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My Rules for Dungeon23

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My Rules for Dungeon 23 So my Hobonichi journal isn’t arriving until tomorrow but that doesn’t mean I haven’t already started on dungeon23. I have ideas percolating, some rooms envisioned (or even sketched out) and a set of rules for myself. The rules fall into two categories. The first category are creative constraints designed to keep me honest and prevent burnout. It is SO easy to be intimidated by some of the great stuff already coming out of dungeon23. I am not a great artist, nor much of a writer,nor an rpg professional. Stuff like this , this , or this is inspiring but… is completely unattainable for me. Sean McCoy’s advice is very much appreciated and was a huge influence on this category of rules. My second category of rules is about processes, things to make my life easier and maintain some coherence… but without feeling like I need to map out 30 or more rooms in advance. Ideally I want to play this dungeon eventually, so it needs to, like, work but at the same time I don’...
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First Impressions of some free stuff I found on Itch.io today

I browse "new free physical games" on itch.io at least a couple of times a week. Today I had time to write a blog post about what I found. I might do more of these if people dig it and if I find the time. Tools, Tables, Mechanics, and Mosaics Lines and Circles So this is a Mosaic Strict procedure that provides a structure for players to model a romantic relationship. In a lot of ways Lines and Circles strikes me as a lyric game. It’s interesting to read, beautiful in a way, esoteric, and only kind of a game.  But then I think about how it might be more than that. The mechanics themselves aren’t much. You pick a type of relationship (line or circle) and progress through some scenes, negotiating what happens, and gaining and losing bond points as you go. Normally I avoid romantic relationships in games both as a player and as GM. Part of that, I think, is due to the potential uncomfortableness that could be caused in pay. Having a clear procedure that mechanizes collaboration a...
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Reflections and Resolutions

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Reflection on 2021 2021 was a hard year in many ways. It was the hardest year of teaching since I was new, it was the year my family got covid right in the middle of a move, and it was the first year in a while that I couldn't count on play elfgames with my friends every week.  It was also the year that I started to create! I am really proud of what I accomplished this past year even if everything was deeply armature. Here is what I made Just Some Bears in a Forest: My first published adventure created entirely in MS Paint for MS Paint TTRPG Jam. Basically this little hexcrawl takes the "just use bears"  OSR catchphrase and spins it into a big goofy adventure. Every monster and NPC is a bear and they each have a unique system-semi-agnostic statblock. Just find what a bear is statted as in your D&D-ish game and modify it as directed! I'm particularly proud of how goofy and fun this adventure turned out, I am convinced that it could be run in most OSR systems and a...
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Planning for Mosaic Loose (or table focused play)

  My next campaign is going to be Mosaic Loose. What is Mosaic Loose? In February of last year Michael Prescott, of Trilemma fame, introduced the idea of Mosaic Strict . Rulesets that are modular, optional, short, attested, independent, and coreless. Right away I was intrigued. The idea of building a “hack” from parts is an idea that I have been obsessed with for some time.  The problem is that Mosaic Strict is fundamentally a design movement. The points laid out in Prescott’s article all describe how one should go about writing modular rulesets. And while I have recently been experimenting a bit with being a game designer, Mosaic Strict, in particular, seems really hard to write well.  What really intrigues me about Mosaic Strict is this:  “Mosaic Strict RPG texts are meant to be used together with other RPG texts…” “ Each play group will decide for itself which one(s) they are using… There's no central document or required rule at the heart of it all, only free-...
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Mechanics Shop

Part 1: On RPG Reviews There are a few ways of looking at an RPG.  One way is to look at a game from a consumer standpoint. If one takes this stance certain questions become important. Is it laid out well? Is it easy to understand? Is the art any good? What by what method is the physical book bound and will it lay flat on the table? We could also try to look at a game with a critical eye. If so we might ask different questions. What is this game about? How do the rules enforce that? What is the author trying to achieve? Are they successful? Does this align with my own personal ideas about systems and the extent to which they matter? Or you could look at games in their historical context. How did this game influence later games? What innovations did it bring to the table? What can this tell us about historical modes of play? How is it similar or different from other games? Umm... and that's fine I guess if that is what you are into. I am not interested in any of that.  Part 2: ...
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"Story Game" XP in D&D

Advancement, or XP, is really cool because it is such a powerful tool and because it's usually just about the easiest thing that you can hack to make a game play differently. Of course XP is pretty blunt as far as tools go. It's a big, red, flashing neon sign saying THIS IS WHAT I WANT YOU TO DO!  But that isn't a bad thing necessarily. Most players love chasing incentives and getting rewarded. Choosing what to reward (if anything) is important. This is why every OSR guy on r/dndnext recommends "gold xp" where players are rewarded for getting treasure instead of killing monsters. Players instantly get more cautious. And they become willing to delve deeper and more greedily. Suddenly players have a reason to explore your sandbox and don't need a series of railroad quests. Of course the OSR has gone in a different direction as of late. The whole idea of player incentives is getting questioned . I am loving the new more diagetic advancement procedures are being d...
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