The (Dungeon World) Hit Point Narrative

For the longest time I hated Hit Points. I mean, where's the fun in the characters just hitting each other with pointy implements until one suddenly falls dead. The problem was that I, like probably many others, have seen HP as the "meat" on a character. If someone rolled a hit it obviously means that their pointy implement connected with that meat and some blood came out or something. This approach is pretty much default. Many RPGs make you believe that's the case, often by how the mechanics work. Video games double up on that and any protagonist is able to take numerous hits with swords, bullets and what-have-yous, before they will fall. Yet, this always bothered me, because it wasn't either realistic or fun. So for the longest time I used systems without HP, or removing them from the games I was playing. This has changed once I discovered Dungeon World.

Dungeon World aims to be a narrative take on D&D. Because of that, it takes as much from the original and translates it to a more narrative approach. This includes Hit Points, which I was not crazy about, but because how the rest of the game is played, it also changed my view to hit points...

Hit Points NOT Meat Points

Dungeon World gives the GM a lot of options what to do when it comes to handling player failure of any kind. One of them is dealing damage to the player character, yet the description of the "Deal Damage" move is somewhat lackluster. Once you run couple games where the enemies will "put someone in a spot" or "use up their (PC's) resources" and get into a rhythm of narrating those actions you might notice the difference between those and simply stabbing someone for d8 damage.

To change that we need to get in a slightly different mindset. First of all, don't think of hp simply as health, but more of combination of stamina, willingness to fight AND finally health. Secondly, a successful "hit" does't have to mean that the pointy implement reached someone's flesh. This "hit" shows that for this small amount of time, you got some kind of advantage over your enemy. Enough advantage to do make that enemy less of a threat. So you might have stabbed him in the arm, but you might as well have tired him as he was dodging and blocking your multiple lunges. You might have also forced him to move against a wall, or kicked him through a window to the streets outside.  We see it all the time in the movies when someone is shot at, not wounded, but definitely tired, gasping for air and force to hide behind a cover. Well, that character just lost some hit points.

With all that in mind let's make a new version of the Deal Damage move:

Deal damage

When a source of damage is fictionally threatening a character, the player whose character is affected rolls the appropriate damage die. 

The GM describes what happens based on the amount rolled. This description can be as severe as cleaving someone in half (damage rolled is far greater than the HP of the character) or minuscule as tiring and disorienting someone with multiple lunges that had to be parried (1 or 2 damage). It all depends on the outcome of the roll and the creativity of the narrator (GMs are free to ask for narrative input from the players).

As HP is an abstract of characters ability to stay fighting, you are free to narrate anything that would hinder this ability in any way you want. Whatever you describe will add to the "narrative positioning" which can be used by other players or the GM to trigger moves. 

This move aims to help rule-ify the cinematic feel that narrative combat can have. Requiring to describe the attack AND its outcome separately helps with keeping the narrative flowing and never ending on a mechanical sentence (e.g. you receive 8 damage). Knowing how much damage you dealt ahead of time will help you with your description, and using narrative positioning will kick the combat narrative forward. Once you get in the mindset that the source of damage doesn't have to be a single connecting punch/stab/slash/whathaveyou, you will have much more fun with narrating the outcomes. Think cinematic and have fun!

In reality, what it boils down to is deal mechanical damage AND narrative damage. You received 8 damage from an Ogre? He has tossed you against the wall. You got 1 damage from a goblin? It slashes madly with his sword, and while you manage to parry and block his puny attacks, he forced you back few steps and your arm feels more and more tired from all this blocking. What's even better, is that the more cool narrative is created during those "deal damage" moments, the more narrative there is for the next player to interact with.

I know that for many seasoned narrative GMs all of this will seem pretty obvious. The idea behind this move change is to help people new to Dungeon World (and narrative games in general) to understand the flow and "always end on narrative." I hope you will find it helpful.

Tools of a Tabletop Dungeon Delver

Click Me - I get bigger!

Meanwhile... art!

The main reason why the blog is not getting as many updates in recent months was the fact that I outside of it I have to juggle work and school.

I study graphic design and try to dabble in illustration in my spare time. So, as a side project I decided to combine my passions for RPGs and illustration and created this RPG themed postcard sized art thingy.

I have chosen a D&D-esque theme, because no matter what we play, D&D is still the iconic RPG out there that even people from outside the hobby heard about.

I am toying with the idea of making more. The idea is to make a piece like that for each of the classic fantasy classes, but this time they would have actual "tools" (so warrior would have a sword and shield on his card, wizard would have a staff and spell book, etc.) as well as their classic hit die. Those could be turned into functional character sheets (on the back) or incorporated into something like Dungeon World playbooks. As for now, they only function as art pieces...

Maybe instead of classes I should focus on making some for different systems? Anyway, I am curious what you think about it? Do you like it? What would you change?

Savage Shadowrun - Savage Fan Creation Review

I've seen a few Shadowrun conversion floating around the iterwebs, but it wasn't until I have received a request from +Christoffer Krakou to review his creation, that I really sunk my teeth into one. In all honesty I haven't seen the appeal of Shadowrun for the longest time. I mean, fantasy cyberpunk? I like my cyberpunk gritty and down to earth, not full of spell-slinging trolls. It wasn't until the recent Shadowrun video game reboot (Return, Dragonfall and Hong-Kong) that I have finally seen how awesome the setting can be. The only thing stopping me from playing it was the cumbersome mechanic. Enter Savage Shadowrun.

Disclaimer: I am not very familiar with the actual mechanics of Shadowrun. I have read through fourth and fifth edition, but I have never played the game itself. Most of the "feel of the game" I am basing on the above mentioned video games.

Unlike many other conversions of RPGs to the Savage Worlds system, this Savage Shadowrun feels very robust and complete. The conversions I usually encounter translate the most important aspects of a game and leave a lot of Savage Worlds unchanged. It is not a bad thing by any means, it works for many RPGs and keeps with the Fast, Furious and Fun spirit of Savage Worlds. However, when translating such complex system like Shadowrun, those extra rules add greatly to the "feel" of the game. Because what makes Shadowrun is not only the setting. A large portion of what makes the system click are the rules that interlock with different narrative parts of the sixth world. In that aspect, Christoffer's conversion does a great job at capturing the mechanical essence of the game.

In just under 80 pages, the document manages to squeeze every rule needed to play (from character generation, thru rules for magic and technology users, to cybernetics), a selection of weapons, spells and even few appendixes that give extra insight into some of the new rules. That's a lot of stuff for a free conversion. To be fair, Christoffer worked on this document for over four years, this shows some dedication. So let's see what hides between those pages.

Characters

This chapter is a pretty usual fair for conversions. You get lists of new races (that are more powerful than the usual SW races, clocking in at +4 instead of +2), Edges and Hindrances. To emulate the game, few new skills are included, mostly pertaining to the technology and magic aspects of the game. All of the stuff included here is of a really good quality, and reading through those makes me want to make a character or two. The one quibble I have here is the Deception skill. It is used both as type of persuasion and as a part of hacking. I think that is one of the mechanical quirks of the original system that can be streamlined in the conversion. If I were to run this conversion, I would probably skip it and just let Persuasion do the talking (and maybe add a new Edge for using persuasion during hacking instead of Deception).

Technology

This chapter talks mainly about Hacking, but also touches upon Rigging (using semi-autonomous drones), it is the most meaty of the chapters, as it introduces many new concepts. Hacking is a big deal in the sixth world, and has its own set of mechanics in the conversion. It seems a bit complex on the first read, but give it some time and it will make sense. After you wrap your head around the high concept of the Matrix and understand that it is a "different plane of existence," unlike the meatspace you will be fine. I think that those rules will make hacking a really cool aspect of the game, and it won't slow down the overall gameplay. Another cool thing is, that because hacking is a bit different from the normal Savage Worlds mechanics, non-hacker players will see it as some kind of techno wizardry. The only thing I wish the author would change are the names of the derived statistics for digital actions to more a Savage Worlds friendly terms, as right now it maybe confusing to players not familiar with Shadowrun. Adding digital before the name of the normal stat would resolve the issue. So, the Resistance would become Digital Parry for example.

Magic and others

The magical traditions are more akin to standard Savage Worlds ruleset. They use a tweaked variant of the "No Power Points" rules and a custom spell list. There is a lot of good stuff here that makes the magic more polished than a traditional Savage Worlds setting does. You get rules on astral space, summoning spirits and using a mentor spirit who gives your characters both pros and cons. The magic chapter has more of a DIY approach to magic, as the Shadowrun magicians are as varied as the rest of the world. A DIY approach is always a plus in my book.
The rest of the document consists of lists of various equipment and services the characters can obtain. Many of those come with special rules of their own and make the conversion more than just a collection of rules. There are few paragraphs of fluff and this fluff is used to explain various rules (the explanation of why Doubting Thomas Hindrance is forbidden is by far my favorite) and even some Shadowrun art to get you hooked up. You can run a bare-bones session with this document alone, but you will still want to have some of the Shadowrun books to really sink your teeth into the setting. All in all, this conversion does a great job at introducing players to the world of Shadowrun and provides a good alternative to the official mechanic.

Christoffer released the conversion and a set of character cards on his blog:  savageshadowrun.blogspot.dk. You should definitely check it out!

Savage Daddy's Heist Companion - Savage Fan Creation Review

As with the rest of the blog, the Savage Fan Creation Review series fell really behind the schedule. In an effort to keep this blog running I am also reviving the fan review series. I am starting with an old request for a long overdue review of Savage Daddy's Heist Companion. Written by +Jerrod "Savage Daddy" Gunning  (of Savage Worlds GM Hangout and Sin City Savages fame), the Heist Companion gives advice and options for running a heist centered game. Let's see what's inside...

In 23 pages, the Heist Companion gives you all the rules needed to run a heist game using Savage Worlds system. Inside you'll find new Archetypes, Edges, Hindrances and heist oriented setting rules. The document doesn't delve  into fluff, as "heist" as a genre is pretty much self explanatory and I would assume that anyone wanting to run a heist game is familiar with the formula. This "lack of setting" also makes the companion pretty genre neutral. The rules can easily be incorporated in anything from modern, through cyberpunk to sci-fi genres. It can even be applied to fantasy with a little tweaking.

The main aim of the supplement is to give both, the players and the GM, solid tools to run a one-shot in the vain of heist movies like Ocean’s Eleven, The Sting, etc. You can technically incorporate the rules into a non-heist campaign, but you would need to skip few rules. You start the game the same way any heist starts, by...

Getting the team together

First, you create your characters. As with any high stakes heist, each character has a specific skillset that fills a niche in the team. Those niches are covered by Archetypes (first introduced in Streets of Bedlam) and let you be the Mastermind, the Face etc. Those archetypes are also connected to the new Edges. Only certain archetypes can purchase certain Edges. All of those are pretty powerful and make each character useful in a different way during the heist. All the new Edges and Hindrances are really fitting the genre and some of them interact with the new mechanics of the heist itself.
After the players have created their characters, they can recruit some NPCs to aid them in the heist by filling the remaining archetypes or just doubling some up for good mes sure. The recruiting process has its own risk/reward attached to it, as failed recruiting attempts make the heist a little more difficult. Once you have your team, you...

Prepare and run the heist  

This is where the bulk of the new mechanics live. You get some random heist generator and time to do the "planning phase" of the job. New mechanics like Heist Bennies and Exploit Cards are used and it all ends in an aftermath where you find out how well the job has gone. I would advise you check the file yourself, as I think that me summarizing the rules would only confuse you. I have to admit, everything after the character generation portion of the companion is a pretty dense read. Those rules do a great job at emulating the genre, but you need to re-read them here and there, as they pack a lot of new information into few pages. I am a big fan of both heist genre and new mechanics, but even I think the document could use some extra examples for clarity. For someone who just started with Savage Worlds, running heists or both the supplement can feel overbearing. Nevertheless, it helps you change the usually action oriented Savage Worlds into full on heist.

Overall, it is a good example on how to expand the Savage Worlds ruleset to accommodate a different playstyle. The companion has no art and sports a basic, but clear graphic design overall. A few tweaks here and there would make it an amazing resource for running heists.

Disclaimer: I couldn't find the Heist Companion hosted anywhere. I have shared the copy I have received from Jerrod via email.

What I think about... The Wild Die Podcast

I am somewhat a podcast junkie. Sadly, since the end of The Game's the Thing and the somehow sporadic release schedule of Smiling Jack's Bar and Grill I am always on the lookout for more Savage Words content for my ears. Yes, there's the Savage Blogger Network Podcast, but it is a short form podcast focused mostly on the news. As for the Hangout on Air,  I prefer to watch it on a second screen of my desktop while I am working. So I was happy to find that a new Savage Worlds podcast has showed up...

The Wild Die

At the time of this post The Wild Die is only on its second episode. but I think it is important to acknowledge the good, the bad and the ugly, even that early in the podcasts life cycle. Afterall, you only have one chance to make the first impression.

The guys behind the Wild Die seem to be new to Savage Worlds, but not new to the hobby. It is interesting to see the perspective from someone who moved from a "certain popular d20 based system." This is both a good and a bad thing. Good because it introduces people with similar background to the system and lets them master the rules alongside the hosts. It is also simply interesting to listen to someone whose path to the System was such much different than my own, which can help me teach the system to others who are stepping outside their DnD boundaries. The same aspect that makes The Wild Die so intriguing is also "the bad and the ugly" of the show. Both of the hosts seem to still be learning the rules. It is most clearly seen (heard?) during the segment when they delve into particular mechanical aspect of the game (Powers episodes seems to be a big offender right now). What seems to be targeted at explaining the quirks of the system to people new to Savage Worlds can turn into a somewhat confusing, "off the cuff" chat riddled with inaccuracies and reading from the rules. I understand that the hosts are still wrapping their heads around it, but it can seem confusing to someone not familiar with the game. To remedy this there is a "listener mail" segment, in which some of the rules errors are addressed, but you need to wait until the next episode to find out about those. Nevertheless the hosts' enthusiasm for the system is contagious and I can see why they get emails from people who want to give Savage Worlds a try. Which is a great thing, as most of the other Savage Worlds podcasts that exist (and existed) were targeted at more hardcore fans who knew the system's ins and outs. I am curious to see what impact the Wild Die will have on the Savage fandom. It will definitely expand it, but I am also waiting to see what ideas the new players will bring to the table.

Going forward, I can see the show taking more of a mentor and a student approach, as one of the hosts (I cannot remember his name now, but he is a big fan of Deadlands Noir) seems to have more experience already. It would be a welcome change to the usual "everybody here is an expert" type of podcast, and from what I heard so far, it could be a very effective way of teaching new players. I would also like to see more humorous banter in the future, as right now it seems that it only shows up when the hosts forget they have to act professional. Maybe its just me, but podcasts hosts do not have to be business like.

The Wild Die is not perfect, but no podcast is. It is also a brand new show that is still finding its footing. There are some small mistakes, like talking at the same time and the music intermissions between segments being a tad too long for my liking. I am sure that the hosts will find the "sweet spot" for what they want to do. It probably will take some time to overcome those growing pains, but I am planning to stay and listen to the Wild Die. It might not teach me things I don't know about Savage Worlds for a while, but it will give me a look into the mindset of a new Savage player. And honestly, I want to see where the podcast is heading...

Right now, the Wild Die does not seem to have a website of its own (or one that my lazy midnight googling could find), but it is available on iTunes , Stitcher and it has its own Google+ group. If you are interested in Savage Worlds (especially if you are new to, or thinking about trying this system) you should effeminately definitely check it out. Even if the podcast covers things you already know, you will be able to experience the system through the eyes of some new Savages.

Edit: Found their website.

Savage Hexcrawl - Part 4: Players' rules FAQ

My Savage Hexcrawl rules are almost two years old. Since then I have used them in few campaigns with different groups and with players new to the idea of hexcrawl. This post is a collection of answers for questions that kept popping out during those games.

How much time it takes to travel one move point?

Move points don't work that way. It is an abstraction that does not really take time into consideration. Think of move points as a combination of effort and skill in travel. People who are less suited for travel will have more trouble travelling the same path than a seasoned explorer does. Novices will get tired faster and they will get lost more often. So in general, it will take a character who receives 5 move points, twice as long to travel the same distance than a character who receives 10 move points. If you want an actual time required to travel one move point for for your character/party divide 8 hours by the amount of move points. So an average character with a Pace of 6 would spend around  1h 20min to travel one move point. I would advise you against translating everything into hours and minutes however. The system is abstracted and move points include things like stops for food and drink and getting lost and backtracking during travel and short encounters. If you spend 4h inside a hex doing normal "RPG adventuring" you don't loose any move points automatically. You are still able to travel as much, but now you risk travelling at night, as you wasted daytime. 

What move points do I get if I use different means of travel on the same day?

The system assumes that you will always use the fastest means of travel for the bulk of your journey. If you have a horse, you will ride it. If you have a car, you will drive it. But stuff happens. Horses might die and cars can run out of gas. There can also be terrain that does not allow different means of transport. A horse cannot climb a steep mountain and a car can't drive through a river. If you have to change means of travel your GM will need to do some math. Calculate roughly how many percent of your move points you have used. So if you spent 8 points while on a horse, you have spent 80% of your daily travel time. Take the remaining percentage and translate it to move points based on your new Pace. So if your horse died after 8 move points and you have to travel by foot you have (Pace x 100-80%, so 6x0.2) 1.2 move points left. Any fractions are rounded down as changing means of transport takes time - taking your equipment down etc. You are NOT getting a fresh set of move points based on your Pace (so 6 for Pace of 6) because the characters are already tired from the journey. Even riding in a car will tire you out. The same happens if you find a horse or a car in the midst of the day. You translate the remaining percentage. Your character is already tired from travelling this day.

What happens if I get Encumbered or Wounded?

If during your travels there is a negative change to character's Pace (Wounds, Tiredness and Encumbrance all affect Pace) and because of it you become the slowest in the party, the group automatically looses movement points. The amount you loose is equal to the difference between the original party Pace and the Pace of the character who just got Wounded, Tired or what have you. So if your party Pace was 5 and a character with Pace of 6 got two Wounds and got encumbered (making its new Pace 3), they loose (5-(6-3)=) 2 move points. This is why it is a better idea to setup a camp for the rest of the day to rest and heal before continuing the journey.

Why would I explore a Hex?

As mentioned in Part 1, you can spend a move point to explore a hex, but it is not explain what benefits does it give you. Exploring a hex makes the GM draw another card to check for Events. It lets the players seek more adventure, no Notice test, just card draw. Exploring is also used when trying to find something inside the hex if you don't know exactly where it is. GM might ask you to explore the hex and test Notice or you can explore it until a good event card shows up. So if you know that there is a small keep inside the hex, but don't know exactly where, you need to explore it, plain and simple. In metagaming it also adds to variety - you will add more entries to your notebook for that hex, which will make the world seem more alive.

Where am I inside the hex?

Short answer - doesn't matter. The system is abstract, it only matters that you are somewhere inside that six mile radius. Rest of it is not on the map, but in the minds of the GM and players. If you need some concrete info, you can travel to the middle of the hex by spending half of the point cost for the terrain type (so 2 for swamp or 1 for plains) and traverse it by paying all of it. If you enter a hex but don't have enough points to exit, or even a middle, just narrate where you are.Use your imagination  ;)


Those are all the questions that come to mind. If you have any more, feel free to ask them in comments and I will answer them here. I will eventually add some more GM advice and combine the hexcrawl info into a pdf.

Savage Road Warriors: Part 2

Combat at High Speeds 

So, you are driving a car at full speed, but the guys behind you are catching up and the guy in the truck next to you is grinning like he's going to ram you. You want to waste those suckers and you want to know the odds, right? 

Combat during a chase works pretty much the same as on foot. The big difference is the speed and the fact that a speeding car is a pretty shakey affair. When attacking from a moving vehicle, you normally need to consider the speed and unstable platform modifiers (as per Vehicular Combat rules). Savage Road Warriors chase rules are less gritty than that, and more cinematic. All the vehicles are traveling roughly at the same pace, so any speed modifiers come into play only under special circumstances (GM's decision). As for the unstable platform modifier (-2), as long as you are trying to hit something like a car or bigger, the size of your target balances it out. After all, it's not that hard hitting a car. For the sake of gameplay, when you are shooting another vehicle during a chase, you only suffer the standard range modifiers (as dictated by the cars' position on the track). Of course, if you are the driver you would suffer the normal multi-action penalty for shooting and driving in the same turn. And, if you are trying to hit something smaller, like a tire or a driver, you take penalties from the unstable platform and possibly even from a Called Shot. All of those stack up, so if you don't have the edges to back it up, it is best to just aim for the car and hope for the best.

Boarding and Melee Combat:

If you think, the drivers have all the fun during a chase - think again. Sure, they get to drive those cool rigs, but sitting in the passenger's seat has it own set of perks. First of all, when not driving, you do not suffer the multi-action penalty when shooting others in the middle of a chase. And, while the driver is busy not crashing the ride, you are free to roam. There might be mounted weapons, or other gadgets in the car you can use, or you just can climb out of the car. Getting on the outside of the car is pretty simple (just requires an action). From there, you can make the fight much more personal. With a successful Dexterity check, you can jump onto and board any car that is on the same track space as you. You can start "on-foot" combat with anyone in/on the same car (narrative permitting). If you do, you get an initiative card and follow normal Combat rules until you get back to a friendly vehicle. Standing on top of a vehicle, gives you a better vantage point, you can target cars that you don't have advantage against. If you are staying on top of a car, the GM might occasionally call for Dexterity checks, especially if the car is hit, going through rough terrain or avoiding an obstacle. On a failure, you loose your footing and fall. Roll for dexterity again to grab onto something. You are now considered prone, unless you climb up with a successful Strength check. If you are not very agile, it might be a good idea to dispose of the enemy driver and take over the car instead.

New Edges:

To better emulate the the high octane action feeling, Savage Road Warriors has few extra Edges available to characters who want excel during the chases.

• Gas Monkey (Novice, Agility d8, Driving d8): You are experienced in boarding vehicles during a high speed chase, jumping from car to car like a monkey. Moving in and out of cars is a free action for you and you automatically pass any Boarding tests (it still requires an action).  
• One Handed Driver (Novice, Driving d8 or Ace): You can drive with one hand and fire a weapon with the other without invoking the standard –2 Multi-Action Penalty.
• Vehicle Focus (Seasoned, Driving d8 or Ace): You are an expert at driving a single class of vehicle (car, truck, bus, etc… ). All Driving rolls made when behind the wheel of your chosen vehicle are made at +1.
• Trademark Car ( Novice, Driving d10): Works as Trademark Weapon Edge, but for a car. You can choose any unmodified ride.

Savage Road Warriors: part 1

Fury Road style car battles in Savage Worlds

Since seeing Mad Max: Fury Road I am on a bit of post-apocalyptic spree. If you haven't seen the movie (and you should, it is one of the best action movies I have seen!), a big part of it are extended car chases/battles in the middle of the desert. One big "War-Rig" truck is fleeing while other factions are trying to take it over. Awesomeness ensues. Long story short, I want it in my Savage Worlds games!

While Savage Worlds has mechanics for vehicle combat, I am not looking for wargame-like arena car mchanics. Fury Road takes place on a long, straight road, it was more of an action packed chase, than a skirmish. Next logical thing, was to look at th chase rules, but both old and new seemed to be missing something. They are great for a simple chase or dogfight, but not detailed enough to be the main event of the session. So, I looked into various RPGs, wargames, board games and even some video games to find the best system to emulate those Fury Road scenes. There are some good ideas in there, but usually on the more crunchy side. Nothing I found suited me better, than the Savage Worlds Deluxe chase rules, but even those were somehow lackluster. Not all is lost though, I found some good bits on my travels through post apocalyptic car games. I think, that with some extra rules, the deluxe chase rules can be as nail-biting, as a good combat encounter. 

I have a feeling, that this topic will span few posts. I want to make the expanded rules first and then add more info about customizing cars within this sub-system and maybe even adding few Edges. It would also be nice if I could compile it all into a nice pdf, fingers crossed for life not getting in the way of that. Ok, enough pondering, now to the rules.

Before we start: 

Read the Savage Worlds Deluxe chase rules and the Vehicles section from the core book (there aren't many changes between Explorer's and Deluxe editions, any of them is fine), especially the stuff about collisions and vehicle damage. There will be some changes to those systems, so make sure you are familiar with them. The aim of this ruleset is not to be a replacement for the generic system found in the corebook, but to emulate a specific type of chase. One where you mostly shoot and ram your way out of the problem. Think more Mad Max and Death Race, than James Bond. Going at full speed, throwing molotovs at the guy behind you so he won't board your war rig. Ready? Then let's check out the track you will be chasing on.

Track:

Photo by David O Miller

There is one big addition to the chase system - the track. It is a simple 6x1 grid (I will make some half-decent graphic in the near future). It is an abstracted representation of where the cars are, relative to one another, not an actual road. Use some counters to represent where the cars are. The car in front is always in the first space on the grid (so if it gains more ground against the opponents, they are just pushed back on the track, in a similar manner how the original chase rules worked) and other cars are placed accordingly. Where you are on the track dictates in what range you are to the other cars. So if you are on the same spot, you are bumper-to-bumper with the other cars on this spot (melee range). One spot away, you are in close range, Two - medium and three - long.

Any more than that, and you can only see the guy, but not do anything about it, unless you get closer. If a car ever goes beyond sixth spot and won't manage to come back to the track on their next turn, they are out of the chase. The track is a small step away from the standard Savage Worlds formula, but I think it is a good addition. I will spend another post talking about it. If, however, you don't want to use a physical track and counters, you can just give each player (and group of NPCs) a d6 to track their current position.

Turn by Turn:

Narrative will dictate how the beginning of the chase looks like. Is everybody starting from the same position (like a race)? Did one side had a head start (and the others are chasing them)? It will also dictate the win conditions: reaching the finish line, stopping a certain car, surviving X amount of turns to reach safety, etc. Setup the placement on the Track according to the narrative and roll your driving dice.

Initiative works the same way as in the deluxe rules. You get a card for each success and raise on your Driving (or other applicable) skill. Just like in the original rules, cards give the driver the advantage (so the driver can only attack the cars with equal or lower Initiative) and an obstacle on drawing Clubs. Unlike the original rules, the card does not decide on your range/position in the chase (this is handled by the track). Card's value dictates how many spaces on the track you can move. Number cards allow you to move up to one, face cards up to two, ace and joker up to three. You don't need to move all the spaces you were given, sometimes, it might be more beneficial to stay where you are, so you have a better access to the enemy. If you don't move any spaces, you are still driving at high speed - everyone is, you are just keeping up. 

After you "moved", you can...

Attack!

Any person in the vehicle can make an attack on any target that they have advantage (the driver had maneuvered) against. The driver (any anyone who aided him in the driving roll ) suffers a standard multi-action penalty (-2) if he wants to attack with a weapon. Additionally, when on the same spot on the track, the driver can attempt to ram his opponent (as per Vehicle rules) without the multi-action penalty (in the narrative, it would be a continuation of his driving). Any passengers, act on the driver's card. Shooting is done with the range modifier based on your position on the Track (I don't use the unstable platform penalty, in my opinion cars are big enough to give you a bonus that would negate that. I would still give the penalty if they want to shoot something human sized). While on the same track spot, melee attacks can be performed (given the characters have suitable weapon) or the enemy car can be boarded (with a successful Dexterity check). Damage works in the same way as in the Savage Worlds Vehicle rules (custom "Out of Control" and "Critical Hit" tables coming soon). 

Winning the Chase:

The terms of winning depend mostly on the narrative, but there is a one sure way that can make you win any chase - disabling or loosing all of your enemies. The former is self-explanatory: deal enough damage to the enemy cars that they can no longer drive. The later, requires the use of Track. If any car starts their turn behind the track (beyond the sixth spot, mostly because other cars got the lead and pushed the remaining participants back on the track), he needs to get card high enough to come back to the sixth spot (which sometimes means moving more than one spot forward). If he fails to do so, he is out of the chase. They are either lost, or left so behind, that they can't catch up any time soon.  

What's Next?

Special tables for car damage that will reference this system. A more in-depth look on the track, and the areas you chase through. Different types of chases (especially goals and winning conditions) and finally extra rules for customizing your car. All of those will spice up this system even more, so stay tuned!

How balanced are your dice?

So, this video by Daniel Fisher is going around the roleplaying corners of the interwebs.  Thanks to a golfing trick, you can check if the d20s you own are weighted. This might explain the myth of lucky and unlucky dice.

Apparently, translucent dice are better about being balanced and Chessex is quite an offender in cutting costs to produce dice. Well, no Chessex bag of dice for me then. I wonder how other companies compare.

I am tempted to check my own dice (and wondering if the other dice in the set would work), especially the Q-Workshop set, as they are considered a premium dice manufacturer. I might wait with checking my 3D printed dice until they are painted, because they might be a bit porous and quite frankly I don't want salt trapped inside.

Roleplaying on the Fury Road

Thanks to the recent Mad Max movie, Post-Apocalypse is once again a genre people are talking about. I have seen numerous requests online for RPG recommendations  to play a Fury Road style campaign. There are many Post-Apocalyptic RPGs out there (some going almost as far as the beginning of our hobby), but it seems the genre wasn't very popular in recent years and people forgotten about many good games that let us have adventures in various wastelands. With that in mind, I present you a rundown of my current favorite post-apocalyptic games:

Outside of Polish only Neuroshima (that you might know from some board games), Atomic Highway is my current go-to post-apocalyptic game that does not use one of my favorite generic systems (more on that later). It is perfect for mad max style campaign as it has a whole chapter on cars and their customization. In fact, cars are pretty important part of the game. It uses a simple dice pool engine (called V6) with a twist. It is a straightforward  mechanic, with attributes and skills. It uses backgrounds to give you extra skills and starting equipment, which is something I always liked in my RPGs. It is a pretty vanilla post-apocalypse, with mutants, deserts, modified cars and a lot of action, so it is really easy to adapt it to the world of Mad Max. Best of all, is available for FREE!  Also, if you are not keen on the dice pool system, check out this awesome conversion from Zach S. to D&D5e. If you want to start exploring post-apocalyptic wastelands on the cheap, this is the way to go!

Barbarians of the Aftermath uses a rules lite, narrative system from Barbarians of Lemuria. I understand that narrative systems are not everybody's cup of tea, but hear me out. This book can be used as a system neutral guide to running post-apocalyptic games. The apocalypse generator is worth the price of admission alone. The book gives you a pages upon pages of different options (which can also be used as a random generator) to create different apocalypses and then play in this world. You can create everything from standard Fallout-esque 50s nuclear holocaust to the Great Old Ones rising and ending the world in 2012. All those choices change the world in various ways, from availability of certain items, to how gonzo the setting is. The game is available on DriveThruRPG for $10 and would be great for one-shots or short campaigns, and a perfect tool to make your own post-apocalyptic world from a scratch for a long campaign.

If creating your own post-apocalyptic settlement sounds exciting, then The Quiet Year is for you. It is not much of a roleplaying game, as it is story game. You don't play singular characters, you represent voices in a community. The gameplay is something between board gaming and roleplaying. You draw a card and narrate events based on its prompt. It is also a map drawing game. You will create a basic map on the beginning and as the game progresses you will draw extra stuff on the map. At the end of the game you will have a fully mapped and fully fledged settlement with NPCs, buildings, nearby points of interest and all that jazz. While the game can be enjoyed on its own, it is a great tool creating a "homebase" for your campaign. After playing it, you and your players will have a good knowledge of their surroundings, which is always a nice thing. It is available in PDF and print from the author's website. If you want to check out the style of game, a free fantasy version is available.

If the narrative and story games above sound too artsy-fartsy for you, you might be interested in Other Dust. It is a retro-clone, so it is based on the 0 edition dungeons and dragons. It doesn't get more "traditional" than classes, levels and d20s. Being a part of the Old School Renaissance comes with its own set of pros and cons, but overall it is a solid game. It is a little more gonzo, than Mad Max, with more prominent mutants and psychic powers, but those can be easily omitted. The highlight here is the advice on running a post-apocalyptic sandbox campaign. Sine Nomine Publishing is famous for their sandbox toolboxes (Stars Without Numbers, Silent Legions) and Other Dust is no exception. You get a plethora of random generators and advice on running a sandbox campaign, most of which is system agnostic and can be used in basically any game.  The game is available at DriveThru in both PDF and Print-on-Demand.


The above games, while solid stand alone products, are my go to products when it comes to mining for post apocalyptic ideas. If I were to run a campaign set in atomic wasteland I would go with Savage Worlds. It is a pretty quick and action oriented system, is suitable for long-term play and is one of my go-to system for traditional roleplaying. The system is simple enough, that I can mind the ideas from other games and "transplant" them almost on-the-fly to my Savage Worlds game. And, if you want to just to jump into a ready-made post-apocalyptic world Savage Worlds has you covered:

The above games offer a slightly different take on post-apocalyptic gaming. Those are the four big, commercial Savage Worlds games that I am familiar with:

• Darwin's World is the most gonzo of the bunch. You have multiple playable mutant races and it is more fantastic take on post-apocalypse. You can play Mad Max style campaign using this book, but you would need to cut some stuff out. Darwin's World was originally a D20 game, and it shows here and there.
• Day After Ragnarok adds a little supernatural to the standard atomic wasteland formula. Apocalypse happened after Nazis started the mythic Ragnarok and Allies shot down the giant Serpent down. The world has ended in the 40s, which limits the technology, but also gives the game more gritty, dieselpunk feel. If you are looking for Mad Max mixed with Hellboy - this is the game for you. 
• Hell on Earth: Reloaded adds even more supernatural to the mix. It is more or less post-apocalyptic Deadlands, western in the wasteland.  While Deadlands is one of my favorite settings, the idea of future cowboys is not my cup of tea, but if you are looking for a game with more emphasis on vehicles and supernatural, check it out!
• Broken Earth would be the most vanilla take on post apocalypse - which is far from a bad thing! It focuses heavily on building and developing a settlement/community and has a good system for tracking that. It is a solid book, full of good ideas and plot hooks. if you are looking for the "Lone Wanderer" feel of Fallout games, this is a game for you.

All of the games are available both in print and as PDFs, from various retailers. As with anything Savage Worlds, there are also some great fan-created supplements available for free. Savage Appocalypse and Raiders and Ruins are two that I am familiar with. There are also conversions of other games like Fallout or Redline (that is very focused on vehicular combat). So take your pick, or put them all into a blender to brew your own flavor of post-apocalyptic goodness.

I will add Appocalypse World here as an obligatory mention. Appocalypse World has a bit more narrative approach to gaming and is pretty rules lite. It is a fine blend of traditional roleplaying and storygaming techniques. It has spawned many conversions and hacks since it was released and it seemed people were interested more in the mechanic, than the world. But, it is a solid post-apocalyptic toolbox style game - grim, gritty with just a dash of weird. If you are interested in finding more about it, and how it can be used for Mad Max style campaign, check out this article from Charlie Etheridge-Nunn on WhoDaresRolls.com

3D printed Dice?

Somehow related shameless self-promotion. I was learning 3d modelling for 3d printing in last couple months. As one of my projects I have recreated the portal companion cube. Soon after that, I have modified it into a D6, as seen above. I think it would be a decent Wild Die for Savage Worlds, or simply a die for any d6 based system. I have ordered some samples from Shapeways to see how this die would work. There are already some awesome dice designs ready for 3D printing, but it would be cool to have some genre specific dice. I am thinking of designing some wild dice to go with different flavors of Savage Worlds and 3D printing them to use in game. 3D printing opens up the design to be something more than just numbers and small graphics on each side. I would like to play with this idea.

I wonder if people would be interested in something like that? Would you buy a 3d printed die? What designs would you be interested in? What genres do not have a good dice to go with them?

Now, I need to work a bit more on my modelling skills to create a proper RPG dice set in a single theme, because that would be even cooler!

What do I think about Lankhmar: City of Thieves

Savage Worlds had ventured before into the Sword & Sorcery genre with Beast and Barbarians from GRAMEL. Now, Pinnacle has thrown in the hat into the ring with Lankhmar: City of Thieves, based on the Fritz Leiber's stories.

I never really got into the adventures of Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser. I bought the paperback of Ill met in Lankhmar, but the version I had started with the origin stories of the duo and those didn't really drawn me in. I think I should revisit the book and start with some later stories. Nevertheless, I consider myself a fan of Sword&Sorcery and almost every fantasy game I run was heavily inspired by the genre. Quite frankly, I never could get on board with the "magic is part of everyday life" approach of high fantasy, but I digress...

I was excited to get my hands on another of Sword&Sorcery Savage Worlds game. While, just like the Beast and Barbarians, I will probably not run the game as is, I am always on a prowl for some tweaks to the Savage Worlds system to use in my own campaigns. So, with this in mind, this is what I think about Lankhmar: City of Thieves.


If you have never played/run Sword&Sorcery style game, Lankhmar would be a great start. The book gives some good advice on the genre without being condescending. Those hints are scattered and hidden among the descriptions of locales, magic items and rules, but they are there. In fact, the descriptions of Lankhmar and the surrounding lands are full of good Sword&Sorcery fluff. Reading through the gazetteer and  GM's will give you numerous ideas for adventures. The book also sports a selection of Savage Tales - short adventures ready to be used in almost any campaign. It was disappointing not to see an adventure generator. I wholeheartedly enjoyed the one in Savages Worlds of Solomon Kane, and not having one specific to Lankhmar is somewhat of a let down.
Overall, I enjoyed the fluff portion of the book. I would have probably enjoyed it more, if I was more familiar with the world. Surprisingly fluff is not where the book shines for me, it is all in the...

Rules! 

Honestly, I think the designers behind Lankhmar had really outdone themselves. I enjoyed each and every new rule and rules tweak they had put in. You get the expected new races, edges and hindrances, but you also get an expanded magic system and a half dozen setting rules. All of those combined emulate Sword & Sorcery genre very well. Those are my favorite parts of the book, so let's look at them one by one:

• Races -  Ghouls (humanoids with transparent flesh), Ratlings (offspring of humans and intelligent rats who live under Lankhmar, who still look a bit rat-like) and Humans, that come in four different flavors, depending on the culture. It is nothing really special here. All of them are pretty solid and distinctive, and fit the genre and the source material pretty well.
• Hindrances - You only get six of them. Most of them are here to add flavor, and one (Obligation) is used with the setting rules. I don't personally care for those, but they are nice to have.
• Edges - This is where the fun starts. You get almost thirty new edges, most of them being quite useful and powerful. Combat edges are great for hardy warriors and I can see many of those edges being used in my other campaigns. Then you get three new Arcane Backgrounds, that are tweaked versions of the no power point rule, but are one of the best version of Savage Worlds magic I have seen so far. They are supplemented by a set of power edges. As an icing on the cake you get a handful of professional and social edges. The highlight here is definitely the combat edges, followed closely by the magic system.
• Magic - Magic is split into three categories: black, white and elemental. Black and white is what you think when you imagine good and evil wizards, with black magic being more powerful, but corrupting you over time. Elemental is basically everything outside the black/white spectrum. It would be considered neutral and has extra rules for connecting to the element it is based on. You get some advice on how to create new strains of elemental magic outside of the three (Ice, Fire and Sea) described. As mentioned before, the system uses no power point rule, but the negative modifier can be "paid off" by spending extra turns casting. You also need ingredients to cast spells and lacking those gives you more negative modifiers. You also get another set of rules for rituals, similar to those from Solomon Kane. You also get some new Powers along with a table of stats for all the existing ones.  I see myself using this system for most of my Savage Worlds games.
• Setting Rules - all of the six rules make emulating the Sword & Sorcery genre a little bit easier. You get rules explaining why characters in Sword and Sorcery seem broke all the time, why berrying  betraying your allays is so effective and why don't they use armor. The highlight here is the Knock Out Blow rule. You know how in Sword&Sorcery (and pulp in general) you can one hit a guy into unconsciousness? Would you like to have that in your game? Then, this rule is for you! It uses The Drop rule from Savage Worlds to do so and, in my opinion, makes this rule much more exciting.

I was presently surprised with this book. I was on a fence about getting another Swords&Sorcery Savage Worlds game, because Beast and Barbarians worked well for my needs. What I found is some awesome rules and cool city setting. Fortunately, knowledge of Fritz Leiber's works is not a necessity, and the book gives you enough lore to run a campaign comfortably. Even if you are not planning on running a game in Lankhmar, there is enough good stuff here that is worth the price of admission. If you are fan of  Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser,  thinking about running a Sword&Sorcery game, or you would like some cool tweaks to the Savage Worlds system you should check out this book. In the meantime, I will give my paperback copy of Ill met in Lankhmar another spin.

Survival RPG devlog 3: Characters

The third entry in this devlog took a bit longer than expected. Not only I had to test some ideas when it comes to the characters, but real life got in the way of doing so. This is still a work in progress, especially I am still looking for better words for some of the terms in game. As it stands now, Characters have few traits (+equipment), Endurance (with skills) and goals. While the first two aspects are pretty set in stone, different aspects to goals are being tested. So let's see what makes a character:

Traits:

Traits are similar to Fate's aspects or even Risus's Cliches. They are either a word of a short phrase describing some aspect of the character. The aim of the game is to make the players rely more on their equipment and their endurance than their traits, so each character will only have few of them.

Four seems to work pretty well for traits. It is low enough number for players to come up with with interesting descriptors for their characters. The most important trait connects to the character's background. It answers the prompt: "I used to be...". This roots characters in the setting. Maybe your character was a surgeon, a taxi driver or an architect. Each of those add flavor to the character but also can be used to add a die to the test.

You get two more free traits, and one fault (or drawback or hindrance). This is a similar setup to Fate and even FU, and it seems to work well. There is no need to fix what isn't broken.

I quite like the idea of creating or describing a character with a sentence, like in Numenera. It would work well with the theme of the game. Unfortunately, apart from "I used to be [blank]" I don't have anything that would enclose all traits in a single sentence. That is something that I have put on the back burner for now.

While you only get four traits permanently attached to your character, you get access to other, more temporary traits. One of them comes from wounds. Each type of physical or emotional stress  will take its toll. Wounds will only give you a negative dice. To get more positive dice, you need equipment. If you try to intimidate someone, it is much easier if you are aiming a gun at them. I will go into more depth about equipment in the next devlog, for now, just know that you can use equipment to add dice to your test, or skip the test altogether.

Endurance 

As discussed previously, Endurance is a pool of points you can spend to add to the dice result. You will need to do so, more often than not, as a medium difficulty test would be around 6 (to roll on a d6). It symbolizes your will to survive. It is your willpower, your stamina and hope combined. If your current Endurance is high, your character feels that they can take onto anything. With low Endurance, you might want to rest, so you can refresh your Endurance pool. This connection between the pool of points that let's you improve your chances of success and the system for regaining those points is a central mechanic of the game. It encourages the characters to do the "boring stuff" like eating, sleeping, talking to other survivors over some found tequila, that are important aspects of survival genre and makes the PCs more mundane, and not heroes, able to face any obstacle at any time. No Heroes, remember?

You get 40 (this is to be tested, it might be taken down to 20, I will need to play with different players to decide exactly) Endurance points during character creation. During game, you can spend them at any test. One point spent, adds one to the result from the dice. You can spend as many points as you want on a single test, but once they are spent, they are gone until next refresh (which will probably not refresh all points at once). This way the player is facing an important decision with every dice roll.

You can also exchange some of your Endurance points for "skills". They can be used just like Endurance points (1 to 1 spend on dice rolls), but only on actions that fall within the scope of the skill. The game will have lists of skills for different genres, but the lists are open ended. So, why would you opt in for getting skills, instead of the catch all Endurance? Because you get two skill points for each endurance point you spend. You will be able to exchange Endurance for skills during character creation and any time you would "level up" in other RPGs.

Goals

Goals are the third and final aspect of any character. They describe the characters personality, needs and wants. They will work in a similar way to TSOY's Keys (skip to page 12). When a character will achieve one of their goals, they regain some endurance. You can also break them, so you can regain a bunch of points (probably get all the points back). So if you are a protector (gain Endurance when you help others survive), if you kill another human being, you get a full refresh, but loose that goal and can not gain endurance from it in the future. People, and especially their views, change when they find themselves in life and death situations and struggle to survive.

GMs will get some advice on using the character goals and making temporary goals that change with the narrative. I am compiling (and stealing from TSOY) a list of goals/behaviors the characters can have. As with skills, it is not a comprehensive list, and characters can create their own goals.

Appendix: Names, words and such.

As the system is now, it uses pretty generic naming conventions. Skills, Traits and Goals to not carry the emotional weight of survival, struggle or even any of the design guidelines from Part 1. They serve they purpose for now, as many roleplayers have a clear idea of what skill, wound or goal means in a RPG. For the release I will want to change them, this is what I have now and what message I want to carry:

• Traits would probably change to Assets. It works great with using equipment, and even using your own "powers" works with it. Does not work well with wounds and stress.
• Endurance is good, it works well for what it is supposed to do system wise. 
• Skills are way to generic, I want them to be seen more as: How you cope/survive. 
• Goals are ok, I can leave them unless I find a better word encompassing wants/needs/agendas and something to be broken.

If you have any advice on making the naming conventions more thematic, send them my way (best to leave a comment here). On a bright side, I have a pretty good title for the game. How do you feel about: Endure ?

Survival RPG Devlog 2: Basic Mechanics

After the brief introduction, it's time to look into some of the mechanics of the game. Bear in mind that this is still a work in progress and is a subject to (possibly dramatic) changes. With that in mind, let's look at the basic task resolution mechanic and how it reinforces the game's theme. Before we proceed, let's look at one word that is quite important to the game:

endurance

noun

• the fact or power of enduring an unpleasant or difficult process or situation without giving way.

         "she was close to the limit of her endurance"

• the capacity of something to last or to withstand wear and tear.

Endurance is an important aspect both game-world and system wise. It is each character's main attribute and also their will to live, their grit, willpower and stamina combined. It will deplete over the course of the session and the players will find ways to replenish it. With that in mind, this is how the task resolution mechanic works:

• Player Characters have two types of attributes: Traits and Skills. 
• Traits are your character’s descriptors, you only have few of them tied to your character, like [Slender] [Surgeon]. Traits give you dice.
• Skills (name to be changed) are a pool of points. You start with 20 points in only one skill - Endurance, but can spend them to purchase other skills on 1-to-2 ratio during character creation. So you take down your Endurance to 15 (spending 5 points) and getting 10 points in, let’s say, running away. You can spend your points to add to rolls.
• The GM narrates the story, if you disagree with the narration (for example, when the GM tells you that your character will get stabbed by this random guy you just met), you can roll for it.
• You want to roll above Target Number (TR). You roll a hand of dice and (depending on circumstances) use the highest or lowest die. 
• Before you roll, you can add any amount of points from your skills. You can always spend points from your Endurance, but you can only spend points from other skills, when they apply.
•  If you roll above the TR, you can narrate the outcome of the action, if you didn’t the GM narrates. You will probably narrate a positive outcome, and the GM will narrate a negative outcome most of the time.

I will go more into skills and traits in the next post. The basic rule is - you are starting with one six sided die, and add one die per applicable trait. Traits can add positive dice (like your character traits or equipment you are using) and negative dice (wounds, both physical and mental and obstacles - traits of NPCs, locations or objects). Positive and Negative dice cancel each other so you only roll one type of dice for each roll. You choose the highest die if you rolled any positive dice, or the lowest if you rolled negative dice. This mechanic is basically stolen from Freeform Universal, and as it under Creative Commons license I don't think that will be a problem ;).

Players can (and should) spend points from their skills to add to their roll. So if you rolled a 4 from your dice and spent 3 points, your result is 7. You are trying to beat the Target Number. The Target Number values are not set in stone. I am thinking that an easy task would be 4, medium 6, difficult around 8 or 9.  I am toying with the idea that Target Number is kept secret from the players (like in the Gumshoe systems). Maybe TR should be static, and the difficulty coming only from the Negative Dice? This is something I would like to hear from you.

I am also toying with incorporating the Yes, and/but and No, and/but as described previously here. This would depend on what you rolled on your dice. So if you rolled 1 or 2, you add a complication (BUT) to the narration, and if you rolled 5 or 6 you add something beneficial (AND) to the PC into the narration. I am torn on adding this, because I don't want to alienate non-story-gamers.

Ok, back to the points. Once you spend your points, they are gone for time being. This ways players know that their characters have limits and are only human. Those points can be refreshed by fulfilling human needs. So everytime the PCs have a meal, sleep and just have some relaxing time in-game, they can replenish some of their spent points. This way, players are encouraged for doing all those "boring" survivalistic things like eating, staying hydrated or just drinking found whiskey to forget.

To sum up the basic system: You roll a set of six sided dice, and depending if you had more positive or negative traits, you get either the highest or the lowest die rolled. You add that to the points you spent from your Endurance/skills to get your result. If the result is higher than the TN you can narrate what happens, if it is below - it is up to the GM.

So, what do you think about this system? 

Survival RPG devlog 1: Intro

...and now for something completely a bit different.

Survival games are all the rage on the video games front. From pure survival in games like Minecraft, through survival horror like Evil Within, to a personal survival stories in games like This war of Mine. There is something very appealing in being thrown into a hostile environment and surviving against all odds.

While you can run a survival scenarios in many existing RPGs, there isn't a system that focuses solely on the that situation. After playing some This War of Mine, and reading about The End of The World from Fantasy Flight Games (that concentrates on living trough different flavors of the apocalypse, but not survival per se), I have decided to write a game that focuses on the hardships of survival.

It usually takes me a bit of time to finish a game. Heck, the only one that I have finished and somehow published was Heist Aces (that is still asking for an updated version). To keep myself motivated, I am starting this devlog, where I will post my progress in writing this game and respond to comments and criticisms.

First, I am laying down the design principles for this game. Whatever additions or changes I will want to make, they will need to follow the below guidelines:

Wrong Place, Wrong Time - the game's focus will be surviving in harsh and hostile environments. The game should be able to handle variety of survival scenarios. No matter the setting or the genre, the player characters will always start in a wrong place, at a wrong time.

No Heroes - player characters are not specialists trained to deal with the threats they are about to face. There are just unlucky people who have to find a way to survive against all odds. They are not equipped for the task, nor are they prepared. They will struggle, make morally questionable choices and rely on ever depleting resources... and so will the NPCs. Other survivors can be suspicious or even hostile towards PCs, not because they are evil, but because, just like the players, want to survive.

Nothing is forever - characters get tired and depressed, resources dwindle, people die. All of this should have impact in-game and on the game mechanics. On the other hand, nothing will stay bad forever, characters will rest, find hope and overcome their obstacles, but those victories won't last forever.

Those three guidelines summarize the game pretty well. You play as people who need to endure things they are not prepared for. They will struggle, but they will have their victories. I want to create a system that will support those feelings, but without overwhelming bookkeeping, and unnecessary math. I have also decided on some system guidelines, they can be changed, but I would like to stay within the restrictions:

• Player facing mechanics - only PCs roll dice. This not only let's the GM focus on the story, but also puts the players in a more active role - if you won't do anything, this mutated dog will rip your throat out.
• No bookkeeping -  I want to keep the game as simple as possible. It is very easy to add a ton of  negative modifiers to the character for being tired, depressed, etc. A game like that can become nothing more than a spreadsheet, instead of story. I don't want that. I want to focus on the story. If possible, I want to avoid negative modifiers and keeping track of each unit of food, water, ammo, what-have-you. 
• Rewards, not requirements - Instead of telling players what their characters need, I want to reinforce that. Having a good night's rest, a hearty meal or finding loved ones should be rewarding.
• Important Equipment - In survival scenarios, having a pocket knife can be difference between life and death. I want equipment to be important, making tasks possible without rolls, or at least much easier to achieve.
• Generic - Most of all, I want the mechanics to be generic enough, to play in different settings, from desert island, through urban disaster scenarios, through sci-fi. 

I have an idea for a mechanic that would fit those requirements. I am still testing it. It uses only six sided dice and a pool of points you can spend. You try to beat an unknown target number. I will go into more detail of the mechanics in my next post, in the meantime, I am curious what do you think about a dedicated survival RPG idea? What would you like to see in a game like that?

R/andom Tables

You might know that I am a big fan of randomized content in my RPGs. I use things like magic cards for inspiration when I need to quickly come up with an adventure and random tables to aid my improvisation during the game.

There is a lot of great random tables online, either on blogs, forums or even in some fully fledged pdf supplements. The problem is, that they are scattered all over the interwebs and quite difficult to find. I usually bookmark my finds, but even that makes it somehow tricky to find what you need. Well, it's possible that I am really bad at organizing my bookmarks. Nevertheless, I thought it would be cool to have a comprehensive list of good random tables. The original idea was to go trough my bookmarks and make a list of random tables I enjoy and post it on this blog. Well, many have tried that, and those lists are as scattered around the web as the random tables itself. Instead of joining the legion of hard-to-find random table lists, I have decided to open a subreddit, so anyone can add and up/dowvote random tables. This way we can create a somehow central database of random tables and generators for our sessions. This is why, earlier today, I started the:

r/RandomTables

Come and check it out, even if you are not registered on reddit. You can access all the tables without registering. And, if you are a reddit user, join us and post more cool random stuff. This way others can use it in their games. In the coming days, I will continue adding random tables from my bookmarks and probably start some discussions on how people are using them in their games. On the blog side, look out for more random tables related content.