Sir Poley's Blog, page 46

Re: Death Or Glory. Seems like it could be used for an Erfworld game!

Yeah! The system is actually super easy to convert between settings—it started as a straight fantasy setting, to which I added some post-apocalypse and missile launchers because it was feeling a little bland. Also, I always wanted to play a game in which you could fight a dragon from behind the wheel of a main battle tank, and now that game exists. It’s kind of awesome, actually.

Creating appropriate equipment, specializations, and training for different settings is pretty quick (ie, can be done in an afternoon). Slower is statting out appropriate enemies, but even that is a process of a week or two at the most if the chosen setting is rich enough.

I also toyed around with a version based on a certain popular sci-fi wargame whose setting fit the black humour of the game, but decided I wanted to make something that didn’t rely on someone else’s IP’s for once.

Death or Glory sounds great, but for another game mode with many possible variations would be Hunt the Monster. Werewolf, Dragon, Vampire, Mutant Vampire, Mutant Dragon,... The list of possible quarries goes on!

Yeah! I want one of the Mission Objectives to be “X giant monster is attacking! Charge blindly at it and hope you land a lucky shot!” It would probably end up looking a lot like Attack on Titan: The RPG. Only nobody gets to be Mikasa unless you rolled 100 in character creation.

Actually, an Attack on Titan-variant would be so cool.

Progress Report

There definitely won’t be a chapter today. However, that’s not to say I wasn’t working on Harry Potter and the Save or Die. A good deal of planning was put into the rest of the book, and my plan for the climax has been significantly improved from my previous one. If you’ve enjoyed my story so far, I think you’ll like the end of this one a lot.

Also, work on Death or Glory progresses quickly. Rogue wizards, along with magically-controlled demon-possessed golems, bound demons, apprentice wizards and mind-controlled minions (kill the wizard, free the minions!) are added to the game as a new enemy faction. Also now there’s a Glossary, and a few optional rules (such as a rule for switching GM-role among the players cleanly, and one for having a ‘roster’ of multiple characters per player, and choosing which to send out on a mission-by-mission basis). Also, I figured out how to have automatically-updating page cross-references in Word, so there’s that. The main obstacles now to getting this into an Alpha-Release state are fleshing out the random mission generator (there are a lot of tables to fill in). I also want a pre-made Mission with pre-made characters as a sort-of ‘tutorial’ for the game.

The Alpha Release will likely be plagued with typos and weird grammar, rules inconsistencies, bizarre layouts, and sometimes obtusely-worded sentences. After that, my main focus for Beta will be on layout and making the rules as transparent as possible, with the occasional ‘feature’ added (new missions and new enemies mainly; equipment and PC abilities are pretty much where I want them). In total, we’re looking at about a 100-page rulebook. There won’t be anything in the way of illustrations for a while yet (maybe for ever), because I can’t draw to save my life.

dont forget stealth/infiltration in the mission tyqes. the game sounds awesome, im definitely going to try it out! if you add more attributes to the missions, the variety of missions rises exqonentially. that is to say, if you have a stronghold assault aga

Exactly my thinking! Right now, there are 6 different story structures for each type of Mission, each with an example fluff (“you’re on a routine recon patrol when you stumble into a major enemy troop movement. Nearby is a defensible [Strongpoint] where you can hold up to weather the storm of enemies.” In this case, there’s a separate chart to roll on for what kind of Strongpoint you’re going to defend—it could be a bunker, a castle, a ruin, a hill, etc.) Each different story structure has a different mix of encounter types (such as Traveling Encounter (just getting to the Strongpoint in this case) vs. Defensive Encounter (being attacked at the Strongpoint)).They also mix in Dilemmas (difficult decisions the party must make, such as: a Redshirt stumbles and breaks his/her ankle. You can spend a few hours treating them (chance of wandering monster), leave them behind (loss of Prestige and the Redshirt), send someone to carry them home (gain Prestige, but lose two people for the rest of the Mission), or take a third option (GM discretion). There are also Intermissions, usually right before a huge climax, that are to restore the Squad’s confidence in their ability to survive. You might rescue some prisoners that help you, get reinforcements, find a long-lost powerful relic, encounter some friendly refugees who are willing to trade, and the like.

So between the different groups of antagonists (currently 4, aiming to be 6-8), different Missions (also 4, but aiming to be closer to 10 by release), different scenarios (6 per mission), and wide array of types of encounters/etc. (10 encounters, intermissions, and dilemmas each of Defensive, Traveling, and Assault currently, though there will be more categories as the number of Mission Types increases. There are roughly 2 encounters, 1 dilemma, 1 intermission, and 1 climax per Mission), and 4-6 Climaxes per Mission, there are a lot of different games that can be played. And that’s not even getting into custom GM-made Missions, or the fact that there are several different types of Squads (such as Conscripts and Auxiliaries which rely on numbers, or Shock Troopers which have few numbers but better skills, weapons, and Armour) and loads of different Character combinations.

Ideally, every Mission (which usually takes 1-3 hours) will feel very unique, although I don’t quite have enough Mission Objectives or Antagonists yet to get that feeling. (We defended a lot of Strongpoints against Undead over the holidays, for example, though some were crumbling towers and others were shiny new bunkers).

dont forget stealth/infiltration in the mission tyqes. the game sounds awesome, im definitely going to try it out! if you add more attributes to the missions, the variety of missions rises exqonentially. that is to say, if you have a stronghold assault aga

Exactly my thinking! Right now, there are 6 different story structures for each type of Mission, each with an example fluff (“you’re on a routine recon patrol when you stumble into a major enemy troop movement. Nearby is a defensible [Strongpoint] where you can hold up to weather the storm of enemies.” In this case, there’s a separate chart to roll on for what kind of Strongpoint you’re going to defend—it could be a bunker, a castle, a ruin, a hill, etc.) Each different story structure has a different mix of encounter types (such as Traveling Encounter (just getting to the Strongpoint in this case) vs. Defensive Encounter (being attacked at the Strongpoint)).They also mix in Dilemmas (difficult decisions the party must make, such as: a Redshirt stumbles and breaks his/her ankle. You can spend a few hours treating them (chance of wandering monster), leave them behind (loss of Prestige and the Redshirt), send someone to carry them home (gain Prestige, but lose two people for the rest of the Mission), or take a third option (GM discretion). There are also Intermissions, usually right before a huge climax, that are to restore the Squad’s confidence in their ability to survive. You might rescue some prisoners that help you, get reinforcements, find a long-lost powerful relic, encounter some friendly refugees who are willing to trade, and the like.

So between the different groups of antagonists (currently 4, aiming to be 6-8), different Missions (also 4, but aiming to be closer to 10 by release), different scenarios (6 per mission), and wide array of types of encounters/etc. (10 encounters, intermissions, and dilemmas each of Defensive, Traveling, and Assault currently, though there will be more categories as the number of Mission Types increases. There are roughly 2 encounters, 1 dilemma, 1 intermission, and 1 climax per Mission), and 4-6 Climaxes per Mission, there are a lot of different games that can be played. And that’s not even getting into custom GM-made Missions, or the fact that there are several different types of Squads (such as Conscripts and Auxiliaries which rely on numbers, or Shock Troopers which have few numbers but better skills, weapons, and Armour) and loads of different Character combinations.

Ideally, every Mission (which usually takes 1-3 hours) will feel very unique, although I don’t quite have enough Mission Objectives or Antagonists yet to get that feeling. (We defended a lot of Strongpoints against Undead over the holidays, for example, though some were crumbling towers and others were shiny new bunkers).

dont forget stealth/infiltration in the mission tyqes. the game sounds awesome, im definitely going to try it out! if you add more attributes to the missions, the variety of missions rises exqonentially. that is to say, if you have a stronghold assault aga

Exactly my thinking! Right now, there are 6 different story structures for each type of Mission, each with an example fluff (“you’re on a routine recon patrol when you stumble into a major enemy troop movement. Nearby is a defensible [Strongpoint] where you can hold up to weather the storm of enemies.” In this case, there’s a separate chart to roll on for what kind of Strongpoint you’re going to defend—it could be a bunker, a castle, a ruin, a hill, etc.) Each different story structure has a different mix of encounter types (such as Traveling Encounter (just getting to the Strongpoint in this case) vs. Defensive Encounter (being attacked at the Strongpoint)).They also mix in Dilemmas (difficult decisions the party must make, such as: a Redshirt stumbles and breaks his/her ankle. You can spend a few hours treating them (chance of wandering monster), leave them behind (loss of Prestige and the Redshirt), send someone to carry them home (gain Prestige, but lose two people for the rest of the Mission), or take a third option (GM discretion). There are also Intermissions, usually right before a huge climax, that are to restore the Squad’s confidence in their ability to survive. You might rescue some prisoners that help you, get reinforcements, find a long-lost powerful relic, encounter some friendly refugees who are willing to trade, and the like.

So between the different groups of antagonists (currently 4, aiming to be 6-8), different Missions (also 4, but aiming to be closer to 10 by release), different scenarios (6 per mission), and wide array of types of encounters/etc. (10 encounters, intermissions, and dilemmas each of Defensive, Traveling, and Assault currently, though there will be more categories as the number of Mission Types increases. There are roughly 2 encounters, 1 dilemma, 1 intermission, and 1 climax per Mission), and 4-6 Climaxes per Mission, there are a lot of different games that can be played. And that’s not even getting into custom GM-made Missions, or the fact that there are several different types of Squads (such as Conscripts and Auxiliaries which rely on numbers, or Shock Troopers which have few numbers but better skills, weapons, and Armour) and loads of different Character combinations.

Ideally, every Mission (which usually takes 1-3 hours) will feel very unique, although I don’t quite have enough Mission Objectives or Antagonists yet to get that feeling. (We defended a lot of Strongpoints against Undead over the holidays, for example, though some were crumbling towers and others were shiny new bunkers).

dont forget stealth/infiltration in the mission tyqes. the game sounds awesome, im definitely going to try it out! if you add more attributes to the missions, the variety of missions rises exqonentially. that is to say, if you have a stronghold assault aga

Exactly my thinking! Right now, there are 6 different story structures for each type of Mission, each with an example fluff (“you’re on a routine recon patrol when you stumble into a major enemy troop movement. Nearby is a defensible [Strongpoint] where you can hold up to weather the storm of enemies.” In this case, there’s a separate chart to roll on for what kind of Strongpoint you’re going to defend—it could be a bunker, a castle, a ruin, a hill, etc.) Each different story structure has a different mix of encounter types (such as Traveling Encounter (just getting to the Strongpoint in this case) vs. Defensive Encounter (being attacked at the Strongpoint)).They also mix in Dilemmas (difficult decisions the party must make, such as: a Redshirt stumbles and breaks his/her ankle. You can spend a few hours treating them (chance of wandering monster), leave them behind (loss of Prestige and the Redshirt), send someone to carry them home (gain Prestige, but lose two people for the rest of the Mission), or take a third option (GM discretion). There are also Intermissions, usually right before a huge climax, that are to restore the Squad’s confidence in their ability to survive. You might rescue some prisoners that help you, get reinforcements, find a long-lost powerful relic, encounter some friendly refugees who are willing to trade, and the like.

So between the different groups of antagonists (currently 4, aiming to be 6-8), different Missions (also 4, but aiming to be closer to 10 by release), different scenarios (6 per mission), and wide array of types of encounters/etc. (10 encounters, intermissions, and dilemmas each of Defensive, Traveling, and Assault currently, though there will be more categories as the number of Mission Types increases. There are roughly 2 encounters, 1 dilemma, 1 intermission, and 1 climax per Mission), and 4-6 Climaxes per Mission, there are a lot of different games that can be played. And that’s not even getting into custom GM-made Missions, or the fact that there are several different types of Squads (such as Conscripts and Auxiliaries which rely on numbers, or Shock Troopers which have few numbers but better skills, weapons, and Armour) and loads of different Character combinations.

Ideally, every Mission (which usually takes 1-3 hours) will feel very unique, although I don’t quite have enough Mission Objectives or Antagonists yet to get that feeling. (We defended a lot of Strongpoints against Undead over the holidays, for example, though some were crumbling towers and others were shiny new bunkers).

dont forget stealth/infiltration in the mission tyqes. the game sounds awesome, im definitely going to try it out! if you add more attributes to the missions, the variety of missions rises exqonentially. that is to say, if you have a stronghold assault aga

Exactly my thinking! Right now, there are 6 different story structures for each type of Mission, each with an example fluff (“you’re on a routine recon patrol when you stumble into a major enemy troop movement. Nearby is a defensible [Strongpoint] where you can hold up to weather the storm of enemies.” In this case, there’s a separate chart to roll on for what kind of Strongpoint you’re going to defend—it could be a bunker, a castle, a ruin, a hill, etc.) Each different story structure has a different mix of encounter types (such as Traveling Encounter (just getting to the Strongpoint in this case) vs. Defensive Encounter (being attacked at the Strongpoint)).They also mix in Dilemmas (difficult decisions the party must make, such as: a Redshirt stumbles and breaks his/her ankle. You can spend a few hours treating them (chance of wandering monster), leave them behind (loss of Prestige and the Redshirt), send someone to carry them home (gain Prestige, but lose two people for the rest of the Mission), or take a third option (GM discretion). There are also Intermissions, usually right before a huge climax, that are to restore the Squad’s confidence in their ability to survive. You might rescue some prisoners that help you, get reinforcements, find a long-lost powerful relic, encounter some friendly refugees who are willing to trade, and the like.

So between the different groups of antagonists (currently 4, aiming to be 6-8), different Missions (also 4, but aiming to be closer to 10 by release), different scenarios (6 per mission), and wide array of types of encounters/etc. (10 encounters, intermissions, and dilemmas each of Defensive, Traveling, and Assault currently, though there will be more categories as the number of Mission Types increases. There are roughly 2 encounters, 1 dilemma, 1 intermission, and 1 climax per Mission), and 4-6 Climaxes per Mission, there are a lot of different games that can be played. And that’s not even getting into custom GM-made Missions, or the fact that there are several different types of Squads (such as Conscripts and Auxiliaries which rely on numbers, or Shock Troopers which have few numbers but better skills, weapons, and Armour) and loads of different Character combinations.

Ideally, every Mission (which usually takes 1-3 hours) will feel very unique, although I don’t quite have enough Mission Objectives or Antagonists yet to get that feeling. (We defended a lot of Strongpoints against Undead over the holidays, for example, though some were crumbling towers and others were shiny new bunkers).

Is the story/book really half over? *puppy eyes*

Harry Potter and the Save-or-Die is somewhere between 25% and 50% over, but the overall saga is less clear. I have a pretty good idea of what the end will look like, but I’ll end the story when the time is right. I don’t want to drag it out so long that it becomes stale, but I also don’t want to end it when there’s still areas left to explore. Whether that means there’s a Natural 20 version of every Harry Potter novel or not is up in the air.

Writing going slowly

I’ve been really off my game this week for some reason, and my writing has suffered as a result. Chapter 16 is only about 5-10% done despite working on it all week, so I can’t guarantee it will be ready to go tomorrow. It’s not outside the realm of possibility, but it doesn’t seem terribly likely right now.

Anyway—if there isn’t a chapter tomorrow, don’t be super surprised.