A Solo Game: Session Zero

I have a hankerin’ to do some solo gaming, but I’m also gearing up for a few weeks of teaching along with directing the play and then eventually the musical, so odds are good that I won’t be able to work on much gaming stuff. We’ll see.

I have flipped through all three of my current games - Army Ants, Hack’D & Slash’D, and Stalwart ‘85, and couldn’t decide which one to play. I started a pros and cons list to see which system to go with, but ultimately decided that I should let the dice determine everything, starting with which game I’m going to play. This is the most consequential D6 roll of the entire thing: 1-2 = Army Ants, 3-4 = Hack’D, 5-6 = Stalwart ‘85. 4. Hack’D it is. Well, I can put all my dice away except for a D12 or two. Makes things simple.

There are 11 pregens in the core rules. I will use one of those. A 12 will mean that I use likelihood dice rules to determine my character… I roll D12 and get 7. I will be playing a jovial dwarf myrmidon. I decide to keep his stats, but to swap out the axe for a hammer. It’s a cosmetic change, but I already think of him as a little Thor (maybe give him a name like ‘Toren’ or ‘Tohr’ to hit the nail right on the head). He is a ‘jovial’ dwarf, so I cannot give him the classic ‘angry last dwarf of a fallen clan background’, since ‘jovial’ does not imply drunken or traumatized - it implies cheerful, friendly, and of good humor. I will use likelihoods to determine why he is adventuring to begin with… 

Searching for a lost relic? Possible. 8. Nope.

Came upon a map? Possible. 7. Nope. Hmmm. Those were my big two.

Looking for a lost family member? 3. Yep. 

Okay. I roll those same two likelihoods, and get a 2: the map. So, his uncle had a map to a hidden treasure, and went off in search of it, never returning. 

I look up some Norwegian names and like Torvin. That’s not bad. It’s a little close to Thorin from the Hobbit, so maybe I’ll look in another direction. I’ve used the names Hewn and Cairn before for dwarves. I like Cairn the most, so I stick with that. I also change around his gear a little bit, setting him up to be a little more defensive. Between his shield and his higher than normal Hits, he should be pretty durable for solo play...

Cairn Torvinson of Clan Thunderforge, Jovial Dwarf Myrmidon 1

Armor 2; Hits 12; Move 60’; Hammer (3) and Shield (2)

Might 4; Mind 1; Reflex 1

Brawler; Fortitude; Two Weapons; Warrior

Leather Armor 1; Shield; Hammer 2

He attacks at +2 with melee weapons, and deals +1 damage. He attacks with both hammer and shield each round.

I’ve decided to set him in Daggerford (the town I have used as the launching point into the Halls of Moridis), and I’ve finally decided where Daggerford goes on the official map: it’s in hex O6, on the southern bank of the river. That puts it about 10 miles south of the Ruins of Trasik, and puts the Halls of Moridis just into the Blight Mountains to the west. I think that I’ll have Cairn explore the Ruins of Trasik, looking for clues of his uncle’s whereabouts, and seeking treasures he can find. I’ve never even written up a short description of the Ruins of Trasik, so I’ll be interested to see what’s there!

Setup

He last knew that his uncle Toren (younger brother to Torvin) had set off in search of treasures. He had a map to a hidden vault in the Ruins of Trasik, near the village of Daggerford. The adventure opens as he arrives in Daggerford with 3 gp in his pocket, his payment for serving as a guard on the caravan’s journey from Fort Mistledawn. 

An Update, Finding Focus, and Gamer ADHD

We you can plainly see, I failed to provide any updates on my July plan to do an Army Ants file card a day... life just happens that way I guess. It's been a busy few weeks, so I thought I'd give an update and then talk a little gaming stuff...

On the health front, things are doing well. I had a scan done last week, and it showed that tumors are stable and slightly improved from my last scan six months ago. Since I had paused treatment in there for a few months, that's about the best I can expect. I have started the next round of treatments, and we're going to be adding in another treatment, so I've got a full calendar of getting needles in my arms lined up for the next several months. I feel good, I'm exercising a lot, and I've lost a little weight, so very positive on that front.

I actually feel good enough that I've accepted some long-term gigs. I've got a 5-week substitute teaching assignment for September and into October teaching English 9 (which I did for a decade, so it's pretty easy), and I'll be directing the play and musical at the high school this year, which I'm excited about. I'm very blessed to have these opportunities, and they make me feel productive and useful. It reminds me of Marge Piercy's poem, To Be of Use... and, of course, of Tennyson's Ulysses. 

On the gaming front, I have a hankering to do some solo gaming that I can pop in and out of for 30 minutes here and there. I have three games that I really love - Hack'D & Slash'D, Army Ants, and Stalwart 85, and all three have strong reasons that I could pick them to play. I've spent a little time in the last few weeks reading through all three, and each game has some nifty things I could do, and places I'd like to expand and explore facets of the game. I'd love to be able to just focus on one for a bit and generate some significant content (maybe even a sourcebook!) through actual play, but I have no idea which game to pick. 

FWIW, here's a drawing I did of a character I made for Hack'D and Slash'D - I was leaning that way earlier this week, but then I got distracted by flipping through Army Ants and Stalwart '85, so now I'm not sure... I'll let you know when I make up my mind (or I'll blog about my thought process)...

July Files Day 1

I thought it would be fun to craete a file card a day for Army Ants. Today we start with the character Mary used during our play-testing sessions...

The Army Ants Companion

I've been plugging away at the Army Ants Companion (a living document you can access at any time) for the Army Ants RPG, and I've made a few tweaks to the game. One tweak I've made is in regards to soaking damage; I had borrowed the 'save for half damage' mechanic that is embedded into the heart of my little D+D design hangups. I've swapped that out for rolling Reflex to soak damage from grenades and areas of effect. This opens me up for a variety of other attack types, linking each type to a trait. For example, sensory damage now gets soaked by Spirit, and poisons/toxins get soaked by Body. Mental attacks get soaked by Mind. I like the variety of play options that this opens up.

I also think I've settled on a 'look' for the Army Ants. I'd been giving them heavier grays in their uniforms, but this Phil design feels a little lighter and more attuned with how I want the look to carry. 

Stalwart Phile #8

The 8th issue of the Stalwart Phile is now posted. It focuses on the Null Zone, presenting a few creatures who come from it. As you can see, I've done some housekeeping here on ye old blog. I've also done some updates to the Doc Stalwart Comic Database, and added a bit to the Resources tab for Stalwart '85. 

Visual Redesigns

One of the things I'm doing is a visual re-design of the various other creatures in the world of the ants. For many creatures, I only have some sketches or a handful of drawings in my comics. As a for instance, bees only ever made an appearance in the form of General Groth, and his design was pretty weak from the get-go. I always just kept it because that was how I'd established him. I've now come up with a re-design for bees that I think makes them a little more visually interesting, and reflects where I am now as an illustrator vs. where I was thirty years ago (and might still in some way feel beholden to)... this design is both kind of cute and a little menacing at the same time, which fits the vibe of the whole thing quite well. 

These are two drawings I did this morning that might give you an idea - a Bee Soldier and Dr. Weevil. For Dr. Weevil, I think that he is a mad chemical engineer who works for the Wasp Empire, and is developing all sorts of nerve toxins or biological weapons that could be used against the ants. This opens the game up for various effects that would be more than simply dealing or resisting damage. 

I would think that any mission involving Dr. Weevil would require that he be brought back alive - I like him too much as a squirrely little nuissance to have him killed off entirely.
 

Ant Ant-Sized Update

I've done a little bit of housekeeping here on ye old blog, and I've also shifted (as you can see) to an Army Ants theme for a bit, since that is where my head is right now. Of course I've got the core rules available as a PWYW download or (if you love killing trees as much as I do), it's also available in print. 

Furthermire, I've started a series of posts following an actual play experience. You can see how the game works and following along with my silliness. 

I've also got an Army Ants Companion going. This should be a full release at some point, but for now I'm keeping everything new that I create in a separate document that you can access and use as you see fit.

Semper Formica!