Highlybread

I tried and failed to finish working on the surrounding gardens of Hoarblight Keep before doing the keep itself.

Im using it as an excuse to try going through @riseupcomus.bsky.social 's dungeon design course, and having a fun time. Having fun trying to capture the farietale castle feel.

Often TTRPGs are just an excuse to give your friends gifts.

One of my players Loves dragons 🐉, and I recently gave him the gift that his characters would always be able to speak to dragons in my games.

The smile on his face! What a great gift that cost me Nothing to give.

Im currently working on how to represent the surrounding gardens by stealing from Gardens of Ynn, but making it its own little thing.

Im building it around an escalating chance of getting lost. I'l post it when its presentable.

My current fixation is ideating on how to make my version of Hoarblight Keep for Dolmenwood.

I dissagree with making it a megadungeon, it would be big, but it would crucially be a Funhouse dungeon, but like, freaky frozen faerietale.

Some thoughts on rules for sending mail in #Dolmenwood and #OSR games.

Thanks!

Some thoughts on rules for sending mail in #Dolmenwood and #OSR games.

They found it while sneaking through the ruined abbey of St. Clewyd in my Dolmenwood game.

One them already used it to call her mom, but since it was at night and she was asleep, we played it as her thinking it was just part of her dream.

The Motherlocket might benmy new favorite minor magic item, not only did i got to ask my player what their PCs' moms look like, but it also gives the fun opportunities for them to phone home once a day.

Can't wait to see what nonsense follows from this.

Using skill point advancements but Sanity/Hope depreciation as you age, this also allows a party of differently aged PCs, as age is a tradeoff between the two phases, with older PCs more skilled but more jaded with more vulnerable sense of self, as in the movie.

Tech advances and historical events could be done either as a deck of prompt cards or progress trackers, representing things like advances in weapons or communicatiom tech, opening new skills; or world events, like grand wars or inquisitions, that modify following missions.

This would require leaving behind the lush timeperiod depth of most gumshoe games, and leaving it more open to the group in the moment.

As for the time aspect, I like idea of being able to cover a large span of time over the course of a campaign, but this requires embrasing some active alternate history. Im thinking the rules caring less about what year it is, and more leaving that up to the group.

I like the idea this action invulnerability leveraged for good in the missions, while also having the vulnerabilities of trying to not lose yourself as the centuries go by.

During the timeskips, these pillars can get messed with, perhaps prompting a scene or mini-pseudo mission, but most of the time shit just happens. Ideals and symbols can be tarnished and corrupted, while people can fall out with you, become threatened, or simply just die.

The clever thing about the Sanity system, is that every three points have to be tied to something specific in the world, a Pillar. This can be abstract like a symbol or ideal, or concrete like a person. Each is fallible in its own way and are the PCs main vulnerabilities.

Here is where I want to expand on the quite good Stability/Sanity system from NBA/Gumshoe. This will function as the de facto longterm health stat of the PCs, becoming harder and harder to maintain the more ancient you become.

In the timeskip phases, PCs get to renew their resourses and gain new skill points. But time also progresses, with consequenses for failed missions, but also general prompt events as in TYOV, both for the world in general and personally for the PCs.

The action of the mission will unfold as in NBA, where the PCs gotta use everything they have at their disposal. I would still have a HP stat, but instead of resulting in death, its a list of cumulative debuffs, which slowly ticks back up over time, in effect slowing you down.

This also adds a level of investigation and information gathering to the beginning of each mission, where the PCs have to figure out how to achieve their goal.

Im gonna steal the vague prophetic dreams from the movie, this being what begins each mission, giving them glimpses of some terrible thing yet to happen, which they must stop before its too late.

I really want to capture the feeling of being a centuries old immortal, while still being able to challenge the PCs.

Im thinking of doing this by having the missions themselves be essentially no-win scenarios, only possible bc of the PCs immortality, but where failure is still on the table.

I recently rewatched The Old Guard, and got possessed with the question of how to adapt it to a ttrpg.

Im thinking a phase based game that switches between action heavy missions, similar to Nights Black Agents, and more abstract timeskip segments, similar to Thousand Year Old Vampire.

Honestly i fully admit to being hooked by it mostly because i fell in love with its very specific take on farietale fantasy, which to me seemed much more fun than more fantasyland osr stuff. But thats entirely personal to me.

I do really like the lush amount of detail to go with the OSR simplicity

The White Flash, the Silicon Ghost. Enter the first Rival sent from the ranks of UNISOL: Veladrankho, the memonek shadow

#drawsteel #mcdm #digitalart

The most decorated sniper of the Protean Wars - now a veteran in disgrace, stripped of the rank. And ready for vengeance.
Here is the second Rival to join the fray: Sirenatthva, the memonek tactician

1/🧵
#drawsteel #mcdm #digitalart

His judgement burns like the very stars, his mantle shines as bright.
The will of the Far Gods, incarnate.
Here is the third Rival sent from the upper planes: Adjudicator 9, the memonek censor

1/🧵
#drawsteel #mcdm #digitalart

From the dark depths of Hell to the shining heights of Axiom, the Time Witch is UNISOL’s most prized prisoner. Until it keeps aligning with her plans…

The team is close to complete, and has its fourth Rival: her majesty, THE ASSET

1/🧵
#drawsteel #mcdm #digitalart

(Actually quite proud of it!!)

Its out to backers on pdf, they had a bunch of trouble with the printing because of [gestures vaguely at everything going on], but from the most recent updates it should be nearing fullfilment.
Tbh, I mostly just care about the pdfs, and so to me its out and ive started a fun little campaign w it.

This really sounds like a helping hand for the GM’s imagination, something that is always welcome. It’s crazy how little things go a long way. Dolmenwood has been a buzzword for a while but I’m afraid I am out of the OSR loop: is it out yet?