The Truth Found in Death

 

Awhile back I was talking with the inestimable Mike Low, who linked me to one of his articles on violence in gaming. I'd been thinking on some of the stuff that he brought up in the article, and randomly decided to try and change the name of my Conflict mechanic in Crescendo to Struggle. I wanted to see if Mike was right; would removing words usually associated with violence in our day and age lead to people using the mechanic for non-violent purposes?

Actually, it did.

One of my playtesters called it out, specifically, when she noticed the change from Conflict to Struggle: "Wait, this isn't just for fighting?"

Mike, you were right. Not that I should be shocked. But yes, you're right.

Now, as a martial artist, fan of MMA, and US vet, I don't think violence is inherently a bad thing, nor is killing. If you have to do these things when you really need to there shouldn't be a stigma around it whatsoever. There's a very good reason why pre-modern societies tended towards militarism and blood: to say you're a state means you're willing to kill to keep what you and yours have. But games shouldn't necessarily be about violence, its costs, and things related to it. Violence should not be the default option. Period.

The Truth Found in Death is about violence. It's about the necessity of violence and courage in the face of certain death. It’s about how yes, violence can be beautiful, because people are beautiful and therefore can commit violence beautifully. But it’s also about the cost of violence. How you have to harden yourself to take it and dish it. Your body and soul will pay costs you never thought you’d have to, but here comes the piper a knocking! And ultimately how that violence may bereave others of their loved ones, changing them permanently. That change doesn’t stay put; it radiates out. 

The Truth Found in Death will use a modified PBTA engine. The game uses a single d20 to resolve all Moves. There are no stats in the game. Instead there are Exploits, feats of derring-do in the form of a sentence.You may use these Exploits to reroll your d20 rolls as often as you like… at the expense of possibly changing the plot in large ways. As you gain and spend XP you will be able to use your Exploits more often without affecting the story as much.

The Black Swans I pioneered in Crescendo return here, as does journaling! Journals will be used to not just record specific actions and use then to make more Black Swans, but also to record the actions of NPCs affected by the players’ actions. Lore will also be recorded in the journal, primarily as campfire stories and snatches of songs the party members sing to each other. Training sessions, where party members test each other, will also have elements of that time recorded.

And then there’s the core of the game: the fighting. The Truth Found in Death does not feature a dedicated combat system. That may sound odd, but without a mechanical start/stop this allows combat to ebb and flow organically, which help keep the immersion of the players. All creatures the players face have two principle elements to them: Locks and Approaches. Locks are a defensive aspect that has to be figured around: a kobold is a Jumpy Little Bastard. These Locks are absolute mechanical defenses: if someone swings at a kobold they’re going to miss, because he’s a Jumpy Little Bastard and moves out of the way! But if his back is to the wall, where can he go? He’s stuck, isn’t he? Or, y’know, maybe you just get him at the top of a cliff… the fall will do the trick, won’t it? Creatures also have Approaches, which tell you how they’re going to try and hit you. If you mess up your attacks or aren’t paying attention then you’ll get hit, flat. HP is low, and while HP recovers quickly the Conditions you get when you lose HP don’t, further hampering you in the fiction.

Thera is a lot to do on The Truth Found in Death yet; the game text is very much so in its beginning stages. I’m truly blessed to have friends who are willing to test my initial ideas, so that I can see where I want to go. 

I find game design to be a form of meditation. It helps me to process my life and figure out where to go next. The Truth Found in Death arises from musings on the incontrovertible fact that the most beautiful moments in my life are in no small way indebted to the ugliest.  Without those dark moments I’d not have the light I have today. Goodness does not come free. 

The payment, invariably, is in blood.

No, you won’t get the same answer to that problem. 

Nor should you.