CAPES: Bank Heist

So, there's this weird little RPG called "Capes" by Tony Lower-Basch.  And it has this crazy, semi-competitive, almost board game-like structure that I'm obsessed with.  Unfortunately, I can't play RPGs anymore, but I keep wondering if I can boil this thing down into a more board game-like experience that I can bring to a board game night.  I'm still working on that, but for now, I thought I'd share a scene or two of how this game works.  I'll try to keep it focused, though.  Wish me luck.

The game doesn't have a Game Master, or maybe everybody's a GM and they're all competing to tell their own stories.  Now, you can lure the other players into your story with enticing story stuff, but you can also (and to some degree must) earn the resources to tell your story.  It's not that complicated, but it's complicated.  I guess I should just start.

Because it matters, we'll assume three players: Alan, Beth and Carl. (See what I did there with the names?)

Alan will go first, setting the scene.  Because Alan is an unoriginal waste of skin, the scene will be a bank heist in the rough, "Foundry Row" neighborhood, that gets interrupted by superheroes.

Everybody chooses characters in order:

Alan decides on "Bank Robbers".  Yes, he's playing a loosely defined collection of people.  Maybe this isn't the best choice.  Nobody has to play the bad guys if, for example, the heist were just the background for some other character conflict.

Beth picks "Gun Bunny", a patriotic, gun-toting heroine.  She's sort of like one of those archer heroes, but with guns.

Carl selects "Gangbuster", a Foundry Row local who isn't at all invulnerable, but somehow just won't stay down.

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BANK ROBBERS
Skills		Styles		Attitudes
Shoot	5	Improvised Weapon	2	Furious	3
Rough-House	4	Obedience	1	Abrasive	2
Boast	1	Alpha Male	4	Confident	1
Steal	2	Screw the Rules	3
Outnumber	3

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GUN BUNNY
♦Powers		Styles		Attitudes
♦Trick Bullets	4	♦Chain Reaction	1	Selfish	1
♦Rapid Fire	3	Fast-Talk	2	Flexible	2
♦Ricochet Shot	2	♦Always Got More Guns	3	Confident	3
♦Pinpoint Accuracy	1	Frustrate	4
		♦Massive Property Damage	5
DEBT
Justice [1]	1	Truth [2]	0	Love [2]	2
Hope [3]	0			Duty [1]	0

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GANGBUSTER
♦Powers		Styles		Attitudes
♦Outnumbered	2	♦Still Standing	2	Unflappable	2
♦Rotten Luck	1	Thrill Junky	3	Bored	3
♦Running Out of Time	3	♦"Is that all you got?"	4	Determined	1
♦Brutal Martial Arts	5	♦"Not while I'm still breathin' you're not."	1
♦Overcome Pain	4
DEBT
Justice [1]	0	Truth [2]	0	Love [2]	0
Hope [2]	0			Duty [2]	2

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PAGE 1

ALAN

The first "Page" starts with the players DM-ing at each other, pretty much saying whatever they want short of controlling the other players' characters.  Eventually, though, the Starter (Alan) takes an Action for each of his characters, bringing the rules back into play.

He creates a Goal: Bank Robbers Escape [1/1].

BETH

Beth has Gun Bunny act on that Goal with "Confident", because it's equal to or higher than the die she's targeting.  "Confident" isn't a Power, so she won't be able to use it again during this Scene.

She narrates:

"Gun Bunny casually steps past the police line and approaches the bank as the robbers are shooting their way out of the front doors.  With brazen confidence, she begins shooting the guns out of their hands without even breaking stride...."

She rolls one of the '1' dice on the Goal, getting a... '2'.  She accepts the result, which means that everybody gets a chance to react to it, starting with her.  She uses "Ricochet Shot", which she pays for by taking a point of Debt in "Justice".

"As the robbers begin to focus fire on her, she calmly ducks behind a parked car, and lining up the shot in a side mirror, she fires off three more shots, ricocheting off of a nearby mailbox..."

She re-rolls the '2'... '6'!

"...and drops three robbers, who tumble down the stone steps."

Since no character can have an Attribute greater than '5', the other players can't React to this die roll further.

Goal: Bank Robbers Escape [1 FOR/6 AGAINST]

CARL

Interestingly, Carl goes another way with things.  He creates a new Goal for Gangbuster.

Goal: Gangbuster Impresses Gun Bunny [1/1]

PAGE 2

Beth is the new Starter, and now she gets the first chance to Claim one side of a Conflict.  She grabs her side of Bank Robbers Escape.  Gangbuster takes one side of  Impress Gun Bunny.  Alan passes.

BETH

Goal: Bank Robbers Escape [1 FOR/6 AGAINST(Beth)]
Goal: Gangbuster Impresses Gun Bunny [1(Carl)/1]

There's more free-play here, describing the shoot-out a bit.  Beth takes a moment to have Gun Bunny taunt Gangbuster.  "Don't worry, old man!  I've got this one.  You can go ahead and take a nap or something!"

Gun Bunny tries to roll up the other side on Impress... with "Pinpoint Accuracy", taking a Debt in Love for no reason.  She rolls a '1'.

"As Gangbuster is charging forward to beat up on some robbers, Gun Bunny quickly lines up a shot, narrowly missing him as she shoots with pinpoint accuracy, taking out the robber a mere moment before Gangbuster can get his hands on them."

She accepts it and reacts with "Rapid Fire", getting a '2'.  She puts the Debt into Love again.

"As Gangbuster leaps over the first fallen robber, she keeps shooting them out from under him, one after the other in rapid succession."

Carl and Alan weigh the odds and decide not to React.

Goal: Gangbuster Impresses Gun Bunny [1 FOR(Carl)/2 AGAINST]

CARL

On Carl's turn, he rolls Impress... up with "Outnumbered" (Debt in Duty).  And rolls a '1'.  Come on!

"Gangbuster dives onto one of the robbers, and the others nearby pile on, pulling and punching and kicking and striking him with the butts of their guns... And then they toss him, rolling down the hard, stone steps."

Of course he Reacts, with "Overcome Pain" (Debt in Duty), and gets '4'.

"From her place at the foot of the steps, Gun Bunny watches between her shots, as Gangbuster slowly stands up from the crushing abuse, cracks his neck, and charges back into the fight!"

Alan chooses not to React, but Beth takes her chances.  She reacts with Gun Bunny's "Frustrate" style, and rolls the '4' down to '2'.

"Not to be outdone by the guy who brought... nothing to a gun-fight, Gun Bunny dashes up the stairs as well.  The robbers shoot at her as she approaches, but can't seem to hit her as she twirls and dodges in a deadly dance of gun-fu!  'Come on, guys, are you even trying?' she says tauntingly at the frustrated criminals.  One guy even looks down the barrel of his gun like an idiot, wondering if he's actually firing bullets at all.

Here's a twist!  Even though Alan passed before, he can still React now.  He must have an agenda!  He uses the Bank Robber's "Outnumber" to roll up the '2' and gets... '4' again!

"Gangbuster dodges some, but not all of the bullets fired at him as he lunges once more into the fray, outnumbered ten to one!  In a dizzying display of brutal martial arts, one robber after another gets sent rolling down the stone steps, screaming or clutching themselves or just flopping unconsciously."

(That seems weird, right? But it's a perfectly legitimate move.)

Goal: Gangbuster Impresses Gun Bunny [4 FOR(Carl)/2 AGAINST]

Each player gets one Reaction, so that's it.  Alan's turn.

ALAN

Alan does something new.  On his action, he creates an Event.  It's like a Goal, but there's no goal.  It's just something that's going to happen.

Event: A cloaked figure is about to escape into a glowing portal! [1/1]

The others could veto this Event if it sucked, or they just didn't like it, but it sounds cool, so they're in!

Now Conflicts (Goals and Events) get Resolved.  We check for Claims. If the Claim won, that player resolves the Conflict.

Goal: Bank Robbers Escape [1 FOR/6 AGAINST(Beth)]
Goal: Gangbuster Impresses Gun Bunny [4 FOR(Carl)/2 AGAINST]
Event: A cloaked figure is about to escape into a glowing portal! [1/1]

Beth Claimed Bank Robbers Escape and won, so she narrates:

"Most of the robbers are unconscious or bleeding out, and the ones that remain have given up all pretense of fighting back.  They drop their guns and money and run for the waiting get-away vehicle.  But Gun Bunny isn't having it.  She casually pulls out a grenade and underhand tosses it to roll under the armored van, where it explodes, sending the van flipping axle over teakettle in a ball of flame.  The robbers, now truly surrounded, surrender."

The Conflict now generates Inspirations.  Subtracting the 1 on the losing side from the 6 on the winning side, gives Beth a juicy, 5-point Inspiration that she records for later.

Carl won Gangbuster Impresses Gun Bunny, so:

"In the orange glow of the burning van, Gangbuster staggers to his feet and limps over toward Gun Bunny.  'Don't worry', he says through a busted lip, 'I got this'.  He tries to smile and instantly regrets it.  As he limps past her, she mutters to herself, 'Damn.  Old man can take a punch!'"

Carl gets a 2-point Inspiration.

PAGE 3

Carl gets first option to claim one side of a Conflict, of which there's only the "Portal" Event.  Whoever controls the Event gets to determine its outcome.  Does the mysterious figure escape?  Who is it?  The person who resolves it gets to say.

Carl is interested in who it might be, but doesn't have an opinion of who it should be, so he passes on Claiming.  Alan quickly claims one side of the Event. Beth also isn't super invested in this Event, and there aren't many resources to try to squeeze out of Alan, so she passes as well.

CARL

Again, Carl isn't interested in fighting over the Event, and is ready to move the story onward, so instead he uses "Unflappable" to raise the Inspiration he earned from a 2 to a 3.

"That's when Gangbuster notices the strange figure opening up a glowing green portal off to the side of the bank, with a duffle bag of money slung over one shoulder.  Unfazed by this new development, he stretches his arms and back with a chorus of disturbing internal pops.  'Well', he says, 'let's get this over with' and he begins jogging toward the mystery man."

ALAN

Alan rolls up his side of the "Portal" Event with the Bank Robber's "Steal", getting a '2'.

"As Gangbuster and Gun Bunny approach the stranger, one of the bank robbers being arrested by the police notices, and suddenly breaks free, stealing a gun from a police officer's holster and firing blindly at the two heroes, distracting them from the portal."

Ready to move on, nobody Reacts.

BETH

Beth isn't interested in winning this, and doesn't feel like taking on Debt to raise her 5-point Inspiration, so she passes.

Alan resolves the Event, gaining a sad little 1-point Inspiration.

"As the police get the robber under control once more, the heroes look back to find the portal closing.  They run up to it, but they're too late.  However, in the weeds fighting up through the cracked pavement, they find a wallet.  It looks normal enough, but the money is weird.  It looks like American dollars, but the bills feature an image of a woman in a cape called 'Lady Victory' and prominent reference to 'Empire America'.  The only other name in the wallet fills them with confusion and dread: Johann Cross aka 'The Ravager'."

With no more Conflicts left on the table, the Scene ends.

Well, that's kind of a taste of it.  There's a bit more to it, though, with non-people characters and staking Debt and winning Story Points and being Overdrawn and using Inspirations and splitting dice.  Honestly, I really didn't do it justice.  But this is kind of what it's like.  Alan was taking the lead on this one, but if the other two had stories that they were trying to push, this might have gone a bit differently.  Maybe I'll do another scene sometime.

Ĝis la revido!

Jason "Ludanto" Smith C;E