Off the Boat, into a Fight - Mixing THW and Mythic GME

 I know, it's been a while since I posted games. I mean, I've been playing them, but I've been busy with other projects (such as trying to accomplish a miracle and get a book published), not to mention the stress from the pandemic and other things. However, after picking up some titles for Mythic, I decided to run a game. 

Note that I'm first posting how i'm using the rules before actually getting into my story. If you'd rather skip right to the story, just ignore the boxed-in section.

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After reading the Fight Stories pulp mags, along with The Book Thief, which features a street brawler named Max Vandenburg, I decided I wanted a boxing game. Now Two Hour Wargames has several fighting games, including Friday Night Fights and Alien Fight Night. However I decided to go with something a little simpler for now. Years earlier, Ed Teixeira, the creator and owner of Two Hour Wargames, created the Universal Interaction and Challenge to use for performing most non-combat actions. The idea behind it is that you roll 2d6 versus your Reputation, which can be anywhere from 3-5 and count each result separately. Each roll equal to less than your Rep counts as Passing. Pass 2d6 means you succeed while Passing 0d6 means Failure. Passing 1d6 results in a reroll. Your Rep can be modified by Attributes, Difficulty, and tools, but that's the basic rule for it.

Mythic by Tana Pidgeon, meanwhile is a set of rules for playing games without a Game Master. Using the Fate Chart, you'd roll 2d10 (or 1d100 if you have it) and ask yes or no questions, modifying the question based on the chances of certain results. For example, "Is there a monster in the room?" If you're in a dungeon, that'd most likely be a Yes, but it'd be less than a chance in someone's home. Rolling Doubles means a Random Event which can shake things up. 

Mythic has tons of options to use and even a newer edition of the Game Master Emulator that was recently released. However after using most of my birthday money on fiction novels (and I highly recommend The Book Thief and Puckoon!), I had just enough to get some of the Mythic Magazines. While I do have the original books, I decided for this to use One Page Mythic (Issue #25), which streamlines the rules for quicker and easier play. I'll also pick and choose from some of the other issues to use later. For now, I just want to get started.

For my boxing rules, I'm using a streamlined version of THW's boxing rules, called Smokers or underground boxing. This includes just 3 tables: Fight, KO, and Recovery. Matches start on the Fight table. If you Pass 2d6 more than your opponent, you go to the KO table. Passing 1d6 results in you're being In Control and rerolling with +1d6. Passing 0d6 mean a reroll. On the KO table, Passing 2d6 results in a knockdown and the opponent now rolls on the Recovery table. Passing 0d6 returns to the Fight table. On Recovery, Passing 2d6 means the fighter stands up while Passing 0d6 results in a knockout.

All fighters have a Rep stat. Rep 2 are your tomato cans, who usually get their clock cleaned on a regular basis. Rep 3 are your rookies. Rep 4 are more seasoned fighters. And Rep 5 are your pros. Each fighter also has Bonus Dice which can be used at any time. Reps 2-3 have 1 BD and Reps 4-5 have 2 BD. Finally, fighters have 1-2 Attributes which may modify stats and rolls. These are based on other THW games but streamlined for these rules.

Now, onto the Mythic part. With Mythic, you ask yes/no questions and roll as I mentioned before. In addition, you could generate Exceptional Yes and No answers (which I'll refer to as X-Yes or X-No). These are answers that add to the results. Finally, you can ask other qurestions and roll on the Discover tables for 1 or 2 word descriptions. These are also used for Random Events.

I could easily use either game for the entire story. However I enjoy both games and wanted to use them both so I tried to work them both in. For actual fights, I'll use THW's rules. For the story, I'll use Mythic. However' I'll also have some overlap here and there, and I might even jump back and forth for fun. If I were actually GMing a game, I wouldn't do this without the players agreeing. But since this is a solo game, I'm giving myself permission 😛.

Finally, I might use pictures later on, just not for this first one because I wanted to establish the rules and games. Also I don't have any boxer minis, nor do I have the patience to buy individual figures and patience. Now I know a number of people love to buy these, and I give them all the credit in the world for their artistic ability and attention to detail. Me? I prefer to buy a bulk pack of 20+ plastic figures and jump right in with them.

Now, onto the game.

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My character is Max Bowen, an Irish scrapper who's looking to make a name for himself. Max is Rep 3, starting near the bottom with room to grow. His Attribute, which I rolled at random is Strong Willed, giving him some more Bonus Dice. This fits with him being fearless, not running from a fight, even when he really should.

Our story takes place around 1930 (I love the Pulp Era!) on a tiny island called Rott. This is a place where fighting is the way of life. Many countries send fighters here to test and boast their abilities. Others just send those troublemakers just to get them out of their way. Rott has its own leadership and laws, and in fact the rest of the world leaves the place alone. Every other country has agreed not to attack Rott, and firearms and other weapons are banned, except by officials. Now that doesn't stop some from using tools as weapons, but they're easier to deal with.

Our story begins with Max stepping off the boat onto the dock. (Now with Fate questions, most of the time, I'll interpret the results afterwards, but sometimes, I'll come up with something before rolling).

(Q)  Is anyone awaiting Max on the dock? (This seems Likely): Yes.

(I should also point out that I have a habit of asking a lot of questions. This isn't against the rules, but it could result in a lot of random events).

(Q)  Is it a male? (I'm going with Likely because I feel the chances would be around 60/40 for now): Yes.

Walking a little farther, Max sees a guy standing in his path.

(Q)  Does he seem friendly? (I'm going with 50/50. Could be a lifelong friend). X-No!

"Well look what we have here," the guy said, "a new jellybean I can pound to pieces." 

At this point, I'm interpreting the X-No to mean a fight's going to break out no matter what so there's no point in trying to talk my way out of it.

Max smirked. "Who're you calling a jellybean you overstuffed flapjack?" (Hey cut me some slack; I'm make these lines up as I go!).

The other man (let's call him Mr. Flapjack, or Flappy for short) glared. "Okay, that's it!" With that, he started forward.

Now for this game, there are 2 types of fights. Matches takes place in a ring, with rounds, scoring, etc. Brawls take place everywhere else and end either on a KO or if broken up. Otherwise they use the same rule.

Rolling for Flappy, I get Rep 3 as well, along with the Weak Willed attribute. He starts with 0 Bonus Dice. Something easy for a start, hopefully.

Rolling on the Fight table, Max wins with 1d6 more. This means he's In Control and now rolls with an additional 1d6. Rolling again, he gets the same result.

Flappy charges in, but Max stops him in his tracks with several jabs to the face.

This time both men Pass 1d6, a tie. This results in Max losing Control and a reroll. Now in THW boxing matches, returning to the Fight table burns half the round. But for this brawl, I'm going to try something different. Instead, I'm going to make it a Fate question.

(Q)  Does the fight get broken up? (I'm starting the odds at Nearly Impossible and raising them each time I roll): No.

Another roll on the Fight table and this time, Flappy Passes 2d6 more, sending him to the KO table.

The other man shoved Max away and threw a punishing haymaker, stumbling Max back a few steps.

Rolling on the KO table for Flappy, I get Pass 2d6. Ouch!

Stepping forward, the other man threw a series of body punches. Doubling over, Max crumpled to the dock.

Now Max has to roll on the Recovery table. Since I really don't want his first fight to be a crushing defeat, I'm using 2 of his 3 Bonus Dice. He now rolls 4d6 versus his Rep and Passes 2d6.

Wincing, Max stood up, trying to shake off the cobwebs.

(This counts as a reroll so I'll make it a Fate Question).

(Q)  Does the fight get broken up? (Now it's a Very Unlikely): No.

The two closed the distance and began throwing more punches.

The next roll on the fight table results in both men rolling Pass 0d6.

Max and the other man hurled punches at each, but both missed by a mile.

 (Q)  Does the fight get broken up? (Unlikely): X-Yes!

"That's it, they're done" Several hands pulled Max and the other hand apart, pushing the two men away. 

Just then the Constable showed up. "Brawling's illegal here. Both of you, come with me."

I'm interpreting the X-Yes meaning the fight ended with no winner, but still with consequences. i'm wondering though what those consequences are.

(Q)  Is Max thrown in jail? (50/50): No.

Brawlers are punished on Rott with either fines or community service, rather than jail time. This is why the leadership doesn't jump in immediately with the brawls. They get a portion of their money and resources from putting brawlers to work. Sort of like you're paid for matches but you pay to brawl.

"I don't have much on me to pay a fine," said Max.

"Don't worry," said the constable. "We have other means of dealing with you."

That's my first game. Pretty quick but it gave me a bunch of ideas. I'll begin expanding the rules as I go.

Hope you enjoyed it!