What to say?

It went really well. Really, really well. The system has lots of edges but was coherent enough that I can now make it kickassingly good.

I can’t really boil it down at this stage. Expect more shortly. This weekend is going to be a quiet one on the out and about front which is good as I have several million DVDs to watch, three novels to format for lulu and now a game I want to start developing as soon as possible.

Expect great things to follow…

Is it wrong that because I wanted to tidy up my list of categories that I likened my life to a David Cronenberg movie? Moreover it’s one that I didn’t really like at the time but has slowly grown to become one of my favourites.

Any way. Welcome to eXistenCe.

It’s the game everyone’s already playing.

Scenarios written. Check.
Characters Created. Check.
Decks Sliced. Check (There’s about 500 cards, 9 per sheet, one guillotine, a fortnight’s work, you do the maths).
Car serviced for long haul. Check.
Support Materials Written. Nearly.
Maps finished. Nearly.

I’d say never again but of course v1.0 will be due towards the close of October… just in time for me to get home and do this year’s NaNoWriMo, joy. plus I have to write a rule book for the 1.0 release. At the moment I know all the rules but that’s not much good to a GM who wants to run the system but doesn’t know me. In fact it’s not much use to people who do know me as I don’t really want to sit over their shoulder telling them how to do it.

Amazingly this is now bigger, much bigger, than the original plan which was a strict Binary Baby/Virus universe probably set within an established RPG system like GURPS or d20. Now it’s a system you can write other universes for and it runs in a completely different manner to any other RPG I’ve so far encountered (which doesn’t mean much) the fact it also runs differently to most that Mike has encountered as well means something more.

The version play tested this weekend would have to be termed version 0.2 I’ve already had invaluable crunchy feedback from Mike re: the combat and invaluable narrative input from Ian re: the plot aspects. When I finally release 1.0 this Summer/Autumn I fully expect it to be awesome, mainly because of the input from these guys. The working title for the system is ARC of Dreams.

In the world of inspiration v perspiration my input has solidly been the perspiration. The idea of people’s characters being cards, Mike. The new refinements to plot, Ian. The crunchy advice on how the fighting decks work, Mike. I’m hoping for a bunch more feedback this weekend.

Upon my return I will be beginning my self-publishing odyssey and for all you budding proto-authors who want to look into the lulu experience I shall be detailing how it all works out for me in this very journal.

But right now, roll a d10 and hope for high numbers…

…is gaming at the moment. My cards are all printed but I have about 80 more sheets to guillotine out before my work is done. I am preparing ciphertexts for one adventure, haven’t thought overmuch about the other one but will devote some time to it this weekend.

Basically, I am going to be so hyped for this gaming weekend. But then, I knew this would be the case.

What *really* helps though is to mill out another sheet of cards off the guillotine. To see one of my “Righteous Skill” cards or a Wu-Shu Bonus move is just amazing. Hopefully it will rock even though it’s not quite tight yet.

With only one more guaranteed free weekend before the games weekend the work to finish up my system and the two scenarios I plan to run in them proceeds apace. I finished the card documents today and churned them out in PDF. So now I just have to get them all printed and stuff and I’m ready to rock and roll character creation wise.

The remainder of the afternoon was spent interrogating the world wide web for a (huge) list of French fore and surnames and a (not quite so huge) list of Italian fore and surnames. All this to add a little verisimilitude to my 18th Century French kung fu scenario. The thing about 18th century pre-revolution French stuff is that it has to include a heavy dose of personal intrigue.

If it’s just going to be a bunch of people wandering around killing beasts in the woods and fighting mad noblemen in castles it’s entirely missed the point. My aim with L’Heure De La Bete is that it shouldn’t just be swashbuckling it should be, well, steamy. If people aren’t bonking people they shouldn’t be bonking and the whole thing isn’t laden with scandal it’s not doing its job goddamnit.

The Dagon Racket, on the other hand, has to be laden with “command presence” and police procedure. Basically if people open fire on my characters in this scenario there’s gotta be hell to pay for the perps.

I’m taking on something a bit risky, not to mention risque with these two scenarios. Which is kind of why I chose them. The amount of temperaments included mean that there should be more ways to get to the truth than just fighting (five more ways by my count) and I don’t know of any other role playing system that includes skills in “sensuality”. The “role” in this role playing system is the most important part.

It’s something a large number of gamers hanker after. A game which allows you to engage in something truly cinematic. My system, at one level, is a large amount of bait and switch. The die rolling is mostly perfunctory and the hand of cards there to suggest tactics rather than act as a point of review. I’m hoping that people find the access to skills in browbeating, charming and seduction a liberation and suddenly the games become rife with unusual and occasionally inappropriate suggestion (in the sense of police brutality as much as French brothel sensuality).

Of course, it could well fall flat on its arse. Only time will tell.