You’re Out of your FAQing Element
Ryan Macklin wrote a blog post about problems he sees with “use-whenever” stats in RPGs, using my FAQ hack for Leverage as an example. There are somegood ideas in there, and I encourage reading it. When it comes to the FAQ hack, though, I think it’s missing the point. I’m fine with Ryan using it as an example, to illustrate the problem, but I think it’s suggesting that the FAQ system isn’t doing what it should in the system.
I don’t think that’s true. Maybe it will help if I explain the intent of the system. So here’s my mission statement for the FAQ system:
The purpose of the FAQ system is to change attributes into an easy decision that gets out of the way of the more interesting ones.
I found that, when using attributes, it took a while to figure out which one would apply to each roll. Each GM picked differently, and for the player it didn’t always make sense. And in the end, it was just a die, nothing more. Too much time spent on an uninteresting decision. I wanted that part of the game to step aside, to stop hogging the spotlight with I had distinctions to apply and plot points to spend!
With attributes or FAQ approaches, a Leverage game will be interesting. FAQs aren’t meant to add another decision point: They’re meant to be damn fast. They’re meant to give a character something to default to. When Ryan says that he could come up with justifications for using the same approach in a bunch of situations without putting much time into it, that’s great. That’s the whole point!
I’m a big believer that not all rules need to be created equal. They don’t all need to have knobs to turn. Sure, there are ways to encourage changing up approaches (hell, just making the lowest one a d4 would do that on a small scale). But I think Ryan’s character will be more memorable because he tries to solve everything with aggression first. Let him use his big ol’ d10 if it encourages him to use a distinction against himself at the same time. He’s doing what a Leverage character ought to be doing.
FAQing Expectations
I also wanted to work with FAQs as a DM tip-off, much like Roles do. If you find out most of your characters have d8 Grifter, that tells you a lot about what sort of game they want to play. It’s much tricker to do the same thing with the original attributes. Using FAQs makes it easier to tailor your session. If you get a bunch of Analytical players, it gives you a good sense of the types of obstacles they’d like to deal with. It also lets you know that situations that are more easily solved using Forceful or Quick are going to give them some trouble, whether that’s using a lower die or coming up with something truly ostentatious in order to use the better stats.
A FAQed Up Play Style
I also think Ryan likes a different style of Leverage game than I do. I like to run one-shots, so I use FAQs. I also have players put a d4 in only one role, which I know Ryan isn’t a fan of. For me, this makes it easier as the DM to put that character in tricky situations. (I realize this is counter-intuitive, since having more d4s would seem to make it easier. This is definitely a YMMV situation, but I prefer having a clear “this is my Achilles heel.” I think it makes the flaw more iconic.)
I think Ryan prefers a longer-term campaign or mini-campaign with more subtleties. My house rules are absolutely pointed at running the kind of game I want. I’d love to see the hacks Ryan would make to get the kind he’s into.
Aspectfully Speaking
In a recent blog post, Wil Wheaton writes about how he learns lines for his scenes, figuring out what the character wants and needs to get him as an actor to the right place. He goes on to identify three recent characters and their motivations:
As I said on Twitter recently, I realized that Doctor Parrish’s favorite thing in the world is “I told you so.” Evil Wil Wheaton’s favorite thing in the world is, “Ha! Gotcha, Sheldon Cooper.” Cha0s’ favorite thing in the world is, “I know something you don’t know, and never will know, because I am so much smarter than you.”
When I read this, I had myself a genuine AH HA! moment (earning many glares at the library), because I finally understood what all those insufferable, infuriating, brilliant FATE nerds have been yammering about for the last year or so. It’s the character through-line, the how, the why, the what for. Oh yes, it’s the Aspects. Now, for those out there who figured this out from the very first moment, please grant me a little grace, because I can be a real moron when I put my mind to it.
All this time, all these articles, all this peripheral material (notice I’m not saying, ‘All these games,’ since I have yet to actually play one of those FATE games, but that’s not as important as you might think), and with Wil Wheaton’s post, the clouds finally parted and the sun didst shine down and lo, it didst alight on my brow. Previously, I got it, but I didn’t really GET it. I understood it, but I didn’t really understand it. [Read the rest of this article]
Review: Battle Tag (by Ubisoft)
The odds are that you haven’t heard of the game Battle Tag that was released by Ubisoft in November of last year. How do I know that? Because so far it has only had what must be called a “soft release” and is only available through Ubisoft’s online store or in stores in Canada and Texas. Aside from some attention garnered at E3 2010, there’s not many ways you would have heard about this game. What’s surprising about this is that Battle Tag is far and away the best laser tag game I’ve ever played and may even be one of the best back yard experiences I’ve had in my entire life.
I found out about this game because my wife and our friend Joshx0rfz heard about it from a mutual friend and immediately decided it would be perfect for my birthday party last weekend. They kept it a secret from me, but through some hints I had an idea of what was going to happen, but Battle Tag was way beyond anything I expected. The key element that sets this game apart from other back yard battle games is that Battle Tag requires you to use computer software hooked up to a Ubiconnect antenna. The included software lets you name players, set up teams, and change many of the elements of the game such as health, ammunition, rules for each game such as Free For All or Team Frag, and even set the beam power depending on if you’re playing indoor, outdoor, in bright light, or in the dark.
With a company like Ubisoft behind the game, I was not surprised to find that the software made the game feel more like all of our favorite FPS games than a simple game of laser tag in our back yard. In addition to the software and the ability to customize the details of the game, it also incorporates small plastic boxes for home bases and reload stations which you tap to the bottom of your gun to respawn or to reload your gun. In addition there are eight different game types out of the box that includes one or two which involve shooting the Ubiconnect antenna or tagging specific bases as a part of scoring for that match. For our first outing with the game we stuck almost entirely to the Team Frag game type, but once I got home and looked at the different variations I decided that we definitely need to try them all.
Specs and Details
The one major downside to Battle Tag is without a doubt the cost, but when you consider how much you would spend on playing laser tag at an arena or paying for paintball equipment and course time to me it still comes out ahead. Battle Tag costs roughly $60 per player and the current software handles up to 8 players so the investment you’re looking at to get the most out of the game is steep at around $500. The two player starter set costs $130 and includes two vests, two guns, one CD of the Battle Tag software, one Ubiconnect antenna, two bases, and two ammo boxes. There is a single vest and gun expansion as well as a med-kit and two extra bases expansion but both appear to be sold out (from everywhere, unfortunately) at the moment. [Read the rest of this article]
Loading ...
