Burning Sands - A Game About Stories

Art by Jorge Jacinto

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A Game About Stories

Without question, I play games for the story. 

My favorite video games, TTRPGs, and even board games all contain these beautiful, unpredictable stories that leave me with feelings about the events that transpired while we were having fun.

And the trouble I've run into lately with writing RPGs is that my systems tend to consist of different mechanics to tell the same type of stories: stories about monster-hunters and treasure-delvers who risk life and limb for gold and glory. 

Sometimes the stories stretch beyond those simple bounds, of course, but they usually do this on their own, not because the rules actively encouraged them to do so.

Saving children doesn't make you a better Barbarian. There are few game mechanics that actually encourage you to save the orphanage or pursue whatever else it is your character believes in.

5e has its oft-forgotten "Inspiration", but it falls flat when put to the test. It is the GM's duty to remember when to hand it out (on top of too many other duties), and players can pass it around the table whenever necessary. 

Arnold Kemp's Convictions are a nice step up. Each character gets two convictions, and when they take a less-than-optimal action in line with one of their convictions, that conviction gets "charged". You may spend a conviction's charge to get +10 to a roll later. I like that. It bolts onto most games well, puts the ball in the player's court, and is generally useful. Arnold originally said that conviction charges can only be spent on actions in line with their conviction, but I think they should be useful for anything, because saving children should make you a better Barbarian.

But it's still a mechanic to bolt onto a game about exploring dungeons and fighting monsters.

What if I want an engine that will tell stories with a bit more variety?

Burning Wheel - A Beautiful, Unwieldly Beast

I like Burning Wheel. A lot, actually. It strives to be something else, a story-engine for all sorts of tales, and from those who have survived reading the text and the process of "burning" a character, it seems to prove to be just that.

My Saturday-night players will never read it. 

They have jobs, kids, and shows to catch up on. They like gaming, but they're not here to learn new rules every few weeks. (They've told me so emphatically.)

So, naturally, I hacked it to pieces.

Burning Sands - A Minimalist Interpretation

This game is 1 Page Long. If you've got 5 minutes, or maybe 10, you can have a character ready to go. It is based on the free PDF "Hub and Spokes" from Burning Wheel, with a few simplifications and modifications.

The basic gameplay loop consists of the Referee presenting the PCs with difficult choices based on their beliefs, and rolling dice to see if a character's plans turn out how they hope. It uses a familiar 4 abilities, a simple skill-system, and a d6 dice-pool mechanic that can be messed with using a meta-currency. 

After the page of rules, there is a Setting Page from which the game gets its name. Iziir is a land of Badlander Dust-Magi, desperate Sell-Swords, and plotting Highborn inspired by classic tales of Swords and Sandals.

So far I've played a solo-game in which my Badlander failed to deliver medicine to his ailing child (I'm still not over it), and a one-on-one game about a foreign sell-sword seeking vengeance and a good meal.

It works, and I might just be able to convince folks to play it with me.

Let me know what you think of the rules, and if you've got other story-game recommendations!