Bastard Sword!

I've slightly revised the first draft of the Bastard Sword rules (for you few who saw it elsewhere first), though these changes primarily consist of grammar and spelling correction. The only notable mechanical changes are the addition of the Engineer skill set and the re-calculation of required Successes needed to achieve goals when resolving action (Extremely Difficult actions now require 4 Successes, Nearly Impossible actions require 6). You can download the second revision of the Bastard Sword rules to the right, in the blog's file section.

This is pretty much the crunchiest game I have worked on to date — and by "crunchy," I mean that the mechanics are more complex when compared to those in my past game design efforts. This isn't to say that they're overly complex. They're not. They're just a new level of complex for me. Keeping this in mind, I'd be interested in hearing any feedback that you have to offer on the rules, as this is entirely new ground for me.

Attention Deficit Disorder and Game Design

Well, I'm afraid that anything ZIP-related is on hold for a wee bit as my attention has drifted back to an older, unfinished, project of mine entitled "Bastard Sword." These are the perils of ADD and, this being the case, I suspect that the blog will slowly transform into the "Miscellaneous Debris" blog, rather than one dedicated entirely to ZIP. I decided to get a jump on. . . myself. . . and retitle the blog accordingly.

As for what Bastard Sword is, it's a "fantasy heartbreaker" in the truest sense of the word — a rules-light, human-centric, fantasy role playing game with a high mortality rate, sorcery based loosely on rituals of The Golden Dawn, and science as magic slowly creeping into the setting (zeppelin-like airships, flintlock firearms, etc). I'll be posting the rough draft of the rules (sans setting) very shortly. It offers a few new ideas, but it's ultimately just Harnworld with fewer fussy bits, more technology, and a tinge of Lovecraftian horror (hence the "heartbreaker" bit).

ZIP Supplement 2 in the works!

I apologize for being away so long, but the good news is that I've been busy! I'm currently in the process of typesetting ZIP Supplement 2: Rookhaven, another work of mine culled from old notebooks. It was initially inspired by the original Ravenloft boxed set, as well as by the works of H.P. Lovecraft (which I had just discovered at the time).

Once a part of Hawkmoor, the realm of Rookhaven was removed from that world, as a protective measure, during the Age of Magic by the sage who ruled it (he believed that the world was coming to an end). Since that time, it has remained apart from Hawkmoor, though as the sage's health and sanity has declined, so has Rookhaven. It is no longer a shelter, but a prison.

As I complete more work on the document, I will be sure to post updates.

Urutsk: Petal Thrones For The New Millenium?

I stumbled across this the other day and committed to blog about it when I had some free time, so here I am. The brainchild of Kyrinn S. Eis, Urutsk is a strange, alien, fantasy world that isn't easily compared to simple medieval analogues such as Greyhawk or The Forgotten Realms. Characters play mutated humans (the product of eugenics) in a strange world populated by giant bugs and other beasties more befitting a Science Fiction novel than Medieval Europe.

While Urutsk isn't yet finished, the naming conventions of the setting, the mechanics, and the flavor text all combine to create an offering unlike anything else to have risen from the Old School Renaissance. Urutsk isn't just another clone. It manages to be fresh, exciting, and new — while also harkening back to the strange, alien, wonder of TSR's second oldest role playing game. If you get a chance, you simply must give Urutsk a look.

ZIP Supplement I: Hawkmoor

After a further week of editing and final touch-up, I present to you the first supplement for ZIP. In Supplement I: Hawkmoor, you will find a world of fantasy adventure that pays homage to the early days of our hobby while adding enough new twists to keep things fresh. Any constructive feedback that you have to offer would, of course, be much appreciated.

Quick Update and First Look at Supplement 1

I've been a bit under the weather with strep throat followed by a killer sinus infection, but during this time I've had a chance to finalize a first draft of ZIP Supplement 1: Hawkmoor.

Hawkmoor is a fantasy supplement for ZIP in the vein of the original Dungeons & Dragons supplements Greyhawk and Blackmoor, though it's not just another retread with the serial numbers filed off. Now, I'm all for old-school settings, but back when I was running Hawkmoor everybody seemed to be reinventing the same old wheel and simply calling it something different. I didn't really want or need multiple clones of settings that I already owned, so I designed Hawkmoor with a few specific goals in mind.

First, Hawkmoor is an implied setting, just like the original Greyhawk and Blackmoor. That is, the setting is conveyed via rules (in this case, racial archetypes, occupational archetypes, a magic system, monsters, and so forth). Second, I wanted to take common conventions of classic D&D and turn them on their heads — for example, Hawkmoor has magic, but it's not 'fire and forget magic; Hawkmoor has werewolves, but they're in thrall to evil sorcerers; Hawkmoor has priests, but they don't cast spells (although they do heal); and so on.

So, Hawkmoor is an homage to original D&D, not a simple copy and paste job. It's not a retro-clone. And as soon as I give it a couple of editing passes, I'll post it for download.

Some Questions & Answers!

Within a few short hours of my initial posting to this blog, I've already had a few questions asked of me with regard to the ZIP rules. I figured that I could save us all some time if I reposted them here, along with my answers. So. . . uh. . . here they are!

Q: Is there supposed to be any sort of defined mechanical effect of attributes, weaknesses, and goals?

A: There is not supposed to be a pre-defined mechanical effect for attributes, weaknesses, and goals. These things may, however, be considered when applying roll adjustments as discussed in the "Getting Things Done" section of the ZIP core rules document. Although I only included one example (using an archetype) due to space constraints, all other character aspects work the same way, with the Referee granting roll adjustments as he sees fit.

Q: Are they (attributes) supposed to be taken into account as part of the narration of the game?

A: They should be taken into account as part of the narration. Or, at least, I take them into account as part of the narration.

Q: If so, how?

A: If a character has, for example, an attribute like "Wilts Small Plants in Immediate Vicinity" then they wilt small plants in their immediate vicinity. Similarly if they have the attribute "Casts Necromantic Spells," then they can cast necromantic spells. It's so simple a concept that people often think that there must be more to it than that, but there really isn't.

Q: These rules are really lite. Can I really play a game with them?

A: Yes, you can play a game using the ZIP core rules. I've been doing it for years. That said, the reason that the ZIP core rules are so open is that they are only the core concepts (i.e., rules stripped of all possible genre or setting-specific restrictions). The idea is to present an extremely light framework that can be altered in many different ways, both mechanically and conceptually, to create widely divergent play experiences (hence the "experiment" part of this design blog).

Individual supplements* will expand on the basic rules insofar as the 'laws' of a given setting or milieu apply. For example, in Supplement I (an 'old school'-ish homage to Original D&D), there are some strictly defined lists of archetypes to choose from, as well as restrictions on magical attributes and divine gifts. It's basically OD&D re-engineered with a more narrative bent and, so, enforces many tenets you would expect to find therein. I'll post more about it in the coming week.

*Yes, I have supplements in the pipes based on the games that I've run using these rules.