The Inside Scoop on Gaming

1998.10.26

Describing The Window is rather hard. After looking around the rules once more, trying to look for a way to focus the review, there is just one way to put it: The Window is a free gaming system focusing on storytelling for mature players.

That doesn't mean that it is based on one of Ann Rice's Sleeping Beauty novels, but instead that The Window not only assumes that your players are more mature than the average AD&D Righteous Monster Bashing types, but assumes that your players WANT a system that treats them like adults that wish to roleplay.

Why? There are so many reasons, but they are best illustrated by the three percepts that The Window is ruled by:

1) Everything about a Window character is described with adjectives rather than numbers. 2) It is the actor's responsibility to play their role realistically. 3) A good story is the central goal.

Shocked already? No? Well, think about it for a moment. While most of us will assume that precepts 2 and 3 are the basis of any good gaming session, the systems we use (like Call of Cthulhu or AD&D) are designed to constrain the random noxious player to go ahead and do whatever he wants to. The Window just does away with all the rules and constraints that would prevent such a thing but that would cause extra bookkeeping for the good, mature roleplayers, taking the reasonable assumption that you wouldn't want a player like that in your game anyway.

We'll elaborate a little on the first percept.

Since we're assuming that your player isn't going to be doing any stat pissing contest, the only thing about your skills that you need to know is how good you are at them. In my book, that makes perfect sense. For example, you may notice that I am an Average Writer and, if you have gotten this far, you have Excellent Patience. Maybe you are of Above Average Strength, while you're sure that the Terminator would be rightdown Impressive Strenght. You don't know if you have a STR 13 or an STR 14, you just know the level that you have compared to other people. Each of this "competency rungs" (from Low to Incredible) has a die assigned (from D30 to D4). The basic target is 6 but it may be lowered by your Storyteller in difficult cases, and when you are trying to accomplish something with the skill you just roll the assigned die and if the result is below or equal to the target, you made it.

On character creation, The Window not only allows your players to select whatever skills they wish for their character (both stats and abilities) but also encourages them to set that skills at the level they so desire. Yep, not more monkeying around with skill points calculated from your education and what not in Call of Cthulhu, or all those pesky proficiencies in AD&D. If your player desires his character to have Above Average Strength (D10) and a High Gun Shooting Ability (D8), let him go at it. A mature player will be aware that those abilities usually don't come with High Library Skills (D8) Incredible Movie Making (D4) abilities, and if he isn't, well, that's why you're running the show.

That's it. I believe I've even made it look a little more complicated than it is.

The Window comes filled with examples of application of the almost non-existent rules while in play. It also has optional rules for luck, sanity, magic, armor, character experience, wealth and even super powers, in case you need any of them for your sessions. As a matter if fact, most of the text is used explaining this optional rules.

So, does it really makes things all that easy? Hell yes. It's amazing the amount of baggage that you'll leave behind: calculator and a character creation utility when making your character, screen filled with rules and tables for quick perusal when playing, that insidious habit of wondering if you had a 45% or a 47% in Spot Hidden and going through the skill columns to find it, etc. etc. And I'm not even going into what it will do compared to the AD&D system.

Give The Window a try. Since it is a freely available system, the worst thing you can lose is a little download time. And with 90% of the system being explained in just one page, your eyes won't even get tired. At mimgames.

Style: 4 (Classy and well done)
Substance: 5 (Excellent!)

The Window 2nd Edition
Author: Scott Lininger Category: game Company/Publisher: Methods in the Madness Page count: 42 Capsule Review by Ricardo J. Méndez on 10/26/98. Genre tags: Generic	1998.10.26 Describing The Window is rather hard. After looking around the rules once more, trying to look for a way to focus the review, there is just one way to put it: The Window is a free gaming system focusing on storytelling for mature players. That doesn't mean that it is based on one of Ann Rice's Sleeping Beauty novels, but instead that The Window not only assumes that your players are more mature than the average AD&D Righteous Monster Bashing types, but assumes that your players WANT a system that treats them like adults that wish to roleplay. Why? There are so many reasons, but they are best illustrated by the three percepts that The Window is ruled by: 1) Everything about a Window character is described with adjectives rather than numbers. 2) It is the actor's responsibility to play their role realistically. 3) A good story is the central goal. Shocked already? No? Well, think about it for a moment. While most of us will assume that precepts 2 and 3 are the basis of any good gaming session, the systems we use (like Call of Cthulhu or AD&D) are designed to constrain the random noxious player to go ahead and do whatever he wants to. The Window just does away with all the rules and constraints that would prevent such a thing but that would cause extra bookkeeping for the good, mature roleplayers, taking the reasonable assumption that you wouldn't want a player like that in your game anyway. We'll elaborate a little on the first percept. Since we're assuming that your player isn't going to be doing any stat pissing contest, the only thing about your skills that you need to know is how good you are at them. In my book, that makes perfect sense. For example, you may notice that I am an Average Writer and, if you have gotten this far, you have Excellent Patience. Maybe you are of Above Average Strength, while you're sure that the Terminator would be rightdown Impressive Strenght. You don't know if you have a STR 13 or an STR 14, you just know the level that you have compared to other people. Each of this "competency rungs" (from Low to Incredible) has a die assigned (from D30 to D4). The basic target is 6 but it may be lowered by your Storyteller in difficult cases, and when you are trying to accomplish something with the skill you just roll the assigned die and if the result is below or equal to the target, you made it. On character creation, The Window not only allows your players to select whatever skills they wish for their character (both stats and abilities) but also encourages them to set that skills at the level they so desire. Yep, not more monkeying around with skill points calculated from your education and what not in Call of Cthulhu, or all those pesky proficiencies in AD&D. If your player desires his character to have Above Average Strength (D10) and a High Gun Shooting Ability (D8), let him go at it. A mature player will be aware that those abilities usually don't come with High Library Skills (D8) Incredible Movie Making (D4) abilities, and if he isn't, well, that's why you're running the show. That's it. I believe I've even made it look a little more complicated than it is. The Window comes filled with examples of application of the almost non-existent rules while in play. It also has optional rules for luck, sanity, magic, armor, character experience, wealth and even super powers, in case you need any of them for your sessions. As a matter if fact, most of the text is used explaining this optional rules. So, does it really makes things all that easy? Hell yes. It's amazing the amount of baggage that you'll leave behind: calculator and a character creation utility when making your character, screen filled with rules and tables for quick perusal when playing, that insidious habit of wondering if you had a 45% or a 47% in Spot Hidden and going through the skill columns to find it, etc. etc. And I'm not even going into what it will do compared to the AD&D system. Give The Window a try. Since it is a freely available system, the worst thing you can lose is a little download time. And with 90% of the system being explained in just one page, your eyes won't even get tired. At mimgames. Style: 4 (Classy and well done) Substance: 5 (Excellent!)

The Window 2nd Edition