12-Sided Thoughts

This post is a part of the #RPGaDAY series for 2024. For more information, see this post at AUTOCRATIK.

Today's prompt is "RPG with good form." I don't really know what that means, but I like it! Where would we be without room for interpretation? Since the prompt didn't go to great lengths to explain itself, I don't feel the need to, either, but the first game that popped into my head was Dialect (Kathryn Hymes and Hakan Seyalıoğlu/Thorny Games). The edition I have comes in this cool little cloth bag. It also has a set of game cards, but really the book itself is an RPG with good form, too, as far as I'm concerned. Great layout, very clear to read and understand, and a great game to play, to boot. Perhaps unsurprisingly, I also have an honorable mention for another Thorny Games game, Xenolanguage. This one I haven't played since a playtest years ago, so I've never experienced it in its final form, but at the time, it involved, like...an audioscape and a Ouija Board. So...high marks for novelty on that one, but I can't speak to it primarily since I haven't seen or played what wound up getting published. It's probably cool, though.

Today's alternate theme is "Forgotten City," and today I actually rolled a new number, 4, for "Invent an item." Hmm.

Okay, I didn't so much "invent" this as get heavily inspired for it from a Sandman comic. IYKYK.

This post is a part of the #RPGaDAY series for 2024. For more information, see this post at AUTOCRATIK.

"RPG that is easy to use" covers a pretty broad spectrum! I think I've got a strong top two, though, that are easy in two different directions.

For a particular kind of introductory game, my go-to for a long time has been PSI*RUN (Meguey Baker/Chris Moore and Michael Lingner/Lumpley Games). I say a particular kind of introductory, because it's what I like to use for either new players or for players experienced in trad gaming to bring folks into the kind of gaming I like, which is kind of low-prep, high-improv, high-abstraction, but still strongly reactive to randomized outcomes. The core mechanics of PSI*RUN involve rolling a handful of dice where each die represents the result of something, and it's the player's job to dish out these results to some number of facets of the game. (Like, if I spend this "good" result on the power I used, I might have to spend a "bad" result on the consequences of it, sort of thing.) Characters start out pretty sparse and get filled out during play, so if the GM is already familiar with the game, then it's easy for everyone to just sit down and jump right in. The core mechanic maintains the die-rolling and random outcomes that I like, and the game makes good use of all die results (not just successes) being germane to the fiction and isn't about initiative and turn-by-turn combat. Pretty great game. It's an all-timer for me for sure. Plus I love games that have you churning out a bunch of index cards during play.

That one does involve a certain amount of facilitator...not rules mastery, per se, but familiarity and comfort with the structure of play, anyway. For a more "pick up and play" experience, for my money, it's tough to beat For the Queen (Alex Roberts/Darrington Press, with an extra nod from me to the original version put out by Evil Hat). This is 100% a game that you can never have heard of before, open up for the first time, and just sit down and play. It's a card-driven narrative game, GMless, super easy to get into and play, and the game teaches you how to play as soon as you crack it open and start reading the cards. There's no dice, no character sheets, no points or counters or anything like that. It's a pure storygame, so I don't lean on it as, like, an "intro to RPGs" or anything like that, but it's undeniably easy to play, and it's also gotta be one of my all-timers.

Today's alternate theme is "Portal." I'm gonna be real with you. I first rolled a 6, which would be my third random table in 6 days, so I wasn't feeling that. Then I rolled a 10 for "Draw!" which I have zero capacity to do. Then I rolled a 9, eavesdroppable dialogue, which I just did yesterday and which I also find so tough, and then finally a 5 for "Write a legend or rumor," so...I think I can handle that.

This post is a part of the #RPGaDAY series for 2024. For more information, see this post at AUTOCRATIK.

"RPG with great writing" is also often difficult for me (like yesterday's "great art" prompt), but for a different reason. Much of the time, I'm using an RPG book more like a reference text than anything else. As a younger man, I had much more time to devote to reading RPG books cover to cover, and while it's still a great joy of mine to do so, I find myself with fewer opportunities for that in recent years. With that, I'm going to reach into the past for this one, but I do have two answers. For one, I hugely enjoyed the writing in Underground (Ray Winninger/Mayfair Games), but my memories of that enjoyment are almost entirely about the lore. Which isn't to say the rest of the writing wasn't good...just that I don't particularly recall it as much as I recall poring over all the worldbuilding. For both lore and rules text, the standout for me is the first edition of Unknown Armies (John Scott Tynes and Greg Stolze/Atlas Games). I appreciate the (much) more recent (and wildly different) third edition, but for me, the writing in the first edition lays down the definitive "feel" of the game that I always try to capture.

Today's alternate theme is "Fairies," and I rolled a 9 for...what I believe is supposed to be "Write an eavesdroppable dialogue, but even if not, I'm going to take it that way. Frankly, neither one of those elements is my strong suit, so I'm not sure I'll get the assignment on this one.

"I'faith, liege mine, the dusk doth wane.
Shan't we alight this mortal plane?"

"Patience, Nettle. Our departure is soon enough forthcoming. Yet, can We not tarry still, for Our appetite is not yet sated. One more, perhaps, before We take Our leave. Two, if providence is generous this day."

"Should providence be miserly
Or generous even as thee,
Your Majesty's desires abide
Unheeding of what may betide."

"You may be right, of course, you contemptible wretch, but take heart. Whether Our final indulgence for the day or no, a morsel even now lies in wait, easily within reach. Go, then, and fetch for Us the one that overhears Our colloquy."

This post is a part of the #RPGaDAY series for 2024. For more information, see this post at AUTOCRATIK.

"RPG with great art" is often a tough one for me. I'm famously pretty visual design challenged. Plus I'm also sleepy when I'm posting this. I'm just gonna recycle Symbaroum for this one and call it a day. Atmospheric, evocative, thematic.

Today's alternate theme is "Cosmos," and I rolled another 6 for "Create a random table." Like I said above, I'm kinda sleepy.

When your starship or observatory discovers something of interest, roll a d12 and consult the table below to determine what is encountered and what it foretells.

This post is a part of the #RPGaDAY series for 2024. For more information, see this post at AUTOCRATIK.

The Day 3 prompt is "Most often played RPG," and if that means, like, over my lifetime, I honestly don't know for sure. My initial thought what that it was likely some edition of D&D (probably 2nd?), but after some consideration, it may actually be Cyberpunk 2020. If it's just for the year (or, like...currently), then it's gotta be Mountain Home (see previous post for more info).

Today's alternate theme is "Demonology," and I rolled a 4 for "Invent an item."

Sulroth's Communion is an artifact in two parts: a round-bottomed hammered brass basin and a simple oaken four-legged stand to place it in. Once the Communion is assembled, the user adds some quantity of flammable oil to the basin ("a mouthful is enough," confusingly states one grimoire). They then add some piece of themselves (hair is common) and some demonic element. They then ignite the oil, and in the resulting smoke, a demonic visage appears. The user may ask the demon one question which the demon is compelled to answer truthfully. The demon then asks the user one question which they are similarly compelled to answer truthfully. If the demonic element is some item related to a demonic sphere of influence, some random demon from that domain is contacted. If the item is of personal interest or connection to a particular demon, that demon can be specifically called. If the item is a physical remnant of a demon's body and the user's item caused the user harm when obtained, that specific demon is called and the number of questions allowed to each party increases to three. In any of those cases, once the questioning is complete, make a percentile roll. If the result is 02–99, the smoke dissipates and the ritual ends. On a result of 01, the demon may step through the smoke into the user's world. On a result of 00, the demon my bodily pull the user through the smoke into their own realm.

This post is a part of the #RPGaDAY series for 2024. For more information, see this post at AUTOCRATIK.

I already almost missed a day, and it's only day 2. This one is quick and easy, though.

Today's prompt is "most recently played," and that's simple enough! I'm in midst of a three-month campaign of Mountain Home by Karl Scheer being run online over at Open Hearth. It's really fun! It's a Forged in the Dark game with strong themes of community, and I enjoy the base-building aspects a lot. The sessions are being recorded, so they may be up and viewable one of these days, but we've still got a bit to go until the campaign is finished, yet. But, yeah, fun game, and I recommend checking it out.

Today's alternate theme is "forest," and I rolled a 3 for "write a bulletin board quest."

Lately, when I get up in the morning, I'm finding trees that have moved from where I left them the night before. I tried to ask them what's going on, but no one's talking. 50 gold to whoever helps me find out where the trees are going at night!

Alex, cabin by the old sawmill

This post is a part of the #RPGaDAY series for 2024. For more information, see this post at AUTOCRATIK.

It has been quite a while since I've done any blogging, and I figured what better way to dust off the ol' gaming blog than with a return to some August #RPGaDay action. It looks like I haven't done an #RPGaDay series since...2017?!...so we'll see if I make it through the month this year, but I'm happy to just have gotten started.

The first prompt is "First RPG bought this year." I'm going to chop this up into digital and hardcopy, and further divide things into crowdfunded or not. Probably more divisions. Also I can't vouch for full accuracy on any of this; the beginning of the year feels like a lifetime ago.

Let's start with crowdfunded. The first digital item I backed at any point and was delivered this year was probably Witch: Fated Souls 2E from Angry Hamster Publishing, which I think delivered the digital edition really quickly following the new year. I've been a Liz Chaipraditkul fan for...geez, years now, and I enjoyed the first edition of Witch, though I have to admit to not having cracked open the second edition yet. I often won't get to perusing a game until I get the hardcopy, which is yet to come out from the 2E campaign.

I'm honestly not sure what crowdfunded hardcopies I got this year, let alone which was the first to come in. I moved house a few months back, and I am the world champion at being slow to unpack, so the vast majority of my belongings (and definitely my RPG library) is still in boxes. The only one I know for sure I got this year was Demigods (Jason Mills/Probably OK Games). I'm not sure if it was first, but it's not packed in a box, so that's something!

I think the first crowdfunding project I backed this year was for Community Radio, Second Edition from Thoughtcrime Games back in February. Another second edition and another longstanding fanhood, this time of Quinn Murphy.

In the non-crowdfunded arena, I think my first digital-only purchase this year was Outgunned (Riccardo Sirignano and Simone Formicola/Two Little Mice). I don't remember what prompted this purchase; it wasn't for a planned game or anything, I know that. It probably came recommended and almost certainly caught my eye because I love a good action move RPG, that's for sure.

As far as non-crowdfunded hardcopy...that's a rarity for me anymore, not getting out of the house much these days to do any browsing. I may have picked up something used here or there, but brand new from the store? I think my first this year was probably Deathmatch Island (Tim Denee/Old Dog Games/Evil Hat Productions), which actually I picked up pretty recently. This one was definitely based on recommendation, and also I'd recently become interested in checking out PARAGON-related stuff after listening to Sean Nittner on the Agon series of Character Creation Cast.

This year's #RPGaDay prompts included a full alternate set with a different theme for each day to be coupled with a randomly rolled prompt. I thought that sounded fun, so I decided to try that out either alongside or instead of the traditional prompts. Today's theme is "Runes," and I rolled a 6 for "create a random table." Pretty fitting result for runes!

Consider an ancient language consisting of a runic alphabet. The syntactic meanings (if not the phonetic backing) of these runes are known to you, a scholar of this language, but the mythical significance of each is shrouded by a dearth of historical record and concerted efforts by secret circles of practitioners of the old magic to obscure the runes' true powers. When you attempt to decipher the mythical ideal associated with a rune, roll two d6s and consult the d66 table below.