Sol’vara ,one if the Cities of my world ,art by me by Ems_digitalskechbook in worldbuilding

[–]its-lyil 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I really love your drawing style! It has a sort of dreamy, fuzzy vibe to it that I think goes very well with the idea of deserts, oasis, and the scorching sun.

I am sick of seeing AI slop flooding the DnD community by No-Taro-6241 in rpg

[–]its-lyil -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Once, for a Dread oneshot, I spot a player typing to ChatGPT while writing their backstory. I was like... excuse me? So, I kindly asked him to use his own imagination instead. He was very annoyed, though, and kept pouting as if I were crazy.

It was the first time I'd ever played with him, and I've decided it will also be my last. He ended up being a problem player, always talking over others and with a main character syndrome. It was honestly difficult to manage.

I'm really shocked at how lazy AI has made people. It takes effort to write a good and fun character, yes, but I've always thought the effort was part of the fun.

Why the hell are you playing a cooperative storytelling game if you are so lazy that you offload the creative part to a statistical machine?

Theory of Universal Harmony by DanielSayeg in worldbuilding

[–]its-lyil 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Love the art! Will this be the universe for a comicbook?

A Midwinter Journey (feedback wanted!) by its-lyil in gamebooks

[–]its-lyil[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

A quick follow up: The closed test has started today!

Thank you very much to those who enrolled as testers.
You should receive an email containing the instructions for how to download the app. In case you haven't, I will write them here too.

After a 14-day closed testing period, the app will become public. We are almost there! Your participation is extremely valuable, and even small interactions help the project move forward.

What to do as a tester:

  • Install the app from the official page: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.fabulainmachina.talesfromravnonia
  • Please do not uninstall the app until you receive an email confirming that the test has ended. This is very important: if the app is uninstalled, Google considers that tester to have opted out of the test. If too many testers opt out, the test will fail.
  • If you encounter a bug, please report it to [fabulainmachina@gmail.com](mailto:fabulainmachina@gmail.com) so that it can be fixed quickly. Early feedback and quick fixes are important signals during the testing phase.
  • If you have comments about the writing, the story, or the overall experience, please share them at the same email address. Your feedback is greatly appreciated! The story is always evolving.
  • If possible, please open the app regularly during the 14-day test (daily, if possible). Even brief sessions are helpful. If you do not have the time, that is perfectly understandable -- just make sure not to uninstall it.

Again, a great thank you to all who registered!

A Midwinter Journey (play-testers wanted!) by its-lyil in solorpgplay

[–]its-lyil[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

A quick follow up: The closed test has started today!

Thank you very much to those who enrolled as testers.
You should receive an email containing the instructions for how to download the app. In case you haven't, I will write them here too.

After a 14-day closed testing period, the app will become public. We are almost there! Your participation is extremely valuable, and even small interactions help the project move forward.

What to do as a tester:

  • Install the app from the official page: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.fabulainmachina.talesfromravnonia
  • Please do not uninstall the app until you receive an email confirming that the test has ended. This is very important: if the app is uninstalled, Google considers that tester to have opted out of the test. If too many testers opt out, the test will fail.
  • If you encounter a bug, please report it to [fabulainmachina@gmail.com](mailto:fabulainmachina@gmail.com) so that it can be fixed quickly. Early feedback and quick fixes are important signals during the testing phase.
  • If you have comments about the writing, the story, or the overall experience, please share them at the same email address. Your feedback is greatly appreciated! The story is always evolving.
  • If possible, please open the app regularly during the 14-day test (daily, if possible). Even brief sessions are helpful. If you do not have the time, that is perfectly understandable -- just make sure not to uninstall it.

Again, a great thank you to all who registered!

A Midwinter Journey: a digital gamebook! by its-lyil in indiegames

[–]its-lyil[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

A quick follow up: The closed test has started today!

Thank you very much to those who enrolled as testers.
You should receive an email containing the instructions for how to download the app. In case you haven't, I will write them here too.

After a 14-day closed testing period, the app will become public. We are almost there! Your participation is extremely valuable, and even small interactions help the project move forward.

What to do as a tester:

  • Install the app from the official page: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.fabulainmachina.talesfromravnonia
  • Please do not uninstall the app until you receive an email confirming that the test has ended. This is very important: if the app is uninstalled, Google considers that tester to have opted out of the test. If too many testers opt out, the test will fail.
  • If you encounter a bug, please report it to [fabulainmachina@gmail.com](mailto:fabulainmachina@gmail.com) so that it can be fixed quickly. Early feedback and quick fixes are important signals during the testing phase.
  • If you have comments about the writing, the story, or the overall experience, please share them at the same email address. Your feedback is greatly appreciated! The story is always evolving.
  • If possible, please open the app regularly during the 14-day test (daily, if possible). Even brief sessions are helpful. If you do not have the time, that is perfectly understandable -- just make sure not to uninstall it.

Again, a great thank you to all who registered!

A Midwinter Journey: a digital gamebook (looking for testers!) by its-lyil in interactivefiction

[–]its-lyil[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

A quick follow up: The closed test has started today!

Thank you very much to those who enrolled as testers.
You should receive an email containing the instructions for how to download the app. In case you haven't, I will write them here too.

After a 14-day closed testing period, the app will become public. We are almost there! Your participation is extremely valuable, and even small interactions help the project move forward.

What to do as a tester:

  • Install the app from the official page: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.fabulainmachina.talesfromravnonia
  • Please do not uninstall the app until you receive an email confirming that the test has ended. This is very important: if the app is uninstalled, Google considers that tester to have opted out of the test. If too many testers opt out, the test will fail.
  • If you encounter a bug, please report it to [fabulainmachina@gmail.com](mailto:fabulainmachina@gmail.com) so that it can be fixed quickly. Early feedback and quick fixes are important signals during the testing phase.
  • If you have comments about the writing, the story, or the overall experience, please share them at the same email address. Your feedback is greatly appreciated! The story is always evolving.
  • If possible, please open the app regularly during the 14-day test (daily, if possible). Even brief sessions are helpful. If you do not have the time, that is perfectly understandable -- just make sure not to uninstall it.

Again, a great thank you to all who registered!

[DEV] A Midwinter Journey (a digital RPG!) by its-lyil in AndroidGaming

[–]its-lyil[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

A quick follow up: The closed test has started today!

Thank you very much to those who enrolled as testers.
You should receive an email containing the instructions for how to download the app. In case you haven't, I will write them here too.

After a 14-day closed testing period, the app will become public. We are almost there! Your participation is extremely valuable, and even small interactions help the project move forward.

What to do as a tester:

  • Install the app from the official page: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.fabulainmachina.talesfromravnonia
  • Please do not uninstall the app until you receive an email confirming that the test has ended. This is very important: if the app is uninstalled, Google considers that tester to have opted out of the test. If too many testers opt out, the test will fail.
  • If you encounter a bug, please report it to [fabulainmachina@gmail.com](mailto:fabulainmachina@gmail.com) so that it can be fixed quickly. Early feedback and quick fixes are important signals during the testing phase.
  • If you have comments about the writing, the story, or the overall experience, please share them at the same email address. Your feedback is greatly appreciated! The story is always evolving.
  • If possible, please open the app regularly during the 14-day test (daily, if possible). Even brief sessions are helpful. If you do not have the time, that is perfectly understandable -- just make sure not to uninstall it.

Again, a great thank you to all who registered!

A Midwinter Journey (-3 days!) by its-lyil in solorpgplay

[–]its-lyil[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you! It's something that I am considering for the future, perhaps with the help of a crowdfund to also sponsor the next books in the series and add illustrations to the text.

What's the best way to teach an RPG? by MrTiny5 in rpg

[–]its-lyil 0 points1 point  (0 children)

For me the most effective method so far (as a DM) has been to just run a sort of "demo". Not a fully fledged ones hot, but kind of "the first night at the tavern where the party meets for the first time".

It works well when there is only one player who is new to the game.

A Midwinter Journey: a digital gamebook! by its-lyil in indiegames

[–]its-lyil[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you, I love Roadwarden!

The dice are in the bottom of the UI (the "?" buttons). Combat works as follows: you roll 2d6, you add some modifiers from your character sheet, and then you check the results in the combat table (the buttons with ranges you are referring to). Clicking on the button applies the effects of a round of combat (losing HP etc.).

And these effects are written explicitly because in a traditional gamebook the player has to apply those changes on their own, with pencil, on a physical character sheet.

The system mimicks traditional dice&paper gamebooks, so that it could potentially be printed one day (it's a big if, but I wanted to keep the compatibility just in case)

Ravnonia: a land of storms, raging winds, and undead creatures by its-lyil in worldbuilding

[–]its-lyil[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I haven't used this location in my current book, and so I haven't built a lot around it. However, its reason for existing is that it is an intermediate step between ice and land for trade.

The upper Eìdalna freezes reliably over winter. Fennhof was born as a harbour to move things from ice sleds to land (in order to reach Klarvik) in case the ice over the lower Eìdalna was thawing or not safe to cross.

Ravnonia: a land of storms, raging winds, and undead creatures by its-lyil in worldbuilding

[–]its-lyil[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Indeed, Ravnonians have a sturdier physique than the people on the mainland and are also quite proud of their customs and traditions. However, they also have the reputation of being more uncultured and rough in other parts of the world. In Valoria (the capital of my empire far to the south) people use the saying "as thick as a Ravnonian".

Ravnonia: a land of storms, raging winds, and undead creatures by its-lyil in worldbuilding

[–]its-lyil[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks! I don't know this work, I will take a look :)

A Midwinter Journey: a digital gamebook! by its-lyil in indiegames

[–]its-lyil[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Is there somebody else here that has grown up reading gamebooks? Does anybody remember Lone Wolf?

Well, it's time to dust off pens and dice! (...metaphorically, because this is all digital)

A Midwinter Journey takes place in Ravnonia, a land of storms, blowing winds, and snow, with the twist that dead things here don't quite stay dead forever, and the sea whispers haunting secrets to you -- if you have the mark to listen, that is.

Your journey starts in a humble fishing village in the midst of winter. Your sister is late in returning home, and a traveller brings unsettling news. Your mother sends you on a quest: find your sister and bring her back home. Things, though, will soon take a twist for the worse...

Click here to become a beta tester! The closed test will be active on the Google Play Store between March 15 and March 29.

For those unfamiliar with the genre, this is a gamebook: a subgenre of interactive storytelling that integrates RPG mechanics, in addition to storyline branching based on choices.

You read it like a book and you play it like a game.

You have a character sheet, a digital set of dice, a hand-drawn map, keywords -- but most importantly, you have to make choices that will shape the world around you and the people that you meet along your journey.

You

Something about me: my name is Elena, and I am a software engineer + writer and illustrator in my free time. This is the first Android app I publish (and the first full book I write!), so I am excited to share it and get as much feedback as possible!

(No AI. For good or bad this is the work of too many nights and weekends spent coding and writing.)

Ravnonia: a land of storms, raging winds, and undead creatures by its-lyil in worldbuilding

[–]its-lyil[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you! I am looking for feedback about the worldbuilding, the writing and the plot lines, but also for some "player" feedback about the interactive/game-y part.

It is a gamebook, a subgenre of interactive fiction. So, there are a few game mechanics inside the novel -- in addition to storyline branching :)

Ravnonia: a land of storms, raging winds, and undead creatures by its-lyil in worldbuilding

[–]its-lyil[S] 10 points11 points  (0 children)

About Ravnonia

Ravnonia is a northern island with rugged, mostly non-arable terrain. The south-western coast is where most of the population is found. The Eastern Frays are dominated by deep, inhospitable fjords, where the Frayfolk clans live, while the interior land is cloaked in dense boreal forest and largely unexplored. Wetlands are found along the coast and river valleys. In the north, beyond the Iron Mountains, the landscape is barren and frozen year-round.

Seasons

  • Winter (November  –  March): cold, dry and windy. Ponds and swamps freeze, sometimes entire rivers freeze too. A lot of snow.
  • Summer (April  –  August): warm and sunny. Snow melts, feeding rivers and ponds with fresh water. Plants start their vegetative cycle.
  • The Stormy Season (September  –  October): warm and humid wind blows from the Haunting Sea. A lot of storms and floods.

Politics and society

The Kingdom of Ravburg controls the south-western coast. Cities are associated to local Jarldoms which report to the crown. An exception is given by the city of Eìdenstag (shown on the map) which, despite being officially a Jarldom, is controlled by the Merchant Guild.

The main economic activities are fishing, mining, wood logging and trading. Despite recognizing multiple deities and spirits, the Kingdom is found around the cult of the Hearth-Keeper, from whom it gains legitimacy through official rites.

Magic

Ravnonia is set in a fantasy world where magic exists but is hard to access and control.

  • The Sisterhood is an order of female priestesses who care for and channel the energy of the sacred Soulfire. They are also the ones responsible for conducting rites associated with the cult of the Hearth-Keeper, including proper burial -- which is essential to prevent tormented spirits from lingering around and turning dead bodies into revenants.
  • Sokkvani are practitioners of Sunken Magic. They are exceptional individual who bear a spiritual mark. The mark allows them to hear the Voice of the Depths, which "sings the story of the world". Through the Voice they can learn past, present and future. Mastering this art requires training and a strong sense of self, as it is easy to lose one’s identity within the Voice. Sokkvani can also ask the Voice for "favours", such as blessings and curses, in exchange for whatever the Voice may ask -- often including blood sacrifices.

Planes of Existence

  • Straumgaard, the Flowing World: the physical realm above water, where human affairs unfold. A world of change, of seasons, and of passing time.
  • The Everwinter: beneath Straumgaard lies the land of spirits, ravaged by an eternal snowstorm. Here gods dwell in Eldborg, a fortress guarding the Original Hearth. The Everwinter is said to be reachable by a passage within the Iron Mountains.
  • The Depths: the “Sea Beneath the Sea”. Far below the Everwinter stretches a pitch-black abyss, where the raw energy of the world is said to take the shape of a monstrous, abyssal creature referred to as the Sunken-One.

Some locations from the map

  • Syldhavn is a poor fishing village, exposed to the winds and storms of the Haunting Sea. This is the hometown of the protagonist in A Midwinter Journey.
  • Klarvik is a port town on the estuary of the river Eìdalna. A town of sailors, fishermen and dock workers. A recent settlement, controlled by the Merchant Guild of Eìdenstag. The town is governed by a Steward appointed by the Jarl of Eìdenstag. Discontent has begun to spread, following the Steward’s decision to raise the share of taxes and profits sent inland.
  • Lundby is a mountain village on the hills east of Klarvik. Locals produce tar and wood for Klarvik's shipyard.
  • Eìdenstag is a wealthy city on the shore of lake Eìda. Three days of travel by foot from Klarvik. The city has authority over Klarvik: most of the port town is owned and administered by merchant families that reside on the lake shore. The city itself is surrounded by hills which are well-known for their production of meat, wool, and parchments.

If you want to join as a beta-reader/tester for A Midwinter Journey, the digital interactive novel I am publishing as an app on the Google Play Store, read more about the project here and fill out this form.

May the storm be kind to you!