A place for me to provide information about ongoing tasks, progress, and priorities.
Updates
One of the things I was unsure about was the text on each card - there is a lot. But my friend did comment on this in the way I was hoping - although their is a lot of text, most of these cards remain on the board, and the actual damage values and such are underlined. As such, she thought that the amount of text was fine, and she also commented that she was able to get to grips with the abilities and such quite quickly. Considering my friend has not played many games like this (1 or 2 sessions of D&D and quite a few games of Magic: the Gathering) it only took 1 or 2 rounds before she was playing without assistance from me. Now for some of the constructive feedback! Firstly, even with the passive abilities on character cards, she felt as though the RP Rolls were a little too unforgiving. She suggested that instead of a 14 or higher being a success, I should bring this down lower. I can sort of see where she is coming from with this, but I have also thought of other alternatives to solve the overall problem statement - I will work on this over the weekend. Second big thing from my own perspective also - I need to trust in the balancing! In the final fight, which was meant to be a boss battle of sorts, I decided to keep the enemy cards at level 1, despite allowing her characters to level up by this point. As such, she absolutely decimated the enemies. If I had trusted in my own designs of these cards, and allowed the enemy cards to be level 2, I still think she would have won - but it would have been a much more engaging battle.
In summary, I have much to do! Going to update the rules based on 1 or 2 things we discussed, going to start working on some more cards for the campaign to come, and also going to start plotting down the tutorial story so others can utilize it, should you decide to print these cards to try yourself. Busy weekend ahead!
All the best,
Ash
Well that went…
23rd August 2024
… really well! First play test lasted around 4 hours in total - we took a break in the middle - and I learnt LOADS to help me build upon my rules. First, the positives - I got good feedback on the cards, the layout all seemed to make sense to my friend, and she was happy with her own personal character card. The role play aspect of the game went almost flawlessly, and the story I have put together for her character seems to have intrigued her also - to the point that she wants to continue playing. She has even suggested bringing another friend onboard which will definitely help me to understand how multiple players may impact the game play mechanics.
Preparing for the play test…
14th August 2024
I’ve made it about halfway through the Combat mechanics section, but funnily enough, I haven’t even gotten to the actual combat yet! While I was going over the rules, I realized I hadn’t covered skills and items, but this section turned out to be the perfect spot to introduce them, so it’s all coming together nicely. My goal is to have the combat mechanics wrapped up by the end of the week, which should give me some time to dive into the World section. I want to really flesh out the world and lore pages, making them a detailed compendium that covers every region—right down to the cities—so that each Narrator has a wealth of info to pull from when crafting their stories and adventures.
In other news—if you’ve seen my video, you’ll know that I’ve set up a very basic rig for recording my first play test. It’s going to be a bit of a roller coaster. Things will go wrong. Mistakes will definitely be made. My spelling and grammar might get called into question. Some parts might even crash and burn. But honestly, that’s all part of the process with projects like this, and it’s exactly why I want to record it. I know I keep mentioning this in my updates, but I really hope that by capturing my hastily written mechanics stumbling on video, it might help someone else who’s also trying to create their own game. Despite the potential chaos, I’m genuinely excited for it! I’m also a tiny bit nervous, but in a good way. I’m glad I’ll be doing it with one of my oldest and closest friends by my side. Wish me luck, and as always…
All the best,
Ash
As far as 3-day weekends go…
12th August 2024
This one has been awesome! A chilled few days spent sitting in front of the computer and getting all my ducks in a row. Today, I’ve completed the Learning the basics section and fleshed out the opening page for the Campaign Framework section. I was going to tackle this fully, before documenting the basic rules, but I had second thoughts about how I want the Campaign Framework to be structured. Nothing that a good Miro board won’t fix! I’m in my element with a good process map in front of me.
One thing that I got very excited about today, whilst completing the Learning the basics section, was the possibility of players finding ways to recruit enemy cards into their party. This was something I had planned upon, but it never really hit me as to how interesting this could be for both the players and the Narrator. You can read the example scenario I put together in that section of the site, but yeah - it definitely got me excited to play test this bad boy!
Speaking of playtesting, the latest version of my cards is set to arrive on the 14th—just a couple of days away! I’ve chatted with my housemate about recording the audio of our session, and she’s totally on board. My plan is to capture the audio and then create a visual representation of the board, map, combat, and all the action to give viewers a real feel for what’s happening.
I’ve got two main reasons for recording the session. First, I want to be able to listen back to our discussions so I don’t miss any feedback or interesting scenarios that could help me improve the game. Second, I want to share the play test experience with all of you. There might be someone out there who’s thinking of creating their own game, and if that’s the case, I want to provide as much insight as I can from my own newbie experience.
Anyway - back to work tomorrow. I’ll be starting the Combat Mechanics section after I clock off for the day. In the meantime…
All the best,
Ash
I took a deep breath and clicked ‘Post’…
11th August 2024
I don't spend much time on Twitter/X, so putting posts out there always makes me a bit uneasy. Honestly, I feel that way about most social media—partly because I worry about attracting angry trolls, but also because I’m afraid of not living up to what I’ve set out to do. But hey, I did it, and I find some comfort in knowing that my post will probably get lost in the flood of everyone’s feeds!
That said, today’s been a good day! I’ve finished the Rules landing page and wrapped up the guide for Creating Your Character and Items. After this update and a quick break, I’m diving into the Campaign Framework page, then heading straight to the Learning the Basics section. Good thing I’ve got an extended weekend to get all this done!
I’ve added a small, polite disclaimer about the art I’m using to the About section of the site, and since it’s been on my mind, I thought I’d mention it here too. The art for the cards is AI-generated—there, I said it. This is actually one of the reasons why I don’t plan on selling these cards anytime soon, at least not in their current form. I’m using Leonardo.AI, which is an awesome tool, and I’ve read the terms and conditions about commercial use. It says I can use the art commercially as long as I have a paid subscription (check!) and produce the work privately (check again!). So, I believe I’m in the clear to use the AI-generated art, but being the worrier I am, I won’t charge a single penny until I’ve had confirmation from 100 different people (preferably legally trained ones) that everything’s legit.
That said, this is all a hypothetical issue for the future. What I’m more concerned about right now is the potential judgment or assumptions that might come with using AI art. But at the end of the day, I’m doing what I can with the resources I have, and I want to be transparent about it.
I’m not sure if I’m overthinking it or if my hesitation is valid, but I’ve seen concerns about how AI-generated work might take opportunities away from legitimate artists who rely on commissions. And honestly, I get it—I do believe there’s some truth to that. But the reality is, without AI, this project simply wouldn’t happen. The small subscription I pay allows me to generate hundreds of images each month for characters (even if 60% of them come out with 14 fingers and 6 elbows!). This helps me bring these cards to life, whereas commissioning artwork would be way out of my budget.
I also imagine someone might suggest that I just do the art myself. Sure, it’s possible for me to learn, but this is a one-man operation right now. Between writing the campaign, designing cards, balancing mechanics, and making sure everything is accessible on the site (in case anyone actually wants to try the game), it’s already taking up a huge chunk of my time outside of work hours. Wow, I realize I’m kind of rambling here—sorry about that! As you can tell, it’s been on my mind for a while.
Here’s the main point I want to make: I’m committed to being transparent about this project and the tools I’m using. It’s important to me to set clear expectations, but also to share these tools in case they can help others down the line. Now that I’ve got that disclaimer out of the way, I’m feeling a lot more comfortable with the work ahead. Time for a beer before I dive back into the site! Send a message my way if you wish to ask questions or provide suggestions. You can find my email on the Contact page.
All the best,
Ash
Today is my one hundred and eleventh Birthday!
Well, I’m not quite 111 years old yet, but I certainly feel like it some times. I actually had to do the math today to work out if I was 35 or 36, and it turns out I am 36. I think I have consistently forgotten my age from 32 onward so I dread to imagine what I will be like in my 40’s.
Anyway, my big goal for today was to get this website up and running, so I’m well chuffed to be able to post this, knowing that the site is live!
10th August 2024
All of the cards I have created so far have been uploaded to the Cards section of the site. I have begun to add details about locations in Lathen within the World section, although I have only just started this today. And as you can see in the picture above, the first draft of my cards arrived earlier this week, along with the game mat and the maps. I ordered these all some time ago (early July possibly?) but stupidly I didn’t check where they were being manufactured. It wasn’t until I saw the delivery dates that I realised the company I used was based in America, hence the time scales.
However, the quality of the cards are decent, and considering they were the first draft (I’m on my third now) I wouldn’t have been too bothered if they were scuffed or marked.
The mat looks pretty cool too! I’ve already checked if I got the dimensions right, and the cards fit exactly as I hoped. It all looks a little complex right now, but I’m hoping that once I complete the Rules section of this site (and add videos to each page as high-level introductions to the mechanics) things will make sense from an outsider’s perspective. In the meantime feel free to look at the pretty cards and jump to conclusions as to how the game is played!
I’m trying my best not to tinker with the existing cards for now, as I have only just ordered the third draft cards and I would hate to be on version six when they eventually arrive. For now, I am going to focus on documenting the rules, ready for when I play test the game.
Next steps… Rules catalog, play testing, and possible recording?
Whilst I’m waiting for the third draft cards to arrive, I will be focused on cataloging the rules of the role play and battle systems. I have the basics already written down, however I want to ensure they are written in a way that can be understood with fresh eyes. I have a tendency of letting my mind wander six steps ahead when discussing these sort of things out loud, so I want to avoid that as best as I can.
I have convinced my housemate to act as guinea pig in this experiment, and as such she will be acting as a Player when the next set of cards arrive (I would start with the first draft which is already here, however I have since ‘overhauled’ some important aspects which would defeat the purpose of play testing). The idea of this game is that it can be played with one to four players (and one Narrator), so play testing with one player should yield the same results as with four. For clarity, the idea is that a person playing on their own will still be able to utilise four characters within the party, but only they will only be able to control the sensibilities and role-playing choices of their unique character. Think of it like Baldur’s Gate 3 - You can move and attack with all 4 characters, but when talking to them, their answers are dictated by the Narrator, based on that characters personality etc.
I did have the idea of recording the play test - and before you say anything, yes I do know it will not go according to plan. In fact, that was the very reason why I am thinking of recording it. I have watched countless videos online about ‘how to create table top games’ and ‘what to consider when designing card games’ and they have been (and will continue to be) incredibly useful. My thought was that if I record the play tests in all of their chaotic glory, it may help others in the future. At the very least, it may make them feel better knowing that someone went through several hours of comments such as:
“This is spelled incorrectly.”
“How does that even work???”
“That’s waaaay too overpowered!”
“I don’t think this mechanic makes sense…”
Anyway… I’ll have a think about it and let you know! I hope you like the website, and send a message my way if you wish to ask questions or provide suggestions. You can find my email on the Contact page.
All the best,