Showing posts with label Valley of the Five Fires Microgame. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Valley of the Five Fires Microgame. Show all posts
Tuesday, June 24, 2014
Valley of the Five Fires Microgame Update
Saturday, May 17, 2014
Valley of the Five Fires Microgame Update: Encounter Table
Tuesday, March 4, 2014
Valley of the Five Fires Wargame Test/Update
Beta Version 98% Ready
Welbo and I actually finished our most recent playtest of the Valley of the Five Fires wargame on Sunday night. Long story short, it was a rousing success! Huzzah! (Which is to say, "I won!")
THE BIG CHANGES...
Combat
The original mechanic was based on a number of d6s rolled equal to the chit's Attack Rating (from 1d6-4d6), both sides rolled, and the difference was subtracted from the lower roller's Wound Points as damage. This was repeated until one of the two combatants was dead. While it seemed good in theory, in practice it was... well... it just wasn't fun. Weaker opponents died pretty much 100% of the time, regardless of whether the advantage was 4d6 to 3d6 or 2d6 to 1d6. The reworked mechanic was based on a 2d6 roll on an odds table (like the ones on this post, but with 2d6 instead of 3d6), and a separate damage roll (based on the result of the 2d6 roll). At first glance, it would seem that 2 rolls per "round" would be more confusing and take longer than 1 roll per "round," but not so. It was smoother, much more balanced, and makes even the 1d6-Attack-Rating Skeletons potentially deadly (but mostly "potentially").
Encounter Wound Points
Given the deadliness of even minor encounters under the new combat paradigm (yes, I used the word "paradigm," what of it?), the Wound Points (i.e., "hit points") for all the animals, monsters, and warriors (player and NPC warriors alike) had to be re-thought. In most cases, their Attack Ratings stayed the same, and only the Wound Points were adjusted (usually down by about 1/2) so that combat resolution didn't take forever.
Added Victory Condition
Originally, winning the game required only acquiring all four of the Luuzhin coins. The updated victory condition requires the player make it back to their base camp to return the acquired coins to their Khan (the player parties are searching on behalf of their respective khans). This creates a bit of a gauntlet during the last moments of play, and creates some extra tension.
TO ANSWER THE PLAYING TIME QUESTION...
Somebody asked the playing time. I think given the most recent experience, whether you're playing with 2, 3, or 4 players, I'm thinking about 2 hours. Ironically, having more players potentially shortens the game time, while fewer players means it could take longer. With a certain number of spaces on the board that have to be investigated, more players means investigating them goes more quickly. And fewer players means investigating them goes much slower (duh).
WHAT'S LEFT...
At this point, I just need to retype the rules to accommodate all the little tweaks we've made along the way, as well as the re-figured combat rules. I'm not quite ready for volunteers yet, but give me a week or so, and keep your eye on this blog. Most likely, the next post I make about the game will be the call for beta playtesters, and I'll tell you what/who we're looking for, and how we'll choose. Welbo and I will probably run a few sessions via Roll20 (with 2 recruits per session), but we'll also likely be sending out some "prototype" versions to a few others (for blind play, without our assistance with the rules).
THE BIG CHANGES...
Combat
The original mechanic was based on a number of d6s rolled equal to the chit's Attack Rating (from 1d6-4d6), both sides rolled, and the difference was subtracted from the lower roller's Wound Points as damage. This was repeated until one of the two combatants was dead. While it seemed good in theory, in practice it was... well... it just wasn't fun. Weaker opponents died pretty much 100% of the time, regardless of whether the advantage was 4d6 to 3d6 or 2d6 to 1d6. The reworked mechanic was based on a 2d6 roll on an odds table (like the ones on this post, but with 2d6 instead of 3d6), and a separate damage roll (based on the result of the 2d6 roll). At first glance, it would seem that 2 rolls per "round" would be more confusing and take longer than 1 roll per "round," but not so. It was smoother, much more balanced, and makes even the 1d6-Attack-Rating Skeletons potentially deadly (but mostly "potentially").
Encounter Wound Points
Given the deadliness of even minor encounters under the new combat paradigm (yes, I used the word "paradigm," what of it?), the Wound Points (i.e., "hit points") for all the animals, monsters, and warriors (player and NPC warriors alike) had to be re-thought. In most cases, their Attack Ratings stayed the same, and only the Wound Points were adjusted (usually down by about 1/2) so that combat resolution didn't take forever.
Added Victory Condition
Originally, winning the game required only acquiring all four of the Luuzhin coins. The updated victory condition requires the player make it back to their base camp to return the acquired coins to their Khan (the player parties are searching on behalf of their respective khans). This creates a bit of a gauntlet during the last moments of play, and creates some extra tension.
TO ANSWER THE PLAYING TIME QUESTION...
Somebody asked the playing time. I think given the most recent experience, whether you're playing with 2, 3, or 4 players, I'm thinking about 2 hours. Ironically, having more players potentially shortens the game time, while fewer players means it could take longer. With a certain number of spaces on the board that have to be investigated, more players means investigating them goes more quickly. And fewer players means investigating them goes much slower (duh).
WHAT'S LEFT...
At this point, I just need to retype the rules to accommodate all the little tweaks we've made along the way, as well as the re-figured combat rules. I'm not quite ready for volunteers yet, but give me a week or so, and keep your eye on this blog. Most likely, the next post I make about the game will be the call for beta playtesters, and I'll tell you what/who we're looking for, and how we'll choose. Welbo and I will probably run a few sessions via Roll20 (with 2 recruits per session), but we'll also likely be sending out some "prototype" versions to a few others (for blind play, without our assistance with the rules).
Saturday, February 8, 2014
Valley of the Five Fires Wargame Test/Update
Welbo and I finally had a chance to dig back into playtesting the Valley of the Five Fires wargame last night (using Roll20 rather than face-to-face per our last test). Playing time was approximately 1 hour and 45 minutes from beginning to end (including a bit of set up). It actually went pretty damn well! I can't think of any play contingency encountered that wasn't already dealt with in the rules. And even though I was losing the entire game, the rules allow plenty of chances for come-from-behind victories (and even within the last couple of moves, I still had a chance to come from WAY-WAY-WAY behind and win). We actually played the entire thing out using the standard victory conditions, so 1:45:00 wasn't a bad time.
We just need to tweak the stats for the monster and animal encounters, and may be ready to open testing up to others in the next week or two. (Look for updates/calls to come.)
Monday, January 13, 2014
I promise, I'm not resting on my d30 laurels.
First off, I do have to thank you all for helping make the d30 Sandbox Companion #1 at RPGNow.com for almost two weeks straight (apart from a few hours on the evening that it was overtaken by the re-release of Gazetteer #1, and a few hours last night when Kristian Richards released Basic Dungeon Tiles Expansion Set 1 - which I believe will recapture the #1 spot again before many of you read this). I also thank you all for helping make the print edition #1 at Lulu.com off-and-on for few days now, not to mention helping the d30 DM Companion print edition climb as high as #5 at Lulu.com this week (something I don't think it did even during its initial release!) There's also an interview in the works with Gaming Ballistic, for those who will be interested in seeing my ugly mug (as well as Welbo's), as we discuss the d30 Companions' origins, development, etc. (BTW, Gaming Ballistic is GURPS heavy, so I'm happy to see the d30SBC's acceptance outside the OSR).
As for the headline of this blog...
I promise, I'm not resting on my d30 laurels. But I also won't be making the same mistake I made back in February of 2012 when I announced the d30 Sandbox Companion. It was a tad premature. Given the relatively short development time of the d30 DM Companion, I assumed a similar schedule for the d30SBC. Little did I know it would end up being almost 70% longer than its predecessor. So, if you're looking here for the announcement of the next d30 book, you're not going to find it... YET. What you are going to find is this, though...
Beginning this Friday, it's back to d30 business-as-usual.
That's right, beginning this friday, I'm going back to making a weekly post of a new d30 chart as a PDF for download. This friday's chart is going to be a "d30 Lithic Location Generator" (think monoliths, stonehenge, stone circles, dolmens, etc.). It's already completed, and waiting with Welbo for a brief look-over. I've also brainstormed a list of over a dozen more (that's usually the hard part). These new charts/tables will not be specifically sandbox-oriented. In fact, a few would be more at home in the d30DMC (e.g., a Dungeon Doors table that goes well beyond the small one in the upper right corner of p. 8 of the d30DMC, including specifics regarding style, size, thickness, modifiers to attempts to open, etc. - or that's the plan). That does not mean there's plans for an expanded version of either, or a new one entirely. I'm just going to keep developing new downloads, and see what shakes out.
Beginning this Wednesday, it's back to new creature business-as-usual.
I'm also trying to get back on schedule with my monster of the week posts. I've come up with a few really fun, and really "old-school" style creatures that are almost as goofy as they are cool (e.g., the snatcher serpent, and the stinking pile), but my attention has been so focused on the release of the d30SBC and the playtesting of the Valley of the Five Fires Microgame, that I've let this lapse.
There's always more going on.
But for now, mention of those things here will remain unspoken.
As for the headline of this blog...
I promise, I'm not resting on my d30 laurels. But I also won't be making the same mistake I made back in February of 2012 when I announced the d30 Sandbox Companion. It was a tad premature. Given the relatively short development time of the d30 DM Companion, I assumed a similar schedule for the d30SBC. Little did I know it would end up being almost 70% longer than its predecessor. So, if you're looking here for the announcement of the next d30 book, you're not going to find it... YET. What you are going to find is this, though...
Beginning this Friday, it's back to d30 business-as-usual.
That's right, beginning this friday, I'm going back to making a weekly post of a new d30 chart as a PDF for download. This friday's chart is going to be a "d30 Lithic Location Generator" (think monoliths, stonehenge, stone circles, dolmens, etc.). It's already completed, and waiting with Welbo for a brief look-over. I've also brainstormed a list of over a dozen more (that's usually the hard part). These new charts/tables will not be specifically sandbox-oriented. In fact, a few would be more at home in the d30DMC (e.g., a Dungeon Doors table that goes well beyond the small one in the upper right corner of p. 8 of the d30DMC, including specifics regarding style, size, thickness, modifiers to attempts to open, etc. - or that's the plan). That does not mean there's plans for an expanded version of either, or a new one entirely. I'm just going to keep developing new downloads, and see what shakes out.
Beginning this Wednesday, it's back to new creature business-as-usual.
I'm also trying to get back on schedule with my monster of the week posts. I've come up with a few really fun, and really "old-school" style creatures that are almost as goofy as they are cool (e.g., the snatcher serpent, and the stinking pile), but my attention has been so focused on the release of the d30SBC and the playtesting of the Valley of the Five Fires Microgame, that I've let this lapse.
There's always more going on.
But for now, mention of those things here will remain unspoken.
Saturday, January 11, 2014
V5F Microgame: Test Session Report
Last night wasn't so much of a "playtest" of the Valley of the Five Fires Microgame, as it was a chance to put the encounter/player stats through the ringer. It consisted mostly of rolling d6s, doing some minor math, and trying a bunch of variants.
After the first playtest, were afraid of some of the encounters being too deadly, and others being too much of a pushover. But after a discussion of potential player strategies, we came to the following conclusions:
1) Math is hard.Here's the conclusion to which we came...
Seriously... when you're rolling multiple d6s (e.g., one person is rolling 2d6, and the other is rolling 3d6), and then each side gets bonuses to the roll (e.g., 2d6+3 vs 3d6+2), and then you have to subtract the lower roll from the higher, it slows the hell things down! Not what we want in this kind of game. It's different when all of the penalties/bonuses are to a single target number on an attack roll. But when there are modifiers to two opposing rolls, and then you have find the difference, it was WAY too cumbersome.
2) Encounters should be deadly.
The worst that happens is that you "start over" from your home space with a "new" Player Party. Early on in the game, the risk for the Experience Points earned is worth the chance of losing anything you've got. Late in the game, you've hopefully earned enough XP that the encounters aren't so deadly.
3) The pushover encounters are really there as a nuisance.
They force the end of your turn, and the Experience Points earned are almost insignificant. Early on the game, they provide the chance of "safely" earning Experience Points. Late in the game, they remain a nuisance as you race to complete the quest (and win the game).
"It was fine the way it was. It needed some tweaks, but not an overhaul."
I think we Welbo and tested the game on New Year's Day, we played it too safe. We were both trying to avoid encounters and acquire the quest items as quickly as possible, and we paid for it... with our lives! (We were playing the "quick" game option where you didn't "start over" when you died, you were just out of the game. We're thinking about eliminating this play option altogether; hopefully it will change the player strategies, so they're not so concerned with dying that they're always trying to play it safe.)
The next full playtest should be interesting. We're looking at trying it through Roll20. If that goes well, we'll probably start reaching out for other virtual playtesters the last week of this month.
Thursday, January 2, 2014
Valley of the Five Fires Microgame Playtest Report
Welbo and I met yesterday to run the first official playtest of the Valley of the Five Fires Microgame, and I am more than pleased by the results. Regardless of the detail, play was moderately quick and easy to pick up. More importantly, play really captures the spirit of the module, which was the intention. There is a lot of rich detail to the setting that really comes through in the monster, place, and special encounters.
Really, at this point, we only see two minor issues which need some refinement:
1) the spaces on the map -Honestly, if these are the biggest issues at this point, we're in good shape! (I shouldn't get cocky, though. There are a lot of Special NPC encounters we have yet to play through fully.)
are there enough, and are the placed to be fair to all 4 players?
2) the balance of monster attack dice/wound points -
are they balanced enough to provide a challenge but not be unfairly deadly should the player encounter one?
Wednesday, January 1, 2014
2014: A Look Ahead
Yesterday, I took a look back at 2013, so today I'll take a look ahead at 2014. Honestly, a lot of what I have in store for two-zero-one-four will seem familiar. Most of it was started back in 2013 and, being the ADD (that's A-D-D, not A-D-and-D) type that I am, I just had too much going. So you'll see my initial goals for 2014 are ones of completion more than instigation.
Community Geomorph Project
Now that d30 Sandbox Companion has been put to bed (BTW, thanks for 2 days straight of being at #1 at RPGNow), this is now my highest priority. The group of you that sent in geomorphs as part of the 2nd round call have probably been thinking, "What the hell?" for quite some time. My current goal is to have that round completed for review by mid-January, then make a third and final call for geomorphs for the initial edition (as I imagine it will expand over time). I'm still trying to decide the best way for this project to benefit the CCFA, and hope to have that figured out in the next few weeks as well.
The Lost Catacombs of Kadmos
Many of you may remember this from my A-to-Z blog posts during April. After a couple of play sessions, I realized there were a lot of encounters that were great conceptually, but LOUSY at the table. It also needs a lot of illustrations (the "show-the-players" kind, a la Tomb of Horrors). I've actually got a completely revised map and a set of updated encounters ready to go in Roll20. I'm still getting the hang of running a game there, but if any of you might be interested in heeding Kadmos's call for first-level adventurers (either in BX/LL or a modified BX/LL), drop a comment below and let me know which nights are good for you (except Mondays). I'll update more on this later, probably mid-to-late February. I'm also thinking about running this at the North Texas RPG Con should it be ready and my schedule allow.
Dragon Horde Zine #2
I have a good number of the articles written, but I have a few new spells I'd like to add, and the adventure needs a bit of reworking. I think I can have this ready to go be the end of January. If I get my inkjet printer repaired, I will most likely be offering print copies of both this issue, and issue #1. The interior will be printed on my laser printer, but it can't handle the cover stock I have in mind for the cover.
Valley of the Five Fires Microgame
Okay, I'm super-freaking-excited about this one. I've written a microgame based on my Valley of the Five Fires module. In fact, as many of you are reading this, Welbo and I are actually playtesting it (our first scheduled gaming activities of 2014). The game is designed for 2-4 players and is sort of a "race" to acquire the Luuzhin Coins (the artifacts from the module). As you can tell from the counters pictured here, there are encounters with phase giants, crimson death worms, etc. I think it really captures everything I love about the setting from the module, but encapsulates it into a Task Force Games style microgame. After Welbo and I run through it a couple of times and I order some test prints of the counters and such, we'll be sending out a few playtest copies (recruitment information to come). I'm thinking April release for this.
Creature Compendium
Let's face it, I'm just going to keep creating new creatures, and at some point I'm going to just have to say, "Enough already, if this is ever going to see the light of day as a finished work." I'm thinking this will end up as a PDF PWWY beta release that will update over time, and I'll hold off on a print copy until I feel like it's complete. But I'm not sure.
Gateway to Adventure
This is a project I dug into on my iPad while my wife and I were staying in the hotel that we called home while Winter Storm Cleon had our power knocked out. It's a setting for 1st-5th level characters in a traditional fantasy vein (think of a sandboxy-style group of adventures akin to the D&D B-module series.) I don't want to say much else about this yet because I don't want to detract from the things above that are my "first quarter" focus. But look out for a post titled "What I did on my 'winter' vacation."
And on the blogging homefront...
There will be more monsters (which will, of course, be added to the growing list of those included in the Creature Compendium).
There will likely be posts from the next phase of Gateway to Adventure work (most likely maps for the adventure locations).
I've got my eyes set on the April A-to-Z blogging challenge (as always), but have not decided on a subject yet (maybe a selection of NPCs for Gateway to Adventure).
As for d30-oriented stuff, Welbo and I feel like we've covered a LOT of ground with the 2 completed books (the d30 DM Companion and the d30 Sandbox Companion), so the d30 stuff I do post in 2014 is likely to be a hodge-podge (though I do have some d30 monster generators in mind, but no plans for a d30 Monster Generator book... yet).
Now that d30 Sandbox Companion has been put to bed (BTW, thanks for 2 days straight of being at #1 at RPGNow), this is now my highest priority. The group of you that sent in geomorphs as part of the 2nd round call have probably been thinking, "What the hell?" for quite some time. My current goal is to have that round completed for review by mid-January, then make a third and final call for geomorphs for the initial edition (as I imagine it will expand over time). I'm still trying to decide the best way for this project to benefit the CCFA, and hope to have that figured out in the next few weeks as well.
Many of you may remember this from my A-to-Z blog posts during April. After a couple of play sessions, I realized there were a lot of encounters that were great conceptually, but LOUSY at the table. It also needs a lot of illustrations (the "show-the-players" kind, a la Tomb of Horrors). I've actually got a completely revised map and a set of updated encounters ready to go in Roll20. I'm still getting the hang of running a game there, but if any of you might be interested in heeding Kadmos's call for first-level adventurers (either in BX/LL or a modified BX/LL), drop a comment below and let me know which nights are good for you (except Mondays). I'll update more on this later, probably mid-to-late February. I'm also thinking about running this at the North Texas RPG Con should it be ready and my schedule allow.
I have a good number of the articles written, but I have a few new spells I'd like to add, and the adventure needs a bit of reworking. I think I can have this ready to go be the end of January. If I get my inkjet printer repaired, I will most likely be offering print copies of both this issue, and issue #1. The interior will be printed on my laser printer, but it can't handle the cover stock I have in mind for the cover.
Okay, I'm super-freaking-excited about this one. I've written a microgame based on my Valley of the Five Fires module. In fact, as many of you are reading this, Welbo and I are actually playtesting it (our first scheduled gaming activities of 2014). The game is designed for 2-4 players and is sort of a "race" to acquire the Luuzhin Coins (the artifacts from the module). As you can tell from the counters pictured here, there are encounters with phase giants, crimson death worms, etc. I think it really captures everything I love about the setting from the module, but encapsulates it into a Task Force Games style microgame. After Welbo and I run through it a couple of times and I order some test prints of the counters and such, we'll be sending out a few playtest copies (recruitment information to come). I'm thinking April release for this.
Creature Compendium
Gateway to Adventure
And on the blogging homefront...
There will be more monsters (which will, of course, be added to the growing list of those included in the Creature Compendium).
There will likely be posts from the next phase of Gateway to Adventure work (most likely maps for the adventure locations).
I've got my eyes set on the April A-to-Z blogging challenge (as always), but have not decided on a subject yet (maybe a selection of NPCs for Gateway to Adventure).
As for d30-oriented stuff, Welbo and I feel like we've covered a LOT of ground with the 2 completed books (the d30 DM Companion and the d30 Sandbox Companion), so the d30 stuff I do post in 2014 is likely to be a hodge-podge (though I do have some d30 monster generators in mind, but no plans for a d30 Monster Generator book... yet).
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