Dinoberry Press
CREATOR
7 days ago
Project Update: Anchors, Pilots, and Moments (and a new poll!)
Good morning, Pilots!
Yesterday I dove into Doom in Dragon Reactor, and the second poll's results are in so here I am to swim with some Anchors!
About halfway through development on Dragon Reactor, we realized we were missing a pretty key component to the stories we're trying to tell- side characters.
It feels like suuuuuuch a silly thing to miss, but we were pretty focused on making sure all the other interwoven systems were hitting their mark so it came to us a little late. Conflicts had plenty of chatter between the Pilots, but any NPCs we brought in felt pretty shoe-horned, and there weren't really any interactions with them during Countdown. It was fine, since players were interacting with each other and having their own pretty driven scenes, but something was missing.
Yesterday I dove into Doom in Dragon Reactor, and the second poll's results are in so here I am to swim with some Anchors!
About halfway through development on Dragon Reactor, we realized we were missing a pretty key component to the stories we're trying to tell- side characters.
It feels like suuuuuuch a silly thing to miss, but we were pretty focused on making sure all the other interwoven systems were hitting their mark so it came to us a little late. Conflicts had plenty of chatter between the Pilots, but any NPCs we brought in felt pretty shoe-horned, and there weren't really any interactions with them during Countdown. It was fine, since players were interacting with each other and having their own pretty driven scenes, but something was missing.
Thus; Anchors!
Put simply, Anchors in Dragon Reactor are non-player characters that a Player has decided their Pilot cares about. Or, more specifically, the Pilot cares about their opinions, and what they think of the Pilot.
They don't have to be people you like. Their thoughts have to mean something to you. In fact, one of the Rivals (the Noble) has a once-per-conflict move that establishes themselves as an Anchor for any one of the Pilots present. In one of our playtests (the one that created the setting in the demo), my own Pilot's initial Anchor was the mother of the person I was raised to protect, and it was a pretty rough relationship to say the lease.
I think that's a pretty important distinction, the difference between caring about a person and caring about what they think of you. We don't always choose who the latter applies to in our lives, and bringing that in to these NPCs has ended up being pretty key to the game. In fact, yet again, our text puts it best:
They don't have to be people you like. Their thoughts have to mean something to you. In fact, one of the Rivals (the Noble) has a once-per-conflict move that establishes themselves as an Anchor for any one of the Pilots present. In one of our playtests (the one that created the setting in the demo), my own Pilot's initial Anchor was the mother of the person I was raised to protect, and it was a pretty rough relationship to say the lease.
I think that's a pretty important distinction, the difference between caring about a person and caring about what they think of you. We don't always choose who the latter applies to in our lives, and bringing that in to these NPCs has ended up being pretty key to the game. In fact, yet again, our text puts it best:
Despite some of their best efforts, Pilots are far from solitary beings. Each and every one of them has ties to another. Whether it’s someone back home, a fellow soldier, or someone they met on a mission, every Pilot has an Anchor that keeps them steady and, in some cases, serves as a guiding light.
Every Pilot starts with one Anchor, and more can be gained over the course of a campaign. Pilots can have up to 3 Anchors at a time.
Some Anchors provide motivation, others are a source of moral support, and some may even ask questions the Pilot doesn’t want to hear. Whatever their individual case may be, every Anchor is important to the Pilot they’re tied to.
We call them Anchors because they keep you grounded.
Anchors live on your character sheets, and like other things in Dragon Reactor are created by answering some questions and change over time using a clock.
The Anchor questions guide the player through creating this side-character in a pretty specific way. They're things like "Who would they say they are to you?", "What do they see in you that others do not?", "How do they make you feel?". They're mainly focused on the anchor, from their own view. In the full set, there are only 2 questions from the Pilot's perspective (including "how do they make you feel").
The structure here ensures that not only so the Pilot has a strong understanding of this character and the angle they'll be coming from, but also so the Poet has a foundation to build from when playing the character and tracking their Moments with the Pilot.
Many times running this game, I've gotten to pull on an Anchor in a way that emphasizes a particular moment in play. They can drive points home, they can tug on heartstrings and hit you in the gut, and they can relieve tension all at the same time.
The Anchor questions guide the player through creating this side-character in a pretty specific way. They're things like "Who would they say they are to you?", "What do they see in you that others do not?", "How do they make you feel?". They're mainly focused on the anchor, from their own view. In the full set, there are only 2 questions from the Pilot's perspective (including "how do they make you feel").
The structure here ensures that not only so the Pilot has a strong understanding of this character and the angle they'll be coming from, but also so the Poet has a foundation to build from when playing the character and tracking their Moments with the Pilot.
Many times running this game, I've gotten to pull on an Anchor in a way that emphasizes a particular moment in play. They can drive points home, they can tug on heartstrings and hit you in the gut, and they can relieve tension all at the same time.
What is a Moment?
We're going to take a quick detour to talk about relationships. When you boil it down, interpersonal relationships can be broken down into memories of things you've shared, of moments in time that build and refine your connection.
With Anchors, we wanted to make sure we had something to emulate this. A way to make it clear that a Pilot's relationship with their Anchor isn't static, but flowing and changing over time depending on what happens. To do this, we designed their Moments.
Every Anchor tracks specific Moments that occur during play, and we note down whether it's from a Positive or a Negative angle. When four Moments have been filled on an Anchor's sheet, the Pilot gets to have a scene with that Anchor during their next Countdown phase and the relationship changes as a result.
I mean that literally, by the way! After the scene the Pilot has to change an answer to one of the Anchor questions. This relationship grows, and at some point it can end. If either the Pilot or the Anchor thing the conversation marks the end of their connection, the Anchor is removed.
They can still be a character, but they won't be as present and the Pilot doesn't care in the same way. Of course, the players will always care- that's the beauty of these kinds of NPCs. But the Pilot has removed the Anchor from their heart, and someone else will fill that void.
With Anchors, we wanted to make sure we had something to emulate this. A way to make it clear that a Pilot's relationship with their Anchor isn't static, but flowing and changing over time depending on what happens. To do this, we designed their Moments.
Every Anchor tracks specific Moments that occur during play, and we note down whether it's from a Positive or a Negative angle. When four Moments have been filled on an Anchor's sheet, the Pilot gets to have a scene with that Anchor during their next Countdown phase and the relationship changes as a result.
I mean that literally, by the way! After the scene the Pilot has to change an answer to one of the Anchor questions. This relationship grows, and at some point it can end. If either the Pilot or the Anchor thing the conversation marks the end of their connection, the Anchor is removed.
They can still be a character, but they won't be as present and the Pilot doesn't care in the same way. Of course, the players will always care- that's the beauty of these kinds of NPCs. But the Pilot has removed the Anchor from their heart, and someone else will fill that void.
Another resource, another kind of health
Player resources in Dragon Reactor can often feel limited. They have just enough to get through a conflict, and things are constantly dwindling. A player can only take 4 direct damage before they have to roll on the Disaster Table, and they only have 12 bits of what you'd recognize as "traditional HP".
This means the Poet has to be pretty particular with when they hurt the Pilots by giving them Conditions. It's one of the options in the Burdens and Boons table (which we can talk about when we get to Magnitudes), so it's not something they can do freely, but it's still something worth holding onto. Often, the other Burdens are more impactful, like marking a Negative moment with an Anchor.
This means the Poet has to be pretty particular with when they hurt the Pilots by giving them Conditions. It's one of the options in the Burdens and Boons table (which we can talk about when we get to Magnitudes), so it's not something they can do freely, but it's still something worth holding onto. Often, the other Burdens are more impactful, like marking a Negative moment with an Anchor.
Anchors aren't just characters- they're also a kind of health bar.
Rather than having a Pilot mark down an Injury, Woe, or Damage the Poet can instead have them mark a negative Moment with their Anchor (the Pilot can use a Boon from a success to gain a Positive one). This gives the Poet something to pull on other than "ok you take damage" or "the enemy makes progress towards their goal".
A Poet's role in Dragon Reactor is in part to control pacing, and it gives you a truckload of tools to do that with. You have to be mindful of how much damage the pilots are taking and how often the enemy marks progress on their Conflict Clock. The more filled those bars get, the more tense things are. The more marks on a Pilot's character sheet, the more desperate they're gonna get.
Anchors give you one more thing to pull on. A new set of boxes to fill that don't directly affect what's going on right now, but still have weight and affect the Pilots.
And, y'know what? Every time a Moment gets marked, it hits.
A Poet's role in Dragon Reactor is in part to control pacing, and it gives you a truckload of tools to do that with. You have to be mindful of how much damage the pilots are taking and how often the enemy marks progress on their Conflict Clock. The more filled those bars get, the more tense things are. The more marks on a Pilot's character sheet, the more desperate they're gonna get.
Anchors give you one more thing to pull on. A new set of boxes to fill that don't directly affect what's going on right now, but still have weight and affect the Pilots.
And, y'know what? Every time a Moment gets marked, it hits.
And that's it for Anchors!
For now, at least. I'm sure you can tell, but I could easily go on about this system, too. Anchors have turned out to be such a dynamic and strong part of Dragon Reactor and I can't wait for y'all to make yours :)
So, thanks for reading! Please share this with your friends & TTRPG spaces to let as many people as you can know about the work we're doing with Dragon Reactor, and help us get across the finish line for funding!
What system would you like to hear about next? With Doom and Anchors down, we're left with Rivals, Magnitude, and Conflict- all of which I can go on and on about, so take your pick!
-Nevyn
So, thanks for reading! Please share this with your friends & TTRPG spaces to let as many people as you can know about the work we're doing with Dragon Reactor, and help us get across the finish line for funding!
What system would you like to hear about next? With Doom and Anchors down, we're left with Rivals, Magnitude, and Conflict- all of which I can go on and on about, so take your pick!
-Nevyn
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