Interesting… I wonder if hex crawl / wilderness stuff might be ideal here… Might be time for me to dig out some hexcrawls from my library…
Trophy Gold Discussion
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I have been been running Trophy Gold for two different groups of players. Both the causal and enfranchised players have really liked how clear and dangerous the game is.
The hunt roll has been really cool, but also a bit challenging. I can see how it is strongest for a larger less defined area. How I ran it was when encountering something terrible I tend to do something like Mouse Guard twist system, where on a 1 to 5 you narrate the player triggering a trap or stumbling on a monster. Is that the intention of the rule or is that taking agency away from the characters? I love how we can streamline the process of finding loot and encountering traps. I am not a big fan of checking every tile in a dungeon.
One thing I am not clear on is consequences in Trophy Gold
I do not give out Ruin as a consequence from Risk Rolls. I have been treating it a lot like stress from Blades in the Dark where the only thing that can get Ruin is from fights with Monsters, the dark die from Risk Rolls. I have mostly been using conditions as my consequences or making the situation more complicated.
Is this how its supposed to be played or should I be giving out Ruin as a consequence?
Looking forward to our session tomorrow as we descend deeper into the tomb!
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I’ve used bad results on risk rolls to also ‘take hold’ or push a clock or whatever is the tension at the time. Is there are monstrosity lurking in the shadows that you hint at earlier. A risk roll could be drawing it’s attention forcing the players deeper into a dungeon or hiding.
Big fan of giving conditions for failed rolls. Small things even like tore or rusted gear, or letting a player sacrifice something of value to prevent ruin/condition.
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Are there any APs (in any format) of Trophy Gold specifically yet? I really want to introduce this to some folks, and I’m comfortable with both Dungeon World and Blades in the Dark as well as OSR games like Swords & Wizardry, and this definitely is scratching a serious mental itch for me.
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@technoskald So, I spoke with my group. We have a game this Wednesday. We will attempt to record and edit something. It will be audio only. I’ll keep you posted and if anyone else is interested.
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I think that replacement with the twist system is great, and I don’t see that taking agency away.
Regarding consequences, you have that exactly right. Ruin should only be increased as a result of a high dark die on a Risk Roll, or hitting your Weak Point during Combat. Everything else of consequence should be a Condition, or some other bad effect (separation from the group, loss of equipment, etc.).
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I ran a session of Trophy Gold last week and wrote a blog post about my experience. I think folks who are thinking about running this game will find it to be an invaluable resource, particularly my thoughts on the Hunt Roll and how to present sets to players. It’s a long-ish post but 100% worth your time. There is also an embed of the video of our session. To jump straight to gameplay in the video, go to time code 39:46.
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I would highly recommend checking out the video. It’s an incredible example of how the game plays:
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I recorded an audio session yesterday and I am currently editing this week. I’ll have it per request but I’m happy to see Jason posting his link. I’m curious to see how he used the rules.
I also am running a play by post through rolegate. If anyone wants to read along or play, I have one slot left here is the link.
https://www.rolegate.com/ref/Huss/trophy-gold-gehenna
I really enjoy this rule system and want so many others to try it out. Happy Hunting!
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nice! I’ll look forward to hearing the recording!
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I have a question regarding the Combat Roll. As far as I’m reading, it assumes that there’s always at least 2 PCs fighting. What if you’re running 1-on-1, or there’s only one party member fighting for whatever reason?
I’ve considered a one on one game as well. Maybe you have the player roll multiple PCs and manage a party. You could also come up with a way to incorporate hirelings. My group and I have discussed this as well. Each Hireling is a set amount of burden, and depending on where you hired them it may double the burden if they are lost or killed.
Quick example
Remy, The Torch Bearer
Equipment - Torches (6), Tent
Ritual - None
Ruin 0/2, Burden 2 (4 owed to family, if maimed, killed, lost)
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If there’s just a single treasure-hunter engaged in Combat, they’re going to automatically fail to kill anything with an Endurance higher than 6. This is by design. I still have them roll that first round just to see if they get hit at all, but then go immediately into round 2 where they get a second die (and now have a chance to kill it).
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I’m very into these hireling rules, and doubling the Burdens cost if they die is delicious. However, keep in mind that Burdens are (typically) forever, so you might not even need to double it. Having to continue to pay out the Burdens to their family for their loss, without having access to them during an incursion is a good wager to force a player to make.
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I like the emotional and fiscal burden over time. I original thought of it as a one time burden with consequences but lowering the burden cost and increasing it over time. You can’t just throw your torch bearer to their room, or if you do prepare to pay for no benefit.
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Interesting. So if you throw your sword away your burdens don’t decrease? I would have thought the burden was tied to the thing.
I also love the hireling rules. Good stuff @PoccoApoccO! Could add a shield bearer, mercenary, and pack mule to your link boy.
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That was why I said typically. Combat Equipment is the big exception. If you lose it or break it and decide not to replenish it back in town, you can decrease your Burdens.
I could see hirelings working the same way, but they offer a good deal of benefits, so I’d make sure there’s a sizable cost to losing one. Think of it this way: if getting a new Skill (via Training) or a new Ritual (via Library) increases your Burdens by 1 in perpetuity, then adding a hireling (which might also get you access to a new Skill or Ritual, as well as new equipment and combat help) should come with a proportional cost.
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I ran town last week. It was very mechanical but it was also late. I think everyone wanted to wrap things up. We did have a really fun scene with the npc they were selling the monster bits to. We did the appraisal and role played out that conversation. I think when I run town in the future I’ll encourage the players to set scenes when they spend gold or go rest at thier household by asking questions.
The beasitary has been ignored by the players. I brought up in our first session and they have not touched that mechanism since. Its there when they want to use it or engage with it but I am not going to force them to use it. It could be possible that online its harder for the players to use the beasitary because its a couple of spreadsheets tabs away.
Thanks for writing that blog post! Great read!
Looking forward to being more explicit with the sets in our session tomarrow night.
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Jason, Tyler and Fraser’s Trophy Gold videos have been enlightening!
A quick note to the creators: in Session 2 (https://youtu.be/1Qmwx2yyVvU), we loose Fraser’s audio about half way through.
Oh no! I know Fraser had been having some trouble with his audio with OBS.