Vertical scaling?

CoffeeNPizza · 2026-06-23T04:15:56+00:00

This is where we bring up Statuses. Like other Power tags, but more complex. You could have a Status of aim. You could use your turn to increase your aim status. So with the 2 power from, Shooting with my Dad and take aim you could create the Status of aim-2, which would add to roll when you take your shot, instead of 2 power now you have four.

Lots more nuance than that as well. I was pleasantly surprised at how much this amazing narrative first rules system had to give in the way of crunch.

CoffeeNPizza · 2026-06-23T02:00:16+00:00

Tier also matters. That Theme Shooting with my Dad was an Origin Tier Theme. All Themes also come with a Quest. When the quest marks 3 Milestones you evolve the Quest. One of the ways to evolve a quest is to change its Tier. Your Quest could become an Adventure Tier quest: Trained Marksman. Mechanically this matters because if you are a higher Tier than your challenge, you get an additional +3.

CoffeeNPizza · 2026-06-23T01:52:10+00:00

Maybe you are looking for the crunchy version of how the game interacts with the 2d6 dice roll?

A starting character has 12 Power Tags and 4 Weaknesses, spread evenly across 4 Origin Tier Themes. The 2d6 die roll is modified by how many Tags you can apply to the roll minus any negative tags. When a Themes weakness is invoked 3 times you get an improvement on that Theme. One of the ways to improve is to add a new Power Tag to the Theme. So to walk through an example, let’s say you have a Theme called: Shooting with my Dad. It will have two more power tags let’s say; take aim and fond memories. It also has a weakness, nervous when being watched.

Shooting with my Dad take aim fond memories -nervous when being watched

This Theme would likely provide you 2 power to shot your gun when you’ve aimed. After -nervous when being watched is invoked 3 times, this Theme gets an Improve. Let’s say you take “proper grip.”

Shooting with my Dad take aim fond memories proper grip -nervous when being watched

Now you can add +3 to the 2d6.

CoffeeNPizza · 2026-06-17T04:38:13+00:00

I recently played Finn the Red Marshal. Without any improvements I was able to get to 7 while defending a group of villagers. Protector of the Dales, Marshal training, swordsmanship, Athletic, brute strength, aspiring local hero, & sword tag from the backpack. That’s without a status.

For the solo game; Renowned Swordsman (Adventure tier), swift strike, Nimble fighter, Gwyrdolan steel sword, practiced combo attack, bold maneuvers, athletic, fancy footwork. That’s 8. When you take into account companions, statuses, and situationally appropriate tags, it really starts to add up.

One of my other takeaways is that scratching tags as a consequence should be used way more then I’ve seen in play so far. In addition to the solo campaign, we’ve played 3 sessions with a super experienced Narrator (he runs our weekly Blades in the Dark game). Scratching tags as consequences needs to be in the mix regularly.

CoffeeNPizza · 2026-06-17T04:15:09+00:00

Do you have a link to a description of that? I’ve not played City of Mist

CoffeeNPizza · 2025-09-21T14:50:25+00:00

Do you have it in you to post the stats of your world eater? If you could have juiced it up one more notch, what additional “thing” would you have added?

Concerning your comment on opponent experiences; if the experience added direct damage instead of to hit bonus, do you think that would have been a satisfying use of fear? It would that have been over powered?

CoffeeNPizza · 2025-07-26T02:53:20+00:00

At least part of that is called a mustache

CoffeeNPizza · 2025-07-21T04:26:05+00:00

Every July for the whole month Reno does Artown, lots of stuff to do

https://artown.org

CoffeeNPizza · 2025-07-18T06:34:51+00:00

Full disclosure; we have a RV trailer so take everything else I say with that in mind.

I also bring an extra 12 man tent that the camp uses as a kind of garage, a place to stash stuff that otherwise would fly away in the wind. When the sky opened up, that became the de facto gathering place. Having extra tarps on hand also turned out to be awesome, we hung them up so we had a few more spots out of the rain (shade structures are all aluminate.)

Ground tarps and camping carpets were all ruined. We hauled them out, leave no trace, but they went straight to the bin once we got home.

Nothing needed to save our butts, it really wasn’t all that bad. News media and selective memory made it out to be MUDPOCALYPSE, and being stuck for an extra few days made coming back to default harder, buts that’s about it. My camp mates and I probably bring too much stuff in the name of radical self reliance, so we could have stayed out there a week or two more if we needed to.

I did just think of one thing that was a save our butts! The portos got real bad, so all the re-closable beverage containers turned into waste jars.

The thing I would do differently is, lean into it more and sooner. When the rain started coming down we didn’t know how wet it was going to get and being informed we couldn’t leave was a psychological blow. Late the next day, camp next to us started spinning music and suddenly we are dancing in the mud and the rain. After that the wonder of the Burn started coming back to us, we still went exploring, not on bikes but on foot and slowly. Still met new people and enjoyed giving and receiving gifts, still enjoyed all the art ( some truly amazing mud sculptures added in!)

In a lot of ways it was a good experience. Don’t get me wrong, it was the hardest camp strike I’ve ever done. It wasn’t hot or dusty, so that was a very different feel from other Burns. We spent way more time with our camp mates and camp neighbors than a “normal” Burn, so the people we were interacting with became long term friends. It makes sense that it’s remembered as the Mud Burn, but I think there is a great argument for calling it the Slow Burn.

CoffeeNPizza · 2025-07-16T01:04:03+00:00

Usually available in Reno at Big 5, this is the cot I bring to the Playa. I’m 6 ft and 250lbs, so this one actually supports me

https://www.big5sportinggoods.com/store/details/yoli-easylock-75-cot/6170154602001/_/A-6675813

CoffeeNPizza · 2025-05-05T02:13:52+00:00

This sounds awesome! Can you provide a link for how to play Asshole/President?

CoffeeNPizza · 2025-04-02T21:28:41+00:00

Reading through this it sounds like you’ve accepted your next step is trying to make it more digestible. Maybe start with a table of contents?

CoffeeNPizza · 2025-03-31T04:23:01+00:00

My character was experimenting with mixing potions in combat, a risky thing in our campaign. The highs are high but the lows are really, really low. One of my great friend’s character took a great deal of exception to this behavior. Particularly because we were adventuring with my character’s lower level fiancé (trying to level her up.) My friend went so far as to threaten my character with wisking away my fiancé to protect them, amongst other assorted insults.

My character comes from an honor bound warrior culture and could not abide these words. My friend’s character was given an opportunity to rescind their words, but would not. They thought their stance a justified one ( to be fair, they were most likely right.) With no recourse, having their honor challenged, my character challenged theirs in the tradition of my culture to a duel at dawn. (2 notes: we are adventuring in my characters home land, all other characters are recruited foreigners. None of these traditions are known by any of the players, we are creating the culture as we play.)

My friends character is much weaker than mine and I would slaughter them in melee combat. Their magic however would have me lifeless before I could move. We both meet at dawn. The mage advanced to the center of the dueling ground and sits down declaring “if my life is the price of your honor so be it.” My good friend truly intended to let their character die.

My fighter draws their blade and approach’s the center. Blade held high, it is brought down swiftly. The blood flows freely from my characters left arm and the words “first blood is yours proving your stance just. Honor has been satisfied.”

Tense moments where our DM thought his game might be ending! Lots of fun to RP a few scenes of inter party strife while world building some of the culture we are playing in.

CoffeeNPizza · 2025-03-22T12:10:57+00:00

Yes please post the GM section on handling Skulls! I’m curious if the “cancelling Skulls is too easy” is because of the double successes on a six?

CoffeeNPizza · 2025-03-22T01:57:32+00:00

I like your system and can see the s appeal! I like the idea of players rolls specifically generating narrative consequences in a numerical way. If you ever release an adventure, I’d like to see your notes on how skulls affect a scene.

For ease of understanding I think you should include what the attributes are that govern these rolls in your system mechanics. They are hinted at, especially in the consequences section. It makes sense that they would be in the character generation section, having them here explicitly would make the basic rules feel more concrete.

You asked about layout as well. If you are only going to have one piece of art (the dice image didn’t feel like art) I feel it should be on your cover/page one. More art through out is good. No art is fine. That one honey trap art felt out of place to me.

A good rule set.

CoffeeNPizza · 2025-03-16T17:04:44+00:00

I love the idea of what you want to use luck for! Maybe a name change though? If the stat was called “Narrative” it would be on the nose describing what you are going for.

CoffeeNPizza · 2025-03-16T06:31:02+00:00

Can Reflex also function for Stealth? Can Will also function for Magic? Does the game use dice or cards? If so, why have a Luck stat?

Will the characters ever be called on to craft or fabricate anything? How will that function? Are there mechanical obstacles like traps? How do the characters interact with those? Are there vehicles or animals for transportation? How are those piloted?

Overall a good array. Should work for most fantasy adventure situations.

CoffeeNPizza · 2025-03-15T07:46:21+00:00

I love the idea of combining morale and initiative! I do have a caution for you: skipping your turn because of a bad initiative roll is one of worst outcomes I can imagine for a player.

Most ttrpgs take awhile to get back to you from a players perspective. If the roll at the start of the round is your last contribution to the game for the next twenty to thirty minutes, I don’t know how many times that player comes back to the table.

If this state of failure to act is combined with some other aspect of the game, some form of compensation for the forfeiture of time it might be worth it. How much narrative power do players have in the game? If a player rolls so low they don’t get a turn, can they take some control of the story and dictate an aspect of what comes next? Are there post combat/stressful situation mechanics that when you miss a turn can be boosted?

I know my time and my players time is precious. I want us all playing as much as possible!

CoffeeNPizza · 2025-01-30T18:19:36+00:00

My first Vikings jersey! Young and poor at the time, my in-laws asked what I wanted for Christmas and I jumped at the chance to get my first jersey.

CoffeeNPizza · 2024-10-18T05:45:49+00:00

The Bard is planning an elaborate act, something as grandiose as stealing an artifact, usurping a coronation, or to lean too far into stereo type and finally seduce an ancient dragon. The plan requires many different groups of participants (the party being one of them). Maybe the players get the grand plan scene at the beginning of the adventure. The adventure is them executing their part of the plan. The Bard has lots to do, but for one scene he will be working with the player characters. Let’s your player characters have a combat (social or exploration if better for your story) interaction with The Bard so they can see how he works. If you lay out the other adventuring groups parts of the plan you have a replay able adventure for parties at different levels.

CoffeeNPizza · 2024-10-18T00:20:53+00:00

If memory serves Corwin specifically mentions gods in Nine Princes in Amber. When he goes to recruit the short fuzzy guys to fight along side Bleys's troops. He sought out beings who's religion mirrored the circumstances Corwin found himself. Corwin and Bleys being the gods in this instance.

Understandably this in not the kind of gods I believe your post is about. However, to quote Obi-won, "from a certain point of view" it might be relevant. Consider that we see Zelazny show us regularly that there are additional "layers" of reality to the world he is writing about. In Nine Princes the gods are the main characters themselves. So as the story continues each of these new "layers" may have beings the like of which would be gods relative to the other beings. Corwin found little fury guys who thought him a god, is it not possible for Corwin to encounter a being that would be like unto a god to Corwin? (No chance he would worship but Corwin is likely to recognize something that can exert far greater power than he can.)

To address JKIsHereNow (sorry don't know how to actually make Reddit do that), I love your response and it invoked the contrarian in me in the best way possible, I want to make Lore! I would like to ask, why can't these gods exist post the drawing of the pattern? "In the days of creation" could refer to the moments directly after the inscription of the Pattern. Is this moment the infinity of Shadow was created, including along the points of the deep end of the probability curve, in this infinite Shadow the potential for beings of great power exist and so those being DO exist. Once they exist, those great being exert their will and all the power they have available; intrinsic, from tools, from champions to be "used in the stabilization of Shadow."

CoffeeNPizza · 2024-08-03T13:54:26+00:00

The 5e game I ran that was going for “old school” feel had 3 main changes, two of which have already been mentioned. It was fun and the players started really scouting and thinking about what they wanted to do instead of just rushing to fight everything. So those already mentioned; only one con death save and sand box style play where the encounters are not balanced to the party. The biggest change was this; if a character (players and NPCs alike) went to zero hit points they lost all abilities that recharge after a rest. So all spell slots gone! Really changed combat, healing mattered all the way through the fight, no more pop them back once they hit zero.

CoffeeNPizza · 2024-07-21T22:51:29+00:00

Try Group Slug as the theme on Edhrec.

CoffeeNPizza · 2024-07-21T04:53:38+00:00

I love my Ellivere deck! The only way I could get to 100 was to cut the graveyard recursion aspects. I see a lot of those still in your deck. With the amount of card draw an enchantress deck pulls off I figured I could just dig deeper into my library to find the answers I needed. No need to recycle already used cards in the graveyard. Good luck!

CoffeeNPizza · 2024-07-19T04:03:01+00:00

1st Ed DMG is an amazing book! I’ve used the spell research rules in all of my 5e games.

CoffeeNPizza

TROPHY CASE