Timed Actions, Combat, and Puttin' Her to Bed
Timed Actions and combat are, in my opinion, awesome. They really sound like they will convey the feel of the series. They both operate in vague units of time called Beats. The time a Beat is measured in is as long as the action taken during that Beat takes to accomplish. It'll make more sense in an example.
Timed Actions are those actions taken when a PC is under the gun and only has a few moments to do it in. I'll take an example from The Quickstart Job so here's your fair warning. I'm going to make it as plotless as possible so that if you ever play the module this shouldn't spoil anything for you.
The team has coaxed the target out of his office for a few moments giving Parker (the hottie thief) a small window inside which she's going to try and get into a safe. I hesitate to call this a spoiler because if you've ever watched the show you can rightly assume that Parker is going to try and get into a safe on any given day. Anyhow, getting into this safe is a three step process; Getting past the motion sensor, getting past the laser crosswire, and cracking the lock. It's going to take her three Beats to get this job done.
The number of Beats she'll actually have to do the job in the session will largely depend on factors that will be determined through play. For our purposes we're going to give her exactly the number she needs...three. For each step in the process Parker is going to roll her Agility + Thief + any other benefits she might get vs. the GM's d8 + d8 (again, I'm guessing there are steps from which the system derives these numbers but they didn't reveal those in this Job). If Parker succeeds then the action only takes 1 Beat. If she scores an Extraordinary Success (a success in which she out-rolls the GM by 5 or more) she finds a shortcut and the action didn't take any Beats at all. A failure will actually cost her 2 Beats, cutting her time short.
If it's obvious that Parker isn't going to have enough time to get into the safe the rest of the crew can attempt to buy her some time. Distracting the target is going to be the most obvious way of buying time. The crewmember will roll against the NPC, with a success Parker gets an extra Beat to try and get into the safe. With an Extraordinary Success she'll get two extra beats. If the crewmember fails then no extra Beats are gained and the failing crewmember can't make any more attempts to buy time. If she runs out of time then other options open up. They won't be total victory and may involve getting caught, but that is outside of the realm of this review. In this regard I think Beats do really well to mechanize that countdown clock, adding tension to the scene. It's kinda like Leverage that way.
Combat works in a very similar fashion. Fighting in this game is very "cinematic" and there is no real tactical element to it whatsoever. At the start of each fight the players involved determine the Endurance for their PC. Again they didn't provide the mechanics and just gave the final number, also NPCs are figured differently. It all seems arbitrary in the module but I'm sure the full rules will provide context. For now we know that Eliot's Endurance is 6 and the group of NPCs come to Endurance of 5. The target and his three guards all count as one for the purpose of this fight. It's an abstraction of how difficult overall it will be for Eliot to overcome.
Combat, like Timed Actions, takes place in Beats. For each Beat all participants in the fight describe their Fight Action. Then they roll their Strength (or maybe Agility if the argument can be made) + Hitter + other factors. Highest roll wins the Beat. Extraordinary Successes count as two Beats. When one side has won as many Beats as their opponent has Endurance then the opponent is Taken Down. When Taken Down a character is incapacitated in some way and, in the case of PCs, unable to participate with the rest of the Job. There is a way out, however.
Giving, crying uncle, general pansiness. You can quit the fight. Doing so lets you walk away and gives you a Plot Point. The tradeoff is that you get a Complication and your friends get to make fun of you.
You can also gain a second wind by spend a Plot Point (I'm not sure I can bring myself to call them PPs). This will add one to your Endurance.
Now comes time for the Flashbacks. In the series they will reveal to the viewer (and usually the target) one thing that each crewmember did prior to the Job to help set them up for success. In the game this manifests in each player adding to the story one thing that their character did prior to the Job to help set them up for success. This is the part where the players are given some narrative control. Each player will make a roll and if they succeed Nate gains bonuses to his Wrap Up roll which will determine just how successful they were in taking care of the target.
Overall I think this game is going to have tons of potential for fun. If the overall rules are as they are depicted in the demo then I think it will make for a great episodic or one-shot games. It's probably designed to follow the show in that regard. If a GM was really intent on making a deeper, more serialized campaign out of it I don't think it will be that hard, but that's only a guess. I think that this game has really nailed the feel of the show, at least on paper. I can't wait to try this out on my friends.
Showing posts with label Leverage. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Leverage. Show all posts
Saturday, June 26, 2010
Necreviews: Leverage: The Quickstart Job, Part 2
Last time on Necreviews: Leverage: The Quickstart Job, Part 1...
"Traits? Assets? Complications? WTF are you talking about? That'll be in Part 2."
Traits are defining characteristics of a character that are used to encourage the player to roleplay the character. You gain additional dice to your rolls for roleplaying those traits into the situation you are rolling for. Additionally, the GM can tell you that your Traits might be problematic for the situation you are in and you gain a lesser die to your pool and gain a Plot Point for every Trait used and roleplayed to the detriment of your character. I'm still not certain why you are gaining any additional dice to your die pool when your traits are a problem. If the situation is harder for the PC then it would make sense that the GM gets the bonus dice and the player still gets the Plot Points for the RP. But this is a demo, maybe the full rules will make that clearer.
We'll continue using Eliot the Hitter as our example. His Traits are Bad Boy, Mysterious History, and Smarter Than He Looks. Let's say he needs to get passed a receptionist in order to get into a backroom to steal a security uniform. The receptionist is an attractive young woman who's obviously attracted to him. He's gonna try to sweet-talk his way past her. He'll roll his Intelligence + Grifter but wants to bring Bad Boy into the roll so he'll mention his Harley Davidson, which will grant him an extra d8, bringing his total dice pool to 2d6+d8.
Let's take that same situation only the receptionist is an older, no-nonsense woman. She is not impressed with his Harley. In fact she dislikes his whole Bad Boy routine. Eliot's dice pool is now 2d6 + d4 and he gets a Plot Point. Again, why he's getting the bonus d4 and not the taciturn receptionist, I do not know.
Complications arise when wins a roll but one of his dice came up a "1". At this point a new element is introduced to the Job that...complicates the situation for the crew. These manifest mechanically as en extra die for the GM in any instance that the complication can be attributed. Complications always start as a d6 bonus for the GM, but they can escalate if more Complications are rolled. This also grants the PC a Plot Point, which we'll get to later.
Again with Eliot. he smooth talks the receptionist but rolls that "1". Not only does she let him through, but she's smitten and every time she sees him she makes him obvious by trying to get his attention. This will add a d6 to the GM's dice pool in every situation applicable. If he rolls another Complication it can escalate to a d8 and can do so up to d12.
Assets work very similarly to Complications but where Complications earn the player Plot Points, Assets will cost the player Plot Points. Assets are player-created exploits in the scene. They add a d6 to the player's dice pool for as long as that Asset is relevant. Standard Assets only last until the part of the Job in which they are created is over.
It is possible for a player to create a permanent Asset by spending the Plot Point right after the GM rolls a "1" in a player's scene. Like Complications, these Assets can be escalated through play to provide a greater benefit to the player.
Plot Points are the game's currency, earned through Complications. Assets are only one of the benefits they can buy. Plot points also allow players to add additional dice to the number of dice counted for their roll. If we continue with the example of Eliot and the attractive receptionist, his dice pool was was 2d6 + d8. Eliot's player decides he doesn't want to mess this up. The player gets a 2, 4, and 5. Typically Eliot would have had a total of 9 for that roll, but because he spent the Plot Point he was allowed to add the third die to come up with a total of 11. In cases where the PC is rolling more than three dice that Plot Point will allow you to include the next highest die into your total.
Talents are the final character mechanic presented in The Quickstart Job. These are more specific in function than Traits. For instance one of Nate Ford's talents, Archangel, allows any member of the team to spend Plot Points to give dice to any other team member assuming Ford is in contact with the team. Sophie's Talent, Slip of the Tongue, allows her player to ask the GM a question concerning the NPC that the GM was rolling for if the GM rolls a "1". This question must be answered even if that answer is vague.
In the third and final installment I'll go over timing and combat. It's pretty sweet.
"Traits? Assets? Complications? WTF are you talking about? That'll be in Part 2."
Traits are defining characteristics of a character that are used to encourage the player to roleplay the character. You gain additional dice to your rolls for roleplaying those traits into the situation you are rolling for. Additionally, the GM can tell you that your Traits might be problematic for the situation you are in and you gain a lesser die to your pool and gain a Plot Point for every Trait used and roleplayed to the detriment of your character. I'm still not certain why you are gaining any additional dice to your die pool when your traits are a problem. If the situation is harder for the PC then it would make sense that the GM gets the bonus dice and the player still gets the Plot Points for the RP. But this is a demo, maybe the full rules will make that clearer.
We'll continue using Eliot the Hitter as our example. His Traits are Bad Boy, Mysterious History, and Smarter Than He Looks. Let's say he needs to get passed a receptionist in order to get into a backroom to steal a security uniform. The receptionist is an attractive young woman who's obviously attracted to him. He's gonna try to sweet-talk his way past her. He'll roll his Intelligence + Grifter but wants to bring Bad Boy into the roll so he'll mention his Harley Davidson, which will grant him an extra d8, bringing his total dice pool to 2d6+d8.
Let's take that same situation only the receptionist is an older, no-nonsense woman. She is not impressed with his Harley. In fact she dislikes his whole Bad Boy routine. Eliot's dice pool is now 2d6 + d4 and he gets a Plot Point. Again, why he's getting the bonus d4 and not the taciturn receptionist, I do not know.
Complications arise when wins a roll but one of his dice came up a "1". At this point a new element is introduced to the Job that...complicates the situation for the crew. These manifest mechanically as en extra die for the GM in any instance that the complication can be attributed. Complications always start as a d6 bonus for the GM, but they can escalate if more Complications are rolled. This also grants the PC a Plot Point, which we'll get to later.
Again with Eliot. he smooth talks the receptionist but rolls that "1". Not only does she let him through, but she's smitten and every time she sees him she makes him obvious by trying to get his attention. This will add a d6 to the GM's dice pool in every situation applicable. If he rolls another Complication it can escalate to a d8 and can do so up to d12.
Assets work very similarly to Complications but where Complications earn the player Plot Points, Assets will cost the player Plot Points. Assets are player-created exploits in the scene. They add a d6 to the player's dice pool for as long as that Asset is relevant. Standard Assets only last until the part of the Job in which they are created is over.
It is possible for a player to create a permanent Asset by spending the Plot Point right after the GM rolls a "1" in a player's scene. Like Complications, these Assets can be escalated through play to provide a greater benefit to the player.
Plot Points are the game's currency, earned through Complications. Assets are only one of the benefits they can buy. Plot points also allow players to add additional dice to the number of dice counted for their roll. If we continue with the example of Eliot and the attractive receptionist, his dice pool was was 2d6 + d8. Eliot's player decides he doesn't want to mess this up. The player gets a 2, 4, and 5. Typically Eliot would have had a total of 9 for that roll, but because he spent the Plot Point he was allowed to add the third die to come up with a total of 11. In cases where the PC is rolling more than three dice that Plot Point will allow you to include the next highest die into your total.
Talents are the final character mechanic presented in The Quickstart Job. These are more specific in function than Traits. For instance one of Nate Ford's talents, Archangel, allows any member of the team to spend Plot Points to give dice to any other team member assuming Ford is in contact with the team. Sophie's Talent, Slip of the Tongue, allows her player to ask the GM a question concerning the NPC that the GM was rolling for if the GM rolls a "1". This question must be answered even if that answer is vague.
In the third and final installment I'll go over timing and combat. It's pretty sweet.
Necreviews: Leverage: The Quickstart Job, Part 1
I'm going to start this off by admitting that this is the first time I've reviewed anything. Let me know what you liked or didn't like, if it helped you or not.
I've been a fan of Leverage since just about the beginning. I started watching it probably within the first episodes. I'm a sucker for the genre. And it wasn't a couple of days after it crossed my mind to set up some kind of Leverage inspired Savage Worlds game that I found this pdf on DriveThruRPG. Sure it took me a couple of months to actually buy it, and sure the full rules will be available in a matter of weeks but it was on sale for $1.99.
The Quickstart Job is my first experience with the Cortex System and so far I like what I see, although I hear that the system was heavily modified for this game. The die mechanics are simple and the timing/combat mechanics seem like they'll deliver an experience that will build tension without escalating situations to the point of fatality. In that regard it emulates the show very well.
The PCs for this module (the Leverage crew from the series) have six standard attributes which will each range from a d4 to d12. There are five skills in this game, each one reflecting a heist archetype. Eliot the Hitter, for example, has a d10 in his Hitter skill, d4's in Thief and Hacker, d6 in Grifter, and d8 in Mastermind.
The die mechanics, as I said earlier, are pretty simple. You roll attribute + skill + any addition dice from Traits and/or Assets. The GM rolls the appropriate dice and adds any Complications. Both parties add the two highest rolls together. High roller wins. I will note that it's difficult to tell exactly how the GM will conclude what his die pool will be in the final version although I don't think it's a stretch to conclude that it will be NPCs' attribute + skill + any applicable complications. This demo gives you predetermined die pools.
Traits? Assets? Complications? WTF are you talking about? That'll be in Part 2.
I've been a fan of Leverage since just about the beginning. I started watching it probably within the first episodes. I'm a sucker for the genre. And it wasn't a couple of days after it crossed my mind to set up some kind of Leverage inspired Savage Worlds game that I found this pdf on DriveThruRPG. Sure it took me a couple of months to actually buy it, and sure the full rules will be available in a matter of weeks but it was on sale for $1.99.
The Quickstart Job is my first experience with the Cortex System and so far I like what I see, although I hear that the system was heavily modified for this game. The die mechanics are simple and the timing/combat mechanics seem like they'll deliver an experience that will build tension without escalating situations to the point of fatality. In that regard it emulates the show very well.
The PCs for this module (the Leverage crew from the series) have six standard attributes which will each range from a d4 to d12. There are five skills in this game, each one reflecting a heist archetype. Eliot the Hitter, for example, has a d10 in his Hitter skill, d4's in Thief and Hacker, d6 in Grifter, and d8 in Mastermind.
The die mechanics, as I said earlier, are pretty simple. You roll attribute + skill + any addition dice from Traits and/or Assets. The GM rolls the appropriate dice and adds any Complications. Both parties add the two highest rolls together. High roller wins. I will note that it's difficult to tell exactly how the GM will conclude what his die pool will be in the final version although I don't think it's a stretch to conclude that it will be NPCs' attribute + skill + any applicable complications. This demo gives you predetermined die pools.
Traits? Assets? Complications? WTF are you talking about? That'll be in Part 2.
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