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 Downfall is a rules-lite world building/improv games in which 3 players create a world and then play through the events that lead to its destruction. The first step of the game is creating the world itself (known as the Haven). The Haven has one overriding characteristic, called the Flaw: the Flaw is both the principle that lead to the creation of the Haven and also its downfall. The players will first define the characteristic of the worlds, then create 6 traditions that explain how the Flaw manifests itself within the Haven. Once the world-building has been completed, the players then create three characters: The Hero, who struggles against the flaw and tries to prevent civilisation from collapsing, the Fallen, who upholds the Flaw and willingly (or unwillingly) is leading to the the destruction of the Haven and finally the Pillar, who represents the average citizen within the Haven: they don't work directly for the Flaw, but by upholding the status quo, they are still driving it towards annihilation. The players will enact a series of scene, starting with one of the Traditions being corrupted. The Hero will set the scene, then the Fallen will set a scene, and then the Hero will reflect on the outcome of the scene. The players then swap characters and the process is repeated until the players feel that the Haven has reached a state in which it will imminently collapse. Once the collapse is assured, the three players will each describe a vignette of a few sentences that describes this collapse, and the game is over. You can buy the rules for the game here. I've had two games of this and it has been a lot of fun, but if you are not willing to buy before you try, I'll be largely paraphrasing the rules. I'm looking for 2 other players! One example of Havens that I've constructed: - A bitterly cold city near a Volcano where the main flaw was Vanity. This vanity lead people to kill themselves early so that they would be remembered at their peak. The Fallen was scheming to destroy the Haven in order for it to 'die' just as its peak, so that other civilizations would remember it due to its greatness and not due to its slow collapse. The Hero was not able to stop this plan. Game 1 Flaw: Ambition Elements: Chains, Islands, Echos Name: Wañu Traditions: Education - from a very early age, each child is told that they have the power to be better than those that have come before them and better than their peers. This is best way to earn respect in the the Wañu culture. To achieve their goals the Wañu people are taught to aim high and care little for others on the path. Symbol: The symbol is a burning book bearing a child's family name. Children are taught to keep their eyes to the future (as far as they may go), and not the past. This is done both as a ritual and within iconography. Birth - Children at birth are seen as a continuation of the legacy of their parents, and thus birth will be conducted in the presence of the guild masters of that child's particular trade. Symbol: The guild leader marks the child for their trade. Some scar, some brand and others worse. Love - Love is considered a frivolity in Wañu. Marriages are arranged for mutual benefit, not for emotional satisfaction. Symbol: At the start of official courtship, a 'Statement of Intent' is created that defines what both parties stand to gain/lose from association. This Statement is always considered legally binding. Religion: Religion within Wañu is a form of monotheism mixed with ancestor worship. There is a strictly defined set of castes within the ecclesiastical sect, with the Pontifex being able to, after years if not decades of trials, rituals and one final election, make himself, upon his death, the new God of Wañu, displacing the previously elected God. Symbol: a ring of circles (representing the priesthood), with a large circle in the center of the ring (representing both the current god and the Pontifex) Death: When somebody related to you dies you, you may inherit their position if they are of the same trade. This means people dying is while initially sad means that a person may go up in the world. As a result of this, there is a lot of feigning of grief and people put on fake displays to appear that they are not in fact very happy with their new windfall. Symbol: a mark is shown near the entrance door of a house, showing both the deceased and his titles and the person that inherited them, so that all are aware of the passing of power. Military: As it is in many nations, ctizens of Wañu are required to serve a brief term in the military (unless physically or mentally incapable), with capable soldiers offered incentives to extend their service. (The government is attempting to bolster the strength of the army in hopes of conquering some of its weaker neighbors.) Symbol: a chained to fist, indicating power through forced servitude. Tekopo fucked around with this message at 09:02 on May 8, 2016 |
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Apr 23, 2016 23:37
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| # ? Apr 26, 2024 18:32 |
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I'm in!
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Apr 24, 2016 02:39
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Seems interesting. If you're willing to explain the rules then I'll give it a shot.
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Apr 24, 2016 05:28
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I'd like to join in
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Apr 24, 2016 14:43
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I was planning to take part but it'd be fun to see what you guys come up with, so you are all in. Will provide details on how to start later today.
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Apr 24, 2016 14:54
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The Flaw The flaw is the basis of the Haven, and the entire culture of the people that live in the Haven is based on the Flaw. Most people in the Haven believe that that it is beneficial, but in the end it is the Flaw that will bring down the Haven. The flaw in Downfall is important because it will largely shape the entire game. Therefore, it is important that you all choose a flaw that describes something that you all wish to explore in terms of the game. Here are some example flaws: please bear in mind that even seemingly positive flaws can have a dark background. Ambition Classism Cowardice Distrust Greed Jealousy Loyalty Materialism Nationalism Perfectionism Pride Racism Selfishness Sexism Vanity Or feel free to come up with your own flaw if you don't wish to use one of the above.
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Apr 24, 2016 16:44
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Tekopo posted:The Flaw I'd be happy with nearly any of those, but if I had to pick one I'd go with either Ambition, Cowardice, or Selfishness.
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Apr 24, 2016 17:31
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Maleketh posted:I'd be happy with nearly any of those, but if I had to pick one I'd go with either Ambition, Cowardice, or Selfishness. I really like the idea of Ambition as a fatal downfall. It lets us go through the whole "empire that managed to rise from nothing" into "Oh dear! We thought we could slay God himself and now he's *pissed*"
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Apr 24, 2016 19:06
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Ambition sounds like a good choice! They must pay for their hubris!
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Apr 24, 2016 22:35
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Elements Now that the Flaw has been chosen, you must now select the Elements that describe the physical world of the Haven. These are not meant as a guide for the culture of the Haven, but simply as a description of where the Haven resides. See some examples below: quote:Air Blood Cave Chains Clouds Death Dirt Dream Dust Feel free to come up with ones of your own, outside the ones given above. Please also place your selection in spoiler tag, as one player choosing a particular element should not affect what the others have picked. Once all three players have picked an element, you can then see them and discuss what the physical world that the Haven resides in is like. You are not restricted to any time, place or setting, so you can do something modern, dystopian, steam-punk, fantasy, sci-fi, whatever you wish, as long as all three elements are represented.
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Apr 24, 2016 23:00
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Chains - In their ambition, they broke the chains.
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Apr 24, 2016 23:05
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Island (singular). I've got an idea here.
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Apr 25, 2016 02:17
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Echoes. Lets get all spooky in here.
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Apr 25, 2016 02:23
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So we've got Chains, Island, and Echoes. Here's what I'm thinking: an island nation (Island), riddled with a network of underground caverns (Echoes). For chains, I'm thinking either that there are chains hanging in many of the caverns (maybe they double as dungeons or something), or the island is physically anchored to the mainland or another island by a set of giant chains. I'm interested in the idea of having this be a small nation, maybe tribal or a city-state. Its downfall unfolds and it implodes on itself (metaphorically, but maybe also literally), and the rest of the world barely takes notice. Thoughts?
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Apr 25, 2016 03:33
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I like the idea of the giant chains anchoring, but I think its been done plenty of times before. Your idea of having spooky caverns with chains hanging in all of them interests me more.. For reasons unknown to the small nation that populate this island the chains were placed long ago. Also like the idea of the world barely noticing or caring.
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Apr 25, 2016 09:27
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Gonna wait another day to hear from The Cog and if he doesn't post I'll just take over for him.
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Apr 26, 2016 11:00
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Tekopo posted:Gonna wait another day to hear from The Cog and if he doesn't post I'll just take over for him. Actually I don't have as much attention for this as I expected, and I know you wanted to play, so feel free to take over for me. Sorry about that.
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Apr 26, 2016 12:26
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stevey666 posted:I like the idea of the giant chains anchoring, but I think its been done plenty of times before. Your idea of having spooky caverns with chains hanging in all of them interests me more.. For reasons unknown to the small nation that populate this island the chains were placed long ago. Also like the idea of the world barely noticing or caring.
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Apr 26, 2016 16:23
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I had pictured the city being above-ground, but I'm not married to that.
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Apr 26, 2016 16:52
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How about something similar to Sacred Valley Incas. The terrain is kind of hilly/mountainous. The richer people live in Inca style stone villages, the rich are also farming a lot of the crops. Liveable space is at a premium and so the poorer of the people are forced to live deeper and deeper in the caverns. This way we get both!
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Apr 27, 2016 01:08
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stevey666 posted:How about something similar to Sacred Valley Incas. The terrain is kind of hilly/mountainous. The richer people live in Inca style stone villages, the rich are also farming a lot of the crops. Liveable space is at a premium and so the poorer of the people are forced to live deeper and deeper in the caverns. I like this idea a lot. Hmm... Maybe cavern space is limited too? That would give us a reason to put chains in the caves: they're used to suspend buildings from the ceiling.
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Apr 27, 2016 04:39
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That sounds pretty good, and it somewhat ties in with the flaw as well. What about the immediate surrounding if the island? Is it isolated, part of a chain of islands, close to the mainland etc?
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Apr 27, 2016 10:11
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Were the chains there before and nobody knows their real origins, or did the civilisation put them there? I like to think its a peninsular with a long connecting section to the mainland that is also mountainous. Access is tidal blocked, meaning high tides rise it looks like a series of islands, low tides means they can trudge between each mountain/hill to get to or from the mainland.
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Apr 27, 2016 12:05
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I think mysterious chains that were present before the civilisation placed them there would be pretty cool. Any other details we need to speak about?
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Apr 27, 2016 13:17
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stevey666 posted:Were the chains there before and nobody knows their real origins, or did the civilisation put them there? That sounds fine to me. As long as we're cut off from the mainland for the duration of the game, we have the isolation I was looking for. Tekopo posted:I think mysterious chains that were present before the civilisation placed them there would be pretty cool. Agreed. Tekopo posted:Any other details we need to speak about? Nothing comes to mind.
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Apr 27, 2016 15:17
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Naming We have to give a name to our Haven. I'm pretty bad at names so feel free to just bring up something. Once we are done with the naming, we go forward to... Traditions Traditions are things that the Haven does or believes in that shape the culture of the Haven and dictate how people live their life. Traditions are intrinsically linked with the Flaw, and are thus shaped by it. All the traditions need to have a link to the Flaw (Ambition in our case). Traditions can be both ways that we interact within the Haven as well as interact within the outside world. Each player will choose one of the following categories and make a tradition out of it. In this step, please use one of the categories provided below rather than make your own: quote:Architecture Art Birth Communication Death Economics Education Also, each of us has to choose a different category. Pick a category and describe a tradition that concerns that particular category. I'll wait until you guys have picked a category before picking one myself.
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Apr 27, 2016 15:30
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Name: Wañu Tradition: Education - from a very early age, each child is told that they have the power to be better than those that have come before them and better than their peers. This is best way to earn respect in the the Wañu culture. To achieve their goals the Wañu people are taught to aim high and care little for others on the path. Something like that?
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Apr 28, 2016 11:57
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Yep, sounds good.
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Apr 28, 2016 12:41
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Go go Maleketh!
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Apr 30, 2016 18:56
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This will be on break until Tuesday since I'm away from home. Feel free to add the next tradition and I'll make mine when I come back.
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Apr 30, 2016 19:11
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Sorry, been a rough week at work. I'll write something up either later today or tomorrow.
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Apr 30, 2016 20:02
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Tradition - Love: Love is considered a frivolity in Wañu. Marriages are arranged for mutual benefit, not for emotional satisfaction.
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May 2, 2016 04:58
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Haha I like it. What a nasty place to live!
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May 3, 2016 18:02
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Birth: Children at birth are seen as a continuation of the legacy of their parents, and thus birth will be conducted in the presence of the guild masters of that child's particular trade. Alright, now that we have three traditions, each of the needs a symbol. The symbol is something that symbolises that particular tradition: for example, something exchanged by lovers etc. Pick one of the traditions from one of the other players (not your own) and create a symbol for it.
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May 3, 2016 18:50
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Well, let's go all-in with how terrible these people are, shall we? For the Education tradition, the symbol is a burning book bearing a child's family name. Children are taught to keep their eyes to the future (as far as they may go), and not the past.
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May 3, 2016 19:08
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The symbol is something in world, so where is that displayed? Or is it just a ritual all children go through? Also, Stevey, pick my tradition so that I can do Maleketh's
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May 3, 2016 19:13
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Tekopo posted:The symbol is something in world, so where is that displayed? Or is it just a ritual all children go through? I'd say it's a ritual, though a burning book might also exist as iconography. Maybe it's used by schools for that sweet, sweet irony.
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May 3, 2016 19:32
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Symbol for birth - The guild leader marks the child for their trade. Some scar, some brand and others worse.
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May 3, 2016 23:06
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Symbol for Love - At the start of official courtship, a 'Statement of Intent' is created that defines what both parties stand to gain/lose from association. This Statement is always considered legally binding. I've also added the traditions to the OP for easy reference, along with all other details that we have agreed on so far. To continue, we now all pick another tradition category and create a tradition, as before. I would suggest that you pick a category outside the ones picked before so that we have a fuller, more rounded understanding of the Wañu society. Also, feel free to let me know your thoughts on the game so far (although we haven't got to the true meat of the game).
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May 4, 2016 11:30
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| # ? Apr 26, 2024 18:32 |
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Death. When somebody related to you dies you, you may inherit their position if they are of the same trade. This means people dying is while initially sad means that a person may go up in the world. As a result of this, there is a lot of feigning of grief and people put on fake displays to appear that they are not in fact very happy with their new windfall
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May 4, 2016 16:04
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