Posting challenges, usually time bound or on a particular topic or theme.
I was originally going to write something about nodes tonight, but since I’m still thinking about ‘M’ and I think my Midpoint Check-In is a bit of a cheap post, I’m going to write about something else. Microscope is a wonderful cooperative tool for world building. The primary focus is …
As usual during the A-Z Blog Challenge, here is my midpoint check-in. I’ve been late a couple of times, usually as the weekend approaches. I kind of expect that, partly because I get tired toward the end of the work week and partly because I have to be up at …
Almost all my attention so far has been on the adventure nodes themselves. I have completely neglected the links between them. This ignores one of the critical elements of this design practice. As with my entity template, nodes without links are merely curiosities: they might have some interesting elements, but …
A brief follow-on to yesterday’s diversion. In discussing the idea of jade daggers, it was pointed out that jade is not a particularly good material for weapons. Historically it was used for axes and the like because it was relatively easily ground into shape and was pretty durable, but as …
I’ve always liked special items that are distinct, sometimes even unrealistic, in description. Not Final Fantasy-style “really freaking big sword”, but with various ornamentation and other features. This is part of what I was planning to write I explored ornamentation some time ago, but have never finished the research for. …
In expanding on the adventure nodes in yesterday’s post, I stumbled on an idea I’d like to explore. This isn’t truly part of building the adventure, but it was sparked by an observation I had while doing so, so I’m considering it fair game for inclusion. For now, I’ll refer to …
… but perhaps a great place to set an adventure. In my last post I started developing the adventure nodes in more detail. I switched from the original Scenes of Chance icons (with associated tables of explanations) to using World Architect Cards and the keywords on each. The results look promising. They …
A day behind — Friday night at the game café, Saturday busy with household duties — but getting done now. I have a map of sorts of the valley this adventure will take place in, but it’s pretty abstract. I’m going to start defining the nodes again, using different tools. …
I like the Scenes of Chance product, but I found it didn’t do what I needed, because I’d overlooked the actual first step. I’m putting that one back in the toolbox for another time. I still want to do my ‘thinking’ at a high level and use other tools to guide …
In thinking about how I didn’t get what I wanted out of Scenes of Chance, I realized that I hadn’t really articulated to myself what I was trying to do. I said one thing (“I’ll write an adventure! That can also be a tutorial!”), but started to work toward another …