A question for anyone who’s seen the Berserker playbook I’ve written:
The berserker rage ability gives you a certain number of rage powers, which may be gained or lost over the course of a fight. Would this work better as a system of hold? You get a certain amount of hold when you go berserk, and can spend a hold for a use of a rage power.
What would be the alternative if not hold?
Damian Jankowski
probably the system that he has now.
Yes, right now as written you gain powers, not hold.
I haven’t seen it. I thought maybe you could explain it.
As I recall, and I don’t have it in front of me… you choose certain abilities and as long as you have Rage, you hold those abilities.
Let me share the playbook so it’s a bit more clear what I’m talking about: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BwbHes6iNuGrV0ZoYzUtMU9vQ2M/view?usp=sharing
I’m a fan of consistency and efficiency. Making this power use hold would accomplish most of the same things while keeping it in the theme of the Druid shapeshifter power. Be sure to change some of the perks into abilities, like ignoring damage for one strike or adding dice to a damage roll.
Maybe include the drawbacks amongst the selections and on a miss you still get some hold but the GM picks one?
I think it’s fun ether way but hold turns the move into something the berserker does rather than simply what he/she is, which I like.
Here’s how it would look using hold: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BwbHes6iNuGrQVUwWlFKUXplR1U/view?usp=sharing
The problem here is that a lot of moves require you to still be holding rage, so you can never spend that last rage or else the rage ends and you lose a lot of functionality, in addition to being slapped with a drawback.
I definitely prefer the hold-and-spend version. I’m not so sure about the roll, though. Could you just do “Hold 2 rage and ask the GM to pick a drawback”?
Maybe pare down the list a little? It’s a lot of choices.
How about putting everything in one category and do something like this:
When you work yourself into a violent, howling frenzy, roll+CON. *On a hit, hold 3 rage. *On a 7-9, the GM chooses one. *On a 6-, the GM chooses 2.
• You hew a limb, stun someone into inaction, or cause them to flee in terror.
• Perform a feat of near superhuman strength.
• Ignore the effects of a mundane physical attack.
• Shake off any fear or enchantments affecting your mind
• Ignore the effects of all of your debilities for a short time
• You gain a debility when you are out of rage.
• You cannot rage again until you rest for several minutes
• You injure an ally or break something dear to you while raging, but you won’t
Obviously that’s not perfect wording because it implies the GM has access to when the player uses their hold. Maybe remove the negative moves, say on a 7-9 the GM makes a move, and give them one hold on a miss. Imply in the description that when they take this move they risk losing control and it makes the GM using their move to mess with the berserker more plausible.
sub
I think I’ve addressed most of the problems, though now I’m down a 6-10 move. Any suggestions?
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BwbHes6iNuGrNEtwc2otZWlBZU0/view?usp=sharing