Dec 31, 2013

Weren’t you a pro? Or, can characters really screw this up?



Babbling at the Counter #22 – Pen and Paper

Weren’t you a pro? Or, can characters really screw this up?

I was reading an article up at Goblin Labs and it got me thinking. When a character fails a roll, are they really messing everything up? I mean, they should be good at what they do, right? Can a thief forget how to pick a lock? Can a scientist add sugar instead of cyanide to the poison?


Let’s take combat, for example. If you roll and fail, it’s not that the character forgot how to stab; it’s that the enemy deflected or avoided his attack. The character did everything he could. He had the fighting stance right and he attacked as soon as he saw an opening. But the enemy got away faster than expected and that’s why he missed.

By the same token, if a rousing speech fails to mobilize the masses, it might be because it was bland and boring, sure. Now, that’s not likely to happen to a career politician. So why did he fail? Maybe a nearby ruckus caused by a fleeing dog frightens the people (thinking it was the royal guards coming to get the traitors). Maybe someone in the crowd spokes up against the characters and he is just more respected than them (or the townspeople are more scared of him that of the party). It could even be that it starts raining and the people just decide to leave (a great speech does nothing if no one hears it).


It may fell wrong to take the failure out of the character’s hands, but that’s what happens in combat and no one bats an eye. Just think, what’s more probable: that a seasoned veteran chef forgets how long to leave the food on the oven, or that the door gets stuck and that’s why he burned the chicken?

- The Storeman

Dec 29, 2013

Situations, a new best friend for GMs



Review #22 – Free RPG Material

Situations, a new best friend for GMs

Instead of a game, today I offer you a nice guide for GMs. It's setting-free and easily adapted to your favorite system, so I'm pretty sure anyone can find it useful. If you don't plan on GMing soon, send this link to your GM! Let's help some Masters out there.

“Situations” offers six broad structures to build an adventure around. They are just bare
skeletons, but they make it easier to put your ideas down on paper. Written in a simple and complete way, you'll find yourself creating adventures while you read the guide even for the first time.

The cases are (taken from the index): “Long Knives is used to create situations for intrigue that the characters are tied to. Broken Places builds situations where a villain of some
sort has taken over an organization. The Quest is used to generate adventures that will take the characters out on significant journeys. Transgression is a generator for social movements and the resistance to those movements. Predator Souls is a means for making monster-hunting scenarios for your games. Nine Rooms is a method for setting up dungeons, the classical limited-space perilous situations.”

If you ever GM, you should definitely check it out. Even if you don't use the specific structure proposed, you'll find your ideas more organized in no time.

- The Storeman

Disclaimer: I didn’t upload any of the content in the following link. I have downloaded and checked it as I always do. I have even executed it in my own computer and did not experience any kind of problems. But I can’t ensure that it is free of virus and/or malware that my anti-virus programs couldn’t find. That’s the author’s responsibility.


Dec 24, 2013

Blog Carnival – December 2013 – Taking Charge!

Babbling at the Counter #21 – Pen and Paper

Blog Carnival – December 2013 – Taking Charge!


This month's Carnival is being hosted at Casting Shadows. So first of all I'd like to thank Runeslinger and leave a link to his blog.



Well, isn’t this carnival's theme just great? As I’ve said before, more than once, whenever players take charge of the course of events during a game, awesomeness can happen.

The thing is, as a GM, not everything I make is gold. I know that. And the people I play with don’t sit in front of me like some kind of TV, just wanting to see the plot and then going home. You play an RPG to actually have control over the stuff happening in the story.

Now, this is a two way street. Players should be committed to the game and their characters, adding some roleplaying and flair to the narrative. One can even try to introduce simple but flavorful scenes. Characters can (some may say should) have hobbies and other interests besides adventuring. Go to the local theater or go buy a gift for someone special. If your GM is cool enough he could have an adventure come out of it.

On the other hand, GMs have to be careful with how they handle information. To have an impact on the overall story and make sense, players will have to reveal their intentions and plans clearly and often. A GM that abuses this information will get players that shut up for their characters sake. A gaming group should foster trust between players (GM included), not a crazy “survival of the fittest” subgame. Unless that was what you where going for.


Ok, closing up. As you can see, this topic is pretty important to me. I’ve thought about this for some time and I hope you can scavenge some useful information from all this mess. See ya!

- The Storeman

Dec 22, 2013

Wild Hunters, Saru the Monkey’s Epic Adventure

Review #21 – Free Video Game

Wild Hunters, Saru the Monkey’s Epic Adventure

You know what? Who doesn’t love a good old fashioned plataformer? Wild Hunters takes us all into a Shōnen-quality adventure through some colorful and quite challenging levels.



The game is full of quirky bosses, weird power-ups and some really interesting game mechanics. Even if you don’t play it for the game itself OR the story (both worth it), you should see it as inspiration for your own game ideas.




Here in Wild Hunters you have an amazingly done game, one that doesn’t shy away from combining plataformers, combo attacks, some RPG elements and some unique ideas.

-The Storeman



Disclaimer: I didn’t upload any of the content in the following link. I have downloaded and checked it as I always do. I have even executed it in my own computer and did not experience any kind of problems. But I can’t ensure that it is free of virus and/or malware that my anti-virus programs couldn’t find. That’s the author’s responsibility.

Dec 17, 2013

More than you bargained for

Babbling at the Counter #20 – Pen and Paper


More than you bargained for


What are you willing to give for power? Or at least, what's your character willing to give? For, you see, power comes at a price. And characters usually work to get very powerful devices or spells. It's such a staple on most fantasy or supernatural stories that you have to find a way to use it in your games. Here are mine:


Less Human: The more power you have, the less human you feel. I use this in games where there is a “charisma” stat, and unless it was pretty good to begin with, it's going to become negative really fast. The idea here is that, as you get further away from humanity, humanity wants less and less to do with you. NPCs get hostile and uncooperative, and only threats or supernatural abilities can make them help the PCs. This makes even the players start to see NPCs more as obstacles than characters, and will play accordingly.

Out of Control: Can you keep it cool? The most common way to deal with this is making every failure on the dice a catastrophic failure. It's not just that the spell didn't work, it misfired and hit something else. But why don't we go the other way? If the target number was 5 and you rolled a 25 (extreme, I know, bear with me for a second) what does it mean? Was it really good, or too good? Rolls that exceed the target for too much could also result in bad consequences. Maybe, instead of charming that cute barista, the whole coffee shop is now in love with you. Do something before the strongest amongst them takes out the rest and comes knocking at your door.

Unintended Consequences: I may be taking this one from a TV series (Buffy the Vampire Slayer) but that's because it's a good one. Each and every spell or superscience device has secondary effects. Using them not only means looking for components and whatever, it's also about cleaning up afterwards. Just don't make them affect the characters directly. If the secondary effect of the phasing spell is disintegrating until death, player should find a way to prevent it so they don't lose the character. Now, if that spell brings and interdimensional menace that attacks friends and family, then you may kill someone. That's a more permanent price to play, but it doesn't stop the game.


Do you have some interesting way to handle great power in your games? Tell us all about it!.

- The Storeman


Dec 15, 2013

Arachnophilia, Spider Simulator



Review #20 – Free Video Game

Arachnophilia, Spider Simulator

This game is described as a “spider simulator”, and who am I to argue? In Arachnophilia, your goal is a simple one: eating everything.



Taking control of a hungry spider, you’ll use your mouse to guide it and build the strongest web you can. Keeping the spider fed is a harsh challenge, but as you go through the levels you’ll find it harder and harder to maintain your arachnid slaughterhouse in one piece.



Fun, fast and addicting, this browser game is a must play.

- The Storeman



Disclaimer: I didn’t upload any of the content in the following link. I have downloaded and checked it as I always do. I have even executed it in my own computer and did not experience any kind of problems. But I can’t ensure that it is free of virus and/or malware that my anti-virus programs couldn’t find. That’s the author’s responsibility.

Dec 10, 2013

Is death cheap?



Babbling at the Counter #19 – Video Games


Is death cheap?


This is something roguelikes got me thinking about: How important is the character’s death on a game?

You see, in most games, death is an inconvenience. You die, so you play the stage again. Nothing bad really happens. You’ve just lost some time, and maybe now you know where that hidden enemy is.




But, on the other hand, roguelikes and old video games take you back to the beginning when you die, erasing all of your progress. And even though it’s not nice, I rather like it.




Having played my fair share of games, I’m familiar with the first kind of deaths, and I understand when it’s the best choice. In an RPG, for example, having your party killed shouldn’t erase thirty, forty, or even fifty hours of play.

The thing is, we are used to games treating death like this. We are used to playing the same screen until we get it right. And sometimes, I can’t help but feel that’s not the best gameplay choice.


- The Storeman

Dec 8, 2013

A Quest to Far, a.k.a. “I’m too old for this”



Review #19 – Free Video Game

A Quest to Far, a.k.a. “I’m too old for this”

Most of us remember the old police chief announcing his retirement on his introduction to the movie, only to die a few minutes later. Now you can play that character!

Ok, let’s get serious. A Quest to Far is a roguelike where you take the role of a veteran adventurer braving his last dungeon to save his grand children. The twist is you already have the experience, so in this game you don’t get stronger. Here, the only way is down.


You begin the game with an inventory full of magic items, and monsters don’t really stand a chance against you. But as time goes by, you tire. Your joints give up. All this armor and stuff start to seem heavier. In the end, everything becomes a burden.


Dare you push your limits on this last delve? A Quest to Far is an interesting change from the classic roguelikes, choosing to focus on decay instead of growth. See for yourself.

- The Storeman



Disclaimer: I didn’t upload any of the content in the following link. I have downloaded and checked it as I always do. I have even executed it in my own computer and did not experience any kind of problems. But I can’t ensure that it is free of virus and/or malware that my anti-virus programs couldn’t find. That’s the author’s responsibility.



Dec 3, 2013

We Do, We Learn

Babbling at the Counter #18 - Game Design

We Do, We Learn

I'm far from an expert, but after what could be called (at least by me) a success last week, I'm still riding high on the fumes from my work on Wacky Love (my RPG). So why not share my insight while it's still fresh on my head?




Here's what I've learned: Follow your design, don't make it go your way.

When I started working, I was expecting a traditional RPG (as in, everyone on the party works together to attain a shared goal). Even when you experiment with narrative games, the group as a whole wants to create a story together. It's by far the most common way an RPG works. My idea, though, was nowhere near that.

As soon as I settled on "potential protagonists for a movie fight to make the love interest fall for them", it was pretty obvious that the game wasn't going to be seeing a lot of teamwork. Still, I tried to push the idea. I spent a lot of time trying to "fix" this. The thing is, there was nothing to fix. If the game required people to compete, then they would.

The end result wasn't what I expected, but there wasn't much I could do. It was either dropping the project and starting again or working in the direction it pushed me. By keeping the work up, I ended up with a game I could have never planned. And I am proud of it.

Sometimes, you see something and it gets your mind going. Embrace it. Even if it doesn't work in today's project, it might be great tomorrow. Just don't push things to much. If it doesn't "click" in place easy, then you might be placing it in the wrong place.

-The Storeman

Dec 1, 2013

Pockets Full of Adventure, Dimensional Pants Hopping



Review #18 – Free Pen and Paper RPG

Pockets Full of Adventure, Dimensional Pants Hopping

What’s not to love here? The setting is great and straightforward, but the cool mechanics is where this game really shines.

You take on the role of… someone, tasked by Keeton the Scientist to travel to other dimensions through his pocket-portals and retrieve his stuff.
To crate your character, you grab a book and play a mad limb kind of game. You choose some words from a page at random to complete this sentence: “You can think of your PC as (Adjective) (Noun) with and (Item) who can (Verb)”. The result is crazy and fun, trust me.

And the conflict resolution system has a nice twist in it. You play cards to take actions, and discard them when hurt. Face cards can interrupt another character’s action. It’s simple and fast, making action dynamic and keeping the game moving.

Right now I should say that, on the “counter” thing, we made a house rule as soon as we started playing. Following the written rules, to counter an action you have to play a card of the same suit as the action card. We didn’t do that. NPCs didn’t have normal skills (to much bookkeeping) and if you could only counter with one suit, it limited your defenses. Instead, we forgot that rule. The GM could play any card she wanted as an action, and one could counter with a face of any suit. It worked great for us.

So, final “rating”: solid, fast and exiting game. You should definitely give it a try.

- The Storeman

External Links Ahead!

This game was an entry to the “Harder than Granite” 24 hour game contest. I might talk about some other submitted games. Check the rest out!


Disclaimer: I didn’t upload any of the content in the following link. I have downloaded and checked it as I always do. I have even executed it in my own computer and did not experience any kind of problems. But I can’t ensure that it is free of virus and/or malware that my anti-virus programs couldn’t find. That’s the author’s responsibility.





Nov 26, 2013

24 hour RPG Challenge - Wacky Love – The End



Babbling at the Counter #17.5 – Pen and Paper

24 hour RPG Challenge - Wacky Love – The End

Well, now I’m wrapping up my little 24 hour project. I’m pleased with the final result (link at the bottom of the post) but we’ll talk about that later.

Today, I want to say how fun the 24 hour RPG Challenge is. If you abide by the rules, having a set time and working on something completely new, it will surprise you what you are capable of.

I really recommend it to everyone who would like to try his hand at RPG game designing. By working on such a short time span, you can actually see what your design strengths and weaknesses are. And by the end, you’ll have something to show for it.

As a personal example, I’ve been working on 3 different RPG ideas for the last few months. What do I have so far? Almost nothing. I’ve written and rewritten things thousands of times, and now it doesn’t amount to much.

And even though I’ve done the same at the Challenge (and the final result is not as vast or complete as I would have wanted), at least now I see how I actually work.

So, yeah, loads of fun. Try it.


And for video game designers, I’ve read about the 7DRL Challenge. It’s pretty similar to this, only a week long and about Rogue Like games. Just saying…


Will leave a link to a nicer version of the game as soon as I have one. For now, here are the plain rules. Tell me what you think!

- The Storeman


Nov 25, 2013

24 hour RPG Challenge - Wacky Love - Start

Babbling at the Counter #17 - RPG

24 hour RPG Challenge - Wacky Love - Start

Hello, how are you all? I know it's weird to see a post on Monday, but I wanted to make an announcement: I'm working on a 24 hour RPG Challenge.

It works like this (but please, follow the link to read the full ruleset): I have 24 hours to make a complete RPG game. Simple, yes. Easy, no.

My game will be Wacky Love, a romantic comedy parody. It's kind of a competitive RPG, which is something I didn't expect. This is just the way things went.

Tomorrow there will be a post with my experiences with the challenge and the link to download the game. For today, I'll leave a link to the forum thread of my challenge: Wish me luck!


- The Storeman

Nov 24, 2013

Tower of Heaven, Blasphemous Ascension



Review #17 - Free Video Game

Tower of Heaven, Blasphemous Ascension

Keeping with the divine theme from last week, for today I have Tower of Heaven, a puzzle plataformer with a few unique twists. You'll guide your character in his/her ascension towards the top of the Tower, while avoiding the wrath of a deity.

The graphics are simple, with a Game Boy-like feel. The game is short, but death is easy, so it will keep you entertained for a few hours. And if you are up for the challenge, there are a few secrets to unlock. Be warned though, it's not easy.


You may like the setting or not (even though the game is not exactly "deep", it seems to make fun of the arbitrary way of some religious rules, for example), I'm not going to defend it.
Tower of Heaven is here because of the way it deals with challenges. It's really interesting to see how the game develops, mechanically speaking, adding a lot of obstacles but not changing the scenery much. It's weird, You'll understand when you play it.
...
What are you waiting for? Go play it!
- The Storeman

Disclaimer: I didn’t upload any of the content in the following link. I have downloaded and checked it as I always do. I have even executed it in my own computer and did not experience any kind of problems. But I can’t ensure that it is free of virus and/or malware that my anti-virus programs couldn’t find. That’s the author’s responsibility.
(This links leads to an online version of the game. On the lower part of the page you’ll find the download link)



Nov 19, 2013

Having a Clear Agenda



Babbling at the Counter #16 - Story Structure

Having a Clear Agenda

This is something video games are great at (and both writers and GMs can benefit a lot by learning from them). The question is: What's the protagonist/player (or players) supposed to be doing? Because, sometimes we all forget about it.

For example, each episode of "Mighty Morphin (sic) Power Rangers" follows a simple script: The evil guy tosses the Rangers around for a while, a lot of Troopers fight them, monster starts losing, they make a ridiculous superweapon, the bad guy grows, megazord, it dies. Say what you want, but they are consistent.

Now, think. In your story, who are the Troopers? Do your characters have a signature weapon? How are they supposed to defeat their enemy?

The Troopers (a.k.a. "Mooks") are the cannon fodder; the kind of obstacle that you send to shave away some hit points and other resources. They are not really a challenge, but successive encounters can weaken the protagonists. In a game, you see them all the time, everywhere in a given level or zone. In a story or RPG, they are the easily identified creatures that the heroes eat for breakfast. You can get some character development or set up a mystery in a scene with them, but most of the time they provide "danger" in a familiar setting with an easy solution.

The signature weapon is how you expect the characters to end an encounter. It's a sure way to get things done, and unless they cannot use it, why the heck won't they use it? If you want to keep some level of suspense, using this weapon should require that the characters "soften" the enemy first. Think the Ghost-trap from Ghostbusters: first they shot the ghost with some proton pack beams, and then they trap it.
Now, do your characters kill their opponents? Or they just capture them for the police? Yeah, you'll want so shake things up now and then, but most of the time it's useful to have a "formula" or procedure to follow.

There are a lot of other "fixed points" you can have to help you organize your ideas (like, "where do the missions came from?", for example) but I'll save them for a future Babble.

It's not about limiting your creativity, it's about setting some guidelines to help yourself (and your players). As a game designer called Mark Rosewater (maybe you've heard of him) says: “Restrictions breed Creativity". Have fun!

- The Storeman

Nov 17, 2013

City of the Condemned, Holy War!



Review #16 - Free Video Game

City of the Condemned, Holy War!

In this mass-combat roguelike you get to choose between the Heavenly Host and the forces of Hell to fight for dominance over the city. On one side, the demons try to possess and kill every human, while the angels want to bless them and eradicate the demons. In theory the demons can also win by killing all the angels, but, good luck with that.

The interesting fact is that demons and angels aren't evenly matched. As each angel is much more powerful than any given demon, they get fewer fighters. Demons usually have over fifty units, and angels no more than twenty. Angels can heal themselves and disguise themselves as humans; demons can't attack unless they possess a human body (which can still rebel against the evil spirit).


The only downside is that, as random generated games usually do, bad luck can make you die very early or get stuck with only one demon left somewhere in the giant map for hours.
Still, great short game, with a lot of replayability.

- The Storeman

Disclaimer: I didn’t upload any of the content in the following link. I have downloaded and checked it as I always do. I have even executed it in my own computer and did not experience any kind of problems. But I can’t ensure that it is free of virus and/or malware that my anti-virus programs couldn’t find. That’s the author’s responsibility.
External Link: http://tapiov.net/cotc/

Nov 7, 2013

Tiny d10 – My First Playtest



Babbling at the Counter #15.5 – Pen and Paper / Tiny d10 Playtest

Tiny d10 – My First Playtest


What’s Tiny d10? Well, it’s a free RPG system that’s in its early stages of development. As such, its author is asking for some feedback about what’s been published so far.

As the game is “Absolutely free… forever”, it’s right up the Warehouse’s alley. I, as the Storeman, had to give it a try. So here are my impressions with the system, after testing it with a friend.

Note: This isn’t a weekly review because the game is not complete yet, but it’s actually playable. If you give it a spin, please let the author know your opinion, so the game can continue growing and improving.


Tiny d10

Core Rules: The rules are well-written and are easy to understand and follow. They are simple right now, but I expect to see more specific rules when the Setting Supplements are published.


Character Creation: It’s fast and simple. Once you get it, it takes a minute to create your character. You have four stats, and between them they cover every kind of action: Power (physical strength), Reflex (quick feet and readiness), Intelligence (mental ability and knowledge) and Aspect (social skills). You choose what you are great at (+3), good at (+2) and the rest gets +1. There will be character classes, but they are incomplete right now. As my player didn’t used the special abilities we made (following the guidelines on the site), I can’t say how they would have worked.


Conflict Resolution: Here’s where I fell in love with this system: single d10 + Stat + Skill (if you have a useful one in the situation). The target numbers used are 6, 8 and 10, and they work great. You easily know which stat to use and then creating a difficulty is fast, too. Combat is treated exactly the same way (redundancy in rules is good design, as it helps learning and remembering them).
The game offered a lot of creative freedom. My job as GM was very relaxed. It was obvious which stat we should use and it was better to play to your strengths, but the character wasn’t crippled if he tried something weird.


The Luck System: This is one of the weakest points of the system. I loved the idea “ask for something and see if the dice give it to you” but, as the chances of luck actually happening were so low (1 in 10), there was no suspense. When he used his luck ability, neither one of us was expecting it to succeed. And it didn’t.
I’d rather give players a more direct control over the narrative, like “Destiny points” or “Plot points” if you’d like. Something to “spend” to catch a break instead of a gamble that will most surely fail.



Action Points: Something like this (read Luck System if you skipped the paragraph and have no idea what I’m talking about). Action Points can be spent to increase your odds of success on any given throw. They are simple and nice. I just would offer the chance to use them as “plot tools” instead of relaying on the separate Luck Mechanic.
One unexpected twist here is that your Action Points come from the same pool that your Health Points. At character creation you have 10 points to split between the two. It’s not a bad twist, though. I see it as having two polar opposites: a lucky bastard that can make explosive moves but goes down with one hit; or a tank that plays it safe. You can make anything in between, favoring Action or Health, or maybe looking for a balance between the two. It’s new and unusual, but in a good way.


Bottom Line: I enjoyed Tiny d10 and plan on playing more of it. It’s the kind of simple game we look for here in the Warehouse. It gives both players and GM freedom to work with, and its rules are explicit enough that no one feels cheated.


I can’t wait to see more from it, and you can expect to see more here. I’ll try to keep you updated, but don’t forget to check the official site, too.




- The Storeman

Nov 5, 2013

Know when to stop and how to get back



Babbling at the Counter #15 – Pen and Paper, Blogging, Game Design, anything really.

Know when to stop and how to get back

I don’t have the time to make a complete post today. It's been harder to squeeze my hobbies between my obligations. Is that so bad? Not really. Sometimes, life gets in the way. Be it your blog, your campaign or the game you are working on, sometimes you just have to stop.

Just don’t let the spark die. If you miss a deadline, make completely sure to hit the next three ones. Even try to make up for the time lost if you can.
It’s easy to get discouraged at the first sing of trouble and throw everything away, but if everyone did that we would have nothing around. Keep it up.


I’ve really got to go now. Be back next week, and the ones after that.

Don’t let the spark disappear. You started for a reason, right?

- The Storeman

Nov 3, 2013

Danger Patrol, Laser Blasting, Sci-Fi and Over the Top Space Action!!! (in your Pocket)

Review #15 – Free Pen and Paper RPG

Danger Patrol, Laser Blasting, Sci-Fi and Over the Top Space Action!!! (in your Pocket)

I say welcome, fellow travelers of the interweb, to the Marvelous Warehouse of Trinkets. This way you’ll see the “Amazing Matter-Displacing Thingamagik”, right next to the “Sub-Atomic Survival Suit”. But don’t dwell on those devices right now; come and take a look here. I offer you, Danger Patrol Pocket Edition!



This game provides an authentic “sci-fi show from the 50’s” feel: danger all around the dashing heroes, who must try and execute risky maneuvers to prevent a catastrophe.

Throwing lots of dice (more the more dangerous the action is) and hoping to stop the menaces before the Danger-meter reaches 10 but without getting your hero out of combat makes a very fun, very fast paced experience.

Fair warning though: This version of the game doesn’t have a non-combat resolution system. I roleplayed them and only used dice in combat or high tension situations. It’s not so bad, but can surprise some people.

Still, great material for a wacky one-shot.

-The Storeman


Disclaimer: I didn’t upload any of the content in the following link. I have downloaded and checked it as I always do. I have even executed it in my own computer and did not experience any kind of problems. But I can’t ensure that it is free of virus and/or malware that my anti-virus programs couldn’t find. That’s the author’s responsibility.

(I’ve only tried the Pocket version; I can’t say anything about the others)

And here are some more fan-made random tables:


Oct 29, 2013

Confusion Fu, a.k.a. Unusual Attack Maneuvers



Babbling at the Counter #14 - Pen and Paper 

Confusion Fu, a.k.a. Unusual Attack Maneuvers

Unusual attacks can be a pain in the ass for a GM. If a punch and a sword swing do different amounts of damage (can you believe that?) then dropping a shelve over an enemy should do its own damage too.
I'll give the specific example that brought this to my attention: a friend and I were working on our own system, so I run a "test drive" for him. At first everything went fine. It was when he was chopping some hay golems when he got an idea. Instead of attacking them individually, he wanted to squash them pushing a ruined column. The system was simple enough to allow a Strength check as an attack, but the damage was problematic. As they were flunkies, I ruled instant death, but it opened the door to a full adventure of unusual attacks.

Dropping statues from some flights of stairs, setting straw golems on fire and dropping a giant bell on the final boss were only some of the multiple maneuvers he did. It was like he didn't even wanted to use his damned sword! On the end, I had to drop the whole "damage" aspect of the game and measure the enemies on "moves". “Weaklings” required a single move to kill and could be destroyed in numbers. “Though ones” required one or two moves, but could be attacked one at a time. The Boss was slowly eroded, taking some "status effects" as results of attacks (he immobilized him first, and then stopped it from attacking him physically, though it could still use its magic) and, finally, dying.
The whole HP concept and the Str equation for damage turned out to be useless... but we did manage. So, how do you deal with unusual combat maneuvers? Is there a good system to check out for ideas? I liked mine, but I fell it won't work on more complex systems. Could try, though.

- The Storeman

Oct 27, 2013

HeroCore, Lone Hero vs Robot Overlord



Review #14 – Free Video Game

HeroCore, Lone Hero vs Robot Overlord

From the creator of Hyper Princess Pitch we also have Herocore, a deep space shooter where you take control of Flip Hero, and take upon yourself the task of stopping the Cruiser Tetron once and for all.

Its black and white graphics are very simple, as is the gameplay. Nevertheless, it’s full of unique enemies and all the bosses have great themes and are a nice challenge. Talking about challenge, this HeroCore offers different difficulty settings, I’m sure you’ll like one of them.


The only real “complain” one can have about this game is the decision to have two different attack buttons, one for left and one for right*. Though it’s weird at first, you get used to it pretty fast.

This retro game is a shinning example of how great free games can be.

- The Storeman

* This could be a throwback to some kind of old video games, I’m not sure. As far as I can tell I’ve never played with that particular mechanic before.


Disclaimer: I didn’t upload any of the content in the following link. I have downloaded and checked it as I always do. I have even executed it in my own computer and did not experience any kind of problems. But I can’t ensure that it is free of virus and/or malware that my anti-virus programs couldn’t find. That’s the author’s responsibility.

Oct 22, 2013

Why do we play?



Babbling at the Counter #13 – Pen and Paper

Why do we play?

I’m not going to answer that. I can’t. I can tell you why “I” play, maybe even why some of my friends do, but not why you do. Now, ask yourselves: Can you tell ME why YOU play?

Once, a friend asked my why I did get up in the morning. Even though I wouldn’t give the same answer today, coming up with that answer was really fun. Roleplaying, especially if you are the GM, requires a lot of effort. There must be a very good reason why you do it, don’t you think?

You are going to get tired sometimes. You are going to get angry with another player. You are going to get bored on more than one session. But there is a reason why you play. Find it, and keep it in mind. Make sure you get what you want of the game. And if you don’t, don’t be too afraid to go looking for it. Maybe your group can try something new. Maybe you need a new group. Your fun is up to you.

Just sitting down for a while and thinking about it can be fun, too. So ask yourselves: Why do you play?

- The Storeman