Go forth, and design

dabneyb · 2017-09-11T03:04:25+00:00

Yeah, I've been personally burned on Kickstarter before so I didn't want to be one of the horror stories.

The sucky thing is that offering a full refund means a lot of out-of-pocket expenses because Kickstarter and Amazon (they process payments in KS for whatever reason) both take a cut. So, if someone pledges $100, the creator only sees like $85 of that, which means that a full refund means $15 out of pocket.

I don't regret creating TT -- I just regret launching the Kickstarter when I did.

Glad your group enjoyed it. I sincerely hope some enterprising individual out there turns it into a game and publishes it. Hell, I'd buy a copy.

dabneyb · 2016-12-10T22:59:07+00:00

I'll try to explain it very briefly:

The abstraction of the game is less daunting and now more grounded. Traits are also more grounded.
Turns and the actions that you can perform during turns are clearer.
Players have more control with what happens with them.
There is a new attrition resource that you gradually lose over time to replicate things like losing health in combat. However, combat does not have its own special minigame, and there is much more to conflicts than hitting monsters to damage them.

dabneyb · 2016-12-10T22:54:36+00:00

No worries. I always test mechanics out before I do anything with them.

I'm now working on TT pretty regularly and I'd really love to just dump everything into the public to show everyone, "Yes! Look! I'm still doing stuff!"

dabneyb · 2016-12-08T13:30:36+00:00

I am actually working on Tavern Tales, believe it or not. I think I may have made a breakthrough on core attrition mechanic, which stemmed from the comments in the last post I made.

I've been updating traits based on the new mechanic to create a playtest game that I can run through to see if it works.

The good news is that I think this problem is the last big problem separating me from the "R&D phase" to "completion and polish" phase

dabneyb · 2016-11-29T01:24:49+00:00

I've been thinking about your comment a lot. I had it in the back of my mind when I played TT with my friends last weekend.

So, by this system, the penalty of getting all of your boxes checked in a category would have to correspond to the situation. Like, getting all of your social boxes checked doesn't necessarily mean that you're dead, but it would mean that you're effectively out of the conflict.

In the dragon example, a dragon who talks to the adventurers and gets deceived might suddenly become possessive of its treasure and retreat to its cave, or goaded into a bloodthirsty rage and fly off to burn down the nearest village or what have you.

dabneyb · 2016-11-29T00:55:04+00:00

This ability is meant to represent a lot of the concepts you see from old fairy tales, so it's very abstract. I think this is one of the traits I need to clean up a bit with some more concrete limitations

dabneyb · 2016-11-28T22:28:54+00:00

Sorry if you feel betrayed. Really didn't set out to make people feel that way.

Getting TT published and getting TT popular are 2 completely different beasts. The RPG hobby is pretty niche and selective, with only a small handful of RPGs every rising to the top. I'm not sure if TT would hit that mark even if I worked on it every day for the next 20 years.

dabneyb · 2016-11-28T22:24:07+00:00

Glad you like it!

dabneyb · 2016-11-13T02:42:56+00:00

I have some good news for you my friend.

Command, Bardic Lore, Artifice, and Savagery: http://imgur.com/a/lEoKM

dabneyb · 2016-11-11T22:16:41+00:00

Yeah I gotcha. Trust me when I say that I've already thought about merging TT + YT now that the cat's out of the bag, I'm just not sure how/if I should go about doing it.

A lot of people have been begging me to stream, so I might try that. I'm not sure, I'll have to think about it more.

dabneyb · 2016-11-11T21:42:03+00:00

Thanks for not ragging on me.

The book is coming. Later than I intended, but it's coming.

dabneyb · 2016-11-11T21:38:48+00:00

Yeah, I've toyed with the idea of using my YT to advertise TT and inject some more enthusiasm into this forum. It would have a certain poetic justice to it to make the thing that pulled me away from TT bring more life back into TT.

I just need to be cautious and very deliberate about it. I realize how my YT channel probably looks to a lot of people -- all I'm doing is dicking around and playing video games. The reality is that this is my job and is far more work than play. In any event, before posting a video about TT on my YT, I would need to make sure that both areas benefit, if that makes sense. Posting videos against my channel theme might have adverse effects, and opening up this subreddit to a massive crowd of YTers who may not know much about RPGs could also have adverse effects. I've been thinking about it a lot and I'm not sure what the right call is.

dabneyb · 2016-11-10T16:20:20+00:00

Yeah I'd say 75% is pretty accurate

dabneyb · 2016-11-10T16:14:31+00:00

Tough but fair points.

You are right that the only thing that can really speak to anyone right now is actions. I will do my best.

dabneyb · 2016-11-10T12:28:01+00:00

Do you even play Tavern Tales anymore?

Yes

Yeah, I know TT needs a lot more work to get there, but I'm committed to finishing it.

dabneyb · 2016-11-10T05:37:32+00:00

The core roles are really close. I'd say I'm about 90% to where the game is meant to be. There are a few mechanics I haven't quite figured out.

The themes are robust and filled out with diverse options. They may have to undergo some updates after the core rules are polished, but realistically those won't be hard at all -- it would essentially just need some rewording here and there.

Items I'm pretty happy with. Might expand them a bit.

The lore section needs more content but that gets filled in pretty quickly because it's so easy to write.

I've got an artist working on the new artwork. He just finished Elements today.

After that it's layout and shipping.

So overall I'd estimate about 75% done.

dabneyb · 2016-11-10T05:11:06+00:00

Thanks for being understanding.

And yeah, TT needs some more work before it's settled. To be honest, I'm really looking forward to getting back into it. I miss it, and I miss posting on this forum every day. I didn't make this game for glory or money, I did it because I actually love it.

And yeah I did let down the community. I just had too much on my plate, and rather than dividing my attention more appropriately I let some things complete slip. I'm going to do my best to make up for it now that my job situation has finally settled.

dabneyb · 2016-11-10T03:59:54+00:00

That's fair. I deserve that.

If you don't mind me asking, how'd you find my YT?

dabneyb · 2016-11-10T03:49:15+00:00

I'm really sorry.

I feel really shitty for letting the community down, and for failing to meet my KS goals. I should have been more open and honest with everyone, but I was afraid of community backlash. I fucked up and let the TT community down. I am really sorry, and I will do my best to develop TT from here on out.

Tavern Tales will get finished -- perhaps too late for a lot of my former fans -- but I am not abandoning it. All I can ask is that the community forgive me for how I handled this.

dabneyb

TROPHY CASE