OOC Chatter

[Kuni Yasu]

Yep. I'll note that, at the table, Vigilance and Focus show up more. And my build that ends up high Composure is kind of crap at Vigilance (which seems like a really bad thing for a Kuni, realistically? I guess not noticing the monster until it's on top of you is ok as long as it doesn't kill you on the first hit? XD)

So the importance of the derived attributes and flow of Strife/Fatigue feels less stilted at the table. PbP is a whole other thing. It tends to focus less on combat/duels, so unless Events are pinging them, they start to feel less useful and make certain rings more valued.

[Usogawa Emiko]

Also worth remembering that *not* taking dice with strife is very much a possibility. That means less hardy and flexible people are less likely to succeed (or may succeed with less opportunities, or succeed by less) to avoid going over, but... that might be fitting?

That's assuming you rolled a dice that doesn't have strife, and you're ok with failing on purpose to avoid it. If we take the event today - killing blow. If you take the strife dice you get strife, if you don't...you get strife.

[Matsu Ishioka]

Also worth remembering that *not* taking dice with strife is very much a possibility. That means less hardy and flexible people are less likely to succeed (or may succeed with less opportunities, or succeed by less) to avoid going over, but... that might be fitting?

That's assuming you rolled a dice that doesn't have strife, and you're ok with failing on purpose to avoid it. If we take the event today - killing blow. If you take the strife dice you get strife, if you don't...you get strife.

Yeah, the killing blow idea and what Railun is representing there seems really cool, but boy are we putting a lot of pressure on strife as the measure of staying cool.

One thing I don't want to lose is Mitsu's comment:

From the perspective of an Air/Void focus with a Composure of 4, it does make things interesting. I have to manage the in-game daily schedule to know how much strife I can afford to take in any single thread. The silver-lining is that I can reset to zero with a single timeslot (auto-drop to 50%, then -3 for pursuing a passion), which would work for Composure up to and including 6. With all that, it hasn't been too bad. The character has limits to what he can do, but careful use of timeslots and tactical decisions on which dice to keep can get him through.

Emphasis mine.

That's an interesting aspect of this that I've really felt, because the "reset to half" when you're at say 7 of 12 strife provides little benefit, and the character still requires two full passion slots to bring to zero. That may be intended, as Air/Fire characters are more flighty but also easier to reset after trouble, while Earth/Water take longer to crack but also take longer to put back together. I don't know yet if I like it or think it's balanced in our context, but it seems to me to have intentionality behind it.

[Moto Mitsuki]

So...

How do people play shogi in this world?

More exactly, if two PCs want to have a friendly shogi game, what are their mechanical options?

From my understanding, there are two:

Thunder

1. Both players roll Games (Any) "simultaneously".
2. The one with the most success win. If both have the same number, it's a draw.

The good:
Quick.

The bad:
Lots of draws (though in the case of "chess" it's realistic)
Though opportunities can technically be used, only the ones that can heal strife will likely matter mechanically.

Snail

1. Both players agree on a base TN for their rolls and a momentum total to reach (let's say 2 and 5 for example).
2. Both players roll Games (Any) "simultaneously" against that TN, earning 1 momentum point for succeeding, plus 1 extra momentum point for each bonus success.
3. If a player has reached or exceeded the momentum target and the other didn't, they win. If both passed during the same round, the one with the most momentum points win. If they have the same total, it's a draw.
4. If none has enough momentum point, and none concedes, back to step 2.

The good:
The Fire and Void opportunities (that respectively inflict strife to your opponent and reduce the TN of the next roll) are now useful, and therefore rolling using these rings less of a hassle (and by that I mean Void is freaking strong).
Feels more like an actual back-and-forth game.

The bad:
Slow.
Double bookkeeping (momentum, strife).
Still a good chance to end in a draw.
The default Air opportunity (Learn another character in the scene’s demeanor (if an NPC) and current strife) is still quite useless.


People who actually know 5ed, did I get it right?

[Shiba Raizo]

I would say, given the way Strife works, that 5E actually encourages relatively few rolls as a baseline.

[Agasha Inoshishi]

The silver-lining is that I can reset to zero with a single timeslot (auto-drop to 50%, then -3 for pursuing a passion), which would work for Composure up to and including 6. With all that, it hasn't been too bad. The character has limits to what he can do, but careful use of timeslots and tactical decisions on which dice to keep can get him through.

I've been very similar, I think I've ended every event right before Compromised or deep in compromised. Either way, it's been fun and the autodrop is nice.

[Kuni Yasu]

I would say, given the way Strife works, that 5E actually encourages relatively few rolls as a baseline.

This. It's very much the rule of "does it matter?" If the outcome doesn't matter much, skip dice and stick to narrative options.

The shogi game, for example, would often just be entirely narrative. If players have the same stats and are playing a friendly game? Flip a coin. You shouldn't really be risking/taking strife for a friendly, no-stakes game. Same for sparring in the dojo. Where I've gone to dice, it's because I wanted some experience with the combat system and new dice roller.

A game with stakes of one sort or another, the method likely depends on the stakes. Snail for momentum makes sense when trying to use the game to figure out something about the person, or get some influence with them, etc.

Thunder might make sense for a game with a wager on it, or where it's on account of someone bragging and getting into that.

PbP and the event structure shifts that game design intention. So it's not surprising that it runs up on some issues.

[Shiba Raizo]

Head-Canon Decision: Raizo's ronin mentor (Tessho) was once a suitor for the hand of Shika Pei Pei, back when he had a clan to call his own.

Raizo does not know this. Pei Pei doesn't know Raizo knows a man she used to know.

But it amuses me.

[Usogawa Emiko]

It does feel really weird for a system to discourage dice rolling, but I can honestly say I'm trying to avoid rolling as much as possible because of it. Which kind of puts me off trying to do agendas more

[Saibankan]

So...

How do people play shogi in this world?

More exactly, if two PCs want to have a friendly shogi game, what are their mechanical options?

From my understanding, there are two:

Thunder

1. Both players roll Games (Any) "simultaneously".
2. The one with the most success win. If both have the same number, it's a draw.

The good:
Quick.

The bad:
Lots of draws (though in the case of "chess" it's realistic)
Though opportunities can technically be used, only the ones that can heal strife will likely matter mechanically.

Snail

1. Both players agree on a base TN for their rolls and a momentum total to reach (let's say 2 and 5 for example).
2. Both players roll Games (Any) "simultaneously" against that TN, earning 1 momentum point for succeeding, plus 1 extra momentum point for each bonus success.
3. If a player has reached or exceeded the momentum target and the other didn't, they win. If both passed during the same round, the one with the most momentum points win. If they have the same total, it's a draw.
4. If none has enough momentum point, and none concedes, back to step 2.

The good:
The Fire and Void opportunities (that respectively inflict strife to your opponent and reduce the TN of the next roll) are now useful, and therefore rolling using these rings less of a hassle (and by that I mean Void is freaking strong).
Feels more like an actual back-and-forth game.

The bad:
Slow.
Double bookkeeping (momentum, strife).
Still a good chance to end in a draw.
The default Air opportunity (Learn another character in the scene’s demeanor (if an NPC) and current strife) is still quite useless.


People who actually know 5ed, did I get it right?

You can also use the duel rules for really high stake shogi games

Really you can just set the stakes with your opponent.

1) Hey this shogi game's just a prop while we talk to one another: No roll necessary. You two can just decide who wins, most ranks in games, highest status, etc.

2) It's a prop, but I'd like the dice to determine who wins: Single roll each, highest successes wins, break ties with status.

3) It's a prop, but I'd like the dice to narrate the flow of the game as well as the victor: Use momentum. The longer you want the game to run, the more momentum it takes. Keep in mind that if someone REALLY wants to win, there is a potential they'll eat a big bucket of strife, but if you're not pushing yourself 100% you won't take much necessarily.

4) This is really serious business: Use the duel rules. Strife is now guaranteed, but it can certainly be climatic.