Update for March 2018

Been a very active month for us here at TAG Sessions. Let it be known it has been so hectic, I've neglected to update the blog fast enough.  However, I do hope you will agree with me that blog post delays are fine if it means more games and books being developed and tightened sooner.

Firstly, A Single Moment was the Deal for the Day at DriveThruRpg last March 25, 2018. The response was quite phenomenal and we are extremely grateful to you all for continuing to be very supportive of our revolutionary two-player role-playing game. In the works are another set of supplements for it, including a set inspired by Broadway Musicals, and a second set that teases a few more new systems for it (just as Ten More Playsets introduced the Detective Stories rules).

Second, the Powered by the Apocalypse Wuxia game is now going through Beta testing. Currently, it is to be called Once Upon a time in Jianghu, which is going to be proudly released with the fantastic support of Gallant Knight Games. Over thirty people have tested the game so far and bit by bit we're getting their feedback on how to make the game system easier and clearer, how to make the setting more evocative, and how to make the game experience more awesome. The game is quite a big project for us, with the Beta document itself being over 39k words. But so far, the responses have been very exciting and I do hope this means the game will find its release within the second or third quarter of this year.

Third, my Studio Ghibli inspired solitaire RPG, Cat's Dream is now approaching its official release. With gorgeous evocative artwork by the amazing Ivan Frani (whose work also graced another book of mine, Sickening Queens), the game is an expanded version of a free game I posted online in this blog before. This book will have expanded tables for more adventures, as well as optional rules for group play in case you want to play it with your friends, or if you have any parents who want to play this with your kids. A glimpse of the concept cover (which may still be subject to changes) is here and I do hope you like it.

Then, there's the Vampire novella I'm working on for the Storyteller's Vault. The short novel series will be stories of vampire events set in the Philippines to serve as an introductory taste of the upcoming Philippines: Contested Isles supplement.

All in all, we're at full swing developing and writing stuff for you all to enjoy!  Still also in the works are A Second Moment and Dreamscrapers, both of which are slated for deeper development later this year (as we realized both need some more in depth investigation and editing of ideas to work sharper). But rest assured, TAG Sessions is alive and well with lots of stuff in the pipeline.

TAG Bites April 2018 - Tiny Dungeon 2e's Legacy:The War of the Widows

This April, try an incredibly simple yet awesome fantasy rpg!

“My grandfather once owned this blade. Carved from the tooth of a Goletia. Forged with the blood of a Ferrex horde. He died protecting the refugees that fed for the Northern Chasm from the onslaught of the Alavanche Wurm. I will not tarnish the legacy he has left behind.”
~Autark Darid, Tird Generation Swordpoet

The war began nearly 300 years ago, but no one remembers for certain why it began. Most only know that their very survival lies in fighting against the relentless Ferrex hordes that scour the land for any human settlement they can find. These scavengers tear apart any human settlements they come across, and strip them of all possible resources they need. Sadly, that includes human body parts they need to replace. The People barely recall a life without the constant war against the Ferrex. Worse, even fewer recall a time when the titans known as the Goletia did not serve the Ferrex’s dark hunger.

Very few of the People can claim to have an intact family, having lost fathers, mothers, sons, and daughters to the uncaring cycle of destruction and death that has become their daily experience. “We are all widows,” Autark Darid once said, “but this War is one we Widows must overcome.”

The nations have united against the singular true enemy, and armaments that once proved deadly to each other now are trained upon the greatest threat the People have ever had to face. There is finally hope.

Tiny Dungeon 2nd edition is available for purchase online.

Try this amazing game system, and the micro-setting, Legacy: The War of the Widows, written by Tobie Abad this April.  TAG Bites sessions are completely free, as we continue in our mission to help introduce more people to the diverse and wonderful world of indie rpgs and lesser known titles.

Learn more about TAG Bites here.

2018 's 12 New Games Challenge and March Update

So I've been kinda slower this year so far in hitting my 12 New Games Challenge. Despite having given myself focus on getting more TAG Sessions releases out, I've realized I've been stretching myself thin with so many projects, stretch goals, and experimental games... and I only mean that in a bad way in the sense that it has kept me from being active in other ways.

I have barely been able to update my personal blog, The Garapata Can Speak, nor our couple's blog, BaduyPride, for years now.  And I've been juggling time to find the opportunities to visit my family, to be able to travel and to watch movies.   Thankfully, my anchor my love and my heart, Rocky, remains forever supportive and stoic in reminding me to both reach for the stars and to remain realistically grounded. The last few days have been a challenge, with him at Singapore for work stuff, but I love the fact that despite the physical distance, I know he is in my heart and I am in his. And that our passion for each other and our passion for tabletop gaming both continue to grow with every single day that we continue to share our lives.

So, back to the challenge, it is now March 15 as of this blog post's writing and so far, the only new games we've played so far are the following:
1) Pasion de las Pasiones
2) Protocol: Virtuax

Set for this Sunday is the third new game, a session of jim Pinto's Protocol: Dead Things in the Walls.
The beauty of Protocol is how simply elegant the systems are, and yet how wildly different the experiences they can offer given each game has its own little twists and touches.

Workwise, I've been busy toiling away at the keyboard, hoping to hit the following projects this year:
a) Project "Beautiful Song, Deadly Blade" 
Which is a Powered by the Apocalypse WUXIA game which tries to capture the narrative drama that unfolds in such books and movies. While it seems to be a zeitgeist project (with so many other creators working on something similar), I'm thankful that everyone seems to be approaching them in their own ways. I do hope the people who take part in the BETA testing would have favorable things to say. If you are interested, do shoot me a message asap!  The current code is OUaTiJ, and beyond that I cannot say more for now.

b) A Second Moment
The deluxe edition and sequel to the almost-award winning two-player tabletop rpg, A Single Moment, continues to be refined and tightened. After the very colorful events of the previous year, I think the baby deserves to stand on its own two feet once again and bid farewell to the past. It was definitely a learning year for me, given it was my first game to ever be released as my first attempt at a fully professional solo venture. This Second Moment will be a chance to show I have not lost my touch. While I doubt one can ever hit lightning twice, once can at least learn from what the past has given and use those teachings to make things far better.

c) Dreamscrapers
My Steven Universe inspired game has taken a back seat, especially with the first two projects above taking center stage. But I definitely still hope to get back on the saddle and finish this Young Market friendly RPG which includes drawing as a mechanic in accomplishing things.

d) Neko Yume/Cat's Dream
The Ghibli-inspired Solitaire RPG is also hoping for a professional release this year. The artwork for it is just spectacular and I cannot wait to see the whole thing get completed and release. It is a project I never thought I'd ever release and I do hope people enjoy what I've made once it is out.

In addition, there are a bunch of other projects, stretch goals, and the sort which I cannot really talk about yet, but I feel tremendously honored and humbled to have been invited to be part of.  Then, there are also the Community Creators stuff that I've been working on for 7th Sea, 2nd edition and I do hope to soon release stuff as well for Pugmire, as well as for one of my old favorites, Vampire the Masquerade!  2018 continues to be an exciting and thrilling adventure.  I do hope you're all still choosing to be supportive of me in this wonderful journey.

Thank you.