Troika! Tuesday: Run the Game you Wanna Love
Troika! is just for one shots. It can't handle long term play. It's a silly game that takes place in a setting you can't take seriously. I've read a lot of things in that ilk since I started running Troika! and trying to learn more about the scene around it. It's a game where the mention of it leads to scoffs from folks about how deeply unserious it is to play. Folks take the initiative system to task, the lack of an item list, the swimming rules, etc. It goes on and on with what people find to complain about. I get that not every system is going to be for everyone, but the baked in assumptions of how the game plays are damaging to how strong an dynamic a scaffold the game can hold. Lots of folks disregard the game as something silly or inherently flawed before they play it. A much more concerning trend is the amount of people who carry those preconceived notions into their sessions and mold play to support them.
I am running a fairly standard megadungeon game right now using stock Troika! alongside some rules that I have made that sprouted out from play. The game has been more than capable of handling that kind of logistics based attrition. The players track torches, have porters to carry their crap, and scheme big during downtime to try and get the upper hand. It's awesome and at no point have I shrugged my shoulders at the system and gone "Oh drats, Dan really let me down by not including rules for vehicles or the price of a sword." When those things come up I tackle them as the prep they are. Desiring a book that spells it all out can be very alluring! I am fond of Toolkit systems myself. And yet not every game is gonna cover everything and sometimes super obvious stuff like the cost of something or how dungeon movement gets left out. You can choose to pass over it in pursuit of a "perfect system" or try your hand at getting familiar enough with it to make a solution that fits the game you're trying to run.
Because all those missing pieces we feel compelled to fill are just the parts missing from the campaign we're gonna love even more. Those aches of trying to find the right dials to turn are a good sign! Take them as a sign that you need to step up and decide something for yourself. Pushing through that initial discomfort to actually follow those ideas to completion are what make the game yours and gives you that unflinching confidence that you're running something sick. Try stuff out, get familiar with it through play, and try to make it your own!
Vehicle Rules Draft
Vehicles are sorted into sizes: Small, Medium, Large, Massive. Size determines how many slots the vehicle has to slot in components that grant Skills. Skill Checks using the vehicle should add whichever skill makes sense from the Pilot/Gunner's Skill list, their General Skill, and any bonuses the vehicle offers.
Turtle Fort
Size - Large
Stamina - 14
Armor - 2
Speed - Slow
Slot 1: Protected Tower - +7 Stamina +2 Armor
Slot 2: Dragon's Nose Turret - Flamethrower 3
Slot 3: Hover Bracers - Float 2 \