Wildsea sparknotes: The narrative mechanics

focus

• whoever gets focus in the scene is a more explicit mechanic in wildsea
• ill keep track of whos got focus and make sure everyone gets their moments
• kinda works like "turns"

tracks

• visual reminders of something that will be happening
• get marked one by one as the thing gets closer to happening

scenes

exploration

• think about what the characters can see beyond just eyesight for the ardent
• think about what you can scavenge
• resource rolls
  • 6 = solid unmarred example of what youre looking for
  • 4/5 = negative tag
  • 1/2/3 = cant find or ruin it
  • twist = unique or positive tag
• locations to look for resources in
  • wrecks and ruins
  • reefs (collections of junk and rusting hulks)
  • spits and settlements
  • corpses and remains
  • the waves themselves

interaction

• information or favors typically requires an action roll
• language skills can stand in for typical skills (at cut/reduced impact)
• language skills provide cultural information

combat will be explained later

montages

• for doing a sequence of actions quickly, splitting up the party, everyone getting a moment to do something
• not exclusively for downtime scenes, though downtime is often in montages

Tasks

• the unit of measurement for parts of a montage
• each montage is typically one task per person
• generally: exploration, acquisition, recovery, creation
• montage task examples: working on a project, tending to injuries, exploring, making a tool, picking fruit, getting some exercise, reading, stargazing, talking to crew, fixing the ship, cooking, hunting, meditating, theft
• generally represented by a single roll, same as typical action rolls

Exploration

• fairly straightforward

Acquisition

• 6 means you get what you're looking for, 4/5 means it has a negative tag

Recovery

• 6 means recover two marks
• 4/5 means recover one mark
• homebrew: 1/2/3 means you recover zero (book says to take extra damage lmao)

Creation

• 6 means you get a 2 track temporary aspect
• 4/5 means a 2 track temporary aspect with a downside
• 1/2/3 means you get nothing
• twist = unexpected benefit

Projects

• long term, tracked, progress made during montage tasks
• ways to progress
• simple time
• making a roll (higher risk higher reward)
• using resources
• help from others

journeys

• starts with a destination or goal in mind
• preparations: cargo, passengers, undercrew, a route, information
• set off with a journey track (one track for progress, possibly others for risk, pathfinding, riot)