16
votes
Accepted
Are dice pools public knowledge in Dogs in the Vineyard/DOGS?
Dice pools are public knowledge in Dogs in the Vineyard.
All told, you take up 6d6 plus 1d8, and I take up 8d6.
[...] We roll all our dice. Leave 'em out on the table where everybody can see. You can ...
- 42.2k
11
votes
When is it hammer time?
Weapons exist at a mechanical level separate from both fists and guns.
In the "Belongings" step of character creation, p.27, one of the things given is "a big knife 1d8". (Specifically, it's a "holy ...
- 42.2k
10
votes
How can I justify someone staying out of a conflict?
You have free choice. You have free reign with scope and pacing. You tell me.
Let me pop down an example first, and I'll carve those ideas about choice, scope, and pacing out of it at the end.
So ...
- 42.2k
9
votes
Accepted
What is the impact of having many relationships among Dogs themselves?
The players could do this, but it's not very interesting. Their starting relationships should color who they are as a person. They already have a trait or relationship about being a Dog. They ...
- 37.9k
9
votes
Accepted
How does Dogs in the Vineyard handle solo play?
There are three main difficulties to running DitV as a solo GM for a solo player.
1) Lore. Three stand in authority. Two Dogs can at least find a single Faithful person in a town -- and if they can't,...
- 42.2k
8
votes
Accepted
"Escalate" the other way around
Escalation is the act of moving conflicts to a different arena.
Usually this means that a conflict begins with less lethal means, and, as people become more willing to kill and die over what's at ...
- 42.2k
7
votes
What is the impact of having many relationships among Dogs themselves?
In general, such relationships are fine. I played a game where me and one of the other players were cousins and extremely close. I took a 4d4 relationship with their PC, they took a 1d10 relationship ...
- 67.9k
6
votes
Are dice pools public knowledge in Dogs in the Vineyard/DOGS?
In DOGS, explicitly yes
When I first asked the question, I had been close-reading the sections relevant to conflict. I should have paid closer attention to the preface, which explicitly says:
...
- 6,794
4
votes
Are dice pools public knowledge in Dogs in the Vineyard/DOGS?
From the GM at least, this is an X/Y problem.
You say:
If everyone can see their opponent's available dice, then there's no point in ever Raising with a number that your opponent could Counter; you'...
- 35.5k
3
votes
When is it hammer time?
Hand-to-hand is the appropriate stage because you're fighting and not using guns. Hand-to-hand means “in close range” not “using only hands”.
- 37.9k
2
votes
Can Dogs in the Vineyard handle multiple healers?
Given the state of medicine at the time it's hard to imagine productively involving several disparate people in medical treatment. Even with a modern surgical team it's largely support personnel to ...
- 42.2k
2
votes
How do we make our verbal conflicts not fake or boring?
A lot of game design water has passed under the game design bridge since Dogs came out. While this advice may not be grounded in any hard part of the Dogs rules specifically, when possible I've tried ...
- 42.2k
2
votes
When is it hammer time?
First of all, those are "arenas" of conflict. Not "stages". Escalation does not have to be in that order. You could (de)escalate a fistfight into a shouting match if you can find a good vector.
...
- 17.5k
2
votes
What happens when a Dog does something that is authorized by the Faith but against the law?
The Territorial Authority can't do anything
The Dogs travel in groups of three and have community support. While what they do may not be legal, the territorial authority is, outside of industrial ...
- 67.9k
2
votes
How Different is Dogs in the Vineyard from more "Traditional" RPGs?
The most strange (and fascinating!) thing I catch reading the examples in the book is the ability of players to take storytelling decisions beyond the actions of their characters. This is very counter-...
- 183
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