I've been wanting this game for ages and now that Camp Nano for July is upon us, my Godkiller found this game and specifically asked me to run this for them.
So they bought me the palestine bundle when they realised this was part of it.
We're doing it in a written format (we don't live in the same area, and calling isn't always an option)
And my... pantheon, let's say, is based around the Norse gods (and maaaaayyyybeee their Marvel counterparts where applicable). We're still prepping and worldbuilding but we're having fun.
Very intriguing premise! Looking for a game to play with my spouse when the money is tight to go out. Any chance for community copies for those of the global south? :D
If you fail to Wield a Power, the move says you can suffer 2 strain to achieve the effect anyway. But the extra information below it in the book (pg. 26) says 3 strain. I was wondering which was correct? Does the 3 include the 1 strain for "you're desperate for this to work"? If you didn't spend that, but after the roll failed you decided to push, do you only spend 2 strain total? I could see this going either way, so I could prolly answer myself to match the flavour of our campaign, but I'd like to know the intent.
Also, with Challenge Someone Dangerous, what's the motivation for requiring an audience? Basically, I want to gage what I should do if my player's Godkiller challenges someone without. Do I answer no to the "audience on your side" question, or perhaps does the action lose its divine nature and I fall back to Mortal moves, if any? Or something else?
I hope this design intent discussion is the kind of thing that would be covered in a future non-ashcan version of the game. I'm generally perpetually interested in design decisions, not just as a game designer myself, but also as it helps me wield the rules more effectively and navigate edge cases intelligently. (On that note, I find it interesting that this game, unlike many PbtAs I've played, actively encourages the GM to keep secrets from the player.) Anyway, very keen to see more of this game. :3
Hey there! Great questions, and agreed that it's always lovely to know design intentions behind games you enjoy -- it helps me facilitate my sessions as well, as a game master.
For Wield a Power, the 3 strain is a copyediting error, a vestige pre-playtests where it was discovered that 3 is rather punishing and often triggers the Suffer your fifth strain move. So if the player would like to achieve the effect anyway, they'd only have to suffer 2 strain. This would be in addition to marking 1 strain if they're "desperate for this to work"; i.e., you pay the price for 1 strain before making the move, and you can choose to suffer an additional 2 strain if the result is not what you wanted.
For Challenge Someone Dangerous, the motivation was to hit on the themes of Divine Moves being dangerous, obvious, and intense. I wanted to tap into the spectacle of divine conflict. The Mortal Moves about negotiating your relationship with other people (connect with someone, feel someone/something out, etc) are rooted in this intimate, vulnerable tone; the idea is that when you're a mortal, you can resolve things privately, with both of your hearts laid bare. That's less prevalent when you're tapping into godhood. When you challenge someone dangerous, you're not just challenging their abilities, powers, or wits; you're challenging their reputation, what they stand for, their very domain itself. Hence, requiring an audience. For what it's worth (and this is something I'd likely expand upon in the full game!), the audience can be defined however you like, whether it's literal (e.g., a herd of that god's mortal worshipers) or more metaphysical (the eyes of destiny are watching you in this moment). This adjudication has led to some really interesting uses of that move in my own private games and at my playtesting tables!
If there's really no way to involve an audience in triggering that Move, and this is proving to be a point of friction at your table, you are always free to adjudicate the outcome however you like. I'd lean in the direction of "no" to "the audience is on your side" and trigger the Divine Move anyway, just because its resolution can be super juicy to play through. This is all good feedback as I approach finishing my words on the full game.
Finally, re: keeping secrets, it's what I've found to be particularly fruitful at my own tables running GODKILLER as a duet experience! Most other PbtA games involve more than 2 folks bouncing back and forth with ideas, and I discovered quite early on in my playtesting process that if my partner knew everything I did, and/or had complete equal power over what would happen next, it took away a lot of the spontaneous fun of playing for them. They still wanted to discover my plans, thwart my plots, and interrogate my gods with various hidden agendas. This approach does put a larger creative load on the GM, which is something I'm considering deeply as I tackle the full text.
Thanks for the feedback and I hope you've been enjoying playing the game so far! <33
Thanks for the answers! And yes, I've since started running it for one of my partners and we're really enjoying the game so far.
We noticed that, though the game implies a gothic fantasy setting, it doesn't necessarily require it. So we're pushing the worldbuilding a bit by making a dark/gothic cyberpunk setting: pockets of corporate dystopia dotted throughout miles of abandoned city with no known borders or plant-life, roamed by electricity beasts and crossed by magic-powered cyberspace. This game's godkiller is a Wronged clown. Formerly zir god was the god of laughter and comedians before a Disney-esque god consumed them and their worshippers employees in a company merger.
It's all very tragic. We're having a great time. :3
Conservatism, consumption, and cruelty. These are the themes by which Godkiller justifies deicide. Its effective use of the history of humanity’s resentment of religion makes for an evocative, intimate duet experience, one I think will absolutely find its target audience when the final version is released. Players who have struggled with religious oppression, questioned why their all-loving Gods would smite the innocent, or just want to sink their teeth into something holy will find a great deal of narrative satisfaction in this text.
Thanks so much for hanging tight on a response from me! This is SUCH a lovely coincidence that you're asking this... I'll have big news about a physical release coming out tomorrow on my birthday :EYESEMOJI!:
I posted about it on Twitter here! I also shared it on Instagram. My socials are the best place to stay current on news regarding my game design efforts! Though, this does remind me to post updates in the ashcan game page as well :)
this was a massively fun experience and i thoroughly enjoyed all the flavor text woven into the rules and suggestions! cannot wait to try this again with more of my friends!
Hi! Thanks for waiting for a reply — but the full version is still being created! I’m working with a publisher on it :) I’ll be announcing more official things about it in late March 2024!
Hi there!! Yes, I would absolutely love to discuss the possibility of getting a Polish translation in, I’d be so honored. Please do reach out at byconniechang@gmail.com and let’s get a meeting on the books!
Loved getting to play this dynamic, powerful game! Failures are exciting and dramatic! I adoreee the overkill element. The stakes always feel high! It's a great gameeee and I adore it.
a follow up question. Am i right to assume that the Cradle is the default setting but the full game will allow me to create a very different setting for my games if i want?
Correct! The Cradle is the default / canon setting of the game, but what the Cradle looks like, how it operates, and what its history is are completely up to the table. You also don't need to use the term "Cradle" to describe your world if you don't want to. The full game will include more detailed setting information about various versions of the Cradle, including the one featured in the GODKILLER: First Blood podcast series!
Editing to add that the full game will also include guidance, rules, and advice for homebrewing your very own Cradle.
Loving the podcast—it's absolutely incredible, and everything I've ever wanted—and I've been so excited to play games of this when it comes out that I pre-ordered it for a couple of my friends, too. SO ready to commit some acts of heresy with them, and see what stories my Godkillers and I create together!
Hell yeah!! So glad you've been enjoying the podcast, and I'm so excited to share the game with you and everyone else <33 Hoping for a release early this week!!
Good evening to you Connie. say,does the game have worldbuilding guides? Like if want several different worlds with several different types of gods with wildly different natures each different game,will the game help me do it?
That's a great question! The ashcan is an extremely trimmed down, boots-on-ground field guide for folks to hop into GODKILLER right away and so won't have much in the way of worldbuilding, setting creation, and god generation aside from giving you the fundamental tools to build your own.
My hope is to use the sales from this ashcan run to fund a Kickstarter for a full game where there will be a fuller worldbuilding guide along with fleshed out settings, adventure modules, a more in-depth god-building toolbox, and more! When the ashcan is out, I will gladly welcome suggestions for what folks like yourself would like to see in the full game.
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I've been wanting this game for ages and now that Camp Nano for July is upon us, my Godkiller found this game and specifically asked me to run this for them.
So they bought me the palestine bundle when they realised this was part of it.
We're doing it in a written format (we don't live in the same area, and calling isn't always an option)
And my... pantheon, let's say, is based around the Norse gods (and maaaaayyyybeee their Marvel counterparts where applicable). We're still prepping and worldbuilding but we're having fun.
Very intriguing premise! Looking for a game to play with my spouse when the money is tight to go out. Any chance for community copies for those of the global south? :D
Excited to have started our journey!
Just our first session so far, so have yet to sink our teeth into the world properly but psyched to see where we end up and how we get there
I'm so happy to hear about the full version of the game
I'm super excited to share it with everyone!!
I have a couple of questions about the rules.
If you fail to Wield a Power, the move says you can suffer 2 strain to achieve the effect anyway. But the extra information below it in the book (pg. 26) says 3 strain. I was wondering which was correct? Does the 3 include the 1 strain for "you're desperate for this to work"? If you didn't spend that, but after the roll failed you decided to push, do you only spend 2 strain total? I could see this going either way, so I could prolly answer myself to match the flavour of our campaign, but I'd like to know the intent.
Also, with Challenge Someone Dangerous, what's the motivation for requiring an audience? Basically, I want to gage what I should do if my player's Godkiller challenges someone without. Do I answer no to the "audience on your side" question, or perhaps does the action lose its divine nature and I fall back to Mortal moves, if any? Or something else?
I hope this design intent discussion is the kind of thing that would be covered in a future non-ashcan version of the game. I'm generally perpetually interested in design decisions, not just as a game designer myself, but also as it helps me wield the rules more effectively and navigate edge cases intelligently. (On that note, I find it interesting that this game, unlike many PbtAs I've played, actively encourages the GM to keep secrets from the player.) Anyway, very keen to see more of this game. :3
Hey there! Great questions, and agreed that it's always lovely to know design intentions behind games you enjoy -- it helps me facilitate my sessions as well, as a game master.
For Wield a Power, the 3 strain is a copyediting error, a vestige pre-playtests where it was discovered that 3 is rather punishing and often triggers the Suffer your fifth strain move. So if the player would like to achieve the effect anyway, they'd only have to suffer 2 strain. This would be in addition to marking 1 strain if they're "desperate for this to work"; i.e., you pay the price for 1 strain before making the move, and you can choose to suffer an additional 2 strain if the result is not what you wanted.
For Challenge Someone Dangerous, the motivation was to hit on the themes of Divine Moves being dangerous, obvious, and intense. I wanted to tap into the spectacle of divine conflict. The Mortal Moves about negotiating your relationship with other people (connect with someone, feel someone/something out, etc) are rooted in this intimate, vulnerable tone; the idea is that when you're a mortal, you can resolve things privately, with both of your hearts laid bare. That's less prevalent when you're tapping into godhood. When you challenge someone dangerous, you're not just challenging their abilities, powers, or wits; you're challenging their reputation, what they stand for, their very domain itself. Hence, requiring an audience. For what it's worth (and this is something I'd likely expand upon in the full game!), the audience can be defined however you like, whether it's literal (e.g., a herd of that god's mortal worshipers) or more metaphysical (the eyes of destiny are watching you in this moment). This adjudication has led to some really interesting uses of that move in my own private games and at my playtesting tables!
If there's really no way to involve an audience in triggering that Move, and this is proving to be a point of friction at your table, you are always free to adjudicate the outcome however you like. I'd lean in the direction of "no" to "the audience is on your side" and trigger the Divine Move anyway, just because its resolution can be super juicy to play through. This is all good feedback as I approach finishing my words on the full game.
Finally, re: keeping secrets, it's what I've found to be particularly fruitful at my own tables running GODKILLER as a duet experience! Most other PbtA games involve more than 2 folks bouncing back and forth with ideas, and I discovered quite early on in my playtesting process that if my partner knew everything I did, and/or had complete equal power over what would happen next, it took away a lot of the spontaneous fun of playing for them. They still wanted to discover my plans, thwart my plots, and interrogate my gods with various hidden agendas. This approach does put a larger creative load on the GM, which is something I'm considering deeply as I tackle the full text.
Thanks for the feedback and I hope you've been enjoying playing the game so far! <33
Thanks for the answers! And yes, I've since started running it for one of my partners and we're really enjoying the game so far.
We noticed that, though the game implies a gothic fantasy setting, it doesn't necessarily require it. So we're pushing the worldbuilding a bit by making a dark/gothic cyberpunk setting: pockets of corporate dystopia dotted throughout miles of abandoned city with no known borders or plant-life, roamed by electricity beasts and crossed by magic-powered cyberspace. This game's godkiller is a Wronged clown. Formerly zir god was the god of laughter and comedians before a Disney-esque god consumed them and their
worshippersemployees in a company merger.It's all very tragic. We're having a great time. :3
Conservatism, consumption, and cruelty. These are the themes by which Godkiller justifies deicide. Its effective use of the history of humanity’s resentment of religion makes for an evocative, intimate duet experience, one I think will absolutely find its target audience when the final version is released. Players who have struggled with religious oppression, questioned why their all-loving Gods would smite the innocent, or just want to sink their teeth into something holy will find a great deal of narrative satisfaction in this text.
Thank you so much for the in-depth review and analysis of the game, Aaron! <3
Hello, I am about to purchase the game, but I am a sucker for a physical release. Is that something that may become available?
Thanks so much for hanging tight on a response from me! This is SUCH a lovely coincidence that you're asking this... I'll have big news about a physical release coming out tomorrow on my birthday :EYESEMOJI!:
Happy Birthday!
I couldn't find new news about the physical release, though I'm looking forward to it. Maybe I'm looking in the wrong spaces?
I posted about it on Twitter here! I also shared it on Instagram. My socials are the best place to stay current on news regarding my game design efforts! Though, this does remind me to post updates in the ashcan game page as well :)
this was a massively fun experience and i thoroughly enjoyed all the flavor text woven into the rules and suggestions! cannot wait to try this again with more of my friends!
Hell yeah! So glad to hear you had a great experience <3
Hi Connie, super excited to play this game, I just have a question. Has the full version come out or is it still being created?
Hi! Thanks for waiting for a reply — but the full version is still being created! I’m working with a publisher on it :) I’ll be announcing more official things about it in late March 2024!
Hi Connie! I'm a huge fan of your work and I'm currently obsessed with godkiller. I'd be happy to work on polish translation if you're interested
Hi there!! Yes, I would absolutely love to discuss the possibility of getting a Polish translation in, I’d be so honored. Please do reach out at byconniechang@gmail.com and let’s get a meeting on the books!
Loved getting to play this dynamic, powerful game! Failures are exciting and dramatic! I adoreee the overkill element. The stakes always feel high! It's a great gameeee and I adore it.
Eee!! Thanks so much, Farris, this comment means so much coming from you. I’m glad you had a blast with the game!
RELEASE DAY!!! LETS GO
RELEASE DAYYYY!!!
ahh i'm so excited!!!
LET'S GOOOOOO!!!
Screaming with joy! It's here at last!!!!
SHE HAS ARRIVED
a follow up question.
Am i right to assume that the Cradle is the default setting but the full game will allow me to create a very different setting for my games if i want?
Correct! The Cradle is the default / canon setting of the game, but what the Cradle looks like, how it operates, and what its history is are completely up to the table. You also don't need to use the term "Cradle" to describe your world if you don't want to. The full game will include more detailed setting information about various versions of the Cradle, including the one featured in the GODKILLER: First Blood podcast series!
Editing to add that the full game will also include guidance, rules, and advice for homebrewing your very own Cradle.
Thank you Connie
IT'S HERE! HEAVEN YEAH!
IT’S HERE!!!
Loving the podcast—it's absolutely incredible, and everything I've ever wanted—and I've been so excited to play games of this when it comes out that I pre-ordered it for a couple of my friends, too. SO ready to commit some acts of heresy with them, and see what stories my Godkillers and I create together!
Hell yeah!! So glad you've been enjoying the podcast, and I'm so excited to share the game with you and everyone else <33 Hoping for a release early this week!!
Listening to the podcast version and this looks like it'll be perfect for some stories I want to tell with my players.
Excellent! I can’t wait for you to get your hands on the game, and thanks for listening!
Good evening to you Connie. say,does the game have worldbuilding guides? Like if want several different worlds with several different types of gods with wildly different natures each different game,will the game help me do it?
That's a great question! The ashcan is an extremely trimmed down, boots-on-ground field guide for folks to hop into GODKILLER right away and so won't have much in the way of worldbuilding, setting creation, and god generation aside from giving you the fundamental tools to build your own.
My hope is to use the sales from this ashcan run to fund a Kickstarter for a full game where there will be a fuller worldbuilding guide along with fleshed out settings, adventure modules, a more in-depth god-building toolbox, and more! When the ashcan is out, I will gladly welcome suggestions for what folks like yourself would like to see in the full game.
thanks Connie!
When I say I will have to play so many Gods...
I'm looking forward to seeing what stories my many Godkillers will weave.
Light the flame of hatred in their heart, God. Bathe them in oil and ignite their baptism. And whatever you do... never, ever, ever relent. ONWARD!
Coming back to say how WILDLY prophetic this was - my first Godkiller's first victim was Vulkan, and quenching oil was involved.
Godkiller is THE GAME my brother and I have been waiting for!! We can now play grand holypunk stories together as God & Godkiller
I'm so, SO excited for you and your brother to play this game, Val! IT WILL TRULY BE SUCH A TIME
I’ve been waiting for Godkiller to come out for such a long time — I can’t believe it’s finally here!!! WOOOOO!!
Scream!! I can't wait for you to get your hands on it in particular. TIME TO VANQUISH SOME GODS