Our experiment with a Fate-based skill system worked pretty well, but it wasn't quite right.
The group had a good talk about it, though, and I like the idea for how to move forward: Use the Major Arcana (since Rain is based on Tarot cards) to represent different parts of the character. Here's what we're going to try for this coming Thursday's game.
BACKGROUND
Choose five of the Major Arcana, each one representing an important element of the character's background. They could be family, a romantic interest, an enemy, training, fascination with the Rain, a pivotal experience, a mentor, or even an heirloom. For each card, choose one of the 9 marks. That card can be invoked to give one of those marks when appropriate to the story.
STRENGTH
Next, the character has 10 points. Those points can be distributed between other Major Arcana as the player sees fit with this limitation: no card can have more than 3 points. The number of points the card has is its strength; that's how many marks that card gives when invoked. These cards should represent broader aspects of the character: a philosophy, an ambition, that sort of thing. There is no limitation to which kind of marks these cards can give.
Only one Strength can be invoked at a time. Likewise for Background cards. But a Strength can be combined with a Background, as long as both are appropriate for the action.
That's it for now. We'll see how this goes.
Friday, May 31, 2013
Saturday, May 25, 2013
The Expedition at St. Johnsbury
Our heroes arrived at St. Johnsbury. They were welcomed by the young, but the older folks seemed to a little stand-offish. They met the mayor, Morie, a long-faced man who seemed a bit nervous. He tried to rush them along, but this only piqued their curiosity.
Job did a little investigating and found that the most powerful magic nearby was not in town.
There was no indication of a dragon in St. Johnsbury other than the banners of a red dragon hung in town.
That night at the Common Tales, the group was doing very well. Job spoke with the older crowd, Corwin and Edmund entertained the crowd with stories of their dangerous travel from Burlington. Just as Corwin was lifting the Common Tales to a more energetic level, Farfoot arrived. At that point, Corwin snuck out the back in the company of a young lady, someone who he had peeled away from the fascination of Farfoot.
A clash and jingle and braying of trumpets was heard. Two goblin heralds opened the door to the Old House Inn, where the Common Tales was taking place. Behind them strode in Farfoot, another goblin dressed all in ragged red. The new arrivals carried themselves with an air of clear dignity, something unusual for the unruly goblins.
As Farfoot stepped into the Common Tales and began telling stories of the Mistress of All Lands, Destroyer of Cities, Job blew smoke into the room, having it seek the most powerful source of magic. It dispersed into a thin covering of the floor, vaguely in the shape of bat-like wings. When Farfoot reached the climax of his stories and proclaimed the name of Mezzenextria, the smoke rose in the form of a giant red dragon. Many of the townsfolk fell to their knees.
Job left, following the older crowd to their own meeting. Corwin had remained out of the room, leaving Edmund, Leon, and Gillias to stay in the Common Tales.
Job did a little investigating and found that the most powerful magic nearby was not in town.
There was no indication of a dragon in St. Johnsbury other than the banners of a red dragon hung in town.
That night at the Common Tales, the group was doing very well. Job spoke with the older crowd, Corwin and Edmund entertained the crowd with stories of their dangerous travel from Burlington. Just as Corwin was lifting the Common Tales to a more energetic level, Farfoot arrived. At that point, Corwin snuck out the back in the company of a young lady, someone who he had peeled away from the fascination of Farfoot.
A clash and jingle and braying of trumpets was heard. Two goblin heralds opened the door to the Old House Inn, where the Common Tales was taking place. Behind them strode in Farfoot, another goblin dressed all in ragged red. The new arrivals carried themselves with an air of clear dignity, something unusual for the unruly goblins.
As Farfoot stepped into the Common Tales and began telling stories of the Mistress of All Lands, Destroyer of Cities, Job blew smoke into the room, having it seek the most powerful source of magic. It dispersed into a thin covering of the floor, vaguely in the shape of bat-like wings. When Farfoot reached the climax of his stories and proclaimed the name of Mezzenextria, the smoke rose in the form of a giant red dragon. Many of the townsfolk fell to their knees.
Job left, following the older crowd to their own meeting. Corwin had remained out of the room, leaving Edmund, Leon, and Gillias to stay in the Common Tales.
Sunday, May 19, 2013
Rain's Skills Part 3
So I'm going to give this idea a try for the coming Thursday game, taking a page out of Fate's book, if you will:
The players will get five Strengths. These have to be defining elements of the character like "I'm a trained warrior," or "I've lived most of my life in the Wild," or "I'm very strong," or "I'm a Wizard."
Hopefully they'll get a little more creative, but you get the idea.
They will also get seven Skills. These have to be more specific. "Sword-fighting," "Spells of Drowning Rain," "Frightening Storytelling," "Stealthy," and so on.
The players can invoke up to three Traits and or Skills to give marks.
I'm a warrior, I'm very strong, and I have the Sword-fighting skill - I'll give the goblin 3 marks of Bleeding.
We'll see how that goes. It give a lot of narrative flexibility but also defines the characters.
The players will get five Strengths. These have to be defining elements of the character like "I'm a trained warrior," or "I've lived most of my life in the Wild," or "I'm very strong," or "I'm a Wizard."
Hopefully they'll get a little more creative, but you get the idea.
They will also get seven Skills. These have to be more specific. "Sword-fighting," "Spells of Drowning Rain," "Frightening Storytelling," "Stealthy," and so on.
The players can invoke up to three Traits and or Skills to give marks.
I'm a warrior, I'm very strong, and I have the Sword-fighting skill - I'll give the goblin 3 marks of Bleeding.
We'll see how that goes. It give a lot of narrative flexibility but also defines the characters.
Friday, May 17, 2013
Rain's Skills, part 2
So I've got these four (five, kind of) broad skill categories for Rain: Fighting, Storytelling, Athletics, and Wizardry. If a character has Storytelling 3 for Frightened, he can us Storytelling to apply 3 marks of Frightened to a listener.
That works very well. It allows a lot of narrative freedom, which is awesome. The thing is, that freedom is also a weakness. I have some players saying they feel like they need more definition. What they seem to be telling me is that they want to know what they can't do.
I totally get that, and I think it's an important distinction: what can be done versus what can't be done. I've been spending a lot of time trying to figure out how to define what the player's can do - and I think I've got that nailed. It's time to start thinking about what they can't do.
I could do this through Weaknesses, or by having them choose specializations, and they can only give marks when using those specializations. It's still a can vs can't, but it's worth looking into. We'll see what happens.
That works very well. It allows a lot of narrative freedom, which is awesome. The thing is, that freedom is also a weakness. I have some players saying they feel like they need more definition. What they seem to be telling me is that they want to know what they can't do.
I totally get that, and I think it's an important distinction: what can be done versus what can't be done. I've been spending a lot of time trying to figure out how to define what the player's can do - and I think I've got that nailed. It's time to start thinking about what they can't do.
I could do this through Weaknesses, or by having them choose specializations, and they can only give marks when using those specializations. It's still a can vs can't, but it's worth looking into. We'll see what happens.
Monday, May 13, 2013
The Heights of Etherian
The voting over at EN World is done, the results are in: a very cool game won. Unfortunately, it wasn't the one that I wrote. Ah, well.
On the plus side, that means the Heights of Etherian is now free to be worked on. I'm pretty happy with it, given I've only put about a day and a half of time into it. I guess the next step is to actually test play it ...
And eventually I'll need art for it. Any takers?
On the plus side, that means the Heights of Etherian is now free to be worked on. I'm pretty happy with it, given I've only put about a day and a half of time into it. I guess the next step is to actually test play it ...
And eventually I'll need art for it. Any takers?
Sunday, May 12, 2013
Rain's skills
Here's the basic mechanic for Rain (using a tarot deck).
There are 9 kinds of marks a player can give:
3 Physical marks (dazed, bleeding, winded)
3 Social marks (impressed, confused, frightened)
3 environmental marks (progress, knowledge, alter)
Whatever it is the players are facing is represented by the Major Arcana. Each card assigned to the obstacle has a strength. A really strong card might have +15 or +20, a really weak card might have -5 or -10.
The players apply marks by describing their actions. marks of bleeding can be given by describing attacking with a weapon, marks of progress can be given by describing moving through difficult terrain, - it's all very narration-oriented.
When the players feel like they've given enough of a certain kind of mark (physical, social, or environmental), they can challenge a card. Let's say a giant has Strength, that is +10. The players keep heaping on physical marks, describing attacks, chases, that sort of thing. After they have told a good story, and the GM is describing the giant as looking pretty messed up, they can challenge the card. They draw on of the Minor Arcana at random and the GM secretly adds the card's strength to the draw. If the total is equal to or lower than the number of marks, the players succeed and overcome the card. If they don't, they fail and can keep trying. There's a little more to it, but that's the basics of it.
Here's the problem. I have had the players describe vaguely how they can give the different kinds of marks by using four skill sets: Fighting, Storytelling, Athletics, and Wizardry. That's nice, but it doesn't give much by way of what a character is specifically good at. Sure, a player can simply do that through description, and some players are very happy about that. But others, and I think I fall in this second category, want more of a guide: what am I good at, and how good am I?
That's my next project. The mechanic works very well, so I don't want to muck it up, but I also want to give players more to work with.
There are 9 kinds of marks a player can give:
3 Physical marks (dazed, bleeding, winded)
3 Social marks (impressed, confused, frightened)
3 environmental marks (progress, knowledge, alter)
Whatever it is the players are facing is represented by the Major Arcana. Each card assigned to the obstacle has a strength. A really strong card might have +15 or +20, a really weak card might have -5 or -10.
The players apply marks by describing their actions. marks of bleeding can be given by describing attacking with a weapon, marks of progress can be given by describing moving through difficult terrain, - it's all very narration-oriented.
When the players feel like they've given enough of a certain kind of mark (physical, social, or environmental), they can challenge a card. Let's say a giant has Strength, that is +10. The players keep heaping on physical marks, describing attacks, chases, that sort of thing. After they have told a good story, and the GM is describing the giant as looking pretty messed up, they can challenge the card. They draw on of the Minor Arcana at random and the GM secretly adds the card's strength to the draw. If the total is equal to or lower than the number of marks, the players succeed and overcome the card. If they don't, they fail and can keep trying. There's a little more to it, but that's the basics of it.
Here's the problem. I have had the players describe vaguely how they can give the different kinds of marks by using four skill sets: Fighting, Storytelling, Athletics, and Wizardry. That's nice, but it doesn't give much by way of what a character is specifically good at. Sure, a player can simply do that through description, and some players are very happy about that. But others, and I think I fall in this second category, want more of a guide: what am I good at, and how good am I?
That's my next project. The mechanic works very well, so I don't want to muck it up, but I also want to give players more to work with.
Friday, May 10, 2013
The Goblin Common Tales
Our heroes took part in the Common Tales with the goblins of the corn maze.
It got a little ridiculous, as things are want to do when goblins are involved. They burned the head of the giant, and it burned quickly, but gave off an awful smell. There were two factions of goblins: older ones that seemed to disapprove of the celebration over the giant's defeat, and those that were very happy about it. The most extremely happy were those that, for all seeming, worshiped the dragon of Boston, Mezzenextria.
After some small investigation into goblin magic, the expedition traveled on to St. Johnsbury, and that is where we leave our tale for now.
I've come to an interesting point in the mechanics of the game.
First, the mechanics work very well, but I think they are geared more for a game in which the GM is the guide, not the storyteller. And that's fine ... except I have a clearer and clearer story to tell.
The sticking point is mainly centered on how the characters' skills work. They are VERY broad, so much so that it is hard to say one character is better at a particular thing than another. There are distinctions, but they are vague.
This is fine for a game in which the players are happy to narrate their characters' strengths and weaknesses without necessarily having them specified on paper and through the game mechanics. And I have some players that are just so. I also have some players that are feeling a little detached, though, because they have less of a sense of their characters' limitations.
What it boils down to, I think, is I need to decide on the nature of the game. Do I act as a guide, always asking, "and what comes next?" or do I provide a more structured world. If I go with the latter, I think I may need to get use a different mechanic.
It got a little ridiculous, as things are want to do when goblins are involved. They burned the head of the giant, and it burned quickly, but gave off an awful smell. There were two factions of goblins: older ones that seemed to disapprove of the celebration over the giant's defeat, and those that were very happy about it. The most extremely happy were those that, for all seeming, worshiped the dragon of Boston, Mezzenextria.
After some small investigation into goblin magic, the expedition traveled on to St. Johnsbury, and that is where we leave our tale for now.
I've come to an interesting point in the mechanics of the game.
First, the mechanics work very well, but I think they are geared more for a game in which the GM is the guide, not the storyteller. And that's fine ... except I have a clearer and clearer story to tell.
The sticking point is mainly centered on how the characters' skills work. They are VERY broad, so much so that it is hard to say one character is better at a particular thing than another. There are distinctions, but they are vague.
This is fine for a game in which the players are happy to narrate their characters' strengths and weaknesses without necessarily having them specified on paper and through the game mechanics. And I have some players that are just so. I also have some players that are feeling a little detached, though, because they have less of a sense of their characters' limitations.
What it boils down to, I think, is I need to decide on the nature of the game. Do I act as a guide, always asking, "and what comes next?" or do I provide a more structured world. If I go with the latter, I think I may need to get use a different mechanic.
Wednesday, May 8, 2013
Better Links - And Rain!
I've updated the Rain and Challenge pages. Now the links will take you directly to the PDFs rather than to the directory.
My bi-weekly game of Rain is tomorrow - definitely looking forward to it!
The story thus far - the expedition ... whimsically named "Liza" ... has set out from Burlington, VT. They opted to strike out to the east across the wilds rather than take the interstate (a much safer route) directly to Boston. They have been chased by murderous elves and are now in the cornfield maze (a goblin town) to the north of Danville. After the Common Tales, they plan on continuing on to St. Johnsbury, where they are expecting to find a dragon.
The ultimate goal of the expedition is to get to Boston to investigate the doings of Mezzenextria, the dragon that laid waste to the city three generations ago when after the Deluge, and to salvage what they can.
Our heroes:
Edmund Brewbaker, son of the captain of the Burlington's militia.
Corwen, brother to Burlington's chief Storyteller, and a talented teller of tales in his own right.
Leon, an explorer and scout.
Job, a mage who is not thrilled to be on the expedition, but dutifully persists.
Gelias, a scout and storyteller who's own expedition to Montreal failed.
My bi-weekly game of Rain is tomorrow - definitely looking forward to it!
The story thus far - the expedition ... whimsically named "Liza" ... has set out from Burlington, VT. They opted to strike out to the east across the wilds rather than take the interstate (a much safer route) directly to Boston. They have been chased by murderous elves and are now in the cornfield maze (a goblin town) to the north of Danville. After the Common Tales, they plan on continuing on to St. Johnsbury, where they are expecting to find a dragon.
The ultimate goal of the expedition is to get to Boston to investigate the doings of Mezzenextria, the dragon that laid waste to the city three generations ago when after the Deluge, and to salvage what they can.
Our heroes:
Edmund Brewbaker, son of the captain of the Burlington's militia.
Corwen, brother to Burlington's chief Storyteller, and a talented teller of tales in his own right.
Leon, an explorer and scout.
Job, a mage who is not thrilled to be on the expedition, but dutifully persists.
Gelias, a scout and storyteller who's own expedition to Montreal failed.
Monday, May 6, 2013
EN World competition
I submitted a game for the EN World 7-day RPG competition. Even though this is a new site, if you're reading this and you want to vote for my game (The Heights of Etherian), Good Lord, go do it! Don't wait - voting ends may 13th.
There are some great entries. It's great to see people taking old ideas and methods and putting new twists to them. There are a lot of "generic" games that are meant to be used for any genre, and there are some excellent new settings. The Empire of the Raven by Kistune9 is a very cool world.
There are some great entries. It's great to see people taking old ideas and methods and putting new twists to them. There are a lot of "generic" games that are meant to be used for any genre, and there are some excellent new settings. The Empire of the Raven by Kistune9 is a very cool world.
Sunday, May 5, 2013
Moving Quickly
Alright! I've accomplished the main thing I wanted: I've got a way for you to get to PDFs of the games I've been working on.
Here's the deal. These are free. Please be respectful of them. Give me credit when you ought to. If you have ideas for other setting, I would be interested in hearing about them. If I think they are awesome, I might even put them up. Just, you know, be cool.
Oh, and if you play any of these games, please let me know. I think it might be kind of cool to post some reviews (gulp) or, better yet, some of the cool experiences you've had playing them. I know that there is always room to improve on things, but it is also fun to focus on the good times that these games have helped to create.
Here's the deal. These are free. Please be respectful of them. Give me credit when you ought to. If you have ideas for other setting, I would be interested in hearing about them. If I think they are awesome, I might even put them up. Just, you know, be cool.
Oh, and if you play any of these games, please let me know. I think it might be kind of cool to post some reviews (gulp) or, better yet, some of the cool experiences you've had playing them. I know that there is always room to improve on things, but it is also fun to focus on the good times that these games have helped to create.
Starting Things Off
OK. I'm working on trying to have a more active presence online with my gaming stuff. We'll see how this goes ... I tried social media in the past and found it didn't suit me. But that was less focused. Hopefully with a focus on gaming I'll have something to keep me going.
So - the purpose of this site is to post projects that I'm working on/have completed so that others can access them, provide constructive feedback, and maybe even chat a bit about games.
I'm kind of a novice on webpages, even simple ones like blogs, so things may not be all that slick right off. Bear with me!
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