CAG Moves – Another shot

I’m starting to wrap my head around not only why the Leadership move exists (to push your gang to do things they normally wouldn’t do, or that goes against their instincts) but also what it should do (make moves that fit the narrative, flexible enough to adapt to situations, but not all encompassing).

So, I thought about what a CAG would do, what he would send his pilots to do, blow up Cylons, protect the fleet, create an ambush, etc.

So. I created Squadron Commander. The CAGs equivalent of leadership, and I like it (though I’m still open to suggestions), but now I’m really wondering about Brief the Squad. It just seems too similar, or like it overlaps too much. What do you think?

 

14 thoughts on “CAG Moves – Another shot”

  1. I think, a hit on Squadron Commander should give 2 hold no matter what. A 7-9 should result in pilots doing things they shouldn’t (Starbuck bucking orders, Kat on stims, Flattop partying after the 1000th landing and getting blow up, etc).

  2. Squadron Commander: When your squad fights for you, roll +hard. On a hit, hold 2. On a 10+, that’s all, they are following orders. On a 7-9, they buck your command, push themselves too far, or get careless. Spend your hold 1 for 1 to:

    • Draw fire
    • Concentrate fire on a target
    • Sacrifice themselves to buy time for the fleet.
    • Lay in wait to ambush.

    On a miss the squad is scattered, outflanked or unprepared, leaving you exposed to your enemy.

  3. Hi Sean!

    How do you view the two moves? What was your thought process when you wrote them? In what situation would you

    Right now they seem like they have a good deal of overlap, but I think there’s room for both moves. Brief the Squad seems like something you can only do if you have time–it’s like a prep move. Without a briefing, though, it seems like there should be penalties for a lack of cohesion.

    Maybe make Brief the Squad something of a defensive move–just hold-whatever based on what you roll and when a Squadron member gets in trouble, you can spend hold as the CAG to bail them out.

    Then Leadership becomes the move we’re familiar with from AW–a move that lets you get a group of shmucks to do things they would otherwise be incapable of doing, by the virtue of your character’s shining presence.

    1. Brief the Squad came first. It was based on the Lt from The Regiment and I liked the idea that the CAG was smart and could make a good plan. Also, there are tons, I mean tons, of scenes when the pilots are briefed by their CAG.

      But here’s the rub. Chances of PC pilots are low. So this is more stuff for the CAG to do with his gang. And frankly the gang doesn’t need that level of granularity. Like they don’t need +1 to take advantage of an opportunity because they are NPCs and never roll.

      So I think Brief needs to come out… but I still want a move where the CAG can use his +Sharp to be smart. AND I love the briefing scenes. It’s like the calm before the storm. It’s where you see if the Pilots have what it takes, and it’s where we see their number diminishing as the show goes on. What the move should do though, is be more generic, so the CAG can use it on anyone, something like “Oftener Right”

      1. Cool! So it could be something related to the ability of the CAG to command attention and make and communicate coherent plans to groups, yeah?

        Maybe call it Commanding Presence or something and make the wording a bit more generic, so the player gets cues that it can be used in the hallway before a firefight just as easily as it can be used in the briefing room?

        Let me know if I’m following your thoughts properly.

  4. Cool! So it could be something related to the ability of the CAG to command attention and make and communicate coherent plans to groups, yeah?

    Maybe call it Commanding Presence or something and make the wording a bit more generic, so the player gets cues that it can be used in the hallway before a firefight just as easily as it can be used in the briefing room?

    Let me know if I’m following your thoughts properly. 😀

    1. Yeah, you got it, although I might make it even more general that that.

      Plan a mission: Make a plan, formally in a squadron briefing, or informally, giving council to someone as needed. Roll +sharp. Ont a 10+ hold 3, on a 7-9 hold one. During the mission, anyone who listened to can spend a one of the holds 1 for 1 to ask a question from the Read a Sitch list, and gain the +1 going forward accordingly.

      Hmm, it’s a thing. Here’s another thing.

      Commanding Presence When you speak passionately to a captive audience, roll +hot. On a 10+ your words resonate the truth of things…. cool stuff I can’t think of right now here.

  5. As I mentioned on twitter, I think much of the apparent overlap comes from the presence of “Concentrate Fire” on both lists. Remove that from Brief the Squad you have 1) a move that details the mission and prepares the squad and 2) a move for reacting to things that go wrong during the mission. This gets it right back to those two basic moves from The Regiment, “Make a Battle Plan” and “Lead an Maneuver”.

    Is “mission” a technical term? If not, Brief the Squad can already be applied quite widely.

    And damn, now I want to play The Regiment again…

    1. Yeah, okay, lets see how it plays out.

      Brief needs the following:

      Ditch Concentrated fire
      Ditch insubordination (can be triggered by Squad Commander)
      Add another 7-9 Condition
      Make “mission” explicitly vague.

  6. Some other thoughts, based on twitter responses to look at the Regiment:

    When you see a fellow soldier go down in battle (4+ damage), roll+bond. On a 10+, rush
    to help them or take 2 stress. On a 7-9, rush to help them or take 1 stress. On a miss,
    you’re in control. If you rush to help them anyway, take +1bond with them.

    Harsh Lessons: When you see one or more of your soldiers go down in battle, mark xp

    Tactical support: You can choose to roll+tactics instead of roll+bond when you help someone who’s rolling.

    1. I like those. I think while they use the same mechanic (roll and hold) they do it for sufficiently different ends that they feel different to me, in reading at least.

  7. And here are the optional moves. I’m thinking either Dearly Departed or Harsh Lessons should go (they are too close).

    1. They’re related, but they have quite different approaches to death (personal vs public response) and say quite different things about the character who chooses them.

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