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[someone play with me] Dogs in the Vineyard
robotsunshine
regular
regular
You stand between God's law and the best intentions of the weak.
You stand between God's people and their own demons.
Sometimes it's better for one to die than for many to suffer. Sometimes, Dog, sometimes you have to cut off the arm to save the life.
Does the sinner deserve mercy?
Do the wicked deserve judgement?
They're in your hands.
DOGS IN THE VINEYARD
roleplaying God's Watchdogs
in a West that never quite was.
=============================
DitV takes place in the wild west. You play Watchdogs (or just Dogs) sent from the temple to roam the land and spread the good word of the Lord. You do this my delivering mail on horseback, performing ceremony, and also dragging sinners out into the street to be shot point blank by your giant fucking shotgun.
It's your typical wild west setting, more Little House on the Prairie than not. God's Watchdogs are a special group of trained soldiers who roam the land looking to inspire His word as they go. Everyone knows who the Dogs are, and when they arrive, everyone cheers - they've come to make things right. Here in the west, demons are abound, taking root in the subtle seeds of evil being planted, and when they are allowed to ripen - people start to die.
The game is very rules light, and character creation should take you about ten minutes. It has a very innovative way of conflict resolution, and is one of the best RPGs I've ever played.
===================
MORE BACKGROUND
===================
The Dogs travel via horseback to deliver mail. Once they get in town, it's their job to sanctify marriages, bless newborns, preach, hold ceremony, and generally infuse the town with the positive word of God. No town is complete without sin, though, and this sin ranges from simple pride and injustice to full-blown demonic sorcery, which the Dogs root out and take care of. They carry big, ancient guns, the kind that blow massive holes through walls, and they'll use them if necessary. Not all problems are solved by violence, though, and the Dogs are more than willing to work things out.
Note, however, that the Dogs aren't the official law of the world - they're a self-imposed authority. If their rules are at odds with the local sherrif or authority, there's bound to be conflict.
Dogs wear large, elaborate coats - their trademark - which make them instantly recognizable. In fact, take a look here for an example: http://rs6.loc.gov:8081/pnp/cwp/4a40000/4a40300/4a40388r.jpg
The West represents God's land. Back East is decadent and full of occultism.
The name of the true religion of the world is called the Faith of All Things in the King of Life, Reborn (usually shortened to just The Faith). Other religions exist, but are seen as untrue, blasphemous, and are very rare. Watchdogs always go by Brother or Sister: Brother Jeremiah, Sister Patience. The Faithful don't drink teas, coffee, or alcohol. Herbal tea is fine. Only older people use tobacco, and usually get flack for it.
========
PLAY
========
Each session is the exploration of a new town as the Dogs deliver mail and cure the place of sin. The session is centered around Conflicts, which are self-explanatory: a conflict between people (gunfights, arguments, clashing philsophies, etc.). After someone wins a conflict, there are usually follow-up conflicts. Aside from that, there is heaps and heaps of role-playing as the Dogs try to find out what level of demonic influence exists in the town, where it originated from, and how to handle it - be it convincing someone to stop cheating on her husband, or breaking down the door and gunning down vile priests of Hell.
The supernatural level is more on the subtle scale - no over displays of wicked power, but the occasional demonic posession (and perhaps some bizarre transformations by strong sorcerors) is there. Demons mostly make their presence known through inspiring others to kill, by withering crops, casting town-wide depressions, ruining childbirths, etc. They won't leave until the Dogs purify things.
Conflicts work as such:
The stakes are defined, which means what the conflict is about ("Does Brother Jonas convince the barkeep to return the money?" "Can the Dogs take on the cabal of blasphemers?").
The stage is set (whoever's involved gets to describe the scenery and setting).
All those involved roll a certain set of stats based on what they're doing (talking, physically interacting, fistfighting, or gunfighting). Then, when it's your turn, you put forth two dice and describe an action your opponents can't ignore. ("Sister Patience stands right in the way, saying, 'Y'all ain't leavin' this town until I'm through talkin'.") This is called a RAISE. Anyone affected by this Raise must SEE it, via putting forth any number of their own dice that match it. (so if the Raise was a three and a two, for five, a See would need to be five or more). Depending on how many dice you See with, you either reverse the attack back on them, dodge it, or receive the bulk of it.
When you get low on dice, you can ESCALATE - meaning you go from one arena (of either: talking, physical interaction, fighting, or gunfighting) to another arena. ("Smith says he won't let you pass". "Well then, I punch him.") This gets you more dice and moves the conflict from one thing, such as arguing, into something else, such as a gun pointed at someone's face.
You can apply certain traits and objects as parts of raises and sees, such as your trait of, "When I stare a man down, he listens" or your giant revolver. These traits and guns all get a certain number of dice ranging from d4s to d10s, which you can use as parts of Raises and Sees.
Finally, at anytime, you can GIVE a conflict, which means you just give up and surrender the Stakes to the opponent. Whoever wins the Stakes gets to decide and narrate what happens regarding the situation. Conflicts are meant to be easily Give-able, because once they are, anyone can launch a Follow-Up Conflict which is related to the first conflict's stakes, but aren't the same. ("Well, the Barkeep doesn't return the money - but can we at least convince him what he's done is wrong?"). This is the heart of the game, and really, the only mechanic that exists. You always push towards more conflict.
=================
HOW IT WOULD WORK
=================
Either OpenRPG if absolutely necessary, or otherwise, we play by post here. I describe the town, everyone roleplays (roleplaying in Dogs is very freeform - if you need a prop to be present for your narration, then there it is. You can even perform limited control over NPCs as long as it's for drama's sake), and then when it's appropriate, I host a conflict for all those involved. We continue until the town is completed.
Anyone up for it? If you need more information on the game, visit here: http://lumpley.com/games/dogs.html and for inspiration and sources, check here: http://lumpley.com/games/dogsources.html. I'd highly recommend buying this game, as well - it's only fourteen dollars for the PDF, and $22 for the physical book.
It's meant for a low number of players, five maximum, so we'll be running it with about that many Dogs.
You stand between God's people and their own demons.
Sometimes it's better for one to die than for many to suffer. Sometimes, Dog, sometimes you have to cut off the arm to save the life.
Does the sinner deserve mercy?
Do the wicked deserve judgement?
They're in your hands.
DOGS IN THE VINEYARD
roleplaying God's Watchdogs
in a West that never quite was.
=============================
DitV takes place in the wild west. You play Watchdogs (or just Dogs) sent from the temple to roam the land and spread the good word of the Lord. You do this my delivering mail on horseback, performing ceremony, and also dragging sinners out into the street to be shot point blank by your giant fucking shotgun.
It's your typical wild west setting, more Little House on the Prairie than not. God's Watchdogs are a special group of trained soldiers who roam the land looking to inspire His word as they go. Everyone knows who the Dogs are, and when they arrive, everyone cheers - they've come to make things right. Here in the west, demons are abound, taking root in the subtle seeds of evil being planted, and when they are allowed to ripen - people start to die.
The game is very rules light, and character creation should take you about ten minutes. It has a very innovative way of conflict resolution, and is one of the best RPGs I've ever played.
===================
MORE BACKGROUND
===================
The Dogs travel via horseback to deliver mail. Once they get in town, it's their job to sanctify marriages, bless newborns, preach, hold ceremony, and generally infuse the town with the positive word of God. No town is complete without sin, though, and this sin ranges from simple pride and injustice to full-blown demonic sorcery, which the Dogs root out and take care of. They carry big, ancient guns, the kind that blow massive holes through walls, and they'll use them if necessary. Not all problems are solved by violence, though, and the Dogs are more than willing to work things out.
Note, however, that the Dogs aren't the official law of the world - they're a self-imposed authority. If their rules are at odds with the local sherrif or authority, there's bound to be conflict.
Dogs wear large, elaborate coats - their trademark - which make them instantly recognizable. In fact, take a look here for an example: http://rs6.loc.gov:8081/pnp/cwp/4a40000/4a40300/4a40388r.jpg
The West represents God's land. Back East is decadent and full of occultism.
The name of the true religion of the world is called the Faith of All Things in the King of Life, Reborn (usually shortened to just The Faith). Other religions exist, but are seen as untrue, blasphemous, and are very rare. Watchdogs always go by Brother or Sister: Brother Jeremiah, Sister Patience. The Faithful don't drink teas, coffee, or alcohol. Herbal tea is fine. Only older people use tobacco, and usually get flack for it.
========
PLAY
========
Each session is the exploration of a new town as the Dogs deliver mail and cure the place of sin. The session is centered around Conflicts, which are self-explanatory: a conflict between people (gunfights, arguments, clashing philsophies, etc.). After someone wins a conflict, there are usually follow-up conflicts. Aside from that, there is heaps and heaps of role-playing as the Dogs try to find out what level of demonic influence exists in the town, where it originated from, and how to handle it - be it convincing someone to stop cheating on her husband, or breaking down the door and gunning down vile priests of Hell.
The supernatural level is more on the subtle scale - no over displays of wicked power, but the occasional demonic posession (and perhaps some bizarre transformations by strong sorcerors) is there. Demons mostly make their presence known through inspiring others to kill, by withering crops, casting town-wide depressions, ruining childbirths, etc. They won't leave until the Dogs purify things.
Conflicts work as such:
The stakes are defined, which means what the conflict is about ("Does Brother Jonas convince the barkeep to return the money?" "Can the Dogs take on the cabal of blasphemers?").
The stage is set (whoever's involved gets to describe the scenery and setting).
All those involved roll a certain set of stats based on what they're doing (talking, physically interacting, fistfighting, or gunfighting). Then, when it's your turn, you put forth two dice and describe an action your opponents can't ignore. ("Sister Patience stands right in the way, saying, 'Y'all ain't leavin' this town until I'm through talkin'.") This is called a RAISE. Anyone affected by this Raise must SEE it, via putting forth any number of their own dice that match it. (so if the Raise was a three and a two, for five, a See would need to be five or more). Depending on how many dice you See with, you either reverse the attack back on them, dodge it, or receive the bulk of it.
When you get low on dice, you can ESCALATE - meaning you go from one arena (of either: talking, physical interaction, fighting, or gunfighting) to another arena. ("Smith says he won't let you pass". "Well then, I punch him.") This gets you more dice and moves the conflict from one thing, such as arguing, into something else, such as a gun pointed at someone's face.
You can apply certain traits and objects as parts of raises and sees, such as your trait of, "When I stare a man down, he listens" or your giant revolver. These traits and guns all get a certain number of dice ranging from d4s to d10s, which you can use as parts of Raises and Sees.
Finally, at anytime, you can GIVE a conflict, which means you just give up and surrender the Stakes to the opponent. Whoever wins the Stakes gets to decide and narrate what happens regarding the situation. Conflicts are meant to be easily Give-able, because once they are, anyone can launch a Follow-Up Conflict which is related to the first conflict's stakes, but aren't the same. ("Well, the Barkeep doesn't return the money - but can we at least convince him what he's done is wrong?"). This is the heart of the game, and really, the only mechanic that exists. You always push towards more conflict.
=================
HOW IT WOULD WORK
=================
Either OpenRPG if absolutely necessary, or otherwise, we play by post here. I describe the town, everyone roleplays (roleplaying in Dogs is very freeform - if you need a prop to be present for your narration, then there it is. You can even perform limited control over NPCs as long as it's for drama's sake), and then when it's appropriate, I host a conflict for all those involved. We continue until the town is completed.
Anyone up for it? If you need more information on the game, visit here: http://lumpley.com/games/dogs.html and for inspiration and sources, check here: http://lumpley.com/games/dogsources.html. I'd highly recommend buying this game, as well - it's only fourteen dollars for the PDF, and $22 for the physical book.
It's meant for a low number of players, five maximum, so we'll be running it with about that many Dogs.
robotsunshine on
0
Posts
a) This sounds pretty cool.
b) INNS will probably be right with you.
unfortunately i am broke and do not have the book, and so regrettably i will be following this with interest
:^:
I'm in Arcanis' boat though, but damn do I love to play Crusading sorts.
Crovax.436 Steam: Crovaxan
I had a character built to submit and was like "naaaaah I've got this other thing to be all up ins" and cancelled the submission at the last minute, and I was a fool.
e~ fun fact: Spitting is considered a form of assault and can lead to criminal charges.
Thank you for your kind compliments, though! I was considering running a second game, since I enjoy hurting myself so much - your words have encouraged me to go ahead and start working up a new town, so I can get another three people playing the game. If you still want to play, just wait a day or so, and get ready to submit some shit.
Fun fact: The town is named after a little-known song by John Prine, 'The Sins of Memphisto'. I am considering putting it on YouTube, because John Prine don't get enough love.
fading, i have something in my teeth can you come over here and look in my mouth to see what it is