[19:31] <+DreamchaserPete> My name is Pete and I am a dreamchaser!
[19:31] <+DreamchaserPete> ;P
[19:31] <+DreamchaserPete> I run a little game company called Imagining Games.
[19:31] <+DreamchaserPete> Dreamchaser is our first tabletop product.
[19:32] <+DreamchaserPete> To those of us that affectionately love and adore roleplaying games, it is simple an RPG.
[19:32] <+DreamchaserPete> To the uninitiated, it is an immersive storybuilding game where players imagine goals and roleplay characters to fulfill their destiny…their dreams.
[19:32] <+DreamchaserPete> It rewards your imagination and player creativity!
[19:33] <+DreamchaserPete> Hiya VAgentZero!
[19:33] <+VAgentZero> Hey hey
[19:33] <+DreamchaserPete> Dan, VAgent Zero is Jim Dagg. He’s a food friend of mine and has been helping me work on Dreamchaser.
[19:33] <+DreamchaserPete> lol
[19:34] <+DreamchaserPete> food friend! ahem! Good friend
[19:34] <+DreamchaserPete> He does like to cook though
[19:34] <~Dan> Great! Glad to have you here. 🙂
[19:34] <+DreamchaserPete> Jim, Silverlion has made a few games as well.
[19:34] <+DreamchaserPete> Has a neat *drive* mechanic that is something like tags.
[19:35] <+DreamchaserPete> Think he mentioned players need to announce their drive to benefit.
[19:35] <+VAgentZero> More like Dreamchaser tags or JGR tags?
[19:35] <+VAgentZero> (Just Got Real — a project I’m working on. But don’t let me derail the conversation 🙂 )
[19:36] <+DreamchaserPete> Hehe! I was thinking DC tags but maybe like JGR tags too.
[19:37] <+DreamchaserPete> Drive works like, players say *I believe in freedom* and if that belief might help them, they get to reroll.
[19:37] <+DreamchaserPete> Silverlion, how many drives do characters get?
[19:38] <+DreamchaserPete> Want to mention your games too, so Jim knows what I’m referring too?
[19:38] <+VAgentZero> That’ll be handy for folks reading the chat log as well
[19:39] <+DreamchaserPete> good point!
[19:39] <~Dan> (Quick reminder: Please give us a (done) when you’re ready for questions. 🙂 )
[19:39] <+DreamchaserPete> done
[19:39] <+DreamchaserPete> Thanks Dan!
[19:39] <~Dan> Thanks, DreamchaserPete! The floor is open to questions!
[19:40] <~Dan> Still there, Silverlion?
[19:41] <~Dan> So does this game have its own setting?
[19:41] <+VAgentZero> Pete, tell us about character creation — what rules do we have constraining the type of characters we build?
[19:41] <+VAgentZero> Dan, you first — your question is more interesting, and leads into mine
[19:41] <+DreamchaserPete> hehe
[19:41] <+DreamchaserPete> It does not!
[19:42] <+DreamchaserPete> In Dreamchaser we let the setting come about organically.
[19:42] <+DreamchaserPete> We focus on a goal for our game and let the setting be a thing that supports that goal.
[19:42] <+DreamchaserPete> Sometimes, setting gets in the way of what we want to accomplish.
[19:42] <+DreamchaserPete> done
[19:43] <+VAgentZero> One of the things I’ve found in the demo games I’ve played/seen has been that the setting is organically built from the character generation, which then leads into the story.
[19:44] <~Dan> How does that come about?
[19:44] <+DreamchaserPete> Good question!
[19:44] <+DreamchaserPete> We start with a simple question with many possibilities.
[19:44] <+DreamchaserPete> I hand each player several notecards
[19:44] <+DreamchaserPete> I try to have most things off the table.
[19:45] <+DreamchaserPete> Trying to make it just us and the notecards.
[19:45] <+DreamchaserPete> Then I ask each player to write 1 answer per notecard.
[19:45] <+DreamchaserPete> The question, What do you want to achieve together?
[19:45] <+DreamchaserPete> The common follow up is, What do you want to experience in a roleplaying game.
[19:46] <+DreamchaserPete> Then suggest they keep it to a short sentence or 3-5 words
[19:46] <+DreamchaserPete> vague is good
[19:46] <+DreamchaserPete> gives us more story options
[19:46] <+DreamchaserPete> The players begin writing down their answers on cards
[19:47] <+DreamchaserPete> When they each have one goal in mind, dream in mind.
[19:47] <+DreamchaserPete> They share them with each other. This way, they each get to speak their piece before anyone else influences them.
[19:47] <~Dan> (Howdy, Doc!)
[19:47] <+DreamchaserPete> Hi Doc!
[19:47] <&Doctor> Ello hello
[19:47] <+DreamchaserPete> One of their responses will be the dream of our game, the goal of our game.
[19:48] <+DreamchaserPete> Then we imagine the most important roles in that story.
[19:48] <+DreamchaserPete> Then each player gets to throw in one or more experiences they want to have with that role, in that story. In a very similar fashion.
[19:48] <&Doctor> I am behind. Link?
[19:49] <~Dan> (Link: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/500559789/dreamchaser-a-game-of-destiny-rpg)https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/500559789/dreamchaser-a-game-of-destiny-rpg
[19:49] <+DreamchaserPete> imagininggames.com and
[19:49] <+DreamchaserPete> you got it
[19:49] <+DreamchaserPete> So, recap!
[19:50] <+DreamchaserPete> Players imagine a goal for their game. Then they imagine the roles they want to play. Lastly, each player adds an experience, they themself wants to have in that game or story.
[19:50] <+DreamchaserPete> The setting is only what we need to make the game happen.
[19:50] <+DreamchaserPete> kind of like a novel
[19:50] <&Doctor> (lemme know when I can fire questions)
[19:51] <~Dan> (Howdy, Xaos!)
[19:51] <+DreamchaserPete> and it fits to the goal, characters, story, etc.
[19:51] <+DreamchaserPete> done
[19:51] <~Dan> (The floor’s open to questions!)
[19:51] <+DreamchaserPete> Did I get everything so far, Dan?
[19:52] <+DreamchaserPete> Hard to gauge tone in text. Might hear myself delivering the message right but losing some in the delivery.
[19:52] <+VAgentZero> @Doctor, you had a question?
[19:53] <~Dan> DreamchaserPete: Yup!
[19:53] <&Doctor> Okay, so, first off, apologies in advance, I’m the chat’s resident hardcase
[19:53] <+DreamchaserPete> 😀
[19:54] <+DreamchaserPete> What do you mean by hardcase?
[19:54] <~Dan> He asks tough questions. 🙂
[19:55] <+DreamchaserPete> Shoot
[19:55] <+DreamchaserPete> The Doctor is in!
[19:55] <~Dan> Do you have a method for determining whose goal becomes the game’s goal? Is it a simple vote?
[19:55] <&Doctor> So, I’ve read the stuff, what I’m not seeing is how the system is constructed that differentiates it from other narrative RPGs. What makes this system unique and what does it _do_ that others can’t?
[19:55] <+DreamchaserPete> Simple vote, GM breaks ties.
[19:56] <+DreamchaserPete> Most of the time, some of the dreams get used as milestones, or the specific experiences the players want in their game.
[19:57] <+DreamchaserPete> The game starts with asking the players, what do you want to achieve together? What do you want to experience in a roleplaying game?
[19:57] <+VAgentZero> By using the other ideas as Milestones (think story beats that show up in the campaign), everyone has the opportunity to provide input on where the story goes, and the ability to put their PC into the spotlight.
[19:57] <+DreamchaserPete> From the inception, players get agency.
[19:58] <+DreamchaserPete> Goals and experiences are imagined by the players and given to the GM to run.
[19:59] <~Dan> Hmm… I think I need to see the game’s core mechanic for some context here.
[19:59] <+DreamchaserPete> Even Fate or Apocalypse World do not give the players that kind of control over the story or game.
[20:00] <+DreamchaserPete> Fiasco might but then in a game like that, players must play director as well.
[20:00] <&Doctor> Right, but what I am asking is… How is that different from Fiasco or 7th Sea?
[20:00] <+DreamchaserPete> What I’m talking about is more like a session 0.
[20:01] <+DreamchaserPete> Fiasco requires the players to play director in a GMless experience. That is not something many players are comfortable with.
[20:01] <+DreamchaserPete> Harder to bridge the gap from trad player to story gamer
[20:02] <+DreamchaserPete> Is that answering your question or do you want me to kind of go through it in more detail?
[20:02] <&Doctor> I understand that; the design incorporates players in the creative aspect of the campaign, but that’s as much a group dynamic as anything else. I could do that with any campaign. What in the operation of the game sustains that level of involvement and/or makes it integral for the gae?
[20:02] <&Doctor> game
[20:03] <~Dan> Do you think an explanation of the mechanics would help answer your question, Doctor?
[20:03] <+DreamchaserPete> Let’s see. So a few points to make.
[20:04] <+DreamchaserPete> The game is unrestricted by setting.
[20:04] <&Doctor> It’s likely be a start, Dan
[20:04] <+DreamchaserPete> The game is goal oriented.
[20:04] <+DreamchaserPete> Players imagine the goal of the game, no matter how small or how large.
[20:04] <+DreamchaserPete> Player characters are made with a goal in mind and collaboratively.
[20:05] <~Dan> (Howdy, Monochrome_Tide!)
[20:05] <+DreamchaserPete> They create a number of character milestones they want to experience as players in that story.
[20:05] <+DreamchaserPete> They order these milestones into a sequence
[20:06] <+DreamchaserPete> That sequence becomes a framework for our game.
[20:06] <+DreamchaserPete> Like story beats or chapters.
[20:06] <+DreamchaserPete> Then they make their characters.
[20:07] <+DreamchaserPete> Characters are rewards, like leveling or gaining experience, for accomplishing their milestones.
[20:07] <+DreamchaserPete> are rewarded
[20:07] <&Doctor> Okay, you’re kind of answering me but there’s obviously a failure to communicate on my end. Let me try again.
[20:07] <+DreamchaserPete> In game, players have a Belief ratiing that rises and falls as they progress through milestones toward their dream.
[20:09] <+DreamchaserPete> This Belief reflects the growing confidence of the character in him/herself and the world around them.
[20:09] <+DreamchaserPete> The Belief rating empowers players to “bend the universe” when the player really wants something to happen a certain way.
[20:10] <&Doctor> What I am asking is _how_ does it accomplish those things in a way other games don’t. Up until the Belief rating thing, you’d effectively described a well functioning gaming group. What is Belief tied to? How is it acquired?
[20:11] <+VAgentZero> (As an aside, @Doctor, you’re absolutely right. Sadly, we aren’t all blessed with a really good, friendly, respectful group. I feel like Dreamchaser makes the process of giving everyone the spotlight easier by enforcing it mechanically.)
[20:12] <~Dan> Is there a character sheet posted that we can see?
[20:12] <+DreamchaserPete> One of the things Dreamchaser does best is helping groups be a better functioning gaming group.
[20:12] <+DreamchaserPete> There is a lot to that and not many games do much to help gamers achieve it.
[20:13] <+DreamchaserPete> Having a structure in the rules promotes player use as opposed to tips in the back that imply good ideas that might be overlooked or underused.
[20:13] <+DreamchaserPete> Certainly, there is one on the KS page. I could also share one if you’d like.
[20:13] <~Dan> Please do!
[20:13] <+VAgentZero> Link would be great!
[20:15] <&Doctor> So how is it built into the rules?
[20:15] <+VAgentZero> (Link: http://miburl.com/fHhiMb)http://miburl.com/fHhiMb
[20:15] <~Dan> Can’t get to that link, VAgentZero.
[20:15] <+VAgentZero> My bad, sorry
[20:16] <+DreamchaserPete> (Link: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/0B_b7LHy0OtwERW1nbWRLYjBOdVU?usp=sharing)https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/0B_b7LHy0OtwERW1nbWRLYjBOdVU?usp=sharing try this one
[20:16] <~Dan> Says I need permission.
[20:16] <+VAgentZero> @Pete, turn on link sharing
[20:16] <&Doctor> yep
[20:17] <+DreamchaserPete> (Link: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/0B_b7LHy0OtwERW1nbWRLYjBOdVU?usp=sharing)https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/0B_b7LHy0OtwERW1nbWRLYjBOdVU?usp=sharing
[20:18] <+DreamchaserPete> Try it now, it was sharing within the company only a moment ago
[20:18] <~Dan> There we go…
[20:19] <~Dan> Welcome, Guest16!
[20:19] <~Dan> Can you describe the core mechanic?
[20:19] <+DreamchaserPete> I made this sheet. So, it still needs to go through a layout professional.
[20:19] <+DreamchaserPete> Certainly!
[20:19] <+DreamchaserPete> Roll 2d10 and roll under your ratings to succeed.
[20:20] <+DreamchaserPete> Every numerical rating is on a 1-10 scale.
[20:20] <+DreamchaserPete> You can get 0-2 successes per roll
[20:20] <+DreamchaserPete> 2 successes and you achieve all that you set out to do.
[20:20] <+DreamchaserPete> 1 success, you succeed with a catch.
[20:21] <+DreamchaserPete> 0 successes and you not only do not succeed. New problems arise.
[20:21] <+DreamchaserPete> roll doubles and you get a critical version of any outcome.
[20:21] <~Dan> So you aren’t adding the d10s together, but rolling two d10s separately?
[20:21] <+DreamchaserPete> Exactly
[20:21] <+VAgentZero> Against two separate target numbers
[20:21] <+DreamchaserPete> adding creates math
[20:22] <+DreamchaserPete> math turns new players off and slows things down.
[20:22] <+VAgentZero> How do the tags we were talking about influence this process?
[20:22] <+DreamchaserPete> One die reflects a soul skill and another die reflects a skill/ability.
[20:22] <+DreamchaserPete> Each roll represents the character’s intent or thought in his/her head.
[20:23] <&Doctor> so I need different color die?
[20:23] <~Dan> So each die has a different target number?
[20:23] <+DreamchaserPete> If he/she can imagine it successfully, we believe they can achieve it.
[20:23] <+DreamchaserPete> You don’t need different color dice but it helps.
[20:23] <+DreamchaserPete> Some players roll one die and then the other.
[20:23] <+DreamchaserPete> Some roll percentile.
[20:24] <+DreamchaserPete> I package two different pretty chessex dice.
[20:24] <+DreamchaserPete> The Soul Skills are imagine and reason.
[20:24] <+DreamchaserPete> We look at each skill or ability through the lens of using it creatively or as it is routinely used.
[20:25] <+DreamchaserPete> Sorry Dan, yes, you are rolling under your own Imagine or Reason(Soul SKills) and a skill that has a rating.
[20:25] <+DreamchaserPete> skill/ability
[20:25] <+DreamchaserPete> All on a 1-10 scale. 4 is an average human being. 10 is godlike.
[20:27] <+DreamchaserPete> Once you succeed or fail, we use tags to reflect how your character is better or worsely suited for the task. Tags may allow you to reroll failures or the GM to have you reroll successes.
[20:27] <+DreamchaserPete> Tags are words or phrases that describe the character you play.
[20:28] <+DreamchaserPete> Fast, strong, good hearted, irrational, ruthless, etc
[20:28] <+DreamchaserPete> Did I lose anyone?
[20:29] <~Dan> Nope, still with you.
[20:29] <+DreamchaserPete> roll 2 dice, roll under, the better the proposed action fits your character, the better your chances to succeed.
[20:29] <+VAgentZero> You’ve got a sort of rollercoaster up and down — the tags you incorporate need to fit with what you’re doing, and there’s a push and pull as each person chooses whether to use a tag to force (or gain) a reroll, or wait for the other to give.
[20:30] <+VAgentZero> Like, I might want to reroll my other die using my Ruthless tag, but if I do, and the GM tags Numerous on his goblin horde, I’m going to have to reroll that success anyway. There’s a gamble, both narratively and mechanically.
[20:30] <+DreamchaserPete> With each roll giving us an outcome, we can gather a lot from one roll and roll less.
[20:31] <+DreamchaserPete> I think each roll should be valuable. I want each roll to make the player lean in. I want you to cross your fingers in anticipation.
[20:32] <+DreamchaserPete> With tags and the interpretation of how imagine/reason alter the use of skill/abilities, players are truly free to make unique strategies for success in our world.
[20:32] <+DreamchaserPete> Ever play a character who gets his way by being creepy?
[20:32] <~Dan> Not me personally, but I’ve seen it done. 🙂
[20:32] <~Dan> (Unfortunately, the player was also creepy.)
[20:32] <+DreamchaserPete> lol
[20:33] <+DreamchaserPete> Dreamchaser empowers players to succeed at life more like people do.
[20:33] <+DreamchaserPete> Work your strengths to the best of your ability.
[20:33] <+DreamchaserPete> Sometimes what works for people isn’t what you would think.
[20:34] <~Dan> How do you handle paranormal abilities?
[20:34] <+DreamchaserPete> I like to think I leveled the playing field with that.
[20:34] <+DreamchaserPete> I’m still learning new things that can be the core of how a character succceeds all the time.
[20:35] <+DreamchaserPete> The characters religion, race, passion, looks, physical strength, money, personality quirks, and on and on
[20:35] * ~Dan nods
[20:35] <+DreamchaserPete> Players imagine skills/abilites that grant them.
[20:35] <+DreamchaserPete> Same goes for magic, futuristic equipment/cyberware, and the like.
[20:36] <+DreamchaserPete> miracles
[20:36] <+DreamchaserPete> super powers
[20:36] <+DreamchaserPete> pokeballs
[20:36] <+DreamchaserPete> That has been a reoccuring ability
[20:36] <+DreamchaserPete> people love their pokeballs and pokemon go was a really big hit over the summer.
[20:36] <+DreamchaserPete> ;P
[20:37] <~Dan> Heh. 🙂
[20:37] <+DreamchaserPete> Each player gets three to start with
[20:37] <~Dan> Seems like you’d have a problem with scaling.
[20:37] <+DreamchaserPete> They imagine what they want. When they are finished, they share what they have in mind. if they haven’t already. That way, each player has a chance to adjust accordingly.
[20:37] <+DreamchaserPete> The GM just has to make sure players do not pigeonhole themselves.
[20:38] <+VAgentZero> @Dan, how so?
[20:38] <+DreamchaserPete> With 3 skills/abilities, having two so similar is a problem.
[20:38] <&Doctor> This… seems like it would be very very difficult without an extremely thoughtful and functional group
[20:38] <+DreamchaserPete> Really isn’t
[20:39] <~Dan> VAgentZero: Well, I’m thinking specifically about super-abilities. How would you distinguish the ability “Strong” from the ability “Super-Strong”, for example?
[20:39] <+DreamchaserPete> Just gotta give players the chance to adjust.
[20:39] <+DreamchaserPete> Don’t want to be the janitor and you be superman.
[20:39] <+VAgentZero> ^– that
[20:39] <+DreamchaserPete> Also, since the skills/abilities become strategies for success, they are often as powerful as you can imagine ways to use them.
[20:39] <+VAgentZero> Pete, have you had a situation where you had players you thought would clash come together?
[20:40] <+VAgentZero> To address @Doctor’s point — I know you’ve run this at a *lot* of cons
[20:40] <+DreamchaserPete> hehe
[20:40] <+DreamchaserPete> Hmm
[20:41] <+DreamchaserPete> thought they would clash
[20:41] <+DreamchaserPete> Not sure, I’ve had characters clash more than I thought they would.
[20:41] <+DreamchaserPete> That is all story driven though.
[20:41] <&Doctor> Which is usually a pretty ideal setting in that a con game’s brevity can mask systemic issues
[20:42] <+DreamchaserPete> Each game goes in unique directions that you can’t predict. Not that crazy when you say it out loud.
[20:42] <+DreamchaserPete> For Dan, strong and super strong are a good example.
[20:42] <+DreamchaserPete> They don’t differ mechanically.
[20:43] <+DreamchaserPete> They are probably both tags not skills.
[20:43] <+DreamchaserPete> If they were skills they would be identical.
[20:43] <&Doctor> In which case, what is the difference between Mike Tyson and Superman?
[20:43] <+DreamchaserPete> The rolls are about outcomes and in relation to challenges.
[20:44] <+DreamchaserPete> I don’t need to know if you can do it better than Tyson or Superman. Unless that is the challenge at hand.
[20:44] <+DreamchaserPete> They would have different physical health, I call that body.
[20:44] <+VAgentZero> @Doctor, the table is encouraged to be very communicative. Your “average” 4 is in relation to the other PCs — so Mike Tyson might be a 7 if we’re a team of martial artists, but 2 if we’re superheroes.
[20:44] <+DreamchaserPete> Tyson a 7 or 8 and Superman a 10.
[20:44] <+VAgentZero> Unless I’m misremembering, @DreamchaserPete
[20:44] <+DreamchaserPete> His skill would be based on how good he/she was.
[20:45] <+DreamchaserPete> The tags would be similarly powerful.
[20:45] <+DreamchaserPete> The body scores would differ
[20:45] <&Doctor> Right, but we just covered they’re both Tags
[20:45] <+DreamchaserPete> Superman’s physical prowess is godlike.
[20:45] <+DreamchaserPete> So he should last longer in any physical test.
[20:45] <+DreamchaserPete> Unless he’s using poor skills and or has tags working against him.
[20:46] <+DreamchaserPete> Those depend on the situation, challenge, and how the players works the skills/abilites.
[20:46] <~Dan> Actually… I just realized that you haven’t described difficulty ratings.
[20:46] <~Dan> Unless you’re counting Tags as that?
[20:47] <&Doctor> With paranormal powers, it just seems so open that it’d be easy to accidentally end up a Batman in a Superman world
[20:47] <+DreamchaserPete> Difficulty ratings are your own characters’ Soul Skills (Imagine/Reason) one die, and Skills/Abilities one die.
[20:47] <+DreamchaserPete> Each has a rating from 1-10.
[20:47] <+DreamchaserPete> Roll under
[20:48] <~Dan> Right, but that’s based on the character’s abilities. I’m talking about the level of the challenge.
[20:48] <+DreamchaserPete> Players have 10 points to assign to Imagine and Reason.
[20:48] <+DreamchaserPete> One could be 3 and the other 7, both 5, one 1 and the other 10, etc.
[20:48] * ~Dan nods
[20:48] <+DreamchaserPete> Skills/Abilites are at best an 8 and at worst a 3
[20:49] <&Doctor> I think he is asking about knocking out Tyson vs knocking out Superman
[20:49] <+DreamchaserPete> 8 being a legend, 7 the best, 6 expert, 5 skilled, 4 beginner, 3 untrained.
[20:49] <~Dan> Right, or picking up 100 lbs. vs. picking up 1,000 lbs.
[20:49] <&Doctor> Or riding a bike vs riding a bike on a highwire
[20:49] <+DreamchaserPete> 8 can become a 9 via a mythical challenge.
[20:50] <+DreamchaserPete> The added difficulty doesn’t change the target number.
[20:50] <+DreamchaserPete> It does one of two things.
[20:50] <+DreamchaserPete> It is labeled as a tag and held against the character in a negative way, forcing a reroll of successes.
[20:51] <+DreamchaserPete> or it is within a “Challenge” and plays out more like a prolonged combat.
[20:51] <+DreamchaserPete> That is where health comes into play.
[20:51] <~Dan> How does the latter work?
[20:52] <+DreamchaserPete> Challenges are for anything that needs more drama/tension/or might fulfill a milestone.
[20:52] <+DreamchaserPete> Challenges are cool, GMs can come up with them on the spot, so no prep necessary on that front.
[20:53] <+DreamchaserPete> Challenges are adversaries, an adversay, a problem, a challenge, etc
[20:53] <+DreamchaserPete> Anything that demands more than a simple roll outcome.
[20:53] <+DreamchaserPete> We stat the challenge up as a whole. Mind, Body, and Spirit rating that reflect health and three tags.
[20:54] <+DreamchaserPete> Players face challenges by proposing actions that move the story forward and interact with the challenge in a way that defeats it.
[20:54] <+DreamchaserPete> Maybe that is knocking it out, passing a test, out racing the light, acting your butt off, or being so cute and shy the girl asks you out.
[20:55] <&Doctor> how does that work mechanically?
[20:55] <+DreamchaserPete> There is no wrong way to face a challenge, you are limited by the situation and what your creativity can come up with.
[20:55] <+DreamchaserPete> Each player gets a turn against the challenge and proposes an action, we make a roll, the successes hurt the challenge, the failures hurt the player character.
[20:56] <+DreamchaserPete> Tags are used on each side in a challenge.
[20:56] <+DreamchaserPete> Player gets a chance to use tags to reroll and then the GM does.
[20:56] <+DreamchaserPete> When the players have dealt enough damage of either Mind, Body, or Spirit the challenge is defeated.
[20:56] <&Doctor> How do you handle situations with multiple challenges?
[20:57] <+DreamchaserPete> Which damage is determined by how the character intends for the action to affect it.
[20:57] <+DreamchaserPete> Hi Azander!
[20:57] <+DreamchaserPete> Great name!
[20:57] <~Dan> Howdy, Azander, LW!
[20:57] <+DreamchaserPete> Generally, there is one at a time.
[20:58] <+DreamchaserPete> Sometimes, like pvp, for example, there can be two at the same time.
[20:58] <+DreamchaserPete> If your character runs out of Mind, Body, or Spirit you go out.
[20:58] <+DreamchaserPete> players do all the rolling.
[20:58] <~Dan> How do things like weapons and armor affect combat?
[20:58] <+DreamchaserPete> The GM works to make the exchange as story driven and cinematic as possible.
[20:58] <+DreamchaserPete> We are going for immersion here.
[20:59] <+DreamchaserPete> They are reflected in your tags or just flavor for description.
[20:59] <+DreamchaserPete> tags can also come from the relationships you imagine.
[20:59] <+DreamchaserPete> Relationship are the people, places, and things that are important to a character. That add value to a character.
[21:00] <+DreamchaserPete> Each gets a tag that can be used if adequately described.
[21:00] <+DreamchaserPete> So, my family’s icebrand,Winterwolf may be a Relationship. Let’s say it has the tag, wyrmslayer.
[21:00] <+DreamchaserPete> I use that to aid me in slaying dragons.
[21:01] <&Doctor> that tag attaches to you or the sword?
[21:01] <+DreamchaserPete> Making it a relationship tells the GM, this is important to me and I want it in to be important in my game.
[21:01] <+DreamchaserPete> In that case, the sword.
[21:01] <+DreamchaserPete> Tags can be used beneficially across the board.
[21:01] <~Dan> So this relates to what we were discussing earlier, but how would you distinguish any old sword and a magical dragon-slaying sword?
[21:02] <+DreamchaserPete> If you can make a challenge’s tag work for you or a buddy’s tag work for you, awesome!
[21:02] <&Doctor> So how many tags can you have in play at once?
[21:02] <+DreamchaserPete> Relationship for the badass sword.
[21:02] <+DreamchaserPete> Belonging for the other.
[21:03] <+DreamchaserPete> If it would come standard to your character we would just assume you have it in most situations.
[21:03] <~Dan> Belongings have no mechanic effect?
[21:03] <+DreamchaserPete> Maybe not in prison, for example.
[21:03] <&Doctor> I see ten slots, 3 to start, how does that account for swords etc?
[21:03] <+DreamchaserPete> Generally, cinematic effect. They can influence the setting though.
[21:04] <+DreamchaserPete> If we don’t have much of a setting and at the end a player adds an AI drone. Then we just got more advanced.
[21:04] <+DreamchaserPete> When we hit milestones, you can add a relationship.
[21:04] <+DreamchaserPete> This kind of brings us to the tag vote.
[21:05] <+DreamchaserPete> Players can add tags to other characters by a majority vote.
[21:05] <+DreamchaserPete> They point at a player when he/she is roleplaying something and vote a tag on him/her.
[21:05] <+DreamchaserPete> The tag is supposed to reflect how the character is acting.
[21:06] <~Dan> Is there a limit on how often that can happen?
[21:06] <+DreamchaserPete> This could lead to a tag that may reflect the sword in question.
[21:06] <+DreamchaserPete> Right now, you have 10 tag slots. 5 are meant to be yours. 5 are for the GM.
[21:07] <+DreamchaserPete> When you double fail in a challenge, a challenge might impose a tag on to your character. He is now injured, scared, poisoned, crazed, etc
[21:07] <&Doctor> how do you remove tags?
[21:08] <+DreamchaserPete> So the vote would help you fill 5 slots. When they are filled the player can replace new ones over the old.
[21:08] <+DreamchaserPete> it is kind of a chiseling process to the character sculpture.
[21:08] * ~Dan nods
[21:08] <+DreamchaserPete> Play to the tags that further define you for a benefit.
[21:09] <+DreamchaserPete> but also live within the limits of those same tags or be penalized.
[21:09] <+DreamchaserPete> The player of that character and the GM have little to no say in the vote.
[21:09] <+DreamchaserPete> It is the other players who are the audience.
[21:09] <~Dan> I like that. I find games that require players to define the characters’ personalities at inception to be restrictive.
[21:09] <+DreamchaserPete> This is nice, it makes characters evolve over play mechanically as well as normal.
[21:10] <+DreamchaserPete> If you want to make a minimal character, you will become more over play.
[21:10] <+DreamchaserPete> It also molds to you over time.
[21:10] * ~Dan nods
[21:10] <+DreamchaserPete> So, player characters can change or even find redemption.
[21:10] <~Dan> So how does Belief relate to Tags?
[21:11] <+DreamchaserPete> Worth mentioning, some players will just have fun razzing each other and making the best of crappy tags.
[21:11] <+DreamchaserPete> lol
[21:11] <+DreamchaserPete> find your fun!
[21:11] <+DreamchaserPete> Belief governs tag use.
[21:11] <+DreamchaserPete> You start with a Belief of 4, average normal human being.
[21:12] <+DreamchaserPete> You can then use all the boons of a Belief of 4 or less.
[21:12] <+DreamchaserPete> Odd numbers are passive abilities that govern tag use.
[21:12] <+DreamchaserPete> even numbers grant purchaseable abilities that allow player’s to take back creative control at the moments most important to them.
[21:13] <+DreamchaserPete> Use them by spending 2 belief
[21:13] <+DreamchaserPete> so you lose a passive ability as well
[21:13] <+DreamchaserPete> You gain Belief at the end of each meeting or when you achieve Milestones.
[21:14] <+DreamchaserPete> Generallly, if you are moving in the right direction, you will gain 1 Belief. if you pass a Milestone, you will gain 2 Belief.
[21:14] <~Dan> So you have to spend Belief in order to use a Tag??
[21:14] <~Dan> -?
[21:15] <+DreamchaserPete> If you are playing a character that is purposely resistant to working toward the next Milestone, hesistant, or frustrated. Then, you might lose 1 point. If you get defeated in a Milestone Challenge, you will lose 2 Belief.
[21:15] <+DreamchaserPete> No, you just spend Belief to use the even numbered ones on the Belief chart.
[21:15] <~Dan> Welcome to #rpgnet, Guest48!
[21:16] <+DreamchaserPete> The odd numbered ones that govern tags are passive and free.
[21:16] <+DreamchaserPete> Hi Guest48!
[21:16] <+DreamchaserPete> So, there is also a benefit to keeping a higher Belief.
[21:17] <+DreamchaserPete> Not only are you closer to better benefits or boons, but you have the opportunity to use more tags for more rerolls.
[21:17] <+DreamchaserPete> It is designed as campaign mechanic.
[21:17] <+DreamchaserPete> The closer you get to your ultimate goal, the more likely your Belief rises. Belief becomes almost a momentum toward success.
[21:18] <~Dan> Hmm… I’m confused now.
[21:18] <+DreamchaserPete> Ideally, that is. Sometimes, it just saves your butt now and again.
[21:18] <+DreamchaserPete> What’s the hang up?
[21:18] <~Dan> Well, let’s take 5 (pardon the pun) on that scale…
[21:19] <~Dan> Does that mean that I spend 5 Belief in order to use 2 Tags?
[21:19] <+DreamchaserPete> You only spend Belief to use the even numbered Belief Boons.
[21:20] <~Dan> So you can do 2 rerolls by using two applicable Tags at any time, for example?
[21:20] <+DreamchaserPete> So spend 2 Belief to use Hope(Belief rating 2), Faith(Belief rating 4), the Tide(Belief rating 6), The Zone(Belief rating 8), or The One(Belief rating 10). You only ever spend 2 Belief at a time.
[21:21] <+DreamchaserPete> If your Belief is at a 5 or higher.
[21:21] <~Dan> So what does the Belief rating signify?
[21:21] <~Dan> (Sorry. I feel like I’m being dense here.)
[21:22] <+DreamchaserPete> If your Belief is at a 6 and you use the Tide though. You’ll lower your belief to 4 and no longer be able to use 2 tags for 2 rerolls.
[21:22] <+DreamchaserPete> You’ll get to change any roll into a critical success though.
[21:22] <+DreamchaserPete> one time
[21:22] <+DreamchaserPete> for that moment when you need it to happen
[21:22] <+DreamchaserPete> The character’s belief in him/herself and how the world works.
[21:23] <+VAgentZero> I’ve often used the auto-critical for a narrative capstone in one of my Milestones.
[21:23] <+DreamchaserPete> or his/her view on how the world works.
[21:24] <~Dan> So is the number the level of Belief that’s required to accomplish what’s at that level?
[21:26] <+VAgentZero> I think you’ve got the right idea — you are able to use Hope if you have 2 Belief, Faith if you have 4, etc.
[21:26] <+DreamchaserPete> Yes but not the cost to use it
[21:26] <+VAgentZero> ^– that
[21:26] <~Dan> Okay, now I understand.
[21:26] <+DreamchaserPete> I think a better layout artist will make that a lot more self explanatory with just looking at it.
[21:26] * ~Dan nods
[21:27] <~Dan> So in the time remaining, is there anything we haven’t covered that you’d like to bring up?
[21:27] <+DreamchaserPete> It is hard here though. Very easy to describe in person. Hard to convey without pointing in text alone.
[21:27] <+DreamchaserPete> The game is wonderful for GMs.
[21:27] <+DreamchaserPete> I have run a lot of different games for a lot of different groups.
[21:28] <+DreamchaserPete> I come to each Dreamchaser game with enthusiasm and no dread.
[21:28] <+DreamchaserPete> lol
[21:28] <~Dan> Always a plus. 🙂
[21:28] <+DreamchaserPete> All the prep work is done at the table. All the prep work can be done on the fly.
[21:28] <+DreamchaserPete> I’m a prep GM. So, that is saying a lot.
[21:29] <+DreamchaserPete> I’ve gotten good at improv but it was never my forte.
[21:29] <+DreamchaserPete> Each game is refreshing for the GM.
[21:29] <+DreamchaserPete> You truly don’t know what the game will hold.
[21:30] <+DreamchaserPete> This session might be a crime drama, the next may be superheroes inside the body of a giant animated lemon.
[21:30] <+DreamchaserPete> It might be the Wire meets Pokemon
[21:30] <&Doctor> Pokeballs = crack anyway
[21:30] * ~Dan chuckles
[21:30] <+DreamchaserPete> It might be the pursuit to become a New York times Bestseller or to paint the next Sistine Chapel.
[21:31] <+DreamchaserPete> I’ve had players play themselves and pursue their own mulitmedia company, just like in real life.
[21:31] <+DreamchaserPete> They got a chance to try a few things out and explore what that might be like.
[21:31] <+DreamchaserPete> That is also a cool gift to being a GM.
[21:32] <+DreamchaserPete> Also, the game is fueled by the players imagination.
[21:32] <+DreamchaserPete> That removes SO many excuses to new players trying out an rpg.
[21:32] <~Dan> Indeed.
[21:32] <+DreamchaserPete> With a GM as a guide, they don’t ever have to open the book.
[21:33] <+DreamchaserPete> They just enjoy an engaging, collaborative brainstorming session and then play the game.
[21:33] <+DreamchaserPete> The Dream Mapping and collaborative character making creates player investment.
[21:33] <+DreamchaserPete> GMs no longer have to spend countless nights wandering what their players want and how to deliver it to them.
[21:34] <+DreamchaserPete> They hand it to you in 5-15 minutes and ask you to run them their game.
[21:34] <+DreamchaserPete> The process creates truly unique and memorable stories.
[21:34] <+DreamchaserPete> Unleash your creativity
[21:34] <+DreamchaserPete> Imagine again
[21:34] <+DreamchaserPete> done
[21:34] <+DreamchaserPete> hehe
[21:34] <~Dan> Thanks, DreamchaserPete!
[21:35] <~Dan> I appreciate you joining us this evening.
[21:35] <~Dan> You too, VAgentZero!
[21:35] <+DreamchaserPete> Thank you, Dan! Thank you for the opportunity! Thank you for promoting this thing.
[21:35] <&Doctor> Yep, looks interesting and it’s already funded, which is a big plus
[21:35] <~Dan> As a reminder to the readers, my tip jar is here: (Link: https://gmshoe.wordpress.com/the-gmshoes-tip-jar/)https://gmshoe.wordpress.com/the-gmshoes-tip-jar/
[21:35] <+DreamchaserPete> Thank you VAgent Zero! Super appreciate the backup there. ;D
[21:36] <+DreamchaserPete> Doctor! Thank you for really trying to ask the hard questions!
[21:36] <~Dan> If you’ll give me just a moment, I’ll get the log posted and link you. 🙂
[21:36] <+DreamchaserPete> I hope I was able to communicate a few o fthe answers you were trying to get at.
[21:36] <+DreamchaserPete> Tip the man!
The Hardboiled GMshoe's Office 