DoomHat
2011-06-06, 06:25 PM
A Tale of Bohemian Metal
This all started with my frustration at seeing some of the homebrew systems on this board. It seemed to me that they were all focused solely on combat and none of them did much to try and emulate the flavor of their chosen Genre.
So I figured I'd try and add a little variety. I expected it to take me a few hours but instead its taken several days.
There's a lot here, and it's all pretty different(strange), but I put in a lot of love. I don't expect even half of it will remain unaltered once I get some feed back.
This is as much a gift to the community as it is an exorcise for me. I can only hope someone out there gets something out of it.
On Flaming Chainsaws and Their Relevance to Bohemianism
Throughout the otherwise socially oppressive 19th century, the bohemians were free thinkers, artists, writers, and performers with non-traditional(perverse) lifestyles and unorthodox(anti-establishment) political(social) viewpoints who generally lived modestly(in squalid poverty). In other words, they were the hippies(punk rockers) of their day.
Here in, you will find rules(guidelines) to help shape a storytelling game(RPG) about rogues(criminals) and iconoclasts(lunatics), living in a future imagined by the artists(hacks) and authors(malcontents) of the early industrial revolution.
A world where the sun is blotted out by ever discharging smokestacks, only the darkest most dangerous wilderness still survives unblemished, working class people are no more then a disposable part of the very machines they maintain, aspiring entrepreneurs(robber barons) grow ever fatter as they lounge in gleaming towers (with rotting foundations), and the weapons war have begun to rival the very wrath of god. It is (not) a pretty place, and it’s up to the heroes of these tales to save(destroy) it.
This is the Bohemianism movement as filtered through the kaleidoscopic lens of pulp sci-fi and oddball anime. Please enjoy(explode).
Concerning Bad Form
It is important to note, this is not a game about winning. Underneath all the flavor and scenery, this game is really about following through on bad decisions and causing havoc. The goal is to have fun for its own sake and hopefully come out the other side with stories worth retelling. As such, there is little welcome for power gaming and exploitive rules bending here.
This is a collaborative exorcise. Warping the flow of play for the sake of your own personal glorification will more then likely ruin everyone else’s fun, and they will be justifiably upset with you. So please, be fair, and no wishing for more wishes.
Thank you.
_________________________________
-The Engine-
You’ll need between 3 and 7 players(geeks), a mess of polyhedral dice (multiple 4, 6, 8, 10, and 12 sided), and some paper(character sheets) and pencils.
Among your Players you’re going to need to elect(fight over) who will take the position of Director. The Director acts as a kind of score keeper and referee(cat herder), having final say on the interpretation(exploitation) of the rules. While the Players will each take up the role of a Bohemian, it is the Director’s job to keep the game moving at a steady pace, fill in the scenery, and pickup the roles of various passing Philistines(supporting cast) and Malefactors(antagonists) as they become relevant.
Risk Taking
Dice are only ever rolled when a Bohemian attempts an action that, in the event of failure, WILL result in interesting(catastrophic) consequences. For example, never roll to see if a Bohem can get out of bed, but always roll to see if they can get out of a burning zeppelin. Never roll to see if they can successfully shoot down a helpless man, but always roll to see if they can successfully shoot down a sprinting man without setting off the cask of blasting powder he’s carrying. That is why rolling dice, for our purposes, is called “Taking a risk,”.
Each Bohemian has a set of four statistics(Gears). The value of the Gear informs the type of die rolled in a given context. How these values are determined will be discussed later, but for now, this is how they work.
When a Bohem takes a risk, the Director must decide which Gear(die) their Player should spin(roll). The four types are: Deceitful, Elegant, Macho, and Studious.
-The Deceitful Gear is spun(rolled) for any risk that involves effecting the story by stealthy or otherwise underhanded means. Thievery, espionage, playing dirty.
-The Elegant Gear is spun(rolled) for any risk that involves effecting the story by magnanimous, non-aggressive means. Graceful sidestepping, polite discourse, thoughtful gifts(bribes), appeals to sympathy, appeals to other (baser) emotions.
-The Macho Gear is spun(rolled) for any risk that involves effecting the story by way direct(violent) action. Reckless courage(stupidity), physical prowess, savage beatings, yelling a lot.
-The Studious Gear is spun(rolled) for any risk that involves effecting the story by applying expert knowledge. Experimental equipment, supernatural techniques, little known facts.
Success: If the result of the spin is 4 or higher, the Player may describe the direct outcome of the action. Your are encouraged to be colorful(over the top) with your description, but please don’t step to far outside the realm of probability (“I literally punch him into space,” while hilarious, is generally bad form).
Complication: If the result of the roll is 3 or lower, the Director may describe the outcome. Keep in mind the result should never be boring. As Director, it’s your responsibility to keep the proverbial ball rolling.
Example: A Bohemian attempts to leap across a chasm, but their roll results in Complication.
Lame result: They fall to their apparent death. Now one of your Players gets to spend the rest of the evening twiddling their thumbs and glowering at you.
Cool result: They barley make it, sliding helplessly down the opposite cliff wall. They’ll either have to take their time climbing slowly up or their allies need to take even more crazy risks to get them up faster.
It’s also important to respect the core concept of the Bohemian in question. Does the expert gunman suddenly forget how to hit the broadside of a barn or did his gun jam? Is the professional acrobat just a clumsy pretender or was there a slick spot on the ground no one saw until it was to late?
You always have the option of allowing the Bohemian to succeed after all, but at some cost, like for example, a ‘Burn’.
Burns
Sometimes there are mitigating factors that can make success more remote for even the most talented individual. We’ll call these ‘Burns’. Burns can be negated by Steam, which will be discussed a little later.
Each burn effecting an individual increases the number of consecutive times they need to achieve a Success result for a given risk in order to avoid Complication. Thus, if a Bohemian is effected by one Burn, they will need to spin their Gear and get a result of 4 or higher twice or suffer a Complication.
There are two essential types of burn.
-Color Burns
These are environmental effects that allow the director to occasionally ratchet up the tension. Color burns can be attached to specific objects or the scene itself. An individual attempting to throw something, for example, might be effected by both the burn “Heavy” on the object being thrown, and burn “Windy” on the scene. A scene or object may have more then one burn.
For example, a door might be just a simple door or it might be a “Reinforced”(1 Burn) door. Or it might be a “Steel” “Reinforced” “Crossbared” “Spike-coved”(4 Burn) door.
However, it’s possible to remove or render moot some Burns. If a Bohemian were to find a battering-ram to use on the above door, they’d negate the Crossbar and Spikes in their attempt to bash it down.
-Personal Burns
These function in the same way as Color Burns except that they’re attached to a character. A personal burn can be anything from a wound (Broken Arm) to an emotional state (Enraged). Personal Burns are usually the result of Complications. The type of burn received from a Complication should be negotiated between Player and Director, and are usually pretty obvious given the situation and possibly any Color Burns involved in the risk. For example, trying to achieve something in spite of the Color Burn “Cover Fire” may result in the Personal Burn “Bullet Wound”.
Personal burns fade with time and or intervention. Is there a doctor in the house?
Don’t Fear the Reaper
The threat of arbitrary death is not conducive to this game. The Player chooses when or if a given Consequence or suicidal act will end their Bohemian’s life.
Keep in mind that, though outright death has been taken off the table, it is easily possible to collect so many nasty horrible Personal Burns as to be utterly crippled. This way you can play out the classic action story trope of the hero standing back up, despite their broken leg, punctured lug, bleeding eye, and three open sword wounds. How? Because JUSTICE that’s how.
Doing Unto Others
There are two basic things you can do to another person that this game has any concern over (everything else is just assumed). What they share in common is that, unlike a normal risk, it is not necessarily the Director but instead whoever controls the victim that determines the result of a Complication (under the usual guidelines of course).
-Assault
The goal of an assault is generally to apply a Burn to another individual. Depending on the means and applied tools, the Burn can last months or moments. A grapple for example lasts only so long as you can sustain it, but a knife leaves a more enduring mark.
Applying an injury Burn to another isn’t a usually Risk unless the target can defend themselves. For example, if a Bohemian spins their Deceitful Gear to resolve firing a sniper rifle, the Risk is not necessarily whether or not the shot hits, but if they are spotted and or can escape unhindered. An assault doesn’t necessarily have to result directly in a burn. It can be anything from pushing someone into a hole to dragging them into a dark ally.
-Manipulation
Much the same as above, but it’s always contested, and involves modifying another individual’s behavior rather then rearranging their organs.
Using manipulation on your fellow player’s Bohemian is highly discouraged. If a situation arises were it should seem necessary, instead of involving dice, the Players should barter out a mutually agreeable compromise. This starts with asking the other Player, “What would it take to convince your Bohemian to {~}?”. You may sweeten the deal by paying the other Player a point of your Bohemian’s Steam.
Riot Control
You may ask, “What happens when a bunch of people are all try to assault each other at once?”. That’s a good question, I’ll have to get back to you on that.
I.O.U. one mass combat system
Steam
At the beginning of each game session, a Player’s Bohemian starts with a pool of Steam Points. Each point can be spent to ether negate the effects of a Burn on a specific spin, or re-spin (as many times as you have steam) an unfavorable result.
Boiler
Along with the four Gears (and other things), your Bohemian will have a ‘Boiler’ with a set of ‘Pipes‘”. They’re how your Bohemian gains more steam. Each Pipe is a kind of disadvantage your Bohemian possess. Each time the disadvantage causes some kind of conflict or detriment to your Bohemian they regain a point of Steam. However, each time the player refuses to go along with the constraint of the disadvantage, they must draw an X next to that Pipe. This is called a ‘Fracture’. If a pipe gains three Fractures it breaks and can no longer be used. If a Fractured pipe would gain you steam, you may choose to forgo gaining the steam point in favor of repairing one of its Fractures.
A Bohemian has a number of steam points at the being of a game equal to the number of Pipes in their Boiler (bom chik-a wow wow).
-The Framework-
-In Medias Res
This kind of game tends to suffer under a traditional Three Act structure. If you try and play out the first Act of the story organically, more often then not you get a dithering train wreck. While conflicting personalities and motivations make for amusing and dramatic interactions, this is only true if the involved persons have some standing reason to interact in the first place.
Additionally, the second Act (the exciting part) can only begin once everything has gone horribly wrong. However, some Players tend to steer clear of stormy horizons, while others might create new and exciting breeds of havoc that unfortunately don’t really involve anyone but themselves. This leaves the Director in the uncomfortable position of trying to bait one hook with five kinds of lure.
So instead of starting in the first Act, each adventure should start with the second. The Director explains the situation as it stands, and then the Players each in turn explain how their Bohemian came have a stake in these events. From there events unfold naturally.
Once the central conflict and its many spin-offs have been resolved, everyone works together to kibitz up an epilog.
-Solo Mission
It can be troublesome if for some reason the Bohemians need to slit up for an extend period. It means there will be entire scenes were half (or most) of the other Players simply aren’t involved. But it stretches the bounds of credibility to try and make it so that all the major cast have to remain in earshot of each other at all times.
So, when so ever the story should to diverge into multiple, simultaneously occurring scenes, any Player who’s Bohemian is not present may temporarily take control of a given Philistine(supporting cast) or Malefactor(antagonist) in the scene.
-Secrecy is Strictly Above Board
Its perfectly alright for imaginary Bohemians to keep secrets from each other, that’s called ‘dramatic irony’.
However, little is gained by keeping fellow Players in the dark, that’s called ‘being an ass’.
While that can be fun in some games, this game requires a lot of trust to function effectively. Anything that detracts from Player trust, weakens this game. If you’re looking to use your character to add an element of tragic betrayal to the story, please communicate that to the rest of the group first to get their consent. If the other Players are into the idea, they’re likely to actually lean into the knife (literal or metaphorical) when it finally comes.
The Director is obliged to read aloud any clandestine notes passed to them. Its also important to note, if the Director doesn’t know about it, it doesn’t exist in the game.
-To the Director; Plan less, Listen more.
Some Directors might be tempted to take to much control over the shape of the story. They plan out how everything should go, leaving little or no significant choices for the Players.
Instead, listen to your players, read their character sheets and come up with a set of situations that highlight their abilities and draw on their flaws and relationships. Keep a stock of colorful supporting characters handy for a variety of situations.
Don’t be over quick to punish them for misspeaking. Remember that the Players often don’t have a full understanding the their environment or the implications of a given action. If a Player declares a course of action that seems to you utterly ridiculous and in all ways contrary to their interests, just ask, “How do you see that panning out for you exactly?”, then clear up any misconceptions.
If you want to guide players to certain conclusions of simply feel that they’re not participating very much, ask a lot of leading questions. “Doesn‘t that guy look suspicious to you?”, “What is your sister doing here?”, “Couldn‘t that start a fire?”, “How do you suppose the police will feel about this?” Don’t be afraid to let them define elements of the setting (especially through the use of successful Studious Gear spins), and reincorporate those elements later.
Finally, remember that a big part of the setting is the importance of propriety and social sophistication. Additionally, it’s the dawn of high-speed long distance communication. It can be almost impossible to outrun a bad reputation or criminal record, so brutishness causes more trouble then it solves outside the wilderness or hives of scum and villainy.
-Building Your Bohemian-
It is preferred that you take the time to do this step of the game as a group. The input of other Players can be most helpful when designing your in-game avatar, and it will benefit them in turn to have a clear idea of your preferred modus operandi.
The Boiler
Before establishing what your Bohemian CAN do, it is essential to determine what they WILL do. This is the part were you come up with the Boiler Pipes. You may have as many have as many as eight, but four are mandatory.
-Scandal
Everyone has their place, but something happened that cast you out of yours. You are welcome to come up with your own. Here’s some examples:
Class traitor: You have what’s called, “Good breeding”. You are the child of a wealthy and prestigious household and your future would be promising, if only you’d stop with all that ridicules ‘equality’ nonsense. Your morals make you an outcast among your piers and your well refined way of speaking and dressing sow distrust among the low people you’re working to help.
Crackpot: You’ve been laughed out of the intellectual community for your theories. Whether you really are crazy or they’re blind to your genius is irrelevant, no one will take you seriously. Almost any proof you can arrange will most likely be written off as a hoax.
Foreigner: Whether from the mysterious east or frozen Siberia you find little to welcome you here in the decadent west. You often find yourself at odds with their strange barbaric ways, but there is also much to learn. Sometimes, in moment of emotional distress you have trouble communicating, slipping back into your native tong from time to time.
Shell-shocked: Your are what remains of someone who’s seen the field of battle. It was not what your were told. You are now prone to violent emotional outburst and occasional flashbacks.
Disfigured: Appearance is highly valued. Its strongly believed that ones physical appearance directly correlates to the nature of their personality. For whatever reason, be it accident of birth or injury, you must not let yourself be seen. Whenever possible, you conduct your affairs through correspondence. If you must go out, you do so at night, likely while wearing a mask.
-Ambition
I don’t suppose this requires a lot of explanation, however, I will say that you should always think big when picking this one. Its no good if humble or even feasible to achieve. Remember, these are only any use to you if they cause you problems and if you ever actually get it, well, the chase is over. By big I mean, “Restore my husband from the dead”, or “Conquer Mars”.
-Indulgence
Chemical addictions and strange obsessions are omnipresent. If you can’t think of anything interesting, feel free to cop out and just list ‘Tobacco‘. Though I will think less of you.
-Obligation
You can have additional obligations to organizations and Director controlled persons, but you MUST have at least one obligation to another Bohemian in the story. Talk it out with the other players. Are the two blood relations? Does one owe the other their life? The relationship most of some positive quality. A reason one would go out their way for the other’s sake.
Gears
Choose the Gear you feel your Bohemian would value most. Assign that Gear the 8sided die.
Choose the Gear you feel your Bohemian would value lest. Assign that Gear the 4sided die.
Assign the 6sided die to the other two.
Gimmicks
This is what makes the game really come alive. Gimmicks represent a wide range of extraordinary and or supernaturally impossible abilities possessed by a given Bohemian.
To conserve space, the full list of possible gimmicks has been moved to a later section.
You Bohemian starts with 3 gimmicks.
Accessories
This is simply a list of items and equipment carried by your Bohemian. Instead of receiving a Burn, its possible to have some piece of your regular equipment break.
However, may choose one Accessory as your Signature item. This item is effectively a part of the character and as such can never be permanently lost or broken.
Start the game with 3 to 5 significant Accessories (They must be 'Items of Common Interest' [see Resources]), clothing and other essentials are assumed.
Note: Currency
Currency is noted as “Coins”. Coins are only spent on big, significant purchases. Players are never expected to keep track of their spare change. Why? Because that’s boring. We’re not here to do boring.
5 Coins is considered 1 Accessory.
Progression-
One may learn more from a single defeat then they might in a thousand triumphs. Every time your Bohemian takes a risk that results in a Complication or a Personal Burn applied to them, they gain 1 experience point (exp.). Any time something happens within that story that would allow you gain a new gimmick or signature Accessory, you may trade in 10exp. to do so.
Gears however are more difficult to advance. It takes;
20exp. to upgrade a 6sided to an 8sided
25exp. to upgrade an 8sided to a 10sided
30exp. to upgrade a 10 sided to a 12sided
You may never upgrade your 4sided Gear. This is your Bohemian’s signature weakness. No matter how strong they get, this will still cause them grief (allow them to remain interesting).
This all started with my frustration at seeing some of the homebrew systems on this board. It seemed to me that they were all focused solely on combat and none of them did much to try and emulate the flavor of their chosen Genre.
So I figured I'd try and add a little variety. I expected it to take me a few hours but instead its taken several days.
There's a lot here, and it's all pretty different(strange), but I put in a lot of love. I don't expect even half of it will remain unaltered once I get some feed back.
This is as much a gift to the community as it is an exorcise for me. I can only hope someone out there gets something out of it.
On Flaming Chainsaws and Their Relevance to Bohemianism
Throughout the otherwise socially oppressive 19th century, the bohemians were free thinkers, artists, writers, and performers with non-traditional(perverse) lifestyles and unorthodox(anti-establishment) political(social) viewpoints who generally lived modestly(in squalid poverty). In other words, they were the hippies(punk rockers) of their day.
Here in, you will find rules(guidelines) to help shape a storytelling game(RPG) about rogues(criminals) and iconoclasts(lunatics), living in a future imagined by the artists(hacks) and authors(malcontents) of the early industrial revolution.
A world where the sun is blotted out by ever discharging smokestacks, only the darkest most dangerous wilderness still survives unblemished, working class people are no more then a disposable part of the very machines they maintain, aspiring entrepreneurs(robber barons) grow ever fatter as they lounge in gleaming towers (with rotting foundations), and the weapons war have begun to rival the very wrath of god. It is (not) a pretty place, and it’s up to the heroes of these tales to save(destroy) it.
This is the Bohemianism movement as filtered through the kaleidoscopic lens of pulp sci-fi and oddball anime. Please enjoy(explode).
Concerning Bad Form
It is important to note, this is not a game about winning. Underneath all the flavor and scenery, this game is really about following through on bad decisions and causing havoc. The goal is to have fun for its own sake and hopefully come out the other side with stories worth retelling. As such, there is little welcome for power gaming and exploitive rules bending here.
This is a collaborative exorcise. Warping the flow of play for the sake of your own personal glorification will more then likely ruin everyone else’s fun, and they will be justifiably upset with you. So please, be fair, and no wishing for more wishes.
Thank you.
_________________________________
-The Engine-
You’ll need between 3 and 7 players(geeks), a mess of polyhedral dice (multiple 4, 6, 8, 10, and 12 sided), and some paper(character sheets) and pencils.
Among your Players you’re going to need to elect(fight over) who will take the position of Director. The Director acts as a kind of score keeper and referee(cat herder), having final say on the interpretation(exploitation) of the rules. While the Players will each take up the role of a Bohemian, it is the Director’s job to keep the game moving at a steady pace, fill in the scenery, and pickup the roles of various passing Philistines(supporting cast) and Malefactors(antagonists) as they become relevant.
Risk Taking
Dice are only ever rolled when a Bohemian attempts an action that, in the event of failure, WILL result in interesting(catastrophic) consequences. For example, never roll to see if a Bohem can get out of bed, but always roll to see if they can get out of a burning zeppelin. Never roll to see if they can successfully shoot down a helpless man, but always roll to see if they can successfully shoot down a sprinting man without setting off the cask of blasting powder he’s carrying. That is why rolling dice, for our purposes, is called “Taking a risk,”.
Each Bohemian has a set of four statistics(Gears). The value of the Gear informs the type of die rolled in a given context. How these values are determined will be discussed later, but for now, this is how they work.
When a Bohem takes a risk, the Director must decide which Gear(die) their Player should spin(roll). The four types are: Deceitful, Elegant, Macho, and Studious.
-The Deceitful Gear is spun(rolled) for any risk that involves effecting the story by stealthy or otherwise underhanded means. Thievery, espionage, playing dirty.
-The Elegant Gear is spun(rolled) for any risk that involves effecting the story by magnanimous, non-aggressive means. Graceful sidestepping, polite discourse, thoughtful gifts(bribes), appeals to sympathy, appeals to other (baser) emotions.
-The Macho Gear is spun(rolled) for any risk that involves effecting the story by way direct(violent) action. Reckless courage(stupidity), physical prowess, savage beatings, yelling a lot.
-The Studious Gear is spun(rolled) for any risk that involves effecting the story by applying expert knowledge. Experimental equipment, supernatural techniques, little known facts.
Success: If the result of the spin is 4 or higher, the Player may describe the direct outcome of the action. Your are encouraged to be colorful(over the top) with your description, but please don’t step to far outside the realm of probability (“I literally punch him into space,” while hilarious, is generally bad form).
Complication: If the result of the roll is 3 or lower, the Director may describe the outcome. Keep in mind the result should never be boring. As Director, it’s your responsibility to keep the proverbial ball rolling.
Example: A Bohemian attempts to leap across a chasm, but their roll results in Complication.
Lame result: They fall to their apparent death. Now one of your Players gets to spend the rest of the evening twiddling their thumbs and glowering at you.
Cool result: They barley make it, sliding helplessly down the opposite cliff wall. They’ll either have to take their time climbing slowly up or their allies need to take even more crazy risks to get them up faster.
It’s also important to respect the core concept of the Bohemian in question. Does the expert gunman suddenly forget how to hit the broadside of a barn or did his gun jam? Is the professional acrobat just a clumsy pretender or was there a slick spot on the ground no one saw until it was to late?
You always have the option of allowing the Bohemian to succeed after all, but at some cost, like for example, a ‘Burn’.
Burns
Sometimes there are mitigating factors that can make success more remote for even the most talented individual. We’ll call these ‘Burns’. Burns can be negated by Steam, which will be discussed a little later.
Each burn effecting an individual increases the number of consecutive times they need to achieve a Success result for a given risk in order to avoid Complication. Thus, if a Bohemian is effected by one Burn, they will need to spin their Gear and get a result of 4 or higher twice or suffer a Complication.
There are two essential types of burn.
-Color Burns
These are environmental effects that allow the director to occasionally ratchet up the tension. Color burns can be attached to specific objects or the scene itself. An individual attempting to throw something, for example, might be effected by both the burn “Heavy” on the object being thrown, and burn “Windy” on the scene. A scene or object may have more then one burn.
For example, a door might be just a simple door or it might be a “Reinforced”(1 Burn) door. Or it might be a “Steel” “Reinforced” “Crossbared” “Spike-coved”(4 Burn) door.
However, it’s possible to remove or render moot some Burns. If a Bohemian were to find a battering-ram to use on the above door, they’d negate the Crossbar and Spikes in their attempt to bash it down.
-Personal Burns
These function in the same way as Color Burns except that they’re attached to a character. A personal burn can be anything from a wound (Broken Arm) to an emotional state (Enraged). Personal Burns are usually the result of Complications. The type of burn received from a Complication should be negotiated between Player and Director, and are usually pretty obvious given the situation and possibly any Color Burns involved in the risk. For example, trying to achieve something in spite of the Color Burn “Cover Fire” may result in the Personal Burn “Bullet Wound”.
Personal burns fade with time and or intervention. Is there a doctor in the house?
Don’t Fear the Reaper
The threat of arbitrary death is not conducive to this game. The Player chooses when or if a given Consequence or suicidal act will end their Bohemian’s life.
Keep in mind that, though outright death has been taken off the table, it is easily possible to collect so many nasty horrible Personal Burns as to be utterly crippled. This way you can play out the classic action story trope of the hero standing back up, despite their broken leg, punctured lug, bleeding eye, and three open sword wounds. How? Because JUSTICE that’s how.
Doing Unto Others
There are two basic things you can do to another person that this game has any concern over (everything else is just assumed). What they share in common is that, unlike a normal risk, it is not necessarily the Director but instead whoever controls the victim that determines the result of a Complication (under the usual guidelines of course).
-Assault
The goal of an assault is generally to apply a Burn to another individual. Depending on the means and applied tools, the Burn can last months or moments. A grapple for example lasts only so long as you can sustain it, but a knife leaves a more enduring mark.
Applying an injury Burn to another isn’t a usually Risk unless the target can defend themselves. For example, if a Bohemian spins their Deceitful Gear to resolve firing a sniper rifle, the Risk is not necessarily whether or not the shot hits, but if they are spotted and or can escape unhindered. An assault doesn’t necessarily have to result directly in a burn. It can be anything from pushing someone into a hole to dragging them into a dark ally.
-Manipulation
Much the same as above, but it’s always contested, and involves modifying another individual’s behavior rather then rearranging their organs.
Using manipulation on your fellow player’s Bohemian is highly discouraged. If a situation arises were it should seem necessary, instead of involving dice, the Players should barter out a mutually agreeable compromise. This starts with asking the other Player, “What would it take to convince your Bohemian to {~}?”. You may sweeten the deal by paying the other Player a point of your Bohemian’s Steam.
Riot Control
You may ask, “What happens when a bunch of people are all try to assault each other at once?”. That’s a good question, I’ll have to get back to you on that.
I.O.U. one mass combat system
Steam
At the beginning of each game session, a Player’s Bohemian starts with a pool of Steam Points. Each point can be spent to ether negate the effects of a Burn on a specific spin, or re-spin (as many times as you have steam) an unfavorable result.
Boiler
Along with the four Gears (and other things), your Bohemian will have a ‘Boiler’ with a set of ‘Pipes‘”. They’re how your Bohemian gains more steam. Each Pipe is a kind of disadvantage your Bohemian possess. Each time the disadvantage causes some kind of conflict or detriment to your Bohemian they regain a point of Steam. However, each time the player refuses to go along with the constraint of the disadvantage, they must draw an X next to that Pipe. This is called a ‘Fracture’. If a pipe gains three Fractures it breaks and can no longer be used. If a Fractured pipe would gain you steam, you may choose to forgo gaining the steam point in favor of repairing one of its Fractures.
A Bohemian has a number of steam points at the being of a game equal to the number of Pipes in their Boiler (bom chik-a wow wow).
-The Framework-
-In Medias Res
This kind of game tends to suffer under a traditional Three Act structure. If you try and play out the first Act of the story organically, more often then not you get a dithering train wreck. While conflicting personalities and motivations make for amusing and dramatic interactions, this is only true if the involved persons have some standing reason to interact in the first place.
Additionally, the second Act (the exciting part) can only begin once everything has gone horribly wrong. However, some Players tend to steer clear of stormy horizons, while others might create new and exciting breeds of havoc that unfortunately don’t really involve anyone but themselves. This leaves the Director in the uncomfortable position of trying to bait one hook with five kinds of lure.
So instead of starting in the first Act, each adventure should start with the second. The Director explains the situation as it stands, and then the Players each in turn explain how their Bohemian came have a stake in these events. From there events unfold naturally.
Once the central conflict and its many spin-offs have been resolved, everyone works together to kibitz up an epilog.
-Solo Mission
It can be troublesome if for some reason the Bohemians need to slit up for an extend period. It means there will be entire scenes were half (or most) of the other Players simply aren’t involved. But it stretches the bounds of credibility to try and make it so that all the major cast have to remain in earshot of each other at all times.
So, when so ever the story should to diverge into multiple, simultaneously occurring scenes, any Player who’s Bohemian is not present may temporarily take control of a given Philistine(supporting cast) or Malefactor(antagonist) in the scene.
-Secrecy is Strictly Above Board
Its perfectly alright for imaginary Bohemians to keep secrets from each other, that’s called ‘dramatic irony’.
However, little is gained by keeping fellow Players in the dark, that’s called ‘being an ass’.
While that can be fun in some games, this game requires a lot of trust to function effectively. Anything that detracts from Player trust, weakens this game. If you’re looking to use your character to add an element of tragic betrayal to the story, please communicate that to the rest of the group first to get their consent. If the other Players are into the idea, they’re likely to actually lean into the knife (literal or metaphorical) when it finally comes.
The Director is obliged to read aloud any clandestine notes passed to them. Its also important to note, if the Director doesn’t know about it, it doesn’t exist in the game.
-To the Director; Plan less, Listen more.
Some Directors might be tempted to take to much control over the shape of the story. They plan out how everything should go, leaving little or no significant choices for the Players.
Instead, listen to your players, read their character sheets and come up with a set of situations that highlight their abilities and draw on their flaws and relationships. Keep a stock of colorful supporting characters handy for a variety of situations.
Don’t be over quick to punish them for misspeaking. Remember that the Players often don’t have a full understanding the their environment or the implications of a given action. If a Player declares a course of action that seems to you utterly ridiculous and in all ways contrary to their interests, just ask, “How do you see that panning out for you exactly?”, then clear up any misconceptions.
If you want to guide players to certain conclusions of simply feel that they’re not participating very much, ask a lot of leading questions. “Doesn‘t that guy look suspicious to you?”, “What is your sister doing here?”, “Couldn‘t that start a fire?”, “How do you suppose the police will feel about this?” Don’t be afraid to let them define elements of the setting (especially through the use of successful Studious Gear spins), and reincorporate those elements later.
Finally, remember that a big part of the setting is the importance of propriety and social sophistication. Additionally, it’s the dawn of high-speed long distance communication. It can be almost impossible to outrun a bad reputation or criminal record, so brutishness causes more trouble then it solves outside the wilderness or hives of scum and villainy.
-Building Your Bohemian-
It is preferred that you take the time to do this step of the game as a group. The input of other Players can be most helpful when designing your in-game avatar, and it will benefit them in turn to have a clear idea of your preferred modus operandi.
The Boiler
Before establishing what your Bohemian CAN do, it is essential to determine what they WILL do. This is the part were you come up with the Boiler Pipes. You may have as many have as many as eight, but four are mandatory.
-Scandal
Everyone has their place, but something happened that cast you out of yours. You are welcome to come up with your own. Here’s some examples:
Class traitor: You have what’s called, “Good breeding”. You are the child of a wealthy and prestigious household and your future would be promising, if only you’d stop with all that ridicules ‘equality’ nonsense. Your morals make you an outcast among your piers and your well refined way of speaking and dressing sow distrust among the low people you’re working to help.
Crackpot: You’ve been laughed out of the intellectual community for your theories. Whether you really are crazy or they’re blind to your genius is irrelevant, no one will take you seriously. Almost any proof you can arrange will most likely be written off as a hoax.
Foreigner: Whether from the mysterious east or frozen Siberia you find little to welcome you here in the decadent west. You often find yourself at odds with their strange barbaric ways, but there is also much to learn. Sometimes, in moment of emotional distress you have trouble communicating, slipping back into your native tong from time to time.
Shell-shocked: Your are what remains of someone who’s seen the field of battle. It was not what your were told. You are now prone to violent emotional outburst and occasional flashbacks.
Disfigured: Appearance is highly valued. Its strongly believed that ones physical appearance directly correlates to the nature of their personality. For whatever reason, be it accident of birth or injury, you must not let yourself be seen. Whenever possible, you conduct your affairs through correspondence. If you must go out, you do so at night, likely while wearing a mask.
-Ambition
I don’t suppose this requires a lot of explanation, however, I will say that you should always think big when picking this one. Its no good if humble or even feasible to achieve. Remember, these are only any use to you if they cause you problems and if you ever actually get it, well, the chase is over. By big I mean, “Restore my husband from the dead”, or “Conquer Mars”.
-Indulgence
Chemical addictions and strange obsessions are omnipresent. If you can’t think of anything interesting, feel free to cop out and just list ‘Tobacco‘. Though I will think less of you.
-Obligation
You can have additional obligations to organizations and Director controlled persons, but you MUST have at least one obligation to another Bohemian in the story. Talk it out with the other players. Are the two blood relations? Does one owe the other their life? The relationship most of some positive quality. A reason one would go out their way for the other’s sake.
Gears
Choose the Gear you feel your Bohemian would value most. Assign that Gear the 8sided die.
Choose the Gear you feel your Bohemian would value lest. Assign that Gear the 4sided die.
Assign the 6sided die to the other two.
Gimmicks
This is what makes the game really come alive. Gimmicks represent a wide range of extraordinary and or supernaturally impossible abilities possessed by a given Bohemian.
To conserve space, the full list of possible gimmicks has been moved to a later section.
You Bohemian starts with 3 gimmicks.
Accessories
This is simply a list of items and equipment carried by your Bohemian. Instead of receiving a Burn, its possible to have some piece of your regular equipment break.
However, may choose one Accessory as your Signature item. This item is effectively a part of the character and as such can never be permanently lost or broken.
Start the game with 3 to 5 significant Accessories (They must be 'Items of Common Interest' [see Resources]), clothing and other essentials are assumed.
Note: Currency
Currency is noted as “Coins”. Coins are only spent on big, significant purchases. Players are never expected to keep track of their spare change. Why? Because that’s boring. We’re not here to do boring.
5 Coins is considered 1 Accessory.
Progression-
One may learn more from a single defeat then they might in a thousand triumphs. Every time your Bohemian takes a risk that results in a Complication or a Personal Burn applied to them, they gain 1 experience point (exp.). Any time something happens within that story that would allow you gain a new gimmick or signature Accessory, you may trade in 10exp. to do so.
Gears however are more difficult to advance. It takes;
20exp. to upgrade a 6sided to an 8sided
25exp. to upgrade an 8sided to a 10sided
30exp. to upgrade a 10 sided to a 12sided
You may never upgrade your 4sided Gear. This is your Bohemian’s signature weakness. No matter how strong they get, this will still cause them grief (allow them to remain interesting).