirates, on the other hand, are illegal murderers.
Pirate ships are democracies. Captains are elected. They can call for him to step down if the want, though he is under no obligation to descend. Everything is a vote: where to sail, how to provision, what ships to attack. Of course, most of that REALLY gets done through bullying and doubledealing.
Where to travel? Winter in the Caribbean, summer up the coast. Across the Atlantic to Africa, or into the Indian Ocean.
Pirates don't bury treasure. They gamble, drink, and whore it away. Terms are written out for sharing the plunder. Some is set aside for ship maintenance. Salary is given to the carpenter and surgeon, and some to make up for lost limbs and eyes. Then everyone gets an equal share, and the captain gets his own private stash.
A piece-of-eight is a silver coin, and is what we work with most. It's about the same buying power as an American twenty. Doubloons are large gold coins worth a lot more (a handful of doubloons makes you set up well for a year or more). A single pirate's amount of loot typically would amount to a couple hundred pieces of eight - roughly six to eight thousand dollars American. HOWEVER! Most plunder will be in trade goods, like cloth, tobacco, whale oil, spices, dyes, jewelry, even slaves.
A pirate ship is likely to have a mixed race, more so than a Navy ship. Sometimes black slaves make their way there. The way to tell: if he has a weapon, he isn't a slave.
There's only been two female pirates that we know of. One disguised as a man. Many more could have been well-disguised, who knows. Dozens of women disguised as men entered the regular Navy.
Punishment for talking mutiny is a split tongue or your tongue burned out.
Here in 1701, there's about 25 pirate ships in the Caribbean. There's only 4 or 5 English ships stationed to fight against pirates. Merchant ships usually surrender if they take you seriously, because fuck all that noise. Merchant ships hide their most valuable stuff. Pirates grab a bunch of them and torture the whereabouts out of them.
Living aboard a pirate ship is just as healthy as any navy ship. The food is better. Navy captains eat rat meat and the sailors fend for themselves.
Prisoners don't walk the plank. Your ass just gets tossed. Mostly, though, you just get shot or cut.
A privateer is a ship with commission from the crown to attack or sink or even seize enemy ships, and to receive a share and bounty from. Privateering is lawful. Pirates, on the other hand, are illegal murderers.
Pirate ships are democracies. Captains are elected. They can call for him to step down if the want, though he is under no obligation to descend. Everything is a vote: where to sail, how to provision, what ships to attack. Of course, most of that REALLY gets done through bullying and doubledealing.
Where to travel? Winter in the Caribbean, summer up the coast. Across the Atlantic to Africa, or into the Indian Ocean.
Pirates don't bury treasure. They gamble, drink, and whore it away. Terms are written out for sharing the plunder. Some is set aside for ship maintenance. Salary is given to the carpenter and surgeon, and some to make up for lost limbs and eyes. Then everyone gets an equal share, and the captain gets his own private stash.
A piece-of-eight is a silver coin, and is what we work with most. It's about the same buying power as an American twenty. Doubloons are large gold coins worth a lot more (a handful of doubloons makes you set up well for a year or more). A single pirate's amount of loot typically would amount to a couple hundred pieces of eight - roughly six to eight thousand dollars American. HOWEVER! Most plunder will be in trade goods, like cloth, tobacco, whale oil, spices, dyes, jewelry, even slaves.
A pirate ship is likely to have a mixed race, more so than a Navy ship. Sometimes black slaves make their way there. The way to tell: if he has a weapon, he isn't a slave.
There's only been two female pirates that we know of. One disguised as a man. Many more could have been well-disguised, who knows. Dozens of women disguised as men entered the regular Navy.
Punishment for talking mutiny is a split tongue or your tongue burned out.
Here in 1701, there's about 25 pirate ships in the Caribbean. There's only 4 or 5 English ships stationed to fight against pirates. Merchant ships usually surrender if they take you seriously, because fuck all that noise. Merchant ships hide their most valuable stuff. Pirates grab a bunch of them and torture the whereabouts out of them.
Living aboard a pirate ship is just as healthy as any navy ship. The food is better. Navy captains eat rat meat and the sailors fend for themselves.
Prisoners don't walk the plank. Your ass just gets tossed. Mostly, though, you just get shot or cut.
==========================================
THE RULES
Success Rolls
Make a success roll when you want to know if your pirate can do something, how well, and to what advantage. When you see a fight on the horizon, start making success rolls.
- Roll Soul vs. Devil when acting despite pain or duress, or pressing on during exhaustion, or enduring torture, or doing something in bad conditions. You want the first stat to win in success rolls, and the last one to fail. Roll your own Soul and your own Devil.
- Roll Devil vs. Ambition when you go into danger or do something risky, but not fighting.
- Roll Ambition vs. Brutality when you keep still, act with stealth, deceit, cunning, or care.
- Roll Brutality vs. Soul when you attack a helpless or outmatched victim.
You want 4s, 5s, and 6s. For your second stat, that you're rolling against, discard one success (that's good for you! hooray!) If you have more, your action succeeds. If you lose or if the two stats roll the same amount of successes, you fail, or you succeed but to no advantage. The GM will let you know about failure.
Count the difference if you win. Each point of difference is called Advantage. So if you roll 4 vs. 2, the difference is 2. That's 2 Advantage. For each Advantage, mark one X on your character sheet.
If you fail an action, the GM can bring the fight to you now and you can't roll for any more successes beforehand.
You can even use flashbacks right before a fight to gain Xs, if possible. You can't have a fight in a flashback, however.
- Roll Soul vs. Devil when acting despite pain or duress, or pressing on during exhaustion, or enduring torture, or doing something in bad conditions. You want the first stat to win in success rolls, and the last one to fail. Roll your own Soul and your own Devil.
- Roll Devil vs. Ambition when you go into danger or do something risky, but not fighting.
- Roll Ambition vs. Brutality when you keep still, act with stealth, deceit, cunning, or care.
- Roll Brutality vs. Soul when you attack a helpless or outmatched victim.
You want 4s, 5s, and 6s. For your second stat, that you're rolling against, discard one success (that's good for you! hooray!) If you have more, your action succeeds. If you lose or if the two stats roll the same amount of successes, you fail, or you succeed but to no advantage. The GM will let you know about failure.
Count the difference if you win. Each point of difference is called Advantage. So if you roll 4 vs. 2, the difference is 2. That's 2 Advantage. For each Advantage, mark one X on your character sheet.
If you fail an action, the GM can bring the fight to you now and you can't roll for any more successes beforehand.
You can even use flashbacks right before a fight to gain Xs, if possible. You can't have a fight in a flashback, however.
FIGHTING
It Always Comes To A Fight
ONE - compare Profiles.
Between players, whichever side has a higher Profile, you get additional Xs equal to the difference. Between a player and the GM, the GM rolls 6 dice, plus or minus the difference between your Profiles.
If someone beats another's Profile by 4 or more, it's fucking suicide, and they win by default.
If you go unarmed, your Profile is 1.
TWO - roll your Brinksmanship.
Each player rolls their Brinksmanship. The GM takes dice for your compared Profiles. Roll them all! 4s, 5s, and 6s. Here, the GM doesn't throw one away like with Success Rolls. If we tie, we reroll our lowest die until we aren't tied.
Whoever has fewer is losing, and must choose: escalate, spend Xs, or lose.
THREE - escalation.
Each fight has three levels. You start in the first and you can't go past the second. When you escalate, you pick up your failed dice and reroll them. Maybe you're winning now, maybe not. The strategy here is: the get another chance to win, but each subsequent level of escalation means worse and worse shit when you lose. So be careful!
If you ADVANCE to a tie, that's a win. If you STAY AT a tie, you lose.
The GM doesn't escalate at will. GM rolls Brinksmanship, aside from his standing dice. If he has at least two successes, he escalates.
FOUR - consequences.
If you lose, you suffer whatever the penalty is for the level of escalation you're currently at. If you win, you only suffer necessary harm of entering the fight. Also, for each Advantage you have on your last winning roll, you get an X!
FIVE - fighting on a side.
Captain's player, or whoever is leading, take all dice for Brinksmanship in secret. Give one die to each player fighting under you. Players, take a second die add it to the one in your hand. Now, the captain rolls Brinksmanship. Players, you can choose to add your two dice to his roll, or decline. If you decline, you disobey orders but you get two Xs on your sheet.
SIX - spending Xs.
Before the fight: (number of Xs is how many you have to spend)
3X - kill an NPC with no fight at all, as long as he's within reach.
During the fight:
The loser gets first option to spend Xs.
1X - roll an additional die.
1X - if fighting ship to ship or company to company, you can inflict harm on a non-captain named member of the opposite crew. They're out of the rest of the fight, but not lastingly harmed.
2X - as above, but that pirate gets a disabling or disfiguring wound
3X - as above, but give them a deadly wound. This doesn't affect the GM's dice.
1X - if you're winning on the first level of escalation, inflict harm on your opponent according to the current level of escalation, even if your opponent goes on to win. (don't do this in pistol to pistol or pursuit and evasion)/
2X - as above, but the second level of escalation.
?X - your opponent can undo the two above by matching them.
End of the fight:
2X - if you lost, reduce the harm by one level of escalation. You can only do this once.
1X - if you lost, inflict harm equal to the first level of escalation. (not pistol to pistol or pursuit and evasion)
2X - as above, but for the second level of escalation.
?X - your opponent can match Xs to undo this.
1X - if you fought in a mob and lost and aren't the captain, you suffer no harm no matter what else happens.
2X - if you won, reduce the harm you inflict on the loser. you can only do this once. if they already reduced it, you can't reduce it again this way.
After the fight:
Lose any of the Xs you haven't spent. You can't save Xs for another fight. Only the winner carries Xs forward, and only those he won from the fight.
ONE - compare Profiles.
Between players, whichever side has a higher Profile, you get additional Xs equal to the difference. Between a player and the GM, the GM rolls 6 dice, plus or minus the difference between your Profiles.
If someone beats another's Profile by 4 or more, it's fucking suicide, and they win by default.
If you go unarmed, your Profile is 1.
TWO - roll your Brinksmanship.
Each player rolls their Brinksmanship. The GM takes dice for your compared Profiles. Roll them all! 4s, 5s, and 6s. Here, the GM doesn't throw one away like with Success Rolls. If we tie, we reroll our lowest die until we aren't tied.
Whoever has fewer is losing, and must choose: escalate, spend Xs, or lose.
THREE - escalation.
Each fight has three levels. You start in the first and you can't go past the second. When you escalate, you pick up your failed dice and reroll them. Maybe you're winning now, maybe not. The strategy here is: the get another chance to win, but each subsequent level of escalation means worse and worse shit when you lose. So be careful!
If you ADVANCE to a tie, that's a win. If you STAY AT a tie, you lose.
The GM doesn't escalate at will. GM rolls Brinksmanship, aside from his standing dice. If he has at least two successes, he escalates.
FOUR - consequences.
If you lose, you suffer whatever the penalty is for the level of escalation you're currently at. If you win, you only suffer necessary harm of entering the fight. Also, for each Advantage you have on your last winning roll, you get an X!
FIVE - fighting on a side.
Captain's player, or whoever is leading, take all dice for Brinksmanship in secret. Give one die to each player fighting under you. Players, take a second die add it to the one in your hand. Now, the captain rolls Brinksmanship. Players, you can choose to add your two dice to his roll, or decline. If you decline, you disobey orders but you get two Xs on your sheet.
SIX - spending Xs.
Before the fight: (number of Xs is how many you have to spend)
3X - kill an NPC with no fight at all, as long as he's within reach.
During the fight:
The loser gets first option to spend Xs.
1X - roll an additional die.
1X - if fighting ship to ship or company to company, you can inflict harm on a non-captain named member of the opposite crew. They're out of the rest of the fight, but not lastingly harmed.
2X - as above, but that pirate gets a disabling or disfiguring wound
3X - as above, but give them a deadly wound. This doesn't affect the GM's dice.
1X - if you're winning on the first level of escalation, inflict harm on your opponent according to the current level of escalation, even if your opponent goes on to win. (don't do this in pistol to pistol or pursuit and evasion)/
2X - as above, but the second level of escalation.
?X - your opponent can undo the two above by matching them.
End of the fight:
2X - if you lost, reduce the harm by one level of escalation. You can only do this once.
1X - if you lost, inflict harm equal to the first level of escalation. (not pistol to pistol or pursuit and evasion)
2X - as above, but for the second level of escalation.
?X - your opponent can match Xs to undo this.
1X - if you fought in a mob and lost and aren't the captain, you suffer no harm no matter what else happens.
2X - if you won, reduce the harm you inflict on the loser. you can only do this once. if they already reduced it, you can't reduce it again this way.
After the fight:
Lose any of the Xs you haven't spent. You can't save Xs for another fight. Only the winner carries Xs forward, and only those he won from the fight.
FIGHTING, PART 2: ESCALATION
When fighting, you pick one of the charts listed below that makes the most sense for the circumstances you're in. Then you'll start at the first level of escalation there. For example, in a Fist to Fist fight, you start at "1. Your pride, vs. humbling your enemy." That's the penalty for losing at that level. So if you lose, you lose your pride, and if your opponent loses, you humble them. After each chart is an "Escalating can mean...", which gives examples of actions you can take to escalate.
Fist to Fist
All fist fights mean battering and bruising, to both.
1. Your pride, vs humbling your enemy; to
2. Being stunned, knocked down, or pinned, vs doing the same
to your enemy; to
3. Broken bones, a smashed face, or a broken head, vs doing the
same to your enemy.
Escalating can mean losing your temper, getting serious, fighting
dirtier, fighting more recklessly, pinning your opponent down,
changing the arena of the fight, or improvising a weapon.
Knife to Knife
All knife fights mean minor cuts, bruises, and near things, to
both.
1. A scarring but not deadly wound, vs giving one to your
enemy; to
2. A disfiguring or disabling wound, vs giving one to your
enemy; to
3. A deadly wound, vs giving one to your enemy.
Escalating can mean losing your temper, scenting blood, fighting
dirtier, fighting more carefully, bringing in a new weapon,
knocking your opponent down, or getting your opponent’s back
to the wall.
Sword to Sword
In a sword fight, if the loser can’t easily withdraw, he comes
under the power of the winner.
1. Giving first blood to your enemy, vs taking first blood of your
enemy; to
2. Taking a deadly wound, vs giving one to your enemy; to
3. Being killed outright, vs killing your enemy outright.
Escalating can mean getting serious, going for the throat,
provoking your opponent into losing his temper, disarming your
opponent, driving your opponent to a disadvantageous position,
or bringing in a new weapon.
HERE ARE ESCALATION LEVELS FOR SHIPSGun to Gun
In a gun fight, standing down means submitting yourself to the
will of your enemy.
1. Standing down to your enemy’s held gun, vs your enemy
standing down to yours; to
2. Standing down to your enemy’s leveled gun, vs your enemy
standing down to yours; to
3. A deadly wound, vs giving one to your enemy.
Escalating means raising, leveling, and firing your gun.
Your ship pursuing another
For your ship escaping another’s pursuit, simply turn these
around.
1. Falling behind, vs engaging your quarry at its captain’s choice
of range; to
2. Foundering and losing your quarry, vs engaging your quarry
at a range chosen at random; to
3. Foundering your ship to wear & breakage, vs engaging your
quarry at your choice of range.
Escalating can mean driving harder before the wind; cutting
sharper against the wind; making for fog, shallows or treacherous
waters; settling in for a long hunt; testing your ship’s masts and
sails; or lightening your ship’s load.
Cannon to cannon, at range
1. Your ship driven off course to avoid fire, vs your enemy’s; to
2. Your ship battered into wear & breakage, vs your enemy’s; to
3. Your ship broken and disabled with many crew killed, vs your
enemy’s.
Escalating can mean loading heated shot or chain shot, drawing
closer to your opponent, holding steady despite coming under
increasing fire, robbing your enemy’s wind, cutting across your
enemy’s bow or stern, depleting your reserve of powder and
balls, or rallying your gunnery crew to better speed and accuracy.
Broadside to broadside
If a fight broadside to broadside escalates even once, it means the
winning ship battered into wear & breakage as well.
If the losing ship survives the fight, it nevertheless can’t break
away; it’s necessarily within the winner’s reach for grappling
and boarding.
1. Your ship battered into wear & breakage, vs your enemy’s; to
2. Your ship broken and disabled with many crew killed, vs your
enemy’s; to
3. Your ship sunk, vs your enemy’s.
Escalating means holding hard and exchanging another
broadside, or double- or even triple-loading your cannons.
Company to company, crew, or mob
In a melee, if the losing side can’t easily withdraw, it comes
under the power of the winning.
1. Many of your own beaten and bloodied, vs many of your
enemy’s; to
2. A few of your own killed, vs a few of your enemy’s; to
3. Many of your own killed, vs many of your enemy’s.
Escalating can mean digging in, employing savvy tactics, seizing
sudden opportunities, employing deceit or surprise, stepping up
the brutality, or focusing your attacks on your enemy’s officers or
the civilians under her guard.
Bargains
Whenever you agree to something, even if it's not specifically laid out, that's a Bargain. Whoever you bargained with holds your Soul as collateral. "Row harder or I'll beat you bloody!" is a bargain - "we rowed harder, so he swore he wouldn't beat us bloody."
Bargain like fucking crazy. This is how you get what you want, not fighting.
If the bargain is broken, and you're not the one who broke it, you get to withhold his Soul from any of your rolls. That means any amount of dice up to however much his Soul is worth.
Bargain like fucking crazy. This is how you get what you want, not fighting.
If the bargain is broken, and you're not the one who broke it, you get to withhold his Soul from any of your rolls. That means any amount of dice up to however much his Soul is worth.
Deadly Wounds and Dying
If you suffer a deadly wound, strike a bargain or die.
- Bargain with a surgeon.
- Bargain with a non-surgeon (add a disfigurement)
- Bargain with God (give up an ambition)
- Bargain with the devil (such is a sin, add it to your list)
Death - roll Ambition vs. Soul. If you win, you can be a ghost if you like. Otherwise, or if you want, go to Judgment. At Judgment, if your Devil is 0, you go to Heaven. Otherwise, roll Soul vs. Devil. If you win, you get silent eternal rest. If you fail, you enter hell for eternal torment.
- Bargain with a surgeon.
- Bargain with a non-surgeon (add a disfigurement)
- Bargain with God (give up an ambition)
- Bargain with the devil (such is a sin, add it to your list)
Death - roll Ambition vs. Soul. If you win, you can be a ghost if you like. Otherwise, or if you want, go to Judgment. At Judgment, if your Devil is 0, you go to Heaven. Otherwise, roll Soul vs. Devil. If you win, you get silent eternal rest. If you fail, you enter hell for eternal torment.
Example of Conflict and Fighting
Quartermaster Davis is having problems with the ship's Surgeon, Stanley Haskins. The problem is two-fold: Not only has Haskins been talking shit about Davis behind his back, but he also shafted the Quartermaster out of 3 Leisure! So Davis waits until moonrise, grabs his old oak walking stick, and sneaks into Stanley's cabin.
Davis wants to beat the shit out of Stanley and knock his teeth loose. Remember that part, it'll be important later. Now, this sounds like a fight, but in Poison'd, it's only a fight if both parties say, "Fuck it, let's throw down." Right now, the Quartermaster is attacking a helpless victim (Haskins is sleeping).
He rolls his own Brutality against his own Soul, and he gets 4 successes (Brutality 2, 3, 5, 5, 5, 6) versus 1 success (Soul: 1, 1, 5, 6 - remember, you discard the first success for the vs. against stat). He jumps on top of the surgeon and starts railing on him, grabbing him by the hair and pounding him in the face until his nose is all mushed up and blood is spraying the walls. He adds 4 Xs to his sheet.
Stanley Haskins has two options: fight back, or endure duress. You can always endure duress. Even if Davis had come in there with a gun and shot Stanley in the mouth, Stanley can STILL roll to endure duress. That'd be a deadly wound, and Stanley would need to strike a bargain or die (and since he's the surgeon, it'd need to be with God or the devil himself). Stanley chooses to endure duress, rolling his own Soul against his own Devil, for two successes. He's wailed on and beaten, alright, but he gets two Xs from his roll.
Remember, though, that the Quartermaster wants something specific: to knock Stanley's teeth loose. To get something specific like that, he needs to strike a Bargain. Why he wants his teeth is anyone's guess, but the offer goes: "Open that mouth and free those teeth, or I'll murder you here and now."
That's the bargain! Stanley doesn't have to accept it, but he decides to. Why? Read it again: if he offers up his teeth, he won't be murdered here and now. And who wants to be murdered? Granted, he won't just die automatically, but what the Quartermaster is REALLY saying here is, "If you give me your teeth, I'll stop hitting you, and you won't die." It's official. Stanley opens his mouth and screams, and the oak staff comes down hard, busting teeth everywhere.
Now, Haskins can withhold Davis' Soul (let's say 4 dice) from any one roll until the bargain is fulfilled. It's not fulfilled yet - Davis might decide to keep on hitting him until Stanley's dead. Thankfully, he doesn't. (On such bargains, the GM normally decides when it's been fulfilled. Sometimes it's not always clear).
But the Quartermaster isn't done yet! He gets off young Stanley Haskins and demands FIVE Leisure for his trouble, wherever the surgeon's hiding his stash, or else he'll go and rat on him for talking mutiny about the Captain (pretty much all he can threaten right now - remember from the previous bargain, murder isn't on the table, not unless Quartermaster Davis wants to lose some dice!)
Stanley rolls over and spits on him, lots of blood through his toothless mouth.
When does an actual fight occur? Either when someone fails a Success roll and them GM decides to bring the fight, or when two participants agree to it, or when it would logically happen due to events. Stanley says he wants to fight, and Davis sure as hell isn't backing down. It's time to rumble.
Before the fight, a smart player will seize the opportunity to have a flashback. It has to be relevant to the conflict, though, and you can't just go crazy with them. Stanley narrates a flashback to when he had stolen a knife from Jack McGord's cot next to him and put it under his (Ambition vs. Brutality to act with cunning or care). This gets him only one more X, unfortunately. But! It also places a knife within reach.
Davis goes into the fight with 7 Xs. Haskins goes into it with only 3 (his player, at the table, should be mocked and criticized for not being piratey enough, as any regular pirate would have done enough to get way more Xs at this point, and damn the bad rolls!).
They compare Profiles. Davis has a Profile of 3, and Haskins, being unarmed, has a Profile of 1 (although it's usually 4). Davis wins that much, getting two more Xs!
They're fighting Fist to Fist. They roll Brinksmanship. Davis is winning with 3 successes, and Haskins is losing with 1 success. As the loser, Haskins needs to decide: Spend Xs, or Accept the Loss, or Escalate.
First, he spends 2 Xs to roll two more dice. They both come up failures. He's still losing, so he has to decide: Spend Xs, Accept the Loss, or Escalate.
He escalates.
Now notice no attention was paid to initiative or who went first. That doesn't matter. All we're concerned with is the end result. Either way, whoever threw the first blow, Davis is still winning. Davis calls him several obscenities and jabs the end of his staff into his ribs, taunting him.
Haskins, having escalated, picks up his failures and re-rolls them. He's now tying with Davis! When you ADVANCE to a tie, that's winning, as opposed to STAYING at a tie. So now Haskins has the upper hand. Davis is the loser. He chooses: Spend Xs, Accept the Loss, or Escalate? He spends Xs, 5 of them to be exact, for five extra dice. Now he's winning. Haskins is again the loser, and decides to Lose (he knows he can't beat the Quartermaster in a war of attrition, and isn't up for the damage the third level of escalation can cause).
The loser, Haskins, must accept the second level of Escalation for Fist to Fist's consequences: being stunned, knocked down, or pinned. He screams, slinking out of bed and charging Davis, but Davis throws his weight into it and sends Haskins flying. He rams into the cot and tumbles over it, banging his head on the wooden frame of the next cot over.
Haskins, having lost, loses of all his Xs (only one, so no big loss). The winner, Davis, loses all of his Xs, but he gets a brand new set equal to however much he won by (let's just say 5 Xs from that last roll.)
Notice that if you fight someone, you don't get what you want out of it: you just hurt people. If you want something specific (like his teeth loose, as above) you make a bargain. Otherwise, you're just brawling, and you get what the rules say you get, not what you decide.
Let's go back to the fight, though, before Haskins decided to lose. Remember he's got that knife under his cot? Let's say he gets pissed and wants to whip it out and gut the Quartermaster. Pulling out a weapon IS a form of escalation in Fist to Fist, but only if he was going to bludgeon him with it. No, he's using a knife to stab and cut, and Knife to Knife is an actual arena. That means we first have to exit Fist to Fist, and then go to Knife to Knife. In order to do that, we need a clear winner and loser in this first conflict: Haskins has to Accept the Loss first in order to switch to knives.
He does, and we start a new conflict. Davis doesn't have a knife on him, so he's pretty much fucked. He'll deal damage equal to the fist to fist escalation chart since he's fighting with his fists. Stanley, however, guts and cuts like a pro, using the Knife to Knife escalation chart.
Davis wants to beat the shit out of Stanley and knock his teeth loose. Remember that part, it'll be important later. Now, this sounds like a fight, but in Poison'd, it's only a fight if both parties say, "Fuck it, let's throw down." Right now, the Quartermaster is attacking a helpless victim (Haskins is sleeping).
He rolls his own Brutality against his own Soul, and he gets 4 successes (Brutality 2, 3, 5, 5, 5, 6) versus 1 success (Soul: 1, 1, 5, 6 - remember, you discard the first success for the vs. against stat). He jumps on top of the surgeon and starts railing on him, grabbing him by the hair and pounding him in the face until his nose is all mushed up and blood is spraying the walls. He adds 4 Xs to his sheet.
Stanley Haskins has two options: fight back, or endure duress. You can always endure duress. Even if Davis had come in there with a gun and shot Stanley in the mouth, Stanley can STILL roll to endure duress. That'd be a deadly wound, and Stanley would need to strike a bargain or die (and since he's the surgeon, it'd need to be with God or the devil himself). Stanley chooses to endure duress, rolling his own Soul against his own Devil, for two successes. He's wailed on and beaten, alright, but he gets two Xs from his roll.
Remember, though, that the Quartermaster wants something specific: to knock Stanley's teeth loose. To get something specific like that, he needs to strike a Bargain. Why he wants his teeth is anyone's guess, but the offer goes: "Open that mouth and free those teeth, or I'll murder you here and now."
That's the bargain! Stanley doesn't have to accept it, but he decides to. Why? Read it again: if he offers up his teeth, he won't be murdered here and now. And who wants to be murdered? Granted, he won't just die automatically, but what the Quartermaster is REALLY saying here is, "If you give me your teeth, I'll stop hitting you, and you won't die." It's official. Stanley opens his mouth and screams, and the oak staff comes down hard, busting teeth everywhere.
Now, Haskins can withhold Davis' Soul (let's say 4 dice) from any one roll until the bargain is fulfilled. It's not fulfilled yet - Davis might decide to keep on hitting him until Stanley's dead. Thankfully, he doesn't. (On such bargains, the GM normally decides when it's been fulfilled. Sometimes it's not always clear).
But the Quartermaster isn't done yet! He gets off young Stanley Haskins and demands FIVE Leisure for his trouble, wherever the surgeon's hiding his stash, or else he'll go and rat on him for talking mutiny about the Captain (pretty much all he can threaten right now - remember from the previous bargain, murder isn't on the table, not unless Quartermaster Davis wants to lose some dice!)
Stanley rolls over and spits on him, lots of blood through his toothless mouth.
When does an actual fight occur? Either when someone fails a Success roll and them GM decides to bring the fight, or when two participants agree to it, or when it would logically happen due to events. Stanley says he wants to fight, and Davis sure as hell isn't backing down. It's time to rumble.
Before the fight, a smart player will seize the opportunity to have a flashback. It has to be relevant to the conflict, though, and you can't just go crazy with them. Stanley narrates a flashback to when he had stolen a knife from Jack McGord's cot next to him and put it under his (Ambition vs. Brutality to act with cunning or care). This gets him only one more X, unfortunately. But! It also places a knife within reach.
Davis goes into the fight with 7 Xs. Haskins goes into it with only 3 (his player, at the table, should be mocked and criticized for not being piratey enough, as any regular pirate would have done enough to get way more Xs at this point, and damn the bad rolls!).
They compare Profiles. Davis has a Profile of 3, and Haskins, being unarmed, has a Profile of 1 (although it's usually 4). Davis wins that much, getting two more Xs!
They're fighting Fist to Fist. They roll Brinksmanship. Davis is winning with 3 successes, and Haskins is losing with 1 success. As the loser, Haskins needs to decide: Spend Xs, or Accept the Loss, or Escalate.
First, he spends 2 Xs to roll two more dice. They both come up failures. He's still losing, so he has to decide: Spend Xs, Accept the Loss, or Escalate.
He escalates.
Now notice no attention was paid to initiative or who went first. That doesn't matter. All we're concerned with is the end result. Either way, whoever threw the first blow, Davis is still winning. Davis calls him several obscenities and jabs the end of his staff into his ribs, taunting him.
Haskins, having escalated, picks up his failures and re-rolls them. He's now tying with Davis! When you ADVANCE to a tie, that's winning, as opposed to STAYING at a tie. So now Haskins has the upper hand. Davis is the loser. He chooses: Spend Xs, Accept the Loss, or Escalate? He spends Xs, 5 of them to be exact, for five extra dice. Now he's winning. Haskins is again the loser, and decides to Lose (he knows he can't beat the Quartermaster in a war of attrition, and isn't up for the damage the third level of escalation can cause).
The loser, Haskins, must accept the second level of Escalation for Fist to Fist's consequences: being stunned, knocked down, or pinned. He screams, slinking out of bed and charging Davis, but Davis throws his weight into it and sends Haskins flying. He rams into the cot and tumbles over it, banging his head on the wooden frame of the next cot over.
Haskins, having lost, loses of all his Xs (only one, so no big loss). The winner, Davis, loses all of his Xs, but he gets a brand new set equal to however much he won by (let's just say 5 Xs from that last roll.)
Notice that if you fight someone, you don't get what you want out of it: you just hurt people. If you want something specific (like his teeth loose, as above) you make a bargain. Otherwise, you're just brawling, and you get what the rules say you get, not what you decide.
Let's go back to the fight, though, before Haskins decided to lose. Remember he's got that knife under his cot? Let's say he gets pissed and wants to whip it out and gut the Quartermaster. Pulling out a weapon IS a form of escalation in Fist to Fist, but only if he was going to bludgeon him with it. No, he's using a knife to stab and cut, and Knife to Knife is an actual arena. That means we first have to exit Fist to Fist, and then go to Knife to Knife. In order to do that, we need a clear winner and loser in this first conflict: Haskins has to Accept the Loss first in order to switch to knives.
He does, and we start a new conflict. Davis doesn't have a knife on him, so he's pretty much fucked. He'll deal damage equal to the fist to fist escalation chart since he's fighting with his fists. Stanley, however, guts and cuts like a pro, using the Knife to Knife escalation chart.
The game's fiction, the roleplaying, is one thing, and the rules are another. They are equal. The fiction gives something to the rules, and the rules give something to the fiction. You don't go from rules to rules to rules to resolve something in the fiction: you let the rules return the result to the fiction first.
To play Poison'd, you make Success Rolls. The only thing Success Rolls do is get you Xs. You want Xs because they help you win Fights. You want to win Fights because there's always going to be a Fight, and you don't want to lose it.
A Success Roll is a success roll, and Fighting is Fighting. To make this easier, understand there is a difference between "fighting" with a lower-case f, and "Fighting" with an upper-case F. You can fight all you want, go hog wild, but if you want to Fight, you follow the rules for Fighting. The difference is that when you fight, lower-case f, you're not invoking the Fighting rules - you're probably invoking the Success Roll rules. That type of fighting isn't two opponents squaring off and trading blows. That type of fighting is you beating and punching on someone who can't defend themselves, or you cutting someone's throat as they struggle to get away. Or you feebly hit back while you get your jaw smashed open. It's not a fair fight, essentially. That type of fighting is just color, just fiction. It's just something to attach to your Success Rolls. "How are you getting those Xs?"
Hmm, you say, I'm beating up on him, smashing his leg apart.
The other Fighting, capital F. Whenever anyone wants, they can say they want to "Bring the fight." That gets them out of having to make a success roll. So if you are murdering a pirate, they can bring the Fight to you, and suddenly they're not being murdered anymore, they're Fighting back. (They can also choose to Endure Duress and get Xs, and they should! But THEN they should bring the Fight, because otherwise, you can just keep trying to murder them.) It's literally you saying, "I don't like that! We're Fighting instead!"
There's still some catches, here - Fighting doesn't negate Success Rolls that just happened. If you're dying, you're dying, and you need to take care of that first (strike a bargain or die). But then say you do strike a bargain. Well, guess what? They're still going to just keep coming at you, so, quick, bring the Fight to escape.
You can also bring the Fight to avoid having to agree to a bargain. "Back me for Captain, or I'll blow your brains out!" Well, that's a bargain. What do you do? If you don't back him for Captain, he blows your brains out, and you don't want that. So you bring the Fight, and that's how you settle it instead. If he's winning after the fight, he can still make the bargain, though, so make sure he's good and dead.
Second, as the GM, I'll make NPCs bring the Fight to you under two conditions. One, when you fail a success roll, I can immediately bring the Fight (as opposed to letting everyone get in just a few more Xs - nope, we're done with that, Fight now!). Two, I'll attack you with my NPCs, and they don't get Xs, not at all. However, what I'm really doing is giving you a chance to endure duress to get Xs, because I'm about to bring the Fight.
The Process
- Make Success Rolls to get Xs, because someone, somewhere, will start a Fight, you can't avoid that.
- When someone makes a bargain you don't want to agree to, but you can't afford the consequences of backing out on it, bring the Fight and hope you win.
- When someone is trying to knock you down and kill you, bring the Fight to avoid several deadly wounds.
- If you don't like what someone's trying to do with their success rolls, bring the Fight to them.
To play Poison'd, you make Success Rolls. The only thing Success Rolls do is get you Xs. You want Xs because they help you win Fights. You want to win Fights because there's always going to be a Fight, and you don't want to lose it.
A Success Roll is a success roll, and Fighting is Fighting. To make this easier, understand there is a difference between "fighting" with a lower-case f, and "Fighting" with an upper-case F. You can fight all you want, go hog wild, but if you want to Fight, you follow the rules for Fighting. The difference is that when you fight, lower-case f, you're not invoking the Fighting rules - you're probably invoking the Success Roll rules. That type of fighting isn't two opponents squaring off and trading blows. That type of fighting is you beating and punching on someone who can't defend themselves, or you cutting someone's throat as they struggle to get away. Or you feebly hit back while you get your jaw smashed open. It's not a fair fight, essentially. That type of fighting is just color, just fiction. It's just something to attach to your Success Rolls. "How are you getting those Xs?"
Hmm, you say, I'm beating up on him, smashing his leg apart.
The other Fighting, capital F. Whenever anyone wants, they can say they want to "Bring the fight." That gets them out of having to make a success roll. So if you are murdering a pirate, they can bring the Fight to you, and suddenly they're not being murdered anymore, they're Fighting back. (They can also choose to Endure Duress and get Xs, and they should! But THEN they should bring the Fight, because otherwise, you can just keep trying to murder them.) It's literally you saying, "I don't like that! We're Fighting instead!"
There's still some catches, here - Fighting doesn't negate Success Rolls that just happened. If you're dying, you're dying, and you need to take care of that first (strike a bargain or die). But then say you do strike a bargain. Well, guess what? They're still going to just keep coming at you, so, quick, bring the Fight to escape.
You can also bring the Fight to avoid having to agree to a bargain. "Back me for Captain, or I'll blow your brains out!" Well, that's a bargain. What do you do? If you don't back him for Captain, he blows your brains out, and you don't want that. So you bring the Fight, and that's how you settle it instead. If he's winning after the fight, he can still make the bargain, though, so make sure he's good and dead.
Second, as the GM, I'll make NPCs bring the Fight to you under two conditions. One, when you fail a success roll, I can immediately bring the Fight (as opposed to letting everyone get in just a few more Xs - nope, we're done with that, Fight now!). Two, I'll attack you with my NPCs, and they don't get Xs, not at all. However, what I'm really doing is giving you a chance to endure duress to get Xs, because I'm about to bring the Fight.
The Process
- Make Success Rolls to get Xs, because someone, somewhere, will start a Fight, you can't avoid that.
- When someone makes a bargain you don't want to agree to, but you can't afford the consequences of backing out on it, bring the Fight and hope you win.
- When someone is trying to knock you down and kill you, bring the Fight to avoid several deadly wounds.
- If you don't like what someone's trying to do with their success rolls, bring the Fight to them.
==========================================
CRUEL FORTUNES
Whenever I want, I can make these. This is my way of fucking with you guys. Picture me laughing as I play them.
Rarely, a few Cruel Fortunes can come to your benefit. Mostly, though? You hate them. I'll always add new Cruel Fortunes to this post, so check here for them.
They're basically status effects based off of the story. Like if you guys get separated, I can bring in the "Parted Ways" cruel fortune.
HERE ARE TWO CRUEL FORTUNES YOU GUYS CAN REQUEST!
- The captain can request Divine Judgment to strike a bargain with God, and remove any single Cruel Fortune from play.
- Anyone can request Malcontentment, but the captain usually won't. When you're pissed off about something on board and want the majority of the crew to riot in some way, request this (captain's being unfair? MALCONTENTMENT). How they riot is up to me, and what they do is based of whether or not other Cruel Fortunes are in play. I'll let you know.
Definitions of some current and past fortunes
- Urgency: whenever there's a lull in the game, or a moment of tension, or whenever I want, I can roll a d6 for a given Urgency Fortune. I write down whatever number I roll next to it. If I ever roll a number that I've already rolled before, already written next to it, then whatever's on the Urgency card enters play.
- Want: You all want / need these things. When they first enter play, you have until the end of the session to fix them. If you don't, I can bring other cruel fortunes into play.
- Wear & breakage: your ship is beat up and you need to fix it.
- Want: You all want / need these things. When they first enter play, you have until the end of the session to fix them. If you don't, I can bring other cruel fortunes into play.
- Wear & breakage: your ship is beat up and you need to fix it.
OUR CURRENT CRUEL FORTUNES
Urgency (The Resolute -22 guns, Profile 11. #s: )
Want (staples and fresh water. 7 days until: Malcontentment)
Wear & breakage (-1 to the Dagger's Profile)
summeryclept on
0
Posts
Can I bring back the reverend, or should I make a new goon?
What do you have against sexy pirates, summery?
everybody join in, it'll be fun
keith, you should throw up your really good OPs from the last thread
EDIT: done and done. if you've already made your character, go back over the creation rules and see if you want to add any new options.
I changed a few things, since we are going with the IRC and are more loose with the bonus options.
-Need concept, mechanics =
CJ, what's your issue with the mechanics? Also, why sad about IRC, we have pretty much seen that this game doesn't work via pbp. We will play it at PAX, but only if we are allowed to physically roleplay the sodomy.
And I've had a bad history with IRC, it just never works out.
hint
it is a lot of sexy maid times
I guess just trust us
Also, jim, post your hocus, I'm curious
also good, I just lost my availability tomorrow, damn you real life
Thursday and Friday nights are also good
Iowa, Hocus
woman, tattered vestments, ascetic face, clear eyes, bony body
Iowa is small and dark, enveloped in a dress, yellow fading to white, dotted with tiny flowers, dirty and frayed, that serves as her cassock. Around her shoulders she wears a strip of cloth like a stole. Her face is angular and well-defined, framed by curly tight hair and high cheekbones. She is serene and her voice is small and low.
•••••STATS•••••
Cool+1 Hard-1 Hot+1 Sharp=0 Weird+3 (selected array +1 -1 +1 =0 +2)
•••••STUFF•••••
2-barter.
•••••MOVES•••••
Fortunes: fortune, surplus and want all
depend on your followers. At the beginning
of the session, roll+fortune. On a 10+,
your followers have surplus. On a 7-9, they
have surplus, but choose 1 want. On a miss,
they are in want. If their surplus lists
barter, like 1-barter or 2-barter, that’s your
personal share.
Fucking wacknut: you get +1weird (weird+3).
Seeing souls: when you help or interfere
with someone, roll+weird instead of roll+Hx.
•••••FOLLOWERS•••••
Iowa preaches that certain people (her) will be able to one day reshape the maelstrom, and that it will truly become a collective consciousness of sorts, one accessible by people who have trained and tempered their minds, and that her followers must work toward her goal by opening their minds to her so that she can use them.
(fortune+1 surplus:augury want:desperation,hunger).
• Your followers are dedicated to you.
Surplus: +1barter, plus replace want: desertion with want: hunger.
• Your followers, taken as a body, constitute a powerful psychic antenna.
Surplus: +augury.
• Your followers depend entirely on you for their lives and needs.
Want: +desperation.
• You have few followers, 10 or fewer.
Surplus: -1barter.
some of Iowa's followers: Bic, Nanny, Tangerine, Jamal
Frenzy: When you speak the truth to a mob,
roll+weird. On a 10+, hold 3. On a 7-9, hold
1. Spend your hold 1 for 1 to make the mob:
• bring people forward and deliver them.
• bring forward all their precious things.
• unite and fight for you as a gang (2-harm
0-armor size appropriate).
• fall into an orgy of uninhibited emotion:
fucking, lamenting, fighting, sharing,
celebrating, as you choose.
• go quietly back to their lives.
On a miss, the mob turns on you.
oh, and psychic antennae works different, it's like a weird custom move now. check the other forum later, i'll point it out