Gamemastering Update

With the release of the first Heroism and Other Lies Book, Episode 101: Pilot, I've been posting more about the author side of things lately. However, I've had a lot going on in the Gamemaster side of things, so I wanted to share some of what I've been doing.

Toybox Campaign

If you've been reading the Toybox episodes, then

you know more or less how this is going. Our team has now had five sessions, with four already posted in narrative format as the aforementioned Toybox Episodes.

I think that, prior to starting the campaign, I underestimated the lack-of-connection caused by the characters amnesia. While the desire to figure out who they were and what the Toybox is does push them to seek out answers, it doesn't get them to engage with the world or care about anything else in it.

I'm working to give them more ties to the setting and to increase their engagement overall. I think it's showing positively so far, and I hope it will continue to do so. I'm very much looking forward to running the sixth session.

System Design

Lorrwelda

The Toybox campaign has been utilizing a system of my own design which has been in development and which has been referred to as the "Toybox" system, after the campaign in which it is being utilized.

The system, in it's full extent, is strongly linked to the setting in which it takes place. This setting is called Lorrwelda. (Some of my players will remember that Lorrwelda was the name of a setting/campaign I ran several years ago. This setting has very little in common with that, I just liked the name.) So, for the time being, the system/game itself will also be referred to as Lorrwelda (unless a better name for the system/game comes along.)

I've been making good progress on it, fleshing out a more detailed outline of the world(s) of Lorrwelda as well as details of the system. In the Toybox campaign, character creation and advancement are controlled by me and somewhat arbitrary. Obviously this doesn't work with a fleshed out system. For Lorrwelda, I have put together the framework that will be used for character creation and advancement-I just need to make the actual powers and costs of things to fill in.

Overall, I'm happy about how development is going, and I look forward to continuing with this system.

S.C.R.A.M!

The fifth session of the Toybox campaign was largely spent in one battle. In my initial planning, I had figured that the battle would last for a short amount of time, maybe up to 30% of the session, and that 50%+ of the session would be taken up with the stuff following the battle. This didn't happen. And it's the case fairly often: battles take up a huge portion of the game time in any given session. Sometimes, like after that session, this frustrates/disappoints me.

I don't have anything wrong with combat. I enjoy it as a feature of RPGs. However, it isn't what brings me to the table; it isn't why I play them. However, it seems like with almost any system I've looked at, combat takes a long time. I've seen systems that make it simpler, which tends to cut time down a little, but it's still a massive portion of time. I've seen systems that make it more interesting, which makes combat more fun to play through, but still leaves me at the end of the evening wishing that I'd gotten to tell and/or experience more plot.

The problem infected my mind like an itch I couldn't scratch, so I started the design of yet another system. This system had reducing the time spent in combat (and increasing the focus on other elements of the game) as its core goal. I call it the Streamlined Combat Ratio for Advancing in Missions system, or S.C.R.A.M!

I'm putting it together as a setting-generic system that would be playable in any setting from a magical fantasy world to a high-tech sci-fi galaxy to a modern day realistic city.

There's a decent chance that I'll finish S.C.R.A.M! before Lorrwelda, since it's a much simpler system that has a lot lower requirements both in mechanics and setting.

Either way, I like it so far. I think the combat system that I designed for it is elegant and quick while still being fun and interesting. I think that the rest of the system is also really good for different sorts of stories, especially ones with high intrigue. I look forward to getting to share more about the system with people moving forward.

Things I Want to Run

I don't have time to start another campaign in addition to Toybox, and I'm not going to abandon Toybox so early into the story in favor of starting a S.C.R.A.M! campaign (even though S.C.R.A.M! is designed around the time issue that my campaigns so often face). Thinking about wanting to run this got me thinking about all the other things I wish I could run. Here are some of them:

One-Shot Adventures

If I go to GenCon this year (I didn't think I'd be able to, but it's becoming a real possibility), then I can potentially run up to three one-shots. Other than that, it's a matter of finding time in my over-full schedule/the schedules of my busy friends. Fortunately, one-shots are easier to find time for than a whole ongoing campaign, but they still can be challenging to plan for, especially since the system generally has to be taught at the same time.

Lorrwelda

While it's good to be testing and adjusting the system through the Toybox campaign, I also want to keep testing things with other audiences and with adventures actually set in the setting of Lorrwelda. I also need to get a better grasp of balance with the Character Creation/Advancement system in place.

S.C.R.A.M!

Obviously I'm excited to try out the new system that I've developed. I think that, not being as focused on combat, it might have a particular ease/appeal for people who aren't super ingrained in the hobby already. Therefore, I'm not sure yet if the best audience is friends who I know play RPGs who would enjoy it for that, friends who aren't as familiar with the hobby who wouldn't be distracted by the differences from traditional games, or gamers at GenCon who might have more experience with a wider variety of games and who might be more likely to give me an honest opinion. Obviously, in the long run, before unveiling the system, I'd want to do playtests with all three types (and others). However, just in trying to plan for the more immediate future, it's a consideration.

Fantaji

A while ago I kickstarted Fantaji, and I have wanted to get a chance to run it since then. At the opposite end of the spectrum from S.C.R.A.M!, Fantaji is a game that spends most of its time in action scenes (even though many of these are combat scenes, they don't actually *feel* like combat scenes in the traditional sense). Fantaji handles the combat issue by going with the "make it more interesting" tactic. Any action players want to attempt, they have to describe. In their description, players try to play to traits that their characters, the setting, the scene, and their enemies have. Based on the number of these things they can appeal to, the better chance they have of success. In this way, every action involves actively engaging in roleplaying one's character. It's an interesting idea, and I'm excited about the idea of trying it out.

Open Legend

Open Legend is a Public Domain RPG that I'd heard of a few months back, but that I've only checked it out recently. It's a nifty system. I don't have a lot to say about it specifically, but I like what I've seen of it and would enjoy trying it out. It also has the added benefit of being Public Domain, meaning I could make adventures, supplements, or other content for it without running into legal trouble.

Paranoia

I kickstarted this...oh...it feels like forever ago. The digital content came in a few months back, and I ran some short adventures with it. The physical books/cards/etc are *finally* being delivered, and I look forward to receiving mine soon. I'm very excited about trying to run this actually getting to run a full and real adventure. Of course, there's the issue of finding the right sort of players for it. I think a lot of my players like to work together too much.

Cypher System

I am ever the fan of the Cypher System, and I think it'd be fun to do another big adventure for it. If it turned out well, I could potentially even publish it alongside The Machine God's Temple and The Wonder Vault Heist.

Murders & Acquisitions

I kickstarted this game less far back, and would just generally have a fun time running it. It's a corporate espionage game dialed up to 11. A comedic came about literally cutthroat business. The system is really simple and straightforward too.

Campaigns

Here are things I'll probably never get to run. At least, I won't get to run them anytime soon, and by the time I have time, I'll probably have moved on to other system(s).

S.C.R.A.M!

Given that the problem that S.C.R.A.M! was designed to solve has a lot to do with campaigns or ongoing games with shorter sessions, I feel like there would be a lot of advantage to a campaign where most of the game time could actually be spent on advancing the story.

Lorrwelda

Yes, I know that Toybox is using the same system as Lorrwelda. However, I've got a great campaign idea that is actually in the Lorrwelda setting that I'd love to run with my players. Depending on timing, there's a decent chance that I might design this campaign and release it after the system/setting book for fans of the system to purchase. If I run a kickstarter, maybe I'll even put it in as a stretch goal.

Fantasy Age

As far as traditional-feeling RPGs go, I like Fantasy Age a whole lot. It uses 3d6, which leads to a much better probability curve than 1d20. It also has stunts which help to keep things interesting.

However, I feel like the system works much better for a longer game than a one shot-not that it wouldn't be fun for a one shot. Last year at Gen Con, the adventure that I felt had the best story was one using the Fantasy Age system.

Still, I feel like some of the advantage of the system comes from the choices in advancement, and I think that it can take a long time for players to get a good familiarity with all the stunts to be able to use them without spending a long time deliberating each time they have the opportunity.

Murders & Acquisitions

Less of a campaign, but I have an awesome idea for a set of 4-6 adventures that each take the players deeper into a conspiracy while revealing to them more about the world that they're a part of.