I picked up the PDF version of Jason Morningstar’s game Durance (Bully Pulpit Games) in a Bundle of Holding sale last month and I really like what I’ve read so far; here’s a review to give you an idea. Knowing how immensely popular the creation of playsets has been for another of Bully Pulpit Games, Fiasco, and given the similarities in how the two games are built, I was wondering whether anyone has looked at creating such add-ons, or even guidelines on who to create them.
Clearly, a Durance playset would require two parallel hierarchies, one overt and one occult, or some sort of equivalent. For example, it could be the pecking order among students and staff in a playset based on a school or college, although perhaps this example lacks opportunities for moving from one side of the ladder to the other. Maybe a better example would be hierarchies of witches and upright citizens in a playset based on the Salem’s witch trials.
Now I’m also thinking I’m sitting on a gold mine of starter material for such playsets: the series pitches for DramaSystem contained in Hillfolk and Blood on the Snow (Pelgrane Press). I think they would make it really easy to craft Durance playsets.
Has anyone seen or written anything on the topic?
Edit: Oh, cool, I found some demos of playing Durance from Tabletop Talk and Scott Durward.
Hi ! Did you finaly publish your settings for Durance ? I would really love to read some others settings and actually I think about write my own.
No, I didn’t. Upon playing, I felt that this was not going to be one of my go-to games in this form; playing multiple characters and alternating between them proved confusing for the players when the roles changed. Trying to figure out who was now speaking for the Dimber-Damber, etc., and when they turn was, broke immersion. Every once in a while I muse about tinkering with the rules, but so far I have had too many other projects.