The Moathouse for my "Rescue of Hommlet" game is complete!
First... picture time!
I am ECSTATIC at how it came out! I can't wait to get this on the table at GaryCon and see people play on it.
I am going to do a post after GaryCon of how I built it and lessons learned.
There is one more playtest for the rules. Members of NIFMA (Northern Illinois Fantasy Miniatures Association) are coming to play - there's room if you're in my local area!
Here's a link to the rules if you'd like to check them out. These are more delta's to OD&D/Chainmail than a coherent set that merges the two; guidelines and approaches for how we'll run the game. I've also created "character sheets" for the dramatis personae, here's a link if you'd like to see what I did.
With the moathouse and scatter terrain to represent the bog surrounding it completed, it was time to move to my AD&D game at GaryCon - "The Heist of the Century!"
It's an easy enough job: Get into the Royal Palace, steal the King's Secretary's Seal and return with it, for a reward worth ten years' wages. But nothing is ever simple, is it? Especially when you interrupt something far, far worse, and the opportunities may be far, far bigger. Come experience the world of Etinerra, a campaign ten years going!
The adventure is written, but if you're willing, would you please help me playtest it?
I'm looking to do online playtest sessions last week of February/first week of March. Ideally in the evening US Central time. If you're interested, especially if you're not coming to GaryCon, please reach out: chgowiz@gmail.com. Thank you!!
So why am I playtesting this particular adventure? It is like no other adventure I've written or run before!
Dungeon crawls? No problem, I've been writing/running those for years! Outdoor adventures? I'm your guy! In-town, social adventures? Uhhh.... (needle on the record scratching sound)
When I came up with the idea, I was picturing "Ocean's Eleven" or "The Italian Job" in AD&D. Sounds great, right? Then I sat down to write the damn thing and realized I had zero, zilch, nada experience at such an adventure! How should it be paced? How should I provide clues? How do I get the players to plan and execute a heist? So. many. questions!!!
So, I set out to do what I usually do - get inspiration (aka. steal) from good sources. I poked around on social media and got some great tips and pointers to modules, articles and what-not. And boy, inspiration was to be had!
I don't want to give too many spoilers away, but I focused on a couple of primary resources to help me and over the course of four days, roughly about 16 hours total, I banged this thing out. Once I get past GaryCon, I intend on reviewing those primary resources and sharing how I came up with this adventure.
I'm excited! This adventure and the GaryCon session has HUGE POTENTIAL for affecting my campaign world! Obviously the blurb hints at that, but we'll see how it goes. I always have my one-shots affect my campaign world - it's been so much fun to see how the players react to a dynamic world.
Of course, after all is said and done, with trying to run a game style I've never run before, I may be tearing what little hair I have left out and cursing myself "what was I even thinking?!?" We'll see...
3/28/20
Today's Troop Review
My initial goal was six units per side, one per month since last May but although behind schedule by the time February arrived, my goal is now eight units or more per side by the end of April.
British and Emigre Forces: 1 Gun, 2 Infantry units. (plus a Brunswick infantry unit in old fashioned hats standing by if needed)
Republican French: General, 1 gun, 1 Light Cavalry, 1 Sharpshooter, 2 Infantry.
British and Emigre Forces: 1 Gun, 2 Infantry units. (plus a Brunswick infantry unit in old fashioned hats standing by if needed)
Republican French: General, 1 gun, 1 Light Cavalry, 1 Sharpshooter, 2 Infantry.
One unit a week will get me there but I'm shooting to do two a week as long as I can to allow a safety margin.
Here's a closer look at the now finished unit featured in the last post.
Complex But Not Complicated
To me, the best games are the ones with rules that provide a structure for making moves towards victory, then get out of the way and let you play. I don't like games where an encyclopedic knowledge of the rules gives an advantage, and I can't stand games where it's possible to win on a technicality. The advantage should come with the ability to understand the consequences of making a particular play, like thinking several moves ahead in chess.
Twilight Struggle is a good game for that reason. It gives players a relatively simple set of options on their turn, primarily by playing cards for one of two purposes: either to spread their influence on the board, or to enact a more specific game effect that targets a particular location or gives some other in-game advantage. Simple options, but a lot to think about and try to plan for.
In Twilight Struggle, two players vie for control of the world during the Cold War of 1945-1989. The board represents a map of the world, with players placing competing levels on influence in the various countries depicted with an eye towards controlling particular regions. Scoring cards are played at various points in the game, so the goal is to set up your influence to take advantage of the scoring cards you have, but also to anticipate what your opponent is trying to do based on where they are placing their influence.
Another option each turn is to spend cards to progress with the Space Race. Achieving space-based advances does give an advantage, especially to whichever player gets to each milestone first, so (much like in the real world at the time) it's something that can't just be ignored. I'm not sure if it's intentional or not, but in all of our plays we've found the space race to be an annoying distraction due to the amount of time a player needs to spend on it and the random, hard to predict results. I wonder if the military commanders of the time felt the same way?
There is also a Military Operations track which requires both players to engage in roughly the same amount of aggressive military action each turn, an interesting balancing mechanic that slyly represents the sabre-rattling and chest-thumping that often occurs between world powers. However, too much military action will advance the DefCon marker, and if it gets pushed too far nuclear war breaks out and the game immediately ends. This is where the real brilliance of this game lies, and where it perfectly reflects the world it takes place in, as the two players constantly need to look at how far they can push things without going too far.
Like the best strategy games, Twilight Struggle gives you a lot to think about during play, without bogging you down in complicated rules that need to constantly be referred to. The strategy and maneuvering
It's a great game design for what it is trying to do, and you could even argue that it's educational, sparking the imagination about this unique period in world history. Unfortunately the game's presentation is more textbook than Hollywood blockbuster, and the game's graphic design is very...utilitarian, which is what I think has held this game back from gaining a wider spotlight. On the other hand, it has been in print continuously for 15 years, so I suppose it's finding its audience.
Rating: 4 (out of 5) It's a 2-player game that takes a while to play so it doesn't come out that often, but we always enjoy it in spite of its somewhat dry presentation.
Twilight Struggle is a good game for that reason. It gives players a relatively simple set of options on their turn, primarily by playing cards for one of two purposes: either to spread their influence on the board, or to enact a more specific game effect that targets a particular location or gives some other in-game advantage. Simple options, but a lot to think about and try to plan for.
In Twilight Struggle, two players vie for control of the world during the Cold War of 1945-1989. The board represents a map of the world, with players placing competing levels on influence in the various countries depicted with an eye towards controlling particular regions. Scoring cards are played at various points in the game, so the goal is to set up your influence to take advantage of the scoring cards you have, but also to anticipate what your opponent is trying to do based on where they are placing their influence.
Another option each turn is to spend cards to progress with the Space Race. Achieving space-based advances does give an advantage, especially to whichever player gets to each milestone first, so (much like in the real world at the time) it's something that can't just be ignored. I'm not sure if it's intentional or not, but in all of our plays we've found the space race to be an annoying distraction due to the amount of time a player needs to spend on it and the random, hard to predict results. I wonder if the military commanders of the time felt the same way?
There is also a Military Operations track which requires both players to engage in roughly the same amount of aggressive military action each turn, an interesting balancing mechanic that slyly represents the sabre-rattling and chest-thumping that often occurs between world powers. However, too much military action will advance the DefCon marker, and if it gets pushed too far nuclear war breaks out and the game immediately ends. This is where the real brilliance of this game lies, and where it perfectly reflects the world it takes place in, as the two players constantly need to look at how far they can push things without going too far.
Like the best strategy games, Twilight Struggle gives you a lot to think about during play, without bogging you down in complicated rules that need to constantly be referred to. The strategy and maneuvering
It's a great game design for what it is trying to do, and you could even argue that it's educational, sparking the imagination about this unique period in world history. Unfortunately the game's presentation is more textbook than Hollywood blockbuster, and the game's graphic design is very...utilitarian, which is what I think has held this game back from gaining a wider spotlight. On the other hand, it has been in print continuously for 15 years, so I suppose it's finding its audience.
Rating: 4 (out of 5) It's a 2-player game that takes a while to play so it doesn't come out that often, but we always enjoy it in spite of its somewhat dry presentation.
- Twilight Struggle official website
- Twilight Struggle on BoardGameGeek
3/23/20
Blender 2.80 Released, Gets Industry Sponsorship
The amazing libre 3D modeling tool Blender needs no introductions at this point. Suffice to say that what began as a humble Free Software alternative to most heavy-duty proprietary 3D software is slowly becoming a new industry standard. The newly released version 2.80 is a testimonial of this.
The new release adds not only a much needed upgrade to the UI, but along comes an improved real time renderer and much more. All new features and improvements can be checked here.
Finally, some of you might have already heard in the past few weeks the gaming industry titans Epic Games and Ubisoft have officially began sponsoring the Blender foundation with grant funds. These are welcoming news since it means Blender will only see better and more regular updates from increased sources of income. Even if the money comes from proprietary software business, libre developers alike can also reap the benefits.
Blender can be downloaded for free on its official download page.
Code license: GPLv2
Via GamingOnLinux.
Got comments? Post them on our forum thread.
This post was retrieved from freegamer.blogspot.com.
3/20/20
Toy Soldiers, Part 2: Gaslands
Gaslands is another in Osprey Publishing's line of miniatures rule books that exist on their own, without a particular line of miniatures or accessories to go with them. In this case, the game is about post-apocalyptic vehicle combat, so naturally it is designed to be played with Matchbox cars.
The game uses a template-based system for movement (similar to X-Wing) and a rather ingenious way to simulate speed, with cars in higher gear getting to move more often in a turn. The rules are simple and straightforward, aided by an over-arching "rule of carnage" that states that if any rule is unclear or open to multiple interpretations, always go with the option that does the most damage.
The simple rules make it a fast-paced game, which is what you want from a game about speeding cars. Each round is split up into "gear phases" in which cars moving at that gear or higher get to move and then attack (either by ramming or shooting). Going faster gets your vehicle more chances to act, but it also reduces your choice of movement template, which could see your car unexpectedly careening into a bit of terrain, or even off the board all together.
Players are presented with a number of options for creating their cars, including different types of vehicles such as buggies, motorcycles, performance cars, pickup trucks, and even the dreaded War Rig. Cars are then festooned with armaments ranging from basic machine guns to land mines and oil slick sprayers. There is even one faction armed with mad science lighning projectors and EMP pulses, and another that uses jury-rigged catapults to lob bits of junk at their enemies.
While the game is undoubtedly a lot of fun to play, the real joy for most players is in customizing their toy cars, adding machine guns and rams along with dents, scratches, rust and weathering. An entire community has popped up on places like Etsy, providing accessories for players to stick to their toy cars, and in most Gaslands forums there is a lot more discussion about modeling the cars than there is about actually playing the game.
One of my criticisms of Ronin was the lack of accessories such as stat cards, but that's less of an issue with Gaslands, mainly because the game is a lot more popular and there are numerous online resources providing everything from plastic movement templates and custom engraved dice to reusable blank vehicle cards.
Rating: 5 (out of 5) A terrific high-octane vehicle combat game. It may take a bit of prep time if you want to create custom cars to play with, but that really is half the fun (at least).
The game uses a template-based system for movement (similar to X-Wing) and a rather ingenious way to simulate speed, with cars in higher gear getting to move more often in a turn. The rules are simple and straightforward, aided by an over-arching "rule of carnage" that states that if any rule is unclear or open to multiple interpretations, always go with the option that does the most damage.
The simple rules make it a fast-paced game, which is what you want from a game about speeding cars. Each round is split up into "gear phases" in which cars moving at that gear or higher get to move and then attack (either by ramming or shooting). Going faster gets your vehicle more chances to act, but it also reduces your choice of movement template, which could see your car unexpectedly careening into a bit of terrain, or even off the board all together.
Players are presented with a number of options for creating their cars, including different types of vehicles such as buggies, motorcycles, performance cars, pickup trucks, and even the dreaded War Rig. Cars are then festooned with armaments ranging from basic machine guns to land mines and oil slick sprayers. There is even one faction armed with mad science lighning projectors and EMP pulses, and another that uses jury-rigged catapults to lob bits of junk at their enemies.
While the game is undoubtedly a lot of fun to play, the real joy for most players is in customizing their toy cars, adding machine guns and rams along with dents, scratches, rust and weathering. An entire community has popped up on places like Etsy, providing accessories for players to stick to their toy cars, and in most Gaslands forums there is a lot more discussion about modeling the cars than there is about actually playing the game.
One of my criticisms of Ronin was the lack of accessories such as stat cards, but that's less of an issue with Gaslands, mainly because the game is a lot more popular and there are numerous online resources providing everything from plastic movement templates and custom engraved dice to reusable blank vehicle cards.
Rating: 5 (out of 5) A terrific high-octane vehicle combat game. It may take a bit of prep time if you want to create custom cars to play with, but that really is half the fun (at least).
3/19/20
Genestealer Cult Photos 1
Cult of the Four Armed Emperor
Magus and Iconward Acolyte done.
Sanctus completed
Purestrain Genestealers. I messed up on them a bit but they work.
Beyond The Oscars
Image used for criticism under "Fair Use." |
"In many ways, Oscar hype and hoopla is similar to that of college or professional sports — it's an entertaining competition that's easy to become temporarily absorbed in, but one we know has ultimately no real effect on our lives. Most of the time, we leave it at that — the winners win, the losers lose and we all move on."
- Chelsea Samelson, New York Post.
As a black movie fan who has certainly seen his share of tasteless racism on film, I simply couldn't bring myself to care about the controversy surrounding the Oscar's supposed "whiteness". I've made it quite clear in an earlier essay "The Case Against Awards Shows", that these private parties for the Hollywood elite are of little interest to the everyday American. By being a televised event, the Oscars have fooled the American population into thinking that these awards are about them. No, they're not about you. They're about the celebrities. It's an opportunity for wealthiest entertainers to show off just how great they are, and that their greatness demands attention from the rest of us. Indeed, this elitism is only boosted by the ordinary Americans who waste four hours of their Sunday to view it. This masturbatory ritual of staring uncomfortably at your rich neighbor's RSVP celebrations have given viewers the illusion that they're supposed to get something out of it. They don't vote for any of the films, yet, they expect the Oscars to actually give something to them? Nonsense. To be fair, it's not as if we've ever had the opportunity to do so. Hence, throughout these shows, we (the 99%) are virtually nonexistent. Only a view count, not a participant.
I don't think very highly of the Oscars, and neither should you. The people behind these shows clearly don't know what they're doing. These trophies have gone to the insufferable likes of Gigi, Crash, and Brave. Should the opinions of these few really matter to our personal tastes? It seems unhealthy to the arts that we must seek validation with gold trophies and cocktail parties. There needs to be a paradigm shift in the way we think of art. We need to think beyond the Oscars, and see art on its own terms, not in terms of the awards that they garner. Now I don't mean to strip the Oscars completely of any value they have brought to the medium of film. I've even quoted Tom Cruise's moving statements on the importance of film after September the 11th. No doubt, these Oscars have been helpful in bringing attention to good filmmakers and good performances, and of course, when one achieves recognition for their hard work, they deserve applause. Some say that the Oscars don't do enough to recognize black art, however, and that they're "too white." It's of little controversy that these awards shows are largely run by white people, so one could call them a "white people's award". My question is this: Since when does black art need the approval of a white people's award?
It doesn't. In fact, many black artists have been recognized by the NAACP Image Awards and the BET Awards. Of course, it's expected that black art be celebrated at these shows, so it dosen't have to compete with white art. Yet black art does get recognition in our society, even if one doesn't see it in the Oscars. Brandon Patterson has suggested that this emphasis on the Oscars seems to send the message that black art is more meaningful when it gets a white recognition,
"Other Black people seeing value in our art doesn't mean as much as White people seeing value in it. So we have rappers who brag about how many Grammys they have instead of how many BET Awards they've won; Beyoncé and Jay Z rarely attend the BET or Soul Train Awards even when they're nominated, but attend the Grammys yearly even when they're not; and Black people get upset when a Selma or a 12 Years A Slave doesn't win every Oscar or Golden Globe that they think they deserved, but don't care who's nominated for what at the BET Honors," (Politic365).
Even so, take someone like Sidney Poitier, who was the first black man to win the Oscar of Best Actor. A fine accomplishment, sure, but Poitier's not a fine actor because he's got a gold statue in his closet. It comes from his riveting performances in some of the most socially conscious films of the period. He is great not because of his Oscar, but in spite of his Oscar. Some of my favorite performances in film, Jack Nicholson in The Shining, Kim Novak in Vertigo, Denzel Washington in Malcolm X, and Spike Spencer in End of Evangelion have never won one of those goddamned naked men of gold. That Selma didn't win Best Picture shouldn't have mattered, because that film's greatness shouldn't need a Oscar. I'd also like to see what black celebrities are doing on my behalf, before I start demanding they get more golden trophies.
In any case, I say let the Oscars be as white as they damn well please. You heard me. As far as I can tell, the selection of mostly white nominees hasn't broken any of the Academy's rules. The Oscars don't have to be diverse or politically relevant, they just need to select the films that the Academy thinks are the best, not what we think are the best. We don't always have to like the choices, I clearly don't, but again, we aren't the ones making them. To complain that the Oscars have picked too many "white" films implies that "talent" shouldn't be the criterion for selection, but diversity and political relevance. If that's what people want, then quotas should be installed, x number of black, gay, female, etc. artists need to be selected. Just don't be surprised, however, if awards are given to people like Tyler Perry and Dinesh D'Souza. To say, however, that the Oscars are the final, only, and best statement on film in America, implies that, based on the winners, white males are better at filmmaking than damn near everyone else. I'm not saying that. I'd never say that. We shouldn't let wealthy elitists be the final word on American movies (though their opinions are duly noted). Yet when it comes to the point that Al Sharpton is creating an Emergency Task Force, I start to worry that we care too much.
Keep in mind that this whining over the Oscars all sounds rather superfluous to people who haven't even seen these films. I, for one, couldn't afford to see any of the films nominated for Best Picture, but now I'm suddenly supposed to care because some of them are too "white"? If Selma (a film I haven't seen) wins plenty of Oscars, what good is that to me? Not much. A certain degree of wealth and privilege is needed to have seen enough of these movies to care about what's going on. Which is why nearly all of the folks invited to the Oscars are excessively wealthy, just look at their red carpet dresses. I already feel like an outsider. Yet, this is now a civil rights issue that deserves my involvement? Don't make me laugh. This isn't to say that we don't need diverse films, or that racism in movies still isn't a problem (it is), but films are different from awards. Remember that.
Celebrity culture, of course, is why many people watch the Oscars, and why they're televised. Even though it would do the rest of us a lot of good if these shows were permanently pulled from the networks, the peons of America would undoubtedly protest on behalf of the royals. Celebrity culture has a particularly nasty strain on the Left, where Oliver Stone is a historian, Sean Penn is a peace activist, and Russell Brand is a revolutionary. This isn't to demean all celebrities, many of whom are great people, but dammit, why do we continue to treat them like they're center of the world? Why do we continue to see a celebrity awards show as so important to our tastes on film? Even George C. Scott once called the Oscars "a two-hour meat parade," and America still doesn't know why.
I hope that one day, we can look beyond these Oscars.
Bibliography
"Obituaries: George C. Scott: The man who refused an Oscar." BBC News, September 23, 1999. Archived by the Wayback Machine, March 11, 2014. Web. https://web.archive.org/web/20140311095900/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/obituaries/455563.stm
Patterson, Brandon. "Who Cares that Selma was Snubbed by the Oscars? I Don't." Politic365, February 6, 2015. Web. http://politic365.com/2015/02/06/who-cares-that-selma-was-snubbed-by-the-oscars-i-dont/
Samelson, Chelsea. "Why fuss over the Oscars?" New York Post, January 21, 2015. Web. http://nypost.com/2015/01/21/why-fuss-over-the-oscars/
Missed Classic: Trinity - Fly Me To The Moon
Written by Joe Pranevich
Trinity continues to impress and depress me. Last time out, we witnessed the unexpected destruction of New Mexico thanks to a more powerful than expected nuclear test at the Trinity site. My guess was that we had finally found the "plot" of this game: to find out what interfered with the original test and put it right again. Do we have a time-traveling saboteur? Could he be related to that voice that keeps whispering bad "gnomon" puns in my ear? I have no idea, but it feels good to finally be discovering the plot after so much semi-random exploration.
At this point, I am most of the way through. I've solved (perhaps) four of the seven areas including Kensington Gardens, the South Pacific atoll, the Siberian steppe, and Nagasaki. Still to be conquered are an outer space segment, an unknown area, and the Trinity test site itself. I also know that I need to find a lizard for a magic potion, recover a magnetic meteorite from an impact crater, and maybe even deal with an injured wight. When we do these "Missed Classics", we aim to close out games in three posts. I hope I am not disappointing too many people when I say that we will have this one and at least one more, depending on how writing about the endgame goes.
To recap a bit, last time around I attempted to explore the second mushroom but ended up transported into orbit and a very quick death. I worked out with some experimentation that I could ride a soap bubble from the "Bubble Boy" in the wabe through the mushroom door and this would make surviving in space possible, but even then I could not work out how to get to a satellite that I see whizzing by before my eventual death. Having given this some thought, I am convinced that the magnet rock is my best bet since that may allow the bubble to steer itself towards the satellite. I'm a little unsure of the specifics because it seems too small and the distance seems too great for this to actually work, but this is a game with a 40-foot tall boy blowing bubbles so I'm willing to suspend disbelief. Digging around the rock didn't work and I think that I need to cool the rock down somehow, but I do not know how.
My first thought was to carry water to it. We have ample water nearby in the river and bog, but no watertight container. You'd think the cottage would have a cup or something, but you'd be wrong. The only other water I can find is the frozen icicles on the ceiling of the ice cave. With some experimentation, I discover that I can throw the axe to knock one down! I also score one point, so I must be on the right track. Unfortunately, the ice melts quickly and there is no way to get it to the meteorite without it melting.
As puzzles go, this was fun since I realized very quickly that we had four turns before the icicle would melt. The time-box helped to narrow down where we had to explore and I realized that it would re-freeze if we take the icicle to the top of the triangle at the center of the world. From there, I can make it to the crater only if I follow the exact shortest path. Still, that is not hard considering my experience at adventure game mapping and I place the cold icicle on the hit rock. It sputters and steams a bit, but the end result is that I lose the icicle but gain a magnet rock. Score!
The Final Frontier
My thought from last week was that once I made it to the satellite, I could board it. I had in mind something like the ISS (which had not been invented yet in 1986) or a half-remembered scene from Moonraker (not yet a decade old at that point). The good news is that the magnetic rock took me to the satellite as I expected, but once there I found nothing to do. There was no airlock or entrance hatch, only an automated defense satellite and an oncoming nuclear missile. The voice in my ear managed a Star Trek pun ("where gnomon has gone before"), but that doesn't help much.
One thing that changed is that I am now on the satellite and it is firing maneuvering thrusters to position itself. In the process, we are getting closer and closer to the white door. This is good since it means a way out! This is bad once you remember that the white door is the location of a nuclear explosion and the fact that we are going towards it means that this satellite will likely be blown to bits soon. Just before the missile hits, when the white door is closest, I pop the bubble with my spade. Instead of being suicide, the sudden pressure forces me to spring towards and through the door before I die of exposure to the cold of space. I still accomplished nothing, but at least I know how to get back to the wabe. I try the sequence again and again to find anything that I missed, but come up empty. Whatever I am supposed to do there, I don't think I am doing it yet. I restore.
Tunnel Vision
One low-point last week was that I could not find the third mushroom, despite the fact that I had found it and wrote about it a post or two before. What happened? It's a combination of my writing being behind my playing, but also because I simply didn't keep the whole game in my head. I forgot that I saw it there even though I had it in my notes. In my defense, I was certain that the ossuary was underground and there was no way a magic shadow could reach there. Let's just say that I could have explored this area a while ago if it had not been for this mistake.
Passing through the door, I emerge at the eastern end of a long dark tunnel. This also happens to be the end with a nuclear bomb that will no doubt explode in a few minutes. In classic text adventure style, there is a disused lantern on the ground that I grab. Exploring west, I discover a walkie-talkie and a skink. If you are like me, you may have no idea what a "skink" is and may have resorted to Google. If so, you would have learned that a skink is a variety of lizard. I finally found my lizard! Or rather, I had found him because he immediately rushes off to the west. Before engaging in pursuit, I muck around with the walkie-talkie by extending its antenna and listening to some static. The signal doesn't reach well into the tunnels and the only word that I can make out is "eight", although eight what will have to remain a mystery… but I'd better hurry.
Just to the west is the end of the line as the cave is sealed except for a tiny, lizard-sized crevasse. The skink runs there to hide immediately and I have no obvious way to get him out. This leads to a nifty little puzzle of "catch the skink" that goes something like this:
I take a second hint and discover that I missed or misinterpreted one of the magpie's messages: "Killed in the light of a crescent moon." That is obvious in retrospect, but I did not connect it with the lizard in specific and forgot about it entirely until now. Since I have to murder my lizard, where can I find a crescent moon? The tunnel section could have been at night, but since killing it there didn't work I am going to guess not. All of the other time periods have been daylight hours. Thankfully, the answer is obvious since there is one area that I have not "won" yet: space!
I ride my bubble back to the final frontier and verify that the moon is in fact a crescent from my perspective. I murder the lizard with the same heart-wrenching scene, but at least I got points for it. I follow the rest of the puzzle as before to dock with the satellite, ride it back to the white door, and then pop the bubble just before orbital armageddon. (Speaking of which, why would they bother to have nuked orbit? The satellite that I was on seemed like it fired lasers at missiles as an orbital defense system. That part makes sense, but nuking it seems overkill since a laser-satellite would be just as destroyed if you fired a conventional missile at it. I guess when all you have are nuclear-powered hammers, everything looks like a nail.) I drop my freshly killed lizard into the cauldron and it begins to smoke and bubble. I leave quickly and the cottage explodes, leaving nothing but the charred remains of the book and maps plus one intact cauldron. At the bottom of the cauldron is my reward: a single emerald.
I check my list of open puzzles but I have just about reached the end. All that remains is helping the wight and heading off to Trinity, but alas I think my own pity for the injured wight is my own and not Moriarty's. What's left? Eventually, I notice the color of the two boots on "my" corpse are red and green, the same as the colors of the two jewels that I have been (knowingly or unknowingly) chasing after, a red ruby and a green emerald. I also recall that there are recesses in each boot where you could hide something, but I never found anything that fit. I stick my new emerald in the green boot and it is absorbed instantly. The boot seems to hum with newfound power and tiny wings sprout from the heel. What does that give me? Flight? Speed? I'll have to get the matched set to find out.
Following the same path in my previous post to disguise myself as a corpse to ride the ferry, I slip through the mushroom door to the Trinity site. Before I go, I have a small crisis that I have far too many objects to carry at once and no idea what I will need on the other side. Should I take the axe or the spade? The walkie-talkie? I will have to restore if I bought the wrong kit, but clearly knowing what to bring is part of the "fun". Once at Trinity, I wait for the guards to leave and meet up with the roadrunner at the bottom of the tower. He hands over the ruby and I install it into my other boot. I get the same message about hidden power and little wings but nothing else obviously happens… until I try walking north:
I have super speed! Since last time out, the bomb exploded after only a few turns, I'll likely be able to explore more of the site and maybe, finally, figure out what this game is all about. But all of that will have to wait until next time when I (probably) will wrap up the game and provide a final rating. Note that as I end this session, I have 71 points which is only one more than what I had before. I'm worried that I forgot something since I did more than one point's worth of new stuff but if so it should be obvious soon enough.
Time played: 2 hr 30 min
Total time: 10 hr 10 min
Inventory: bag of crumbs, small coin (20p), red boot (with roby), blue boot (with emerald), bandage, burial shroud, credit card, wristwatch, birdcage with lemming, broken coconut, spade, silver axe (not all carried with me to Trinity, but which I can fetch if needed)
Score: 71 of 100
Trinity continues to impress and depress me. Last time out, we witnessed the unexpected destruction of New Mexico thanks to a more powerful than expected nuclear test at the Trinity site. My guess was that we had finally found the "plot" of this game: to find out what interfered with the original test and put it right again. Do we have a time-traveling saboteur? Could he be related to that voice that keeps whispering bad "gnomon" puns in my ear? I have no idea, but it feels good to finally be discovering the plot after so much semi-random exploration.
At this point, I am most of the way through. I've solved (perhaps) four of the seven areas including Kensington Gardens, the South Pacific atoll, the Siberian steppe, and Nagasaki. Still to be conquered are an outer space segment, an unknown area, and the Trinity test site itself. I also know that I need to find a lizard for a magic potion, recover a magnetic meteorite from an impact crater, and maybe even deal with an injured wight. When we do these "Missed Classics", we aim to close out games in three posts. I hope I am not disappointing too many people when I say that we will have this one and at least one more, depending on how writing about the endgame goes.
"Ice ice baby. (Too cold, too cold.)" - Rob Van Winkle |
To recap a bit, last time around I attempted to explore the second mushroom but ended up transported into orbit and a very quick death. I worked out with some experimentation that I could ride a soap bubble from the "Bubble Boy" in the wabe through the mushroom door and this would make surviving in space possible, but even then I could not work out how to get to a satellite that I see whizzing by before my eventual death. Having given this some thought, I am convinced that the magnet rock is my best bet since that may allow the bubble to steer itself towards the satellite. I'm a little unsure of the specifics because it seems too small and the distance seems too great for this to actually work, but this is a game with a 40-foot tall boy blowing bubbles so I'm willing to suspend disbelief. Digging around the rock didn't work and I think that I need to cool the rock down somehow, but I do not know how.
My first thought was to carry water to it. We have ample water nearby in the river and bog, but no watertight container. You'd think the cottage would have a cup or something, but you'd be wrong. The only other water I can find is the frozen icicles on the ceiling of the ice cave. With some experimentation, I discover that I can throw the axe to knock one down! I also score one point, so I must be on the right track. Unfortunately, the ice melts quickly and there is no way to get it to the meteorite without it melting.
As puzzles go, this was fun since I realized very quickly that we had four turns before the icicle would melt. The time-box helped to narrow down where we had to explore and I realized that it would re-freeze if we take the icicle to the top of the triangle at the center of the world. From there, I can make it to the crater only if I follow the exact shortest path. Still, that is not hard considering my experience at adventure game mapping and I place the cold icicle on the hit rock. It sputters and steams a bit, but the end result is that I lose the icicle but gain a magnet rock. Score!
Worked about as well as Reaganomics. |
The Final Frontier
My thought from last week was that once I made it to the satellite, I could board it. I had in mind something like the ISS (which had not been invented yet in 1986) or a half-remembered scene from Moonraker (not yet a decade old at that point). The good news is that the magnetic rock took me to the satellite as I expected, but once there I found nothing to do. There was no airlock or entrance hatch, only an automated defense satellite and an oncoming nuclear missile. The voice in my ear managed a Star Trek pun ("where gnomon has gone before"), but that doesn't help much.
One thing that changed is that I am now on the satellite and it is firing maneuvering thrusters to position itself. In the process, we are getting closer and closer to the white door. This is good since it means a way out! This is bad once you remember that the white door is the location of a nuclear explosion and the fact that we are going towards it means that this satellite will likely be blown to bits soon. Just before the missile hits, when the white door is closest, I pop the bubble with my spade. Instead of being suicide, the sudden pressure forces me to spring towards and through the door before I die of exposure to the cold of space. I still accomplished nothing, but at least I know how to get back to the wabe. I try the sequence again and again to find anything that I missed, but come up empty. Whatever I am supposed to do there, I don't think I am doing it yet. I restore.
Skink: noun; a smooth-bodied lizard with short or absent limbs, typically burrowing in sandy ground, and occurring throughout tropical and temperate regions. |
Tunnel Vision
One low-point last week was that I could not find the third mushroom, despite the fact that I had found it and wrote about it a post or two before. What happened? It's a combination of my writing being behind my playing, but also because I simply didn't keep the whole game in my head. I forgot that I saw it there even though I had it in my notes. In my defense, I was certain that the ossuary was underground and there was no way a magic shadow could reach there. Let's just say that I could have explored this area a while ago if it had not been for this mistake.
Passing through the door, I emerge at the eastern end of a long dark tunnel. This also happens to be the end with a nuclear bomb that will no doubt explode in a few minutes. In classic text adventure style, there is a disused lantern on the ground that I grab. Exploring west, I discover a walkie-talkie and a skink. If you are like me, you may have no idea what a "skink" is and may have resorted to Google. If so, you would have learned that a skink is a variety of lizard. I finally found my lizard! Or rather, I had found him because he immediately rushes off to the west. Before engaging in pursuit, I muck around with the walkie-talkie by extending its antenna and listening to some static. The signal doesn't reach well into the tunnels and the only word that I can make out is "eight", although eight what will have to remain a mystery… but I'd better hurry.
"Earth below us / Drifting, falling / Floating, weightless / Calling, calling home" |
Just to the west is the end of the line as the cave is sealed except for a tiny, lizard-sized crevasse. The skink runs there to hide immediately and I have no obvious way to get him out. This leads to a nifty little puzzle of "catch the skink" that goes something like this:
- The skink will flee from light, either the splinter or the electric lamp that I found in the tunnel. He's like a peaceful grue in that respect.
- I can force him out of the crevice by dropping my splinter of wood in; it is too narrow to do the same with the lantern. Doing that causes him to race past me down the eastern tunnel I never see it again.
- If I (after a restore) place the lit lantern in the next room and repeat, the skink runs there and then immediately back. He's disoriented by all of the lights so I can pick it up!
- Unfortunately, it wiggles out of hands nearly immediately although I get 1-2 turns to do something else with it. I try putting it in the bag and birdcage, but neither do the trick.
- With no other option, I resort to killing the skink in the brief time that I am able to hold it. Killing it is vividly described, down to the way that your hand aches as you choke the life out of its innocent lizard body. For all the implied death in this game, killing this creature-- that would die in minutes anyway-- hurts.
I should have listened to you! |
I take a second hint and discover that I missed or misinterpreted one of the magpie's messages: "Killed in the light of a crescent moon." That is obvious in retrospect, but I did not connect it with the lizard in specific and forgot about it entirely until now. Since I have to murder my lizard, where can I find a crescent moon? The tunnel section could have been at night, but since killing it there didn't work I am going to guess not. All of the other time periods have been daylight hours. Thankfully, the answer is obvious since there is one area that I have not "won" yet: space!
I ride my bubble back to the final frontier and verify that the moon is in fact a crescent from my perspective. I murder the lizard with the same heart-wrenching scene, but at least I got points for it. I follow the rest of the puzzle as before to dock with the satellite, ride it back to the white door, and then pop the bubble just before orbital armageddon. (Speaking of which, why would they bother to have nuked orbit? The satellite that I was on seemed like it fired lasers at missiles as an orbital defense system. That part makes sense, but nuking it seems overkill since a laser-satellite would be just as destroyed if you fired a conventional missile at it. I guess when all you have are nuclear-powered hammers, everything looks like a nail.) I drop my freshly killed lizard into the cauldron and it begins to smoke and bubble. I leave quickly and the cottage explodes, leaving nothing but the charred remains of the book and maps plus one intact cauldron. At the bottom of the cauldron is my reward: a single emerald.
It's kryptonite without the aftertaste. |
I check my list of open puzzles but I have just about reached the end. All that remains is helping the wight and heading off to Trinity, but alas I think my own pity for the injured wight is my own and not Moriarty's. What's left? Eventually, I notice the color of the two boots on "my" corpse are red and green, the same as the colors of the two jewels that I have been (knowingly or unknowingly) chasing after, a red ruby and a green emerald. I also recall that there are recesses in each boot where you could hide something, but I never found anything that fit. I stick my new emerald in the green boot and it is absorbed instantly. The boot seems to hum with newfound power and tiny wings sprout from the heel. What does that give me? Flight? Speed? I'll have to get the matched set to find out.
Following the same path in my previous post to disguise myself as a corpse to ride the ferry, I slip through the mushroom door to the Trinity site. Before I go, I have a small crisis that I have far too many objects to carry at once and no idea what I will need on the other side. Should I take the axe or the spade? The walkie-talkie? I will have to restore if I bought the wrong kit, but clearly knowing what to bring is part of the "fun". Once at Trinity, I wait for the guards to leave and meet up with the roadrunner at the bottom of the tower. He hands over the ruby and I install it into my other boot. I get the same message about hidden power and little wings but nothing else obviously happens… until I try walking north:
Woosh! Desert streaks past in a dizzy rush of color.
I have super speed! Since last time out, the bomb exploded after only a few turns, I'll likely be able to explore more of the site and maybe, finally, figure out what this game is all about. But all of that will have to wait until next time when I (probably) will wrap up the game and provide a final rating. Note that as I end this session, I have 71 points which is only one more than what I had before. I'm worried that I forgot something since I did more than one point's worth of new stuff but if so it should be obvious soon enough.
Time played: 2 hr 30 min
Total time: 10 hr 10 min
Inventory: bag of crumbs, small coin (20p), red boot (with roby), blue boot (with emerald), bandage, burial shroud, credit card, wristwatch, birdcage with lemming, broken coconut, spade, silver axe (not all carried with me to Trinity, but which I can fetch if needed)
Score: 71 of 100
3/16/20
3/15/20
Need For Speed Games Part 2: Need For Speed III: Hot Pursuit, Need For Speed: Road Challenge (Aka High Stakes)
This week on Super Adventures I'm still playing through the first ten years of the Need for Speed series and today I've reached the third and fourth games, Hot Pursuit and Road Challenge (known in the US as High Stakes). If you want to read about the first two games you can find part one here.
I hope you like screenshots of cars and roads, because that's all I've got for you today. They're pretty good cars though. There's a Chevrolet Corvette, a Ferrari F355, a Lamborghini Diablo, another Corvette... all kinds of cars.
(If I don't mention what system a screenshot came from, then it's from the PC version. Unless the game doesn't have a PC version.)
Read on »
I hope you like screenshots of cars and roads, because that's all I've got for you today. They're pretty good cars though. There's a Chevrolet Corvette, a Ferrari F355, a Lamborghini Diablo, another Corvette... all kinds of cars.
(If I don't mention what system a screenshot came from, then it's from the PC version. Unless the game doesn't have a PC version.)
Read on »
3/5/20
Anyone Want To Go To GDC???
So you're a student with limited funds, your University can't send you, or you just want to lend a hand. Whatever the reason, you may still be able to attend this premiere event by becoming a Conference Associate. Are you willing to earn your attendance (and a little extra money) by doing about 25 hours of on-site work? Apply to be a Conference Associate (CA)!
Click here for more information about becoming a GDC CA!
If you still have questions after visiting that link, you can contact our CA Manager, Ian MacKenzie, at camanager@calounge.com.
Storium Basics: Challenges And Cards
Continuing my Storium Basics series, today we'll be taking a look at the basic gameplay mechanics of the Storium system.
Storium is played, primarily, by making moves that lay cards onto challenges. These cards tell the story, move by move, of what happens during the challenge.
When you play a card, write a move explaining what your character does, and how those actions impact the challenge.
The effect depends on the card you played. Strength cards improve the situation covered by the challenge. Weakness cards make it worse. Neutral cards, which might be subplots, assets, or goals, push it closer to conclusion without making things feel better or worse.
To think of it from another angle: Challenges have Strong outcomes and Weak outcomes. A Strength card pushes the challenge closer to the Strong outcome, and a Weakness card pushes it closer to the Weak outcome. A Neutral card pushes it closer to a conclusion - a Neutral card doesn't change the direction or push it closer to either outcome, but it does shorten the amount of moves left in the challenge. Thus, a Neutral card might feel good if the challenge is trending Strong or bad if the challenge is trending Weak, as you show things continuing along the lines they have been so far.
It is a very good idea, actually, to check the possible outcomes before you play any moves on a challenge. You can do this simply by clicking on the challenge title / challenge card - this will also show some descriptive text, which can help guide your writing as well. The outcomes tell you what the possible range of results of a challenge are, and where you should be focusing your writing. Knowing them in advance gives you something to work towards. You know that if you play a Strength card, you should be writing something that pulls things closer to the Strong outcome, and if you play a Weakness, you should be writing something that pulls things closer to a Weak outcome. This gives the scene more of a feel of a full story, rather than a bunch of independent moves.
When you lay a card, be sure to involve that card in your move—if you play a Strength card labeled "Agile," for instance, your move should be based on your agility in some way, showing how it helps. If you play a Weakness card labeled "Cowardly," your cowardice or tendency to be overcautious should affect things and make them worse somehow. And if you play your subplot, it's a good time to get a little introspective and show how that subplot is driving you to do what you do, or how the events of the game have changed your view of your subplot.
Note that when you're starting out in a game, it's usually easier to play your first move as either a Strength or a Weakness. Subplots are great cards (my favorite type, in fact), but they can be hard to use for your very first move.
Because you know what impact you're having on the challenge when you lay your card, you should go ahead and write that impact. Don't feel that you need to keep to just your actions—write how you changed things.
A lot of narrative power rests with the players here. Don't worry if you don't quite get it right away—it can take some time to learn the right balance, especially if you're used to a tabletop or MUX method where someone other than you determines your results.
There are limits: until all pips on the challenge are filled, neither of the final results of the challenge should happen. For example, let's assume that the following two challenges exist:
Likewise, until "Rescue the Villagers!" is finished, you shouldn't state that all the civilians are free of danger, and you shouldn't state that any significant number the civilians have been killed, especially not the mayor.
However, while playing on "Drive Back the Assault!" you might kill some of the bandits on any card play, organize some villagers into a strong defensive line, take down an enemy champion, slip up and let some bandits surround you, get knocked aside and let the bandits get closer...any of these things, and more, are within the bounds of the challenge.
And on "Rescue the Civilians!" you might certainly get some civilians free, kill a bandit or two threatening them, rescue some from a burning building, be unable to find a way past some threatening bandits or into a burning building, or otherwise show the situation developing.
It's a balancing act—the trick is to show development but leave the final conclusion for the last card. Be guided by your own card play as well, of course, and by which Outcome the challenge is headed towards.
When you play the last card on a challenge, you need to write the conclusion. You'll do that based on the result the game displays. Strong or Weak results are written totally by the player.
Take a look at the outcomes above - they state, in low detail, what happens when those challenges conclude Strong or Weak. If you finish the challenge Strong or Weak, the applicable outcome text will show, and you should use it to guide your writing.
For example, if you play the last card on "Rescue the Villagers!" and it finishes Strong, then by the end of your move, it should be clear that most civilians, including the mayor, are in relative safety further into the village and away from the bandit threat, and none are notably injured. How that happens, though, is up to you!
Remember: The challenge outcomes are important. Don't just stick them in at the end of your move - if you're writing the final move of a challenge, involve the outcomes in your move. Make them a central element of that move's story.
An Uncertain result - which happens if there's an even number of Strength and Weakness cards played or if none are played - is written by the narrator. If that comes up, you'll leave the final results open and the narrator will write something for them. I generally advise that in those cases, you pretend you're writing the second-to-last move of the challenge rather than the last.
Though there are only 3 result types—Strong, Weak, and Uncertain—Storium does track the actual number of each card type played, and if more cards of, say, the Strength type are played, it will take more Weakness cards to bring it back to neutral—or vice-versa. In Storium, every card play does matter, even if the results only fall into three basic fields.
And, of course, the scene can feel very different depending on the card play flow. If the group plays 3 Strength cards followed by 4 Weakness cards, the scene will read differently than if it played 1 Strength, 2 Weaknesses, 2 Strengths, and 2 Weaknesses, or some other combination—even though the final result is Weak either way. The first way will feel like a situation that was promising at first and took a drastic disastrous turn from which it never recovered, while the second way will feel like it went back and forth.
In Storium, by default, you can play up to three cards on a single move, and up to three cards per overall scene. This can vary by game based on settings the narrator chooses, but bear it in mind - if you blow all your card plays on a single challenge, you will have a major impact on that challenge...but no impact on the rest of the scene. Sometimes that's entirely right and proper, mind! It's just something to be aware of.
Some narrators will set up special rules regarding card plays - for instance, some narrators want players to generally only play one card at a time. If your narrator has set up rules for how to play cards, be sure to follow them, as they are part of how the narrator sets up the feeling and tone of the game.
For more information on playing on a challenge, see...well, most of the articles I've written. But especially these ones:
Storium is played, primarily, by making moves that lay cards onto challenges. These cards tell the story, move by move, of what happens during the challenge.
When you play a card, write a move explaining what your character does, and how those actions impact the challenge.
The effect depends on the card you played. Strength cards improve the situation covered by the challenge. Weakness cards make it worse. Neutral cards, which might be subplots, assets, or goals, push it closer to conclusion without making things feel better or worse.
To think of it from another angle: Challenges have Strong outcomes and Weak outcomes. A Strength card pushes the challenge closer to the Strong outcome, and a Weakness card pushes it closer to the Weak outcome. A Neutral card pushes it closer to a conclusion - a Neutral card doesn't change the direction or push it closer to either outcome, but it does shorten the amount of moves left in the challenge. Thus, a Neutral card might feel good if the challenge is trending Strong or bad if the challenge is trending Weak, as you show things continuing along the lines they have been so far.
It is a very good idea, actually, to check the possible outcomes before you play any moves on a challenge. You can do this simply by clicking on the challenge title / challenge card - this will also show some descriptive text, which can help guide your writing as well. The outcomes tell you what the possible range of results of a challenge are, and where you should be focusing your writing. Knowing them in advance gives you something to work towards. You know that if you play a Strength card, you should be writing something that pulls things closer to the Strong outcome, and if you play a Weakness, you should be writing something that pulls things closer to a Weak outcome. This gives the scene more of a feel of a full story, rather than a bunch of independent moves.
When you lay a card, be sure to involve that card in your move—if you play a Strength card labeled "Agile," for instance, your move should be based on your agility in some way, showing how it helps. If you play a Weakness card labeled "Cowardly," your cowardice or tendency to be overcautious should affect things and make them worse somehow. And if you play your subplot, it's a good time to get a little introspective and show how that subplot is driving you to do what you do, or how the events of the game have changed your view of your subplot.
Note that when you're starting out in a game, it's usually easier to play your first move as either a Strength or a Weakness. Subplots are great cards (my favorite type, in fact), but they can be hard to use for your very first move.
Because you know what impact you're having on the challenge when you lay your card, you should go ahead and write that impact. Don't feel that you need to keep to just your actions—write how you changed things.
A lot of narrative power rests with the players here. Don't worry if you don't quite get it right away—it can take some time to learn the right balance, especially if you're used to a tabletop or MUX method where someone other than you determines your results.
There are limits: until all pips on the challenge are filled, neither of the final results of the challenge should happen. For example, let's assume that the following two challenges exist:
- Drive Back the Assault!
- Strong: You and the other defenders solidly repel the enemy army, driving them away from the town with a minimum of damage or casualties. The battle isn't over and the bandit lord still lives, but the town has some breathing room.
- Weak: You drive back the bulk of the army to give the village some breathing room, though the bandit lord still lives. However, several of the bandits break through the defenses and make it into the village proper. There, they light several more fires and snatch whatever limited wealth the villagers have.
- Rescue the Villagers!
- Strong: You manage to get most civilians - including the mayor - further into the village, to relative safety, without any of them getting notably hurt.
- Weak: You get most of the civilians to safety, but a few - including the mayor - are killed either by the bandits or by being trapped among fires started in the midst of the battle.
Likewise, until "Rescue the Villagers!" is finished, you shouldn't state that all the civilians are free of danger, and you shouldn't state that any significant number the civilians have been killed, especially not the mayor.
However, while playing on "Drive Back the Assault!" you might kill some of the bandits on any card play, organize some villagers into a strong defensive line, take down an enemy champion, slip up and let some bandits surround you, get knocked aside and let the bandits get closer...any of these things, and more, are within the bounds of the challenge.
And on "Rescue the Civilians!" you might certainly get some civilians free, kill a bandit or two threatening them, rescue some from a burning building, be unable to find a way past some threatening bandits or into a burning building, or otherwise show the situation developing.
It's a balancing act—the trick is to show development but leave the final conclusion for the last card. Be guided by your own card play as well, of course, and by which Outcome the challenge is headed towards.
When you play the last card on a challenge, you need to write the conclusion. You'll do that based on the result the game displays. Strong or Weak results are written totally by the player.
Take a look at the outcomes above - they state, in low detail, what happens when those challenges conclude Strong or Weak. If you finish the challenge Strong or Weak, the applicable outcome text will show, and you should use it to guide your writing.
For example, if you play the last card on "Rescue the Villagers!" and it finishes Strong, then by the end of your move, it should be clear that most civilians, including the mayor, are in relative safety further into the village and away from the bandit threat, and none are notably injured. How that happens, though, is up to you!
Remember: The challenge outcomes are important. Don't just stick them in at the end of your move - if you're writing the final move of a challenge, involve the outcomes in your move. Make them a central element of that move's story.
An Uncertain result - which happens if there's an even number of Strength and Weakness cards played or if none are played - is written by the narrator. If that comes up, you'll leave the final results open and the narrator will write something for them. I generally advise that in those cases, you pretend you're writing the second-to-last move of the challenge rather than the last.
Though there are only 3 result types—Strong, Weak, and Uncertain—Storium does track the actual number of each card type played, and if more cards of, say, the Strength type are played, it will take more Weakness cards to bring it back to neutral—or vice-versa. In Storium, every card play does matter, even if the results only fall into three basic fields.
And, of course, the scene can feel very different depending on the card play flow. If the group plays 3 Strength cards followed by 4 Weakness cards, the scene will read differently than if it played 1 Strength, 2 Weaknesses, 2 Strengths, and 2 Weaknesses, or some other combination—even though the final result is Weak either way. The first way will feel like a situation that was promising at first and took a drastic disastrous turn from which it never recovered, while the second way will feel like it went back and forth.
In Storium, by default, you can play up to three cards on a single move, and up to three cards per overall scene. This can vary by game based on settings the narrator chooses, but bear it in mind - if you blow all your card plays on a single challenge, you will have a major impact on that challenge...but no impact on the rest of the scene. Sometimes that's entirely right and proper, mind! It's just something to be aware of.
Some narrators will set up special rules regarding card plays - for instance, some narrators want players to generally only play one card at a time. If your narrator has set up rules for how to play cards, be sure to follow them, as they are part of how the narrator sets up the feeling and tone of the game.
For more information on playing on a challenge, see...well, most of the articles I've written. But especially these ones:
- Make an Impact!
- Play to Your Cards
- Take Charge!
- Leaving Things Open
- Address the Challenge
- No Card Play is "Wasted"
- Multi-Card Moves
- Finishing a Challenge: Strong Results
- Finishing a Challenge: Weak Results
- Finishing a Challenge: Uncertain Results (Player Role)
- Writing a Move: Strength and Weakness Cards
- Writing a Move: Neutral Cards
- Reading Ahead: Outcomes as Inspiration
WW1 Naval Campaign - Heligoland Bight
Well it's time for our second Battle Report from our ongoing WW1 Naval Campaign, check out the latest copy of T'Yarkshire Ferret Newspaper above with all the gossip and tittle tattle around the goings on off the table.
If you missed game one, the link is below -
https://yarkshiregamer.blogspot.com/2019/04/ww1-naval-campaign-war-is-declared.html
As with the first report, the AAR below is how our game developed, the scenarios in the Campaign have a number of tactical events along the way meaning that games can be radically different depending on how those tactical events play out or how the game has been affected by previous Political events.
Game 2 - Heligoland Bight
3rd British Destroyer Flottila |
The British planned to push their own light force inside the German patrol line and bring them to Battle.
German Destroyers quickly under heavy fire |
HMS Royalist |
06.23 German 3rd Scouting Group consisting of the Light Cruisers Frauenlob, Stettin and Dresden, appear, 7500 yards South of the Southern most ship, sailing North West.
German 3rd Scouting Group |
Frauenlob scores a direct hit on the Bridge of HMS Royalist but fails to do any damage, the same turn Stettin lands a shell on the Bridge of the Destroyer HMS Contest but again the British escape with no major damage, the tide of the game could have definitely changed at that point.
1st Half Flottila (German) |
So it was a relief when at 06.37 the 1st British Destroyer Flottila led by the Scout Cruiser HMS Active (with Destroyers Attack, Acheron, Hydra, Badger, Ariel and the Yarkshires very own Ferret) arrived 7500 yards to the east of HMS Landrail.
1st British Destroyer Flottila |
HMS Lydiard in trouble |
Bags of action |
British 1st Light Cruiser Sqn |
The end of HMS Landrail |
More German Light Cruisers started to arrive but these were some distance away from the action.
The British finally got some decent hits on two German Torpedo Boats who had got themselves a bit isolated. A rudder hit and a couple of fires made things a bit more interesting for V2 and V4.
German Ships taking proper damage at last |
HMS Royalist is now alight |
The British Light Cruisers were now starting go get the range of the Germans who had been keeping their distance. Information concerning a possible smoke plume seen to the south was despatched to the British player who sent HMS Gloucester to investigate.
V2 sinks |
And that was the game over the British player realised that his nearest support, a Sqn of aging Armoured Cruisers were no match for the likes of Moltke and withdrew. The Germans who had already started to pull back couldn't take advantage of the potential help from the Battlecruiser Sqn as they were too far away from the British to keep them engaged.
HMS Royalist is saved. |
A further German Destroyer V4 sank due to flooding on its way back to port meaning that the losses in the game were even, 2 Destroyers a piece.
Which just leaves me time to show off my new cool dice shaker !
A evenly matched game which ended in a cautious stand off. There are so many variations in the Campaign book that this could have gone a number of ways, even splitting into two seperate battles. In my first grumble about the book, the instructions for this scenario are dreadfully confusing but I managed to get there after reading it hundreds of times.
There will be a short break in the Campaign whilst I catch up on some painting, I didn't notice initially, but Scenario 3 contains some older vessels I don't own. Who needs an excuse to buy more ! I got the missing ships from Tumbling Dice so look out for a review / comparison post on them soon.
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