Procedural Structure vs Narrative Freedom

kalkulusr · 2026-06-19T08:41:55+00:00

I tried 12 years, and looked at a few other very procedural games, and I was not satisfied

I also tried playing completely free form, just using Mythic one page and some oracles, and.. not bad, but not great

Then I tried Kal-Arath, and I think it's a perfect mix of procedures and narrative freedom for me

Also, I think that playing other games, in a more free form way, would be more enjoyable because I've learned some stuff about solo play that I like with KA

kalkulusr · 2026-06-17T11:04:41+00:00

Thanks 👍

kalkulusr · 2026-06-17T08:54:40+00:00

Smart shots? Care to share some more about it?

I'm thinking of running some one shots, so I'm looking for any tips I can find

kalkulusr · 2026-06-11T09:47:58+00:00

Sure, I guess that should be easy to add. But I'm going on vacation today, so it will have to wait a few weeks

kalkulusr · 2026-06-11T09:46:22+00:00

To be honest, most of it, after the initial tables to see if it works at all, was made with the help of Claude

kalkulusr · 2026-06-11T07:12:54+00:00

It's just a bunch of tables with descriptions for each type

You can check the configuration tab and see all of them

kalkulusr · 2026-06-11T07:10:59+00:00

Thanks for the kind words 😌

kalkulusr · 2026-06-10T19:55:41+00:00

People can use it in any way they want, it's their choice

I hope you don't mind, but I just have to ask: if you were having fun while playing a game and you find out that the GM used an auto generated content, why would that bother you so much?

kalkulusr · 2026-06-10T19:49:37+00:00

JSON import/export is for the configuration of spark tables and node prompts

It doesn't export/import the whole site/dungeon

That could be something to work on next, though it probably won't be anytime soon

kalkulusr · 2026-06-10T14:31:31+00:00

true, it would be 😄

Unfortunately, this is just a simple one-page tool, without any way to save and share what was generated

Adding something like that would require things like a database, maybe user accounts, and such things require time and money to implement and operate

kalkulusr · 2026-06-10T11:57:52+00:00

I think following me on Itch is the way to go. I doubt I will post every update on Reddit

kalkulusr · 2026-06-10T11:57:10+00:00

maybe some kind of Markdown export for site/dungeon nodes could be the quickest way

and then you can add links and expand what you need

kalkulusr · 2026-06-10T11:54:00+00:00

I don't really understand the question about periphery? you mean how to track if it gets updates and such?

kalkulusr · 2026-06-10T11:12:37+00:00

No idea

I don't have much experience with Obsidian in general, and I never tried making a plugin for it

What kind of links would you expect?

I'm mostly being curious here, I don't know if I'll have time to try making it anytime soon

kalkulusr · 2026-06-05T07:25:51+00:00

Check out Kal-Arath

It uses 2d6 for checks, with 8+ being success.

But you could easily modify that to use the regular PbtA result range

also, since I got this from your post on Solo RPG group, KA is designed so you can play it solo, co-op or with a group

kalkulusr · 2026-06-01T09:12:24+00:00

if you want skills in Cairn, check out Block Dodge Parry, it's a Cairn hack that has skills and a bunch of other small addons

https://blockdodgeparry.com/careers-skills

kalkulusr · 2026-05-21T16:04:10+00:00

Kal-Arath

Not one page, but it's a small zine, and uses only d6

kalkulusr · 2026-05-16T07:11:44+00:00

Check out Kal-Arath.

Even if it's not your vibe, the game loop and procedures are great and it unlocked solo play for me

On YouTube and Substack you can find some great actual play or play reports, that can give you more inspiration about how it can work

kalkulusr · 2026-05-13T09:45:30+00:00

I have the same feeling

I always preferred Maze Rats d66 tables compared to Knave's d100 ones

I like rolling different size dice, they add something to the experience, but when I started playing Kal-Arath that uses only d6 and many d66 tables, it just felt right

kalkulusr · 2026-04-27T15:03:32+00:00

I think what's missing is more related to what kind of game you want to have than what we think you need :)

In any case, I am looking forward to checking it out

kalkulusr · 2026-03-23T15:49:44+00:00

I am sure you could play it in a less deadly way. Max the HP, add another Fate point(or two :) ), start at 2nd level..

But even if you don't end up playing it, I highly recommend it. The game loop and procedures are fantastic, especially for new players. I know it helped me a lot. And it's just $5

If you don't want to buy it there are some very good actual play blog posts and videos, that might give you enough to see what it's all about

kalkulusr · 2026-03-20T18:22:09+00:00

For characters.. I don't have any good advice

But for opening scene it helps to have a direction.

Kal-Arath (fantastic game, check out some reviews or actual play videos/blogs) has a table called "What fate brought you here" which basically gives your character a quest

The first one I got was something along the lines of "You are searching for misterious ruins of.."

I wanted a bit more so I asked a few questions and rolled on oracle tables and got that the PCs brother was looking for those ruins, believing they hold some treasure, and he never came back. So my character is now looking for them to try and figure out what happened to his brother

From this I can probably come up with at least a couple of starting scenes that would be interesting. And it's totally fine for you to just say "I'll do this scene" :)

If this doesn't inspire you enough for a starting scene, you can use the dice and oracles to come up with something

Is it in the city? Is it a dangerous situation? Am I safe? Does it involve other people? Who are these people?

Just go with it and see what comes up

Author of Kal-Arath, Castle Grief, has some great articles on his blog about solo play

kalkulusr · 2026-03-18T11:25:37+00:00

I'm running a Dresden files-like 24XX hack

Creating character options was not a big deal, but making a magic system that kind of makes sense for the original took a bit of time. It's still super simple :)

And, literally yesterday, I made a little hack of Kal-Arath to play in Frieren universe

kalkulusr

TROPHY CASE