Uncharted Worlds – Page 32 – Powered by the Apocalypse G+ Archives

Hi everyone, I was wondering what people think of the XP triggers in Uncharted Worlds, and whether anyone has…

Hi everyone, I was wondering what people think of the XP triggers in Uncharted Worlds, and whether anyone has experience hacking them. I get they are there for players to indicate what they want to see, and also nudge the game in specific scifi directions, but I prefer more mission / accomplishment driven XP system like in The Sprawl and Dungeon World. I’m thinking about hacking that in, instead. Are there any caveats to be aware of? What are peoples’ experience with the XP triggers? How many XP triggers do your groups hit on average per session / adventure? Thanks!

So here goes my first version.

Throw comments or violent reactions at me! 😛

(you can also use the Comment directly in the document, it’s easier to track when it’s specific).

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1gT_0yN9ncJHit0aXl3IEa7QtdfrKcox4jG4RHg5Q0Wk/edit?usp=sharing

For my Jedi career:

Workspace:

• Shrine: Training and meditation. Training drone, kyber crystal, holocron.

What would be a cool idea for a second choice of Workspace that would fit a Jedi?

Working on a Star Wars hack for UW.

Here’s the 5 Skills I’ve made for the Jedi class. Thoughts?

Move (+Mettle)

When you concentrate to move things at a distance, Roll+Mettle.

On a 10+, you manage to move it, choose 3.

On a 7-9, you move it, choose 1:

* It lands exactly where you want.

* You use it to cause an injury (target can Brace for Impact).

* Size matters not.

* You can hold it afloat for an extended period of time.

* It doesn’t take much of your concentration.

* You activate it.

* It affects multiple objects in the vicinity.

* It moves very fast.

Sense (+Mettle)

When you use the Force to commune with the world around you, Roll+Mettle.

On a 10+, choose 3.

On a 7-9, choose 1:

*You sense all living beings up to the Far range.

*You read the current emotional state of a closeby target.

*You read the surface thoughts of an adjacent target.

*Range doesn’t matter.

*It affects all targets up to Close range.

*You know the exact location of the target.

*You get a vague hint of events to come.

*You gain +1 to your next Brace for Impact check.

Mind trick (+Influence)

When you manipulate the mind of a closeby target, Roll+Influence.

On a 10+, choose 3.

On a 7-9, choose 1:

*You make it believe something that is not true.

*You make it feel a specific emotion.

*You make it do a single action.

*You affect multiple targets that are adjacent to each others.

*Range doesn’t matter.

*It lasts for an extended period of time.

Enhance

When you imbue your own body with the energy of the Force, you gain +1 to the next check you make that involves the Physique stat. If you fail that check, on top of any consequence that failure brings, you also can’t attempt another Enhance check for the scene.

Deflect

When equipped with a lightsaber, you can add your Physique instead of Armor to the Brace for Impact move when trying to deflect incoming projectiles.

Far Beyond Humanity Weekly Update #14

Far Beyond Humanity Weekly Update #14

Feels like I’m finally in the home stretch. Got half a section to complete, and a few things to shuffle around, but it’s now into deep corrections and layout.

I’ve already got a couple of Chapters back from a preliminary editing pass, and hopefully the rest will be done by the weekend.

Chapter 3 – Arcana – Horror

Got a chance to playtest the final version of the Horror rules, ended up finding a few interesting corner-cases and clarifications that completely mess up my page layout (grumble grumble).

I’ll write more about it in a separate post, but it was a great stress-test of the Prompting for Horror (i.e.: the Horror manifested in the first few minutes of the story when someone managed to roll a 1 on 2d6.)

Chapter 4 – Characters

Ended up going over the skills, and tweaking a few of the more problematic or niche skills. I’d appreciate it if folks could take a look there, make sure nothing stands out as being boring or useless or whatever.

The big addition to this chapter are the Reference pages, detailing each of the ten original careers and origins to aid in character creation. Some flipping back and forth will be inevitable, but at least initial decision can be made with all the info fairly accessible.

Interior Art

Whuff. Yeah. You probably noticed that after posting the first two images several months ago, there was nothing more. This is the thing I mentioned that was really ripping me apart the past few weeks. I was terrified that I would have to publish without them, and I had to go to some uncomfortable lengths to finally get them.

Situation arose because I’m a trusting idiot. Pro Tip: Always sign a contract, never do it verbally. And don’t pay the whole amount up front. If I could I’d time-travel to a year ago and slap myself upside the head.

But good news, got the pieces, and that’s the end of it. Maybe I can stop popping antacids every night. Whuff.

Carta Galaxia

With the book coming to a close, I find myself looking ahead. I’ve still got Carta Galaxia to finish, though the year of FBH has given me new perspective on the whole thing.

I think people would be best served by smaller, more regular releases. Instead of a big book of campaigns like I originally planned, I’ll be dividing it into 3 smaller supplements, each of which will tackle a certain kind of setting. Dividing into 3 books will allow more leeway in the way each book is structured.

– The Core: Heavy population, multi-faction politics and strife. Cyberpunk-ish style.

– The Divide: Two monolithic factions fighting for dominance, with a third supernatural power lurking in the shadows between the stars.

– The Edge: Loosely connected frontier worlds adrift in wild, lawless unexplored expanses of space.

So that’s this week. Hopefully the next update will be all about layout. (Speaking of which, I may be calling on volunteers to take a look/proofread the edited version after I do the layout pass, will post more next week.)

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/atd0ygpwhur5yp6/AAB140jz3usjE3imwUkkCTLia?dl=0

Far Beyond Humanity Weekly Update #13

Far Beyond Humanity Weekly Update #13

As much as I hate to have a light/almost non-existent update, I figured I should at least touch base with everyone.

Basically, aside from fleshing out the aspects of Trauma, Horror and such, I’ve mostly been dealing with worrying issues with the publication of the book. I’ll probably be posting an update in the coming week, when things shake out (cryptic, I know.) Meanwhile I’m going to just keep popping antacids and trying to finish writing.

In a bit of good news, I’ve found a pleasing way to handle overcoming trauma. A character that suffers from physical or psychological trauma gains a new XP trigger choice in addition to their current career XP trigger: “A victory despite a trauma’s interference”. Every time a character overcomes their personal, inner foe, everyone gains xp.

-SG

Musical inspiration often comes from unexpected sources.

Musical inspiration often comes from unexpected sources. Here we have the Ambient tracks from the themepark sim Planet Coaster. But the title of the collection, “Weightless” really does its job well as a background soundtrack for space exploration.

The music is slow, ambient and calm. It plays with many different instruments, favoring strings and organ/synth. There’s no driving drum beat, no patter or uptempo stings, just “floating” melody. This would certainly play well in quieter moments of stellar travel or exploration. Weightless indeed.

That said, having just come off writing the horror section in Chapter 3, I can’t help but think that this could serve as a purposefully dissonant track for a horror game, the lie of calm overlain on the horror beneath.

Anywho, it’s some nice stuff, take a listen!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UG9ZRqUpZBU

Far Beyond Humanity Weekly Update #12

Far Beyond Humanity Weekly Update #12

Eeep. It’s, uh, been a while, huh? Every weekend seemed to have something going on, and I just pushed things back.

But the worst thing I can do is let that become habit, or to wallow in it. No! I must get back on the writing horse and get this thing done. So close now. Really feeling the emotional diminishing returns as I get closer to the end.

I’ve already got a few chapters in the hands of my editor, so as soon as I finish, the first editing pass will begin.

Aaanywho, here’s what’s new in Chapter 3 – Arcana

Villains

This section is done! I ended up patterning the overall villain structure like the spaceship combat from UW; layered threats around a core.

To me it seems pretty straightforward, so I’m sure there are bits that I didn’t explain quite right because of my own blind spots and assumptions. I’d really appreciate it if folks (especially GMs) could take a look and tell me if it lines up will and fits with your understanding of the game.

Overwhelming Foe

Posted about this a couple of weeks ago, did a bit of tweaking on it. I’m quite happy with the way this came out. It’s kindof a countdown clock, but where each “tick” has a unique consequence. It’s supposed to represent the unavoidable costs and attrition when facing truly overwhelming odds.

As I mentioned in the other thread, with a bit more tooling this feels like it could be the central mechanic of a different game. A game I don’t have the time to write, sadly. Though I think some other designers are already eyeing the tech, which is super keen and I hope it shows up elsewhere.

Horror

Whoooooeeee. This was a tough one.

So Uncharted Worlds is a Space Opera. It has Space Opera tropes, and Space Opera primary colors. It has a soundtrack full of brass and synthesizer.

With the Horror section, I tried to condense an entire other genre (Sci Fi Horror) into 3 pages and adapt it to the current rules. And… I’m surprised and pleased with the results, to be honest.

The main design is to control the cadence and the build-release cycle of tension. Leaving the consequences purely to the GM in this instance would make the horror feel arbitrary. Instead, I wanted to capture a small amount of the dread of… well, Dread, when a player goes to pull a piece from the tower. There are also overtones of the Haunt roll from Betrayal at House on the Hill. I am not subtle with my inspirations. Such is life.

Basically, if I can illicit a hissing intake of breath when a character is called to make a Move during a “quiet” moment, then I’ve succeeded.

I’m particularly fond of the dark mirror of XP triggers found here: instead of earning XP, certain actions attract the Horror.

What’s next

I need to finish up the Horror section and the Trauma section (that was draining to write, constantly having to check myself, so to speak).

After that I need to go back over chapter 1 to make sure the “synthesis” of all the other chapter topics is covered.

And then: Editing and Layout!

Thanks for all your patience, folks. I know this thing is late out the door. I had hoped to be done months ago. But I’ll keep slogging at it, as much as I can between my day job, 2 year old son and fickle inspiration. I’m glad you’re here with me for this ride. I can’t express how much the community motivates me.

-SG

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/atd0ygpwhur5yp6/AAB140jz3usjE3imwUkkCTLia?dl=0

Hi folks. Got UW last week, finally falling into the whole PBTA thing.

I am hyped as can be, but I am wondering about something. With the Prompting Players thing, leaving gaps in the narrative to fill out in play, and almost every move triggering some GM move along with the result, that’s A LOT coming out of the left field during play when you’re used to the traditional the-GM-has-all-the-answers type of play.

In your experience, how random does the story feel when played out a little swiftly ? Does it come easily once you’re a little used to it, or is the learning curve steep as far as you have experienced it ?

Hey guys, I want to play my first session of Uncharted Worlds.

Hey guys, I want to play my first session of Uncharted Worlds. The thing is, I haven’t played a tabletop RPG ever, so I’m really new to this. I kinda need some assistance with that! First of, should the other players (non GM) read the rulebook too? (Probably a silly question hehe)