The Warren -- Abingdon Meadow [wip]

[Blue Daze]

a roleplaying game by Marshall Miller

"The Warren is a tabletop roleplaying game about a community of rabbits and their struggle to survive."

This will have been my first RPG I've ever done, so it may be a bumpy ride. But I'd love to be able to do this, and with some Watership Down fans!

I've downloaded every PDF I could find that's related to The Warren off of bullypulpitgames.com/games/the-warren and one other site, and it's definitely worth checking out several of the PDFs:
the-warren-character-playbooks.pdf
warren_group_moves_gm_sheet.pdf
warren_worlds.zip
(there's several different locations packed into the .zip file. The Abingdon Meadow world is among them!)
The-Warren.pdf

If you can only download one of these, I highly recommend you read the last one, as it explains much on how the game works, far better than I ever could, and I will constantly be referring back to it.

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"Before play begins, each player must create a rabbit character to play. Players should create their characters together, at the table, rather than in advance of a game. There are 5 steps to creating a player character. As you complete each step of character creation, mark your choices on your rabbit playbook and let the other players know what you are marking on the sheet." The Warren.pdf -- pg. 27

Character Creation:

• 1. Choose a Character Move for your rabbit (pg. 28 in The Warren.pdf)
  2. Assign stats to your rabbit (pg. 28 in The Warren.pdf)
  3. Determine your rabbit's Panic level (pg. 29 in The Warren.pdf; pg. 43)
  4. Select your rabbit's looks (pg. 30 in The Warren.pdf)
  5. Pick a name for your rabbit (pg. 31 in The Warren.pdf)

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Player Moves:
"During play, characters will have a variety of moves available to them. There are three types of Player Moves: Basic moves, Special moves, and Character moves." (pg. 33 of The Warren.pdf

"Basic moves are things that all rabbits do frequently in day-to-day lives, while Special moves are important things that rabbits do, though perhaps less frequently. Character moves are things that make a rabbit unique, a special trait or aptitude that only they possess." pg. 22 of The Warren.pdf)

--- Basic Moves: (pg. 33 - 35)
• Resist Panic
• Speak Plainly
• Pay Attention
• Bolt
• Sneak
• Help/Hinder

--- Special Moves: (pg. 36 - 42)
• Relax
• Struggle
• Compete
• Dig
• Mate (Or Best Friend / Littermate)
• Birth a Litter
• Innovate
• Time Goes By
• Retire
• Advancement

--- Character Moves: (pg. 92-95 of The Warren.pdf)
• Ace in the Hole
• Charismatic
• Circles of Life
• Cocky
• Composed
• Dead Eyes
• Emissary
• Engineer
• Fertile
• Gilded Cage
• Greyfur
• Hutchwise
• Leader of Rabbits
• Marked by the Black Rabbit
• Marked for Death
• Not a Fighter
• Not Scared of You
• Nurturer
• Quite the Pair
• Seer
• Sense of Space
• Sense of Others
• Squirmy
• Storyteller (pg. 95 for Storied Characters)
• Swift Runner
• Swift Warning
• Thumper
• Tooth and Claw
• Worrier


--- Panicking: (pg. 43 of The Warren.pdf)
• Fight
• Flight
• Fright

--- Fighting: (pg. 44 of The Warren.pdf)
Only a few rabbits will be big, mean, or experienced enough for violence to be a go-to option. Most rabbits will have to be clever to survive and get their way.
A clever rabbit will do all they can to make sure that the situation they create points toward their victory.
If two or more characters are fighting, this triggers the Compete move (pg. 37)
If an NPC is attacking a character, it's a GM move (pg. 56) Soft move followed by "What do you do next?"
Keep a look-out for other moves that may resolve the situation. (Speak Plainly, Resist Panic, Struggle Free, etc.)

--- Scars: (pg. 45 of The Warren.pdf)
Player characters accumulate scars when a move calls for them to gain a scar or when physical or mental trauma follows from the fiction. Non-player characters may be injured or even slain when a player's move calls for it or when the fiction dictates they should die.
When a character gains a scar, they must pick one Basic or Character move (not a Special move) that they may no longer make, based on the nature of the wound. They should cross the lost move off of their rabbit playbook and describe how the injury relates to the lost move.
Moves that are crossed off are no longer available to that character. if a Character move is crossed off in this manner, it is immediately available for other rabbits to take as their advance for the session. No rabbit may reclaim a move during the same chapter in which they lost that move.

--- Retirement: (pg. 46-47 of The Warren.pdf)
Character turnover makes for good games by telling more of the warren's stories. Retiring your rabbit also means that your Character moves go back into the pool for other to choose.
A rabbit's death does not need to be described in detail (though it can if that is what the player wants) -- maybe they lead a predator off into the tall grass, never to be heard from again.

Characters can also be retired when their player opts to let them adopt a more static role in the fiction. They become another member of the Warren. While retired rabbits are no longer under the control of a player, they will always be a rabbit of note within the warren because of their relationships and past deeds.
Once a PC is retired, the GM is free to use them as an NPC and any Character moves they possessed are immediately available for other rabbits to take when they advance. The player is also free to create a new character to play -- preferably a rabbit that already has ties to the existing fiction. Perhaps they will play a young rabbit just coming of age, an adult rabbit that has not yet played a role in the fiction, or perhaps a rabbit from another warren already established in the fiction.

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Triggers:

"Whenever a player takes an action that triggers a move, the conversation pauses while the move is resolved, and then the conversation continues, taking into account the effects of the move." (pg. 22 of The Warren.pdf)

[florapaw]

Ah! I see that this is only a wip, but I'm curious about this. If this game is suppose to use dice to advance, how will you play this online?

No shade is being throw, I'm just genuinely interested.

[Blue Daze]

<sub>No worries about any shade!

There's plenty of virtual dice websites, like this one. The only die needed for this game are the traditional 6-sided die! So folks can roll them at home or online. All I ask is that everyone be honest with their rolls. :3</sub>

[Chipster-roo]

I have added a dice roller mod to the forum.  This code (minus the extra spaces):

[ roll ]1d6[/roll]

...will roll a regular 6-sided die.  The result:

Rolled 1d6 : 3, total 3

[Blue Daze]

That's awesome!!

This dice roll has been tampered with!
Rolled 2d6 : 4, 5, total 9

This will be extremely helpful! Thank you so much!
Edit: But it looks like it changes if you roll, preview it, then post it. So folks should be aware of that!

[florapaw]

Ah! Okay! Makes sense. Thanks for clearing that up!

[Chibiscuit]

As I said, I'd definitely be interested in joining. I've never actually played a tabletop RPG before (I'm not really counting Armello) but I've always wanted to try it.

Oh but I think the link for The Warren pdf is wrong as it leads to the playbooks. I assume you meant this instead?

Also it says to create the characters together but I assume in this case we create them beforehand? If so, I'll make one and read through the files more closely as soon as possible!

[Blue Daze]

Oh yes! That is the link I meant to include!
I'll edit it in when I'm home! Thank you Chibisquit!

I believe the reason they should be made together is to determine who gets what move, as Character Moves are to be unique to each character.
How it's determined as a tabletop is the player newest to RPGs goes first and they pick which Character Moves they want. But since we're all new, perhaps we should find another way!

[Chipster-roo]

It seems like for rolling the dice, the players will have to make one first post with the roll, and then a second post where they act based on the result, since previews are unreliable.  Also, people should NOT edit posts after rolling; this will produce the red tamper message like in Blue's message.

Anyway, I've been reading the various PDFs...I think I have a rough idea how this is going to play out.  I assume the first step would be to ask questions about the Meadow?  And we could all create part of our characters (name, appearance and stats) independently, and select the character moves afterwards?

[Chibiscuit]

And we could all create part of our characters (name, appearance and stats) independently, and select the character moves afterwards?

I was thinking the same. And as for who chooses their moves first, we could let Lady Luck decide that as well if necessary.

[Blue Daze]

So sorry for being absent! Family decided on a quick vacation, so I haven't been home. I will add in the links to the PDF when I can!

Like with what Chipster-roo is saying, I was thinking of something like that! However as the GM, I will need to comment on the rolls and inform you what the rolls mean. So say someone rolled for +Strong and got 6- (a fail). They would have to post their roll, and then I the GM would inform them what the roll means for their character (they slip or it doesnt quite make it.) Then they would make their second post which talks about what they do next.

I've also been debating on how to figure how turns will work. I was thinking something along the lines of:
GM post
Player 1 roll
GM response
Player 1 response
GM post
Player 2 roll (and so on)
But it may get confusing...


And yes, the first step would be to answer qiestions about the Meadow. I'm not sure if I should be asking the questions now or later. What do you guys think would be best?

And yes again! You guys can create the name and appearance of your characters, and then distribute your stats. I dont believe it matters if you guys happen to have the same stats (two having +2 for Strong, for example), but to keep things interesting you should try to keep the stats as unique to one another as possible!
For choosing character moves (again, let me know when you think will be the best tine to do that!) I think it would be safe if you choose what ones you want (I forgot how many each player may have...), and then two or three backups in case the ones you want are taken. Then we should roll 1 d6 to see who gets to choose their moves first, or you can choose 1 move per person until you all have as many character moves as you can have. Whichever will be fairest!

Edit: The Character Move limit per character is 1, I believe!

[florapaw]

Quick question: I'm really interested in joining but I would like to see how it goes first. If I wanted to join, would I have to join at the start, or could it be acceptable to sorta jump in after a few turns to just see how to do everything?

Obviously if that wouldn't work I'm happy to stumble through it

[Blue Daze]

I believe the downsides of joining later is
1) you may miss something that the other characters and players know about, putting you at a disadvantage.
2) the character move you'd like may be taken by someone already in the game, or a future character should one of the main characters retire or be killed.

Aside from that though, I don't see anything else wrong with it. :'3 But I'd have a character planned out so that if you do decide to join in, you can join in quickly!


I've filled out a notepad full of questions to ask about Abingdon Meadow. Whenever you guys deem it the appropriate time, I will ask you here! And then I'll post the answers to the roleplay thread (which i still have to make!)
I've also filled out several NPC forms, and have several possible plots that can happen. But by no means do I mean to control the story -- I'd like for everyone to drive the story how they would like to, and develop their characters!

I strongly suggest reading pages 33 to 45, 92 to 95, and then reading the world setup page of Abingdon Meadow, so you are all familiar with the location of the warren and what everything looks like!
Additionally, use one of the several character sheets and fill out what you can without having to collaborate! Names, appearance (and description), and stats +2, +1, +0, and -1 to Steady, Stealth, Swift, and Strong.

Edit: I've created the roleplay thread! However please try to refrain from posting there until the game starts! ♥

[Chipster-roo]

I suppose we could try out the dice-rolling method you mentioned, Blue; if it gets too confusing we might have to try something else.  I don't think it would be too bad, considering that most actions involving the dice have similar results (10+=success, 7-9=success but with restriction, 6-=fail)

If necessary, the mention feature could be used.

As for answering the questions now or later...from one point of view I think now would be best, since that's what the rules recommend, but from another, given how inexperienced most of us are, we might not be able to provide the best answers.

My character: ShowHide

Name: Chestnut
Body: runt
Coat: sleek
Ears: short
Gender: buck
-1 strong
+1 steady
0 swift
+2 shrewd
Character moves: TBD

[Chibiscuit]

I just got around to reading the The Warren pdf and created my character. Still a bit unsure about some things but I think things will become clearer once we start playing.

Joining in later doesn't seem like much of a problem to me as the game is designed in such a way that makes this perfectly possible, I think. Any past events can be aught up on by reading the actual ongoing game thread. Anyone can then hop in to play as an NPC or as their own new PC (as for example a stranger to the warren or something).
As you said Blue Daze the only nreally seems to be a more limited pool for the Character Moves.

Character Sheet: ShowHide

Name: Raspberry
Description: A lean, reddish brown doe with a messy coat and long ears
Stats:
- Shrewd +2
- Swift+1
- Steady+0
- Strong -1
Character Move: Ace in the Hole