Diary of a Failed Game Designer

Ok, I have to admit I feel a bit dirty typing this. I hate spell lists. (A door slams violently as Otto leaves the room.) Whopping huge lists of spells are sort of my great D&D buggaboo. I know lately I have picked on hit points allot, but honestly I have no real beef with hit points. I can look hit points in the eye and say, "Buddy no one understands you and you kind of  smell like old Doritos's but I still love ya" and be done with it. Show me an endless list of  spells collected by "school" or in alphabetical order and I have no such  understanding. My eyes glaze over. This cow is so much a baller. Whats worse the  spells are one of the  great D&D unspoken sacred cows. DON'T MESS WITH THE SPELLS or for better or worse it's just not D&D any more. I just grabbed my print version of OSRIC off the shelf the spells chapter runs from 35 to 120. (book total is a hefty 396 pages I think that's around 21 percent of the book.) Fifth edition Play

I have not posted for a few days, Been working through some ideas and want to work a bit on the  blog it's self: I plan on taking this weekend (I hope) to  tag every post in the blog and  organize them so that they can be  viewed by any one interested a bit more easily. Also I have to cut back and redo the blog roll as it's a bit unwieldy. I may even  fiddle with the template a bit. Who knows. -Mark.

The thing that keeps me coming back to  this blog, and  to the whole act of "making game stuff and sharing it" is that there seems to be no limit to the number of idea inspiring material floating around the internet. Before I start this post I want to point out some of the things that have lead me to start thinking about hit points again. These replies from +ktrey parker. In reply to this post Such as: "I use HD a bit differently, and Players don't roll their HP for a given battle until it starts. Definitely informs play." And: " I like to keep HP abstract, and combat a dangerous proposition even for a high level fighter (when all those d8s come up 1s, tactics change). Players don't  have a "buffer" when they face off with something, so combat is always a risky proposition. Those goblins might be really tough and vicious, going in straight for the kill, or not. Not knowing until the battle starts leads to a more cautious style of play. "

The Southeastern Moor: Population density and distribution: Sparse up to  20 per square mile, but concentrated in small family groups. Humanoid groups: Gnolls (rare) Goblins (rare) Imports: live stock, wood, finished products, any and all mettle goods. Exports: few, their wool is well regraded as is their  knitted goods. Medicinal mushrooms. crafts : Area is known for their fine antler and horn carvings. Travel: A party would be wise to hire a guide to use the skills of a ranger, the  moors are dangerous to travel  when ill prepared. Government: Uncontrolled / tribal Lying due south of Torin, just east of the old dwarf trade road lies a vast moor. This area of broken and sodden ground stretches for miles to into the south and east, nearly to the southerner most boarder where the  land slowly drys out becomes arid. interior of a large hill temple and home, Credit below * Very few live within the  borders of the moor, those who do live in isolated clans of up to 20 individuals, who l

So is it possible to not like your own game? If you have been reading this blog lately you may have seen this post about Nova 74. In that post I made a promise to co back and talk about the games subject matter in a somewhat intelligent manner. Here it goes. The game Nova 74 takes on gritty 70's action cinema. Particularly the kind that were set in the inner cities, and based even if loosely on the real world. In other words the game is more “Death Wish” and “Mean Streets” and less 70's campy horror like “Count Yorga Vampire”, or even “The house that Dripped Blood.” which means right away the game deals with a gritty real life and death aesthetic. Because it is set in the world of 70's cinema it also drags in movies like “Shaft”, “ “Coffee”, “Super Fly”, “Black Gun” and so on. I'm trying to stay away from simple Gridhouse “Best Friends”, “Delirium”, (anything pumped out by Crown International) because I’m not a fan. Which throws the focus right back on the

Try this once. Don't track hit points. Every time a player character is hit by an attack  describe the wound the player takes. Tell them some negative effect it has. You took a wound to your sword arm you have to switch to your off hand, what do you do? You took that wound to your leg your movement is halved, you're bleeding, what do you do?  That blow hit your back pack, you can hear a potion bottle or oil flask shatter, what do you do? You shield has cracked what do you do? You have been disarmed what do you do? The left most shoulder strap on your chest plate has been severed. It's hanging limp and  impeding your  actions, your going to have to refasten it to loose the chest plate, what do you do? You take a stiff blow to the  chest knocking the wind out of you, what do you do? A minor cut to the cheek, that's going to leave a mark, what do you do? The enemy has caught i't weapon in your cloak tangling the two of you momentarily, what do you do? The enemy has bru