Wizard Dad: Locations and Objects that can be found in a second hand smugglers Starship.

So, imagine it. Here you are trapped on a backwater moon orbiting a gas giant no one is interested in. Sure it has been terraformed and is livable, but would you call gas mining a living? You want out. Out there! Amid the stars. Well kid, do I have a deal for you.

Locations

1. Gangway and loading dock (Are they clean? In good repair? scorched with blaster marks? painted with a symbol or graffiti?)
2. Primary airlock (is everything bolted down correctly? is the pressure indicator cracked? are there odd stains that defy easy explanation?)
3. Medical station (Does it have basic supplies? Is there a vid screen for medical instructions? Do the automated surgical arms look well upkept?)
4. Captains quarters (Is this still filled with the mementos of the prior owner? Does it smell bad or good in here? is there a badly hidden "secret" panel?) 
5. Crew quarters: double bed (is there a lingering scent of old socks? does it have an in suite shower? are the mattresses just thin plastic covered foam? Is there anything under the beds?
6. Cockpit (is there old chewing gum stuck under the seat? are there obvious signs that some equipment has recently been replaced? Is there a sticky dried substance inside of the life support control panel?)
7. Engineering room (Is there a liquor still hidden in one of the lockers? Are all of the tools clean and ready to use? is there a rusty red patch on the ceiling that appears to have been missed by the cleaning crew?)
8. Mess hall/ kitchen (is there a lingering smell of past meals? It there a table but no chairs? An old fashioned paper cookbook? The shadowy image of something in the oven?)
9. Rec room (is it cramped with exercise equipment? Empty except for an old dart board? Have a large screen monitor and a tangle of old fashioned VR gear?)
10. Cargo bay (full of empty crates? Smells like a herd of goats? Suspiciously sparkling clean?, greasy like an old garage?)

Objects 

1. weapons locker (biometrically locked? empty accept for a quasi legal fractal knife with a duct taped grip? Has a grenade taped to the back panel with the pin laying next to it?)
2. false panels (very well made and would be invisible if not slightly opened? Hanging by 1 hinge? Only has a roll of electricians tape inside?)
3. portable info tech devices (tablets synced to the ships data base? An old cell phone from a provider that doesn't even exist in this system, a cyber-deck with a broken data jack cable attached?)
4. tools (a full and well labeled toolbox? A crazy expensive liquid nano smart tool? A single rusty hammer with a wooden handle?)
5. an old service jacket (military issue with some ballistic armor sewn in? a courier jacket with a dozen access patches? a restraint suit top?)
6. space suits (oft patched and antique? Modern but with a cracked visor? silvery military issue with laser reflective qualities?)
7. drugs (old fashioned glass bottle of whiskey?, medical derms, ? an old pill bottle labeled as a universal antipsychotic?)
8. good luck charms (a rabbits foot- probably cloned? A feng shui mirror?, an ace of spades taped to something important?)
9. translation lenses (goggles? A thin transparent sheet? A hand lense stuck on some strange pictographs setting?)
10. a stone egg, slightly warm to the touch (a hand warmer with low battery? An old gag gift with a company logo on the bottom? A stone egg with a hairline crack which emits heat)

Wizard Dad's Workshop: A Pocket Game with the Mythic GME Mobile (for Android) , Part 2: Tags, Making Inspiration into Gameable Content

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While in the end this project is going to become untethered from the MM31 article, we are not there yet. Specifically we will be using the Ranks chart from page 15 to change descriptions into Tags with Ranks and numeric values. 

Let's take our Moorcock pastiche from part 1. We are going to boil each statement down into something that can be used either for or against the character. 

• They are outsiders
• They are masterful warriors
• They live with a depressing sense doom
• They wield some terrible weapon
• They have at talent for leadership
• They tend to lose friends and loved ones with a disturbing frequency

Moorcock wrote a wide variety of books about his Eternal Champion, but they tended to fall into the Sword and Sorcery or Sword and Planet genres (broadly speaking). As an outsider in those settings a lot of distrust can fall on a character that is from an unknown somewhere else. So we can define him as:

• Outsider (social) Low -2

What this means is in a social situation in which he is an unknown factor his Outsider nature drags down any Fate Check by -2. 

Masterful Warrior is a fine description. It is broad, but that fits here. While Masterful isn't named in the Ranks list, Incredible is. 

• Warrior Incredible +4

As is true with any character who knows he is at the whims of a terrible fate, our Champion can get quite depressed over it.  This could manifest in many ways, but I am seeing a Resigned Lassitude so lets use it.

• Resigned Lassitude Low -2

(When in this state all non action situations are dulled by his sense of doom. Episodes could be triggered by a loss or as part of an Interrupt scene)

Moorcock's Champion usually is wielding some terrible life sapping sword, in which he has to have a battle of wills to keep in check. He fails those with some frequency, but sometimes he wins. It looks like we have a couple of traits to describe here. 

• The Black Sword Incredible +4 (This bonus will become a number that works against the Champion when he is trying to resist the will of the sword. Lets also add the caveat that the sword cannot make a non wounding attack)
• Iron Will High +2

(Maybe as he grows more experienced in resisting the sword he will be able to raise that score up a bit more)

In the various Eternal Champion books his primary calling is to protect humanity from some immediate threat. To do that we know he has a talent for leadership. Not everyone falls in line with him though so this isn't going to be an exceptionally high score.

• Leadership High +2

We have saved the hardest for last. The Champion loses friends and lovers, sometimes even to his own black hearted sword. This seems to be part of his curse. This Tag will represent the amount of peril that an Interrupt could place his loved ones in. Usually the closest loved one to hand. We don't want this dominating every encounter but doom is part of the character so lets make it a bit challenging to save them. 

• Doom of Loss Weak -3 (this doom is a modifier played against his attempts to rescue or save them, thus it is a negative number)

With a little effort and imagination every aspect of the character has been converted into a Tag, and we have worked out their mechanical effects. 

Mythic Index Topic 16: Genre Focus Fantasy

I can speak with some surety, having watched RPGs as a hobby grow over the years, that probably the single most popular genre is Fantasy. Well Mythic Magazine will not let you down for options. 

Below are many articles that are clearly fantasy focused, but there are also articles on structure, creature creation, and campaign management, that seem especially good for a great fantasy experience. 

Genre Focus Fantasy 

• “Using Mythic With Published Adventures”
• MM Vol. 3, pg. 4
• “Random Dungeon Crawl Generation”
• MM Vol. 3, pg. 12
• “Generating Dark Woods And Wild Places”
• MM Vol. 5, pg. 12
• “Control Your Adventure With Keyed Scenes”
• MM Vol. 10, pg. 12
• “Solo Adventure Modules”
• MM Vol. 11, pg. 12
• “Creature Crafter Simplified”
• MM Vol. 13, pg. 14
• “Emotional Quest Adventures”
• MM Vol. 14, pg. 3
• “Randomized Worlds Generation”
• MM Vol. 15, pg. 3
• “Location Crafting Random Cities”
• MM Vol. 16, pg. 3
• “The Big Collection Of Big Examples”
• MM Vol. 17, pg. 28
• “Adapting The Event Focus Table To Your RPG”
• MM Vol. 18, pg. 3
• “Turn Any Show, Movie, Or Book Into A Solo Adventure”
• MM Vol. 20, pg. 17
• “The Mythic Magic System”
• MM Vol. 21, pg. 9
• “Journey To The Isle Of Kitra”
• MM Vol. 22, pg. 11
• “Creating Complicated Campaigns”
• MM Vol. 23, pg. 3
• “Generating Adventure Puzzles”
• MM Vol. 23, pg. 18
• “The Event Crafter”
• MM Vol. 24, pg. 3
• “Handling Long Journeys In Solo Play”
• MM Vol. 25, pg. 10
• “Never-Ending Adventures”
• MM Vol. 28, pg. 3
• “Mythic RPG Narrative Combat”
• MM Vol. 28, pg. 10
• “Swords & Towers”
• MM Vol. 29, pg. 12
• “Open World, Sandbox Solo Play”
• MM Vol. 33, pg. 3
• “Mythic Mass Combat System”
• MM Vol. 33, pg. 12
• “One-Page Creature Crafter”
• MM Vol. 34, pg. 3
• “Fluid Scene Structure”
• MM Vol. 34, pg. 10
• “RPGs As Inspiration For Mythic Adventures”
• MM Vol. 35, pg. 3
• “Location Based Adventures”
• MM Vol. 36, pg. 3
• “Troupe Style Solo Adventures”
• MM Vol. 37, pg. 3
• “Solo Roleplay In Video Games”
• MM Vol. 37, pg. 16
• “Solo Setting & World Creation System”
• MM Vol. 38, pg. 3
• “The Villain Crafter”
• MM Vol. 41, pg. 3
• “Mythic as a Player Emulator”
• MM Vol. 41, pg. 18
• “Creating Game Loops In Solo Play”
• MM Vol. 43, pg. 3
• “The Crypts of Krozen Crest”
• MM Vol. 44, pg. 3
• “Magical Tradition Generator”
• MM Vol. 45, pg. 18
• "The Society Crafter"
• MM Vol. 49, pg. 3

Mythic Location 3: Mad Libs Locations For Location Crafter RPG supplement, Small Spaceship

Today, I splurged and bought yet another sci-fi game. It has been a while since I indulged in picking up a truly new (to me) product, so I jumped in. Well, I am not going to have a self declared space opera and no way to get around in it, so it is time to build a space craft. A fairly cozy one, I hope, but we will see how it goes. 

This spaceship is brought to you today by Mythic Magazine #7. 

We are going to hold off on the Story Description Table for this template. When we play through it later on the context of the game or a random roll will fill us in quick enough.

The Starship Region Description table we can hold off on as well. The two of them are for context, which either the game will provide or it will be easy enough to roll when I set off to explore the ship.

[Editor note. The progress points on each line are one ahead of that line because I find it easier to glance up a line rather than write it in before I need it. Hope that doesn't lead to confusion - W.D]

1. Location Expected PP1, Objects None PP1, Encounter Expected PP1, Connection Simple Hallway

2. Location Expected PP2, Objects Expected PP1, Encounter Random (Aromatic/Energy), Connection Simple Hallway

3. Location Random (familiar/important) PP3, Objects Known or Random (reassuring/damaged)  PP3, Encounter Random (Curious/Hidden) PP3, Connection Short flight of stairs or ramp going down.

4. Location Expected PP4, Objects None PP4, Encounter Expected PP4, Connection A simple or common doorway to pass through.

5. Location Random (simple/official) PP5, Objects Expected PP5, Encounter Random (Happy/Exotic) PP5, Connection A simple or common doorway to pass through.

6. Location Known, or Random (new/cute) PP6, Objects Known, or Special (THIS IS BAD: Known) PP6, Encounter Expected PP6, Same, with a curve or turn

7. Location Known, or Special (COMMON GROUND: Expected -3PP) PP4, Objects Random (
Majestic/Official) PP7, Encounter Expected PP7, Connection Same

8.  Location Random (Negative/Mundane ) PP5, Objects Random (Resourceful/Warm) PP8, Encounter Expected PP8, Connection Leads Directly into Other Area

9. Location Expected PP6, Objects Expected PP3, Encounter Expected PP9, Connection Same with Curve or Turn.

10. Location Random (Festive/Fancy) PP7, Objects Expected PP4, Encounter Expected PP5, Connection Expected

11. Location Random (Echo/Drab) PP8, Objects Expected PP5, Encounter Known, or Special (THIS IS BAD: Expected, PP6, Connection A simple or common doorway to pass through.

12. Location Random (Magnificent/Helpful) PP9, Objects Random (Bright/Damaged) PP4, Encounter Random (watery/inactive) PP7, Connection A simple or common doorway to pass through.

13. Location Expected PP 5, Objects Expected PP5, Encounters Random (Powerful/Modern) PP8, Connection Leads directly to another Area

14. Location Expected PP6, Objects Expected PP6, Encounters Expected PP9, Connection Same

15. Location Random (Meaningful/Rustic) PP7, Objects Known, or Special (SUPERSIZE: Known) PP7, Encounters Random (Helpless/Beautiful) PP10, Connection same

16. Location Known  PP8, Objects Expected PP8, Encounters Known, or Random (Loyal/Frightening) PP11, Connection Same

17. Location Expected PP 2, Objects Random (Bright/Magnificent) PP9, Encounters Expected PP5, Connection Same with Intersection

18. Location Expected PP 3, Objects Expected PP10, Encounters Random (Disgusting/Official) PP6, Connection Same

19. Location Random (Important/Mysterious) PP 4, Objects Expected PP 5, Encounters Expected PP7, Connection Expected

20. Location Complete . Objects Random (Faded/Modern) or Expected , Encounters None or Expected PP, Connection None or Exit

For a small Starship this is pretty hefty.  There was a long space of  connections being Leads to another Area. This suggest a storage bay or hanger. 

Lets just see how it goes when I have it in context!

W.D. 

Wizard Dad's Workshop: A Pocket Game with the Mythic GME Mobile (for Android) , Part 1; The Inspiration

A few days ago I, that is me and the elves here at the workshop,  have announced a New Years project.

 Wizard Dad's Workshop: The New Years Project. (At the bottom of that article you will also find the index to all the articles in this project.) 

A quick review of that post coverers the mission statement pretty well, and it gave a list of design goals.

"It will cover concepts like character creation, hierarchy of abilities, character advancement, keeping NPC simple (because who doesn't like monsters and sidekicks), organizing Lists, ways to build special abilities that feel special, how to start the game at various power levels, and I am sure a host of other topics. 

The goal is to use the app, and a simple notebook function found on almost all portable devices, to play the entire game, but to have enough crunch to satisfy a feeling of an organized system, even on the go"

Before I go much further, lets have a look at the tools that I plan to work with. 

The first is actually a magazine article, from Mythic Magazine #31, pg.12, titled, "Mythic RPG as a Rules Lite RPG". I highly recommend reading this article, as it will give you the core concepts to toss this project aside and jump right in, today, with using MGME2 as your core game engine for strongly narrative games. I admit, that long before considering this project and right up until yesterday, I have been using the article, as it, to play some pretty sweeping campaigns to full satisfaction. The second tool is Mythic GME Mobile for Android, but lets focus on the magazine article for now. 

I am not going to recap the full article here, because that would be an injustice to the author, who put in so much work. I would neither pick her pocket nor butcher her prose, but I will focus in on some parts that are important to my current endeavor.

• Character creation: two options are given for character creation. 
• The first is for the play who already has a character in mind. Let's say for example you are a fan of Michael Moorcock's Eternal Champion series, and want to make a character of that sort, but your own version. This will give you some strong ideas of how to start. Stick to a few key points and describe the character in wide brush strokes focusing on the qualities you want to see come to the surface in the first few sessions. You can always build on that later. I know from reading many of these novels over they years that most of the "Champions" have some common qualities.
• They are outsiders
• They are masterful warriors
• They live with a depressing sense doom
• They wield some terrible weapon
• They have at talent for leadership
• They tend to lose friends and loved ones with a disturbing frequency
• With this level of description alone you can go on to design a character.
• The second method involves using the myriad of descriptive tables available in the Mythic GME2,or any other source you like to come up with inspirational word pairs and the expand in to simple sentences that give the same levels of description found above. 
• Escape Legal
• The Character is on the run from the law
• Deliberately Reassuring
• The character is a silver tongue con man
• Professional passive
• The character has retired from a life of conning (though he still has those skills)
• Domestic Strange
• The Character is hiding in a pleasant but very strange town
• Cute New
• For reasons to be ascertained later the character owns a puppy
• The details above give us a pretty good idea who we are dealing with. It covers some central skills, a difficult situation, and a puppy (what story isn't made better with a puppy).

Also keep in mind that you can use both methods. If you know you want to play a weird reincarnating warrior, but also want a few surprises going in, first jot down all you know then roll on a few tables to get some inspiration into other aspects of the characters life.

I caution against making the lists to long in the beginning, as you play you will be put in circumstances that you didn't' cover in character creation, and what you either instinctively know, can extrapolate from your earlier descriptions, or randomly determine on the spot, can fill in those holes. The goal here at the beginning is to know who the character is, a central idea of what they can do, and perhaps as a bonus some sort of situation they are in. 

In Part 2 we will will take the inspiration found here and turn it into gameable elements.

W.D.

P.S.
Right now I am going over the tools as written. I will end up tinkering with them, as I go.
I hope to done with the project by Christmas time next year. There will be a lot of trying out variations before I feel I get it right, but by the end I am hoping that there will be a fun product with an instructions only a couple pages long that will make it easy to game on the go. 

W.D.

Variation 14: Using Adventure Crafter With Mythic

Using Adventure Crafter with Mythic (MGME2 pgs. 171 - 175)

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The final essay to be found in Variations is one of the longest, and one of the most useful. The Adventure Crafter is a great tool, when paired with an open mind and a good understanding of your games context, for adding a lot of richness and depth to an adventure. I use the Adventure Crafter card deck with nearly every game I start. 

This variation shows you how to use this tool to full effect in your solo Mythic adventures, to launch games with a first scene, or make an interrupt even more impactful. I found the additional system to become intuitive very quickly. 

There is a Mythic Magazine article where this variation got its start, but there are other magazine articles that also discuss starting games, and adding richness to scenes. Lets have a look at some of them.

The natural starting point would be the article that first introduced the idea. Though all of this is covered in the variation, seeing things worded a bit differently could spark off a different set of insights on the topic. 

• “Combining Mythic With The Adventure Crafter”
• MM Vol. 5, pg. 4

Other useful tools along the same theme of making richer scenes and stronger starts can be found in several other articles.

• “Making The Most Of Altered Scenes”
• MM Vol. 2, pg. 4
• “Customizing A Solo Adventure Before You Begin”
• MM Vol. 7, pg. 4
• “Generating Compelling Backstories”
• MM Vol. 8, pg. 11
• “Control Your Adventure With Keyed Scenes”
• MM Vol. 10, pg. 12
• “Creative List Tips & Tricks”
• MM Vol. 17, pg. 3
• “Creating Complicated Campaigns”
• MM Vol. 23, pg. 3

And while we are mentioning beginnings and middles lets not forget the importance of endings.

• “Conclusive Adventure Conclusions”
• MM Vol. 20, pg. 3

Variation 13: Peril Points

Peril Points (MGME2 pgs. 170 - 171)

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There are many ways of playing RPGs. In older games dating back to the '70s and '80 everything depended on your dice luck and ingenuity, when a character got in a tight squeeze, but Shadowrun 1st edition you had the option of using Karma points (also used to improve a character) to reroll dice. Then the White Wolf Storyteller system allowed the use of Willpower points to add automatic success, and from that point on quite a few games had some sort of point based system to pull a characters fat from the fryer.

(Wizard Dad here. If there are older games that allowed PC initiated game alteration drop me a line in the comments section. I am no game historian)

In MGME2 peril points are suggested as a limited point system that could be used to offer a way out of character, or game, ending circumstances. It is a short section and a quick read, but it introduces a useful narrative tool.

The differ from Favor Points, found in the Mythic RPG, which were a total of points that could be used to shift rolls. This takes things from a numeric approach to a narrative approach, more fitting perhaps for a GM Emulator.

A quick read of the article shows that the point isn't to ease a character through an adventure, but so that the character doesn't just fall down a pit trap and die in the first encounter (looking at you Keep on the Borderlands). 

Though Peril Points don't show up in Mythic Magazine articles, the point of them, controlling an adventure to reach a satisfactory conclusion, makes an appearance several times.

• “Using Mythic With Published Adventures”

• MM Vol. 3, pg. 4

In this article we see how to balance encounters for solo characters in pre-published adventures. This of course makes them more survivable for the solo character. The same principles can be applied if you are using a system that has a group expectation.

• “Customizing A Solo Adventure Before You Begin”

• MM Vol. 7, pg. 4

In the "Customizing" article on pg. 9 it has a very useful section on asking the right questions. This is a very good way to steer an adventure that is going off the tracks. It points out that Yes answers and No answers are not opposites. They both could give RP opportunities (and an escape hatch, even if one escape is bumpier than the other.)

• “Conclusive Adventure Conclusions”

• MM Vol. 20, pg. 3

The article above is about conclusions. It presupposes that your character survived long enough to have one. It gives guidelines for making an ending, maybe even a fatal ending, meaningful.

• “Solo Setting & World Creation System”

• MM Vol. 38, pg. 3

In a way I saved the best for last. Pg. 8 has some of the best advice I have ever seen for solo roleplaying. Set up contextual rules. Some games fly out of control because there are no guidelines for the context of the game. One such context is to replace death with consequences. But if you are looking go guide your game to have a specific play experience, even though this is an article about world building, it is one about building within context, and that can be, and maybe should be, applied to any game in which we want to stick to some defined limits.

Mythic Index Topic 15: Adventure Structure

When you sit down to play a Mythic Adventure, the default playing style, which is a lot of fun, is somewhat random and scattered. Perhaps you want an adventure to be shaped, styled, and primped (you know like your great aunts hair). If so you want to focus on Adventure Structure, and the articles below will not leave you wanting.

Adventure Structure

• “Conclusive Adventure Conclusions”
• MM Vol. 20, pg. 3
• “Control Your Adventure With Keyed Scenes”
• MM Vol. 10, pg. 12
• “Creating Complicated Campaigns”
• MM Vol. 23, pg. 3
• “The Event Crafter”
• MM Vol. 24, pg. 3
• “Never-Ending Adventures”
• MM Vol. 28, pg. 3
• “Dealing With Solo Adventure Pacing”
• MM Vol. 30, pg. 3
• “Open World, Sandbox Solo Play”
• MM Vol. 33, pg. 3
• “Fluid Scene Structure”
• MM Vol. 34, pg. 10
• “Location Based Adventures”
• MM Vol. 36, pg. 3
• “Solo Setting & World Creation System”
• MM Vol. 38, pg. 3
• “3-Act Structure For Mythic Adventures”
• MM Vol.43, pg. 12
• “Creating Game Loops In Solo Play”
• MM Vol. 43, pg. 3
• “Star System Creator”
• MM Vol. 46, pg. 3
• "Cozy Solo"
• MM Vol. 48, pg. 3

Mythic Index Topic 14: One Page Variations

Playing on the go? Need some game element quickly. Just like things that take up one page? For any of these reasons and more, the articles below guaranteed to be useful.

And keep your eyes peeled at the Word Mill Press Drivethru RPG site, because soon there will be a whole book devoted to One Page Mythic variations.

One Page Variations

• “One-Page Mythic”
• MM Vol. 25, pg. 3
• “One-Page Adventure Crafter”
• MM Vol. 29, pg. 3
• “One-Page Location Crafter”
• MM Vol. 31, pg. 3
• “One-Page Creature Crafter”
• MM Vol. 34, pg. 3
• “One-Page Character Crafter”
• MM Vol. 45, pg. 3
• "One Page Mystery Crafter"
• MM Vol. 47, pg. 3

Mythic Index Topic 13: Adventure Elements and Management

If you have ever picked up a published adventure or built up an adventure from scratch, then you are aware that a lot can go into it. It is no different for solo games. Below are some Mythic sourced tools to add anything from puzzles (MM23) to different GM flavors (MM27) and over a dozen more helpful articles on the them of making the exact adventure, and adventuring experience, you may want.

Adventure Elements And Management

• “Control Your Adventure With Keyed Scenes”
• MM Vol. 10, pg. 12
• “Resolving Character vs. Player Knowledge”
• MM Vol. 8, pg. 4
• “Behavior Checks Simplified”
• MM Vol. 1, pg. 8
• “Generating Compelling Backstories”
• MM Vol. 8, pg. 11
• “Generating NPC Behavior With Fate Questions”
• MM Vol. 9, pg. 11
• “RPG Social Skills With Mythic’s Behavior Check”
• MM Vol. 12, pg. 13
• “Generating Adventure Puzzles”
• MM Vol. 23, pg. 18
• “The Event Crafter”
• MM Vol. 24, pg. 3
• “Giving Mythic A Personality”
• MM Vol. 27, pg. 3
• “Dealing With Solo Adventure Pacing”
• MM Vol. 30, pg. 3
• “Dealing With Time Pressure”
• MM Vol. 32, pg. 18
• “Mythic Mass Combat System”
• MM Vol. 33, pg. 12
• “Fluid Scene Structure”
• MM Vol. 34, pg. 10
• “Ideas For Cooperative Mythic Games”
• MM Vol. 35, pg. 12
• “News Feeds”
• MM Vol. 35, pg22
• “Mythic Stress & Fear Rules”
• MM Vol. 36, pg. 16
• “Troupe Style Solo Adventures”
• MM Vol. 37, pg. 3
• “Make Your Own Elements Meaning Tables”
• MM, Vol. 38, pg. 26
• “Meaning Table Collections”
• MM, Vol. 40, pg. 3
• “The Villain Crafter”
• MM Vol. 41, pg. 3
• “Mythic as a Player Emulator”
• MM Vol. 41, pg. 18
• “Dealing With Solo Play Fatigue”
• MM Vol. 42, pg. 3
• “Creating Game Loops In Solo Play”
• MM Vol. 43, pg. 3
• “One-Page Character Crafter”
• MM Vol. 45, pg. 3
• “Magical Tradition Generator”
• MM Vol. 45, pg. 18
• “Star System Creator”
• MM Vol. 46, pg. 3
• “Solo Adventures In The Style Of Found Journals”
• MM Vol. 46, pg. 34
• "Cozy Solo"
• MM Vol. 48, pg. 3
• "The Society Crafter"
• MM Vol. 49, pg. 3

Mythic Location 2a: Under Quarter of the Frozen Citadel of Naggrim the Usurper

Interpretation background.

Mythic Location 2 Link. This link will take you directly to the Location Crafter results I used to build the city below

Context is everything when taking a Location Crafter template and using it in your own personal game. The context for this location that there is a Great Glacier, known by many names to the hundreds of tribes and villages it looms over, that has created a frozen cap to the northern world, creeping down from the mountainous northern pole and spreading dozens of feet a year, as a new ice age over takes the world. There are a series of 3 mighty citadels of ancient origin that through little understood technology or magic have been preserved within the glacier, which flowed around them leaving them intact. The glacier itself is a source of a deep and icy power that commoners fear and magicians treasure. 

The are described below is a partially frozen suburb of one of these mighty fortresses. It stands out from them that it isn't ruled by one of the ancient Hyperborean elders, as are the other two, but instead by a robust usurper king, though whom though age has over taken him, still lives due to the ancient techno-magic of his viziers and magicians.

Still little of that matters to the residents of this foreigner slum. Lets have a peek around and see what is available to the daring hero, willing to brave the edge of the world?  

though there are only 12 locations mentioned in this gazetteer there are other things, like small food shops, general provisioners, stables, bars, and many kinds of  impoverished homes that wouldn't catch the eye of a wandering adventurer. If your PC seeks out one of these logical places, just assume it can be found within a block or two of their current location. Likewise there are many more people and domestic animals that largely work as set pieces. Encounters are things that directly interact with our protagonist. Should he stop and talk to someone they would become an encounter, but actual encounters come to him.

The under Quarters of the Frozen Citadel of  Norgrimm the Usurper King

1. Logrin the Sword has been traveling, with a guide (Encounter Expected), through a maze if ice tunnels for several hours (Location Confusing). A twisting turning maze hollowed in the glacier through eldritch powers. The shifting and creaking of the ice keeps the warrior on alert, though if the tunnel collapses, it will mean sudden death, no matter how skilled he is with a blade. The glacier makes him feel small and weak, and he likes it not. Most of the tunnels are just wide enough to allow for pack animal and men to be led single file (Location Small). The sledge in which he made the journey over the tundra is now left far behind. Logrin, though a warrior is no fool, he tried to keep track of the path through the ice tunnels, but there were so many switch backs an forked paths that he is thoroughly lost but amazingly grateful when he he hears a bustle of human activity ahead and smells not just the cold tinny smell of the ice of but the welcome stink of a good honest city (Connection Happily Aromatic). Right before exiting the frozen labyrinth the guide gives him a cloak pin of cheap metal, and informs him to wear it at all times, as it grants permission to this quarter (Object Inactive/prized)

2. Just past the mouth of the ice tunnel there is a short hallway that has alcoves on both the right and the left which several men could fit into, and a glance up shows an ancient portcullis, frosted with rime, but appearing to be in working order (Location Expected guard post), though no guards are manning it at the moment. Perhaps it is only manned when trouble is expected, after all the maze itself is better deterrent than any gate would be. (connection leads directly to next area)

3. Beyond the guard station is a small plaza (Location Expected), lacking most of the gate riffraff one sees at the edge of most cities. In stead the plaza is ringed with dilapidated houses and a couple cafes and a tavern. At the center of the plaza though is a sight that draws the eye immediately. On a raised block is a headless corpse, stripped to it its small clothes and frozen stiff, and next to it is a two handed headsman's sword, pushed into a niche on the side of the block. The few locals milling around take no notice of it. Logrin turns to his guide for a explanation, but before he can even speak the man says in a quite tone, "Justice is swift in the Citadel, and there is little chance of a second offense, traveler. Be mindful of that" (Object Expected and Weapon/Magnificent). The Plaza of Just Retribution, can be exited by any number of twisting ally and by one twisting cobbled road. The guide heads in that direction and Logrin follows (Connection, Save with a Curve or Turn)

4. Coming out of the curve of the main through fare reveals a small block dominated by felt tents (Moving), of the sort used by the tundra folk. There are pack animals in the center of the area and a bored looking guard watching over them. Logrin thinks "Merchant caravan" but as there are no wares present nor merchants he moves passed the spectacle (Empty). He notes that the locals, and his own guide, give it a wide birth, rather than stay on the main road the guide diverts the swordsman down an ally that is lined with over a dozen small shrines on each side of the road. Some are frosted over and clearly neglected, but others have offerings placed in bowls or ashes of them in braziers.  (Majestically/Quaint)

5. At the end of the alley are two things of intrest. One is a small shop with an open counter at an open window, with a selection of bottles and jars arranged along the counter. There is no particular signage up, and the building appears to be fairly new (Modern). Logrin theorizes it is an apothecary shop, which could be useful down the road (Positive). At the end of the alley is a guarded door, but the guard, seeing the badges worn by both Lorgrin and his guide just wave them in. Once through the door, they are in a small room that begins to rise to a new level. Logrin is sophisticated enough that he knows an elevator when he rides one, but this one moves with a smooth operation rather than the herky-jerky movements of those powered by oxen or water mills (Mechanical/Mysterious).

6. The elevator stops and we are waved out by two armed, but very bored looking guards. This is a small and right now crowded room. There is a counter, behind which is a clerk and two heavily armed guards who are more attentive than those who waved us in. Also in the room is a wealthy southerner and a retinue. Some of the retinue are armed guards of his own drawn from all over the jagged coast region and a smallish man who has "valet" written all over him. The Southern doesn't only hold the eye because of his rich clothing but he is also one of the biggest men Lorgrin has ever seen. Not just in height and build, but he has also run enormously to fat  (Mighty). The clerk is practically fawning over the man, so perhaps he is locally known or perhaps the clerk is just impressed by his obvious wealth and size. Lorgrin certainly is. The clerk hands him a badge that is made of silver, probably just plated, and he signs some paper work. At this point he turns and regards Logrin. 

The merchant regards Lorgrin for a moment. Clearly this man was once a warrior or at least has seen combat. He has an old scimitar wound that has left his cheek scarred and leave an area in which his lustrous black beard refuses to grow. Also his hands, though ring bedecked show signs of cuts and callouses one wouldn't expect in a pampered merchant prince. 

He turns back to the customs clerk and says to him, "See this warrior is not held too long down here. I would have his company in the citadel if he proves not to be an enemy of the King". The valet takes a heavy gold coin from a purse and sets it on the counter (generous).

"I am called, Asan the Fat. What are you called warrior?"

"I am Logrin Swordsworn" 

"Logrin, I am sure we will meet again. Seek me out at the Sign of the Sleek Leopard".

With no other words or regard to the clerk or guards, Asan remounts the elevator leaving and his retinue has to crowd around him.

Logrin steps up to the clerk. The gold coin is already gone. His tone is more formal when he asks the swordsman's business in town. Logrin explains he is a skilled blade for hire and seeks employment with the king. His true quest is not the business of a sniveling clerk. He is presented with a slightly verdigris coated copper brooch to and his cheap pot metal one is returned to the guide (object known).

Soon they are back in the elevator and heading up again (connection same and Exit)

7.  When the doors of the ancient elevator open again, Logrin experience a touch of shock. He is immediately over come by the noise of dozens of kiosks with merchants bellowing their wares, and possible over a hundred persons of all descriptions shopping and haggling or in clusters gossiping. This reminds Logrin of the bazaars of the south, except for being in open air this bazaar is in a giant hall supported by heavy columns and it is lighted by dozens of bright lanterns, with attendants constantly move between the lights refreshing the oil. The expense alone, within this mighty glacier, must be extravagant. (Special  Supersized).  An the way across the expansive bazaar, Logrin bought some breakfast of beer and a skewer of meat from a vendor (Object expected), gave a rough slap to an urchin that had curious fingers about his money pouch, and politely ignored any number of ladies of varying beauty standards who made suggestive offers. At the far end of the bazaar was a wide but cold stairwell leading upward (Connection Stairs).

8.  Leaving the hustle and bustle of the bazaar behind, though it was still audible brings Logrin into a crowded area with a disturbingly low ceiling. Here the guide is needed once again to thread between the cramped and seemingly random roads, lined on both sides by cheap housing (location expected). Here to glacial cold is more penetratingly and for the first time since entering the under keep of the citadel there is a sharp reminder that this place is surrounded on all sides by the glacial coldness. The few people on the streets are dressed in heavy furs and travel head down and seem to be heading purposefully to somewhere. There are no street vendors, and very few shops (encounters and objects none). Eventually we reach another stair leading up (Connection same).

9. The next neighborhood is like night and day. the first thing Logrin realized is that his heavy furs were far too hot (Warm). Next, he saw hustle of tradesmen (Active), not like the bazaar with all of its noise, but stolid and dependable craftsmen and merchants. Mostly of the dull products of civilization such as boring vegetables, common kitchen wear, and garments (objects expected), but compared to the last district it was awash in wealth and activity.  This district is separated from another on the same level by a guarded bridge (connection bridge), that lead over a stream that radiated cold, but commerce across the bridge was active. The guards (encounter expected) simply looked for persons in the right badges and waved them past. 

10. On the other side of the bridge was clearly also the other side of the financial spectrum. The crafts and tradesmen from the "poorer" side spoke diffidently to the guards and persons traveling about. The towns folk here wore colors besides drab greys, and browns, and layers of fur (encounter Expected). The district is well lighted but not with smoky lanterns or torches, but with ancient bulb devices on poles (objects Expected). Not all of them worked, but most of them did, dispelling the darkness.  At the of this district is another stair well leading up, but this one is well lighted with the glowing globes, affixed to brackets along the walls (Connection expected). 

11. Compared to the district he just entered, the affluence of the last level is paupered. This district lacks houses. It has palaces (object fortunate and enormous). People on the street wear livery and when the residents travel in curtained sedan chairs (encounters expected). Here the pale features of the Hyperboreans and the ruddy faces of the Northerners show no mingling, and each side, though both are rich, give each other copious room. Every one knows that Naggrim the Usurper, now an ancient man of at least a century in age, brought his whole tribe into the citadel and displaced the prior royal house. Here we see the lesser decedents of both. Though there hair and skin set them apart the haughtiness of their demeanor shows how close the two have become. Logrin and his guide are allowed to travel only on the broad straight road that goes directly through the district and ends in what appears to be a small military style fortification to two portcullis   sandwiching a stone space. In front of the gate stands two guards in impressive mail and faces covered with veiled helms. After explaining that he is here to offer his sword to the king one of the guards joins him, and his guide to this point, turns back. Beyond the portcullis is a winding staircase (connection, same with a curve) with room for only one person coming or going. One armored guard at his front, and the other at his back he rises into the citadel at last. 

Location (small) Expected ; Encounters Expected ; Objects Random (fortunate/enormous); Connection Same, with a curve or turn

12. Logrin is lead to a small elevator and one of the guards adjusts some obscure device on the wall then closes a barred gate in front of him. The room begins to rise and to slide. the movements feel random and when they are over there is a bare cell with a single Northman and a single Hyperborean, and a lot of talking coming up (encounter expected) one more curvy flight (save with a turn that ends in a barrier) and being show a small barracks cell for his convenience .

W.D.

P.S

This was a lot of fun to write. It took a while and I stretched my imagination for some of the descriptions.  It is very different to design a dungeon where the encounters are threatening and life and death hangs at every turn. In a city you can give more of a feeling the local flavor with benign encounters and the opportunity for adventure is different. 

I hope this demo was useful for a few of you. Love to hear your feedback.
Happy Gaming

W.D.

Wizard Dad's Work Shop: The New Years Project

Let me start with some honest. I have never (successfully) designed an RPG from the ground up. With that said I have heavily modified almost every game I have ever played. 

I have recently been inspired by the Mythic GME app, along with Mythic Magazine #31, Using Mythic GME as a Light RPG, to work up a slightly heavier version of the concept that keeps the freeform nature, but adds a bit more structure to character creation and advancement, while conversely lowering the complexity of NPC/Monsters. This page, and many to follow after it, over the next few months is will be a design log of an on the go game that can be played directly from a mobile device.

It will cover concepts like character creation, hierarchy of abilities, character advancement, keeping NPC simple (because who doesn't like monsters and sidekicks), organizing Lists, ways to build special abilities that feel special, how to start the game at various power levels, and I am sure a host of other topics. 

The goal is to use the app, and a simple notebook function found on almost all portable devices, to play the entire game, but to have enough crunch to satisfy a feeling of an organized system, even on the go. The Descriptor and Rank system given in the article give a strong groundwork to build from

Let me start by saying nothing is wrong what so ever with the app and the magazine article, and I may well be sliding a game out into the world that is neither necessary in any way or wanted. But all my life I have wanted to create an release into the wild a tool that will allow people to build characters and worlds for their imaginations to play in. So accompanying the rules modules will be a few examples from my varied interest that you will be able to grab and play if you want. 

I know the popularity of this blog is largely due to my upkeep of the Mythic Magazine Index, and that will still be a major focus, but I want to take all those rich modular elements available in the magazines, and my own humble creativity, and give back a bit more.

If you read this far, thank you.

W.D.

P.S
Projects need a centralized place to hang out so we are going to drop the ToC down here, but we will link the articles to the prior and following articles as well, so you don't have to keep hopping back here for navigational purposes.

Part 1; The Inspiration

Part 2: Tags

Variation 12: Handling Complicated Campaigns

Handling Complicated Campaigns (MGME2 pgs. 166 - 169)

Return to ToC

Whether you are playing solo or with a group, campaign management is eventually going to become an issue. When playing solo it has its own special problems, such as list management of what could turn out to be dozens of NPCs or Threads. 

The essay "Handling Complicated Campaigns" gives great guidelines on the topic. Sublist, list pruning, reducing instances, and other useful suggestions slim a bloated list back to a useful size.

The article below is the blueprint that this essay derives from,

• “Creating Complicated Campaigns”
• MM Vol. 23, pg. 3

and on a related topic

• “Creative List Tips & Tricks”
• MM Vol. 17, pg. 3

but it isn't the only magazine article that takes on complexity.

Sometimes the complexity that needs to be handled is smaller scale, maybe down the basic unit of play, the scene.

• “Starting, And Ending, Scenes”
• MM Vol. 10, pg. 4

or even just an interaction within a scene.

• “Behavior Checks Simplified”
• MM Vol. 1, pg. 8

Perhaps your complication begins even before the campaign, and you want to make sure the game steers in the direction you want to play?

• “Customizing A Solo Adventure Before You Begin”
• MM Vol. 7, pg. 4
• “Generating Compelling Backstories”
• MM Vol. 8, pg. 11
• “Control Your Adventure With Keyed Scenes”
• MM Vol. 10, pg. 12

The topic of campaign management, scene management, or story design could fill volumes, but the articles above, along with the Complicated Campaign essay, could help you get off the ground and keep the game flying. 

W.D.

PS
I haven't' really done this topic justice. I plan to come back and keep adding useful articles to the few listed here. If you have a favorite to suggest, as I have already noticed a few I plan to go back and add, I ask please just note them in comments section and if I agree with you I will post them up. This topic is one of the most important in the variations, and there are probably a dozen articles at this point that would expand it.

Mythic Index Topic 12: Mythic GM Emulator as Core RPG

Know what you want to play but don't have a system to plug into it? Maybe want something a bit more free form? Here are a few articles that could help out. Some are about placing aspects of Mythic into other games, but there are many below that will allow you to take the MGME2 and a magazine and just take off. 

Mythic GM Emulator as Core RPG

• “The Mythic Magic System”
• MM Vol. 21, pg. 9
• “Giving Mythic A Personality”
• MM Vol. 27, pg. 3
• “Mythic RPG Narrative Combat”
• MM Vol. 28, pg. 10
• “Mythic As A Solo Journaling Game”
• MM Vol. 30, pg. 10
• “Mythic GME As A Rules-Light RPG”
• MM Vol. 31, pg. 12
• “Mythic Mass Combat System”
• MM Vol. 33, pg. 12
• “RPGs As Inspiration For Mythic Adventures”
• MM Vol. 35, pg. 3
• “Mythic Stress & Fear Rules”
• MM Vol. 36, pg. 16
• “Rules & Tools For Science Fiction Adventures” 
• MM Vol. 41, pg. 16
• “Writing Fiction With Mythic”
• MM Vol. 43, pg. 20
• “Magical Tradition Generator”
• MM Vol. 45, pg. 18
• “Solo Adventures In The Style Of Found Journals”
• MM Vol. 46, pg. 34
• "Steal the Rebellion"
• MM Vol. 48, pg. 16

Wizard Dad: Locations, Encounters and Objects that can be found in a Citadel Slum

So, I am playing an old school (genre not system) Sword & Sorcery campaign, the next leg of which takes me to the foreigners quarter of a community that live the shadow of a great and ancient citadel two miles into a glacier. I like my games to be a spontaneous as possible, but I don't necessarily want to spend a lot of play time working on trivium. So, here are three list of 10 things that can be found in the freezing foreign slums in the shadow of an ancient magical citadel... in a glacier.  

Encounters

1. Guard Patrols. (Are they honest or corrupt? If corrupt are they just take a bribe corrupt or do they constitute a gang unto themselves?)
2. Merchants. (are they poor and desperate? are they rich and cunning? are they poor and cunning? what do they have to sell?)
3. Rats. (are they normal rats? if not how are they abnormal?)
4. Stranded Foreigners (how did they get stranded here? how do they get by? why is there a foreign quarter at all?)
5. A drunk or otherwise intoxicated person (do they even notice you? is it a well off citizen slumming? Is it a desperate soul seeking solace in a bottle? Are they aggressive? Are they hallucinating?)
6. A local holy person (are they seeking converts? offering service to the poor? from a local cult? from a foreign cult found only in this district? Are they proselytizing?) 
7. A local mystic (Are they a diviner hawking fortunes? A fraud seeking money? An alchemist seeking ingredients?)
8. Thieves (are they part of a larger gang or organization? are they currently involved in thieving? are they seeking to profit or just to get by?)
9. Citizens (are they here for business reasons? are they poor and outcast and thus have to live amid the foreigners? are they arrogant because of there station, even if they have little more than the poor?)
10. A stalking beast (a dangerous animal released for the amusement of the mighty? a monster from the ice or steps? a mad man with a knife or sword? a murderous spirit?)

Locations

1. Tavern or inn (is it clean? is it a pit? do they bother to keep it warm? is it upstanding or hive of scum and villainy)
2. Guard Post (is it manned? clean? drab? full of trophies?)
3. Bureaucratic office (what do they do? are they corrupt? is the building in good repair against the squalor of the district or is it a symbol of order dragged into the chaos)
4. Private home of note (does it stand out because of its size? because of a aura of menace? is it a rambling mansion falling in on itself from disrepair, or the home of a famed hero/adventure/impoverished sage?)
5. Hospital or sanatorium. (who is sponsors it? is it free in this poor district or another way of squeezing pennies from the poor? Is just a place to store the sick until they die or can adequate care be given? Does it favor a certain class of people or is it open to the public
6. Casino or other house of Vice (does it front as a different sort of business? Is its trade open and visible or is it visited furtively? is it an accepted part of the district? does its reputation connect it to organized crime
7. Temple (is this devoted to a single god? a local power? a foreign cult? or maybe it is a place of spiritual philosophy that transcends, or is beneath, the care of the great powers. 
8. Apothecary (is this run by a wise one devoted to the healing arts? does it deal in trivialities as well as medicines? can you by illicit drugs at the back door and medicines out the front? does it even need to hide its darker more dangerous wares?)
9. The home of a mystic (is this a failed sorcerer now living in exile and shame? a shaman of the streets? a diviner or some other fortune teller? a very talented fraud? a witch with all the dark bargains this implies? or just a lore master who knows a few spells, but is steeped in information)
10. A gang warren (is this a brash building with the gangs symbol emblazoned on the building or is it just known as a dangerous place because of the ruffians hanging about the doors?)

Objects

1. Object made of un-melting ice (what is it? a statuette, a tool, just a chunk of glowing glacial ice?)
2. A weapon (what sort of weapon? is it broken? is it of mysteriously high quality?)
3. Rubbish (compost heap? broken furniture? is there something shining in the heap?)
4. A dead creature (is it a dog, a cat, a giant rat, or a human? Does it look out of place, diseased, mutilated, or dead by exposure?)
5. Paper/parchment (a book page that has been ripped out? A lost note? a list? an official document now far out of place? a leaflet such as a religious track or advertisement?)
6. Jewelry (is it junk jewelry? something simple of precious metal? Is it engraved? Does it have a precious stone? carved from ivory or bone?)
7. Dice or cards (crudely carved or painted? single die or card with ominous portents? well painted cards or ivory dice in a simple crude box? marked cards or loaded dice?)
8. Money or trade goods (a pittance? a substantial amount? too much to have been dropped by accident?)
9. Teeth (Human? predator? on a leather thong? artificial? ivory? metal?)
10. A key (simple? skeleton? barreled? engraved with address? so alien it may not be a key at all?)

Mythic Index Topic 11: The Creature Crafter Expanded

Adventures are made up of many elements, but if action is your goal, a good monster is probably the first thing we reach for, but after your first few decades as a player or GM some of the surprise goes out of even the most fierce monster. In comes the Creature Crafter to the rescue. 

The Creature Crafter on its own is a very useful book but it can be a bit much for spontaneous real time play. The articles below help to speed up its use, or replace it all together. 

Looks like you have a tough fight ahead. Swords high and best of Luck.

• “Creature Crafter Simplified”
• MM Vol. 13, pg. 14
• “One-Page Creature Crafter”
• MM Vol. 34, pg. 3

Mythic Locations 2: Mad Libs Locations For Location Crafter RPG supplement, Neighborhood of a Metropolis

So, I am playing a game which is going to have a long urban segment. I want to get a feel for what is in the foreigners quarter. Before playing it out I am going to build a template, as I did way back in Mythic Locations 1, some months ago. After play and populate it I will then post up a finished district here, for any of you folks to put to what ever use you want, but the template will be setting agnostic.

If you want to do this for yourself, pick up MM #16 and you may well want to have the core book Location Crafter

Lets dive in. I am skipping the City Region Descriptors Table and the City Story Descriptors Table for now because I want an agnostic template. That leads us to jumping straight into the various city elements until we hit complete. (You can find a useful fillable PDF at https://www.wordmillgames.com/resources.html).

1. Location (small) PP(progress points) 0 Random (Confusing/Small) ; Encounters PP0 Expected; Objects PP0 Random (Inactive/Prized); Connection Roll on Description Meaning Tables (Happily/Aromatic)

2.Location (small) PP1 Expected ; Encounters PP1 None; Objects PP1 None; Connection Leads directly to another Area.

3. Location (small) PP2 Expected ; Encounters PP2 None; Objects PP2 Known, or Random (weapon/magnificent); Connection Same, with a curve or turn

4. Location (small) PP3 Random (Moving/Empty) ; Encounters PP3 None; Objects PP3 None; Connection Roll on Description Meaning Tables (Majestically/Quaint)

5. Location (small) PP4 Random (Positive/Modern) ; Encounters PP4 None; Objects PP4 Expected; Connection Roll on Description Meaning Tables (Mechanical/Mysterious)

6. Location (small) PP5 Expected ; Encounters PP5 Random (Generous/Mighty); Objects PP5 Known or Special (EXIT HERE); Connection Same

7.  Location (small) PP6 Known or Special (Supersized complete) ; Encounters PP6 Expected, PP-6; Objects PP6 Expected; Connection Stairs

8.  Location (small) PP7 Expected, PP-6 ; Encounters PP0 None ; Objects PP7 None; Connection Same

9. Location (small) PP1 Random (Active/Warm) ; Encounters PP1 None ; Objects PP8 Expected; Connection Bridge

10. Location (small) PP2 Expected ; Encounters PP2 Expected ; Objects PP9 Expected, PP-6; Connection Expected.

11. Location (small) PP3 Expected ; Encounters PP3 Expected ; Objects PP3 Random (fortunate/enormous); Connection Same, with a curve or turn

12. Location (small) PP4 Complete (Expected) ; Encounters PP4 Expected ; Objects PP4 None; Connection Same, with a curve or turn with barrier.

After I have a chance to wander around and get to know the district I will put up the filled out portions and