well then
now that i have been out of the hospitalization i entered almost literally a week after this ended
i can give proper thoughts on what happened
Winconditions
Squirrel’s was simply, and efficient. But the way the game ended up dragging on, along with the relative disuse of the shop mechanic and whatnot, made it a bit boring, although it was one of my better designed ones, i still could’ve done more, such as offering bounties from the shopkeeper, maybe for certain enemies’ heads, or created an area with traps and harder trials for him to trek through. it was overall good for what it did, but i could’ve done better
Wind’s was not very good. A bland “survivor” wincon overall is boring, and the fact that the players waited a lot meant they were less of an “active force” and more of an “annoyance to bother with when you play” along with them getting dealt with by the NPC’s, of which i didn’t predict that they would take the zone 1’s bosses, one of the stronger npcs, and be able to have them group with them during the fight due to the character’s not fighting them meant that them completely abandoning them in some signs of danger wouldn’t work, along with them being in a group solving the problems, but thats more of a problem with my system then the wincon itself
Aelin was meant to more figure out how her wincon worked, but she couldn’t because of the starting date being inconvenient and other actual issues, i’m not too sure how it would’ve worked, but due to only really one player being considered somewhat a “magician” and an entire boss NPC had to be made, specifically to antagonize her so the other players wouldn’t fight it off, probably meant i could do a lot better
App’s mostly proritized murder, which was kinda… what it was meant to do, yeah, and i still don’t think i could do much better other then make his soul abilities, which use the ones he reaped, far more useful, and made more bosses and emphasis on striking players down rather then minions
Eliza’s was more of a scavenger hunt then anything, but i had no real time to work on it anyway, and i don’t think i could’ve made much better given the material
it just more proves to me i need to design the map more around winconditions, rather then trying to make the wincons after the map’s design, which is already a limiting process, and whatnot
Geyde’s was… something
Overall, he just needed to somehow trick each and every player into Doing The Right Thing and working together,
if i made the wincon before the map, i would’ve probably made more focus on choices, and given the players more control over miniature things, desputes between npc’s and players, and whatnot
i somewhat like the concept, it just needs more based around it
Shurian’s
the gremlin wincon
not much to say about the main “be evil” wincon, other then it would’ve done its job of being an antagonist
Silviu’s
i guess it was alright, more of me not really having an ideas for the “help people” character then “helping people”
Magnus
probably my best designed wincon, offering player choice, along with intangling with already built in map elements
this specific part, though, was mostly flawed because i had figured a murder would be at least a mention from the players later on to confirm or deny their suspicions of what happened, which didn’t
wincons that rely on the other players thinking something need to be a bit more obvious
magnus didn’t really explore the mansion’s main lore rooms, nor talked about the mansion with the npc’s, leading to them failing that part, although i thought i did at least decently with it
i kinda felt like this was giving magnus a spreadsheet to fill in information on, which isn’t really fun in of itself, and i think i could’ve done better on the whole “talking to people thing”
the final spreadsheet itself did turn out nice and pretty to look at though so
thats something
this was the “get to the end” one of the bunch, since there was an earlier escape opportunity
the giant computer and the weird Cult Corporation was the secret
some of magnus’ abilities, of which i had a hand in designing, were cryptic, but ultimately rather powerful
unlocking it gives that part of your wincon, and the knowledge of how to use the powerful abilities you had, to reward engagement
the clown has fallen
rejoice!
Magnus’
App’s
Squirrel’s
Shurian’s, Silviu’s
Line of decency
Geyde’s
Aelin’s
Eliza’s
Wind’s
NPC’s, and the Gamemaster
the first NPC, The Auctioneer, who i decided to name Drew Michigan, which was absolutely impossible to figure out through normal means, was meant to die one way or another
i wanted him to die so badly if he somehow survived the “Push The Annoying Man Into The Monster” room, he was just going to attack you in the next room
which
would’ve actually helped the players a good bit in the boss encounter for stage 1, since the “Dollmaker’s” guard dolls, of which blocked the mansion’s access, would have attacked the man aswell and be destroyed by him, rather then attacking the players and being destroyed by them, meaning to pacify the bosses was easier
the auction itself didn’t really work without the players sitting down for a few hours and bidding for the items in five minute spans, so it mostly ended up slowing the game down, although it did give him a bit of character so
and made aelin’s assassination of him more satisfying after he tazed her
The Shopkeeper first encountered by aelin after stealing an item and attempting to sell it to her for a cheaper price, of which she got kicked for, was
always meant to sell things, really
she was more meant to be “Creepy Seller” rather then have indepth character interactions
she ultimately meant her end when Stick, squirrel’s… squirrel, carried to her a rigged gun which exploded her and her items, without any of the players realizing what had happened
considering if he hadn’t pawned it off he wouldn’t have let it go, and that would’ve been Painful, and she was ultimately a scummier character then stick was
an npc dying is a lot less consuming for the characters, especially one that didn’t really have much use since the shop wasn’t used too much
The Engineer
he was the midfight boss, regardless of what happened in the chapter 1 fight, because the bosses, if pacifyed, couldn’t properly inform him of what happened through the dolls that couldn’t speak, so they’d just be worried
However, IF the players did kill the chapter 1 boss
He would’ve been impossible to pacify, and what would’ve been his opening “warning shot” near the players during the start of the fight, would have hit one of them directly
My rough script
Upon seeing a person
If Murderer (if the ghost and the doll were killed) instantly start fight
The man slowly turns his head, and sees you… He seems shocked, and quickly reaches and grabs what seems to be a small gun. The dolls run away, seemingly scared. He points the gun at [startler]
“Are you here for me next!? Stay back!”
(He fires a shot into the person who startled him’s arm)
If “Pacifist” (Spared the ghost and the doll)
The man slowly turns his head, and sees you… He seems shocked, and quickly reaches and grabs what seems to be a small gun. The dolls look at both you and him strangely, but scutter away all the same. He points the gun at [startler]
“Stay back! You all are always here for the same reason!”
He fires a warning shot into the ground, next to the startler. You see a bit of mercy in his eyes, likely from everyone’s actions.
(They can either negotiate for peace or attack him.)
however, considering they, somehow, dragged the two bosses with them to chapter two, the one that could talk would’ve been completely strange to not directly go and communicate to him, with the first player who went
he was always meant to be a more scared technician character, to more directly contrast with what a reasonably normal and non-psychopathic character would do in the situation, although conflict found his way to him
the backstory that he had was being a repair technician, getting overly annoyed with Corporation higher-up’s, to descend into a place controlled by a Corporation which had no reason to bother him
He ultimately survived.
The Phantom
a pair of two characters, and the boss of chapter 1, of which was beaten mercifully by the players, despite App’s bloodstained status effecting the npcs to be more hostile to him
the boss fight was to be largely scripted attacks, with a few countermoves to be made by me to prevent some player moves they reasonably could
it would also be the most difficult fight in chapter 1, given the “boss”
when one died, the other gained other powers, which i described as
Basic outline of attacks
Each of them have 3 attacks, both are magickal.
Doll:
Summon allies: Summons a small swarm of dolls to distract and stab a player.
Needle and thread: Toss a long needle at a person’s arm, or to wrap around them.
Weird Gun: Invented by the scientist , looks vaguely like a 2 barrel derringer. (The Scientist was the original concept for The Engineer)
“Team” Attack
The doll picks up some model glue, and puts an extremely long cloth in it. The ghost takes out a matchbook, flicking the red phosphorus into the powdered glass, and the doll tosses it behind the group… How is that going to work?
After a turn
The bottle explodes, getting glue everywhere. It’s extremely messy, not helped by the fact that the glue is LIT ON FIRE
“Team” Attack
*The ghost takes a small, but firm piece of a thread and barely manages to throw it into . A large team of dolls appear and pull them towards the dollmaker, which she knocks a weird tool off the desk to hit them.
The ghost seems to be worn out.
Ghost:
Fire: The ghost flicks a small match at , lighting a bit of them on fire. It seems to fizzle out slightly, but still burns brightly (2 turns)
Sword: The ghost pulls out a weird ghastly sword, and thrusts it at , stabbing into them.
Knives: The ghost takes a weird knife, similar to a glass kunai out, and throws it at , shattering on impact. The glass shards seem to stick on the ground, yet they’re made out of a strange material.
Powerup from deaths
The dollmaker’s death first:
The doll falls to the floor, seemingly dead. The ghost seems to be… mildly pissed.
Fire lasts for 3 turns, and is stronger
The sword is more aggressive and slashes several times
The glass shards are used, which inflicts bleeding, instead of concussion.
The Phantom’s death first:
The Ghost vanishes, seemingly no longer in this realm. The dollmaker seems to be unchanged, but the little dolls all around her are getting extremely unkept and angry
The dolls need more shaking off, there’s more, and they’re stronger.
The needle becomes bigger, and the dolls pull the person towards her, hich allows for the little ones to stab them.
Gun: Small dolls now use it, dealing the same damage the doll did, just not using up a turn.
(Ghost is used interchangeably with Phantom, due to being easier to type. infront of the players, i tried to use Phantom, mostly because it sounded Less Dumb)
due to the players being escorted by the bosses into the second chapter entrance, and the soldiers being at the moment infront of the entrance, and thus firing on them which meaning wind’s failed sneak past the soldiers to the chapter two area had her character being dragged into cover into the chapter 2 entrance by the bosses themselves, and the gunfire meant they could’nt logically being able to escape going to chapter 2
meant they showed up there
a corpse, brought to the only magickal place it could breathe life, was revived after completing its mission, to the only extent the gamemaster could muster
She survived.
The Gravedigger
someone needed to get rid of the corpses
the gravedigger, mainly characterized by the “laying the dead to rest” and the strange arcade game that led to his area, for hiding the corpses away from any other harm
for his respective job, he performed it the best out of any other of the characters, and was one of the only none-hostile NPC’s that didnt serve too much purpose, other then giving the area life
he was described by the gamemaster as “Seemingly would be friendly in any other context that didnt describe him burying corpses”, so
he was, in chapter 3
the players once invaded his area, due to hiding from the soldiers, all at once
which lead to some decently funny reactions from the npc and players
despite having little in terms of respective information, his character personality and mission to continue burying made him decently easy to talk through and i didn’t feel like i was running out of things to say
the man had come to lay those who had perished to rest
He survived.
The Hunters
Wind’s wincon adversity
The Sandwich Man being the only real minor standout, they were meant to more act as hunters then characters to learn and grow indepth with, or against
Stick had shot one
The Dollmaker had shot another
The Dollmaker had stabbed a third
The Phantom had shot a fourth
They all perished
The Dollmaker
the most recognizable characteristic of her was that she only spoke one sentence throughout the entire game, of which only one player heard
meaning her personality, which was mostly purposefully empty due to the nature of the character having to react similar to her minions, and the players prefering to attempt to communicate with the more straightforward character out of the four, of the Phantom, leaving her characterization a bit flawed, meaning she had to mostly interact with the environment on her own, which is hard to write about while busy with player actions, or with other npc’s, which had the same thing
i liked the character’s element of silence, due to it being one of the more uniquely harder things to balance and less seen in media, because of it, and in the various hours of downtime i had throughout the game, i could try to make her stand out a bit more, which i hope i did at least decently of, but its hard for me to tell by myself
her interactions, even if it was mostly with the more straightforward of the group due to it being easier to balance then the more chaotic, did a decent job of helping me characterize and describe things for future use in such games
one of my more favourite things to characterize were her minions too, given how they were supposed to act as things without much experience or sense of the world, and had no real knowledge of enjoyment, only what the dollmaker told them
also small minions running around is really nice to think about in retrospect
the corpse carrier, and the reviver
having followed the dead, she rebuilds up of the lost souls she can, into a primitive existence
She survived.
The corporate servants, the corporation, and The Gamemaster
The corporate servants, being the ones leaving the notes on the computers, contacting and emails others, sharing files, and all dying in the Annihilator’s frenzied rampage
they, being corporate bureaucrats and otherwise, lead all who came into the area, for slaughterance, recruitment, study, and otherwise, over the proposal of completing whatever mission they had, at the whims of the computer sent by whatever higher-ups in the corporate latter to them said
the only real look into the servants the players had was through searching through the rooms and seeing what each did, liked, and otherwise
the gamemaster wages about 35% of them had a family, and 62% would rather be working for a company with higher morality standards, yet accepted the job, leading to all of their deaths, regardless of job description or title
All of them in the Laboratory remain deceased
The Gamemaster
The computer, the gamemaster, or the host
the physical computer was created in a realization of act 3 needing a final test and character, beside the Annihilator, the boss of Chapter 2
this was a decent decision given the players rolled extremely luckily, and had two of the npcs, the dollmaker and gravedigger, fighting alongside them, with the Dollmaker having the “Striker Nine” gloves, to control the rooms turret
i couldn’t given how long the game had gone on for, create a memorable boss for the finale of a 5 month long game without any build-up, so i decided to just make it be the gamemaster, which i was already in character for
The Annihilator, called by the Auctioneer The “Man-Eater”, was one of the main threats of chapter 2, and served a similar looming role to the Hunters
It was a giant, seemingly wall of flesh, which approached the players in an attempt to kill them, at the behest of the Gamemaster
It was nearly destroyed, before being re-incubated by the players at the request of the computer
The Gamemaster’s Ultimatum, was to either join the chant to call Balloony down, or deposit the Annihilator in the re-incubator, which would allow the Computer to regain control over the facility and cause further havoc, with it being unstoppable and unkillable while it does so. The players chose to deposit the Annihilator into the re-incubator
The Computer, The Gamemaster, did not survive the events of the game
Abilities, Characters
i’ve been thinking decently about it and
player designed abilities will be decently flawed, unless they are guided a decent amount by the host
most abilities here weren’t particularly too useful, rather being extra things the characters could do, and not used too heavily
a better system would be something similar to fallout of
“these are abilities you can have, of which you can mix and match about”, but with some extra systems in place to make it so every player doesn’t know what the others could have
a system of four abilities of 12 to pick from alongside a simple system like that could work, with 3 of the ability slots being postive, and the 4th being negative, which you needed to equip or only have two abilities rather then three
character wise, and genre wise
i really needed to inform the players more, and overall
it was a very mixed bag of characters, but some aspects, timeperiods, and things like that needed to be more consistent so the other players knew what they could encounter
magickal setpieces, big business compared to other settings, gets complicated decently quickly
i’d need to place more proper groundwork for the players to build off of
Map Details
The underground of chapter 1 feels somewhat strangely designed and contrasting with the surface
i feel like some rooms in chapter 1 didnt blend together too well, even given some rooms were evidently fake (the beach not being a beach, rather enclosed and filled with sand and water), and otherwise, but the setting needs to be a bit more consistant
reduce downtime by always having a clear goal could help, since just exploring is a bit confusing
zone 2 couldve been a bit more creative, really
the mansions multiple floors even if interesting, could be a bit strange to remember whats on what, rather then having them more easily accessiable from certain areas, rather then numbers
floor 3 couldve been more creative
Misc
character’s, especially ones to be with for a long time, need more complex backgrounds
decide the timezones instantly, so nobody has any time to get invested into the game without knowing whether or not they could even theoretically play
make a more complicated moveset for bosses
make the final confrontation have more buildup for the thing inside, person or otherwise
be more knowledgable of player circumstance, and figure out how to properly encourage players to do things
if players are really grounded in one place for a long time and you dont know what else to do, a timer works, although ruins some immersion
characterize the characters more: little likes, dislikes, food preferences, more varied opinions on other characters, preferences about more little things
interrupt players with host to player communicate as little as possible
more varied and proper reactions to characters, I.E characters would get sick of eating the same food, so characterize it properly if they do
screams, shouts, panicking, nervousness under pressure, etc. all help with a character
figure out when players are struggling with very certain things, and help when possible
try to make wincons before the map, or base later wincons, around certain map details
In the end, this was somewhat decently fun
it was tiring, and i was awfully sick for the entire time but
i didnt really have much else to entertain me, and talking to my players inside my made game is a lot more fun then talking to strangers from a gamemaster i dont trust to a player i dont trust, when the game itself could be wearing down the experience aswell
Thanks for playing!
It was nice seeing you all scheme and play with me, even for the limited time the people who didnt typically play the game at all did, or those who left
The places where you outsmarted me, whether or not on accident, were always fun to witness and play around, even if some parts of hosting got tiring a lot
be thankful i can’t bring the clown back anymore
