Portal Fantasy Idea
Eyes of Nine
Everything's Fine
I am back to this project. It has evolved a little bit.
I am going to keep the premise that the fantasy world that the PCs go to is a Vancian far future and their travels are all wrapped up in timey-wimey nonsense. However, I am going to pull back on strong built in story elements because I am working on this from a more general perspective (rather than writing a campaign I am going to run specifically).
In tandem with developing the world I am going to develop a 5E based rules system for this. I am taking inspiration from Shadowdark -- not in its specifics, but in its use of 5E as a foundation and then doing design that drills down on the subgenre being played in this particular game.
One conceit that i want to embrace is that the PCs do not gain XP in the "real world" but there will be downtime between trips to the future. They will have to deal with the consequences of their absences, questions aboutt heir sanity, and maybe even trying to find one another in the world. This, of course, will be optional, as some people will certainly not be interested in doing this sort of play.
My plan is to have a working draft by mid-January (when my schedule picks back up again). I am committed to two sessions of it at TotalCon in Marlborough MA in February. I will continue to use this thread to bounce around ideas and keep myself on track. Feel free to critique stuff I post and otherwise offer ideas and feedback.
I am going to keep the premise that the fantasy world that the PCs go to is a Vancian far future and their travels are all wrapped up in timey-wimey nonsense. However, I am going to pull back on strong built in story elements because I am working on this from a more general perspective (rather than writing a campaign I am going to run specifically).
In tandem with developing the world I am going to develop a 5E based rules system for this. I am taking inspiration from Shadowdark -- not in its specifics, but in its use of 5E as a foundation and then doing design that drills down on the subgenre being played in this particular game.
One conceit that i want to embrace is that the PCs do not gain XP in the "real world" but there will be downtime between trips to the future. They will have to deal with the consequences of their absences, questions aboutt heir sanity, and maybe even trying to find one another in the world. This, of course, will be optional, as some people will certainly not be interested in doing this sort of play.
My plan is to have a working draft by mid-January (when my schedule picks back up again). I am committed to two sessions of it at TotalCon in Marlborough MA in February. I will continue to use this thread to bounce around ideas and keep myself on track. Feel free to critique stuff I post and otherwise offer ideas and feedback.
This has done some evolving over the past few months but finally has a drop dead date: I will be running a two parter at RPGCon in Marlborough, MA in April.
The setup I settled on is based on a story idea I had years ago: the PCs are college friends about to graduate who go to their last epic camping LARP event together before all heading off to their separate lives. Except in this case, they find themselves drawn into the actual fantasy world of that LARP and have to save the world. It will have a feel a bit like the D&D cartoon in that their roles/classes will be built into the gear they carry (their costumes and props that got transformed as they passed between worlds).
Part 2 takes place 30 years later when they are all entering middle aged in mundane lives having barely corresponded for years. It turns out they left some things undone in the Other World, and have to go back and squeeze back in to their old "costumes" and take up the fight again.
I am using a super stripped down 5E a la Shadowdark (but stripped down and tweaked for high epic fantasy rather than old school dungeon fantasy).
The setup I settled on is based on a story idea I had years ago: the PCs are college friends about to graduate who go to their last epic camping LARP event together before all heading off to their separate lives. Except in this case, they find themselves drawn into the actual fantasy world of that LARP and have to save the world. It will have a feel a bit like the D&D cartoon in that their roles/classes will be built into the gear they carry (their costumes and props that got transformed as they passed between worlds).
Part 2 takes place 30 years later when they are all entering middle aged in mundane lives having barely corresponded for years. It turns out they left some things undone in the Other World, and have to go back and squeeze back in to their old "costumes" and take up the fight again.
I am using a super stripped down 5E a la Shadowdark (but stripped down and tweaked for high epic fantasy rather than old school dungeon fantasy).
I am going to eliminate skill proficiencies and use broad "background" and "class" proficiencies instead. Characters will have set rather than rolled HP, on the high side, and stats will be just bonuses/penalties rather than numbers. I am actually going back to Fort, Reflex and Will saves because I find them easier to adjudicate. I will be pairing down class (really, gear) abilities to a few core class fantasy abilities. More than Shadowdark but fewer than 5E (the specifics I will figure out after I build the pregens in full 5E).
Also, I use a 2d20 inspired Momentum/Threat pool in almost every con game I run because it tends to make the game more fun. Basically, the players start with a pool of Inspiration but every time they spend one it goes into by GM pool. When I spend it, it goes back into theirs.
Eyes of Nine
Everything's Fine
This hits close to home
The phrase that springs to mind: “a ‘waist’ of time.”
I have held on to certain articles of clothing from 30 years ago, and they wouldn’t be alterable to fit my current “physique”.
Eyes of Nine
Everything's Fine
I have my college rugby jersey - fits great across the shoulders, the gut not so much.The phrase that springs to mind: “a ‘waist’ of time.”
I have held on to certain articles of clothing from 30 years ago, and they wouldn’t be alterable to fit my current “physique”.
I believe it shrank in the wash, my wife not so much
