Saturday, November 8, 2014

Advanced just got Super!

With more options than ever before, what's not to love about the Advanced Trope-O-Matic?

Introducing Super Hero creation!
I wrote this baby up in a text document and then broke out into a "copy and paste" frenzy to prevent any unpleasant "auto-save" happenings in Inklewriter.

You can now select between Fantasy, Sci-Fi, or Super Hero settings through a "Genre-Scopic" hub installed in the beginning of the *game.

*Technically, the hosting site has classified the Trope-O-Matic as busted and relegated it to something they call the "Sandpit", thereby invalidating its status as a "game".

Super Hero functionality is still in a "beta" phase, but more possible outcomes are coming soon. This is true for each of the genres, as I am constantly adding options when I think of them.

Let's Build an Advanced Character!

-Aaron


"Autosave: A Cautionary Tale" or "Sci-Fi Trope-O-Matic!"

I spent about four hours working on a "Sci-Fi" expansion to the Trope-O-Matic the other night, and I was feeling pretty good about it. What I didn't realize was that I had more than one window open for the same "story", and by accidentally clicking in the wrong window while somehow simultaneously closing the other window I triggered the autosave function on the older version, overwriting everything I had done.

I took some time to re-write everything, and now I can continue with the post I had originally written before I discovered my mistake:


I made some minor tweaks to the "New and Improved Version" and fixed some of the busted results, then I kept messing with it and added a new category for Sci-Fi inspired characters. I swear these choices do not loop back to the fantasy character results with a tag that adds "space" to everything, although that would have been a lot less work and I kind of wish I had thought of it earlier.

The part about this whole diversion that I enjoy the most is coming up with ridiculous character classes. I find myself wanting to actually write them up. If I do that right now, I will likely never finish The Cult of the Fallen Star, so I am forcing myself to slide that idea on the back burner.  When I do get to it, I will make a free PDF "sourcebook" for the classes and throw it in google drive.
So if you haven't taken the Trope-O-Matic for a test spin, or really want an Apprentice Star Yeti Drone Whisperer or perhaps a New-Human Cluster bomber then hit the link below!

Let's make (a better than before) character!

Wednesday, November 5, 2014

New and Improved PC creator

I have added loads more fluff, I mean crunch, to the character creator.

There has never been a better time to try it for yourself.

See what over 40, yes that's right, 40 other G+ users have experienced. No wait, shit. I checked the blog from my phone a few times, and I forgot to set it to "not track page views" from that device...

See what over 12 other G+ users have already experienced, only better, because it is new and improved!  What are you waiting for?
Let's Make a Character!

Making a simple character creator!


I created a simple, yet elegant character creator using Inklewriter. Follow the link below to check it out!

Let's make a character!

(Note: I added the paths mentioned below, but have not finished writing them or updating the story online yet)
While the overall plot of Revenge of the Gray Heron Part I is pretty linear (You have to escape the prison), I was able to add two other routes/ options for doing this. The first new option is to descend to the basement level of the prison using a stairwell, and the second is to climb the the roof using the elevator cables. In the screenshot the option to use the elevators has been disallowed (highlighted in red) because the elevator has already been tried, and the reader has chosen to abandon this method and try another way. I did this by tagging the first elevator escape paragraph and then setting a condition not to show the option to use the elevator again if you return to the choice "node" and the elevator tag has been read.

I used a similar trick to assign a value to bullets, and prevent options for using a gun from displaying if the bullet value reaches zero (each time the gun is used, a tag deducts one from the running bullet total).

I was even able to add a small passage about discarding the empty gun if the bullet value falls below one.

By using the same idea, and a running total for health, I am able to avoid dead ends that simply result in the character's death, but can include the option for player death too many passages with a "health-1" tag have been read.

If there was a way to set tags within the text in association with the ability to use random text, then combat could be simulated, but alas, this is beyond the scope of inklewriter at present.

On the plus side, I can update these changes in the version of the story that has already been uploaded to the textadventures.co.uk site that houses these stories.

Using tags and markers, and the ability to display marker values in text could make for a fun zero level adventure where the end result is a set of stats/ abilities for a starting character-just send a screen cap to the GM.

-Aaron

Monday, November 3, 2014

Enhancing the Adventure with Inklewriter

I have been experimenting with the idea of enhancing the adventure by creating a couple short adventures centering on NPC's the characters will encounter.

I have been messing around with inklewriter, and while it is not perfect, it is useful for mapping out branching story lines.

I created a short adventure story featuring a fallen superhero who has spent the last twenty years imprisoned/ institutionalized.  His arch enemy has been forgiven by the public, and as ascended to public office. Now in his sixties, the Gray Heron must escape the prison and exact revenge.

The following link will take you to part one of the story, which is pretty short, and admittedly pretty rough.

Revenge of the Gray Heron Part One

(fixed the link)
-Aaron

Monday, October 27, 2014

More Aliens for the Dungeon.

Lizard-Folk in Space
My original idea, going way back, was to have the star ship populated by a consortium of "evil" alien species. Each one of the "fins" on the ship would house a different type of alien, and considering it was going to be a megadungeon, this made sense to have four or five unique starship environments and sets of foes.

I have whittled it down to one ( the Ta'ak) and potentially the wisps, although they are more "tools" of the Ta'ak than a separate species occupying their own wing of the starship bent on galactic domination.

I have been giving more thought to introducing another type of alien, residing deeper in the wreckage and preserved in a self induced state of hybernation or stasis.

Where the Ta'ak are my version of orcs, this particular species would be my "lizard men from space". I like the idea of these creatures becoming active as a result of the actions of the characters (either from restoring power to their portion of the wreckage, or some other means).  There would probably be a small amount of these creatures within the dungeon, but again, I like the idea that they have been in stasis until the characters manage to disrupt them. The look and feel of this section of the dungeon could be considerably different from the tech level that is occupied, or was occupied, by the Ta'ak. Their energy weapons would be more refined than those used by the Ta'ak, and perhaps would use internal power sources, although the number of charges would be limited to reduce the potential disruption of the game world. This would allow for a mix of tech and fantasy in the "ancient dungeon level".

-Aaron

Saturday, October 18, 2014

Adding Punch to the Goblin Level

New monster based on Slivriss from "Meckwick's Challenge".
Thinking about the goblin level, it feels a bit bland.  I have goblins with bits of technology and weapons made from scraps of tough starship metal, I have a shaman who is leading them on a doomed quest to get to the base of the dungeon, but I want more for what may be the players first impression of the dungeon.

One monster that I created for Meckwick's Challenge with +Random Wizard  was Slivriss, a sort of other-dimensional insect/snake hybrid. He is still one of my favorites, and I thought that creating a variation of him/ his theme as another challenge the goblins and ultimately the characters will face could  help the level.

The introduction of this creature to the level also gives me the ability to introduce a magic sword I have created much earlier in the story. Due to its snake-like form, the monster can travel through narrow spaces, and go "off map" to different locations to attack the players, making the battle with it span several levels and the duration of the adventure itself.  Encounters will be brief, with the monster retreating whenever it takes damage. My aim is for the players themselves to hate this bastard, and relish the thought of eventually trapping and killing it.

-Aaron




Goblin Level: First thoughts

I have been giving more thought to the NPCs and opponent characters that will populate the adventure.
In particular, I have been thinking about the goblin caves that lie just above the tech level of the dungeon.

Previously, I was thinking that the goblins would be holed up above the town, waiting to mount an offensive to overrun the humans below, all the while being influenced by the strange effect of the mountain itself.  Thinking about it more, I think that the goblins should be indifferent to the humans. One of the features of the dungeon is a sort of pull exerted from the lower levels, which compels occupants to delve ever deeper. Such is the case with the goblins, who aspire to travel to the lowest depths of the dungeon, They have had little success, unable to overrun the cultists and Ta'ak below.

The goblins have been pilfering gear and objects from the tech level, with hopes that they use them against their enemies below.

-Aaron

Tuesday, October 14, 2014

Populating the Fantasy Setting: NPCs for the town

I have spent a lot of time thinking about, and working on the starship level of the dungeon, but since getting the new Manga brushes from Frenden, I have been thinking more about the look of the adventure. The mining town can provide lots of opportunities for character interaction, provided there are lots of interesting people for them to encounter.

Two groups of concern for the players are the mercenary guards hired by the mining companies. They are a mixed group of hardened bastards that will likely not get along well with adventurers.  The other armed group are the guards affiliated with the church. They are a more organized group, and although they serve in large part as jailers for the church prison mine, they also maintain what little sense of order can be found in the settlement.  The two groups often clash, and the results are usually bloody.

The three NPCs I have sketched are a brothel worker, a street urchin/ magic user and a ranger who is exploring the source of spreading  devastation on the environment in the area.

-Aaron

Monday, October 13, 2014

Frenden-deed!

I picked up another set of Frenden's brushes over the weekend. I have to say I felt like a kid on Christmas as I was installing each of them. Manga Studio only lets you install one at a time as far as I can tell, and  I was so tempted to stop installing them and mess around with the brushes I already added to my tools. With one hundred brushes included in the set, this was went on for a while.

I don't want to fanboy out, but this guy and his brushes are incredible.
I made some quick concept sketches using the one of the concept brushes from the Paint and Wet Media set. If you have Manga Studio, you owe it to yourself to check out Frenden.com. You can pick up the brush sets from $4.99 -$5.99 each, or get the super set with over 200 brushes for $14.99.

The sketches are two goblins, a leaner variant of a Ta'ak, and a brutal NPC guard I am working on.

-Aaron

Saturday, October 11, 2014

Boss Monster

The Cultist Leader has ventured deep below the Starship wreckage.


Fleshing out one of the Boss enemies.

Thinking about the NPC and enemy ideas from my previous post, I naturally fleshing one out that wasn't even on my list.  The Cultist leader will have found a universal translator (of sorts), Yeah, the thing I said I wasn't going to include. It only works with written language, and since Ta'ak written language is rudimentary,symbolic, and instinctive (thanks for that idea "We're Alive" podcast!) the translator works rather well.  Using it, he has uncovered many secrets, and understands that the bomb will not function in its current state. It needs a replacement energy source, and as fate would have it there seems to be one in the primitive environment of the fantasy setting.

Friday, October 10, 2014

Adding NPCs and Monsters to the Dungeon

Ceci n'est pas une elfe

















I have a rough idea of the town, the church, and the dungeon, but to flesh any of these elements out further, I will need to think about the people and things the characters will likely interact with.  The picture above features one of the NPCs I have created for the "spaceship level" of the dungeon. A lone survivor of the crash, preserved in green gel (or what passes for green in greyscale).

Thursday, October 9, 2014

Mapping the Star Ship Dungeon Levels

3D Model of the "Destroyer" star craft I made several years ago.


I need to map the star ship interior. I made a generic fantasy dungeon map at first, and it did not resemble a space ship in any way.  I found my old model of the Ta'ak destroyer ship and figured it makes sense to base the map on the thing I am supposed to be mapping.

Wednesday, October 8, 2014

Alien Technology for the Medieval Mind

This is a Fantasy Adventure, I swear!

















I'm a little ahead in the process of creating the adventure than I have had time to blog about.  This is an example of the layout and some of the art I have already created.

This is a two page spread that I have worked out for one of the locations (rooms) in the "tech" level of the dungeon. The Mysterious chamber serves as a "virtual reality" training simulator and indoctrinates the characters in the use of alien weapons and technology through what is essentially a "small science fiction adventure module" with the adventure itself.

Tuesday, October 7, 2014

Adventure Hooks

I now have a rudimentary setting for the characters to explore. I don't foresee it growing large enough to support full sandbox style play, but it is working for me.  I need to find ways for a GM to nudge the players towards the dungeon that is a little more fleshed out than a rumor table.

This is where my hooks will come in. Hooks can work just like railroading, in that instead of ram-rodding your players on a liner path, you drag them through it. I haven't encountered anyone advocating "on rails" roleplaying, so my hooks will have to be somewhat subtle.  I suppose I can provide  a few ranging from dragging the players towards the dungeon to "what, the mountain? Nah, its the woods to the east you have to worry about."

Monday, October 6, 2014

Sand-Road? Rail-Box? Trying to find a happy medium

That didn't work so well...

Looking at the story outline from the beginning, I can see the railroad tracks. The players are given a specific reason for entering the mountain lair of the cultists, and then proceed to work their way through the toxic environment for reason x.

Of course I do want the players to get into the mountain, and I am not exactly dropping them in by way of giant eagle, but I need to flesh out some alternatives.





Orcs with blasters no more.

Concept sketch of a Ta'ak warrior.




















My original concept for the menacing alien humanoids was simply
"orcs in space". I derived the name "Ta'ak" from the monster
Untaak who was featured in one of the One Page Dungeon
Contest entries that +Random Wizard  and I submitted.

Sunday, October 5, 2014

Downsizing: From Megadungeon to Kilodungeon


And in the first post there was a cover shot.






































I am currently creating an "old school" fantasy adventure, and will use this blog to capture as much of the creation process as possible. I hope to include elements of the story as they are further refined as well as some "concept sketches" and finished art. I was (am) inspired by Jason Brubaker's Remind blog where he does a similar thing but on a much grander scale. If you are at all interested in what goes into creating a graphic novel, then you should click those "grayed out" words in the previous sentence!