I’ve been writing and / or editing for a solid couple of hours tonight and I still have some time left to go. But I needed a break and thought, why not get a break and a blog post at the same time? I always enjoy posts like this one, and intended this blog to provide similar information. So here’s where things stand at the moment:
- 11,544 words. This includes notes to myself about what I need to be working on next, etc.. This isn’t an especially meaningful metric, but it’s a metric that I have.
- When I started this project, I used the name of a character from a card game we all play for the sample character. Once it became a goal of mine that someone who doesn’t come to my house would play this game, I thought I’d better get rid of her. After tonight, Security Jones should be excised from the manuscript.
- Two new sample characters, based on characters actually made during a playtest session have been introduced instead.
- The section on Attempts, the game’s primary task-resolution mechanic, is being completely overhauled. I hope that I’ll be finished with that by the end of the night.
- Some new ideas for Conflicts and Villian Combat at least added as notes, so as not to be forgotten.
- New rules for Experience->Confidence exchange
With a little luck, I’ll be able to read all of those new games soon.
Not a thing to do with automobile repair. But everything to do with how Trust works in the game. I’ve revamped the system to be more like what I imagined. I think it’ll be fun and I can’t wait to test it in play. I was right, it was quick. But that’s because I had a pretty good idea how I wanted it to be, and it was dead simple.
In other news, I’ve gotten some good ideas just today about Villain combat, but they’ll have to stew for a while before they’re tasty.
Also, I forgot to include A Song of Ice and Fire Roleplaying in the list of things I won’t be able to read until I’m done with two more significant mechanical chunks of game. However, based upon the rate of GRRM products, there’s a good chance I’ll be well past finished with those chunks by the time that book hits my FLGS.
Tags:
One of my players in my weekly game is out of the hospital. He went in on the day we usually play, and all reports were that he was worried that he wouldn’t make it to game night. That makes a GM feel good. He didn’t make it, though. It was too serious for that.
We recently had an episode that took place in a hospital, and apparently he was joking about it while he was waiting for tests and stuff. I had considered making a sort of cul-de-sac plotwise in the hospital, making the place itself more sinister and the people there nastier. Now, I’m glad I didn’t.
I talked to him last night when I heard he was home and it was really good to hear his voice. He plans on being there for game night this week. Welcome back.
Ok. I’ve made up my mind re: The Dilemma. I’m not going to read any new games until I’ve completed rewites on the following:
Combat (Villain combat particularly)
Contests
The new Trust mechanic
I will continue to write about games that influenced me, and read from them as necessary to comment on them, but I will not be reading new systems until I’m further along with my own work.
Just for the record, that means the following games will go unread until my stated goals are accomplished:
Houses of the Blooded
A Wilderness of Mirrors
The Committee for the Exploration of Mysteries
Sweet Agatha
Since it’s frequently interesting to compare predictions with real outcomes, I’m making my predictions as to which of those goals will prove the most difficult. Trust should be a snap. I’m already pretty sure how to fix it and just have to write it up. Contests will take some more doing. I need to maintain uniformity with the already-working uncontested mechanic, while offering something more to the player in terms of fun and feel. Once contests are done, combat should follow pretty swiftly on its heels, because combat is just a type of conflict.
Even as I write this I can feel the dull pain in my forehead, temporal echoes of my future self whacking my head in despair over how wrong I am. Was. Wam. Time travel metaphors are a pain in the ass.
