The State of FKR Discourse

If it hasn’t been obvious from some of my recent vague-posting, I have been pretty unhappy with the state of so-called “FKR” discourse. The term was used to describe an alternative to play where rules texts were given authority, and where the fiction was secondary to the mechanics. Where the idea that social issues, bad behavior, and aggressive game masters and players alike could be curtailed by somehow following the rules as some designer intended.

Instead, it refocused the game as being a representation of a fictional world, communicated and adjudicated by a referee to players taking control of characters in a world. The referee is free to use whatever means they see necessary to portray and resolve this world and the actions of the player, and no rules text, designer, or other set of people were seen as an “authority” over this.

This idea was first proposed by one of the original players in Gary, Dave, and Phil’s games, and it was later adopted by further bloggers who ended up creating Discord servers and the like based around the acronym. It’s worth noting that this term was originally proposed on an OD&D forum, and the later Discord creators were posting a lot about the types of games that surrounded Arneson’s group. So traditional high-trust play.

There was a split in this community, as there often is. I certainly landed on the side I supported, but so did quite a few new people who were unfamiliar with these origins or goals, and seemed more inclined to foster a new identity around a term that had a very small, but growing amount of hype and recognizability around it. The conversation became less an exploration of the growing concept of FKR, and more a forcible reframing of what FKR was – which basically amounted to whatever the specific individual was playing.

I have mentioned before that it’s fine for things to be different – not every game, practice, or culture should fit under every label. What makes specific playstyles special is their unique approach, not that they are an umbrella. But this seems to be contrary in some FKR circles as of late. Instead, they claim that the FKR should be “just vibes”, only excluding the games that fall under a particular individual’s pet peeve. Which unfortunately is usually just old D&D or “traditional” RPGs. So we have gone in a few short years from an OD&D forum creating the term to people trying to gatekeep those that use the 3LBBs to only being able to “support” certain kinds of play.

Note here the emphasis on systems – folks are claiming that if one plays OD&D, or “trad” the particular rules text they are using dictates the play experience. If you understand anything about FKR at all, you will understand how this argument reveals the particular Edwardsian chauvinist has yet to understand the culture of play. Because instead of trying to understand it, they just attempted to hijack it.

A quote from one of the recent discords is as follows:

If there is no mechanical reason to be invested in the emotional story at large; there won’t be a real reason to be emotional attached to things in the game either.
– supposed “FKR” discord user

Of course, they’ll then try to do the “I am very smart” argument of citing the Lumpley-Care principle that by “mechanic” they really mean “anything by which you resolve the situation”, but this quote comes from a diatribe against traditional play in favor of storygames, so it’s pretty clear “mechanics” is precisely what the average person would think, not the Forgehead definition.

Now, I don’t think “FKR” as a term is “dead”, or any other such pretentious nonsense, but I think we should have more care in being stewards of this community. It is sad how this term has been circling around the RPG scene for about three years now, and supposed participants of the community still feel a need to play games “as they were intended.”

Despite all of this belly-aching on my part, I want some ideas on how we could be better stewards of this community: positively push forward the actual term, promoting healthy rpg conversation and high-trust tables.

I am thinking of trying to put together a zine or something similar, something I’m initially ~~ripping off~~ calling “Play Worlds.” The idea would be something like GURPS’s genre books, but obviously without the GURPS, and a little less dry. So we’d put together something like “Play Fantasy Worlds” that would be articles, advice, and tools that a table of any experience level could pick up, empower a referee to portray a world (of their own, their tables’, or another’s construction), and give players the best working advice for playing as characters in such a world with high degrees of player agency and the concept of tactical infinity (anything may be attempted, but not everything is as likely to succeed).

Let me know what you think, especially of the Play Worlds idea. Thank you!

Doomed Reach Session 4

Characters

Amon Amarth, the Dwarf Cleric of Holy Law
Kalos, the recently masterless Magic-User
Maur Stern, Cleric of Holy Law
Cirrel, Elven Herald
Florby, Elven Alchemist
Brother Murray, Cleric of the Light Above
Ki-Mun, the Dwarven dandy
Torin, the sneaky axe-wielder

Downtime

Our characters begin by recounting prior adventurers and shoring up an additional hireling to account for previous losses.

Florby convinces his hireling, who owned a Saint’s head, to put the head in a pot of water for a week. They then paid a street urchin to drink some of the water and found it to have a mild numbing effect.

Brother Murray continued teaching his pigeon and goat more adventuring tricks.

Cirrel was granted an audience with Lady Mecit, a new-to-the-Reach noble looking to reclaim her uncle’s manor after he went mad. He retrieved more information on the manor and promised expedition funding should the party agree to it.

Adventure

Our group returned to the very chaotic caves, witnessing a floating geode on the way that radiated a freezing field, wilting the plants it came across.

As they climbed the peak above the caves, they witnessed that the cultists had rigged up some noise instruments attached to decapitated zombie heads in their wooden watchtower overlooking the gully, seemingly to drone noise when noticing nearby living. Torin snuck up to the tower and quickly dispatched the grotesque sentries.

Succeeded in preventing alarm, they went to the caves and saw a new trap rigged, a mechanism to shut a portcullis behind invaders, and opening one in the hallway to unleash zombies. Having been cautious, the party downed the zombies with ranged implements, but not before the foul undead could cause much noise.

Traversing to the south, they entered the circular chamber that held a vat of writhing, living gore. Florby begged that they determine if this monstrous flesh creature was sentient and evil. Amon Amarth interrogated the mass but determined its gasping and wailing to be that of a chaotic being.

Seeing bloody tracks on the ground leading out of the room and checking its direction revealed two giant spider beings wearing cloaks, medallions, and weapons. The adventurers engaged them in combat, casting light into one’s many eyes, blinding it, and dumping holy water and fire onto the flesh creature, which rose to strike the party.

After a short battle and only a few wounds, they chased the blind spider to a dead end. The cursed being told them it had recently been recruited by the cult with its brother and that only six other cultists remained, hurriedly trying to bolster their numbers. It also revealed to them a secret door to the outside, but this was not enough to save it, as the party imparted fatal justice to the creature.

They wandered the complex some more – finding the ruby skull room from the previous week reset, they also found a room full of bones and shattered skulls, and Cleric Stern was able to locate a small emerald within. They also retrieved some silver and a pendant from the pit of burned gore.

Progressing north, they found an altar room with black marble pillars depicting humans in agony and bronzed ritual implements, as well as a fine tapestry depicting the Sanguine Skull’s dominance. Continuing to delve, they ambushed four cultists in the middle of a ritual to empower a glowing red skull and smote these acolytes and the skull.

They finally stumbled upon a massive ritual room, with the undead head priest and his ghoulish assistants getting ready to call forth something from the dark. Amon Amarth stepped up and repelled the ghouls with his faith just before they could ring some hideous bell, while the rest of the party engaged the high priest and came out victorious, although slightly shaken by a fear spell.

The ghouls ran from the priest into a room full of skeletal statues similar to those in the ruby skull throne room. Deciding not to enter, they doused the room in oil and ignited the ghouls.

The party then went about stripping this floor of the dungeon bare of goods – tearing tapestries from the walls, plunging priests’ quarters for magical items, and returning to town with many artifacts to trade for silver, as well as the reward and praise from the Bishop.

Doomed Reach Session 2

Our party eliminates half of the Cult of the Sanguine Skull.

Characters

Florby, the Elven Alchemist
Apicius, the Farming Gorumond Fighter
Brother Murray, the Cleric of Light Above
Yarlexia, the escaped slave-turned-Witch Elf
Wulfwig the Ponderous, Cleric of Light Above
Steven the non-descript, an average mentalist mage

Downtime

Florby spent the week of downtime adventuring. They were abducted by a mad noble and their entourage looking for a tournament. Arriving at an abandoned monastery that had been turned into a statuary, the noble challenged a statue, which rose to meet them and struck down the crazed gentry. In the chaos Florby escaped, but had no chance to steal any goods.

Apicius proposed that Labrix the hireling wed his cousin, and tend to his farm, and in exchange, Apicius would eventually give Labrix his own sheep flock. The hireling agreed, and in the revelry of the wedding, Apicius became drunk and got into the losing side of a knife fight.

Brother Murray spent the week training his animals to obey simple commands, as well as investigating the locked box the party had acquired last session, finding it magical.

Yarlexia told fortunes and read tarot, receiving a working wage of silver.

Wulfwig decided to drink the week away, falling in with some bandits known as Hegrit’s Harpies, and suffered a massive hangover.

Session Report

Florby tried to pick the lockbox but got sprayed with acid, receiving notable scars to their torso, inhibiting breathing for a while. Inside lay an iron statue of a dwarf, carved into it a curse one could levy at an adversary to “ruin their fingers.”

Yarlexia attempted to summon a demon, slaying a scoundrel from the Copper Cockatrice to do so and called into her protection a humanoid pig/owl demon named Bechisi, who Yarlexia renamed Betty.

The group returned to the cult’s hideout, finding a massive wasp nest on the ascend, and ambushing the two huntsmen who served as guards, learning a bit more of the cult’s intentions, which mostly dealt with traversing through cycles of undead and rebirth.

Yarlexia took the form of one of the hunters and investigated the cave, while the others prepared to tumble rocks and even the tower if need be when enemies were drawn out.

Yarlexia spoke the cult’s secret phrase given to her by the hunter, which turned out to be a signal – the cultist she was conversing with sounded an alarm, ran behind a portcullis, and unleashed a horde of zombies. She began her escape back to the entrance, but as she made her way down the hallway – guards from the other direction were marching at her with bows, she decided to unleash Betsy upon them and make her way out of the cave.

The party waited as zombies followed out, saving the avalanche for the many cultists who came later to see if their pets had dispatched the invaders. The flesh of these dead cultists drew the zombies, and the party made quick work of them as well.

They also witnessed unusual, chaotic operations in the gully before the cult’s cave – dogmen crawling out of a bubbling pit of earth, and a massive bull-headed man disgusted by the carnage before the cult cave.

Entering into the cult complex, they found Betsy had fallen into a pit trap, and freed it – but were immediately attacked as the demon was no longer bound to Yarlexia. In the combat, Yarlexia continued to intone pacts and words of command and was eventually able to wrest Betsy back to her side.

The group proceeds north, finding four acolytes in a store room. They enter into combat and their hireling Hingle is decapitated by an acolyte. Eliminating two in combat, they get the other half to surrender, and piece out a few more details of the cult before delivering justice to these foul necromancers.

Having eliminated half of the cult’s numbers, losing a hireling, and taking some damage from the combats, they decide to make it back to Fortress Solae and recuperate before a final? assault on the cult.

Ye Olde Fantasy: System Assumptions

Ye Olde Fantasy‘s tools are system-neutral – I have run many campaigns in my pseudo-medieval setting using various rules – Original Dungeons & Dragons, Into the Odd, Basic Role-Playing, OpenQuest, and often a freeform Free Kriegsspiel style game.

So, it would be easy for me to handwave and say, “Just run this however you’re going to run it,” but I have been on the reader side of such text before, which has always frustrated me. I will not write a whole new system, but I will tell you what I will assume. I will also explain why I rule situations the way I do, so hopefully, this will broaden the applicability of these systems with a bit of interpretation.

I will assume you’re running something like a variant of old-school Dungeons & Dragons, one of its more stripped-down cousins like Into the Odd or Cairn, or a version of RuneQuest/BRP. If you’re not – then you’ll need to adjust these tools, but I will guide you with the intent of each system to make that easier.

Attributes

I assume you’re running a game with an attribute equivalent. What those are doesn’t matter much other than they represent your character—typical stuff like Strength, Intelligence, Charisma, and the other usual suspects. I suggest adding an attribute (if your game does not have it) in Social Status, which will get its own post.

In some places, I may say, “Make a Strength check.” This might be a d20 roll under, maybe it is Strength x 5 on a d%, or perhaps you don’t have a “Strength” score and use tags with 2d6 vs. 8, and you decide your tag of “Brawny” applies +1. Whatever that may be, you need a way to make a check against this stat and get success, failure, critical success, or critical failure. I’ll say what I do in these situations, but I suspect you already have your version of such checks.

Skills

Here’s a contentious topic for the old-school D&D crowd. I will mention skills in a few places. For example, as part of lifepaths, I may say, “Take Athletics,” or “Roll Lore to try to get into the Academy lifepath” with pass/fail events. I use skills in a lifepath generation system, as well as downtime. I’m not telling you that you must use an extensive skill list; note how they’re used in their particular subsystem. If you instead prefer to have a background tag, then when you roll up that you were a Turnipmancer, you can write that as a tag on your sheet and trust your table to rule that you’re able to do Turnipmancy effectively without the discrete skill.

Since BRPs already have a skill system, I’ll propose a system for use with old-school D&D if you wish (of course, aside from the Search and Listen at Door and Thief Skills and all other skills already existing in D&D :P). The tl;dr, if you don’t want to wait for/read that post, is “use the Traveller-style system that Kevin Crawford uses, like in Wolves of God or Worlds Without Number.”

Saving Throws

Saving throws are also mentioned but in a general, non-specific fashion. I may say, “Make a save vs. poisoning by your chancellor”- likely to be D&D’s classic Save vs. Poison. In OpenQuest, this is the Resilience skill. Sometimes, I’ll get more out there; I know I have a “save vs. your cottage being burned down,” which might be Save vs. Breath. Or it’s a skill check to stamp out the fire. I enjoy leaving it as an exercise for the player to say how they respond, but that might be annoying, so I might get more precise as I write these. Comment when these come up if they infuriate you.

Classes

While I love D&D’s archetypical class system, I no longer play too many campaigns with it, preferring to let everyone do everything (in the context of how they play). So, I will not make assumptions about any specific class, but I will suggest a few places where the B/X standard classes may come into play if you use them. For example – when to take a class using the lifepath character generation system, adding Magic-User levels to the Summoning or Alchemy systems, etc.

Levels & Experience

Hand in hand with classes – I will not assume levels but mention where they could apply. Levels are a great abstraction, mainly when using classes, but they are optional for the kinds of games I run. Any form of advancement and progress should work hand-in-hand with these. It’s your game, and it can be great to get your table on board with the “goal” of the game through an advancement scheme. But you can also eschew that and trust players will strive for what we all find interesting.

Onward

That covers it, so let’s move on to our first proposed subsystem for use in a pseudo-medieval fantasy game – the Social Status attribute.

Ye Olde Fantasy: Introduction

“Ye Olde Fantasy“ is my working title for a long-running project to build up a pseudo-medieval toolkit for fantasy adventure gaming. This supplement provides games with quasi-historical flair but is not obligated to complete accuracy. There is a place for historical accuracy, but I am looking for games of dungeoneering that progress into Crusader Kings plus wizards and dwarves.

I am by no means a historian. While my bookshelf overflows with pop history books, and I have taken classes on medieval history and done many of the usual video lectures on the period, I am a novice. While reading a book or watching a course, I often must completely reverse my basic assumptions. So, take my claims with a massive grain of salt, and please let me know where I can improve.

Playing in quasi-medieval settings for fantasy gaming has always appealed to me. There is something to swords and sorcery, given that its tropes predate the hobby and still dominate it. Still, other exaggerations of the “Middle Ages” add further enrichment and impetus for fantasy hijinks. Weird hierarchies of agreements, often broken or betrayed. Peculiar forms of taxation with charming loopholes. A large church is swinging its weight around with varying degrees of success. Schisms and Anti-Popes. Saintly relics and Chaucer-esque pilgrimages. Peasant revolts.

And most importantly to me – a slightly more focused attention on how society works. The implied setting of OD&D is a fantastic fever dream I love to return to repeatedly, but it does not feel like people could function in it. Not that I think you need such attention to detail – the implied worlds of classic D&D have stood the test of time. Still, I am not the first to feel this way – there is an anecdote that Greg Stafford, acquiring an early commercial copy of the game, wondered how people could live in such a world. It does for me what I Cast Light sometimes refers to as “French Vanilla Fantasy” – where you have shared, accessible assumptions and twist them just enough to make it feel unique or unusual.

I decided to stop pretending I would write these as a tightly edited book. I have very little time for my other hobbies. By turning them into posts, I can produce them quicker, and while they may be a bit janky, they’ll at least be what I’m using at the table. Feedback is greatly appreciated.

Isn’t D&D already medieval? No, it’s not: this post covers some great reasons. Why not play a system more oriented toward this style? Why not HarnMaster, Chivalry & Sorcery, the Osprey Games, Mythras, or OpenQuest? That gets right to the heart of these tools. They do not have pilgrimage generators, no means for building a barony, or other flavorful procedures. These posts are my take on providing such systems.

In the next post, I will discuss some mechanical, system-level assumptions. These tools are system-neutral but come with some baked-in assumptions related to adventure gaming.

2 Clacky Cubes

a MOSAIC Strict resolution module

Introduction

2 Clacky Cubes takes a time-tested resolution system and makes in-line with the Mosaic Strict guidelines, free to be used with any tabletop game you see fit, adding some commentary and examples on how it might be used at the table. All you need is two six-sided dice (abbreviated as 2d6) and a situation where one or more characters attempt a task that has an interesting chance of failure. In many traditional games this may be called for by a Game Master (GM), but depending on how your table plays – this could be other players or perhaps even be yourself.

Setup

Before resolving anything, the table needs to be clear about the present situation. Communication in tabletop games can be difficult, so the entire table is encouraged to ask questions, clarify, and negotiate until everyone has an understanding of the following:

Conflict – what is the overall situation, what threats and challenges exist?
Intent – what is the overall goal the character is trying to accomplish? What impact will this have on the situation?
Task – what actions are the character taking to reach the stated intent? What tools are they using? Do they have any particular advantages or situational elements aiding them?
Risk – what does the potential failure look like, or what will happen if the characters do not act or react? What disadvantages and conflicting elements are at play?

Basic Resolution

Once the above is understood, the player picks up and rolls 2d6. If the total sum showing on the dice results in 8 or greater (written as 8+) they have succeeded at their intent. Any less and what they were risking manifests.

Using this basic resolution system there are no “modifiers” and nothing is added or subtracted from a roll, instead the table adjusts how effective the character is at succeeding in their intent, or scaling the amount of risk involved.

We have a character on the run from some guards in a fortress they were infiltrating. It’s a rainy night, and as they round the corner they discover a dead end. Looking up they estimate a climb is doable, and the thorny overgrown vines may pose a problem. But because of their sleek, black cloak, if they can just get beyond the walls of the fortress there’s no way any guards will be able to spot them in the field under the dark of night.

With the guards in fast pursuit, the table decides that because of the storm failure means the character will fall flat on their back, leaving them prone when the guards arrive, and the large thorny growth on the wall will tear through the cloak they are wearing, ruining it for the time being.

Advanced Resolution

The Basic Resolution system can work perfectly for most games, but there are groups that prefer modulating the chance of success based on contributing factors, rather than just adjusting the outcome.

To do this – the table should take note of each disadvantage imposing on the conflict and assign a value of -1 to the upcoming roll. If the GM/group would say the negative circumstance as being “very” disadvantageous – make it -2, and the most extreme would net a -3.

Now go about the same process for advantages, skills, gear, etc. that the character may have – adding +1 for most benefits, +2 for large ones, and +3 for massive boons.

Add the net result to the roll, and again if the outcome is 8+, the intent is achieved, otherwise the consequences of the risks are suffered.

In our above example, with the knave running from guards looking to scale a wall covered in sharp vines in the middle of a rainstorm, the GM decides that both the rain and the vines net the character -1 each. The player notes that the character has a background as an acrobat and is thus skilled in climbing – giving a +1 advantage. This nets the character an end result of -1 to their roll.

Some tables may wish to gauge certain tasks as being inherently easier or harder from the initial premise, before considering further modifiers. If this is useful for your group the following table is suggested to modify rolls with:

*Task Difficulty*	*Roll Modifier*
Very simple	+4
Easy	+2
Risky	0
Hard	-2
Extremely difficult	-4

Contested Resolution

When multiple sides are in conflict, and each side wishes to roll (for example if two player characters are arm wrestling), every side does so.

If only one side succeeds – they achieve the full intent of their task. If more than one side succeeds, whoever rolled highest gets most of their intent, but at a compromise, as the other successful parties achieves a small amount of their intent.

Ties or all sides failing results in a stand-still, or if the referee/table finds both sides suffering their risk more interesting, the side that rolled lowest faces more of what they were risking than those who failed with a higher result.

A goblin is racing to grab a priceless vase and make off with it. An elf guard wishes to physically impose on the goblin and apprehend them from doing this. The goblin rolls an 10, while the elf rolls an 8. So both succeed, but the goblin succeeds “better.” The group decides this means the goblin has snatched up this vase, but the guard dove and grabbed onto the goblins leg, being dragged behind and slowing their escape.

Aiding Others

Whenever characters are directly helping another in a conflict, consider all allies as an advantage for the character in conflict, reducing the risk and/or heightening the impact success has, when using the basic resolution method. Or by adding to the character’s die roll based on how impactful the table finds their aid when using the advanced resolution.

A character is trying to force open a door by ramming into it. One of their allies decides to stand alongside them and batter the door in unison.

When using Basic Resolution – the referee/group decides that this would allow the party to breach the door in one strike instead of several, surprising anyone on the other side of the door.

If using the Advanced Resolution – we decide the ally, while not particularly strong, is enough to help the endeavor – giving the first character +1 to their roll.

When characters are aiding others in an indirect fashion, each character must roll their own contest, with success benefiting later conflicts they are aiding. This is for situations such as when a character is crafting an item for another to use, or when a character is securing a rope for another to traverse up a cliff.

Unlicense

To the extent possible under law, Justin Hamilton has waived all copyright and related or neighboring rights to 2 Clacky Cubes. This work is published from: United States.

Gygax 75 Challenge: Week 2

Here is a rough description of the environs I have came up with for my Gygax 75 setting, Umborea.

I have a map, but would prefer not posting it so my players can hex-crawl through the region.

Settlements

Stride (starting village)

A village resting on God’s Heart lake, just under the gaze of the Shaper’s resting head. Whether this is truly part of the buried Old God, or just one of his artifacts is unknown – no one dares approach it or the monastery in the mountains, fearing the dooms that cast the gods down during the last aeon.

Ember

A massive city state near the meeting point of two rivers. Once the furthest east city of the Phoenix King’s Empire, it is now ruled by the defiant war queen Tannia who burned half the city in her rage. She seeks to unify the peoples of the land and discover the truth of the last age’s destruction, sending knowledge-seekers into the labyrinthine crypts below the city.

Wax Knights’ Keep

A fortress looming on the Sea of Storms to the east. This knightly order traces their lineage back before this valley was flooded. They vigilantly watch the sea from their towering lighthouse. Members of this order have been scene transporting captive monsters back to their fort.

Terrain

Shaper’s Reach

A low mountain region in the northwest vale, noted for having a massive stone head and hands jutting out of the stone. Said to either be a relic made by the Shaper, or may actually be his resting body.

God’s Heart Lake

A massive swell of water just below Shaper’s Reach, said to be a spring reaching down to the Shaper’s heart itself, and many seeking truths of the old age come to drink from it.

The Teeth

The mountain range occupying the southwest portion of the vale, surrounded by a rocky stretch of dust and sand, people fear this region for being a home of the Gods’ Forsaken Children.

Sea of Storms

A tumultuous sea to the east of the vale, watched over by the Wax Knights, rumors of creatures dwelling below, and mystical isles being hidden out beyond the horizon.

Dungeons & Places of Interest

Monastery of the Shaper (main dungeon)

An ancient stone monastery on an open palm in the Shaper’s Reach. Its true purpose is unknown, although many people believed that the chosen of the Shaper dwelt here amongst their god, worshipping and reveling in his mysteries. None dare return here fearing curses, and fear the squat, rough figures seen patrolling the reach.

The Smolder/Labyrinth Below

The half of the City Ember that was burned by Queen Tannia in her conquest. Although rumored to hide many riches, people dare not tread her for rumors of dread spirits. There are also many access to the crypts below, and Queen Tannia rewards handsomely for relics and tomes of the past aeon retrieved from there.

Shattered Academy

In the sands just before reaching the Teeth lies an ancient academy. Once home to a wizened collective, it is rumored that they discovered something horrific, causing terrible beings of light and fire to descend upon them, scorching the valley and casting all into who lived out into the sandy wilds.

Encounter Table

Winged Wheel of Light and Fire: An alien and awe-inspiring massive being, said to have brought judgement upon the Gods during the past aeon.
Barbed Serpent: A wyvern from the roosts of the Teeth
Jackal-Folk: Nomadic creatures of the desert, one of the many Forsaken Children of the Gods.
Wax Knights: Vigilant warriors, on patrol searching for creatures.
Ravenous Dead: Nightmarish shambling creatures, seeking to sate their hunger on the blood of the living.
Bandits: Looking to take advantage of weary travelers and wealthy caravans.
Caravan: Seeking the best route to the Merchant Kingdoms of the west, or any of the Defiant City States.
Gargoyles: Winged creatures, said to be one of the many foul descendents of the Shaper.
Lion: A pride of lions ranging or hunting over the arid grasslands.
Stone Man: A massive stone being, carved in ancient script, following some unknown purpose.
The Blind Sage: A cursed being of shadow, said to be one of the professors from the Shattered Academy.

Gygax 75 Challenge: Week 1

Where I follow a popular challenge for developing a Dungeons & Dragons setting in 5 weeks.

Following along with Dragons Never Forget and the Gygax 75 Workzine I decided to do my own take on the challenge.

If you don’t have the time or desire to check out the links, the Gygax 75 Challenge is look at an article Gary Gygax wrote detailing a method of developing a campaign setting for D&D in 5 weeks.

Week 1 is a collection of bullet points serving as the setting’s pitch, and a list of a few inspirations.

Pitches

A world recovering from an apocalyptic flood, people have just began to start exploring the changed world around them, abandoned by the Old Gods who watched over them.
The land is covered by the ruins of an ancient civilization, one in which the Old Gods walked the Earth, coupling with humans, producing monsters as offspring.
Many have begun looking for answers below these ruins, discovering revelations and insights that show them the true nature of reality, and how to reshape it.
Others believe monsters carry aspects of their divine lineage, and study, fashion artifacts from their horns and teeth, or even consume their flesh and blood in attempt to become closer to the Divine.
Technology is roughly late bronze or early iron age, although with the typical D&D anachronistic view of technology – its more for tone than actual restrictions. Also horrific bio-technology built out of monster parts.
Only human player-characters to start, and no Clerics. I am debating on either having only Fighters & Magic-Users, or allow everyone to cast magic based on utilizing monster parts in ritualistic blood magic or horrific Cronenberg-esque “gadgets”, or through grim insights that allow casters to rewrite reality, but threaten to tear their essence from their body.

Inspirations

The Book of Enoch, and associated texts – pretty much the setup for the setting, in inspiration only, not a literal take on the texts
Monstress – visually, monster inspiration, and the war between the Arcanics and the Cumaea
The Dictionary of Mu – an amazing pulpy sword & sorcery setting that has a tone similar to what I want, as well as being a great example of using Biblical influences
Bloodborne – storytelling, Insight, the Healing Church, Pthumeria
Hollow Knight – storytelling style, tone, environmental inspiration, and especially the Radiance
Various “Near East” (I need to find a better, less Eurocentric term) and Mediterranean mythologies – a constant source of joy and inspiration for me
David Cronenberg – body horror + unnerving take on technology

Mood Board (work in progress)

I don’t really know how to use Pinterest so the sections/dates etc. may be weird. I also realize I grab a ton of material. I should probably start sifting through to get a more consistent aesthetic.

Gods’ Isle Brainstorming

Dark Souls 3: The Ringed City DLC – Beating Slave Knight Gael ...

For thousands of years the Gods reigned. Having formed creation out of the primal waters of chaos, breathing life into mankind, and blessing us with their gifts they ruled over use for a multitude of generations, a true golden age.

As the years waned on the Gods bestowed upon us civilization and the rights of kingship. They showed us how to conquer the wilds, build tools, raise cities, and even how to shape reality with powerful magics. After fostering us the Gods departed for their home, a gleaming city on the Isle in the Center of the World.

Mankind gave thanks to the Gods in the form of offerings, and would send their dead in boats to live out the afterlife with their Creators.

But something changed eons after their departure. The sun hung low and red in the sky, and the moon slowly faded into the black of night. The dead were found listing the coasts in the wasted vessels they were sent out upon. Those few that retained any semblance of speech told of a massive, tarnished city hidden in the fog. No gods found in attendance, only ravenous ghosts.

After the dead returned, so did the first adversaries. A multitude of beings whom the gods wrestled and bound, the unmakers of reality tore through fissures in the veil, setting themselves upon humankind.

City after city fell the unearthly incursions, and those from within who believed us lost in our ways, deserving of damnation. You are one of the many sent on an arduous voyage, to find the gods and plead for their aid, or to find the tools they used against the demons in the time before humankind.

Quick Update

I’ve ran quite a few sessions of my Doomed Reach game. While been a lot of fun, the only downside is that the player scheduling portion of the setup hasn’t been too successful. Initially people jumped on gaming slots, but as this progressed it kind of became a situation where I started prodding certain players, so it essentially devolved into a traditional game, only with a lot of players and a lot of open threads.

I also ran Winter’s Daughter using Old School Essentials for friends and coworkers. This was a lot of fun, and I would like to write up what I recall of the actual play.

On Sundays I have been running an open table game using Old School Essentials, we’ve started with Winter’s Daughter and have played through three sessions. I think the group is almost finished with that particular dungeon, so I will be interested to see where it goes from here.

I have also been bitten yet again by the Glorantha bug, and am trying to find a game of RuneQuest or HeroQuest online. If I don’t soon I may have to run RuneQuest, but I am not sure if that will be too many games for me.