RE: [WW] First Message!

["Sandor Silverman" <sandor_@hotmail.com>]

>Hi all!

>Shane here, welcoming you all to a discussion of Weird Wars.

>I'll throw out the first conversation, something that's come up in our 
> >group a few times.

>Since WW is a military game, one player inevitably outranks the others >and 
>is in charge most of the time. How do you feel about that?

>Shane

Hmmm... well, my first impression is that it's a necessary condition of the 
game, and anyone sitting down to play has to have at least a bit of 
understanding of the dynamics that will come into play and accept them. 
There are a number of other popular games where rank is either implicit or 
explicit: Vampire (who sired who?) Traveler, Star Trek, Star Wars, and a 
whole bunch of military or government investigator-type games (Agents and 
Rangers, anyone?). So I don't think it will be a surprise to anyone or a 
much of a learning curve.

Rank has its privilege, but also all the responsibility. What are the 
incentives for players to not abuse their rank? I'm assuming there are 
already in-game consequences (being relieved of command, mutiny, not being 
told about the mine field when you're on point, etc...) for abusing your 
subordinates. Are there any meta-game consequences, such as an experience 
point hit, when one of your subordinates buys it due to your stupidity?

Is there a going to be a section akin to something like "How to be a good 
officer/NCO"? that would guide/inform a player who has rank? Helpful hints 
like, "A good leader always utilizes his resources to the max. This means he 
knows the capabilities of his men and puts them to the best use possible. 
Have any of your men been in a particular situation before or have some 
relevant unique experience or knowledge? Then they should be consulted 
whenever possible if it will help your team's successful completion of a 
mission. Here's an example:

Captain Smith: "Corporal, you've had the most experience with demolitions. 
Tell me what we need to take out that bridge."

Corporal Jones: "Sir, two charges placed on each pylon should bring that 
structure down. Three men could place them and move to a safe distance in 15 
minutes."

Captain Smith: "Good. Get those charges ready and find two volunteers to 
accompany you."

Or something similar for grunts: "There's a war on and you're going to have 
to do things and go places that you normally wouldn't. It's up to each and 
every man to trust the chain of command and perform his assigned duties to 
the best of his abilities."



Sandor

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