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Ulta
Oct 3, 2006

Snail on my head ready to go.
Here are the next 7. I believe there are 5 more left, and I will try and get to them tonight.

Kobold Super Shortened Edition

Feels very eer and pretzels. I never played the original game, but it feels like you’ve got a quick paced, if slightly crunchy game. Its written in a funny tone. I’m not a huge fan of random mechanics, but it feels like you die quite often in the game, so its probably fine.

Bonus - Nope
8 /10 a bonus is earned

Dungeons and Dragons: Core

This is a truly boiled down D&D! You definitely need to define the character attacks still, but it feel like you have a framework. I really like your mechanic for skill checks, its niche protection without sacrificing cooperation. Still a little generic and not quite finished, but I see the potential.

Bonus - Yes
8 / 10 a bonus is earned


Swordsmen and Sorcerers

You’ve got a nice narrative beer and pretzels game here. Its not terribly crunchy, but its full of flavor, and its easy. The difficulty measuring mechanic is great and I am a fan of only roll when it matters.

Bonus - Yes
8/ 10 - a bonus is earned

Base Circumstances

You’ve got a unique take here, and I like the mechanics. I’m not quite sure I understand Investing, but I’m trying to get through 10 of these tonight. A little generic but I’m looking forward to more.

Bonus Yes
8/10 - a bonus is earned


Houses and Haunting

You’ve got a gift for brevity. I really like what you’ve done here, so I’m going to nitpick. How often can the kids rest? Also the first sentence in Meet the Foes parses wierd. I could interpret it that a foe gets a trait when they fall down. Good stuff!
Bonus - Yes
10/10 - a bonus is earned

Adventure Friends

This is cute. Super saccharin cute. This is a good thing though. The tone is persistent throughout, (call successes Stars, candy and sandwiches as items, etc). This seems like a good game for all ages. Looking forward to more,

Bonus - Nope
8 / 10 - a bonus is earned


Vitruemancy

You’ve got a well establish world and mechanical backing. The main thing I’m lacking is the scope of what spells can do, specifically outside of combat. Can I create a mountain, for example? You’ve got something shaping up here.

Bonus - Yes
8 / 10 - a bonus is earned

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Rulebook Heavily
Sep 18, 2010

by FactsAreUseless

Ulta posted:


Adventure Friends

This is cute. Super saccharin cute. This is a good thing though. The tone is persistent throughout, (call successes Stars, candy and sandwiches as items, etc). This seems like a good game for all ages. Looking forward to more,

Bonus - Nope
8 / 10 - a bonus is earned

Hey now, Fuego has the best Gygax quote of them all in there!

Ulta
Oct 3, 2006

Snail on my head ready to go.
Quotes don't count this round. If I missed you, let me know, but I think that's it.


Empyrean

It might be Feburary in 4167 days, but it won’t be the correct February. Rennee, if you want to continue, let me know.

D&D: Greatest Hits

You’ve got a really strong framework here, and I like how you have your rules in the character sheets. I’m missing how you level, change stance, and what the ranges mean, and a DM section but like you said, theres still some work to be done. Looking good.

Bonus - Nope
9/10 - a bonus is earned


Abomination

I really like the concept behind this game, and I like games that have non-traditional player roles. This is really non-traditional but exciting. Some of its a little hard to understand, but I think this could be remedied with some proper formatting. Are things in the right order in the draft?

Bonus - Yes
9/10 - a bonus is earned/

RetrOS

Still evocative of the 16bit/8bit style. I caught the FFVI reference this time. More meat than last time, but as you say, you were working internally. Looking forward to seeing what comes out

Bonus - Yes
8/10 - a bonus is earned/

Hellhole

Its an interesting system, and I like the Mein and risk mechanics. Flavorful. However you are shamful. Shamful. Shame. SHAME.

Bonus SHAME
SHAME - 1/10 (Would have been 7/10)

Reene
Aug 26, 2005

:justpost:

Oh god drat it.

Yeah I guess I'm your huckleberry now.

Error 404
Jul 17, 2009


MAGE CURES PLOT

Reene posted:

Oh god drat it.

Yeah I guess I'm your huckleberry now.

Go Reene! We believe in you!

UnCO3
Feb 11, 2010

Ye gods!

College Slice

Ulta posted:

Abomination

I really like the concept behind this game, and I like games that have non-traditional player roles. This is really non-traditional but exciting. Some of its a little hard to understand, but I think this could be remedied with some proper formatting. Are things in the right order in the draft?

Bonus - Yes
9/10 - a bonus is earned/
Only the first 2 pages of that document are my second update, the rest is the formatless version of the current text I accidentally left in there after checking the length to make sure it was under the 2-page limit. The latest stuff looks a lot better properly formatted, especially the character/society sheets, and the ordering makes a little more sense assuming that the two 'playbooks' are being read at the same time. Incidentally, the format's going to eventually be two PocketMods, one for the Abomination and one for the societies, and one page of blurb (about 7 lines in a word processor) is duplicated between the two. Should both sections of that count for the 2-page text limit, or just one?

Alien Rope Burn
Dec 5, 2004

I wanna be a saikyo HERO!

Ulta posted:

Houses and Haunting

You’ve got a gift for brevity. I really like what you’ve done here, so I’m going to nitpick. How often can the kids rest? Also the first sentence in Meet the Foes parses wierd. I could interpret it that a foe gets a trait when they fall down. Good stuff!
Bonus - Yes
10/10 - a bonus is earned

Technically they can rest as often as they like; but every time they do, the Director gets Trouble Points, so if they rest too often or at an inopportune time, they're likely to have a ghost or dracula busting into the room (basically, my equivalent of a punishing random encounter chart). I need to do the math on this and see how well the numbers support it, though, I'm a little worried it may be the optimal choice just to rest up whenever possible, particularly at higher levels. Probably not at lower levels, but worth mathing overall.

You're right in that sentence being a clunker. There are some pretty harsh typos scattered throughout the rough, but those should get cleaned up too.

Error 404
Jul 17, 2009


MAGE CURES PLOT

CLICK IMAGE FOR GAME
Latest draft, and playtest document. After some good feedback from G+ and elsewhere, I think I have everything I need in there now. In Open Office, it comes out to 4 pages exactly, google docs shows just under. I'll mess with it more if necessary.

I'd like to try and run some playtests of mine and other's games. I'll be doing them on IRC Monday/Tuesday mid-day to early afternoon PST (GMT-8?)
So, show up in #badwrongfun and I'll try and scrape some playtests together. I'm going to try a couple runs of Tellurian first, and after that I'm going to try running Sawn-off Shadowrun and/or D&D: Core.

Bonus objectives for this round!
1. A little help from my friends - Review and offer advice to at least 5 other games


1. Dungeons Inc
Dirk Gently
Mechanics: Seems a little complex and confusing on first read through, but I'm sure during play it will make sense after a few turns or so.
Fluff: Hilarious, I love everything about the fluff, and I've wanted to play this based purely on the fluff when you first posted the outline.
Conclusion: I am excited about this game, and I think it's definitely a top contender in this contest, as well as in general.
2. Sawn-off Shadowrun
Captain Hats
Mechanics: Could use a bit more clarification and formatting for ease of understanding. I'm unclear how everything will fit together in play, but I'm excited to try it!
Fluff: Yup, that's Shadowrun
Conclusion: Shadowrun is one of my all time favorite games/settings. I think your game not only does justice, but really seems to hit all the core elements in a small, easy to digest package. If this had been a thing back when I played SR all the time, I would have been in heaven!
3. Empyrean
Etherwind/Reene
Mechanics: Very clean and intuitive. I felt I had a good grasp of mechanics on the first read through.
Fluff: none to speak of in this document, but I'm definitely excited to see more.
Conclusion: It looks like we're covering similar ground, but with entirely different approaches. it's pretty cool. I want to play this game badly.
D&D:Core
Barudak/Minutia
Mechanics: I like how everything is familiar to anyone who has ever played Old School D&D (imo), but it's condensed and made more efficient. I don't think I can overstate how impressive this is, seriously. There weren't any classes or spell/gear lists, but I'd imagine those are in progress. I can't wait to see them, and play this.
Fluff: None to speak of, but I'd argue that it's in keeping with OD&D to eschew that stuff.
Conclusion: Not much to say beyond "this is exactly what it says it is". Good Job.
5.Swordsmen and Sorcerors
Neongrey
Mechanics: They seem to make sense, I was unclear what an ARP was, perhaps placing a quick definition or glossary of terms at the head of the rules?
Fluff: There's not much to it aside from Kick All The Doors, but it works in the game's favor.
Conclusion: I would totally play this game anytime. I could definitely see running this as a one-shot, or a first game for newbies.


2. Tiny little Hemmingways
I decided to do ten, ten word stories from all around the world of Tellurian.
1. The Jade Minister calls. War drums launch air ships. Forward!
2. Rumbles under Chaqultec. Uxmal industry, arcane forges, precious artifacts hoarded.
3. Centurion's call. The camp rises at dawn. Raptor scouts, march!
4. The rigging creaks, the Honored Ancestor's moans fill our sails.
5. Old scrolls and manuscripts, collected from every land. Archmagistry
6. Clinking coinpurse, back alley bounty. The fat of the land.
7. The map lead here, the dead walk. Hoping it's worthwhile.
8. Summoned demon. Flawed ward. Another school bites the dust.
9. Disgraced battle mage, now merc for hire. Deal's a deal.
10. Dwarven knots. Some say Master. Others, Warrior. This pattern, Enchanter.

Minutia
Feb 12, 2013
I've been putting the final touches on my system, and I have a few questions about playtests (I wasn't here for the last competition, so I don't know if this was covered last time).
I've already run a quick battle and some skill checks, and my players helped me iron out a couple bugs (things like clarifying rules wording, naming attacks, and changing how a couple attacks work). We have a second session planned tomorrow.
What are you looking for in a playtest? Do you want to see how well players navigate the system the first time they encounter it, or do you want to see what the game looks like once everyone knows the rules well? Do you want player feedback on what they liked or found confusing?
Must the wording and all the rules be finalized before the playtest, or is it okay to revise the rules a little as you play?
I could send in the transcripts for both sessions, but that's an awful lot of chatlog to read. How much do you want?

mepstein73
Sep 18, 2012

Whether or not you find your own way, you're bound to find some way. If you happen to find my way, please return it, as it was lost years ago. I imagine by now it's quite rusty.

Ulta posted:

Kobold Super Shortened Edition

Feels very [b]eer and pretzels. I never played the original game, but it feels like you’ve got a quick paced, if slightly crunchy game. Its written in a funny tone. I’m not a huge fan of random mechanics, but it feels like you die quite often in the game, so its probably fine.

Bonus - Nope
8 /10 a bonus is earned

So two things: first, the original "Kobolds Ate My Baby!" is a Beer & Pretzels RPG. Since this originally started as a condensed KAMB, I take the comparison as a compliment.

Second, are these scores (the 8/10 for this leg, for example) being totaled for the end judging? Or is it just that 'bonus is earned' going through? I had been hoping to see how far I got without any bonus stuff (since I feel some of them are not especially linked to the game design aspect of the contest), but I realized that may hurt my overall chances of winning. The rules are a little unclear to me, is what I'm saying, I guess. In either case, I'm happy to have participated, win or lose.

Ulta
Oct 3, 2006

Snail on my head ready to go.

mepstein73 posted:

So two things: first, the original "Kobolds Ate My Baby!" is a Beer & Pretzels RPG. Since this originally started as a condensed KAMB, I take the comparison as a compliment.

Second, are these scores (the 8/10 for this leg, for example) being totaled for the end judging? Or is it just that 'bonus is earned' going through? I had been hoping to see how far I got without any bonus stuff (since I feel some of them are not especially linked to the game design aspect of the contest), but I realized that may hurt my overall chances of winning. The rules are a little unclear to me, is what I'm saying, I guess. In either case, I'm happy to have participated, win or lose.

Bonus is worth exactly 1 point always. The rubric I used for this round was three points for fluff, three for presentation, and four for rules completeness and mechanical soundness. As for the exact breakdown of particular games, I didn't keep records, just the total.

Ulta
Oct 3, 2006

Snail on my head ready to go.

Minutia posted:

I've been putting the final touches on my system, and I have a few questions about playtests (I wasn't here for the last competition, so I don't know if this was covered last time).
I've already run a quick battle and some skill checks, and my players helped me iron out a couple bugs (things like clarifying rules wording, naming attacks, and changing how a couple attacks work). We have a second session planned tomorrow.
What are you looking for in a playtest? Do you want to see how well players navigate the system the first time they encounter it, or do you want to see what the game looks like once everyone knows the rules well? Do you want player feedback on what they liked or found confusing?
Must the wording and all the rules be finalized before the playtest, or is it okay to revise the rules a little as you play?
I could send in the transcripts for both sessions, but that's an awful lot of chatlog to read. How much do you want?

Its ok to present revised rules. The playtest is the singular most important thing in this contest. If you have a irc chatlog, thats fine. Recording is better, but I realize there are practical problems with this for some people. I don't mind reading a long chatlog. A simple summary of what happened is acceptable, but it will severely diminish your chances of winning

Gau
Nov 18, 2003

I don't think you understand, Gau.
This is my official entry for the 17 February deadline.

Here is openWorld version 0.2. Minor revisions and took out a redundant move (Obtain is pretty much just a specific instance of Hustle). I'm pretty proud of it, but we'll see how playtesting with goons bears out. I'm going to throw together a three-page layout of the rules later this week, as I think that might be easier to read. This layout was much easier to write for.

Here is my proof of shortness. Once the contest is over, I will probably add about 500-1000 words and make this game really shine.

Emmideer
Oct 20, 2011

Lovely night, no?
Grimey Drawer
I'm dropping out due to a lack of people showing up to my playtest and a lack of time to a playtest at a later time. The game is complete, however, and I can guarantee fully functional/fun. If anyone wants to play it, go ahead!

lord_daeloth
Jun 2, 2004

Crazy week, going to have to cram to meet my deadline this week. Oh well, anyhow...

Ulta posted:

Cavern and Wyrms

I really like the quotes at the start of each chapter. You’ve got a very simple, compact, D&D experience here, formatted well. I wonder if Int getting you extra skills, and everything else not having a concrete effect (its implied that attacking is Str/Dex)

Bonus - Yes
10/10

Thank you for the kind words. Int is kind of the only Ability that has a specific effect. An older version of this idea had each Ability allow for skill gaining, but it had to be a skill related to that ability. For example, if you had 4 STR you could learn 2 STR based skills each level. I dropped it because I didn't want most skills to be tied to a certain ability. In other words I didn't want you to be stuck using your STR ability for all of your STR based skills if you could come up with a clever way to tie it into an INT check for example. My second reasoning was to keep it simpler. Now that you've mentioned it, though, I'm kind of considering going back to that system. I suppose there's no reason the skill would have to be tied to the ability used to learn it initially. Plus, I can't really think of any cases where a STR based skill would be used for an INT check, heh. So yeah, I've talked myself into going with my original plan. Now to see if I can cram it in there.

As for the Str/Dex being implied for attacking, I don't really want to imply anything. Essentially if you can come up with a way to damage/hinder/etc your opponent that uses whatever ability you want to use, so be it. Maybe you have an arcane skill called "Confusion" and you use it to confuse your opponent, this would be a Int(because its arcane) vs Wis (which represents awareness) attack. In this case, no damage would be dealt (unless the player somehow worked that into their "story"), but it would hinder the enemy for some time. The point of any contested roll, though, is to make something happen that someone or something else wants to or has to try to prevent. I suppose that's something else I'll have to flesh out a bit, too. Bah, I might have to dump my sample scenario. :(

neongrey
Feb 28, 2007

Plaguing your posts with incidental music.
Ugh I have no idea how I'm going to fit a playtest in, if I wasn't still training I could haul a laptop to work and do it that way but since right now I need to pay attention I can't manage more than a phone.

I guess I'll slap up a quick recruit this evening and do my best to get as much possible done in pbp in time. Fortunately the structure of the game is intended to work well in that medium but aaagh.

TheSoundNinja
May 18, 2012

Hey Ulta, are character sheets still considered pictures if they contain sparse words that have been used previously in the rules text? Mine would look like this, and it's the size of a coaster.

Character Sheet posted:

Name

Strength
Dexterity
Perception
Wits

Valor
Compassion
Conviction
Temperance

Spellpath
[Space to fill in the Details]
Will Pool

Skills
[Space for their Motivation]

If I had an artist draw something cool, the size of a coaster and with just this text (aside from bracketed text), would this count as a picture?

Ulta
Oct 3, 2006

Snail on my head ready to go.

TheSoundNinja posted:

Hey Ulta, are character sheets still considered pictures if they contain sparse words that have been used previously in the rules text? Mine would look like this, and it's the size of a coaster.


If I had an artist draw something cool, the size of a coaster and with just this text (aside from bracketed text), would this count as a picture?

If I'm remembering right all those words appear in the rules text, so that would qualify as picture

MadRhetoric
Feb 18, 2011

I POSSESS QUESTIONABLE TASTE IN TOUHOU GAMES
This is my official entry for the February 17th deadline


(click me)

Shoutouts to Google Drive not anti-aliasing images.

I don't need one hundred words to write like a drunken modernist. Tiny Little Hemmingways the hard way: The boss awaits. The stage is set. Another incident.

If anybody's willing to playtest with me tomorrow, I'll submit this for the early turn-in. Show up in #badwrongfun or something.

neongrey
Feb 28, 2007

Plaguing your posts with incidental music.

MadRhetoric posted:

This is my official entry for the February 17th deadline


(click me)

Shoutouts to Google Drive not anti-aliasing images.

I don't need one hundred words to write like a drunken modernist. Tiny Little Hemmingways the hard way: The boss awaits. The stage is set. Another incident.

If anybody's willing to playtest with me tomorrow, I'll submit this for the early turn-in. Show up in #badwrongfun or something.

Depending on what time you're looking for it, I'll probably be game for it. /msg me or something. If yours goes quickly, maybe people'd be interested in a quick crawl of S&S afterwards.

Idiot me just realized this is a long weekend for me. I'm not used to getting those...

lord_daeloth
Jun 2, 2004

Official entry for Feb 17th deadline


(Click for PDF)

Stripped of Formatting

Throwing this up now just in case. I changed the skill system and put in a tiny bit more on contested rolls. Had to really shave down the sample scenario and came up like one word under the page limit, ugh. Guess most of the adventure content will be up to the players/gm. Oh well! :shrug:

I'll try to squeeze in some reviews before the deadline, cuz you are all awesome.

Tiny Little Hemingways
The bard sang of BRAVERY and ADVENTURE. Glory of Heroes.
One, a soldier, led the charge. None could hold him.
Another, woman of the cloth. Her faith brought the light.
The third, a shadow. His strikes were unseen but true.
The last, magical prodigy. Reality bent to his mighty intellect.

Heroes go where they are needed most. No small chore.
The mayor’s young daughter, taken in the latest of hours.
Our heroes, without a moments hesitation, quickened to the lair.
They entered danger, heroes simply for trying, corpses defining progress.
In the early morning, through the mist, Heroes returned Legends.

Error 404
Jul 17, 2009


MAGE CURES PLOT

MadRhetoric posted:


I don't need one hundred words to write like a drunken modernist.

Drunken modernists are the best modernists. :c00lbert:

Mikan
Sep 5, 2007

by Radium

:siren: This is my official entry for the February 17th deadline :siren:

I made some pretty big changes! I decided to embrace the simple angle instead of making it a half-assed D&D combined with a half-assed party game. Click picture for game.



At this point I consider it finished. Need to provide proof of playtesting and that's it. Print page 1 and 2 double-sided, cut out the cards, you are good to go. If I do any of the bonus goals I will edit them in here but eh

TheSoundNinja
May 18, 2012

Okay, brace yourself for a wall of text, because...
:siren:This is my official Feb. 17 Stage 3 Submission & Playtest!:siren:

I've hit a small snag in the art department - I've commissioned some friends for some art, but they won't have it ready until the Stage 4 date at the earliest.

The rules are done, and I've thrown some temporary art in it's place, but I'll be throwing the final PDF up in the Virtuemancy Google Drive Folder when it's completed.

Here's the credits for the Creative Commons art I used in the meantime (including links to where I found it)

Art Attribution posted:

Cover: The Wizard Artwork by Sean McGrath

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_Wizard.jpg

Page 2: Concept-art done for Sintel, 3rd open-movie of the Blender Foundation. Artwork by David Revoy

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Environments-17-Ishtar-door.png

Here's the Final, Pre-Art, version of Virtuemancy
Here's the Word Count I didn't count the game's name on the cover since it's a part of the cover and not the rules text that comprises the other three pages. Same goes for the character sheet on p. 3.

The playtest went amazingly well - I ran it with some of my players from my Exalted 2e campaigns, and the resounding agreement was that they liked it better than Exalted!

It's a log, as all of my audio recording technology was out of power, but here it is.

Also, here's a copy of my Tiny Little Hemmingways story:

TheSoundNinja posted:

When I Awoke

In my youth, I had an incurable remnant of [color=red]The Calamity[/color] called "The Shriveling". At 15, GAMi quarantined me. I could only watch as those who would be my friends played outside through the small window in my "cell".

I was asleep, in a nightmare that I called my hopeless life.

Right before I gave in and quit, a voice spoke through the nightmare.

Why quit? With Hope, you can overcome any obstacle!

That was when I woke up.

I am Basco Jacobs, Virtuemancer of Swolcery, and I fight to keep the Hope of Gyraxia alive!

Edit: I have completed compiling our notes on the playtest session into something legible. Work will be fun, as I'll be downing enough tea to keep a group of old quilters up for a week.

Captain Hats
Jan 6, 2009

ELF
I'm going to have to bow out of this I'm afraid. Last week some personal issues came up and I haven't been able to focus on much of anything, let alone rewriting shadowrun. Good luck to everyone else though.

TheSoundNinja
May 18, 2012

Captain Hats posted:

I'm going to have to bow out of this I'm afraid. Last week some personal issues came up and I haven't been able to focus on much of anything, let alone rewriting shadowrun. Good luck to everyone else though.

I hope things get better for you then. PM me and let me know if you go back and finish Sawed-Off Shadowrun - it sounded interesting.

Error 404
Jul 17, 2009


MAGE CURES PLOT

TheSoundNinja posted:

I hope things get better for you then. PM me and let me know if you go back and finish Sawed-Off Shadowrun - it sounded interesting.

Yeah, I want to keep up with it too!

Captain_Indigo
Jul 29, 2007

"That’s cheating! You know the rules: once you sacrifice something here, you don’t get it back!"

Playtest is complete. Going to try and get it typed up before the deadline and may submit for early judging...if I can get it done in time.

Ulta
Oct 3, 2006

Snail on my head ready to go.

Captain_Indigo posted:

Playtest is complete. Going to try and get it typed up before the deadline and may submit for early judging...if I can get it done in time.

Just provide proof that a play test is done, I won't be evaluating them this Sunday anyway, as I have to do the unfinished entries first, and I won't be revealing the winner till after feb 28th. Basically don't stress. You benevolent leader has spoken.

Captain_Indigo
Jul 29, 2007

"That’s cheating! You know the rules: once you sacrifice something here, you don’t get it back!"

Okay Great.

Submitting Saffron for short reveiw! Gimme all dem points!

Here is the final file, complete as it will get. I've changed things around a bit, and due to space limits I was forced to remove the examples of play. Fortunately that didn't seem to be a problem during the playlist.

https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B3Jf3Z_ZEUCIdzF6ZThxNEZOSE0/edit?usp=sharing

Here is proof of the playtest:

https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B3Jf3Z_ZEUCIeC10Ni1KSkdqR3c/edit?usp=sharing

I'm frantically typing it up, but here's a transcript of the audio recording me and three friends did. I've included the character creation but I've actually transcribed a bit more. I'll get the whole thing up ASAP.

Thanks!

DirkGently
Jan 14, 2008
Dungeons, Inc official submission for Feb. 17th
<Click Picture for Document>

<Proof of Length>

Changelog:
(1)As suggested, I completely rethought the special Abilities and Types section -- hopefully it is much more clear. In addition, I was able to insert some class specific example abilities that give a better feel for what can be accomplished with the system.
(2)On preliminary testing, I had to heavily revise the DM section, specifically way that the DM holds and draws cards -- the original was both too resilient against attacks and too deadly for the players. The new version seems to work much better (and hopefully is a little more strategic).
(3)A few of the lesser used maneuvers got buffed a bit -- hopefully making them more attractive to use.
(4)I have crammed in 4 or 5 more flavor images into the document (as many as I could fit without some severe text formatting gymnastics).
(5)In order to accommodate the new images, I switched to a landscape, 3 columns format
(6)Created and inserted a new page background (I am not sure that I like it and it ended up a bit misaligned)

The length restrictions of the contest meant that I had to cut a planned sample adventure, some example enemies, and a lot of the explanatory text that would make the system more clear. Oh well! The proof will be in my formal playtest.

....And my 'Little Hemingway' Bonus:
Clock In... Die
1:
Poisoned, opening the entrance door.
2:
“Guys, does this part of the ceiling look different to y...”
3:
One kobold is a punchline – 20 kobolds are a problem.
4:
Impaled by an improbably large ballista arrow
5:
Fried by a misplaced fireball.
6:
Intestinal explosion. Note to self – never eat kobold stew.
7:
“There is no way that the kobolds could ambush us again.”
8:
Fried by a misplaced lightning bolt. Stupid wizard.
9:
“I'll sneak past – besides, dragons hibernate in the winter!”
Clock out...All in a day's work.

Rulebook Heavily
Sep 18, 2010

by FactsAreUseless
Well, Dungeon Adventure is out of the contest. My dad unexpectedly came home early from hospital, which is great! But it's eaten my time away a bit, so if one of the two has to go, I'd rather it be the game, sad as that makes me.

Gau
Nov 18, 2003

I don't think you understand, Gau.

Rulebook Heavily posted:

Well, Dungeon Adventure is out of the contest. My dad unexpectedly came home early from hospital, which is great! But it's eaten my time away a bit, so if one of the two has to go, I'd rather it be the game, sad as that makes me.

I think you should still come in an honorary second place.

bahamut
Jan 5, 2004

Curses from all directions!
I'm bowing out. I managed to get pretty much nothing done this week on account of buggering up my leg earlier in the week and pain is not conducive to happy fun creative endeavor. That said, I'd just like to say thanks for this particular contest, which served as the impetus for me to define and genericize the TH mechanics in a PDQ-esque fashion. (Which, based upon the review at the last checkpoint, sounded like I could be on the right track.) Something I've wanted to do for months now. So thanks again for running this, Ulta.

Minutia
Feb 12, 2013
I am submitting the complete and final version of Dungeons & Dragons: Core for short review.
Here is the final Dungeons & Dragons: Core game
The text length document
And the Roll20 chatbox playtest transcript of two battles and four skill checks (66 pages of chat, not for the faint of heart or short of time) built into a flavorful mini-adventure with the use of only one dragon to railroad the players.

This game features:
Recognizable D&D mechanics!
Unique fantasy setting!
Four balanced, interdependent archetypical character classes!
Distinctive class roles and powers!
An emphasis on teamwork and cooperation!
Powers that are simple to use, yet complex enough to allow dynamic combat and tactics!
A basic, setting-neutral rules system with room for modifications and house rules!
No mental/physical abilities split resulting in suboptimal character builds for roleplay purposes!
Cooperative, yet niche-protecting skill system!
Skill system independent of character archetypes!
Fast combat system with minimal bookkeeping!
Pre-made characters with their own character sheets!
Clear, easy rules that can be learned at the drop of a hat, allowing players to jump into a game with no prep time (which happened twice in the playtests, when players left and I had to find new ones mid-game)!

This game does not feature:
Explanation of the cool math behind the generation of the Defenses, To Hit bonus, and HP! (Sorry, Barudak, but I cut the appendices.) Dungeons & Dragons: Core is designed for streamlined player access and instant playability, and math geeks will have to reverse engineer that poo poo if they want to know what the underlying stats and formulae are!

(If anyone wants to play this game for fun, feel free to fish my module out of the playtest transcript, or make up your own monsters using the Hero Character Sheets as a model.)

neongrey
Feb 28, 2007

Plaguing your posts with incidental music.
I'm still waiting on graphics so the visual look isn't all here yet, but I've at least given this an editing pass and moved it out of plain text. No rules changes since I haven't found time to haul people in for a playtest-- and yeah I will just ambush people on IRC at some point I am busy lately but I am sure I can get a couple hours in.

Anyway, since this has more reduction in text than additions from last time I won't bother with another text length doc at this point of it.

Here is the present draft of the Swordsmen and Sorcerers rules.

Swordsmen And Sorcerers (the story) (100 words exactly)

The muscle-bound swordsman Ragnar strode manfully into the depths of the abandoned dungeon, followed closely by the wizard Destructo the Magnificent. There was gold in these ruins, and they meant to claim it!

Destructo waved his hands, creating light and revealing a sturdy iron-bound door. "There's orcs back there, Ragnar," he said. "Are you ready?"

"Ragnar was born ready!" declared the swordsman. He reared back, then delivered a powerful roundhouse kick to the door. Wood and iron squealed in protest before twisting and shattering, sending splinters of wood flying into the faces of the orcish hordes gibbering in wait beyond.

Gr3y
Jul 29, 2003


Note: Ran out of time. Mechanics (baring item creation) are there, just need to actually explain how game play works. Will probably work on this later tonight when I get home.


Story: Growing Up
My Rules Cyclopedia, SNES, and skateboard only bought one textbook...

Dagon
Apr 16, 2003


Apparently the cool thing to do today is to throw in the towel, so I am out too. poo poo just got too busy and I haven't had to the time to do anything with Letters.

Good luck to everyone still in the running!

Alien Rope Burn
Dec 5, 2004

I wanna be a saikyo HERO!
Click on the box, what could inside but...



... Houses & Hauntings, the final draft!

I have written a 100-word story in the manner of my people. And by that, I mean an adventure.

quote:


HELL HOUSE!


Downstairs:

1. Foyer: Front door is an Obstacle.

2. Kitchen: Food and Caine are here.

3. Den: TV turns to scary channel (danger: go to kitchen).

4. Bathroom: Ew.

5. Back Porch: Take food from grill, suffer danger (2 EP). Escaping over fence is an Obstacle.

Upstairs:

1. Hallway: Spooky paintings (danger: go downstairs)

2. Bedroom: Devil is here.

3. Study: Screwtape Letters (clue stuff).

Below:

1. Basement: Danger: hands drag you to HELL.

2. HELL: Overcome obstacle to escape. Can find stuff: weapon.

Foes:

1-2: Devil (Armed, Magic, Scary)
3-6: Caine (Monster (vampire), Big, Tough)

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Ulta
Oct 3, 2006

Snail on my head ready to go.
This is early, as I am stepping out on the town in a bit. This is the final phase of the contest! Congrats on those of you who have finished early, and those who have a bit more to go. In this final round, there is only one bonus objective! Playtest someone else's game! Need I remind you that this next bit of scoring will be the final bit. It will be out of twenty points, 5 for presentation, 5 for fluff, and 10 for how well/fun your actual playtest was. The bonus objective will count to this score, so it might come down to if you playtested someone's game or not! Barring that, it will come down to how many bonuses were earned, followed by combined total score of all sections. If those remain tied, I'll roll a die or something. Good luck to the remaining contestants, and to those that dropped out, I hope you finish your endeavors, as I have enjoyed every entry so far!