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Expect a dumb time travel game!
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Jul 25, 2012 00:09
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Alright, better pitch! Retrocausality is a game about time travel. The details aren't important. Someone discovered the Heinlein boson or messed around with wormholes or something, there was a lot of science, an arbitrary number of dictators were killed, whatever. It was all very confusing. The important thing is that you can time travel. You probably went back in time to teach yourself. Now you get to muck around in history, defend it from people who want to muck around with it in ways you don't like, and for the love of God, do not make things worse. (Retrocausality is also a game about making things worse.)
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Jul 25, 2012 11:20
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Click the image for my Project Outline! In case you want to mess with it and check word counts etc., the original doc is here.
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Aug 1, 2012 01:00
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Rules Layout Is Serious Business Taking a break from my writing to cry to the thread about it! Working out what goes where is hard. I want things to flow well. I want players to have to stop and look something else up as little as possible. I want it to be simple and engaging. So look at this loving thing: quote:TASK RESOLUTION That's the draft of my basic task resolution system. (Originally I was going to have a third option where you were just checking for Colour, red or black, but this is simpler.) It hits all the main points, or at least I think it does. Obviously the basic mechanics should go at the start, probably right after "What is a roleplaying game?" and "PS: bring playing cards". Cool, problem solved. That section doesn't answer everything, though. For example: What does failure mean? What's a critical failure? What's a critical success? What kind of things can the Queen and Joker be used on? Now, since (most of) us know how elfgames work, we can hazard a guess for most of those. Actually, though, I am using the "fail forward" idea proposed in games like 13th Age, where failure could be anything from "nothing happens" to "you succeed, but with unwanted consequences". So a section on how success and failure work would be great. Oh, and we can fold critical successes into that too. What about Jokers and Queens, though? What's the difference between failing forward and drawing a Queen, exactly? Should they get their own section? Should these sections come before or after, say, character creation? Oh, and examples! Those are great. Maybe an example of Targets and special cards: quote:Example: Jack Horne is pretty sure there is a dinosaur in modern-day New York – and he wants to find it. Jack's player decides to use his Famous Paleontologist Skill to find it. The Target for this task is 8. Jack's player draws a Card – a 5. Luckily, Jack's Skill adds a +3 to this check, for a total of 8. Jack succeeds, and realises the hot dog stand guy is a brontosaurus. quote:Example: Mei Lin wants to use her Gemini Time Skill to recruit some future selves to help her win a Battle of the Bands contest and help her parents hook up. The Target for this task is ♥. Mei Lin draws 3♦ – wrong suit, right colour. The performance by the “Lin Twins” works, but now the GM has a Queen he can use against her later. An Example of Play section might work, situated after Character Creation and How To Do Stuff. Jokers and Queens and other special cards should get their own section, though, which means these examples might be better off there. And wait, what's an average Target? How hard is something with, say, Target 11? Where would that section go? augh And so on. Every time I answer a question I find more questions. I have the basics down (Basic Mechanics → Character Creation and Other Rules → Example of Play), but not the specific order, and I need to figure out where, when and how to use my examples. I feel like I am going to gently caress something up and not realise it later, like I am building a house of cards and it is only a matter of time before I realise that there is a big section in the middle being held up not by cards, but by my erect member. For now, I am just writing down everything I can think of in a rough semblance of order and rearranging it later. Having a draft and words written down is more important than having them in the perfect order, and I can always ask people to look over it for me later. Also, I am looking up how other books do layout. Good ones! 13th Age is out because it is a beta that assumes the reader is a big D&D fan. Dresden Files RPG might be worth a look because Evil Hat owns, and I have heard Dungeons & Dragons 4th Edition has a decent layout. Actually I think I will just open every RPG book I have and try to get a feel for what works and what doesn't.
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Aug 6, 2012 06:08
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Click the image for my Rules Module! This module was a pain. I had a few rules I needed to iron out, and I wanted to cover as much as I could without being too wordy. Also, there were a few things like setting fluff and choosing a Faction during character creation that I cut for time, banished to the Expanded Rules module. I tried to fold GM advice into the stuff players would read as much as I could but I think there's some stuff I still need to cover later. 20 pages of game in size 10 Verdana, though! I'm also not totally sure about the Queen mechanic - the way Queens are limited means any Queen you draw when the GM is holding one for you already is just a success - but time travel moves still have a 50% chance of failure, a touch too low for my taste. See what happens in playtesting, I suppose. In the spirit of creativity, I have created a sculpture. Kind of. I call it Googling To Fix A Broken Machine. 
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Aug 11, 2012 00:49
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Retrocausality (August 11) The next module is an adventure module, so I've been thinking about what to do! A starter adventure would be nice to ease everyone into the time travel mechanics, but unlike the rules module I should probably include some of the setting I had in mind, which means shoving some setting fluff in people's face in between the learning about time travel. I don't want to be overwhelming, though, so it will probably just be hints I guess? I've also been thinking about movies! I could probably convert a bunch of time travel movies like the Back to the Future series into Retrocausality adventures, and it would be neat - but if I end up with a bunch of adventures that would probably not help the playtest, so they seem kind of superfluous. On the other hand, it would be cool and maybe I could display my determination by converting as many as possible! That sure would be a cool thing. For now, I think I will craft the starter adventure and see where things go. If I can afterward, I'll get hold of a list of time travel movies after and convert them.
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Aug 12, 2012 00:59
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Retrocausality (August 12) I've decided what I want to do, finally! The starter adventure needs to serve two purposes: Teach people to play Retrocausality and help me figure out playtest advice to put in the expanded module. For the first, I'll start simple. The PCs begin as regular dudes who are introduced to time travel and discover someone from the future is out to get them; at first, encounters will be in their time, but then a jaunt or two into the future (and/or to steal a dinosaur) will be required. As for the second, well, that will come up as I write. I'm already thinking, though - should enemies only have one Threat Level? Most of them, sure, but recurring enemies or ones that can be approached in multiple ways might have different Threat Levels for different circumstances - a thug might be easier to overcome in a social encounter, for example. On the other hand, I don't want to overcomplicate this poo poo, and I sure as hell don't want to have different Threat Level categories for everyone! So, I gotta think about that. Probably what I'll do is give enemies just two Threat Levels max - a higher one for the thing they're good at, and another for the rest. Oh, and finally: Polling the thread! If I make some extra adventure stuff based on time travel movies/books/whatever, does anyone have any preference for which? (I mean besides Back to the Future, come on, of course I'm gonna.)
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Aug 13, 2012 09:10
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Retrocausality (8/13) Working on my Determination bonus!  Seriously though augh, this adventure. I am stepping up writing to get it done early for reasons. So far I have sketched out the actual adventure - I'm going to start with a couple of skill checks to help a professor friend of the PCs get his TIME MINIVAN ready, and then they get to go on a trip with it, then they come back to find another time traveller is messing with their pasts. Whoops! Ideally it'll introduce the time travel quickly and then slowly ramp up the complexity. Sample characters are done. I had a little trouble when I realised one of them is accidentally Andrew Dobson but whatever, who actually uses the sample characters? Jerks, that's who. (no offense jerks  ) I also decided to load some GM tips into the pre-adventure writeup, which hopefully doesn't dilute the Expanded Module much. Maybe I can expand on them there.I have decided to scrap the "make extra adventures based on movies" idea for now because it is a lot of work and I don't know if I'll have time for it. Instead, I will just make this one longer and more interesting. On the bright side, I decided a lot of the worries I was having with Threat Levels were just overthinking it - for now, anyway. I might try and squeeze an extra playtest in before the Expanded Module and add any fixes I need to there. E: Oh no, timezone clash! Oh well, it's still Monday night, nothing stopping me making these updates 
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Aug 14, 2012 08:50
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Retrocausality (8/14) I need to stop swinging these things so close. So, the adventure! Ideally, I will be done tonight (my time). Maybe not, though, if work gets in the way. I've discovered that it is kind of a pain to write a linear adventure in a time travel game - especially when I am a fan of players going off the rails - but so far I've solved it by writing little sections about things the GM should keep in mind if the players want to go on a time travel funventure. My main concern so far is that some of them lead to "regardless of what the PCs do, this happens!" bottlenecks (e.g. at one point the PCs discover that someone has prevented them from being born, which will make any time travel they did to muck with their own pasts pointless), and I loving hate those. On the other hand, they are things the PCs can undo, so under the circumstances maybe it is not a big deal? I might organise a playtest with some friends in the next couple of days, just to give things a try and see what they do. I'm sure I've missed something that will come up in actual play.
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Aug 15, 2012 08:06
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Retrocausality (8/15) Bad news: I did not finish last night as I hoped (work got in the way) and now TF2 has updated! Good news: The servers are hosed right now so I'm just working on the adventure instead. I have stolen an idea from grognards.txt and added Details to scenes and characters - things the GM should keep in mind if he has to make up a description or some NPC dialogue. Mostly it is simple stuff like "Exciting things are happening soon!" and "This NPC stammers a lot!" to give the GM some guidelines when he ad-libs things. I'm also adding some suggestions for if the PCs go off the rails, since I am kind of hoping they will; this might expand into an alternate adventure path but man I hope it doesn't.
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Aug 16, 2012 03:57
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Retrocausality (8/16) Not much to report today, simply because I haven't had the time to do much. I am behind, in fact! I might have to crunch the rest of this adventure module to crank it out in time. So, I guess I am learning lessons about adventure making! I might have stretched too far with this one, and I'm going to have to cut some things out. Oh well, though. Onward to the end!
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Aug 17, 2012 08:15
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 Click the image for an adventure I slapped together! 
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Aug 18, 2012 00:36
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 I've decided to do something unusual for my gaming effortpost too: A pbp post! Not just any pbp post, though: when someone in one of my games asks an uplifted raven with aphasia how she's doing, I deliver.
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Aug 25, 2012 01:56
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I have promised to playtest gently caress You Erick Wujcik and Ministry of Heaven at some point, so.
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Aug 25, 2012 03:32
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I will be running Ministry of Heaven at some point after midnight GMT on Tuesday! So like, ~44 hours from now.
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Aug 26, 2012 05:39
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I am just glad people are volunteering to playtest my game!  Also I like how there are no penalties for getting your past self killed. I am inclined to say that is a feature. Also, if anyone else is thinking of running gently caress You Eric Wandjina or Ministry of Heaven, don't let me stop you! The more playtests the merrier.
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Aug 26, 2012 11:01
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Gonna try and playtest Ministry of Heaven on Roll20!
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Aug 28, 2012 01:37
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Ministry of Heaven chatlog is here! We only got through one Workday, but here's our setup. We went with the advanced problem creation rules! Players posted:Rainbow Serpent, Dreamtime Rain Snake, Network System Admin Problem posted:PROBLEM: Shinigami On Strike In one Workday we managed to clear one Obstacle. At the end of the other Shift my attempt to force a Blue Card on the Problem to make it bust out ended up giving it 21 instead and we all lost. I am a professional. Aside from what the others are posting, what I'd add is that examples or a summary of the how-to-play section or something would be great, because referencing rules during the game probably could have gone smoother. It was great though!
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Aug 28, 2012 06:50
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This thread is slowing down a bit, so I thought I'd post some more design thoughts since Rulebook's been encouraging us to blog about our game's progress. So, I'm going to start from the beginning! Picking Retrocausality was tough - originally I was going to remake Assholes Among The Stars from the first design contest with Gorbash, since I never did work out the contest, but that turned out to be a no-no so we did different things instead. I still had plenty of other game ideas, though. Eventually I went with Retrocausality (despite vague fears that I was ripping off some Stolze game I couldn't be bothered looking up and that game by that other jerk) because I really like sci-fi adventures, but there were a few I almost couldn't bear to drop. So I didn't! Here are three games I have decided to start working on - they might even be Kickstarted soon!  Quest Squires is a game in the old-school flavour intended to bring back the feel of old-school gaming, but with a few new twists (but with an old-school feel!) Unfortunately, as an old-school retroclone I have been working on since 1992, it wouldn't qualify as a contest entry. It has a ton of fresh, innovative ideas I can't wait to try out though, like • "Activity Points", which you can spend to occasionally take an extra turn in combat or do other cool things • No character class system - players pick from a series of "Improvements" that "unlock" as they "level up" • Racial level limits • Complex "improvisation" mechanics • 24 types of shield • Only uses 1d20s All I needed to do was come up with an interesting setting that borrowed from the greats - JRR Tolkien, Robert E. Howard, John Norman - with a few new spins and I was set to go! Oh well.  Cock-Thirsty Adventure Sluts is a sexy, salacious and kind of erotic game which hilariously satirises geek culture through roleplaying strong, empowered women who get their powers from sucking dicks for money. The politically correct social justice white knights on grognards.txt made fun of me, though, which is exactly the same thing as oppression, so now I'm going to release this just to spite them. That'll show them. It is 400 pages long, but don't worry - combat only takes like 20! Interesting fact: They are the only pages I typed with both hands.  Dominic Deegan: The Roleplaying Game is a Pathfinder-compatible romp through Michael "Mookie" Terracciano's epic webcomic world of intrigue, divination, and magic lasers. To fully capture the feel of the webcomics I have planned a seven-book metaplot series in which the characters get to follow Dominic Deegan himself as he saves the world with his visions, insightful commentary on the world around him, and puns. I guess. Actually, I'm just going to write them as my deadlines approach, so I don't know what'll happen yet. It's gonna be loving metal though! Pathfinder is a solid, totally balanced system which can only be improved by my special rules for divination, geeking out, rocking on, gays, women and sluts. When you see it your mind will be like KABOOM and your head will explode and blood will go everywhere, especially down your slowly inflating D-cup breasts. As much as I would have loved to blow your minds, though - and all these games out of the water, and my hot creative load all over your faces - these games had to wait. Not for long, though - expect a Kickstarter for one or both of them soon!
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Aug 29, 2012 12:47
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TK-31 posted:What, no supplements for Kaidan: a Japanese Ghost Story? I am disappointed. In my setting for the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game, Kaidan: A Japanese Ghost Story, people tell and live stories about ghosts all the time with a bent of japanese horror to it, I have done extensive research on this, myself being of japanese ancestry. Because of this and other reasons, you stand to gain a lot in a business sense from making your games compatible with Gaijinoshima from Kaidan: a Japanese Ghost Story. That's been done! 
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Aug 29, 2012 13:46
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 These games still need to be playtested: • Amp 2 Amp • Arenaball • Disarmament • gently caress You Erick Wujcik • Intersector • Last Days of the Meek
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Sep 2, 2012 15:10
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You guys need to step up! What's left to playtest? Also I went ahead and had some RL pals playtest this because that is how I roll. (links probably don't work yet) quote:Ben: (also, I ran retrocausality and have audio files of it, but that's secondary to the above)
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Sep 5, 2012 15:01
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Also you guys should post in the recruitment megathread, you might get more bites!
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Sep 6, 2012 02:16
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While we wait, have JurassicCentralPark.avi! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=prgm4eKq6d4
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Sep 12, 2012 09:39
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oh man what  I am pleased just to get into the top three alongside Jurassic Central Park and Deathrow Live, first place is amazing. I was expecting Deathrow to win, you guys are almost too nice. Only almost, though.  Seriously though, I am happy I made something people want to play! I will definitely work on this game and fix it up when I can. Maybe even try a pbp! Props to you guys, you deserve it! Also Lemon Curdistan (for "helping"), Comrade Gorbash (Ministry of Heaven still owns), Druggeddwarf (because why not), UberJew (ps Dis?Unity is cool) and Error 404, sc4rs, my non-goon rpgnet pals and anyone I forgot who playtested. Also everyone else who playtested anything, you also rule for helping out. Now I just need to find out what this secret is.
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Sep 15, 2012 02:31
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Sep 18, 2012 01:20
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As requested, an index of games. If I hosed up a link let me know! TOP THREE Ettin: Retrocausality Outline Module 1 Module 2 Module 3 alakath: ThU/D: Deathrow LIVE! Outline Module 1 Module 2 Module 3 (+1) Ulta: Jurassic Central Park Outline Module 1 Module 2 Module 3 (+1) COMPLETED GAMES Red_Mage: Amp 2 Amp Complete Game LemonCurdistan: gently caress You Erick Wujcik Outline Module 1 Module 2 Module 3 Druggeddwarf: The Last Days of the Meek Outline Module 1 Module 2 Module 3 gnome7: Dungeon Manager Complete Game Flaky Biscuit: Intersector Outline Module 1 Module 2 (+1) (+2) Module 3 (+1) (+2) Comrade Gorbash: Ministry of Heaven Outline Module 1 Module 2 Module 3 Kwyndig: Emperor Mittens Outline Module 1 Module 2 Module 3 sc4rs: Arenaball Outline Module 1 Module 2 Module 3 MadRhetoric: Nothing Amazing Happens Here (すごいことなくない) Outline Module 1 Module 2 Module 3 UberJew: Dis?Unity Complete Game Glasgerion: Disarmament - the game of very polite atomic crisis Outline Module 1 Module 2 Module 3 (+1) MODULES 1-2 Gau: Traceuse Outline Module 1 Module 2 Auralsaurus Rex: Stock Sharks Outline Module 1 Module 2 blastron: Justice Is Blind Outline Module 1 Module 2 willing to settle and Helena P. Blavatsky: Arcana Outline Module 1 Module 2 MODULE 1 TK-31: Psychodrive Outline Module 1 FM: Due Process Outline Module 1 PublicOpinion: The Mage-Lords of Arymavon Outline Module 1 thanthos: Lil' Eldritch Horrors Ad Blurb Outline Module 1 Radioactive Bears: WORLD SERPENT!! and Rookies Rookies Outline Rookies Module 1 Other Thing Outline World Serpent Module 1 (+1) (+2) OUTLINE ONLY bahamut: Something Wicked This Way Comes Ad Blurb Outline DocBubonic: Troubling Dreams Outline piL: Princes of Ilan Outline GorfZaplen: It's Not the End of the World Outline Mikan: Roster Outline Man-Thing: Red Tape. Outline HiKaizer: Confucius Says: Don't Wake Up! Outline self_invention: Earth Needs Rock Stars Outline Capfalcon: Road Trip! Outline GenericGirlName: Sugar Cube Quest Outline LEFT EARLY PixelScum: Titans of the Ring and Inside the Dark Planet ZenMasterBullshit: We Are Amplified FewtureMD: Lawyered! WhitemageofDOOM: Monocles are mandatory Benedict: 1850s: The Lincoln Douglas Debates RPZip: "Fantasy political intrigue game will go here. Or Cthulu office politics." CloseFriend: MeldLine whoda thunkit: Zero Hour Undead Unicorn: Haunted Sion: ICE Breakers Benagain: Demiurge CHaKKaWaKka: PopCon Evil Sagan: Overruled Fuchi: Spin Namagem: Last of the Living Beer4TheBeerGod: Tailgate MadScientistWorking: Mystery at Owl Creek Cove
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Sep 24, 2012 07:12
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stevey666 posted:Awesome work guys, congrats Ettin. Did anyone manage to upload any playthroughs of Retro? I'm interested in playing but I don't have to the chops to figure it out properly and need to see it in action. Aside from the audio somewhere in this thread I have no idea. Naturally I haven't had time to playtest my own game since.  Could still happen though!
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Oct 19, 2012 12:33
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