Good Monday, Gamer!
Big Bad Con Online happened this past weekend. If you missed Judd and I up in the wee hours of Saturday talking about RPG Sandboxes - well, we’re on the Youtubes!
I'm pretty sure Judd has persuaded me to run Dolmenwood using OSE next.
Staying with D&D combat tricks, I'm always turning it up to 11. So, you already know I run Old School Essentials with no initiative and player-facing combat checks. That’s a solid win for me. That alone has kept players from checking out when it's not their 'turn' and bumped up the speed and tension of combat—but I couldn't leave it alone!
The D20 Fray Pool
Players build a D20 fray dice pool:
+1d20 per attack
+1d20 per Attacker.
No need to designate dice. Roll the pool.
Apply mods and allocate your successful attacks and defense as you please. Apply damage to successful hits.
Take hits from unblocked attackers.
It is still very raw, but it is fast, tense, and very tactile on the table. The tactics become very different as players decide how to use those dice: Do I defend against those attackers or use successes for extra hits?
Code 8, pt II I watched Code 8, pt II on Netflix. I'm always gonna love the opening credits, where they montage the world history of people with powers driving the Industrial Age. Then, they become a feared, oppressed demographic as mechanization and technology replace their work contributions.
Code 8, pt. I was a kind of gangs + heist with powers movie. The lore is compelling for a gritty supers world. Part II. evolves that main storyline, and we see new powers, new tech, and a good power struggle story. It was ok, it didn't hit like the first one, but it was smart in knowing it is a sequel and that characters from the first movie remember the right things. Like there's a scene where folks are grappling with a guy with electricity based powers, then the sprinkler system gets hit and goes off. There's that “aww shiiit” look on everybody's face, and it's amazing. For me, it was worth watching; it helps with work on Lifted Indomitable RPG, by ordinary people with extraordinary powers game. The Code 8 universe oppresses people with powers via technology. Those combat robots being dropped from the sky via drone flyers are terrifying! That’s a feeling I want in Lifted!
We picked up Burncycle this weekend and are working through the tutorial. It's a cool stealth co-op BIG BOX board game with lots of moving parts, but not too insane. You play a team of rebel robots running missions against oppressive human corps. The game's 'AI' rules are smart and simple...and tough as I look ahead!
ICYMI - the 1000+ subscriber celebration sale is on all month!