Dev Diary #6 - Magic, Rebellion, and Crises (+ a few changes to the Core)

Hello everyone. I hope you're all well today. Still working on the next batch of playbooks to share with you guys, but I'm halfway there already, so it shouldn't be too long before you guys see it. 

In the meantime, I'd like to share the Crisis System and a few changes I made to the Core Rules since I last spoke about them.

-

Core Rule Update

Mostly, I've switched a few moves.  I felt I'd written several moves that had too much overlap between each other, and some others fit better elsewhere.

Embrace the magic is no longer a + Child move. Instead, roll + Lights and Shadows marked.

Replacing embrace the magic as the 2nd + Child move is show someone mercy. In a world where you are forced to war, I do not want PCs to forget kindness and mercy. This move makes you vulnerable, but can end a fight if used at the right time.

Assert yourself has also been moved. I felt it a little troubling, assigning a stat to a move that prevented your stats from shifting. The Lights, on the other hand, seemed perfect boosts to this move. So, it has replaced call on the magic as the Lights move. That move has been removed from the game due to its overlap in function and theme with several other moves.

Taking the place of the 2nd + Warrior move is defend someone or something. I figured that I needed a move that covered the protection of allies/NPCs that did not necessarily involve battling a threat, providing more options for combat.

-

Magic & Rebellion

At the end of every session, the table must decide together the state of the Rebellion and the world's magic. Are you on the run? Is the Empire on alert? Are you lighting the fire? Is the magic dying? Is it healing?

Depending on the answer, the group will adjust one of two gauges: Magic and Rebellion. Each gauge has 6 sections that may be filled or emptied depending on the results of the End of Session move. By default, each campaign starts with 3 sections filled in each gauge. These may also be filled or emptied as the fiction demands.

Magic (or spirits, ether, mother nature, or whatever you decide to call it in your setting) basically functions as a world's life force.  To some degree, every aspect of life depends on its smooth flow and functioning. 

The Magic gauge measures that function of magic. As the gauge is filled or emptied, the fiction will be affected accordingly. As the gauge is filled, PCs with connections to magic may find their connections strengthened and the GM may describe the world as healing, growing stronger, and beings of myth returning to the world. Conversely, as the gauge is emptied, PCs may weaken, and the GM may describe the world to be in a state of corruption, of mythic sites falling to ruin, or of something breaking on a fundamental level.

The Rebellion gauge measures the strength of the actual fighting force and the support they have from the people. As the gauge is filled, the PCs may find aid more readily coming to them. A new town may welcome you, your crew may find a patron, perhaps a few NPCs offer to join the crew, or the Knight finds initiates seeking training. But as the gauge is emptied, expect less in the form of aid. Perhaps an important patron or ally is arrested, martial law is declared, or a new Imperial weapon is deployed, or the occupation comes under new management.

As written, both gauges are measured for the setting as a whole. Theoretically, if you're playing a large-scale campaign, you could track these separately for each individual region in your game. I would not recommend doing so, for ease of play.

-

Crises

A source of magic is under attack, the superweapon bears down on the rebel headquarters.  When the Magic gauge or the Rebellion gauge is emptied, the world enters a state of Crisis. The world also enters a state of Crisis if the Chosen reveals their destiny.

The best way I can illustrate what Crises look like would be to point you to the season finales/finale arcs of Avatar and She-Ra. The Siege of the North, Sozin's Comet, the Portal, the Heart of Etheria... these are all examples of Crisis-level problems and threats

Crisis scenarios are excellent for capping off a campaign season and demonstrating the increased stakes. And the GM should raise the stakes for Crises. Everything that matters should be put under threat when possible. The GM will likely make harder moves and send more dangerous opponents. 

Failure here is both possible and consequential. At best, the Rebellion's plans are set back. At worst, the world is wounded forever. However, it does not mean that the campaign ends. Beating the Crisis does not end the campaign either. That is decided only by the players at the table.

During a Crisis, PCs gain access to the Crisis Moves that are powerful but risky compared to the basic moves.

• Invoke ancient power - Roll + Sage. Tap into the powers of the world. Beware, however, as these powers may demand a price, and will refuse if an invocation goes against their nature.
• Make the hard choice - Roll + Fool. War is not easy. That goes especially for a war against Empire. Sometimes you have to make hard choices, choices that no one else is willing to do.
• Openly defy Empire - Roll + Child. There's a lot you can do with the world watching you. After all, what is an Empire without its subjects? Just be careful of the message - you can't control it once you've sent it, and you cannot control the response it gains.
• Cast judgement - Roll + Poet. Words have many uses. Naming people and their actions for what they are is one of those most vital functions of language. One way or another, they cannot ignore you.
• Overwhelm your enemies - Roll + Warrior. The quickest way to end a fight is to make sure your enemies don't get back up. But be careful, as in your recklessness you may deal or take more harm than you intend.

-

That is all for today! If you have any comments or suggestions, please let me know, I'd love to hear your thoughts!

Until next time!