August 2022

Reading lots of gaming related works

05 August 2022 - Posted in gaming by kyrathasoft

I'm reading the Desolation RPG pdf. I'm liking what I'm reading. This roleplaying game system uses a dice pool mechanic and, thus far, the system appeals to me. I'm also perusing Scarlet Heroes for any tres-kewl mechanics or ideas.

Thus far in my mental meanderings as I continue reading, I like the simplicity of Tiny Dungeon's combat system, the Fray dice mechanic from Scarlet Heroes, and the dark fantasy, post-magicolyptic vibe of Desolation.

I want to be able to solo-play with a system crunchy enough to satisfy my itch, but of sufficiently low complexity that I don't find it laborious to use. It's still early in my reading, but thus far [i]Desolation[/i] fits the bill. In addition to searching for an RPG, I've also been reading a lot of blog posts in recent weeks regarding rulesets for solo-play. I've perused DM Yourself by Tom Scutt, and am considering purchasing The Solo Adventurer's Toolbox by Paul Bimler.

The following text quoted from the Desolation core rulebook captures what would be an appealing setting for me, for solo adventuring:

Violence is a reality of life for most survivors of the Night
of Fire. Laws once existed to protect the innocent, but
they are gone — along with the nations that gave
birth to them. Criminals of every ilk roam freely or set up
their own kingdoms via intimidation and steel. Experienced
soldiers fight over the scraps of civilization, and even the timid
have been transformed into warriors through desperation. But
other survivors are not the only threat. The Weave has twisted
creatures into crazed beasts with innate magical powers. Even
the land, sea and sky seem to be fighting against survivors, with
natural disasters occurring more frequently than Before.

Here are aspects I know I want to include in my solo adventuring:

combat
some form of dice pool mechanic
post-apocalyptic fantasy setting (think Desolation)
low-magic due to eldritch holocaust (think Desolation's Night Of Fire)
a way to invest power into items without enchanting them
the Night of Fire twisted some creatures into crazed beasts with innate magic
some amount of dungeon- and hex-crawling

As I continue preparing for a solo campaign, I'm doing quite a bit of Googling and reading. Today, I've been reading some interesting things over on the Cannibal Halfling Gaming blog, about various games that are Powered By The Apocalypse. I really need to grab a copy of the core PbTA rules.

For possible inclusion in my solo campaign (taken from Good Strong Hands):

A failure earns you a box on the Skill track as you learn from your mistakes (XP for failure, pretty typical). A success earns you a box on the Spirit track as you’re bolstered (Spirit recharges pretty quickly, good to know). A success with a boon earns you a box on the Shadow track, as the Void takes notice of your heroics...

I continue journaling my journey toward a solo campaign here.

Hackmaster campaign continues on myth-weavers

04 August 2022 - Posted in gaming by kyrathasoft

I continue running a campaign on myth-weavers.com and we're using Hackmaster 5e but planning on soon converting to AD&D 5e. The campaign's been running about four months and has been moving forward rapidly. Characters currently vary from 5th to 10th level. Yes, they've advanced rather quickly. For context, we're playing a no-level-limit campaign.

When I started this play-by-post campaign back in April 2022, using the Mythweavers site, I substituted some place names and proper nouns, to hopefully throw off any meta-gaming player from discerning the published source of the story-arc: Night Below, a well-received product of the AD&D 2e era. Of course, some of the players are in their fifties like me, so may guess it anyway.

Currently, the PCs are about to wind up the first portion of the campaign arc, at which point they'll have the option of retiring either permanently or semi-permanently. Having saved ~~Haranshire~~ Slaytonthorpe from the bandit threat, they've earned the gratitude of the locals residing in ~~Milbourne~~ Millboro and ~~Thurmaster~~ Trimaster, including that of the mage ~~Tauster~~ Tauste.

I'm using a doom clock in the current fight, which is against the BBEGs. The PCs are fighting death cultists and giant skeletons in a Fane that sits atop the mega-keep, The ~~Brokenspire~~ Tornspire. A group of bandits have been kidnapping people from various surface villages, towns, and cities for the past few in-game months. The PCs have fought against these bandits in the region of Slaytonthorpe.

In the current battle, a winged monstrosity I've given the appellation draco-demon is using a fiery breath weapon to soften up party members. More importantly, it has begun to glow and throb with an intensifying inner light that signals an imminent explosion. A danger clock is ticking. Each round, I select a party member to roll a dice pool. If three or more of the rolled d6s comes up '6', the draco-demon explodes for 8d6 penetrating damage in a fifty-foot radius. The dice pool started at 3d6, but will contain 4d6 next round, 5d6 the round after that, etc. It's a tension-building mechanic...

Assuming that the PCs -- who style themselves The Knights of the Rising Phoenix -- prevail, they will bring the current story arc to an ending and will have the undying gratitude of the people of Slaytonthorpe. Perhaps they'll retire. Then again, they may follow up on clues that this recent rash of kidnappings of surface-dwelling spellcasters may be occurring at the orchestration of a much more dire intelligence in the Underdark...

Reading lots of gaming related works

Suggested Reads & Reading Progress

Hackmaster campaign continues on myth-weavers