Lunch Break RPG - August 14th Play Report

 Overview

This is a play report for my ongoing ttrpg I run during occasional lunch breaks at work, all dependent on who is available for that day. This occurs roughly once a week, but there are occasional longer breaks when people are unavailable. I require a minimum of two players to run a session. I am using Index Card RPG and various other resources to run the sessions.

Please refer to this post for more details.

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July 3rd & 10th Play Report

Each session, players present are given a sheet in the style of a Classifieds ad. This ad contains features five problems occurring in the aptly named Dungeon Town. Players are asked to select from these five options as the adventure for the session.

This session, the players chose two scenarios from the options:

Ghastly Slime

Local potion brewery, destroyed during the blaze, has produced a monstrous mass of tentacles and grime. Any assistance in slaying the slime will be rewarded.

Player characters present:

• Clara, Elf Mage
  
• Siel, Gnome Shadow
• Rupert, "Human" Bard
  

Preparation

I prepared some introductory text to set the scene as the player's arrived at the slime as well as the general nature of the slime:

Setup: The collapsed potion shop has developed into a large, but immobile, slime. It has long tentacles and is growing larger, but the party will have a chance to determine how best to approach the creature.

Intro: “As you journey past the blackened homes and small shops, you arrive at the collapsed wreckage of the potion shop. The air is rank with the chemical stench of mystical reagents and miracle liquids that were never meant to mingle. A bitter tang with a dense, verdant odor you can’t quite place. A small bird glides slowly by, its flight interrupted as a tentacle lashes out like a frog’s tongue, ensnaring the bird and dragging back into the wreckage.”

I improvised some of the physical nature of the slime as the players proposed solutions to eliminating the slime. The slime's nature was based off an older idea of mine as slimes resulting from expired or poorly crafted alchemic potions. This gave the player's enough information to come up with creative angles for defeating the slime.

I also used the following resources as my core prep:

- Index Card RPG Master Edition ; This is my core rulebook for these sessions. I am not using the actual setup of "difficulty per location" that ICRPG uses, instead using the more traditional "here is the number you need to beat". I also adjusted the Effect dice so that D6 is "Bows & Tools" and D8 is "Weapons" because I did not want to include guns. Otherwise, pretty much using the system as is.

- Dungeons & Drawings ; This is my favorite monster manual. It has a set of generic stats to describe the creature, a paragraph of text on the creature, and a full page picture. It is not specific to any rpg system, but gives me enough tools to pull in a creature and run it if I understand the system itself pretty well.

- Monster Miens ; I wanted a reaction table like the Miens for Troika!!, but just some general lists. This is sorted by creature type, which I thought would be great for the quick reaction I want as a GM during the sessions. I may need to replace this in the future if it begins to feel too repetitive, but for now it works.

Session Summary

Clara decided the group should go help the potion shop since it was partially her fault for the shops collapse. This occurred during a previous session run by another GM in which the players were forced to respond to a city-wide fire.

Upon arriving at the slime, I read the intro text listed above. The players were then greeted by the shop owner, who recognized Clara from the prior events. The players then began asking questions about the nature of the slime and how they could possibly defeat it. Discovering that it was a living chemical reaction, they decided to try and find a chemical way to neutralize it. The shop owner luckily had enough supplies to create a neutralizing potion, but would need the players to obtain some samples of the slime first.

It was that Rupert approached the slime and was immediately grabbed by it. The slime attempted to pull them in, but a solid resistance roll kept Rupert stationary while Siel severed the tentacle. The players now had their sample.

During this event, Clara had been using a spell to craft a device for sample extraction. It was completed after the tentacle had been severed, and so was no longer needed.

Clara coordinated with the Potion maker to create an anti-slime potion, succeeding after a few rolls. Meanwhile, Siel enlisted the local fire brigade to spray slime away and reaction the reactive core of the creature. Some careful footwork from Siel allowed easy use of the potion, neutralizing the slime and causing it to collapse into a gross water that flowed down into the river.

Reflection

This was a fun session that allowed some follow-up on events from a previous session. With a more consistent group, it will be interesting to start building off of prior events and allow players to see the results of their actions (or just unexpected consequences). I also appreciated prepping the introductory paragraph for myself to help set the tone of the session. It helped me to center my thoughts more and gave players some details to begin working off of instead of having to immediately launch into questions.

Lunch Break RPG - July 3rd & 10th Play Report

Overview

This is a play report for my ongoing ttrpg I run during occasional lunch breaks at work, all dependent on who is available for that day. This occurs roughly once a week, but there are occasional longer breaks when people are unavailable. I require a minimum of two players to run a session. I am using Index Card RPG and various other resources to run the sessions.

Please refer to this post for more details.

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July 3rd & 10th Play Report

Each session, players present are given a sheet in the style of a Classifieds ad. This ad contains features five problems occurring in the aptly named Dungeon Town. Players are asked to select from these five options as the adventure for the session.

This session, the players chose two scenarios from the options:

Basilisk in the Coop

A saboteur, or perhaps rambunctious youth, placed a snake egg in Kelly McCoy's rooftop chicken coop, causing a basilisk to hatch! Ms. McCoy is looking for any willing adventurers to remove the freshly hatched fiend from her home.

Player characters present:

• Madge, Ent Mage
  
• Chadwick, Human Warrior

Preparation

I determined the nature of the curse for the Gauntlet ahead of time, planning to slowly reveal its nature through several sessions. The Gauntlet provided a great bonus to Strength, but is sentient and would seek to consume living things and become more and more demanding. It was explicitly modeled off of Audrey II from Little Shop of Horrors.

I did not prep anything for the scenario beyond the pitch above. I planned that the basilisk would be small and fairly benign if approached with caution. The main challenge would be locating it in the house and defeating it without falling victim to its petrifying gaze or venomous bite.

I also used the following resources as my core prep:

- Index Card RPG Master Edition ; This is my core rulebook for these sessions. I am not using the actual setup of "difficulty per location" that ICRPG uses, instead using the more traditional "here is the number you need to beat". I also adjusted the Effect dice so that D6 is "Bows & Tools" and D8 is "Weapons" because I did not want to include guns. Otherwise, pretty much using the system as is.

- Dungeons & Drawings ; This is my favorite monster manual. It has a set of generic stats to describe the creature, a paragraph of text on the creature, and a full page picture. It is not specific to any rpg system, but gives me enough tools to pull in a creature and run it if I understand the system itself pretty well.

- Monster Miens ; I wanted a reaction table like the Miens for Troika!!, but just some general lists. This is sorted by creature type, which I thought would be great for the quick reaction I want as a GM during the sessions. I may need to replace this in the future if it begins to feel too repetitive, but for now it works.

Session Summary

The players entered the home of Kelly McCoy, who quickly rushed them into her kitchen. The rest of the doors in the house were shut and had various types of cloth shoved at the base. Ms. McCoy admitted that she had lost track of the basilisk, but knew for certain it was not in the kitchen.

Chadwick took the lead while Madge, an inexperienced adventurer, chose to remain behind and comfort Ms. McCoy's nerves. A lucky roll resulted in the discovery that the basilisk was in the drawing room just a few doors down from the kitchen. The basilisk was spotted on the chandelier and Chadwick immediately began to reach as far as possible to try and slay the small beast. A few successful but negligible hits and Chadwick called for Madge's assistance in retrieving the creature.

The basilisk was knocked loose and Chadwick's gauntlet flung itself forward in an attempt to consume the beast. Chadwick failed a Constitution roll to move with the arm, and the conflict between the two meant the gauntlet missed its target and basilisk landed directly on Chadwick's arm, sinking its teeth into his flesh and poisoning him.

Madge stepped in at this point to separate the two. Madge attempted to administer some antivenom, but Chadwick's gauntlet interrupted again and ate the dosage whole. The benefits of the antivenom did not transfer to Chadwick, but luckily Madge found a second dose for Chadwick.

Madge then bandaged the basilisk and calmed it, placing the creature in a small knothole in her body rather than slaying it. Ms. McCoy was satisfied with the removal of the creature and asked what they would like to be paid for the services.

Chadwick's Gauntlet finally spoke, asking for to be fed. Chadwick felt inclined to feed his useful armament and Ms. McCoy reluctantly provided a live chicken to feed the gauntlet. Chadwick failed another roll and the gauntlet suddenly and violently consumed the chicken, splattering blood everywhere in the process. As it was moving of its own volition and scrubbing the floor to soak up any blood and remnants it had missed, Madge felt it was time to intervene and separate Chadwick from his possession. The gauntlet immediately fell limp and Madge refused to return it, stating that as she could not wear it, it was safer with her.

Reflection

This was the final session before Chadwick's player left the group for a position. I wanted to resolve the story of the gauntlet, and so used this adventure to ramp up the concerning nature of this object. Successful rolls from Chadwick would have meant more control over the object, but the multiple failures meant the gauntlet's true nature was revealed more quickly. A fun adventure with more humor than terror and a fitting conclusion to the brief arc of the cursed gauntlet.

Lunch Break RPG - June 12th & 26th Play Report

Overview

This is a play report for my ongoing ttrpg I run during occasional lunch breaks at work, all dependent on who is available for that day. This occurs roughly once a week, but there are occasional longer breaks when people are unavailable. I require a minimum of two players to run a session. I am using Index Card RPG and various other resources to run the sessions.

Please refer to this post for more details.

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June 12th & 26th Play Report

Each session, players present are given a sheet in the style of a Classifieds ad. This ad contains features five problems occurring in the aptly named Dungeon Town. Players are asked to select from these five options as the adventure for the session.

This session, the players chose two scenarios from the options:

Magic Gauntlet for Sale

Meddlesome swords trapped in stones? Mystic hammer refusing to budge? Try our Gauntlet of Immense Might! No offers refused!

Library Infestation

Whether out of cruel jest or neglect, the Boffiton Institute of Arcane studies has been overrun by a variety of vermin, including the librarian's worst adversary: scuttle imps.

Player characters present:

• Clara, Elf Mage
  
• Siel, Gnome Shadow
• Rupert, "Human" Bard
• Chadwick, Human Warrior
• Isadora, Forest Elf Hunter
  

Preparation

I determined the nature of the curse for the Gauntlet ahead of time, planning to slowly reveal its nature through several sessions. The Gauntlet provided a great bonus to Strength, but is sentient and would seek to consume living things and become more and more demanding. It was explicitly modeled off of Audrey II from Little Shop of Horrors.

The Library Infestation scenario came from the book Into the Cess & Citadel. This was pulled off of one result on the Encounter Table for the Archives. I used the associated monster entries, making very minimal adjustments to ICRPG rules as this book is written for easy adaptation to any "classic ttrpg systems".

I also used the following resources as my core prep:

- Index Card RPG Master Edition ; This is my core rulebook for these sessions. I am not using the actual setup of "difficulty per location" that ICRPG uses, instead using the more traditional "here is the number you need to beat". I also adjusted the Effect dice so that D6 is "Bows & Tools" and D8 is "Weapons" because I did not want to include guns. Otherwise, pretty much using the system as is.

- Dungeons & Drawings ; This is my favorite monster manual. It has a set of generic stats to describe the creature, a paragraph of text on the creature, and a full page picture. It is not specific to any rpg system, but gives me enough tools to pull in a creature and run it if I understand the system itself pretty well.

- Monster Miens ; I wanted a reaction table like the Miens for Troika!!, but just some general lists. This is sorted by creature type, which I thought would be great for the quick reaction I want as a GM during the sessions. I may need to replace this in the future if it begins to feel too repetitive, but for now it works.

Session Summary

The players first approached the dockworker Pilstov, owner of the Gauntlet. They questioned him about the nature of the Gauntlet and why his price was so low. He displayed his lack of a left hand, thus being unable to wear the Gauntlet. Clara offered a sandwich (that she had obtained from the Fluxgut pile) and Pilstov happily traded. Chadwick, the parties main melee combatant, took the Gauntlet and tested it out. It was very effective at enhancing his strength and showed no signs of curses, to the party's surprise.

The party then proceeded to the Boffiton Institute and approached Billobi, the gnome librarian who made the post asking for help. She was upfront about the cuts to the library budget and that a lack of staffing probably resulted in the current predicament. She confessed she did not have the funds to pay the party, but would be happy to let them sift through the lost & found of magic items that various students had failed to claim.

The players proceeded to hunt for any of the vermin in the library, dispatching them with relative ease. The players took creative approaches to the Errant Scribbles, crushing them between sheets of paper. Chadwick also witnessed the first signs that his Gauntlet might have an unknown side when he crushed a Marginalia Gremlin in his gloved hand and the Gauntlet then sucked up the creature as if through a straw.

(The session ended and was completed on a following session)

The players returned to finish the extermination, avoiding an ambush by the Scuttle Imps. After dispatching the remainder of the infestation, the party was approached by the Stacks Panther, a large feline creature kept in the library for such vermin maintenance. It appreciated the assistance, but noted that some books were damaged by during their hunt. The party successfully convinced the Panther that it was not them, but the gremlins who caused the harm. Clara thought quickly and used her Mending spell to repair the damage, earning the respect of the Panther and avoiding its ire.

Players finally scrounged the lost and found and obtained a Gnomish Blowtorch, a mystic Scimitar that never misses, a Magic Quill that can copy spells onto one-use scrolls, and some new spells for Clara. Lacking spells, Isadora traded the Magic Quill for Clara's Fin Ring from a previous adventure.

Reflection

I think this went fairly well. This was the largest turnout I've had for the lunch break games and also a much more combat focused session than typical. I did basic back and forth between the groups, but may have needed to provide more structure for combat turns as some of the players less familiar with rpgs encountered some confusion during the fight.

The monsters from Cess & Citadel were great and created some really interesting approaches in combat when players asked about the physical natures of these creatures and tried to then utilize that information in combat to improve their chance at success.

The magic item rewards might have been a bit powerful, but I think for the casual nature of these games I am not too concerned.

Lunch Break RPG - June 10th Play Report

Overview

This is a play report for my ongoing ttrpg I run during occasional lunch breaks at work, all dependent on who is available for that day. This occurs roughly once a week, but there are occasional longer breaks when people are unavailable. I require a minimum of two players to run a session. I am using Index Card RPG and various other resources to run the sessions.

Please refer to this post for more details.

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June 10th Play Report

Each session, players present are given a sheet in the style of a Classifieds ad. This ad contains features five problems occurring in the aptly named Dungeon Town. Players are asked to select from these five options as the adventure for the session.

This session, the players chose the following scenario:

In Need of Medicine

Brothers Silas and Russell have been suffering from ‘flux gut.’ It is known that caramel slugs from the nearby Bogbeast Mire are capable of curing the terrible disease.

Player characters present:

• Clara, Elf Mage
  
• Siel, Gnome Shadow
• Rupert, "Human" Bard
  

Preparation

I did not prep anything for the scenario beyond the pitch above. "Flux gut" would be an illness in which the afflicted continues to vomit up random junk until cured or it kills them. I planned that obtaining the caramel slugs would involve an encounter with a larger monster of some sort.

I had the following resources available to myself for prep:

- Index Card RPG Master Edition ; This is my core rulebook for these sessions. I am not using the actual setup of "difficulty per location" that ICRPG uses, instead using the more traditional "here is the number you need to beat". I also adjusted the Effect dice so that D6 is "Bows & Tools" and D8 is "Weapons" because I did not want to include guns. Otherwise, pretty much using the system as is.

- Dungeons & Drawings ; This is my favorite monster manual. It has a set of generic stats to describe the creature, a paragraph of text on the creature, and a full page picture. It is not specific to any rpg system, but gives me enough tools to pull in a creature and run it if I understand the system itself pretty well.

- Monster Miens ; I wanted a reaction table like the Miens for Troika!!, but just some general lists. This is sorted by creature type, which I thought would be great for the quick reaction I want as a GM during the sessions. I may need to replace this in the future if it begins to feel too repetitive, but for now it works.

- Story Cubes ; The plot for this adventure was generated with three Story Cubes pulled out of a bag of dice. This was just basic inspiration that evolved into the larger problem provided to the players.

Session Summary

The players arrived at the home and business of the two goblin cobblers, Silas and Russell. Before entering the building, the players witnessed a large people of random objects in the alley outside of the building. Clara chose to stay behind and investigate the pile of objects for anything useful while the other players entered the building to meet the ailing cobblers and gather more information about obtaining the caramel slugs.

Using Clara's Intelligence stat (+5), Clara was given five percentile rolls on the Bizarre Loot table in the ICRPG book. She obtained a Sandwich, a Jar of Spores, a Giant Egg (containing an unknown monster), a Fin Ring that improves swimming speed, and a Magician's Hoop (an unbreakable hoop that can be attached to anything magically).

Meanwhile, Siel and Rupert met with Silas and Russell to discuss how to best help them. Siel and Rupert witnessed the disturbing symptoms of fluxgut: the afflicted continue to vomit up random objects until they finally perish.

Silas stated that caramel slugs can be found on resting Wyverns in the Bogbeast Mire. When Siel questioned how Silas knew this would be a successful cure for their fluxgut (all while Silas vomited up a towel), Silas insisted this knowledge came from his grandmother. Siel took this as a unquestionable answer and the party proceeded to Bogbeast Mire to locate a Wyvern.

With some luck, the party was able to quickly find a Wyvern. The caramel slugs engage in cleaning symbiosis with the Wyverns, slowly scrubbing their scaly bodies to consume excess scales or scraps. Siel's exceptional training in stealth allowed her to easily pluck a slug from the Wyvern's body without drawing any attention. The party quickly fled and returned to provide the remedy.

Silas and Russell were grateful for the assistance and offered two options for payment: some very nice shoes or a more useful item from the collection of random objects they had "produced".

Clara and Rupert both took the shoes, obtaining some very nice shoes that could provide some benefits when they impress others. Siel, deciding against shoes, was rewarded with a magical miniature houseboat that, when rubbed three times, would grow to full size.

Reflection

I think this session went well but did need some work to speed things up as time was cut a bit short. I really enjoyed taking the time to craft this adventure a little more than the previous adventures. I am hoping to have more plans in place for future adventures rather than operating solely off of the prompts and random generators I have been utilizing. Now that I have a more stable, recurring group of players, I think some advance planning is more reasonable. I will still focus on one shot, one hour sessions that do not require consistent participation for players, but I can definitely put more work in than I am currently doing.

Lunch Break RPG - June 5th Play Report

 Overview

This is a play report for my ongoing ttrpg I run during occasional lunch breaks at work, all dependent on who is available for that day. This occurs roughly once a week, but there are occasional longer breaks when people are unavailable. I require a minimum of two players to run a session. I am using Index Card RPG and various other resources to run the sessions.

Please refer to this post for more details.

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June 5th Play Report

Each session, players present are given a sheet in the style of a Classifieds ad. This ad contains features five problems occurring in the aptly named Dungeon Town. Players are asked to select from these five options as the adventure for the session.

This session, the players chose the following scenario:

Child lost in local dungeon

Elgar Tailor has reported that his child disappeared near the Farehill Road entrance of the Bleak King’s Dungeon. Child responds to the names Jim, Jimmy, and Jameson. Child has a love of animals.

Player characters present:

• Chadwick, Human Warrior
  
• Siel, Gnome Shadow
• Clara, Elf Mage
  

Preparation

I did not prep anything for the scenario beyond the pitch above. I planned that the child had befriended a monster in the dungeon that was taking care of him. The players would have to resolve any encounters on the way to locating the child, finally handling the monster with the child.

I had the following resources available to myself for prep:

- Index Card RPG Master Edition ; This is my core rulebook for these sessions. I am not using the actual setup of "difficulty per location" that ICRPG uses, instead using the more traditional "here is the number you need to beat". I also adjusted the Effect dice so that D6 is "Bows & Tools" and D8 is "Weapons" because I did not want to include guns. Otherwise, pretty much using the system as is.

- Dungeons & Drawings ; This is my favorite monster manual. It has a set of generic stats to describe the creature, a paragraph of text on the creature, and a full page picture. It is not specific to any rpg system, but gives me enough tools to pull in a creature and run it if I understand the system itself pretty well.

- Monster Miens ; I wanted a reaction table like the Miens for Troika!!, but just some general lists. This is sorted by creature type, which I thought would be great for the quick reaction I want as a GM during the sessions. I may need to replace this in the future if it begins to feel too repetitive, but for now it works.

Session Summary

The players entered the dungeon. I did not have a dungeon map prepped and used ICRPG's hearts & effect mechanic to determine success in navigating the dungeon. This would feel similar to the "clocks" mechanic for players of other games.

"Finding the child" was given 2 Hearts (10 points of effect) and each player was allowed to make an Intelligence roll to navigate the dungeon, success allowing a roll for effect. One player had a collection of local maps in their inventory, and so was able to roll with higher effect.

In response to each effect roll, I offered the players to move to a new room and rolled a d4 to determine how many exits there were to that room. After all effects rolls were resolved, I asked players to roll Dexterity determine if they had drawn any attention while navigating.

One player failed the roll, and so I rolled a percentile dice to determine a page number for the encountered monster from Dungeons & Drawings, resulting in a ghoul. Rather than fighting the monster, Clara used the spell "Mindtrap" to send the monster off into the dungeon away from them. The casting roll was failed, and so Clara chose to burn the spell, ensuring success but exhausting the spell for the rest of the session. The Ghoul was sent into the dungeon and the spell would only last 4 turns based on an effect roll.

A few more effect rolls resulted in finding Jimmy and his new found friend, a giant lizard (randomly rolled from the Dungeons & Drawings book). Using Monster Miens, the monster was found to be friendly. I also decided in the moment that the creature was vegetarian.

The party interviewed Jimmy, a 6 year old, who had been living in the dungeon for almost a week. He said his new friend Rover (a name generated by the players), had been scavenging food for him from packs abandoned by adventurers. Chadwick offered an apple to the giant lizard and lured both of them out of the dungeon. The players felt the lizard was incredibly responsible and that Jimmy should be allowed to keep it.

On the way out, they encountered the ghoul. The spell had worn off and the ghoul had tracked them back to the entrance. Chadwick and Siel reduced the ghoul to near death, and I ghoul fled into the dungeon after a failed morale roll.

Upon returning the child to his home, the father objected to keeping the giant lizard as a pet. The players made a successful Charisma check to shame the father for failing to find his child sooner. The giant lizard took great care of the child and would probably continue to be very responsible. The players were rewarded with funds that they could use for future purchases.

Reflection

I feel mostly ok with this session. I think this really showed some of the flaws of too little prep. While the session was fun, I find the friction points to be too much for my comfort.

While I never intended to have a planned dungeon map, I think the randomized dungeon made it hard to add more atmosphere to the exploration. It felt to random and thus a bit inconsequential. I have a deck of dungeon rooms I've added to my toolkit for future sessions. This should give me some better details and help strike the balance between randomized and prepared dungeon details.

In addition, I think having some specific monsters would be better. At least a short list of potential encounters would provide a consistent environment that players can interact with and plan around. This would also help me with developing a history of play so that players recognize the dungeon name and know what to expect when taking on that job.

Overall, an ok second session with plenty of opportunity for growth.

Lunch Break RPG - Overview & April 8th Play Report

Overview

I have started hosting rpg sessions on my lunch break at my workplace roughly once a week depending on who is available to play. These sessions are intended to be casual, drop-in when you are available, and to contain the adventure within the lunch break (roughly 1 hour). I have a rough setting in mind and session prep for myself has also been limited to shorter prompts that I can use to build out a story based on player choices.

We are using Index Card RPG as our main system. I chose this as it feels like a stripped-down version of current D&D style games. I hoped this would be approachable for people familiar with RPGs and also simple enough for newcomers to learn. I also pitched this to a peer as potential programming for the library, and so wanted to focus on the ease of access and building familiarity with concepts. I also know that D&D as a brand would be a potential selling point for patrons interested in the program, and so chose a system that would be similar but less stressful for someone to run who is not themselves familiar with D&D or running rpg's in general. I hope ICRPG hits a nice middle ground so experienced D&D players will stay interested and new rpg players will not feel overwhelmed by the amount of rules that a more typical D&D game would have.

I am also utilizing various tools by independent creators as a way to test out those tools myself and find out what works for me and what does not. This is mostly random tables or randomization tools to keep playing moving quickly with the low prep for each session. With the emphasis on player driven play, I do not want excessive prep to leave players feeling required to find a specific solution to any given problem.

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April 8th Play Report

Each session, players present are given a sheet in the style of a Classifieds ad. This ad features five problems occurring in the aptly named Dungeon Town. Players are asked to select from these five options as the adventure for the session.

This session, the players chose the following scenario:

Warning! Griffin spotted in town!

Several reports have been received by the local guard of a griffin that has taken roost near Blackwood Court. Local pet owners be warned to steer clear of the area until it is captured!

Player characters present:

• Chadwick, Human Warrior
• Rupert, "Human" Bard

Preparation

I did not prep anything for the scenario beyond the pitch above. I planned on the griffin having a nest on top of a building in a business district of the roughly defined city everyone is playing in.

I had the following resources available to myself for prep:

- Index Card RPG Master Edition ; This is my core rulebook for these sessions. I am not using the actual setup of "difficulty per location" that ICRPG uses, instead using the more traditional "here is the number you need to beat". I also adjusted the Effect dice so that D6 is "Bows & Tools" and D8 is "Weapons" because I did not want to include guns. Otherwise, pretty much using the system as is.

- Dungeons & Drawings ; This is my favorite monster manual. It has a set of generic stats to describe the creature, a paragraph of text on the creature, and a full page picture. It is not specific to any rpg system, but gives me enough tools to pull in a creature and run it if I understand the system itself pretty well.

- Monster Miens ; I wanted a reaction table like the Miens for Troika!!, but just some general lists. This is sorted by creature type, which I thought would be great for the quick reaction I want as a GM during the sessions. I may need to replace this in the future if it begins to feel too repetitive, but for now it works.

Session Summary

The party this session consisted of two players: a warrior and a bard.  Both players have past experience with rpgs in general and D&D in particular, so while they were new to this system, they had enough foundation on how to play rpgs to easily grasp how to play this game.

The players arrived on the scene in the street below where the griffin had nested. I rolled on the Monster Miens table and received "Grieving" as the result. I decided in the moment that the griffin had a hatchling that did not survive. The death was recent and the griffin was processing the loss.

The party approached the barkeep and asked for access to the roof. The party attempted to shoo the griffin or scare it away without fighting it as the griffin did not become aggressive until the came too close. Neither rolled well enough to intimidate the griffin, a roll I set at a high difficulty given the context.

The griffin appeared to be guarding its nest. The players took a cautious approach and decided to gather information instead. I asked for Dexterity or Charisma rolls, emphasizing that the players needed to show control over their body language to keep the griffin passive. After successful rolls from both players, they were able to observe the deceased hatchling. The moved instead to comforting the griffin and showing empathy for its plight. The griffin moved on and left the nest.

I rewarded the players each with a griffin egg that had not yet hatched. I informed them that the eggs could be hatched at a major milestone as an option instead of a new class ability.

Reflection

This was my first session running over a lunch break. I aimed to keep the adventure limited to an hour and focused more on player choice, trying to limit any sort of structured combat or excessive roll requirements.

The players chose not to attack the griffin after I provided enough signals that the griffin was not interested in fighting. I appreciate that this group did not immediately jump to combat, but also wondered how they would have responded to the truth of the situation if they had slayed the griffin instead.

I think that while I have a monster book handy, I should have some general monster stats prepped for ICRPG for any scenario. Or at least a drop table of some sort. I feel somewhat comfortable with the low numbers that ICRPG uses and don't worry too much about "balance", but I think this could be a useful tool to find or develop.

I am not great at coming up with tangible item rewards. ICRPG is also abstracted and does not track currency. I may also want to come up with a selection of Loot Rewards for each scenario as a quick option for players to choose from at the end of each scenario.

Tabletop RPGs are Plasmatic

I want to talk about a concept I really appreciate in tabletop rpgs. Its something I cam across talking about animation, but I think its core is something really important to how we talk about ttrpgs.

While watching a video on animation, I learned about the plasmatic nature of animation. Coming from an essay by Sergei Eisenstein on Disney animation, plasmaticity was defined as:

“The rejection of the constraint of form, fixed once and for all, freedom from ossification, an ability to take on any form dynamically. An ability which I would call ‘plasmaticity,’ for here a being, represented in a drawing, a being of a given form, a being that has achieved a particular appearance, behaves itself like primordial protoplasm, not yet having a stable form, but capable of taking on any and all forms of animal life on the ladder of evolution.”

He's talking here about how, in animation, nothing really has traits until we witness them. Everything has a potential quality because the world doesn't follow our normal rules. Anything could happen and we won't know what is or isn't possible until it does happen.

Tabletop rpgs are plasmatic. The ttrpg rules are just a text. The game happens at the table, and so the true quality of the game isn't really there until its played. But that's not the end.

Because of this plasmatic nature, ttrpgs exist without any boundaries until those boundaries are set at the table with that particular group. Even from group to group, things will change. Anyone playing ttrpgs has witnessed this. You develop different chemistry with different groups. The tone of the games played can change from text to text and table to table.

The above episode of Dexter's Lab is fun a example of this. We see the same text of Monsters & Mazes played in two different styles between Dexter and DeeDee GMing the game. Some would argue (as Dexter) that DeeDee isn't using the rules correctly, but just as in the real world it doesn't matter. Its one individual table and the players are actually enjoying the game in this new state.

By the act of playing them, ttrpgs are shaped and formed as we go, yet still maintain the possibility to change and become something else later. The boundaries of play are only ever limited when limits are placed and acknowledged by the group.
 

We can also discuss how formless a ttrpg is and how easy its forms can be manipulated. In-built mechanics might be difficult to change, but the fiction is always up to interpretation and manipulation. Tone and genre are the easiest to alter, but mechanics themselves might also be an option. Changes to meet accessibility or group preferences are common.

I think the plasmatic nature of RPGs actually prevents negates the idea of rules-as-written play. Because the rules are a text not yet bound by play, the rules don't matter as much. Its only when they reach the table that anything has meaning, because application and interpretation will come then.

I think this comparison to the plasmaticity of animation helps to look at some key issues in the formless-ness of RPGs. Animation is built on recognizing shapes and movement as things. In the same way that it is more formless than other entertainment, it applies limits or expectations to these forms. When we see a dog in animation, we expect it to have dog-like qualities, yet because its animation we also expect it to defy that expectation. We won't know its limits until those limits are placed in the story itself.

So, that's plasmaticity! A great feature of ttrpgs as a medium rooted in the belief that ttrpgs rules are text that hasn't manifested as a game yet. I also think it should be a useful term when talking about how a ttrpg's prescribed function in the text can transform into infinite and unexpected variations once its in the hands of real people.