I’m told this curious thing happens to all creators. So even this sword hasn’t unsheathed from a bedrock of self-doubt solely for my benefit. Further feeding my overwhelming guilt of being a sham. An imposter.
Goblin Market Update
Even though I snatched 50+ pages of creative endeavor from the aether in a matter of a couple of months. Work I am insanely proud of, Goblin Market represents crossing the threshold into a professional workspace. Proclaiming me as a successfully marketable entity. I made something. And others think it’s good too. Or at least at a minimum of 7$ at a time!
It took two weeks to recover from the kickstarter. I didn’t write a single thing. It is taking real effort to get back into a regular sleeping routine. While I am fighting my way through some edits and reframing some goals of the game (I mean, tempting mortals shouldn’t be the ONLY way to have fun as a goblin!) With the help of MidJourney I have found a new wellspring of inspiration.
Regardless of your moral misgivings* about AI producing art, it has been a real help kickstarting me back into productivity! [My personal feelings are simultaneously excited and horrified at the same time. On one hand I can produce passable supporting art for projects at a reasonable price. On tuther, how would I feel if a program could edit for grammar and spelling… A complicated topic for sure.]
Fiddling around with some portraits struck me with new ways to introduce more gameplay into Goblin Market. Thus, the Coterie of Moon’s Veil (or Moon’s Veil Conclave? Help me decide in the comments!) was born. I already knew I wanted a loose collection of goblins, witches, and fairies bustling through the market. Now I had a leader who once went by the Night Queen, now referred to as the Empress of Night.
They would still demand a mortal to be corrupted as the normal main emphasis of the game. However, they were now joined with three primacies. The Goblin King, High Seer of Witches, and the Queen of the Fay. During the market phase the players may request an audience with any of the triarch. In exchange for boons, banes, or secrets a task will be given to stir up a Trouble in the city, make a prophecy come true, or raise a level of sin in a city quarter.
The gifts are freely given. However, if the task is left unfinished by the time the Tootle Pip strikes thirteen a debt will be applied to the character. Multiple debts unpaid are often a life sentence.
What I like about the new system is it gives more variance during game play AND gives the game guide (called the Escort) more room to create adventures if they want to. I have left the option to make totally random encounters for those still drawn to chaos. So I am happy to report I am back on track and happily clacking away on the keyboard as you read this!
With One Idea Comes Many
So, the best way for me to chisel away at my own hesitancy about Goblin Market is to sharpen my tools on softer soil. When in doubt, go back to the things that helped you get here. Game jams on Itch.io have been a consistent motivation for me to get things done. They also tend to push me a little harder than is probably healthy to meet deadlines but I’m working on that balance too.
These are the current jams I have entered. I hope to finish all of them but they obviously take a back seat to Goblin Market. In the absolute worst case scenario I will return to these ideas with more focus and vigor!
Fulcrum
Lesser Loved Dice TTRPG Jam – itch.io
A unique D8 system where your stats constantly slide on a scale based on emotional output and choices. When one stat goes up, another paired stat goes down. No pairing of stats is the same. Where the post-apocalyptic world you explore is as amorphous as your character.
The six tribes of the moon (read: monsters like predatory lycanthropes, immolating fiends, prescient revenants, and shape changing mimics) have called a truce in order to sift through the rubble of humanity. What happened there? What is left behind? And is it worth saving?
I already have the gameplay mostly worked out and will lift a previous system I had for hex crawling. The hexes are full of mutated flora, fauna, and vestiges of forgotten technology controlled by the gm. Each surrounding hex will be designated as Secret, Clue, or Resource. The players themselves describe what secrets, clues, and resources they have gathered and what they mean to the larger story. Once a certain amount of each has been collected the players choose what to do with them.
A Monster Sleepaway Camp Mystery
Second Guess System Jam 2022 – itch.io
Getting slightly back to my roots by stretching the Second Guess system into a new solo journaling game. This time the mystery has a final answer based on your encounters. Along the way you navigate getting badges and exploring your burgeoning exploration into adulthood.
You are a prepubescent monster exiled to sleepaway camp for the summer tasked with earning five badges. But strange things are happening. Not only have campers been disappearing but you are starting to feel ‘the changes’ beginning under stress. Whether it’s memorizing the monster scout oath, your crush slithering by, or facing down an ax murderer you will never be the same after this summer!
Every time I do a Second Guess game, I try to stretch my understanding of the system into something slightly different. This time I’m trying to give the players a chance to be on point about solving the case with the clues they discover. It’s only when they reroll the same prompt do they realize they originally miss interpreted the scene. Having five known suspects should push the narrative closer to a young adult detective novel.
This has been the hardest one I have ever worked on because I’m attempting to weave a coming-of-age story into the mystery as well.
A Vast Unknown Entity Full of Promise
System Fictional Game Jam – itch.io
I joined this one mostly to support this sort of thing! I cannot be more in love with the idea of unfettered writing for the sake of writing. This one has the most pressing deadline and the most wide-open parameters. I wish I could take the time to really put together an adventure that expresses exactly what I want as a player but doesn’t currently have a system. I already regret my shortcomings because of my schedule but I really hope others jump in. What better way for players to request a game!
~ I don’t know what this art is for, but it might make it into an adventure!
This page truly has all of the information and facts I needed about this subject and didn’t know who to ask.
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