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genesisoflegend

@genesisoflegend@dice.camp

Game designer, publisher, podcaster, and professional bureaucrat. Former wildlife biologist and current law geek with a passion for complex systems dynamics. My opinions are my own and do not reflect those of my employer.

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genesisoflegend, to random
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I just finished devouring "Stealing the Throne" by the excellent @ickbat and it meets his usual high standards of quality game design. Let's unpack this giant mecha, shall we?

genesisoflegend,
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"A thousand years ago, we built twelve giant mecha to fight a cataclysmic war. We called them Thrones. You're going to steal one.

Stealing the Throne is a tabletop roleplaying game of epic mecha heist action. In just a few hours you'll build a titanic mech with a thousand years of drama-filled history, devise the elaborate security systems that protect it, and then find out how your crew of thieves take those defenses apart and escape with their prize."

genesisoflegend,
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The decision to produce this in a format was an excellent one, as was the choice to prepare it for a convention-friendly format. 3-5 players for 1-3 hours is perfect for these kind of specialized games.

genesisoflegend,
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The game itself is broken down into the initial planning, followed by the heist where each player has a chance to deal with one of the impossible defenses. Once the heist is complete, you get to play through the exciting getaway which will likely take out a number of the crew. The dramatic arc is solid.

On page 16, Nick states "What are the odds? Odds that the whole team makes it out alive? Low. Odds that someone makes a clean getaway? High."

genesisoflegend,
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Stealing the Throne uses a variation of the classic GMless game structure.

One person plays the antagonist, in this case, the Throne which seeks to stop the scoundrels from penetrating it's defenses.

The Thief is the character in the proverbial or literal spotlight, in charge of the current section of the plan.

The Backup are all of the other players who offer support by adding colourful details, answering questions, or supporting the Thief in dealing with obstacles.

genesisoflegend,
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The game comes with a set of four excellent playsets, each of which centers on a different Throne. Each of these has a different flavour such as...

The Burning Soldier: Military Sci-Fi;

Belly Laugh: Space Operatic Adventure;

Justice Above: Conspiracy and Intrigue; or

Tensword: A galaxy-spanning heist. This last one was featured in an actual play by Black Armada https://blackarmada.com/stealing-the-throne-part-1-episode-32/

genesisoflegend,
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I think the game's greatest strength is also it's weakness. It is absolutely baroque and filled to the brim with implied setting. For instance, one of the background prompts for Justice Above is "During the Albaxian Heresy, Justice Above systematically exterminated every noble member of House Drusus. Which Throne did House Drusus Own? What happened to it?" Throne systems include and Imprisoned Void Leviathan, and a Judgement Engine.

genesisoflegend,
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This kind of rich content is absolutely irresistible catnip for me and many folks in my play culture, but I could absolutely see it as being overwhelming for a subset of the hobby who would desperately look in the book to find out what the heck the Albaxian Heresy is

There are brilliant hooks here and I hope that the players are ready to run with them.

genesisoflegend,
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In summation, Stealing the Throne by @ickbat is a beautifully inspired and compelling gmless, one-shot sci-fi mecha heist game. It's resplendent in rich story hooks and questions so sharp they would fit comfortably in Tenswords hands. It's only ten bucks in pdf over at ickbat.itch.io and is worth every penny.

genesisoflegend, to random
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I love this game. Red Carnations on a Black Grave!

genesisoflegend, to random
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And this morning I I am running Red Carnations on a Black Grave at Cangames and it should be great!

genesisoflegend, to random
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As I continue to run After the War, I continue to gain new insights into the mechanics. There is one small sub-system that absolutely sings when it's used but people rarely pick up on it in practice. I am uncertain whether it is a problem with the design itself or of how it's communicated.

genesisoflegend, to random
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Bone Eels: Bone Eels are one of the first native Polvan species to be harvested by settlers. Given the fact that polvan wildlife is notoriously alkaline and bitter, most assumed they were inherently inedible until a Norwegian cook realized that the gelatinous flesh of these native eels is remarkably similar to preserved lutefisk. After some trial and error she was able to prepare reasonably tasty meals.

genesisoflegend, to random
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Lumberjills is in spitting distance of funding. Spread the word and back it now over at kickstarter.games

genesisoflegend, to random
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I think we ought to talk about Lumberjills, by the Mo Turkington of Unruly Designs. She led War Birds project, an award-winning anthology of games about women in World War II.

If you take a look at the project at https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/unrulydesigns/lumberjills-a-war-birds-game you will see that the kickstarter campaign page is brilliant. (THREAD)

genesisoflegend, to random
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Do you want to help support indie creators, encourage positive stories of comradeship and support immunocomprimised designers? Now is your chance to spread the word.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/unrulydesigns/lumberjills-a-war-birds-game

genesisoflegend, to random
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The latest episode of the is all about Adapting Someone Else's Sandbox, where @ayvalentine and @boymonster discuss the challenges and triumphs of producing licensed RPGs! https://genesisoflegend.podbean.com/e/episode-371-adapting-someone-elses-sandbox/

genesisoflegend, to random
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Friendly Reminder that the Spark RPG is fully in the public domain and there's a system reference guide to help you use it to create your own games. https://genesisoflegend.com/products/spark/spark-system-reference-guide/

genesisoflegend, to random
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This post from the Indie Game Reading Club @Indiegamereadingclub is absolute gold and highlights that certain reoccuring elements of discourse online are more akin to koans or philosophy. https://www.indiegamereadingclub.com/indie-game-reading-club/ten-unanswerable-evergreen-discourses/

genesisoflegend, to random
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Nefertiti Overdrive 2.0 on Kickstarter is in the final 14 hours and is within tooth-spitting distance of funding! https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1153118353/nefertiti-overdrive-20

genesisoflegend, to random
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The latest episode of the #RPGDesignPanelcast is up, where @lumpley and @megueyb discuss their path in publishing indie RPGs for the long haul. Check it out and thanks to Meg & Vincent for the panel. https://www.podbean.com/eas/pb-d9uku-15a7182

genesisoflegend, to random
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An indie video game designer had her awesome-looking game drowned under the EA re-release of C&C on Steam. Check it out if this looks like your jam and spread the word! https://store.steampowered.com/app/378690/Potions_A_Curious_Tale/

genesisoflegend, to random
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The Spark System Reference Guide, along with plaintext versions of the game itself, are now freely available on my website at https://genesisoflegend.com/products/spark/spark-system-reference-guide/ Spread the word!

genesisoflegend, to random
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Our Planar Fantasy bundle on the Bundle of Holding is going strong and has a few days left. Spread the word! https://bundleofholding.com/presents/SigSpark

genesisoflegend, to random
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If this sounds like your jam, you can pick up a copy from @comemartin itch page or grab a printed copy from our friends at @ipr
https://www.indiepressrevolution.com/xcart/Broken-Cities-Print-PDF.html . /Fin

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