Creativity, Drugs,Temperance

WARNING: This is not going to be about drugs in RPGs. This is going to be about drugs in real life, or rather, what to do in their absence.

So here is your chance to walk away from a post that will be both a) deeply personal and b) barely mentions RPGs and the OSR. If you don't want to see life's dismal results, look away now!

The 48 Hour Mega RPG Jam

As I mentioned in this post: ...How Do you Guys All Know Each Other?, I recently took part in a 48 hour RPG design competition, failing miserably. However, it was a worthwhile exercise for the following reasons:

1. I made a nice relationship generator, linked above.
2. I was able to create my very own fantasy heartbreaker which, although I didn't finish, I'm continuing to work on.
3. I got to find out about loads of interpreting TTRPG designers and have a glance at what they are capable of producing in a restrictive time period!

I set myself the task of reading and reviewing all 48 entries, and have elected to link them all below alongside a very short summary! Nearly all of these are free to download, but if you enjoy them or even get the chance to play them, give the designers a shout!

If you prefer an easier to read layout, try https://itch.io/jam/mega-rpg-jam/entries.

THE CRYSTAL SEAS, Episode 15:The Bishophtu Bath House Part Two

The party have travelled to the city of Nahemot on a mission of murder: Lila, the second wife Romani lord, Geta Shaoul, has ordered them to assassinate her former "friend", the wizard Kharzan. After a night of meticulous planning at the  local massage parlour and a morning spent staking out the bath house to formulate the perfect crime, the party instead decided to rifle through coat pockets in the cloak room resulting in ejection from the premises, bereft of clothing, and being pursued by a pair of angry guards. What now?

This instalment includes lots of material adapted or drawn directly from The Boswitch Bathouse by Arnold Kemp of Goblin Punch fame. Spoilers abound!  This post also summarises two sessions that took place on 15th and 22nd of September: apologies to my players, hope we can get back to the campaign soon!

22nd Sositi, Around Eleven AM

The party burst into the foyer of Madam Palfrey's Bathouse: Ursula and Analicia draped in modest bath robes (Analicia's being a stolen staff uniform) and Horace naked from the waist up, his modesty only preserved by a towel. Bolg has already rushed down the stairs to meet them, holding his magic cat, already aware of what has happened from his second floor perch.

Bolg is accompanied by a young girl, who urges them to follow her. They are led into a small, wood panelled room. The door shuts behind them. It is windowless and pitch dark. Ursula ignites a magical flame:

"What the fuck happened?"

No one says anything, the door opens, an unfamiliar young woman enters. She has brought their weapons from their room upstairs, and some dark-coloured robes. as the party thank her and get dressed, she seems impatient:

"Is it done?"

So uh, How Do You Guys All Know Each Other?

I recently tried - and - failed to write a complete RPG in 48 hourss part of Itch.io's MEGA RPG JAM. In fairness, I think I bit off a little more than I could chew, and wasn't able to devote as much time as I needed. Nonetheless, I had fun along the way and feel compelled to finish the task, and in doing so came up with a random party relations table that might be useful. 

The game is about humanoid minions trying to get by in a dungeon: carrying out tasks on behalf of their overlords, running rival lairs, feeding the monsters etc. If you want to take a look at the horrible incomplete mess I submitted, its here.

PCs begin as new arrivals in the dungeon, so I thought it would be fun to add a deceptively simple backstory generator to explain how the keepers know each other: