@SJohnRoss@dice.camp
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SJohnRoss

@SJohnRoss@dice.camp

You examine the S. John closely, but find only a small tag proclaiming him a product of the Frobozz Magic Game Designer Company.

This profile is from a federated server and may be incomplete. Browse more on the original instance.

nickdrawthing, to random
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The doctor sent me to get a "full workup." Sounded fine, but when I got there they STOLE A BUNCH OF MY LIQUIDS!

SJohnRoss,
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@nickdrawthing We must not allow them to sap and impurify our fluids!

SJohnRoss, (edited ) to Nostalgia
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Pondering the publishing gimmicks of my childhood:

  • Pop-Ups (sometimes with bonus sliding/rotating)
  • Scratch and Sniff
  • Red-filter secrets
  • "Invisible ink"
  • Flexidiscs
  • 3D w/paper glasses

There were others, but those I actually enjoyed. Some, I was not the target audience for (like "panels of fur for some goddamn reason").

My only nostalgic pang is realizing the flexidisc is the most deaddy deadest, because only hipsters and hardcore collectors have phonographs anymore. 😮

SJohnRoss,
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@Johnnephew Nice!

SJohnRoss, (edited )
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@peteramthor Yeah, I've glanced at a couple and they are something else! Alas, the intersection of "pop-up books" and "books about stuff I want books about" has drifted far apart over the years. 😭

SJohnRoss,
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@119v0080 Astonishing! Also nifty. 😲😊

Ashigaru, to random
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@SJohnRoss The old Risus homepage was one link I deleted. 😭

SJohnRoss,
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@Ashigaru I deleted it first. 😈

restlesshead, to random
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I'm an absolute sucker for isometric maps (dungeon or otherwise) and having backed the first volume of these I can confirm they're just gorgeous. I had to pull my print copy out and ogle them for a bit. Recommended for map junkies: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/175522302/a-collection-of-fantasy-maps-ii

SJohnRoss,
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@restlesshead None of the maps in the preview images look isometric (which is a good thing, IMO ... isometric is the most limiting of the parallel projections, IMO) but they're very beautiful maps.

orcusdorkus, to random
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Tonight’s casual read is this 1992 supernatural offering where apparently you play as ghosts who must fulfill an unfinished task to be able to move on to the afterlife. 🤘🏻👻

SJohnRoss,
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@orcusdorkus I haven't thought about this one in a long time!

BigJackBrass, to random
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"Aside from an ode to group sex called Gang Bang, their songs appealed across generations…"

https://www.theguardian.com/music/article/2024/jun/03/colin-gibb-singer-with-black-lace-dies-aged-70

SJohnRoss,
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@BigJackBrass "Gang Bang, by contrast, appealed mainly to the under-60 set, though some of the oldsters still liked to sing along from the sidelines."

BurnAfterRunning, to random
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- the final frontier? A look at trek one-shots
https://burnafterrunningrpg.com/2024/06/03/to-boldly-game-playing-star-trek-ttrpgs-a-guide-to-one-shots-and-campaigns/

SJohnRoss,
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@BurnAfterRunning I read this hoping for a rundown of the best one-shots and campaigns available for it. Instead it was about game systems. 😥 😰 😭

SJohnRoss, to Creativity
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Inexperienced Creator: "Where do you get your ideas?"

Experienced Creator: "Where do you find the time to implement all the ideas?"

Over-Experienced Creator: "Is there a way to make the ideas just shut TF up for a day?"

#Creativity

SJohnRoss, to random
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Folks sometimes ask me if I'll ever just publish an all-in-one article describing in detail.

I have long intended to. My main problem is that, every time I draft it, its ideal form seems to be a kind of mutant pick-a-path "Choose Your Own Socratic FAQ" monstrosity and I hate that. 😅

Eventually I'll just surrender to that, resign to it, and do my best to make it funny.

SJohnRoss,
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@mcmartin Well, that's interesting! I mean, apart from "thank you!' that you feel they're good ... I'd be very interested to dig into the challenges you've faced running them, since that's the kind of thing I should be writing more, and designing more, to help folks with.

SJohnRoss,
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@mcmartin Aha! Well, kind crowd then. 😁

I did an article on inhabiting distinct NPCs that might be a useful read (it's a quick one, at least). It was for an old Star Trek RPG supplement published by LUG and then purchased by WotC who buried it because they have no Trek license. 😬

The point being, if I dig it up and send it to you, nobody is left to care.

orcusdorkus, to random
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Tonight’s casual read. Quite possibly the rarest and most expensive D&D module out there, but is it’s value strictly in it’s rarity or does the adventure hold any worth as well? Guess I’ll find out.

SJohnRoss,
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@orcusdorkus Designers named Graeme are, according to science, approximately 7.17% groovier than those NOT named Graeme.

@GraemeDavis being one example we have here, though not the Graeme in this specific module (not sure if that matters).

SJohnRoss, to random
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Flopped into the chair outside our door, after a neighborhood stroll.

In a nearby yard, some kids are playing; three or four of them. Making up games as they go, shouting out rules, counter-shouting rules changes. 😁

That's good stuff. ☺️

SJohnRoss, (edited ) to random
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When I try to describe to a designer unaccustomed to it, the Half-Dozen Rule often fills their eyes with horror.

Them: I need to design prep for SIX approaches?
Me: Twelve. Sorry about the name.
Them: [sweating] Uhh ... Violence and ... Convincing? Um ...

But once you have some tools, it's not hard to hit that tiny minimum. Recall some of the tools:

  • Problems with problems
  • Causal Chaining
  • Fuel-Sourcing
  • People Up
  • Five Root Forms

Try it. It's (really) fun. 😊

SJohnRoss, (edited )
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A quickie brainstorm example. 8 minutes, some spent on phrasing. 😅

This is an ok start! From here we examine the lieutenant, the vampire, Ella, the old mates, the cultish gang. As we pass each through the same lenses, the problem gets trustier.

We begin with "Rufus v. Ella" as the central problem, but it might not stay that way. Maybe the old mates are the real center, or the vampire. Maybe even Ella. I have no idea at this stage, which is fun.

SJohnRoss,
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Crucially, at this early stage this could still be developed into a DEEPLY low-trust adventure, but of course ... I won't do that because it's not my jam.

But if it's yours, the methods still contribute. HTT design has a lot that other forms can pilfer, for such pilferage is the way of our hobby, which is groovy. 😊

SJohnRoss,
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Finally, note that this is just using the set of techniques I've posted about here on Mastodon. There are certainly more tools, but these are a kind of "basic set" that can do 95% of the things, 95% of the time.

Anyway, I'll shush for a bit, and go back to daydreaming about having a place to talk about adventure design All The Time. 😄

SJohnRoss, (edited )
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@pteryx I posted and then deleted this graphic yesterday, but here's a poke I took at Rufus' causal chain two steps in each direction (cause and consequence). In a real design I'll do chains for every significant person or element, and branch and tangle them.

In an action-mystery design specifically, I'll do another dimension, which is advancing and rewinding the timeline, to find the best point of PC contact.

SJohnRoss, (edited ) to random
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While the five root forms are an arbitrary chunking/distillation of a complex design issue, they're a useful set of chunks for eyeing centrality.

Just as higher-trust adventures tend to cluster multiple problems, higher-trust problems tend to cluster multiple "forms."

The Huzrael in Toast, designed in part to be an example, are simultaneously Imperiled, Misplaced, and Failing.

Three of their number (Hirash, Jaina and optionally Amrad) embody At-Odds and/or Harmful.

SJohnRoss, (edited )
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The value of this is manifold, but the two most basic benefits are:

  1. It's another "balancing" technique to reduce presumptivenes. Essential.

  2. It helps develop the easy-to-overlook quality of being solvable by degrees rather than all-or-nothing, which isn't essential, but it's hugely valuable for characterization potential and for giving the PCs more tools to author their own standards of success (two sides, same coin).

SJohnRoss, (edited ) to random
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Of the twenty-something fantasy city-books highlighted in the biblio, Eidolon (and Sel-Kai) might take the "pleasantly surprised" award, because I've never been a Shadow World fan (still not) ... But my preconceptions were unfair to this book, which is Really Very Good. While it has some of Amthor's usual tics, they often end up serving, rather than undermining, the design. Dragon magazine called it the jewel of the Shadow World crown, and I agree.

nidorina, to random

saying "nazis can't play this game" has no power to stop them but if you just toss some neopronouns in it they'll self-select out

SJohnRoss,
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@nidorina This is a design principle I refer to as Scarecrows ... and I'm a BIG fan of peppering a game with Scarecrows. ☺️

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