Fudge RPG NaGa Demon 2018, SGAM 2018, NaNoWriMo 2018!!!

Fudge RPG NaGa Demon 2018, SGAM 2018, NaNoWriMo 2018!!!

This one was really difficult, considering what I wanted to accomplish. 

I wanted to write a Fudge RPG based, solo game system, that was part adventure gamebook novel.

I've tested my gamebook system. I like the speed of character creation. I want to test the combat system more into the future. 

Certainly the system is very much influenced by my favorite game system from my teenage years. It however has the inner workings of Fudge system.

I hope to release the my fudge game system flavour, which is a 4dF one-roll-per-turn solo combat system and skill resolution today if possible.

It was quite the adventure challenge.

Day off to set up, reflect, plan, and evaluate.

Today I took time to try to set things up instead of writing.

A lot of time was spent researching decisions making, creativity techniques, and strategies to help with future writing.

Since this month so far I haven't released any new stuff created this month, I did release prior products and created new mixes and bundles.

It began with the release of 5e x 5 Fantasy Weapons & Armor II

https://www.rpgnow.com/product/201146/5e-x-5-Fantasy-Weapons--Armor-II
This is a book I made that served as a prize for 5ex5 Ezine #1 contributions. It has 100 total items including Asian weapons (ex katana, nunchaku), armor, some new clothing, and tools from PRD primarily that weren't in the original 5e x 5 Equipment & Treasures. I actually forgot about it until I was looking through my catalogue of stuff.

Premium 3 in one Flash RPG, Three Conflict RPG, and Deep Dive Engine

I think these three go well together and compliment each other.
https://www.rpgnow.com/product/257894/Premium-Flash-RPG-Three-Conflict-RPG--Deep-Dive-Engine-allinone

RPG Tools 6 bundle

https://www.rpgnow.com/product/258400/RPG-Tools-6-BUNDLE
Includes Character Flaw Generator, Deep Dive Engine, Scene Action Generator, Three Conflict Chain RPG, and Transition Scene Generator tools.

Elvish and Fairy Language bundle

I've been working with these languages a few years now. More languages are in my notes.
https://www.rpgnow.com/product/258581/Aioskoru-Elvish--Fairy-Languages-BUNDLE

Setting All-in-one

This was made to prepare for another possible book and to make the bundle more attractive.

https://www.rpgnow.com/product/258938/Setting-AllInOne

Parallel Open Gaming Systems Bundle

This is the three available open system books that focus on skill names, weapon damage, and armor values.
https://www.rpgnow.com/product/258981/Parallel-Open-Gaming-Systems--Skills--Fighting-Gear-BUNDLE

5e x 5 Deluxe Core bundle

This creates a 5 core + 1 more fantasy weapons with the monster art version of the Monster book. With Modern sometime early next year, hopefully this will do for the time being. I did mention that 2 new races for Modern of 8 new races, two will be from future (human & grey). I actually finished one race first draft today, worked on another, and mostly finished a third wont name yet. 5e x 5 people received an email naming two of the three. So that is about four and a half complete races or near complete.
https://www.rpgnow.com/product/259037/5e-x-5-Deluxe-Fantasy-Core--BUNDLE

Back to writing tomorrow. I'm past halfway and nearly on target for the first draft.

2nd week of writing

Progress so far

More typing, mapping, and drawing

Like a dam in the river, the free flowing spontaneous action swerves and turns, thoughts become words. The unknown becomes a challenge.

And here is my score so far.

That is the story of this last week.

When I started this writing, I only had vague plans and ideas about the initial setting, in an elf trading city in the southern elf lands. I picked one place on the map and created a trading city. I knew what type of game structure I wanted to create and also that I would try using Fudge RPG system. I wanted to have it be a character origin type story. Everything else would be created using mostly discovery writing-technique since I had no NPCs, no established settings, and no history created.

I posted this at the NaGa Demon event Fudge RPG on MeWe page late last night, for more details.

*****************************************************************************

Assessing my progress so far with the bulk of the story of the game. I've covered the one major city, most of one major town, finished one small village, and starting the minor town, did one small cave, random encounters for the area, have written 4 major clues about the story, added one helpful tool hidden. I've started two or three side story arcs I'm not sure where they are going yet.

62 pages currently of 22,000 words total.

Out of 94 current sections outlined, 66 are to the 1st draft state, 17 are in the writing stage, and 11 are still in outline state. I'm guessing I will add at least 70 to 100 more sections at least.

About day 8, I noticed my speed slowing down as I approached the middle area not planned during my preparation. I've been grunting through the unknown, figuring that everything can be refined later. Just get something on paper first.

That's my update.

Halfway through the month is soon.

First week of Writing

My screen every day

Typing, mapping, and drawing

Like a free flowing spontaneous action, thoughts become words. And here is my score so far.

That is the story of this last week.

I haven't swam in the sea of Aioskoru since the map making and mythology days several years ago. A time before 5e x 5. Sure, Elvish and Fairy Languages are a part of Aioskoru. However, the language are more isolated right now than the maps, world guides, and creatures. Diving back into a story brings alive the maps, creature plans, and even weather that I did so long ago.

Writing stories brought me back to RPGs as my blog site mentions in the summary.

Writing brings back fuel, energy, and brings stuff alive.

After two years of mainly writing rules, languages, and random charts diving back into stories helps bring what the other books actual are about. The fantastic and cool stories that help us live mythical lives and see through different eyes for a brief moment of time

Character Mechanisms - creating character profile instructions (part 1)

Having added a character profile sheet to the Character Mechanisms book just after publishing the book, I never got around to making any sort of examples nor instructions.

This sounds like a good topic in the form of a challenge for a few posts.

Challenge

So, the challenge of this and maybe a few more posts is a challenge to create instructions and example of creating a character profile.

Character Mechanisms

$16 sold individually worth of tools.

I put the character profile as a free download, since it might help get some more people interested in either the separate books or the full combined book

Scope

So, knowing the challenge, it's time to focus on figuring out how much work will be needed.

Different types of story characters

One factor that comes to mind is that for many of my tools, I mention a different between background, minor, major, and main characters.

• I should probably mention in the instructions a way to generate the different types of characters for stories.

Full coverage

For a main character, I probably need at least to fill in every category with something.

• All types of data should be covered.

Hierarchy and Prioritize

Since one piece of information isn't as important as other piece, I should figure out what is more important that the other information.

• Prioritize character information.

Time Deadline

Ideally, having this done before NaNoWriMo would be ideal. 

• Complete before November 1st, 2018 target.

Summary of challenge

So, for a few posts I hope to create instructions and examples for using the new character profile sheet for Character Mechanisms.

• for different types of characters
• covering all of the types of data
• with prioritized character information
• with a goal of completing before November 1st.

What primary reason do you play roleplaying games?

Imagination is what brought me back to roleplaying games.

Decade of virtual worlds

Massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs ) brought me a decade of limited images constructed by others. After a decade of socializing online and meeting others, from Everquest up until Lord of the Rings Online, computer role-playing games occupied part of my hobby time. Something was lacking. Something that I had before MMORPGs. To me, that was using my imagination.

All that I had from the computer gaming was pre-made settings and features.

Everything was handed to me.

Missing

What I was missing most was using my imagination.

Creativity first emerged in the urge to write a story. I hadn't written anything since putting down my rule and setting books decades earlier. I wanted to tell my own story, not participate in a limited story. The story I wanted is boundless, open, and free - not restricted by borders, pixels, reset times, and quest lines.

I had to write new ideas.

Writing

Two stories I wrote for national novel month.

Not long after the first novel and having written 200 pages of a new world, I wanted then to expand my long neglected imagination.

RPGs

I searched for my old system. MERP is gone.

I found newer, unknown to me, systems: Fudge, Fate, 5e, PF, among hundreds - maybe thousands.

Despite different rules that focused on different parts of gaming, my imagination remains a common thread throughout all of the games.

Imagination.

I posed this question in Lone Wolf Roleplaying which is a great community of gamers that focus on solo roleplaying.

Although there is a poll with numbers showing at this time some number from the poll and that many of the people list imagination as well, I assume that users have multiple reasons for playing the games. The comments show multiple reasons, although my questionnaire only allows one answer.

My other reasons for playing RPGs.
If I put my reasons in order, a second it would be setting (playing in interesting settings), and third would be action (exploring new and exciting types of action), followed by rules (trying interesting focused rules).

Through this past year, I've been using solo roleplaying techniques in my story writing. My first two novel month writings were done using built structures primarily Dramatica mixed with snowflake method of novel creation. The past year I've mixed in my rekindled interest in roleplaying games and found solo roleplaying games. They are a friendly community, unlike other communities I have encountered which are protective.

What primary reason do you play roleplaying games?

This informal question wasn't to find a right or wrong answer. In fact, I tried to mention that there is no correct answer since the reasons for playing are depend on the individual. It's just to create a discussion and see how why others say that they play roleplaying games. The other blogs had things like to improve memory, to use your imagination, for creative problem solving, for high action combat, and for socializing, for fun, fan of setting, the rules, or coerced into playing, etc.

Given only 5 choices and knowing that this is a solo gaming community, I chose five somewhat summary descriptions: action, imagination, challenge, setting, and rules. I didn't think this would cover everything, but there is also room to comment and add missing reasons.

The other choices and suggestions

I may in the future write about about the other reasons for playing roleplaying games.

2015 World of the Fifth Sun summary

This year has been very fruitful with several interesting results. First I'll review what happened leading up to 2016, and then the next post highlights of 2016. In the third post I will do a post that is looking forward into 2017 and beyond - more of a hopes, goals, and challenges post.

WotFS 2015

I began World of the Fifth Sun on March 13, 2015.
Exploring into RPG engine source documents
In that post I was looking for a rules system to maybe support the world that I had created during the November Nanowrimo. I had started looking into rules systems late summer of 2014 before writing Song and Fire, my first attempt at a fantasy novel. The Fudge rule system seemed interesting. I used it to attempt to create two Fudge rule sets over the time since, which have never been used or entirely fleshed out.

Later that month I wrote a personality post which discussed using the stats with modern five factor personality theory. Modern personality theory was in my mind carrying over from the character creation notes and systems which helped create my fictional characters. I found that personality theory really helped me create several unique characters based on personality types rather than basing it on real life people that I know.

Some of this character personality work would end up as sections influencing my Stories vs RPGs series which I put into an Ebook format in 2016. My Fudge personality post is likely being added into the Fudge Compendium which may be published soon.

June of 2015 I looked into Fate Accelerated, drawn by the simple and more compact rules system. 

July  of 2015, after ordering FAE and RMX which I had decided to purchase in late June, while I was waiting for it to arrive I spent time looking for RMX stuff on ICE's forum and looked at the updated beta 2 RMU file and was drawn back to RMU. I had sworn off RMU the year prior due to a format that is written for someone who already knows the RM system. This new version was easier to understand and had a better learning curve - which since then is being reversed unfortunately from what I read by the powers that be. Most likely the final RMU will be as clunky, blocky, and user unfriendly as the RMSS that proceeded it.

Instead of playing RMX which I ordered because of a review that said it was similar to MERP, I ended up test playing RMU and doing a thorough review on ICE Forums. I gave my feedback and 2 cents of input from a returning GM perspective and former MERP GM.

October 28 I began trying to build Aioskoru using online random content generators and learning to expand map techniques. 

November of 2015 for Nanowrimo I wrote the compiled collection of tales for my world which acts as a prequel to Song and Fire. Two of the tales written I released in a two short-story book called Worn and Lanic.  The remaining stories have yet to be released.

Mid December I started trying to make city maps. Two of my attempts were later designated for Melos and Denusos. 

December 15, 2015 I've been working on maps for Aioskoru.

Despite looking into city maps, I continued trying to make better and more detailed Aioskoru region maps. The next day I put together information that I had gathered in late October and November making maps and experimenting with graphical processes started my Quick free world maps using GIMP filters and Donjon fractal maps series of posts.

In my experiments I came across a radical breakthrough technique which brought me closer to knowing how to do what I wanted to do with the maps - greater details found within the free maps. This was the technique used to make topographical maps, which became the focus for the book along with the 3D bump maps. This is the Melos region which I posted on December 20, 2015.

On December 23, 2015 I made and posted two pictures which I would use later for the Aioskoru World Guide and the Aioskoru OGL Maps.

On December 28th, 2015, I ended the year by choosing a logo for the world.

So these events leads up to the beginning of this year 2016. Although many of these things were last year, they would help influence and be used in several projects/posts studied and created this year.

In the next post, I will look at World of the Fifth Sun in 2016.