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Old 08-17-2006, 01:29 PM
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Warren Warren is offline
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Location: Leeds, England
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Re: [RPG]: Dogs in the Vineyard, reviewed by C.W.Richeson (3/4)

Quote:
Originally Posted by C.W.Richeson View Post
It can run a lot of stuff, but an escalation to violence needs to be a reasonable choice in a lot of circumstances. If the characters are playing moralistic enforcers of good with no real supervising element then Dogs will do a great job.
I agree totally, but bear in mind that it is possible to redefine the Escalation levels to reflect what kind of attack has the most... "thematic weight" (urk!) behind it. I think I've explained that really badly, so let me give a couple of examples to show you what I mean.

In the supernatural horror variant Afraid, you fight normally (with whatever weapon) and escalate to "Murderous Intent".

Jedi: You don't escalate to "Gunfighting", you escalate to "Lightsabres". Shooting a blaster at someone is just good old fighting.

High Fantasy: You don't escalate to "Gunfighting", you escalate to "Magic".

Superheroes: You don't escalate to "Gunfighting", you escalate to "Superpowers".

Totalitarian Regime: You don't escalate to "Gunfighting", you escalate to "Beaurcracy" (Because in a totalitarian society, guns don't kill people. What kills people is the little check mark in their file that sends them away forever: "If you continue to avoid my questions, I will have to put you on report." What saves them is a shield of properly filled-out paper: "But I have this letter of authorization...." Pull out your documents and watch the man with gun turn pale.)
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