Game project updates, complete with...um...words!

Progress!

Okay, not all that much progress, but some progress, still.

Like I said in a previous post, I'm working on a project for National Game Design Month...a little miniatures wargame that I'm calling, "TAKE THEM TO THE ARENA!" My fist step was to pull together some old notes and try to form one consistent, comprehensive product out of them. I found that while I was compiling everything, there was very little coherency through my rules and ideas for play style. Once I really pinned those elements down, my ideas would just ramble, and eventually dissipate into smoke.

Here's what I came up with: I want a small, simple game that could be played with few additional materials. I want to keep the simplistic aesthetic of the old Ziploc-packaged wargames, or even little-black-box games of the old Steve Jackson Games days. I want rules that have little complication or cross-referencing (two pages would be ideal). I want a game that can be picked up and played at the drop of a hat, something that can take a little bit of time, that can be carried in a pocket. I want it to reflect what I love about playing games, particularly those styles of games.

So everything I write has to comply with the above paragraph. Last night, I wrote out an outline for sequence of play. Its two pages in a Moleskine notebook. Now that I look at it, I may have to amend how many pages I'm willing to take make the rules. Charts will be necessary, but I'm thinking of just adding them to the character dossiers (I would like to make as many things immediately reference-able that I can).

There will now be a short Q&A, where I invite my imagination, subconscious and sense of insecurity to ask whatever they like.

Q: How will your game be distributed?
A: I'm thinking PDF, and then I'll package some in plastic bags. Seriously, I wasn't kidding about Ziploc.

Q: How much are you going to charge?
A: I was always told, "If you're good at something, don't do it for free." So I'm probably giving it away without cost.

Q: What are you doing for artwork?
A: ASCII? Pencil drawings? I have no idea. I'm going to need that. If i have to charge an illustrator, then I may have to actually make a marketable product, so I'm still thinking...

Q: Have a schedule?
A: Yes. I'm hoping to have a playtest available in the next week. Then I'm going to play the hell out of it and tweak it.

More later...maybe even pictures from my notebook.

Stream of consciousness

I've been working on a new game. Its about ghosts, and people who hunt for them. I have some solid pages down about the mechanics, and character creation. I think I know what I want to look for when it comes to artwork. I know my source material. I know the genre. I've studied what ghost stories mean to American culture. I understand scary stories.

But what does a ghost represent, and why am I so obsessed about stories about them? And why is it so hard to write about them?

My wife talked to me about what ghosts mean to her. She's really practical. To her, the meaning is really simple: its a person's lack of willingness to let go. A ghost is about our baggage. What haven't you been able to release? That's probably what will manifest.

Its elementary, I suppose. If you're going to write a ghost story, think about the stuff that hasn't been resolved.

I haven't been able to get any further than the mechanics. Every time I try to write about the ghosts themselves, about what they represent and about how people interact with them, I'm stuck. I'm not ready to talk, in a game, about what a ghost means to fictional characters.

Here's a funny story...I needed a palate for my paint. I have this old crystal dish that my mom used as an ashtray. As a matter of fact, I only ever knew it as an ashtray; I don't think it ever had any other purpose when it was in my mom's possession. It took effort, but I used it as a palate. I made a dumb comment about it on Facebook, just to ease the tension, a little something to help rip the bandage from the wound, I guess.

Does that analogy make sense? It has to do with my mom, too.

So, we were talking about ghosts. I've been jotting down notes about what ghosts mean in different cultures...about the angry poltergeist, about the Victorian haunters.

I had this professor in college who told us that we'll know what's real, what's true, when it comes to us in the still, small moments in the night. They're the things that wake us up. I'd forgotten about that. He always helped us get over what ever baggage we had when it came to academia. Remember what is real.

Grief is real, sure. But so is the creative process. So is the written word.

Its art.

Another year of me missing Gencon. And every year, I say that I'll make it next year. Its tough for me at home this time of year, with most of my friends either at the Pennsic War or Gencon.

My Castles and Crusades game made up for it a bit yesterday. I don't know that I can say that the slightly rules-light system has contributed to more character and story development at the table. Not to say that slightly more complex rules or more book-keeping has kept character or story development down (my Star Wars Saga game was built on personal character development and having the players take a strong hand in dictating how the story would progress). I can say, though, that it feels easier for me to design adventures and encounters, and it feels like less of a chore to run.

Really, this is what Castles and Crusades feels like to me:



Its the dirty notebooks filled with hand-sketched maps and notes jotted down in the margins. It feels like beat-poetry.

Castles and Crusades: Back to the days of hand-drawn maps.

I haven't drawn a map for an RPG in years. I've been so impressed by some maps that my friend Christine has done; the made me want to try making one myself.

When I started making notes for my "Avignus" setting, I had the idea of a very Europe-like environment. I wanted to keep things as familiar as possible. When I started drawing things out, though, I saw how the distances between areas could influence how each kingdom or region would relate with each other. Suddenly I could see who would be the easiest targets for raiding by the Northern Reaches, or how easily the Young Kingdoms could separate themselves from the dying empire of Vitare.

My Castles and Crusades players added more when we sat around the table for the first time, and I got to describe the basic ideas behind each region. "Undead." "Barbarian Kingdoms." "Germany, but with demons and stuff." They added in things they thought would be cool. And now, its developing.

I know there are pieces of software out there to help with mapping. I'm just as comfortable sketching things out.

(Pencil sketch map in the first page of my Moleskine.)

More Castles and Crusades setting notes: religion and spirituality

Religion and Spirituality in Avignus

Although the average subjects of the King of Avignus may never see a spell cast, they are still well-aware of the existence of magic. Spell-casting wizards, druids and clerics are all visible and practice their trades out in the open. The knowledge of magic's existence and the uncertainty and fear of living in a land under constant threat of orc attack (and other more mundane, but just as serious threats) creates a superstitious outlook among the lower, less-educated classes. Myths and stories are just as important to the spirituality of Avignus subjects as the spells cast by high-wizards and chief priests.

Stories about actions of the gods and the creation of the world are more than mere myths. Wizards and clerics commune directly with the supernatural world, and, as a result, relate creation stories more like epic tales or recordings of ancient histories. Despite the opportunities for direct communion with spiritual beings, not all wizards or clerics are able to adequately or fully accurately translate the messages from these divine entities. Their understandings and interpretations of spiritual messages are gathered together among ancient prophecies and other revelations to help build religions texts for the people of Avignus.

Prophets and sooth-sayers have a special, trusted place in the Young Kingdoms. Anyone with the ability to interpret signs or portents from the divine or nature are expected to give guidance or assistance to the lost or those in need. Clerics and wizards are often taken as advisors to royalty or even local leaders. The inspect the skies or summon spirits for warnings about the future. Farmers far from civilization trust the advice of local druids about planting and harvest times, or example. Unscrupulous spiritualists who try to spread false prophecy are harshly punished.

Divine instruction, such as spiritual laws which are supposed to aid the growth and prosperity of civilization, are tended by the clergy. Meanings of signs and prophecies are seriously debated, with their potential value to civilization seriously considered. Some sages take a literal approach to the messages; they are not seriously considered as academicians, and potentially ruled by emotion. In recent times, more paladins have come from the more literal-interpretation sects of the church.

Creation myths and other divine messages carry a heavy weight in Avignus and the other Young Kingdoms. The creation stories themselves are treated like epic history, and not merely allegory or speculation. Not all of the prophecies or messages were simple to interpret, and many sages had different translations or interpretations of the creation stories. The most trusted and accepted translation of the creation of the world, and the will of the gods, was collected by the Imperial Archivist 2000 years ago. The collection, titled Logos, was the first formal recording of the stories and instructions in the history of the civilized world. Although many of these stories weren't at all new and were already well-known, the Archivist's text was the first fully-compiled, complete, trusted volume.

“It has always been, and it will always be.”

This is the first line of Logos, revealed to the Imperial Archivist. Its most commonly accepted meaning is that all of creation is infinite, with no true beginning and no true end. The life and times of all creation has always existed, and will always exist...as will man, his troubles, and his way of life. Some scholars claim that the real translation should be, “She has always been, and She shall always be.” These scholars believe that “She” refers to the life-giving and nurturing earth, and that mankind and its troubles are no concern, when considering the whole of creation. Many sages consider that interpretation based on mere artistic license, a result of a play with ancient language. There are no other references to “She” in the text of Logos, and they point out the lack of matriarchal religions or cults throughout imperial history¹. There is, though, a cult of scholars who believe “She” refers to the Conquorer Wurm, and ancient aspect and personification of cosmic, elemental Chaos.

Regardless of the phrase's meaning, most people take some comfort from it. Should everything they know pass away, some aspect of it will continue on.

That Which Endures

The creator-god is sometimes called Alef, or is represented in writing by the old runic first letter of the alphabet. Its also known as “That Which Endures.” Alef is thought to be without consciousness, but with a will. Alef is never personified; there are never icons or statues made to represent “his likeness.” Alef is that will which put order to chaos. The world was created by Alef imposing Will and Order.

Philosophers debate how it is possible to have Will without Consciousness or Self-Awareness. Some sages resign themselves to belief that order is a manifestation of the Will. Therefore, the Divine Will is simply one of the two natural conditions of the universe: Law and Chaos.

A very few fear that the Divine Will is merely a tool for a greater consciousness that cannot affect reality without some intermediary force. The Divine Will, then, is potentially a tool used by an entity that cannot have meaning in reality.

To some others, the Divine Will is a cosmic set of instructions, set in place by nature. Reality is woven in the nature of the Divine Will, and the universe cannot help but follow the path set forth in those instructions.

One thing scholars agree upon is that Alef does not answer prayer, does not have a conscius desire for worshipers or supplication. The desires and beliefs of the people of creation do not alter the course of the Divine Will. Alef is a spiritual monolith, respected but never supplicated.

The Innumerable Saints

Most people venerate, in some way, the saints of their ancestors. Some ancestors may be remembered for their crafting skills, their wisdom, their battle-prowess, or just for their personalities and influence. Living family members may venerate and celebrate their ancestral spirits for that aspect they remember and, by remembering, that spirit becomes associated as a type of household god representing that aspect. Ancestor worship is a very personal belief structure. A home is likely to have a shrine to their particular patron or patrons (an ancestor or ancestors the family remembers and has taken on as a symbol for their prosperity, strength, or courage). Small tokens representing the spirits would be carried, or left around the home. No temples or shrines would be built in public for these uniquely personal saints.

The spirits and divine entities that inhabit the world, who came as a result of the creation of Nature, are without number. Some answer to prayer, or to ritual. Some display godlike properties. They do not name themselves, or reveal their names (except in extraordinary circumstances), but take names from the people of the world. One entity may be known by a dozen names. Temples are built in their honor. Religious rites are perfected and designed to please them. Feast days are celebrated in their honor. The spirits answer prayers, grant powers, perform miracles, and are revered as gods.

No one has successfully counted the number of gods who are active in the world. So many take on different names and different aspects. A god known as a protector of travelers and roads to one tribe or culture may be known as a saint of thieves in another. The gods' mysterious natures keep their true natures somewhat secretive as well. The god a cleric reveres as a patron of growth and home may, as well, be a spirit of the harvest that a druid would revere. The god may be known by different names, even different aspects, and may well be the same spirit.

Religions in the Young Kingdoms also tend to have animistic tendencies. People acknowledge that there may be spirits of particular places or aspects. Though these lesser spirits may not be worshiped, they're acknowledged and revered, in the same manner as ancestral spirits.

This collection of saints, gods and magical spirits is collectively known as the Rolls Sable. The name is taken from a tradition held by the high priests of the empire, who attempted to collect the names and aspects of all the multitudinous gods and spirits. They were kept on a black scroll, penned with silver or gold ink. The scrolls were transported and stored at the Amber Tower, shortly after it was built.

1Neither the Anavaren of Avignus, nor the Witch Cult of Vinlund, nor the Sisterhood of Bretta of the Mistlands were ever acknowledged by churches nor the leadership of the empire. Imperial religious and social leaders expected such cults to simply die off quietly. They didn't.

Castles and Crusades: more setting design notes

I've been jotting down some notes for a campaign setting for Castles and Crusades. I wanted to do a traditional western-European feel...something familiar and easy to recognize.

In the present day, the Western Kingdoms represent the flowers grown from a fertile ground fed by the receding waters of a dying empire. The kingdoms of the south, known as the Amber Kingdoms, were once the homeland of a world-dominating empire. The empire only fell back six-hundred years ago, leaving Vinlund and Avignus to build their own governments and rule for themselves. Those two kingdoms, which became known with some of the nearby lands as “The Young Kingdoms,” have grown and flourished in the last six centuries (despite threats from the north and east).

The Young Kingdoms have moved away from the nurture and the traditions of the old empire in the same way children grow away from their parents. Although their civil, cultural and religious traditions have their foundations in ancient imperial traditions, they've grown to serve the unique needs of each people. All of the Young Kingdoms share some traits, like long-separated family members. Their languages all share a common root, which serves as a noticeable and tangible link between the three lands. Their societies, much like their architecture, are built on the remains of the old empire.

The most successful of the Young Kingdoms is Avignus, a fertile land with temperate winters, moderate summers, a long growing season, and hearty people. The folk of the eastern portion of the kingdom are a hearty lot, who have developed a love of epic poetry and music. They are the more spiritual than their western brethren. The people of the western kingdom are renowned for their horsemanship and their skill with mounted combat.

Vinlund, to the south, is a kingdom dominated by wine and magic. Farmers raise some of the greatest vines in the world, and local wineries create the most memorable wines. People are well-fed, with expansive farms. Every town has its own vintage of wine, and each claims theirs is the best. Their wizard-kings have ruled since before the fall of the empire. A high academy of magic is hidden deep in their mountains. The king's ghostly advisors, legend has it, travel the kingdom looking for practitioners of The Science (the kingdom's name for arcane magic).

The empire survives now as the fragmented “Amber Kingdoms.” The ancestral great families of the empire, in an effort of self-preservation, each carved out their own city-states or protectorates. Some tried to wage war on each other, in attempts to gain more territory or more resources, or even just to answer old family rivalries. Some still try to live as if the empire never crumbled. Their guards may well still wear old imperial armor and weapons; some subjects may still wear the garb of the ancient empire. Citizens of the Amber Kingdoms still tell stories of their families' ancient greatness, and sill reside in centuries-old estates. Vitare, the northern-most of the Amber Kingdoms, is considered the most “progressive.” They trade with the Young Kingdoms, receive ambassadors into the Imperial Court (and sends out ambassadors to the Young Kingdoms, as well), and claims not to take part in the in-fighting participated in by the other old imperial families. The king of Vitare (who still uses the title of “Emperor”) claims leadership over all of the Amber Kingdoms, though has no ability to collect taxes, raise armies, or truly rule over the subjects of the former empire.

The northern lands of Ecrus and Titus have only recently been split. In the days of the old empire, the land was simply known as The Northern Reach. Ecrus was the name the local “barbarians” gave to their homeland. These barbarians raided their neighbors for livestock, crops, and more valuable treasures. The empire tried, unsuccessfully, to invade Ecrus several times. The barbarians continuously fought back the invaders. Eventually, Ecrus was damaged from inside threats.

Orc and goblin tribes emerged from deep in the mountains. The ravaged the people of Ecrus, destroying settlements, capturing people, stealing whatever resources the barbarians of Ecrus had stored away. The orc and goblin raids mirrored the barbarians' in severity and technique. The Ecrusians fought back, struggling to keep their culture and people from being destroyed by the orcish threat. After a century of fighting, the orcs were driven back across the mountains; they took over the eastern portion of the lands. Amazingly enough, some tribes of Ecrusian people followed along, either following the hoards as slaves, of because they found a kinship among the orcs themselves. The barbarians of Ecrus maintained the western portion. The eastern lands were named Titus by the dying empire, reflecting the name of one of the many lands of the dead from their myths.

The Mistlands are the northeastern part of the Great Western Isle. Their great accomplishment, according to some, was in building trading relations with the people of Ecrus (after successfully fighting off the barbarians after years of attempted raids). The northern, hilly region is the only civilized settlement on the island (as a matter of fact, the empire once had an outpost on its shores). The rest of the island is dominated by the will of an ancient dragon, and scores of magical creatures under his control. There are legends about lost tribes of elves and other fey creatures who live there, and of ancient magics that protect the island.

No one has ever returned from the island that is off the Mistlands north shore.

The strip of land connecting the Young Kingdoms and the Amber Kingdoms are called, simply, the Lost Lands. Since the fall of the empire, these lands fell to depravity, infighting, and invaders from the east and from the great rift. They lost all stability once the empire left. Some of the central lands, once called Tiranic, reverted to an almost barbaric state, ruled and controlled by tribal elders and fighting off other clans. In the southern province of Molloy, the dead rose and enslaved the living. The northern region, once called Deiteramund, has become dominated by the rift, which had begun spilling out Abyss-spawned creatures once the Amber Tower was erected in the heart of the empire.

None of those lands were particularly stable to begin with, truth be told. Tiranic was only ever stable because of the leadership and influence of the empire. Molloy's un-dead hid in their tombs, hills and forests for centuries, waiting for their time to strike. The rift had always existed in Deiteramund, and so had the portals deep in its depths. Without the empire's magic or governance, these lands were ultimately doomed.

East of the Lost Lands are vast mountain ranges, and a land dominated by desert. Its there that the King of Avignus leads a crusade against the Goblyn Queen. There is very little to report about the lands there, their people, or their cultures.

Progress: game updates and a future for me as a swordfighter

I absolutely promise an update this week.

Subjects I'm going to cover over the next few days:

1: (Gaming) Recent gaming experiments: Dr Who RPG using D20 Modern (what should be the DR of a Cyberman?).

2: (Gaming) Higher-level D&D: my challenge at keeping it fun, as well as having appropriate-powered challenges.

3: (SCA) Historical Swordsmanship: My first steps at designing a set of lessons based around Capo Ferro's rapier manual. Also, some news about my future in swordfigting.

I'll also post little bits and pieces about my game's development. My design work has been sliding a bit; work stresses are keeping me occupied, and unfortunately I haven't had the opportunity to sit down and just bang out all the work I need to right now. At this moment, I'm working on the skills mechanic. The core of the dice mechanic seems to work. I'm working on skill lists and groupings, bare-bones notes of skill descriptions and roles they'd have in the game, and how to integrate skill purchases into character creation.

I think one of my big problems, when it comes to doing game design or focusing on studying historical swrodsmanship, is my lack of focus. I still don't have a solid outline and timetable for my gaming project. My work interpreting swordfigting manuals seems to take a back-burner to other, less intense hobbies. I feel like if I want to make any significant progress in either one, I need to really work out a solid schedule. Right now, I work on both of these in my spare time. I need to treat the game design as a job (which, ultimately, it is...I'd like to see it successful enough to at least make a small profit).

So, I have something like a plan. Part of that plan is to use this blog to help chart my progress. I want to journal the creative process for both the game and swordfighting. It will also help encourage me; I've found that when I see things in print, and get feedback, I'm encouraged to do more. It wakes me up.

So, lets take the next step.

(By the way, I wanted to mention that my wife takes the best photos...the shot of the Cthulhu dice and my portrait were just sone by her...I think she's doing great. I might be able to talk her into taking some pictures of some fencers to post up here, soon).

Game design inspired by my players

I had a good game yesterday evening with my every-other-Sunday-its-kind-of-like-Star-Wars-RPG-but-not-really group. Better than half of the group requested I run Star Wars again (we'd just ended a really good year-long campaign), so I made some notes, threw together a custom setting, and decided how I wanted to run the game.

I asked the group what style they wanted to play. They aren't much for thrilling heroics, nor for a military-style game, but really enjoyed the underworld/criminal elements I put in the last campaign. They said they wanted the style to be a little more Bourne Identity and a little less swashbuckler-ly.

So, I cheated, They think they're playing Star Wars. They're really playing Cyberpunk.

I let them in on the secret when we sat down for our character creation session...that I was burned-out on Star Wars for the time being, and when I do SW, I really love running games in the Rebellion era. So, to spice things up a bit, I made the campaign setting a little grittier, a little tougher, and a little more remote.

The first thing I did, once I decided on the feel of the campaign, was write up a couple of pages of setting notes for the group. I mailed them out to everyone a week before the character creation session. The setting is very remote (compared to other locales in the Star Wars universe), and doesn't do much "business" with the Republic (I'm setting the game a couple of hundred years before Episode 1). To my surprise, everyone created characters from the remote setting, and didn't have them have much contact with the rest of the Republic. I took this as an approval of not only my setting, but an acknowledgment that this wasn't going to be your traditional Star Wars RPG.

I've discovered a few elements that really make my recent campaigns any type of success:

1: Character creation sessions happen before any dice hit the table. These are just plain necessary now. Everyone creates characters together, sharing ideas off one another, creating back-stories off one another, and sharing in kind of a story-creating process. I've found that people are much more willing to share roles and even be a little more revolutionary as to how different roles are portrayed when they get to create everything together.

2: Player input to the types of campaign we should run is necessary. There's nothing worse than when the group thinks the game is going to be run one way, and you're thinking something totally different. This has been my bane as a GM for two decades. I have my image as to what the campaign should feel like, but then so do the players. If everyone isn't on the same page, then the campaign is doomed to failure. I've played and run alot of mood-oriented games (Cyberpunk, Vampire: the Masquerade, for example) that suffered because my image of the campaign setting wasn't near the players' expectations.

So now, I make a point of sitting with the players and asking what kind of setting they're expecting. I share what I want to portray, they share what they want to interact with. The end result is a collaborative setting in which the players feel much more invested.

3: Campaign documents help the players and GM keep the focus of the campaign. Every game I run now has some type of documentation, even if its just a one-page handout. I give some notes about the setting, list some house rules, provide pictures, maps, or diagrams where necessary, mention notable NPC's, and usually describe anything notable about the character creation process. I've found that putting something of a "mission statement" in helps really solidify the campaign. If I'm having trouble focusing on what kind of adventures to create, the mission statement and campaign doc helps keep me in the right direction.

For example, I run a small D&D campaign. I decided, when first creating it, I wanted to have a retro, classic, 1st Edition D&D feel. When I find that the plot is getting too convoluted, or my dungeon design is getting too weird, I remember that I'd said from the beginning that the campaign was supposed to feel "classic." This keeps me designing things with that "classic" influence.

None of these things are really revolutionary. Some of them, though, had to be taught to me (thanks, Eldrich, for the suggestion of "themed parties," that inspired me to have character creation sessions). Some came because if I didn't evolve, I'd never really be happy running a game again.

I keep these elements in mind while I design my own new game system. I'd like to incorporate, into the rules, character creation as a group activity (Spirit of the Century does this remarkably well). I'm thinking about designing campaign creation checklists and documents to help shape groups and campaign settings. Part of the design philosophy behind the settng and rules is based on cooperative storytelling.

A practical application for right now, too: I have an old-west game coming up soon; I'll likely use the Aces and Eights system (its all different kinds of cool), but Deadlands is speaking to me, too. To help me decide, I'm going to throw together some notes, and present them to my potential players, and maybe we can decide together.

Chinese Democracy

Back in '94, recording supposedly started for the next Guns 'N Roses album, which would eventually be called Chinese Democracy. By 2008, a handful of songs that are supposedly on the album have been leaked to the public. There's been a Chinese Democracy tour (that was cancelled early, so the band could go back to the studio to finish the album). Axl freaked out when he heard that The Offspring were going to call one of their albums by the same name (with the subtitle, "You Snooze, You Loose"). The album has become a joke...whenever something is taking forever to come out, you might here someone say, "Its supposed to be coming out just before Chinese Democracy."

So, I've been working on this game...I've been designing elements of it for about four years. I can find notes on it scattered in notebooks all over my house. Every now and again, I can find some time to sit and work on it with another person. There's usually a big, groundbreaking moment where that person helps me over a huge hurdle, then the work goes to bed again. I keep saying, "(this part) should be ready to play-test by (February, April, whatever)..." Then life gets in the way, and the project falls into a notebook until I have time and energy to look at it again.

Its my own Chinese Democracy.

I'm not one for New Years resolutions, but this is as good a time as any to re-commit myself to the project. I had a great talk with someone over a week ago that helped me over a big design hurdle. It re-ignited my desire to see the project move ahead. It doesn't feel like its an overwhelming objective...it feels like it can be completed. This is, of course, sometimes the best motivation.

So, here's what I'm pledging for this new year:

At least one hour's work a day on the project. Either writing background material, fudging with the mechanics, talking over concepts...anything to keep the fire going.

A play-test version of the mechanics.

Samples of artwork: I want a few pieces done.

I'll have a solid business model done (regarding distribution, production, etc.).

I'll be posting info about my own personal Chinese Democracy. I won't (because of copyright issues) post actual examples of the mechanics up here. But I'll post information about the design process, maybe some samples of writing, that kind of thing.

I'm excited.