Afraid
From StoryCodex
Contents |
[edit] Author
D. Vincent Baker
[edit] Status
Afraid is categorized as being in development.
[edit] Summary
Afraid uses a system based on Dogs in the Vineyard and thus subscribes to techniques including Conflicts and Conflict Resolution, Escalation, Player-Defined Traits, Say Yes or Roll the Dice, Setting Stakes, and Social Combat.
The following is a summary of the differences between classic Dogs and the new Afraid system. This information is subject to change following March 6th.
Background: There are 4 new backgrounds. Veteran (fought monsters, at least once), Investigator (have professional reason to be involved), Attached (care about victim's personally), and Entangled (attached but in a problematic way).
Player-Defined Traits Traits are similar to Dogs. Traits that are supernatural receive an additional d4. Everything supernatural gets you what you want but gets you in trouble. Rock!
Bonds: Bonds are a single die trait that defines things you never or always do. There are 3 bonds:
- Conscious: I'm faithful to my lover - Tradition: I pay a 10% tithe on all the money I earn - Nightmare: I kill puppies for satan
Only veterans may have a bond to start the game. As long as you maintain the bond, you gain its dice in every conflict. Bonds of nightmare gain an additional d4.
Circumstances: Circumstances are constantly shifting scene conditions specific to each player character. Circumstances are great improv tools for framing scenes, often restrict players mechanically, and really add a horrific tone to the game. There are 4 Circumstances:
- Alone: no other player characters may be included in the scene
- In Trouble: everything that can go wrong right now for your character... does!
- Lost: where ever you want your character to be, you aren't and there is an obstacle keeping your character from his or her destination.
- Unprepared: your character looses access too all of their belongings
At start of play, one Circumstance is true for each character guided by their selected background. Fallout can make Circumstances true or false. And you may have multiple Circumstances true at the same time. You may also change a Circumstance by making it a part of the stakes of a conflict.
To start play, 2 players chose Alone, 1 Unprepared, and 1 Lost.
Arenas: The Arenas are Research, Social, Athletic, Fighting, and Murder.
You may escalate into any Arena (escalating the entire conflict) in any order. For example, from Social to Murder or Murder to Social. This is also the case in Dogs but an aspect of the game often misunderstood.
This aspect of the rules allow for Social Combat.
Escalation This is my favorite part! You may now escalate the Arena (conflict) instead of answering (seeing) someone's challenge (raise). You simply escalate and the dice from the outstanding challenge are lost and you make an immediate challenge yourself!
Fallout: Experience fall out can buy off circumstances. Although no one ever chose that option. They preferred to change circumstances via conflict. Still a great option! You may also purchase bonds with experience fall out. Which my players LOVED!
When NPCs take fallout, you may choose to reveal information regarding the monster, slaves, acolytes, victims, their relationships to each other, and more! For example:
- Short-term Fallout: reveal single fan from monster write up.
- Long-term/Injury Fallout: name of victim, slave, acolyte or monster's bonds or monster's access to a victim the players know.
This pushed players to escalate just to force Long-term fallout onto NPCs. It definitely made the game more aggressive.
Character Death: We had at least 1 character death every 2 adventures. Monsters + lots of victims = lots of D10s! Character death has a thematic and mechanical benefit. Every time a character dies, monster dies, victim succumbs to the monster, or victim is released from the monster... everyone receives Reflection Fallout!
Optional rule for Injury Fallout: Instead of dying, you can place your character into seclusion and make a new character. I believe either the other players receive Reflections Fallout except for you or that no one receives Reflection Fallout. I need to verify. Once your new character dies or is placed into seclusion, you may continue playing your old character.
NPC All NPCs, other than monsters, have 4 traits with different dice for each level of escalation:
- I'm taking this very seriously.
- This falls within my expertise.
- My life depends on this.
- I'm fighting for someone I love.
Nonhuman Opponents: Nonhuman opponents don't have stats. Instead, they have series of dice with levels escalation built in. Very quick, very elegant and their are several difficulty levels to choose from. For example:
6d6 1d8 1d10, escalate for 3d10, escalate for 1d6 4d4.
Monster, Acolytes, Slaves: Building monsters with acolytes and slaves is essentially the creation of Relationship Maps, similar to making a town in Dogs. You answer a series of questions such as:
"The nightmarish resources push her and enable her to make her indulgences even more ritualistic and extreme. Eventually, she does something irrevocable and life-or-death. She kills, dies, conceives a child, brings someone back from the grave. This transforms her; she's now a monster, a creature all nightmare. She is a danger to humanity: her existence, her influence, threatens the lives, souls or humanity of us all. Name the horror her influence could make of the world."
In addition to the Monster's normal dice, it also receives additional dice for its victims (which you will design as part of the Monster creation process) and levels in which it victimizes them. The players race to save the victims and the monster races to victimize them. If the players identify the victims, the monster's access to them, breaks that access, and blocks any future means... then the monster will grow weaker, loosing d10s!!! If you destroy the monster without destroying its acolytes, one of her acolytes becomes the new monster!
[edit] Play Reports
- Jenskot's AP
- Eris, Empress of Chaos and Entropy
- Where the Monster Is At
- Sister Nancy Piety
- Victim of an Angry Tiger
- With a Nerfed Monster
- PC Nightmare
[edit] Reviews
This product is not released yet.
[edit] Resources
| Author | Vincent Baker + |
| Gameplay | Conflicts and Conflict Resolution +, Escalation +, Player-Defined Traits +, Say Yes or Roll the Dice +, Setting Stakes +, Social Combat +, and Relationship Maps + |
Categories: GM | Horror | Dice | Unfinished | Free
