So, I’ve been playing Torchbearer on Roll20. Two sessions in, so far - and after yesterday’s session the GM asked us what we thought about the system. Decided to write mine down. And here they are:
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Clear Intent
Torchbearer’s laser focus on party-based dungeon adventure is a good framework that lends easy direction. “Hey you’re all in this death trap to get treasure, stick together, work together!”
A plus in my book – especially when contrasted against Burning Wheel, which because of its open-ended nature can result in long stretches of single characters dealing with individually-relevant minutiae, while other players twiddle their thumbs. (In the campaign I was in, at least.)
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Co-op
The one-test-one-turn structure, plus the help mechanic, makes cooperative play implicit. Everybody can potentially be doing stuff to mechanically affect a test. I really like this!
Am contrasting this with stuff like D&D’s skill checks, where players might be counting on a Ranger making their survival roll, but nobody’s quite as invested because they are not actually participating.
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Failing Forward
The BWHQ (and PbTA) games are explicitly about making rolls have dramatic weight. No surprise that Torchbearer is good at this -
Like, really good, I’m finding? Guess I’m a sucker for that downward spiral of twists and conditions.
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Intra-party Drama
The Trait / Check interplay is clever. It encourages playing colourful, potentially abrasive characters without punishing the group as a whole.
A kender-fingered burglar might be exasperating in fiction, but a boon at the table, since her antics will be earning us Checks for camp. Lessens that “play true to my stick-in-the-mud paladin, or play along with the rest of the party?” binary.
(Also there’s the “WORK TOGETHER OR DIE” difficulty level.)
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Hard-mode Co-op
Man, what a punishing game. With the rules so adversarial, seems like a GM would have to embody Dungeon World’s be-a-fan-of-the-characters principle just for players to have a chance.
Which is nice! “Fair, but sympathetic” is a nice space for a GM to be in – in a way, the GM is also playing co-op with his players.
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Story-led, System-bound
Keeping Torchbearer ”fiction first” is tough when the rules gird everything, there are abstract concepts (Checks, Turns), and a zillion situational niggles to remember.
I like the crunch! Rewarding to learn, and watch work. But buy-in level is high, and the rules are tough to grok at a glance. Not sure whether I’ll be able to convince my meatspace group to try this out … 