A thread over on the Gauntlet community was asking for example Drives (as replacements for Alignments).

A thread over on the Gauntlet community was asking for example Drives (as replacements for Alignments).

A thread over on the Gauntlet community was asking for example Drives (as replacements for Alignments). I’ve been writing Drives for all my Stonetop playbooks, and for a bunch of related PbtA projects that are on the backburner, so I had a fair number of ideas rolling around.

Anyhow, here’s my write-up of 4+ Drives for each of the core DW classes. Enjoy, critique, and use as you see fit!

https://goo.gl/4A4368

Some thoughts, by the way, on what makes for a good Alignment/Drive statement:

* It should provoke interesting behavior, ideally something that isn’t necessarily optimal behavior.

* Along those lines, it’s more than just “play your class.” An Alignment/Drive that has the fighter beat things up or the cleric heal someone or the wizard use magic won’t provoke interesting behavior. (Yes, a lot of the RAW DW alignments fail to meet this guideline.)

* It should involve action that the PC can proactively take (“Cause trouble by touching, opening, or tinkering with something”), as opposed to something situational that the player can’t really control (“Make a magical discovery.”)

* Ideally, it should be something that could be triggered in any or at least most session, regardless of where that session was taking place. “Improve your standing among the nobility” is poor, because what if the adventure involves you being in the Barren Wilds of Backwateria and there isn’t a noble in a 100 miles?

* Ideally, it should involve an action or response that’s observable. We should all be able to look back at the session and see that the requirement was met. (Good example: “Cause trouble for your allies by taking an unnecessary risk.”) Something that’s based on internal motivation or potential consequence is a lot weaker, and in my experience leads to rather arbitrary XP awards. (Bad example: “Take an unnecessary risk.” Was it really unnecessary? Was it really a risk? You handled it just fine…)

Obviously… all of the above is just my opinion. Interested in hearing the thoughts of others.

12 thoughts on “A thread over on the Gauntlet community was asking for example Drives (as replacements for Alignments).”

  3. I read “mirth” as “mech” on first glance and thought somebody was adapting Dragonmech to DW. Disappointment ensued! 😛

    I like the guidelines, by the by. Very eloquently put.

  5. Hello Jeremy Strandberg. May I use your drives in a product I’m working on? Its a setting for DW and I want to put an appendix at the end with the house rules I use. Drives, Flags, etc. It may end up for sale on DTRPG eventually. Your name would be mentioned of course.

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