Workflow Eats Features for Breakfast

One of the most positive pieces of feedback I’ve had about Mythic Bastionland is that “it runs itself”. 

This was a big thing I wanted to achieve with the game, so it’s awesome that I’ve had so many people say this specific phrase to me. 

At a recent con, somebody said something that really stuck with me. They said “it ran itself once I understood the workflow”. 

Workflow. A word I hadn’t heard used toward an RPG before. While I might wince at the idea of “work” in a game, I regularly hear it used in an area that’s just as playful.

That’s right, it’s time for another tortured music analogy. 

There’s a lot of crossover between TTRPG-people and synth-people. At our lowest point, we both believe that buying just one more thing will open up the gates to heaven that we’ve been imagining within our hobby. If I buy that campaign box set I will run a five year saga with my friends. If I buy one more drum machine I’ll have the perfect home studio setup and finally find my sound. 

Whether it’s games or grooveboxes, I’m not here to tell you that gear doesn’t matter, but I think it matters in different ways that are worth considering separately. In particular, with music gear, I’m more interested in workflow than features.

Workflow is, in short, how you operate the piece of gear. Which settings have a knob to turn, and which require navigating a menu screen? How easily can I program a sequence or is it easier to just play it live? Does this thing come with presets or do I have to make stuff from scratch? 

Now, believe it or not, there’s no right answer to any of those (a lie, knobs always beat menus), but each of them will affect the way you use the instrument, which in turn affects the music you make. Modular synthesis is an entire niche-within-a-niche that promises limitless sound opportunities, but its extremely specific workflow tends to produce a very specific type of music. Always? No. Often? Well... yeah (sorry, modular guys!).

This isn’t necessarily about making things simpler or more accessible, just considering different options for how each part of the experience is presented and interacted with, including which parts sit partially or fully concealed, and what choices are given for how to interact with each part. 

Meanwhile, features are the things you could generally reel off as a spec list. Three fully analogue oscillators with each with six shapeable waveforms, hardsync, PWM, ring modulation, cross mod, into a resonant filter with high-pass, low-pass and band-pass plus three ADSR envelopes and LFOs assigned via mod matrix all controlled by a Euclidean sequencer, on board plate and spring reverb unit and so on. 

Now does that mean features don’t matter? Of course not. As much as it was written like a joke, that synth sounds great! I love shaping a wave and assigning an LFO as much as the next guy, but how I do that matters just as much as the fact I can do that. 

I have Synth A that has an LFO I can assign to modulate one of three destinations (bear with me, you don’t need to actually understand this) using a simple switch. I have Synth B that has two LFOs I can assign to many more locations, but doing so involves using buttons to navigate a menu with a tiny LCD screen. Synth B can make sounds impossible with Synth A, but Synth A lets me play in a way that Synth B obstructs. 

Dragging ourselves back to RPGs, I’ve definitely played in games where I feel like the workflow is preventing me from enjoying, or even accessing, some of its headline features. Mythic offers a comparatively narrow feature list, but my goal is that the workflow is encouraging people to actually play with them, perhaps even shoving them encouragingly into that playspace. 

So will Intergalactic Bastionland “run itself” like this? It’s one of my goals for the system, but I think the workflow will feel different, something I’ll discuss a little more next week.

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Realplay

We honour the real when we make a decision in service of the integrity of the in-game reality. 

We honour the play when we make a decision in service of the group having fun at the table. 

We don’t need to choose. We can plan so that both of these sides are honoured, conjuring realplay to the table, an experience that is a fun game based within a world that feels real. 

Honouring Real

We honour the real when we do what feels realistic, even if it’s not all that fun. The dragon breathes fire, enough to fill the cavern. 200d6 damage, okay you’re dead. Well yeah, nobody could just stand there and take that. 

Honouring Play

We honour the play when we do what feels fun, even if it doesn’t feel all that realistic. The dragon breathes fire. What’s your HP? 31? Okay it does... 5d6 damage, rolling 16. Flame washes over you but I guess you get mostly behind a rock. You’re down to half HP! What do you do?

Pursuing Realplay

Realplay is what we pursue when we try, in every element of the game, to honour both the real and the play. This can be considered in every part of the process, from system design to worldbuilding to adventure design to running the game at the table. 

It’s as simple as abandoning the false dichotomy between the real and the play, and seeking the solution that honours both. 

Going back to our strawdragon example, both are obviously meant to be unsatisfying. Getting burned up before you can react makes sense if we imagine a real, colossal dragon, but it doesn’t feel like much fun if it happens out of nowhere. However, this excerpt could be a part of realplay if the deadliness of this dragon had been properly signposted, and the players had plenty of choices that didn’t involve going head to head with this titanic threat. 

Losing half your HP to this devastating attack feels much more appropriate for a game, but it makes that dragon feel less like a real, gigantic threat that would be a true monster of this world. However, this could also have been part of realplay if we’re treating HP like Hit Protection or Guard, and found a way to narrate it a bit more convincingly. Likewise, if we know the dragon is unlikely to burn you away with a single burst of flame, perhaps we adjust how that dragon is described in the world. Are they old, losing their incendiary vigour? Does he always try to capture adventurers alive so he can mess with them before he eats them? 

Remember, we aren’t bound by the laws of our own reality. Mythic Bastionland is full of examples where the fairytale-logic of the world operates on an internal consistency that serves to make the game more fun. 

Now this post is at risk of just rehashing ICI Doctrine, but the main point I want to remember is that there are always two masters to please, and they are not mutually exclusive. If a decision only pleases one of these masters, then look for another way forward.

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If you want to support my blog, podcasts, and video content then head over to my Patreon.

Starpath - Archive of Cosmic Truth

From the inscription “The Four Wonders” commonly displayed at Starpath facilities. 

Wording and attribution varies between systems. 

We built temples when we saw the stars. We watched each other from afar, the truth further still.

We built libraries when we understood. The stars were alive, and they showed us the path.

We built lighthouses when our home was lost. Beacons that kept us as one, never again cast apart.

Now we build tombs. Not for bodies, but knowledge. All truths must be shared, but all have their time. 

The archives will preserve us. 

The truth will outlive us.

The stars will guide us. 

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Justice Union - Collective Vigilance

It’s a tricky thing, justice. Best method I’ve found is making sure everyone feels both ends of the stick at some point in their life, just to give them faith that it’s all fair and equal. If you think justice is against you, we’re here to see you right. If you think justice is on your side it means you’re overdue a crack of the whip. 

The point of the union is that the people decide what’s right. All people, not just a gang of enforcers or a parliament of lawmakers. That’s why we have universal membership.

Being right isn’t enough, you’ve got to make the wrong thing right. Enough of us want someone dead, we can make that happen. That’s why we have universal jurisdiction. 

Everyone’s a member, and everyone’s a valid target.

That all sounds very sinister. It’s not all about taking out bad actors. We put food in bowls by putting people in work by pressuring the fatcats to make more jobs. Pushing the captain to hire a full crew. Efficiency is a waste and profit a missed opportunity. A big heap of nothing compared to seeing people living their best lives, earning their way, looking out for one another. 

While membership is universal, of course we adhere to the standard status tiers. 

Status

Blacklisted: Enemies of the people. Must immediately submit to custody or face wild justice. 

Flagged: Members under review, whether through suspicious behaviour or lack of enthusiasm for the cause. Ineligible for work where registered members are available. . 

Registered: The minimum expected level of membership, entered into upon reaching an age of working, no formal signup required. Duty bound to serve fellow people and report wrongful action. 

Certified: Those who carry out righteous action at the command of the union. Voices and hands of the people. 

Sponsored: Those who have served the union well and earned the use of universal jurisdiction. Action carried out by these heroes must be backed by the people.

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Konkord - Peace Operations

[A former Konkord Star Major, name since redacted, in response to an audience question at the Windfall Orbital State of the Dragon Conference. Recording provided by FXT Free Bulletin.]

Well, I’ve never been asked such a brave question by such a scholar of the stars.

[there is a pause, the panel host beginning to speak, before being cut off by the Star Major in a mocking voice]

“They’re just mercenaries and arms dealers with a vested interest in stoking war under the flag of peace. I see through their machinations.”

[scattered laughter from the audience, the Star Major stands]

Get this into your hollow head.

Konkord does not get to have machinations. We are in the business of stopping machinations. 

Business, yes. 

We fight for those who can afford us. We sell weapons to warmongers. We get paid to legitimise atrocities. Your currency is minted from starlight, ours from blood and ash. 

[there is movement off stage, the Star Major casting a hard look before turning back to the audience, speaking with more urgency]

And it is a righteous war chest. If that is the cost of Konkord, it is the price of peace, a debt we can never truly repay. 

We hold the guns so you can hold your techtile and read about some skirmish between nobles in the Falcon system. So you can lament how awfully brutal security has gotten at Arsewash Orbital since Konkord took over from those brave local militia. 

We keep those wars in your bulletin so they aren’t in your home. We keep those yokels in Konkord uniforms so they don’t get riled up into a crusade by some bloody-mouthed politician.

So yes, you saw through the name. You saw through the dream.

We DON’T make peace. 

We CAN’T make peace. 

But we make war better for everyone.

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Sovereign - Independence Charter

There’s a saying that all of the institutions are really just about pushing pencils. The FXT buys the pencils, the NCA tells you what colour you’re allowed to use, and Sovereign tells you that’s not your pencil so put it back.

I didn’t say it was a good saying. I got it from a Notarianshand up on fifth, so take it up with them.

Sovereign knows everything has a rightful owner, and it’s probably not you. In fact, the act of claiming ownership is already mighty suspect. 

The Captain has (hopefully!) a good enough relationship with them that they can operate one of the few independent ships. Stars forbid anything happen to our brave Captain, of course, but any potential successors to that seat would do well to maintain a close relationship with a Sovereign agent or two. 

Of course, this matters most when we’re talking about planets, and most would agree with the Sovereign policy that institutions shouldn’t be allowed to just gather up worlds into empires. Luckily, any time an institution gets a little too close to acting as an interstellar government, there are four other institutions suddenly passionate about the Sovereign cause, eager to bring ownership back to the world’s rightful inhabitants. That is, whoever Sovereign likes best.

The trick is in keeping all of those planetary governments on side, and Sovereign manages that by keeping them apart. Diplomatic assemblies aboard the First Forum lend Sovereign a sense of gravitas, for sure, but they also unleash the catastrophe of letting world leaders speak openly to each other. Much better to keep them focused on their own worlds, liaising through their entrusted Sovereign Charterhouse. Being gently overseen by Sovereign is so much more proper than being puppeted around by an institution. 

In the end, nobody really minds that there’s a border between the starport and the world-proper. It makes it easier for the FXT to run a frictionless orbital operation, and it gives the NCA a job to do keeping the border tight. 

Oh, and in case you were wondering, Starpath explains that you don’t need a pencil anymore, Konkord is hiding all the sharpeners, and the Justice Union has already stabbed the pencil into your back.

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The Free Exchange Trust

It’s easy to underestimate the great institutions. Look no further than the FXT, which some mistake for a corporation. 

They control money, but they aren’t a bank. They control trade, but they aren’t merchants. They’re a monopoly, but they’re not a monolith. They’re a sprawling web of open hands and closed fists.

Confused? Think of it this way.

Claiming ownership of clusters of stars is no true power. Instead, it lies in controlling a vital element of interstellar life. The six great institutions have each managed to do this, getting all the benefits of power without the need to operate as a traditional government or corporation. 

The Free Exchange Trust did this with trade. They don’t do the trading themselves, but the traders can’t operate without them. Traders need loans to invest in stock, orbitals to drop the cargo, and they get paid in Frags. Guess who controls all those things?

Controls, not owns, right? Look, I didn’t say this would be simple.

The institutions have surprisingly few employees, and the FXT are no exception. Instead, they rely on their network of sponsored agencies and organisations. Though technically independent, they rely on their institution in order to operate within its domain. 

All those parts of the network treat you differently based on your status with the institution. Everyone’s status is recorded as one of the following:

Sponsored: Given support and authority
Certified: Trusted and recognised
Registered: Permitted to operate
Flagged: Monitored and restricted
Blacklisted: Denied all access

Sponsored by the FXT? Now you’ve got more frags than you know what to do with.

Registered? Sure, you can go about your business as long as it’s benefiting them. 

Blacklisted? Good luck getting anything done when you can’t dock at an orbital and nobody trusts you to pay your debts. 

Sure, you could start up a new bank that isn’t part of the FXT. See how that works out. Getting Blacklisted is far from the worst outcome there. 

Despite their omnipresence, institutions are still made up of individuals. Discovering their personal agenda and desire is more important than understanding the wider machinations of the institution.

When you make a deal with the FXT, they always win, so find a way to make a deal with that desperate person behind the suit instead.

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This post was originally sent as a reward to all Patreon supporters, and is released freely on this site the week after its original publication.

If you want to support my blog, podcasts, and video content then head over to my Patreon.