Recent content by TimWest

Yes, there are of course the standard lizard and frog-people, great apes and other large animals. But nothing medieval in my opinion (Dragons, Vampires, Unicorns etc.) and definitely not monsters that are known. Characters should not be encountering Owlbears and Beholders. Monsters and demons...

For those that have watched the Mandalorian. Do you think it has a somewhat S&S feel to it? The main character is just trying to get by in the universe and it's episodic in nature. The grogu story line obviously takes on more importance as the show goes on, but set that aside for the moment...

You'd have to be clear about the incentive and reward structure that's in place for the game. I'm assuming that most RPG players expect a steady progress for their characters whether it's wealth, skills or reputation. They have to be ok with 'success' being that they walk away with their lives...

Something that might be useful for a GM is to allow for and leverage the weirdness that comes from content that is randomly generated with tables and other tools. You save yourself a lot of time and at the same time you create the sense that this world is slightly strange, unknowable or alien...

This chimes with how I see things. There's a lot of 'bad' stuff happening in the world and the characters can try to change it if they want, or it could impact them at any moment. But it's not necessarily an obvious thing that must be solved by the heroes. I feel that in other kinds of fantasy...

I think the story of Conan being dragged into something is a good example of how to start an S&S adventure. It shows how difficult it is to just live in peace and be left alone. Because the environment is one in which people are all fighting to get ahead in some way. It's hard not to be affected...

Yes because IMO there's an inherent selficiousness to the genre. Characters have to have the freedom to change their goals at any time, whether it's for self-preservation or because they spot a new better opportunity. Contrasted with heroes in high fantasy that will not be swayed from their big...

Yes I'm playing it on my own, no GM, using the IronSworn rules. I just decided that the other character knew about the city and would be able to lead us there. In reality I'm playing two characters at the moment but the main one is statted out completely while the other is only done using the...

I've been writing about a solo game and that's pretty much how I kicked things off. 1. I started the game when my character and a fellow NPC just survived a shipwreck. They were captives and was their chance to escape, they had to evade other survivors of the shipwreck. 2. They decided to make...

Isn't this where carousing rules come into play? Or needing to exchange 'gold' for XP in order to get training in order to get better at skills? Players / characters want to increase their odds of survival and success.

I've built my setting so that it's in a state of (potential) change. Not quite post-apocalyptic but the old orders are definitely on shaky ground. There have been wars, famines, depopulation, changing alliances, hierarchies upended or re-ordered. The underlying issue is that it's not good...

For me part of it is about telling the story of characters making their way through a dangerous world. Even if they're not particularly goal oriented themselves, the nature of the environment means that 'adventure' will eventually come their way.