Just started a game of BWG, a few questions!

Burning Wheel is the only game I have ever played that I would suggest (nay, command) that you do not houserule, but play EXACTLY as it appears in the book. This isn’t DnD, where there are intentional rule gaps that the DM has to fill. The game is complete, and really doesn’t need much else to run it, and certainly doesn’t need any changes.

I say this as a former DM-Player…

Yeah Spyders I’m a huge fan of 99% of the rules. I have a natural tendency to dislike things like the very long time taken to recover from mortal wounds, but I suppose it provides its own kind of drama and progression - I definitely think we’ll start by playing it completely vanilla.

On that note, if you are talking to some people, and one of your characters declares an intent to “draw my pistol and shoot this seated unprepared guy in the head while distracting him with my other hand”, how would you guys break that down mechanically? We did it as a conspicuous test followed by a pistol skill versus speed test, but I’m not sure if that was the right way to approach it!

Sounds like a Pistol versus test with Conspicuous FoRKed in.

Oh, I like that. I hadn’t thought of FoRKs like that, but I suppose the argument would be that using the other hand is making the quick unnoticed shot easier to achieve. OK, thanks!

Also hi to a fellow Luke. Do you have any thoughts about how to handle the GM wanting to play his own character?

Also Luke are there going to be supplements for BWG, or shall we just buy the BW original ones and modify them?

There are no supplements planned at this time.

The GM’s job is to provide adversity to the PCs. It’s not possible for him to provide adversity for himself.

The GM doesn’t need anyone to provide his adversity because, he’s not really playing a character, just a facsimile of one. And that’s the real point behind the question. The GMs isn’t keeping a “horse in the race.” He’s got a distracting shiny object. The race is run by challenging characters’ BITs.

Also, the GM can have a lot of character burning fun by statting out the relationship characters, who are supposed to get a full burn. Just make sure he does it in consultation with the relevant player(s).

It’s not at all uncommon in many BW games for there to be helpful or friendly NPCs around for the GM to play, if that is his concern.

Matt

Sure you can provide adversity for yourself! I did it all though my 20’s! Or maybe that was the booze… :slight_smile:

When you do get around to reprinting the supplements, you can combine the Magic Burner & the Monster Burner & call it Burning Supplement! I kid, but when the time comes combining (like BWG) might be a good idea, huh?

The GM should make fun NPC to play. There is no need for a GM to play his own ‘special’ character, when he can have so many supporting characters and villains.

It’s fun to GM Burning Wheel. And it’s very easy. So no PC to him.

If your stats increase such that the skills rooting off them are now below where the skill would now root, does the skill increase to the new root? And if a stat becomes grey, do the related skills also turn grey (assuming they are just rooting from it) or is it only skills learned after that point?

  1. No
  2. No. Well skills you already have don’t shade-shift, new skills open at whatever shade the root stat is at.

Implied 3 (if a stat goes up do skills being learned auto-learn if the tests vs. aptitude cross) yes.

That seems a bit peculiar, but OK. You end up in a situation where having got grey shade agility you now want to learn a new weapon to get a grey shade weapon skill! I suppose it’s more development.

It makes sense to me, otherwise grey-shading an ability would be massively more useful than grey-shading a skill. Like, almost game-breaking.

Gosh, I"m SO glad that grey-shading the stat doesn’t gray-shade all the skills that originally depended on it. The Adventure Burner talks about grey-shading as something that majorly changes the game, and that’s assuming you just shade-shift one ability, nevermind a bunch.

Just a little rant that occured in my head.

Shade shifting some skills isn’t a huge deal (I mean, it’s awesome to shade shift cobbling, but it’s not really game changing), shade shifting others (sword for instance) is massive because you are now simply better at sword things than other people. Plus the knock-on bonuses like +2 free successes in some tests.

And let’s not talk about shade shifting Will or Sorcery or Persuasion…

Yeah I can dig it. I would probably make it so that the skill didn’t even root at grey, maybe. I was just thinking that it was a bit weird from a consistency point of view!

Actually, shade-shifting cobbling would be amazing. Having grey-shade shoes is a big deal. I mean, if you get spanked with a slipper that’s grey-shaded, it must be doing like, G2 wounds. That’s more than enough to lay trolls to rest :p.

Alas, having a grey-shade skill doesn’t automatically let you produce grey-shade equipment.

Having seen a PC with Grey Crossbow in play, I have to say a Grey missile weapon skill is horrifyingly effective when DRM modifiers to the DoF stack up, near every shot serious.