The Next Step, Part One

Fourth Edition

2010-10-08T21:17:00.003-04:00

Have I ever mentioned how much I don't like it?

Well, I don't like it. I'd quit the game now if it wasn't already three hours into character creation and adventure selection. And we opted to use the random generator from the back of the DM guide anyways.

Last time. Really. M20 or some other system that doesn't suck from now on.

The Clocktower Sniper

2010-09-21T13:19:00.002-04:00

January 3rd, 2015

The Concord Star

MUGGER FOUND DEAD IN ALLEY

Police deny allegations of vigilante involvement

An attempted mugging was cut short last night by what police are calling a 'freak accident'. Details are being withheld, but an anonymous source says the mugger's attempt was cut short by an arrow. Police are looking for a man in his late 50's, with grey hair and a moustache. The victim of the attempted mugging has been placed in protective custody pending the end of the investigation.

February 15th, 2015

The Portland Gazette

MOB BOSS SLAIN IN DAYLIGHT ATTACK

Witnesses claim local kingpin was struck down by an arrow

Alejandro "Big Al" Gabravetti, a local figure long pursued by the police in connection with drug running, human trafficking, and weapons procurement investigations, was killed in broad daylight yesterday on the outskirts of Portland. While coming out of a local Catholic church, surrounded by bodyguards, witnesses say that he was struck somewhere in the upper torso or head. No gunshot was heard, and one man who was able to get close enough to see the body said there was a short arrow embedded in the crime boss' throat. Police are not naming any suspects, but one eyewitness says she saw a man in dark clothing coming down from a clocktower down the street shortly after the incident.

March 9th, 2015

The Montpelier Daily News

'CLOCKTOWER SNIPER' STRIKES AGAIN

Police warn against possible panic, citizens divided

A woman who was the victim of an attempted rape is being questioned by police as to the circumstances surrounding the sudden death of her attacker, a local hood who was already wanted in connection with three convenience store robberies. The woman claims that as the man cornered her in the alley, a short arrow ricocheted off the alley wall and killed her assailant. Shortly afterwards, a man in a leather jacket and motorcycle helmet appeared cradling a crossbow, but he disappeared before police arrived on the scene. Local opinion is divided on the man who, since January, has become known for his brutal, efficient killings, often carried out from local high points, such as clocktowers or steeples. All his known victims have been criminals, leading some to believe him to be a disgruntled ex-police officer. No description for the sniper is available.

April 17th

The Portland Gazette

'CLOCKTOWER SNIPER' KILLS 'BUTCHER'

Police call for 'Clocktower' to come forward

A serial killer calling himself The Butcher attacked a local motel yesterday, where he apparently stumbled upon the 'Clocktower Sniper'. A short fight ensued, and although no one saw anyone matching any known description for the sniper leaving the scene, no second body has yet been found. No bolt was left at the scene either, but preliminary reports of the autopsy confirm the nature of the death wound.

May 14th, 2015

The man who had become known as the Clocktower Sniper was heading west, helmet down. The imaging devices in his helmet were powered off, as were the police trackers and radio interception equipment. His crossbow was broken down and stowed in the saddlebags of his motorcycle. He was becoming too well known in the northeast. Clocktower Sniper? It fit, at least. Wasn't the first name he had picked up.

Adam Walker, Alex Wolfe, Adrian Wright (All aliases)

Clocktower Sniper (5), Ex-Military Recon Officer (3), Master of Disguise and Infiltration (3), Lucky Shots [] [] []

Tale: Adam Walker (the name he most commonly uses) served in the Third Gulf War in Kuwait as a Recon Officer. His experience at intrusion and tracking became ingrained, and on the demilitarization of the nation, he found himself facing civilian life, and finding it somewhat lacking. He worked for a short time as a wilderness guide, where he became extremely proficient with a crossbow. He began hunting criminals in 2014, although the papers didn't catch wind of it until 2015.

Hook: For all intents and purposes, Clocktower is a street vigilante. He has tracking devices in his helmet, and is an expert marksman, but anything magical, supernatural, or ultra-tech is going to pose a serious problem.

Kython

2010-09-17T22:36:00.003-04:00

Dude.

Freaking kython.

I don't know why I didn't think of it sooner.

Why don't elves in the Beuttleria setting retreat to the forest? They know what comes out at night.

Why don't dwarves in the Beuttleria setting live underground? They know what lives there.

The underdemons from the dark heart of the world. Black scrabbling chitinous serpents. Sleeping now, but once woken, they will purge the world.

Ok, so I'm taking the basic framework and stats of kythons, but making some modifications. I'm including some of the traits of Crabs from Spots the Space Marine, reducing their sentience, dropping the Infernal/Abyssal as languages (they aren't actually demons, that's just something the dwarves call them.) I'll probably remove the complete immunity to heat and cold, maybe make it 50%. Of course, with no magic in the system, PC's will likely just be responding with blades rather than fireballs, so leaving the immunities isn't a big deal.

I'm not calling them kython in the game, I'll just be using cultural names for them from the races already there. I haven't decided what period of history I want to introduce them in, whether I want the colonization itself to awaken them, or perhaps a Beisili or Beuttlerian mining operation.

Game Chef? Wish I knew about this earlier...

2010-09-15T22:38:00.003-04:00

Halfway through the week I find out about the 2010 Game Chef Competition.

If I had known earlier, I'd have already been working on it. I might yet, I'm going to take some time tonight to decide.

This is my concept right now.

Taking the three themes "City", "Edge", and "Desert".

I need to think of a resource. Or three. Anyways, there's this desert. With cities all around it. You'd think they'd just leave well enough alone, but no, there's things in the desert they need. Badly.

So they fight over it. not with armies, no army could cross the desert. They send proxies into the desert to claim and retrieve these necessary resources. The good ones are called Wastewalkers. The ones in training are called Journeymen. They are the rough men in the saloon you don't want to cross. I haven't decided yet if they're wearing long dusters and revolvers, or boiled leather and longswords. The period hasn't been ironed out yet.

The party would probably be a group of Journeymen. They can work for any number of cities. They just want to be sure their clients don't start finding out they they're working both sides. They make their coin by bringing back what's needed, and any extra salvage they manage to find. An encumbrance system is going to be vital, to keep the setting feeling nice and gritty.

For inspiration, think Fallout, Book of Eli, The Road. Only based around a central, resource-laden desert that serves as the central point of conflict.

If I start this project, I'll need to rewrite my GRIT mechanic, incorporate an encumbrance system, decide what resources the desert holds, why the surrounding cities fight over it, make some form of map (I'm garbage at digital art), and have a decent beastiary. The beastiary is going to partially depend on the setting - a medieval desert wandering game will have a different assortment than a post-apocalyptic desert wandering game.

One way I might do things...

2010-09-14T03:40:00.001-04:00

Classes are Knight, Fighter, Ranger, Noble, Rogue, and each nation also gains a Specialist.

Beuttleria has Knights that are better with their shields, and educated in medicine, but prone to fight dismounted; Fighters who tend towards using larger weapons with great speed and control; Rangers that are stealthier than usual and very good at ranged combat; Nobles who are quick to enter the fray alongside their entourage; Rogues who are especially deadly at backstabbing; and Tacticians who use intelligence to lead others in war.

Bongiorno has Knights that are more educated in medicine than their Beuttlerian brethren; Fighters who are more skilled than most, but not as powerful in combat; Rangers who are very good with animals, and use herbal cures; Nobles with better social skills, Rogues who are superior at escaping detection, and Bards who inspire their fellows to great deeds.

Beisili has the most amiable Knights you can find; Fighters who concentrate more on using two weapons; Rangers used to a more desert environment; Cunning Nobles, versed in clandestine operations; and Priests, the diplomats and learned ones of the realm.

The Iron Papacy puts their subtle Knights to work searching out heresy; their Fighters are more experienced in the use of armor than others; their Rangers are better than most at tracking, and often work with the Knights in their pursuits; their Nobles are able to draw upon a much larger collection of followers; their Rogues are quick with the tongue as well; and their Inquisitors, well, their title basically explains what they do.

All classes are six levels long, and most (if not all) will contain 'spell-like effects' triggered by paying HP. Due to the scarcity of healing in this setting, and the fact that HP are being treated as stamina/luck/advantage rather than actual health, HP used to pay for abilities -can- be healed situationally, depending on the ability. Some abilities only apply the cost during a particular encounter, making it a short-term gamble.

Adventure Hooks for the Amendolan Period

2010-09-06T03:01:00.004-04:00

1. As a member of the armed forces of the Iron Papacy, you have been tasked with the suppression of a local tribe of elves who have been harassing colonists. Failure will not be tolerated by your superiors...

2. You have heard rumors that a former Captain, David of Amendol, has started gathering dis-satisfied men to him for a journey north. This sounds like just the opportunity you've been looking for...

3. Bongiorno is a fertile land, to be sure, but not without its hazards. The displaced elves harry your borders, and the local predators have no fear of man. Someone needs to help keep the settlers of this fledgling nation alive...

4. David of Amendol has been asking for volunteers to scout the mountain pass into what will someday become Beuttleria. Who are you to stand by when The Amendolan has need of you?

The Setting of Beuttleria

2010-09-01T11:26:00.005-04:00

So, I've been collaborating with some friends on the world in which Beuttleria exists. Here's a brief overview.

A long time ago, elves lived along the south coast and dwarves lived in the northern mountains, competing with giants for territory. The southern coasts are quite rich in farmlands and forests, the west coast is well-covered in mines for coal, iron, copper, and tin, while the northern mountains are mostly iron and coal producing, and heavily forested besides. The east coast has the best farmland available, but for all its fertility it was left largely underdeveloped by the elves and dwarves, preferring to keep a solid buffer of territory between themselves. The dwarves were satisfied with their iron and coal, and the elves were satisfied with their coastal woodlands and farms.

Then the Iron Papacy arrived, the vanguard of a vast human empire that had, for religious reasons, felt the need to establish holdings on a new landmass. They arrived on the rich southern coasts, pushing the elves northward into the barren steppes at the center until they were up against the southern foothills of the Dwarven mountains. The Iron Papacy had no knowledge of or use for Dwarves, and so they were left undisturbed in their wars against the giants.

As the Papacy cemented their control of their new colonial lands, one man who had served in their army, called David of Amendol, raised himself a small army and marched north to start his own colony north of the mountains. The men who went with him were independently-minded, theologically disillusioned with the Papacy, and ready to carve themselves a new home. Many brought families with them, and a few women even took up arms to protect the traveling band.

David of Amendol and his army took the eastern coast north, to avoid the roving bands of displaced elves that occupied the steppes at the center of the continent. Some of the less adventurous men, with larger families, were content to settle in the rich farmland of the east coast, forming small communities on the vast alluvial plains formed by rivers flowing out of the mountains. These communities became the foundation for what later became the rich urban centers of Bongiorno.

The Amendolans continued north, less the Bongiornan settlers, and eventually came to a pass in the mountains that allowed access to the cold, forested lands forming the northern border of the continent. They began to find old buildings of worked stone, obviously recently destroyed, but it wasn't until their first clash with the giants that the dwarves came out from their fortress walls to see the new settlers.

(To be Continued, with the Origin of Beuttleria)

Magic Item Index Cards

2010-03-15T19:38:00.001-04:00

I know I've heard of people doing this, but I can't seem to find any related posts through google...

Anyone have any idea where I can find examples of people making index cards for magic items in D&D?

Need a Mech System

2010-02-25T13:18:00.002-05:00

So, I've been watching Visions of Escaflowne and reading Chgowiz's Mechwarrior archives, which leads to me really wanting to write and run a Mech adventure.

To do that, I need a system. I can settle for Risus, but I like my mechs to crunch a bit more than Risus realistically allows.

Any suggestions?

On another note, my college gaming group is currently running The Hobbit as a campaign, with each of the players being a different dwarf from the adventuring group.

So far, we've made it partway through the Misty Mountains and killed the Goblin King. Once we're done with The Hobbit, we plan on having our next campaign be based on Inglorious Basterds, but if I can get the Mech game running, that will probably take precedence.

A brief word on my preferences regarding mechs... I prefer Mechwarrior and Armored Core style mechs to Gundam style mechs, since I prefer to have my mechs look like military hardware rather than fashion suits. In other words...

This...

Rather than this...

Gundam just doesn't scream 'military hardware' to me.

Final Fantasy Tactics A2

2009-12-30T15:59:00.002-05:00

For a game with such simple graphics, it's done a very good job of keeping me interested.

This latest mission was in the bag once I got my sniper up on the roof of the local tavern. The fact that I wasn't allowed to harm any humans made things interesting, but I managed.

Why aren't there more games like this? A series of tactical engagements that allow you to train, customize, and improve a 'stable' of characters... Mech Commander, Pokemon, Final Fantasy Tactics, these are all games that are fun for the whole 'stable' aspect of play, where you can specialize some characters, promote them, improve their abilities, and your motivations for any of these things can range from what is the most mechanically viable, to setting a vague role for each character and training them to fulfill it (my usual method) or even getting into some roleplaying, trying to give each character some kind of motivation for learning the methods that they use.

One of the things I like about FFTA2 is the MVP system. After each battle, troops who have fought especially well are given an MVP award. The more of these they have, the more able they are to lead Dispatch missions. I like to see the little stack of MVP awards as a sort of command eligibility scale. The ability to sort troops in your barracks according to their MVP rank allow me to view my 'trusted lieutenants'. For reasons I've been unable to determine (and I like it that way) most of my MVPs are ranged attackers. Hunters, snipers, archers, fusiliers. And that suits me just fine.

Another selling point of the game is the uniqueness of most (not all) of the classes. As listed above, I have as some of my best men an assortment of hunters, archers, snipers, and fusiliers (working on getting flintlocks as well, but haven't done anything with them yet.) Each of them has a special role in my combat operations. Archers (actually a prerequisite class for sniper and hunter both, and my sniper and hunter both have supplementary archer skills) have a mixed bag of tricks, most of them focusing around debuffing the enemy from range. They have a ranged Sanctify ability, which keeps undead from coming back, and a Focus ability that increases the damage of the next ranged attack, which works very well with sniper and hunter abilities. Hunters are excellent against monsters, with abilities that improve the critical attacks of their comrades, attacks that deal extra damage to monsters, and special abilities that can confuse and remove monsters from the field. The sniper is excellent against other characters, with the ability to Focus, Vanish, and sneak up behind the enemy for a Doubleshot to the back of the head ( a favorite tactic of mine. I usually just call it the doubletap.) as well as destroying their weapons, stealing their money, and poisoning them.

If more money went into gameplay instead of graphics, the gaming industry might be a bit better off. And I know I'm not the only one who thinks so.

Starting a new game...

2009-08-29T13:06:00.002-04:00

So, I haven't posted in a bit, but I'm all settled in at school now and can resume a more normal posting schedule.

Our usual GM is starting a new game. The party is a group of FBI agents in 1948. Because the last game run by this GM was the worst game I've ever been in (the first session devolved into OoG violence between two players, and we never had a second) and more than a few of us are getting a little tired of this guy's usual tricks, we're commited to messing with his head this time around.

I stereotypically play the Operative. Stealthy, skilled, most likely to take on a solo adventure (and have, in every one of his games I've ever played in), and able to take the keys off a guard's belt as he handcuffs me. This time, I've decided to play Heavy Weapons Guy. Less Russian, but just as much heavy machine gun, shotgun, and face-punching. I've even gone through my books and found just the right weapons for him... the Browning M1919A1 Heavy Machine Gun, the Ithaca Model 37 Pump Shotgun, and His Fists.

Our resident Paladin junkie is playing a Sherlock Holmes type, and our resident chemist/technician who has no charm and blows things up all the time, usually with a naval background, is playing an Air Force ladies' man.

Podcasting

2009-08-15T11:12:00.001-04:00

Something I've thought of doing before... I have some slightly better recording equipment, so I may look into how to do it soon.

Also, considering getting myself the Starcraft War Chest for my birthday, so I can play on Battlenet.

Risus Chess

2009-07-17T19:24:00.003-04:00

Pawns have the cliche Pawn (1), and roll an additional die in combat for each adjacent pawn.

Bishops have the cliche Smiter (2), and the ability Bless, which allows them to declare a loss a tie once per game.

Knights have the cliche Charger (2), and three Lucky Shots.

Rooks have the cliche Castle (3), and Cannon (2), which is a ranged cliche, allowing one attack in place of your normal move, and Cannon (2) does not lose a die if it fails to cause damage during a ranged attack. Cannon may only be used on the Rook's normal line of movement.

Queen... Is complicated. I want to make her more than a Cliche (4), Cliche (4), Cliche (1), which is what she currently is, and it's rather boring, not to mention devastating.

King has the cliche Royalty (4). When it is reduced to 0, the game is over.

Side Project: Ants for Risus

2009-07-13T03:00:00.001-04:00

Based on this...

My apprentice has suggested, rather than making a globe-spanning colony a threat in a game, playing as the ants.

So... Risus seems to fit the ticket. I'll putter around and see what I come up with.

Fallout 3 Roguelike

2009-07-05T23:52:00.003-04:00

I really want to play one... I think a Roguelike is the perfect sort of platform for the Fallout series of games.

If I wasn't code-illiterate, this would be my summer project. As it is, I may try to fiddle with Tome2 and see what I can come up with (Maybe Furyband, since Tome3 was supposed to be more mod-friendly but never fully developed...)

Back, and work will continue.

2009-07-01T19:33:00.002-04:00

Ragnarok was fun.

A friend of mine recently discovered Steampunk, and is getting really into it. I might collaborate with him on this setting.

I have a bit of a problem in that I've read plenty on world and setting design, but when it comes time to put it to use, it tends to desert me. Lacking a framework, my writing suffers. So let's see what I can do to correct that.... (Also, any links to guides or resources on worldbuilding are appreciated).

Here it is up... the Bakkar Empire. The first of what I think will be three major powers. I also want a slumbering power, something like WH40K Necrons, and a fifth faction, details yet undetermined.

The Bakkar Empire

The stereotypical 'Overwhelming Empire'. For reference, see the British Empire, the Galactic Empire, and the Dune Imperium.

The Bakkar do everything big. Big cities, big fortresses, big factories, big fleets of big airships with big racks of rockets braced on armored gondolas, land-faring dreadnoughts that function as mobile fortresses to project the will of the Empire... While not often the aggressors in conflicts, when the Bakkar go to war, the sight is impressive.

Despite their impressive might, the Bakkar Empire is not without troubles. Insurgents and smugglers plague coastal areas where the Bakkar Navy lacks projection (their insistence on enormously powerful warships leaves their shallow-draft arm somewhat laughable, and they use very few nautiloids), and bands of rogues, highwaymen, and organized criminals lurk in caves and wooded hollows across the landmass. The devil is in the details, and the Bakkar are bedeviled by deadly details.

Most citizens of Bakkar are human. There are some dwarven settlements, but they are kept under close watch and are mostly treated as an immigrant race, despite their continuing contributions to Bakkar industry. Elves have long since been wiped out... During the Great Emergence, when the elves tried to re-establish dominance over Bakkar from their hideaway in the wooded east of Bakkar, Bakkar airships met the threat with a blanket of incindiary rocket fire, leaving the elvish stronghold a smoking ruin. Any standing structures were demolished by a unit of Bakkar land dreadnoughts that leveled the ashes in preparation for agriculture.

Example Cliches

Dropliner - A member of the Bakkar Air Marines who specializes in rapid deployment from ground assault airships. Named for the fact that they deploy by means of long lines dropped from the assault hatches.

Artillerist - Specialist crewmen on board the Bakkar sea and land dreadnoughts. Trained in rangefinding and artillery pinpointing. Artillerists control the firepower of the variety of cannons, mortars, and howitzers mounted on the Bakkar mobile fortresses.

Interceptor Pilot - Captain of an airship designed for air-to-air combat. Adept at calculating the trajectory of an enemy airship and figuring out the best way to ensure that his one salvo of rockets meets it in the air.

Sample Character

Sergeant Adrian Tetsin

Slightly Unstable Veteran Dropliner (4), Arbitrarily Confusing Poet (3), Badass Motivational Speaker (2)

Sidekicks: Tetsin's Sinners, 3rd Squad, 2nd Battalion, Dropliner Division (3)

Hook: Developing a fear of heights.

Commander of a small squad of Dropliners, Adrian has been at this for some time, and has grown a little jittery at the prospect of sliding down a cord into combat. Despite this, he's always game for a drop (even if he has to close his eyes on the way down), and enjoys a bout of stirring oratory in the assault gondola just prior to insertion.

Vacation to the End of the World.

2009-06-18T15:00:00.002-04:00

So I tried writing a few entries on my Steampunk world, and it got eaten by the browser.

More will be forthcoming once I'm back from my Ragnarok vacation.

Information on Ragnarok here...

Getting some armor this year, and I'll hopefully have the time to put together some more arrows before I have to leave.

Rockets: The Secret to Airship Dominance

2009-06-10T19:29:00.003-04:00

I was having some brainstorming today, and I hit upon an idea.

I knew I didn't want my airships to carry cannon; the idea of that much recoil in a lighter-than-air vessel strains credulity a bit. Machine guns would be a possibility, but rare, cumbersome, and not terribly effective against other airships. Maybe for a ground-assault airship, to 'sweep the deck' prior to debarking troops, but again, a very expensive, specialized device (Clockwork repeaters, or else primitive water-cooled weapons) not suitable for extensive dissemination.

What, then, could be used in airship-to-airship combat? Something recoilless, with the firepower needed to scuttle an enemy armored airship?

Rockets. Specifically, the Congreve and Hale models. The Congreve style will probably be launched from racks, and can't be reloaded in flight. They will lack accuracy, but are easier to load and use, and more can be fired faster. The Hale will be fired from interior tubes, venting fore and aft, similar to torpedoes. Thus, a Hale salvo is far more accurate, but requires a larger vessel, and can't fire as many torpedoes as a Congreve-equipped airship.

*punk begins!

2009-06-06T03:58:00.000-04:00

Going to get started on my *punk module (steam and clock), and I'm facing my first decision.

Do I want to use standard fantasy races?
Do I want anything nonhuman at all?
Or do I want to make my own races?

After that, I have to decide on system. (Unless I try to do a systemless modular type of system, but I don't think I work well that way. I need some kind of framework.)

Do I write a whole new system? That sort of thing makes me twitch, wondering how imbalanced my outcome is...
My options (as far as my present knowledge of the free-for-use RPG community allows) are Risus, 3.5 OGL, and Myriad.

Risus is tremendously simple, and allows me to focus more on setting than on mechanics. Unfortunately, the mechanically lite nature of Risus might prevent some of the things I'd like to codify in the system as they come up. But I can't think of any examples offhand, so it likely wouldn't be a problem.

3.5 OGL requires a lot more crunchwork from me, particularly in terms of classes and their features. Not sure I'd look forward to that. Risus allows for much simpler characters and mechanics. Even if I import the Arcadomai class system, or the Dao Sheng combat mechanics, Risus is still far and away a simpler writing experience than 3.5. My last 3.5 project (the Oculus Dei and Ehud prestige classes for 3.5 Modern) is still languishing somewhere on my external.
Probably not using 3.5 for this project.

Myriad.... The middle ground, I think. I need to sit down and spend some time reading through it again, but from what I remember, it will require some extra work for making SFX's, but less than making whole classes. Almost like making feats.

And as I pondered this and watched The Pretender, I found this. That might be another option that bears investigation. I'll print it out Monday and look over it.

Anyone (I know, the only person who follows this right now is Rob Lang, but hopefully I'll eventually drag in some more people who know more about this sort of thing than I do) with any ideas on the systems I list, or any better suggestions, is welcome to leave me a comment.

RPG Blogs, oh my!

2009-06-06T01:52:00.001-04:00

There are so many out there I can't possibly keep up with them...
If I knew which part of things I was most interested, I'd probably have an easier time narrowing it down, but as it is...

Well, free RPG's was an easy one. For now I'm just trawling around, Campaign Mastery seems good, and Gnome Stew has a place in my bookmarks for the Modular Campaign Settings article.

Any suggestions on things to watch?

List of things I want to do...

2009-06-04T19:58:00.000-04:00

Something Steampunk (This is the most nebulous.... I could just do a Steampunk Risus addon and be happy, I think. Steampunk doesn't require as much crunch, for me, as some other concepts like....)....
Something Mech-based (With a Mechwarrior feel rather than a Gundam feel... I like my mechs to look/function like military equipment, not mythical creatures)...
Something Western (Started with Fistful of Frenchmen, hopefully to be revised)....

Something for simple, modular combat, in the vein of Animalball: Melee.

Up on 1km1kt!

2009-06-04T17:23:00.000-04:00

Here it is, in all its barely-finished glory.

Feedback is welcome, as I start pondering improvements for the beta.

Done!

2009-06-02T23:07:00.000-04:00

A Fistful of Frenchmen can be downloaded here.

I can definitely improve. Not just this in particular, but my writing in general. It came out fairly well, about a page an hour. There's things I wish I had the time/clarity of thought to include, and issues that I'm sure will come up in playtesting and judging, but I think this isn't bad for a first-ever finished product.

Example Character Preview

2009-06-02T20:58:00.000-04:00

The final character looks like this…

Charles Keeton

Guts 2: Reflexes 3: Intuition 2: Tact 1:

Wounds [] [] [] [] [] Defense 11

[] [] [] [] []

Skill Rank Quality Misc Total

Perception 3 2 0 +5

Ranged (Revolver) 2 3 0 +5

Riding 3 2 0 +5

Stealth 2 2 0 +4

Tracking 1 2 0 +3

Talents: Slap Leather (+2 during a quickdraw contest)

Oh, dear...

2009-06-02T19:10:00.000-04:00

Home from work, and less than four hours until my 24-hour period is up. I'll only have nine hours of work altogether on the project in that time.... (should've done it on the weekend...)

Having never done this before, I also don't have much idea on the limits time places on your design, and what corners I should be cutting to get out a finished product. Oh, well.

Off to type as fast as I can.

Attributes

2009-06-02T04:58:00.000-04:00

Came up with something good for this, I think.

Qualities
Guts - Health, Melee, Carrying
Reflexes - Defense, Ranged, Initiative
Intuition - Defense, more Skill points, affects the most skills
Tact - Mostly just affects skills, haven't come up with any derivations for Tact yet.

GRIT. Do you have it?
8 points to buy, max of 3 at first level, 1 point per rank (Or else 15 points to buy, cost goes up each rank [1 point, 2 points, 3 points, etc]).

Great. Now I've got another decision to make. I'll probably just go with the simplest option and look it over again in the aftermath of the contest. Maybe even start writing version 1.1 while I'm waiting for it to end.

If anyone can reference me to a resource for compare/contrast of point buy systems, that would be amazing, since I'm pondering a similar choice for Skills and Talents.

24-hour RPG Contest

2009-06-02T04:22:00.000-04:00

Taking part in this little contest here, and I'm about five hours into the process. I'll keep track of how much time it actually takes, but I'm stopping work around 11 tomorrow night, which is when I started tonight. I don't know if the 24 hours refers to 24 hours actual work, or 24 hour time period, so we'll see what I get done.

Balance is a real bugbear for me. I try to make sure there's no obvious best build, and that draws out the process... Sometimes I have to look past mechanics and just get things done.

On that note, I think I've settled on 2d6+stat+skill+bonus, with the Holy Trinity of Resolution (Opposed, Single-Contest, Target Number).

Working on putting my notes into solid format now, then going to bed.