I’m making a possible basic move for my soldier class. Here’s the first draft:

10 thoughts on “I’m making a possible basic move for my soldier class. Here’s the first draft:”

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2. Allegiance

   Choose a name for a group you are a member of.

   Choose one or two instincts:

   * to conquer

   * to collect knowledge or resources

   * to uphold peace, order or status quo

   * to uphold doctrine, religous or otherwise

   Choose one obligation:

   * fealty

   * tribute

   * a figting arm

   * fulfillment of a promise

   * debt, financial or otherwise

   Choose one provision:

   * supplies (an equivalent of 5 gold pieces of equipment monthly)

   * a home to call your own

   * liberty of faith or decision

   * forbidden or lost knowledge

   * work and payment

   Choose one reason for your allegiance:

   * your beliefs

   * convenience

   * simply business

   * hidden agenda

   Name a handler, superior or liason and choose one:

   * he has a soft spot for you and always has your back

   * he’s high ranking (more provisions, let the MC decide how much)

   * he’s not very strict (overlooks your obligations, let the MC deside how much)

   As long as you remain the member of that group you have to provide the chosen obligation and will receive the provisions selected. 

   If you ever fulfill the obligation, mark XP and replace the move or the obligation. The MC will tel you the details.

   Not that I think this move is that necessary. If I had more time I’d write up something more useful, this is too much complicaton for a so-so effect.

3. Andrzej Zielinski Interesting ideas. It’s gonna be a basic move, so I was gonna have advanced moves that give you more options, such as this one I just wrote sloppily a second ago:

   Your Allegiance gives you divine authority as well as the other advantages. Write down what Diety the group follows and at least one of the God’s domains or its alignment. This group gains the divine tag. 

   Also, I’m not sure which move you’re referring to at the end there?.The secondary one in mine or your version of the move, or what?

4. I refer to the whole move Alegience. Not sure if I’d want to use that – it makes simple things that are possible to do on Basic Moves a little to complex. I’m not a fan of adding rules and constraints where they can become bumps in the road for the fiction.

   If anything I’d write Allegiance more as a starting move that would give the soldier player some neat ideas and contribute to worldbuilding. The faction the soldier serves has an enemy. What is that enemy that you are figthing and why? that sort of thing. Putting into the rules those ‘what you pay’ and ‘what you get’ choices should be open enough not to limit storytelling. It just isn’t now 😛 Move needs work, tis what I’m sayin.

5. Indeed. I was trying to have an advantage in the world that’s part of the class I guess. It is meant mostly for world-building and plot, but I want it to be an interesting enough part of character. Not sure the best way to do that is at this point. 

6. Yeah. I’d not go for a new class with a soldier. Or at least not in this way. Gave it some thought and the soldier is tricky because it’s imbalanced when compared with the other players. In Apocalypse World it’s okay to have a biker gang or a stronghold with NPCs, but in DW this barely flies unless you can make it similiar for other players. Being a soldier means being part of a highly ornganized an potentially large group. It’s either the soldier is more concerned with his active army duties (because what really makes a soldier is the army, and what makes an rmy is the chain of command) then he is with the party, or the eopposite, he is ranked enough to act on his own, but has subordinates which would give him an unfair advantage over the other players. And when I say advantage I mean – the story can become the story of the soldier and not the story of the party very quickly.

   If you plan on making the soldier a party member, I’d go with a fighter, just replace the singnture weapon with a move On Duty: When you report to your superior to request backup or supplies, roll +CHA: On a 10+ you get what you want, no question asked; on a 7-9 yes, you get what you want, but choose two:

   * you report all of your party plans, including sensitive details

   * you don’t get exactly what you asked for

   * you now act under specific orders

   * You get it, but with cost involved

   On a 6- choose between changing plans, resources or insubordination. The MC will tell you how.

   And advanced moves would allow you have a commando of companions like The Chopper and his gang. 

7. oooh. Let me show you what else I have of the class. The premise for my soldier is that they fought in the last war. Whether they are still on duty is up to the player, and if the realm is at a time of relative peace then it makes sense to not need as many soldiers. That being said, they still have connections to their  own groups or nations. I am liking the first 3 basic moves I have but I’m not sure about the 4th/5th. Tell me what you think.The one I’m posting now is v1.0 and has most of the basic stuff finished, I removed the disciplined move(in that form) for obvious reasons.

   https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B5lJ0i72URwZcDJnelJ1SGkwQTA/view?usp=sharing

8. Revised edition today:

   Allegiance 

   Choose a nation, organization,, army or creed (religious/divine or otherwise) you fought for in the last war. Write their name and description on the lines below as details enfold during play. Whenever you spout lore about this group, instead of rolling, tell the GM one thing that is true about this group.

   ____________    

   ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

9. Well, if the war is over I’d call the calss Vetern and not Soldier. If he’s not on active duty, it makes for a better story and it’s way more balanced.

   Whether a bond is meaningful or not can be a problem that starts an unnecessary debate. It should be just any bond, but then a move that just gives you free XP is kinda silly, so I’d scratch it.

   The ‘Brothers in arms’ is just so OP I’d totally change it.

   To have discipline is to obey rules or a code of behavior despite temptations to abandon it. So a character that has discipline, a veteran at that, will always do things that one way. It will often mean that he reacts to events without thinking, using muscle memory rather then overthinking a reaction. I’s say that a move called discipline should allow the character to be quick at judging a situation and reactin to it. 

   Discipline

   Whenever you are forced to use your tactical thinking, martial experience or combat expertise roll +STR. On a 10+ hold 3, on a 7-9 hold 1. You can spend hold 1 for 1 to ignore a failure when dealing with a combat situation. Treat it like 7-9 instead.

   Brothers in arms

   When you defend someone you have a bond with, you gain +1 hold even, if you fail.

   Get rid of Veteran (i’d name te class like that) and use this instead:

   War Stories (it’s a Firefly reference ^^)

   Whenever you spout lore about military history you can roll +WIS instead of +INT. Tell everyone one detail about the battle you learned that knowledge in.

   EDIT: Bonds

   You fought against ____ on the battlefield during the war. You promised them you will cross blades again.

   You would be dead if it wasn’t for ___. 

   ___ is soft, but you can make them hard.

   Dunno if this should be called allegience anymore.

   Allegience

   Choose a name and sigil for a nation, organization or family you fought for in the last war. The MC will ask you one of the below questions:

    – Why do you think your side won/lost the war?

    – What happened to your squad leader?

    – How do you get in tough with your comrades?

    – Is there anything you regret doing during the war?

   You must answer truthfully.

   Whenever you spout lore about military history, you may decide to answer another question instead or making the roll and trest it as an automatic success as if you rolled 10+.

   PS. What software do you use to edit the character sheets? 

10. Andrzej Zielinski  Microsoft word.

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