Exploring "Mostly Diceless" - Applying Forged In the Dark Mechanics to LoG&S

- GM’s note: The following is an exploration of Forged In the Dark (Vergence RPG) mechanics and applying them to Lords of Gossamer.

Lords of Gossamer is a Diceless game. Diceless is great. I believe in Diceless. 

But there are certain mechanics that are less effective in Diceless. It’s for this reason that we’ve been using Cards and even some Dice from time to time. 

Reflecting on why Diceless is sometimes weak, here is what I came up with:

• Diceless provides a fixed outcome. There is no variability of outcome or degree of success. Yes, I know that the GM can weigh up the factors and ‘decide’ that degree of success, or how long a task takes, but it’s always what the GM decides. The best examples that I have of this are:

• How long does it take a PC to learn something? Or to work towards a goal? (In Diceless it’s an arbitrary decision)

• Does the PC notice something or not? (in Diceless, it is either Warfare or Psyche - but it becomes boring if the PC always notices, or it becomes very arbitrary for the GM to just decide every time if they notice or not)

• Diceless doesn’t really cover Social skills, or Engineering/Building skills, or whether someone Notices something or not, or even Studying/Researching.

• An example of this is that the PC meets someone? Do they get along? (again, if playing with Diceless rules, one would either rule that is based on Psyche, or potentially look at Good stuff - but again, this becomes boring if the PC always gets along with people, even if they aren’t trying.)

• Good Stuff / Bad Stuff tends to be always positive, or always negative. It can become boring if the PC always gets the edge, or always just misses. It lacks variability. It can also be abused - the PC is always liked when meeting people ‘because of Good Stuff’. This is okay in gameplay for a while, but after a while it becomes stale.

• There is no Fortune mechanic that enables the GM to determine whether something happens or not - eg: NPC meets NPC - do they get along? Or, what’s the likelihood that Vala meets a new Lord of Gossamer? Where the Attributes don’t apply (again for example Social, Engineering/Building, Noticing, Studying/Researching), there is no easy mechanism for determining whether a NPC succeeds in something and how well they succeed. Again, it’s just ‘the GM decides’.

Over time we’ve used FATE cards to add that ‘spice’ into the game to determine whether the PC found something more challenging than expected or not. For example, Grant is going to win a combat with Dominant rank - but how well did his opponent do before Grant beat him? Draw a card and this one says “-3 Betrayed/Major Snafu” - in other words, something happened that Grant did not expect, or if he did anticipate (because he has Dominant rank), it still made him work harder than he would have liked to achieve that victory.

Then I started using Forged in the Dark mechanics to determine how likely certain things were to happen, and also whether things went well for the PCs (rolling a ‘6’) or whether they succeeded but something else went awry (rolling a ‘4’ or ‘5’) or whether things just went poorly and they had a tough time dealing with it (‘1’, ‘2’ or ‘3’). 

I want to go further with this and see how well Forged in the Dark mechanics could be used for Lords of Gossamer. Basically, to run the game as ‘Mostly Diceless’.

Forged in the Dark (Blades in the Dark) uses Tier mechanics so it is still possible to go ‘Mostly Diceless’, and use dice only when there is a chance of failure.

Also, I really like the idea of ‘yes you succeed, but there’s a complication’ - ie: the PC wins, but it takes longer than expected (increment a clock); or the PC wins but something unexpected happens. This is particularly relevant in mass combat battles - yes, a high ranking Warfare character is going to win the battle - but there may still be unforeseen complications and casualties.

So this is what I wrote up to help David to understand how using FitD mechanics might work in combat:

Individuals and Factions are ranked by Tier (or Quality) - which is a measure of the capability that the individual or faction can bring to bear - it represents power, scale, resources etc. Tier is rated between -1 and 4.

Example	Tier
Human Ranked Individuals	-1
Superior Ranked Individuals	0
Paragon Ranked Individuals	1
Ranked Individuals	2 - 3
High Ranked Individuals	3 - 4

A group of individuals typically rates one Tier higher - for example, a group of Human Ranked Individuals would be Tier 0.

Most starting PCs (normal Lords of Gossamer) would be Tier 2. However, Ethan and Grant are very powerful and are Tier 3.

Let’s begin with an example of play:

Grant is Tier 3 and has an Engage (equivalent to BitD’s Skirmish skill) of 3D.

Example 1 - Grant v hostile group of Dwimmerlaik

Grant encounters a hostile group of Dwimmerlaik. Dwimmerlaik are individually at Tier 1 level, but since this is a group, they rate as Tier 2.

• Grant would start the battle in Controlled position, Greater effect (given that Grant is in a superior Tier).

• If this battle were fought, he would have a 7% chance of a Critical success, 35% chance of success, 45% chance of a partial success, and 13% chance of failure. (ie: 87% chance of overall success on the first roll) 

• Failure in this situation typically means a lost opportunity and a decision either needs to be made to ‘fight on’ in a Risky position, or try a different approach. 

• A partial success is also not bad because this is Controlled position. There would be a minor consequence, which could be the tick of a clock, or a small plot twist. It is still a success.

• If the Dwimmerlaik were to ambush Grant, he would start the battle in a Risky position, but still Greater effect.

• The same probabilities as above would apply.

• However, failure from a Risky position could result in Harm, or it could result in a moderate consequence (eg: 2 ticks of a clock, plot twist etc), or it could result in Grant being placed in a Desperate position.

Now let’s explore what else Grant could do:

• Grant draws Gorgorin the Shatterer, a Primal Damage weapon. This increases his effect from Greater to Extreme.

• Similarly, if Grant were to use Umbra in combat, this would increase his effect from Greater to Extreme. 

• Grant can also trade Position for Effect. For example, if ambushed, he would be in a Risky position with Greater effect. He could instead choose to improve his position to Controlled, reducing his effect to Standard.

• Grant could also Push himself (to get an extra +1D) at the cost of 2 stress.

• Grant could accept a Devil’s Bargain (to get an extra +1D or improve Position/Effect). It’s not possible to improve dice using both Push and Devil’s Bargain.

• Hence if Grant were to either Push himself or accept a Devil’s Bargain to improve his dice pool, he would have 4D to roll. If this battle were fought, he would have a 13% chance of a Critical success, 39% chance of success, 42% chance of a partial success, and 6% chance of failure. (ie: 94% chance of success)

Example 2 - Grant v small group of Dwimmerlaik

Grant encounters a small hostile group of Dwimmerlaik (1-2 of them). Dwimmerlaik are individually at Tier 1 level and this group is not large enough to make them Tier 2. 

Hence there are two Tiers difference between Grant and the Dwimmerlaik. No roll is required - Grant wins - this is no challenge for him. The Dwimmerlaik cannot beat him, even if they ambush him.

Example 3 - Grant v Ethan

Now this is an interesting one because technically they are both Tier 3. However, Grant has Dominant Rank, which in FitD would translate to giving him a +1 Tier Bonus. Hence if Grant were to fight Ethan, he would start in a Controlled position because he is a higher Tier than Ethan is (in this area). Depending on the situation, he may have Standard effect or Greater effect. 

Example 4 - Grant v Drake

Drake should be better than Grant, so let’s say that Drake is Tier 4. Grant would begin in Risky position and Reduced effect because of the Tier difference. He can improve Position and Effect by using the assets available to him - using Gorgorin, Umbra, Pushing himself, using a Devil’s Bargain.

Example 5 - Grant v Krovalis

Krovalis is clearly Tier 4 and meant to be much better than Grant. As such, Krovalis attacks Grant first and he needs to make a Resistance roll to avoid taking harm. Depending upon the situation, Grant is either in a Risky position / Zero effect, or possibly in a Desperate position, Reduced effect. Again, he can improve Position and Effect by using the assets available to him - using Gorgorin, Umbra, Pushing himself, using a Devil’s Bargain.

- GM’s note: That’s all I have time for in this session. I’m going to be exploring this further over the next few posts.

Session 235 – A Conversation between GMs

 - GM’s note: January 2021 was pretty terrible and we utterly failed to catch up and run the Christmas Special until very late in February.

This session was a conversation between two GMs as to what we wanted to do next as opposed to an adventure.

This is what we came up with ….

Part 1 – Conversations between GMs – Narrative Storytelling

- The first topic of conversation is why I (as a player, playing Ethan) completely fail to engage with some of David’s plotlines. Ethan is a wanderer and an adventurer. David offers up NPCs that he feels are interesting and he spends time crafting these, but then I seem to ignore them and keep walking.

- So we talked about why that might be. Certainly I (as a player) would like to see Ethan build connections with people. (He has many already but it’s something that I do enjoy). But I’m also aware that David often seeds in a character that I am supposed to like (eg; Jertwynn) but I effectively ignore them and walk on.

- The conclusion that we reached is that rather than forcing a connection, I prefer a question being asked which allows me to have some input into the narrative. Hence, rather than be presented with a NPC and then hope it works out, I’d rather be asked the question “Ethan finds this individual interesting, what is the connection that is made here?” This way I have input into the relationship and am more likely to buy into the story.

- This is a technique that seen used a lot in Blades in the Dark, particularly listening to the Magpies Podcast where the players are providing input into the shaping of the narrative. Frequently the GM there (Rhi) will ask a player what they are trying to do, a roll is made, and then often it is the player, not the GM who describes how this plays out based on the roll that is made. Hence the player helps tell the story. I prefer that sort of narrative storytelling because it results in a more collaborative story and it creates ‘buy in’ and emotional connection to the plot because the players have contributed to creation of it. 

- For example, if Ethan met Jertwynn, the question could be asked as to what common ground or common interest is discovered between them. Then the question could be asked as to how this came up in conversation. In each case, the GM is prompting the player to help tell the story, and this builds player buy-in.

- In Session 236 we tried this (with the Christmas Special) and it was very interesting what happened – because (in my opinion) the narrative failed because I felt that we failed to do what we had just discussed, but then we rewound a short way and told that section of the story using the technique described above, and (in my opinion), it worked much much better.

Part 2 – Conversations between GMs – Next Adventures

- The second topic of conversation was to talk about what happens after the Christmas Special (which we would run in Session 236).

- We talked about what we wanted to see and how we could make the story different and new.

• There is a 2-part Beasts and Barbarians adventure which I want to run, but that could be run as a Flashback. The idea is simple – two guys smitten with the same girl who foolishly decide to travel overland via a forbidden pass in order to help her to ‘get rich’.

•  We are both keen to see more Tachyon Squadron adventures run because being in spaceships neutralises a lot of the powers of the Lords of Gossamer and it has a very different feel to the game. We also like flashing back to when they were very low-level characters (~30 point level), before they had Eidolon and Umbra Mastery.

• I want to run Courts of the Shadow Fey, a Dungeons and Dragons campaign which according to the author was originally designed with Amber DRPG in mind. I love the idea of introducing the fey, another group of powerful individuals whom the PCs don’t necessarily want to fight, but they need to figure out how to deal with. And that’s what we are running from Session 237 onwards….

Part 3 – Conversations between GMs – The Next Era

- The third topic which we discussed is the next era that we play in after Courts of the Shadow Fey. Yes, it is true that I have another story arc in mind, but beyond that we want to do something different again. The PCs are already 450 points and the next obvious jump for them is to wind the clock forward possibly 80-120 years and then focus on what Ethan and Grant are like when they are part of the ‘Elder generation’ of Lords of Gossamer. The general flavour of what are thinking of is as follows:

• Marindar is settled and secure. There is no reason for Grant to anchor himself there. Lady Sophia is out of the picture. If Grant has kids, then they have grown up and are self-sufficient. Grant is wandering, finding new wondrous places to discover. He is trying to understand the Stair. He spends increasingly long periods of time away from Marindar. It has been years since he was last there. 

• Ethan and Isabelle have gone their separate ways. Isabelle is still around, and there is still affection there but they’re increasingly living separate lives. Ethan and Abbie ended up having a child, but upon reaching adulthood, the child wanted nothing to do with either of them. Abbie has gotten old, and tired. If we start the campaign, she is either close to the end, or has just passed away. She just isn’t willing to go on ‘forever’ and it’s time to go. Even Macavity would probably be old or even gone. Perhaps Ethan has a new feline companion.

• Hence the general feel of this next story arc would be transition, impermanence and regeneration. Some things don’t change in 80-120 years but many things have changed and continue to change. Even Grant’s and Ethan’s roles amongst the Lords of Gossamer has changed. They now have enough attunement to the Stair and mastery over Gossamer to be able to sense problems well before they occur, and this brings us to the focus of the arc.

- What we are thinking of is designing a new section of Stair which will be ‘important’ somehow. Grant and Ethan know that something will happen here and hence it is important to monitor, influence and shape this section of Stair. Hence we’re creating key realms and factions in this section of Stair that they can interact with and figure out what they want to do. So, part of this will be discovery, part will be diplomacy, but there will also be lurking and growing threats. Instead of being able to call upon Vala, Lucien, Drake for backup, they are here in this place because there is no one better to deal with this emerging situation.

- Hence we aim to up the power level again and have the characters as true world/realm shapers. No doubt we’ll do flashbacks to other times/power levels (because that is fun) but we’re going to advance Grant and Ethan to be part of the ‘Elder Generation’.

- In terms of the details of the realms/factions that we’ve come up with, sorry but you’ll have to wait for that. We have done a fair bit but I’d prefer not to divulge too much.

Lords of Gossamer Story Stubs

- GM’s note – Since catching up on 2nd November, I came up with a bunch of story stubs that I thought were episodic and worth pursuing. David hasn’t had a chance to contribute into these but it’s our starting point

Plot Synopsis: Lofwyr covets something from Nicol Bolas’ legacy but cannot acquire it directly. Abbie is a facilitator but Ethan is the tool (patsy?). Lofwyr uses Abbie to influence Ethan to acquire it. This session could even be a heist, in which case Isabelle would be in on the plan. 
Bruce’s notes: I’d like David to run this, but this is a prelude to other internal strife within the Draconian Empire. Lofwyr is a player in that conflict and he will be using Abbie and Ethan to get what he wants.

Plot Synopsis: Abbie in danger! Abbie’s divination says that she is in immediate, direct danger. She knows from recently competing against Isabelle that she is outlassed by any ranked opponent, so she needs allies and protection. Can she keep Ethan close while Lofwyr’s enemies try to bump her off?
Bruce’s notes: Another one for David to run.

Plot Synopsis: Kill the Dragonslayer! It has been foretold that the immortal Dragon Emperor will die in the near future. Some of his subjects decide that the way to deal with this matter is to hunt down Dragonslayers. Ethan is at the top of the list.
Bruce’s notes: Either of this could be running this one. Grant may be aware of this plot and hence he is the main protagonist.

Plot Synopsis: The Hedron network is in use. Hunt down those who are using it and find out what their plans are.
Bruce’s notes: Either of this could be running this one but it’s probably me.

Plot Synopsis: Grant is interested in where the Darksteel comes from (and what Turadok’s connection is to it). Investigate, starting with Ninjaworld and the adolescent Dwimmerlaik.
Bruce’s notes: One for me to run.

Plot Synopsis: Investigate a dangerous part of the Old Stair. What mysteries are contained there.
Bruce’s notes: One for me to run.

Plot Synopsis: Most Umbra Masters go mad. Vala introduces Grant to a very mad Umbra Master.
Bruce’s notes: One for me to run.

Plot Synopsis: Christmas Special!
Bruce’s notes: One for me to run. As discussed, we’re going to do a homage to Star Trek Next Generation episode “Rascals” where Grant and Ethan are reduced back to childhood.

Plot Synopsis: Ethan discovered information which has been stored in the Forbidden Library which he decides to act upon….
Bruce’s notes: One for David to run.

Plot Synopsis: Five is a crowd? Grant, Ethan, Isabelle, Abbie and Sophia decide to go away together. Could it be to watch a sporting event? Or to go camping together? Or perhaps they decide to go on an ordinary holiday in an ordinary campervan? Or perhaps they decide to go on a cruise ship. It could be an ordinary holiday or perhaps they discover some mystery or secret along the way.
Bruce’s notes: One for David to run.

Plot Synopsis: Running afoul of the Red Eyed Dwimmerlaik or one of his minions. Perhaps one of his minions is strangely likeable. (eg: Liliana joins the RED)
Bruce’s notes: One for David to run.

Plot Synopsis: Jessamyn contacts Grant for help. Lucien has sent Cal on yet another mission and this time it is not only dangerous but definitely something that the other Lords of Gossamer would object to. Can Grant and Ethan help save Cal from himself?
Bruce’s notes: One for me to run.

Plot Synopsis: Lord Morla invites Grant and others (Ethan, Sophia?) to a Dwimmerlaik realm as honoured guests. What dangers might they face there?
Bruce’s notes: One for me to run.

Plot Synopsis: Return to Simba to accept the thanks of the Lion King (cue music!) But there is trouble in Simba…..
Bruce’s notes: Session 195 leverages episodes from Slipstream (Savage Worlds setting). Playing through some of those made us laugh – it was really refreshing.

We also talked about the sort of styles that I thought were worth importing and I shared lots of information with David on the following. I suggested a lot of Savage Worlds settings because they tend to be really well designed for episodic play:

• Savage Worlds – 50 Fathoms (which I play as part of another campaign)
• Savage Worlds - Beasts and Barbarians – I liked the setting so much, I wrote to the author and he posted me copies of the books from Poland.
• Savage Worlds - Tyrandor – by the same author as Beasts and Barbarians. I asked the author to put in more story plugs/briefs and he has done so in spades. I really like this setting.
• FATE – Tachyon Squadron – who wouldn’t love Top Gun in SPAAACE! I also suggested that David look at The Warriors of White Light, one of the modules for Star Frontiers. It’s a great sandbox.
• Savage Worlds – Blackwood
• Savage Worlds - Mythos
• Midgard
• More on Versais (think swashbuckling France)
• Star Wars (there are lots of adventures that could be leveraged and we already have a Star Wars-like world in the setting)
• Midnight – dark D&D setting where Izrador (Sauron) has almost won. I have GMed this setting in the past. Really cool setting.
• Savage Worlds – Flash Gordon (good setting, but I like Savage Worlds – Slipstream better)
• Tiny Supers (or Mutants and Masterminds, or Marvel Super Heroes) - I still think this could work really well if we have a handful of superheroes and supervillains that we have as part of the Lords of Gossamer setting.

- GM’s note – And that’s all the ideas that I have up until the present. I’m only one session behind in the writeups now. Session 195 awaits….. then I’m fully up to date. (I will eventually get out of the hospital discharge lounge.)

Interlude between Session 194 and 195 – 2nd November 2019

- GM’s note – David and I met up in Melbourne on 2nd November and talked about what was working, what wasn’t working and what we wanted to do differently.

As mentioned previously, we’d both fallen into the trap of designing adventure that we would like to play, not what the other person wanted to play.

So this was an opportunity to sit down and figure out what we wanted to focus on and also what we wanted to skip over. After all, we don’t play through blow-by-blow with everything. Sometimes we want to skip over what is happening. Other times we want to zoom in and focus on a particular part of the story.

Anyway, getting on with it. This is what we talked about:

Key points (raw notes as input into the discussion):

• Key worlds like Marindar, Earth etc need to go back to being settings as opposed to having rich plots that prevent Grant and Ethan from adventuring.
• More episodic plots, fewer multi-session plots
• Marindar needs a civilian leader so that Grant can go back to being a Lord Protector and not heavily involved in local-level administrative activities.
• Multiple loose threads from Marindar need to be wrapped up (1 line explanations)
• Boraelis plot needs to be wrapped up
• Earth plots need a 1 line explanation to wrap up plots
• Plan for upcoming Christmas Special
• Sophia can’t have children. A quest would be required to change this.
• The Forbidden Library is a great plot generator
• R.E.D. is aware that he has forgotten things (because Ethan has suppressed knowledge of the library). He will take steps.
• Does Grant need a nemesis that he cannot kill?
• Lofwyr has an angle - use Abbie/Ethan - to claim Bolas’ legacy
• Vala’s Arbitrator plot needs to be episodic
• Far future - campaign could follow the children of Grant and Ethan. Next generation
• Diplomatic plots - 1 liners
• Other pocket sections of the Stair
• Other unstable Umbra Masters
• Alliance with the Dwimmerlaik
• More recurring locations needed (eg: Midas)
• Abbie’s place

Key message agreed between David and Bruce: The PCs need stability in order to go adventuring. 

Therefore the following one liners to summarise/conclude various plotlines:

- Earth - healing magic has become more common, the existence of sorcery and sorcerers is known. Those who practice sorcery are now respected within society. Healing magic works in most places on Earth. Pockets of other magic still exist. The Legendary Isle is largely self-sufficient and being governed by Archer without Ethan needing to be involved on an ongoing basis.

- Marindar

• Grant is back as Lord Protector. Alesandro has been appointed as civilian administrator. The ruling council meets in Central.
• Many relationships formed after the games, perhaps as a result of Zeus’ favour. Influx of new immigrants and a smattering of children have been born.
• The rude response brought back by the Red Robin is investigated. The robin reached a closed vessel with no suitable candidates and hence returned. Grant decides not to investigate further.
• One day, Jadis leaves Marindar for an unknown destination.
• Hermes says his goodbyes and leaves (without going via the Stair). He leaves behind a pair of golden babies to two separate mothers. Grant decides to keep an eye on them.
• Grant rebuilds the Marindan Defenders and a local defence force.
• Grant convinces Turadok to ‘move on’ after discovering that he is pursuing unstable science on Marindar.

- Boraelis

• Ethan figures out that the energy from the Ghostglobes are going to a small settlement on the ruins of a larger civilisation. They now have large stockpiles of the globes and a heavily fortified position. Bastiano clearly was planning to use these people as troops.
• In Boraelis there is an ancient curse which created the ghost pirates. Tracing the plaque from the debris on the sea floor takes Ethan back to an island. He is able to return the item and lift the curse. The Ghostglobes stop being produced and Harbourtown returns to a new normal life.
• Old Sam and Tess decide to move on. They move to the Legendary Isle.
• Still a desirable location to travel to because of the Iron Wood (which strengthens over time in saltwater) and the excellent fish.

- Constance has run away with Yaeger Zane. Drake is troubled by this.
- Liliana trying to learn Eidolon from Ethan. She is not naturally gifted at this and she makes little progress. Ethan refers her to Vala. Vala suggests an arduous quest to reach a level of enlightenment. Ethan takes her to the start of the quest and gives her an Icon. 

Other plots in progress:

• Vala’s arbitration / Draconian Empire / Lofwyr’s plot
• R.E.D. (multi-session plot - including Grimples)
• Other pockets of the Stair (single session episode)
• Other unstable Umbra Masters (single session episode - why is this?)
• Library plots (multiple single session episodes)
• Excalibur (multiple single session episodes)
• Kids for Sophia (not likely to start anytime soon)
• Alliance with the Dwimmerlaik (multiple single session episodes - including Modi)
• Hedron Network is in use, but by whom (multiple single session episodes - including Darksteel)
• Drake sends Grant/Ethan on a ‘trip’ (single session episode)

More favourite locations:

• Places to eat - Tipsy Elephant, American Pub, Blue Note, Sky restaurant Ethan met Lucien, Teahouse (Chinese place, Fish n Chip place)
• Places to visit - Versais, Boraelis, Agora, Midas, Treasure Cave, Ninjaworld
• Places to rest - Midas (new places - pool/forest/natural place)

Discussed positions on:

• Abbie’s motivations (Playing the long game, she is more settled, she will have a place of her own on one of Lofwyr’s worlds, more self-confident. Open to manipulation by Lofwyr. She becomes a Fixer style character.)
• Isabelle’s motivations (Young Lady of Gossamer, straight bat, trying to prove herself, fellow explorer and investigator. Likes the thrill of stealing)
• Yaeger’s motivations (have fun, enjoy himself, party like there’s no tomorrow, what consequences?)
• Drake’s motivations (saddened by loss of Constance, only general left amongst the Lords of Gossamer, feeling the pressure)
• Other major NPC’s motivations

What do we want to see in the next few months?

• Need a plot to get Grant up to 450 points - new (or old) nemesis. Worthy route to 450 points.
• For David: not a diplomatic story, but instead a mystery or solve a problem. Twist. The hole is deeper than expected. Sometimes just want to be powerful.
• For Bruce: character development/development of relationships. Exploring. Savage Worlds / Star Wars style. Interesting new worlds are good. Unexpected plot devices / random encounter (mistaken identity, plot initiated when not expected - eg: when eating, a fight breaks out at the next table etc). A personal reason for overarching plot (eg: finding Lucien and it’s a long way to go). Gaps between sessions so one doesn’t flow immediately into the next. A mix of intensity over the sessions (work/play)
• Christmas Special - Bruce to run Xmas 2019