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Pyramid Scheme - ep.4
Posted: Sun, 19 Apr 11:09:59
Posted: Sun, 19 Apr 11:09:59
A new episode has been added to the database:
Pyramid Scheme - ep.4
Episode 163 - Romancing SaGa 2: Revenge of the Seven
Posted: Sun, 19 Apr 11:05:23
Posted: Sun, 19 Apr 11:05:23
A new episode has been added to the database:
Episode 163 - Romancing SaGa 2: Revenge of the Seven
Pre-dev #7: The Fifth Element (1997) + Tomb Raider...
Posted: Sun, 19 Apr 10:39:46
PART 14: WELCOME TO THE HOUSE OF THE GATHERING
I believe I mentioned The Fifth Element (1997) before. It's one of my favourite films (that and Batman Forever (1995)). In trying to answer a question by Tim Cain, of Fallout: 'is it easy to explain?' He was talking about video game RPGs, but it readily applies to board games in general. 'Is your setting evocative?' That was his last question.
The Fifth Element (1997) solved practically every problem, and even opened a few doors, including sci-fi power-armour or machine enemies, along with a deeper narrative on both sides (player-character and the world/enemies). I could justify everything easier, as well. And I believe everything is more coherent, in terms of the disconnect between Middle Ages theme and future/sci-fi.
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I spent some time thinking about how to properly integrate, nest, deepen, blend, and justify everything, including the possibility of a mixed tone, and robots and superhuman sci-fi enemies. I realised that The Fifth Element solved practically every solution in one fell swoop (great idiom, by the way -- thanks Shakespeare).
It was that or a nightmare/Sandbox sort of direction, but that's already been done and is innately not as serious or flexible, in terms of narrative and mechanical depth.
It's very simple, now -- male Tomb Raider in a Fifth Element-like far future.
Forget about the post-apoc vision idea from before, and move away from Labyrinth (1986) a little. Everything is a little more serious, though still 'style over substance'. Note that I've not fully figured out everything shown in the image. I don't know what's staying, and I don't know their exact roles, nature, or mechanics. But I feel like we're getting there.
The Order of the House of the Gathering (The House of the Gathering for short) is the religious (quasi-Catholic) order of the human player-character, Balthazar. He protects the Earth and humans, and fights demons and space marines deep in the Iron Labyrinth (i.e. dungeon). Set in the year 2200 AD. The members of the House of the Gathering are called Alchemists and Summoners, or more formerly, Alchemist-Priests or Summoner-Priests. This depends on their general class: Summoners focus on Elemental Magic, where Alchemists focus on melee/combat (including rogue, in terms of player gameplay). They're narrative and soft gameplay categories, since Red Delve will not feature strict classes due to the deck constructor nature of the game (i.e. you can build any class pre-game, and switch classes in-run).
I'm also wondering about adding some moral choices for Balthazar (i.e. the player). Just how good or evil is Balthazar, and how does his story unfold; where does he end up? What is the House of the Gathering actually trying to accomplish? Very interesting questions.
Note that I have no idea how the 'sword vs. power-armour' is going to work. Maybe the player can only use the Sword against demons, and must use Elements/Magic and other Weapons against the armoured sci-fi enemies. I'll go with the tightest narrative answer coupled with whatever works best, mechanically, and gives the most player freedom and clarity. Before, I said that I disliked the idea of a sword vs. machine situation. But now we have an innately sardonic, over-the-top Tomb Raider/Fifth Element setting, I like the idea.
One fellow mentioned that he would love robots/machines in Poll #2. Well, this is exactly why taking feedback is important. Rumination. I believe we're in a much better position, now. The door to this direction was sealed shut a few days ago. Always leave yourself the bravery -- and tenacity -- to open a sealed door, if you're convinced it'll ultimately create a superior product. At the very least, there's no harm in testing it out at that stage.
And I'm kicking myself, as they say, that I didn't think of this instantly. But, again, that door was sealed off. In hindsight, it was possibly a mistake (if we stick with this direction), but I didn't know that at the time, and didn't know how to fully commit to a future setting given the Middle Ages nature of the player-character. I was also trying to enforce the usage of the Gloomhaven map for tracking purposes. That map now makes no sense, unless we invent a reason. For example, maybe it's the ancient map that has been passed down through the generations, and now Balthazar -- or, the player -- owns it. That sounds like a decent narrative device to me.
But that's how this process goes, at least for me. Maybe you think it's easy, and maybe it's easy for you. And it seems so simple now, looking back, but it took me about 4 weeks to get here. And all I had to think on day one was -- 'male Tomb Raider in Fifth Element'. That's actually a pretty clear mash-up of Zathura, The Fifth Element, Tomb Raider, and Star Wars. One reason it likely didn't enter my mind that is two-fold: first, I wasn't thinking so literally, and was actually aiming to avoid just creating a Luke Skywalker/Indiana Jones type situation. And secondly, I was trying to avoid Indiana Jones and things like Tomb Raider at all costs due to the association with Spelunky, Tomb Raider proper, Zelda, and more. (This explains why I tried to explain open-mindedness in earlier logs. But it's not possible to check every possible direction on day one, or know exactly where you should end up.) Nonetheless, it was important not to directly copy Tomb Raider or adhere to The Fifth Element too closely, which is what would have happened if I came at it from a direct route.
I have a few other ideas, as well, and a few new mechanics in mind. Evidently, it's no longer as Labyrinth-like, DOOM-like, or Soulslike. But it has a few parts or fragments from each, in addition to other sources, thereby creating a new whole. I'll talk about the other core mechanics next time, along with the polished narrative/setting.
P.S. I think we've found the tagline for the game, too -- welcome to the House of the Gathering. :)
Posted: Sun, 19 Apr 10:39:46
by M Charles
'Ello, M. Charles here.PART 14: WELCOME TO THE HOUSE OF THE GATHERING
I believe I mentioned The Fifth Element (1997) before. It's one of my favourite films (that and Batman Forever (1995)). In trying to answer a question by Tim Cain, of Fallout: 'is it easy to explain?' He was talking about video game RPGs, but it readily applies to board games in general. 'Is your setting evocative?' That was his last question.
The Fifth Element (1997) solved practically every problem, and even opened a few doors, including sci-fi power-armour or machine enemies, along with a deeper narrative on both sides (player-character and the world/enemies). I could justify everything easier, as well. And I believe everything is more coherent, in terms of the disconnect between Middle Ages theme and future/sci-fi.
I spent some time thinking about how to properly integrate, nest, deepen, blend, and justify everything, including the possibility of a mixed tone, and robots and superhuman sci-fi enemies. I realised that The Fifth Element solved practically every solution in one fell swoop (great idiom, by the way -- thanks Shakespeare).
It was that or a nightmare/Sandbox sort of direction, but that's already been done and is innately not as serious or flexible, in terms of narrative and mechanical depth.
It's very simple, now -- male Tomb Raider in a Fifth Element-like far future.
Forget about the post-apoc vision idea from before, and move away from Labyrinth (1986) a little. Everything is a little more serious, though still 'style over substance'. Note that I've not fully figured out everything shown in the image. I don't know what's staying, and I don't know their exact roles, nature, or mechanics. But I feel like we're getting there.
The Order of the House of the Gathering (The House of the Gathering for short) is the religious (quasi-Catholic) order of the human player-character, Balthazar. He protects the Earth and humans, and fights demons and space marines deep in the Iron Labyrinth (i.e. dungeon). Set in the year 2200 AD. The members of the House of the Gathering are called Alchemists and Summoners, or more formerly, Alchemist-Priests or Summoner-Priests. This depends on their general class: Summoners focus on Elemental Magic, where Alchemists focus on melee/combat (including rogue, in terms of player gameplay). They're narrative and soft gameplay categories, since Red Delve will not feature strict classes due to the deck constructor nature of the game (i.e. you can build any class pre-game, and switch classes in-run).
I'm also wondering about adding some moral choices for Balthazar (i.e. the player). Just how good or evil is Balthazar, and how does his story unfold; where does he end up? What is the House of the Gathering actually trying to accomplish? Very interesting questions.
Note that I have no idea how the 'sword vs. power-armour' is going to work. Maybe the player can only use the Sword against demons, and must use Elements/Magic and other Weapons against the armoured sci-fi enemies. I'll go with the tightest narrative answer coupled with whatever works best, mechanically, and gives the most player freedom and clarity. Before, I said that I disliked the idea of a sword vs. machine situation. But now we have an innately sardonic, over-the-top Tomb Raider/Fifth Element setting, I like the idea.
One fellow mentioned that he would love robots/machines in Poll #2. Well, this is exactly why taking feedback is important. Rumination. I believe we're in a much better position, now. The door to this direction was sealed shut a few days ago. Always leave yourself the bravery -- and tenacity -- to open a sealed door, if you're convinced it'll ultimately create a superior product. At the very least, there's no harm in testing it out at that stage.
And I'm kicking myself, as they say, that I didn't think of this instantly. But, again, that door was sealed off. In hindsight, it was possibly a mistake (if we stick with this direction), but I didn't know that at the time, and didn't know how to fully commit to a future setting given the Middle Ages nature of the player-character. I was also trying to enforce the usage of the Gloomhaven map for tracking purposes. That map now makes no sense, unless we invent a reason. For example, maybe it's the ancient map that has been passed down through the generations, and now Balthazar -- or, the player -- owns it. That sounds like a decent narrative device to me.
But that's how this process goes, at least for me. Maybe you think it's easy, and maybe it's easy for you. And it seems so simple now, looking back, but it took me about 4 weeks to get here. And all I had to think on day one was -- 'male Tomb Raider in Fifth Element'. That's actually a pretty clear mash-up of Zathura, The Fifth Element, Tomb Raider, and Star Wars. One reason it likely didn't enter my mind that is two-fold: first, I wasn't thinking so literally, and was actually aiming to avoid just creating a Luke Skywalker/Indiana Jones type situation. And secondly, I was trying to avoid Indiana Jones and things like Tomb Raider at all costs due to the association with Spelunky, Tomb Raider proper, Zelda, and more. (This explains why I tried to explain open-mindedness in earlier logs. But it's not possible to check every possible direction on day one, or know exactly where you should end up.) Nonetheless, it was important not to directly copy Tomb Raider or adhere to The Fifth Element too closely, which is what would have happened if I came at it from a direct route.
I have a few other ideas, as well, and a few new mechanics in mind. Evidently, it's no longer as Labyrinth-like, DOOM-like, or Soulslike. But it has a few parts or fragments from each, in addition to other sources, thereby creating a new whole. I'll talk about the other core mechanics next time, along with the polished narrative/setting.
P.S. I think we've found the tagline for the game, too -- welcome to the House of the Gathering. :)
Review: Path of Adventure:: The Short Version? Path of Adventure has some pretty common themes, so it may not inspire much creativity.
Posted: Sun, 19 Apr 07:28:53
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Path of Adventure is a 2017 release from Nocturnal Media. It is intended for use with any rpg system and was designed by Roderick Robertson and illustrated by Jennifer Wieck and Richard Thomas (I).
Presentation
This is available as both a pdf and a tarot-sized deck. The deck comes in a tuckbox with 36 cards and a folded sheet of instructions. The cards are black & white on good quality stock for cards -- they feel like a decent deck of cards.
Content
The deck consists of 36 cards. Each card has a title, a brief description, an illustration and a number. The numbers range from 1 to 7 and cards are played from lowest to highest. The GM chooses a 1, so the players can only add 2s; once a card hits the table, only cards of equal value or higher can be played. They set the plan for the adventure. The themes in this deck are The Hunt which means the players are either hunting or hunted; Finding the Lost means the players are searching for something lost; Exploration of the Unknown which sends the players to a newly discovered place; and War! which means the players are involved in some kind of military action. The rest of the cards are shuffled and each player gets 2 or 3 of them. They can then play them when they feel like they might help move the game in a new or exciting direction.
The general idea is that the GM reveals a theme to start the session, then the players add "tone" by playing cards in the 2s and 3s. The cards in the 4-7 range are considered climax cards and may end the use of cards at the GMs discretion; of course, even after playing 4, there could be more 4s or even another cards; too many might make it feel like the end of Return of the King. Once a card is played, the GM has the option to accept it, veto it, or edit it. Veto means the card is outright rejected, hopefully because it's not going advance the story but maybe because the GM doesn't like it. Edit means there's a negotiation between the GM and players. Players who play cards can draw new ones, but there's not a clear mechanic there.
The composition of the deck is
1 - 4 cards
2 - 8 cards
3 - 7 cards
4 - 6 cards
5 - 5 cards
6 - 4 cards
7 - 2 cards
Evaluation
It seems odd to me that one would try to limit the path of adventure to only 4 themes. Admittedly, they are both common and pretty broad, but I'm not sure that's a positive thing. Many games and adventures center around these themes already, so it's not bringing anything new to the table. On the other hand, their format does limit the number of cards of each type. Maybe this one should have had more cards, like the Path of Shadows (Storypaths) deck which bulked up to 52 cards.
Either way, there are some interesting ideas in the other cards, but I'm not sure who much an experienced GM would benefit from them.
Posted: Sun, 19 Apr 07:28:53
by sdonohue
Presentation
This is available as both a pdf and a tarot-sized deck. The deck comes in a tuckbox with 36 cards and a folded sheet of instructions. The cards are black & white on good quality stock for cards -- they feel like a decent deck of cards.
Content
The deck consists of 36 cards. Each card has a title, a brief description, an illustration and a number. The numbers range from 1 to 7 and cards are played from lowest to highest. The GM chooses a 1, so the players can only add 2s; once a card hits the table, only cards of equal value or higher can be played. They set the plan for the adventure. The themes in this deck are The Hunt which means the players are either hunting or hunted; Finding the Lost means the players are searching for something lost; Exploration of the Unknown which sends the players to a newly discovered place; and War! which means the players are involved in some kind of military action. The rest of the cards are shuffled and each player gets 2 or 3 of them. They can then play them when they feel like they might help move the game in a new or exciting direction.
The general idea is that the GM reveals a theme to start the session, then the players add "tone" by playing cards in the 2s and 3s. The cards in the 4-7 range are considered climax cards and may end the use of cards at the GMs discretion; of course, even after playing 4, there could be more 4s or even another cards; too many might make it feel like the end of Return of the King. Once a card is played, the GM has the option to accept it, veto it, or edit it. Veto means the card is outright rejected, hopefully because it's not going advance the story but maybe because the GM doesn't like it. Edit means there's a negotiation between the GM and players. Players who play cards can draw new ones, but there's not a clear mechanic there.
The composition of the deck is
1 - 4 cards
2 - 8 cards
3 - 7 cards
4 - 6 cards
5 - 5 cards
6 - 4 cards
7 - 2 cards
Evaluation
It seems odd to me that one would try to limit the path of adventure to only 4 themes. Admittedly, they are both common and pretty broad, but I'm not sure that's a positive thing. Many games and adventures center around these themes already, so it's not bringing anything new to the table. On the other hand, their format does limit the number of cards of each type. Maybe this one should have had more cards, like the Path of Shadows (Storypaths) deck which bulked up to 52 cards.
Either way, there are some interesting ideas in the other cards, but I'm not sure who much an experienced GM would benefit from them.
Infinite Collision - Ep. 19: Brave
Posted: Sun, 19 Apr 05:09:51
Posted: Sun, 19 Apr 05:09:51
A new episode has been added to the database:
Infinite Collision - Ep. 19: Brave
Dp 274 - Character Backstories
Posted: Sun, 19 Apr 05:08:45
Posted: Sun, 19 Apr 05:08:45
A new episode has been added to the database:
Dp 274 - Character Backstories
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Dice Funk S12: Part 64 - Mystical Magical Bahama Mamas
Posted: Sun, 19 Apr 05:04:56
Posted: Sun, 19 Apr 05:04:56
A new episode has been added to the database:
Dice Funk S12: Part 64 - Mystical Magical Bahama Mamas
Play logs updated... now working on challenges
Posted: Sun, 19 Apr 01:28:23
Posted: Sun, 19 Apr 01:28:23
It took me most of today, but my play logs are up-to-date. Woot! :geek_grin:
Happy Saturday and happy playing!
-Rachel
Thank you for reading my blog. If you liked it; then please click the green thumb [microbadge=23724] at the top of the page. If you really liked it; then please subscribe.
Happy Saturday and happy playing!
-Rachel
Thank you for reading my blog. If you liked it; then please click the green thumb [microbadge=23724] at the top of the page. If you really liked it; then please subscribe.
Gary Con XVIII | In the Books | Wandering DMs S08 E09
Posted: Sat, 18 Apr 23:09:43
Posted: Sat, 18 Apr 23:09:43
A new episode has been added to the database:
Gary Con XVIII | In the Books | Wandering DMs S08 E09
Audio EXP podcast: April 18th - Conpulsion catch up, Paizo veterans debut 13 Omens and the Gygax legacy
Posted: Sat, 18 Apr 23:08:41
Posted: Sat, 18 Apr 23:08:41
A new episode has been added to the database:
Audio EXP podcast: April 18th - Conpulsion catch up, Paizo veterans debut 13 Omens and the Gygax legacy
After Party LIVE! Episode 36
Posted: Sat, 18 Apr 23:07:17
Posted: Sat, 18 Apr 23:07:17
A new episode has been added to the database:
After Party LIVE! Episode 36
