Friday 19 August 2016

Bastion is an Adventure Site

Bastion is an Adventure Site.

It is not a hub. Not a main menu. Not an online shop.



People die in Bastion! They get tricked, take wrong turns, and fall victim to industrial accidents.

When characters haul the Treasure out of the expedition site, and slog their way back through Deep Country or the Underground, they don't get to switch off just because they're in the city.

Run it like a dungeon. Draw a map, fill it with odd stuff, punish mistakes.

When they go off-grid, roll on tables and make stuff up.


Remember:

EVERYTHING IS HERE

NOBODY KNOWS WHO'S IN CHARGE

EVERYTHING IS COMPLICATED


People are unhelpful. 

Places are difficult to get to. 

Things run bumpily. 


Finding and receiving treatment from a doctor is an adventure. 

Going shopping is an adventure. 

Getting the train to the library is an adventure. 


No fast travel without complications.

No downtime without decisions.

No switching off.


Everything is the game. 

The game is always on. 

5 comments:

  1. This artwork is very evocative. What is this for though? Is it a game setting?

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    Replies
    1. Bastion is the hub city of the default setting for Into the Odd. (The game, that is; not the blog. Though, possibly also the blog.)

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    2. The artwork is not from Into The Odd though. I think he just found it on the internet. You will have to do a reverse image search if you want to know where it came from.

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  2. Brilliant stuff. Nothing bores more more than "logistical downtime" in a game.

    Also just wanted to say that I love the cover of ItO.

    Are you familiar with the game Limbo? The forest areas strike me as less pleasant parts of the Deep Country, and the factory areas are pure Underground. (In fact, I'd semi-forgotten about the game until I saw the cover of your book and my brain instantly went there.)

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  3. Very imaginative. Both the words and the pictures remind me of a more dungeony and dangerous steampunk or dieselpunk Vonrheim. I think it would be perfect to run Bastion!

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