Troubles with tremulus

I've run two mini-campaigns of tremulus so far, and while both have been enjoyable and created good results, there are a few issues I've repeatedly run into with the rules as written. Much of the time, I just fall back on my experience (such as it is) with Apocalypse World, papering over the cracks with the parent system.

Now I should stress, this is me looking literally at the rules as written, from the perspective of a game designer. I know that it's possible to work around the problems in the rules and use common sense, but I'm analysing how the game presents itself.

Sanity Checks and the Damage Move

First off, as a point of order, the book says:

When a character sees something terrifying or potentially startling (and thus, could reasonably cause shock), he must immediately Act Under Pressure. You can refer to this as a sanity check. It is a roll +reason (unless they have moves that indicate otherwise).

• On a 10+, they take 1 less shock and may act normally.
• On a 7-9, they take 1 less shock but are -1forward.
• On a miss, they take full shock and are either -1ongoing (for the scene) or the Keeper holds one (Keeper’s choice).

But this isn't Act Under Pressure, which is worded thus:

When you hurriedly flee, are doing something quickly and precisely, or are trying to resist something frightening, roll +reason.

• On a 10+, you do it.
• On a 7–9, you flinch, hesitate, cave, or stall. The Keeper will offer you a worse outcome, a hard bargain, or an ugly choice.

Perhaps you're meant to combine the results, but even so it seems somewhat superfluous. The Sanity Check is really its own Move, with its own set of consequences. The only reason to conflate it with Act Under Pressure, as far as I can see, is that it's a roll +reason.

In tremulus, Shock and Harm are two different forms of Damage, which is fine. However, there's a separate Damage Move:

When you suffer damage, roll +damage suffered (after subtracting any protections you may have). No other modifiers come into play. 

On a 10+, the Keeper can choose 1:

• You’re out of action: unconscious, trapped, incoherent, or panicked.
• It’s worse than it seemed. Take an additional 1 damage.
• Choose 2 from the 7–9 list below.

On a 7–9, the Keeper can choose 1:

• You lose your footing.
• You lose your grip on whatever you’re holding.
• You lose track of someone or something you’re attending to.
• You miss noticing something important.

On a 6 or less:

• The Keeper can still choose something from the 7–9 list above. If they do, damage suffered is reduced by 1 (to a minimum of 0).

So if you see something frightening, you first make a Sanity Check, and then immediately roll the Damage Move. While that functionally works, I have some issues with it.

It's two Moves in a row with no player input. If something terrifying jumps out in front of you, you roll +reason and note what penalties you end up with, and then you roll +damage and the Keeper gets to choose additional consequences.

In the worst instances, you might reduce Shock with the first roll and increase it with the second Roll. It's two rolls where one customised Move might serve the situation better.

Now, I can see where this two-roll structure comes from - it's sort of the same way Apocalypse World treats physical Harm. However, there are differences.

In Apocalypse World, you can take Harm by:

• Choosing to Seize by Force;
• Having another PC use Seize by Force or Go Aggro on you;
• Giving the MC a Golden Opportunity (missing a Move or ignoring a clear threat), and the MC chooses to Inflict Harm.

So it goes (rolls underlined): Move that opens you to Harm > Inflict Harm > Harm Move > What Do You Do?

In tremulus, you can take Shock by:

• Choosing to enter a situation you know contains something horrific;
• Making a successful Poke Around roll, if the Keeper reveals something Shocking;
• Missing a Move and having the Keeper choose to inflict Shock;
• Having the Keeper make a Hazard Move that reveals something Shocking;
• Having the Keeper perform a Hard Move on you that inflicts Shock.

So it mostly goes: Keeper chooses to inflict Shock > Sanity Check > Damage Move > What Do You Do?

There are very few situations where the player has a choice over whether to expose themselves to Shock or not. In most cases, it's something the Keeper decides. Once that decision is made, the player makes two rolls in a row, over which they get no input.

Maybe it generates a sense of helplessness and powerlessness in the player? That's the only genre-appropriate upside I can see to the whole procedure.

General vs Situational Keeper Move

The Keeper's section has this to say about Keeper Moves; underlining has been added for emphasis:

There are two classifications of moves: general and situational. General moves can be used at any time. Situational moves should be contextualized and make sense given what is happening. They are used when the characters are either in a threatening situation (often involving a hazard), or when a character successfully Pokes Around or Puzzles Things Out.

And here's the list of Keeper Moves:

General

• Separate them.
• Capture someone.
• Put someone in harm’s way.
• Announce trouble elsewhere.
• Foreshadow future trouble.
• Take away their stuff.
• Make them buy.
• Activate their gear’s downside (hitting tags is especially useful for this)
• Tell them the possible consequences and ask.
• Offer an opportunity, with or without a cost.
• Turn their move back on them.
• Let the dice decide. Call for a roll+luck.
• Make a hazard (obstacle) move (from your framework).

Situational

• Trade damage for damage.
• Inflict damage.
• Present items and clues.
• Reveal knowledge.

The problem is, most of the Moves are situational, and all of them need to make sense in the context of the fiction. You can't just choose to "make them buy" if they're not trying to acquire something. You can't "turn their move back on them" if they haven't made a move. You can't "separate them" if they're already alone. General moves simply can't be used "at any time", so the division is largely meaningless.

As I did earlier with Apocalypse World, I divided the Keeper Moves into categories to make the list easier to deal with in play. For tremulus, it looks like this:

• Positioning (Separate them, Capture someone, Put someone in harm’s way)
• Portents (Announce trouble elsewhere, Foreshadow future trouble)
• Gear (Take away their stuff, Make them buy, Activate their gear’s downsides)
• Bargain (Tell them the possible consequences and ask, Offer an opportunity)
• Revelations (Present items and clues, Reveal knowledge)
• Moves (Turn their move back on them, Let the dice decide, Make a hazard move)
• Damage (Trade damage for damage, Inflict damage)

Soft vs Hard Keeper Moves

From the "Moves in Action" section:

When you make a Keeper Move, it should always:

1. Flow from the fiction.
2. Allow for character intervention
3. Set up future moves.

This means you describe what happens, but pause just before the outcome is known. At that point, you ask the players what they do.

And on Hard Moves:

A Hard Move:

1. Flows from the fiction.
2. Cannot be interrupted.
3. Is to be feared by the players.

This means you describe something from start to finish and it happens before you ask the players what they do.

Which sounds fine in theory, but in practice this Hard/Soft distinction is also largely meaningless. There isn't really a Soft and a Hard version of each Keeper Move. Let's take a look at the examples provided in the book:

• "Soft": The creature leaps out at you from the rafters = Put someone in harm's way
• "Hard": The creature leaps down from the rafters and you take 2 harm as it bites into your neck = Inflict damage

• "Soft": The Mayor rises to usher you out of his office = Foreshadow future trouble 
• "Hard": The Mayor ushers you out of his office, closes the door, and you hear it lock firmly behind you = Hazard Move (probably Claim Territory)

• "Soft": The chanting rises to a crescendo and something begins forming within the mystic circle = Foreshadow future trouble
• "Hard": The chanting rises to a crescendo, something forms within the circle, and the slavering beast tears three cultists asunder as the rest run screaming past you = Hazard Move or Inflict damage (Shock)

 Really, when you threaten to separate characters or take away their stuff and give them an opportunity to do something about it, you're actually "Foreshadowing future trouble". You then trigger the "Separate them" or "Take away their stuff" move on a miss.

If we follow the procedure described in the book, you'd have to set up a Move like "Put someone in harm's way" and give the character a chance to intervene before figuring out whether they end up in harm's way or not – not whether they take harm or not, but whether they were actually in harm's way after all; "Inflict harm" would be a separate Move. You'd have to threaten to "Take away their stuff" but give them a chance to not have their stuff taken away. If you "Turn their move back on them" they get a chance to do something about it before it happens, despite already putting themselves in a situation that allowed you to turn the tables. How do you even give characters a chance to intervene part-way through "Announce trouble elsewhere" or "Foreshadow future trouble"?

By RAW, the only way you can pick one of the Keeper Moves and just have it happen is to spend Hold, which is not something you're always going to have. There's no other allowance to just pick a Keeper Move and have it happen, despite the book saying "In any case, to make a move, you simply select one, and do it." The examples that follow in the book contradict the written procedure by simply having stuff happen.

This whole section is very fuzzy, and while I know how it's supposed to work (thanks to Apocalypse World), the way it's written makes me think that the author either does not have a full understanding of how Moves actually flow, or does not know how to explain the procedure in writing.

Making Moves and Spending Hold

As the Keeper, you make a move:

1. Whenever there’s a pause in the conversation and everyone looks to you to say something.
2. As a consequence of a character’s failure (someone makes a move and gets a 6 or less on their roll).
3. At any time, when you spend a point of hold.

What, no "Whenever a player hands you a Golden Opportunity"?

Spending Hold to make a Move at any time is cool, and I think holding "Hard Moves" over the players and being able to hit them with stuff out of nowhere is great for building up tension and uncertainty in a horror game.

Apart from Hold, though, you're procedurally only supposed to make Moves when everyone looks to see what's happening, or if they fail a roll. Consider the following situation:

An Investigator is trapped in a cluttered attic with an axe murderer who's looking to increase their body count. What do you do? The player says "I'm going to search this desk for my uncle's letters," thus triggering Poke Around. Ooo-kay... Technically they've triggered a player Move; they're not looking to the Keeper to find out what happens, the Keeper has no Hold, and if they make the roll they haven't failed either. There's no option for the Keeper to use a Move on a Golden Opportunity (turning their back on an axe murderer) until Poke Around gets resolved. So they find their uncle's letters, and then the axe murderer will get back to them? But as I discussed in the previous section, they'd get a chance to intervene even if the Keeper goes straight to "Inflict damage" next.

That's obviously a ridiculous situation, though; no Keeper in their right mind is going to let you blatantly ignore an axe murderer without serious and immediate consequences, and yet if you follow the procedures in the book that's the result you get.

Conclusion

I've had very good play experiences with tremulus. The questionnaire-based Playsets are inspired (even though half the time I end up with the less-inspiring results), and the recently-released Derelict Adrift Playset really sparked my imagination (even though it has its own set of problems).

However, I'm glad that I ran and read Apocalypse World before tremulus. The latter's florid and archaic 'voice' is fitting for the genre, but also serves to obscure information and procedure.

I know that this article is tragically nit-picky, but as a game designer it irks me when you're given procedures that say one thing and imply another. When you drill down and examine the Keeper's rules, there are parts missing, and other parts seem to connect together oddly and possibly create unintended consequences if followed literally – which is something you should be able to do with MC rules. While vague "GM advice" is de rigeur in RPGs, games Powered by the Apocalypse should be treating MC Rules as hard rules, not vague advice or riddled with "you know what I mean" or "use your default GMing style here" gaps.

If you're familiar with *World games, then by all means buy it and play it, but take the Keeper's section with a grain of salt and be ready to back it up with prior knowledge. I wouldn't recommend tremulus as your first PbtA game – try reading Apocalypse World, Dungeon World, or Monster of the Week first.

PowerFrame Core Rulebook

The PowerFrame RPG Core Rulebook is now up for sale on DriveThruRPG!

It's been a long journey, but I finally made it! Today I'm going to talk about the system's history, and look towards the future.

PowerQuest

I started writing the very first draft of PowerFrame about nineteen years ago, I think. This isn't one of those "X years in the making" stories, though; I realise that's not a selling point! PowerFrame's been an active, evolving, and most importantly played system for all that time. Even now, though, the very core of the system remains exactly the same as the day I first wrote it down. It's building outward from basic principles that makes it the flexible, modular, adaptable system that it is today.

I was at University at the time, and voraciously played many different RPGs. I'd previously written a fantasy board game called PowerQuest, based on an earlier campaign idea I'd had that involved questing around a fantasy kingdom seeking the lost pieces of a suit of power armour to fight against an ancient evil. I realised that the simple system I'd used for the board game could be easily adapted and expanded into an original roleplaying game, and initially the game was called the PowerQuest RPG. However, I soon realised that, since it already contained fantastic and technological elements, it wouldn't be hard to fill in the gaps with modern equipment and expand the game into a simple generic system. This was in the mid-90's, when Generic was the Wave of the Future!

PowerFrame

I named the generic version of the system PowerFrame, to reflect its origins and express its powerful, flexible, and "fill-in-the-blanks" approach.

For the next ten years, I kept writing rules modules, hacking the game to emulate the style of whatever I was watching or playing at the time. I introduced the game to new groups as I moved, and some of the players started using it to run their own games too! I wrote up the rules in Word, but in those days traditional publication and distribution meant getting it out to a wider audience was a distant pipe-dream.

Layout

I bought a copy of Adobe CS so I could professionally lay out a publishable copy of the rules. The InDesign version has gone through three different layouts.

Initially I was planning on perhaps releasing the rules through print-on-demand, designed to be ring-punched and filed in a binder. I took that approach because the rules are modular and at the time large sections were in flux, so it seemed sensible to allow people to reorganise things and have a system where I could easily release single updated pages. However, that system proved a little ambitious, and there were practical issues, as well as some minor problems with the layout design.

I also experienced a crisis of confidence. As I was approaching completion on this version, I poked my head up and did a little research into the state of the RPG hobby. So much had changed in the ten years or so I'd been exclusively playing PowerFrame! I discovered the Forge (which had come and gone), and RPG.net, and all sorts of new games. I went on a year-long pilgrimage to try out new systems, and used this new knowledge to look at PowerFrame in a completely new light.

In an about-face, I briefly tried to create a completely electronic layout! This would be published exclusively in PDF, but presented much like a website – no page numbers, just topics on pages, and with hyperlinks for quick navigation. While ambitious, early feedback told me that people still wanted the option to print the rules. I compromised, so while the current layout is still intended primarily for use on tablets and computers, it includes page numbers as well as chunky hyperlinks.

Version 1.0

The final version of the rules took exactly three years from creating the new InDesign file to its release on DriveThruRPG. Writing and formatting took two years during my spare time. While a lot of it was lifted from earlier drafts, I went through the whole text to clean it up, revise, and polish things.

I also completely overhauled some subsystems; magic, in particular, got gutted and refitted. The old magic system relied on lists of pre-written spells, but expansion and variations on a theme meant the magic system was 75 pages on its own. Breaking the spells down into their component pieces allowed me to cut the page count to about a third, while technically increasing the available spell variations.

After completing the main body of the text, it took another entire year to finish off enough art to comfortably fill out the book!

The Future

Now that the Core Rulebook is out, I can finally turn my attention to other projects. I have some board and card games in the works, and at least one idea for a new RPG I want to work on: Thunder Hunters! Primitive hunters living alongside dinosaurs in a world that never was!

I also have a few freelance jobs on my plate at the moment, but unless I find permanent employment I'm always on the lookout for more! If you're after editing, illustration, layout, or graphic design, send me an email at powerframe(DOT)rpg(AT)gmail(DOT)com to discuss your project.

I might also write some supplements for PowerFrame if I find the time, or if there's demand. Massed combat, cybernetics, a Mystic Companion, bestiary, setting seeds or entire setting books... I don't want to just run on the supplement treadmill unless people actually want this stuff, though – so if you think something's missing from the Core Rules, let me know!

Here are some handy PowerFrame related links:

• PowerFrame Games on DriveThruRPG
• PowerFrame Core Rulebook
• FREE PowerFrame Primer
• PowerFrame Games Community on G+

PowerFrame: Multi-Genre Mashups!

I've finally completed PowerFrame's last illustration and submitted the files to DriveThruRPG for review, so the Core Rulebook should be available for sale shortly! Stay tuned for the release announcement, or join the Community on G+!

In a recent discussion, I was surprised when someone mentioned that it was a "unique selling-point" that PowerFrame was designed to support multi-genre mashups. I guess the traditional appeal of generic systems is in allowing a single system to emulate different genres by tailoring the rules to suit each unique world, but in my mind their true strength lies in the cross-genre possibilities.

After all, when you have a single game system that has rules for swords, firearms, and beam weapons; plate-and-mail, flak jackets, and powered armour; cybernetics, spaceships, and magic; the obvious thing to me is to start mixing and matching! In PowerFrame, at least, everything's written and rated against the same set of basic rules. All of the example weapons, armour, and creatures are put together from basic principles, and so you can break them down, modify them, or build your own original stuff using the same guidelines. This fluidity is key to combining the trappings of different genres and having them all work smoothly together.

The first-ever PowerFrame game was a techno-fantasy world. Other campaigns have included post-apocalyptic wild west, gothic sci-fi, and urban fantasy. My current campaign is a post-apocalypse techno-gothic monster mash; after civilisation was destroyed by a Cthulhoid apocalypse, Earth's native monsters rose up and fought back the cosmic horrors. Now, vampires, werewolves and worse dominate the human population while keeping the Mythos aliens at bay in a shattered world.

Of course, you can always use PowerFrame to play a "straight" genre game. It's been used for straight-up fantasy, Warring States ninja, Age of Sail pirates (albeit with magical rocks), Cthulhu investigation, and it can also support straight modern or sci-fi games.

The game does come with its own approach and assumptions (for example, firearms are a bit weak to encourage engaging gunfights rather than paranoid sniping), but it's designed to be flexible and adaptable, so you can often tweak it to your needs with only a few minor changes.

Anyway, it should be out in the next few days, so you'll finally be able to see for yourself!

PowerFrame: Ability Descriptions

Only one more picture to go for PowerFrame! It's going to be a fairly large and involved piece, though, and I still have a little bit of proof-reading and last-minute edits to do, but I'm still looking good for a June release! In the meantime, if you haven't seen it yet, please check out the free Rules Primer!

This second-last picture is for the Ability Description section, illustrating the Tech Ability.

The Nuts & Bolts chapter goes into nitty-gritty detail of all the Abilities, Attributes, and Traits in the game. The Ability Descriptions include cross-references to the main places in the rules where the Ability is used, and also describe any unique special functions or properties.

Tech allows characters to build and repair high-tech items such as computers, lasers, cyberware, antigrav systems, starship drives, and the like. The exact functionality will depend a bit on the technological norms of the setting. Repair allows you to restore lost Structure and functions to damaged Tech-based items.

In addition, Tech is one of several Abilities that allows for Specialisations. Rather than having to buy separate Abilities for Electronics, Computers, Cybernetics, and Robotics, each of these fields is a Tech Specialisation. Every positive level of Tech allows you to pick one area of Specialisation.

For Tech, trying to do something without the appropriate Specialisation gives you a massive penalty. The same is true for Medical Specialisations (but First Aid does not count as a Specialisation). For other Abilities with Specialisations (Artisan, Craft, Engineering, Music, Scholar), a Specialisation gives the character a +1 in the appropriate field.

Ironically, there aren't currently rules for cyberware in the core book. It gets a little complex dealing with body replacements when characters have a single Health pool and start replacing parts of their body with Structure. I have some ideas for handling it, so if there's demand I'll probably release a short supplementary PDF for cybertech.


The final illustration is going to be a big battle scene, but I haven't yet decided on the genre or layout.

PowerFrame: Equipment

Only two more illustrations to go for PowerFrame! There was a bit of a lull in art production last week because I was working on a free introduction to the full rules. Check it out! If you like what you see, please consider joining the Google+ Community. Now I'm back to working on the last few pieces, starting with some equipment.

There's not a lot to say about equipment, really! I've never been a big fan of tracking huge amounts of gear in games, so I try to cut it down to the basics and essentials where I can. To keep the Encumbrance system actually usable, I tend to give expendable gear such as rations or ammunition no Encumbrance value – so you don't need to recalculate every time you use something.

While you can just stick to the basics, I have included a fairly comprehensive Equipment section for groups that prefer to outfit their characters thoroughly. Most of it focusses on camping and survival, food, light sources, and other outdoorsy stuff.

The pictures above are from the Specialist Gear section which includes tools required to apply certain technical and practical skills, medical kits to assist with first aid, and some basic computers. Most general equipment doesn't have a particular in-game effect (other than facilitating appropriate actions), so it's not too hard to figure out in-game Encumbrance and Cost if you can estimate its real-world size and cost.


I already have the next illustration planned and thumbnail-sketched – someone fixing their own cyber-arm, for the Tech Ability Description section of the rules.

PowerFrame: Arcana

I only have three illustrations to go for PowerFrame! I also now have a completed cover image, which I'll reveal sometime soon. For now, though, here's the fourth-last image – an arcane researcher, which will illustrate the section on Creating Arcana.

A while back, I overhauled PowerFrame's Mysticism system to cut down on the page-count. Going with a "build spells from the components" approach allows for greater flexibility, and does away with the need for an exhaustive spell list that's full of minor variations of similar spells.

Parameters define the limits in which a spell operates – things like range, duration, and area of effect.

Major Arcana form the body of a spell. They are stripped-back effects; if Parameters define the when and where, Major Arcana supply the how. They may describe how to make a damage roll or apply a status effect, or where to move a target, or what information is revealed, or many other effects.

Although the list is fairly comprehensive, you can create your own Major Arcana by describing the desired effect and rating its difficulty using the guidelines provided.

Minor Arcana are specific details such as a particular type of target, or a scale of hex, or an ability or attribute. Minor Arcana have no effect on their own, but some Major Arcana require a Minor Arcana to specify what the spell affects. Minor Arcana supply the what or the who.

For example, the RESTORE Major Arcana restores lost points to a pool stat such as Health, Endurance, Mana, or Fortune. It has the same effect on each pool, but you need to use a Minor Arcana to specify which one the spell is targeting.

Some Minor Arcana are lists of game terms (hex scales, abilities, attributes), but others are more descriptive. The subject Minor Arcana category includes various types of characters and creatures, and could easily be added to or revised to suit a particular game world. Likewise, the matter Minor Arcana could be rewritten to reflect a particular world's elemental philosophy.


Although it's a bit of a challenge to get a handle on all the Arcana and figure out how to build spells the way you want, once you do it's a very satisfying system. To help out, I'm designing new Caster and Spell record sheets. I've found that once you have a spell written out, it becomes very easy to modify it on the fly without having to recalculate the whole thing.

If there's demand for it, I may release a supplement featuring new Arcana, and possibly even a collection of pre-made spells for those who don't want the hassle of building their own.

PowerFrame: Critical Hits

Four illustrations left to do! This picture is for PowerFrame's Critical Hits chapter, and illustrates the "Push & Stun-Only" Critical Hit Table. This post, I'll summarise how Critical Hits work.

In PowerFrame, a Critical Hit is any Attack that beats the opponent's defence by 5 or more. Every additional 5 points increases the severity.

The basic rules allow you to deal with Criticals simply by increasing the Damage by 2 for every 5 points of Attack Margin, but there's also an optional detailed Critical Hit system that gives combat a more risky and gritty feel.

You roll for Damage as normal (generally an Ability plus the weapon's damage rating plus a roll, against the defender's Toughness, Armour and roll). Even if you deal no actual damage, you still get to check for a Critical Hit result.

You roll a single die (not open-ended), add the Damage roll's Margin (which could be negative if you rolled below the defender), and add +1 for every additional 5 points the Attack hit by. This is your Critical Hit result. Look up the total on the appropriate Critical Hit table, depending on the damage type (Cutting, Piercing, Bludgeoning, Energy, Grapple, Push, Stun-only).

A result of 2 or less has no effect. Generally a result of 3 is ineffective as well, apart from Bludgeoning attacks or hits to the head. Results of 4 to 6 tend to be minor Stun or Bleed results. 7 to 9 become more serious, leading to broken bones and severe bleeding. A result of 10 or more is usually fatal, or at least debilitating – severed limbs, pulverised bones, paralysis, massive bleeding, and so on.

So although it's possible to inflict a Critical Hit result even if you don't deal any actual damage, it will most likely be pretty minor. Unless your Attack hit by 10 or 15 points, the best you can get with a Damage Margin of 0 is a 6. You generally need a Damage Margin of 4 or more, which is a fairly serious wound, to have a chance at taking out an enemy in one hit.

Critical Hits against player-characters do happen, but more often than not you can minimise the risk using Fortune to re-roll bad results. That said, I did once play a character who was hit with an Attack Margin of 20+ and a Damage Margin of only 1 who was very neatly decapitated (Damage 1 plus Attack Bonus +3 plus a 6 on the Critical die for a total of 10). Most of the time though, Critical Hits seem to affect enemies, and it can be pretty gratifying for a PC to devastate their foes in graphic style.