Episode 22 of Discern Realities is here! A reminder: there are four days left to enter our location-based custom move contest. The prize is a $25 certificate to DriveThru or Amazon (winner’s choice). Paste the text of your entries in any DR G+ post.
Originally shared by Jason Cordova
Episode 22 of Discern Realities is here! Contrary to what we say on the show, there are only four days left to submit an entry for the location-based custom move contest. You can paste your last-minute entries right here.
Here are the time codes:
What Happened Here Recently?
A game with a brand-new GM (00:21)
What Should I Be On the Lookout For?
Mark Tygart’s Dungeon Starters (04:37)
What Here is Not What It Appears to Be?
Fronts – Part One (06:27)
What Here is Useful or Valuable to Me?
The rope bridge across Buzzard’s Beak Canyon by Daniel Fowler (13:35)
ARE YOU NOT ENTERTAINED?? by Edward Hickcox (17:22)
What is About to Happen?
Our ‘comic strip AP’ featuring the adventures of Lucero Castafiel (21:14)
Some opening questions about Lucero (22:41)
Tracking a thief for Lord Urick (24:55)
Someone approaches the camp (26:40)
Ambush! (28:04)
Links
Mark’s Dungeon Starters
https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0B7cav44145d9OXZFNjNpWFdBRFU&usp=sharing
Jason Cordova in the segment on Fronts, you mention that newer PbtA games have generally pared fronts down to a series of “countdown clocks”… what are those? Are they just what they sound like – a number that counts down to 0, towards an impending doom – or is there something more to them?
Also, I think the main point of the formal front-building process is to show GMs how to prep in a way that supports the agenda “play to find out what happens.” A lot of GMs from other systems only know “here is a keyed dungeon map” or “here is a series of events linked by a railroad.” The game doesn’t just admonish you “don’t do that”, it also gives you a concrete alternative prep tool that shows you how to not do that.
Robert Rendell You might want to check out the Monster-of-Week and the MotW Roadhouse site for free “mysteries” to see examples of countdowns: .https://plus.google.com/communities/110209328442902551212
Mark Tygart thanks! So, does this sound right? In DW terms a MotW countdown clock is a series of six grim portents (or if you prefer, five grim portents and an impending doom), with thematic names (day, shadows, dusk, sunset, nightfall, midnight). They can be tied to proactive threats like a DW front, but can also be tied to other aspects of the game (including personal things such as the escalating effect of a monster’s attack, or the progress of an individual’s disease).
Yes !
Robert Rendell I actually think the DW Front creation process (and the process from AW) is pretty fabulous. It’s a terrific way of thinking about your campaign in a really critical way. I talk to people all the time, though, who are really intimidated by it and who feel like their Fronts are no good. And that intimidation sometimes leads to a lot of hemming and hawing, and games not getting played. I think that’s where this conversation came from.