Work today was stupid, so to destress and end on a good note, I took to my handy dandy little journal and drew a quick work map. Enjoy.
I wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Years, blessings to you and yours!
I took a moment today to finish up a small project I worked on over the summer, a slim, phone sized PDF of the AG rules. Nothing major, just a reformatting so you can carry the slim rules around you where ever you go and ready to play at a moments notice.
Thoughts on the system, Solo d6 Fantasy: Expanded
I think this is an excellent option for solo play, it provides enough depth to provide an interesting session but remain lite enough that one can pick up, jump in, and start making adventures. I did not get into the magic, which if I play again, I will certainly ensure I add that back into the mix. I particularly liked the way damage is resolved in a single roll with the attack.
I thought I would not like the rolls being all player-facing (ie, the players roll to dodge attacks instead of the GM rolling to hit the PCs), but in reality I actually really liked it. Like REALLY liked it. From a player perspective this really feels like I am playing a game, I am rolling to see if I succeed vs the GM rolling to see if the monsters succeed. This may feel like a small thing, but especially in solo play this really made the game about the PCs. I
Thoughts on the adventure:
I thought this went smooth and mostly well. Wearing the GM's hat I attempted to make the encounters basically even or tough like I would GMing a group, but I think I under estimated the PCs a little and at no time did I really think the PCs were in jeopardy. If I play again, this is something I would like to directly change in my approach to encounters. Yes, I want the heroes to succeed, but I also want this to NOT be a certain thing. Like I like my 80s movies with a little tension and the good guys always, if barely, come out on top.
Would I recommend?
Absolutely. If you want a lite solo RPG system that essentially covers everything, this a great option. Small package, very big game.
Interesting ending. I am sure someone will cry how the boys essentially set the bandits on fire, but hey, all is fair in love and war. In the real world you would not leave people that want to kill you alive, unless you are just a stupid fuck. Then you would probably believe cashless bail is a good thing.
Update on the characters -
This is one of the things I like most about solo gaming, and one that shares a good deal with how I ran games for people. In my best gaming sessions I never fully fleshed out the encounter. I knew what would lead to the encounter, and then I just let fate, ingenuity, and off the cuff insanity take over and resolve the session. This meant I was often as surprised as the players as to the path the adventure takes (sometimes screaming towards).
I find in solo gaming much of my enjoyment comes from the unexpected and interesting (sometimes deadly) turns that our story goes. I think that is one of the facets of solo gaming that the naysayers simply do not understand. I have often heard people say 'how fun can it be when you know what will happen, and that is exactly the crux of it. I really have no idea where the adventure will head, nor how well my heroes will do. Maybe they will be big heroes, maybe they will all die, maybe they will befriend a giant or demon.
That level of the unexpected, keeps the game fun and interesting, and makes every single game unique.
Hidden in the rolling hills of the nearby frontier, lies a small chapel dedicated to a saint's last resting place. What might lie in waiting within its walls?
I just realized I totally forgot about the campfire Vin could smell before they came to the lair. Oops... I guess that is what happens when you play a session at work, on break, and do not play again until the following day. Oh well!
Mort & Vin decide to inquire about adding a member to their crew, and then end up hiring Aranngort, a venturist that appears a little less sure of himself. Vin mumbles to Mort that at least he will take an arrow or two before falling and then they would not have to pay him...
Aranngort
They head out on the road...
Thank you to all the Veterans who have served. Not everyone will stand up for those people they will never met and ensure we all wake up to freedom and liberty every day, but to those that do and continue to serve, I thank you with all my heart.
Mort & Vin enter the village of Bramblgulf. In a chance encounter they met Pollard a local merchant who gives them a quest. I used the Solo d6 system as is as much as possible and only resorted to using the provided oracle when things got murky or I was just stuck.
Matt's Note:
I have decided that I am likely not going to write up much for the blog and probably just let the photo speak for itself. I may include things like thoughts on the system, or perhaps why I did something a particular way, but I want to keep the workload of these blog postings to a minimum. Some might enjoy reading them. I am also going to include some goofy AI artwork just because.
As I was working through this, I decided I wanted to use the map I drew, something I rarely do much anymore. As it happens, the random rolls to determine the quest lined up almost perfectly so I decided to run with it.
Another work break map, a simple remote temple inside a mountain or hill. The hermit-like monks run the temple for dedicated followers on a pilgrimage to a holy place in their religion.
I took some time over a break at work to use the Solo d6 Fantasy system for a spin and created two characters for an actual play. I used the rules exactly as stated and based the character cards on the ones in the photo in the rules.
System is pretty robust and allows you to create unique feeling characters (especially with the trait table to help flesh out the character's personality) with just a few rolls and notes. One thing to note is that this is a player-facing rolling game, so all rolls are made by the players. This may sound logical given that this is primarily meant for solo play, but this is also FOR the characters, meaning all rolls are made on behalf of the characters. You roll to attack and you roll to defend from the monsters’ attacks. Which I thought might be a problem for me as I have never really enjoyed that sort of thing but I have to tell you, I love it! The fact also that a character can choose to dodge an attack OR block it (block using STR and dodge using FIN) allows a greater feeling of control and creative license to be tactical in the attributes you use.
I will probably at some point create an additional equipment table as the included one is short, no doubt so it could be included in the small footprint of the game. The Expanded version includes excellent random tables for terrain, encounter activities, treasure, NPCs, a selection of common monsters….enough to let any solo play really bite into and create a solid gaming session.
I generated a basic quest presmise and starter village from the tables and after randomly roll some tables realized I could utilize one of the maps I have created. So Vinarys & Mortbello are set to head out for the first adventure!
Another friend and I were lamenting that we missed the creative process that was fulfilled by gaming back in the day (both of us have stepped away due to the politicized gaming community).
Christian smartly said: “Don’t do anything grand, fellas. Field notes map doodles, star block, adventure seeds, etc. Quick little bites for a daily creative check in, but leave it at that.”
And you know what? He was exactly right. I immediately stepped back, pulled out my field notes, and tossed this together. No grand “I am going to publish this!”, no “I am going to throw this into Affinity and clean it up, add color!”…just a notebook and a pen.
I think too often my desire to create morphs into a desire to create things useful to others. My enjoy moves from the most important thing for me and is replaced with others' needs. I think I have let this dominate the way I create things for so long that I honestly do not know how to just do for me. This left me feeling very much unfulfilled as a creator, gamer, heck...person.
"Hi. I am back. I am going to have some fun for me and enjoy some creating and gaming, my way."
Playing around and doing some playtesting of the AG rules, whipped up (rather quickly) some basic fantasy types to go on a little adventure. I used some random tables I came up with to serve as a 'kit' to get a jump start on creating an interesting character and 'rolled' up two characters. I figure with this little bit of information I should be able to run a full game. Let's see how this goes...
Well, I have been rummaging around for about six months, trying out various things, new systems, anything to get my creative juices flowing again and I stumbled upon that little gem on my Google Drive that I wrote nearly a decade ago and, well, it sort of would not get out of my head. So, screw it,
I am working on some more details, creating a phone version of the PDF for easy use while mobile. I am also thinking about some 'kits' for different genres of gaming such as fantasy, scifi, Gothic Noir, post-apoc, etc. Not sure yet, but we will see where this goes.
I discovered a handful of recent stripped down D&D hacks online this last week. One immediately jumped out at me, probably because of the old school aesthetics they used in its layout. I mean, look at it!
You can check out One Depth Deeper here: https://blk-feather-press.itch.io/odd
Now you are probably thinking, "Another D&D clone....ugh. Why???" Well, because we keep playing around with rules and ideas and this one has some interesting things that change it (some drastically) from what you think of when you think of D&D. BUT first, I have to take care of one serious problem:
NO HALFLINGS!
Seriously, like wtf. So I wrote one up. Not sure if it balanced or anything but who cares. Games must include halflings for me to read/play. I am still reading through the rules but I am liking what I have read so far. Perhaps I will find the time to actually play a game!
A return to form? I do not know, but I received a new Apple Pencil and wanted to give it a go so what better way than to draw a map. Last night I watched "Season of the Witch", not a fantastic film but somewhat fun and the end battle took place in a remote monastery so I think that subconsciously guided me on this one.
Been a loooooong time since I picked up my tablet and drew a map. I started working on this map well over a year ago. Today I replaced my Apple Pencil (likely stolen by goblins) Not finished but made a lot of progress over where I previously had stopped. It was based largely on a map I found somewhere on the internet and I just wanted to do my little spin on it in my usual style.
Anyone recognize this one? No-prizes if you can identify it!
