clarence

2 hours ago, Pseudopod said:

First session last night.

For background, I wanted to keep the mystery of the setting so rather than generating local characters the party arrived from my existing pulpy campaign in an alternate 1934.

Plane crash in the hills outside Glimminge.

To ease them in, they first met a retired British Army Colonel who filled them in on the more mundane details of where they were, while not mentioning space travel, Soot or anything else as they weren't of interest to him.

So they were rather surprised to see an Aygaan strolling across the landscape and more surprised by the Colonel's reaction of "Hmph, foreigners".

In Glimminge I introduced Max Jungerland from The Red Star scenario as a more useful source of information. 

As expected, they had many questions I didn’t have answers prepared for -

How are the rocket ships launched?  - Er...a structure in the bay a bit like a massive oil rig.

Where are the spaceships built?  - In a factory near Glimminge.  (There is now a Vickers-Götaverken shipyard to the SE)

Who actually built the Philosophy Engine? - Max didn't know the answer, but I'm sure they will ask this again so I'll have to come up with some kind of answer.

Etc

Took a while to get them to engage with the scenario, but they did eventually and have just searched Aksel's apartment.

Next session is a few weeks away, so I have time to do more preparation. 

Good fun!

 

 

 

Good to hear! It seems you have very inquisitive players. I’m not sure I have answers to all of their questions. 

Rocketships are manufactured on Eorthe - Vickers and Götaverken seems like a good candidate. For the starliners, you want to avoid launching them from the bottom of a gravity well, so I imagine they are constructed in orbit. It might sound a bit too advanced even for the weird tech in Odd Soot, but as soon as they have the first section airtight it should get easier. And with an unfolding device providing large amounts of power, it might actually work.

As for who built the Philosophy Engine, I will have to do some research at the Museum of Technology in Glimminge. 

Haha, you’re more than welcome! There’s always room for more people in my daydreams. 

I like the monarchy idea. Prince Carl seems like a person to end up on Doggerland’s throne. Does he get a number as well, the way Scandi rulers often do? (We’re up to Carl XVI these days, so it seems naming conventions are a bit stale). 

The Philisophy Engine has turned Doggerland into a bigger player than most people thought possible for an obscure island nation. I would say the starport is as busy as those in London, Paris and Berlin, so much more active than comparable European cities. But feel free to upsize or downsize the starports to fit your campaign. 

21 hours ago, Pseudopod said:

Given that WW1 didn't happen, I see the situation being pretty much as it was up to 1914 historically, with the British and the Germans being the main protagonists but with all nearby nations getting involved to some degree, plus the Americans.

Also the Sumsum might find all this a fascinating source of information...

I could see a 'Riddle of the Sands' type scenario where someone (not necessarily Germany) is secretly plotting an invasion of Doggerland.

I note that Doggerland is a monarchy but I couldn't find any names for them. As the European royal families tended to intermingle I was thinking of choosing a couple of appropriate historical royals and marrying them off. Unless there is an official lineage I missed of course.

 

Sounds like a good setup! The Sumsum will find it very informative. Maybe they help humanity to avoid WW2? Probably not to save humans from suffering, but to spare themselves a lot of trouble. And I guess the Wittenberg Priests and the foundation running the Philosophy Engine will be actively involved as well. 

I have no idea about Doggerland’s monarchy! Feel free to come up with names and lineages.

1 hour ago, Pseudopod said:

Thanks Clarence

Is this the best place to ask any questions about the background?

My take on Doggerland is that there is a treaty between the North Sea nations guaranteeing its neutrality which leads to Glimminge being a hotbed of spy activity. 

This is a good place to ask! I try to check the Mythras Discord as well, but it’s a bit erratic. 

Doggerland as a neutral zone sounds cool! What rivals would you like to see as most active in such a hotspot?

18 hours ago, Runeblogger said:

I'm also looking forward to running it, but now I'm not sure whether to try it with the Comae Engine rules instead.

That’s how I play it, especially with new players. I add Peculiarities and Circles from the Odd Soot rules to get the right mood. 

23 hours ago, Pseudopod said:

I'm about to run The Wayward Patient, the Odd Soot introductory scenario.

Any advice from Sooters out there? From my read through I imagine the final showdown is the trickiest bitto get right.

Loving the setting, so I'm squeezing this in before I start my Next Big Thing. Of course, if my players enjoy it enough I might have to immediately follow up with The Red Star... (any news on parts 2 & 3?)

Hey Pseudopod, good to hear you’re planning to run The Wayward Patient! It should be pretty straightforward. As you say, the final scene is the tricky part. When I run it, I use a reasonably detailed GM map of the room and a less detailed one for the players. All movements are easier to track that way. 

Now that TREY and Comae Engine have been released, work on A Falling Mind Part 2 picks up speed again. Nils Hintze’s and Erik Hylander’s manuscript is ready, so layout and illustrations are next. 

Scott has done a wonderful job with the conversions!

Very cool! Looking forward to hearing more. 

Final Day of Launch Discount!
Just a quick reminder that the 15% launch discount on TREY and Comae Engine ends tonight. Comae Engine got some lovely reviews when the PDF was released. Here is a comment from user Crumble 😄”Comae Engine and I have been caught up in a passionate (b)romance - it was love at first dice roll.”

And I have only heard good things about TREY so far. Both the dice mechanic and the long example of play - to explain solo gaming as clearly as possible - have received much kudos. Reviews are coming up as well, so keep an eye out.

EN World Play Test
EN World plans a play test with TREY and Comae Engine in combination (my preferred setup these days). I will upload the link when the article goes online.

And don’t forget that the launch discount ends tonight. Tomorrow prices go back to normal again. Here are the links one more time:

TREY. Solo Roleplaying
PDF, SoftBack and Hardback

The Comae Engine. Recasting d100 Roleplaying
PDF, Softback and Hardback

As always, you get the PDF as a free download when you buy a print copy.

Clarence Redd
Instagram: @clarence.redd
Web: www.frostbytebooks.com

7 hours ago, Questbird said:

I did see the locational tables in your mail, which is why I was a little surprised not to see them in the book. Actually just now I used those tables to help my son who was stuck on a theme for a homework short story 😀 So it has already been useful!

I understand though, that having the emphasis on the open-ended, imagination-stimulating roll rather than the more limited generator table (and especially if there are too many of them) is a good design choice for a game like this.

Haha, good to hear the book doubles as a pedagogical tool! I will donate a copy to a friend working as a teacher and see if she finds it useful. 

If there's interest we will collect some of the most useful tables in a pdf. Locations and landscapes would be included, perhaps an alien generator and some more.

Thank you, Questbird! I’m happy to hear you like the book. I’m a longtime user of Eno’s Oblique Strategies, so you are spot on.

I often design scenarios with TREY as a guide and it’s the most enjoyable way I’ve found to create new material. Playing a game to create content for a game makes a lot of sense. And it takes away some GM chores.

Regarding the random tables, Mattias and I discussed how many to include in the book. We ended up with a quite minimalistic approach, to keep the core rules focused. But there are more to come. We have some useful ones lying around. Did you see the location and landscape generators in my recent email?

I would love to hear what you come up with in your solo excursions! And any problems you run into of course. 

Brilliant concept!

TREY and Comae Engine have a fantastic release over at DriveThruRPG! You might have checked out theTREY preview but feel unsure if solo roleplaying is for you. So, here’s a quick list of the creative benefits you can expect from the storytelling mechanics.

Who is TREY for?

• You like telling stories, but need a bit of inspiration and structure to get started, with unexpected events to add an element of surprise.
• You want to try roleplaying games, but can’t find a good group playing the ruleset or setting you enjoy.
• You are a Game Master, but you don’t have time to prepare new scenarios.
• You are a writer and want to explore characters, story ideas and alternate scenes in an easy, playful way.
• You like to explore imaginary worlds on your own, for pleasure or for later use in your creative work.

Aside from playing solo, I also use TREY to test game mechanics, brainstorm ideas for scenarios and get unstuck when writing.

Here are the links again:

TREY. Solo Roleplaying

PDF, SoftBack and Hardback

The Comae Engine. Recasting d100 Roleplaying

PDF, Softback and Hardback

As always, you get the PDF as a free download when you buy a print copy.

Clarence

Thank you! I hope you enjoy them.

FrostByte Books has released two new books: TREY Solo Roleplaying and Comae Engine 1.0!

TREY is a solo play ruleset that works with most RPGs. It uses three dice and a handful of random tables as an Oracle, allowing you to create scenarios on the fly. It also works as a GM tool for regular game sessions. Available in print and PDF.

The Comae Engine is now out of beta and available in print and PDF. In short, this is an ultra-lite version of Mythras and M-SPACE. It uses the Extended Conflict rules from M-SPACE, then rebuilds a new d100 system on top - fully compatible with Mythras. 

Launch Price 15% Off

Both books are 15% off during the launch. You can check them out at DriveThruRPG:

TREY - Solo Roleplaying

The Comae Engine

Let me know if you have any questions. 

Clarence

Hi Piotr, more material is planned, but my slow working pace since covid has wrecked my planning. In short, I can’t promise anything for the time being. But I do like The Weaver setting and I think there is a lot of potential in it.  

Very exciting!

23 hours ago, Piotr said:

Hello,

I now own M-Space and Comae (with a preference for the latter) and wanted to know if the M-Space range would continue? If so, would compatibility with Comae be possible (in the form of small inserts for example)?

What would you advise me to “cannibalize” in M-space for the Comae engine ?

Hey Piotr, good to hear you enjoy both M-SPACE and Comae! Both product lines will continue, even though I’m a slow writer. I’m also planning for a quick conversion document on how to move between Comae and M-SPACE (and Mythras). 

As for cannibalising, it depends on your setting. For sci-fi, I would bring over the rules for starships, vehicles and robots. For the modern era, vehicles. Most settings benefit from Circles to set up organisations. The Circle rules in M-SPACE works top-down on a bigger scale, while Circles in Odd Soot are more personal and include relationship maps. 

If you want to add Sanity to the mix, both Odd Soot and Luther Arkwright have rules for that, each with a slightly different flavour. 

And for most supernatural powers - from weird aliens to fantasy magic - I highly recommend Destined. While it’s created for superheroes, it’s a really versatile system for building any kind of power. There’s a downsized verion in the free Mythras Imperative, to let you test drive the system before you go all in. 

Good work! What more is included compared to the current version?

21 hours ago, ThornPlutonius said:

I look forward to being able to buy a printed version of this jewel.

Very soon now : )

20 hours ago, Piotr said:

Thank you very much for the advice, I will try to do it like that! My homebrew setting is very low magic, so i can wait for additional rules.

 

 

Cool! Don’t hesitate to post any further ideas here. It’s always fun to see what everyone comes up with. 

On 10/16/2023 at 8:24 PM, Piotr said:

Good morning,
First of all thank you for this new game system which is really elegant (from the layout to the game mechanism). I have a question, how would you envisage adapting the system to a medieval universe (and what to do with the Tech skill for example?)?

Hey Piotr, I’m happy to hear you enjoy Comae Engine! Updating the rules for a medieval setting should be quite easy. I would rename the Tech Skill to Mechanical and let it cover the simple machines of the age. 

For Mechanical Focuses, I would use something like this: 

//Ship Handling (This might seem like a mismatch with Mechanical, but a ship is essentially a large, complex device to convert winds to motion while staying afloat. Probably the most advanced piece of technology in the medieval era)

// Contraptions (For traps, simple machines, carriages, siege engines)

//Engineering (For large scale constructions: bridges, buildings, mills)

Science Focuses can be kept as is, or simply change Astronomy to Astrology and Chemistry to Alchemy. 

For any religious know-how, I suggest a Knowledge Focus.

I would also rename //Gunnery to //Ballistics.

For magic and beasts, I have some ideas, but nothing to show yet.  

Good to hear you’re still working on it : )

Very cool : )

19 hours ago, g33k said:

Ever since discovering UA's "Madness Meter" system, I have favored that over CoC-style "Sanity." 

Yes, I agree. It’s been a while since I used it, but now I will have to dig out my copy and give it a try.