Friday, March 5, 2021

Tabletop Boost Games Day

A dwarf adventurer considers his pack
Art by Gobert for His Majesty the Worm

Y'all, on March 13th, there's an online event for indie RPGs.
At 1 pm EST (6 pm UTC) I'm running my first public session of my forthcoming new-school/old-school game His Majesty the Worm.


Would love to see some of y'all there.

8 comments:

  1. Maybe I'm just dumb but I'm not seeing a way to sign up for actual sessions. I put my email in but haven't received any info.

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    1. No, it's not your fault! The organizer, Adam, is working really hard--but shouldering the responsibility solo and using new tools. I think right now he's collected everybody's email and will open the scheduling slots soon--so keep an eye on your inbox.

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    2. I'll keep a sharp eye out. Especially, with the shout-outs in the Glatisant, you'll probably fill up quick.

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  2. I'm SO SAD that I missed a chance to see this! Your writing style and ideas in Omphalos are truly inspiring, and I can't wait to see more of the world. Is there any additional opportunity to participate, or was the session recorded somewhere? Any release details? Thanks!

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    1. That's so kind of you to say! Today was my first public demo of the game, but I don't think it'll be my last. I'll probably be posting future games on my twitter (@riseupcomus), so hopefully we can connect in the future.

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  3. Daniel here from the TTboost session.

    It was when I saw your blog that I realized I used to surf it. Here are my feedbacks as thanks for the game today. This is a blind feedback based on only the things I've experienced today:

    The System: Tarot Cards'n.. Stuff
    The randomizing scheme using the tarot card is excellent. It allowed us to weight risks, consider our teammates and push for a gambit. One suggestion, when we push for the possibility of greater failure, why not let us describe the consequences of failure? This'll perhaps intrude more dramatic tension over the card flip.

    The tarot battle system was interesting in that it reimagined the battlefield. It gave me a feeling that our characters were on a Yugioh or MTG board. It had the same vibe as an "Archenemy" game where a team of MTG players must take on a single, powerful foe (controlled by the GM). It was a shame we only glanced over it in the end. I suggest that in your future playtest games that plan to test the battle specifically, include mandatory skirmishes just for the sake of testing it.

    What I did felt was a large discrepancy in the theme of the "tarot cards" between inside and outside battles. Inside, you have this whole system of play going on. But on the outside, in the dungeon crawl, the tarot card only acted as a randomizer (and some meat grinder thing you have in the background, but since we can't see that it will not be considered). It felt like that tarot card was not present in my awareness until we needed it for a conflict resolution. I suggest incorporating the tarot card, or at least the suits with the dungeon crawling experience a bit more.

    Perhaps between camps, have us keep hands of cards as a "fortune" we are delt to. Which the cards may in return be used as a tool to aid in adventuring. Such as tendency in doing something, strategizing options, and alteration of fate. More so, this will also encourage the camping gameplay you so pursued. If you deliberately design, it so that these cards are 1. Used quickly. 2. Very difficult to continue without. It will propel the camping activity into the foreground of our awareness. Whereas in a short game like today, we barely found the need to do so (even with depleting resolves).

    P.S. If those cards represented "gourmet" or "happiness" of "the joy of adventuring" instead... It will encourage the player to take a theatrical lifestyle rather than a practical one. Such as our hell-bent idea of escaping immediately after we've achieved our objective. If we could 'see' clearly the benefit from slowing down and make more “time-wasting” interactions (i.e. earthworm dude), we will do so.

    Minor things:
    - Love Resolve and Lore. If only I understood my cha sheet better, I would have used them up more effectively and taking a bit more camps to restore these 'ammos'.
    - It'll be convenient if the rules reminder (on the cha sheet) included explanation for conditions.
    - I might be missing something, but is paths not something to refer to at creation instead of during play? Why is in the rule reminders?
    - Intervening someone else (assists) was something I've been pondering. Any rules on that outside battles?
    - The spells are very well written. But again, I shouldn’t have chosen the mage, too complicated without understanding the rules.

    In general:

    - Little lacking in awareness of the tarot card's existence.
    - The battle system has a steep learning curve for blind players. Better if a playtest started with it as a tutorial or have the option to opt for a reduced version.

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    1. Thank you so much for this feedback! It's super helpful, really thoughtful, and very appreciated.

      Also, I really enjoyed playing with you! I had a great time. I hope we can play again sometime!

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