Tuesday, 24 August 2021

One page game: 30 Minutes Or Less

Deliver pizza in a wild future New York populated by humans, aliens, robots, clones and Brian. Fresh and on time or the driver dies!

I've been on a one-page-game kick lately, and so have a lot of other people thanks to the Itch.io One Page Game Jam. It's a fun design challenge - squeeze all the necessary rules clearly onto one page and use any leftover space to hint at a setting.

 I aim for very specific scenarios, because it doesn't pay to generalise - a million other people have already invented D20 with three attributes and no classes, races, or feats. 

In this game you play a team of rough, tough pizza delivery specialists. When an order comes in, you load up and set out to cross as many bizarre environmental zones as might be in between you and the customer. You're on an inflexible time limit, because the pizza box will only dispense the antidote to the poison you've been injected with if you're at the delivery address in 30 minutes or less. Get it here.


Sunday, 30 May 2021

One page game: Goblins on a Stick

You're the smallest goblins in the tribe, and getting picked on is a way of life. Currently you're all nailed to a plank by your ears. You'd like to get free, but keep getting distracted. And those other pesky goblins on the plank keep interfering.

Grab it here.

Saturday, 24 April 2021

B/X monster: the undomesticated flying carpet

I don't know what the lizard's doing there
A Brief Treatise on the Habits and Habitat of the Undomesticated Flying Carpet. It's been a miserable wet week here, and I feel like some unmitigated nonsense is called for.

The wild flying carpet is both smaller and faster than its domestic cousin, not having been bred for carrying human passengers. It also has a much more wild temperament. Some captured specimens have been quite vicious. Males can be recognised by their bold geometrical patterns, while females tend towards Turkish patterns in muted colours. Younger carpets will be a paisley or tartan before their patterns fully grow in.

You can find the undomesticated carpet roosting on the arid side of mountain ranges, where the males build nests by assembling rings of small rocks and tangling them together with loose threads. Females are attracted by the strength and lack of fray in those threads. A male with a tidy weave will make a good mate.

Wild carpets are almost entirely carnivorous and don't have the appetite for Turkish delight their domestic counterparts display. They typically prey on lambs and young goats, by sweeping them up and dropping them from a height so the animals are stunned and can't resist being flown back to the carpet's lair to be devoured. When prey is scarce they range further afield and although they prefer to avoid settlements, there are reports of them targeting children up to about six years old as prey.

When threatened they prefer to run rather than fight, but will defend their nests with swoop-and-slash tactics. Males and females both have tassels they can use to grip small rocks and flint shards as weapons.

Armour Class 4 [15]
Hit Dice 4 (12hp)
Attacks 1 × slash (1d6)
THAC0 14 [+5]
Movement 30’ (10’) inching / 480’ (160’) flying
Saving Throws D13 W14 P13 B16 S14 (4)
Morale 8 (12 in lair)
Alignment Neutral
XP 75
Number Appearing 1 (1d2)
Treasure Type I

Sunday, 18 April 2021

One page RPG: Tension


There are ideas and mechanics I've been noodling around with for years and never found a home for. This week I threw them all into one game and called it good. It's like... a game gumbo.

Tension is a game of hunting ghosts. Once you start, you're committed because ghosts can hunt you too. The pressure keeps rising until you're finished or until you're finished.

Get it here.

Saturday, 10 April 2021

The Infamous Blackie Powells

Blackie Powells is a pirate who committed a series of daring but inexplicable crimes. He kidnapped a theatre troupe. He burned a logging camp. He smashed a dam. He was the puzzle and the laughing stock of the kingdom until his master plan came together and he made off with a good portion of the royal treasury.

"He kidnapped the actors so he could dress his men in their town guard costumes... he burned out the loggers so the river would be choked with logs and the ferry couldn't operate.. he smashed the dam to lower the water level and expose the old ford. It's genius!"

That was a generation ago. Blackie's reputation has grown and grown because since that time, people have been blaming their failures on him. No, I didn't fall asleep and let the flock wander off -- Blackie took them! Of course I made all the pots you ordered -- but I watched Blackie himself throw them all down the well! Blackie held me at knifepoint just to let the loaves overcook!

What crime did Blackie commit here (2d12)?

  1. Stole
  2. Burned
  3. Seduced
  4. Painted
  5. Undermined
  6. Disguised
  7. Forged
  8. Pickpocketed
  9. Delayed
  10. Framed
  11. Drugged
  12. Rebuilt
  1. A noble's daughter
  2. A herd of cows
  3. A farmer's cart
  4. A blacksmith
  5. A barn
  6. A boat
  7. A fisherman's wife
  8. A stone keep
  9. A town guard
  10. A flock of crows
  11. A cabinet
  12. A stables
In order to (2d12):
  1. Hide
  2. Impersonate
  3. Replace
  4. Steal
  5. Destroy
  6. Surprise
  7. Rob
  8. Trick
  9. Abduct
  10. Antagonise
  11. Redirect
  12. Corrupt
  1. A magistrate
  2. A guard troop
  3. A wealthy merchant
  4. A baker's wife
  5. A trade guild
  6. A church
  7. The baron's children
  8. A widow
  9. A bardic trio
  10. A hunting party
  11. A tax collector
  12. A royal herald

The truth, if the characters manage to discover it, is a bit different. Blackie Powells retired and lived a quiet life after his big heist. Now he's an old man in a house too big for him, being gently bullied by his three adult daughters. They won't let him have strong drink, or red meat or salty cheese! They want him to drink spring water and eat leafy greens and walk outside in the sunshine for an hour every day! In fact, if the characters can help with his scheme to get away from them, he'll give them a share of the remaining gold. He just needs them to commit a small list of inexplicable minor crimes...

Tuesday, 6 April 2021

One Page Game: Troubleshooters

Every cyberpunk game I've played has been gear porn. The main interaction with the ruleset has been counting up the bonuses provided by gear, cyberware and drugs for specific tasks. Troubleshooters is more or less written to be a game that ignores everything else in favour of counting bonuses.

Because when the cop cars are burning, bullets are flying and you hear choppers closing in, you really want to know if you can put a hole in the durak with the smart sight using the garbage truck as cover before he puts one in you, ya prav, druz'ya?

Get it here.


 

Monday, 8 February 2021

The Why of You

You're a(n)...

  1. Strong-limbed champion
  2. Agile sneak
  3. Delver into mysteries
  4. Compassionate believer
  5. Keen-eyed nature lover
  6. Skilled crafter

Raised by...

  1. Loving parents
  2. Disinterested relatives
  3. A cruel master
  4. A troupe of travellers
  5. Despised outsiders
  6. Yourself, mostly

Who suffered...

  1. Poverty
  2. Illness
  3. Oppression
  4. A natural disaster
  5. A personal betrayal
  6. Singing out of key

Which caused...

  1. The loss of loved one(s)
  2. Shame and banishment
  3. A sudden reduction in circumstances
  4. Back-breaking labour
  5. Madness
  6. A loss of personal confidence

And led you to...

  1. Take revenge
  2. Turn your back on your people
  3. Commit crimes
  4. Throw yourself into your studies
  5. Search for a personal truth to live by
  6. Rely on yourself alone

Which caused...

  1. The community to change its ways
  2. Your loved ones to change how they feel about you
  3. Sudden attention on you from an unexpected source
  4. Condemnation
  5. Praise
  6. An unexpected self-discovery

And now you...

  1. Protect the weak
  2. Work only for your own benefit
  3. Live as a rootless wanderer
  4. Fight evil
  5. Minister to others
  6. Follow a cause

Because...

  1. You're reminded of yourself.
  2. You believe in something more.
  3. It satisfies a need you don't understand.
  4. You want to achieve something great.
  5. You need to repay a debt.
  6. It's the best way to live!