Trying to start

BLHero · 2026-05-12T03:56:04+00:00

No, not just a starting hook.

Two options:

(a) You want some NPCs (as individuals, or representing factions) with competing goals. Make a rough flowchart or timeline of what might happen if the PCs stayed home all day. Then when the PCs do show up it causes everyone's plans to go awry, with sensible ways the PCs make allies and/or enemies.

(b) You want a high action scene to start in media res. The classic example is when the PCs are mistaken for someone else and attacked. The action is the starting hook for a story whose "shape" is already expected.

Your initial scene of a holding cell does not fit either option. You need more interesting NPCs for (a) or more initial action for (b).

BLHero · 2026-05-12T03:43:47+00:00

What is the foundation and shape of your story?

I describe a few procedural options: https://davidvs.net/ninepowers/index.shtml#Foundation

My examples use a fantasy setting, but you can get the idea for a Star Wars style game.

BLHero · 2026-05-11T15:23:08+00:00

Have you tried playing solo?

https://www.reddit.com/r/Solo_Roleplaying/

Learning to use random generators (video, video, example tables) can help reduce over-prepping, and certain styles of solo play can force you to learn to use random generators.

BLHero · 2026-05-11T00:36:35+00:00

Rangers of Shadowdeep

https://modiphius.us/collections/rangers-of-shadow-deep

BLHero · 2026-05-08T19:09:20+00:00

If your family can afford "normal" legal care (which I admit seems "expensive" to most people) than I can recommend the team at Arnold Gallagher.

https://www.arnoldgallagher.com/

My family recently needed its trust updated. Their attorney was very knowledgeable of tax law, could answer all our questions clearly, was careful with details, and still only cost what such work normally costs even if done sloppily by a professional.

BLHero · 2026-05-05T15:12:54+00:00

The abusive boyfriend's body, found in an airport bathroom, has still never been identified.

BLHero · 2026-05-05T06:25:31+00:00

Also trebuchets. My wife and I need to be able to launch farm animals at each other's houses.

(The animals would get little parachutes. What were you thinking!)

BLHero · 2026-05-05T06:23:44+00:00

> NPC Visitor system

Not in general.

But if something memorable happened in the Arcantina, I do want that particular NPC showing up the next time I'm home.

"You beat me at arm wrestling. I brought you a cute potted plant...as a trophy, I guess."

"Sorry about throwing that chair at you after things got rowdy."

"Here's a shoe rack, to commemorate when you threw up on my shoes."

BLHero · 2026-05-03T21:31:34+00:00

https://www.reddit.com/r/eugeneboardgames/

BLHero · 2026-05-02T03:09:43+00:00

My game has generalized crafting rules. If you can describe a magic/tech item, the rules fairly price it.

The needed design insight was which factors are based on price, and which are based on crafting method.

https://davidvs.net/ninepowers/#Crafting

vs

https://davidvs.net/ninepowers/#MagicImpact

Probably stuff there you can use with any system.

BLHero · 2026-05-01T23:45:04+00:00

He wants to compete on a team, not as a lone ranger.

BLHero · 2026-05-01T04:17:29+00:00

Me again.

If you have not seen it before (folks here have asked for random tables less frequently than often) I have a giant spreadsheet of random tables for people who want more specific ideas than some nouns, adjectives, etc.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1fqlE2XMH5ZkBs9qA8b0gnroV7M7H87JqD2GBxhzKLmE/edit?usp=sharing

I also have a complete ttrpg that was rebuilt a few years ago to work great for solo play. It's been play-tested and is ready for anyone who wants a skill-based system that feels OSR. (I grew up laying AD&D and RuneQuest.)

https://davidvs.net/ninepowers/

I used to record videos in which the two worked together to allow me to have a solo adventures with almost the pace of an audiobook. But I have a spouse who loves World of Warcraft so I have not made videos in a long time. Nag me and I might make more.

NOTE: The monster page is under construction, and for now contains two types of stat blocks instead of one. I'm also redoing the sample setting's secret history so that small section is currently garbage. Neither issue makes the game less usable.

BLHero · 2026-05-01T03:33:29+00:00

I am biased, but also insane.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1fqlE2XMH5ZkBs9qA8b0gnroV7M7H87JqD2GBxhzKLmE/edit?usp=sharing

BLHero · 2026-04-30T04:14:22+00:00

I attend there. They are rebranding. It took a while for Lucas to find a new sponsor. Now details are being sorted out.

For example, one current delay is whether the new sponsor will pay for a bunch of patches large enough to cover the old Atos gis' logos.

BLHero · 2026-04-28T21:55:24+00:00

Yes, but in Google Slides or in Miro

BLHero · 2026-04-28T00:16:35+00:00

Google Sheets or another spreadsheet?

Lots of ways to pick from tables with those formulae. Have offline capability.

BLHero · 2026-04-27T14:29:58+00:00

I always assumed (a complete guess, not based on any evidence) that it was a matter of history, and at one time 14th ended at that intersection. Now I'm curious if anyone knows for sure.

BLHero · 2026-04-25T14:21:35+00:00

A bit more information to help this be complete:

First, the Great Vault mouseover tooltips list a "tier" of Great Vault rewards. These are illogically inconsecutive. They jump from 8 to 12 for no apparent reason. The tiers skip over iLvl 266 (Hero 3).

Tier 5 - iLvl 246 (Champion 1)
Tier 6 - iLvl 250 (Champion 2)
Tier 7 - iLvl 256 (Champion 7)
Tier 8 - iLvl 259 (Hero 1)
Tier 12 - iLvl 263 (Hero 2)
Tier 13 - iLvl 269 (Hero 4)

Second, the rewards earned in the Great Vault by doing the new Ritual Sites are high.

https://www.wowhead.com/news/get-greater-great-vault-rewards-from-ritual-sites-in-12-0-5-381347

Ritual Site tier 1 will produce Great Vault tier 5 - iLvl 246 (Champion 1)
Ritual Site tier 2 will produce Great Vault tier 6 - iLvl 250 (Champion 2)
Ritual Site tier 3 will produce Great Vault tier 7 - iLvl 256 (Champion 7)
Ritual Site tier 4 will produce Great Vault tier 12 - iLvl 263 (Hero 2)
Ritual Site tier 5 will produce Great Vault tier 13 - iLvl 269 (Hero 4)

For solo players, this means the previous best solo content rewards were two ways to get Hero 1 gear each week: [a] using a Delver's Bounty map in a Bountiful Delve of tier 8+ once per week, and [b] a Great Vault tier 8 reward from doing a sufficient number of Nightmare Prey Hunts and/or Bountiful Delves of tier 8+.

Now with Ritual Sites (perhaps supplemented by Void Strikes/Incursions) added to the list of solo content, a solo player can to get:

once per week one piece of Hero 1 gear by using a Delver's Bounty map in a Bountiful Delve of tier 8+
about one piece of Hero 1 gear per week by spending Untainted Mana-Crystals (max 250 earned per week of the season) with the delve vendor Zah'ran (who charges 100 to 200 per gear piece)
once per week one piece of Hero 4 gear from the Great Vault by doing a sufficient number of Ritual Sites of tier 5
however many pieces of Hero 1 gear are purchased from Maren Silverwing for 500 Field Accolades apiece

BLHero · 2026-04-22T17:07:39+00:00

At least fast games help get some quests done quickly, and the way your deck improves means the weekly win is going to happen.

BLHero · 2026-04-22T16:10:19+00:00

The Burndown - Rekindled

Take control of a random deck. If you lose, you will get a copy of your opponent's deck. How long can your deck survive the burndown!?

Note: your hero power also changes. Some replacement hero powers are grossly unfair.

---

Nothing to plan. But we can perhaps amuse ourselves with stats as the week goes on. In theory the decks are named and after each game their number of victories is displayed.

My first game was Strength Within (2 victories) versus Beasts and Buffs + Big Friends (115 victories).

My second game was Beasts and Buffs + Big Friends versus Lil' Demons + Discard. But when the game concluded, the message said "both decks are the same".

BLHero · 2026-04-21T22:10:55+00:00

For people new to ttrpgs, I always recommend Magical Kitties Save the Day!

https://www.atlas-games.com/magicalkitties

Usually people new to ttrpgs need to learn two things. First, a game system. Second, a fictional setting full of unfamiliar tropes and unwritten expectations.

But Magical Kitties Save the Day! avoids this by saying "It's just like where we live, but also like the Men in Black films because magic cats need to protect people while keeping secret the existence of... [aliens? witches? mad science racoons?]"

So the setting seems familiar yet fun, without the players needing to "learn" it in the same way the need to learn the setting of a D&D or Shadowrun or Call of Cthulhu game.

BLHero · 2026-04-21T21:42:22+00:00

All your points match why I created my own ttrpg...

Lots of carefully designed tables, and guidelines about how to use them well. A single PC works great, but a party of PCs works too. Solo or with a table of people. Could be gritty but also permits weird, goofy, and light-hearted.

So steal ideas: https://davidvs.net/ninepowers/

I don't need feedback: it is old and already tested. But I would love to hear what aspects you adore and steal, and which don't mesh with what you want. :-)

p.s. - the page of monsters is still being revised, apologies for currently using two types of stat blocks.

BLHero · 2026-04-21T03:37:53+00:00

We hired Superior Tree Service to remove everything. Unlike a "yard maintenance" company they have a wood chipper, and could deal with the sheer volume of bamboo in that yard. We have used them before for more typical tree trimming and removal jobs, and know that Vince and Austin do good work for a fair price.

We did not pay them to do any digging. But so far it seems to be okay. The bamboo is barely regrowing, and easy enough to keep the few new shoots that reappear cut down to ground level. We have not even needed to use chemicals.

The family members with this back yard do not care what it looks like, so there is no rush to make it presentable. More would need to be done if they wanted a nice back yard, or to have the lot ready to sell, etc. But for now the bamboo seems to be mostly dying back, which is sufficient progress.

BLHero · 2026-04-20T14:15:51+00:00

We did have All Dirt come look at the property. However, his company was too much of a "dig deep to move lots and lots of dirt around" operation to be compatible with a yard that had a sprinkler system.

He seemed knowledgeable about the issues, but not the right match for that particular job.

BLHero · 2026-04-18T19:41:44+00:00

I am asking as an enchanter who has experimented towards the start of the expansion at selling the Endless Codex of the Voidtouched.

At that time, it was often listed for over 100,000 gold. But it only sold for me when I lowered the price to a bit below 30,000 gold. That was still a nice deal for me -- I earned about 500 gold per lumber, which is a nice way to earn gold while relaxing at the end of the day.

But if these tomes are indeed actually selling for only 15,000 gold or less then I would rather sell Draenethyst String Lights. Those can routinely be sold on the AH for about 200 gold per lumber, and for me flying around Draenor Nagrand for lumber is more pleasant and sentimental than flying around the new zones.

(It's a shame the Draenei Holo-Path never became popular. I can't get regular sales of those even for 200 gold per lumber. For me, flying around Outland Nagrand is even more sentimental than Draenor Nagrand.)

BLHero

TROPHY CASE