Dogs in the Vineyard
A system that takes more liberties in storytelling than traditional ones; Characters are basically bunches of traits, and conflict is resolved in an extremely interesting way. I'd like to try it out at least once, minus the rather silly "religious fantasy" setting it currently has.
I'm going to put up here the bulk of the rules (minus some specifics, don't worry if things seem vague), but without the claptrap about Utah and whatnot.
This is just a quick overview; i've got the PDF if you want to read more; ignore the parts about Faith.
Contents
dice
The game uses d4, d6, d8, d10. Bigger dice are generally better. Dice are usually thrown all at once.
stats
There are 4 primary stats: Body, Acuity, Will, and Heart. These are generally rolled in combinations of two: Ie, for shooting, use Acuity and Will, for talking to someone, roll Acuity and Heart, for punching someone, use Body and Will.
The minimum for a Stat is 2d6, and Stats always use d6.
traits
traits are simply a way of describing your character; eg, "good shot d8", or "smooth talker 2d6".
relationships
relationships have dice too; "in love with Melinda 2d6" means you'd get to roll 2d6 more in situations where that relationship was appropriately involved in the conflict.
conflict resolution
The game is built around the idea that conflict solves problems. If you have a problem, you use the conflict resolution to solve it. No exceptions; "say yes or roll the dice".
the stakes
The way conflict works is simple. First, you decide the stakes: Let's say it's a negotiation over the value of the cargo. The scrappy merchant wants to sell the cargo for Lots of Credits; the shifty fence wants to buy it for Not So Many Credits. The Stakes, then, are whose price the negotiation ends closer to.
roll the dice
Then, dice are rolled; the appropriate combination of Stats for the situation is used, and either player throws in any relevant Traits they have. In the example above, the negotiation is (currently) just a verbal one, that calls for Acuity and Heart. We'll say Scrappy Merchant has an Acuity and Heart total of 8d6, and a "Scrappy Negotiator" trait of d8, and the Shifty Fence has an Acuity and Heart of 7d6. Each player rolls their dice, and keeps the totals by their character.
raise and see
The flow of conflict resolution goes by a process of see and raise. The character's resources are the dice they've rolled. Raising can only be done with a pair of dice. The player who initiated the conflict does the first raise. Critically, any raise must be described with an action the character takes, and any see must be described as a reaction to the previous action of another character.
raise
In the example above, the Scrappy Merchant has opened negotiations. He pushes two of his rolls forward, a 2 and a 5, for a total of 7, saying, "You won't find ball-bearings this nice anywhere short of Toko." Those rolls are now in the pot, and cannot be used again.
see
After an opponent raises, a character may either Give (see below), surrenduring for the time being, or See, with one or more of his dice. A See must match the total dice of the last Raise, and the number of dice used in the See determines its quality:
- 1 Die - Reversal
- 2 Dice - Block or Dodge
- 3 or more Dice - Take The Blow
A Reversal allows the character the opportunity to sieze the initiative in the conflict; this allows you to re-use the die used to See in your next Raise. Describe how your character turns the conflict in his favor.
A Block or Dodge means you've successfully defended the last Raise, and take no Fallout. Describe the way in which the 'attack' lands and how your character reacts.
Taking The Blow means that you'll suffer Fallout; note the number of dice used to See, and the circumstances in which they were used, for after the conflict. Say how your character bears the blow.
Let's look at the example above, again: Scrappy Merchant opened with a total of 7. Needing this cargo, but not wanting to cut into his profits, the Shifty Fence pushes forward two dice of his own, a 4 and a 3, making his See a Block or Dodge. "I'll give you that they're fine ball bearings," he says, "but at the price you're asking, they'd need to be made from gold!"
Each character participating in the conflict gets a turn to Raise, and if they do so, then everyone else must See or Give. If a character is out of dice with which to Raise, and does not wish to Give, then they may Escalate the conflict.
escalation
If a character runs out of dice with which to raise, and doesn't want to Give, then they can Escalate. When you escalate, you add the Stats and Traits involved in the escalating arena (eg, gunfighting), excepting dice you've already rolled. In the example above, perhaps the Scrappy Merchant has outmaneuvered the Shifty Fence, but the fence isn't done yet. He pulls out his gun and says, "You're a clever negotiator, Scrappy, but I'm afraid I need that cargo, and I don't want to pay you the money." Gunfighting would be Acuity plus Will, but since he already rolled Acuity, he doesn't roll it again. He also adds two traits that are relevant: "Backstabber 2d6" and "Good Shot d8". Now he's got lots more dice to Raise and See with, and if it's enough to run the Scrappy Merchant out of dice, then he'll have to Give or Escalate to match.
Traits and Things in Combat
At any time appropriate, a character can employ a Trait or Thing relevant. A Trait or Thing may only be used once per conflict.
In the example above, the Scrappy Merchant doesn't want to shoot the Fence (he's their contact after all), but doesn't want to get shot or lose the cargo. Luckily, he has the traits "Suspicious 2d6", and "Would Die to Protect Ship 2d8". He rolls these, and gets the dice to See and finish the conflict, launching himself desperately at the Fence, knocking the gun out of his hand. The Fence still needs those bearings, and he'll have to pay the Merchant's price for them, sheepishly at that.
Giving
When you Give, as in voluntarily surrender, you can "cut your losses", which means you get to keep your highest remaining single die.
fallout
When Taking the Blow to See, record how many dice you used to See, and whether it was to See in a social, physical, or gunfight conflict. At the end of the conflict, roll all your fallout dice.
- Social Fallout is d4
- Physical Fallout is d6
- Gunfighting Fallout is d10.
The result of fallout is a little complicated; suffice to say, you want to roll low or else you might gain bad Traits or die.
ceremony
We probably won't use too much of it; suffice to say, some things mean a lot to everyone; if you invoke these, you get more dice to roll at the cost of Fallout to you.
improvisation/environment
Setting traps, grabbing handy items, etc. If you do something clever to increase your chances (either before or during conflict), then you'll get bonus dice that the GM decides.
advancement
the DitV system's advancement is a little wacky. We'll say instead, that at the GM's discretion, players will gain new traits, like "hates Scrappy Merchant d6" or, "Bullet Wounded d4".
