It turns out that the last post I wrote (in March) never got published. I hadn't finished it and got distracted with other things. Anyhow, this is me overwriting it because it's a bit old now.
So what is happening, a list:
The name of the game has changed. Nine Tenths is a stupid joke I made to myself in the car and that spurred the start of this whole process. However, it remains a stupid joke so I've had a think.
Treasured Possessions is how we'll refer to this thing going forward. I think it captures the importance of the villagers as well as still having a nodding reference to the spirits inhabiting them. I kind of like it.
Lots of testing, lots of running numbers on how combat works and lots of tweaks. It's safe to say that things have changed a bit since the start of the year.
Threap. I took the locations and weather generators and stuck them together to make a solo journalling game. You can also use it as a tool for any game to create terrain and weather. More recently, I wrote an additional bit that deals with settlements and people you meet.
Langwick, the map that I posted here, is coming along - five locations published and I'm working on the sixth. You can find them all on here.
Play testing has begun! I've taken the plunge and there is a play-by-message game on my Discord channel. This is probably the most exciting thing. Getting other people to look at something shows you not only the bits you need to improve but also shows you what they can do with it, which has been quite something to see.
What next?
Continue with play testing - I'm really enjoying it, so I'd like to keep it going as long as the players are as well. Seeing people discover parts of Langwick is great and it's helping me to figure out how to better tie the different locations together. It also helps me to think about how the locations are written - there may be multiple ways players are coming to a location and they could have a range of objectives, so the location needs to catch that flexibility somehow.
Combat play test. I'm cutting the rules right back to produce a tiny set of combat rules. Along with a few creatures and maybe a small solo scenario, I'm going to publish so that anyone who wants (or who I can convince) can give it a go and feed back.
What's the roll of Glamour? Originally Charm, I'm now wondering if I need the fourth Trait at all. It was to balance the villagers' two Traits of Strength and Skill originally, but I don't think that's required when I've worked through the implications. The only bit that doesn't work without it at the moment is the spirit's abilities. Up until now, each spirit has two abilities, one generated by the Will draw and one by the Charm/Glamour draw for 169 combinations. I need to figure a good way to reproduce some level of variety with a single card - suit and value would give 52, which might be where we end up. It's also an opportunity to balance out abilities with Will value a little, so a low-Will spirit might have more powerful abilities, for example.
Art. I'm no artist. I've chucked a couple of clanged together images together, but some half-decent art would be an improvement. Especially little pieces to go on pages, maybe to separate sections. I've never done this before, so it's a little overwhelming right now. On the to-do list as 'later'.
All that shouldn't take long, should it?
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