If you don't know it already, I am a big admirer of Rob Donoghue, a game designer, game master, and person of extraordinaty quality.
He has a blog over at The Walking Mind. He recently started to write about his new D&D 5e campaign, The Thaw. If you want to observe a process of capaign creation and blending that with character creation to make some very rich storytelling material, reading Rob's write ups so far are really worth a read.
There has never been a game that Rob would not tinker with, just like every great game master, so he offers some especially interesting twists on D&D 5e character creation which could be easily ported to other games like 13th Age. He also creates some terrific visual and tactile artifacts for his game to help himself and his players as the story developes.
It is much better to go see for yourself.
I also wanted to shout out to Lex Starwalker, of Starwalker Studios. I have recently started to listen to his Game Master's Journey podcast, and I find it to be very interesting a thought provoking.
In an ideal world, Lex and Rob should get together and have a conversation, like on a podcast (right?).
In any case, both these gentlemen have lots of information, ideas and advice worth taking or appropriating or stealing for your games.
Check them out!
Showing posts with label Evil Hat. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Evil Hat. Show all posts
Saturday, March 14, 2015
Friday, January 25, 2013
Heroes of the 13th Age: Part 1-Character Creation
So, last Saturday, my time finally came. I gathered together a brilliant group of people at my house to launch a campaign of Pelgrane Press and Fire Opal Media's 13th Age. We had four kids (pre-teen and teens), and five adults (I'll call them two Moms and three Dads) and me (another Dad). It turned out to be a really good mix. We took up a lot of time with the mechanics. Lots of people rolled dice for their characteristics and some did the point buy. People poured over my home-brew character creation work flow sheets and reference sheets. This was a new game to everyone, including me.
Eventually, we ended up with assigning stats, choosing race and character class, which resulted in the following breakdown:
Spirit-Touched (my version of Aasimar) Cleric (Mom)
Gnome Cleric (Dad)
Half-Elf Rogue (Mom)
High Elf Ranger (Kid)
Half-Orc Fighter (Dad)
Human Bard (Kid)
Human Paladin (Kid)
Wood Elf Sorcerer (Kid)
Half-Elf Fighter (flovored Samurai) (Dad)
This was an interesting and diverse group, and looks like it will provide versitility for meeting challenges.
Next we went into backgrounds, Icon relationships, and One Unique Things.
This was definitely the highlight of the evening. Everyone got to introduce their character and talk about their backgrounds. One dad did steal the show. Our Half-Orc Fighter gathered his two kids who were at the table close to him as he prepared to tell us about his character. I wondered if he had some touching or serious story to tell, with his kids close. Nope.
He introduced himself, in character, as HEY WATCHIT! He gestured wildly with his hands, making sure to gently buffet each of his kids multiple times as he described how his orphaned Half-Orc Character, who talks with his hands, was "raised by whole village" and "it take a whole village to raise HEY." While no one had us laughing or as enthralled as much as Hey's player, everyone had really interesting, sometimes goofy, definitely some off the wall ideas. However, when we finished going around the table and I had finished taking notes, we had changed the world.
Literally, the Dragon Empire of the 13th Age was different before and after we discussed player backgrounds, Icon relationships and One Unique Things. I had already been customizing "My Dragon Empire" (which you can read about on prior entries to my blog [Chaos Shaman and Man-Orcs; Paladin Orders; and my cosmology: first post here, the second here, the third here and the fourth here, fifth here]). However, my vision was narrow compared to the wild and crazy ideas that arose out of character creation.
Here are some things we know about Our Dragon Empire after character creation.
1. The First Crusader appeared in the Third Age, and his direct descendent is one of the player characters.
2. The High Elves have invented a magical toy which allows people to share thoughts and sketches by carrying around a magical scroll in a scoll tube and "posting" things. Because of the Fey Magic, it doesn't usually do anything very useful. It is only for amusement. It is called ELF SCROLL.
3. The Dragon Empire has suffered a lot of turmoil. Since the start of the Age, there have been at least seven conflicts large enough to be called wars.
4. The Diabolist and the Orc Lord have been working together in this Age. Who is using who?
5. You can get croissants in the Dragon Empire, and apparently the best ones made in the Santa Cora region are baked by Hey Watchit.
6. The Frost Giants of this era are not so bad. They are kindly enough to take in a raise orphan Gnomes.
7. There is something called "Cheese Trees" and apparently one of the characters is the only one of his kind who can grow them.
8. There are apparently whole tribes of Necromancers out there (come on 13 True Ways!)
9. There is an Imperial Music College
10. There are Samurai in the Dragon Empire.
11. The High Elves have developed a Zen-like archery discipline/philosophy
12. The Court of Stars has its own military Special Forces
13. The Emperor has an organization called the Emperor's Rangers who are not "Rangers" in the character class sense necessarily but instead are made up of different units of homogeneous ethnic groups (Mongol like horse raiders in one, Frankish style knights in another, Samurai, etc.). Also, the Emperor's Rangers builds "Forged" Units of diverse people to deliberately foster closer ties between disparate groups in the Empire.
That was a lot to learn.
But wait, there was more.
This was where I stole a page from Evil Hat and their Spirit of the Century game (based on the FATE system). In that pulp hero themed game, they suggest a mechanic of party building by each character writing down the title of an adventure story where they were the "star" and then passing it around so that a couple of other characters sign on as "Guest Stars" so that everyone is chained together through past adventure stories which happened before the game began.
So, the last thing we did was that I pulled out the index cards and explained what I thought I wanted. I had made a list of prompts to help like a what "I survived . . ." what/where "the battel of . . ." why "in the service of [x]." After a bit of discussion, I thought I had communicated the concept, and people wrote down their past adventure. Then, everyone read what they had written. My plan was that each story would have something like two or three "guest stars" for each story. I could not actually remember what the Spirit of the Century process was at that moment. Instead, as each person read their little back story prompt, many people at the table said, "oh, I was there" or "oh, I saw that" and cards got furiously passed and people wrote things on them. The constant refrain was "Hey thinks he was there TOO!" In the end, I think Hey did end up in most of the stories. It was not quite the clean and ordered process envisioned in Evil Hat's book, but it really worked to give the cast of characters a complex and interesting back story that wove them all together.
So, below are the stats for the characters, my interpretation of their individual stories. This is followed by the epic history of how they all came togehter over time (which I created by arranging the index card stories until they made an intelligible chronology and then I wrote it out), and the teaser for the first adventure (which is sadly some weeks off still; the difficult of grown up lives and schedules).
Enjoy, comment, create and go play!
CHARACTERS
One Unique Thing: Spell placed on me by a necromancer tribe for an unknown reason. It works sometimes to create random magic effects.
Icon Relationships: 1 (pos) Priestess, 2 (pos) High Druid
Talents: Songmaster, Storyteller, Balladeer (Air of the Elf Queen)
Battle Cries: Move It!, Stay Strong!
Songs: Song of Spilt Blood
Spells: Battle Chant
Delthen Eversoar
One Unique Thing: Has a cursed mark on his left hand.
Talents: Sorcerer’s Familiar (Raven), Fey Heritage, Infernal Heritage
Eventually, we ended up with assigning stats, choosing race and character class, which resulted in the following breakdown:
Spirit-Touched (my version of Aasimar) Cleric (Mom)
Gnome Cleric (Dad)
Half-Elf Rogue (Mom)
High Elf Ranger (Kid)
Half-Orc Fighter (Dad)
Human Bard (Kid)
Human Paladin (Kid)
Wood Elf Sorcerer (Kid)
Half-Elf Fighter (flovored Samurai) (Dad)
This was an interesting and diverse group, and looks like it will provide versitility for meeting challenges.
Next we went into backgrounds, Icon relationships, and One Unique Things.
This was definitely the highlight of the evening. Everyone got to introduce their character and talk about their backgrounds. One dad did steal the show. Our Half-Orc Fighter gathered his two kids who were at the table close to him as he prepared to tell us about his character. I wondered if he had some touching or serious story to tell, with his kids close. Nope.
He introduced himself, in character, as HEY WATCHIT! He gestured wildly with his hands, making sure to gently buffet each of his kids multiple times as he described how his orphaned Half-Orc Character, who talks with his hands, was "raised by whole village" and "it take a whole village to raise HEY." While no one had us laughing or as enthralled as much as Hey's player, everyone had really interesting, sometimes goofy, definitely some off the wall ideas. However, when we finished going around the table and I had finished taking notes, we had changed the world.
Literally, the Dragon Empire of the 13th Age was different before and after we discussed player backgrounds, Icon relationships and One Unique Things. I had already been customizing "My Dragon Empire" (which you can read about on prior entries to my blog [Chaos Shaman and Man-Orcs; Paladin Orders; and my cosmology: first post here, the second here, the third here and the fourth here, fifth here]). However, my vision was narrow compared to the wild and crazy ideas that arose out of character creation.
Here are some things we know about Our Dragon Empire after character creation.
1. The First Crusader appeared in the Third Age, and his direct descendent is one of the player characters.
2. The High Elves have invented a magical toy which allows people to share thoughts and sketches by carrying around a magical scroll in a scoll tube and "posting" things. Because of the Fey Magic, it doesn't usually do anything very useful. It is only for amusement. It is called ELF SCROLL.
3. The Dragon Empire has suffered a lot of turmoil. Since the start of the Age, there have been at least seven conflicts large enough to be called wars.
4. The Diabolist and the Orc Lord have been working together in this Age. Who is using who?
5. You can get croissants in the Dragon Empire, and apparently the best ones made in the Santa Cora region are baked by Hey Watchit.
6. The Frost Giants of this era are not so bad. They are kindly enough to take in a raise orphan Gnomes.
7. There is something called "Cheese Trees" and apparently one of the characters is the only one of his kind who can grow them.
8. There are apparently whole tribes of Necromancers out there (come on 13 True Ways!)
9. There is an Imperial Music College
10. There are Samurai in the Dragon Empire.
11. The High Elves have developed a Zen-like archery discipline/philosophy
12. The Court of Stars has its own military Special Forces
13. The Emperor has an organization called the Emperor's Rangers who are not "Rangers" in the character class sense necessarily but instead are made up of different units of homogeneous ethnic groups (Mongol like horse raiders in one, Frankish style knights in another, Samurai, etc.). Also, the Emperor's Rangers builds "Forged" Units of diverse people to deliberately foster closer ties between disparate groups in the Empire.
That was a lot to learn.
But wait, there was more.
This was where I stole a page from Evil Hat and their Spirit of the Century game (based on the FATE system). In that pulp hero themed game, they suggest a mechanic of party building by each character writing down the title of an adventure story where they were the "star" and then passing it around so that a couple of other characters sign on as "Guest Stars" so that everyone is chained together through past adventure stories which happened before the game began.
So, the last thing we did was that I pulled out the index cards and explained what I thought I wanted. I had made a list of prompts to help like a what "I survived . . ." what/where "the battel of . . ." why "in the service of [x]." After a bit of discussion, I thought I had communicated the concept, and people wrote down their past adventure. Then, everyone read what they had written. My plan was that each story would have something like two or three "guest stars" for each story. I could not actually remember what the Spirit of the Century process was at that moment. Instead, as each person read their little back story prompt, many people at the table said, "oh, I was there" or "oh, I saw that" and cards got furiously passed and people wrote things on them. The constant refrain was "Hey thinks he was there TOO!" In the end, I think Hey did end up in most of the stories. It was not quite the clean and ordered process envisioned in Evil Hat's book, but it really worked to give the cast of characters a complex and interesting back story that wove them all together.
So, below are the stats for the characters, my interpretation of their individual stories. This is followed by the epic history of how they all came togehter over time (which I created by arranging the index card stories until they made an intelligible chronology and then I wrote it out), and the teaser for the first adventure (which is sadly some weeks off still; the difficult of grown up lives and schedules).
Enjoy, comment, create and go play!
CHARACTERS
Cerise
Female Spirit-Touched Cleric
Str 11 Con 14 Dex 14 Int 10 Wis 18 Cha 12
One Unique Thing: Found on doorstep of Abbey of the Priestess. I don't know who my parents/family are. I left to find out who I am. I have a birthmark that looks like a comet on my shoulder and I was wrapped in a silk blanker with the symbol of the Great Gold Wyrm.
Backgrounds:
Raised in The Abbey (of the Priestess) +5
Raised in The Abbey (of the Priestess) +5
Sailed on the Midland Sea +3
Icon Relationships: 1 (pos) Priestess, 1 (pos) Great Gold Wyrm, 1 (neg) Diabolist
Talents: Cleric Domains: Sun, Leadership, Life
Spells:
Bless, Cure Wounds, Javelin of Faith, Spirits of the Righteous
Bless, Cure Wounds, Javelin of Faith, Spirits of the Righteous
Feat: Toughness
Cerise is a Spirit-Touched Cleric, a follower of the Priestess. She is tall and has an other-worldly appearance. The Spirit-Touched are sometimes called “Holy Ones.” The Spirit-Touched are a near-human race touched by the bright gods and their spirits. Some say that, with the appearance of the Priestess and her Cathedral, the Priestess has brought the Spirit-Touched to the Dragon Empire for some special purpose through the Cathedral’s power. Cerise was raised as an orphan as a ward of the Priestess’ Order in an Abbey outside of Santa Cora (the holy city that holds the Priestess’ Cathedral). She has already travelled across the Midland Sea many times for her Order, but is now going out into the world to spread the Word of the Priestess and to search for her origin. She wears the distinctive plate and mail armor of the defenders of her Order and looks like she knows how to use the sword at her side and the brace of throwing daggers in her sash.
Indigo
Male Gnome Cleric
Str 16 Con 10 Dex 14 Int 10 Wis 17 Cha 10
One Unique Thing: Was raised in a traveling circus. Parents were a magic act and 3 siblings (1 bro, 1 sis & me (the youngest)). Attacked on raid by band of Gnolls. Circus destroyed, saved and raised by a Frost Giant.
Backgrounds:
Raised spiders +5
Raised spiders +5
Makes cheese +1
Is a tattoo artist +2
Icon Relationships: 3 (pos) Priestess
Talents: Cleric Domains: Healing, Trickery/Illusion, Strength
Spells:
Cure Wounds, Turn Undead, Hammer of Faith, Javelin of Faith
Cure Wounds, Turn Undead, Hammer of Faith, Javelin of Faith
Feat: Rapid reload
Indigo is a Gnome Cleric. He too is a follower of the Priestess. He, like all Gnomes, is really short and slight. Gnomes are a Fey race, distantly related to the Elves, but also taking on some of the characteristics of the Dwarves, and some say they are related to Haflings, but you can’t believe anything anyone says about Haflings. He can’t be any more than four feet tall at the most, but he has the strength of a grown warrior half again his size. For some reason, he seems to know everything there is to know about spiders, which is a little strange. Also, even though he’s usually the shortest person in the room, he acts like everyone else is just another “short person” because he was raised by Giants. At least that’s what he says. He also has all sorts of tattoos, and he can give you one himself if you want. I think I saw one on his arm that said “Gnoll Killer”, but I’m not sure. Usually he is wearing his armor from the Warrior Order of the Gnomish Gods, emblazoned with their symbols. He is fierce wielding his two handed war hammer, but even more important is his great power to heal the injuries and illnesses that may befall his friends.
Z
Female Half-Elf Rogue
Female Half-Elf Rogue
Str 8 Con 18 Dex 18 Int 14 Wis 16 Cha 14
One Unique Thing: Has an elaborate chain necklace with many colorful gems. Periodically a new gemstone appears.
Backgrounds:
Grew up in a tavern +5
Grew up in a tavern +5
Travelled with a menagerie +3
Got lost in the Wild Wood +2
Icon Relationships: 2 (pos) Priestess, 1 (pos) High Druid
Talents: Shadow Walk, Swashbuckle, Thievery
Powers: Evasive Strike, Flying Blade, Roll With It, Sure Cut
Feat: Roll with it (enhancement)
Zelda or Zatana or Zephyr or something starting with Z (it changes, like all the time), she is a Half-Elf of many talents. That’s what she likes to say, though quietly, your friends nod and wink and whisper the word “Rogue.” She grew up in a tavern and has travelled all over with the most interesting people and dangerous animals, putting on shows. She is usually dressed in non-descript travelling leathers and a plain looking cloak. She seems to want to appear non-descript all the time, but she definitely gives off a bit of an “elfin” vibe. But then, when you blink she could just disappear and then suddenly, she is right next to you coming out of the shadows. That’s pretty cool. She has one rich piece of jewelry and the gems on it seem to always be changing. Her weapons are like her, discrete. Until something is going wrong, you don’t usually see the long bladed dagger or the crossbow she has with her (seemingly at all times). Who knows what she has up her sleeves?
Legolis (absolutely no intellectual property problem here whatsoever; move along)
Male High Elf Ranger
Str 11 Con 13 Dex 17 Int 11 Wis 14 Cha 13
Str 11 Con 13 Dex 17 Int 11 Wis 14 Cha 13
One Unique Thing: I grow cheese trees.
Backgrounds:
Champion athlete +3
Champion athlete +3
Fought in seven wars +3
Sleeps for 15 hours a day +2
Posts pictures of ugly monsters on the Dragon Empire’s version of Facebook, ELF SCROLL +1
Lives with a Hobbit (okay Tolkien Estate, Halfling . . .) on the weekends +2
Icon Relationships: 3 (pos) Elf Queen
Talents: Archery, Ranger’s Pet (Serpent); Fey Queen’s Enchantment (Acid Arrow)
Feat: Archery (enhancement)
Legolis is a proud High Elf Ranger and devoted servant of the Elf Queen. He is both a champion athlete and a renowned strategist who has led the defense of the Elven people and the Empire many times. He has the classic look of the High Elves, all tall and blond and athletic build. Like any good soldier, he knows that getting sleep where you can is important, so he always seems to be able to nod off. Like many a famous elf, he dresses in greens and browns (the better to blend into the landscape) and he carries a big bow. However, he may have dwarven friends, because he also carries a big axe. He has a big pet snake that is always with him. For some reason, he usually smells faintly of cheese. When he isn’t fighting, competing, sleeping or advising the Elf Queen’s army on strategy, he spends time on the new Elf Scroll network. That thing can’t communicate anything important, but it sure has funny pictures, especially the ugly monster ones that Legolis posts. Legolis also has a Hobbit (Halfling) roommate on the weekends.
Hey Watchit
Male Half-Orc Fighter
Str 16 Con 15 Dex 13 Int 9 Wis 11 Cha 8
One Unique Thing: Has a bag given by old one-eyed Maude, the hedge witch from his village. Only opens in case of DIRE EMERGENCY. So far it has never opened.
Backgrounds:
Pastry chef/cook in a tavern (try the Croissants!) +1
Pastry chef/cook in a tavern (try the Croissants!) +1
Caring for small animals (shepherd) +1
Knowledge of plants/helped Druid +1
Modern interpretive dance (entertaining the village) +3
Cousins everywhere +1
Has wandered around everywhere (looking for the DIRE EMERGENCY) +1
Cousins everywhere +1
Has wandered around everywhere (looking for the DIRE EMERGENCY) +1
Icon Relationships: 1 (neg) Orc Lord (he’s mean), 1 (pos) Elf Queen (she’s pretty), 1 (pos) High Druid (I don’t know her, but she seems nice)
Talents: Heavy Warrior, Skilled Intercept, Tough as Iron
Powers: Brace For It, Heavy Blows, Deadly Assault
Feat: Reach tricks
Hey Watchit is a Half-Orc Fighter. He is always very excited and he talks with his hands a lot. He is big and brawny, and a little scary looking, until he starts to smile and talk in endless run-on sentences. He was raised as an orphan in a village outside of Santa Cora (the Holy City that holds the Priestess’ Cathedral). No one family was able to handle him for any length of time, but he was passed from hand to hand and eventually grew up, showing it truly does take a village, especially if you are trying to raise Hey. Hey has learned to fight, but also to care for things. He has been a cook and baker (remember to try his Croissants!), a shepherd, an herb gatherer and a dancer/entertainer. He has traveled some, but always comes back to his village to do some more baking. He wears bits and pieces of plate, chainmail, other old metal pieces, and whatnot that make him very well armored. Unlike most proud fighters, he carries no sword. He has what looks like a small tree and a bag of rocks. Don’t stand too close, he likes to talk with his hands, and sometimes he forgets to put down the tree.
Lief
Male Human Bard
Str 13 Con 12 Dex 16 Int 13 Wis 11 Cha 19
One Unique Thing: Spell placed on me by a necromancer tribe for an unknown reason. It works sometimes to create random magic effects.
Backgrounds:
Survived alone in the woods +2
Agile and fast from running for my life +2
Survived alone in the woods +2
Agile and fast from running for my life +2
Hired for a circus and later ran away +1
Thieved to live +2
Studied music at the Imperial Music College +3
Icon Relationships: 1 (pos) Priestess, 2 (pos) High Druid
Talents: Songmaster, Storyteller, Balladeer (Air of the Elf Queen)
Battle Cries: Move It!, Stay Strong!
Songs: Song of Spilt Blood
Spells: Battle Chant
Feat: Battle Chant (enhancement); [still needs to choose a second Feat]
Lief is the most dreamy, nicest, best singing, best looking, and most interesting guy ever. Yeah, he’s a Human Bard, and he knows all these songs and riddles and stories and he’s so nice. Everyone just thinks he’s the best. He has colorful clothes and a flashy cloak. He’s travelled in the woods and met the High Druid and he’s played concerts at the Cathedral. I bet his voice sounded even more amazing there! He has all sorts of instruments that he can play, and his voice is just like being in heaven. He has all sorts of weapons, but why would he ever need to fight with them? Everyone just wants to hear him sing and tell stories. He uses his weapons to do juggling and to tell his stories. Have you ever seen the puppet show he did with a dagger, a long sword and three arrows? It was amazing! Yeah, that guy’s great! Only . . . sometimes really creepy weird magical things happen around him, and that’s spooky.
Delthen Eversoar
Male Human Paladin
Str 19 Con 15 Dex 13 Int 9 Wis 10 Cha 14
One Unique Thing: Descended from the original Crusader who appeared in the 3rd Age
Backgrounds:
Privileged House of Eversoar +3
Privileged House of Eversoar +3
Inquisitor of The Crusader +5
Icon Relationships: 2 (pos) Crusader, 1 (neg) Diabolist
Talents: Way of Evil Bastards, Fearless, Implacable
Feat: Smite Evil (enhancement), Implacable (enhancement)
Delthen Eversoar is kind of scary. He is a Human Paladin, but not the warm fuzzy kind. He is a dark and serious Paladin, one of the Crusader’s demon hunters from the Inquisition. He is from an important noble house from the Empire, but he gave up all his titles and lands to join the Crusader. They say he helped take one of the demon fortresses in the Hellhole of Drosh. They say he is one of the strongest men alive, and he walks around all in dark plate armor, with his big shield with the symbol of the Crusader’s Inquisitors blazoned on it. Nobody wants to mess with him, and certainly they don’t want to see how well he handles the mace or heavy crossbow he always has with him.
Rolen Stillwind
Male Wood Elf Sorcerer
Str 10 Con 14 Dex 10 Int 12 Wis 16 Cha 17
One Unique Thing: Has a cursed mark on his left hand.
Backgrounds:
Student of the Archmage +3
Student of the Archmage +3
Experience with Diabolit Magic +3
Old friends within Concord +2
Icon Relationships: 1 (pos) Elf Queen, 1 (pos) Archmage, 1 (conf) Diabolist
Talents: Sorcerer’s Familiar (Raven), Fey Heritage, Infernal Heritage
Spells: Burning Hands, Lightning Fork, Resist Energy, Scorching Ray
Feat: Infernal Heritage (enhancement)
Rolen Stillwind is a Wood Elf Sorcerer. His magic comes from his emotions and force of personality. You could say that he is fiery. Certainly things that threaten him end up on fire, incinerated or struck by lightning. Despite being a sorcerer, he carries himself pretty seriously, almost like one of the Archmage’s wizards. He sometimes talks about being under a curse and he has a curious mark on his left hand. You know he has performed some important tasks for the Court of Stars (The Court of the Elf Queen), and he seems to have offended the Diabolist in some way. Perhaps he has stolen some of her secrets. He looks very graceful in his flowing sorcerer’s robes, but don’t let him try to stab anything because he might hurt himself. Just let him stand back and unleash elemental fury on your enemies.
Yoshi Antien
Male Half-Elf Fighter (Samurai flavored)
Str 17 Con 16 Dex 17 Int 9 Wis 8 Cha 8
One Unique Thing: Split childhood between the Imperial Court and the Court of Stars (court of the Elf Queen)
Backgrounds:
Elven taught archery-zen +2
Elven taught archery-zen +2
Groomed to be a Castellan +1
Seaman +1
Horseman +1
Horseman +1
Emperor’s Rangers +2
Likes to cook on campaign +1
Icon Relationships: 1 (conf) Elf Queen, 2 (pos) Emperor
Talents: Deadeye Archer, Power Attack, Skilled Intercept
Powers: Deadly Assault, Second Shot, Precision Attack
Feat: Improved Initiative
Yoshi Antien is a Half-Elf fighter. He grew up in the Imperial Court and the Court of Stars (the Elf Queen’s Court). He is from an honorable order of Samurai who are the first sent in for all the hot spots of the Empire. He has sworn allegiance to the Empire, but also has the favor of The Court of the Elf Queen. He’s done a lot of travelling and has some hidden skills. If you have never had a meal prepared in the field by Yoshi, you should. He is amazing with his bow. I wouldn’t get to close to him when he is swinging his sword either, but when he is picking off the enemy with his arrows it is like he has become one with his bow.
EPIC BACKSTORY (in which we learn even more interesting things about Our Dragon Empire)
Some years ago, Indigo was invited from his gnomish settlement near the Northern Colossus at the end of the Frost Range (where he had helped forge friendship between the Frost Giants and the Gnomes) to Santa Cora to “exterminate” a nearby colony of Giant Spiders that was attacking pilgrims visiting the Priestess. During his work, he met Hey Watchit in his village, because it was on the pilgrimage route. Z was also visiting Santa Cora with a menagerie with which she was then employed. She and Indigo met. Indigo provided a “small” Giant Spider to the menagerie, and taught Z how to care for it. Indigo also met Cerise while on assignment around Santa Cora because the Abbey where she was raised was on the pilgrimage route. Indigo decided to stay in the vicinity of Santa Cora to further his religious studies and he and Cerise became colleagues in their religious life.
Not long afterwards, the samurai Yoshi Antien was sailing on a ship from the imperial capital, Axis, to the city of Concord. Disaster struck the ship upon the Midland Sea as it passed between the haunted and deadly island of Omen and the lighthouse at Vigil. Although there are no monsters in the Midland Sea, by the power and authority of the Emperor, and the weather conditions are almost always favorable, due to the magic of the Archmage, a terrible monster storm, or possibly a terrible storm monster, or perhaps both, struck the ship. The ship tried to run before the power of whatever was menacing it for miles, until it ran aground in Fullcatch Bay. Yoshi was the only survivor of the wreck. Hey Watchit was on the beach watching the monster storm (or storm monster) when the ship crashed into the rocks. He pulled Yoshi from the sea and fed him some croissants. Rolen Stillwind was also present on the beach investigating various phenomena for the Archmage and he witnessed the storm, the wreck and the rescue. He joined Hey and Yoshi around Hey’s fire and ate croissants and talked with them for a while (in a mysterious and sorcerous way). As the monster storm abated, Yoshi thought he saw something flow into the edge of the Wild Wood from the monster storm. Hey had to go home, but Yoshi, revived by Hey’s care, investigated as one of the Imperial Rangers. Rolen accompanied him into the Wild Wood to gather facts for the Archmage. In the Wild Wood they came across Indigo the Gnome Cleric, who was studying the spiders of the Wild Wood and seeking counsel from the High Druid’s followers to try to understand why Giant Spiders had been attacking pilgrims. Indigo gave Yoshi and Rolen advice about the local area in the woods to try to figure out what flew out of the monster storm. Even following his advice, however, their investigation was inconclusive and after several days in the woods, they returned to the road between New Port and Santa Cora to go to Santa Cora. On the road, they met a travelling menagerie and saw the wondrous monstrosities, including a smallish Giant Spider under the care of Z. Yoshi and Z spoke a bit about the road where the menagerie was travelling. Rolen did not pay much attention to Z. Yoshi and Rolen continued to Santa Cora and there parted ways. Outside of Santa Cora, Yoshi rested for a few days at the Priestess’ Abbey, where Cerise was a novice. Yoshi recounted to Cerise his experiences during his voyage, shipwreck, and journey to Santa Cora, and Cerise recorded them in the Abbey’s book of traveller’s stories. Yoshi continued on foot, braving the dangers of The Demon Coast and skirting Gorogan’s Maw to finally reach Pocket Bay. On the shores of the bay, he met Legolis who was leading a small scouting party out from Horizon. Legolis escorted Yoshi around the bay to Horizon where he was preparing a military unit for a strike against a Hellfort in support of the forces of the Crusader. Yoshi and Legolis traded archery tips during their time together. Legolis posted a sketch of them shooting arrows at monsters on Elf Scroll. They parted in Horizon and Yoshi took the Imperial Road back to the Capital, Axis, to report his adventures.
After Z left Yoshi and Rolen with the travelling menagerie on the road to New Port, she was thinking about the mysterious “something” that Yoshi had claimed he saw pass from the monster storm into the Wild Wood. Z never made it to New Port, however, and has never learned the fate of the menagerie. Her next memories are of being lost in the Wild Wood, the stronghold of the High Druid. Z cannot really remember how long she wandered in the woods, remembering herself and learning to survive. Eventually she came upon a gathering of the followers of the High Druid performing a ritual. This was a sacred tree spirit ceremony, and the spirits of the forest danced through the woods spreading strength and vitality. Leading the followers of the High Druid in dance was Hey Watchit, who was always ready to dance, and Lief the Bard, who was playing beautiful music and singing haunting songs. Z also became aware that she was not the only spectator. Indigo the Gnome had become a frequent visitor to the Wild Wood since his previous investigations into Giant Spiders. This was the first person Z recognized after she became lost in the woods, and she was very glad to see the face of an old friend. Indigo informed her that he often came to the rituals of the High Druid’s followers to give them tattoos. Indigo, Hey and Z all returned to the area around Santa Cora together, and Z stayed for a time at the tavern in Hey’s home village.
Cerise later travelled around the Midland Sea seeking clues to her origin and her family, while spreading the words of the Priestess. On one trip, she went to pray at the ruins of the Golden Citadel, the old stronghold of the Paladins of the Great Gold Wyrm. However, after departing the Citadel, the demonic forces of the Diabolist captured her. The Diabolist’s lieutenant tried to convince Cerise that she must come to the Abyss to meet with the Diabolist because the Diabolist knew the truth about her family. The lieutenant hinted that the truth was that Cerise and the Diabolist were related! Though tempted, Cerise divined that the lieutenant meant to sacrifice her, and she sought to escape. She was aided in this by Hey Watchit, who is always happy to help nice people, and by Delthen Eversoar, who is always happy to kill demons.
After meeting Cerise, Delthen Eversoar and Hey Watchit travelled together and participated in the taking of the Hellfort Dosh, a demonic outpost near the KneeDeep in the foothills of the Giantwalk Mountains, by the Crusader’s forces. Because of the threat of this Hellfort to Axis, the capital of the Empire, the Emperor and the Elf Queen sent a top strategist, Legolis, with a group of Elven Special Forces to help in the elimination of the Hellfort. Delthin, Hey and Legolis all became comrades in arms and trusted one another with their lives. Legolis posted sketches of them killing demonspawn on Elf Scroll.
Meanwhile, Lief the Bard travelled the long journey from the Wild Wood on a trip to the Abyss, doing research for an epic story and song cycle that was an extension of his work studying at the Imperial College of Music. As he travelled out of the Wild Wood, he met Z, who had been lost in the Wild Wood. Z had been with a travelling menagerie, but could not remember how she went from travelling in its company to being lost in the middle of the forest. However, when Lief met her, she had learned many of the ways of the forest and was a good travelling companion. Z left him as he passed through Santa Cora. After he left the Holy City to travel the Demon Coast on his way to the Abyss he met Cerise who was on her way back to Santa Cora after escaping the Abyss. Lief and Cerise exchanged stories and became friends. Though Cerise warned Lief about the dangers of the Abyss, he continued his journey. He stopped at the ruins of the Golden Citadel to seek a sign from the Great Gold Wyrm that he was permitted to visit the Abyss. He then continued into the Red Wastes. There he met Hey Watchit and Delthen Eversoar who were on their way back to Hey’s village after the Battle of Hellfort Dosh. Hey and Delthen travelled with Lief to the edge of the Abyss to protect him while he sought inspiration for his poems and songs.
Rolen, after completing his investigations around Santa Cora and the Wild Wood, voyaged to Concord and conducted research and studies among the Fey of the city. Without warning, an army of Orcs appeared around The Fangs and marched across Throne Point to lay siege to Concord. The terrible army laid waste to the areas around the city and summoned demons to terrorize the population. Rolen was prominent in the defense of the city, and he put his knowledge of the infernal powers to use in countering demonic attacks. During the siege, he came to the attention of Ranger and strategist Legolis who was helping to organize the defense of the city. At a critical juncture in the siege, the Crusader’s forces arrived at the gate where Rolen and Legolis led the defense. The gate was saved by a mad charge led by Delthen Eversoar. There was a joyous reunion between Delthen and Legolis, and Legolis introduced Delthen to Rolen. Legolis posted sketches of them fighting Orcs and Demons on Elf Scroll. As the siege was lifting, a support fleet arrived from Santa Cora. On board were Cerise and Hey Watchit. Cerise came to minister and heal, Hey came to fight the mean people (Orcs). Hey found his old friends Delthen, Legolis, and Rolen and brought Cerise to the inn where they all were staying. Cerise was introduced to Rolen, but she already knew Delthen and Legolis. Hey made up a new “dance of friends meeting” and they all danced it. Legolis posted a sketch of them dancing on Elf Scroll and then went to sleep. Some Dwarves saw the posting on Elf Scroll and came to see the dance.
After the Siege of Concord, the Elf Queen ordered a strike against those behind the attack. The Court of Stars declared that the Diabolist and a pretender to the title of the Orc Lord had launched the attack from The Fangs. Legolis was commanded to help with the planning of the campaign against the Hellhole of The Fangs and to lead the scouts at the vanguard of the army. Delthen Eversoar and the forces of the Crusader rode with the armies of Concord. Rolen Stillwind went along with the army as an advisor on diabolic matters (and to set things on fire). Yoshi Antien was with a contingent of Imperial Rangers dispatched to aid in the attack. Hey Watchit thinks he went too. Indigo arrived from Santa Cora to join the healers for the campaign. In the end, the Imperial Forces pushed the demons back into the Hellhole and obliterated the army of Orcs, but the forces were not strong enough to occupy and hold the Hellhole in The Fangs, so the victory was not decisive.
At the end of this war, Hey Watchit received an invitation from Forge to participate in an important birthday celebration for one of the hundreds of Dwarven princes. Hey enjoyed teaching iron-toed tap dancing in the Dwarf King’s Hall in Forge at the Dwarf prince’s 14th Birthday Party. Those guys knew how to have a good time. As one of the heroes in the war against the Demons and Orcs (and also for helping the Dwarves find Hey to be the dance instructor through Elf Scroll) the Dwarves invited Legolis to come to the party, where he ate a lot of cake (and posted sketches on Elf Scroll). Because of his prominent role in the war, and the close kinship between Dwarves and Gnomes, Indigo was also invited to the party. He gave a tattoo to one of the Dwarven princesses. The renowned bard Lief provided much of the music and other entertainment at the party. After feasting and dancing for a week, Hey was ready to go home, and he and his friends Indigo, Legolis and Lief all travelled from Forge to Anvil by means of The Undermarch. From there, they followed a caravan to Glitterhaegen, and in that city of merchants princes and commerce they obtained passage to Santa Cora.
In the Holy City, they received words that other friends had been summoned, including Cerise, Z, Yoshi, and Rolen for a mission of importance to the Elf Queen and the Priestess. Hey didn’t want anyone left out, so he brought Delthen to meet with the representatives of the Cathedral and The Court, even though Delthen was very uncomfortable walking into a bastion of light. There, the assembled nine heroes were told of a mission to find a lost artifact of the Orc Lord which was made to kill Elves. Only time will tell what will happen next.
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
Do: Pilgrims of the Flying Temple opens the way to fun for the whole family
Do: Pilgrims of the Flying Temple is a game by designer Daniel Solis and published by Evil Hat Productions. The game comes as a beautiful and well-written little harback book that allows a group of players to tell fun and funny stories about young people trying to do the right thing and help people while getting themselves in and out of trouble.
As it turns out, I wrote one teeny tiny part of the book (most of page 37), but until Sunday I had never actually played the game. Finally, after having the game for a few weeks, I was able to round up the family and we all set to telling a fun story. Others have already explained how the game goes better than I can, but essentially, everyone playes by creating a character (a Pilgrim) to be part of the story. The story is about solving a problem that someone has written a letter about (my contribution was one such letter). Each person takes a turn being the storyteller, while everyone else gets to decide how people get into trouble (the troublemakers). Play passes until the problem at the heart of of the game is solved with a happy ending or an unhappy ending. We managed to achieve a happy ending in our first play.
The Pilgrims were Clumsy Kitten (Fiona), Foolish Tiger (Ian), Zany Panda (Evan) and Friendly Gecko (Laura). We were asked to solve the letter entitled "Is it Safe to Allow Cabbages on Roller Coasters?"(page 31 in the main book).
Here is the story we told:
Pilgrim Friendly Gecko climbed up the side of the rollercoasterat the amusement park to check its maintenance. But, Pilgrim Friendly Geck talks to the Talking Sky Cabbages and makes them uncomfortable by being too friendly and smiley because they are pessimistic cabbages. Pilgrim Clumsy Kitten helps by making sure that the thousand thugs of the Coleslaw Front don't come into the amusement park and warms everyone if they try to come in by purring loundly. Unfortunately, Pilgrim Clumsy Kitten knocks a modified cart into a Talkin Sky Cabbage, starting a riot. Pilgrim Zany Panda helps to calm down the Talking Sky Cabbages by giving each one a big panda hug, rescuing Pilgrim Clumsy Kitten.
One of the Coleslaw Front is disguised as a giant cabbage and is so freaked out because Zany Panda gave him a panda hug that he attacks Zany Panda. Suddenly Pligrim Foolish Tiger leaps on the Coleslaw Front member and saves Zany Panda. In his eagerness to save Zany Panda, Goolish Tiger trips into the controls of a nearby ride and sends the tallest, fastest rollercoaster into heartpounding action! Bystandards start screaming and Pilgrim Friendly Gecko quickly climbs back down the rollercoaster. Pilgrim Friendly Gecko decides to find George and she talks him into letting her see him in the Executive Bathroom. However George sees how friendly she is and decides to lock her in with him.
Pilgrim Clumsy Kitten helps Hazel Harrington by stalling the Cabbages and purring for traffic control on the bumper cars, because Cabbages don't like bumping. It is going well until the Coleslaw Front gets on the ride with the Cabbages and Clumsy Kitten knocks the controls up to "Greased Lightning" speed. Zany Panda thinks that it is so hilarious that he picks up Hazel Harrington and flies them behind the controls of one of the bumper cars. Pilgrim Foolish Tiger leaps off the ride and into line at the bumper cars. A six-foot wide Cabbage rolls on top of Foolish Tiger because he cut in line.
Pilgrim Friendly Gecko opens the windo of the executive bathroom and flies away from George.
Clumsy Kitten purrs loudly and flies to the control panel and turns the bumper car ride off. Pilgrim Zay Panda reassures Ms. Harrington with a hug and politely helps her off the ride in front of the Cabbages and the Coleslaw Terrorists. Zany Panda smiles happily while Hazel Harrington takes offense to his hugs and slaps him!
Foolish Tiger lauches the Cabbage off of him and into the air! Unfortunately, the now flying Cabbage goes through the open window of the executive bathroom and the cabbage lands on the despondent George.
Pilgrim Friendly Gecko takes Hazel Harrington for a ride on the merry-go-round to cheer her up, so she's not mad at Zany Panda anymore. The Cabbages, who were unfomfortable with Friendly Gecko before, now see her laughing and smiling with Hazel and think Friendly Gecko is making fun of them so them demand to speak to Goerge.
Pilgrim Clumsy Kitten flies to help George so he will not be mad at Foolish Tiger, but when she purrs at the six-foot tall Cabbage, it gets scared and falls out the window! Zany Panda rushes over to correct Clumsy Kitten's accident so there is not another riot at Popsicore Park and uses his cushy cuddly body to break the Cabbage President's fall. This pushes him into the new underground ride which was made especially for the Sky Cabbages. Foolish tiger scares away the Coleslaw Front terrorists out from the park.
After the hardcore Coleslaw Front leaders leave, the Pilgrims help the rest who rode the bumper cards and had fun with the Cabbages become friends and pay to become yearly members of the park. Hazel becomes the general manager of the park and Geroge comes out of the executive bathroom and everyone becomes Facebook Friends.
The End.
As it turns out, I wrote one teeny tiny part of the book (most of page 37), but until Sunday I had never actually played the game. Finally, after having the game for a few weeks, I was able to round up the family and we all set to telling a fun story. Others have already explained how the game goes better than I can, but essentially, everyone playes by creating a character (a Pilgrim) to be part of the story. The story is about solving a problem that someone has written a letter about (my contribution was one such letter). Each person takes a turn being the storyteller, while everyone else gets to decide how people get into trouble (the troublemakers). Play passes until the problem at the heart of of the game is solved with a happy ending or an unhappy ending. We managed to achieve a happy ending in our first play.
The Pilgrims were Clumsy Kitten (Fiona), Foolish Tiger (Ian), Zany Panda (Evan) and Friendly Gecko (Laura). We were asked to solve the letter entitled "Is it Safe to Allow Cabbages on Roller Coasters?"(page 31 in the main book).
Here is the story we told:
Pilgrim Friendly Gecko climbed up the side of the rollercoasterat the amusement park to check its maintenance. But, Pilgrim Friendly Geck talks to the Talking Sky Cabbages and makes them uncomfortable by being too friendly and smiley because they are pessimistic cabbages. Pilgrim Clumsy Kitten helps by making sure that the thousand thugs of the Coleslaw Front don't come into the amusement park and warms everyone if they try to come in by purring loundly. Unfortunately, Pilgrim Clumsy Kitten knocks a modified cart into a Talkin Sky Cabbage, starting a riot. Pilgrim Zany Panda helps to calm down the Talking Sky Cabbages by giving each one a big panda hug, rescuing Pilgrim Clumsy Kitten.
One of the Coleslaw Front is disguised as a giant cabbage and is so freaked out because Zany Panda gave him a panda hug that he attacks Zany Panda. Suddenly Pligrim Foolish Tiger leaps on the Coleslaw Front member and saves Zany Panda. In his eagerness to save Zany Panda, Goolish Tiger trips into the controls of a nearby ride and sends the tallest, fastest rollercoaster into heartpounding action! Bystandards start screaming and Pilgrim Friendly Gecko quickly climbs back down the rollercoaster. Pilgrim Friendly Gecko decides to find George and she talks him into letting her see him in the Executive Bathroom. However George sees how friendly she is and decides to lock her in with him.
Pilgrim Clumsy Kitten helps Hazel Harrington by stalling the Cabbages and purring for traffic control on the bumper cars, because Cabbages don't like bumping. It is going well until the Coleslaw Front gets on the ride with the Cabbages and Clumsy Kitten knocks the controls up to "Greased Lightning" speed. Zany Panda thinks that it is so hilarious that he picks up Hazel Harrington and flies them behind the controls of one of the bumper cars. Pilgrim Foolish Tiger leaps off the ride and into line at the bumper cars. A six-foot wide Cabbage rolls on top of Foolish Tiger because he cut in line.
Pilgrim Friendly Gecko opens the windo of the executive bathroom and flies away from George.
Clumsy Kitten purrs loudly and flies to the control panel and turns the bumper car ride off. Pilgrim Zay Panda reassures Ms. Harrington with a hug and politely helps her off the ride in front of the Cabbages and the Coleslaw Terrorists. Zany Panda smiles happily while Hazel Harrington takes offense to his hugs and slaps him!
Foolish Tiger lauches the Cabbage off of him and into the air! Unfortunately, the now flying Cabbage goes through the open window of the executive bathroom and the cabbage lands on the despondent George.
Pilgrim Friendly Gecko takes Hazel Harrington for a ride on the merry-go-round to cheer her up, so she's not mad at Zany Panda anymore. The Cabbages, who were unfomfortable with Friendly Gecko before, now see her laughing and smiling with Hazel and think Friendly Gecko is making fun of them so them demand to speak to Goerge.
Pilgrim Clumsy Kitten flies to help George so he will not be mad at Foolish Tiger, but when she purrs at the six-foot tall Cabbage, it gets scared and falls out the window! Zany Panda rushes over to correct Clumsy Kitten's accident so there is not another riot at Popsicore Park and uses his cushy cuddly body to break the Cabbage President's fall. This pushes him into the new underground ride which was made especially for the Sky Cabbages. Foolish tiger scares away the Coleslaw Front terrorists out from the park.
After the hardcore Coleslaw Front leaders leave, the Pilgrims help the rest who rode the bumper cards and had fun with the Cabbages become friends and pay to become yearly members of the park. Hazel becomes the general manager of the park and Geroge comes out of the executive bathroom and everyone becomes Facebook Friends.
The End.
Friday, May 20, 2011
Playtest: Zeppelin Armada - Phase 3 (Some Explanations)
Fred Hicks, one of the guiding lights at Evil Hat Productions, has a good post about the game that I and my family have had a chance to play test, giving some evocative quotes and summaries about the game from some of the other play testers. I wanted to take a moment to post again about the game, but from a slightly different perspective.
The other day, a neighbor who had seen some of my playtest posts asked me what it was I was doing. The idea of this kind of game and the design process, including play testing, was outside of his experience, and, as I looked through his eyes and his questions, I could see that my writing was completely in a foreign language for him. Whether or not it is coherent enough for people more on the inside of gaming is not for me to say, but I though I would do my best to, as a post script to the whole experience, try to more expansively describe what the playtest experience was about and what was this game we were playing.
I won't claim that I am such a good communicator that anyone will be able to understand from what I write, but I hope that I can be more clear and more detailed in this capstone to allow this to be more accessible and more understandable.
And maybe it can, in some small way, bring people more towards the world of game playing that I enjoy and that the game, Zeppelin Armada, represents.
So, let me define first what my role was in the game design process, and then explain what the game itself was about (while protecting the still in development intellectual property of the game).
Games and the Design Process:
Games are part of almost every human culture throughout time. Many games have been with us for a long time and they take lots of different shapes. Some are games we play as children with various amounts of rules, such as tag, Red Rover, Sardines, hopscotch, 4-square, etc. Some of these games require a certain number of people of equipment, but the knowledge of these games are pretty much passed down on the playgrounds of the world, if not from parent to child. Other games like Chess, Checkers, and a million card games (poker, bridge, spades, hearts, canasta, pinochle) are more formal in their components (a board, chess pieces, decks of cards, etc.) and rules. Many of these games are hundreds or even thousands of years old in their origin.
Then, we also have more modern games that we have grown up with. Their age may be measured in perhaps a century or decades, but we know them well and love them. These are games like Monopoly, Risk, Sorry, Stratego, Clue, Life, etc. Generally, they are considred "board games" because their central feature is that there is a board that is the center of the game's action, and while there may be cards, dice, and game pieces to move around, the board definse the game for us.
If you think about how many games there are (maybe how many are just stuffed in your closet or on a shelf in your basement) you begin to realize how many games have come and gone.
And yet, we love games, and creative people love to make and sell games and new ones continue to appear. Some are destined to be classics, many are destined to entertain for a play or two and then gather dust.
Yet, how is a game made today?
While I don't think there is a single "scientific" process, there are definite phases of development which a successful game has to go through. It starts with an idea from an individual or group of designers who want to do something through a game. The idea may start as a particular mechanic (way you play a game) or theme (what the game is about, like Clue is about solving a murder mystery or Monopoly is about making money) or some combination. From the basic idea, you have to come up with the medium of play (a board, cards, dice, hand gestures, whatever), determine the goal (have the most money, capture the king, get around the board first, etc.) and form the rules (who goes first, how are pieces moved, when is it somebody else's turn, etc.).
That can be, you might expect, a lot of work. There can be, I think, a lot of trial and error. From moving from the starting idea to a rough outline of why you play (goal), how you play (rules) and where you play (medium [e.g. on a board]) is a lot of work. And, of course, once you have all that done, the designer can think that it all makes perfect sense. But, until the game is explained to and played with other people outside of the design group, there is no way to know if the game really works and really is fun.
So, you have to start testing the game, and thus, the playtest.
Typically, I think a game goes through an "in house" playtest. That is, the designer or design group plays with people they know and explain and guide the play. This is good, because the designers can be challenged to explain and clarify issues about how the game is played and to start to deal with design issues which they may not have thought of (what happens if two players are in the same space?). The down side of this, is that because the game is still under the direct control of the designers, it is hard to tell if the game will work out in the real world.
Have you ever noticed how many times you learn a game because someone explains it to you, rather than reading the rules? Games often are transmitted much more easily from an experienced player to a new player. Rules are looked up in novel situations, and to settle disputes, but often, most players never read through the whole rule book.
However, with a new game, the game will not spread far if the designers have to go and explain the game play to you personally. Instead, they have to be able to write rules and provide components (board, cards, dice, whatever) that are sufficiently clear and self-explanatory so that someone whom the designer will never meet can buy the game, read the rules, and play and (most importantly) have fun.
So, that is why an external playtest is important. The external playtest releases the rules and components to one or more outside groups to review and play on their own. Then, as they run across things that don't seem clear or that don't seem to work in a game, they can give feedback to improve the rules, or to improve how the rules are written, and to improve and hone the game.
Some games will go through multiple external playtests, so that the game play and written rules can be really polished and ready for eventual marketing.
And that, of course, is the next move. Once playtest is over and the game is "done," then the work begins. You have to figure out how to manufacture the compoents (rule book, board, cards, dice, etc. etc.), How to assemble those components. How to package the game. How to pay for the labor that goes into all of those things, and establish a market, and figure out storage, shipping, and pricing.
And eventually, people have to learn about the game, play it, like it, and most importantly, buy it. That is, if you are doing this commercially.
And, since I am not actually either a professional or amateur game designer, I probably left out some steps, but, I think you get the idea. The process of creating a game is pretty complex, time consuming, and potentially costly.
So, where did I fit in as far as this new game, Zeppelin Armada?
Me and the Playtest
My family and I were selected to participate in the initial external playtest of the game.
How did this happen? Well, I keep tabs on a few blogs by smart people who do interesting things. One of them is Fred Hicks, whom I mentioned above, and one day he mentioned that he was looking for playtesters for this new game in development by Evil Hat. On impulse, I responded with my interest, and I was one of the first five who responded in the manner he requested. We got added into a google group which was created to manage the external playtest process, and within days, I had access to the draft rules and the files from whcih I could create the essential components of the game to try it out.
This was my first time as a playtester, and it was exciting to be part of a creative process which is going to result in a game that goes out to the public.
So, what we had to do was, of course, play the game. We also had to record how things went in the game and respond to a questionaire each time we played. In it, we addressed specific questions the designers had about how the game went, and also had an opportunity to give opinions and observations about what we liked and did not like about the game.
We sent all that in (by e-mail) and our input, along with the other testers, is all be considered in a redraft of the game.
We will be participating in a second round of testing which will examine the revised game.
And let me just say, as an aside, that the information super highway really makes this process a lot easier than it has ever been.
And what do we get paid? We get credit and thanks in the printed materials when the game comes out. For a small game company like Evil Hat, the reward is really to participate in the creative process. If successful, we might get a copy of the game, but that is not really the point. The point is to do something fun and constructive with interesting and fun people.
All in all, it has been a good experience.
The Game Itself
So, what is the game?
It is not a computer game. Nor is it really a board game.
It is a game centered around a fun theme: Zeppelins and villains.
Zeppelins were, for a short time, an important civilian and miliatry form of air transport. During the 1930s especially, they fueled people's imagination and romantic sense of travel, adventure and scientific progress. While the Hindenburg crash did not end the Zeppelin era, per se, it took the shine off of it. Still, many look back to that time and cannot help but imagine wild and amazing adventures centered around Zeppelins. This is especially true because the Zeppelin Age was also the age of the pulp fiction hero. From detectives (think Sam Spade) to masked vigilantes (like The Shadow, or The Green Hornet) to space heros (like Flash Gordon), this era of pop culture burst with amazing adventures of derring do and mad science.
So, the idea of the game is to take your flagship and fleet of Zeppelins and rule the air. You play not as a hero, but rather as one of several competing villains, the kind who would have given Flash Gordon or Doc Savage a run for their money.
Each player gets to choose a villain and his or her flagship, and then builds an armada to take down the other players and rule the skies.
The game is a card game, in that the play centers on cards, but not from a traditional deck, with traditional cards in suits (hearts, spades, etc.). Instead, the cards are a combination of game pieces, like those you might use in Risk or Battleship, and game effects, like the Chance or Community Chest cards in Monopoly.
Besides cards, there are a few other things needed which come, not with the game, but from things you are likely to have around the house. Some dice (traditional cube, six sided), a coin, and some counters (could be beads, stones, or other coins), just some things to help keep track of stuff that is going on in the game.
After choosing a villainous flagship, each player gets a number of Zeppelins with which to start an armada. Rather than a board, each player has a formation of Zeppelin cards. They have to be around the flagship, so that, at any one time, the most there can be down is a three by three square of Zeppelin cards, centered on the flagship. Each Zeppelin has different qualities that help define how good it is in battle.
Each player then also gets a hand of cards. These cards may include additional Zeppelins that can be played, as well as weapons with which to launch attacks on rivals, characters that can be played on Zeppelins to make they work better (for yours) or work worse (for your opponents), conditions that change the way the game is played, and events that can help you or hurt your opponents.
The game proceeds in turns, and each player gets to make decisions about how to play cards, discard cards and draw cards. Attacks against fellow players are frequent, and really, the ultimate point of the game. You are trying to be the last one standing, just like Risk, for example.
The game, once you get the rules and understand the different qualities of Zeppelins, etc., plays pretty fast. Still, a whole game goes, generally about a hour and a half.
It is a very directly competative game. You are trying to directly beat the other playes by eliminating them (again, like Risk or Battleship). If you play in the spirit of fun, it can be great to blow up your opponent's vessels, play a card to escape certain destruction of your own airships, and to try to be the most daring and merciless villain to cut a swath of destruction through the skies.
We are very much looking forward to trying out the new and improved game and doing what we can to suggest any additional changes that will help bring it out of testing and into production so that someday, not to long from now, anyone can pick up a deck, pull together a few things that are around the house, and engage in a battle royale for control of the skies.
I hope, in my long winded, way, I have explained what I have been up to and why.
Play on!
The other day, a neighbor who had seen some of my playtest posts asked me what it was I was doing. The idea of this kind of game and the design process, including play testing, was outside of his experience, and, as I looked through his eyes and his questions, I could see that my writing was completely in a foreign language for him. Whether or not it is coherent enough for people more on the inside of gaming is not for me to say, but I though I would do my best to, as a post script to the whole experience, try to more expansively describe what the playtest experience was about and what was this game we were playing.
I won't claim that I am such a good communicator that anyone will be able to understand from what I write, but I hope that I can be more clear and more detailed in this capstone to allow this to be more accessible and more understandable.
And maybe it can, in some small way, bring people more towards the world of game playing that I enjoy and that the game, Zeppelin Armada, represents.
So, let me define first what my role was in the game design process, and then explain what the game itself was about (while protecting the still in development intellectual property of the game).
Games and the Design Process:
Games are part of almost every human culture throughout time. Many games have been with us for a long time and they take lots of different shapes. Some are games we play as children with various amounts of rules, such as tag, Red Rover, Sardines, hopscotch, 4-square, etc. Some of these games require a certain number of people of equipment, but the knowledge of these games are pretty much passed down on the playgrounds of the world, if not from parent to child. Other games like Chess, Checkers, and a million card games (poker, bridge, spades, hearts, canasta, pinochle) are more formal in their components (a board, chess pieces, decks of cards, etc.) and rules. Many of these games are hundreds or even thousands of years old in their origin.
Then, we also have more modern games that we have grown up with. Their age may be measured in perhaps a century or decades, but we know them well and love them. These are games like Monopoly, Risk, Sorry, Stratego, Clue, Life, etc. Generally, they are considred "board games" because their central feature is that there is a board that is the center of the game's action, and while there may be cards, dice, and game pieces to move around, the board definse the game for us.
If you think about how many games there are (maybe how many are just stuffed in your closet or on a shelf in your basement) you begin to realize how many games have come and gone.
And yet, we love games, and creative people love to make and sell games and new ones continue to appear. Some are destined to be classics, many are destined to entertain for a play or two and then gather dust.
Yet, how is a game made today?
While I don't think there is a single "scientific" process, there are definite phases of development which a successful game has to go through. It starts with an idea from an individual or group of designers who want to do something through a game. The idea may start as a particular mechanic (way you play a game) or theme (what the game is about, like Clue is about solving a murder mystery or Monopoly is about making money) or some combination. From the basic idea, you have to come up with the medium of play (a board, cards, dice, hand gestures, whatever), determine the goal (have the most money, capture the king, get around the board first, etc.) and form the rules (who goes first, how are pieces moved, when is it somebody else's turn, etc.).
That can be, you might expect, a lot of work. There can be, I think, a lot of trial and error. From moving from the starting idea to a rough outline of why you play (goal), how you play (rules) and where you play (medium [e.g. on a board]) is a lot of work. And, of course, once you have all that done, the designer can think that it all makes perfect sense. But, until the game is explained to and played with other people outside of the design group, there is no way to know if the game really works and really is fun.
So, you have to start testing the game, and thus, the playtest.
Typically, I think a game goes through an "in house" playtest. That is, the designer or design group plays with people they know and explain and guide the play. This is good, because the designers can be challenged to explain and clarify issues about how the game is played and to start to deal with design issues which they may not have thought of (what happens if two players are in the same space?). The down side of this, is that because the game is still under the direct control of the designers, it is hard to tell if the game will work out in the real world.
Have you ever noticed how many times you learn a game because someone explains it to you, rather than reading the rules? Games often are transmitted much more easily from an experienced player to a new player. Rules are looked up in novel situations, and to settle disputes, but often, most players never read through the whole rule book.
However, with a new game, the game will not spread far if the designers have to go and explain the game play to you personally. Instead, they have to be able to write rules and provide components (board, cards, dice, whatever) that are sufficiently clear and self-explanatory so that someone whom the designer will never meet can buy the game, read the rules, and play and (most importantly) have fun.
So, that is why an external playtest is important. The external playtest releases the rules and components to one or more outside groups to review and play on their own. Then, as they run across things that don't seem clear or that don't seem to work in a game, they can give feedback to improve the rules, or to improve how the rules are written, and to improve and hone the game.
Some games will go through multiple external playtests, so that the game play and written rules can be really polished and ready for eventual marketing.
And that, of course, is the next move. Once playtest is over and the game is "done," then the work begins. You have to figure out how to manufacture the compoents (rule book, board, cards, dice, etc. etc.), How to assemble those components. How to package the game. How to pay for the labor that goes into all of those things, and establish a market, and figure out storage, shipping, and pricing.
And eventually, people have to learn about the game, play it, like it, and most importantly, buy it. That is, if you are doing this commercially.
And, since I am not actually either a professional or amateur game designer, I probably left out some steps, but, I think you get the idea. The process of creating a game is pretty complex, time consuming, and potentially costly.
So, where did I fit in as far as this new game, Zeppelin Armada?
Me and the Playtest
My family and I were selected to participate in the initial external playtest of the game.
How did this happen? Well, I keep tabs on a few blogs by smart people who do interesting things. One of them is Fred Hicks, whom I mentioned above, and one day he mentioned that he was looking for playtesters for this new game in development by Evil Hat. On impulse, I responded with my interest, and I was one of the first five who responded in the manner he requested. We got added into a google group which was created to manage the external playtest process, and within days, I had access to the draft rules and the files from whcih I could create the essential components of the game to try it out.
This was my first time as a playtester, and it was exciting to be part of a creative process which is going to result in a game that goes out to the public.
So, what we had to do was, of course, play the game. We also had to record how things went in the game and respond to a questionaire each time we played. In it, we addressed specific questions the designers had about how the game went, and also had an opportunity to give opinions and observations about what we liked and did not like about the game.
We sent all that in (by e-mail) and our input, along with the other testers, is all be considered in a redraft of the game.
We will be participating in a second round of testing which will examine the revised game.
And let me just say, as an aside, that the information super highway really makes this process a lot easier than it has ever been.
And what do we get paid? We get credit and thanks in the printed materials when the game comes out. For a small game company like Evil Hat, the reward is really to participate in the creative process. If successful, we might get a copy of the game, but that is not really the point. The point is to do something fun and constructive with interesting and fun people.
All in all, it has been a good experience.
The Game Itself
So, what is the game?
It is not a computer game. Nor is it really a board game.
It is a game centered around a fun theme: Zeppelins and villains.
Zeppelins were, for a short time, an important civilian and miliatry form of air transport. During the 1930s especially, they fueled people's imagination and romantic sense of travel, adventure and scientific progress. While the Hindenburg crash did not end the Zeppelin era, per se, it took the shine off of it. Still, many look back to that time and cannot help but imagine wild and amazing adventures centered around Zeppelins. This is especially true because the Zeppelin Age was also the age of the pulp fiction hero. From detectives (think Sam Spade) to masked vigilantes (like The Shadow, or The Green Hornet) to space heros (like Flash Gordon), this era of pop culture burst with amazing adventures of derring do and mad science.
So, the idea of the game is to take your flagship and fleet of Zeppelins and rule the air. You play not as a hero, but rather as one of several competing villains, the kind who would have given Flash Gordon or Doc Savage a run for their money.
Each player gets to choose a villain and his or her flagship, and then builds an armada to take down the other players and rule the skies.
The game is a card game, in that the play centers on cards, but not from a traditional deck, with traditional cards in suits (hearts, spades, etc.). Instead, the cards are a combination of game pieces, like those you might use in Risk or Battleship, and game effects, like the Chance or Community Chest cards in Monopoly.
Besides cards, there are a few other things needed which come, not with the game, but from things you are likely to have around the house. Some dice (traditional cube, six sided), a coin, and some counters (could be beads, stones, or other coins), just some things to help keep track of stuff that is going on in the game.
After choosing a villainous flagship, each player gets a number of Zeppelins with which to start an armada. Rather than a board, each player has a formation of Zeppelin cards. They have to be around the flagship, so that, at any one time, the most there can be down is a three by three square of Zeppelin cards, centered on the flagship. Each Zeppelin has different qualities that help define how good it is in battle.
Each player then also gets a hand of cards. These cards may include additional Zeppelins that can be played, as well as weapons with which to launch attacks on rivals, characters that can be played on Zeppelins to make they work better (for yours) or work worse (for your opponents), conditions that change the way the game is played, and events that can help you or hurt your opponents.
The game proceeds in turns, and each player gets to make decisions about how to play cards, discard cards and draw cards. Attacks against fellow players are frequent, and really, the ultimate point of the game. You are trying to be the last one standing, just like Risk, for example.
The game, once you get the rules and understand the different qualities of Zeppelins, etc., plays pretty fast. Still, a whole game goes, generally about a hour and a half.
It is a very directly competative game. You are trying to directly beat the other playes by eliminating them (again, like Risk or Battleship). If you play in the spirit of fun, it can be great to blow up your opponent's vessels, play a card to escape certain destruction of your own airships, and to try to be the most daring and merciless villain to cut a swath of destruction through the skies.
We are very much looking forward to trying out the new and improved game and doing what we can to suggest any additional changes that will help bring it out of testing and into production so that someday, not to long from now, anyone can pick up a deck, pull together a few things that are around the house, and engage in a battle royale for control of the skies.
I hope, in my long winded, way, I have explained what I have been up to and why.
Play on!
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Playtest: Zeppelin Armada - Phase 2 (interlude)
Here's a link to see Ian and Fiona playing the game when they were getting along. Thanks to Fred Hicks for posting.
Playtest: Zeppelin Armada - Phase 2 (Game 1)
Monday night I, my 11 year old daughter, Fiona, and 13 year old son, Ian, sat down and played a full game of Zeppelin Armada. We decided to add an additional 10 damage counters to our supply (I had started with 20) based on Ian's experience when he yoiked the game the other night. Our experience was different, however, and we did not need them all. We had few wounded Zeppelins, but lots that got just blown out of the sky. Also, we added a coin for a coin toss as well as the miniature golf arcade token, which we used as an indicator of a bonus a particular Zeppelin flagship could apply.
Every player starts with a flagship, and each flag ship is commanded by one of the pulp villains in Evil Hat's Spirit of the Century (SotC) RPG univerese (two male characters, Dr. Methuselah and Der Blitzmann; two female characters, Rocket Red and Princess Cyclone; and one non-human, Gorilla Khan(!!!)).
So, with our full kit assembled, we set to play. We randomly dealt our flagship cards and Ian got Dr. Methuselah, Fiona got Princess Cyclone, and I got Rocket Red. As a quick diversion, we consulted one of my copies of SotC and checked out the stats and pictures of Dr. Methuselah and Rocket Red. Princess Cyclone appears to be a new creations, and had no picture we could find. However, Fiona set to remedy this, splitting time between the game and drawing her own illustration of her Martial Weather Witch.
We each got to draw our starting Zeppelins, and Fiona and I each had very fast fleets, which put us on top for the card capturing mechanic of "yoinking." We rolled to see who started first, and Ian started us off. Position and order are important in this game, as, for one thing, it determines who can attack whom and when. Clockwise around the table, there was Ian, then me, then Fiona. I could attack Ian with my right (he could retaliate with his left). I could attack Fiona with my left and she attack me with her right. Her left was posed against Ian's right.
We began with good natured table talk and helpful advice to each other as cards were getting played for the first time. Ian, after having carefully absorbed the game already, was the clear person to beat. Fiona and I had a lot of tit for tat attacks against each other, especially after Ian got an early card that blocked all attacks from my right against his left. Strategically then, I made the fateful decision to try to take out Fiona (yes, picking on my little girl) to try to get to Ian). Fiona, concentrated a lot of attacks on me, although she also split and hit Ian too. All in all, though, the battle was one sided from the beginning, because as Fiona and I blew each other out of the sky, and Ian jumped in and caused us problems, Ian built a bigger and bigger armada.
Strategically, I would have done better to try to encourage non-aggression with Fiona, and in fact should have figured out how to support her as a proxy against Ian, since he was immune pretty much to my attacks. Well, it was fun just blasting away with big Zeppelins and explosive, electrical, kinetic, etc. attacks, and to pull out Events and Reactions that helped frustrate and confound your opponents. Late in the game, we started seeing some Characters (basically special "crew" that can get placed on Zeppelins, though not all are actually helpful (and you can play them on your opponents)) appear. Too late for me. Between Ian and Fiona, I was crushed a little over an hour into the game. However, I had crippled Fiona pretty bad, and Ian, as Dr. Methuselah seemed triumphant.
Then, the fact that it was after 9 pm and a brother and sister faced off against each other began to show. This is a very personally competitive game. There are no abstract winning of tricks or lucky cards. You decide to do things (like attack) to specific opponents. Tired and grumpy kids turn out to be frustrated by the course of such a game, and Fiona felt that her brother was smugly unbeatable, and decided, after a couple of turns of playing with me as advisor, that she no longer was interested (and that Ian was mean, and he always wins games, etc. (she is, after all, 11)).
So, I took over Princess Cyclone. I gave Ian a run for his cards. I even made his flagship "flip" first. This is another mechanic where instead of being destroyed, the first time a flagship takes a certain amount of damage, it transforms into a weaker version of itself, but keeps on fighting and commanding the fleet. Despite this satisfying outcome, Ian had my, now borrowed, flagship flipped the next turn, and soon, my defenses were spent and he blew me out of the sky.
So, this write up is not about the formal technical aspects of the playtest, though I have hit upon a few points. This is more about how things went and what social (and emotional) impressions we had. In general, everyone had fun. Ian, as winner, had a lot of fun. I had fun, despite being the biggest loser. Fiona, had some fun. She liked the theme, and early on, when it was anyone's game, she enjoyed it. However, there is a lot to keep track of, and as the game grew to be one sided, with things falling Ian's way again and again, she had less fun. This was, of course, impacted by the fact that she was tired and the game was going late. Normally, she would not walk away from the table, but, as you all probably know, siblings are often simultaneously best friends and bitter rivals. This is true for my kids. They have a lot of congruent interests and can get along incredibly well. They also can fight like cats and dogs, use inappropriate words and inappropriate force with each other, and generally drive each other (and their parents) crazy.
So, mixing that with a new and highly competative game, was a little explosive.
That aside, the test went well. The game proved to be very playable and fun. The theme is imaginative and goofy and exciting. The mechanics work well. There are important mechanical and social issues to consider in building your tactics and strategy in the game. We have a few observations to share with the designers, and hopefully, our thoughts, with those of the other testers, will make it an even better, polished and exciting game.
Now, my next planned test would be to include my dad, who arrives with my mom tomorrow, in a test this weekend.
We shall see.
Every player starts with a flagship, and each flag ship is commanded by one of the pulp villains in Evil Hat's Spirit of the Century (SotC) RPG univerese (two male characters, Dr. Methuselah and Der Blitzmann; two female characters, Rocket Red and Princess Cyclone; and one non-human, Gorilla Khan(!!!)).
So, with our full kit assembled, we set to play. We randomly dealt our flagship cards and Ian got Dr. Methuselah, Fiona got Princess Cyclone, and I got Rocket Red. As a quick diversion, we consulted one of my copies of SotC and checked out the stats and pictures of Dr. Methuselah and Rocket Red. Princess Cyclone appears to be a new creations, and had no picture we could find. However, Fiona set to remedy this, splitting time between the game and drawing her own illustration of her Martial Weather Witch.
We each got to draw our starting Zeppelins, and Fiona and I each had very fast fleets, which put us on top for the card capturing mechanic of "yoinking." We rolled to see who started first, and Ian started us off. Position and order are important in this game, as, for one thing, it determines who can attack whom and when. Clockwise around the table, there was Ian, then me, then Fiona. I could attack Ian with my right (he could retaliate with his left). I could attack Fiona with my left and she attack me with her right. Her left was posed against Ian's right.
We began with good natured table talk and helpful advice to each other as cards were getting played for the first time. Ian, after having carefully absorbed the game already, was the clear person to beat. Fiona and I had a lot of tit for tat attacks against each other, especially after Ian got an early card that blocked all attacks from my right against his left. Strategically then, I made the fateful decision to try to take out Fiona (yes, picking on my little girl) to try to get to Ian). Fiona, concentrated a lot of attacks on me, although she also split and hit Ian too. All in all, though, the battle was one sided from the beginning, because as Fiona and I blew each other out of the sky, and Ian jumped in and caused us problems, Ian built a bigger and bigger armada.
Strategically, I would have done better to try to encourage non-aggression with Fiona, and in fact should have figured out how to support her as a proxy against Ian, since he was immune pretty much to my attacks. Well, it was fun just blasting away with big Zeppelins and explosive, electrical, kinetic, etc. attacks, and to pull out Events and Reactions that helped frustrate and confound your opponents. Late in the game, we started seeing some Characters (basically special "crew" that can get placed on Zeppelins, though not all are actually helpful (and you can play them on your opponents)) appear. Too late for me. Between Ian and Fiona, I was crushed a little over an hour into the game. However, I had crippled Fiona pretty bad, and Ian, as Dr. Methuselah seemed triumphant.
Then, the fact that it was after 9 pm and a brother and sister faced off against each other began to show. This is a very personally competitive game. There are no abstract winning of tricks or lucky cards. You decide to do things (like attack) to specific opponents. Tired and grumpy kids turn out to be frustrated by the course of such a game, and Fiona felt that her brother was smugly unbeatable, and decided, after a couple of turns of playing with me as advisor, that she no longer was interested (and that Ian was mean, and he always wins games, etc. (she is, after all, 11)).
So, I took over Princess Cyclone. I gave Ian a run for his cards. I even made his flagship "flip" first. This is another mechanic where instead of being destroyed, the first time a flagship takes a certain amount of damage, it transforms into a weaker version of itself, but keeps on fighting and commanding the fleet. Despite this satisfying outcome, Ian had my, now borrowed, flagship flipped the next turn, and soon, my defenses were spent and he blew me out of the sky.
So, this write up is not about the formal technical aspects of the playtest, though I have hit upon a few points. This is more about how things went and what social (and emotional) impressions we had. In general, everyone had fun. Ian, as winner, had a lot of fun. I had fun, despite being the biggest loser. Fiona, had some fun. She liked the theme, and early on, when it was anyone's game, she enjoyed it. However, there is a lot to keep track of, and as the game grew to be one sided, with things falling Ian's way again and again, she had less fun. This was, of course, impacted by the fact that she was tired and the game was going late. Normally, she would not walk away from the table, but, as you all probably know, siblings are often simultaneously best friends and bitter rivals. This is true for my kids. They have a lot of congruent interests and can get along incredibly well. They also can fight like cats and dogs, use inappropriate words and inappropriate force with each other, and generally drive each other (and their parents) crazy.
So, mixing that with a new and highly competative game, was a little explosive.
That aside, the test went well. The game proved to be very playable and fun. The theme is imaginative and goofy and exciting. The mechanics work well. There are important mechanical and social issues to consider in building your tactics and strategy in the game. We have a few observations to share with the designers, and hopefully, our thoughts, with those of the other testers, will make it an even better, polished and exciting game.
Now, my next planned test would be to include my dad, who arrives with my mom tomorrow, in a test this weekend.
We shall see.
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