Explanations galore

Kitchen Sink Thesaurus

So yeah this update is mainly about me noting down explanations about a bunch of stuff. This is starting to look more and more like it could use a clearer distinction between what is meant to be printed handouts and what is just core rules. I'm gonna need to write an actual rulebook, is what I'm saying.

Most of the files uploaded this week are of this type! Agendas & Principles aren't meant to be printed or even frequently read, they're meant to be read, remembered, referenced once or twice and are just attempt to explain the general mood, tone and goal of the game; likewise, the Lexicon is only here to give you definitions of uncommon words that are frequently used in the game and/or explain what they mean within the specific context of Dyson Spells.

Even the first few pages of Playbooks are just here to explain what's a Playbook, what's in them and how to fill them!

The Ship is back!

Let's be honest, I was never gonna manage to not give a cool Ship to players of a space opera game. I'm still on the fence in termes of complexity for now though - the sheer amount of space wasted to having to explain how things work and how to select Upgrades suggest that maybe it's still a bit too complex right now. This might get simplified down the line, and the entire Upgrades system might even get gutted - or replaced with something less mechanical and more like Flairs for the Ship.

Also, I'm not a fan of forcing PCs to spend Advancements on the Ship... but it is a good way to ensure that proactive players that fail often won't simply "finish" their Playbook too early. I'll see if an elegant development come up during development.

What's next?!

So much stuff!

I think I'll keep going over and updating the Genesis document as development goes by. Right now, it feels like choice that are particularly at odds (e.g "The Summoning" and "The Day Job") could lead to phrasings not really making sense with one another - and in most games I would've said "well, mix-and-match things willy-nilly and you'll get an unwiedly Frankeistein monster", but this is the mix-and-match game! This is the game where weird combinations should somehow make sense, at least at the beginning of it.

Specifically, I think I'm going to have to make it more explicit somehow, midway through this document, that the PCs are 1st or 2nd-generation refugees from whatever left their parents / grandparents stranded on a Colony, and that they're scavengers / traders, etc... I'm toying with the idea of creating an explicit trading / scavenging / Colony development system, but as much as I love those, I feel like it could get in the way of fun, big time. Although... A thing I admire in Fellowship is that they give you an end goal with mechanical ways to get there right from the get-go, and that helps shape, structure and dictate pacing for the campaign. Specifically, it helps bringing it to and end, which most campaigns seem to never do.

Maybe I just need a tool to structure the narrative without necessarily making a whole development system...? Or maybe I could make a simple iteration of the Clock system. Something where you specify what problems you have to tackle for the Colony to stabilize, then you specificy steps to achieve that? That could give structure without being too unwiedly... Yeah, I'll try that next week!

I also need to write down GM advice for each Playbook, but uh. Yeah, that's gonna have to wait until I've finished stabilizing the core rules themselves, I think. As will Playbook writing in the first place.

See ya next week!