Fictions & Fragments

Invisible Sun is the game I'm looking forward to the most in 2018. Among the many features of the game I'm looking forward to is Development Mode. Development Mode is a simple system for narrative play that does not require the whole game group to be present. This is something that's been a part of role-playing games for a long time and in a lot of forms. The innovation is in a game considering this a standard mode of play. That means people who want to introduce development mode have the support built into the system. It means fewer outside books and source materials to have the thing happen. It also plays on the simple resolution system that Monte Cook Games has always been known for. Invisible Sun gives a great way to handle whole scenes with a single system. I'm excited about the idea of Development Mode because it  follows the concept we are seeing in other games such as Blades In The Dark, Mouse Guard and The One Ring of alternative modes of play. More than ju...

I recently got a copy of the Genesys Core Rulebook from Fantasy Flight Games. The Genesys system is the updated and revised system that has been used in the Star Wars RPG products Edge of the Empire, Age of Rebellion and Force & Destiny. I've been very pleased to read through the Genesys rulebook because it's a great update and clarification to the SW RPGs and also a fantastic sandbox for creating your own games. The Star Wars games have a really interesting engine revolving around narrative dice. Until recently I found this difficult to embrace because it violates my two preferred points in RPGs: 1. A free System Reference Document (SRD) or Quickplay that introduces the system and rules before you purchase it. RPG books get expensive and I like when companies believe in their product enough to share it and give people a chance to try before they buy. Fantasy Flight doesn't do this with their RPG products. To make things harder, the system requires specialized...

At this time of year, I always look around for cool games and projects. Here are a few things I've seen recently you could look at for gifts, provided you have a Role-Playing gamer in your household or network of friends. For Players Dice Everyone loves dice. Metal dice are an especially fancy option. Easy Roller dice are a proven favorite. They also have a lot of easy-to-read six-sided dice available in bulk. https://easyrollerdice.com/ Rolling Tray A rolling tray is a great addition to a gamer's arsenal. I've seen gain value for me as my young son starts playing games. Almost any board game or role-playing game would be made easier to play with a rolling tray. I went with a classy, durable hardwood tray for my recommendation. https://wyrmwoodgaming.com/product-category/products/dice-trays/ For Game Masters Dungeon World If you want ta fast, easy-to-play dungeon game, Dungeon World is well-written and a good take on the classic fantasy RPG. At $25 in print...

I've been reading a lot of quick starts for games recently. These are the short 30-page-ish versions of games that are designed to entice you to buy a full-priced product. I generally find these lacking in one way or another, which can keep me from buying the game altogether. The Gamemaster (GM) section of a book is really important to me. There are many games where I skip it altogether, but in others I really enjoy the rules. Some of my favorite books for GM sections are the Cypher System Rulebook by Monte Cook Games, Blades in the Dark by One-Seven Design and Fate Core from Evil Hat Productions. They all have good examples and advice for Gamemasters to prepare their games. I've found that there are a few things that are really important to me to understand a game. 1. A well-explained task resolution system. I feel like most games need a single primary mechanic, which needs to be well-explained with examples and commentary. Fantasy Flight Games' Star Wars series does...

I've realized lately that I'm doing something very different from the play examples in Cypher System books. I've been telling my players the difficulty levels of everything before they roll. I think this is because the majority of my games have been one-shots, demos and short arcs at home. But I like it! There's been little consistent growth in play, so it's been natural for me to make things really transparent for players. Here's what I mean: A player attempts a task. They describe it, saying what they want to do. I tell them the difficulty number (i.e. 5) and what they have to roll to beat it (15). We use Skills and Assets to modify the difficulty. They get the opportunity to apply Effort. Then we roll. That's how I've been running the game. I notice that the Play Examples in the book and most games I've seen keep difficulties secret. I think this is a natural thing in role-playing games but I don't know if I like the practice. It seems to...

I recently ran my first streamed Numenera game. The following are the notes I made for the session. This was a one-shot, so I focused on the scenario and how players would respond to it. I don't typically create a lot of notes for a game so I feel this is a good representation of my prep. I also feel like there are a couple things that really add to a Numenera game: XP cards and  a Cypher Deck. The XP cards make it easy and fun to trade in XP during the game, which I really like. The Cypher Deck makes the chore of generating random Cyphers painless and fun. I definitely recommend these products! The adventure notes follow with additional after-game notes made in italics. The Dangerous End Background Sallice A settlement on the edge of the Steadfast, Sallice is dangerously situated but the opportunities are too good to pass up. Recently the market for Numenera found in surrounding ruins has made Sallice a target. More raiders and abhumans are appearing, attem...

This Saturday I did my first Twitch stream of Numenera. I've been streaming D&D for about 11 months and this was my contribution to the growing energy of the Numenera 2 Kickstarter. The group that we assembled was mostly first-time Numenera players. The exception was a friend who has played Numenera twice with me before at Meetup events. It was a blast! I made myself nervous with my initial scenario, which was intended to tie into the Ellomyr narrative of the Kickstarter. As the KS campaign went forward my scenario fell out of touch with what had been unveiled. I tried a couple of revisions but knocked out my final scenario that morning in about 45 minutes. The players were amazing. They went through the Numenera Player's Guide in the days before the game and got their characters set. They developed connections between themselves and gave me a lot of detail to work with! As much as I love reading the Numenera setting, my players immediately started declaring details an...