I Am The Warden!!

Overwhelming Odds

noreply@blogger.com (Todd Crapper) — Sun, 19 May 2013 02:45:00 +0000

I am a very sorry Warden.

To anyone who attended CanGames over the weekend and planned on checking out Killshot, I want to offer my sincere apology for canceling at the last hour and bailing on the con. Which brings us to today's topic.

For the past couple of years, I've been mentioning some of the difficulties inflicted by the accident, but never went into details or hid behind the ongoing legal action to avoid getting into details. I think it was a way for me to avoid confronting these disabilities directly or admitting to weaknesses that have turned out to be a larger obstacle than I had anticipated. Or maybe I thought it would clear itself up in time and things would return to normal. Unfortunately, I have to admit none of those are the case and if I want to make this work, honesty is better than vague messages and there's still a chance this could happen again.

Here goes.

From time to time, about once a week, my brain experiences what I call "fuzziness" but that term doesn't do it justice. Basically, my brain has trouble connecting the dots and will blank out. For example, during breakfast this morning, I wasn't sure how to unfold my napkin and spread it across my lap. It wasn't a case of "Hmm, this napkin doesn't want to unfold," it was "Wait, can you unfold a napkin?" From there, my brain pauses as it ponders the possibilities of napkin presentation and enter into a mild state or torpor. There's a mild buzzing in my head, akin to the vibration of a pin dropping on glass. It's a feeling, I've been told, many epileptics feel during partial seizures. These are not episodes that come and go after a few minutes, they consume the majority of the day as I need to step away from anything cognitively strenuous or demanding and sleep until it goes away. Including game mastering and writing.

Are they seizures? No idea. But whatever's going on up there isn't going away any time soon and now it's caused me to cancel my appearance at a local convention I've been dying to finally attend. That's a problem and I can't run from it. I need to establish a trusting rapport with my audience and that means admitting to all of you (and myself) that I have a problem. Another one, mind you, but that's my battle.

There's a lot of risk mentioning this now of all times. Namely, the Killshot Reloaded Kickstarter. Theoretically (and this just be paranoia talking), such an admission could be grounds for someone to reconsider backing this project. Then that's the risk I'm just going to have to take because I'm more upset at the idea of disappointing someone who wanted to play my game in person than turning off a total stranger from far away. I have to trust my record and let my work - the end result - speak for itself. After all, this is a new edition of a previously launched and successful project.

Where do I go from here? Forward. It's the only logical direction. For now, I hope this will bring a new understanding of my abilities and their limits as the next step approaches. Until then, this weekend's CanGames convention has been added to the List of Regrets and becomes another source of motivation to handle and overcome these difficulties.

Why Facts Don't Have Time for Traditional Print

noreply@blogger.com (Todd Crapper) — Thu, 16 May 2013 21:35:00 +0000

I am the Warden!!

In my previous life, I worked in print media, an industry that has been struggling to sustain itself in the face of growing technology. While I'm of the belief that traditional print will always exist to one degree or another, it's very hard to make my case when the industry itself is constantly shooting itself in the foot. Having worked on the inside, I've seen the panicked reaction of employers and managers determined that if they simply hold on for a while until this "trend" blows over and it's the wrong reaction.

However, that's not the only issue anymore. On Monday, there was massive panic and public reaction to the report that a 10-year old girl was almost abducted in broad daylight in the middle of town. A description was announced on the radio and local police were scouring the area looking for this individual. On Tuesday, it was announced the suspect was not real and the girl made it up to cover for the fact that it was bullies at school beating her up.

I'd like to show you Thursday's edition of the local paper.

This was published and distributed to the community on Thursday. Thursday! That means this story was written on Monday or Tuesday morning and submitted to pre-press for insertion in the next edition. It means the only way to have anything local published in the paper is for it to be written 60-72 hours before press because it has to go to another location for printing, distribution, and release to the general public. This story is so remarkably out of date, it's not even worth running anymore.

Now I'd like to point out something else that makes my point even more disturbing. See if you can find the story on the front page of the same edition.

Let me give you a clue - it's not there. Working off theoretical reality for a moment, let's assume the decision has been made to run with the story as it was written on page 2. At the time of assembly, this "newspaper" didn't think to put the story of a child abductor on the front page, giving priority to the fact that no one knows who has the right-of-way on an old country road, a tax hike, and a picture of an elderly woman being served tea by a firefighter for Mother's Day brunch. No mention on the cover page about a possible pervert.

So what's the point running an out-of-date story involving a serious matter of concern to parents in this community? Even if the paper realizes the girl's story was bogus and there was no suspect on the loose, why run it at all? It's amazingly sloppy and eliminates any argument you can make about the reasons behind running an out-of-date story because, if the story had been true, it would remain sitting on page 2.

The entire purpose behind this rant is beyond lazy or inappropriate handling of the news in traditional print media because it's ramping up the hysteria that's plagued this town. The false suspect was identified as having a skull tattoo on the back of his left hand and resulted in many people in town with skull tattoos receiving a call from the cops working their leads. One of those people included a good friend of ours. The fact that people jumped to conclusions and called 911 on anyone partially matching the description is really not a surprise and it's the consequence of the instant media frenzy we're going through at the moment. It's not about accuracy, it's about having a scoop before everyone else. Without another source - an accurate source - to turn to for the facts as they're available, what should we bother reading the newspaper?

And to close, the Renfrew Mercury is the recipient of numerous awards honouring local newspapers across Ontario and Canada. In other words, this paper is considered the best of what's left.

Goodbye, print media. Maybe it was for the best.

Learning From Failure (AKA Not the End of Wildpath)

noreply@blogger.com (Todd Crapper) — Mon, 13 May 2013 15:45:00 +0000

I am the Warden!!

A winner has been declared in the EN World 7-Day Design Contest and it's Daughters of Lear, a storytelling game placing players in the role of actors putting on a play with, I'm guessing, heavy Shakespearean influences. Asylum didn't even rank within the top 8 of nearly 40 entries and received only 5 votes (or 6, if you count my own vote).

D'oh.

Don't get me wrong, I have no regrets about investing the time in creating Asylum or the Wildpath System behind it. First, there's still a chance Morrus will want to publish it if he found it to his liking and saw potential in it. Second, there's loads of potential for Wildpath. I may have sold the rights to Asylum, but a system is not bound by such rules and there's no mention of it being called Wildpath in the submitted text.

If you haven't had a chance to take a look for yourself, it's available through this link now that the contest is over. Let me know what you think, what works, and what doesn't.

Asylum Needs Your Vote!!

noreply@blogger.com (Todd Crapper) — Mon, 06 May 2013 17:17:00 +0000

I am the Warden and I approve this message!!

The voting has begun for EN World's 7-Day RPG Contest and it wraps up on the morning of May 13th, so start clicking, convicts. Asylum is up against 38 other competitors (a hefty field), so there's going to be a lot of material to cover. There's only one way to make this simple: vote Asylum as your top choice and pick two other worthy contenders as your remaining three selections. Or vote however you want. What's important is that you vote. It's not like it's a federal election or anything.

7 Days: Asylum Is Complete!

noreply@blogger.com (Todd Crapper) — Sun, 05 May 2013 01:54:00 +0000

I am the Warden and... phew. Hold on, I just need to catch my breath. It's been a busy week.

Ok, here we go.

I am the Warden!!

Asylum, my entry in EN World's 7 Day RPG Design Contest, has been submitted before the deadline will be ready for your vote. Because I promised to get off the computer over an hour ago, I'm going to keep this short and simple. If you want to know what Asylum is all about, go here, and you can go here to learn how the mechanics work.

This was an absolute blast to put together and I'm looking forward to Game Chef in just a couple of weeks.

7 Days: What Is Asylum?

noreply@blogger.com (Todd Crapper) — Thu, 02 May 2013 13:14:00 +0000

I am the Warden!!

On Tuesday, I shared with you the foundation and core mechanics for what I call the Wildpath System, a storytelling device where players roll Fate/Fudge dice to build actions, reactions, and difficulties. I also stipulated that I wasn't going to share anything about the game itself - Asylum - unless there was a demand in the form of at least 5 comments/shares of that post.

Well, I think it's safe to say those conditions were met and then some. I've received some great feedback from fellow gamers out there, both friends and strangers alike, and even caught the attention of the contest's head honcho on EN World. So let's start talking about Asylum, eh?

I can describe it to you in two words. Violence and survival.

In Asylum, you and the other players are convicts sent to a deserted island in the middle of nowhere by the various Kingdoms of Thrane to live out your dying days. Once home to an ancient civilization wiped out by an active volcano, this island now houses the unwanted and undesired elements of society. Combining murderers, bandits, crime bosses, and the innocently accused all in one place, Asylum is a stewing pot of anger and misplaced retribution.

But that's not the whole of it. After a time, there are far too many convicts on Asylum and the population must be thinned out. That's where the Contest comes into play. When new convicts are dropped off along the docks (known as the Jaws of Death), four pieces of a golden amulet known only as the Pass is snuck into their meagre possessions. As they integrate with the general population, it doesn't take long for one of the pieces to be discovered and for all hell break loose because of one indisputable fact: whoever holds the completed Pass is allowed to return home. To do so, there are no rules other than remaining the last convict standing when the next boat arrives.

Only one convict can win the Contest and therein lies the dilemma of this game. Each player takes on the role of a convict and must work together with the rest of their group to survive the ordeals of the Contest by exploring and interacting with various Zones provided as rough details of the island known only as Asylum. Each Zone is presented in a loose, interpretive format encouraging all groups to create their own version of the Zone and its events to suit the story as it unfolds in their game. You can pick and choose your genre (dark fantasy, science fiction, or - what the hell - musicals) and populate your island as the story naturally unfolds.

Here's an example of a Zone.

From the current draft of the Asylum RPG:

Zone #2: The Choking Throat

Connecting the Jaws with the Half-Ruined City, this zone is a winding series of underground tunnels running through the rocky border surrounding most of the island. It is a natural maze of confusion dipping down into blocked pits or weaving in and out of its own corridors that it sends lost convicts mad trying to find their way out. Aside from a few openings provided by earthquakes and tremors from the volcano (see Zone #11: The Spire of Fire), mapping out these tunnels are the only way to escape from this zone.

There are an untold number of survivors struggling to make a living down here, either because they never made it out of the Throat to merge with the remaining island or retreated into this darkened caverns to escape the wrath of the Contest. While many remain scattered, resorting to ambushes and crude weapons assembled from rock and debris, there are stories of entire communities living exclusively in the Throat. These are gathering of like-minded cowards and activists who refuse to become a part of the vicious circle dominating Asylum. For them, this island is an opportunity for peace and prosperity, a chance to start a new life away from the maniacal control of Thrane.

Long before the streets of the Half-Ruined City were mowed over my molten lava, there was an indigenous population of meat-eating creatures of darkness. Winged humanoids who sleep like bats in the giant caves dotting these tunnels, dog-like creatures reeking of sulphur stalking and hunting down every trace scent they can pick up, even hordes of bloodthirsty leeches the size of a man's hand have been heard down here. Few descriptions make it to the surface, leaving a slew of legendary and horrific tales of unspeakable evil waiting for those who cannot find their way out.

Zone Conditions: It is pitch black dark in this zone and the only way anyone's going to be find their way around – let alone get out – is by creating their own light source. Unless a convict finds a way to create their own light source, any action attempting to navigate through these tunnels will automatically fail. The Director can spend 1 difficulty to impose a complication on any convict who automatically fails in this manner.

Any convict defeated in this manner will become hopeless lost and the true danger of this zone comes into play: madness. Any lost convict can enter a fit of panic if the Director chooses to set it off by spending 1 difficulty. When that happens, the Director provides the player with a word to describe their panic and the player must work with this new condition as part of their storytelling until the end of the current round. If they do, their convict will have 1 complication removed at the start of the next round.

Connections: If you can find your way through after a few hours in darkness, you'll make it to the streets of Zone #3: The Half-Ruined City. Or you can accidentally stumble back to Zone #1: The Jaws of Death and have to start over.

It's a game of fierce determination and gritty instinct. Everyone is trying to kill you, maybe even your friends. And while the goal is to remain the last living soul on the island, you cannot do it alone. It's a game of harsh choices and morality against all odds, where violence begets violence, and the only way to make it to the end is to do the unthinkable. Currently sitting at 11 pages and working up to 15, Asylum will provide the bare essentials to play. The purpose of the game is not to provided a massive, locked-in setting where players travel from Point A to Point B acting out scenes, but to provide a simple framework for players and Directors to use a starting point and build up their own story of horrific survival.

Considering this game didn't even exist a week ago, I'm incredibly pleased with how it's turning out so far, but I'm left with one predicament. This sucker really needs playtesting before I can submit it in all good conscience. While I need another couple of days to fill in the Zones and refresh my way through the current document looking for errors (maybe even provide sample play text), I'll hopefully try and run a Roll20/Hangout game over the weekend and test it out.

Who's in?

7 Days: The Creation of the Wildpath System

noreply@blogger.com (Todd Crapper) — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 15:21:00 +0000

I am the Warden!!

Regular readers are probably aware of the heaping plateful of responsibilities on my plate at the moment: Killshot Reloaded, school, video editing, launching a Kickstarter, even some ongoing plans for Optional Core, but it seems all that was just not quite enough. What can I say? I'm a sucker for lost causes.

Over the weekend, I posted a note on my bulletin board titled "List of Regrets." On there are two entries: NaNoWriMo 2012 and the D&D Next Character Sheet Contest. Both of these are contests or tryouts I wanted to invest time and energy into completing, yet never did. Why keep account of such failings? Because it's how I motivate myself to add less and less to the list. Every time I add something to the List of Regrets, I feel motivated to keep something off its ruled lines of damnation.

So when EN World announced a 7 day RPG design contest, I latched onto the idea and neurons started charging up. At the very least, my entry is accepted and potentially published if Russ likes what he sees and finds potential in it. At best, I stand to pull in a much needed $1000, meaning that only thing I stand to lose is skipping another entry on the List of Regrets.

I wanted to create an original RPG that could work within 20 pages, including character creation and setting material. That meant foregoing the standard RPG mechanics (unless I wanted to use an existing system, which I did not) and trying something simpler than my usual work. Going over various notes recorded into Evernote, I found some rough concepts for a story RPG system where players do not roll to see if their action succeeds, but rolls to determines how many times they get to take over the story in a round.

The Mechanics

In this game, players and a GM (called the Director) sit around and prepare to tell a story. The story is broken into rounds and every round starts with all players (not the Director) rolling 4 Fate/Fudge dice simultaneously. What they roll is broken into three possibilities: actions, reactions, and difficulties.

Whenever you roll a (+), you gain an action. Actions allow players to take control of the story for one description involving their character and it's capable of describing anything you can devise for your character (so long as it fits within the parameters already provided in the story - you can't just whip out a jet pack unless a jet pack has already been placed in the story by the Director).

Whenever you roll a (-), you gain a reaction. Reactions allows another player to interfere and counter an action, thereby causing it to fail automatically. If you try and describe your attack against an opponent, the player can instead use a reaction to defend herself and the action automatically fails. If no one plays a reaction, the action is described successfully.

Whenever you roll a ( ), the Director gains a difficulty. Difficulties can be used as actions or reactions for NPCs and allow the Director to insert challenges, props, and new NPCs as the story progresses. For example, a player describes her character approaching a locked door. The Director spends a difficulty and suddenly the door opens as a guard from inside steps out to take a leak, spotting the intruders.

And so the round plays out with players and the Director using actions, reactions, and difficulties to share a story and progress their characters forward. No dice rolls are required other than those made at the start of a round.

Oh, but it goes on.

Abilities are single-word descriptions of all characters in the game: Strong, Swift, Clever, Smart, Passionate, Tough, Precise, and Crazy. Players can use an ability to gain either 1 action or 1 reaction in the current round whenever they need it, though you can only use an ability once per round. All character starts with 2 abilities and can gain more as the story progresses.

Equipment provides additional actions and reactions in a round. Just like characters, equipment has the same 8 abilities to choose from. If a character shares an ability with equipment, he can use that equipment to gain a bonus action or reaction from their ability. For example, a Strong character can use a Strong warhammer in combat or a Crazy character can use a Crazy flaming sawblade.

Complications arise when a successful action is augmented by the player spending 1 additional action. Each complication inflicted on a character blocks off access to a chosen ability. When a character has more complications than abilities, they are defeated in a manner chosen by the player who provided the last complication.

Assets are provided when a player spend 1 additional action after completing a successful action. Assets allow players to change an action described by another player or the Director in their favour, such as blocking a killing blow or twisting someone's words around to prove someone else's point.

As of last night, there are just shy of 3,000 words to detail all the rules for this game. That's an incredible difference between my usual work, particularly the Optional System. And because every project needs a name, I'm calling this one the Wildpath System.

Introducing... Asylum

And just what is the actual game called for this submission? I'm going to be a real prick and leave the details for next time, but I'll leave you with a teaser. It's called Asylum and it's a story RPG of violence and survival against impossible odds where the object of the game is to remain the last character standing in a world of psychotics and savage killers.

Now let's make the tease even worse. I will only share details on what the game's about if this blog post receives at least 5 comments or shares across the Interwebs. Show me you want to see what this bad boy is about and I'll tell you all about the harsh world of Asylum.

Why Am I Attacking That Guy?

noreply@blogger.com (Todd Crapper) — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 13:20:00 +0000

Insert yo broodmama jokes....NOW!!

I am the Warden and I hate video games again!!

Back story. For the past couple of months, I've returned to the world of Dragon Age. Electronically, that is, in the form of Dragon Age: Origins for the Xbox 360. It's not my first time, but I've enjoyed it immensely more than my first time out due to two simple factors. One, elves aren't the glorious immortals made out in every other fantasy campaign known to existence. And two, I'm a rogue.

Yet last night's events have threatened to derail my efforts to finish this fucking game once more by striking at my weakest point: reminding me that it's a video game. During all three efforts to take on the infamously nippled broodmother (pictured above), my elf rogue continuously changed his mind on who he was going to attack, wandering off to get into some bizarrely accurate position against a tentacle or approaching shriek and throwing my entire plan of attack on its arse. Which is exactly where all my party members ended up, except dead.

I'm not sure if it's a glitch in this particular skirmish or intentionally done to complicate matters, but it broke the veil of fantasy and reminded me that I'm holding a controller in my hands and the commands and options presented are only limited to the decision put forth by the creators of the game. It's not the first time it's happened to me during a video game and it always leads to my dismissal from the game's presence, but this one was personal. I thought we had something, Dragon Age and I.

Right up until last night - and into the future, as I'm not a total dick willing to forego all of its accomplishments - I believed Dragon Age: Origins was one of the best tabletop-simulating RPGs around. You could interact with your party members, working through co-ordinated actions, and yet remain at each other's throats, disagreeing over crucial choices, even face mutiny. Interaction in the game is incredibly fluid and natural and the level of detail in the setting can blend into the background when you need it. I was thoroughly enjoying my experience... right up until last night.

Lack of control is the key factor behind my dislike of video games and it's what sends me over the edge every single time. Anything to the effect of "Why the (insert expletive) are you going over there?!!" can only lead to the controller being thrown forward or over my shoulder onto the couch. There are two times when that lack rears its ugly head in a video game: during a fight or while interacting with your environment or characters.

While I could go on a rant about this a little longer - or a lot longer - that's not the reason for today. Something I'm trying to keep in mind is reconsidering what I know, think, or believe in my favourite games. If lack of control exists in video games, does that mean tabletop RPGs are immune? As much as I'd love to believe they are, it may not be that simple.

Ever played in a campaign where the GM restricted your moves based on his/her interpretation of the rules or setting? Dwarves can't use magic and suddenly they can't reap the benefits of a healing potion, for example. Hey, it's happened. Or your attempted action is not allowed because of the GM's ruling and you're sitting at the bottom of the pit trap regardless of your rogue's innate ability to react with lighting speed. In those cases, lack of control comes close, but it's not quite there. In this case, it's about permission and it's a struggle every player and GM has with tabletop RPGs, whether it's due to personal translation or the conditions of the rules themselves.

Think about it. If your game's only reference to jumping requires a dice roll, are you able to make a simple leap over a small wall without having to roll dice? Surely there's a time and a place where it's safe to assume someone capable of killing a dragon or dropping a 50' mech with a grenade launcher can hop over the waist-high stone wall of an English farm? It seems not, as I learned five years ago during a game. Maybe there is a similarity between the two gaming genres than I would like, but here's the kicker.

In a tabletop game, I have the option and ability to discuss the matter with my GM and either try to make him/her realize what I'm trying to do without breaking the game or understand why the GM has made such a ruling. There's back and forth. Not in a video game. I have to suck it up and simply accept what's happening against my will or toss that controller. In the same stroke, a tabletop game facing such restrictions to the point of destroying my enjoyment of the game can lead to the same reaction: quitting the group. It's a decision I'm sure we've all had to make in our gaming careers and it sucks because it's a failure of expectations.

But that's not what's bugging me about this particular incident. To be honest, I'm not sure what it is exactly. Perhaps it's because I thought I'd finally found a video game I could trust, one I could roleplaying (and I did, playing up on my hatred of humans for what they did to my fiancee and my people). I thought the doors opened in this game, unlike any other before, was a sign of answered prayers. Maybe I was a bit foolish to hope or far too generous with my expectations that they could only end up stepped on.

Will I return to the broodmother fight again? Let's keep our fingers crossed and pray my anger allows the controller to land on a soft pillow instead of a plastered wall.

Name Recognition and Kickstarter

noreply@blogger.com (Todd Crapper) — Sun, 14 Apr 2013 15:17:00 +0000

I am the Warden!!

After reading fellow OTGD Fraser Ronald post about his Kickstarter endeavor on the Black Gate site yesterday, this particular paragraph caught my eye, travelled along its corneal pathway and began feasting on the cognitive processes of my brain. In this post, Fraser's comparing his success to the success of another OTGD member, Jason Pitre, and his Spark RPG Kickstarter.

Compare the success of Centurion with the success of Spark. The difference? Jason Pitre has spent four years not only perfecting his game (puts my year to shame . . . head hanging over here) but also being heavily involved in the RPG community. That pays off when it comes time to release. He knows lots of people, and those people know his game, and they will proselytize for him. Now, I doubt Jason was only involved in the RPG community with the expectation of drawing on the community to help pimp his game, and I further doubt that his community ties were the only differences between our campaigns – Spark is a very different game than Centurion– but it helped to get the word out to people to whom his game would interest.

Publicity is a bitch. Or an asshole, depending on your preference. It's all fine and dandy to have created something, but it needs to latch on to the public's attention to grow, fester, and mature to become noticed, then appreciated, and finally applauded. It's a concentrated game of chance unless you have any combination of natural charisma, connections, money, and more importantly, time. This is something Jason Pitre had plenty of for his Spark RPG Kickstarter and kudos to him for it.

Of those four lucky charms, I have one. Time. And even then, I don't. It's the curse of hindsight to look at someone else's achievements and kick yourself for not aiming in the same direction and I try not to get caught up in doing things exactly like others. However, there are great lessons to learn from others and I'd offer no service to myself and my work if I didn't look at what these two have done (yes, Fraser, even you) and make notes.

Right off the bat, there's one advantage both of my fellow designers have over me and that's recognition. Even if neither would whole-heartledly agree, their names click with a portion of the Internet. That. Is. Huge. And it's what I'm missing.

Based on the title of this blog, it's possible my original plans for recognition were a bit too... forward. I might as well stand on a street corner dressed in a toga with a sandwich board advertising Killshot. Not that I'm regretting it (or else I'd change it), but it has made me wonder if there's anything I could have/should have/would have done differently. And is there something I could try now?

It's a nasty business and it leads to the greatest threat to a writer/designer's ego: doubt. I'm ripe with it, though something tells me it's not as hefty as some others. I'm the type who watches every blog post for comments like a hawk, only to become disappointed that there's nothing to wait for. I have a presence online and can write anywhere from 1,000 to 2,500 words per week just for online promotion. I have a regular weekly column on Roleplayers Chronicle, a successful Kickstarter under my belt, and over 200 followers on Twitter, Facebook, and G+ individually. And it's still not enough.

Am I doing myself a disservice by calling myself The Warden and not going by my real name? Actually, I'm pretty sure using Todd Crapper is not the best way to travel. It's far too distracting and I do NOT want to spend a career answering questions about my real name and its history. You try growing up with a name that means exactly what it says in your native language and see how chatty you are with it. Maybe if I move to a country where crapper means "throne of destiny" or something, but until then, it's no go. But perhaps another pseudonym was the way to go.

Should I have started a podcast like them? I have tried, but never found the interviewing process to my liking. It wasn't something I was comfortable with and working in video is a challenge onto itself. Behind the camera? I'm in. In front of it? Meh.

What about conventions? Attending the ultimate geek gatherings in person and meeting with potential fans and players face-to-face, making that pitch and putting a face to the name in the hopes of establishing a connection. Showing up to Gen Con, PAX East, or any of the big cons gets you bonus points for effort. Something I have yet to achieve for numerous reasons currently beyond my control.

All of those alternate universe possibilities are fine and dandy, but useless because there is no time travel to correct them. If anything, some of those ideas are great options for future plans, but those take time and time isn't something I always have in spades. Not because there isn't enough to get it done, but because it's not my style. I'm a fan of riding the wave when it hits and learning from my mistakes. That's what this process has been all about and the mistakes I've learned from the first edition of Killshot have shaped the mould for the next edition and its crowdfunding.

The thing about it all is that I'm not comfortable with putting the name before the game. For me, it's all about the game, the work, not the recognition. If becoming successful was possible through wishing, I would go all Wachowski Brothers on this. (When it was just the two brothers and before one of them got married and started making really heavy CGI art films.) You could pour through the special features of the Matrix boxed set and find only a handful of photos of them because they had no interest in getting caught up in the publicity machine. If you wanted to be a part of the Matrix, it was for the Matrix alone. I would love to have that. Be an entity in name only and a name that everyone knows is fake. The name would be recognized for the work and that work would empower the name for future works.

Unfortunately (or fortunately, now that I think about it), dreams do not come from wishes. It's why kids don't have teddy bears that make ice cream in their belly. Dreams require hard work, dedication, and publicity. While I could start a podcast to get my name out there, I'm not a broadcaster. Stick me on a stage and I'll put on a show. Stick a camera in front of me and you're stealing my soul. I could travel the continent to gather around at conventions and show off my face, but I'm not one for travelling. I could spend years on a slow and eventual path to production, but I like to ride the wave. Once a game is tested and ready, I like to throw it out there to the masses, even if it is only a couple hundred people.

I'm a game designer. The window to my worlds are framed in sentences and mechanics. It's what I know. My goal is to make those words captivating and convince you into reading more and playing them with friends. That is where my focus should lie, in the craft itself. I will do what I can with my words and I will make a point to put a face to the name because it is how the world works, but the world is big and scary place. I'd rather fulfill my end of the deal and provide you with the best game I can design. What better promotion is there than that?

Or does anyone know if there's a washed up celebrity I could borrow for an afternoon?

Talkin' Kickstartin'

noreply@blogger.com (Todd Crapper) — Wed, 10 Apr 2013 01:55:00 +0000

I am the Warden!!

An impromptu Hangout with fellow Ottawa designers Fraser Ronald (Centurion) and Jason Pitre (Spark RPG) turned into the latest episode of Collateral in the Accident Survivors network. It was a great opportunity for me to get an impression, answers, and suggestions for the Killshot Reloaded Kickstarter currently set to launch next month.

Listen and enjoy. And share.

Post-Traumatic Growth

noreply@blogger.com (Todd Crapper) — Sat, 06 Apr 2013 14:33:00 +0000

I am the Warden and I command you to watch this video!!

I watched this one last night with the missus listening in from the kitchen and it was a profound experience. I've watched a few of these TED Talks before and found the discussions interesting or poignant, but this one truly spoke to me. Things made a little more sense.

I'd never heard of post-traumatic growth before and now that I have, it'll be interesting to see if any of the specialists I'm working with have heard of it as well... and if so, why the fuck haven't they ever said anything about it? Even since my accident - almost from Day Two, to be honest - I've been fixated on my quest to achieve my dream of professional tabletop game designer and publisher.

Fixated is the right word for the job. There is very little "common sense" that has detracted me from my quest, though that does not mean I've ignored it. If anything, I've embraced it and accepted its challenges, thereby redefining how I will approach my quest on the path to success. Will it require a lot of hard work and dedication? Yep, bring it on. Is there a chance to make a lot of money? Nope, and I don't much care. I've never had a lot of money nor any great success with it, so it's not like I'll have to learn to live without it. Would it have been better to approach this quest with stability, like that of a well-paying career by day and a string of nights working on the next RPG project? Definitely, but that's out of my control. For the longest time, I've always chalked it up to a need to fulfill a life's ambition before I truly die once and for all. An innate realization that I could have missed out completely if I was killed and I've often wondered if this pursuit was healthy.

Based on what Jane reveals in her presentation, it finally makes explains why I've been so driven at an unconscious level. In a good way. "Why" is an incredible device when you're dealing with trauma and if this woman has truly gone from suicidal thoughts to the cheerful and pleasant crusader for games we see above, then there is something truly powerful about her beliefs.

To quote Abed: "Cool. Cool cool cool."

Cleaner, Simpler, Smaller!!

noreply@blogger.com (Todd Crapper) — Thu, 28 Mar 2013 12:53:00 +0000

I am the Warden!!

Yesterday was the start of revisions for Killshot Reloaded's options chapter. You know those days when you get started on a large chapter/project and it starts with complete unawareness of just how much of a difference your work will bring? That was yesterday.

One of the primary goals for Reloaded is to create a cleaner version of the game while simultaneously allowing assassins and Directors more flexibility to take the game and run with it. While making a post on G+ about the process, it occurred that I've probably run close to 50 jobs for Killshot and various recent offshoots of the Optional System since it's creation and publication. In that time, I've noticed how players have translated and interpreted their options, listened to their opinions, and have now set a goal to use those opinions and concepts in mind for the new edition.

What I did not expect was just how improved these options have become. I hate putting it that way, because it instantly comes across as if the game was broken. And I hate saying THAT because the original edition of Killshot is by no means perfect (need I point out the major faux pas of having an option and skill both named "Survival").

Perhaps a demonstration is in order, yes? This is the original version of the Alert option from Killshot: An Assassin's Journal.

Alert [Automatic, Focus, Trained (2 points)]

A life of constantly on the edge instills a sixth sense for danger. Your mind and body cannot fully relax, the slightest snap or faintest whiff of deodorant in the breeze makes you grab your weapon. This option grants you the ability to react quickly to danger and not fall victim like all the others.

Automatic Option: When you declare the Alert option on your Team’s turn, you add +2d8 to all opposing Sense rolls until the end of the current series. This roll cannot tell you any information regarding the specifics of the danger, only that you and/or any Teammates are threatened.

Focus: Hunters gain this option without spending training points.

Range: 5 Move options

Trained: You must have spent training points to gain this option. For an additional 4 training points you can sustain this option during your sleep. Using it this way doesn't grant any additional option dice but it does not expire at the end of the current series.

You can also spend 3 additional training points to increase the range by 5 Move options.

Now here's the updated version as of yesterday for Killshot Reloaded.

ALERT

Defensive, Trained (3 points)

A life of constantly living on the fringes of society, wanted for dead by numerous enemies and officials, instills a sixth sense for danger. Or paranoia, whatever. When you use this option, you are making a point to keep a keen ear and a sharp eye for anything suspicious, ready to pounce if it happens.

Defensive Option: When you declare the Alert option, you can use the following trigger if any opponents in range do not succeed with at least a Critical Hit on any active rolls attempting to approach you in secrecy.

Trigger: You steal the Edge and automatically gain a bonus option to any automatic option performed as soon as the trigger goes off.

Range: The opponent must be within 5 Move option of your current position.

Trained: You can gain this option by spending 3 training points.

Aside from some minor presentation changes, Alert is now a defensive option allowing a character opportunity to not just improve their opposed Sense rolls, but to set a trigger instead and launch into action unless your sneaky opponents succeed on their own Sense roll with at least 3 hits (a Critical Hit). This revision is based on the repeated confusion when it comes to the Alert option: many players assume the +2d8 bonus from the original version was a default available to them at all times instead of being the reward in exchange for using an automatic option. Once players found out the truth, they barely used it because of that expectation. This does not mean Alert's original version was wrong, but that it wasn't speaking to players.

It's an easy area to miss or push aside during the playtesting phase of any game, particularly when you don't have the mass access to playtesters prior to release like Wizards of the Coast does with D&D Next. The original Alert option worked just fine for me and for the game, but now it's time to ramp things up a notch for players. That's why the new option costs one extra training point and is no longer automatically available to Hunters. (In fact, all focus only provide one option to keep them balanced and fair across the board.)

Alert is just the beginning. Nearly every option has come out remarkably cleaner and exciting thus far and I'm only half way through the original chapter. There's new focus options provided for the new focuseseses provided to match with the new themes and some original options have been switched out for traits (such as Dual Strike, now allowing you to use another option with a two-weapon attack).

I can't wait to show off this game to potential backers. When the time comes, I'm going to provide an instant text-only PDF version of the game to new backers and have been considering a small text-only rules chapter free PDF for potential backers to read over before agreeing to put down their hard earned cash.

Using My Big Boy Words

noreply@blogger.com (Todd Crapper) — Thu, 21 Mar 2013 20:33:00 +0000

I am the Warden!!

You'd think by my blog alone that there's very little action going on right now, but that's so far from the truth. Aside from the official announcement of Killshot Reloaded (see the BRG site for details) and the progression of development in the new edition, I've also been plugging away on a new Kickstarter video for the upcoming Shaintar campaign by Sean Patrick Fannon, finishing up the final piece for Killshot Files #2, putting the next instalment of High Plains Samurai together, and working on a silent project on the side. If I haven't been posting enough, it's because I'm writing too much.

And that's the irony of today's post. It came to me last month that perhaps I haven't been writing enough, particularly when it comes to adventure design. When I'm running a game, I'm a massive fan of improvising. I'll detail a basic plot, flesh and stat out characters, establish locations, and run with everything as it plays out to provide players with a rich and reactive setting.

The problem is the contradiction with what I really need for adventure design and publication. It's something discovered during the past couple of Killshot or Optional Core sessions that must be seriously and correctly addressed in the new edition. When you don't write down the entire adventure and plan out your fight scenes in advance, you tend to take liberties with your text. For example, it never occurred to me during any of the various drafts for the three jobs published in Killshot: Direction to include a sidebar or any relevant information on how to set up a Tracker for a given scene. There were rules for determining all the chips needed on the board and that seemed good enough. What I've noticed is that without having a solid foundation to set up a scene through the game's mechanics, there's no telling how good or poor the scene will play out. So much information is missing from the text that Directors will have to embellish as they see fit and that can cause serious problems in game satisfaction.

Perhaps no other evidence is required than the outcome of the first session for High Plains Samurai. While the YouTube broadcast was cut out early and remains unavailable to those outside of the Development Team sitting at the table, the last fight scene went horribly awry. Everything went wrong and the fact that I never bothered to write down a set-up for the fight scene contributed to that problem. And it didn't help that my qi points mechanic was totally screwed up.

For tomorrow's game, I've made adjustments and wrote out every fight scene (all five of them) in complete detail, from how many Teams are provided in what order to a list of pre-existing triggers and outcomes for the fight using the new fight management system undergoing construction for Reloaded. How will it turn out? You can find out tomorrow as we stream a live broadcast of the game through the Optional Core community on G+.

I'm Seeing Stars: Kickstarters On My Watch List

noreply@blogger.com (Todd Crapper) — Wed, 13 Mar 2013 15:44:00 +0000

I am the Warden!!

If you've been following me Twitter feed, I've been sharing links for 4 different Kickstarters underway as we speak. Or read. Wait, I'm writing. Never mind! All four of them are on my watch list and waiting for that next cheque to make it possible to pony up just a little bit to become part of the action and help make them a reality. I'd like to take this moment to share them in a little more detail for various reasons.

Aside from Torment: Tides of Numenera, there's a personal connection to the remaining three. Twilight Continuum you've heard about here before (I'm writing Books 2 and 5) and Centurion and Spark are projects from a local of local boys and good friends.

Centurion is inches away from hitting its mark as I write this. It's the brainchild of Fraser Ronald (Sword Noir and Kiss My Axe, Sword's Edge Publishing, and the Accidental Survivors podcast) where players take on the role of Roman Legionnaires. Fraser's a huge history nut, particularly when it comes to the Legion and it shows through in gameplay. Along with a few others, I've been helping as a playtester and watched it grow over these past few months. No existing knowledge is required as a player and if you're an interested GM but unsure of your own, there's going to be plenty of history provided to help you build a campaign.

Twilight Continuum is the ambitious 6-part adventure serial put together by Aaron Huss at Mystical Throne Entertainment. I've been part of this one for the past couple of months and put the intro video together, but she's struggling to get past 10%, let alone reach the true goal of $35,000. If you're a big space opera nut, love the sic-fi games, and want to have a complete adventure path without getting bogged down by rules expansions and third-part supplements, this project is for you.

Torment: Tides of Numenera... You know what? It's past $2.5 million. I don't think I need to share too much with you at this point. You've heard of it. And yeah, I wants to get the download edition for $20.

Spark RPG is the creation of Jason Pitre (Genesis of Legend Publishing) and will finally see the light of day after nearly four years of development. This one is also a hop, skip, and a jump away from hitting its goal and will likely rise up into something truly special. Never had a chance to play it, but the concept of creating the world around you before you create your characters sounds massively intriguing and was the basis for starting up my recent High Plains Samurai mini-campaign. Plus the artwork looks gorgeous and expensive.

That's my wish list, projects that will see my money as soon as I can do it guilt-free. Ok, maybe guilt-less. What's on your list?

Find the Lokka: Savage Insider Premium #5 Available Now

noreply@blogger.com (Todd Crapper) — Tue, 05 Mar 2013 19:41:00 +0000

I am the Warden!!

Released today by Mystical Throne Entertainment (the same people behind our current Twilight Continuum Kickstarter project... hint!), Savage Insider Premium #5 contains my first published Savage Worlds article detailing a new alien race known as the lokka. Secretive and paranoid shape changers, they have been cast out to the fringes of society and know a life only of subterfuge and infiltration, existing as a refuge within any of the countless other races in your campaign. If you're like me and can never choose one race in particular as your favourite, this shapeshifting option may be just what you're looking for. Just look for the Racial Profiling article.

Or you could also pick up a copy for the other articles too. I'm sure they're just as good, if not better. There's a POD copy coming out soon and I just may treat myself and clear some extra space on the shelf.

On sale through RPGNow.

A Big Day For Reloaded

noreply@blogger.com (Todd Crapper) — Tue, 05 Mar 2013 13:46:00 +0000

I am the Warden and today is the day that Killshot: Reloaded truly begins!!

Oh, I know I've been talking about it for months and work has begun on the four individual themes originally intended as the sole purpose for Reloaded, but things have taken a turn for the better. During the month I shall now refer to as Dark February - a time when I had to put various projects and other game design related activities aside to deal with the harshness of Reality - a realization occurred. Something deep and profound that has breathed new life into this project.

Killshot: Reloaded will not simply exist as a supplement supporting Killshot. It will be the second edition of Killshot, complete with additional themes and settings to create a fully-detailed, fleshed-out campaign setting.

In the past year since Killshot's Kickstarter brought this game to life, I have run a lot of games. In that time, I have tried a lot of new options and material, particularly for the recent Optional Core playtests and we've devised a few new tricks and shortcuts previously unconsidered or unavailable. That's not to say it's broken as is, but it's dawned on me how this game could be even better.

At this point, I wouldn't go so far as to call this an official announcement or anything. Just a little secret between you and me. The plans for Reloaded have just exploded and it's going to take me the rest of the month to truly understand what's swirling around in my head and run with it. All of these ideas will be incorporated into a complete Kickstarter campaign bigger and better than what was offered last year and if everything goes amazingly to plan, you could be looking at a 300+ page guidebook for the next edition of the world's deadliest tabletop roleplaying game.

Initiative Without Dice? [Optional Core]

noreply@blogger.com (Todd Crapper) — Sat, 02 Mar 2013 18:27:00 +0000

In the Optional System, the Team with the Edge gets to act first.
The problem is establishing which Team gets that honour.

I am the Warden!!

During last week's recap of our first playtest session of High Plains Samurai, I mentioned the need for initiative in the game. On the surface, the idea sounds simple and viable because the majority of initiative rules in RPGs involve a dice roll and since the Optional System is a dice-rolling machine, this shouldn't be a big deal, right?

Wrong. Wrong wrong wrong. I had no idea how wrong that theory was.

Let's start by explaining how turn order works in Killshot, the original and only published version involving the Optional System. The main characters, AKA assassins, pretty much always go first. Because it is a game of strategy and planning, players must set a plan in motion and will likely always go first. That works for a realistic and tactical game like Killshot, but it's shit in a martial arts clone. It provides a near automatic victory for the heroes assisted by their bonus options, Pass reactions, and everything else. The only other means to force heroes to go next involves villains and thugs applying triggers before the fight scene begins, but that can get old and tired after a while. And what if the heroes set down a trigger designed to go off when the thugs' trigger activates, huh? It can potentially reach ridiculous heights.

Initiative the First: Lots and Lots of Dice Rolls

The first attempt at an initiative mechanic was a pretty standard one. All characters make an active Body, Sense, or Mind roll as determined by the Director. Body rolls represent the need for the fastest character to act first, Sense rolls involve detecting danger immediately, and Mind rolls incorporate an intuitive or anticipatory reaction to oncoming threats. The highest result claims the Edge for their Team and they're listed first on the Tracker.

The problem? That's a lot of dice rolling, particularly for the Director. What happens with thugs? If I throw 12 thugs into a fight scene, am I expected to roll twelve times and break them into Teams based on their results in between the heroes? This lead to the exception of thugs always rolling as a Team and that creates an exception, something I'm actively trying to avoid in the Optional System.

Come to think of it, there are two problems with this version. A group of 4 heroes roll initiative; two of them roll higher than the thugs' Team, two of them roll lower. Do I seriously want the mechanic to force the heroes to break up their Team simply because of an initiative roll? Not that there's anything wrong with that, but it undermines the entire concept of Teams in this system. And they can simply merge into a single Team at the start of the next series. There could be some use for this application and I'm sure some Directors would view it as an opportunity to put an extra twist on a generic fight scene, but something about it doesn't feel agreeable with this system.

Initiative the Second: Team Dice Rolls

Duels are one of the main reasons for initiative rolls,
such as this one from Red Dead Redemption.

Learning from the lessons of the first idea, I decided to allow all Teams to remain intact (barring situations that would physically separate the heroes, like falling into a sliding pit trap that separates them randomly). The Team would make a single dice roll against all other Teams and the highest result goes first on the Tracker.

Great. Now how does an entire Team make one big roll? It's not something provided for in the core rules. While initially a hurdle to this second attempt at initiative, it was easy and necessary. A group roll is basically an aid mechanic, friends helping friends. While playing around with an aid mechanic, the biggest problem facing initiative rolls revealed its ugly head.

Initiative rolls and group rolls defy the very foundation of the Optional System.

Around here, only the Team with the Edge can make active rolls and that's exactly what an initiative roll is: an active attempt to start a series with the Edge. However, only individual characters are supposed to make active rolls at a time. Allowing the entire Team to roll would cause an exception to the rules and as I mentioned before, these cannot be allowed in the game. I do not want a separate mechanic for initiative, one for combat, one for social scenes, etc. Everything has to operate from the same basic principles.

Rolling for initiative was not going to work. It needed another solution.

Initiative the Third: Automatic Initiative & Negotiation

Ironic how an initiative mechanic for a dice pool system can't make use of any dice. At least, that was my initial thought before coming up with the current version for the next instalment of HPS.

When it's time to decide initiative, every Team chooses a member as their primary character. Initiative is still determined by Body, Sense, or Mind and is based on the chosen circumstances, but it's all about which primary character has the highest number of focus dice in that stat.

In the event of a tie (two Teams can brag about having +3d12 Sense focus dice, for example), the Teams enter a negotiation by spending trained dice from their skills, fighting styles, and maneuvers (all using d6s) until one Team has agreed to spend the most trained dice. The kicker is that every Team member must willingly spend the same number of trained dice using appropriate skills, fighting styles, and maneuvers. For example, it's safe to say the Alertness skill applies with Sense-based initiatives, but Diplomacy won't do diddly in a Body-based initiative. If there is a single Team member who cannot spend any additional trained dice, the bar is set for the entire Team.

These dice are spent as if they were used normally and are unavailable until the start of the next scene, but they are not rolled - they are sacrificed. Because they're d6s, there's no major value in the oncoming fight scene, yet they really come in handy against a strong opposing roll. It also allows the Director to invest in a villain or thug's skills (because everyone uses skills to some degree) and claim initiative when they really want it.

Example time. A fight is about to break out between a Team of 3 heroes, a Team of 1 villain, and 2 Teams of 8 thugs. The Director chooses Body as the stat of choice because everyone stands in full view of each other with hands on their pistols, ready to whip theirs out the fastest. The heroes' highest Body stat is +2d12, the villain has +2d12, and the thugs only have +1d12. The thugs will definitely go last and it's time for the heroes and villains to negotiate for first crack at the Edge.

Right off the bat, the villain offers +2d6 from her Agility skill. Eager to counter, every hero agrees to pony up +2d6 from assorted skills and now the tie remains. Throwing a wrench into their plans, the villain sacrifices +1d6 from her Firearms skill and waits for the heroes to counter. Unfortunately, one of the heroes does not have another appropriate skill to sacrifice, leaving the heroes with a total of +2d6 sacrificed for their initiative. The villain has sacrificed +3d6 and will start the first series with the Edge, followed by the heroes, then the thugs.

As with a few pieces of this engrossing puzzle, this mechanic has yet been tested, but I'm very much looking forward to giving it a whirl on the 22nd. Maniacally so. Mwhahahahaha!!

NOTE: Earlier in this post, I mentioned construction on an aid mechanic. I'll share that with you next time. Promise.

Relaunching The Continuum

noreply@blogger.com (Todd Crapper) — Sat, 02 Mar 2013 03:15:00 +0000

I am the Warden and this is the new video signalling the relaunch of Mystical Throne Entertainment's Kickstarter project, Twilight Continuum.

Some of it may seem familiar, but a massive chunk of this puppy is brand new and expanded from our last effort. Instead of aiming for funding a single book and reach for the remaining five volumes as stretch goals, this edition is shooting for the entire series - all 6 volumes - in one fell swoop. Our goal? $35,000.

At the time of writing, it's only been a couple of hours and we're already over $1,000 with only 15 backers. That's nearly $350 better than an entire day's results from our previous attempt, making it clear that the extra work invested into this second effort is already starting to pay off. If things keep going at this rate (long-term speaking that is, seeing as most Kickstarters go through an opening peak, followed by a middle point lull, and caps off with a final high point), we should easily hit our final goal and bring this 6-part Savage Worlds adventure serial to life.

What exactly are you waiting for? If you like Savage Worlds and space operas, this project is the very thing you're looking for. Check out the complete project to find your perfect reward level.

Problems Solved

noreply@blogger.com (Todd Crapper) — Wed, 27 Feb 2013 19:38:00 +0000

I am the Warden and I can't begin to tell you how relieved I am!!

Yesterday's post carried some happy and unfortunate news. Today, it's all good news.

The missus received a phone call from Algonquin College regarding yesterday's events with an offer to convert her application and approval to the Fall semester. In other words, she's going back to school for Community & Justice Services. We're both going back to school to start rebuilding our lives.

My head's spinning with eager anticipation right now, but it's spinning in a good way. Like the buzz you feel while you're drunk. I want to thank everyone's kind words of encouragement, even those from people I've never met before and those she's never heard of before. Hopefully, this will be a sign of many things to come.

Some Things Change, Others Remain the Same

noreply@blogger.com (Todd Crapper) — Tue, 26 Feb 2013 22:47:00 +0000

I am the Warden!!

It's time for me to explain recent events to everyone. Over the past few weeks (and over the last couple of years, to be honest), I've been hinting at significant personal issues that have bogged down my work yet never got into details. I think it's time to reveal what that was all about.

Four months ago, my income replacement benefit was cancelled by my insurance company as well as the retraining plan submitted to the same company intended to help me return to full-time employment. After two years of being unable to return to a gainful life due to physical and cognitive issues, I was dumped and left to fend for myself. I began the search for a new means to support myself and my family.

Simultaneously, my fiancee (who suffers from epilepsy) has been vigorously trying to return to school herself, an effort equally complicated by our dire financial situation. Ironically, she had more options to work with than myself because of our province's student loans program. (I'm ineligible for these programs because I'm currently unable to pay for my previous student loans.) For the last few months, she's been searching for an online diploma program that would allow her to return to a normal life without her condition interfering with her efforts.

Today, we both received some outstanding news. Then one of us had our news trashed by bureaucracy.

According to email sent by my attorney this morning, I will be receiving funds to take an online Graphic Designer diploma program through the Digital Arts Technology Training Institute. I cannot get into the specifics of how this happened because it is related to the ongoing litigation between myself and the responsible party of my accident. It will take a couple of weeks for everything to arrive and process before I can start the process, but the starter's pistol has finally gone off. I've been waiting for over close to a year to finally start this program and start moving on with my life.

And if you think this means the end or minimization of BRG and freelance design work, far from the truth. Aside from the ability to work at a graphic design firm or obtain freelance graphic design work, this course will go a long way towards my work as a game designer/publisher. In other words, this is a huge step towards my future.

Unfortunately, that leaves the bad news with my fiancee.

At approximately 10:00 this morning, my fiancee received an acceptance in the Community & Justice Services at Algonquin College. It's a two-year diploma program starting in May and the first year is entirely online, allowing her to build her way to becoming a full-time student from home. Shortly after noon, she received an email from the college that the program was suspended and she could apply for a refund on her application fee.

What. The. Fuck?

We received the news while I was writing the initial draft of this announcement, meaning this post has been revised since that unfortunate outcome. My original hope was to announce how both of our lives will turn around as of today, but this bizarre cancellation has put a bit of a damper on events. It's another example of the personal struggles we've gone through over the past two-and-a-half years, complicated by this ying-yang flip-flop of fortune and setbacks.

The wheel still turns. It may be greasy and noisy, but it continues to turn. My eagerness is mixed with sadness for my fiancee. She is very upset and disgruntled by the news and it will take a while for this to wear off so she can move on to the next stage (taking a course in the fall of this year). My role is to be there for her and provide all the encouragement I can because I love her.

I think it's time for a drink or two, don't you?

High Plains Samurai, Act One Recap [Optional Core]

noreply@blogger.com (Todd Crapper) — Sun, 24 Feb 2013 01:58:00 +0000

I am the Warden!!

On Friday night, the Development Team got down to business and we started up Act One of High Plains Samurai, our playtest campaign for Optional Core. Quick summary? It was excellent right up until the end when the players cashed in all their qi to defeat 2 villains in one fell swoop. While I'm sure it felt awesome for the players, it demonstrated a major flaw in combat design.

There's plenty more to talk about, but first let's get started with some videos. You can catch the first four hours of our exploits (and now we know there is a four-hour time limit on all Hangout broadcasts) here on YouTube.

And for a clearer version of the HPS intro movie...

Ironically enough, the majority of problems happened after the broadcast cut out. The fight between Spider (a wanted fugitive sought out by Fraser's hero, Maoser) and Black Scorpion/Kiki were drastically different. While there's still loads of review and recapping ahead before I can create a concrete list of revisions and new material for next month's game, here's what I have so far.

Qi Points

On the whole, I really love the idea of simply using a point system to activate powers and enhance abilities. It's a lot simpler than rolling dice for everything as often as players already do and demonstrates the clarity and strength of qi powers when they never truly fail.

That being said, the biggest flaw in using qi points was treating them as if they were points from any other standard pool. Any other time a hero gains points from any particular focus, they can be spent for bonus hits to augment existing rolls in which the points apply. For example, an Enforcer can use points to create bonus hits to attack and defence rolls because kicking ass in the physical sense is what they do. Qi points don't operate under the same principles because heroes were collecting them without having to roll for them: roleplaying awards, rolling natural 20s, and more. In other words, I literally handed them to secret to defeating Achilles without knowing it.

Fight Management

I've been toying around with a fight management system for Optional Core to help conceive of fight scenes of a certain complexity, meaning a certain number of series. Initial estimates have been a bit tricky due to the very nature of the Optional System (anything with opposed dice rolls tends to do that), but trends have developed over time. Those trends must now construct a basic fight management chart.

For example, how many thugs would offer up enough of a fight to last at least three series? How much Health should they have? Does it make a difference for thugs to have more than 1 Health apiece? All of these will be reviewed as I go over the above YouTube video and put to ink a rudimentary fight chart.

Initiative

I never thought I'd say this because the entire purpose of the Tracker was to avoid rolling for initiative in the Optional System, but I think it may be time to try out an initiative mechanic. Starting off the scene with the Edge can be a major factor and in many cases, Directors are simply handing over the fight scene to their players. That needs to change or at least have the option for Directors to mix things up by including initiative rolls for particular fights.

Perhaps only villains can roll against heroes? Or Teams have to compete for first crack by spending Qi points? Whatever presents itself, I'd like to avoid simple initiative rolls as they exist in so many other games. (I'm considering a thorough read-through of Corey Reid's CC release of Initiative! to see if there anything in there to strike me. The concept of rolling first to determine which traits apply to your roll has some commonalities with the Optional System's active vs. opposed rolls.)

Filling In The Gaps

As the day's gone on, the list is getting filled in rather than larger. Once I have a chance to go through the session's video and make more detailed notes, there will be more to develop before we take on the challenge of HPS' Act Two. And, of course, after I find out how to fix this major snafu from the last fight scene and have my core villains still available to participate in the campaign without completely subverted their efforts. If there's one thing I adhere to in all circumstances, it's learning to work with my past mistakes rather than erase them.

Every Dragon Ever Made

noreply@blogger.com (Todd Crapper) — Sat, 23 Feb 2013 14:03:00 +0000

I am the Warden!!

Just popped onto the laptop this morning to post links and comments for last night's High Plains Samurai and wanted to share something sweet with you. And by sweet, I mean the clinically awesome definition of sweet.

An online archive of every single printed issue of Dragon Magazine is now available through the Internet Archive. This was actually brought to light on EN World a couple of days ago and there's still some uncertainty about its authenticity and if they actually have legal permission for this, but it remains sweet for as long as it lasts. Every issue. Dude!

The sweetest part of all this sweetness is that I finally have a PDF of issue 287 and my one and only Dragon submission: When Celestial Attacks.

Sweeeeeeet.

This Ain't Your Assassin's Game [Optional Core]

noreply@blogger.com (Todd Crapper) — Wed, 20 Feb 2013 15:06:00 +0000

From the film, The Warrior's Way.

I am the Warden!!

This morning is spent hanging out in a McDonalds in Ottawa, of all places, while I'm waiting for the missus to write her admission exams for a (fingers crossed) spring college course. Laptop in hand, riding off the free wifi, and loving how things are so different for adults hanging out in public places than with teenagers.

After producing an intro trailer for High Plains Samurai and revisions to the Optional System character record, it's time to nail down some of the new rules and concepts for Friday's first foray into this mini-campaign/playtest. And it's become entirely clear how different a martial arts campaign is from Killshot.

Don't get me wrong, it's still the Optional System in every way, but there are some distinct differences between one and the other. Would you like to see a list? Some of these are direct quotes from the original documents I'm working on this morning.

Damage

Realism is taking a back seat in HPS as it's not as much fun for heroes to work within normal limitations of damage and wounds. Perhaps one of the most dramatic changes to the character record is the Damage/Health portion (the name depending on your glass' half-full/half-empty perspective). Heroes and villains (replacing the terms assassins and marks) now have 10 Health (replacing Killshot's 5) and wounds are no longer automatically inflicted based on the amount of damage accumulated. Wounds can be inflicted at the player's choice when they score a critical hit, substitution their usual Critical portion of whatever option was applied.

Villains

Instead of gaining 2 actions in a series, villains start with a number of actions equal to the total number of heroes involved in a scene. For example, a villain facing off against 4 heroes will find themselves starting the series with 4 actions. This has not been tested yet, but the intention is to allow a single villain to give the heroes a run for their money in a fight scene.

Firearms

Guns are limited to single shot weapons (save for the repeating rifle, but this is only available to military outfits) requiring the wielder to actively cock the hammer or load another round in the chamber manually. Unless otherwise noted, all firearms require the user to declare a Free option to rearm the weapon, thereby limiting the average character to 3 shots per Edge. Gaining the Gunslinger focus allows you to ignore this restriction and take as many shots as your firearm's ammo will allow.

If the user rolls a critical on an attack roll, they can substitute the attack option’s Critical event with one additional shot from their firearm.

Ammo slots are eliminated; all weapons fire a certain number of shots before the user must declare a Quick option (or more) to reload the weapon. The longest range on any firearm is 2 Move options for pistols and 5 Move options for long-barrelled rifles.

Qi

Representing each character's supernatural abilities, their Qi (pronounced "chee") can also define their path in life. There are many ways to gain and spend Qi in High Plains Samurai.

Blunders: If you receive a blunder to your Qi focus, you cannot gain any of the Qi benefits described in this section, including the spending of Qi points already earned.

Bonus Dice: As characters with Qi perform in their careers, they can enhance their basic functions and enhanced abilities by gaining bonus dice. They can spend Qi points to gain additional bonus dice (d4s) to their roll. Bonus dice can also be earned from non-Qi actions, including roleplaying and story based awards. (P.S. These dice were original known as "death dice" in Killshot.)

Signatures: A signature is a physical description or event in a scene designating that character's unique power and abilities. For example, whenever the Jade Palm rolls a kill shot on a successful unarmed melee attack, her opponent turns into jade and shatters into brittle shards. Whenever a character performs a signature, they gain 1 Qi point.

Superhuman Abilities: Aside from any individual applications based on individual martial arts and focuses, all Qi character can ignore a number of difficulty dice equal to their Qi focus dice and can spend a Qi point to ignore another +1d10 of difficulty or perform any untrained option.

Training: All components of a character's training require Qi points to increase (replacing the standard training points referred in other OSRPG supplements). At the end of a session, the character can choose to spend their Qi points for additional training in options, reactions, traits, and more.

Struggling With Slow Motion [Optional Core]

noreply@blogger.com (Todd Crapper) — Wed, 20 Feb 2013 01:40:00 +0000

You can't talk about slow motion
without paying tribute to the master.

I am the Warden!!

Ever since my early days plugging away on the Optional System, I've been unable to come up with any effective and reasonable mechanic for simulating slow motion in an action game. At first, it was intended solely as a cinematic effect capable of allowing heroes to increase their odds of success at a limited rate (once per series) or as a means to provide perfect accuracy and completion at a limited rate (once per scene). Nothing stuck and it took a back burner to proceed with the more realistic and less cinematic Killshot.

With High Plains Samurai starting up on Friday and Optional Core playtesting well under way, it's time to take another look.

So... uh, yeah. How about that slow motion mechanic, eh?

That's just the problem - I'm still drawing blanks. Not to come up with any solution, but an appropriate one that doesn't reek of a stick-on mechanic. For example, having it work as an extension to a stunt where you gain +2d10 on a single stunt roll or perform a stunt with decreased difficulty seems to cheapen the impact I want from slow motion mechanics. Plus it comes across as a stunt. Even providing stunts as an opportunity to perform cinematic slow motion in games just seems like a tacked idea.

When you see something in slow motion, it's awesome. The definition of cool and you never see someone screw up in slow motion, not for action films, at least. I want to mimic that effect in a roleplaying game and the Optional System, to be specific. What I'm looking to accomplish with a slow motion mechanic is a resource-based reward system allowing players to perform an option perfectly in slow motion without allowing the player to always be perfect in their option. For example, allowing players to make a perfect attack is a mistake in the making and is simply complicated if a hero attempts a slow motion attack against a villain defending himself in slow motion - who succeeds if everyone's option is perfect?

Here are some of the ideas I've tossed about recently.

Characters can attempt any action in slow motion and have the difficulty of the roll increased by +2d10 (or some other amount of circumstance dice). This can be attempted as part of a stunt. [This one doesn't match with my intention at all. I want a slow motion attempt to be cooler, not harder.]
Once per series, a hero/villain can perform an option in slow motion. This option automatically succeeds with 1 hit and the player does not have to roll. [That's all fine and dandy, but leaves out Enhanced and Expert reactions automatically, as well as kill shots and critical hits.]
Slow motion active rolls grant you a limited number of base (d20) or circumstance (d10) dice based on existing training. They can only be applied once per series. [Creating a rule whereby the very intention of these dice was thrown right out the window. Neither type is provided through any form of training.]
Slow motion is a skill granting a certain number of d6s to any chosen roll. [This is perhaps the closest I've come to a viable option, yet it feels diluted compared to my hopes and dreams of slow motion.]

What that leaves me with is a lot of unsatisfied results. The other issue relates to performance - am I trying to complicate something that is already complicated? Meaning is there really a mechanical need to add another means of increasing your roll in the Optional System? Can't I just be happy with saying things are happening in slow motion.

No. No I cannot say that with any honesty and integrity. This system needs a slow motion mechanic to take it from cool to holy-fucking-awesome. It's worked in video games to provide a player advantage in limited runs; there has to be a way to make it work here.

Think, think, think.

The Editing Booth [Twilight Continuum]

noreply@blogger.com (Todd Crapper) — Thu, 14 Feb 2013 18:31:00 +0000

I am the Warden!!

Look to your right and check out the Twilight Continuum Kickstarter launched by Mystical Throne. If you've checked it out before, take a look at the new video and look at this project with new eyes. There's also a pound of new info and previews of what's to come.

In between two days of meetings and commuting, I whipped up the intro for what will become the Video Continuum promoting Twilight Continuum. After some feedback regarding the original video, I offered to put something together as a teaser trailer for the project and an open for regular video/audio updates by everyone involved in the project.

With my own upcoming Kickstarter plans (currently on temporary hold while I sort out a few other issues and clear my slate), having an opportunity to test out this laptop's editing capabilities is exactly the kind of practise I need to prep the half-dozen videos I plan to release, including a how-to-play Killshot video. (Unfortunately, I can't make a simple video. The old film school student in me simply has to try and push that tiny envelope.) As the month continues, keep your eyes peeled for updates on the Continuum and there'll be some posts discussing my plans and dreams for Books 2 and 5 right here on this blog.