Coming to Swords under the Sun from D&D
AliceSo, you’re a seasoned TTRPG enthusiast, you’ve spent a small fortune on dice, battlemaps, and custom 3D-printed minis painted by Anton Pryakhin. You know how TTRPGs work — you’ve got your caltrops that you use to deal damage from Cleric spells, you’ve got your arcane implement with twenty sides for clairvoyance.
But you’ve never played Apocalypse World, Masks, or Blades in the Dark. I know, we’ve all been there.
You’re reading through the rules of Swords under the Sun and you’re like “what in the Nine Hells is this shit?”.
What the fuck is fiction-first?
First, let's define what the fuck is "fiction". That's simple — it’s whatever is happening “on-screen” within the world of the game. Brianna the Fighter readjusts the grip on her sword and charges at a broken knight, her blood boiling with battle rage; Eye-of-Eyes the Ranger opens her mind to the Great Beyond, calling for the guidance of spirits of the Wild; Denton the Rogue picks a master-crafted lock on a chest in hopes of finding great treasure.
Any roleplaying game has an element of fiction, otherwise, it's just a plain boardgame and most of the time there's no significant difference between handling situations in D&D and in Swords under the Sun. You can't just say "I roll Persuasion" in D&D, you can't just say "I use Charm" in SutS — you need to describe what your character is actually doing first — you need to create fiction.
Most of the time.
When it comes to complex subsystems, like combat, "I use Attack action" becomes pretty much a normal thing. More than that, describing what the character actually does is suddenly pointless -- it's not like this description can change how the mechanics applied. You roll to hit, you roll damage, the target's HP decrease. That's it. You describe how you invert the grip on your sword and clench it in mordhau, the GM narrates how the enemy is concussed by a devastating blow, what really happens is you've spent action, the enemy suffered damage.
In Swords under the Sun, there's no such complex sub-systems, everything just flows from the fiction. You grip your sword in mordhau, you get a chance to damage a knight clad in thick plate armour. Your devastating blow concusses the enemy, you can finish him off without risk of retaliation. Simple.
Wait. It's just GM fiat! Well, kinda. First, there are principles, most importantly "Be a fan of the PCs". Second, you have to have open communication.
Deciding that slashing at thick metal armour is useless is okay, deciding that it would still be effective is okay too, as long as it's clearly established. Y'know, with words.
Fighter: I pull out my sword and charge at the Broken knight!
GM: This could work, but it won’t be that effective. He is wearing a thick plate armour, remember? You risk Moderate harm, and you can deal it some flesh wounds.
Fighter: Hm, then I grip it with two hands and half-sword it to pierce thinner plates on the joints.
GM: Cool. So, you charge at him. You can seriously wound the bastard, but you risk getting gutted yourself. If only you had more distance… You’d be much and much safer.
Role-playing is a creative endeavour, both in terms of fiction and the ways you can apply the rules — it’s up to you and your group to put them to work and learn when and how to use them effectively. This means that every table is going to be different — one group may be knowledgeable and interested in details about medieval martial arts, another may gloss over them — and they will have slightly different experiences. This is by design.
Where the fuck are rules for difficulty?
There are no rules for difficulty — the probabilities are the same, regardless of specific situation.
What?! Then how do I portray the difference between an easy and insurmountable task?!
You’ve got position and effect.
Imagine an adult dragon. Then imagine a goblin, who stole magical +1 plate armour somewhere. They have the same AC of 19, but it’s obvious that an adult fucking dragon is much and much more dangerous than a petty goblin.
When the PCs are facing the avatar of destruction, monstrosity with inch-think scales of steel that spits out stone-melting fire from its maw, the best they can do on a hit is deal some damage, and they risk turning into a well-done steak from 18d6 damage fire breath. Nasty stuff.
When they are facing a goblin, even in +1 plate, they can kill the fucker if they hit and the worst the goblin can do is deal them 1d6 + 2 damage. Like, who cares.
The difference between these two situations is position (what they are risking) and effect (what they can achieve).
In Swords under the Sun it would look like:
GM: Fire. Fire, everywhere, like the hell came knocking, and in the middle of the inferno is a thing far worse than the devil himself — a Tycherosian dragon, monstrosity with inch-thick scales of steel and maw full of razor-sharp teeth. It spots you and it laughs in amusement. You, mere mortals dare to challenge the apex predator of nine worlds? So, what ya gonna do?
Brianna the Fighter: I charge at the Beast with my sword! I’m not even gonna brawl with it, I’m gonna Wreck it’s sorry face!
GM: I tell you what: you risk getting torn to shreds, like Extreme harm torn to shreds and it’s not like your sword can pierce its scales. You’ll need to find a weak spot and actually manage to come close. Eyes are obvious, but maybe there’s a missing scale?
Brianna the Fighter: Got it. Then, I’ll try to engage it in a Brawl to distract it, so Eye-of-Eyes can shoot it with her bow.
GM: Sounds like a plan to me. You still risk getting shredded, but you can create distraction.
The difficulty here is created not by high AC or Disadvantage on an attack roll, but with high risk and barely any reward.
GM: You hear heavy footsteps, then it steps into the light — a broken and twisted dwarf that spent too much time underground. A goblin, clad in immaculate dwarven armour, wielding a heavy axe. It’s his territory. It’s his hunting grounds. You are not welcome here. What ya gonna do?
Brianna the Fighter: I’m gonna Brawl with him! Time to die, you monster!
GM: Cool. You risk getting hurt, obviously — I’d say Moderate harm, but you can certainly kill the thing.
Here the situation is much less dangerous — risk is much milder (though there still is a risk, otherwise, what’s the point in touching dice?), and there’s an effect from the getgo — so the PCs don’t need to jump through ropes just to try to slay the beast.
Where the fuck is initiative?
There is no initiative. In fact, there are no any sub-systems for combat — there’s no difference between trying to slay a Beast and trying to negotiate with a priest who accuses you of heresy.
You need to manage spotlight, instead of it being handled by cold heartless algorithm. This is by design — think movies.
When Captain America and Black Widow are fighting with Hydra mooks, the camera doesn’t show us six seconds of Cap, then six seconds of mook #1, then six seconds of mook #2, #3, #4 (and probably many more) and then six seconds of Natasha. No, Cap punches one bastard in the teeth, then slams his shield into another one, then one of them waylays him and puts him in a headlock… and Black Widow shoots the fucker in the head.
What's the grid size? How do I use minis?
In short, you don't. You can draw maps and place minis on them to better illustrate what's happening on screen, but you don't have to.
I know, after spending so much time with battlemaps and shit, it's easy to think of theatre of mind as "damn now grid is just in my head and now everything is hard". Yeah, it is hard if you try to keep track of who was where and who moved where and who can attack who "fairly". But it's not your job.
Your job is to pose tough choices and make shit interesting.
Brianna the Fighter: No! I can't let him escape! I'm gonna Brawl with him and wrestle him to the ground.
GM: There's a wall of fire between you. I tell you what, you can try to Traverse around it, but then you risk not being able to catch up with a fleeing cultist, or you can run straight through the fire, suffer some Moderate harm and then engage the fucker in close combat.
It's all too abstract. How the fuck I can pose a tough, but fair challenge to the players if nothing is specific?
Well, you can't and it's not your job here. Your job is to pose tough choices and let the PCs shine. "Can the players use their tactical skills to kill a dragon at lvl 5" isn't a question that this game asks — "What the PCs would be willing sacrifice to save their hometown from a dragon" is.