Blogs and Conversations

I shouldn't have asked that question in yesterday's post. Why? Because Blogs aren't about conversation. They are about monologues - some idiot saying something, and everyone else watching/reading/listening. Blogs are a form of passive entertainment, like reading an article in the paper, or watching TV.

This is why I never wanted to do a blog in the first place. My ego isn't big enough to assume that what I find fascinating is of any particular interest to anyone else. Monologues liek this are an energy sink hole for me. It's a huge effort to write a Blog for me. Why? It's a monologue. I feel like I'm talking to the wind. Why am I doing this? Because as a game designer/publisher, being without a blog these days is like being without pants. This is a necessary evil I must do to continue doing other stuff I love.

Conversations, on the other hand, give me energy rather than sucking it all out. Talking with someone - as opposed to talking to someone - gives me something to work with, a different voice with different ideas, and different ways of looking at things. I love conversations!

-clash

After Outremer - What?

I've begun working on Outremer again as ToI gets ready to release. I've finished four illos in the last week - including the one I popped up here before Christmas - which had been in various near finished states. I have begun writing it again as well. I need to write up the Kingdoms of Jerusalem and Armenia to wrap up my countries, then finish the Adventure Generator, the Djinn section, and Chargen before it will be ready to playtest. So - ToI in January, Outremer late in Q1.

After Outremer, what?

The Pre-Cluster Solar Setting for SC3?
In Harm's Way; Pigboats WWII Subs?
In Harm's Way: MiGs and Sabres Korea-Vietnam jets?
In Harm's Way: Frozen Chosin Korea ground combat?
Lowell Was Right - the strange solar SF setting that extrapolates 1900 science to the 21st century?

What would you all like to see?

-clash

An Illo from Outremer

I enjoyed painting this one! Hope you all enjoy it too!

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night! :D

-clash

ToI Opponent Ballplayers

I've made a decision on ToI. I have created a table which - with one roll of a d20 - you can create an opposition ballplayer - sort of a generic NPC. The roll's modified by the type of team you are facing - Elite, Struggling, etc. - so your roll goes from 0 to 24, with anything above 20 being reserved to increasingly better teams as the number climbs. while the reverse happens at 1-4. The roll outputs a stream of stats, enough to play the ballplayer in the field or at bat.

I will also be setting up one or more sample teams for free download. Anyone else is, of course, welcome to set up their own teams for DL. If enough people do this, I can collect links to them online, and there will be many teams to choose from!

-clash

ToI Playtest Changes

I've eliminated Initiative and Complex problems and Solutions at the advice of one of my playtesters, Gonster, and at the confirmation of my players. Basically, initiative would be so rarely used, it wouldn't be worth the confusion it might cause if included. Complex Problems and Solutions would just never occur. I had waffled back and forth about deleting them before, but now I'm convinced they are just not necessary. I also took out the Starpool illo and replaced it with an illo of a guy going out flat to catch a sinking liner I had painted the day before. Now I have four illos - Pitching, Batting, Baserunning, and Fielding.

I am wondering if I should include a sample team, or whether I should just offer it as a free download. It will require making the game a bit longer, and I don't know if I should. Right now it's at 45 pages, and that seems about right. As designer of two games more than ten times as long this year - In Harm's Way: StarCluster and StarCluster 3 - it's nice to know I *can* make a short game if it suits the subject matter! :D

-clash

Tools of Ignorance ready for Beta Testing

Anyone interested in Beta Testing ToI?

-clash

As a designer, and as a GM - The RAW truth

As a designer:
It's my *job* to make sure the game runs just fine as written.

It's my *responsibility* to make a system framework that is solid enough that it can stand a hellova lot of twisting and warping without breaking.

It's my *honor* to supply alternate rules in the game that can be slotted in, yanked out, and used with no further work, so folks can configure things the way they like.

It is my *pleasure* to give folks tools that can change the setting safely, without any fear on their part of breaking anything.

As a GM:

It is my *right* to screw around as much as I want with rules, whether or not the designer allows for it.