Back in 2012, I backed Robin D Laws’ Hillfolk on Kickstarter. I was excited because it was different, focussing on dramatic play and doing away with all that messy procedural business (like combat and chases). But I’ve only played it once – and I’ve never run it.
I’ve often thought about running more of it, and finally, I’ve offered it at Continuum 2023 at the end of July.
Dying to play
I've been dying to play Hillfolk (or any form of Dramasystem, the core engine that powers Hillfolk) since the Kickstarter. I've been playing and writing freeform larps for nearly 30 years, and Hillfolk promises to bring some of the interrelational parts of freeforms to the tabletop.
So why has it taken me so long to run Hillfolk? Any why do I feel so ambivalent about it?
Well, it might be because I'm unlikely to play a regular game of Hillfolk. I don't have a regular tabletop group big enough for Hillfolk – which suits five or six players (more than I am normally comfortable with). And until now, I’ve not been brave enough to run a one-shot. (My one experience of playing Hillfolk was as a one-shot at Furnace, years ago. It was great – I don’t know why I’ve waited so long to try running it.)
But I think there’s more to my ambivalence than the difficulty of getting it to the table.
How does the game work?
In Hillfolk, the players are the leaders of an Iron-age tribe. Hillfolk emphasises character motivation and the intricate web of relationships within the community. Players create characters with unique desires, goals, and connections to other characters, which drive the storytelling.
During character creation, players establish their roles in the tribe and their relationships with other characters. Hillfolk characters have:
- Desires – what drives the character (power, respect, forgiveness)
- Needs – what the character needs from each other character (their approval, love, forgiveness and so on)
- Dramatic poles – a choice of personal identities your character is torn between (so Han Solo is torn between being a mercenary pirate and supporting his friends in the rebellion)
- Actions – things you’re good at (and things you aren’t)
The game is played in scenes, most of which are dramatic, in which one person (the petitioner) wants something of another (the granter). (So, on the Death Star, Luke petitions Han to help him rescue Princess Leia.) This is roleplayed out – and whoever “loses” the scene (ie, doesn’t get what they want), receives a drama token from the other character. (So, by agreeing to help Luke rescue the princess, Han receives a drama token from Luke.)
Drama tokens can give you bonuses or let you force scenes or get what you want.
Procedural scenes are scenes in which action happens – a raid, a long journey. Hillfolk has a system for that, but it’s slightly fiddly (and probably more complicated than it needs to be).
That’s the core system – there are lots of special cases, which I will probably forget and handwave if I have to.
So all that sounds great! What’s not to love about compelling, dramatic characters clashing with each other? Well, unfortunately, a few things.
Physically meh
I think Pelgrane missed a trick with the physical product. I'm not inspired by it - in fact, I find it offputting for a few reasons:
The font: First, I find Hillfolk almost unreadable. The system section is set in a teeny serif font which I find hard to read (particularly when it's slightly blurred, as my copy is on a few pages). Making Hillfolk hard to read is not making me love it. The series pitches are in a cleaner font - still small, but easier to read.
The cover: Hillfolk has an uninspiring cover. There are lovely images inside the book, but the cover is a muddy brown colour, with two indistinct figures in the centre. It doesn’t scream, "Pick me up and play me!"
Short rules, large book: There's not much to the Dramasystem rules. That's kind of the point, but it seems odd that a set of rules you could comfortably fit into a magazine article now sits in a 240-page A4 hardback book. It's also interesting that the procedural rules are longer than the dramatic rules. I can see why this is, but it seems ironic for a game that's supposed to prioritise drama.
The Hillfolk setting: I'm not excited by the Hillfolk setting. It explains the rules well, and I understand why the game avoids a traditional fantasy RPG setting. But really, wasn’t there a more compelling setting available?
Too many series pitches
But perhaps I might do better with a series pitch? Ah, yes, the series pitches.
Too many series pitches: There are way too many series pitches. Two-thirds of the book consists of series pitches, ranging from gangsters to angels to an ant colony! (And there are even more in the companion.) I will never run them all - and very few feel like a proper game - most of them feel like an excuse to create a setting.
Series pitch length: There are lots of series pitches, and they're all about 2000 words long. I have no confidence that the series pitches were run as Dramasystem games before publication, and I'm not convinced that 2000 words are enough to create a satisfying game.
But I could be doing them a disservice; after all, I haven’t played any yet. (Lindybeige disagrees – here’s his enthusiastic video about Hillfolk and one of the series pitches.)
Campaigns: Hillfolk apparently suits campaigns more than it does one-shot games. Now, as much as I'd like to play a campaign, I'm much more likely to play a one-shot - and I imagine many gamers would like to try Hillfolk as a one-shot before committing to a campaign. Hillfolk does contain advice for one-shots, but as an aside rather than a feature.
A victim of Kickstarter success?
Was Hillfolk a victim of its own Kickstarter success? Here are my thoughts on that:
Stretch rewards: Hillfolk burst through numerous stretch rewards, many of which consisted of new series pitches. (Other stretch rewards included full-colour interiors, hardback books, and so on.)
Series pitches: I’d happily have fewer, more detailed series pitches. Series pitches were an obvious easy stretch goal for Kickstarter, but more isn’t necessarily better.
While Kickstarter was a brilliant marketing and fundraising campaign, I'm not convinced it's helped Hillfolk/Dramasystem in the long run.
Actual play
It was a few years ago that I played in a game of Hillfolk, and I remember enjoying the game (although it lacked an ending, if I remember right). But I haven’t run it yet…
As for running it? I’ll talk about that soon – Continuum is only a couple of weeks away.
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