tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-65265765225701660102024-03-05T20:09:27.479-08:00Zadmar's Savage StuffRichard Woolcockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16738523963280329505noreply@blogger.comBlogger224125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6526576522570166010.post-84202673039393501112023-12-26T14:30:00.000-08:002023-12-26T14:34:35.489-08:00Tricube Tales sales figures for 2023<p style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://savage-stuff.blogspot.com/2022/12/tricube-tales-sales-figures-for-last.html"><b>Last year</b></a> I provided a breakdown of the <b><a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/294202/Tricube-Tales?affiliate_id=311146">Tricube Tales</a></b> sales figures for 2022, so I thought it was about time I did the same for 2023.</p><h2 style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">Total Sales per Month</span></h2><p style="text-align: justify;">Here are the total sales for the entire product line since last year (I've included December from last year as well, as it wasn't complete in my previous blog post).</p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><ul><li><b>Dec 2022: </b>629</li><li><b>Jan 2023: </b>1010</li><li><b>Feb 2023: </b>1263</li><li><b>Mar 2023: </b>1088</li><li><b>Apr 2023: </b>1719 (includes Deal of the Day)</li><li><b>May 2023: </b>1268</li><li><b>Jun 2023: </b>680</li><li><b>Jul 2023: </b>869</li><li><b>Aug 2023: </b>611</li><li><b>Sep 2023: </b>677</li><li><b>Oct 2023: </b>1031</li><li><b>Nov 2023: </b>787</li><li><b>Dec 2023: </b>986 (with another 5 days to go)</li></ul><p></p><h2 style="text-align: justify;"><b>Breakdown by Product</b></h2><p style="text-align: justify;">Here is a breakdown of the total sales figures for the main products:</p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><ul><li><b>Tricube Tales (core rules): </b>2128 sales since 2019-11-08</li><li><b>Solo Rules & Deck: </b>1323 sales since 2021-05-14</li></ul><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">These are the "payment optional" products on DTRPG (in order of publication) -- people can download them for free, but I'm only tracking actual sales where people paid for them:</p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><ul><li><b>Goblin Gangsters: </b>757 sales since 2020-08-27</li><li><b>Samhain Slaughter: </b>787 sales since 2020-10-08</li><li><b>Chrome Shells & Neon Streets: </b>915 sales since 2020-11-21</li><li><b>Metahuman Uprising: </b>829 sales since 2020-12-28</li><li><b>Rotten Odds: </b>762 sales since 2021-01-31</li><li><b>Tales of the Goblin Horde: </b>763 sales since 2021-04-01</li><li><b>Wardens of the Weird West: </b>816 sales since 2021-06-12</li><li><b>Firefighters: </b>744 sales since 2021-07-06</li><li><b>Horrible Henchmen: </b>731 sales since 2021-08-13</li><li><b>Pirates of the Bone Blade: </b>778 sales since 2021-09-15</li><li><b>Eldritch Detectives: </b>859 sales since 2021-10-30</li><li><b>Wiseguys: Gangster Tales: </b>698 sales since 2021-11-20</li><li><b>Interstellar Mech War: </b>774 sales since 2021-11-30</li><li><b>Voyage to the Isle of Skulls: </b>667 sales since 2021-12-31</li><li><b>Down in the Depths: </b>598 sales since 2022-01-24</li><li><b>Accursed: Dark Tales of Morden: </b>542 sales since 2022-02-17</li><li><b>Twisted Wishes: </b>588 sales since 2022-02-23</li><li><b>A Welsh Werewolf in Llanfair PG: </b>625 sales since 2022-04-01</li><li><b>Interstellar Smugglers: </b>688 sales since 2022-05-04</li><li><b>Winter Eternal: Darkness and Ice: </b>503 sales since 2022-05-17</li><li><b>Sharp Knives & Dark Streets: </b>601 sales since 2022-05-31</li><li><b>Summer Camp Slayers: </b>546 sales since 2022-06-28</li><li><b>Titan Effect RPG: Covert Tales: </b>516 sales since 2022-07-20</li><li><b>Sundered Chains: </b>473 sales since 2022-08-07</li><li><b>Stranger Tales: </b>494 sales since 2022-10-06</li><li><b>Minerunners: </b>451 sales since 2022-11-01</li><li><b>Spellrunners: </b>483 sales since 2022-11-22</li><li><b>Christmas Capers: </b>412 sales since 2022-12-18</li><li><b>Heroes of Sherwood Forest: </b>398 sales since 2023-01-28</li><li><b>Tales of the Little Adventurers: </b>344 sales since 2023-02-19</li><li><b>Tales of the City Guard: </b>328 sales since 2023-03-26</li><li><b>Maidenstead Mysteries: </b>313 sales since 2023-04-19</li><li><b>Interstellar Rebels: </b>315 sales since 2023-05-04</li><li><b>Hunters of Victorian London: </b>269 sales since 2023-05-29</li><li><b>Stone Age Hunters: </b>225 sales since 2023-06-23</li><li><b>Paths Between the Stars: </b>225 sales since 2023-07-01</li><li><b>Mythical Heroes: </b>169 sales since 2023-09-15</li><li><b>Academy of Monstrous Secrets: </b>105 sales since 2023-10-29</li><li><b>Eldritch Apocalypse: </b>75 sales since 2023-12-07</li></ul><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">These are the DTRPG freebies (in order of publication) -- I like to have a few free products to build up my mailing list. However, since I've added a print-on-demand option, they now have a few sales as well:</p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><ul><li><b>Interstellar Bounty Hunters: </b>3684 downloads (and 19 print sales) since 2020-09-29</li><li><b>Welcome to Drakonheim: </b>2372 downloads (and 11 print sales) since 2021-03-10</li><li><b>Interstellar Troopers: </b>3018 downloads (and 17 print sales) since 2021-04-26</li><li><b>Interstellar Laser Knights: </b>2830 downloads (and 14 print sales) since 2021-05-04</li></ul><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">I also have a few freebies on Itch, which I entered into Jams. Here they are, once again listed in order of publication:</p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><ul><li><b>The Fools Who Follow: </b>989 downloads since 2020-07-29</li><li><b>Deep Trouble in Oldport Bay: </b>625 downloads since 2021-02-20</li><li><b>Halfling Hustlers: </b>306 downloads since 2021-07-03</li><li><b>Guardians of the Shadow Frontier: </b>735 downloads since 2021-07-31</li><li><b>Interstellar Explorers: </b>519 downloads since 2022-08-02</li><li><b>Arcane Agents: </b>156 downloads since 2023-08-15</li></ul><p></p><h2 style="text-align: justify;">Some Thoughts</h2><p style="text-align: justify;">In the past, when I published new products they <i>initially </i>sold well, but those sales rapidly dwindled to a mere trickle. However, the one-pagers seem to continue to sell well long after publication. I suspect this is because I add each new release to the Tricube Tales Bundle, and many new customers will buy the entire bundle (at half price) rather than pick up an individual product.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Last year, the best-selling one-pager (Chrome Shells & Neon Streets) hit Gold Best Seller with 561 sales, and 18 others reached Electrum Best Seller. This year, 23 of the one-pagers have hit Gold Best Seller, and Chrome Shells & Neon Streets is rapidly closing on Platinum. The main Tricube Tales book is also marching steadily toward Mithral Best Seller -- it had 1063 sales last year, and a further 1065 sales this year, so if it continues to sell at the current rate it should hit Mithral in about 5 months.</p><div style="text-align: justify;"><div>This year I also started offering print-on-demand versions of the one-pagers, although they don't sell particularly well compared to the digital versions -- I've sold 434 in total so far, which might seem a lot, but probably doesn't even cover the cost of printing and shipping the print proofs. Still, they look great (printed on 10"x8" double-sided cards), particularly in video reviews, and sales figures jump whenever someone posts a video review.</div><div><br /></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I've also reached the point where my Tricube Tales products significantly outsell my SWAG products, which is something of a personal milestone. However, I am still a fan of Savage Worlds, and plan to continue releasing SWAG products from time to time -- I've already converted two of the Tricube Tales one-pagers to SWADE, and have plans for at least a couple more.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><h2 style="text-align: justify;">What's Next?</h2><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Last year I mentioned that I was working on Tricube Tactics, which is an optional supplement that adds deeper combat and character progression to Tricube Tales. I'd originally hoped to release it this year, but it's taken a lot more fine-tuning and playtesting than I thought. However, I've already started doing the layout, and there's really just one section I still need to finish writing (the monster section), so I'm very optimistic about finishing it next year. I'm hoping Tricube Tactics will give the system greater appeal to those who felt Tricube Tales was too light for their tastes.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Once Tricube Tactics is finished, I'm also quite keen to use it for a Saga of the Goblin Horde conversion -- perhaps even publish a standalone "Saga of the Goblin Horde" game that includes the Tricube Tales and Tricube Tactics rules.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Of course, I also plan to continue releasing new one-pagers, as this approach seems to be highly effective at keeping the system in the public eye (and it's fun to explore all sorts of different settings and genres!). But I think it would be nice to publish a larger TT product as well, and SotGH is an obvious candidate. Still, I may also experiment with some other larger products -- I've seen a few third-party publishers create TT booklets, and I've got an interesting idea for a fantasy game in the same style.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Finally, I'm planning to start posting on this blog more regularly. I used to post on it a lot the first few years, but this year I've posted a grand total of once (i.e., this post!). There are quite a few topics I'd like to post about for Tricube Tactics, as it allows me to explore game mechanics in a way that wasn't really possible with the core rules-lite Tricube Tales.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj70qXohhEr_TacQSiQodHMbmMd_v7z1IhEL9TD8iBW1n63YqhZLkwYba8DXysJH-0hVAb2XgIHGFNaBXRSZH5637TjG-F08P4eTvYRrlmhTiTlvx08_YSGgJwC1cf-HUOzvrTB48MJPfEG_uEiFwmvSTpPh_YfvWsW_L6Z9hT9pVoSCZxuIZzptTeB8R6c/s900/TT_Spread_49.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="805" data-original-width="900" height="462" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj70qXohhEr_TacQSiQodHMbmMd_v7z1IhEL9TD8iBW1n63YqhZLkwYba8DXysJH-0hVAb2XgIHGFNaBXRSZH5637TjG-F08P4eTvYRrlmhTiTlvx08_YSGgJwC1cf-HUOzvrTB48MJPfEG_uEiFwmvSTpPh_YfvWsW_L6Z9hT9pVoSCZxuIZzptTeB8R6c/w516-h462/TT_Spread_49.jpg" width="516" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div>Richard Woolcockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16738523963280329505noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6526576522570166010.post-64949662595813271442022-12-28T06:01:00.001-08:002022-12-28T06:02:14.285-08:00Tricube Tales: Third-party products<p style="text-align: justify;">I always announce new Tricube Tales products I've worked on as I add them to my bundle, but as the system is released under the CC BY 3.0 open license, an increasing number of other indie publishers have started using it for their own creations.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Therefore, as we approach the end of 2022, I'd like to shine a spotlight on some of the fantastic third-party Tricube Tales creations that people may have missed on DriveThruRPG. Some are one-pagers in the same style as mine, while others are expanded settings, and many are free or PWYW. If you like Tricube Tales and are looking for more content, I strongly recommend checking out these offerings (not listed in any particular order):</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b><a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/313868/Heroes-of-the-Cosmos">Heroes of the Cosmos</a>: </b>Blast off onto the unknown in this expanded 32-page space pulp action setting.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b><a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/391474/Artifacts--Adventure-ModernDay-Treasure-Hunters">Artifacts & Adventure: Modern-Day Treasure Hunters</a>: </b>Explore lost ruins and raid ancient tombs in this free 46-page scenario.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b><a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/382056/The-Last-Heist-Tricube-Tales-OnePage-RPG">The Last Heist</a>: </b>A team of senior citizens comes out of retirement for one last job.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b><a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/389709/Court-of-Callings--OnePage-Tricube-Tales-RPG">Court of Callings</a>: </b>Agents of the Court of Callings protect the medieval city of Southrock from internal and external threats.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b><a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/409660/66Psyclops-Tricube-Tales-OnePage-RPG-aka-SixSix-Psyclops">6.6.Psyclops</a>: </b>An elite team of psychically gifted soldiers undertakes secret missions across the globe.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b><a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/412147/Into-the-AfterGloaming">Into the After-Gloaming</a>: </b>Gritty survivors roam a post-apocalyptic landscape in this 46-page sandbox setting.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b><a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/391204/Here-on-Castaway-Island-Tricube-Tales-OnePage-RPG-PocketQuest-2022">Here on Castaway Island</a>: </b>A group of tourists finds themselves washed up on an uncharted desert island.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b><a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/388029/GONZO-MUTOID-WASTELAND-CRUST-PUNKS">GONZO MUTOID WASTELAND CRUST PUNKS</a>: </b>Bizarre mutants explore an apocalyptic world where different realities have been smashed together.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b><a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/396966/Unsightly-and-Unseen">Unsightly and Unseen</a>: </b>Vampires, ghosts, and Unseelie fae haunt the shadows of the world, following their mysterious agendas.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b><a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/370388/Defenders-of-Millennia-Tricube">Defenders of Millennia</a>: </b>Guardians of a fantasy realm fight against the encroaching darkness that threatens to smother the world.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b><a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/373147/On-Mighty-Tricubes">On Mighty Tricubes</a>: </b>Muscle-bound barbarians battle fearsome monsters in this pulp Sword and Sorcery scenario.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b><a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/402357/The-Land-of-Bright">The Land of Bright</a>: </b>Tiny heroes explore a land of mysteries and fairy tales in this expanded 26-page scenario.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b><a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/380168/Trifold-Tricube-Tales">Trifold Tricube Tales</a>: </b>An easy-to-print two-page cheat sheet for the Tricube Tales system.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b><a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/389776/Reign-of-the-Jungle-Guardians-Tricube-Tales-OnePage-RPG">Reign of the Jungle Guardians</a>: </b>Explorers and tomb hunters investigate the secrets and mysteries of the jungle.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b><a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/392693/1520-Habsburg-Rising-Tricube-Tales-OnePage-RPG">1520: Habsburg Rising</a>: </b>Bold explorers brave the dangers and mysteries of the Holy Roman Empire in the 16th century.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b><a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/392807/Challenge-of-the-Horror-Hosts-Tricube-Tales-OnePage-RPG">Challenge of the Horror Hosts</a>: </b>A low-budget TV show host is inadvertently transported to a world of old-school monster and sci-fi movies!</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b><a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/392920/The-Orphans-of-Ragnarokr-Tricube-Tales-OnePage-RPG">The Orphans of Ragnarökr</a>: </b>A Viking Warband explores the icy wasteland, protecting their clan from fearsome monsters.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b><a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/397459/Fornlorn-Hope-Tricube-Tales-OnePage-RPG">Fornlorn Hope</a>: </b>A rag-tag squad of veteran mercenaries undertakes dangerous missions in this Renaissance Europe setting.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b><a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/402119/Terra-Purpura">Terra Purpura</a>: </b>Champions of the former Eastern Roman Empire fight against the darkness threatening the land and its people.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b><a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/398068/F14-Fleet-Defender-Tricube-Tales-OnePage-RPG">F14 Fleet Defender</a>: </b>Climb into the cockpit of your F-14 Tomcat and take to the skies on a military mission.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b><a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/398219/Red-Wave-Rising-Tricube-Tales-OnePage-RPG">Red Wave Rising</a>: </b>Join the resistance in occupied America, fighting a guerilla war in this alternate history scenario.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b><a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/400906/Sentinels-of-Cirrus-City-Tricube-Tales-OnePage-RPG">Sentinels of Cirrus City</a>: </b>Mysteriously animated gargoyles protect the city against the forces of darkness.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b><a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/414511/D666-Bloodsacs-Tricube-Tales-Setting">D666 Bloodsacs</a>: </b>Survivors of a vampire invasion fight for freedom in this dark post-apocalyptic scenario.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b><a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/360093/SteamPulpTriCube">SteamPulpTriCube</a>: </b>Humanity expands to Mars a decade after the failed Martian invasion of 1870 in this pulp steampunk setting.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b><a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/368684/Awakening-of-Animia">Awakening of Anìmia</a>: </b>Take to the skies in your flying ship and explore the mysteries of this fantasy realm.</p>Richard Woolcockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16738523963280329505noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6526576522570166010.post-25897023788267767902022-12-07T02:32:00.001-08:002022-12-07T02:32:07.445-08:00Tricube Tales sales figures for the last year<p style="text-align: justify;"><b><a href="https://savage-stuff.blogspot.com/2021/12/tricube-tales-hits-gold-best-seller.html">One year ago</a></b>, I reported that <b><a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/294202/Tricube-Tales?affiliate_id=311146">Tricube Tales</a></b> had reached Gold Best Seller (501+ sales) on DriveThruRPG, and I provided a breakdown of sales figures for the product line. At the end of October 2022, Tricube Tales reached Platinum Best Seller (1001+ sales), so I thought it would be interesting to compare the figures over the last year.</p><h2 style="text-align: justify;"><b>Total Sales per Month</b></h2><p style="text-align: justify;">Here are the total sales for the entire product line since last year (I've included December from last year as well, as it wasn't complete in <b><a href="https://savage-stuff.blogspot.com/2021/12/tricube-tales-hits-gold-best-seller.html">my previous blog post</a></b>).</p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><ul><li><b>Dec 2021: </b>676</li><li><b>Jan 2022: </b>725</li><li><b>Feb 2022: </b>624</li><li><b>Mar 2022: </b>432</li><li><b>Apr 2022: </b>497</li><li><b>May 2022: </b>909</li><li><b>Jun 2022: </b>677</li><li><b>Jul 2022: </b>584</li><li><b>Aug 2022: </b>730</li><li><b>Sep 2022: </b>393</li><li><b>Oct 2022: </b>567</li><li><b>Nov 2022: </b>857</li><li><b>Dec 2022: </b>104 (so far, in the first week)</li></ul><p></p><h1 style="text-align: justify;"><b>Breakdown by Product</b></h1><p style="text-align: justify;">And here is a breakdown of the total sales figures for the main products:</p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><ul><li><b>Tricube Tales (core rules): </b>1063 sales since 2019-11-08</li><li><b>Solo Rules & Deck: </b>830 sales since 2021-05-14</li></ul><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">These are the "payment optional" products on DTRPG (in order of publication) -- people can download them for free, but I'm only tracking actual sales where people paid for them:</p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><ul><li><b>Goblin Gangsters: </b>452 sales since 2020-08-27</li><li><b>Samhain Slaughter: </b>484 sales since 2020-10-08</li><li><b>Chrome Shells & Neon Streets: </b>561 sales since 2020-11-21</li><li><b>Metahuman Uprising: </b>492 sales since 2020-12-28</li><li><b>Rotten Odds: </b>442 sales since 2021-01-31</li><li><b>Tales of the Goblin Horde: </b>453 sales since 2021-04-01</li><li><b>Wardens of the Weird West: </b>479 sales since 2021-06-12</li><li><b>Firefighters: </b>433 sales since 2021-07-06</li><li><b>Horrible Henchmen: </b>424 sales since 2021-08-13</li><li><b>Pirates of the Bone Blade: </b>441 sales since 2021-09-15</li><li><b>Eldritch Detectives: </b>487 sales since 2021-10-30</li><li><b>Wiseguys: Gangster Tales: </b>394 sales since 2021-11-20</li><li><b>Interstellar Mech War: </b>402 sales since 2021-11-30</li><li><b>Voyage to the Isle of Skulls: </b>331 sales since 2021-12-31</li><li><b>Down in the Depths: </b>281 sales since 2022-01-24</li><li><b>Accursed: Dark Tales of Morden: </b>275 sales since 2022-02-17</li><li><b>Twisted Wishes: </b>260 sales since 2022-02-23</li><li><b>A Welsh Werewolf in Llanfair PG: </b>262 sales since 2022-04-01</li><li><b>Interstellar Smugglers: </b>285 sales since 2022-05-04</li><li><b>Winter Eternal: Darkness and Ice: </b>179 sales since 2022-05-17</li><li><b>Sharp Knives & Dark Streets: </b>226 sales since 2022-05-31</li><li><b>Summer Camp Slayers: </b>184 sales since 2022-06-28</li><li><b>Titan Effect RPG: Covert Tales: </b>164 sales since 2022-07-20</li><li><b>Sundered Chains: </b>122 sales since 2022-08-07</li><li><b>Stranger Tales: </b>116 sales since 2022-10-06</li><li><b>Minerunners: </b>77 sales since 2022-11-01</li><li><b>Spellrunners: </b>65 sales since 2022-11-22</li></ul><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">These are the DTRPG freebies (in order of publication) -- I like to have a few free products to build up my mailing list:</p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><ul><li><b>Interstellar Bounty Hunters: </b>2629 downloads since 2020-09-29</li><li><b>Welcome to Drakonheim: </b>1531 downloads since 2021-03-10</li><li><b>Interstellar Troopers: </b>1947 downloads since 2021-04-26</li><li><b>Interstellar Laser Knights: </b>1830 downloads since 2021-05-04</li></ul><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">I also have a few freebies on Itch, which I entered into Jams. Here they are, once again in order of publication:</p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><ul><li><b>The Fools Who Follow: </b>758 downloads since 2020-07-29</li><li><b>Deep Trouble in Oldport Bay: </b>482 downloads since 2021-02-20</li><li><b>Halfling Hustlers: </b>219 downloads since 2021-07-03</li><li><b>Guardians of the Shadow Frontier: </b>504 downloads since 2021-07-31</li><li><b>Interstellar Explorers: </b>250 downloads since 2022-08-02</li></ul><p></p><h1 style="text-align: justify;"><b>Some Thoughts</b></h1><p style="text-align: justify;">Interstellar Bounty Hunters has always had the highest number of downloads, as there was a Discord community built up around it, but overall the number of free downloads on DriveThruRPG is significantly higher than Itch. In fact, many of the one-pagers have more <i>paid</i> downloads on DriveThruRPG than the Itch one-pagers have <i>free</i> downloads!</p><p style="text-align: justify;">The sales had a bump in May, August, and November, but the same occurred last year as well. Last year I'd wondered if the May bump might be due to my "May the 4th" one-pager, and the others due to Deal of the Day, but the same seems to have occurred this year as well (even though Interstellar Smugglers, which I released on May 4th 2022, is only a little above average in terms of sales). Perhaps the bump for those months is caused by something else, such as the special sales DriveThruRPG often runs?</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Chrome Shells & Neon Streets has always been the most popular of the one-pagers, it's the first to reach Gold Best Seller, and it continues to maintain a strong lead. Sharp Knives & Dark Streets was originally conceived as a fantasy-themed variant of Chrome Shells & Neon Streets, as I wondered if I could repeat its success in an even more popular genre (fantasy). However, that doesn't appear to have happened.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Several of the one-pagers include form-fillable character cards, and a few of the recent products include bonus material -- Sharp Knives & Dark Streets has an expanded city complete with a map, while Minerunners and Spellrunners come with adventures. However, the bonus material doesn't appear to have had any obvious impact on sales (which is a shame, as those products took about twice as much effort to create, and required additional artwork).</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Some of the one-pagers have also experimented a bit with the mechanics. Tales of the Goblin Horde was the first to do this, adding rules for gang members. Interstellar Mech War replaced "trait" and "concept" with "weight" and "chassis", and renamed "karma" and "resolve" to "energy" and "frame". Stranger Tales replaced the usual three traits (agile, brawny, and crafty) with athletic, bold, and clever. Sundered Chains added a few special magic items that changed the rules. I'd like to continue to push the envelope a bit here and there, partially to challenge myself and avoid being too repetitive, but also to provide examples of how the rules can be adapted.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">I've still got plenty of ideas for new one-pagers, but I'd also like to broaden the options somewhat. I'm still working on a Tricube Tactics supplement (which adds an optional layer for those who prefer more depth to combat), and I'd like to finish that in the next few months. I'm also working on a "generic" TT one-page RPG, for people who want to run games in established settings. I don't know how viable a generic one-pager will be (I've generally been of the opinion that one-page RPGs with strong themes are far more popular), but I'll give it a go.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhaTZ291kEJtWr3-Q87D7j3HRaEOtxeTx6psrhTri-ddAXsxEEeNLCbGRRDjmGW-SCw_2p2mCfatmXUHuDDVfcq40Gth5NutqyXob8I2IG6_ZSoG4sxTgP0tnbG4UZGzKFS1bHjf0nGfe952J6kZ9a-aQ3oRr0Il37LK31ltFmbkk0PrzvYv0ALTmvxQ/s900/OnePageRPGs_36.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="803" data-original-width="900" height="457" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhaTZ291kEJtWr3-Q87D7j3HRaEOtxeTx6psrhTri-ddAXsxEEeNLCbGRRDjmGW-SCw_2p2mCfatmXUHuDDVfcq40Gth5NutqyXob8I2IG6_ZSoG4sxTgP0tnbG4UZGzKFS1bHjf0nGfe952J6kZ9a-aQ3oRr0Il37LK31ltFmbkk0PrzvYv0ALTmvxQ/w510-h457/OnePageRPGs_36.jpg" width="510" /></a></div><br /><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p>Richard Woolcockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16738523963280329505noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6526576522570166010.post-61825975059538046502022-06-12T04:24:00.002-07:002022-06-12T04:24:10.850-07:00Tricube Tales: Expanded scene types for cooperative play<p style="text-align: justify;">RPGClyde on the <b><a href="https://discord.gg/FRm9kQv">Zadmar Games Discord server</a></b> recently mentioned that he likes playing cooperative GMless games with <b><a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/294202/Tricube-Tales?affiliate_id=311146">Tricube Tales</a></b>, and this got me thinking about how the <a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/357652/Tricube-Tales-Solo-Rules--Deck?affiliate_id=311146"><b>solo rules</b></a> might be expanded to better handle cooperative play.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">The main issue is the key challenges. Should everyone roll for them? One player? Do you pick someone at random? If everyone has to succeed then there's a much greater risk of failure -- but conversely, if only one player has to beat the challenge, the chance of success is <i>far</i> higher.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Cooperative play should take all of those factors into account, and that also means compensating for the fact that each player will likely be making fewer rolls. Introducing the use of effort tokens (as described in the Tricube Tales core rules) would help a lot, but they shouldn't be overused.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">When I used to design <a href="https://savage-stuff.blogspot.com/2016/06/designing-one-sheet-savage-tale-or-plot.html">Savage Worlds One Sheet adventures</a>, I found my sweet spot was two scenes that required multiple rolls to resolve (one as a combat scene, the other as a Chase, Dramatic Task, or Social Conflict). So my gut feeling is to do the same here with scenes requiring effort tokens, and define two types of scenes: action scenes, and story scenes.</p><h1 style="text-align: justify;">Action Scenes</h1><p style="text-align: justify;">Each adventure contains two "action scenes". These typically represent combat, chases, or other dramatic group activities.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">When you draw a new scene card, before resolving the challenge, compare its suit with the scene cards you've previously drawn. If this is the first time you've made a pair (aka two-of-a-kind -- i.e., two cards of the same suit) then this is the first action scene: it has a pool of 2 effort tokens per PC (e.g., if there are 3 players, then the scene has 6 effort tokens). The final scene of the adventure is the second action scene, and it has a pool of 3 effort tokens per PC.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Action scenes use a pool of effort tokens, and the players must eliminate all the effort tokens in order to beat the challenge. Everyone rolls: those who fail, lose 1 resolve (or 2 on a critical failure); those who succeed eliminate 1 effort token for each die that succeeds (e.g., if they roll 6 5 4 for an easy challenge, they would eliminate 3 effort tokens). If any of the effort tokens remain, everyone has to roll again.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Anyone who already eliminated their share of the effort tokens may have the option of sitting out the rest of the scene (this is still TBD, but something I'll think about before writing up these rules in their final form).</p><h1 style="text-align: justify;">Story Scenes</h1><p style="text-align: justify;">If a scene isn't an "action scene", then it's a "story scene". These can represent anything, even combat, but they consist of a single roll (to draw a comparison with the approach I used for Savage Worlds One Sheet adventures, these could be like Quick Combat rather than a full combat encounter).</p><p style="text-align: justify;">In solo play, the lone PC resolves all the key challenges for story scenes (and thus no further changes are required), but in a cooperative game, use the suit to determine who rolls. As the action scenes can result in the loss of resolve, I recommend that story scenes <i>don't</i>, at least as a general rule.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b>Note:</b> As a memory hook, the first letter of the scene type is the same as the name of the suit.</p><h3 style="text-align: justify;"><u>C</u>lubs: <u>C</u>ombined Effort</h3><p style="text-align: justify;">Everyone can roll, and only one person needs to succeed to carry the rest of the group). For example:</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b>Agile:</b> Someone throws something at the group, and one PC has to catch it before it hits the ground. There's a lock that needs picking, but everyone can have a go. The PCs are trying to shoot a fleeing enemy, but only one of them needs to successfully hit.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b>Brawny:</b> The group is chasing a fleeing target, and someone needs to catch them! The group has to drag a heavy object or open a heavy door.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b>Crafty:</b> Only one PC has to spot the ambush or notice a clue in order to tell the others. One PC has to recall an important piece of information.</p><h3 style="text-align: justify;"><u>D</u>iamonds: <u>D</u>raw Straws</h3><p style="text-align: justify;">One person picked at random must roll to overcome the challenge. For example:</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b>Agile: </b>One PC is shot at by a sniper and must evade. One PC is caught in the enemy's field of vision and must hide. Only one PC has line-of-sight to take a shot at the fleeing enemy.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b>Brawny: </b>Falling debris falls on one of the PCs, potentially injuring them. An enemy attacks one of the PCs.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b>Crafty: </b>One PC happens to walk past a clue, can they spot it? Someone attempts to trick, taunt or intimidate a PC.</p><h3 style="text-align: justify;"><u>H</u>earts: <u>H</u>eel of Achilles</h3><p style="text-align: justify;">Everyone rolls and everyone has to succeed, if anyone fails then the entire group fails. For example:</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b>Agile: </b>The whole group needs to sneak past some guards without being spotted. The PCs attempt to ambush some soldiers, but they'll need to be quiet!</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b>Brawny: </b>It's a long and tiring journey, can everyone keep up, or will someone delay the group? Can the entire group run to the escape pod before the space pirates arrive?</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b>Crafty: </b>The PCs infiltrate an organization, if any of their acting skills aren't up to par, they will draw unwanted attention.</p><h3 style="text-align: justify;"><u>S</u>pades: <u>S</u>tep Forward</h3><p style="text-align: justify;">One person volunteers to make the roll. The group can discuss and nominate the best candidate for the task. For example:</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b>Agile: </b>One PC has to steal the guard's key, or sneak up on the lookout and overpower them.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b>Brawny: </b>One PC has to climb the wall and enter through the open window (they can then open the door on the other side to let the rest of the group inside).</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b>Crafty: </b>One PC has to track the enemy, or bribe an official.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p>Richard Woolcockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16738523963280329505noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6526576522570166010.post-8499720946480935272022-03-22T03:50:00.009-07:002022-03-22T04:03:05.546-07:00Short example of solo play using Tales of the Goblin Horde<div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/images/12255/352325.png" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="618" height="200" src="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/images/12255/352325.png" width="155" /></a></div>I've seen some interesting Tricube Tales solo Actual Plays lately, so I thought it'd be fun to try posting a short example myself. I won't dive into too much detail in the various scenes, as I'm trying to keep it simple, but you can certainly do that in your own games if you prefer! After all, solo gaming is very much a personal thing, there's no "right" or "wrong" way to do it, as long as you're having fun.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I'll be using <b><a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/352325/Tales-of-the-Goblin-Horde-Tricube-Tales-OnePage-RPG?affiliate_id=311146">Tales of the Goblin Horde</a></b> (TotGH) and the <b><a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/357652/Tricube-Tales-Solo-Rules--Deck?affiliate_id=311146">Tricube Tales Solo Rules</a></b> (both of which can be downloaded free by clicking their Publisher Previews), plus the <b><a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/240902/Saga-of-the-Goblin-Horde-Configurable-Map?affiliate_id=311146">Saga of the Goblin Horde Configurable Map</a></b> to plan out the route.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I will use the example character from the TotGH character creation section: <b>Big Brak</b>, a <b>brawny warrior</b> who is also a huge <b>bugbear</b>, but only has <b>one eye</b>.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Rolling on the TotGH adventure generator, I get 5 6 3. So the main plot is that Big Brak is ordered to "kill some adventurers" in "a deep cave or mine" while dealing with "a psychopathic druid"</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I'll use the examples from the one-page RPG rather than make up my own:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b></b></div><blockquote><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>5. The Quest for the Holy Pail:</b> A party of human adventurers has been exploring ancient ruins, searching for a lost relic—a magical bucket?! It’s time for them to kick the bucket!</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>6. Swallow Hole:</b> A network of deep caverns situated on Hightree Ridge, Swallow Hole is a popular raiding spot for greedy human adventurers.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>3. Tree-Hugging Tyrant:</b> Another human druid has gone on a murderous rampage, animating trees and controlling beasts, and sending them after goblins.</div></blockquote><div style="text-align: justify;">Rolling on the TotGH twist table for the subplots gives me the following:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b></b></div><blockquote><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Primary subplot</b> (2 5 = trap): My interpretation: Someone has been ambushing Redfang goblins on Hightree Ridge, they've already killed several gangs. Could this by the druid, or is it someone else? We'll have to find out!</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Secondary subplot</b> (2 6 = key): My interpretation: A Bonedigger gang is searching for the relic as well, they believe it's the key to a magical ritual.</div></blockquote><div style="text-align: justify;">Looking at the map, I can see Big Brak will need to journey through Twilight Wood and climb Hightree Ridge in order to reach Swallow Hole. The Solo Rules ensure there will be at least 5 scenes, and the first is the opening scene, so I envision them working something like this:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b></b></div><blockquote><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Scene 1:</b> Visit Chief Bignose in his tent to receive the mission.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Scene 2:</b> Head east through Twilight Wood.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Scene 3:</b> Climb Hightree Ridge.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Scene 4:</b> Enter Swallow Hole.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Scene 5:</b> Explore Swallow Hole</div></blockquote><div style="text-align: justify;">Further scenes may then follow, depending on the cards. Maybe the adventurers need to be chased back across Hightree Ridge and into the human lands, perhaps even followed into one of their towns. Alternatively, the secondary subplot (the Bonedigger gang) could introduce a new scene or two on the way back from defeating the adventurers.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><h2 style="text-align: justify;">Introduction</h2><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div>For time immemorial, goblins have been mercilessly hunted down and murdered by the so-called “civilized” humans, slaughtered in droves for the entertainment of bloodthirsty adventurers. But everyone has their limits, even the underdogs.</div><div><br /></div><div>The pathetic goblins who eke out a living near the human lands are weak and timid, the aggression bred out of them through generations of culling, with only the most cowardly among them managing to survive. But the goblins of the western tribes are another matter entirely, as the rapidly encroaching scourge of human civilization is about to discover.</div><div><br /></div><div>You are Big Brak, a ferocious boss from the Redfang tribe, leading your gang on a series of dangerous missions against the humans and other enemies. Chief Bignose is confident you won’t let him down!</div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><h2 style="text-align: justify;">Scene 1: Visiting Chief Bignose</h2><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>Draw a Joker -- 6: The scene changes due to a new event</i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>Roll for an urban event -- 6 6: Urban decay (roll 3 6 on the fantasy twist table for inspiration -- someone tripping over)</i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Chief Bignose's tent is old and smelly, with patches of mold growing on it. It should have been replaced years ago, but his flunkies just patch up the holes as best they can. As Big Brak walks into the tent, his huge foot catches a loose string, and the entire tent collapses. Chief Bignose yelps for help, "Hey! Who turned the lights out?"</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>Draw the 8 of Clubs (easy crafty challenge).</i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Big Brak searches through the folds of the tent, trying to find Chief Bignose. <i>Roll -- 3 2 (failure, but reducing the difficulty to 3 with the bugbear perk turns it into a success).</i> Big Brak uses his great strength to rip the tent to shreds, revealing the stumpy chieftain buried underneath!</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Chief Bignose clambers to his feet, brushes himself down, and curses loudly about the state of his tent. He glances up, up, up, at the towering bugbear before him. "Ah, there you are, Brak. I have the perfect mission for someone of your physical stature and intellectual limitations. My scouts report that a band of ugly human adventurers has been poking around on Hightree Ridge, searching for some stupid magical bucket. It looks like they're trying to find Swallow Hole. Head over there, and do to them what you just did to my tent!"</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Big Brak wanders over to his campfire and yells for his flunkies to attend him. "We're going hunting for human meat!" Without any further ado, Brak turns on his heel and marches east toward Hightree Ridge, his gang members running after him as they try desperately to keep up with his pace.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><h2 style="text-align: justify;">Scene 2: Journey through Twilight Wood</h2><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>Rolling on the weather conditions table -- 6 4. The sky is overcast with rain, and there's a strong breeze.</i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>Draw the 7 of Clubs (hard brawny challenge). No idea what the challenge could be, so I'll roll for a random wilderness event for inspiration -- 4 1 (rolling log/boulder). Sounds like an ambush.</i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Big Brak and his gang head through Twilight Wood, the trees swaying in the breeze as heavy droplets of rain drip through the canopies overhead. Suddenly, a loud crack echoes through the forest, and a huge tree topples onto the gang, pinning them to the ground!</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>Roll 4 3 4 (failure, using meat shield to give the damage to a gang member instead): </i>Big Brak staggers to his feet, pulling his gang members out from under the boughs. One of the goblins is dead, impaled by a broken branch, but the other two are only dazed. A group of porcupine beastfolk hoot and cackle from their vantage point in the treetops, amused at their little prank, then they vanish among the canopies.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">With a snarl, Big Brak picks up the pace.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><h2 style="text-align: justify;">Scene 3: Climbing Hightree Ridge</h2><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>Draw the 9 of Spades (standard crafty challenge).</i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The gang makes its way out of the forest and starts hiking up Hightree Ridge. But soon, the goblins start arguing over which way they need to travel to reach Swallow Hole. <i>Roll -- 5 5 (exceptional success). </i>Big Brak shakes his head at his useless flunkies and snarls "Idiots, why do you think I chose this route? It's the fastest path to Swallow Hole!" The gang eagerly heads toward their destination.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><h2 style="text-align: justify;">Scene 4: Reaching Swallow Hole</h2><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>Draw the 3 of Clubs (standard agile challenge).</i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Big Brak and his flunkies approach the lesser-known secondary entrance to Swallow Hole. It's very unlikely the humans would discover this entrance, as it's well concealed, but it's also rather dangerous.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>Roll 2 4 (failure, using meat shield).</i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">One of the gang members loses her footing and falls to her death while trying to climb down the entrance shaft. Brak and the last gang member make their way down safely, and then head deeper into the warren. They'll need to scout around and find a good spot to lay in wait for the adventurers!</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>Rolling for a dungeon feature -- 2 5 (distinctive smell). </i>Big Brak raises his snout and sniffs at the air. The cave smells of blood and death, there's been fighting going on down here recently! He draws his axe and heads deeper into the cave.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><h2 style="text-align: justify;">Scene 5: Inside Swallow Hole</h2><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>Draw the King of Clubs (advance main plot, negative) -> It turns out the adventurers are already here, and they've set an ambush!</i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>Draw the 3 of Spades (standard agile challenge) -> As we now have 3 Clubs and 2 Spades among the spot cards, this will be the final scene.</i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The adventurers reached Swallow Hole before Big Brak, and they heard the splat of his gang member earlier, so they've set an ambush inside the cave. They must have already wiped out the borderland goblins that were living here, that would explain the lingering smell of blood and death.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The humans unleash a barrage of arrows and lightning bolts as Big Brak and his last remaining minion walk into their trap.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>Roll -- 2 5 (success). </i>Big Brak and his minion hunker down behind cover, avoiding the brunt of the attacks. Unfortunately, because of the ambush (negative plot advancement), the entire fight must be resolved via ranged attacks, putting the bugbear at a disadvantage. The enemy has 5 effort tokens, these represent a ranger (2 tokens), a druid (2 tokens), and a henchman (1 token).</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>Attack roll -- 2 6 (success, eliminate 1 effort token). </i>The gang member hurls his spear, taking out the henchman.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>Defense roll -- 6 3 (success). </i>A lightning bolt explodes nearby, showering Brak with debris, but he shakes it off.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>Attack roll -- 1 1 (critical failure, introduce a complication). </i>Brak hurls his axe at the druid, but she ducks and reacts with a quick spell, shrouding Brak in an outline of illusionary fire. For the rest of the combat, all defense rolls will be hard (difficulty 6) challenges.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>Defense roll -- 1 1 (critical failure again). </i>As a confused Brak attempts to put out the illusionary flames, the ranger and druid unleash their attacks upon him. <i>Using meat shield to avoid the loss of 2 resolve. </i>Brak drops and rolls on the floor at the last moment, and his remaining gang member is obliterated instead.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>Attack roll -- 6 3 (success). </i>With a roar, Brak picks up the corpse of his last flunky, and hurls it at the druid, knocking her off her feet.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>Defense roll -- 5 2 (failure). </i>The ranger uses the opportunity to shoot an arrow, striking Big Brak in the knee.<i> Brak loses 1 resolve.</i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>Attack roll -- 4 4 (failure). Spend 1 karma to lower the difficulty to 4, turning the failure into an exceptional success. </i>Brak uses his enormous bugbear physique to lift a massive rock and hurl it at the ranger, smashing him to a pulp.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>Defense roll -- 1 1 (critical failure yet again). </i>The druid shoots Big Brak with a powerful lightning bolt, electrocuting him! Big Brak loses his last 2 resolve, and his smoking body drops to the floor. The druid is injured and her companions are both dead, so she staggers out of the cave, mounts her horse, and leaves, without stopping to confirm her kill.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Sometime later, Big Brak wakes up. He's now back to full resolve, but as well as having scorched fur, he now has a permanent affliction. We'll say "fear of lightning". The mission is a failure, as the druid escaped. Chief Bignose will not be happy...</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><h2 style="text-align: justify;">Summary</h2><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I intended this to be a brief example, but it was even shorter than I'd expected due to the cards concluding the adventure after 5 scenes. I could have stretched out the final scene, but I liked the surprise ambush at the end, so I decided to resolve the last scene as a combat encounter with 5 effort tokens.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Normally I prefer running solo games with physical props, but this time I used Roll20 for the dice and cards (with the VTT version of the Solo Deck). Luck was definitely not on my side with those dice rolls though! Perhaps things would have turned out differently if I'd used my last karma to turn the second-to-last defense roll into a success, but I hadn't expected to get yet another critical failure.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I completely forgot to use my quirk, and I also failed to tie in the Bonedigger gang, but if the adventure had been longer I could have used them to spice up the story. If there's one thing I've learned about solo gaming, it's that the story never quite goes the way I was expecting!</div>Richard Woolcockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16738523963280329505noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6526576522570166010.post-82433622610095493612021-12-08T06:55:00.001-08:002021-12-08T06:55:30.982-08:00Tricube Tales: Merging concepts from Swift d12 to increase granularity<p style="text-align: justify;">I recently had an interview on the Dieku Podcast, where I talked about my introduction to gaming, how I got into Savage Worlds and self-publishing, and about my Tricube Tales system. You can watch the interview here:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="348" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/FB5EglF7SWw" width="419" youtube-src-id="FB5EglF7SWw"></iframe></div><p style="text-align: justify;">While talking about the origins of Tricube Tales, I also mentioned Swift d12, and this got me thinking about the two systems. Although I did run several successful playtests with Swift d12, I was never entirely happy with it -- but it does include a lot of options for character advancement, which is good for longer campaigns (one of the weaknesses of Tricube Tales). So this got me wondering if it might be viable to merge some of the concepts.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">The first thing I did was look at the dice. Tricube Tales uses 1-3d6 vs a target number (TN) of 4/5/6, which is statistically identical to 1-3d12 vs TN 7/9/11:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9Jy6I0Vsx9YBMrUvZ_jOyPWxxAyPzjTUQMsmprWxNrG-RR1ooTp8nxkHCk9RA8YZIzRA66R0o_4qrC6CrMx_qYwrruk4mjKylDx-xOKFoNrR42GgY3EJLLo-y2b-HW-JPJ16ywzPVN7MT/s382/TT_d12s.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="349" data-original-width="382" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9Jy6I0Vsx9YBMrUvZ_jOyPWxxAyPzjTUQMsmprWxNrG-RR1ooTp8nxkHCk9RA8YZIzRA66R0o_4qrC6CrMx_qYwrruk4mjKylDx-xOKFoNrR42GgY3EJLLo-y2b-HW-JPJ16ywzPVN7MT/s16000/TT_d12s.png" /></a></div><p style="text-align: justify;">Tricube Tales allows you to lower the difficulty by 1 using a perk, and by a further 1 when fighting lower-ranked foes using the Hack-and-Slash genre rules, but that means even in the most extreme case (using a perk against a lower-ranked foe) the difficulty is 2/3/4 for an easy, standard, or hard challenge respectively. Thus rolling 1 is still a failure, and easy/standard/hard challenges each have a different TN. You can't lower the difficulty by more than 2 without breaking the resolution mechanic.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">But replacing the d6s with d12s gives you more wiggle room, allowing you to lower the difficulty by 5. This would allow the return of separate traits (something I had to drop from Tricube Tales), so instead of rolling an extra d12 for challenges related to your trait (agile/brawny/crafty) you'd have different ratings in each, and add your trait to the roll.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">You could then increase the easy/standard/hard TNs from 7/9/11 to 8/10/12 and make "1" the baseline for each trait so that characters can be <i>below</i> average at some things (i.e., have a trait of 0). That would allow you to apply a modifier of up to +6 without breaking the resolution mechanic (i.e., if the TN is 8/10/12, then a bonus of +6 still allows failure on a natural 1).</p><p style="text-align: justify;">I would give players 5 points to distribute among their traits (agile, brawny, and crafty), with each trait having a range of 0-3. Challenges would require rolling 2d12 and adding the appropriate trait against TN 8/10/12 for easy, standard, and hard difficulty respectively (as usual, the two dice would be compared separately, not added together). For challenges that fall entirely outside the scope of the character concept, the player would roll a single d12.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Perks could then work more like the Swift d12 feats, which provide a variety of predefined abilities and bonuses (rather than being freeform). Many of the feats are classified as "stackable", meaning they can be taken up to three times. So you might have an Alertness perk which gives a +1 bonus to perception, and you could take up it to three times -- you'd then add it to your crafty trait when making perception checks so (for example) a character with crafty 3 and alertness 3 would apply a +6 bonus to their roll, against a difficulty of 8 (easy), 10 (standard) or 12 (hard).</p><h2 style="text-align: justify;">Conclusion</h2><p style="text-align: justify;">These changes would obviously add complexity. In particular, they would require the introduction of a long laundry list of perks, which is something I intentionally avoided in Tricube Tales (mostly because I didn't want people looking things up during play). But they would also add granularity and varied character options for long-term campaigns, and could be expanded with other Swift d12 features (such as the combat rules, allowing a similar style of tactical combat to Savage Worlds for those who want it).</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Furthermore, it would be very easy to convert a Tricube Tales character across to these new hybrid rules, simply giving a character 3 points in their primary trait and 1 point in each of the others. Tricube Tales-style perks could still be used (they'd just give a +2 bonus, but wouldn't stack with fixed-bonus perks), and Swift d12 already has rules for karma and quirks (called "flaws", that's actually where I got the original idea for quirks in Tricube Tales).</p><p style="text-align: justify;">I don't want to change Tricube Tales, but perhaps this would be a good direction to take Swift d12 when I finally get around to revisiting it -- have it work more like Tricube Tales, except with more granularity and character options.</p>Richard Woolcockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16738523963280329505noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6526576522570166010.post-20742698993327789332021-12-04T07:45:00.004-08:002022-12-07T00:26:56.482-08:00Tricube Tales hits Gold Best Seller: Here's a look at the sales figures<p style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://savage-stuff.blogspot.com/2021/05/tricube-tales-hits-electrum-best-seller.html">Six months ago</a> I reported that <b><a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/294202/Tricube-Tales">Tricube Tales</a></b> had hit Electrum Best Seller, and two of the 12 micro-settings had hit Silver. But I've continued churning out more micro-settings, as well as solo rules, and this week Tricube Tales hit Gold Best Seller!</p><p style="text-align: justify;">While this is a small achievement compared to many publishers, it's still a personal milestone. I already have Gold and Platinum products on the Savage Worlds Adventurer's Guild, but promoting my <i>own </i>system has proven far more challenging.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">However, each new micro-setting draws interest in the rest of the product line, and the recent Deal of the Day proved shockingly successful, so I thought the sales figures might be of interest to other publishers.</p><h2 style="text-align: justify;">Total Sales per Month</h2><p style="text-align: justify;">Here are the total sales for the entire product line since the first release:</p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><ul><li><b>Nov 2019: </b>54</li><li><b>Dec 2019: </b>11</li><li><b>Jan 2020: </b>3</li><li><b>Feb 2020: </b>12</li><li><b>Mar 2020: </b>20</li><li><b>Apr 2020: </b>6</li><li><b>May 2020: </b>6</li><li><b>Jun 2020: </b>2</li><li><b>Jul 2020: </b>3</li><li><b>Aug 2020: </b>14</li><li><b>Sep 2020: </b>7</li><li><b>Oct 2020: </b>28</li><li><b>Nov 2020: </b>13</li><li><b>Dec 2020: </b>19</li><li><b>Jan 2021: </b>12</li><li><b>Feb 2021: </b>6</li><li><b>Mar 2021: </b>50 (includes a DriveThruCards Deal of the Day)</li><li><b>Apr 2021: </b>58</li><li><b>May 2021: </b>256</li><li><b>Jun 2021: </b>110</li><li><b>Jul 2021: </b>80</li><li><b>Aug 2021: </b>238 (includes a DriveThruCards Deal of the Day)</li><li><b>Sep 2021: </b>79</li><li><b>Oct 2021: </b>256 (includes a DriveThruCards Deal of the Day)</li><li><b>Nov 2021: </b>1210 (<i>670</i> during the DriveThruRPG Deal of the Day!)</li><li><b>Dec 2021: </b>207 so far (as of 4th December)</li></ul><p></p><h2 style="text-align: justify;">Breakdown by Product</h2><p style="text-align: justify;">And here is a breakdown of sales figures for the main products:</p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><ul><li><b>Tricube Tales (core rules): </b>523 sales since 2019-11-08</li><li><b>Solo Rules & Deck: </b>482 sales since 2021-05-14</li></ul><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">These are the "payment optional" products on DTRPG (in order of publication) -- people can download them for free, but I'm only tracking actual sales where people paid for them:</p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><ul><li><b>Goblin Gangsters: </b>191 sales since 2020-08-27</li><li><b>Samhain Slaughter: </b>219 sales since 2020-10-08</li><li><b>Chrome Shells & Neon Streets: </b>261 sales since 2020-11-21</li><li><b>Metahuman Uprising: </b>203 sales since 2020-12-28</li><li><b>Rotten Odds: </b>159 sales since 2021-01-31</li><li><b>Tales of the Goblin Horde: </b>172 sales since 2021-04-01</li><li><b>Wardens of the Weird West: </b>182 sales since 2021-06-12</li><li><b>Firefighters: </b>144 sales since 2021-07-06</li><li><b>Horrible Henchmen: </b>142 sales since 2021-08-13</li><li><b>Pirates of the Bone Blade: </b>145 sales since 2021-09-15</li><li><b>Eldritch Detectives: </b>157 sales since 2021-10-30</li><li><b>Wiseguys: Gangster Tales:</b> 91 sales since 2021-11-20</li><li><b>Interstellar Mech War:</b> 38 sales since 2021-11-30</li></ul><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">These are the DTRPG freebies (in order of publication) -- I like to have a few free products to build up my mailing list:</p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><ul><li><b>Interstellar Bounty Hunters: </b>1728 downloads since 2020-09-29</li><li><b>Welcome to Drakonheim: </b>809 downloads since 2021-03-10</li><li><b>Interstellar Troopers: </b>1023 downloads since 2021-04-26</li><li><b>Interstellar Laser Knights:</b> 1000 downloads since 2021-05-04</li></ul><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">I also have a few freebies on Itch, which I entered into Jams. Here they are, once again in order of publication:</p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><ul><li><b>The Fools Who Follow: </b>511 downloads since 2020-07-29</li><li><b>Deep Trouble in Oldport Bay: </b>325 downloads since 2021-02-20</li><li><b>Halfling Hustlers: </b>116 downloads since 2021-07-03</li><li><b>Guardians of the Shadow Frontier: </b>251 downloads since 2021-07-31</li></ul><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">The high download numbers for Interstellar Bounty Hunters are due to a Discord community that built up around it. But in general, I have far more downloads on DriveThruRPG than Itch.</p><br /><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p>Richard Woolcockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16738523963280329505noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6526576522570166010.post-18340438781109451842021-05-30T15:52:00.016-07:002021-12-13T03:23:12.761-08:00Tricube Tales hits Electrum Best Seller<div style="text-align: justify;">Earlier this month, <b><a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/294202/Tricube-Tales?affiliate_id=311146">Tricube Tales</a></b> hit Electrum Best Seller on DriveThruRPG, and two of the micro-settings hit Silver, so I thought it would be a good time to take a look at what's new and what I've been up to.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">Two More Interstellar Micro-Settings</span></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Last month I released a bonus micro-setting called <b><a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/355135/Interstellar-Troopers-Tricube-Tales-OnePage-RPG-with-Scribus-Template?affiliate_id=311146">Interstellar Troopers</a></b>, which drew its inspiration from various movies such as Aliens, Starship Troopers, and Pitch Black. But more importantly, I released it under the CC BY 3.0 license along with its Scribus template, allowing other publishers to use it for their own one-page RPGs.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">On May 4th, I released this month's micro-setting, <b><a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/356524/Interstellar-Laser-Knights-Tricube-Tales-OnePage-RPG?affiliate_id=311146">Interstellar Laser Knights</a></b>, inspired by a certain space opera film franchise about psychic knights wielding laser swords in a distant galaxy. This was something I'd promised the members of the <b><a href="https://discord.com/invite/XsGHbnMjgE">Bounty Hunters: Open Season</a></b> discord server, as a thematic tie-in to my earlier <b><a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/330423/Interstellar-Bounty-Hunters-OnePage-RPG?affiliate_id=311146">Interstellar Bounty Hunters</a></b> micro-setting.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">Solo Rules</span></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">This month I also released the <b><a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/357652/Tricube-Tales-Solo-Rules?affiliate_id=311146">Tricube Tales Solo Rules</a></b>, and they received a lot more attention than I'd expected, including coverage in this very informative video about simplicity and complexity in solo RPGs by <b><a href="https://www.youtube.com/c/TalkingAboutGames">Talking About Games</a></b>:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="padding: 56.25% 0px 0px; position: relative;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" scrolling="auto" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/-2Wz64fz4cM" style="height: 100%; left: 0px; position: absolute; top: 0px; width: 100%;"><small>Twitch embedding powered by <a href="https://embed.tube">embed.tube</a></small></iframe></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">I strongly recommend checking out Abraham's other videos too if you're curious about solo gaming, particularly his <b><a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLb_FGVUdpd7einn4iQXNIWHxSmFIHhjUs">advice playlist</a></b>, which is packed with great tips and suggestions.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The <b><a href="https://old.reddit.com/r/Solo_Roleplaying/">Solo_Roleplaying reddit</a></b> and <b><a href="https://old.reddit.com/r/Solo_Roleplaying/wiki/index">associated wiki</a></b> are also an excellent source of information, and they have a <b><a href="https://discord.com/invite/jwYknJY">Discord server</a></b> (Lone Wolf Roleplaying) as well.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">As my solo rules explicitly reference the Tricube Tales mechanics, I decided it was finally time to update <b><a href="https://zadmar.itch.io/the-fools-who-follow">The Fools Who Follow</a></b>. As my first one-page RPG, it used a simplified version of the Tricube Tales rules (without traits, perks, or quirks), so I've updated it to be consistent with the other micro-settings and make it fully compatible with the solo rules. I've left the original version up as well though, in case anyone prefers it.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">Media Coverage</span></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Quirin on PnPnews wrote an article <b><a href="https://pnpnews.de/kleine-spontane-halloween-spiele-mit-zadmar">here</a></b> (in German) about some of my products a while ago, which included a section on Tricube Tales. Andrew Girdwood has also written articles on Geek Native (<b><a href="https://www.geeknative.com/98100/free-to-download-samhain-slaughter-a-one-page-rpg">here</a></b>, <b><a href="https://www.geeknative.com/103608/free-to-download-chrome-shells-neon-streets">here</a></b>, <b><a href="https://www.geeknative.com/129458/free-to-download-welcome-to-drakonheim">here</a></b>, and <b><a href="https://www.geeknative.com/131250/free-to-download-interstellar-troops-and-a-scribus-template">here</a></b>) about some of the micro-settings, and I recently did a Tricube Tales interview for <b><a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/347405/Parallel-Worlds-Issue-19">Parallel Worlds Issue 19</a></b>.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">This week, Tricube Tales received a much more detailed review <b><a href="https://www.teilzeithelden.de/2021/05/25/rezension-tricube-tales-ein-rollenspiel-nicht-nur-fuer-kinder">here</a></b> (in German) by Benjamin Dose on Teilzeithelden, which referenced a summary of the system from <b><a href="https://jasminefields.net/stift-und-papier/tricube-tales-die-zusammenfassung">here</a></b> (also in German) by Florian of jasminéfields.net.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Six months ago I <b><a href="http://savage-stuff.blogspot.com/2020/11/tricube-tales-micro-settings-as.html">talked about my plans</a></b> for going forward, and about my hope that regular micro-setting releases would help draw more attention to the Tricube Tales system. It's slow going, but the strategy <i>does</i> seem to be paying off.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">Metahuman Uprising Actual Play</span></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><a href="https://twitter.com/TurnTablesRPG">TurnTablesRPG</a></b> recently hosted a hilarious actual play of Metahuman Uprising, with some truly inspired characters. You can watch it <b><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CyicbwcworU">here</a></b> on twitch:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="padding: 56.25% 0px 0px; position: relative;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" scrolling="auto" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/CyicbwcworU" style="height: 100%; left: 0px; position: absolute; top: 0px; width: 100%;"><small>Twitch embedding powered by <a href="https://embed.tube">embed.tube</a></small></iframe></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">Character Cards</span></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/352325/Tales-of-the-Goblin-Horde-Tricube-Tales-OnePage-RPG?affiliate_id=311146">Tales of the Goblin Horde</a></b> included form-fillable character cards, and Steve W asked in the Tricube Tales discussion section if I could add some for other genres. So I've added 45 form-fillable character cards as a bonus download to the Tricube Tales product (15 for fantasy, 15 for horror, and 15 for science fiction). I've also included the Scribus template, in case anyone wishes to create their own cards.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">What's Next?</span></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Tricube Tales now has a dozen micro-settings, but I'm still coming up with ideas faster than I can implement them! I'm planning to release Wardens of the Weird West next month, and I'd also like to expand the solo rules (the current ones only really cover urban settings).</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div>
<div style="padding: 56.25% 0px 0px; position: relative;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFflDdjyQYHhNixO_juvexyoWdu_KQkreAfIJsv7e_CgvEytZtKWYUY7V7Mpuj85T_CIllrgmeFGt7GWqUEZubnyxZpya-Bz0tskHnjs5i9WWd4NFvbfEMRTuAFyOFRtUnWh0zXPMBu0Lv/s1080/OnePageRPGs_12.png"><img border="0" data-original-height="722" data-original-width="1080" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFflDdjyQYHhNixO_juvexyoWdu_KQkreAfIJsv7e_CgvEytZtKWYUY7V7Mpuj85T_CIllrgmeFGt7GWqUEZubnyxZpya-Bz0tskHnjs5i9WWd4NFvbfEMRTuAFyOFRtUnWh0zXPMBu0Lv/s320/OnePageRPGs_12.png" style="height: 100%; left: 0px; position: absolute; top: 0px; width: 100%;" /></a></div>
<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div>Richard Woolcockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16738523963280329505noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6526576522570166010.post-54111837302298439962021-04-01T03:29:00.000-07:002021-04-01T03:29:43.823-07:00Tales of the Goblin Horde & The Goblin Warrens<p style="text-align: justify;">Last month's Tricube Tales micro-setting was <a href="http://savage-stuff.blogspot.com/2021/03/tricube-tales-welcome-to-drakonheim.html">an introductory scenario for the Drakonheim setting</a>, so this month I thought it would be fun to base one on my own Saga of the Goblin Horde setting: <b><a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/352325/Tales-of-the-Goblin-Horde-Tricube-Tales-OnePage-RPG">Tales of the Goblin Horde</a></b>!</p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p style="text-align: justify;"><i>“For time immemorial, goblins have been mercilessly hunted down and murdered by the so-called “civilized” humans, slaughtered in droves for the entertainment of bloodthirsty adventurers. But everyone has their limits, even the underdogs.</i></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i>The pathetic goblins who eke out a living near the human lands are weak and timid, the aggression bred out of them through generations of culling, with only the most cowardly among them managing to survive. But the goblins of the western tribes are another matter entirely, as the rapidly encroaching scourge of human civilization is about to discover.</i></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i>You are ferocious goblin bosses from the Redfang tribe, leading your gangs on a series of dangerous missions against the humans and other enemies. Chief Bignose is confident you won’t let him down!”</i></p></blockquote><p style="text-align: justify;">I published <a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/225745/Saga-of-the-Goblin-Horde-Savage-Worlds"><b>Saga of the Goblin Horde</b></a> for Savage Worlds back in 2017, and I even won a Silver ENnie Award for it, but I've also used the setting for several other projects. It was the basis for a 200-word RPG called <b><a href="http://savage-stuff.blogspot.com/2017/05/the-goblin-warrens.html">The Goblin Warrens</a></b>, as well as <a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/244879/GoldGlory-Hightree-Warren" style="font-weight: bold;">Hightree Warren</a> for Gold & Glory, and the Wiseguys crossover <b><a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/311092/The-Gobfather">The Gobfather</a></b> (which was in turn referenced by <b><a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/326023/Goblin-Gangsters-OnePage-RPG">Goblin Gangsters</a></b>). And of course, the work-in-progress <b><a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B0vChV__jf_OeEc5ZXUxeGtRSEE/view">Swift d12 Quick Start</a></b> uses Saga of the Goblin Horde, as will the full setting book once I've finished it.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirJTBvE_7eaF5zM76Dp9aiD6Zm6x66NRbdEhVgb-GqafU77XXdLDu_rnvdyYv2KmFU8yhCEvr9iGu14uPQzH7CSw4bqM1FcGHVCnrbDo_mPt5LL38Kj-F6P9g8k3HMAsgdEjP47xGTLmNZ/s1080/TalesOfTheGoblinHordeImage1b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="835" data-original-width="1080" height="309" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirJTBvE_7eaF5zM76Dp9aiD6Zm6x66NRbdEhVgb-GqafU77XXdLDu_rnvdyYv2KmFU8yhCEvr9iGu14uPQzH7CSw4bqM1FcGHVCnrbDo_mPt5LL38Kj-F6P9g8k3HMAsgdEjP47xGTLmNZ/w400-h309/TalesOfTheGoblinHordeImage1b.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p style="text-align: justify;">I've <a href="http://savage-stuff.blogspot.com/2019/11/tricube-tales-using-saga-of-goblin.html">previously discussed</a> converting Saga of the Goblin Horde to Tricube Tales, but now that I'm releasing a new micro-setting every month, I decided I should do the job properly! Unlike the other Tricube Tales micro-settings, this one actually adds some new mechanics (via gang tokens), and includes additional guidelines for turning the one-page RPG into a full campaign.</p><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">Another Jam...</span></b></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Earlier this month, I also decided to update, reformat, and republish <b><a href="https://zadmar.itch.io/the-goblin-warrens">The Goblin Warrens</a></b> for the <a href="https://itch.io/jam/pleasurecardrpg">Pleasure-not-Business Card RPG Jam</a>, which was an interesting challenge! Business cards seem to be a pretty good size for 200-word RPGs.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-55z5GEXSpXcSBH4t-qRmvhKpY6U4UH4fyDmKcj4fa7xtHSb6og_rMSrMveVKMJFNm6WfOmB7z8uxlXOIn9c0oeadvet7oKrk22ddccx-k5UM6M38QAH71IfnA_dzsCO0Qvc-QZXmy_dP/s1080/TheGoblinWarrensCover.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="835" data-original-width="1080" height="309" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-55z5GEXSpXcSBH4t-qRmvhKpY6U4UH4fyDmKcj4fa7xtHSb6og_rMSrMveVKMJFNm6WfOmB7z8uxlXOIn9c0oeadvet7oKrk22ddccx-k5UM6M38QAH71IfnA_dzsCO0Qvc-QZXmy_dP/w400-h309/TheGoblinWarrensCover.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td></tr></tbody></table></p>Richard Woolcockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16738523963280329505noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6526576522570166010.post-47723916532540088432021-03-10T04:37:00.000-08:002021-03-10T07:29:30.707-08:00Tricube Tales: Welcome to Drakonheim<p style="text-align: justify;">The Tricube Tales One-Page RPG for March has now been released: <b><a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/349601/Welcome-to-Drakonheim-OnePage-RPG?affiliate_id=311146">Welcome to Drakonheim</a></b>!</p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p style="text-align: justify;"><i>“Long ago, during the days of the Cevali Empire, a mighty hero slew a powerful dragon and used her bones as the foundations of Drakonheim—the “City of Bones.” After the empire’s gradual decline and eventual collapse, Drakonheim became an independent city, an oasis in the wild lands.</i></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i>Several months ago the city was attacked by a hobgoblin army. Defeat seemed inevitable, until a cabal of necromancers raised an undead horde and turned the tide of battle. Although the threat was defeated, skeletal soldiers still patrol the streets; the City of Bones has earned its nickname once again.</i></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i>You are a party of adventurers, visiting Drakonheim in search of fame and riches. Maybe you’ve heard of the Gray Society—the necromancers who saved the city—and wish to meet them, or even join their order. Or perhaps you view them as a dark influence that needs to be stopped.”</i></p></blockquote><p style="text-align: justify;">I've blogged about <a href="http://savage-stuff.blogspot.com/search/label/Drakonheim">Drakonheim</a> quite a bit in the past, but to briefly summarize: I backed the Kickstarter for a system-agnostic setting called <a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/172854/Drakonheim-City-of-Bones?affiliate_id=311146">Drakonheim: City of Bones</a> several years ago, and I liked it so much that I contacted the publisher and offered to write the <a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/186315/Drakonheim-Savage-Companion?affiliate_id=311146">Drakonheim Savage Companion</a> for it, as well as convert the <a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/208063/Heroes-of-Drakonheim-Savage-Worlds?affiliate_id=311146">Heroes of Drakonheim</a> adventures to Savage Worlds.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Now that I'm releasing <a href="http://savage-stuff.blogspot.com/2021/02/tricube-tales-my-plans-for-2021.html">monthly micro-settings for Tricube Tales</a> spanning a range of different genres, I thought it would be fun to revisit Drakonheim, so (after asking Matthew J. Hanson of Sneak Attack Press for permission) I've gone ahead and designed a Tricube Tales micro-setting that also serves as an introductory scenario to the full setting.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">You can run <a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/349601/Welcome-to-Drakonheim-OnePage-RPG?affiliate_id=311146">Welcome to Drakonheim</a> on its own, which is ideal for a one-shot, or combine it with the <a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/172854/Drakonheim-City-of-Bones?affiliate_id=311146">Drakonheim: City of Bones</a> and <a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/294202/Tricube-Tales?affiliate_id=311146">Tricube Tales</a> books for a full campaign (perhaps using the Hack and Slash genre rule to give PCs ranks).</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIyIyD9BQOhWBSeCCxFigboqV0V7dNXAB6LYh6Jo93IFKacLBmssNLr25M5KJjrsxtFo7nax3qHE-bgcwoefVySmI_2E9GtkI0vYMjXWcT5EOFLCDX6uv8WZ331Zp8SoGMlEOiEbfO0kU5/s1080/WelcomeToDrakonheimImage1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="835" data-original-width="1080" height="384" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIyIyD9BQOhWBSeCCxFigboqV0V7dNXAB6LYh6Jo93IFKacLBmssNLr25M5KJjrsxtFo7nax3qHE-bgcwoefVySmI_2E9GtkI0vYMjXWcT5EOFLCDX6uv8WZ331Zp8SoGMlEOiEbfO0kU5/w499-h384/WelcomeToDrakonheimImage1.jpg" width="499" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div>Richard Woolcockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16738523963280329505noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6526576522570166010.post-32212350039241129522021-02-22T12:44:00.000-08:002021-02-22T12:44:37.969-08:00Tricube Tales: My plans for 2021<p style="text-align: justify;">Three months ago I <a href="http://savage-stuff.blogspot.com/2020/11/tricube-tales-micro-settings-as.html">discussed my future plans</a> for <a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/294202/Tricube-Tales?affiliate_id=311146">Tricube Tales</a>, and I mentioned that I'd like to repeat the strategy I used for <a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/browse/pub/12255/Zadmar-Games/subcategory/28995_37909/Saga-of-the-Goblin-Horde">Saga of the Goblin Horde</a>, where I released a new character archetype every month. I decided to stick to that plan and publish a new micro-setting every month for 2021, and I've already released three more since that post, bringing the total number up to <i>eight!</i></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGI0onUkMIlEnq26iftfllNiIRidfWE8-XDY254QtVrSoC0q9aB9Kg3a62QBS3oQq4XrrN0DvBcB9M92Z3pg-iCYKpFCPAPzHUqqzxg7jgVlIIZ48GEs04kAgRcsSZQgoVBCedi-CdJ4YF/s1365/SpreadTT.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1292" data-original-width="1365" height="478" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGI0onUkMIlEnq26iftfllNiIRidfWE8-XDY254QtVrSoC0q9aB9Kg3a62QBS3oQq4XrrN0DvBcB9M92Z3pg-iCYKpFCPAPzHUqqzxg7jgVlIIZ48GEs04kAgRcsSZQgoVBCedi-CdJ4YF/w504-h478/SpreadTT.png" width="504" /></a></div><p style="text-align: justify;">Here is an overview of the three new micro-settings:</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b><a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/341427/Metahuman-Uprising-OnePage-RPG?affiliate_id=311146">Metahuman Uprising</a>:</b> Inspired by my recent binge-watching of Disney+ Marvel films and shows, and <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Girl-Box-Books-1-3-Untouched-ebook/dp/B00IJYII4E">The Girl in the Box</a> book series by Robert J. Crane. I wanted to show how Tricube Tales can be used to run a very rules-lite superhero game with a variety of different characters and superpowers. I also decided to make the Twist Table superpower-themed, so it could be used to help players choose their powers.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b><a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/345284/Rotten-Odds-OnePage-RPG?affiliate_id=311146">Rotten Odds</a>:</b> After writing Metahuman Uprising, I wanted my next micro-setting to focus on ordinary humans. I'd fancied creating a zombie apocalypse setting for a while, ever since running <a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/browse/pub/2604/Daring-Entertainment/subcategory/4768_25618/War-of-the-Dead">War of the Dead</a> for Savage Worlds -- and while I <i>did </i>publish <a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/236979/Blood--Bile?affiliate_id=311146">Blood & Bile</a> a few years ago, that was more focused on the vampire vs zombie conflict. I'm also a fan of the Deathless novels by Chris Fox, particularly the way the zombies evolved in his book <a href="https://www.amazon.com/No-Mere-Zombie-Deathless-Book-ebook/dp/B00T7ZVUTY">No Mere Zombie</a>, and wanted to explore the idea of zombies mutating into increasingly dangerous forms.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b><a href="https://zadmar.itch.io/deep-trouble-in-oldport-bay">Deep Trouble in Oldport Bay</a>:</b> Martian Muckraker launched the <a href="https://itch.io/jam/cosmic-horror-jam">Cosmic Horror Tabletop RPG Jam</a> on February 15th, and I decided to submit a suitable micro-setting. I initially considered creating something inspired by the short film <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fGkveJQHuVw">The Fisherman</a>, but later decided to make something conceptually more like the TV adaption of <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7rI56NmD33Y">Sweet Home</a>, except with Deep Ones (and hybrids undergoing their transformation) instead of desire monsters. I wanted to add something else though, so I decided to include a mysterious black obelisk in the bay, partially inspired by a video game called <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-RQfkZU_4c4">The Shore</a>.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">Future Micro-Settings</span></b></p><p style="text-align: justify;">I'm still thinking about which micro-settings I'd like to release this year, but I've already started working on five of them.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDiPJTevjBRv0A1-eqC6BrYbOIX2aBjDYDR7_NgPPHL-8gXQSeKVVVyfM7yHZ9KFqc1rKGsaFqM3DpgCBh5PSDRxK3zCMvphsSPK7vxiKFoZU-BAdr_7Aw4etJDWKZh67e2gE5NFGWkSgG/s1096/SpreadUpcomingTT.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="339" data-original-width="1096" height="163" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDiPJTevjBRv0A1-eqC6BrYbOIX2aBjDYDR7_NgPPHL-8gXQSeKVVVyfM7yHZ9KFqc1rKGsaFqM3DpgCBh5PSDRxK3zCMvphsSPK7vxiKFoZU-BAdr_7Aw4etJDWKZh67e2gE5NFGWkSgG/w525-h163/SpreadUpcomingTT.png" width="525" /></a></div><br /><p style="text-align: justify;"><b>Wardens of the Weird West:</b> I looked to my <a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/browse/pub/12255/Zadmar-Games/subcategory/28995_33388/Decks">Countdown Decks</a> for inspiration, and decided I should definitely cover the Wild West. But then I thought back to when Owen Lean ran his Deadlands adventure <a href="https://www.peginc.com/store/the-taxidermists-tail/">The Taxidermist's Tail</a> at Savage Con, and how much more fun I found the Wild West when there are supernatural elements as well. So I've decided to create a Weird West micro-setting about monster hunters.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b>Welcome to Drakonheim:</b> One of my favorite settings is the system-agnostic <a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/172854/Drakonheim-City-of-Bones?affiliate_id=311146">Drakonheim: City of Bones</a>. I liked it so much I wrote the <a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/186315/Drakonheim-Savage-Companion?affiliate_id=311146">Drakonheim Savage Companion</a> for it, converted <a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/208063/Heroes-of-Drakonheim-Savage-Worlds?affiliate_id=311146">Heroes of Drakonheim</a> to Savage Worlds, and even released a<a href="http://savage-stuff.blogspot.com/2016/06/designing-one-sheet-step-by-step-example.html"> couple of One Sheets</a>. So when I started thinking of fantasy micro-settings for Tricube Tales, it shouldn't come as much surprise that Drakonheim was the first setting to spring to mind -- yes, Drakonheim is a full setting in its own right, but a micro-setting would be ideal for someone who wants to run a quick introductory one-shot game. If they like it and want to turn it into a longer campaign, they can buy the full setting book. <i>Note: I've already asked Matthew Hanson of Sneak Attack Press, and he's granted permission.</i></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b>Firefighters:</b> All of the previous micro-settings involve combat, but Tricube Tales is designed to work for non-combat games as well. One of the example scenarios at the back of the main book concerns a crew of firefighters, so I thought it would be fun to expand that idea. This micro-setting will involve fighting fires, rescuing people (and pets), and dealing with various other hazards. But there will be no combat or monsters.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b>Isle of Skulls:</b> I knew I wanted a micro-setting with dinosaurs, but I couldn't make up my mind up about the specific theme. I had pondered something with time portals like <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wuqDEHUaDU0">Primeval</a>, or maybe something more like <a href="Journey to the Center of the Earth">Journey to the Center of the Earth</a>, or perhaps even a cross between <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QWBKEmWWL38">Jurassic Park</a> and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KTu8iDynwNc">Lost</a>. But after watching the movie <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=44LdLqgOpjo">Skull Island</a>, I think I've finally made up my mind what style of setting it'll be!</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b>Interstellar Laser Knights:</b> Last year I released the Mandalorian-inspired <a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/330423/Interstellar-Bounty-Hunters-OnePage-RPG?affiliate_id=311146">Interstellar Bounty Hunters</a>, and it proved pretty popular -- some fans even created a <a href="https://t.co/fOKPsNCcwb?amp=1">Discord roleplaying server</a> and use Interstellar Bounty Hunters for their games! So I'd like to create another micro-setting along similar lines, this time for Jedi Knights (although once again with the serial numbers thoroughly filed off, so they're not <i>really</i> Jedi, just something that could easily be used for that style of gameplay). Naturally, I plan to release this micro-setting on May 4th :)</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">What about the rest?</span></b></p><p style="text-align: justify;">I still have a long list of ideas for potential micro-settings, but I'm always open to suggestions. I may try another humorous one as well, as those seem to be quite popular for one-page RPGs (I've already made some notes for "A Welsh Werewolf in <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fHxO0UdpoxM">Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch</a>", but I'm not sure if I can make the concept work).</p>Richard Woolcockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16738523963280329505noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6526576522570166010.post-83711976771241769092020-11-24T02:37:00.007-08:002020-11-24T02:38:14.550-08:00Tricube Tales: Micro-settings as standalone one-page RPGs<p style="text-align: justify;">Generic roleplaying systems can easily end up feeling bland, and I think it's very important to offer some example settings. <b><a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/294202/Tricube-Tales?affiliate_id=311146">Tricube Tales</a></b> does have a few simple scenarios at the back (tied in with the vehicle rules), but I don't think that's anywhere near sufficient to really capture the feel of a setting -- compare it with <b><a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/261539/Savage-Worlds-Adventure-Edition?affiliate_id=311146">Savage Worlds</a></b>, for example, which has an extensive library of setting books. Or look at some of the TinyD6 games like <b><a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/228896/Tiny-Dungeon-2e-Players-Guide?affiliate_id=311146">Tiny Dungeon</a></b> or <b><a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/241651/Tiny-Frontiers-Revised?affiliate_id=311146">Tiny Frontiers</a></b>, which fill half the book with micro-settings.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">However, it takes a long time to write a full setting, even smaller settings can take a while, and it's simply too much work for me to handle on my own. This was part of the reason why I released the Tricube Tales system under a Creative Commons license, as I hoped other publishers might take an interest (and I was very excited to see Nathan Carmen use it for <b><a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/313868/Heroes-of-the-Cosmos?affiliate_id=311146">Heroes of the Cosmos</a></b>). But I'd still like to offer <i>something</i> in the way of official setting support.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSeUSqOGHX1MBGVssG_42F2rE6bNg-lhEgUsaz_89IE0ZCDERg6TetLq0Wunag9K8J-WY-FWvO4D_AponnxaazfKWl4d0vAclGBxdsHLtc4tL4hSqwl-FHm2YOxwkv6M6SClZxoRoh6rnh/s668/Tricube_Tales_with_microsettings.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="441" data-original-width="668" height="343" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSeUSqOGHX1MBGVssG_42F2rE6bNg-lhEgUsaz_89IE0ZCDERg6TetLq0Wunag9K8J-WY-FWvO4D_AponnxaazfKWl4d0vAclGBxdsHLtc4tL4hSqwl-FHm2YOxwkv6M6SClZxoRoh6rnh/w519-h343/Tricube_Tales_with_microsettings.png" width="519" /></a></div><p style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">One-Page RPGs</span></b></p><p style="text-align: justify;">The <b><a href="https://itch.io/jam/one-page-rpg-jam-2020">One-Page RPG Jam 2020</a></b> motivated me to try my hand at writing a one-page RPG, and I decided to use the Tricube Tales mechanics for my game -- I figured that would provide a good cross-promotional opportunity, plus I wanted to see if I could compress the Tricube Tales rules down small enough to use for a one-page RPG. I'd also been wanting to establish a presence on itch.io for a while, and this seemed the perfect opportunity. Plus it allowed me to experiment with new layouts and color-schemes, which was fun!</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b><a href="https://zadmar.itch.io/the-fools-who-follow">The Fools Who Follow</a></b> didn't attract much interest, I think it was simply buried in the huge pile of Jam entries, although I was also new to itch.io and didn't have an established customer base there. But I really liked the one-page format, so I decided to try another -- <b><a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/326023/Goblin-Gangsters-OnePage-RPG?affiliate_id=311146">Goblin Gangsters</a></b>, a prequel to <b><a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/311092/The-Gobfather?affiliate_id=311146">The Gobfather</a></b>. This received much more attention, along with some good feedback. Someone said they'd had difficulty coming up with ideas for the adventure generator, so after some further consideration, I added an optional second page with examples (technically this turned it into a two-page RPG, but as you only need the first page to play, and "two-page RPGs" aren't really a thing, I still refer to it as a one-page RPG). This proved popular, not only did it provide the reader with some good examples for the adventure generator, but it also added flavor to the scenario and helped flesh it out with some interesting people, places, and events.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">After watching the trailer for season 2 of the Mandalorian, I decided to create <b><a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/330423/Interstellar-Bounty-Hunters-OnePage-RPG?affiliate_id=311146">Interstellar Bounty Hunters</a></b> as my third micro-setting. I thought it would make a great thematic fit with my <b><a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/246545/Galactic-Countdown-Deck?affiliate_id=311146">Galactic Countdown Deck</a></b> as well, but I didn't want to add card-based mechanics to the rules, so after some deliberation, I added an oracle table to the second page (with similar symbols to those used on my Countdown Decks).</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Not long after, DriveThruRPG put a call out for entries in their yearly Trick-or-Treat promotion, looking for Halloween-themed products ideally 1-3 pages in length. I figured this would be a great way to promote my products and draw more attention to my work, so I created my fourth micro-setting, <b><a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/331475/Samhain-Slaughter-OnePage-RPG?affiliate_id=311146">Samhain Slaughter</a></b>. Although it wasn't chosen for the Trick-or-Treat promotion, it received positive feedback, and helped cement the style I want to use going forward.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">After that, I went back to Goblin Gangsters and added an oracle table to its second page, then added a second page to The Fools Who Follow, giving all four micro-settings a consistent style. The first page is split into four main sections -- an introduction to the scenario, character creation, game rules (covering challenges, karma, and resolve), and gameplay (an adventure generator, and guidelines for running and playing the game). The second page contains examples for the adventure generator table entries, and an oracle table for adding twists to the story.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">When Manuel Sambs released his fantastic <b><a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/334278/Sprawlrunners?affiliate_id=311146">Sprawlrunners</a></b> toolkit for Savage Worlds, he also inspired me to create <b><a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/336887/Chrome-Shells--Neon-Streets-OnePage-RPG?affiliate_id=311146">Chrome Shells & Neon Streets</a></b> as my fifth micro-setting, this time tackling the cyberpunk genre.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">Why use Tricube Tales?</span></b></p><p style="text-align: justify;">The one-page RPGs are designed to be standalone games, but they also double up as micro-settings for Tricube Tales, and I've noticed a bump in sales for the core rules each time I release another one-pager. However, I think the system itself also works very well in the smaller format. The mechanics are a little more complex than many one-page RPGs, but they hit the sweet spot for me.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Players roll 1-3 dice based on their character, against a target number of 4-6 based on the situation, so there are two sliders for controlling the difficulty (one at the player end, the other at the GM end). Then there are perks and quirks, which give the player a way to influence the rolls -- this is something I consider important in a system, because it adds a little tactical depth, giving the players some degree of control over the rolls depending on how important they consider the situation, rather than leaving the outcome completely to chance.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">There's a lot of different setting ideas I'd like to try at some point, and absolutely no way I would ever have enough time to create even a <i>fraction</i> of them as full settings. But these one-pagers are relatively quick to create.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">Going Forward</span></b></p><p style="text-align: justify;">When I started working on <b><a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/225745/Saga-of-the-Goblin-Horde-Savage-Worlds?affiliate_id=311146">Saga of the Goblin Horde</a></b>, I released a new character archetype every month, as well as various One Sheet adventures, and I think this really helped keep the spotlight on the setting. I feel the same approach could work for Tricube Tales micro-settings, and I've already got several ideas I'd like to explore! Because they're pretty fast to write, I also have a lot more freedom to experiment with weird niche settings -- and also explore outside of my comfort zone, without worrying about getting burned out before I finish.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">I think the oracle table could also provide a valuable tool for solo play, and this is something I'd like to look at in more depth in the future. My earlier <b><a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/236979/Blood--Bile">Blood & Bile</a></b> game was explicitly designed with GMless play in mind, and I think Tricube Tales would also make a good fit for solo gaming, so a solo one-page RPG using Tricube Tales is definitely something I feel is worth exploring.</p>Richard Woolcockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16738523963280329505noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6526576522570166010.post-90893150176716683392020-08-30T01:18:00.020-07:002020-08-30T01:55:16.685-07:00Tricube Tales update, and Goblin Gangsters<p style="text-align: justify;">Lulu recently did a complete redesign of its website, leading to a number of lingering technical problems, so I decided to move the print-on-demand version of Tricube Tales to DriveThruRPG. This required a <a href="https://onebookshelfpublisherservice.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/360022742353-Preparing-Your-Book-For-Print-with-Scribus">full redesign</a> of the print-ready files, and so I decided I might as well take the opportunity to incorporate the feedback I've received over the last 6-7 months (the previous version was <a href="http://savage-stuff.blogspot.com/2020/02/tricube-tales-now-available-in-print.html">published in February</a>). By expanding the page count (from 52 to 59), I was also able to eliminate the blank pages at the end of the book.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhobhI3Qc3ZQ9ZCEazhm4yV6v1SzzY5yagKadfxCp23j7AL4_63e6fs4O2IeHaQEFZuukTDRktPcwaCGT03rslEpXul6L1FPJ-jmGHhyRkw-qWvN97wo938ZPEHteUBZ_vaB9leS4QnQ2bC/s2000/TT_PoD.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1403" data-original-width="2000" height="359" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhobhI3Qc3ZQ9ZCEazhm4yV6v1SzzY5yagKadfxCp23j7AL4_63e6fs4O2IeHaQEFZuukTDRktPcwaCGT03rslEpXul6L1FPJ-jmGHhyRkw-qWvN97wo938ZPEHteUBZ_vaB9leS4QnQ2bC/w512-h359/TT_PoD.png" width="512" /></a></div><br /><p style="text-align: justify;">The PDF versions of Tricube Tales have also been updated to version 4, and they can be downloaded as usual from the product page <b><a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/294202/Tricube-Tales">here</a></b>. As always, you can download the full phone PDF for free by clicking on the Publisher Preview.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Aside from a few minor cosmetic tweaks (and updating the credits and contents), here are the changes:</p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><ul><li style="text-align: justify;">Rephrased the "Recovery" section to include an example.</li><li style="text-align: justify;">Added sections for "Opposed Challenges" and "NPC Confrontations", covering PC-vs-PC and NPC-vs-NPC situations respectively.</li><li style="text-align: justify;">Switched around "Combat Styles" and "Examples" on page 28, as I think it makes more sense for the examples to come first.</li><li style="text-align: justify;">Rephrased "Another Perspective" to hopefully make it clearer when you need to spend karma.</li><li style="text-align: justify;">Added new sections on "Assisting Allies" and "Stacking Perks", to give some further clarity on the usage of perks.</li><li style="text-align: justify;">Updated "Superheroes" to reference limitations, and added another page for "Power Limitations".</li><li style="text-align: justify;">Added a "Supernaturals" section (originally posted <a href="http://savage-stuff.blogspot.com/2020/03/tricube-tales-supernatural-afflictions.html">here</a> on my blog).</li><li style="text-align: justify;">Added a couple more example vehicles (exploratory starship and battle tank).</li><li style="text-align: justify;">The PoD version of the book now has a description on the back cover.</li></ul><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><i>I'd also like to stress that none of the rules have changed</i></b>, so if you've got the earlier version it's still 100% compatible with the current rules. All I've done is clarify a few things that people found unclear, and expand a few areas that hadn't explicitly been covered.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The printed version is 5"x8", as DTRPG didn't support the smaller pocketbook size, but I actually quite like the larger book now that I've gotten used to it. The font size of the body text is around 13, which is quite large, but I actually find it pretty comfortable on the eyes (at least, on <i>my</i> old eyes!).</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">Goblin Gangsters</span></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I also decided to try my hand at another one-page RPG, based on the same template I'd used for <a href="http://savage-stuff.blogspot.com/2020/07/one-page-rpg-design-fools-who-follow.html">The Fools Who Follow</a>. This time I tried to adhere more closely to the Tricube Tales rules, and I designed the game as a prequel to <a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/311092/The-Gobfather">The Gobfather</a>.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">You can download it here: <a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/326023/Goblin-Gangsters-OnePage-RPG"><b>Goblin Gangsters</b></a> (click on the Publisher Preview to download the full PDF for free).</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3vVj0vNycLCVmLGWqBXda9eivtvCS0ATK9r1wR2L9knf485uJ_bO1l9lztKeleh_1u3dNRdfgMqy-KUF7c8zkFMlvOfbGqxtdD5x3k5RIuErgubOQm3ZV9u0-_6_LYj5FnnbBMEHCnxQJ/s1080/GoblinGangstersImage.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="835" data-original-width="1080" height="396" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3vVj0vNycLCVmLGWqBXda9eivtvCS0ATK9r1wR2L9knf485uJ_bO1l9lztKeleh_1u3dNRdfgMqy-KUF7c8zkFMlvOfbGqxtdD5x3k5RIuErgubOQm3ZV9u0-_6_LYj5FnnbBMEHCnxQJ/w512-h396/GoblinGangstersImage.jpg" width="512" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Overall I'm very pleased with it, I think Goblin Gangsters does a good job of capturing the essence of the Tricube Tales system while also serving as a light introduction to The Gobfather, and it all fits on a single page!</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div><b><span style="font-size: large;">One-Page RPGs as example settings?</span></b></div><div><br /></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Although Tricube Tales does include a number of genre rules and even a few example scenarios, it doesn't have any real settings of its own, and I think that can be a weakness (from a marketing perspective) for generic systems. That's something I'd like to address in the future.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I think Savage Worlds owes much of its success to the wide range of settings it offers, and the popular TinyD6 games often include a selection of micro-settings in the back of their rulebooks. Perhaps I could offer some micro-settings for Tricube Tales in the form of a library of one-page RPGs? It's certainly something to consider, and much more realistic (from an effort perspective) than writing full settings.</div>Richard Woolcockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16738523963280329505noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6526576522570166010.post-3739992181239796562020-07-30T05:15:00.007-07:002020-07-30T06:23:08.755-07:00One-Page RPG Design: The Fools Who Follow<div style="text-align: justify;">The <a href="https://itch.io/jam/one-page-rpg-jam-2020">One-Page RPG Jam 2020</a> was announced last week and started on the 27th of July. I decided to take part, as I like trying out different things and expanding my skill set, and I really needed a short break from my other projects anyway. I submitted my game last night, and you can grab it free from here:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><b>Download: <a href="https://zadmar.itch.io/the-fools-who-follow">https://zadmar.itch.io/the-fools-who-follow</a></b><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaR15dIY-HKKXrptKwXf1HS3914WN1WkfbjQ4_k3Kl2eU9GG1hC7v7SADznDh88jZ74UetDr7rs0hW2OkAd_SdN-msH2-q4IxCClqOu1VZlVRO6uU6MkUETM7GmXfRvrVs1mj7diGlbJAY/s630/TFWF.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="487" data-original-width="630" height="386" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaR15dIY-HKKXrptKwXf1HS3914WN1WkfbjQ4_k3Kl2eU9GG1hC7v7SADznDh88jZ74UetDr7rs0hW2OkAd_SdN-msH2-q4IxCClqOu1VZlVRO6uU6MkUETM7GmXfRvrVs1mj7diGlbJAY/w500-h386/TFWF.png" width="500" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">Concept</span></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The Chosen One is a classic trope, but it doesn't work very well for most tabletop roleplaying games, as you don't usually want one player hogging the limelight. I've seen some fun ideas for subverting it, though, such as the Chosen One unexpectedly dying and the PCs having to pick up the slack (the very NSFW Oglaf webcomic also did something similar, with the Chosen One being killed by a shopkeeper for "stealing" the weapon he was prophesied to wield).</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I originally considered doing something similar, with the Chosen One being killed (perhaps even at the hand of the PCs) prior to the adventure, but I eventually decided it would be more interesting if I turned the Chosen One into a liability, an ongoing problem the players would have to deal with as part of the story. That also meant I could revisit the shenanigans rules I first used in <a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/225745/Saga-of-the-Goblin-Horde-Savage-Worlds?affiliate_id=311146">Saga of the Goblin Horde</a>, and see how well they could be adapted to other settings!</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">Structure</span></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">A single page doesn't give you much space to work with, but I had a look at a few other one-page RPGs for inspiration, and eventually settled on four sections: Scenario overview, characters, game rules, and running adventures. Back when I worked on <a href="http://savage-stuff.blogspot.com/2017/05/the-goblin-warrens.html">The Goblin Warrens</a>, I combined a 200-word RPG with a 200-word adventure, and that was the benchmark I decided to use here. Likewise, creating a scenario overview was pretty similar to the various adventure seeds I wrote for Saga of the Goblin Horde and <a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/236979/Blood--Bile?affiliate_id=311146">Blood & Bile</a>.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">Rules</span></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I decided to base the system on <a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/294202/Tricube-Tales?affiliate_id=311146">Tricube Tales</a> because I already knew it worked, plus it provided me with a cross-promotional opportunity. I had to streamline the rules significantly, and even dropped traits -- but I chose to keep karma, as I consider it an essential part of the system (it gives players a degree of control over the outcome of their rolls, rather than leaving everything to chance).</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">Layout</span></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I've been meaning to try my hand at a landscape PDF for a while, and this seemed the perfect opportunity. Four columns would have been too squashed up, however, so I placed the scenario overview at the top of the page and split the rest into three columns. I also had a look at the layout of other one-page RPGs -- in particular, I drew inspiration from the way <a href="https://johnharper.itch.io/lasers-feelings">Lasers & Feelings</a> designed its tables (although I kept the dice icons I'd used for tables in my earlier products).</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">Color-scheme</span></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">For the initial trade dress, I picked a <a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/131607/Template-Pack-6-Elves?affiliate_id=311146">page background</a> I liked from Lord Zsezse Works and found a suitable <a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/235218/Publishers-Choice--Fantasy-Characters-Jester?affiliate_id=311146">jester illustration</a> from Fat Goblin Games. I adjusted the colors of the jester slightly to better match the purple corners of the page background, then realized the illustration's three main colors (purple, green and orange) followed a <a href="https://www.oberlo.com/blog/color-combinations-cheat-sheet">triadic color scheme</a> on the color wheel, so I decided to use it for the text and tables as well.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">Summary</span></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">It took me a couple of days to transform The Fool Who Follows from a rough idea into a polished product, and I'm pleased with the way it turned out. One-page RPGs are fun to design, I can see them being a great way to try out different ideas (much like I've suggested using One Sheets to try out ideas for Savage Worlds settings). It also allowed me to experiment with different styles of layout and trade dress.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I've been meaning to establish a presence on itch.io for a while, so it's nice to finally have something on there, even if it's just a tiny one-page game. Will I create some more? I've not decided yet. Would you like me to? Let me know!</div>Richard Woolcockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16738523963280329505noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6526576522570166010.post-38352427706620085282020-07-04T03:11:00.000-07:002020-07-06T01:53:37.825-07:00Starships & Salvage: Running Gold & Glory in Space<div>
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One of my favorite Savage Worlds settings is <b><a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/283156/GoldGlory-Seven-Deadly-Dungeons-Savage-Worlds-Adventure-Edition?affiliate_id=311146">Gold & Glory: Seven Deadly Dungeons</a></b>, where the heroes explore various randomly-generated dungeons looking for treasure -- and one of my favorite board games is Space Hulk, where space marines fight their way through abandoned space vessels. So ever since Gold & Glory was released, I've been pondering using its rules for a sci-fi game, where a rag-tag crew of explorers hunts for salvage among the stars (or perhaps the PCs are a company of mercenaries, or a unit of drop troops, sent on various military missions).</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlWkirVlKeq009P_E-6i3LjsQv92_t_NG2ozZV6C9GFw8eAtG9hWM7n2bhgF5hl68j9hlmKDOVK4uRGZFavFWRFJFDsyBYx3S1eP8rS06KbNqPl-mTij9pBeh-XObkJl6L41m1aPS8jlPq/s640/Spaceship.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="640" height="313" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlWkirVlKeq009P_E-6i3LjsQv92_t_NG2ozZV6C9GFw8eAtG9hWM7n2bhgF5hl68j9hlmKDOVK4uRGZFavFWRFJFDsyBYx3S1eP8rS06KbNqPl-mTij9pBeh-XObkJl6L41m1aPS8jlPq/w500-h313/Spaceship.jpg" width="500" /></a></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Wild Draw Character Creation</span></b></div>
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Gold & Glory has some nifty card-based character creation rules. However, for a sci-fi setting (assuming the PCs are not all human) I'd recommend using the species from the Science Fiction Companion instead of the standard fantasy races, and I'd propose handling them with an additional card draw:</div>
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<b>2:</b> Aquarian</div>
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<b>3:</b> Aurax</div>
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<b>4:</b> Avion</div>
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<b>5:</b> Construct</div>
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<b>6:</b> Deader</div>
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<b>7:</b> Floran</div>
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<b>8:</b> Human</div>
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<b>9:</b> Insectoid</div>
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<b>10:</b> Kalian</div>
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<b>Jack:</b> Rakashan</div>
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<b>Queen:</b> Saurian</div>
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<b>King:</b> Serran</div>
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<b>Ace:</b> Yeti</div>
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<b>Joker:</b> Choose freely</div>
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Similarly, the classes would need to be changed to something more suitable for a sci-fi theme, perhaps including options such as "soldier," "mechanic," "pilot," "psychic," "scientist," "scout," etc.</div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Equipment</span></b></div>
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I'd suggest renaming the currency to something like "galactic credits", and giving characters access to gear from the core rules and Science Fiction Companion. You might also want to pick up a copy of <a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/241356/Savage-Space">Savage Space</a> (it's free), particularly for the vehicle rules, as the PCs will need a spaceship for their adventures!</div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Adventures</span></b></div>
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The dungeons can be designed in much the same way as Gold & Glory, and there are countless movies and TV shows you can use for inspiration. Here are some adventure seeds (along with their sources of inspiration) to get you started:</div>
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<b>Distress Signal:</b> The heroes investigate a distress signal coming from an alien vessel that's crash-landed on a nearby moon. While this plot hook is an obvious nod to Alien, the story could unfold in any number of ways.</div>
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<b>Missing Colony:</b> A colony base has gone silent, and the PCs are hired to investigate. Although this seed is inspired by Aliens, the adventure could go in any number of directions -- perhaps the colony's droids turned on them, or maybe the colony was driven insane (like the reavers in Firefly/Serenity).</div>
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<b>Breakout:</b> The PCs are hired to break into an automated prison ship and rescue one of the prisoners. Inspired by an episode of the Mandalorian, this adventure could introduce various unexpected twists and challenges related to the ship, the identity of the prisoner, and so on.</div>
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<b>Ghost Ship:</b> Inspired by Event Horizon, a starship with a prototype FTL drive vanished on its maiden trip many years ago, and was never seen again -- until a few days ago, when it reappeared, drifting aimlessly through space. The PCs are fortunate enough to be nearby, giving them an opportunity to explore (and loot) the ship before any other vessels come into range.</div>
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<b>Alien Outpost:</b> Inspired by the Doctor Who episodes "The Impossible Planet" and "The Satan Pit", the PCs discover a planet orbiting a black hole, with an abandoned base of ancient alien design located on the surface. Who knows what sort of advanced technology might be found within?</div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Summary</span></b></div>
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Gold & Glory is as much toolkit as it is setting, and the core concept should work just as well for other genres. A horror setting where the PCs investigate dark crypts and haunted houses? A cyberpunk setting where the PCs break into automated factories and military facilities in search of hi-tech loot? A mafia setting where the PCs need to break someone out of a prison, or steal evidence from a police station?</div>
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Not every adventure needs to be a dungeon crawl, but sometimes a dungeon crawl is exactly what you need, and the semi-randomization tools provided in Gold & Glory are a great way of handling it.</div>
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Richard Woolcockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16738523963280329505noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6526576522570166010.post-31376615901649941812020-04-30T02:34:00.001-07:002020-04-30T02:34:22.348-07:00Customizing Stock Art<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZWs9Sdp-cPk35HMCzA_GUdXvsHfbasFBUeG0UQ1rwlWGfkIw-ez7vY_SWY8mwcQV2RyOUCyu7_bFMA0enl0RwkTiVYvMq0aT4Odt1ajna-OgmZ_Iy79AdcGph94cij2dPWEP_pXbRN2jh/s1600/CoverSpread.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="908" data-original-width="1526" height="237" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZWs9Sdp-cPk35HMCzA_GUdXvsHfbasFBUeG0UQ1rwlWGfkIw-ez7vY_SWY8mwcQV2RyOUCyu7_bFMA0enl0RwkTiVYvMq0aT4Odt1ajna-OgmZ_Iy79AdcGph94cij2dPWEP_pXbRN2jh/s400/CoverSpread.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Originals <a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/266755/Publishers-Choice--Modern-Crime-Boss">here</a> and <a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/280761/Publishers-Choice--Quality-Stock-Art-Gobtaur">here</a>.</i></td></tr>
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As I've mentioned in the past, it can often be difficult to find stock artwork that matches your specific needs. However, commissioning lots of custom art can rapidly become expensive. That is why I like to "cheat," by selecting the stock art first, and then <a href="https://savage-stuff.blogspot.com/2017/01/bestiary-on-budget.html">designing various monsters</a> and adventures around it. Unfortunately, that isn't always an option.</div>
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Two days ago I released <b><a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/311092/The-Gobfather?affiliate_id=311146">The Gobfather</a></b>, a new crossover mini-setting for <a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/225745/Saga-of-the-Goblin-Horde-Savage-Worlds?affiliate_id=311146">Saga of the Goblin Horde</a> and <a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/290098/Wiseguys-The-Savage-Guide-to-Organized-Crime?affiliate_id=311146">Wiseguys</a>, and for this product my normal approach of choosing the artwork first simply wasn't an option -- I needed a whole load of goblin gangsters, and I couldn't actually find <i>any</i> matching stock art. Nor could I afford to commission custom illustrations.</div>
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So I took my "cheating" to a whole new level: I chopped up a selection of different stock art images, resized and recolored them, and then I stuck the various pieces back together, creating my own unique illustrations. I used Photoshop, but you could just as easily use GIMP, or some another image editor. </div>
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I decided to use artwork by Rick Hershey of <a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/browse/pub/3865/Fat-Goblin-Games">Fat Goblin Games</a> for my customized illustrations, for several reasons.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Original <a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/249476/Publishers-Choice--Modern-Gorilla-Gangster">here</a>.</i></td></tr>
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First, Rick has an absolutely <i>huge</i> selection of very reasonably priced artwork to choose from, and when combining images it's essential they all have exactly the same style.</div>
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Second, the Fat Goblin Games license is very generous in terms of what you can do with the art (many artists don't allow you to modify their artwork <i>at all</i>, let alone chop them into pieces and reassemble them).</div>
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Third, I find the artistic style Rick uses easy to modify. I think this is mostly due to the black outlines, and a comic book style that tends to be more forgiving of minor mistakes.</div>
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Finally, of course, Rick draws lots of goblins! That's actually why I used so much of his art in Saga of the Goblin Horde, and it was nice to keep the same artistic look in The Gobfather.</div>
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To modify an image, I first duplicate the layer, then I zoom in and start cutting away the parts I don't want. I'll do this several times so that different parts of the image are in separate layers -- I might have one layer for the eyes, another for the mouth, another for the hands, and so on.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Originals <a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/247796/Publishers-Choice--Modern-Slasher-Killer">here</a> and <a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/280766/Publishers-Choice--Quality-Stock-Art-Urban-Goblin">here</a>.</i></td></tr>
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If the image has a thick black outline, I'll select that with the magic wand and copy it to the top layer, as it'll often help conceal minor discrepancies in the lower layers caused by cutting.</div>
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Not every part of the image needs to be cut cleanly, only those that will be visible in the final image. For example, I didn't usually pay much attention to the necks, because I knew I'd place a large goblin head over the top.</div>
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However, when images are combined, it's important they match up exactly. That means a clean edge on any parts of the image that will be visible, with the new component precisely rotated and resized to match the main image.</div>
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You can also use a fade-to-transparent effect to overlap two images (such as when I placed a new nose on Don Bignose's face). Other images should have a slight overlap, to avoid a gap between them -- for example, when I added Chip Chop's head, I placed it behind the suit collar and then cut away the suit.</div>
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This approach is also very convenient for changing colors, as it means that (for example) I can make the skin green without changing the color of the clothing, or darken the suit without changing the brightness of the steel knife.</div>
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Changing the <i>proportions</i> of an image is something that should be handled with great care, and I try to avoid this whenever possible. I did do it for one of the goblins, as I needed to turn a tall thin crime boss into a short goblin -- but I removed his hands first, replacing one with a larger duplicate of the original hand that also kept the original proportions, and the other with a goblin hand from another image.</div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Summary</span></b></div>
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While I don't have the skill to create my own art from scratch, it wasn't too hard to modify existing images, and I think the results were pretty good. This process obviously requires a fair amount of time, so if you <i>can</i> afford to commission custom art, that's still the better option. But if you're on a shoestring budget, and can't find the exact stock art you need, this is definitely a viable alternative.</div>
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<i>All of the artwork in this blog post is by Rick Hershey. Publisher’s Choice Quality Stock Art © Rick Hershey / Fat Goblin Games (www.fatgoblingames.com).</i></div>
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Richard Woolcockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16738523963280329505noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6526576522570166010.post-17201723600067739712020-03-23T06:46:00.000-07:002020-03-26T15:55:36.387-07:00Tricube Tales: Supernatural Afflictions<div style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhzV2UW8G3hsKHOt6UqzRJSmbF9WQerQO9E05EjyRtpZjev9N_RhTpxvWdRb5LemnqdGIm5Vv9GNJs3uGy1Er5feqsacGxDJ2NBi4zMxajhaG5auqQcGy5-wj0LJLkydZK6_d25pFvmAU9/s1600/werewolf-3546899_1920.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhzV2UW8G3hsKHOt6UqzRJSmbF9WQerQO9E05EjyRtpZjev9N_RhTpxvWdRb5LemnqdGIm5Vv9GNJs3uGy1Er5feqsacGxDJ2NBi4zMxajhaG5auqQcGy5-wj0LJLkydZK6_d25pFvmAU9/s200/werewolf-3546899_1920.jpg" width="200" /></a><i>This isn't a new rule, but rather an example of how the existing rules in <b><a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/294202/Tricube-Tales?affiliate_id=311146">Tricube Tales</a></b> can be applied to supernatural afflictions.</i></div>
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<i><span style="color: #351c75;"><b>Note: There is now a <a href="https://discord.gg/FRm9kQv">Discord server</a> for my roleplaying games. Please feel free to drop by if you're interested!</b></span></i></div>
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When a PC runs out of resolve in Tricube Tales, they receive an affliction. If that affliction was caused by the infectious bite or claw attack of a supernatural creature, then the GM may wish to give the character an appropriate supernatural affliction, such as "vampirism," "lycanthropy," "zombie virus," etc.</div>
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Afflictions work in the same way as quirks, except the GM decides when to activate them (including introducing complications to the scene). In this way, a PC who has been afflicted with lycanthropy would have no control over their transformations or the carnage they cause -- but (as always) advancement would allow them to later convert the affliction into a quirk, representing the character learning to control their condition.</div>
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Likewise, the affliction would initially provide no mechanical benefits, but the PC could later take supernatural perks such as "preternatural strength", "rending claws", etc. If the PC chooses a broad perk that encompasses a range of abilities, they should also take a suitable limitation (much like the Magic Limitations) -- for example, "werewolf gifts" might only work if the character first spends time transforming into their wolfman form, while "vampiric gifts" might only work at night, and so on.</div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Removing Afflictions</span></b></div>
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Of course, not everyone will wish to embrace their new condition, and some may actively seek to undo it.</div>
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If the affliction isn't permanent, the GM might offer the player a story-based way to remove it -- perhaps they can reverse their condition by killing the vampire who bit them, or seek a cure for the zombie virus. In theory, a permanent affliction can also be removed, but this requires the permanent expenditure of karma using a relevant perk (probably something magical, or based on cutting-edge medical research).</div>
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Finally, if a character receives the affliction just as they're about to advance, the GM might offer them the more drastic option of converting their "zombie virus" affliction into an "amputated arm" quirk, or something similar!</div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Gradual Decline</span></b></div>
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Sometimes an affliction may not have any benefits at all. While some novels and TV shows depict supernatural creatures as sentient beings with powerful abilities, others treat them as mindless monsters driven purely by instinct, hunger, and rage. In such cases, infection effectively becomes a death sentence, rendering the PC unplayable -- and just like any other fatal affliction, the GM should always make the risk clear in advance.</div>
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However, the infection could also represent a slow decline rather than an instant transformation, with the victim of a zombie bite surviving hours or even days before eventually succumbing to the virus. The GM could even treat it as a multi-stage infection, with future afflictions worsening the character's condition as they gradually transform.</div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Summary</span></b></div>
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Tricube Tales is a simple system by design, and it should be able to handle most settings and genres without the need for additional mechanics. This holds true for supernatural afflictions as well -- you don't need to add any new rules, just interpret the existing ones in the context of a supernatural setting.</div>
Richard Woolcockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16738523963280329505noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6526576522570166010.post-8238522877241254812020-02-06T13:47:00.004-08:002020-08-30T01:42:01.352-07:00Tricube Tales: Now available in print<div style="text-align: justify;">
Last month I wrote a blog post about <b><a href="http://savage-stuff.blogspot.com/2020/01/turning-phone-pdf-into-print-on-demand.html">Turning a phone PDF into a print-on-demand pocketbook</a></b>. I ordered four proofs of Tricube Tales (in standard color, standard black & white, premium color, and premium black & white), but I wasn't very impressed with the premium paper -- it was just too thick and stiff for such a small book, making it difficult to flick through the pages.</div>
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I also spotted a few issues, such a minor misalignment with the cover, the black & white version was too dark, and there were updates I wanted to make to the text (such as expanding the bestiary and the vehicles section). So I updated the document and ordered two more proofs for the standard version (but not the premium this time).</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTtytGJTqQNpxkjHghodcWCIfER2ed314If7Dor3sFJApiQxmtSO5LCUhKV5B056N1Ktlcsl4gXWU6-Gh_iQGSpRf_juFAJMlS436jG8gRJ_tdS8_zieu4ucFLO5z3DSvcUFvf9k8SjIOS/s1600/IMG_2391.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="756" data-original-width="1008" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTtytGJTqQNpxkjHghodcWCIfER2ed314If7Dor3sFJApiQxmtSO5LCUhKV5B056N1Ktlcsl4gXWU6-Gh_iQGSpRf_juFAJMlS436jG8gRJ_tdS8_zieu4ucFLO5z3DSvcUFvf9k8SjIOS/s400/IMG_2391.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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The proofs arrived today, and as luck would have it, Lulu is offering free shipping at the moment! You can combine the codes <b>LKAB317CD</b> (15% discount) and <b>ONESHIP</b> (free shipping), just make sure you've switched to the US store.</div>
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<div style="text-align: justify;"><i><b>EDIT 30-08-2020:</b> Lulu completely overhauled their website, leading to a number of technical issues, so I ended up moving the print-on-demand books to DriveThruRPG. I've therefore removed the dead links from this blog post.</i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div>
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These prices are slightly higher than those I mentioned in my previous blog post, because I added four more pages to the book. The discount will lower the price a bit, but Lulu may also add a little extra for tax. However, the book is still pretty cheap, particularly if you get free shipping.</div>
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The discount codes don't last long, but they get reactivated every so often, so if you miss the window you can always try again another time.<br />
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If you don't know what Tricube Tales is, download the PDF free from <b><a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/294202/Tricube-Tales">here</a></b>.</div>
Richard Woolcockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16738523963280329505noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6526576522570166010.post-59655630549174497772020-01-20T14:26:00.000-08:002020-02-08T01:56:57.877-08:00Turning a phone PDF into a print-on-demand pocketbook<div style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh67bjUtOCfw_0HPVmoLytbu1A7lref4NrLqcYKSjbvWiaJ0HVvGJ2SyB4NHn8q7xW4Tq5uQW1n2LoRZdUbeLWZ0NI3UqK44koGLB3ovlbBUvQvqNLze2uUEfViCl0tVw6pKEy2X9MSDGoP/s1600/IMG_2311.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="666" data-original-width="500" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh67bjUtOCfw_0HPVmoLytbu1A7lref4NrLqcYKSjbvWiaJ0HVvGJ2SyB4NHn8q7xW4Tq5uQW1n2LoRZdUbeLWZ0NI3UqK44koGLB3ovlbBUvQvqNLze2uUEfViCl0tVw6pKEy2X9MSDGoP/s320/IMG_2311.jpg" width="240" /></a>A couple of months ago I published a rules-light generic RPG called <b><a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/294202/Tricube-Tales?affiliate_id=311146">Tricube Tales</a></b>, which used DTRPG's phone PDF size (2.25" x 4"). It's a convenient format for smartphone users, but some people really dislike reading on their phone or using electronic devices at the table, so I thought I'd see if I could create a print-on-demand version as well (if you've not read my earlier blog posts about print-on-demand, you can read them <b><a href="http://savage-stuff.blogspot.com/2017/12/saga-of-goblin-horde-print-your-own-book.html">here</a></b>, <b><a href="https://savage-stuff.blogspot.com/2018/03/creating-print-ready-pdf.html">here</a></b> and <b><a href="http://savage-stuff.blogspot.com/2019/02/printing-your-own-savage-worlds.html">here</a></b>).</div>
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The problem was, I didn't want to redo all the layout work -- but I <i>also</i> didn't want massive text, so I needed a very small book size. Unfortunately, the smallest size DTRPG currently offer is 5" x 8", which was a bit too large (and they don't offer it in premium either).</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJOXiJPumDQriBX7F69m4F2Ajiu6KuEcYScubOYXnzZxVmlw-zNrdikTX4iV9yMw_1HR0RJA3EU0ju-kfm1FwFYhi5EnT7rQD-NO6DwAJr5HuOriaKga7qScmiN52P66G-ajO0ivVRGEFI/s1600/IMG_2312.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="666" data-original-width="500" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJOXiJPumDQriBX7F69m4F2Ajiu6KuEcYScubOYXnzZxVmlw-zNrdikTX4iV9yMw_1HR0RJA3EU0ju-kfm1FwFYhi5EnT7rQD-NO6DwAJr5HuOriaKga7qScmiN52P66G-ajO0ivVRGEFI/s320/IMG_2312.jpg" width="240" /></a>However, I noticed that Lulu offer a 4.25" by 6.88" pocketbook size, so I decided to try that out. I started with a copy of my phone PDF, added margins to increase it to 3.09" x 5", then repositioned the frames and added higher resolution (600 DPI) versions of the images. I also added a vector image around the page numbers so that I could push the frames up the page, otherwise, the margins at the top and bottom of the pages looked very big and empty.</div>
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I then used <b><a href="https://docupub.com/pdfresize/?dplang=eng">docuPub</a></b> to resize the entire PDF to 4.25" x 6.88", which is around a 1.375 times size increase (this was also why I used such high-resolution images). As my phone PDF uses a size 8 font for the body text, the enlarged text in the printed book is pretty comfortable to read.</div>
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For some reason, I couldn't get Lulu to accept the PDF with bleed (I've had no trouble with other book sizes, but it repeatedly refused the pocketbook size). In the end, I gave up, as Tricube Tales only has a fairly light page background anyway, and I didn't think it would make much difference. In retrospect, I think the clean white background is probably better for a physical book than the slightly off-color white I used in the smartphone version.</div>
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The standard paperback costs $2.21 for black and white, and $3.22 for color. The premium paperback costs $2.50 for black and white, and $6.34 for color. That's for a 47-page pocketbook (the book needed to be at least 48 pages, and the last page needed to be left blank). Shipping is normally pretty expensive, but Lulu often have special offers, and I was able to get a 15% discount plus free shipping.</div>
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My order was split into two, and I'm still waiting for the premium books, but I've already got a pretty good idea of what they'll be like (as I've ordered premium books through Lulu in the past). The photos I've posted here are from the standard black and white, and standard color.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE-RrJZNxi5EmwrxIaRcjzogPHhVBIczSYMZptptF4caPVlLrPmc6aviMU99sH903bUINvMA3ZvoCFronNbmr2aCeMudRQzOs2rf8KGzl7ouwhQJoL_qljxOC0tfye5R5WESB2GvvT2s1Z/s1600/IMG_2318.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="666" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE-RrJZNxi5EmwrxIaRcjzogPHhVBIczSYMZptptF4caPVlLrPmc6aviMU99sH903bUINvMA3ZvoCFronNbmr2aCeMudRQzOs2rf8KGzl7ouwhQJoL_qljxOC0tfye5R5WESB2GvvT2s1Z/s400/IMG_2318.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJgb7LmDPaQGJp9_bZy9_QGvS9gJtITjFK7eLtKIjSRgA2OLWgsud3VhQpcV0hBpguWxbM4IeDJvXXW3mAdd2i0zGUSjF0beKEtdOLgnHAtdhl3TxVzSFFcqQHRwzXZukeidkvE3ZJd5wR/s1600/IMG_2334.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="666" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJgb7LmDPaQGJp9_bZy9_QGvS9gJtITjFK7eLtKIjSRgA2OLWgsud3VhQpcV0hBpguWxbM4IeDJvXXW3mAdd2i0zGUSjF0beKEtdOLgnHAtdhl3TxVzSFFcqQHRwzXZukeidkvE3ZJd5wR/s400/IMG_2334.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLaU6CztlejbMDht1QVcjZaP9JOf1-NK7qrSQH4rqS1BbZW8AjpMP2wKaEhlB_SzDT1SLAItPMVeez5Dnnq9An3UCRcUVHnaQAl2nRS0FytmIwQPMAISa9xok4u-5ZVKx53mMJd_xxprfE/s1600/IMG_2335.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="666" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLaU6CztlejbMDht1QVcjZaP9JOf1-NK7qrSQH4rqS1BbZW8AjpMP2wKaEhlB_SzDT1SLAItPMVeez5Dnnq9An3UCRcUVHnaQAl2nRS0FytmIwQPMAISa9xok4u-5ZVKx53mMJd_xxprfE/s400/IMG_2335.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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The last image is from the black and white version. It looks fairly decent, but some of the artwork doesn't work so well in grayscale (it comes out quite dark). I definitely prefer the color version. <b>EDIT: </b>Setting the output to "greyscale" in Scribus generates a greyscale PDF, and this looks much better when printed. So don't upload color PDFs to Lulu if you want to print them in black & white!</div>
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<b>EDIT (28-Jan-2020):</b> The premium proofs arrived yesterday, and I was a bit disappointed. I thought the thicker paper was much nicer for SotGH, but that was 8.5"x11" (US Letter), while Tricube Tales is just 4.25"x6.88" (pocketbook). The premium paper makes it quite difficult to flick through the pages of such a small book. Furthermore, the printer had added an additional 4 blank pages (2 sheets) to the back of the B&W book, and 6 blank pages (3 sheets) to the back of the color book -- you don't have to pay for the blank pages, but I still dislike them. However, it's worth noting that the premium books were printed in France while the standard books were printed in the UK, so this could be down to the printer rather than the paper (meaning it might be different if you ordered in the US, for example).<br />
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That said, the printing quality for the premium color was very obviously superior to the standard color. So while I think I prefer the standard color for usability, the premium color definitely looks nicer.<br />
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The premium black and white was perhaps the most disappointing, as it appeared to be true black and white rather than grayscale, so you could see the little dots in the illustrations. It didn't look terrible, but I thought the standard black and white looked better.<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Conclusion</span></b></div>
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I know that most publishers who offer phone PDFs are using the format as an interactive reference tool to supplement an existing product, and it would be counterproductive to offer a print-on-demand version of the phone PDF in that case (not to mention the page count would probably be <i>huge</i>).</div>
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But with Tricube Tales, I chose to use the phone PDF as the <i>primary</i> format -- it's a small game that I wanted people to be able to carry around with them at all times, and there is no "full-size" version (I do offer a tablet version as well, but it's basically the same PDF except with larger margins, higher resolution images, and layers).</div>
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For me, and other publishers who are interested in offering highly portable RPGs, I think an inexpensive print-on-demand pocketbook version is a nice option to be able to offer. Furthermore, it doesn't require too much additional effort, as you don't need to completely redo the layout.</div>
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Richard Woolcockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16738523963280329505noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6526576522570166010.post-59443308376409051512019-12-17T15:04:00.002-08:002019-12-20T05:37:21.843-08:00Ebenezer’s Gold<div style="text-align: justify;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDSy-bDrNLFsvw1UdnY94so_xCeHb_wL9z21C68HGYU7RIIUBrrSpRZr1InjzAmTqZwsOD3UKNeu4pDrNeBX98WqAQgo8Xn_ccTeOozTm-CdhY71lXyDTNBna7KCX5z8kLX1cqBuLCtG6E/s1600/xmas.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="837" data-original-width="1600" height="207" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDSy-bDrNLFsvw1UdnY94so_xCeHb_wL9z21C68HGYU7RIIUBrrSpRZr1InjzAmTqZwsOD3UKNeu4pDrNeBX98WqAQgo8Xn_ccTeOozTm-CdhY71lXyDTNBna7KCX5z8kLX1cqBuLCtG6E/s400/xmas.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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Gold & Glory was first released in October 2017, and I was immediately impressed by the way it blended old school concepts with modern game design, offering a versatile toolkit for dungeon crawls using the Savage Worlds ruleset. I even wrote a Saga of the Goblin Horde crossover adventure for it, called <a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/244879/GoldGlory-Hightree-Warren?affiliate_id=311146">Hightree Warren</a>!</div>
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Recently, <a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/283156/GoldGlory-Seven-Deadly-Dungeons-Savage-Worlds-Adventure-Edition?affiliate_id=311146">Gold & Glory</a> was updated to SWADE, and Giuseppe Rotondo asked if I’d like to write a Christmas-themed adventure for it. Although I don’t really do freelance work anymore, I like to release a Christmas-themed adventure every year, so I agreed.</div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">You can buy it here: <a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/297968/GoldGlory-Ebenezers-Gold?affiliate_id=311146">Ebenezer's Gold</a></span></b></div>
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Inspired by the protagonist of "A Christmas Carol", Ebenezer's Gold leads the adventurers on a search for a deceased money-lender's hidden treasure. The heroes will have to fight their way past possessed dolls, animated furniture, armies of toy soldiers, and more -- because in this dungeon, even the treasure fights back!<br />
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I've tried to keep the seasonal references subtle (at least compared to my earlier Christmas-themed adventures), so it can easily be used as a regular dungeon as well. The adventure is a little tongue-in-cheek, but it can also be run as a horror-based scenario.</div>
Richard Woolcockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16738523963280329505noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6526576522570166010.post-70829198012004378452019-11-16T05:59:00.000-08:002019-11-16T05:59:26.584-08:00Tricube Tales: Using Saga of the Goblin Horde (and other Savage Worlds settings)<div style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieoVal8tuXtvd1Xl3GFFWIhsNAb44mfN6uUHomlGEZj768_rKcKLd3m0DM6fdahonYNXRnGC-WLxLszhsV_Diif600oTaOijmJJtVLFIecWEtZWpB9QVgjVfQcSq8j69e5XkUVYcHPsA6Q/s1600/Tricube.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="520" data-original-width="390" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieoVal8tuXtvd1Xl3GFFWIhsNAb44mfN6uUHomlGEZj768_rKcKLd3m0DM6fdahonYNXRnGC-WLxLszhsV_Diif600oTaOijmJJtVLFIecWEtZWpB9QVgjVfQcSq8j69e5XkUVYcHPsA6Q/s320/Tricube.jpg" width="240" /></a>Back in March, I released a One Sheet RPG called Tricube Tales. The reception was pretty lukewarm, but from the little feedback I <i>did </i>receive, it was clear the rules needed some detailed explanations and lots of examples. Then DriveThruRPG started promoting their new Phone PDF format, and I thought "Why not? Tricube Tales is <i>designed </i>for low-prep gaming -- and having it on your smartphone would be pretty convenient!"</div>
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So I expanded it to around 5000 words, adding examples and explanations along with optional rules for different genres, and last week I published it as a 38-page Phone PDF. I made the full PDF available as a free download, but for $1 you also get the tablet version (at 4:3 screen ratio with higher-resolution art) and a Word document (I've released the system under the CC BY 3.0 license, and the Word document is easier for copying the text into your own products).</div>
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<b>Check it out if you haven't already: <a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/294202/Tricube-Tales?affiliate_id=311146"><span style="font-size: large;">Tricube Tales</span></a></b></div>
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Of course, as soon as I published it, I was asked how Tricube Tales could be used with <a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/225745/Saga-of-the-Goblin-Horde-Savage-Worlds?affiliate_id=311146">Saga of the Goblin Horde</a>! So here's how I would do it (note that most of these guidelines could also be applied to other Savage Worlds settings):</div>
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<b><span style="font-size: x-large;">Action Resolution</span></b></div>
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Trait rolls in Savage Worlds are usually made at +0, -2 or -4. In Tricube Tales, I recommend treating these as easy, standard and hard challenges respectively (so +0 or higher is "easy", -1 to -3 is "standard", and -4 or lower is "hard").</div>
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Resolve Strength or Vigor rolls as brawny challenges. Resolve Agility rolls (or skills linked to Agility) as agile challenges. Resolve Smarts or Spirit rolls (or skills linked to either attribute) as crafty challenges.<br />
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While Tricube Tales doesn't have individual skills, it <i>does </i>use character concepts to define scope of knowledge -- for example, if Saga of the Goblin Horde calls for a Tracking roll at -2, that would be treated as a standard crafty challenge, but characters without an appropriate concept (such as hunter, tracker, scout, etc) would lose a die from their roll.</div>
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<b><span style="font-size: x-large;">Combat</span></b><br />
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For combat encounters (including Quick Combat and Quick Skirmish), use the Hack-and-Slash genre rule from Tricube Tales. It should be pretty easy to eyeball monster stats using the SotGH bestiary as a reference.<br />
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Chases could also be resolved mechanically in the same way as combat, the difference is you're trying to escape from (or catch) your opponent, instead of defeating them.<br />
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<b>Optional Initiative: </b>If you're a diehard fan of the Savage Worlds initiative system, you could easily use it for Tricube Tales instead of the normal narrative-based approach: PCs normally draw one card each turn, but they may spend a karma token to draw a second card if they have a suitable perk (or draw two cards use the lowest by using an appropriate flaw). Monsters typically draw one card, but if they're particularly fast or slow, the GM should draw two cards and keep the highest or lowest. If a PC draws a joker, the difficulty of all their rolls this turn is reduced by 1; if a <i>monster</i> draws a joker, the difficulty of all rolls made against them this turn is <i>increased</i> by 1.</div>
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<b><span style="font-size: x-large;">Goblin Gangs</span></b></div>
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Minions are usually abstracted away in Tricube Tales, but they're a major part of Saga of the Goblin Horde, so I recommend adding a new mechanic for them: Gang tokens. Each player starts with three gang tokens, and they can increase this maximum with advances in exactly the same way as karma and resolve (i.e., every second advance can be spent on a gang token instead of karma or resolve, up to a maximum of six). Gang tokens are usually recovered at the beginning of each adventure (unless the boss has the opportunity to recruit replacements during the session, at the GM's discretion).</div>
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<b>Meat Shield:</b> If physical damage from a challenge roll would lead to the loss of one or more resolve, the player can spend one gang token instead.</div>
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<b>Shenanigans:</b> At the beginning of each scene, you can recover one karma token by rolling d6 on the Shenanigans table and narrating an appropriate effect.</div>
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<li style="text-align: justify;">A gang member injures you, intentionally or otherwise. Lose one resolve and one gang token (either you kill them, or they flee).</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Someone killed your flunky, or perhaps the foolish goblin killed <i>themselves</i>. You lose one gang token.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Your minion is drunk, hallucinating, unconscious, or busy doing something else. Put the gang token to one side, you can't use it again for the remainder of the scene.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">The gang member causes a distraction. The Game Master should increase the difficulty of one challenge this scene by +1.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">The little runt does something stupid. The GM should introduce an appropriate complication during this scene.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Your flunky does something useful for once! You may recover one resolve token instead of the normal karma token if you wish.</li>
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The SotGH "Loner" Hindrance isn't a very good fit for Tricube Tales. but if you <i>really </i>want to use it (perhaps for converting an existing character, such as Kronan Halfblood from the archetypes PDF), treat it as an optional extra that players can choose during character creation if they wish:</div>
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<b>Loner:</b> This boss doesn't have any gang tokens, and can never gain any. However, they begin with 4 karma and 4 resolve tokens, instead of the usual 3.</div>
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<b><span style="font-size: x-large;">Goblinoid Races</span></b></div>
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Each goblinoid race has a specific advantage that can be used like a perk, and a disadvantage that can be used like a quirk. Use the descriptive text from Saga of the Goblin Horde to get a better idea of what each race is like.</div>
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<b>Bugbear:</b> Huge (perk) and vicious (quirk).</div>
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<b>Goblin:</b> Nimble (perk) and small (quirk).</div>
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<b>Gremlin:</b> Inventive (perk) and small (quirk).</div>
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<b>Hobgoblin:</b> Militant (perk) and proud (quirk).</div>
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<b>Half-Human:</b> Strong-willed (perk) and hated (quirk).</div>
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<b><span style="font-size: x-large;">Magic</span></b></div>
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If you want magic to feel like Savage Worlds, use the Spell Lists option from the Magic & Psionics genre rule in Tricube Tales, except each character starts with three spells instead of six, and must spend an advance to gain each additional spell. Use the flavor text from the Savage Worlds powers and trappings as a guideline for determining what your character can do.</div>
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However, I'd personally suggest keeping things simple: allow players to choose a general style of magic, such as pyromancy, shamanism, etc, and pick one Magic Limitation for it. Don't bother tracking individual spells.<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: x-large;">Gear and Knick-Knacks</span></b><br />
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Equipment is abstracted in Tricube Tales, and I don't recommend changing that. Players can make a note of their knick-knacks for flavor purposes if they wish, and even incorporate them into the descriptions of their actions, but don't bother applying specific mechanical effects.<br />
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If a player desperately wants their knick-knacks to provide an actual bonus, ask them to take a perk for it (one perk for all their knick-knacks should be sufficient, there's no need to take a separate perk for each knick-knack).<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: x-large;">Other Rules</span></b><br />
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<b>Earning Bennies:</b> SotGH adventures often suggest awarding Bennies for certain achievements during a scene. It is generally recommended that you <i>don't</i> award karma in these cases, or the players will probably earn too many tokens, and then won't need to use their quirks.<br />
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<b>Interludes:</b> You don't really need a deck of cards, the player can just make up a short story in return for a karma token (this can temporarily take them up to one token over their normal maximum). However, if you're using the Saga of the Goblin Horde Countdown Deck <i>anyway</i>, the player could draw 1-3 cards and use their saga symbols as inspiration for the tale.<br />
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<b>Dramatic Tasks:</b> The challenge requires 5 effort tokens (usually at standard difficulty), and the player must remove all the tokens in 5 turns. If you're using the Countdown Deck and want to spice things up a bit, draw a card each turn, and on clubs the difficulty increases by 1 for the turn (don't be tempted to treat failure on clubs as a critical failure though, it'll be too risky due to Tricube Tales' lack of rerolls and cooperative rolls).<br />
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<b>Social Conflicts:</b> The challenge has 5 effort tokens (usually at easy difficulty), and the player has to remove as many as possible in 3 turns. The number of tokens removed indicates the margin of success.<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: x-large;">Summary</span></b><br />
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<a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/261539/Savage-Worlds-Adventure-Edition?affiliate_id=311146">Savage Worlds</a> is a rules-medium roleplaying system with a strong emphasis on combat, and abstract rules for handling a variety of other situations. If you enjoy tactical combat using minis, it's great, and would be one of my top picks.<br />
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Tricube Tales is a rules-light roleplaying system with unified mechanics and a focus on narrate-based gameplay. It draws inspiration from games like <a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/114903/Fate-Core-System?affiliate_id=311146">Fate</a>, <a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/170689/Blades-in-the-Dark?affiliate_id=311146">Blades in the Dark</a>, <a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/170294/Risus-The-Anything-RPG?affiliate_id=311146">Risus</a>, <a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/230298/Tiny-Dungeon-Second-Edition?affiliate_id=311146">Tiny Dungeons</a>, and <a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/236979/Blood--Bile?affiliate_id=311146">Blood & Bile</a>, and it's designed to be very fast and easy to play.<br />
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I think you could certainly use Tricube Tales to run Saga of the Goblin Horde, particularly for one-shots, but the emphasis would be more on the story and player narrative, and far less on game mechanics. Combat would take a backseat role, becoming just another type of challenge for the bosses to overcome -- it would be a bit like running Saga of the Goblin Horde in Savage Worlds, except treating every combat encounter as a Quick Skirmish.</div>
Richard Woolcockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16738523963280329505noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6526576522570166010.post-48852139907151463972019-09-25T13:57:00.000-07:002019-09-26T00:08:34.848-07:00Savage Worlds: Pricing your SWAG<div style="text-align: justify;">
The <a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/cc/22/SWAG">Savage Worlds Adventurer’s Guild</a> (SWAG) launched at the beginning of this year, and there have already been dozens of products released through the program, as well as a rapidly growing community of designers on the <a href="https://discord.gg/VqT7CJj">unofficial Savage Worlds Discord server</a>. But one area that many people seem unsure about is pricing, so I thought it would be interesting to take a look through the SWAG releases and get a rough idea of their price/page ratio, much like I did for licensee products <a href="http://savage-stuff.blogspot.com/2016/01/supplement-pricing.html">a few years ago</a>.</div>
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It must be stressed that these figures have very limited value when viewed in isolation, because many other factors come into play -- the page size, the font and layout, the amount of artwork, the utility and complexity of the product, and so on. However, when combined and averaged, these figures can at least give you a feel for the sort of price range SWAG products typically sell for, and by comparing your product with other products of similar size and content, you can get an idea of what customers are willing to pay.<br />
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I should also stress that this post is <i>not </i>intended as a criticism of other people's pricing! There's quite a lot of variation between publishers, and I think that's great because it allows us to compare and optimize our strategies. In time, I imagine we'll see products start to align more closely in terms of price -- but SWAG is still relatively young, and it'll take time to establish a set of norms.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7JMTJ5BMrV26PEtwhG3Dj8zd-Uv4ab7aSFWCwtW0UHmpXbTOMgU6Upuigd2uJOIzpJcctOjEjFnSAUmHn-r27GR_YVTBi3PxALxluqgHVdd6mq2ww9OqXBPmq2bGzHrzmnUOYzsSu7yN6/s1600/SWAG.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1057" data-original-width="731" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7JMTJ5BMrV26PEtwhG3Dj8zd-Uv4ab7aSFWCwtW0UHmpXbTOMgU6Upuigd2uJOIzpJcctOjEjFnSAUmHn-r27GR_YVTBi3PxALxluqgHVdd6mq2ww9OqXBPmq2bGzHrzmnUOYzsSu7yN6/s640/SWAG.png" width="442" /></a></div>
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The 65 SWAG products listed above have a total of 787 pages for $122.71, which averages out at $0.16 per page. However, this figure is somewhat distorted by the larger PDFs, where the price/page is usually much lower. If we ignore the 5 highest and 5 lowest priced products, the average comes to $0.21 per page. Ignoring the 10 highest/lowest gives $0.27 per page, and ignoring the 20 highest/lowest gives $0.34 per page.</div>
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<b>Note:</b> I didn't include my Wild West Countdown Deck in the above list, as I price decks differently from books. Print-on-demand action decks typically sell for $10-$15, and I sell mine for $12. I sell the print-it-yourself PDF version for $3. More information about designing and selling decks can be found <a href="https://savage-stuff.blogspot.com/2018/11/designing-and-selling-custom-decks-of.html">here</a>.</div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">My Pricing Strategy</span></b></div>
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My own approach to SWAG pricing has been to pick a nice round number that falls in the range of 10-20 cents per page, not counting the cover, credits, or table of contents. In the case of my Fantasy Archetypes, I also didn't count the duplicated pages (each character had a male and female illustration on a separate page, but the text was practically identical for both versions).</div>
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For larger books, I'd gradually reduce the price per page, to a minimum of around 5-10 cents per page. So for a 150-page setting book, for example, I'd be probably aiming for something in the range $7.50-$15.00 (most likely $10, that seems to be a sweet spot for many people).<br />
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Of course, I'm still trying to get a feel for different pricing and marketing strategies, so I may well end up changing my mind in a few months. But at least this gives me a rough figure to work with.</div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Free, PWYW, Pseudo-PWYW and Fixed Pricing</span></b></div>
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I've released a lot of free products in the past, as well as a couple of Pay-What-You-Want (PWYW) products. But over the last few months, someone has been vote-bombing all the free and PWYW products on DTRPG, damaging publisher ratings and pushing free/PWYW products down the search lists, so I've moved over to fixed pricing.</div>
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There is a middle ground though, something I keep meaning to try -- you can give a product a fixed price, but also upload the full PDF as a "custom preview", then in the product description invite people to download it for free or pay a dollar if they like it. Only those who choose to pay will be able to rate or review the product.</div>
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However, the most effective approach does seem to be a fixed price, and the <a href="https://support.drivethrurpg.com/hc/en-us/articles/360020874952-Savage-Worlds-Adventure-s-Guild-SWAG-Content-Guidelines">SWAG guidelines</a> even give some suggestions, noting that "the most successful price points are $1.00, $2.00, $2.95, $3.95, $4.99, $7.95, $10.00, $14.95, and $19.99."</div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Best Seller Medals and Hottest SWAG Titles</span></b></div>
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You may have noticed some SWAG products have a medal. These are awarded based on the total number of sales (including PWYW, as long as the customer paid at least 1 cent). It doesn't matter how much the customer paid, only that they paid <i>something</i>, so free downloads don't count. Note that an order containing multiple copies of a product only counts as <i>one </i>sale.</div>
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<b>Copper Medal:</b> 51+ sales.<br />
<b>Silver Medal:</b> 101+ sales.<br />
<b>Electrum Medal:</b> 251+ sales.<br />
<b>Gold Medal:</b> 501+ sales.<br />
<b>Platinum Medal:</b> 1001+ sales.<br />
<b>Mithril Medal:</b> 2001+ sales.<br />
<b>Adamantine Medal:</b> 5001+ sales.</blockquote>
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By contrast, the "Hottest" lists are based on how much money your products have earned over time (based on the date they were first made public). This is why newer products tend to jump to the front of the hottest list, and then gradually slide back down. Whereas cheaper product might make more sales (and thus earn a higher medal), expensive products tend to do better in the Hottest list.</div>
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Richard Woolcockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16738523963280329505noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6526576522570166010.post-68292235605254877962019-08-01T07:15:00.000-07:002019-08-12T05:40:46.206-07:00Savage Worlds Licensing: Ace, Fan or SWAG?<div style="text-align: justify;">
Back in January, Pinnacle Entertainment Group (PEG) announced the <a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/cc/22/SWAG">Savage Worlds Adventurer’s Guild (SWAG)</a>, a new Community Content program for Savage Worlds. On 27th May I released my first SWAG product, and on 22nd July I uploaded my second (this one is a PoD product, so it takes longer, as I have to wait for the OneBookShelf (OBS) staff to set it up).</div>
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I already had a DTRPG publisher account with free Savage Worlds products and several commercial products (<a href="http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/236979/Blood--Bile?affiliate_id=311146">Blood & Bile</a>, the <a href="http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/240902/Saga-of-the-Goblin-Horde-Configurable-Map?affiliate_id=311146">SotGH Configurable Map</a>, and the <a href="http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/244191/Saga-of-the-Goblin-Horde-Countdown-Deck?affiliate_id=311146">SotGH</a>, <a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/246550/Monster-Countdown-Deck?affiliate_id=311146">Monster</a> and <a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/246545/Galactic-Countdown-Deck?affiliate_id=311146">Galactic</a> Countdown Decks). However, my new <a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/277898/Fantasy-Archetypes?affiliate_id=311146">Fantasy Archetypes</a> on SWAG rapidly outsold all of my earlier products by a significant margin. But at the same time, I found myself chafing at the limited storefront interface, and so I thought it might be interesting to take a look at the different options available to publishers and see how they compare.</div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Licenses</span></b></div>
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Savage Worlds has <a href="https://www.peginc.com/licensing/">three third-party licenses</a>: Ace, Fan, and SWAG.</div>
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Being an Ace is the most versatile option, but you have to email PEG to negotiate permission for the license. These licenses are granted to <i>people</i>, not <i>products</i>, and the requirements vary from person to person. Aces can sell products on DTRPG or on other sites, they can use Kickstarter and other crowdsourcing programs, they can use Patreon, and so on. Aces can also use "<a href="https://www.peginc.com/licensee-authorized-material/">Licensee Authorized Material</a>" from the core rules and companions in their products, and they enjoy a lot of promotional support from PEG.</div>
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Fan licensed products don't require explicit permission, and their existence is mostly ignored by PEG, which can be both a curse and a blessing. Fans can distribute anywhere they like (including on DTRPG using a full publisher account), but their products <i>must</i> be released for free -- they can't even make them PWYW. This obviously rules out a direct print-on-demand option, although as a last resort you can always do what I did for Saga of the Goblin Horde, and release a print-ready PDF and printing instructions.</div>
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SWAG products don't require explicit permission from PEG, and they <i>can </i>be sold, however, they can <i>only</i> be distributed through the SWAG storefront, and they must be written for SWADE (not SWD any other earlier versions of the rules). SWAG publishers have access to additional art assets (although it seems Aces can use these assets too), and can offer print-on-demand products (although this has to be done manually by an OBS service rep, SWAG publishers can't do it themselves). SWAG products seem to have a little more wiggle room than Aces when it comes to content, but not as much creative freedom as Fan publishers.</div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">DriveThruRPG vs SWAG</span></b></div>
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SWAG is a Community Content program operated by OBS, effectively a DTRPG storefront customized for Savage Worlds. Many other roleplaying systems offer something similar, although they usually take a 20% cut (SWAG only takes 10%), and require you to write content for their official setting/s -- whereas SWAG doesn't currently allow you to write for <i>any</i> settings, but does allow you to create your own. If you sell a $10 product on SWAG, OBS takes $3, PEG takes $1, and you keep the remaining $6.</div>
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DriveThruRPG publishers can choose between an exclusive and non-exclusive publication license, allowing them to keep 70% or 65% of the sales respectively. Aces are required to give 10% of their cut (as opposed to the total sale) to PEG, so if they sell a $10 product with an exclusive license, OBS takes $3, PEG takes $0.70, and they keep the remaining $6.30 -- while if they have a non-exclusive license, OBS takes $3.50, PEG takes $0.65, and they keep the remaining $5.85.</div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Marketing</span></b></div>
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SWAG doesn't allow you to track or email your customers (not even to notify them when you've updated a PDF), which makes it very difficult to inform your fanbase when you release something new. It also doesn't allow you to view sales reports, sales sources, pending purchases, page visits, cross-publisher sales, or any of the other valuable marketing data available to regular DTRPG publishers -- you can only view the raw number of sales and total earnings between two dates.</div>
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SWAG also doesn't allow you to earn or spend Publisher Promotion Points (PPP), which allow DTRPG publishers to massively drive up their sales using powerful marketing tools such as Deal of the Day, Featured Product, banners, and so on.</div>
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Finally, although you can still list yourself as the author of a SWAG product, PEG will always be listed as the publisher, and you don't have the option of designing and customizing a publisher page to help build your brand.</div>
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These limitations probably won't matter to a casual Savage Worlds fan hoping to sell one or two small products, but for someone planning to get into serious publishing, it's likely to become a deal-breaker.</div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Sales</span></b></div>
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SWAG also falls short when it comes to sale options. You cannot set an "original price" for products (which is how DTRPG publishers display discounts in red text with the original price struck through). You can't opt-in (or out) of site-wide sales (those are entirely up to PEG), nor can you run your own sales.</div>
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It <i>is </i>possible to create bundles, and you can even add non-SWAG products to a SWAG bundle (but <i>not</i> the other way around). For example, if you released a system-agnostic setting book through your DTRPG publisher account, and a Savage Worlds companion on SWAG, you could put both in the same bundle as long as that bundle was created on SWAG.</div>
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<strike>Finally, SWAG doesn't have access to royalty tools. This is a useful feature for DTRPG publishers, as it allows them to offer contributors a cut of the sales, or split profits with co-authors, or even offer other publishers a percentage when writing for their system or setting. It would have been a great feature for Aces wishing to sublicense their settings to SWAG publishers.</strike></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Distribution</span></b></div>
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DTRPG publishers can distribute their products anywhere they like if they have a non-exclusive license, and even those with an exclusive license can sell their PDFs from their own website if they wish, or sell their printed products anywhere they please. It's not unusual for publishers to sell printed copies or even PDFs of their products at gaming conventions (in the case of PDFs, they make the sale then send the customer a "free" copy through DTRPG).</div>
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By contrast, your SWAG products <i>must </i>be sold exclusively through the SWAG storefront. You could hand out discount codes to prospective customers at a convention, but you can't sell them the PDF directly or show off a nice stack of shiny printed books (unless they literally <i>are</i> just for show, and not for sale).</div>
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When SWAG was first announced, several people discussed it as a stepping stone to becoming an Ace. While this is certainly an option, it's important to remember that once you've posted something on SWAG, you <i>cannot</i> later move it to DTRPG, so it becomes a bit of a dead-end for any product lines you plan to publish (if you put your setting book on SWAG, it'll stay there, and you won't be able to bundle it with any products you later publish on the main DTRPG store). Thus if you <i>are</i> planning to use SWAG as a stepping stone, I'd recommend using it for smaller standalone products.</div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Summary</span></b></div>
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Most Community Content programs are introduced as the sole means of commercial publication for a particular system, or at least offer unique options to offset the drawbacks (such as the DMs Guild vs OSR). However, Savage Worlds already had Aces (or "Official Licensees" as they used to be called) for many years, and they've contributed greatly to the success of the system. PEG obviously didn't want to drive them away by forcing <i>everyone </i>to use SWAG.</div>
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However, as things currently stand, it's much better to be an Ace rather than a SWAG publisher. This isn't necessarily a bad thing if PEG wants SWAG to serve as a stepping stone to Ace status, or as a fallback for those who can't become Aces, or for those who just want to dabble with some very basic self-publishing. But if the goal of SWAG is to become a viable alternative to being an Ace, I think it needs to offer something that Aces can't do -- perhaps PEG could open up two or three settings (even if they start with something small like Evernight). I've seen people publish on the DMs Guild because they wanted to write for Eberron, and I'm sure that even some <i>Aces </i>would use SWAG if it allowed them to write for Deadlands or 50 Fathoms! Licensed IP settings like Rifts and Lankhmar would obviously not be possible, but Pinnacle has many fantastic settings of their own.</div>
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SWAG is currently far more limited than a DTRPG publisher account in terms of tools and options, but OBS is actively improving the interface (they recently added the option to generate discount links, for example, which is an extremely useful tool that I'd missed a lot when I started using SWAG). So I believe that some (if not all) of the drawbacks I listed above will be addressed in the future, particularly if OBS see that lots of people are actively using SWAG and pushing it to its limits.</div>
Richard Woolcockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16738523963280329505noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6526576522570166010.post-60467151668463027412019-05-27T01:40:00.000-07:002019-05-27T15:26:51.762-07:00Savage Worlds: Fantasy Archetypes<div style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHsnN4KYmH0VngkvlKBc3UCrC1TlllMNL1-i6yj4fFio4vGxQHdK3MHtC-XswOwrNJbD-Kx9lryLtIGjC25x_GMkGeQRsULXOspqn0pqfOf7d_dk9UL6Yh6cxU5fTf02V9Ewk47dUxtgVT/s1600/Cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1165" data-original-width="900" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHsnN4KYmH0VngkvlKBc3UCrC1TlllMNL1-i6yj4fFio4vGxQHdK3MHtC-XswOwrNJbD-Kx9lryLtIGjC25x_GMkGeQRsULXOspqn0pqfOf7d_dk9UL6Yh6cxU5fTf02V9Ewk47dUxtgVT/s200/Cover.jpg" style="cursor: move;" width="154" /></a>I've been incredibly busy with real life stuff lately, but I finally had the chance to finish my first product for the Savage Worlds Adventurer's Guild (SWAG), and I uploaded it last night.</div>
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I'm still getting up to speed with the new edition of the rules (SWADE), so I tried to keep my first product fairly simple. I also wanted it to be both versatile and polished so that it would appeal to a wider audience, and give a good first impression.</div>
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<b>It's available here: <a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/277898/Fantasy-Archetypes?affiliate_id=311146">Fantasy Archetypes</a></b></div>
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The PDF contains eight pre-generated characters based on "traditional" fantasy concepts (warrior, mage, cleric, rogue, ranger, paladin, druid and necromancer), complete with background story and Interlude suggestions (much like my SotGH archetypes). The characters are designed to be easily adaptable to a range of different settings, so they're built with just the core rules, and refer to places and people in general terms (a coastal city, an influential nobleman, etc) rather than by specific names.</div>
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But as is often the case with my products, there are also some special features...</div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Male and Female Characters</span></b></div>
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Something I often noticed when running SotGH was that some people have a very strong preference for playing characters of a specific gender. In some cases, they will use this to select an initial shortlist, which can seriously limit their choice of available characters.</div>
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So I decided to try something a bit different with the Fantasy Archetypes, and gave each character both a male and a female version. The idea is you can print the PDF double-sided, and players can choose their character based entirely on the concept, then just flip the character sheet over to the appropriate side.</div>
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<br /><iframe width="320" height="266" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/tOigU8S99MQ/0.jpg" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/tOigU8S99MQ?feature=player_embedded" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
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I considered creating an entirely different character for each gender (e.g., a male warrior that uses a sword and a female warrior that uses a spear), but that could have undermined the main point of the exercise, as certain concepts would once again only be available for one gender.</div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Selectable Character Ranks</span></b></div>
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A while ago I saw a set of archetypes from Pinnacle where you could use layers to choose between Novice and Seasoned versions. I thought it was a great idea, so when I updated Savage Dragons I did the same thing (except I also added Veteran). I didn't think more about it until recently when someone asked if there were any Seasoned versions of the SotGH archetypes.</div>
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So for the Fantasy Archetypes, I decided to take the concept a step further: You can choose between Novice, Seasoned, Veteran, Heroic and Legendary. In case anyone hasn't realized yet, this was also one of the main reasons I decided to create my <a href="http://www.godwars2.org/SavageWorlds/swade_analyzer.html">SWADE statblock analyzer</a>!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjknF0Y8R_YCV8um23Pdr2Uvj37oFCnU9Tl6jN4FEHF2lUYibLOMA35CGsnEO0yvy-fkzFm7J7yGkko_bux4lgnkCUNv9txHcmwIJozd0zKSc-CagR6KsLhsUeDClRT51Is0UhqBHNARWpm/s1600/Screenshot.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="462" data-original-width="916" height="201" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjknF0Y8R_YCV8um23Pdr2Uvj37oFCnU9Tl6jN4FEHF2lUYibLOMA35CGsnEO0yvy-fkzFm7J7yGkko_bux4lgnkCUNv9txHcmwIJozd0zKSc-CagR6KsLhsUeDClRT51Is0UhqBHNARWpm/s400/Screenshot.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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Of course, I also use layers for other things, so people can switch off the background before printing, or remove the character names (if they'd rather let players come up with their own). But the big selling point here is that there are literally five different versions of each character.</div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Figure Flats</span></b></div>
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Pinnacle often include a page of tri-fold figure flats at the end of their Archetype PDFs. It's something I didn't consider for SotGH, but several people have asked about them in the past, and I will certainly add them when I update them to SWADE. But for the Fantasy Archetypes, I decided to include a full page of figure flats, and I think they look really good. Forrest Imel (the artist) did a fantastic job with the character illustrations.</div>
Richard Woolcockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16738523963280329505noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6526576522570166010.post-77121343793225483992019-04-16T12:23:00.000-07:002019-04-16T12:23:20.295-07:00Savage Worlds: SWADE Statblock Analyzer<div style="text-align: justify;">
A few years ago I wrote a tool for <a href="http://savage-stuff.blogspot.com/2015/09/character-analysis-tool.html">analyzing SWD statblocks</a>, after I got tired of proofreading them all manually. Last month I started updating it to SWADE, and took the opportunity to expand and improve the information it provides.</div>
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The tool is now pretty much finished, so I would like to thank everyone who gave feedback (particularly Jan Jetmar, who sent me <i>lots</i> of bug reports). There are most likely some bugs that I've missed, and the analyzer currently only supports the core rules, but it's still a very useful tool which I've already started using for my own products.</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>You can access it here: <a href="http://www.godwars2.org/SavageWorlds/swade_analyzer.html">SWADE Statblock Analyzer</a></b></span></div>
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The tool is primarily designed for publishers as a proofreading aid, but may also be of interest to GMs and players. It is particularly good at analyzing player characters (including archetypes and pregens), but provides useful information about monsters and other NPCs as well. It's also very handy for updating SWD characters to SWADE, as it'll report obsolete skills and such.</div>
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Richard Woolcockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16738523963280329505noreply@blogger.com3