Dogs in the Vineyard
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| Dogs in the Vineyard | |
 Dogs in the Vineyard (2nd edition) cover |
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| Designer | D. Vincent Baker |
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| Publisher | Lumpley Games |
| Publication date | 2004 (1st edition) 2005 (2nd edition) |
| Genre(s) | Alternate history, Western, Indie (Narrativist) |
| System | Custom |
Dogs in the Vineyard is an independently published role-playing game written by D. Vincent Baker and published by Lumpley Games. In the 2004 Indie RPG Awards, Dogs in the Vineyard was awarded Indie RPG of the Year[1] and Most Innovative Game[2]. In 2005 it was nominated for a Diana Jones Award for Excellence in Gaming[3]. It generally encourages narrativist play.[4]
Contents |
[edit] Setting
The game is set in "a West that never quite was" - loosely based on the Mormon State of Deseret in pre-statehood Utah. Players are "God's Watchdogs" (Dogs), who travel from town to town delivering mail, helping out the community and enforcing the judgments of the True Faith of the King of Life. This may involve anything from delivering new interpretations to the town's Steward to executing heretics. Dogs have absolute authority within the Faith, but not within the laws of the Territorial Authority, and so their actions can lead to conflict with the government in the East.
[edit] System
The game features an unusual form of conflict resolution, where die rolls are used in poker-style bids.
Character's statistics and traits are represented by dice pools. At the start of a conflict, the Gamemaster and other players decide what is at stake, determine which pools are applicable, and those are rolled at that point. The character with the initiative puts forward a "raise" of two dice, while narrating a portion of the conflict which is beneficial to his character's position in the conflict. The opponent must respond by putting forward one or more dice whose total exceeds the total of the dice which were used to raise, or "give" — i.e. lose the conflict. If three or more dice are needed, the opponent suffers "fallout" — a negative outcome to be determined at the end of the conflict. If only one die is needed by the opponent, the attack has been "turned against the attacker" and the die can be reused to raise in the next round. The opponent now begins a round by putting forward two dice which the first character must match, and so on until one player or the other gives. Players may bring in new dice by "escalating" the conflict, from non-physical (discussion) to physical (running away) to brawling and then to gunfighting.
Since conflicts can cover theological debates as well as simple combat, players can find that the outcome of a conflict has changed their character's opinion on a topic, though not necessarily. This can be difficult to accept for inexperienced players and for those who prefer a more Gamist approach.
[edit] References
- ^ INDEPENDENT GAME OF THE YEAR, 2004. The RPG-Awards Site. Retrieved on 2007-10-10.
- ^ INNOVATION IN A ROLEPLAYING GAME, 2004. The RPG-Awards Site. Retrieved on 2007-10-10.
- ^ The Diana Jones Award 2005. The Diana Jones Award committee. Retrieved on 2007-09-08.
- ^ Baker, D. Vincent (2005). Dogs in the Vineyard, 2nd edition, Lumpley Games. ISBN 0976904209.
[edit] External links
- Lumpley Games' home page for Dogs in the Vineyard
- Lumpley Games Forum on The Forge, mostly concerned with DitV
