Weekly News (Aug 7): Redesigning UVG Free Intro (Patreon)

Hello the heroes!

I hope you've had a lovely week, I hope you're staying healthy and well. As I mentioned last week, I'll try update and share what's going on more often.

This week I don't have too much progress to share on Seacat ... at least not directly. If you've read the one spread overview in the pdf (p10-11), you'll have seen me talk about play loops.

The conceit here is that when we play roleplaying games we are playing (or acting) at several different levels (hah, an overused word!), and dip from one to another depending on what we're doing.

Now, the key thing that is challenging me in structuring seacat is the meshing of the scene (a broader take on the encounter, but basically the same kind of thing) and the conflict (a broader take on combat, but basically that).

I realized I couldn't tackle explaining the rules for conflicts properly without framing scenes properly. The idea I'm trying to express is that the setup of the scene (a room in a dungeon! a hall in a castle! a riotous banquet in a market square!), where all players have input at the scene level, then has consequences on the conflict level.

It's really relatively simple, but explaining it in a simple way ... is hard. I'm trying to provide some tools for the referee to, for example, say ... "if it's a scene like this and like this, then there are the following consequences for the scope of a conflict: how long rounds last, how big the zones of the conflict are, etc., etc."

I'm still unhappy with my dismantled parts at present, but it has led me to a restructuring of the rules document (still in progress):

1. the core of playing, what it means, who the players are, what's the difference between a runner and a ref, how dice work. You know, the superbasics.

2. the character - what the different characters are and how they're built and advanced. This is finished.

3. the play loops. This is the one I'm now restructuring, because if the first section deals with basic mechanics, and the second deals with the objects of play (characters), then the third one deals with the interlocking rules for different levels of play and interaction between players, their characters, and the world, namely:

a. the campaign level - which is pretty loosey goosey, mostly ideas about how to organize play and share different roles

b. the session level - which is a bit tighter, and is more concerned with ideas for keeping the table on an even keel

c. the scene level - which is the one I need to really elaborate a bit more, because these are the main foundations of play. E.g. in the UVG the play shifts chronologically through 3 basic kinds of scene: 1 - we're traveling (weeks!), 2 - we're doing stuff in towns, hanging out, carousing, whatever (days, hours), 3. the moments of sheer terror - combat, leaping chasms, gambling away fortunes (moments, minutes). Now, in seacat, I'm structuring 3 different kinds of scene structures: physical, social, and psychological (the psychedelic roleplaying part, right? rules for things happening within a hero's own mind ... wooo wooo). My goal here is to build these ... let's say building blocks ... so a referee can actually turn a fight for status between two chiefs buying oversized autogolem SUVs into ... a game, instead of hand waving it. Or, that a referee can present a conversation to change the mind of a dark lord of doom, or a hero's struggle with their guilt, into - likewise - a game.

Fair warning, I might fail at this attempt.

The conflict itself is, y'know, just combat. We all know that, right? :)

Anyway, looping back. That whole long post explains why for the last two days I've been working on updating the free introduction to the UVG. All those rules on caravans, starvation, etc., play precisely on these topics of structuring session, scene and conflict—and I've been using the "solved" example to try and figure out how to approach the more general approach.

Also, of course, a free introduction is great marketing, right? :)

There, it's now 8 p.m on a Friday night here. Until midday yesterday I was convinced I had an extra day (I mixed up Wednesday and Thursday), so I'm calling this week.

I'll leave you with a bit of art.

Cheers!

—Luka

a behemoth walks against the distant setting moon

the scone was nice

horse studies for a commissioned monster illustration