Sean_RDP

Remember to incorporate any changes made from Salt Mine Blues into the main play test doc...

I really need to get back to weekly updates Currently doing a re-write of Salt Mine Blues, but then that should be it. IF work allows, it could be done this week.

I was just thinking about this the other day, nice to know someone else considered it.

An Update Figured I would update this thread. Been working on the setting here and there. Red Elves A legend tells of a single redwood tree that survived the first of the great Ice Ages. As time passed this tree stood alone north of the Dragon's River, silently watching the world around it, surrounded by a forest of pines. One day a nymph named Skaellandra came upon the tree and fell instantly in love. Skaellandra became one with the tree and drank in its beauty and richness. She gave the tree a renewed sense of life and the tree showed her all the things it had seen, Together they were very happy. Indeed they were so happy that one spring the redwood released a thousand seed cones. They fell among the pines and soaked in the life energy of those trees. The next day where there had been a thousand pine trees were now a thousand elves, pale skinned and with red hair. They paid homage to the nymph and the tree and Skaellandra bade them go off into the world to explore it, never forgetting where they come from. The Red Elves as they came to be known spread across the north, their bands raiding and protecting as whim took them. To some of their neigbors, they are heroic wood folk who fight the true monsters and keep the monsters at bay.. To others they are murderers and seducers of human children, stealing away the passions of their victims and leaving them empty. They blame the legacy of Skaellandra for perverting the Red Elves. Recent History As the Third Empire began to fail, another threat appeared in the north. Dragons became more active and broke the human kingdoms. The Bullmen and Winterimps serve some dark power that no one has yet seen, though it is not the dragons. They have been raiding the Red Elf moots and even made an attack on Skaellandra and the Redwood, though they were easily repulesed. Many believe it is only a manner of time before the tree is destroyed however, or worse corrupted by the mysterious power. Red Elf Stats STR CON SIZ INT POW DEX APP 3d6 2d6 2d6+8 2d6+6 3d6 4d6 4d6 Moon Vision: 20m +15% to all Perception Skills

That art is fantastic and evocative. That would be the style I would want to do for Skaerune' if I could. Hrmm maybe someday

It does seem difficult at times to try and get something that can be applied across the range of projectiles. Training should make a difference, but it doesn't. Someone who has never fired a musket might take a full minute to reload, where as a Prussian fusilier in Frederick's (The Great( army could get off 4,5, or maybe 6? Then in modern times, single action revolver vs. semi auto pistol... How to model Speed vs. Accuracy? And do so without adding cumbersome rules? Thinking about it, I would think it would be better to measure in Rate of Reload )RoR) for firearms since especially with primitive firearms that makes a difference. Firearm ROF = DEX SR then 1 SR per unaimed shot; 1 per 2 SR for aimed Semi Auto ROF = 2/SR (although 3 round burst might suggest 3/SR) per unaimed shot; 1 per SR for aimed Full Auto ROF = 4/SR... and can FA be considered aimed? I guess depending on the weapon... but the RoR would make a difference Flintlock Musket RoR = DEX SR +10 Breech Loader RoR = DEX SR + 3 Pistol RoR = DEX SR + 6 Clip Fed Pistol = DEX SR +2 Just some thoughts based on my (limited) knowledge of guns.

Rat Catching and I am not being facetious. With the granularity you mentioned, adding some flavor to Occupations. Adding in the Winds of Magic might add a nice randomness to magic and make it more dangerous. Giving or taking away magic points.

...and D&D is a dungeon crawl, which could easily have a hundred rooms in it. Those 100 rooms could be spread out over 8 hours of blood letting and murderhobo glory. But you can distill that down into 4 or even 2 hours. It does not leave as much room for nuance as a longer session might, but it also fits the modern gamer better. there is no reason, other than their choice, that CoC could not be equally distilled into something investigative and enjoyable. Indeed, many of Lovecraft's stories are of short duration and some of those are the most interesting and visceral. ATtH does not really suffer any of that unless one wants to run it a convention. Otherwise, four weekly 2 hour sessions fit most folks' needs pretty well. Again though that really is beside the point. The idea behind Organized Play is a shared experience that is unique while being fair and falling in from a given set of guidelines that everyone uses. Some folks are used to a more rigid structure that, despite what some may think, actually creates an enhanced playing experience. I suspect that with ATtH, we may still get that anyway, but by accident and drift as opposed to by design. But there is an upside, a level of freedom in running this that is not available in other OrgPlay campaigns. Everything in life is a give and take and if ATtH biggest sin as an organized play is that its not all that organized, well there are worse things. I want to see how these six months play out, what adjustments are made and what Chaosium gets out of it before making too many judgments. I just would like to, gently and respectfully, dispense with the subtext that CoC is "not like those other games" and cannot fit and should not fit into similar molds. Yes the end game, living through it with as much sanity as possible vs. gold and glory, are certainly different, but both can and do offer a rewarding role playing experience. As for ATtH being a marketing ploy, I say great! All OrgPlay is part of marketing and if it gets new people playing CoC, then I am all for it. I am happy to be an ambassador for the game.

That is absolutely ridiculous. A sandbox is in no way an impediment to creating a shared experience, especially since CoC scenarios are generally designed on a time schedule where things will happen unless the players manage to interrupt them. Additionally many of the Living scenarios had multiple options and multiple endings, meaning that players would come away with different results depending on their choices. So a railroad is not at all needed, though I will point out that there are rail road aspects to A Time To Harvest. I won't speak for the OP, but my perspective of what he is asking is why is there not a unified set of chargen and similar rules that put each player on an even field and allow a player in one city the ability to take his or her character to a different table for Part 2 and know that those players made their character in the same way. There is always a suspension of disbelief in OrgPlay games where you have to hand wave a bit if characters have had different endings and experiences to different modules. That is nothing new and I do not think that is or would be an issue with ATtH. To the OP: I think this decentralized approach is the evolution (for good or ill) of Organized Play. The Living campaigns were extremely intense (as you know) and I think there has been some, spoken or unspoken, decision to back away from things that are so logistically intense. Chaosium is an even smaller company, so even with volunteers the logistics would be difficult I imagine. Even if most of them were volunteers doing it on their own time. Additionally the player base is changing and this may fit the evolution of the gamer a bit better, short attention spans etc.. I personally like the CoC OrgPlay for what it is and recognize it for what it isn't.

Oh I thought it was earlier... but but you are right So Salt Mine Blues will be end of April, approx April 30th.

Okay so, the QS was not going to be very quick, so I changed directions a bit and this is going to work out pretty well I think. So I am creating an ACTUAL QS doc called "Skaerune': Salt Mine Blues" which is a step by step how to play mini adventure. Skaerune': Verse Zero is the free to play version and has more depth and is for play testing. It will lead to a full version sometime later in the year, depending on how much feedback I get. Probably by October. Salt Mine Blues should be done by Intl RPG Day.

I judge a particular moment or encounter based on the stakes. A random encounter with an orc or an undead thing that shouldn't be an obstacle won't likely kill a player, unless the players play it dumb or raise the stakes. I won't let a bad die roll kill a character in those encounters designed to distract them, but I will maim a character, draw down their resources, and use it to raise the stakes. To see how they react and how far they push back over something simple. Players die in side encounters because they want to King Arthur everything. i.e. That scene in Excalibur where Arthur is determined to beat Lancelot even after he is beaten and can walk away in honor. Doing so has consequences (watch the movie if you do not know what they are). If a player really wants to do that, there is no ex machina gonna save their butt. Now in the high stakes scenes, die rolls are what they are. My NPCs have to face the music too and I will let players see my dice rolls at times so they feel assured. I do not believe in Luck rolls or Luck points, but then I am not a killer GM. The players can succeed if they are smart or lucky, just like in real life. The deck really is stacked in their favor already. Unless its CoC of course or some similar game. Tone does have something to do with it. In those cases, the odds are stacked against the players but they know this already. As for Plot... things happen on a timeline, but that timeline is not fixed. The adversaries may have to adjust their plans, the adventure may end early, the players may lose if they are not smart. Good story and adventure design allow for that, but it is also a skill that can be practiced and learned.

I should have read this bit too. I think you can run it in four, as I said just narrow the focus of the game and have fewer red herrings. In fact pushing the "time" aspect may ratchet up the suspense as well. In your case, maybe block out 5 hours for a module, knowing you are going over by 1 hour into the next month. Planning on that gives you some cliffhanger space and still allow some good role playing and action. Intro and Day 1 - 1 hour Day 2, 3, 4 - 1 Hour each Day 5 and wrap up - 1 hour Just a thought.

Well I do not think you are wrong, especially with new players, getting it down to 4 hours at a convention might be difficult. It takes time for a game system and an organized play admin to figure those sweet spots out, even with previous experience. The first modules in a series are very short OR very long anyway... so lots of things going on here that do not have me worried about the length at all. All that said, yes I could run this in four hours precisely because I think you can have all the horror without the requisite need to have an actual combat. Things are going to happen and the players will determine if they are at the right place and time for to see if it does. They will roll dice, pee their pants, make good or bad decisions and have a blast maybe without firing a shot. I will also note that there has been a... relatively recent change from focusing on 4 hour sessions to multiple 2 hour sessions or even an adventure that can be played in 2 hours. I do not know if you can have a CoC adventure play in just 2 hours (though I am going to try and write one to see). It is a totally different animal than the other games mentioned. For game store or home play however, multiple 2 hour sessions would be perfect and I think A Time To Harvest is perfect for that. At one mod per month, you can do 3 or 4 weeks of 2 hour play and be ready for when the next module comes out.

They are for the A Time for Harvest organized play (and I imagine other organized play options) for CoC. It might have spoilers for the players, so its designed to let those running it talk to one another without worrying about that.

I really like where this is going, seems pretty convoluted and I do enjoy plenty of red herrings. I do have one question though at least for now. Is there any reason to not have the Investigators have some kind of relationship with Blaine or Daphne Devine? Would there be too much suspicion there or could an Investigator have come because they are concerned for their friend Blaine? Or perhaps someone else is heartbroken over the loss of Ms. Devine? I will likely be creating note cards with character names and handing them out randomly to create pre existing relationships to the NPCs and wanted to know if I should avoid having any pre existing relationship with either one. Thanks

I can relate to those motivations. That was an enjoyable read.

Actually even if we discount 20 years of the RPGA, which was not exclusively TSR/WoTC until 2007 or so, Mongoose attempted a Living RQ type of thing at one point. So the idea has been around for a while. It is nice to see Chaosium jumping on board. I anticipate this being a lot of fun.

Wealth accumulation really depends on the campaigns end goal. For a short game, obviously it is just pocket money. In an Epic campaign, something akin to LoTR, again it is pocket money or trade money, often carried in trade goods. For myself, wealth becomes important in a sand box style game because I do not want to limit the character's goals and accumulation of wealth is absolutely valid. In the old days of D&DB/X and AD&D becoming a lord by your own hand was part of play. This aspect carried over to other games as well, through play if not necessarily through specific rules. Wealth accumulation can also a source of great adventure and intrigue, especially without modern banks and such. Where wealth accumulation causes major issues, IMHO is when the destabilizing effect of mercenaries spending (or hoarding) their gold is not felt. Additionally the purchase of game winning McGuffins just undercuts the social contract of the game.

Ships and Sailing Rules, because people love that

I actually do not like the "every page a canvas" trend. It can be hard to read and it can be distracting. Also, art is not cheap even for a company with good connections and in house artists. For self publishing it can be cost prohibitive. Unfortunately a great many potential customers prefer style over substance. I also feel it places a premium on art, which while beautiful and immersive ultimately is not what you are buying an RPG book for. Which does not mean there are not great artists, famous or no, who deserve to get paid their due. However, the writer(s)' and editors also put a lot into the book. There are a lot of pretty RPGs that are terrible games. As for what I personally would like to see? Artists who can update the old artwork either in a modern version or an homage piece, as well as quality b&W pieces, which are often better than color pieces. Creative but not outlandish. Someone also mentioned humor, which would be good IF its ironic and subtle. Slapstick nonsense would really break immersion IMHO.

I agree with this, but my conclusion is a bit different. Yes it can make fights last longer but I do not think this is a bad thing. It challenges players to think tactically and take advantage of situations, as opposed to hoping for that critical to get them through. It is about style though, and no one way is right. Skaerune' uses a 1/5 for crits (or fumbles) and a 1/10 auto success - there is no Special. However, it also has the possibility of multiple attacks a round, so I think it will work out. At least so far. More resting is needed.

Just a few thoughts... Get used to the Scars - Embrace those severed limbs and poked out eyes. In some games, losing a limb or an eye will really make your life miserable. However a one armed half blind archer can easily become a javelinman instead of a bowman. So embrace those scars as part of your story. If you as the GM make the game enjoyable for folks missing parts, the race for high level healing magic will not be so necessary. Its deadly.. not as deadly as Cyberpunk - When I came to RQ/BRP games I had played a few different games. One of them was Cyberpunk. Love that system and its very deadly. I know Paranoia also has a high body count as do some other games, but BRP is not, IMHO as deadly as those games. I feel it properly balances grit and good times. Try it with curry - I had not issue coming over from D&D and other games and did not let those games color my impressions of BRP. Instead I looked for the similarities and differences and sought to understand the different design ideas. Of course even then I had an eye towards game design, but still the differences are significant but hardly difficult to overcome. The same skills of knowing when to ask and not ask for a roll still apply. Warm up some new dice - I had a favorite d20 I used for AD&D/D&D-BX. I put it aside entirely when I switched to RQ/BRP games. I had (until my lil dragon lost them) a green and yellow single digits d10s that I used. A new game is a new excuse to get new dice into the pool.

Sorcery Green is made from people lol...

A couple of more ideas.. Could a magician cannibalize their own body for more INT? Could they suck INT from other people? Those are things I have allowed in campaigns before.