[RPG]: Dogs in the Vineyard, reviewed by Frank Sronce (4/4)

http://www.rpg.net/reviews/archive/10/10742.phtml

Frank Sronce's Summary:

A novel rules-light game of justice and action in an old west that never was.

Go to the full review for more information.

Post originally by Dan Davenport at 2004-10-15 07:44:06
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Great job, Frank! Your examples really helped the system make sense to me.

One thing you didn't mention, though: what sorts of powers do the possessed have?

--
Dan Davenport

Post originally by David Laurence at 2004-10-15 15:47:03
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"Canonically,' none, really. The basic demons as described in the rulebook don't even really possess people - they act entirely by causing bad things (famine, fighting, infertility) to the town. In fact (IIRC) all bad things that happen to a Faithful town are explicitly due to demonic influence.

That being said, there's lots of room for sliding the "supernatural scale" to wherever you want it. Since the resolution system is so open-ended, you could describe your Calls and Raises as anything you wanted to - you're really kept in check only by "genre conventions," whatever you and your group decide they might be.

So as the GM, if you want possessed people, you just describe their Raise like "he shoots bolts of darkness from his hands, knocking you to the ground," rather than "he picks up a shovel and whacks you with it, knocking you to the ground."

Post originally by Albert at 2004-10-16 14:37:57
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A couple of nits:

Group conflict means _each_ PC has to reply to _every_ Raise of the opponents. And a mob of NPCs can have enough dice to wear down a squad of Dogs.

Also, possession means that the demons can boost the dice of the possessed.

-Albert

Post originally by Brand_Robins at 2004-10-16 22:54:37
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Demons can possess people, and sorcerers can gain power from demons. Some of the powers listed include: Cunning, Ferocity, Preservation, and Viciousness.

Having these abilities basically lets you apply your relationship to the demon and/or the demonic influence of the town to any contest where the power would be relevant.

This can be nasty.

Post originally by David Laurence at 2004-10-17 00:05:34
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That's what I get for replying without having read the book in two or three weeks.

Post originally by Frank Sronce at 2004-10-17 09:42:47
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That's okay, I couldn't remember either, so other folks answered before I could find it in the book.

[IMAGinES]

Originally Posted by RPGnet Reviews

Group conflict means _each_ PC has to reply to _every_ Raise of the opponents. And a mob of NPCs can have enough dice to wear down a squad of Dogs.

Not quite. In a group conflict, the instigator of any given Raise gets to nominate which characters the Raise effects. While this may be the whole group, it can just as easily be one PC, and given Dogs' rules on kibbitzing and group management, Raises that hit the whole group "just because" or are otherwise unacceptable to the whole group can be discussed and brought down.

Also, a mob, for stat purposes, gets treated as a single NPC (usually the named head agitator of the mob, but the mob can just as easlily be entirely nameless NPCs) with bonus dice.