Prep Exposed

I've run games with every amount of prep you can imagine. No prep, low prep, mid prep, high prep, gigaprep (maybe not). 

Any of these styles can be made to work, but for Primeval I wanted a similar amount of prep to what I normally do with Electric Bastionland, but I wanted that prep to be different.

In both games I wanted the book itself to be a generator of sorts. EB has Spark Tables, PM has Omens, and every spread is meant to have little nuggets of setting that you can pull out as needed.

But I still like having a world prepped. I like the idea that the players are exploring a place that already exists, not something I'm entirely making up as we sit at the table.

The term I'm using right now is Focused Prep. You don't need to do much, but the stuff you do is going to be pretty important to the game.

So I thought I'd expose the prep I've done for my upcoming playtest of Primeval Bastionland, and talk through the reason why I did each part of it.

(on the slim chance you're somebody that's playing in my upcoming PB game, turn back now!)

MAP

I use Hex Kit here (you might already own this without knowing, as it's been in some huge itch bundles) but Hextml is also fantastic if you want something browser based. For the purpose of testing I've followed the Domain building procedure as written in the doc.

There's the version I'll be giving to the players:

 

The small dots are Shires, the castle is the Seat of Power, and the other three symbols are Holdings. 

My map has the Myths numbered and names for significant places:

 

The names were derived from the Knight and/or Seer that I populated the places with. The Myths are numbered 1-6 for my reference, and I've got a separate list of the actual Myth numbers that they correspond to. 

Now you could just run the game with what I have here, as long as you're happy filling in the blanks as you go using omens and the elements within. I wanted to do a little of that ahead of time without getting bogged down in too much homework.

I've allowed myself one page of A4, two column, including the pitch I'm giving to the brand new players as we sit down for the game. Extracts from this page are in italics, accompanied by my comments. 

PITCH

• This is a primeval place, born out of a history that never was. Myths are reality and nature is both magical and monstrous.
• You are Knights, seeking Quests granted by the dreams and visions of Seers.
• The greatest of all is the quest for the City, a lost shining metropolis.

LANDMARKS

The doc currently has the somewhat vague advice to name "significant terrain features". I should have done this on the map, but I just put them in my notes instead. I want to clarify this in the doc, but my intent is that these sorts of feature are generally visible from a vantage point in a neighbouring hex, but in very broad strokes. Like "you see a chain of mountains on the horizon" rather than being able to actually pick out any specific places. 

Visible from neighbouring Hex

• The Scorwerloch (lake, C)
• The Green Brothers (mountains, N)
• The Jagged Chain (mountains, NW)
• The Corpsewood (forest, SW)
• The Floodlands (swamp, grass, SE)

Super generic names but gives a starting point for descriptions. 

STARTING SITUATION

Using the guidance in the doc, I wanted to put the Knights somewhere that would require a good amount of travel to get anywhere significant, but not too far from a Shire where they could talk to people. 

I had them arrive by riverboat (the river being off-map) and gave an immediate choice between two directions to go in.

Arrival in Scowerloch

From the NE map corner, riverboat.

The boatsman told you:

• The Halo Knight sits at the Seat of Power next to the Loch.
• It’s been a good harvest this year, but people are fearing a bad winter.
• People avoid the woods between here and the Loch, it’s safer to head South, then West to join the river and travel by boat.

LOCATIONS

I used the "Rolling Elements" system (p10) to give some prompts for these, cheating slightly as I have d100 lists for each of these elements to help me in writing future entries.

As you can see, it's very broad strokes, but I think some focused starting points are sometimes all you need. 

Remember, this is prep for me to use, not notes that I'd give to somebody else to run a game. 

CASTLE HALO

• Half crumbled castle, the keep stands tall, battlements painted gold, men-at-arms patrol.
• The Halo Knight (Delande, long scraggly black hair)
• Now a Seer, reads Halos.
• Iridescent Helm washed up from the River.
• Thin Claymore taken from the ice titan. Frosted Hares.
• Gets visions from Black Pool or Abyssal Pit.
• Obsessed with getting reports from Scouts.

COFFER MARKET

• Rare markets, drawing on goods brought up from the river. Small village with bakery.
• Nearby mounds infested with wolfspider nests.
• Overseen by the Coffer Knight, frail businessman.
• Lapis Lazuli Mace (d8) taken from a competitor

CITADEL OF ROTTEN LEAVES

• Ornately carved ivory tower housing the Rotted Seer (1) protected by the Bone Knight (Elouan, cowardly diplomat, agony sword (2d6, CB or Wound causes Woe), shadow lens)
• Musky mist, fanged doves.
• Carpentry village.

CARVED SEER’S CIRCLE

• Brook flowing with algae and weeds, floating flowers
• Roaring Coots, hidden Tomb of the Wanderer with Lightning Wine
• Stone Circle housing the Carved Seer (7)

Now purists would say:

"Putting Wolfspider infested Mounds in as a location? Surely that sort of thing should emerge organically from the Omens as they are encountered? That's what you said, right?"

Well, yes, and while I want the Myths and their Omens to do a lot of work in this game, they should feel like a tool, not a restriction. The point of them is to create gradually unfolding strangeness in the world, and these tomb spiders are actually entirely mundane. Yeah, they're big man-eating spiders, but that's not quite enough to be a Myth in their own right. 

Now to put this to the test. 

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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.

Reminders

So, most of this week has been hammering away at the Primeval Bastionland Playtest and today I sit down to write the editorial but... the writing part of my brain is crumbling.

There's a lot I want to talk about in relation to Primeval. I rambled quite a bit about it over here but small things have already changed since then! 

I'm holding back on making significant gameplay changes, but I wanted to tweak the way Omens are rolled, and fine tune a few of the specific Knights and Myths, so I've snuck in a few alterations. 

This post was originally going to be a plea for mercy. "Hey, I released that free pdf this week, so do you mind if I'm too tired to write an editorial too?"

But here we are. I'm writing it. And I'm afraid it's not going to be pretty.

I thought I'd share the current mantras of my notes document for Primeval. These are things that I hold to be so important that I shove them at the top of the doc in big bold caps.

In Electric Bastionland they were:

ALL GAME NO HISTORY NO FLUFF NO LORE
MAKE THE MAIN THING THE MAIN THING
IS THIS BETTER THAN WHAT A GM WOULD MAKE UP AT THE TABLE?
STOP ADDING SHIT

Well I think those are still relatively solid, but Primeval is its own beast. I want it to be a game that still fits my values, but has an identity beyond just being ITO or EB again. 

So here's what I have currently yelling at me each time I open my notes:

MYTH NOT HISTORY

For a while this was subtitled with NO ROMANS NO ROADS. A reminder that just because I'm drawing on some elements of Arthuriana and Early-Medieval Britain doesn't mean that I should be grounded in reality. This is a world based on the idea of those sources. The myth, not the history. The feel, not the specifics. 

You know how it's weird when you see a picture of Lancelot wearing shining plate armour that's probably more 16th Century than 6th? That's what I want to embrace. A world where that's real, because it's the myth. 

THE GAME IS THE WORLD

This is similar to the ALL GAME note I had for Electric Bastionland. Since ITO I've embraced the challenge to see how much of a world I can present without having any pages of raw exposition. 

Pedants will note that I have one or two pages just explaining setting elements in both of my previous books (and indeed this one), but y'know, shoot for the stars, aim for the moon or whatever. I'm talking about getting as much setting into the actual game tools as possible. 

In Electric Bastionland I boasted that the Failed Careers were the world, and I stand by that, but I think I can go further. In their current state the Knight/Myth spreads already do a better job of giving you what you need at the table. The plan is for any given spread to give you a knight, a steed, a seer, a building, a person, a beast, a landscape, an object, a wonder, some encounters, and a couple of mini spark tables. Maybe I'll add more too. As close as I can get to a one-stop shop without just cramming each spread full of 8pt text. 

MAKE IT ALL STICKY

Horrible words to live by, but named after this blogpost. Omens are basically encounters, but I've given myself a little more freedom to make them broader little packages of stuff. 

In spite of that, I want them all to stick to the players. I can't stop them just walking past certain Omens, but I want most of them to make a lasting impression. Maybe it's something they'll want to come back to later, maybe it's something that needs dealing with right now, or maybe it's just something that lingers in their head. 

See, I had an editorial in me after all!

And I'll end with a note that these are giant reminders because I need reminding and haven't fully internalised these yet, so don't be surprised when the current version isn't quite there yet.

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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.

Omens

(Note: This was written a week ago, before the current playtest release of Primeval Bastionland)

Like the dreamlike mists that cloak its landscape, Primeval Bastionland continues to slip through my fingers, but is always twisting around some part of my brain. 

In Electric Bastionland I wanted the Failed Careers to be evocative enough that you could open to a random spread and get some instant ideas for your version of Bastion. It works, but this isn't a world that's quite so people-centric. Myths are the character traits of the world itself. Stories made real, their endings unwritten. I knew I wanted to give them a full page of each spread, opposite each Knight. Together the two form a potential story. "The Moss Knight & the Wyvern" or "The Talon Knight & the Underworld".

As they stood, these Myth entries typically contained a creature or two, a 3-bullet entry covering the supernatural rules of the greater myth, and a mini spark table for a specific element of the myth. These were to be plonked down on your map in remote places, waiting for the Knights to ride in on their quest.

Later on, when prepping for a playtest, I found myself writing up some random encounter tables for the different areas of the map. It should draw on the Myths in the area, right? So if the Wyvern lives in that mountain, there should be a few Wyvern-related entries on that encounter table. Maybe you find the remains of a previous attack, or it flies past, or just straight up attacks you. 

Would be nice if each of these Myth pages actually did that work for me, right?

In fact, looking at the Myth pages I was struck with an all too familiar thought. 

This stuff is all very nice, but how do I actually use it at the table?

So I'm back on an old favourite of mine: seeing how much of a setting I can project entirely through game elements, in this case encounter tables. Well not quite, as these are Omen tables.

Each Domain (typically 12x12 hexes) has 6 Myths scattered in remote places. When you roll a random encounter, roll on the Omen table for the nearest Myth to your location. 

Check how far away you are from the Myth's hex:

• In the Hex containing the Myth - Roll 2d6 and keep the highest.
• In a neighbouring hex - Roll d6 only.
• In any other Hex - Roll 2d6 and keep the lowest. 

If the rolled Omen has already been encountered, take the next result.

So you encounter the lower results before the high. These tables go to 7, so you outright won't get that final result, typically something climactic, until you've at least had a warning. Even within those first 6 we can gradually raise the weirdness to give a nice slow unveiling of the area's myth. 

You get some weird effects, where if you just pass by near to a Myth enough times, then you will find it eventually upon you. I'm fine with this. Knights are a magnet for this sort of thing, you don't get to just ignore The Dryad forever. A lake might not move that much, but The Lake has a way of bringing you to it, or appearing in places it should not be. 

A Myth page is now just Omens, statblocks for the encounters, and a mini Spark Table. That piece of art and two lines of flavour prose has a lot of work to do eh?

Finally, an example. 

OMENS

1: Six monks, appeasing the river with offerings of bread. 

2: Lost serf washed up on the riverbank. 

3: The river roars, a riverboat struggles against the current. 

4: Three monks seeking a blood offering for the river. They need an innocent animal or a sinful person. 

5: Pilgrims arguing with a Bridge Knight demanding a toll. The river crashes about the bridge. 

6: The river bursts into a new stream, rapidly encroaching into the land. If travelling, the route is cut off. 

7: A great flood, the river is released and claims the entire hex. 

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

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

MYTHIC BASTIONLAND PLAYTEST

A land born of myth. The past that never was now is. 

Petty domains in wildland. Horrors from story and song.

But in our dreams, the shining city. A haven of civilisation.

All Knights take the oath:

Protect the weak.

Witness the myths.

Find the City.

You can now download a very early playtest document for...

MYTHIC BASTIONLAND

(formerly Primeval Bastionland)

The back page has some notes on the purpose of this playtest, and if you've got feedback then head over to the Discord server and look for the Mythic Bastionland room. 

Expect the document to change as I mess with this. There's a changelog on that back page. 

Burdens

Burdens are one of the more significant additions I'm playing with in Primeval Bastionland. They're inspired by Fatigues from Mausritter, which in turn made their way into Cairn and Runecairn (which you can click to see in my glowing readthrough earlier this week). 

It's a lovely feeling having so many brilliant designers tinkering with the Into the Odd chassis, but it's really useful when I can steal their innovations back. 

But to be fair to myself, I've not quite lifted things wholesale. In short, your knight picks up Burdens throughout their journeys, from a wide range of sources. They go onto your character sheet, separate to your inventory, and if you ever have three or more than you're Exposed, essentially being treated as if you have 0hp. 

Each Burden comes with a specific requirement for you to relieve it, or you can take the generic solution of "spend a season of reflection or indulgence", supposedly either praying or drinking a lot. 

Of course, in my first draft of this idea I went bonkers and tried to write as many as I could. Could I do 100? I mean, this game already has so many lists of 100 things, it would be a nice bit of symmetry. I could give each of the 100 Knights their own specific type of Burden that gets triggered when they act in a certain way. That way your Knight feels cool and unique, like some of the better PBTA playbooks!

Since then I've regained my focus, and most of all remembered the sheer joy that comes with deleting words from the page. Aaah. 

So we now have 7 Burdens (ignoring Scars, now a special type of Burden but otherwise very close to how they work in Electric) and I'm pretty happy with them. They'll definitely get changed around a lot, but it feels like a solid foundation. 

• Ache: Get a hot meal and restful sleep.
• Glory: Protect your legacy.
• Oath: Prove your word to be true.
• Shame: Perform an act of mercy or sacrifice.
• Vanity: Ensure your deeds are known.
• Woe: Spend a full day in reflection or indulgence. 
• Wrath: Achieve a worthy victory of arms.

At first I was annoyed at myself for writing that big sloppy initial list. After all, this refined approach makes sense for a number of reasons:

• The GM can learn the list more easily, giving them greater confidence to select the appropriate Burden for a Knight when needed.
• The players will be less confused between a huge list of slightly different ailments. Eventually they'll just internalise what it means to have an Ache, not having to remember the difference between Hungry, Exhausted, Deprived, and Frigid. 
• It's more accessible to anybody reading the book as a core list of things that Knights are likely to get hung up on. Helps get that theme across more succinctly. 

And there's no point beating myself up over it. After all, you can't have a refined thing without the process of refinement. It has to start with a crude material. 

The approach of "thrown down the block of clay and find the statue inside" has served me well for a while now, but I have to remember not to resent that initial raw heap. The statue was always in there. 

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

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

Knights

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

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

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Each Knight has a Shortsword (2d4), Mace (d6), or Axe (d6).

Riding horse (3hp), torches, rope, and dry travel rations.

Specific Knights also receive:

Holdings: The things they own and have access to.

Myths: The truths which are known.

 

The Moss Knight

The tree and stone did not need to be taught This one knew to study under them

Holdings

• Wooden Buckler (A1 in Melee)
• Bag of assorted animal bones
• Tattoos (see below)

Myths

• Can speak with uncut stones, but they talk very slowly and are extremely literal
• When spending the night under a tree it shares a useful vision through dreams, and grants restful sleep
• After spending a night inside, take the Burden: Stifled: Spend the night in untamed nature.

Tattoos

Colour
1. Faded Black
2. Deep Blue
3. Raised Silver
4. Pale Green
5. Scarred Red
6. Burnt Copper

Design
1. Branching Spirals
2. Tangled Thorns
3. Curved Stars
4. Horned Snakes
5. Twisted Bones
6. Flaming Rings

The Gilded Knight

A beacon of the brave and bold All cloaked and masked in shining gold

Holdings

• Gold-coloured armour with cloak and masked helm (A1, bulky, opponents who know the value of gold have their first ever attack against you Impaired)
• Illuminator Globes (cast bright light for a few moments when broken, can be replenished at a secret source)
• Take the Burden: Symbol: Pass your golden armour onto a worthy successor

Myths

• When Wounded, all allies fighting alongside regain d6hp
• When they gain financial wealth, take the Burden: Unworthy: Be rid of your financial wealth
• When slain, the armour must be cast into darkness. A new Gilded Knight emerges when they are most needed

The Cost

How long has the armour been worn?
1. Days
2. Weeks
3. Months
4. Years
5. Decades
6. For all memory

What was left behind?
1. A Farm 
2. A Crown
3. Only Graves
4. A Student
5. A Teacher
6. A Castle

The Willow Knight

The senior knights fought the storm, falling as broken bones The youth was thrown about, but arose in the calm

Holdings

• Youthful energy (can be Shattered like a shield)
• Replace Riding Horse with an Old Grey Charger (1hp, d6 trample)
• Lyre (only knows sad songs)

Myths

• As long as they are not wearing Armour any attack dice rolled against them are discarded if they show their highest possible result. Shields do not count as Armour for this purpose.
• Elders won’t take them seriously at all until their worth is proven.
• If not carrying any Bulky items they can choose to automatically pass any Save to avoid physical harm, taking the Burden: Unproven: Prove you are worthy being a Knight. 

Memories of Home

Place
1. Riverside
2. Coast
3. Mountain
4. Pine Forest
5. Moor
6. Castle

Disaster
1. Death
2. War
3. Famine
4. Plague
5. Fire
6. Flood