The West That Wasnt - The Judge
When it comes to settling disputes, every band of cowpokes needs a Judge. From preparing the scenario to acting on behalf of the environment, the Judge is a special player. A player without a PC to control, but with a hand in the scope of everything else. When on the bench, the Judge is bound by the laws of the game world, set forth in this very document, just like other players. The Judge also has a special set of rules and guidelines that help facilitate the best possible game for all concerned.
Contents
From the Bench
Before beginning a campaign in The West That Wasnt, one individual will need to assume the role of the Judge. In other games it may be called the dungeon master, game master, storyteller or even judge. The role is basically the same: interpret the rules, provide a description of the setting, and keep the action moving at a pace everyone enjoys.
How is that done? Read on.
The Hero
The West That Wasnt is about Heroes and the stories they create. These are the prime movers of the vast westward expanse, especially in the story you as players tell. Depending on the scope of the campaign a Hero may be a larger than life Texas Ranger, hopping town to town vanquishing the plots of bands of hardened criminals. Just as likely, the Hero could be a grizzled everyman, struggling to carve out a living prospecting the gold-rich mountains of California.
The scope of the story is unimportant to the Hero. What is important is that when there is an opportunity to right a wrong, make a profit or otherwise indulge their passion, the Hero acts. The Judge provides a scene where the Hero is motivated to engage with the world and carve out a niche with actions.
Impetus
What passion drives your Hero? What makes them who they are? Just as importantly, why did you choose to make this character, what did you want to explore in this game? Impetus will (help you) answer those questions, while also making the game more fulfilling for everyone. Not only that, it will also help develop a more cohesive group, so the Judge can facilitate scenarios which deliver the game the players wish to experience. Giving your Hero a set of impetuses tells the Judge what is important to your character, and what might best get them involved in the plot of the story. If a hero is motivated by protecting the weak, they might not be as motivated by plotlines that involve seeking wealth and treasure.
Definition
Impetus (noun): The force or energy with which a body moves.
Impetus is literally what moves you. In TWTW, Impetus is a drive, passion or desire for a Hero or important NPC. This is what they really care about, and by extension, this is a declaration by the player that these themes and situations are what they want to explore with this hero.
Tying the Posse Together
The primary purpose of the Impetus system is to form a cohesive band of characters. The best stories are those which involve all of the characters, and this is especially true of the stories we tell at the gaming table. By incentivizing shared goals and desires for the Heroes, impetus effectively focuses the campaign scope. Since each player has participated in choosing the Posse impetus, it can be surmised that any plotline or story arc which focuses on this impetus will be attractive to all of the players.
Take the Spotlight; It's Yours
Impetus is also used to allow characters to do amazing or heroic things in pursuit of their passions. These signature spotlight moments build character while they create memorable moments in the story. The passion that burns inside a hero drives them toward the larger than life action that brings the story to life. By channeling that impetus the hero accomplishes feats that are beyond the ability of lesser individuals.
True heroes are made, not born. A good impetus describes how this Hero came to be, and illustrates who that Hero is in the coming chronicle.
Creation
While each Impetus is technically a part of a single Hero, they should be created in concert with the entire Posse to ensure compatibility while preserving individuality. Each Hero must have at least one Impetus that establishes a common goal or motivation the group shares. This is the Posse Impetus.
The other two impetuses can be either general or specific, as the player sees fit. The key to creating a good impetus is thinking about how it can be invoked in game. Will this motivate my character to act? Will using this impetus lead to a more interesting story, and more fun for me as a player? An impetus should be phrased as if it is spoken by the character.
Miranda Valentine had a childhood and early adulthood rife with loss. As such, she holds tightly on to that which she deems important, in this case, her associates. Her impetus is General: I will be there when my friends need me.
During the game, in situations where she needs to come to aid of her comrades she can invoke this impetus and reduce the difficulty by 1 of any related actions.
Judge Responsibility
By defining the shared Impetus of the group, the players have outlined for the Judge the type of stories they wish their heroes to anchor. The Judge must keep this shared Impetus in clear focus when preparing for each scenario.
It is the Judge’s responsibility to ensure the group Impetus is well understood, and also to facilitate scenarios and scenes which highlight either that impetus, or those of the individual Heroes. In short, if the group is not motivated by a story, the Judge should evaluate if it really addresses the Impetus at all. Discuss it with them. Communication is key to successful resolution.
The Volunteer
Heroes are those who perceive a need for action, and declare that they will fill that need. They stand up and boldly move the plot forward. Impetus is why the Hero volunteers; action is how they achieve. All Heroes in TWTW must be internally motivated to pursue the plot of the story.
As a player, if you find yourself often wondering why your Hero is involved in this story, or avoiding significant action because your Hero is not motivated to be involved, it is probably best to discuss it with the Judge. If motivation cannot be salvaged, it is time to retire that Hero and create another that is more suitable for this group and story.
The Judge works with the players to develop situations that interest the characters. In the end, however, it is the responsibility of the player to move their character, and spark that motivation as the game progresses and changes.
Mechanics
Enough about what Impetus is, how do I create one, and what does it do for my hero?
Excellent questions.
Each Hero will define three Impetuses. As previously mentioned, at least one must be a common goal or motivation shared by the group. Each other Impetus must also be defined as General or Specific. A General Impetus helps you succeed, while a Specific Impetus increases the likelihood of dramatic successes. A Hero may have one of each, or two of one kind.
Usage
If the posse are invoking an Impetus on every card flip, it is likely they are being applied too liberally. Conversely, if they are appearing only once or twice per multi-session campaign scenario, they are likely not playing their intended role.
Outside of this, it is up to the Judge and group to determine what frequency suits their game best. As Impetus invocation grows, so grows the heroic scope of the story.
A note on archetypes
Some archetypes are common in fiction but do not adapt well to a cohesive story. The goal of collaborative storytelling is participation. Cinema, literature and even video games are much more effective at telling a story without collaborative input.
To that end, two particular archetypes should be strongly scrutinized before being allowed in game. These are the loner and the one trick pony.
Both of these character types lead to significant downtime for the player, and also rarely move the plot. The core of collaborative storytelling is interaction. The Judge should help facilitate creating a group that will maximize the interaction for the greatest number of players.
More minds = more ideas.
If a character is regularly divorced from the action, or not participating in significant portions of the game session, is this truly a hero? More importantly, is this hero really an essential part of the group? A group is only as strong as its weakest link.
The Judge
In a game of TWTW, one player will be designated the Judge. Other games use terms like GM, referee or storyteller for the same role. We assume you know what roleplaying is, and how a game is conducted. Rather than trying to cover those subjects, we have intentionally defined those as out of scope for this book.
Why would we make such a decision? Those subjects are frankly too large to be given their deserved coverage here. Rather than spending a couple of pages on a cursory description, we have chosen to make no attempt at all. Anything worth doing, is worth doing right. Why broach a subject if it is not to be explored fully? There are plenty of other resources, in print and online, which describe those subjects in a way that does them proper justice.
Reading a few paragraphs in a rulebook will never teach you what roleplaying is, only sitting down with a few friends and trying it can help you understand. A city slicker once told me that epistemology says that empiricism is not the only knowledge of value, but I contend that without a healthy dose of it you will never be able to determine what roleplaying means to you.
Narrative Structure
What follows is the meat (or textured soy product, for you vegetarians) of how a game of TWTW is structured. In a general sense, the game is structured dramatically in scenes, like a television show or movie. The Judge is tasked with setting the scene, but the Group is also encouraged to participate and add detail and flavor to the scene as it unfolds, both through their actions and their descriptions of the world around them.
Scenes
Each story is played in a series of scenes. Scenes may be connected physically, temporally or not at all. A single scene may take place over many locations. The definition of a scene is purposefully fluid, allowing each Judge to utilize storytelling skill to stitch together scenes in the most satisfying way. Scenes may have attributes, including type (discussed later) which may interact with Heroes in various ways. The Judge will determine any scene attributes.
Miranda, Hank and Cyril are pursuing a band of desperadoes out in the desert miles from Tombstone, hours after sunset. All of the action that takes place during this chase will be a single scene.
Scene Attributes
Sometimes there are pervasive themes or elements in a scene. These properties are represented in game mechanics by attributes. Attributes may effect Heroes as well as enemies (story or otherwise). Attributes should be shared by the Judge with the group at the beginning of the scene, though sometimes it may behoove story progression to only reveal it when it becomes relevant.
Miranda and Jonah are moving quietly through a desert gulch, tracking their quarry. It is after 9 PM, and the Judge informs them there is very little ambient light. This scene has the Attribute: darkness.
Scene attributes affect the story by altering difficulty levels or dice pools. Attributes that reduce dice pools or shift result rows up are called hazards. Except in extreme circumstances, hazards reduce the pool by one during checks related to the focus of the hazard. If the relevant pool has a pool of 1, that check becomes unskilled. Attributes that alter difficulty levels are called complications. Minor complications raise the difficulty by one level, major by two.
The Judge informs the Posse that this Attribute is a complication, increasing the difficulty of all tests that rely on sight by 1. However, that is not all he has in store for our enterprising Posse.
Attributes may also be favorable to the Posse, these are called boons. Boons reduce the difficulty of all appropriate tasks by 1 level.
Just last week Cyril and Miranda helped save the local barkeep from some marauding bandits. Now, Cyril is trying to convince the crowd to donate resources to their cause. Given the previous actions, the Judge assigns the scene attribute: favorable crowd.
Some Heroes or other actors may have various resistances that can counteract certain scene attributes.
Francisco Del Valle grew up in the desert of south Texas, so he is well adapted to high temperature. His desert rat Edge grants him resistance to the first heat related complication applied by a scene.
Not all scenes will have attributes, and not all attributes have a direct effect on the cards or results. Some may change the way extras act, such as the climactic battle attribute, described below. Attributes which affect something other than results or cards are called dynamic. The Judge has the final say on attribute effects.
Actions
Each scene may contain one or more actions. These actions are meant to represent the moments of drama in the story. An action may be a social interaction between PCs and NPCs, it could be a chase or possibly a physical conflict. Any time an action might fail (and there are consequences), make a check.
Conversely, cards should never be drawn when there are no consequences. In addition, the results of failure should be as interesting as those for success. Maybe not as desirable to the players, of course, but it is the job of the group to ensure that all interactions lead to a better story, even though they do not all lead to what would have initially been termed a ‘success’. Learning to advance the story as effectively through adversity as through achievement is the hallmark of a strong Posse and Judge relationship.
Miranda is staring down Felicia Laroq in a dingy saloon in Tombstone. The night is bustling, with Dexter McFee ticking the ivories and old Ben Wappler tending bar. Felicia claims she has a headache, and screams for Dexter to cut it out. Miranda knows that the music is important to old Ben, who depends on continued night life to drive profits. Wanting to make a good impression on the bartender, Miranda attempts to use her Intimidate to strongly suggest Dexter keep playing. He is pretty scared of the Laroq clan, so the Judge assigns a TN of 5. Miranda draws a card and finds a 4. Dexter, not wanting to antagonize either gun toting lady, excuses himself from the bar. The piano is now untended; what happens next is anybody's guess.
Notice how this example provides an extra complication that makes the scene more interesting, but it is conflict neutral, in that it does not necessarily favor either side. Whoever can find the best way to take advantage of the changing landscape will prevail. This is the hallmark of good game play and storytelling. In situations such as these it may be appropriate to simulate the effects with scene attributes (see above).
These sorts of extra tidbits create the extra color that livens the story. There is not always an opportunity to insert these details, but a good Judge is always looking for them.
Antagonists
A strong nemesis is valuable to a successful narrative. In the best literature and movies these enemies come on strong in the beginning, and create interesting and challenging situations for the group to resolve.
Most RPGs share common combat structure. In fiction, the lackeys fight while the nemesis directs, and at the last moment he often escapes. The Heroes build enmity toward their nemesis, and the story gains depth. This rarely happens in RPGs. The players prefer to concentrate all of their attacks on the most powerful or dangerous enemies and ignore the rabble until they are all that remains. How does that help build an engaging narrative?
Story Enemies
The concept of Story Enemies allows the Judge and group to work together to craft a story that builds from scene to scene, episode to episode. By embracing a mechanic that encourages recurring villains, players develop a connection to the story and setting. This increased investment and immersion pays off with a much more satisfying conclusion.
Story enemies are classified in three tiers: henchmen, villains and masterminds.
Henchmen are the grunts of the enemy force. They arrive in force and use numbers to overwhelm Heroes. Henchmen act in teams, but make only a single attack per team. When using weapons such as knives or pistols, henchmen generate damage normally but deal a maximum of one wound per henchman in the group. When using larger weapons such as swords or rifles, henchman are limited to wounds one greater than the members of the group. Unarmed henchmen attack in hand to hand combat individually. Henchmen have an attack pool equal to the number in the group, and use the d8 column.
Henchmen have two wounds and 12 Conc (in melee only). A henchman is defeated by a single wound from a weapon to the head or torso, or two total wounds to any location. Henchmen ignore Conc dealt by deadly weapons (this is for ease of accounting, if the Judge wishes this may be tracked and upgraded to wounds as normal). In unarmed melee combat, a henchman is defeated by 12 Conc total. Teams are not mobs and are not required to remain in proximity to one another. Henchmen do not normally recover Conc until the end of scenes, at Judge discretion. Individuals may fall out of the group at intervals determined by the Judge.
Miranda, Hank and Cyril sneak into a warehouse on the Laroq hacienda. Seconds after entering the building six hombres step from the shadows to do their worst. Three of the henchmen have clubs, while the other three have revolvers. Each henchman team attacks using 3d8. If Hank springs into action and decks one of the club toting baddies into unconsciousness with his shovel, the remaining hombres with clubs would attack with 2d8, while the pistoleros would still attack with 3d8.
Villains and masterminds are special cases. Early in the story, villains are the leaders that present themselves to the Posse. They lead henchmen groups, and are generally equal, or nearly equal, to the Heroes in power level. While any henchmen remain active on the battlefield, villains act as if they have a general and specific impetus in play. Villains have characteristics and skills as assigned by the Judge.
While Hank engages the club wielders, and Miranda engages in a gun battle with the pistoleros, Felicia Laroq draws her saber and approaches Cyril. “I have been waiting for this day for many months.” She says. "Killing you will make father so proud." Because she is a villain, she reduces the TN of her actions by 1 as long as her henchmen remain on the battlefield.
Masterminds are the nemeses that provide the constant foil to the Heroes. Each Hero receives 1 XP to their personal pool each time a mastermind escapes from a combat alive, except for the climactic battle. Masterminds also reduce the severity of all wounds by 1 level, ignoring 1 point wounds, as long as any henchmen or villains remain active on the battlefield. They also can steal a bonus counter from a player each time they are attacked by a Hero as long as any henchmen are active on the battlefield.
Game designers note: Story enemies not only create continuity and purpose for the story, but they also allow virtually any Hero to be relevant in a combat situation. Henchmen are relatively weak and easy to damage, and taking one down greatly affects their combat effectiveness. Even weak combatants among group members can make a big difference by engaging and defeating henchmen, or at the very least providing covering fire.
Angus Laroq is the mastermind of the story. He knows his daughter Felicia has the group cornered in his warehouse, so he can continue with his plans in the hacienda, while she handles things there.
Another type of important NPC is a solo story enemy. These are enemy characters that are clever and potent enemies, but are not part of antagonist groups. They may still be involved in scenes with other story enemies, or they may act independently. Solo story enemies may persist across many stories, and may even gain experience. Solo story enemies have full character sheets and may be of any power level.
If a solo story enemy is killed or otherwise permanently defeated, the Judge may elect to give each character who is present (at the game table, not necessarily at the scene of the defeat) a bonus counter. Whenever a solo story enemy has their plot sufficiently foiled without being killed, all members of the Posse receive 1 XP. When a solo enemy is permanently defeated or killed, the Posse receive 1 XP.
The Climactic Battle
Many stories will conclude with a final showdown involving the mastermind. When this occurs, the scene should have the appropriate type attribute, climactic battle. The mastermind is no longer given free rein to escape: there is no incentive for the Heroes to allow it. However, if the mastermind does escape, and the Posse still desire to engage him as an enemy, a further climactic battle can occur in the future. When a mastermind escapes from a climactic battle, the Judge should award them XP.
Hey, nemeses are people too!
Rabble
Not all enemies are story enemies. Sometimes conflict may erupt between other types of antagonists, police or any number of potential adversaries. Non-story enemies have no special traits and are referred to as rabble. The Judge should always alert the group when story enemies are in play. Most rabble use 2d6 results for all actions, experienced rabble (like police or soldiers) may have a skill or two of 2d8.
Advancement
Vibrant characters in fiction grow and change. They confront danger, wrestle with conscience and tackle difficult moral choices and do not always emerge better for it. In a game, however, players prefer that their Heroes advance rather than stagnate. Observing the growth and evolution of a great Hero can be one of the most satisfying experiences in roleplaying. This growth, however, should not be taken for granted. To grow, one must be challenged.
Heroes earn experience points by challenging themselves and failing. They also earn experience for confronting their fears or foibles in a way that has a tangible, detrimental (at least initially) story effect on the Hero. Heroes should never receive experience for succeeding (except in cases already listed, such as foiling a solo story enemy without killing him). Success is its own reward! How much of a challenge was a task if you conquered on the first try?
Heroes who are knocked unconscious (lose all Conc), at the discretion of the Judge, may receive a bonus counter. This should only be awarded if it is during the commission of a heroic act, or due to enemy actions. At the completion of any story arc the Judge will award XP based on the campaign scope, below.
The Judges Bench
You have decided to take on the role of Judge. What does that entail? What should the group expect from you, and what should you expect for yourself?
Why Judge?
The first thing to understand is why the role is called The Judge. No, you will not get a free 1970 Pontiac GTO Judge, or a stack of Judge Dredd comics, though you probably should.
In the lawless west, the judge was often seen as the highest symbol of authority. Their rulings bound sheriffs, marshals and cowpokes alike. But the judge did not make the law, nor did they enforce it. The judge interpreted law, and instructed the jury on how to apply it.
A game of The West That Wasnt should be a little like a courtroom, the Judge interpreting a changing imagined landscape as necessary, while important actors and actions sprinkle their mark onto the palette. But when it comes to making decisions, only the jury can do anything meaningful. The Judge can render opinions on rules, but the jury decides how those rules apply, and what exactly should happen once the rules are understood.
The title of Judge sounds all high-falutin', but without the players at the table, the Judge is nothing. Engage everyone, and work together to create an amazing story.
