I worked up a Google Sheet for the UW2e “pre-alpha” rules to give to my players. Thought it might be useful to others:
I’d really be interested in thoughts and comments!
Designing Uncharted Worlds 2nd Edition
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Oh WOW, this is a fantastic resource. And I’m very enamored with the idea of Remove Stress as a way to gain XP. That’s deliciously elegant design.
Speaking of Stress:
I’m still in early playtesting, but so far I’ve found that characters suffer on average 1.5 Stress per session. A big part of this is the fact that the players choose from a list of consequences for all but a 6-, so they can balance taking hits with other Bad Stuff.
This average may change, as I’ve asked my players to switch to different characters; the previous crew had two Military characters, who were good at ‘violence-without-getting-hurt-in-return’.
That said, my first inclination is along the same lines as Deckard’s:
That certainly feels right. Body harm is a lot more prevalent than Heart or Mind stress, but you can have body armor that can soak Body damage. I’ve already been leaning towards it, as evidenced by the Productive Origin being able to clear stress on assets rather than on themselves when they Rest and Recover.
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In a BitD adjacent way, I could also see certain careers opening up other kinds of limited use “special armor” through level advances (psionic getting Mental Defenses is the most obvious, but something akin to Bravery from the Fanatic career… Although these kinds of things may prompt weird semantic arguments in some groups). What I like about those is the niche protection and implicit spotlight sharing: “Normally I’m not the toughest, but if we need a champion to duel the psychic space worm, its my time to shine.”
While I’ve got you on the line so to speak, how do you envision Patch-Up working with Stresses? As written at the moment they don’t seem to fit together cleanly. Like they don’t share the same DNA. Is it intended that on a success the Stress is simply ignored for the purposes of not gaining more stress by acting against the narratively imposed limitations of the Stress. I.e. a broken leg is still broken, but after a successful Patch-Up roll the character can run on it, at least for now… Seems like another checkbox might be nice to keep track of that on the character sheet. Something like “mended” or “patched”.
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Yeah, for the moment Patch-Up and the Stress system don’t quite mesh as well as they should, mostly since the whole harm mechanics were still very early when I wrote Patch Up. I need to reword that Career Move anyway.
As you noted, there’s a concept that I bring up in the Harm rules (but didn’t expand upon) called “Pushing”. When you are limited by your own Stress or Burden, you can suffer Stress to ignore it. Patch-Up allows you to ignore Pushing and act freely.
I imagine they’ll be playing catch-up with each other for the next while as they come closer together.
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I’d greatly appreciate feedback on this new version of the Academic career Move. This is a tough one to get right, because the “Academic” sci-fi trope is (ironically) both very wide in subject matter, and very focused in tone and methodology.
PATCH UP – Academic Move
When you treat a living subject or reprogram an open system, Roll+Intellect.
When you rewire, calibrate, or overclock a piece of technology, Roll+Expertise.
On a 10+ , choose one:
- Diagnostic: Discover what’s hurting, draining, or otherwise afflicting the subject.
- Boost: Choose a limit to the subject’s actions. Temporarily ignore that limitation.
- Lock: Choose a behavior. The subject is temporarily unable to behave that way.
On a 7-9 , choose one (as a 10+ result), but you’ll have to cause harm to the subject, suffer harm yourself, and/or sacrifice resources to get results.
On a 6-, the situation, procedure, or subject becomes incredibly volatile.
Diagnostic is pretty straight forward, and is there as a better version of Seek the Truth, but only for health assessment. See: every doctor, biologist, and engineer on every sci-fi show. Spouting exposition of “what’s wrong with X” is like 90% of their job.
I wanted to give a certain amount of creative leeway with the the Boost and Lock.
Boost is the “make things work again”. It can be used to tinker with a gun to punch through armor with its next shot (ignore limitation: can’t pierce heavy armor), coax a shorted out vehicle engine to start up (ignore limitation: overloaded), or get a soldier on their feet (ignore limitation: debilitating injuries).
Lock can sedate people (unable to stay awake), prevent overloads (unable to gain more charge), or just lock out people from systems (unable to accept new users). I worry it might be a bit too open to abuse, especially when dealing with living beings (“unable to continue breathing”), but the necessary fictional positioning (treating, programming, calibrating) will hopefully act as a natural deterrent. Still, the expanded rules will probably highlight this issue, and advise the GM to set certain expectations of “fair play” and making a fun story. Which applies to the whole game, really, since player authorship means everything is at least somewhat open to abuse.
Also I am totally not married to the name “Patch Up”. If anything, it breaks the “one word verb” naming convention I’ve got going on. If anyone has a good verb for “medical treatment, computer programming, and altering technology”, or heck, a good word for “science-up-something-good”, I’d be more than happy to consider it.
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The new move looks good, but it seems like it might exclude non-Academic characters from doing the stuff it covers. For example, if a Clandestine hacker wanted to boost a computer’s performance or disable a security system, would they just use one of the Core Moves? Either situation would be directly covered by this iteration of Patch Up, but are characters unable to do Patch Up stuff if they aren’t an Academic?
Also I am totally not married to the name “Patch Up”. If anything, it breaks the “one word verb” naming convention I’ve got going on. If anyone has a good verb for “medical treatment, computer programming, and altering technology”, or heck, a good word for “science-up-something-good”, I’d be more than happy to consider it.
How about “Operate”?
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Oh. I like that. I was going to suggest Mend, but Operate uses its multiple meanings well to cover both kinds of tasks.
The could be a Clandestine Academic Hacker if they wanted to really specialize… but depending on their initial Maneuver roll, I’d say on a 10+ they are in the system and no one is the wiser: they do it (maybe a seek the truth roll if it is a very secure system or a situation with a lot of narrative pressure / implications) . 7-9 : its going to be a Race the Clock follow up for sure.
I feel you. This is a tough nut. I understand why they are grouped together. 5 stats, an unique combination of 2 for each career, 10 careers. But, do we want all our Dr. Bashirs to be Chief O’Briens? I mean one is Academic+Personality and the other is Academic+Industrial… but… I don’t know. I guess it seems to me that these niches are usually well separated in fiction and in games (the Cleric and the Artificer… with maybe an edge case or two, I’m looking at you Forge Domain Cleric) or at least they require a solid investment of chargen resources (i.e. skill points, multi-classing, etc) to combine. Like if the industrial career was the sole domain of building and repairing machines and Academic was the advanced chemistry and biology of living bodies and bio-tech. The line blurs though in sci-fi.
This is off the cuff and not well worded, but something like -
SCIENCE!
When you study, analyze or investigate an anomaly, Roll+Intellect.
When you manipulate the fundamental building blocks of the universe, Roll+Expertise.
Then have it play like Read a Sitch? Ask differing number of questions from a list and take +1 forward on the answers? So they then make a Race the Clock to provide medical aid to someone, but they’ll be doing it with a significant advantage due to the +1? Or since we have the advantage mechanism: Take advantage when acting on the answers…
EDIT: That might be too generic though- a common player question might be: How do I just give this guy some simple first aid?! Maybe a 10+ is a success. You do it. You gain significant information or apply your expert knowledge to the problem. Choose one: diagnostic, boost, lock (as above, but reworded to be less techy and more general science-y?) On a 7-9, Things just got more complicated, but you’ve got a good idea for what to do next. Take advantage on dealing with the consequences. 6-, an unforeseen consequence catches you off guard. Prepare for the worst.
Might require taking another look at Industrial to balance it out.
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This is a tough one to get right, because the “Academic” sci-fi trope is (ironically) both very wide in subject matter, and very focused in tone and methodology.
Especially ironic because in real life Academics are particularly narrow in their subject matter…Chemistry <> Biology <> AI
Ah, this is a very interesting topic that comes up a lot in PbtA. Allowing characters the freedom to act vs niche protection.
The Core Moves are written as situational Moves. It’s less about “what” you want to do (boost a computer’s power) and more “why” you want to do it (do it before time runs out, do it to discover a way forward, do it to brain-burn the enemy hacker). “Boosting the power” isn’t the end goal in that case, but rather the means you use to achieve a goal (i.e.: Roll + Intellect).
Basically, non-Academics boost computers, administer drugs, re-calibrate machinery in order to solve immediate problems.
Academics do those things to create and control scenarios, and set up long-term advantageous situations.
The niche protection of Careers over Core Moves is two-fold:
- Predictable results: While both an Academic and non-Academic can boost a power relay or drug a guard, the Academic has more leeway and creative interpretation with their Move. In the same way that anyone can pilot a ship, but an Explorer can pull off amazing stunts.
- Better results: The Core Moves have harsher and more frequent costs. Even at the highest level of success, it usually costs something to get the job done. Career Moves are professional versions of the amateur fumbling. A 10+ on a Career Move means full success at least, if not a little bonus on top. Anyone can try to sneak into somewhere, but the Clandestine can slip in and scan the area or pick up a bit of bonus loot.
Yes indeed. I like that a lot. Much obliged.
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Took a bit of time off before re-evaluating the new Academic Move, taking the feedback into account of course.
As I mentioned, making an ‘Academic’ move is hard because it covers such a wide spectrum of non-overlapping disciplines. And while I still kinda like Patch-Up/Operate, I feel that it doesn’t quite express what Academic career should be.
So I went back to the drawing board and considered three big things:
- What does “Academic” mean in a sci-fi context when it isn’t a doctor? That was a big issue, because the ‘obvious’ solution is to pattern it off Julian Bashir and Simon Tam.
- What do the various scientific fields have in common? Where do their methods, drives, or ways of thinking overlap?
- What does this Move provide to the other careers? How does it help other Moves?
I ended up finding my inspiration in Dan Abnett’s Eisenhorn (omnibus edition), a fantastic read that I strongly recommend. In it, one of the titular character’s associates is Uber Aemos, a “Savant”. Basically a font of knowledge, history, logic, translation, and observation. Aemos really feels like a ‘pure’ Academic, both literally and in UW terms.
From there I looked at the “Expertise” mirror of that Intellect. Expertise is hands-on, dirt-under-the-fingernails science, all about objects, tech, terrain. It got me thinking of shell casings, ballistics, autopsies, ruins, etc. Which brought me to archaeologists (Indiana Jones) and crime scene investigations (Sherlock Holmes), and cemented the idea.
The overlap between various scientific fields is the ability to study and analyze. Sounds obvious, but making that into a Move was tricky.
So here it is:
STUDY – Academic Move
When you to make an assessment from research, samples, or scans, Roll+Intellect.
When you piece together clues from debris, remains, or markings, Roll+Expertise.
On a 10+ , choose an inquiry. The GM will prompt you to share your findings:
- Diagnosis: What’s currently wrong with this, and how to deal with it.
- Sequencing: The history or chain of events that happened here.
- Provenance: Where did this originate? What was the source or cause?
- Extrapolation: Which way is this going? What can be expected next?
On a 7-9 , choose an inquiry (as a 10+ result), but the GM gets to add an unfortunate detail, complication, hook, or twist to your findings.
On a 6-, the situation, subject, or results prove to be quite volatile.
And that’s what the Academic offers to other careers: the ability to learn about something in order to make better decisions. Military Academics will use it to predict troop movements. Academic Explorers can delve into the history of alien ruins, or find out what kind of creature left these tracks. Clandestine Academics can track down murderers, etc.
I think this may be the way to go. This way healing/medicine can be a Skill of the Academic (as characters level up and specialize) while repairs and calibrations remain the purview of the Industrial (though Industrial Academics still make the best repairs because they can assess/diagnose a problem, and solve it efficiently.)
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@SeanGomes, While I like this and the other revised moves, I feel like my group will always check their stats and then do whichever is more likely to be successful if the choice of stat does not impact the narrative results at all.
For example, a move like Defy Danger (while itself flawed) at least gives a different narrative prompt for the results based on the way the danger is defied (dodged mediocre then perhaps you rolled towards a ledge, attempting to defy the damage by shielding yourself didn’t go great, then maybe you are partially buried under debris, etc.)
I don’t really see a case being made for one approach over another in this move as the results are the same whether a player uses Intellect or Expertise.
My players often just pick their stat they were best with over and over if the result would not have different narrative impacts. How do you get around this when the moves are written in this way?
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That’s a really good point, and something I’ve been thinking about generally. Usually I’ve tried to make the two stats have different “points of interaction”. Even though they both ostensibly have the same results, the activity itself varies enough that it should be obvious which one is being called.
That said, some of the splits are less obvious than others.
- Academic is admittedly interchangeable: Research or Investigation
- Advocate is also kinda same-y: Emotions or Logic
- Clandestine is pretty good: Sneaking and Hacking.
- Commercial is also very distinct: People or Stuff
- Explorer is very different: Parkour or Vehicle Stunt
- Industrial is not too bad: Small Gadget or Big Construction
- Military is solid (with a bit of guidance): Up Close or Long Range
- Personality is a little shaky: Charm vs Intimidation
- Scoundrel is fairly distinct: Pickpocket vs Scam
- Psionic difference is kinda philosophical: Telepathy or Telekinesis
Of those, I feel Academic, Advocate, and maybe Personality could use another pass to make them more discrete. I’m open to suggestions for more obvious splits, either by subject, action, or philosophy. Like maybe…
Study+Intellect subjects are organic life and cultural relics. (Medicine, anthropology, chemistry, etc)
Study+Expertise subjects are locations and inanimate objects. (Forensics, tracking, geology, etc)
That said!
I don’t think it’s entirely bad that a character chooses how they approach a situation based on their stats. Stats are meant to represent the characters’ strengths, so it’s only natural they would try to leverage them. Take Military: their decision to rush the enemy or take cover and pick them off depends on their aptitudes as well as the fictional positioning.
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I ended up taking a bit of time to revisit the Careers, and tightened up the three careers that weren’t quite distinct enough for my tastes. Hopefully this will lead to less overlap, and less uncertainty about which stat applies to which action.
STUDY (Academic)
When you analyze chemical, biological, or behavioral data, Roll+Intellect.
When you inspect debris, damage, terrain, or artifacts, Roll+Expertise.
COUNCIL (Advocate)
When your rhetoric fills a heart with passion and resolve, Roll+Influence.
When your wisdom tempers and shapes a plan of action, Roll+Intellect.
IMPRESS (Personality)
When you dazzle people with stunning charisma and raw appeal, Roll+Influence.
When you intimidate people with violence, menace, or authority, Roll+Force.
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I’m sorry I missed this earlier! It looks fantastic. I’ve been slowly updating my bodged-together playtest character sheet, but this is making me want to overhaul.
Great job.
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These updates are GREAT!
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Yes, I agree!
I like the direction these have moved. Well worth the time to revisit. 
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Hey Sean! Long time fan from ye olde G+ community. I ran the Reign of Terra campaign, which remains some of my fondest memories! I had no idea UW2 is under development after we were scattered to the four winds. Glad to see that you’ve picked up the pen again and will be following its development closely! Hopefully I’ll get around to running games again so I can playtest this!
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/holds up Granny Weatherwax-style “I Aten’t Dead” sign
Hi folks. Sorry about the long periods of silence. It’s been a hell of a month, lots of personal stuff (mostly bad, a few bright moments).
I’m happy to report that UW2 is now at a mostly playable stage, enough so that I can feel what it wants to be when playtesting. That’s always a huge boon to a designer, when a system or component makes itself known.
Several systems have gone through multiple iterations because of this, including core Moves, career Moves, and the Downtime system. I’ve also closed in on the shape of advancement/XP, and on how I’ll be handing gear. It’s all coming together quite nicely, at a slow but steady pace.
I’m hoping to have new, updated Alpha documents soon, so I can share all this stuff with you. For the moment it’s kinda the digital equivalent of notes scribbled on cocktail napkins. But it works! And it’s fun! And I’m looking forward to writing the meat of the system.
At some point in the not-too-distant future I’m going to have to run playtests with folks who aren’t part of my weekly gaming group, to get a set of fresh eyes on the system. And I’d love to. Sadly, these days, I have no idea how to organize a Random-Person-On-The-Internet rp session. Or where to look. Also possibly running a play-by-post? Problems for Future Sean.
Anywho, just dropping in with a project update, and hoping you’re all doing well.
Also: Good to see you @andante! Glad you joined, sorry I didn’t reply right away. Always good to see folks from The G+ That Was, reminder of The Before Times.
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Sorry to hear you’ve had a rough month. I’m a high school teacher, so the last week or two have been weird for me too.
Congrats on your progress with the game though! Always excited to hear how it’s coming along. My guess is you’ll have lots of people eager to test your game. I’ve started posting in a few discords, like the one for Stop, Hack and Roll, which seems to be a platfrom where a lot of RPG enthusiasts hang out these days.
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At the point you’re ready for playtest @SeanGomes, I’d be happy to look at running some sessions on the Gauntlet.
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