Quote from: James J SkachI want to feel out (get your mind out of the gutter) Keith and Bill and Pete and others to see if I can get a group of folks interested.  If that goes well, I'll let you know!

Grooviness!

Been working on special features such as rotating rooms and weeping walls today!  

Here's a very, very, sketchy randomly rolled starting area for the game (as i haven't created all of the tables yet!). This example is for a Local, Fantasy Sci-Fi game. The system will have three basic game types and two genres that it will cater to. Game types are Local, Political and Exploration and the genres will be Mundane and Fantasy Sci-Fi.

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Example Local Game Creation: - Bones of the Earth Chapel Area

Joe and two of his friends are playing in a Local, Fantasy Sci-Fi game of Stone Horizons and the GM has indicated that starting characters will be level 2.

The group choose Scullery as their starting feature. They need to find out which feature of the castle the scullery serves. They roll on the master feature chart and discover that it serves a chapel. Hmm...serving monks and priests, interesting. Next they roll 3 more times to discover other local features. The results are: Mage-Folk Towers, Warehouses and Tunnel Wardens Huts. An interesting mix, there must be a story here somewhere. As this is a Local game, these rolls indicate the features from which all of the players may make their characters, and as they are starting at 2nd level, the skills they may advance their characters with. Joe decides that he'd like his starting feature to be the chapel that the scullery serves. He looks up the chapel entry and notes down any adjustments to his stats, his skills, special abilities and starting Status. As he is going to start at 2nd level, Joe can now advance his character by staying put at the chapel and adding 1 point to each of his granted skills, 1 point to his special abilities and 1 point to his status, or move to one of the other features rolled. He chooses to stay put and notes down his advanced skills, special abilities and status. His friend decides to start at the Tunnel Warden Huts and notes down his starting abilities. He too elects to stay put during advancement. The 3rd player in the group wants to start out at the Mage-Folk Towers and makes a note of his starting profile. However, on advancement, he decides to move to the Tunnel Wardens Huts (where he acts as a guide). His status is reduced by one point and he doesn't adjust his stats, but he notes down the new skills and abilities that this new location gives him. The characters are ready to roll. However, the area hasn't been fleshed out yet.

Starting with the scullery, the GM rolls for problems & politics and rolls a 77. This indicates that he must roll on the politics sub-table. Rolling 58 (secrets), the GM makes a note of what the secret is. Next he rolls for NPCs and discovers the scullery authority figure is 2nd level and a veteran of the scullery whose outlook is 'bleak' and reputation is 'hot-tempered'. The GM rolls a secret for the scullery overseer. 3 further normal NPCs are drawn up and their level, outlook, reputation and secrets manufactured.

This procedure is then repeated for the chapel, warehouses, mage-folk towers and tunnel wardens huts, creating 4 more problems for the area, four more authority figures and 12 more NPCs of interest. As this is a local game, the GM decides that he will create a few more NPCs for the players to interact with over time.

These further rolls result in these local problems; the warehouses having an infestation of tall-toes spiders (known), the mage-folk towers suffering from a heretical cult (rumoured), the chapel have a rivalry (known) and the tunnel wardens' huts are hiding a special feature (the GMs roll indicates a Well of Fire, unknown). Two NPCs are enemies (known); one is an escaped criminal responsible for a rash of thefts (unknown) and the other 12 or so NPCs complete the procedure, each representing a possible adventure possibility once created.

With this information, the players and GM decide to flesh out the local area. They decide that their homes are on the outskirts of an abandoned area of the castle, in a huge cavern, at least half a mile across. The tunnels that the wardens guard worm through the earth, leading from the area to a far off laboratory complex. The warehouses store glassware and lab equipment ready for transport through the tunnels and the tunnel wardens guide the occasional trade caravan through this maze of tunnels. The chapel grew up here to service the folk of the warehouses and the wardens' huts (as well as to keep an eye on the mage-folk) and are a cult based on revering the earth and its bounties, called the Bones of the Earth. The mage-folk were here long before the humans came and keep themselves to themselves. However, the tunnels that border the area sometimes disgorge huge swarms of pests and sometimes, even giant specimens. What's worse, it is rumoured that the Hanged Man resides within the tunnels and has started a cult within the mage-folk towers. Leaving other, secret details to the GM, the group are happy with their starting location and wonder how it will all play out. They will flesh out the physical dimensions and look of the buildings interiors and exteriors at a later date, using the construction tables to do so or making it up themselves, as they see fit. However, they decide that this local area is either underground or within the bowels of a building so huge that no one has ever seen it's exterior. No one has ever seen the sun, for that matter.

The GM decides that his introductory session for the characters will involve an eruption of pests from the tunnels, making the PCs work together and getting them used to the area. Then he will introduce the heretical cult's attempt to recruit the scullery overseer, drawing a web of deceit around the area. Those who unmask the cultists will surely raise their status within the Bones of the Earth Chapel area.

I've edited the example feature in the first post to better reflect what i'm currently working on. Draft 1.1 if you like.

I've decided to start a limited playtest on 26th September. This limited playtest will include a ready to play 'area' (4 features) with attendant problems and the relevant rules entries, skill descriptions etc for characters created in that area. I've chosen this limited playtest so that i can iron out any mechanical problems and take feedback before i write the bulk of the document. The way that rolling up characters actually creates the game setting means that the ready to use area used in the playtest could have been an area you rolled up yourselves when starting a game. In this case, i've just provided you with the game setting in advance so that i can iron out any problems that arise.

If anyone is interested in this first limited playtest, please PM me. I don't see the need at this early stage to play more than one or two sessions using the materials i provide. So if you like the idea and can manage it, i look forward to hearing from you!

One person signed up! Any more?

OHT - love to but what's the setup? I don't want to commit to something I can't return success to you...so just want to know...

And too much craziness has happened since this first came up, so my memory is fuzzy...

Hey dude. No problem. I figured that as the game is meant to be modular that there was little need for me to do more than get the mechanics written up and one 'adventure area' completed, before i started playtesting. Most of the rest of the book will have few mechanics, so if the game plays ok then i'm golden.

As far as the playtest goes, i'm going to send out the relevant sections of the book and a ready to play adventure area and a few suggestions on how to use it and then see what you guys think of the mechanics in different situations. I reckon one or two sessions will suffice.

If you want we can discuss it via PM or e-mail.

As a teaser, here's an example character and the skeleton of the area that he and the other players' characters will be playing in.

Say, this is pretty neat.  I like how, at the start of the game, all of the players get together and figure out how their respective locales all fit together to explain their acquaintence with one another.  It reminds me of one of my favorite aspects of prepping for Ars Magica -- cooperative covenant design.

Have you ever read Richard Brautigan's In Watermelon Sugar?  A beautiful, surreal book, some elements of which it shares in common with Gormenghast (the strange town/commune of iDEATH and its counterpart, inBOIL).  I've sometimes joked that someone should write an In Watermelon Sugar RPG, but I think you may just have struck on the formula, my good man.

By the by, the character stats of Manual Dexterity and Mental Discipline are, as I'm sure you've noticed, a little confounding as a result of their similar initials.  I realise that "Dexterity" has become something of a staple stat of RPGs, but perhaps something like "Physical Acumen" or somesuch would help differentiate the two visually.  I understand that paging through a thesaurus often makes the result feel a little insincere, though.

!i!

Quote from: Ian AbsentiaSay, this is pretty neat.  I like how, at the start of the game, all of the players get together and figure out how their respective locales all fit together to explain their acquaintence with one another.  It reminds me of one of my favorite aspects of prepping for Ars Magica -- cooperative covenant design.

Yeah, i like that stuff too and considering the breadth of features in SH, you've got to flesh the play area out a bit.

QuoteHave you ever read Richard Brautigan's In Watermelon Sugar?  A beautiful, surreal book, some elements of which it shares in common with Gormenghast (the strange town/commune of iDEATH and its counterpart, inBOIL).  I've sometimes joked that someone should write an In Watermelon Sugar RPG, but I think you may just have struck on the formula, my good man.

I have to confess i have never heard of it. Maybe i give it a read.

QuoteBy the by, the character stats of Manual Dexterity and Mental Discipline are, as I'm sure you've noticed, a little confounding as a result of their similar initials.  I realise that "Dexterity" has become something of a staple stat of RPGs, but perhaps something like "Physical Acumen" or somesuch would help differentiate the two visually.  I understand that paging through a thesaurus often makes the result feel a little insincere, though.

!i!

Yeah, i purposefully split Manual Dexterity from 'general agility'. Physique is meant to represent both agility, strength and endurance and Manual Dexterity covers doing stuff with your hands as well as a good chunk of combat skills. I'll probably end up changing the name of Mental Discipline instead.

Quote from: One Horse TownI have to confess i have never heard of [In Watermelon Sugar]. Maybe i give it a read.

It has that same world-in-miniature effect that Gormenghast does.  It takes you a while to realise that, for all intents and purposes, there's no world outside.  Also there's that same sort of Weird-Place-Here and Strange-Feature-Over-There and Freaky-Place-Around-The-Corner kind of feel, like if you took a left turn where the main character took a right, you'd be exploring an entirely different story against the same backdrop.

It's definitely worth a (very quick!) read, though the book can be counfoundingly difficult to find at times.

!i!

I've added some random Customs & Communities generation tables. So i'm attaching Dr.Carpetbaggers updated character sheet that now contains this information on it. This fleshes out the area some more and helps the players get a handle on their area before and during play.

1st minor play test

The Great Works area has been labouring away under the curse of a swarm of Plague Flies for as long as anyone can remember. Nothing seems to get done about them and when it does, they come back again within a short period of time. The playgroup has decided that they could raise their Status if they could find a way of getting rid of them permanently. To this end, Chisel, a PC who works in the Workshops that suffer the greatest from the swarm has been working on a wooden trap to capture the giant variety of the flies, hopefully meaning that the smaller ones can then be dealt with piecemeal. Chisel has the skill Craft – Carpentry 3 and his Pragmatism is 4. He rolls 7d6 for his craft roll to create the trap. He gains 2 successes. The trap is made to a high standard. The player has already informed the GM that he works on this project in his free time, so the GM decides that it takes 2 weeks for the item to be made.

The rest of the group: Dr. Carpetbagger (the charlatan) and Mr. Stalker (the kennel worker) congratulate Chisel and decide to make an expedition into the bowels of the workshop to try and trap a giant Plague Fly. It will be dangerous and only Dr. Carpetbagger has a weapon - his trusty knife. So Mr. Stalker brings along Grizzle, his Canine Companion (Kennels Feature special ability) and Chisel attempts a Protected test (Workshops special ability). Chisel is successful and gains one guard to come with him. The GM gives control of the guard to the player controlling Chisel, informing him that the guard has a Morale rating of Hurt (when the guard enters the Hurt health category, he must make a Jitters test). Prepared, the PCs, Grizzle, and the NPC guard travel into the bowels of the workshop feature, trap in hand.

The damp interior of the workshops prey on the travellers and the tension is ramped up nicely as they proceed. At one point, a rusty duct tube blocks their path and unless they want to make a large detour, they must clamber over it. The PCs decide to climb over it. The GM states that because of the equipment they are carrying and the sharp rusty metal of the duct, that a Climb test will be required. Failure will result in the loss of 1 Health Point, but successful clambering over the impediment. Success means that they will not be injured. None of the travellers have the Climb skill, however, that does not mean that they cannot attempt the climb. Unskilled attempts at skill simply use the skill's parent Statistic to determine how many dice are rolled. In all cases, this turns out to be 4 dice (except the NPC guard, who has 5 dice to roll). All bar Mr. Stalker succeed. The unlucky kennel worker cuts himself on a piece of metal and marks one point of Health damage on his Health Point profile, which puts him into the Lightly Injured category. He suffers no dice penalties to skill attempts yet...

They continue on into the disused interior of the workshops, a veritable maze of un-travelled passages and echoing chambers. Finally, they hear a low buzzing noise! The Swarm! Peeking ahead, they see 2 giant Plague Flies. Oh no, they only have room for 1 in the trap! They have a quick argument about how to proceed, finally deciding that with the guard and Grizzle's help, they should be able to catch one and deal with the other.

Dr. Carpetbagger uses Stealth to creep to a better position to force the fly into the trap, rolling a Stealth test. He rolls 6d6 and achieves 2 successes, enough to gain his position. Mr. Stalker uses his Dog Training skill on Grizzle, trying to get the dog to run out, bark at the flies and then run back, hopefully getting them to follow him. He rolls 6 dice. He also gains 2 successes, so far, so good. Chisel then manoeuvres the trap into position, requiring a Portage test. He also rolls 7d6 but gains 3 successes. Not only does he get the trap into position, he does it noiselessly.

The plan is afoot. They go! Grizzle runs out as planned and barks a challenge. This gains the flies' attention and the huge things fly towards the hidden party. Things are getting tense. Grizzle runs back to Mr. Stalker's side, preparing to guard the kennel worker from attack. As the flies near, nasty proboscises protrude from their mouths, dripping foul ichors. The guard steps aside at the last minute, revealing the trap. The GM has Chisel's player attempt a Reflexive Manual Dexterity test to catch one of the beasts. He only has 3 dice to roll. Sadly, he fails and the flies close in. Dr. Carpetbagger leaps from his hidden position behind the flies and aims a blow at one of them. He rolls 4 dice, gaining 1 success. Daggers inflict +1 damage, so he adds that to the number of successes achieved to determine the amount of Health Point damage he has inflicted on the fly. As it was an attack made from the fly's blind-side, he doubles the resulting damage. He inflicts 4 Health Points of damage to the fly, lightly injuring it. Grizzle then leaps at a fly, inflicting 2 points of damage and the guard attacks Carpetbaggers opponent, his greater skill inflicting 4 more points of damage. This damage puts the fly into the Hurt health category (and only 1 point from the Heavily Injured category). The fly now suffers a 1 dice penalty to all Reflexive tests.

The flies then attempt to inject the PC with foul fluids. Rolling 6d6 each for their attacks. One targets the guard and the other targets Mr. Stalker. In the meantime, Chisel is manoeuvring the trap for another capture attempt. The guard is hit with 2 successes (no additional weapon damage) and he attempts a Reflexive parry. He gains 2 successes, negating the fly's attack. Mr. Stalker is not so lucky; he gets hit for 2 points of damage also and does not dodge the attack. He has now suffered 3 points of damage, leaving him close to entering the Hurt health category (and a 1 dice penalty to all reflexive tests).

The next round in the scene starts with Chisel. This time he succeeds in trapping one of the flies, leaving only one to deal with! Between them, Grizzle, the guard and Dr. Carpetbagger inflict another 6 points of damage to the fly. This is enough, not only to take it into the Heavily Injured category, but also enough to take it through the Dying category and also strike the single point that denotes death. The party is victorious with only Mr. Stalker being injured.

Still, this being a Giant Plague Fly, later in the session, the GM has the player of Mr. Stalker attempt a Physique test. He rolls 4d6, gaining 1 success. Looking up the entry for Plague Flies, this means that over the coming week, Mr. Stalker will become ill, suffering a 1 dice penalty to all actions. With care and rest, he will recover.

The party return to the Great Works area with the captive fly and are the centre of a small scrum of apprentices and workers who admire their efforts. When the workshop Duty Leader arrives however, there are remonstrations and punishments for the PCs (he doesn't like having his authority and Status usurped – the GM had rolled an outlook of Jealous for this Authority Figure. Perhaps the PCs have made an enemy for later sessions). Still, the plan was a success and the PCs receive a temporary addition of 1 point to their Status (which the GM decides will last for 2 game sessions). If the PCs want to increase their Status permenantly and thus increase their characters a level, they will have to solve the problem of the Plague Flies once and for all and now they have a jealous Authority Figure to deal with. Personality politics and abuse of power has now entered the equation. The players are somewhat rueful, but determined to carry on with their planned eradication of the vermin. In fact, maybe that weird Glass ceiling could help in some way? Maybe if they could find a way of opening it, they could drive the flies out and then close the thing up again.

A number of riddles (a custom of the political area – see above, are created to explain the PCs exploits over the coming weeks).

They look forward to the next session.

Edit: Due to this playtest, i've altered stat levels so that starting characters typically have a dice pool of no more than 7 dice in areas where they are skilled. This guarentees at least 1 success in skills with this number of dice, which will have varying results depending on the skill being used and how it is being used.

Bar equipment, which will be done some other day, this is pretty much the final character sheet for Dr. Carpetbagger (including my write up of the first playtest posted above). Character creation is complete. Now i just have to write everything else!

Right. This is the real deal guys!

I'm going to be ready by the end of next week to provide material for the pre-playtest. Chargen, community generation and NPC generation is all sorted out. There's shit loads of detail to add, but i would like to get the basics and the mechanics tested at this stage.

I plan to provide playtesters with an area of 4 features that will contain the game. If you've read the character sheet of Dr. Carpetbagger and the playtest report above, you'll know what area i'm talking about. The playtest area will be a ready to play one, which means that some aspects of the random generation will already have been taken care of. However, the generation of the NPCs to flesh the area out are for you to create. All the details needed to start a game in this area will be provided. I will provide the whole Stone Horizons document as it stands at the moment as well, but this is more to give you some context to the ready to play area than anything else.

You can do 1 session, as long or short as you like, or 2 sessions or whatever you fancy. i just want to give the mechanics a test drive at this stage.

Needless to say, all communication about this game is to be strictly between you and me. Therefore we don't talk about it here, but by e-mail.

If you want in, PM me with your e-mail address. I'll be sending details to the 2people who expressed an interest in contributing to the project at the same time as i start the play-test.

Thanks.