Contenders has been lucky enough to gather some excellent actual play reports recently. Woo hoo! Thanks guys.

I’m thinking of The Durham 3’s game. Check out the podcasts here (33 - 36)
www.durham3.com And posted about on
The Forge

Also the Hell’s Kitchen game at the Go Play SE Portland event run by Uruush(Matt)
http://www.indie-rpgs.com/forum/index.php?topic=23917.0
Christian aka Xenopulse also posted
this awesome moment from the Hell’s Kitchen game.

There were lots of great things said about the (Ronnie award winning) game, which I’m over the moon about. There was also some constructive criticism.

This criticism, primarily of the Pain spiral and Endgame situation has put me in two minds (possibly three).

Narrative Nut
Contenders has been described as a Nar-Gam hybrid. As Ron Edwards has pointed out, this is wrong. Don’t be fooled by the gamey trappings, Contenders is oriented towards Nar. For a player pursuing a narrativist creative agenda - seeking narrative fun, ‘winning’ or ‘losing’ shouldn’t matter. Pain is the game’s central theme.

Pain will escalate for some characters. They may well be overwhelmed. Yet there’s always the choice to keep fighting back. Your character’s struggle will seem all the nobler if his stats say he’s doomed.

The other darker option is to accept the Pain and become an antagonist.

You’re overwhelmed by pain, live it, role-play it – immerse in the despair!

Your character may now feel his only reason for existing is to share his pain with others… Great, go for it, break their bodies and crush their hope.

A high Pain takes the fortune out of the boxing system? You bet your sweet ass it does. That amount of rage and hate is truly devastating. It’s the choice to use the Pain that is more important - especially with regards to the other characters’ stories.

+ + +

Gamer Guy
Hmm, seems like there may be some balance issues especially in the latter stages of the game. In particular there is the Pain spiral phenomena and the feeling that the Endgame is unsatisfactory when it’s a foregone conclusion. Players will not be as engaged if they can’t win the game.

Time for house rules (hacks if you think you’re Tron). Plug in one or more of these house rules if you think it will make for a better game. Then let me know how it goes, ‘cos none of them have been playtested!

Work Scenes
+ Conditioning adds to effective Pain for Work Scene checks.
+ Work scenes net double pay.
+ A Contender does not gain Pain for tying a Work draw.

Pain
+ Pain is capped at Hope + 5. Instead of gaining extra Pain, a Bad Thing happens to a Contender at his Pain limit (like The Horror Revealed in My Life With Master).
+ The bonus to Damage for Bringing The Pain is equal to half Pain (rounded up).

Soothe
New Scene type where a Contender finds some way to soothe his Pain. Only usable if Pain > Hope. Pain decreases by a point. Letting go of your Pain makes you soft! -1 to an In-Ring Trait.

Alt Endgame
As a final Scene a Contender may choose a special montage, either:
+ Final Training
+ Soothing
+ Connecting

Soothing
An extended montage based on a Soothe Scene. A Contender may reduce his Pain. For every point of Pain he loses he must subtract one from an In-Ring Trait. Pain cannot drop below Hope from Soothing.

Connecting
An extended montage based on a Connection Scene. The Contender spends Cash and draws an equal number of cards. The forces of adversity draw cards equal to the Contender’s current Pain. For every point the Contender wins by he gains a point of Hope in a Connection. For every point the Contender loses by he gains a point of Pain. A Contender cannot gain more Hope than his current Pain in this manner.

Final Training
This is where your character goes down a dungeon and kills monsters. Only kidding, it’s an extended montage based on a Training Scene! A Contender can spend Cash on developing one In-Ring Trait. This functions like multiple Training scenes (maximum of 3) back to back. Pay for the increases step by step.

+ + +

Voice of Immersion
Be wary of using player knowledge to make character choices. A Contender doesn’t know he has an X point Pain deficit.

Winning? Losing? I’m too immersed in my character to notice!