Dissonance @Dissonance@dice.camp
Microbiologist, Game Master, Polya Person, Dapper Geek of Distinction. He / Him / His
Slide, Spider, and Whisper from Blades
The Warlord from DnD 4e
The Immolator from Dungeon World
The Fatale & The Crone from Bluebeard’s Bride
This weekend I did my third playtest of my Fantasy Adventure mashup.
Seasoned playtesters: what are some tips for playtesring campaign style games in a one-shot setting? It seems to hamper play a little.
I became OBSESSED with formatting and prettifying my playbooks the other day. I want them to look good for my play tests! But ultimately it’s probably a bit of wasted effort. At least I feel I’m learning!
On players using coins/dice to make decisions:
I just recalled one of my favorite gaming moments. A player in Follow was having trouble making a decision for their character and wanted to flip a coin.
In that moment, the facilitator told them in absolute terms that was the one thing they couldn’t do, as making decisions is the entire point of the game. Even a random choice in character didn’t equate to a random choice as a player.
Since then, I haven’t allowed it for most games, either.
The Long Stair: Playtest Two
This game lives in a precarious space. It has a strong structure but many elements are intentionally ambiguous and interpretive.
The most difficult thing is going to be presenting the rules such that someone can read them and understand exactly what to do, despite that ambiguity. A lot of effort will have to go into illustrating, and justifying, the play.
Nevertheless, by the end of each playtest, I can tell the players have absorbed the structure well. Promising!
Watching a Weave playtest. At one point The Long Stair looked similar! That was before I exposed myself to a plethora of GMless story games and Indy RPGs.
Weave looks more like a reaction to online forum based story telling (sunless sea) than anything else.
Your reactions?
This is my mech: http://apocalypse-world.com
-Indy RPGs, these days
Studying some other books to help me construct the rules material for my own game.
This is a big part of why I love Blades.
https://dice.camp/media/XImYYJFGiTOQhtZBx8c
I'm Alex. I value being present, creative, and compassionate and I like RPGs and Larp as a way to help do that.
I host an interview podcast called Backstory, on the ONE SHOT network. http://oneshotpodcast.com/category/podcasts/backstory/
I work for Bully Pulpit Games, in a variety of microroles. We're going to publish a game I designed called Tension. It's about loving someone you don't know how to love. http://bullypulpitgames.com/games/tension/
I mostly write silly stuff on twitter so we'll see what happens here
So Blades in the Dark by @johnharper has updated their website and it now includes a COMPREHENSIVE look at the rules systems.
I think this is a great resource and it reminds me a lot of Pathfinders online rules resources. Highly useful for players and creators.
Reactions to my first playtest of The Long Stair Show more
Today’s question in the cards: Are my fears and defensiveness standing in the way of finding balance between flexibility and stability?
Tarot by Stasia Burrington
https://dice.camp/media/DRBrvvrGmIDeOVo9OS8
I’ve been revisiting the Delta Green scenarios I wrote and making them more ... me. It feels good! I love the mood and creepypasta nature of the Cthulhu mythos but so much of it doesn’t suit my own sensibilities and aesthetic.
It’s made me realize that I’ve never really been happy running a default setting. Anyone else feel this way?
Bluebeard’s Bride includes an explanation of and suggestions for The X-Card in its printed material.
WARNING! SELFIES ARE EXTREMELY SHARP! Show more
Companions: Telling stories in the world of Doctor Who using PBTA rules.
The Town: A sentient malevolent dust storm descends on a small southern town in the 30s, intent on destroying it physically and socially.
Bright Future: Solarpunks running heists against godlike post-Capitalist dynasties, stealing life-giving technologies for their community.
Howdy :) I play and design story games. My big one is Downfall, in which we create a flawed society and then completely wreck it. Lalalala
1: The Long Stair. A three player “gmless” game that uses tarot cards to explore three distinct perspectives of The Wanderer as they progress on an introspective journey after the apocalypse.
2: Mothlands campaign setting. Currently using BitD but technically system agnostic. Humanity exists as a Bronze Age remnant of an advanced civilization under the seasonal threat of giant Arthropods called Moths.
3: BitD/Dungeon World mashup. This is an experiment in home-brew madness.
Last played, Best Played, Wanna Play:
🎲 Last: A play test of a home-brew mashup of Blades in the Dark and Dungeon World. A silly and fun fantasy adventure!
🎲 Best: The one that comes to mind is a game of Downfall by Caroline Hobbs in which our corruption was Generosity. If you’ve never played that beautiful beautiful game you owe it to yourself.
🎲 Want: I’d love the opportunity to be a PC in a campaign of Blades or AW2! Let’s make a deal with the devil.
Seattle-ite
Microbiologist
Relationship nerd
Came to GMing in my mid-late twenties and became a tabletop convert. I love fiction-first gaming and have GMed year long campaigns of DnD, Dungeon World, Delta Green (the new one), and Blades in The Dark and have experience with many more.
Falling in love with GMless games and meeting a bunch of creators inspired me to try my hand at design. Currently working on an existential game using tarot to explore identity.