In the Building Blocks chapter for Storypath Ultra that backers received last week, we saw some examples of rules systems that could be dropped into your game to give certain aspects more structure or a different procedural process. That's the kind of thing that can flesh out a setting and provide an identity and point of differentiation for your game - it hightlights a bit that's important or unusual, certainly.
Wrestling Matches
Most of the time, when wrestlers want to fight in The Y2K World, it works the way you’d expect it to — people bring guns to knife fights, hide behind cover, aim for vital spots, and so on. In those situations, combat works the same way it’s spelled out in the Storypath Ultra action-adventure rules, with the added wrinkle of player characters using miracles to make the combat just a bit more interesting.
There is one exception to this, however: An angelic host can’t kill a demonic host outside of the ring, and vice versa. If they intentionally, willfully kill or allow a rival to die, they also die. If a rival dies unintentionally, the wrestler responsible instead gains the Taken Out status effect. The Storyguide should let players know of this rule before they make the decision to kill another character outside of a match. (Note that an angelic host can kill another angelic host with no additional consequence, and the same is true between demonic hosts — it’s only characters that should be facing each other in the ring as part of the war that end up getting slain by their own hand.)
Once a wrestler steps into the magically reinforced ring, however, things change. The predetermined conditions of the war between angels and demons supersede reality, and mere physics takes a back seat to the etiquette of the squared circle. Wrestlers are forced to confront each other in a very different way, and the rules of the game are adjusted to account for this surreal, supernatural state of affairs.
Summary of the Rules of the Ring
The following is a summary of the changes to the action-adventure rules for Pinfall from Grace, Body Slams from Hell wrestling matches.
You can’t purchase tricks or use miracles during a match; Moves replace them. Actions using the Close Combat Skill buy Moves at a higher cost.
Characters can’t go beyond short range within the ring. Moving the action outside the ring can lead to a character being counted out and losing the match.
Attacks with weapons can lead to a disqualification, which ends the match.
When a character successfully uses the End the Match Move, they win the match.
Bonds only work in specific circumstances.
The Rules of the Ring
Here is a list of exceptions, changes, and new rules to add to the existing action-adventure system.
Ranges and Areas
Characters can move to short range while within the ring Area. The Area outside the ring is called ringside, which is a different Area, but the character is still considered to be in the match. In tag team matches, the tag partner not currently acting in the match is at ringside, and thus at medium range from the acting wrestlers. (Moving past the ringside Area typically leads to the moving character being disqualified.)
The rules for moving are unchanged, so moving between close and short range and short and medium range is still a reflexive action, but a character who wants to go from ringside to close range in order to attack needs to take an action to do so. The same applies for moving from close range to medium to tag a partner.
If any active character in a match stays for their entire turn in the ringside Area, all subsequent actions have the Minor Complication of Countout. If the Complication is not bought off, the character is disqualified by the referee and loses the match. Moving from the ringside Area to the ring Area removes the Complication.
Similarly, if a character not participating in the match moved from the ringside Area to the ring Area to interfere with the match, their action also gets the Minor Complication of Interference. If the Complication is not bought off, the wrestler who benefits from the interference is disqualified.
Attacks
Attacks are performed with the following modifications:
Unlike the rules outside the ring (see above), angelic wrestlers can kill demonic hosts in a match, and vice versa.
When performing an attack, instead of a dice roll emulating a single kick or grapple, it covers an entire exchange of blows. If the attack succeeds, they do one damage as normal, but the attacker can also narrate the entire exchange. If the attacking character fails, their opponent gets to narrate the exchange.
Enhancing these attacks is done via Moves, which replace the use of tricks and maneuvers during a match.
Any attack in which a weapon is used comes with a Moderate Complication of Foreign Object. If the Complication is not bought off, the referee notices the weapon and immediately disqualifies the attacker, ending the match. Light objects that fit in one hand, such as a wrench or a pair of brass knuckles add +1 Enhancement. Heavier objects that require two hands, such as a steel chair or a metal road sign add +2 Enhancement. Large objects that require setup like a ladder or a table add +3 Enhancement. Other objects may offer different Enhancement or other benefits.
Any attack with the Close Combat skill increases the cost of all Moves by +1 hit, to a maximum of 3 hits. Moves that cost 0 hits do not have an increased cost.
Other Skills can be used for an attack in place of Close Combat, and still do damage. If the description of how the skill applies to the attack is reasonable, and the Storyguide agrees, the attack is made as normal, but there is no increase in the cost of any Moves.
Remember that antagonists don’t have skills, so the previous two points don’t apply to them — demons don’t care about how obvious or stale an attack is, as long as it gets the job done. However, the other rules do apply to them.
Damage
Damage works as normal. If a character takes an Injury but has no Injuries left, instead of gaining the Taken Out status effect, they gain the Pinning Position status effect. (Antagonists, who don’t normally gain the Taken Out status effect, also get Pinning Position if they lose all their Injuries. There are also other ways to give characters the Pinning Position status effect.)
Status Effect: Pinning Position (Combat) The character is exhausted, hurt, and unable to resist being defeated, as long as their opponent has the ability to take advantage of the opportunity.
Resolution: The character spends an action or a Momentum, or immediately takes an Injury, to remove the status effect, or an opponent purchases the End the Match Move.
Characters with Pinning Position can spend an action or a Momentum, or take an Injury, to remove the status effect from themselves during a match.
If a wrestler can use the End the Match Move on a character that has the Pinning Position status effect, they win the match. Typically this means the defeated wrestler has been pinned or indicated their submission to their opponent, but some matches may have specific scenarios for losing, such as the winner escaping a cage around the ring or the loser being forced to verbally admit that they quit.
All damage gained in a match stays with the character after the match, although once the match is over, the wrestlers can be healed as normal.
Other Rules
Miracles and other supernatural powers cannot be used during a match in either the ring or ringside Areas. However, Graceful Moves can be used during a match. Antagonists can only use powers marked as “match only.”
The only bonds a player character can use is their bond with their angelic partner (demons do not have bonds with their hosts). During a match, wrestlers can use bonds with a stablemate if they are both in the match at the same time as tag team partners, but the Enhancement generated by the bond can only be used to purchase Moves that have the partner keyword.
Under the Mask: Expanded Combat “The Rules of the Ring” is a section of rules that expands combat. Like the expanded combat section in Chapter Two they build on the existing action-adventure rules to give more nuance and flavor to this setting, but you may notice this section doesn’t use many of the options presented there. Specifically, these rules are here mainly to set up the utility of Moves, which we’ll cover below, as well as reframing Close Combat. As discussed earlier in character creation, Close Combat is a vital skill for Pinfall from Grace, Body Slams from Hell, but if it were the only skill used in wrestling matches, every conflict will ultimately boil down to the person with the most dice eventually winning. By adding restrictions like making it harder to use weapons (an easy source of Enhancement) and incentivizing the use of other skills instead, it opens up more tactical options for players as they make their way through the match.
No matter what, it’s often good to add a short list covering all the changes at a high level, so readers know going in what kinds of changes they can expect before digging into the details of what those changes entail.
Moves
A wrestling match is comprised of a variety of wrestling holds and attacks, collectively called “moves.” In Pinfall from Grace, Body Slams from Hell, rather than a move being a distinct, single action within a match, we consider the move to be the high point of a small segment of the match. For example, throwing a single punch is a wrestling move, but in Pinfall from Grace, Body Slams from hell we ignore just a single punch and focus on all the punches, kicks, and other moves that lead up to the bigger, more narratively significant move of the final punch that knocks an opponent to the ground or out of the ring. In Storypath terms, these are a kind of trick or maneuver, which we call Moves (with a capital M, to distinguish the game mechanic from the in-world wrestling term).
Like tricks and maneuvers, players can only purchase each Move once an action unless specifically mentioned otherwise.
Basic Moves
Basic Moves can be purchased by any character during a match. Some have a keyword, which indicates a specific source of bond Enhancement that can be used to purchase them:
Face: Enhancement from positive Audience bonds can only be used to purchase Moves with this keyword.
Heel: Enhancement from negative Audience bonds can only be used to purchase Moves with this keyword.
Partner: Enhancement from bonds with other members of your stable in this match can only be used to purchase Moves with this keyword.
These sources of bond Enhancement can be added after an action is determined to be successful.
Any basic Move can be purchased with hits, regardless of what keywords it has. Keyworded Moves simply mean that Enhancement from the specific sources can only be used to purchase those Moves. If the wrestler chooses not to use that source of Enhancement to purchase a relevant Move, that source of hits is gone.
Heel Turns Since any basic Moves can be bought with your roll’s hits, it’s possible to purchase heel Moves if you have positive Audience bond. However, these moves indicate flagrant cheating on the part of the wrestler, which alienates the audience. Any heel Move purchased while you have a positive Audience bond comes with a Major Complication of Heel Turn. If not bought off, the positive Audience bond reduces by one level, or is removed if the bond is already at positive 1.
Wrestlers with negative Audience bond have no penalty for purchasing face Moves. Sometimes it pays to be the bad guy! (However, from a design perspective, note that this is balanced out by Graceful Moves, below.)
Break the Pin (3 hits; partner): If your tag team partner is pinned, you can break that pin up. Remove the Pinning Position status effect from your tag team partner.
Break Up Grapple (1 hit; partner): When targeting a character who is part of a grapple (that you are not in) you may use this Move to end the Grappled status effect.
Critical Strike (3 hits): Deal an additional damage to your target.
Disarm (2 or 3 hits; face, partner): You pull or twist your opponent’s weapon or item out of their hand. You may spend an additional hit to knock the item to the ringside Area.
Distract the Ref (2 hits; heel): You cause a commotion with your exchange, distracting the referee. If your next action incurs the Countout,Excessive Violence, Foreign Object, or Interference Complication, ignore that Complication for that action. This also applies to your opponent’s next action as well.
End the Match (3 hits): When used on an opponent who has the Pinning Position status effect, you end the match and are declared the winner.
Establish Grapple (1 hit): You force your opponent into a grapple. Apply the Grappled status effect (p. XX) to your opponent. You may purchase any basic Moves on your attacks against them for 1 hit less, to a minimum cost of 1 hit.
Knockdown/Trip (1 hit): Knock your opponent prone where they stand.
Hulk Up (2 hits; face): You’re ready to really nail the next move. Add +2 Enhancement to your next action.
Pull Your Punch (0 hits): You choose not to deal damage to the target and instead gain 1 hit to spend on a Move.
Seize (2 hits; heel): You take an object held by (but not strapped or attached to) your opponent. You must have a free hand to use this Move.
Under the Mask: A Trick by Any Other Name…. Keen-eyed readers may have noticed that, despite the rule on p. XX saying that no tricks can be purchased during a match, many of the Moves here are quite similar to a number of Combat tricks. This is for two reasons. The first is to make the interaction between tricks and Moves cleaner — since so much of how matches work revolve around the use of Moves, its easier if you simply ban one entire category of rules and reincorporate the exceptions, instead of worrying about what happens if you buy one trick and one Move that are very similar. The second is the new Moves are not all completely identicalto their equivalent tricks, and it’s easier for players to understand and reference a complete list instead of parsing a number of exceptions and modifications to the existing tricks. Similar to the character creation section, the rules for tricks are so short it actually takes less space to reprint what’s necessary and adjust that text directly over writing a list of references.
We'll see additional Moves - we'll actually see the entire Pinfall from Grace game! - when that section of the manuscript goes out to backers next Monday, Sept 23rd!
Between now and then, we've got two more bits of the manuscript coming out for backers on Thursday and Saturday, along with one more example from our sample setting dealing with Storyguide Characters.
Remember, Pinfall from Grace, Body Slams from Hell is just our first example setting and game in the book to illustrate exactly how StoryPath was implemented and adjusted. We have plans to write two more, and as a backer you'll be able to vote on which ones you prefer.
For our Sci-Fi example, backers have chosen "An experimental space flight flings the player characters into a distant galaxy full of strange and alien sights."
For the final poll, you'll be voting on a Fantasy setting example. Your options:
A cozy fantasy game where explorers look for ingredients to help heal their sick dragon friend.
A war-torn world ripped apart by a devastating magic war, and a few surviving wizards try to prove who is the best among them.
A group of young heroes are blessed with magical armor and weapons in order to defeat an evil sorcerer queen seeking to destroy their land.
