The Basics: Bad Juju
The wars fucked everything over right good. Nobody even really knows what happened any more. We turned the gods against each other until the skies rained fire and the rivers flowed poison. Goblins tore up the roads and the dryads choked canals with vines. Your town passed decades in isolation, unsure where or if the fighting raged on. But one day, a pedller came to your village. He says he comes from Haven—the town your grandfather traded with. What's more, he says the old King's highway just...came back. One day, there it was where only the jungle stood before. A socuting party spent a week away without being attacked by mad spirits; they found another tribe of strange-garbed craftsmen.
It's the post-post-apocalypse, and opportunity awaits! You have some burning desire your town can't sate—or your town has problems it alone can't solve. Your only choice is to chart the uncharted and brave the jungle to build a new civilization, and maybe long the way you'll find out why things calmed down—and how to keep it that way.
The Characters:
The Ascetic
Even in the Dark Times, the jungles weren't empty. Everyone's father will tell you about the tattoed stranger who slept on his floor. It's bad luck, they say, to deny them. To cross them is bad luck. Besides, his uncle swears he saw one punch out a dragon.
The Celebrant
Gods—gods are trouble these days. They say back before the war, the gods kept the world running smoothly. These if you want a harvest to come in harvest-time, you got to buddy up with a local god. There's a lot a human can do for a god, but they don't like to talk to regular folks much. To organize your tithes and festivals and call in divine favors, you need a celebrant.
The Enchanter
Manufacturing ain't exactly commonplace these days, but magic gets the job done. If you're willing to buy your magic from the crazy hex in the tower outside town. Building magic is all about having the right friends, so you're buying from someone whose closest friends are ghosts and dragons.
The Lordling
Some towns are still fighting the great war. They may not have enemies, but they do have martial law and compulsory service. The old royal families still have the smarts, the build, and the gold age weapons to run the show.
The Merchant Prince
Everybody wants something, and these guys know where to get it. Not eveyr village was totally isolated, and when three or four settlements can get together, someone's got a finger in every pie.
The Nomad
There were a few people crazy enough to travel even before things got reasonable. They're still the best bet if you want to find something or get somewhere. They tend to talk to their ponies a lot.
The Shaman
The gods are bigger than us, sure, but more limited. They're bound by oaths and sanctums to limited spheres of influence. That's where the Shaman comes in. Don't laugh at the funny man covered in feathers and beads—all his knickknacks? They're mementos of the spirits' power.
The Soldier
Its the dawn of a new day, filled with exotic locales, breathtaking treasures, and shortage of people needing to be stabbed—in the face, if possible. Anyone can wave a pointed stick, but the soldiers are professional problem-solver, at home with a sword or a gold-age weapon of mass destruction.
The Sorcerer
Not all power comes from the gods; some comes from ghosts and blood and glass. Sorcerers set themselves against gods and the world and build their empires on steel and bone.
The stats are:
Brave, as in dauntless, feral, bloody-minded or just plain violent.
Learned, as in wise, practical, clear-eyed.
Noble, as in commanding, beautiful, one with authority.
Pious, as in blessed, a wanderer, godly
Urbane, as in genteel, polished, and, well, urban.
Moves and Dice
Any action that is resolved mechanically is called a “move”. (Not all moves are actions). There are two rules for moves:
“If you do it, you do it” – that means if you describe your character doing that action, you have to roll. When you Seduce or Manipulate, you roll noble. If your G-d tells you to roll noble, do it.
“To do it, you have to do it.” You can't just say “I manipulate her” or “I go aggro on him”. You've got to describe what you're doing.
Bad Juju doesn't use “initiative” as you understand it, or track turns in the normal way. By default, it's always the player's turn. You make a move, the MC tells you what happened, then you get to make another move again immediately. Yes, even in a combat. The player is always choosing and rolling, and getting wounded can be a consequence of his own abilities. That said, the MC does have moves of his own. It's the MC's turn when
--The players can't think of anything to do
--a player hands him an opportunity
--a player misses a move
You should rarely find that players argue over who gets to “go first”, as Bad Juju allows you to retroactively help or interfere with another player's action even after they've rolled. Should they have an irreconcileable difference, the more urbane character reacts first.
When you make a move, roll 2d6 and add the relevant stat. On a 10+, you get the full effect of the move you were making. On a 7-9, you get some of what you wanted, but with a flaw. On a 6 or lower, the MC gets to make a move, unless your move specified some other result. MC moves are different: MC moves rarely require dice to be rolled, and when they do it's the affected player who rolls, not the MC.
Some moves ask you to "hold 1" or "hold 3" or whatever. That just means to record the result you got from the move; you can generally spend those holds later to accomplish things. Other moves gives you +1forward or ongoing. +1forward means "+1 to your next roll" while +1ongoing means "+1 to every roll." If you have a bonus against someone, it applies to all attempts to read or manipulate as well as to fight them, even if you don't think of them as an adversary.
Bad Juju Mark 3: Brought to you by liberal theft from Vincen
Moderator: Moderators
Bad Juju Mark 3: Brought to you by liberal theft from Vincen
Last edited by Orion on Wed Sep 08, 2010 4:03 am, edited 1 time in total.
The Basic Moves: There are some moves that every character has access to, regardless of archetype. Here are the most important:
When you leave your fate to the gods, roll Pious. On a 10+, you luck out, or your plan works, or you get away cleanly. On a 7-9, your MC will offer you a difficult choice or an uglier outcome.
(Note: Despite the name, this move doesn't mean making no active effort. It's for any time success isn't entirely under your control, or not covered better by other moves. Running across a battlefield without takign an arrow, sneaking up on someone without him noticing, and finding your way through the wilderness are leave your fate to the gods).
When you go aggro on somebody, declare what you want them to do and what weapon you're using to enforce compliance, then roll Brave. On a 10+ they either do what you want or “suck up” the Harm from your weapon. On a 7-9 they may instead choose to
--block themselves in
--back off with their hands up
--flee in terror
(Note: you cannot go aggro on someone who has a weapon in hand and is prepared to fight. You can murder people with it by declaring that “you want them to die.”)
When enemies are prepared to fight you to stop you, you may have to seize something by force. Roll Brave. On a 10+ choose 3; on a 7-9 choose 2. Then trade harm for harm according to your respective weapons.
--inflct terrible (+1) harm
--suffer little (-1) harm
--shock and awe your opponents
--decisively seize, hold, or rout your objective
When you seduce or manipulate someone, offer them something they want and roll Noble. On a 10+, they do as you ask. On a 7-9, they need concrete reassurance first.
(You cannot manipulate someone unless you have something to offer them. In some circumstances, “not being shot in the face” is a very tempting offer.)
When you read a tense situation, roll Learned. On 10+ hold 3; on a 7-9, hold 1. For the rest of the scene you may spend hold to ask one of these questions:
--What's the safest way out?
--Is there something I'm missing (such as a spiritual presence)?
--How could I break the opposition?
--Where is the opposition?
When you act on your answers, you get +1.
When you read a person in a charged interaction, roll Learned. On a 10+ hold 3; on a 7-9, hold 1. At any point in the conversation you may spend one to ask
--are they telling the truth?
--what do they intend to do?
--what do they want me to do?
--how are they feeling?
--are they human?
When you open your ears to the city, roll Urbane.
On a 10+, someone with good information or intentions finds you; your MC may also ask you 2 or 3 questions about your past associations and your current lifestyle. On a 7-9, someone with rumors or useful possessions finds you, and you may be questioned. A miss generally means that you attract the attention of a ghost, robber, or other unsavory character.
When you leave your fate to the gods, roll Pious. On a 10+, you luck out, or your plan works, or you get away cleanly. On a 7-9, your MC will offer you a difficult choice or an uglier outcome.
(Note: Despite the name, this move doesn't mean making no active effort. It's for any time success isn't entirely under your control, or not covered better by other moves. Running across a battlefield without takign an arrow, sneaking up on someone without him noticing, and finding your way through the wilderness are leave your fate to the gods).
When you go aggro on somebody, declare what you want them to do and what weapon you're using to enforce compliance, then roll Brave. On a 10+ they either do what you want or “suck up” the Harm from your weapon. On a 7-9 they may instead choose to
--block themselves in
--back off with their hands up
--flee in terror
(Note: you cannot go aggro on someone who has a weapon in hand and is prepared to fight. You can murder people with it by declaring that “you want them to die.”)
When enemies are prepared to fight you to stop you, you may have to seize something by force. Roll Brave. On a 10+ choose 3; on a 7-9 choose 2. Then trade harm for harm according to your respective weapons.
--inflct terrible (+1) harm
--suffer little (-1) harm
--shock and awe your opponents
--decisively seize, hold, or rout your objective
When you seduce or manipulate someone, offer them something they want and roll Noble. On a 10+, they do as you ask. On a 7-9, they need concrete reassurance first.
(You cannot manipulate someone unless you have something to offer them. In some circumstances, “not being shot in the face” is a very tempting offer.)
When you read a tense situation, roll Learned. On 10+ hold 3; on a 7-9, hold 1. For the rest of the scene you may spend hold to ask one of these questions:
--What's the safest way out?
--Is there something I'm missing (such as a spiritual presence)?
--How could I break the opposition?
--Where is the opposition?
When you act on your answers, you get +1.
When you read a person in a charged interaction, roll Learned. On a 10+ hold 3; on a 7-9, hold 1. At any point in the conversation you may spend one to ask
--are they telling the truth?
--what do they intend to do?
--what do they want me to do?
--how are they feeling?
--are they human?
When you open your ears to the city, roll Urbane.
On a 10+, someone with good information or intentions finds you; your MC may also ask you 2 or 3 questions about your past associations and your current lifestyle. On a 7-9, someone with rumors or useful possessions finds you, and you may be questioned. A miss generally means that you attract the attention of a ghost, robber, or other unsavory character.
Shaman
Brave -1 Learned 0 Noble 2 Pious 2 Urbane -1
Brave 0 Learned 1 Noble 1 Pious 2 Urbane -1
Brave 0 Learned 0 Noble 0 Pious 2 Urbane 1
Brave 1 Learned -1 Noble 1 Pious 2 Urbane -1
Choose your look:
furs&hides, linen and sandals, riding leathers, boots&wool
compassionate eyes, vacant eyes, deep eyes, naïve eyes, hooded eyes
serene face, young face, pretty face, gaunt face, weathered face
wiry body, emaciated body, solid body, scarred body, filthy body
Shaman Moves: choose 3
Call of the Wild: When you go looking for a named kami or type of kami, roll Pious. On a 10+ you find what you were looking for. On a 7-9 you find a relative. Take a -1 to the roll if the spirit doesn't match the environment.
Medicine Bag: you carry a bag with 5 holy water. When you treat somone injured, roll water spent. On a 10+, reduce their wounds to 2. On a 7-9, they are stable for 24 hours and your MC will tell you what you need to heal them.
Exorcist: when you seize by force against a ghost or kami, roll Pious instead of brave
Blessed: a kami will never attack you unless you attack first.
Paying the Piper: when you have used magic on someone's behalf, take +1 forward against them.
Sacred Waters: You may treat use an river as an infirmary, invoking the workshop rules.
Advancement Options:
+1 Noble (max 2)
+1 Pious (max 3)
+1 Learned (max 2)
Choose a new Shaman move
Choose a new Shaman move
Choose a move from another archetype
Choose a move from another archetype
Gain a spirit companion
Gain an enchanting workshop
Gain a trade route
Shaman gear:
Choose a hold-out weapon
Staff (2-harm hand)
Knife (1-harm close)
Choose 1 serious weapons
Vines (s-harm close/far)
Lightning (3-harm close recharge)
TBA
Brave -1 Learned 0 Noble 2 Pious 2 Urbane -1
Brave 0 Learned 1 Noble 1 Pious 2 Urbane -1
Brave 0 Learned 0 Noble 0 Pious 2 Urbane 1
Brave 1 Learned -1 Noble 1 Pious 2 Urbane -1
Choose your look:
furs&hides, linen and sandals, riding leathers, boots&wool
compassionate eyes, vacant eyes, deep eyes, naïve eyes, hooded eyes
serene face, young face, pretty face, gaunt face, weathered face
wiry body, emaciated body, solid body, scarred body, filthy body
Shaman Moves: choose 3
Call of the Wild: When you go looking for a named kami or type of kami, roll Pious. On a 10+ you find what you were looking for. On a 7-9 you find a relative. Take a -1 to the roll if the spirit doesn't match the environment.
Medicine Bag: you carry a bag with 5 holy water. When you treat somone injured, roll water spent. On a 10+, reduce their wounds to 2. On a 7-9, they are stable for 24 hours and your MC will tell you what you need to heal them.
Exorcist: when you seize by force against a ghost or kami, roll Pious instead of brave
Blessed: a kami will never attack you unless you attack first.
Paying the Piper: when you have used magic on someone's behalf, take +1 forward against them.
Sacred Waters: You may treat use an river as an infirmary, invoking the workshop rules.
Advancement Options:
+1 Noble (max 2)
+1 Pious (max 3)
+1 Learned (max 2)
Choose a new Shaman move
Choose a new Shaman move
Choose a move from another archetype
Choose a move from another archetype
Gain a spirit companion
Gain an enchanting workshop
Gain a trade route
Shaman gear:
Choose a hold-out weapon
Staff (2-harm hand)
Knife (1-harm close)
Choose 1 serious weapons
Vines (s-harm close/far)
Lightning (3-harm close recharge)
TBA
I'll take a more thorough look at this later, but some quick thoughts at the moment:
The Basics (first post): Sounds awesome.
* Does the Shaman deal with gods like the Celebrant, or with something else like spirits? Or are those the same thing?
* Seems like there might be some overlap between Merchant Prince and Nomad. Not necessarily, but the difference should be clarified.
* Might want to change "Pious" to "Blessed" if it doesn't require devotion to the gods, but it's fine if it does.
Basic Moves (second post): Could be good, but the lack of any opposed factor (who your adversary is seems to make no difference) seems problematic.
* How does sucking up Harm work? How much Harm can someone survive?
* Seems a bit odd that the Bravery of the target has no effect on the difficulty of going aggro on them. Likewise with the other moves.
* Wouldn't seizing something by force pretty much always work? Even if you only get a 7, you still achieve your goal at the cost of taking (enemy weapon - 1) Harm. Unless their weapon is something massive, there's not much they can do about it.
* With manipulating someone, does what you offer them matter?
Shaman (third post): Without knowing how the rest of the system works, it's a bit hard to evaluate this.
* Based on their advancement (can only boost Learned/Noble/Pious), the first two stat arrays are strictly worse in the long run.
* How difficult is it to refill the Medicine Bag?
* What does "take +1 forward against them" mean?
The Basics (first post): Sounds awesome.
* Does the Shaman deal with gods like the Celebrant, or with something else like spirits? Or are those the same thing?
* Seems like there might be some overlap between Merchant Prince and Nomad. Not necessarily, but the difference should be clarified.
* Might want to change "Pious" to "Blessed" if it doesn't require devotion to the gods, but it's fine if it does.
Basic Moves (second post): Could be good, but the lack of any opposed factor (who your adversary is seems to make no difference) seems problematic.
* How does sucking up Harm work? How much Harm can someone survive?
* Seems a bit odd that the Bravery of the target has no effect on the difficulty of going aggro on them. Likewise with the other moves.
* Wouldn't seizing something by force pretty much always work? Even if you only get a 7, you still achieve your goal at the cost of taking (enemy weapon - 1) Harm. Unless their weapon is something massive, there's not much they can do about it.
* With manipulating someone, does what you offer them matter?
Shaman (third post): Without knowing how the rest of the system works, it's a bit hard to evaluate this.
* Based on their advancement (can only boost Learned/Noble/Pious), the first two stat arrays are strictly worse in the long run.
* How difficult is it to refill the Medicine Bag?
* What does "take +1 forward against them" mean?
Okay, since the post title got cut off, let me say it here:
Most of this game is ripped off directly from Vincent Baker, who wrote "Apocalypse World." In particular the 2d6+N mechanic and most of the basic moves are his. The parts which are main are re-naming some of the stats, the "open ears" move and the details of individual archetypes. Now that that's out of the way...
Threat Moves
NPCs have moves too, as do places, groups of people and sometimes abstract concepts. A "threat move" is added to the MCs repretoire as long as the source of the threat is in play. Because NPCs don't have stats or roll dice, threat moves don't look at all like PC moves. Suppose you wanted to show that an NPC is a tough fighter. Here's how you might do it:
When a ninja is in the dark, take a -1 to all rolls against him
When Longshot shoots you, your armor doesn't help
When you try to get close to Malcolm, roll Brave. On a 10+ choose 3; on a 7-9 choose 2.
--You don't get punched
--You don't lose your weapon
--You don't get grabbed
--He doesn't get away
Most of this game is ripped off directly from Vincent Baker, who wrote "Apocalypse World." In particular the 2d6+N mechanic and most of the basic moves are his. The parts which are main are re-naming some of the stats, the "open ears" move and the details of individual archetypes. Now that that's out of the way...
Threat Moves
NPCs have moves too, as do places, groups of people and sometimes abstract concepts. A "threat move" is added to the MCs repretoire as long as the source of the threat is in play. Because NPCs don't have stats or roll dice, threat moves don't look at all like PC moves. Suppose you wanted to show that an NPC is a tough fighter. Here's how you might do it:
When a ninja is in the dark, take a -1 to all rolls against him
When Longshot shoots you, your armor doesn't help
When you try to get close to Malcolm, roll Brave. On a 10+ choose 3; on a 7-9 choose 2.
--You don't get punched
--You don't lose your weapon
--You don't get grabbed
--He doesn't get away
For anyone interested, this: http://apocalypse-world.com/forums/ is the website for Apocalypse World, the game from which I took "going aggro."
My thoughts: sure, you could write the move that you propose (-3). But, numbers are boring. Consider that to go aggro on someone successfully,
--you need to be able to inflict enough damage that they won't want to take it
--you need to have a weapon that can attack the target at present--the target can't be too close or too far away
--you need "the drop" on the target. If they're prepared to fight back, you're not going aggro. So you're either sneaking up, attacking with a concealed weapon (or bare hands) in the middle of a conversation, or attacking nonviolent people.
So if it seems your NPC shouldn't be getting pushed around, tweak one of those variables.
If your character is a trained warrior, have them keep a weapon on hand at all times and say it's up to the gods whether you can catch them napping. The PCs won't even be able to go aggro in that case. Or if it's a ranger/nomad/spirit type, don't let the players get close to them.
Also, armor. The way this works is that 1-harm usually won't down an NPC but 2-harm will. The biggest mundane weapons available do 3-harm by default. So an NPC in 2 points of armor (also the heaviest armor normally available) can afford to suck up one shot with a greatsword or whatever. Now, Going Aggro gives the victim the chance to escape on a 7-9. Even if you have +3 Brave, your odds of getting 10+ twice in a row are poor, so an armored NPC can probably escape, though wounded, if that's what he wants to do.
But this is also a matter of genre expectations. This is sword & sorcery level play, not high fantasy, and everyone is supposed to be pretty mortal. There shouldn't *be* super-NPCs that the player's can't stomp on.
My thoughts: sure, you could write the move that you propose (-3). But, numbers are boring. Consider that to go aggro on someone successfully,
--you need to be able to inflict enough damage that they won't want to take it
--you need to have a weapon that can attack the target at present--the target can't be too close or too far away
--you need "the drop" on the target. If they're prepared to fight back, you're not going aggro. So you're either sneaking up, attacking with a concealed weapon (or bare hands) in the middle of a conversation, or attacking nonviolent people.
So if it seems your NPC shouldn't be getting pushed around, tweak one of those variables.
If your character is a trained warrior, have them keep a weapon on hand at all times and say it's up to the gods whether you can catch them napping. The PCs won't even be able to go aggro in that case. Or if it's a ranger/nomad/spirit type, don't let the players get close to them.
Also, armor. The way this works is that 1-harm usually won't down an NPC but 2-harm will. The biggest mundane weapons available do 3-harm by default. So an NPC in 2 points of armor (also the heaviest armor normally available) can afford to suck up one shot with a greatsword or whatever. Now, Going Aggro gives the victim the chance to escape on a 7-9. Even if you have +3 Brave, your odds of getting 10+ twice in a row are poor, so an armored NPC can probably escape, though wounded, if that's what he wants to do.
But this is also a matter of genre expectations. This is sword & sorcery level play, not high fantasy, and everyone is supposed to be pretty mortal. There shouldn't *be* super-NPCs that the player's can't stomp on.
Although since you'll have a modifier in the +2 to +3 range if you're good at it, you have about a 60% chance to get 10+.Going Aggro gives the victim the chance to escape on a 7-9
But I'm not talking super-NPCs. I'm just saying that it's weird if manipulating the village idiot is the same difficulty as manipulating the veteran politician who controls three cities. Or if seizing something by force from a barely trained village militia member is the same difficulty as doing so against a 20-time champion gladiator.
Also, sometimes you want a difficulty level between "easy" and "you can't do it because of X".
Last edited by Ice9 on Sun Sep 12, 2010 6:00 am, edited 2 times in total.
Well, no, not in a deliberately Rulez-Lite game, you don't want or need a difficulty between "easy" and "can't do because X." I consider it a *feature* that you only roll things at which you have a reasonable possibility of success, rather than letting plays with low system mastery whiff ineffectually.
Anyway, more sample bits up later today.
Anyway, more sample bits up later today.