![[info]](http://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small}
RSS Feed
iTunes Link
Agenda:
Subjugate & ultimately destroy the Rankian people from the face of the earth.
Influences:
The Band of the White Hand
[Assets: 2] [Requirements: None]
A mercenary band that operates in the South Sea region. It is composed of mostly Noderin pirates and reavers.
The Sual of Sandkili
[Assets: 7] [Requirements: None]
Sandkili is located on the border of Eskar and as such the Sual of Sandkili are often found throughout the South Seas.
The Zar of Malindarov
[Assets: 5] [Requirements: One Malindarov Army Path]
The Zar of Malindarov is the military advisor of the Kale Kesis and as such has tremendous power at his disposal.
The 13th Legion of Malindarov (The Bloody Horsemen)</em>
[Assets: 3] [Requirements: None]
The 13th Legion is notorious for the massacre of Avanos where they slaughterd 100 Rankian families of the Unas Clan.
Chenu Chapter House of the South Seas Trading Company
[Assets: 5] [Requirements: None]
The Chenu Chapter is the most profitable arm of the Trading Company, but also the most constrained by the rule of law.
The Den Rankian Clan
[Assets: 3] [Requirements: None]
The Den Clan spends most of its time wandering Oldaska and Sarl Country.
The Gdano League Chapter House of Strava
[Assets: 4] [Requirements: None]
The Strave Chapter House is famous for its use of Noderin mercenaries to enforce the terms of its "contracts" with non-aligned trading partners.
The Prusa Sarl Tribe
[Assets: 4] [Requirements: None]
The Prusa tribe has the most contact with civilization as it is in a state of constant warfare with the Kingdom of Oldaska
The House of Mazowski
[Assets: 5] [Requirements: None]
The House of Mazowski sits on the border of the Prusa territory and is in a state of near constant siege.
Fuck Endgame
That's right. Personal Endgames are out. The mechanical benefit is moving to character Drives with some modification. I find that they are troublesome to bring into play in a game with a Theme. They work fine prior to the whole Theme structure, but now that the game itself has a definitive stopping point. Drive is much more important to the player and therefore the character. So the way it is going to work is as follows:
Character has his Drive. It is a Descriptor like everything else. A player can also declare, fuck this I want out of the conflict using his Drive. He gets to use it adding a check mark to that Drive. He can do this four times throughout play. This shit doesn't refresh until he resolves his Drive in play.
So if his Drive is to kill the 6 fingered man, until he does that he don't get to refresh. Once he does though, he gets to rewrite a new Drive and refresh that fucker. It works as a short term goal setter in a long term game. Clever huh?
Fuck Triggers
Rather fuck individual Triggers. I have to thank Ralph for where my brain went on this. We chatted at ForgeCon this year and it set the seeds for this. The fertilizer was discussion post game on our issues with getting things going in the game. Part of my goal with this new system (and it is becoming very different from CoS as I go along) is to codify all the shit that works that has no rules. Turn it into a documented system plan if you will.
So with that in mind, Trigger makes more sense to start the game with. When you make your Cell, the players make their Trigger. The Trigger is the first scene that kicks everything off (call it a Kicker if you want). It starts them off with the Conspiracy though. Has to start with that and the player input has to be open. It has to be something like, we are being chased in the sewers or Don Rodrigo passes us a note in the tavern saying meet him at the Cabildo at 2 am. The GM then takes that between sessions and works it into an opening scene. It has to introduce the conspiracy to the players and set up a dynamic so that they interact with each other. Out of that session a Descriptor reflecting the events is written and added to the Cell sheet.
A Little Background:
So when we started this game at one point I got accused of railroading with all the baggage and venom behind it. So I sat back in response and we went nowhere. This led to shitty sessions, but also to two thoughts (which is good): The rethinking of the way Trigger works and taking the time in the first session to make sure that none of the character/Cell Assets have padlocks on them preventing their immediate use.
Limits of Destiny
So one thing happened last session. A player used a Destiny point to make the object of a sub-quest simply be nearby. It was a flag that he was no interested in pursuing the sub-quest (which is good), but it resolved the issue rather hastily draining any tension from the game (which is bad). This: The element cannot eliminate a named character now becomes The statement cannot change the state of a named element of play.
What the fuck does that do? Pretty simple. If I as the GM think something is important he calls it something. Gives it a name. Makes it a proper noun. Makes the fucking thing his. My goal in the game is not to nerf the GM, but to allow for both players and the GM to bring into play things that are important to them. Sometimes that means the player has to deal with what the GM likes and sometimes the GM has to deal with what the players like.
Subtitle
The fucking game needs a subtitle. I like the title, but the game is becoming something very different than the first two versions. I need something appropriate to distinguish it, not only as something different for others, but for myself as I work on it. Names are important and inform on what you do when creating something.
The Holy Grail
How the fuck do you get around player baggage? What do I have to write to say you are all responsible for investing in the game. You all have to invest. It isn't spoon feeding from one source. It is a pot luck, only the GM is hosting so he has to provide a bit more. Totally struggling with this. It came up in post discussion how after the railroad comment I backed off and waited for them to start investing using the tools at hand. They didn't cause they were waiting for me to feed them. How do I keep that shit from happening?
Conspiracy Creation
The Conspiracy is now created like a character. Instead of Life Paths it has Influence Paths which are the organizations it has infiltrated. It earns Asset Points just like with Life Paths and those are spent on Antagonists Life Paths. I like the logic of it and it seems to build in my first Conspiracy some interesting shit. I hope to have the full range of paths posted to the site this week life permitting.
Miniatures?
I have written up notes on how to use miniatures with the game. I love miniatures and I love small scale miniature games. Mordheim is one of my favorite games of all time and I used to play Battletech like it was going out of style. We in fact would play long term campaigns and tried more than once to use Battletech to resolve a Risk game. They aren't ready to test yet, but soon. I mean, why the fuck can't we use miniatures in our indie games?
Mass Combat?
Yeah. This shit too. I love this shit too and thought why the fuck can't I do this too? The system as written actually lends itself well to scaling. These rules like the miniature rules should be up and about sometime next week life permitting.
Code Warrior
So compiling PDFs together from multiple sources is a bitch. The easy thing would be to compile from multiple PDFs, but that shit, from what I have found, requires some 'spensive software. So what is the solution? I got me a couple of ideas. One I am toying with depends upon the profit model I decide upon. I really only want to cover costs and maybe make enough to cover convention costs so we shall see what I try. I dunno if an entirely online model will work (well online with print option for consumer).
But anyway the one idea I had was to instead of letting people custom create they would order custom books, I would compile, create, print them out and ship them. That is the easiest from a programming standpoint, but the most labor intensive. We shall see if I have a Eureka moment between then and the full release.
Comic Book
Yes I am still working on it, no I do not know when issue three will be out. Sooner than I thought at least. I have inked the first three pages and I gotta say, even though I hate making comics now, I am getting a bit better at it. I can't wait to go back to just illustrating single pieces. As for release plans for the damn thing, I may or may not sell the last three issues as monthlies. I'll let you know. I am for sure going to have the whole thing up as web comic when it is done though. Maybe a print piece with some game shit. We shall see...
So we got together again and hit the bricks on Monday. I was completely unprepared to run the game. I have spent far too much time on writing and translating the rules for the site than on preparing for Monday. Bad Keith.
But it turned out okay. Not great, but I don't expect it to get great until I have settled on all the rules. I think we are starting to get a feel for how the game plays out better and we had our first Destiny Use, though a good idea, wasn't timed well. I also got to introduce a character, which another player spent a Destiny to make him loyal to the group.
Some things have changed by-the-by...
The Great Game
So this was the first session using the great game. Both sides earn dice by winning conflicts in the game. The Cell also earns dice when they earn Trust dice and get penalty dice when they lose Trust dice (not when they use them though).
The tally from the session was Keith = 0 Dice, The Boys = 2 Dice, so 2D6 vs 4D6. They smoked me, but not bad since I rolled ok. The Conspiracy has taken one level of Influence damage. The nice thing about it is I am seriously invested right now to kick some ass next session so I am at least on even footing.
Assets
The Cell as an organization is retooled a little. Instead of taking left over points and spending them on group assets, the Cell, in response to the Great Game now has a life of it's own. The players average their Asset points and spend them on Cell Assets now.
My Destiny
The Conspiracy is getting Betrayal Points. Right now the thinking is 1 per Milestone reached. The GM can spend these to take a Cell or Player Asset and use it against them. Not sure yet if the Conspiracy gets it for good or if it just comes off the player's/cell sheets.
The Conspiracy & Setting
Solved two birds with one stone. Changed the way the Conspiracy is created and solved my issues with setting info dump. The Conspiracy is now created like a character using Life Paths, only it gets it's own Life Paths. These Life Paths are the people, places and things of the setting and they give Descriptors to the Conspiracy and Assets to spend on shit. The Life Path's aren't finished yet, but I hope to get to them soon.
So shit is humming along design-wise. I should have most of the character Life Paths posted sometime this week if not today. I think that will help sort shit out for folks that are following this stuff. There will be no more updates to existing content on the site until I get all the content up... Then expect a .02 Version to be posted based on all this shit I post about here and stuff that just comes up as I go along. My goal is to have an "ashcan" of the site ready for consumption by GenCon... Maybe send some postcards with Snyder to hand out for folks. Maybe with some sort of code for some free GenCon only shit... We shall see...
- There is no tactics at all involved. Just get to a crisis point and roll dice based on how you justify your actions (which is kinda arbitrary I think).
- When the dice beat you down, like they did Ralph, they really beat you down with no hope of recovery.
Neither of those things I find appealing... I like having tactical options and solid basis for what I am using in play (like I could argue For Love for everything, and why wouldn't I since it was my D12 which is the top of the scale). I also hate having no recourse during a beat down. Nothing sucks more than being beat down except being beat down without the slim hope of being able to try something different to reverse the course.
Oh and the text. Good lord that text. Vincent, if by some off chance you happen to read my blog, please god do two things for me. Add an index, a rules summary, and bookmark the PDF. I had it open on the laptop as we played and it would have been faster to try and remember how shit works rather than find it in the document. The writing choice I think is an interesting one, and I think it is on the cusp of being tremendously effective as a teaching tool... But is it not nearly good enough at being a reference tool for play...
So yeah, In a Wicked Age, not for me...
Edit: Also played Blood Red Sands, which was a hell of a lot of fun. Keep an eye out for Ralph's newest creation. I think he will have an Ashcan ready for GenCon. I'll write more on it later.
Play-test for Conspiracy of Shadows tonight. Going to try about a bunch of new stuff and see where it goes. If you have checked out the site at all this past week you will notice a steady stream of stuff being posted... I got other stuff I want to try, but don't have it done yet in a usable format... Need to finish the Conspiracy's Life Paths... That's right. The Conspiracy is going to have Life Paths...
Check it out on the site. There are lots more that I have to put together, but I have a bunch posted to the manual. Once that is up and done, I can move onto Phase 2, the user created content interface.
In Other News...
My poop machine is infinitely amusing...
Buy Here
It is five fucking dollars for a bunch of awesome. Why aren't you running there now?
Conspiracy of Shadows: Rough Cut Site
If you click on Manual it will take you to an approximation of how it will work/look. Some things that will be added in the near future are:
- Printable Version of each section
- PDF generation of each section
- Submission form for new content for registered users
- Paying for the site to get rid of the GoDaddy banner... ;)
- Oh and the rest of the written content will be first...
No playtest it looks like this week unfortunately, but I should have more done on the site as a trade off. Comments always welcome.
I want as little math as possible. I want conflict resolution to be simple, elegant, but with tactical choice. Not a simulation of conflict, but something that evokes conflict in a tangible way.
I want the game to be focused on the adversarial relationship of a few versus a large powerful entity. I want every aspect of the characters to be driven towards this conflict.
I want the setting and the color to not be the GM's province alone. I want collaborative creation. I want players dropping Destiny left and right, using it as a tool to tell the GM where they want to go. A style of play where the GM is not the gatekeeper to the elements of story or play, simply the custodian.
I want a guiding structure to play. Not as formal as BE, but a looser framework that makes getting rolling and getting to the good as easy as possible.
I want a loose adversarial role for the GM. Not the clearly defined way BE's GM is, but somewhere near that. A lighter, more cooperative touch.
I want the character's Drives and Triggers to be central to play. I want them to be a guide to the players to what their characters want as well as a guide to the GM as to what the players want.
I want to strike a balance between narrative third party play (ie, I am doing this with Jehain because it will be cool for the story) and imersive play. I think this is the only way Destiny points will work. It requires a comfort level of jumping between being in character and jumping out to add some meta element to the game.
While I want the game to be a conspiracy based game, I don't want the breadcrumb game. That leads to two things in my experience. Either a complete railroad by the GM cause that is what he has set up, or GM burn out cause he has tried to cover every possible angle the players might take. I think of the X-Files, and how the conspiracy changed over time.
Character Review
My boy Phil, and myself when I am playing to some extent, does not find the guy he is playing out the gate. I am one of those organic fuckers. I need to play a session or two to figure it out. Then we end up going back and modifying our characters to match what we want to play. This sort of activity is never really covered in game text. We just kinda do it, like last night.
Well since part of my goal with this rewrite is to codify all the shit we do in play outside the rules and make them part of the experience I am adding content explicitly for this. The idea is that after the first 2 sessions (first session is always rough and the second session is when things usually start to kick) you do a review of your characters, and modify accordingly. The idea is to follow the same question and answer format I am using throughout the document.
Wealth & Stuff Revisited
There was not much dice rolling last night (I will get into that later), but there was the acquisition of an Asset using the rules I outlined a few posts ago. After seeing how it went I am thinking of tying it in with Destiny Points. You want the Asset, it isn't just about making a role as it has an lasting value to the game. A one time service is one thing, but an Asset lasts through the game. So spend a Destiny for it and roll.
The Ugly
So like I said, there was not a lot of rolling or much of anything really. Lots of color. Lots of flavor... Which is good... But man was there no steam... No motion... I felt like I had no place to go as the GM. It is a hard spot to be in and I think part of it is expectations and part of it is baggage.
I think the players have an expectation of me creating everything and I have an expectation of them helping me by driving the game more. Add to that that anything I as the GM does gets the glossy coat of railroad* added to it and you have a shitty mix. You have what we had last night.... Only made worse by several of us being a bit out of it for various reasons...
Part of this is social issues but also I think a part of it is expectations of the system... I think both can and should be addressed systematically. How do you do that? Well here are my spit ball ideas... Untried and untested...
- In the character creation process, it needs to be hammered home that the characters drive the game. It is kinda tacked on, but not completely integrated into every aspect of character creation... It needs to be emphasized to the point of exhaustion.
- The Conspiracy/Antagonists need to have clear goals. I don't mean the vague kind, but a real project plan. The problem is the "setting" isn't clearly define by real life. I am not sure how to work around this. But I do have a goal, which we created during the theme creation set up. I beginning to think that the Milestones notion of the themes is really the things the Conspiracy is trying to accomplish. Maybe that is the project plan. By the GM having a proactive goal he forces the players to work towards their proactive goals.
- While I am not high on the restrictions of Burning Empires when it comes to scenes, I do love a lot of the structure. I am thinking that every session the GM needs to start with a building scene. A scene that can be with or without the characters. Something to get everyone's juices flowing and set the Conspiracy's tone for the session.
I wish I had thought of this stuff yesterday...
*Some Thoughts on Railroading:
Railroading is not always a bad thing. Sometimes the GM needs to take a strong hand to get things going. The problem is, for it to work. For it to kick things in the ass, the players have to be receptive to it. They have to understand that the whole game is not going to be this. This notion is a bitch to get across.
We all got baggage we bring to games and the way shit has been crammed down our throats when we played power games as kids playing DnD or TMNT or Vampire is a special kind of baggage. It is a sense of impotence we don't like. We played so many games where you got struck by a bolt from the blue you immediately get your guard up. These defenses that protect us from bad game play, however, can also be a detriment.
Socially we need to learn to let go at times and be guided, with the understanding it is only going to be a short time. I trust my friends with my life. I don't mean that as a metaphor. My friends that I game with are like brothers to me. Just as I would do anything for my brother or sister, I would do for them. So it isn't really a trust issue. It is a baggage issue that keeps us from letting go in this one situation. I don't know how to resolve this other than to talk about it and hope for the best.
Cause damn it, I got some cool shit in my head. They got some cool shit in their heads. We should be able to freely let ourselves go at times. To be guided. But that may be asking the impossible in a group of four confident, independent grown men who have seen a lot of different transformative shit in their lives.
Man my hate for those old power games knows no limit...
My issue is pretty simple. InDesign does not take into account rows or column spans in the XML it generates. This is fine for InDesign but does not help for output to the web. In order to generate a table I need that information.
I want this:
<Table xmlns:aid="http://ns.adobe.com/AdobeInDesign/4.0/" aid:table="table" aid:trows="8" aid:tcols="3">
<Cell aid:table="cell" aid:theader="" aid:crows="1" aid:ccols="1" aid:ccolwidth="134.66666666666666">
<TableHeader>Age Range</TableHeader>
</Cell>
<Cell aid:table="cell" aid:theader="" aid:crows="1" aid:ccols="1" aid:ccolwidth="134.66666666666666">
<TableHeader>Additional Descriptors</TableHeader>
</Cell>
<Cell aid:table="cell" aid:theader="" aid:crows="1" aid:ccols="1" aid:ccolwidth="134.66666666666666">
<TableHeader>Required</TableHeader>
<TableHeader>Descriptors</TableHeader>
</Cell>
<Cell aid:table="cell" aid:crows="1" aid:ccols="1" aid:ccolwidth="134.66666666666666">
<TableBody>1-15 Years</TableBody>
</Cell>
<Cell aid:table="cell" aid:crows="1" aid:ccols="1" aid:ccolwidth="134.66666666666666">
<TableBody>0</TableBody>
</Cell>
<Cell aid:table="cell" aid:crows="1" aid:ccols="1" aid:ccolwidth="134.66666666666666">
<TableBody>Naive</TableBody>
</Cell>
<Cell aid:table="cell" aid:crows="1" aid:ccols="1" aid:ccolwidth="134.66666666666666">
<TableBody>16-24 Years</TableBody>
</Cell>
<Cell aid:table="cell" aid:crows="1" aid:ccols="1" aid:ccolwidth="134.66666666666666">
<TableBody>1</TableBody>
</Cell>
<Cell aid:table="cell" aid:crows="1" aid:ccols="1" aid:ccolwidth="134.66666666666666">
<TableBody>Impulsive</TableBody>
</Cell>
<Cell aid:table="cell" aid:crows="1" aid:ccols="1" aid:ccolwidth="134.66666666666666">
<TableBody>25-35</TableBody>
</Cell>
<Cell aid:table="cell" aid:crows="1" aid:ccols="1" aid:ccolwidth="134.66666666666666">
<TableBody>2</TableBody>
</Cell>
<Cell aid:table="cell" aid:crows="1" aid:ccols="1" aid:ccolwidth="134.66666666666666">
<TableBody>Experienced</TableBody>
</Cell>
<Cell aid:table="cell" aid:crows="1" aid:ccols="1" aid:ccolwidth="134.66666666666666">
<TableBody>36-45</TableBody>
</Cell>
<Cell aid:table="cell" aid:crows="1" aid:ccols="1" aid:ccolwidth="134.66666666666666">
<TableBody>2</TableBody>
</Cell>
<Cell aid:table="cell" aid:crows="1" aid:ccols="1" aid:ccolwidth="134.66666666666666">
<TableBody>World-wise</TableBody>
</Cell>
<Cell aid:table="cell" aid:crows="1" aid:ccols="1" aid:ccolwidth="134.66666666666666">
<TableBody>46-55</TableBody>
</Cell>
<Cell aid:table="cell" aid:crows="1" aid:ccols="1" aid:ccolwidth="134.66666666666666">
<TableBody>3</TableBody>
</Cell>
<Cell aid:table="cell" aid:crows="1" aid:ccols="1" aid:ccolwidth="134.66666666666666">
<TableBody>Aches & Pains</TableBody>
</Cell>
<Cell aid:table="cell" aid:crows="1" aid:ccols="1" aid:ccolwidth="134.66666666666666">
<TableBody>56-65</TableBody>
</Cell>
<Cell aid:table="cell" aid:crows="1" aid:ccols="1" aid:ccolwidth="134.66666666666666">
<TableBody>4</TableBody>
</Cell>
<Cell aid:table="cell" aid:crows="1" aid:ccols="1" aid:ccolwidth="134.66666666666666">
<TableBody>Arthritic</TableBody>
</Cell>
<Cell aid:table="cell" aid:crows="1" aid:ccols="1" aid:ccolwidth="134.66666666666666">
<TableBody>66+</TableBody>
</Cell>
<Cell aid:table="cell" aid:crows="1" aid:ccols="1" aid:ccolwidth="134.66666666666666">
<TableBody>5</TableBody>
</Cell>
<Cell aid:table="cell" aid:crows="1" aid:ccols="1" aid:ccolwidth="134.66666666666666">
<TableBody>Suffering From Age</TableBody>
</Cell>
</Table>
transformed into something like this:
<table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="3">
<tr>
<td width="33%"><div align="center">Age Range</div></td>
<td width="33%"><div align="center">Additional Descriptors</div></td>
<td width="33%"><div align="center">Required Descriptors</div></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="33%"><div align="center">1 - 15 years</div></td>
<td width="33%"><div align="center">0</div></td>
<td width="33%"><div align="center">Naive</div></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="33%"><div align="center">df</div></td>
<td width="33%"><div align="center">1</div></td>
<td width="33%"><div align="center">xxx</div></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="33%"><div align="center">dfd</div></td>
<td width="33%"><div align="center">2</div></td>
<td width="33%"><div align="center">xxx</div></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="33%"><div align="center">ddf</div></td>
<td width="33%"><div align="center">2</div></td>
<td width="33%"><div align="center">xxx</div></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="33%"><div align="center">dfd</div></td>
<td width="33%"><div align="center">3</div></td>
<td width="33%"><div align="center">xxx</div></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="33%"><div align="center">dfd</div></td>
<td width="33%"><div align="center">4</div></td>
<td width="33%"><div align="center">xxx</div></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="33%"><div align="center">dfd</div></td>
<td width="33%"><div align="center">5</div></td>
<td width="33%"><div align="center">xxx</div></td>
</tr>
</table>
On the bright side the tables I am using follow the same basic structure for the most part... So that is something. I am just at a loss as to how I would write the XSL without adding static crap or tagging each element in the table as an individual piece... There are a shit load number of tables... But once I get this sorted out I can post everything to my new site...
So if you know anything about XSL give me a holla... So far all the documentation I could find was people saying InDesign tables suck.
Everything I am creating will start in InDesign... CS3 to be precise. Do my layout in there and export out the XML and upload that shit into the database. The database really only needs three fields (ID, Title, & Text in BLOB format). Combine that with a catalog, search function, & XSLT to make it look ready for the web through a spiffy designed web interface and bam, you have the basic structure.
To go with that basic structure I will add your standard print version of the content. Also a PDF generation, which is wicked easy to do once the XML is in place from InDesign. So really those elements are the basic structure which won't take long to get up and running on my future site www.conspiracyofshadows.com.
So that is phase one, which opens the door to play-testing (so if you are interested it will be ready in a matter of a week or two). Phase two has two components that I have to work out the code for. The first is the easiest; a submission system for user content. This is the question and answer form for user created conspiracy, characters, etc. I spoke about the other day. The technical end is easy (select category for user which generates a suffix which is tacked onto the title of the document and the ID).
The second will be a little tricky only cause I haven't written code to do this before in this manner. The idea is for custom PDF generation. The user selects the various pieces and orders them, hits submit and gets a single PDF generated which he can then get printed at say Lulu.com for his own personal use. I have created solo PDF generators, but collecting and ordering multiple pieces of data will take some time.
This is perhaps, in my mind, the most important piece I want to put together. I love the notion of custom books floating out there. I am even included my art for selection as chapter breaks if I can set it up so it doesn't break the web with the file sizes. I also want to offer a bunch of custom options for covers. The sizes will all be standard comic trade size though. I don't think I have the PHP-fu to do it any better.
Any code monkeys out there with suggestion would be great... And suggestions for ideas of things I can do in general as well from anyone would be appreciated. If there is a feature or something you wanted out of an RPG or RPG site, let me know. I am all kinds of jazzed at all times for creating interesting and useful tools.
Name Generator: This one is easy. Load a table in the db with names by culture. Hundreds of names. First Names, Surnames, and even common nicknames (like Rufus for red heads). Maybe even a little bit of information on the origin of the name. You can either search through this mutherfucker, or you can hit the random button. Bam. Done with that pain in the ass.
Mapping Tools: This one is a little more tricky. Probably some form of white-board app which you can save the results, import images, and share. I am guessing Flash, but there is a good chance it will require Flash communication server, which I can't afford to invest in out the gate. Something similar to Imagination Cubed I guess.
Construction Kits: A big part of the game revolves around the ability to easy construct elements out of Descriptors to bring into play. All of this is done by asking questions. So these would be pretty easy. A simple form setup where you answer the questions and then gets saved into a table in the db. It can then be output in a pre-formated PDF or searched as a resource by other users. It would probably break down like this:
- Characters
- Antagonists
- Conspiracies
- Assets (Artifacts, Reputations, & Affiliations)
- Environments
Online Play: So I am not sure on this one, unless it is integrated into a Flash Chat set up, which is tricky in of itself. I mean, a real nice set up is going to need Flash Media Server. Is it possible to create a unified Flash front end that would feed off of say people's AIM accounts or whatever? Dunno. Haven't explored it, but either way this is a tough nut to crack. Ideally we are talking Video, Audio, and chat overlayed on the site to allow for easy browsing of content on a need basis.
Flash Games: I really want some form of Flash side games that play off the rest of the site. These would have to come later because of the work involved. But I think a library of these games would be a nice added value to the site.
Custom PDF Generation: I am real high on the idea of users being able to take any content from the site to output a PDF that they can take and have printed and bound. I think back to the day when I played AD&D and how we would photocopy shit and staple it together for ourselves of rules, setting material, our characters, and even images. Taking that to the next level would be very cool.
Video Tutorials: This doesn't have to be me in front of the camera. I am thinking a combination of person video combined with Flash generated flow charts of how the game works. I also think that you need to do the same thing for how to run a game and the like. They will take time, but once the text is completed this should be the first thing on the list to accomplish.
Entertainment: This is more pie in the sky than anything else, but a library of radio plays and/or video (animation of live action) related to the content would be cool. I love doing this type of shit, but it is time consuming at best.
Personal/Game Space: I think this is best suited by writing APIs for pre-existing sites. An add on for all this crap for Facebook, and MySpace and whatever. Rather than trying to create some sort of social networking thing, leverage pre-existing, in use things so people have choice. The whole endevour is about choice really anyway.
I got other ideas, but they are not fully formed yet. If you got some suggestions, no matter how pie in the sky they might be, bring it up.
Wealth
Game Master gets dice based upon the elements of the good or service. For each element he gets a bonus die, for each detriment he gets a penalty.
So for instance, Phil wants safe passage purchased to the city of Tor with a reliable crew. That would be two dice for the GM (safe passage & reliable crew). He uses his WB power to negotiate. We roll. He wins, he gets exactly that. He loses he gets one of two things, an eventful passage where the GM gets to throw stuff at him or no trip at all.
The same rule applies for stuff, only when he gets it, he gets it as an asset. So say Neil wants to get himself a reliable war horse that will listen to his commands. That is three dice to the GM (reliable, the horse itself, and listens to commands). Neil wins, he gets that on his sheet. He loses he either gets the horse, but with Descriptors of the GM's choosing, or no horse at all. Maybe the number of Descriptors the GM can change are determined by his margin of victory (x1 or less, x2, x3, etc.)
