Status of Projects

I am going to break up some of the monotony of this D&D 40th Anniversary Blog Hop Challenge during the month of February by inserting posts every few days, or whenever the mood hits, so readers will have something else to read.  This is the first of such posts.  I could have re-worked some of them into combined posts but I already have them queued up.

I have several projects that I am working on at any given time; some come to the forefront while others fade into the background at different points.  Unlike school, I do not like forcing myself to focus on only one thing.  On my personal projects it helps me to have several going at one time so I can switch gears and refresh.  In no particular order, here are the projects I am working and the current status of each one.

Adventures in Fantasy

I have produced two characters sheets for this old game and I have received some feedback.  I am definitely going to add a block for a Defense rating on the sheet.  I am also working on a Dragon Record Sheet and a Dragon Hoard Sheet.  These may remain separate or be combined.  I am unsure so far.

Back to the Dungeon! RPG

Of course, this is the neo-clone that was primarily designed by Eldrad Wolfsbane from the Back to the Dungeon! blog.  I have provided feedback and helped with some of the design and layout in some versions of the game.  Now, we are discussing ideas for a science fiction game based off of the BttD engine with appropriate modifications.  I am brainstorming ideas on a post-apocalyptic rendition and a zombie apocalypse game as well.  I also have a little solo side project that involves converting my Toldara campaign over to the BttD RPG rules system.

Escape from Camp Blood

I was pretty excited about this because I had never designed a board game.  I began working on it with The Mayfly (Eric Baker) from the Memories of the Mayfly blog.  Although I absolutely love the idea of a board game that plays out an experience similar to the Friday the 13th movies, I have learned one thing real quick - I AM NOT your guy when it comes to board game design.  I thought I could do it with the assistance of Eric but I just do not have the experience or the know how about board games to get it done.  Besides, there is a game, Camp Grizzly, that just had a very successful kickstarter campaign.

Quick note to Eric Baker:  Hey, we gave it our best shot but any shortcomings in getting this project going smoothly should be placed firmly on my shoulders.  Role-playing design and board game design are two different areas and I was not up to par for a board game design.  You provided great feedback, ideas, and links to awesome resources that would surely be of help.  If you want to use the idea then feel free to do so.  Any and all failings are clearly mine and for that I truly apologize.

Perilous Journeys

I have some ideas for new edges and flaws that I am fine-tuning.  I am also in the process of converting the new races over to the Perilous Journeys rules system.  At some point, I will make this available for download from this blog.  Maybe I should dual-stat the campaign document for both PJ & BttD RPG?  Hmm...  

USR

I designed a character sheet that I made available for download.  I also announced a Resident Evil inspired ,USR powered game I was working on that was going to be called Outbreak.  I still have the notes I have been assembling over the months but I also ran into a snag.  I found another game called Outbreak that is already released.  That kind of took the wind out of my sails. I took a step back for a bit and I am reworking some things.  In addition, I wanted to see how USR Cyberpunk handled things before I continued; just to get a feel for further expansion.  I really dig USR but it is different from most anything I have ever played so designing is a little bit of an adjustment for me.  

  

 

  

Behind the Scenes...

I do not have a lot to report but here are the latest things happening in the background that will most assuredly lead to some posts in the future.

 

Escape from Camp Blood: I am still jotting down ideas but would really like to get some serious work done on this board game.  The truth is, I do not have a tremendous amount of serious board game experience so the going has been kind of rough.  Eric at Memories of the Mayfly has been tremendously helpful with providing insight and ideas but I just have not had any solid ideas yet.  It will come along eventually but in the meantime I want to say "Thanks, Eric" and hope that the game starts to take shape soon.  It kind of sucks to be stuck in brainstorm and research mode with no real progress to show.  Soon, I hope to have something for us to make available for download.

 

Swords & Wizardry: After a bit of investigation I believe that I have settled on Swords and Wizardry for my standard retro-clone of choice; as in, games that stick pretty close to the older editions of D&D.  I think S&W does a fabulous job of it and I am working on a project right now with Venger that should be completed later this year.  The DCC RPG is still my all time favorite neo-clone type of game for all of the little changes it makes in the rules.

 

Toldara: I have two ongoing projects for my campaign world.  First, I need to complete the B/X campaign handbook; who knows, maybe I will whip up a S&W version also?  Second, I need to update the map with some geographical changes and additions.

 

USR:  I am still working on the zombie apocalypse adaptation of the USR system.  Most of my work has consisted of background and setting material because USR tends to fade into the background.  The biggest change is in the name of my project.  The name, OUTBREAK, is already taken by a small press rpg and also used for the title of a supplement to another game.  I have decided to either use REMNANTS or REMNANTS OF HUMANITY. 

 

In case you were wondering what has been going on behind the scenes, there it is...     

 

 

 

 

 

 

A - Z Theme Change

This is just a heads up for anyone that is interested in the A - Z challenge.  I was originally going to do my A - Z postings this year on updating my campaign world; I even asked for a little assistance with a few letters.  I have been writing and updating my posts and some other stuff around here.  I have decided to expand my theme for the A - Z challenge to include updates on any and all projects I have started; not only will this include Toldara but also further updating of Escape From Camp Blood, Back to the Dungeon supplementary material, and my honest best effort to update as many projects from my Old Gaming Notebook as I can get done.

Two Updates

I have made two small changes on the blog today.

 

I added an About Me tab if anyone is interested in reading about how I got into role playing games and would return to them years later.

 

I also added a section for Escape From Camp Blood on the Collected Posts section.

 



Escape From Camp Blood (playtesting components)

I have been searching through the internet for mail order supplies that may help when I get to the point of creating a prototype of the game board and pieces.  The game board can be found simulated  by using a large piece of poster board until the details get worked out.  At that point, there are various sizes of blank folding boards that can be used for the game board.  As you can see, the game board is not an issue at all.  The poster board is a cheap alternative to use during playtesting until a final design is determined. 

 

With the biggest obstacle out of the way, I turned to the rest of the components.  Along with the poster board - could be purchased at Dollar General - I could use the small index cards for the item and event cards used during the game.  I could even cut each card in half and that could serve as two cards.  For less than $5 I could have a big chunk of the playtest materials ready.  Granted, there would not be any fancy art or anything at this point BUT that should not be an issue since all of this is for purely playtesting use.

 

The final hurdle to the components is some sort of counters, tokens, etc. to serve as representations of the various campers and the slasher they are avoiding.  I thought about using pawns - and I might for the initial playtesting - but I really associate them with chess and other games instead of a game about eighties slasher films.  Then I stumbled upon these little figures called meeples and thought that they would work perfectly. 

 

 

I found these things at Meeple Source and they have a wide variety of board gaming supplies that I could use.  There are all sorts of game boards (just like I need), counters, various tokens, monster meeples, people meeples, giant meeples, and all sorts of other things.  Other examples are pictured below.

 

Now that I have satisfied my curiosity about gathering game pieces that will look reasonably well done for a reasonable price it is time to get back to brainstorming.  More later...

Escape From Camp Blood (another look)

Eric Baker, you asked for it and now you have it!  If you're interested in co-authoring this game with me then start brainstorming...

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My original post about Escape From Camp Blood was posted on May 21, 2012.  It has been almost a year and I have posted nothing else about it.  This post is the first in a series in an effort to move from concept to complete game.

 

Concept: The players are campers at a newly re-opened camp that was shut down due to some grisly murders that took place at the camp a few summers ago.  The killer was never found and it was assumed he drowned and the body was never found.  The murders begin again on the first night of the camp being open again.

 

It would be cool to include a back story for the original killings - why did the murderer go on a rampage, how many people were killed, who escaped, etc.  Also include some rumors about the return of the killer or what happened after the camp was closed.

 

Goal: The players are simply trying to survive the return of the killer and make it out of camp alive.  

 

There could be other goals also - stopping the killer by subduing him or killing him.  If all of the players are killed then alternate victory conditions could exist for the player to gather the most knowledge about the killer, pick up the most items, or last the longest, etc.  It will be up to the players to work together or go solo.  I am not sure if the killer should be controlled by one of the players or by some random method in the rulebook.

 

Components: The pieces needed to play this game would include the following.

• Game Board: Of course, the game board will be the playing area of the game.  This board will depict a typical camp scene with a road leading out, some cabins, a dining cabin, a maintenance shed, a baseball field, a river or like, some canoes, and a wooded area.
• Camper Tokens: There will be several tokens representing the different kinds of campers at the camp - jock, tough guy, cowboy, techie, punk, cheerleader, beauty queen, cheerleader, camp staff, etc.
• Killer Token: Represents the killer and does not start out in play.
• Cards: To increase replay value there will be a list of random events (plot twists?) and item cards that will have an impact on the game at random times or when they are discovered.  

 

It might be a good idea to have the game board be split up into several pieces that can be assembled in various ways so each setup and play experience will be unique.  Each one of the campers should have a special ability or something that sets them apart from the other campers; something that will serve as an advantage to that character. The killer will also have a list of special abilities that can randomly be determined by a die roll or something similar. The plot twist cards will represent events that can alter the game - cops showing up, bounty hunter, two killers, a fake killer, wake up it's a dream, etc.  The item cards will represent stuff that can give the players a further advantage such as weapons, cell phone, gun, etc. 

 

Expansion Material: Just as every good - or bad, to tell the truth - 80s slasher had sequels after the success of the initial film this game could have expansion material set up as sequels to the original game and story.  All of the stuff in the expansion sets could be related to the theme of the expansion.  It could be used by itself or mixed in with the original set.  Some possibilities include:

• An expansion giving more detail and play options in the forested areas.  Maybe there is a cabin out there with the Necronomicon inside...
• An expansion could have the camp grounds open one more time with beefed up security and new playing pieces related to it - camp security guard token, new weapons, new campers, etc.
• An expansion turning the setup around by having multiple slashers going around the board trying to get the most kills.
• An expansion that details the lair or hideout of the slasher and the players have been captured and must get out.

Other Thoughts: A few ideas about the continued development of this game.

 

I know the control of the killer can be done in a traditional manner by having one of the players control the killer or by having some random method of controlling the killer outlined in the rule book.  I want to do something different.  I want to come up with a system where each player always controls their camper but the control of the killer rotates around the table.  This is one way to simulate the random focus of the slasher in some of these movies.  I can remember the killer changing his attention from one person to another at times.  It is just an interesting thought I had.  

 

I know there are some differences between the 80s slashers and the more modern slasher movies.  This could actually be the focus of one of the expansion sets. 

 

This post is a much better explanation of the game concept I had in mind.  I will develop each one of these ideas in greater detail in future posts.  More later...  

 

 



(Mobile Post) Escape From Camp Blood

This is an old idea of mine. I never put anything on paper but it would have qualified for an entry in an old gaming notebook.  I have been a fan of the Friday the 13th films since the 1980's and always wanted to do something to show my appreciation.  One idea that keeps coming back to me is a board game that plays out like the basic plot of the films - a group of teenagers are staying at the camp grounds and must keep away from Jason so they can survive the night.  A few thoughts about the game are presented below:

The goal of the game is to avoid the killer and escape the camp.

The game board will depict some cabins, a lake or river, baseball field, and a large wooded area.

Each player will control one token representing a different type of teenager - jock, punk, prep, country guy, etc. Each one can do something special such as hotwire a car, etc.

The killer will either be controlled by another player or by some random method in the rulebook.  Of course, the killer has specials such as stealth, etc.

There will be random item and event cards to increase replay value.

Just some random ideas I needed to get out of my headed. More later...



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