A full week into our two-week campaign and we're sitting pretty, just above our funding goal. We decided to keep things simple and deliverable on our first venture into original games—hence the lack of sky-shooting stretch goals like extra chapters or Mooncroft Manor-themed radioactive glassware.
Still, we're real pleased for every pledge we get and want to show our appreciation for you folks who supported us in the more anxiety-inducing half of the campaign, so we're showing off two of our favorite parts of the book thus far!
Ellie's Pick: Duel Me At High Noon
There are a few subsystems in the back half of the book for GMs to shake up slow seasons—Curses, Mysteries, Events, and so on—but my unequivocal favorite is Dueling.
That's a lot of text, so we'll summarize. Duels take place in three parts.
First, the mages declare what Spell they're casting, and whether they want to risk casting High Magic—a more powerful version of the Spell that will grant you an edge, but also risks a terrible backlash if you fail. If one Spell has an advantage over the other, that makes the opponent's roll more difficult. (Water beats fire—that sort of thing.) Rolls are made under a cup or similar concealment, such that nobody knows the result until they're revealed.
Second, the mages declare how badly they want to hurt their opponent. The more lethal you're willing to be, the easier it is to claim the tempo of the duel for yourself—after all, you aren't restraining yourself, and they are. If one mage is more lethal than the other, they roll an extra die outside the cup, and if it Hits, that's the game. But whatever the result of this die, you're committing to your intent—grazing, injuring, or even killing your opponent.
Last, the cups are taken away and the rolls revealed. The mage with the most Hits claims the day; if there's none; propose a stalemate or clash once more.
The tension between hidden rolls and the changing of mages' intent between rounds is exactly the sort of juicy drama we were aiming to create with this game. (It's also the easiest way to get removed from the game, so be careful, prospective duelists.)
Katie's Pick: Who the Hell is That?
An exciting gathering hinges on having lots of interesting guests to interact with and scheme against. The Guests section provides lots of guidance on developing NPCs before play starts. Our favorite tool from that section is the Common Archetypes table.
With a standard deck of playing cards—or, increasingly, a website that simulates a deck of cards—you can pick a mage, draw a card, and find that crucial first piece of a guest's shtick. Each entry poses either a prompt for the guest's behavior or a relationship to one of the mages—a solid starting point for you to build them out into a full NPC.
Back To It
That's it for our mid-campaign check-in. Back to the book mines. If you have any questions or comments about the project so far, feel free to let us know. Otherwise, we'll check in again at the end of the campaign to talk about fulfillment.
Cheers, E. R. F. Jordan (Compass Publishing House)
