History, Dream, Time, Hope, Confusion, Despair, Enlightenment, 3-19 & Thanks

[abjourne]

I started playing D&D (blue & red) way back in 6th grade. I remember playing with the Caves of Chaos pull-out cover map sprawled out on the table as I read room descriptions to my friends as they drew all over the neat little book cover indicating where their adventurers went killing everyone & taking everything. That was fun. I played that game for quite a few years, until I realized something was wrong?

In spite of all the revisions & additions TRS and latter WOTC offered, the game still lacked sustenance. So, what did I do? Change of course, I altered rules, tried different games, nothing. One day I was going thru some old dragon Mags reading articles about what the game was about. Mostly it was just the designer making up excuses about why he couldn't accomplish this or that within the context of the game. Then I read the statement that ultimately lead me here today, "Those who insist on altering the framework (of a game's rules) should design their own game. Who can say that such an effort might not produce a superior product? Certainly not I."

BLAM! Instant challenge, So what did I do? I thought, researched, wrote, played, read, wrote, played and worked. That began quite a few years ago. The past few years I've been playing & defining the game's mechanics while applying traditional gameplay and story development. Then I heard there were websites that had forums on Indie RPG development. Ok, I decided to check them out. Hmmm interesting, this Forge sounds like it might be useful. Read, scratch, read, frown, read, read again? When I first arrived at the Forge I was juiced. Cool, I thought, the hobby isn't dead but, Its pretty obvious that I'm going to have to tighten up the rule definitions & legibility. Type, type, read, type, read, type, stop.

What the F*** are these Sno*** A**** Mot***F****** talking about? Do they know English? Is I talk, you talk, we roll a dice and see who's right, where the game has evolved to? Have people's attention spans been reduced episodic sessions? This site is useless. I'm wasting my time here.

Then, when I was pretty much fed up with the Forge, I came across a link to Socratic Design and decided to check it out. What I found was someone who was able to express some of the ideas the Forge seemed to be trying to get across in a comprehensible manner. So I read. If anyone is new to the Forge, I'd highly recommend checking it out at http://socratesrpg.blogspot.com/

I learned more about RPG gameplay development in one night, then a month of trying to comprehend the cryptic jargon at the Forge's forums. With this enlightenment in hand I can now evaluate my goals as a developer and what I wish to offer.
Now, lets get to it shall we.

1.)   What is your game about?

DE is about challenging RPG gamers to create unique and memorable experiences by engaging everyone at the table to contribute to a session with creativity & conflict.

2.) What do the characters do?

The characters explore the game setting seeking to overcome a personal fate/quest and help each other overcome a greater threat, by whatever means available to them.

3.) What do the players (including the GM if there is one) do?

The players are responsible for portraying his/her character as well as respond to story, setting or non-player character challenges set by the GM.
The GM is responsible for promoting player imput while focusing each session in a coheasive format as well as refereeing conflicts.

4.) How does your setting (or lack thereof) reinforce what your game is about?

DE's setting is a forebodeing and oppressive land where societies formulate into crowded towns & cities in hopes of continued survival against genocidal dangers.

5.) How does the Character Creation of your game reinforce what your game is about?

Character creation focuses on offering players unbaised tools for creation that requires a few diverse choices accompanied with randomized motivations & traits.

6.) What types of behaviors/styles of play does your game reward (and punish if necessary)?

The game promotes pushing player immersiveness by rewarding characters based upon player imput.

7.) How are behaviors and styles of play rewarded or punished in your game?

Characters receive experience points awarded by the GM for how the player engages the other players when not playing their character.

8.) How are the responsibilities of narration and credibility divided in your game?

Narration is the responsibility of players. Direction & credibility are the GM's responsibility.

9.) What does your game do to command the players' attention, engagement, and participation? (i.e. What does the game do to make them care?)

The game depends upon the creativity & imput of the players to produce worthwhile settings & situations.

10.) What are the resolution mechanics of your game like?

Combat & magic are akin to a dance, fluid & full of nuance, Conflicts of other natures are heavily influenced by randomization.

11.) How do the resolution mechanics reinforce what your game is about?

Combat offers players the opertunity to challenge each other while other conflicts offer fair opertunity for success.

12.) Do characters in your game advance? If so, how?

Yes, characters advance utalizing traditional level progression combined with customizable skill advancement.

13.) How does the character advancement (or lack thereof) reinforce what your game is about?

Character advancement offers players reward for good gameplay and more creative options/solutions to conflicts.

14.) What sort of product or effect do you want your game to produce in or for the players?

I would like the game to push players role-playing skills so that a communal great experience can be shared by all.

15.) What areas of your game receive extra attention and color? Why?

Mechanics & Tone because these are the foundation to the game's setting & consistency, while setting details are left vague so as to leave it open to interpetation & imput.

16.) Which part of your game are you most excited about or interested in? Why?

I'm excited about it's ability to promote immersiveness.

17.) Where does your game take the players that other games can't, don't, or won't?

The game will take players to a world where they can inspire each other.

18.) What are your publishing goals for your game?

I would like to start small offering the game in PDF format for a nominal fee. From there who knows?

19.) Who is your target audience?

I intend to target fantasy role players who've grown weary of tired & uninspired gameplay but still seek the continuity of long term character campaign development while pushing gameplay opertunities.

A wee bit abitious I know, but you'll never reach the stars if you think they're too far. In summation I'd like to thank you for reading this, Troy for Socratic Design and Ron & all the posters at the Forge for all the work they've done questioning what a RPG is and could be.
I'd appreciate any feed back from anyone interested. I'll be here reading.
Thanx

[Troy_Costisick]

Heya,

Glad you enjoyed the blog.  Let's talk about your answers for a bit.  At the moment, they seem pretty vague.  Maybe we can flesh them out a bit more:

1.) What is your game about?
DE is about challenging RPG gamers to create unique and memorable experiences by engaging everyone at the table to contribute to a session with creativity & conflict.

-Perhaps I missed it, but what does DE stand for?  Your answer for this question actually answers the question, "What does your game do?"   Which unfortunately means you haven't quite answered this one yet.  But that's okay.  Can you tell me what your game really is about?  What do the characters explore?  What are the contents of your book speaking about?

2.) What do the characters do?
The characters explore the game setting seeking to overcome a personal fate/quest and help each other overcome a greater threat, by whatever means available to them.

-So I'm guessing your game has fate mechanics then.  Could you tell us about those?  Destiny mechanics always interest me.

3.) What do the players (including the GM if there is one) do?
The players are responsible for portraying his/her character as well as respond to story, setting or non-player character challenges set by the GM.
The GM is responsible for promoting player imput while focusing each session in a coheasive format as well as refereeing conflicts.

-I think we may have a problem here.  In the first part you say that players "respond to story" and in the second part you have the GM "prompting player input...in a cohesive format."  The problem I see is that no one is responsible for creating the story.  So who's in charge of what happens next in the game?  The Players or the GM?  My personal vote would be the players since it's their character's destiny they are exploring.  But what are your thoughts?

4.) How does your setting (or lack thereof) reinforce what your game is about?
DE's setting is a forebodeing and oppressive land where societies formulate into crowded towns & cities in hopes of continued survival against genocidal dangers.

-This is a cool setting, but how does it impact the characters directly?  How does it directly influence how the players interact with the game?

6.) What types of behaviors/styles of play does your game reward (and punish if necessary)?
The game promotes pushing player immersiveness by rewarding characters based upon player imput.
7.) How are behaviors and styles of play rewarded or punished in your game?
Characters receive experience points awarded by the GM for how the player engages the other players when not playing their character.

-Could you expound on this some?  What are the exact mechanics like?  How do you help the GM to know when and how much XP to give the players?

10.) What are the resolution mechanics of your game like?
Combat & magic are akin to a dance, fluid & full of nuance, Conflicts of other natures are heavily influenced by randomization.

-I'd like more detail on this too.  Especially about Combat and Magic, and how they are different from other kinds of Conflicts.

12.) Do characters in your game advance? If so, how?
Yes, characters advance utalizing traditional level progression combined with customizable skill advancement.

-My question is how do they advance towards their destiny?  The levels thing is just a side item IMO.

16.) Which part of your game are you most excited about or interested in? Why?
I'm excited about it's ability to promote immersiveness.

-What mechanics support immersiveness?

17.) Where does your game take the players that other games can't, don't, or won't?
The game will take players to a world where they can inspire each other.

-Lots of worlds do that.  Take Middle-earth for instance.  It's inspired all kinds of people.  So what makes your game different?  It sounds fun, I just want a more specific answer for this question.

18.) What are your publishing goals for your game?
I would like to start small offering the game in PDF format for a nominal fee. From there who knows?

-That's awesome.  Definitely stick with that.

Peace,

-Troy

[abjourne]

Thanks for responding,
First I'd like to point out that all the design work on DE has been on resolution mechanics up until quite reciently. That is to say what I really have been working on was a traditional fantasy RPG, virtually a heartbreaker if you will. All the games I researched in the past led me to little other options. After being introduced to you & the Forge however, I've come to realize I've only developed half of what could be. So here I am exploring that other half. Its why I've posted this on the First Thoughts forum. Now I suppose I should explore your questions.

1.   What is your game about?

DE is a role playing game that is meant to bridge the gap between Traditional systems and the more narrative oriented systems that have emerged in recent years. The game is about creating and developing heroic characters thru mechanics and story development combining the imagination of the players & the direction of the GM.

DE represents the setting on a more literal sense. My problem is within the next few months I plan to set up a web site and it's full listing is available as a .com & I don't want to loose that option. So for now I'm gonna stick to DE.

2.   What do the characters do?

Characters set out in the world to accomplish two goals. One, during creation each character rolls a random goal and a random fate, as well the entire group rolls for a final adversary. This could be anything from an evil deity to a regional lord or a terrorizing dragon depending upon the campaign's number of milestones and scope. Any character who achieves his/her personal goal becomes freed from their fate (a doom) which becomes an ever present force looming over them should they fail. When the characters foil or defeat their final adversary the game ends & they win the right to narrate their ending or those who fail their goal will ultimately meet their fate, narrated by the GM.

3.   What do the players (including the GM if there is one) do?

The players create their characters including stats, abilities, traits, fates & goals. The GM loosely plots game sessions beginning with its theme & advasary(ies), accompanied by a series of settings & encounters.
Sessions begin with the GM anoucing the theme such as "The Grendle of Fallow Woods" or "The Assassination of Lord Dearthmont" while keeping the advasary unrevealed for a time. Then the GM exposes settings & encounters one at a time to players who are responsible either narrating, roleplaying NPCs or assuming control of advasaries in combat. The players can only promote the goals of the other players during narration and are limited by setting & the sessions theme. The GM evaluates each players imput and may amend them or assume a narration for the strict purpose of setting continuity, story & plot development or situation challenge.


4.   how does your setting (or lack thereof) reinforce what your game is about?

The oppressive, foreboding & highly magical nature of the world provides plenty of opertunities for heroics, goals, fates, advaaseries & imagination.


6.   What types of behaviors/styles of play does your game reward (and punish if necessary)?
7.   How are behaviors and styles of play rewarded or punished in your game?

Player narration/control functions in a round table format and the GM keeps a log of the players names in that order repeating,
Joe
Steve
Bob
Joe
Steve
Bob
Joe
Steve
Bob
As players narrate/control the GM evaluates how well they engage/challenge the other players, adhere to setting/theme and or accomplish situational goals and (the GM) awards that player adventure points (XP) using a very simple/small range. At the end of a session the points are talled up & whamo. The system also has a reward mechanic in place for good role playing of players characters. In short the GM can give out up to 5 bonus chips (per session) for good game play. These chips can be used to trade in for "perfect" rolls and become very important in the second half of a campaign when fates start to come into play.


10.   What are the resolution mechanics of your game like?

Combat and magic resolution are mechanics that scale in options/power according to character advancement using highly evolved traditionaly inspired theory. I suppose an example might help.
Two elite adventurers, a bararian (Joe) & wizard (bob) encounter & engage in battle against 4 spear weilding jackalbrood (goblin spawned beastmen) and their kerreck shadowmaster (goblin shaman) all veteran ranked & controled by the barabrian's player (Joe) whose goal is to defeat the characters & ensure the survival of the shadowmaster as set by the GM, who from this point on is reponsible for refereeing the battle to its conclusion.
Joe: the brood charge the heros, two straight at the barabrian & two flanking him towards the mage from either side. the shaman stays back. How many spells do I get.
GM: Three, you want to pick them or should I.
Joe: You can.
GM: Ok, lifebond two on one of the brood, spellwarder and carrion.
Joe: wich brood?
GM: It'll be random, Bob they're charging?
Bob: The barabrian moves to engage the two brood the mage windshifts to the right flank out of charging range (roll) and makes it.
GM: Charges are first, Joe?
Joe: One charges to thrust the other to to lunge (rolls) the thrust makes it.
GM: Bob?
Bob: I shield parry (roll) 8.
GM: your hit, damage?
Joe: that's 3 dice (rolls) 17 that's 20 on armor!
Bob: chainmail, that's 12, I shrug it.
GM: bob it's your turn?
Bob: Are they wearing armor?
GM: The brood, no.
Bob: Two Ice shards at the nearest Brood and I component them (rolls) yep both make it.
Joe: I use my spear to block them (rolls) 12 & 9.
GM: One hit.
Bob: 4 dice (rolls) 27, yea boy!
GM: Location?
Bob: (roll) One!
GM: The shard drives itself into the broods skull, it colaspes to the ground convulsing. (roll) he wasn't the lifebonded.
Bob: Not done yet, the barbarian goes for a flurry (roll) done and follows up with a barage of 3  light attacks, two on one & one to the other with me axe (rolls). Two hits & a perfect!
Joe: Spear parries, green is the perfect (rolls) 12, 14 & no, on the perfect.
Bob: damn that's just the perfect, oh well max is 17.
GM: Location?
Bob: (roll) 11.
GM: you chop his leg off, he crashes to the ground. (roll) That was the life bonded one.
Joe: This ain't good. Since I only have one brood left, he throws the spear at the wizard. Heck with it, make it class two (roll) yes!
Bob: last spell, Iceshield (roll) spell makes it at 17.
Joe: Damn. Wait, the shaman lifebonds the barbarian, class two and I hit him with the carrion, one. (rolls) Yes, on the carrion.
Bob: The barbarian uses his will to resist the the carrion spirit. (roll) max baby!
Joe: How fast can goblins run?

Thus ends one combat round.
As you can see they are pretty elaborate but rich in color & choices, As for non-magical/combat resolution is resolved using a die roll plus character & player modifiers against a randomized difficulty.


12.   Do characters in your game advance? If so, how?

Characters advance in levels as a means of rewarding the player by offering them more options "in game" and every three levels of the highest advanced character marks a milestone in the campaign. Milestones are determined during character creation by agreement with all players & the GM. Milestones may range from two up to seven. A milestone is a point in the campaign where a major plot point in the story must be addressed! One of the most significant milestones is labeled "Fall of the Adversary Senchal". It is at this point where the GM must divulge in game the location and possibly identity of the final advasaries major associates, so that the characters may confront him/her/it. It is also at this point that the games fate system kicks in. From this point forward the GM may have players roll once per session to see if their characters fate is drawing near, possibly giving him/her narrative/control tools capable of bringing the fate into being.



16.   Which part of your game are you most excited about or interested in? Why?

I am very excited about the game as a whole.

17.   Where does your game take the players that other games can't, don't, or won't?

The game takes players to a world where they can contribute to creating a heroic tale while providing a setting full of story options and give them tools for building memorable experiences. The best part of it all, the system will allow you to transplant it within virtually any fantasy setting if you want.

Thanks Troy, this is helping a lot.
Latter.

[Troy_Costisick]

Heya,

The players create their characters including stats, abilities, traits, fates & goals. The GM loosely plots game sessions beginning with its theme & advasary(ies), accompanied by a series of settings & encounters.
Sessions begin with the GM anoucing the theme such as "The Grendle of Fallow Woods" or "The Assassination of Lord Dearthmont" while keeping the advasary unrevealed for a time. Then the GM exposes settings & encounters one at a time to players who are responsible either narrating, roleplaying NPCs or assuming control of advasaries in combat.

-Let's concentrait on this for a bit.  What are the triggers you have set in place for the game that helps the GM know when to reveal certain "setting elements" to the players?  IE, what has to happen before he can do that?  What mechanics do you have that state this?

Peace,

-Troy