Turnsheets

Between sessions, you submit a turnsheet in which you describe what your character is up to in the intervening six months. To do this, you have 8 Action Points (AP) to allocate on as many actions as you wish (there is a minimum of 1 AP per action). These are representative of the amount of time and effort you expend on the task. Thus a 1 AP action would be a minor thing taking a few weeks, or very little effort, whereas a 4 AP action would take three months or be a significant effort.

The Risky/Cautious Mechanic

Some people like the risk of losing. Others don't. In Broken World, you can tailor your turnsheets to take this into account. For each of your actions that have some sort of penalty for failure, you must state whether you are being risky or cautious.

Risky - You're willing to make sacrifices, or put things at risk in order to succeed. You or your clansmen could well end up dead depending on what you are doing. You are more likely to succeed if being risky, but failure will be worse for you.

Cautious - We'll go easy on you. Your character would rather fail at the task than risk their neck, so cut their losses and halt the action. Unless someone is actively gunning for you, you are very unlikely to die or lose resources on a cautious action.

By default, all actions are cautious. Of course, if you can fulfill the objective with ease, the effect is the same no matter whether you are being risky or cautious.

This makes the difference when there is a chance that your character will fail in what they do. If they are being risky, they will press on regardless and hope it turns out well, which involves an element of chance. If they are being cautious, they escape unharmed but without achieving the objective. Thus you make the choice between greater chance of achieving the objective or greater chance of safety.

Types of Actions

There are many different kinds of actions you could perform in a turnsheet. For each you assign AP, write a description, and list any traits/skills/useful things you think would provide you with an edge in this example (and if possible, tell us what level of edge you think they are).

Use a skill

The most basic, this is simply doing something you're good at. Examples:

Raid neighbouring fragment (Risky, 3AP) - I jump across, strike down anyone in my way, pick up whatever food and valuables I can find and run back with my booty. I decide to go in recklessly; after all, what could possibly go wrong? Relevant things: Fighting 3 (Major Edge), Axe of Smiting (2Pt heirloom, Significant Edge)

Get control of the ore mine (Cautious, 2AP) - I try to convince the (NPC) owner of the Acid Ore mine near me to give me some share in it. In exchange I offer the help of my family as labourers. I decide to back out of negations if it looks like I'm offending him. Relevant things: Charisma 2 (Significant edge), Family influence 2 (Significant Edge)

Use Research Skills

You make, develop or research something using Technology, Natural Studies or Architecture. To do this you spend enough AP to get the number of build points the thing takes to make/develop, or less if you're feeling lucky or don't mind it working so well. Examples:

Brew Slowing Potion (3AP → 6BP) - I develop a poison that will slow someone's reflexes. Relevant things: Natural Studies 2

Fortify my Settlement (6AP → 6BP) - I build walls all around my clan's settlement, to keep out intruders. Relevant things: Architecture 1

Cast Rituals

If you have magic, you might want to cast one of the rituals you know of. To do this, you get together whatever requirements the ritual needs, rope in as much help as you can get, and cast the ritual. For Examples, I will be using the most secret magic of Custardmancy.

Custard fountain (Risky, 4AP) - Using my Ancient Sultana (Significant Edge) and two of my scoops of custard powder (Minor edge each), cast the custard fountain ritual, causing a geyser of scalding hot deliciousness to erupt under the camp of Eric the Delectable on the other side of the fragment. Get the help of a couple of family members in drawing the necessary glyphs and chanting at appropriate moments. The ritual may be more difficult than I thought; in that case I'll press on ignoring the possibility of myself being the receiver of scalding custardy death. Relevant Things: Custardmancy 2, Family Influence 2.

Sense Pudding (2AP) - By sitting and meditating, try and look for any puddings in the nearby area, and hence locate Suvik the Sweet-Toothed's armies. Use one carton of Ambrosia (Major Edge). Relevant Things: Custardmancy 3

Train

You get better at doing something. This can take the form of reading in your library, fighting hoodlums in a bar brawl, or working with a superior painter to learn some brushwork. Each training action you perform gets you 1 TP towards that skill. Examples:

Learn more about badgers (2AP) - I spend some time in my library reading up on attack badgers and trying to learn some more about them. Training action for Natural Studies.

Go to market (4AP) - I go to the market and try to flog my wares at the best price I can get. While there, I practice haggling people down when buying goods. On-the-job training action for Charisma

Level Up

You can spend TP to gain a skill rank, or specialization. You can also trade in specializations to gain a skill rank. It costs 0 AP to level up, provided you have the TP or Specializations. For ease of administration, this Must be declared in your turnsheet. We will not accept level up requests via email.

Levelling up happens at the start of your turn, so if you may use your new ranks and specializations for all actions that turn. You may not level up using TP gained on the same turn as the level up request.

Level up Fighting to rank 3 - I would like to spend my 6 Fighting TP and trade in my 'Tunnel Warfare' specialization to level up Fighting.

Level up Artistry with a Specialization - I would like to spend 2 Artistry TP to gain the 'Inciting Riots' specialization. This should help me produce artwork that creates violent conflict.

Housekeeping

Some actions are so minor that they require no AP to perform. These actions include giving other players permission to use your stuff, sending messages to NPCs, or actions undertaking for flavor purposes only. Please put these at the bottom of your turnsheet. Note that the spontaneous combustion trait is available for players who push what they can get away with in housekeeping too much. If it takes more than 50 words to describe the action, its probably not a housekeeping action.

Housekeeping - Allow Lucas Giorge to examine the strange rock formation in my mine.

Housekeeping - Inform the Mundy family that Lucas Giorge is gathering an army unlike anything the world has ever seen.

Housekeeping - Climb to the top of the tallest hill on our fragment and scatter the ashes of my dear husband, Lucas Giorge.

For Experienced People

  • 8AP in total.
  • Downtime is 6 months (180 days) between sessions
  • Deadline is Friday midnight.
  • Turnsheet response will be short indicators of success or failure; there will be more detailed briefings in session. Group Actions will get a bit more of a write-up.
  • When writing an action with a penalty for faliure, decide whether to be risky or cautious. This decides whether you press on and accept the consequences, or cut your losses and give up on that action for now.
  • For each action, write down what edges you can bring to bear on the action, and what level they are.
  • To better skills, you need training points. You can get one of these to put towards the next level of the skill by doing a 2AP training action, or appending 1AP to an action appropriate for the skill.
game1/turnsheeting.txt · Last modified: 2008/03/28 13:21 by gm_rich