DariusSolluman/ExaltedNoGo
So, I'm bored and decided to try and apply the principles of Exalted's mechanics to playing Go. This is primarily because I like the idea of Tesuji Charms :)
If you have no idea what I'm talking about, go to http://senseis.xmp.net/ - It's a wiki about the game of Go, which is fabulous for both people that have no uidea what this 'Go' nonsense is, all the way up to amatuer dan level players.
Principles
- Go is a purely deterministic game; given perfect knowledge, a first move solution could theoretically be calculated. However, given the vast number of potential moves, the first move win solution has only so far been calculated for the 5x5 game (Typically, Go is played on a 19x19 board).
- Go is also very much a game of perception and detachment. How confident you are in your play, how focused you are on the game, and how well you can unnerve and demoralize an opponent is a deeply non-trival factor in a given game, especially in games of people of nearly the same level of skill.
- Go is a game of both tactics and strategy- it is possible to win every fight in a game, and lose the game as a whole because your opponent controls more of the board.
- There are three distinct phases to a game of Go- the Begining (in which swathes of the board are claimed without a fight, which will be later invaded and disputed), the Middle (where the majority of the tactical fighting will happen, invasions are launched, and territory is firmed up) and Endgame (when any lingering disputes are resolved- kills are unlikely and invasion impossible, but the scales can be tipped).
Opening Game
Both players decide how much territory they want to try and claim. This is the difficulty of their roll- so, trying to claim 1 is very cautious and conservative, while 3 to 4 is fairly standard for professional openings, and 5 or 6 is nearly godlike in audacity. Both players then roll Intelligence + Go.
If you roll a number of successes equal to your opening, your Score is equal to the amount of territory you claimed. If you roll more than that, the exccess successes are bonus dice for the midgame. If you fail to get enough successes, then you have only your successes in Score and your opponent gains a number of dice equal to the difference of your successes and desired Score. If you botch, your score is 0 and you lose 2 dice from your Midgame, in addition to your opponent gaining whatever you had bid.
Handicaps are handled by giving your opponent additional dice for just the Opening, at approximately one die per stone of handicap.
Example: Hikaru (Go Pool: 7) and Toya (Go Pool: 8) are playing a game. Hikaru, feeling daring, tries staking out a large portion of the board and bids 4. Toya is more conservative, and only bids 3. They both roll- Hikaru gets 2 successes and Toya gets 5. Hikaru's current score is 2, while Toya's is 3. Additionally, Toya will have 3 bonus dice in the Midgame- 1 from Hikaru's greed, and 2 from his solid play.
Example:Hikaru (Go Pool: 7) is playing Sai (Go Pool: 13). Sai, because he doesn't want to utterly crush Hikaru, gives him a 6 stone handicap, adding 6 stones to Hikaru's Go Pool. Hikaru, having learned his lesson, only aims for taking an Opening of 4, and gets 7 successes- the handicap stones letting him claim Four points of territory, and carry three extra dice over to the Midgame fights.
Mid Game
Both players now start to fight. The number of fights is determined by the bidding- either player can try to fight up to once per their opponent Score at the start of the Midgame. So, from the previous example, Hikaru can start up to 3 fights while Toya can start only 2. A player can also pass on starting a fight, instead defending their territory- functionally, making it harder to fight them in the future. Additionally, most of the psychological aspects of the game come in during the Midgame, as the fights become very difficult to read; a confident player in an inferior position may cow their opponent into the wrong play.
The player who can start the most fights goes first. If they choose to Defend, they 1 die to their bonus dice pool for fights, in which case the initative to attack passes to the other player. This bonus pool (composed of the Opening Game bonus and Defending). If they Attack, then both players have a simple contest. If either one has bonus dice, they can spend them here- once spent, bonus dice are used up. If the attacking player wins, they gain 1 point and the defender looses 1. If the attacking player loses, they lose 1 point but the defender does not gain anything. In both players tie, nothing happens. In either case, the winner gains the difference in successes as bonus dice, and initative shifts to the defender.
Attacking Morale in the Midgame
Additionally, either player can make a series of provocative comments to screw up their opponent's concentration. They voluntarily give up 1 point in doing so; whereupon both players roll their Manipulation + Socialize. The winner of this opposed roll inflicts a penelty on the loser equal to the difference of the successes. Both players can attempt such a comment at any point during the Midgame.
When all the fights are resolved or both players defend, play passes to the End Game.
End Game
Both players roll their Intelligence + Go + all remaining bonus dice. Whomever wins gains 1 point.
The victor has the most points.
Charms to come. Mebe. :)
You are a very silly person with too much free time. I envy you. --MetalFatigue
This is absolutely lovely. We should play Go DariusSolluman...Gah, I miss playing Igo!! I particularly love the Hikaru No Go references. However, it is a bit narrow for Exalted, though those of us who loves Go and Exalted will love this. How about a charm tree in warfare based on Go? "Tesuji Move", "Tengen Trick Technique", "Kuwabara Comment", and ultimately "Hand of God". On a more technical note, how does this system handle specialties? I could easily imagine end-game specialists.. - Clebo
Yay! Comments on the damn silliest thingy I've ever written :)
As for where the Charms would be placed, Go has been added as a new universal skill in this system, as has been discussed for Martial Arts. It is considered favored for all Exalted. Specialities can still be bought for it; they are typically purchased for a part of the game (Beginning, Middle, End).
As for Solar Go Charms...
Uh... Charms usable only in a game of Go? Is the Mask of Winters going to agree to surrender if you beat him in a Go tournament? This seems rather silly. Now if you had military strategy Charms that worked equally well on the battlefield as in a game of Go or Gateway, that would make a lot more sense. - Quendalon
I don't think I ever denied that this was a deeply silly idea :)
Now, more usefully, any subtractive game (such as Gateway or Chess) could be played with my mass combat rules, using an army of arbitrary size and health levels, with virtually no change to anything in them. The Tactics charms could even still work, on a case by case basis. Arguablly you could do the same thing with an additive game like Go; it doesn't make quite as much sense to my simulation's mind, but the outcome could be basically the same.
And what's so crazy about the idea of a powerful God, Demon or Deathlord offering a Solar a chance to win at a game of Go (or Gateway, or whatever) instead of mortal combat? :) DS
Did you never see Bill And Ted's Bogus Journey? -Dim
Well, I think that Mask of Winters' true weakness is Go. Should he ever lose a game where he had the lead in the midgame, he will perish permanently. I'd like to suggest a few charms; Unbeatable Ko Technique, Optimistic Confidence Stance. --Clebo
Handicaps should be detailed as well. Maybe the Solar would reconsider his challenge to Mask of Winters when the artifact board places a 6 stone handicap. "Oh the hell with this." says the Solar as he wields his daiklave.. --tld
Quite true. Added Handicaps to the opening. DS
Opening Game
Eye of Heaven\\ 3m; double the number of fights the Solar and his opponent can start.
Heaven Against Earth\\ Xm, 1 Willpower; the Solar can purchase additional successes to make up the shortfall in his bid, at 3m per success, up to his rank in Go.
Eager Fighter's Stance\\ 3m; the Solar and his opponent conduct an even fight during the Opening game in addition to the normal point bidding; the shift in score does change the number of midgame fights possible.
Solid Foundation\\ Xm, 1 Willpower; the Solar can purchase additional points, up to his Permanent Essence, for a cost of 2m per point. These points do not add to the number of fights that can be started.
Midgame Charms
Fight Inciting Move\\ Let's the Solar start a number of additional fights; must be used in the Midgame. Cost a number of motes equal to the number of fights, paid for each additional fight (So, 1 for the first fight, 3 for two fights, 6 for three fights, etc)
Twin Eye Technique\\ Dice adder for Midgame fights; purchase additional dice at 2 dice / 1 mote, but only while defending.
Joseki Following Step\\ Dice adder for Midgame fights; purchase additional dice at 1 die / 1 mote, but only while attacking.
Driving Tesuji Technique\\ Allows the Solar to mercilessly smite his opponent; doubles the number of points gained from a
Crushing Weight\\ 3m; The Solar dictates who is on the attack and defense for the entire Midgame. If two Solars both use Crushing Weight, swap initative normally.
Side Securing Presence\\ 3m; Whatever the outcome of this fight, the Solar gains an additional point.
Flickering Speed Strike\\ Xm; Allows the Solar to inflict a penelty equal to X on both himself and his opponent by playing very quickly for the remainder of the Midgame. This favors the stronger player- a player reduced to 0 dice fails every fight.
Morale Breaking Slam\\ 5m; During the Midgame, the Solar slams down a decesive move; their opponent must make a Willpower roll, subtracting the difference of the Solar's score and their own; failure means they resign.
Hand of God\\ 3m, 1 Willpower; The Solar automatically wins a fight in the Midgame. If two Solars both use the Hand of God, roll for the fight as per normal.
End Game Charms
Threading the Needle\\ 1m/d; Dice adder for the end game. Adds one die per mote.
Wager of Despair\\ 3m/P; Increases the number of points added to the Endgame winner's score, at 3 motes per point.
Following God's Path\\ 3m, 1 Willpower; The Solar automatically wins the Endgame.
