by sdonohue

Aligned Destinies is an entry in the 2011 RPG Geek 24 Hour RPGs. It was written by Oliver Graf (aka Lydon} who also did all the artwork and editing.

Presentation
The game is presented in a 10 page PDF document. The document is well-formatted and edited. The artwork is sparse but appropriate. The layout is clean and there is a lot of white space; it is mostly done as a single column per page. There are occasional text boxes with rules examples.

Theme
The premise of the game is that the players each come from a different world and the adventure takes place in each of those worlds. When a character is in his own world, he is the lead; when they move to someone else's world, each player becomes an alter-ego appropriate to that world who is less powerful than the main character. Alter-egos are supposed to be there to support the main character in their world.

Characters
Characters are very simple. Each main character has a concept and three traits. Traits should have some kind of flaw associated, like "Greatest billiards player in the world but can never turn down a game". The alter-egos are very similar except they get a concept and only two traits.

System
There isn't really a system per se. The GM describes something, then the players react. The core mechanic is "yes, and" or "yes, but", so most of the time, the players will succeed, especially if they have an appropriate trait or concept for what they're attempting. If the outcome is in doubt, there is a negotiation between the GM and the players. If a player actually fails for some reason (like lack of an appropriate trait for what they're trying to do), They can call for the "switch". This lets them switch the action to their homeworld and also makes them the lead character (and all other players become their supporting characters for that world). The player calling for the switch has to explain how the situation they were just in translates to their own world and once they do, play continues.

Playing the Game
Like a lot of systemless games, game play is pretty easy; there aren't any dice to roll or very many rules to remember -- you either have a concept or trait which fuels your success or you don't. The fun part comes when a character makes the switch and translates the situation into terms appropriate for their world.

Extras
The game includes three scenario ideas which could become part of an intertwined story if the players and GM found them interesting. It also suggests substituting something like the Fudge system for groups who can't handle the non-mechanics of the original.

Evaluation
The author suggests that the game should probably be used as a one-shot rather than attempting a campaign; based on the mechanics, that seems like a very good idea. The core of the game is really the switch which leaves players and the GM scrambling to translate the problem from one system to another. It's a very neat idea and one that drives the game. About the only problem I see is that it will require a group of players who are very imaginative to keep making interesting and effective switches.

Overall, I really like the concept of this game with players transitioning from hero to supporting cast and translating problems from one world to another.

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by Rachel Carpenter

After yesterday's failures, I was worried that Time's up! was a dud and I'd need a new idea for this year's 54-Card Contest... 30 playtests later... and I'm happy :geek_grin:.

I won

and lost

and I've got the basics down. It'll be ready to launch for the July 1st earliest available WIP/public components available date for the 54-Card Game Design Contest :geek_grin:.

I might still do Who's ready for the owlidays? too but the art needed to make that one work is making me question whether I want to do both right now. Anyway...

Next up, fully-written rules and then art for Time's up!

Also, Bears love Bows is getting a new edition! For the Bad Comet Cozy Contest! Ex-contest games are welcome to participate! Woot!

This makes me really happy because of all of my games the 2 that I'm most sure of from a retail/marketability standpoint are Bears love Bows & Composer's Cat. The Bears were being pitched to a publisher... but things have been radio silent for months. And I don't want to be annoying. Soooo the Bad Comet contest is a good way to move forward with the Bears. The kitty is stuck for now, but the Bears are getting another chance!

Happy Tuesday and happy playing!
-Rachel

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by M Charles

'Ello, M. Charles here. Just checking in.

PART 15: NEW PROBLEMS, OLD SOLUTIONS

So, a few things have been happening over the last few days.

(1) The 'Goblin' type creatures and their hidden movement mechanic have shifted into sacred aliens. No idea if you have to hunt them (i.e. Tomb Raider) or capture them/protect them (i.e. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them). One or the other.

(2) Instead of a difficulty mode, etc., I'm offering a way to randomise your deck construction, pre-run. This way, you have no idea what to expect, with the clear negative being that some decks will be bad due to the randomness. The other game mode will be the player choosing which cards to take.

(3) I'm adding a bit more worldbuilding and narrative, taking from my old projects and sci-fi ideas (now that we're fully in a cyberpunk/Art Deco sort of framework, set in 2200 AD, I believe).

(4) I'm going to test out a Sifu (2022) ageing comeback system. Not too strict, not too loose. Just 3 lives like arcade games. Each time you die, you come back to life via Elemental Power but age, and lose max HP (i.e. become innately weaker, and can no longer Heal back to the default max). This way, the benefit of having more than one life is off-set -- but it's not as harsh as just a single life system. If you lose all 3 lives, however, you encounter permadeath and must start the entire dungeon over again, very much like traditional Roguelites and Roguelikes. I think this is a nice compromise for all playstyles, and adds an interesting bit of narrative. It also adds a great speedrunning/high score system, where you ideally want to beat the game with as few deaths as possible (i.e. as young as possible).

(5) I'm going to lean heavily into The Fifth Element (1997), in terms of overall miniature choices, tone, setting, and characterisation, just mapped onto my prior ideas, and with a few fundamental changes. It's not a 1:1 translation, I just need to keep the source material clear in my mind as to ensure a coherent vision. I need to make sure everything adheres to the Art Deco/cyberpunk/steelpunk sort of art style, and choose miniatures, characters, and storylines accordingly. The biggest change is that I want some kind of 'space zombie' external threat, tying the setting together. But I don't want literal zombies, and I don't want to copy Warhammer 40,000 with Tyranids. I think I want to go with reptile-like semi-humanoid bio-mass monsters (in my case, I'm using Warhammer Skink miniatures). They're practically zombies: they transform their victims into clones of themselves, slowly taking over the entire universe. 'Space lizardmen'?

(6) I've better integrated the ancient/Middle Ages sort of theme with the future/cyberpunk in the player's board/table, by replacing the Destinies (2021) HP cards with Necormunda: Underhive (2017) cards (backs). This does mean the tone and style has altogether become darker, since the cards are a little more 'grimdark', but they'll work well for the cyberpunk/gritty steelpunk direction. See Google Images with prompt 'Necormunda gang card'; the back has brass-like metalwork and the Necromunda skull icon in the middle.

(7) Font direction has changed, as indicated by the image below. It's a sci-fi font.

(8) Instead of a Wolf as a Companion, I'm thinking of changing this to a drone/robot thing (Tau Drone), akin to Portal 2 (2011). Painted orange (nod to The Fifth Element, with the core colour scheme being silver, orange, and blue; a traditional and visually striking cyberpunk/sci-fi colour scheme, too). Maybe I could offer both. Or maybe the Wolf will be interesting for players to invest in, against the backdrop of a machine-driven world. It depends on the exact nature of our hero, Balthazar, and his House of the Gathering order/movement. Are they anti-tech to such extremes, or do they use certain tech (such as Companion robots)? Not sure. I'm also thinking about a non-demon direction, but including a few different bad guys, and various alien races of differing technological and Elemental Power (i.e. Magic) levels. (In essence, I've created an Art Deco/steelpunk cyberpunk science fantasy, a bit like Fifth Element and Star Wars.)

I already thought about some of these ideas, and alluded to them in the first logs. But I dismissed most of it until now. This is why it's important to never throw something away -- you never know what you'll need, in the end.

Below is an image of all the miniatures I'm thinking about, and their possible functions/roles/names. We'll see!