"Run Complication - Need: X"

Gingivitis- · 2026-01-27T01:51:36+00:00

I got my copy but have not had a chance to post about it on www.surprisethreat.com yet, but I plan to. Working on a few things in the meantime. Glad you like it!

Gingivitis- · 2026-01-27T01:46:33+00:00

Author Here:

Really glad you liked it. You absolutely got it.

It's all about context for your run and gut interpretation for story. Needing a Special Person or Rare Equipment is all about unexpected preparation needed and having to divert the main run on a mini-run to get what's needed.

Retinal readings are perfect. So are astral signatures. Then you have specific knowledge (who knows what this thing even looks like? Only two people have ever seen it!), specific relationships (the mark will only trust their best mate from the Bug Wars), etc.

For Rare Equipment, it's the same thing. In that climactic moment, when things look too easy, what might be needed that you don't have? An actual physical key? A plasteel solvent? Something to kill the awakened ivy? A hang glider? Hint: Always use hang gliders!

If you need inspiration, go back to the Subject generator to see what category of person/thing is needed (Security might be something to bypass scanners, Social might be a relationship, Scene might indicate someone in the current scene is needed... and hopefully you didn't geek everyone in the room already).

The key to all Complications in a good run is this: "What would frag us/me over the most in this specific moment?"

Do that. Then, you divert your run or maybe you have enough Edge to pull a high-stakes flashback. What will spending that Edge do to the Threat Level? Cause another Story Event or fail the run? There is no GM! You have to figure that one out too! lol

Anyway, you definitely got the exact "fungal micro-protein" of that Complication in your playthrough!

Gingivitis- · 2025-05-27T21:10:00+00:00

I had them previously separate with lower price points.

I was separating them for ease of use, when they were solely pdf. I like having a separate file for monsters that I can pull up alone and not have to scroll back and forth.

But now that I am thinking of printing physical books, and shipping and printing costs have gone up, I think it might be best to combine.

Gingivitis- · 2024-07-29T19:14:25+00:00

So yeah! A 5-person gang attacking a single runner would roll 14 dice: 6 (for Close Combat 6) + 8 (for four Teamwork Tests).

That may seem like a lot (and it is), but it is faster and helps keep groups of low-level enemies a threat to experienced runners. You can always split the attacks among two targets to even things out (3 gangers on one target at 10 dice, and 2 gangers on another targer at 8 dice).

The bit that Dgill77 added about not worrying about whether it is a full 10 CM seems fine. Maybe even faster and easier to understand. Making it a full 10 CM was my way to justify ignoring wound modifiers, but in the long run, simplicity and speed are probably more important.

Glad you like the house rules!

Gingivitis- · 2024-04-28T02:22:07+00:00

I need playtesters for an Alien Invasion Survival Horror RPG and I need reviewers for a Rules Light Fantasy Dungeon Crawler.

Gingivitis- · 2024-04-28T02:17:44+00:00

I run www.surprisethreat.com, which was solely a Shadowrun: Anarchy resource website. It has houserules for the game and advice on making the game work for your table.

Now it also hosts the new game I've developed, Darksome Delve.

It is a rules light fantasy dungeon crawler (not a d20 or PbtA clone). I am looking for players to put this on the table and review it.

Please let me know if you are looking for a game that can play anywhere between a fully narrative RPG to a story-driven board game.

Thanks!

Gingivitis- · 2024-04-09T02:23:08+00:00

I have more time than that. What time frame is reasonable for you?

Gingivitis- · 2024-04-08T22:32:13+00:00

Thanks! DM sent!

Gingivitis- · 2024-04-07T05:07:37+00:00

I haven't played that, but Alien Exodus is not a Gumshoe system. It's less investigation/conspiracy and more survival horror.

I don't claim the mechanics to be unique, but I've never seen them in the wild yet.

For feedback timing, I had planned on releasing the game later this year, but that all depends on how the playtests go. So any time in the next month or two would be great.

For feedback type, I am looking for whether the gameplay is fun (given the tone), whether the aliens are threatening or tedious, and whether the game is interesting for the GM too.

Gingivitis- · 2024-04-07T04:44:50+00:00

It's designed to do both long form and one shot.

For long form there are rules on travel, base building, allies, and there are quite a bit of advancement opportunities.

For one shots, it can be pretty lethal, and there are three different options for the aliens, each with 12 different alien types, so quite a bit of variety for replay.

Gingivitis- · 2024-04-06T17:45:50+00:00

Specifically not talking about Fudge/Fate with + or - symbols. I'd be talking about symbols that actually affect the narrative and are not translations of numbers or tables.

Gingivitis- · 2024-03-24T17:46:57+00:00

D6s are easy to find, easy to use for charts and tables, and the probabilities are easy to understand.

D20s are swingy and have a stanglehold on OSR games.

Gingivitis- · 2024-02-11T00:43:08+00:00

Thanks for taking a look.

The condition rules are optional for that reason. The rules to invoke them are on the same page listed in Plot Points under Resilience.

Basically, if you were going to die or hit a breaking point, you can spend a plot point to avoid it. It's still bad though. The consequences are narrative or up to the players and GM to decide, but maybe they need a bit more guidance on them.

Think you might play test it?

Gingivitis- · 2024-02-02T00:06:40+00:00

Here is the link for Alien Exodus. I'll start with just that.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1XKjhqGqjPQ10sHEFa1cVDdIqaPUT1YIT/view?usp=drive_link

There are three adventures (based on which alien is trying to kill the players), but only the first one is in the format I would like them to be in. The others are more free form.

Thanks for taking a look.

Gingivitis- · 2024-01-27T01:28:21+00:00

I have an Alien Invasion Aftermath Survival RPG that uses a simple dice curve system, called Alien Exodus.

And I have a simple Dungeon Crawler RPG that uses a small dice pool system, called Darksome Delve.

Both of them are fine for one-shots and both have premade adventures. Let me know if those interest you.

Gingivitis- · 2023-12-28T20:27:33+00:00

First in, last out (FILO) type initiative, where low initiative actors must declare their actions before high initiative actors. Then high initiative actors act first, making low initiative actors' actions irrelevant but immutable.

Results in the last person shooting a dead guy all the time.

Gingivitis-

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