I love games with twisty happenings like that! That's what makes 'em memorable!

For the torture room implements, will you be sticking with the DW torture room props, and supplying the rest with flavor text? Or are you planning to create some of them?

As yet I have no idea, the DW props are a definite pssibility, but others... I have a rack, a branding brazier, a stocks, and an iron maiden in metal, so I may be set for that. All are old Grenadiers.

The Auld Grump

what gaming system do you use auld? I really like the idea of a villanish handycap.

How does the whole thing work with "drama dice" etc? I'm very interested in hearing moe of this system sounds unique.

It is very easy to impliment - when a player character does something cool you give them a Drama Die, for 7th Sea it is a D10, for my Swashbuckling Adventures game I used a D6, increasing the die type every five levels. If they have not been spent at the end of the adventure they can be traded in for XP, I go with level x 100.

Jumping out the window to escape the bad guy is not Dramatic, pausing to kiss his mistress upon her ruby lips before leaping out the window is. (In the game where that occured he tried to land on his horse while doing so, failed, spent his new Drama Die to succeed, then gained it back again for a cool scene.)

They are in fact rewards for having a cool scene. Action Points in Eberron and D20 Modern are similar, but tied to character level rather than good roleplay. It is the reward aspect that I like. Oh, and if you get a player who hoards the dice for XP start reducing his reward, they are there to be spent!

One of the cool things about Drama Dice is that you spend them after you see what the result would have been without spending it, and more than one can be spent.

7th Sea expands on this a bit, the GM gets the drama dice that have been used, and can use them to add to die rolls in turn, or spend them to have a 'random' encounter (rather than using a random chance).

I also use what 7th Sea calls 'Karma Dice' a pool of dice in the middle of the table - I go with 2 per player per adventure - these may be spent to boos someone else's rolls not your own, and you have to say what occured to give the boost, not just spend it.A single character can only spend a single die to boost a given roll, but several players can 'chip in'. This is called Good Karma.

However when a player disrupts the game , argues with me, is inattentive, etc., I add a black die to the pool, and at some point I will pull it out and tell any character, not just the one who earned the Bad Karma 'you fail!' And no matter how good their roll was (and I choose good ones) it does not succeed. This, needless to say, is Bad Karma. People become reluctant to spend Good Karma on folks who earn the party Bad Karma.

The Auld Grump

*EDIT* The 7th Sea GM book is worth getting regardless, I found some very good ideas in there that I use in most games, not just 7th Sea.

I really like the Good/Bad Karma idea. I'll have to use that in my upcoming 50 Fathoms game.