Hi all! I thought I'd make a post with important information for players to peruse in order to understand what Torchbearer is and improve in their play. If people have more tips or wish to discuss, please do so in the General Discussion thread - this one will be kept closed so it only contains educational material. I. Introduction 1. I've only played D&D. What is Torchbearer? Welcome! Torchbearer is a modified version of the Burning Wheel game, which is also a parent of Mouse Guard RPG. If you enjoy watching streams you can search any of the three to get a better idea of the game - Adam Koebel, an official Roll20 GM, has streamed both Mouse Guard and Burning Wheel. Probably the first thing you ought to know is that Torchbearer is quite different from Dungeons & Dragons in the way it's played. Though they're both adventure fantasy dungeon-crawler games, the rules systems of the two are focused on rather different aspects. While D&D dedicates most of its rules to combat and spellcasting, Torchbearer concerns itself more with survival, resource management, and roleplay. While you level up and advance in D&D by killing monsters, in Torchbearer you level up by roleplaying your character well and advance in skills through practice - both success and failure. D&D is about becoming a glorious hero and earning wealth, while Torchbearer is about venturing into the dark places of the world for treasure to keep yourself off the brink of poverty and death. While being a hero in D&D is presupposed, in Torchbearer becoming a hero takes a lot of work. Rather, you are an adventurer. Some of the very first words in the book are: Adventurer is a dirty word. You’re a scoundrel, a villain, a wastrel, a vagabond, a criminal, a sword-for-hire, a cutthroat. [...] There’s naught for you but to make your own way. There’s a certain freedom to it, but it’s a hard life. Cash flows out of your hands as easily as the blood from your wounds. But at least it’s your life. And if you’re lucky, smart and stubborn, you might come out on top. There’s a lot of lost loot out there for the finding. And salvage law is mercifully generous. You find it, it’s yours to spend, sell or keep. Torchbearer can best be compared to the 'classic' editions of D&D, where treasure was the goal, death was nearly certain, and adventurers shied from the trappings of civilization to delve into forbidden places. You are the scum of the earth, embrace your role and you may yet flourish. Welcome to Torchbearer. II. Basic Play 1. What's the most important thing I can do to succeed in Torchbearer? Honestly, if you want to succeed? Make good choices. A reckless character with a wise player behind them can make calculated risks and come out on top. A wise character with a reckless player behind them will bite off more than they can chew and choke to death on it. How do you make good choices? Experience. How do you gain experience? Make bad choices. If you're new to the game, take risks! It's how you'll learn what your limits are and how to pick when it's worth making gambles. Don't be afraid of your first character dying: learning what can get you killed is a very important part of the initial learning process, and most of the rewards you earn from your first character will carry over to your next one. 2. Well that wasn't very helpful. What's next on the list? I'm glad you asked. After simply making good choices, this next point is the real key to success for the entire game: describe to live . Description is the way we interact with the game environment and bring it to life, but it's also vital to your survival! The GM is only responsible for conveying a rough outline of the world to you - what you see on first glance. It's up to you to investigate and explore it. Describing actions in an effective manner and investigating details are central to developing a scene and getting the most out of it. Ask Questions For instance, if I tell you, "the passage opens out into the wall of a chasm that blocks the way, and roaring down one side of it is the deafening thunder of a waterfall. At the edge of your torchlight you can make out the other side, and a damaged rope bridge is strung across. The air is thick with mist, and dim starlight shines down on you from the open sky above." Certainly, you could try crossing the rope bridge without a second thought, but there's a bunch of questions that you could ask right off to make life easier for yourself: how is the bridge damaged? How deep is the chasm? How near is the waterfall? What lies at the top of the chasm? Approaching the scene with questions of your own to elaborate upon it gives you a more complete picture and opens more avenues than if you simply assumed the only way was forward. Describe Actions Likewise, the description of your actions also plays a key role. Never say, "I'll use my ______ skill/wise/trait." Bring the action you're trying to carry out to life - we're not here simply to roll dice. If you're trying to scout ahead, an effective strategy may be, "I lead the way, cautious of any dangers that may lie ahead of us. My eyes will search about on the rock of the passage for suspicious abnormalities as I use my ten foot pole to gently search the ground ahead for pressure plates and tripwires. I tell Beronin to stop breathing so loud, or simply back up, so I can keep my ears peeled for creatures that may lie in ambush." This is a much better formula for success than saying, "I want to test scout." We know you want to test scout; the important thing is how you're scouting. III. Advanced Play 1. I've played a few sessions, but my character is really struggling. I always come up just short when it matters. How can I up my game? Fate and Persona points can be the difference between gloriously defeating your foes and walking out of a dungeon flush with wealth, or bleeding to death lost and forgotten at the bottom of a pit. These points, together called Rewards , are given out for effectively and dramatically portraying your character as you intend them to be played. In other words, they are earned when you manage to play the Beliefs, Goals, and Instincts that you have written for your character, as well as making important contributions to the group's success. For ease of reference I will refer to Beliefs, Goals, and Instincts collectively as Statements (capitalized). Really try to throw your Statements at it with everything you've got. With every session is a new opportunity to reassess what Goals your character wants to pursue, what Beliefs can best express their behavior and motivations, and what Instincts might best serve their team. Will you keep the Statements that aren't earning you rewards in the hope that you'll better express them next time, or will you change them to things that relate better to what your character is experiencing? Try to play your Statements to the point where the GM doesn't even have to question you, to the point where they can just say, "yes, well done, Fate point for that one" - and if you can't, branch out with your character and see what other aspects of them might be able to shine through new Statements! Try to make engaging and unique Statements that can motivate your character to do the things that most interest you. (WIP) Beliefs Goals Instincts Opportunities Making Choices I do like this idea of throwing you a bone, but I also like the idea of being prompted with the right questions. Instead of asking, "does it look like this tunnel is going down," you could certainly have asked a question worded around your belief, goal, or instinct (hint to the others) such as, "does this tunnel seem to be moving away from that chamber with the tinking? Nyx is hoping this might lead back there!" I probably would have given a vague answer suggesting not, and said, "but if you want to be more certain about your bearings in relation to that place you should probably take some time to consider the path and your surroundings." You're on the right track with that, and if I were a more forgiving GM I probably would have reiterated what I said while everyone was debating which way to go: "The doors and rope bridge provide an obvious and direct path to your goal. This tunnel... who knows?" In the end I think it's the responsibility of the player to be inquiring about their goal and looking for their own ways to find clues and track where they are in relation to it. You were on a good track, but you let Kemba dissuade you away from pursuing your goal. An inconvenient test that wastes the party's time to help you toward your goal is a choice that you have to make if you want to achieve it sometimes. 2. I get lots of rewards every week, but I always run out of them the next week! Surely there are other ways to improve my chances of success? Why, yes, my good adventurer, there are a few more things you can do to scrape up those dice you so desperately need and the successes you yearn for. There are four more areas in which you may yet seek improvement: Help, Traits, Wises, and Good Ideas. Help By and large, I think one of the biggest hurdles players have in Torchbearer is describing help that will actually give dice. Help dice can make a huge difference in determining odds of success, so learning how to take advantage of them is important. Try to think in terms of: A) what the goal of the test is, B) what skill is being called on and C) what the lead character is doing. Let's use an example from play. Nyx decided to press forward, keeping his eyes on the ground and trying to be alert. I called on him to test Scout - but did not say why - and Ander offered to help by "describing the quality of the stone in intimate detail." This is a good example of doing something that's almost helpful that ends up being counterproductive. Think of it this way: we know Nyx is testing Scout, so that means there's probably some trap, monster, or hidden thing about. Nyx is trying to keep an eye and an ear out, looking at the floor especially. Any form of searching, listening, or using other senses and skills to observe the surroundings could be helpful. Closely examining the stonework might indeed be helpful. Droning on about the details of the rock and potentially drowning out the angry squeals of killer rats up ahead? Not helpful. In things with more clear goals, paths to helpfulness are much more clear. The other party members are trying to haul a bath tub made of solid bronze out of the dungeon, but you don't have laborer. Hmm. What might help them accomplish their goal of hauling this big, bulky object? Well let's see, you do have carpenter! Why not throw together a crude pulley or sleigh to help your teammates out? In fact, such a Good Idea might significantly mitigate the difficulty of the task! Just because you can come up with something peripheral to the situation does not mean it helps the other achieve the goal of the test. Be creative, be realistic, just don't be obscure. Simply think about how you would tackle the situation yourself in real life to come up with good, useful help. A lot of my players who don't have a skill that's being tested say, "nope, I can't help." There's lots of ways to help! As a GM I listen for something that simply sounds like it would be helpful, tie it to a skill/wise/nature descriptor, and ask them if they have it. The only things that are guaranteed not to be helpful are saying, "I help with my ______ skill" or "nope, I can't help." If you want to help, describe how your character tries to help! Traits [WIP: explaining traits] One trait that players often have difficulty playing in an interesting manner is 'Loner.' Loner doesn't just mean you work well on your own, it means your character seeks out solitude and has qualities that alienate them from others. Instead of saying, "I go off to a corner away from the others to work on my ritual in solitude," a more colorful and immersive option for building on the trait would be, "these fools would not understand the dark powers with which I deal, it would corrupt their weak hearts! They cast their judging glances at me as I step away to perform my magics, but their fear and suspicion only fuels my resolve. Power pushes mortals to great heights, and it is lonely at the top, but I chose to walk this path alone long ago." See how a few sentences can really breathe life into a description? That's what traits are all about. A few meaty sentences can really showcase your character to the table, guarantee that the GM will allow its use, earn you embodiment rewards at the end of the session, and in the long term, memorably playing your traits will not only protect them from the party voting them off your character sheet come Winter, but reinforce them and encourage the others to advance them to higher ranks. It's also just way more fun for everyone when traits are played well, and produces moments that everyone will enjoy referring back to. [WIP: using traits against] (WIP) Traits: - Kemba's use of unwavering was at a borderline where I think a lot of people have been confused about traits, and it's come up in prior sessions especially with the cunning trait. Using a trait against yourself does not mean your character is demonstrating the lack of that trait. Rather, it means your character holds so tightly to that trait that it works against them in some situations. I think Simon had the right idea about what was happening (Kemba's unwavering personality was being challenged by his body), but it's a red flag to say, "so basically my character is being the opposite of their trait." Better ways of expressing such things in that situation might have been, "Kemba is unwavering, but his body is failing him. He tries to stand against the onslaught of the bats, but his exhausted body simply doesn't put up the kind of resistance Kemba has grown to rely on." (I recall you describing it similarly last session, Simon, but I understand you can't always find the right words in English. That's perfectly alright. I'm just using this as a teaching tool.) Alternately, "Kemba is unwavering, and it is not like him to flee from adversity! He takes pause, choosing instead to show resolve and hang back to cover the others' escape. It's a dangerous decision that will certainly work against him, especially since he's so weak right now!" - To elaborate, many of us have the cunning trait for some reason, and more than a few times it's been negatively used by saying, "I come up with a reallly stupid plan." Don't say that. Instead, try something like, "Marfose attempts a cunning plan, but fails to anticipate W, underestimates X, arrogantly overlooks Y, or his plan falls flat because Z." e.g. "Marfose attempts to cunningly dupe these gnolls, but wholly underestimates their own keen intuition. He makes his promises with his axe behind his back, but it only gives the gnolls time to lay hands on their own weapons. A good plan, but they've seen through it. If only he'd tried leaping on them while they were still unprepared instead of trying to be so cunning. Hopefully his sugared words are enough to keep this gaffe from landing everyone in a bloodbath." Wises: Your wise can come up more often than you think. Just like you should be thinking about your B/G/Is at all times, be thinking about your wises as well. Might your wise provide you with knowledge that can be helpful in this situation? Be creative, don't be afraid to offer an idea that can get shot down. Just don't ask, "does my wise apply here?" Instead ask, "I'm mine-wise. Mining deep in the earth, it's important to maintain safe tunnels and always know where you're going. Nyxaelfen is trying to discern whether this passage has led us up or down, and whether that strange chemical smell is safe. Surely my time spent in the mines of Efenel have given me indispensable experience in this matter." To this end, I have started making 'wise loresheets' for everyone. Basically, they contain basic information relating to your wise that can spark ideas for how and when they can be effectively used. Check for them in the 'wise loresheets' folder of your journal, beneath the character folders.
