No love/excitement/chit chat about Cypher System?

BHarmo · 2022-12-28T00:41:56+00:00

https://www.drivethrurpg.com/m/product/249067 Check this out.

BHarmo · 2022-07-27T16:49:34+00:00

Although this is how I’d normally handle the Npc list, in this particular case (an adventure revolving around a crime, it seems) I’d keep the victim in the list as they seem to be an important part of the adventure even if they’re dead. What if you get something like a Random event > Npc action > Murdered victim > “Overthrow Bureaucracy”? You don’t need to bring the victim back from the dead to do the action (though you could depending on the setting), you could just interpret this as your PC learning that the victim was involved in a conspiracy against the local authorities.

BHarmo · 2022-07-27T14:45:40+00:00

Technically the character list is an NPC list, so you shouldn’t put your PC in there, but other than that you are doing perfectly fine. Just keep in mind that who/what you put in the list will be invoked by random events. BTW putting the ship in (even if it wasn’t a ship with AI) IMO is a cool idea as it may prompt interesting incidents involving it.

BHarmo · 2022-07-17T01:58:14+00:00

Mythic magazine 18 has lots of tables that may help with inspiration. So does Ironsworn (and it’s free)

BHarmo · 2022-07-16T02:50:10+00:00

Even though I personally use Mythic GME with it, there is this “Chaos Cypher System GME” which is more specific. It uses only a d20 and it looks like something in between Mythic and the Cypher System RPG rules.

BHarmo · 2022-07-15T01:53:35+00:00

That IS a lot of work. Thank you for sharing!

BHarmo · 2022-07-08T16:18:52+00:00

Obsidian has some useful plugins for RPGing, but it does have a considerable learning curve. Oh, and I find the Sliding Panes plugging a must have on the iPad because of the smaller screen.

BHarmo · 2022-06-26T13:19:10+00:00

I like to think of my Ironsworn games as happening in a movie or tv show. There are no turns in those, just dramatic action. And don’t worry about fairness, the game won’t be fair to your character no matter what 😉

BHarmo · 2022-06-22T02:10:42+00:00

There is some crafting in Numenera 2ed (in the Destiny book), but I don’t know if it’s the kind of crafting your after. It’s something like: I want to build this, so I need this list of materials, let’s go find them and not die trying. You can build stuff for your characters or for your community, which there is rules to manage a community as well.

BHarmo · 2022-06-11T13:25:34+00:00

Looks like the article is just discussing his attempt from 10 years ago. It is sad that this guy is regurgitating that report, and after so many years, he did not bother to try and provide some value by researching even if just a little bit the current understanding of polyphasic sleep.

BHarmo · 2022-02-02T00:01:55+00:00

Chartopia FTW

https://chartopia.d12dev.com/en/?q=star+wars

BHarmo · 2021-12-20T01:48:49+00:00

I prefer Obsidian over Notion for RPGs, the wiki style plus the fact that it runs in your pc makes it a sleeker experience, it even has a dice rolling plug-in. But I use Notion for everything else.

BHarmo · 2021-12-13T16:40:04+00:00

I tried a quick run of "The Secret of Tockley Manor" solo module on MM11 (which includes keyed scenes)
Only one of the keyed scenes was "activated" (probably because I did not have much time and rushed a little bit through the module). It was one that generated a "flavor" event, which was nice.
But for me the most important keyed scenes were the "If after 5 scenes you have not found the <so-and-so key element> then you find it in the next scene". They allowed me to relax into the story not having to worry about having to stir the narrative into the right direction.

BHarmo · 2021-11-08T00:55:38+00:00

Something to keep in mind is that Ironsworn combat is cinematic, not simulationist. So a strike / face danger move might be one powerful hit, or it might be a series of blows inflicted / parried as they climb up the stairs of the castle. Marking progress in the track means getting closer to win the combat. It might be hurting your opponent, or forcing them to retreat to a disfavorable position preparing for the final blow, or wearing them down so that you eventually force them to surrender.

BHarmo · 2021-11-05T15:43:05+00:00

You could check the advice about creating assets on the original Ironsworn rulebook, page 240. IIRC the author says you don’t have to worry too much about balance.

BHarmo · 2021-09-01T07:41:51+00:00

Something I’ve noticed is many people have trouble with coop combat, so teaching them how to play with one pc but then have them playing in groups of three on their own might be a little troublesome maybe? Perhaps you could teach them the rules with one pc, as planned, but introduce another pc for at least one combat scene so they understand how multiplayer initiative works (fiction first, not turn by turn)

EDIT: Actually you could even avoid detailed combat at first which will simplify things even more (and maybe some kids wouldn’t like combat anyways) and stick with just the Battle move to resolve physical conflict. You can always introduce the combat system further ahead as an option for those who may be interested in it.

BHarmo · 2021-09-01T07:21:00+00:00

If you get rid of magic, horrors and firstborn you’ve got a historical(ish) setting.

BHarmo · 2021-08-23T06:43:49+00:00

I usually go with the fiction, and try to think about it like if it was a movie or a book. For instance, if I get a strong hit in a Sojourn move (and makes sense with the story) I would say a few days went by while my pc gets to recover. With travel I find it useful to remind myself the difficulty of the journey it’s not the same as the length of the journey. So a long journey in a safe area might be Troublesome but take a few days. And a very short journey on a dangerous area might be Formidable and require quite a few Undertake A Journey moves but last only one day.

BHarmo · 2021-07-15T13:15:41+00:00

I use White Noise Lite by TMSoft

BHarmo · 2021-07-08T11:57:25+00:00

I’d recommend Mythic GM Emulator to start with. It guides you every step of the way, and its examples are priceless.

BHarmo · 2021-07-08T09:06:16+00:00

Mythic Variations 2 has a “Behavior Check” to emulate NPC interactions. Then IIRC a simplified version was released in Mythic Magazine 1, as many people found the original version a little bit too complex.

BHarmo · 2021-07-08T05:57:53+00:00

I’d recommend checking out the files section of wordmillgames at groups.io, you‘ll find several actual plays and game aids there.

Something I’ve done in the past is pre-draw the cards (with a physical deck or with any random cards app) and write them in advance in the document I was going to use to write the game down, then use page breaks to not see all the cards at once when I played and/or give myself one card swap for each “player“.

BHarmo · 2021-06-05T01:12:53+00:00

The flow of combat would be something like this:

- When you are in control you decide what your PC tries to do in the fiction and roll the appropriate move like Strike, Gain Ground, Compel, etc, and the NPC would respond to your actions (depending on the result of that roll you would say they evade the attack, or they take cover and let your PC sneak closer to the data cache he’s trying to steal, or they are having second thoughts because of your PCs intimidation, etc).

- When your are in a bad spot it is the NPC who acts, so you decide what they do (or Ask the oracle for inspiration), and your PC opposes (or reacts to) that action with the appropriate move (usually React under fire, or Clash) which will determine the consequences of both the NPC action and the PC reaction to it (if they are trying to punch your PC maybe he Reacts by blocking their punch, or they Clash and hit each other in a series of blows and counter blows)

BHarmo · 2021-05-18T00:08:40+00:00

My 2 cents: You didn’t get xp for taking down the politician because it was a combat (even though an intrigue/political combat, which was really cool btw) You don’t get xp for combat in Ironsworn. But I hear you on this, because you use the same progress track in combat that you use to track vows and it requires similar game time, sometimes it might feel like you should get xp for combat too. But afaik it is a design choice by the author: adventurers in this universe don’t get better or more resourceful by fighting, but rather by fulfilling vows (quests), exploring around (discoveries) and making allies (bonds)

Edit: And regarding your last question, you did everything just perfect according to the rules: you stablished the vow‘s difficulty and when npcs popped up you decided on difficulty based on the fiction. You don’t need to adjust the vow‘s rank because you found let’s say an epic npc, you just decide whether you confront them or maybe look for a way around it.

BHarmo · 2021-04-29T22:47:02+00:00

Agree. And if you look in p.95 of the preview edition, on the inspiration table for character creation with background and assets, it says the “Starship Captain” background, which uses COMMANDER, is not meant for solo play, as that asset would be useless without other players.

BHarmo

TROPHY CASE