BW Intro

[luke]

If you had to describe BW to a casual web user in three paragraphs or less, how would you do it? Images permissible, video is not.

-L

[Fuseboy]

Can we assume they're familiar with role-playing? (i.e. is this for an online store description?)

[Z-Dog]

Fight for What You Believe!

Burning Wheel is a fantasy roleplaying game that focuses the spotlight on the characters, creating intense, PC driven games where characters are challenged and changed by the obstacles placed before them by the GM. Burning Wheel enables GMs to easily create situations pregnant with conflict and strife tied into the beliefs of the PCs. Martial conflict is brutal, uncertain, and dangerous. Engage in searing duels of wits with opponents, potentially changing yourself, others and the story at hand.

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Crap. I've got more to say but this is damn hard.

Remember what was on the back of BE? Something about "pass through the fire" and "you will be changed?" That SOLD me. Never had an RPG make that claim before. So I'd shoot for something like that.

[luke]

Let's assume that the user has played one or two traditional RPGs at best, has heard of RPGs at worst.

[Berandor]

If Burning Wheel was a movie, its trailers would contain the following quotes and taglines

"This time it's personal!" Burning Wheel is about playing what you are interested in. It's about tying your character to the world. You're not Joe Adventurer looking for treasure, you're a revolutionary trying to fund an uprising, you're a daughter searching for her parents, you're the king's man fighting a secret cult. Whatever you want, that's what the game is about. There are no pre-made adventures shoehorning you into the plot, and there are no setting books full of information you will either never use or are loathe to disregard. With Burning Wheel, you make your own fun.

"Did you really think it would be so easy?" Burning Wheel may be about giving you what you want, but that doesn't mean you get it wrapped as a nice little present with a bow on top. You have to fight for what you believe, whether you believe in revolution, in finding your parents or in the king's justice. There are challenges in your way. It may look easy, but in Burning Wheel, failure breeds complications, and sooner or later, you will fail. But failure doesn't end the story, it drives it forward, only in a new direction, with new challenges. You can still get what you want – if you fight hard enough.

"How far are you willing to go?" Burning Wheel is about asking the hard questions, making the tough choices. Will you start a revolution if it means you'll end up on the guillotine? Will you find your parents if it means betraying your friends? Will you take off your badge and quit the job if it's the only way to get to the cult? Will you? Burning Wheel is a trial by fire, and whatever you decide to do, the world of Burning Wheel will be different for it. You decide, and you reap the rewards –*but you also suffer the consequences. There is no easy alignment system in Burning Wheel. All there is are your beliefs, the mandate to fight for them, and the question: "How far are you willing to go?" The answer lies within these books.

[Berandor]

Damn, I think I should have used three recent movies as examples. I had the scene in mind from cop movies where the hero "quits", but with a little time, I would probably be able to come up with three moments from recent film history.

"You are a disabled marine charged to spy on the natives on a foreign planet, you are a high school girl secretly playing roller derby, you are a caped crusader fighting the crime in your city."

"You believe in the military, you believe in making your own choices, you believe in law and order."

"Will you betray the natives even if it means destroying their sacred sites / you will never get to walk again? Will you play the final game even if it means destroying the relationship to your mother? Will you keep the city safe even it if means being hunted as a criminal yourself?"

[luke]

Interesting. So you guys wouldn't include any system mechanics description? Just a blurb?

[Fuseboy]

Withing venturing into wordsmithing, what really stands out for me is:


BW games can incorporate creative input from all participants - four 'usually the GM' players can play this game without feeling like only one person has the reins.
Even so, it's not so loose and hippy ("what should happen next, gang?") that you lose the sense of striving.
Duel of wits - a fun mechanism that not only short-circuits tiresome arguments, but enables meaningful, no-holds barred social conflict and makes dialogue central to the story. A political game with four non-combatant monks trying to save their monastery from dissolution can be just as satisfying (and crunchy) as a dungeon crawl.
Characters' emotional evolution is a major component of the game; characters triumph against adversity, snap under pressure, convert religions, martyr themselves for their beliefs, shamefully compromise their scruples, etc.
Character growth is intertwined with the narrative (this is a huge difference from D&D); characters quickly take on a richness far beyond their gear or their abilities.

[Berandor]

I wouldn't, not in three paragraphs. I'd rather try and get people hooked, maybe link to a review somewhere for the mechanics. I mean, you could illustrate it Fallout-Style with motivational posters: "Need a friend? Try a Circles test!" or "Remember: Always script three actions in advance when having an argument!" or "One success short? Have a little Fate and explode the 6."

[Fuseboy]

Ah, yes that's a major oversight. I'd mention that you can use a simple one-roll mechanic for tests, or you can use optional extended conflict rules for ranged combat and gritty, blow-by-blow melee. I'd also slip in that these are designed to work verbally, rather than with a battle map.

[Berandor]

To rpg "newbies"?

But maybe you're right.

[pseudoidiot]

I mean, you could illustrate it Fallout-Style with motivational posters: "Need a friend? Try a Circles test!" or "Remember: Always script three actions in advance when having an argument!" or "One success short? Have a little Fate and explode the 6."That's awesome.

[Z-Dog]

Forget what I wrote. Patrick, you sold me again.

[xenomouse]

I usually first explain the failure and let it ride mechanics using the ubiquitous lock-picking example. If they're still interested, I know it's safe to start discussing BITs and artha.

[brehaut]

I would lean towards a couple of blurbs, plus and perhaps a quick overview of what sorts of things the subsystems cover without detailing the mechanics. Something like

Burning wheel provides mechanics to support Player Goals, Interesting Failure, In-Play NPC discovery, Social Conflict, Strategic Martial Combat, Long term character growth and change.

Obviously do a better job than that - i suck at words - but hit the key features that back up the blurbs. Given that many of us (myself included) have managed to grab the wrong end of the stick on some system or other despite having the books, id be worried that to much abbreviated crunch in the elevator pitch could be confusing or damaging.

[gooderguy]

To riff of Berandor's suggestions, among others. I like the idea of a 'motivational blurb' with some hints at mechanics. too much mechanical detail usually makes my eyes glaze over. keep it subtle and ramp up the excitement.

There are with consequences to every action, ramifications to every decision. How far are you willing to go? Burning Wheel is trial by fire. It’s about asking the hard questions, making the tough choices. Will you let your failure overcome you, or will you sacrifice that which you cherish to persevere and fight for what you believe in?

In Burning Wheel, the players drive the story by testing their character’s abilities. It can be resolved in a single roll, or decided in an extended conflict, social or martial. The GM doles out the consequences for failure. You want to find a friend - make a circles test. If you fail he hates you. You want to get some gear - make a resources test. If you fail you’re broke. You want to convince your enemy to let your friends go - engage him in a duel of wits. Plan your argument well, because if you fail, he’ll get the best of you. You want that bastard dead? Escalate to a Fight! Take him out in a blow-by-blow melee. Don’t fail this time, though, because it might be your last. You the player decide how far to take it. You reap the rewards but you also suffer the consequences.

In Burning Wheel, the consequences for failure are often more interesting than the rewards of success. The story told is about the path of fire that gets you to your goals. There are many ways to achieve them, each fraught with their own perils. Whether the game is political, military, or a classic sword and sorcery adventure, you decide. You write your own Beliefs about what you want and Instincts that describe how you react. You advance your Skills to help you get there and you earn Traits that describe how you come out on the other side. One way or another, when you play Burning Wheel, you’re playing with fire.

[Rafe]

I like your blurb overall, gooderguy, but I think your examples are too "succeed/not-succeed." For the Resources one, for instance, say not that you're broke, but your rival comes forward with the offer of a loan and a suppressed smile. That woodsman you were trying to Circle up? Thieves have been around lately, so he's shooting first and asking questions later. In the DoW example, plan well or he may force you to take the place of your friends in exchange for their freedom (compromise)!

Also, I wouldn't say failure is more interesting, only that failure never leads to a full stop or dead end... unless it's a dead-end alley with the NPC result of your failed Circles test lying in wait...

Oh, and generally speaking, in terms of the write-up Luke's asking about, I'd say something about failure consequences not being determined based on the ability being rolled, but based on what the player was trying to accomplish. That's a huge factor in BW being different. In D&D, you fail a Climb roll, you can't Climb. In BW, why were you trying to Climb and what were you really aiming for? That's what the failure consequence should be tied to.

[Thor]

My thoughts on BW talking points:

* Fight for what you believe
* Organic character growth based on your actions
* Intent and task (high level, not too nitty gritty)
* Rules that support and guide the action rather than fading into the background
* Thrilling tactical combat that challenges the ability of the players
* Rules that make social conflict as thrilling and uncertain as physical conflict

[gooderguy]

with rafe's excellent suggestions

There are with consequences to every action, ramifications to every decision. How far are you willing to go? Burning Wheel is trial by fire. It’s about asking the hard questions, making the tough choices. Will you let your failure overcome you, or will you sacrifice that which you cherish to persevere and fight for what you believe in?

In Burning Wheel, the players drive the story by testing their character’s abilities. It can be resolved in a single roll, or decided in an extended conflict, social or martial. The GM doles out the consequences for failure based on what the player was trying to accomplish. You want to find a woodsman to guide you through the forest - make a circles test. If you fail he's suspicious of thieves so he's shooting first and asking questions later. You want to get some gear - make a resources test. If you fail you can't afford it but your rival comes forward with the offer of a loan and a suppressed smirk. You want to convince your enemy to let your friends go - engage him in a duel of wits. Plan your argument well, because if you fail, he might just convince you to take the place of your friends in exchange for their freedom. You want that bastard dead? Escalate to a Fight! Take him out in a blow-by-blow melee. Don’t fail this time, though, because it might be your last. You the player decide how far to take it. You reap the rewards but you also suffer the consequences.

In Burning Wheel, the consequences for failure always lead to the next conflict. There are no dead-ends in Burning Wheel, unless it's a dead-end alley with your enemies lying in wait after you failed to pay-off that loan. The story told is about the path of fire that gets you to your goals. There are many ways to achieve them, each fraught with their own perils. Whether the game is political, military, or a classic sword and sorcery adventure, you decide. You write your own Beliefs about what you want and Instincts that describe how you react. You advance your Skills to help you get there and you earn Traits that describe how you come out on the other side. One way or another, when you play Burning Wheel, you’re playing with fire.

[Z-Dog]

How about three pages hypelinked?

Page one: Movie Poster flavor description "Fight for What you Believe!", you click on it and you get:

Page two: explain of mechanic, with a link to:

Page three: example in play


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Cause if I only knew a couple of RPGs and I saw an example of a Wise, it'd blow my mind.

[luke]

Thanks for your help. I used what you came up with for our About page on new front end.

[Paul B]

On the About page, each time you mention a game you really ought to link to something else about those games. IOW you say Mouse Guard, by golly link to your Mouse Guard information. And so on.

[luke]

I completely agree. I'll go through and link stuff and put up pictures.

[Berandor]

Well, that text is excellent.

[Fuseboy]

I say make the forum a top-tier link. The forum is what sold me on BW, truly. The rules questions give you a sense of what makes the game different, because they're what people have the most questions about. The actual play reports rock, etc. etc.