Goodbye 2023. 2024 must be a productive year.

Kinda shaky year, this 2023 was. I feel it started out strong but then just.. somehow lost its way. But I like to believe it still ended strong.

Not much work done this year.  Written projects include:

 Among this year's 12 New include:

And of those three, only two were ever released for public purchase. That's terrible. Very terrible.
I need to be much more productive this coming 2024.

As to my annual 12 New Games Challenge, I thankfully hit it this year.

12 New Games this 2023

1. Delta Green
2. Regency Cthulhu
3. The Ward
4. Blade Runner
5. Die the RPG
6. Forget Me Not
7. Praxis: Black Mon, Book 4 - Sunrise End
8. The Invisible Sun
9. One of Us Will Die
10. Blue Rose
11. Vaesen
12. Host and Hostility: Regency Cthulhu
13. Vaesen: Fear the Evenfall
14. Stalker RPG

That's a wonderful collection of games there.  And highlights include The Invisible Sun which now has an ongoing campaign as wellas Die the RPG and Vaesen, both of which are tremendously tight worlds and amazing game systems.

When emotions are difficult, game and be well

 

Was having a tough day today, dealing with a loss in the family. Was barely sleeping, barely eating, and in many ways, barely productive despite forcing myself to slug through work and responsibilities. I just.. wasn't in the right headspace.   I had scheduled a few games post work hours to help me find my center.  And while the first one was a great way to recalibrate, the second one had a player drop out and that - while I understand was fair and totally understandable - did a number on my mood and mental state. 

I cancelled the game and wanted to just curl up and sleep.
And yet, even while in bed, I couldn't sleep.

Thankfully, these set of friends reached out and checked on me and kept me company, virtually as it was, and it was enough. I started to feel myself again. I started to feel like I was a person and not just a reaction.

And I realized I felt centered enough to try running a game.
And boy, did that really shoot my recalibration back on track.

Thank you, Lanz, Niccolo, and Emman for helping me through today.
Thank you for the fun game as we explored the world of VAESEN.

Thank you.

A wonderful stream at the end of the year

 To complete my 12 New Games for 2023, I was able to run Host & Hostility, a Call of Cthulhu Regency module for a few friends.

Got to run it for Denmother (http://twitch.tv/denmotherplays), and a number of other friends and boy was it a blast! Not sure how long the game session will be online, but you can click the link and check it out.

But yes, happy to report I was able to maintain my 12 New Games Each Year personal goal.   The list of games for 2023 breaks down to the following:

1. Delta Green
2. Regency Cthulhu
3. The Ward
4. Blade Runner
5. DIE the RPG
6. Forget Me Not
7. Praxis: Black Monk, Book 4
8. The Invisible Sun
9. One of Us Will Die
10. Blue Rose
11. Vaesen
12. Host and Hostility: Regency Cthulhu

Not a bad exploration of games this year.  And there's still the possibility of one or two more games before the year ends.   So crossing my fingers for that. 

But yes, will be posting my year in review in a few weeks.  So far, it does seem to be ending in a happy note, despite the lower productivity this year.

The Seed: Book one of One World Jungle for Tiny Wastelands

The Wilds were always about survival. In a world where mankind was ended, every animal seeks to survive for the coming day. But not even the animals anticipated that a new predator would emerge in the absence of humanity: the Greed.

The Seed is suitable for three to five Animals. This campaign expects that the Animals are all familiar with each other and have reason to trust one another, despite being of different species. The simplest could be they’ve learned to trust in each other and jointly protect their shared territory. But when some of their Young discover the presence of the Greed, none could have anticipated this was just the beginning of a growing threat whose influence would be felt across generations.

This is a campaign written for Tiny Wastelands: The Wild micro-setting.
This is book one of three.
Created by Tobie Abad

 

Grab it today!

https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/462651/The-Seed--One-World-Jungle

One of Us Will Die: In Nomine Filii

A good friend of mine, Titus, has finally taken the plunge and CREATED HIS OWN RPG!!!! The game is called, One of Us Will Die, and you can learn more about it here:
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100092920717281

In brief, the game is designed as a one-shot, zero-prep game with people playing various archetypes.  But in each game, one of the player characters is the Mark, a person who is destined to die in the story. And one of the other characters MIGHT be the Traitor, who hopes to kill the Mark before the story ends.   

The game is an incredible mix of great ideas and draws huge inspiration from games like Praxis and a few other indie games.  I'm just super proud of my friend finally going for this as he has always been one of those friends whom I felt deeply had their own stories and game experiences to share. 

For this game, Titus had asked me to give him the chance to try playing his own game.  It is not an uncommon problem where a game you create is something you only experience as the one running it for others to try.  So this was quite an exciting thing for him too. To better give him the experience, I opted to create a wholly new scenario for him to play in, that way he too didn't know what to expect.  The scenario will never see the light of publication, which is for the best, really. But it explores folk horror set in the Philippines and has a bunch of former schoolmates gathering for a reunion after the loss of a mutual friend.

Tremendously happy to know it was well received. All the players had fun and boy did we make sure to use all the safety tools necessary to ensure we were all in a safe place. But I promise you all, the game is amazing and if you get a chance to back if (once it hits Kickstarter) or try it (when Titus offers more online and face-to-face sessions to try it), do it! 

And yes, this was also a game for my 12 New Games this 2023. And boy was sooooo worth it!

 

The Invisible Sun campaign: A Door Opens

 Been running a mini-campaign of The Invisible Sun for the last few weeks with a few friends.  The campaign is called, A Door Opens.  Drawing inspiration from shows such as The Magicians, Legion, and movies like Mirror Mask and comics such as Enigma, Sandman, and Mind MGMT, the stories revolve around the concept of doors and the possibilities they offer.

We've been recording the audio of each session just so I can review how I am handling things. The game is NOT livestreamed, and really only shared here so people who are interested in my gaming style can see how I navigate through the system. And to be honest, we're still learning. The Session 0 and first game are filled with lots of attempts to grasp the system and get used to it. But that's how best to learn any new game system, in my opinion.

This is also a game I've decided to dive into and try as one of the twelve new games I try to learn each year! And so far the players are having a great time! So I guess, double win!

It goes without saying, the personalities and characters presented in the game are not reflective of the real personalities and morals of the players and the GM.  But I hope you enjoy a glimpse of how our games are going as well.

For those curious about the game system, The Invisible Sun is back! A new release of the game is coming this 2023.  While I don't think I can afford its hefty price tag, I do recommend it is a game system worth exploring (I was able to afford the digital version only).  If you want to check it out, you can check out this link: https://www.montecookgames.com/announcing-invisible-sun-return-of-the-black-cube/

Let's explore the Actuality!

Night's Black Agents: Sus Specks

 

Just finished a year-long mini-campaign of Sus Specks, a mystery romp inspired by the likes of Killing Eve, Utopia, SE7EN, Legion, Mind MGMT, and, yes, Only Murders in the Building.  The game started with two players, Lanz and Vannie, who played intelligence officers who were pulled out of duty for different reasons.  But by the time the campaign ended, a third player, Emman, joined the fun.  

The game had them exploring murders that happened around the vicinity of their condo complex. What started as a strange possible serial killer with inclinations towards using medieval torture devices as murder methods eventually was revealed to have ties to a mission in Afghanistan which all three of them had been part of.  Eventually, the truth was uncovered and the roots of the events were traced back to the escaped captive, Metatron, who was a prisoner of something known as the Monarch Project.  The game ended with a building exploding, a showdown at an emergency room, and a bitter sweet realization that when push comes to shove and human compassion is the only thing that separates us from monsters, we will all remain suspects in our own cruel crimes.

Thank you for playing, Lanz, Vannie, and Emman.
Until the next TAG Bites mini-campaign!

KNIGHT deserves its GLORY

 

When I first heard about Mark Beren's upcoming game, KNIGHT, I was definitely intrigued.  As someone who has been a fan of Greg Stafford's King Arthur Pendragon and is currently still running The Great Pendragon Campaign for his gaming circle (the campaign started back in 2017!) I've always been fascinated with games that tried to capture the glory and tragedy of Arthurian tales in one form or another.  

In KNIGHT, you play a heroic, glory-seeking knight in service to your Queen. The game drew inspiration from Pendragon, Into the Odd, Forged in the Dark, and Powered by the Apocalypse games, and offers a tight game experience with collaborative storytelling is supported with a solid system.  Each game has three phases; the Quest phase which is goal-oriented, the Fief phase which explores advancement and decision-making, and the Free play phase which grants even more flexibility on your play options.   Dice rolls are resolved with the use of a standard twenty-sided die, with complications arising if the roll is higher than the attribute being used that moment. Adding to the fun is the Effect Die which measures the effectiveness of one's action and determines when a situation or activity has been successfully overcome. Luck plays a part in the game too, especially during the Fief phase of the game, offering favorable results even in scenes where the character has no direct control over the events. Endurance tracks one's ability to stay active, which nicely allows the story to carry on and not focus solely or character mortality. 

The game also has Glory, which represents power, wealth, and influence with the populace.  Even the passage of time is part of the experience, with players creating their own Avalon by drawing a map, then later showing its development and change with later updates.  This adds for a cool cooperative extra experience which reminds me of games like The Quiet Year.   Generational play is also built into the system with the player having to retire their Knight once certain conditions are met. 

The author was very generous in working on this game too, with practically fifth pages of world-creation thoughts, role-playing tips, and game atmosphere considerations offered to help new players embrace the intricacies of a knight's life.  Lots of alternative rules are also provided to help groups tailor fit the experience to what works better for them.  Given the setting is not your standard Arthurian fare, there are lots of new names and places offered for the game's "baseline" setting. This is where, I feel, I struggled a bit as I have always had trouble with names. While some names are probably common or accurate to the setting, I will confess finding myself unsure how to pronounce some of them. And it was curious to see how the game tried to mix enough influences and imagination -based material to form something familiar but new.  Especially with the game offering a campaign framework (called the Three Ages) to give groups a nice jumping off point for a long term campaign session. 

The game has a sleek character sheet design, and even a section to track your family tree (something with I think King Arthur Pendragon could have benefited from having as part of their main sheet).

All in all, I'm extremely excited to find a chance to try this system out.  Mark was kind enough to offer me a chance to see the book (and in return I sent him a copy of my other game, The Cat's Dream) and I definitely look forward to supporting this game once it is formally available. But even this early, I am already seeing this game finding a spot on my virtual shelf for awesome games that offer Arthurian /Arthur-inspired experiences.  

Learn more the game today at
https://armouredgames.pixpa.com/
https://armouredgames.pixpa.com/knight1

Regency Cthulhu was amazing!

 The second game among my 12 New Games this 2023 was a session of REGENCY CTHULHU!

Got to run this with a bunch of good friends.  Originally meant to be a two-player game, I bumped it up to four players only cause the response was quite touching.  Claire, Trina, Henry, and Titus each grabbed a seat with my best friend, Flip, taking a final fifth seat.   We had a quick run down on the Regency world, drawing inspiration from movies like Little Women, Emma, and shows like Downton Abbey and Bridgeton.  Last minute, Titus had a small thing to handle which took him from his seat.  But we still got to explore the various themes safely and disturbingly well in a fun way.

Loving the small adjustments to the system that suit this game world.  I do wish there was a section dedicated to work as a quick guide for players and GMs to get the feels a bit more, but I guess the idea was a person who would get the book would have had a better idea of what the setting was already like.

The Lying City Mysteries are complete

The Lying City Mysteries are finally complete!



All five books are now available on Drivethrurpg.

Book Five, The Door is Open is at PAY WHAT YOU WANT so people can check it out without having to spend.  This book is best for the GM, btw, so please don't spoil it for yourself.  But you can download this, share it with your GM who can then read it and decide if they want to invest on the four other books, or simply use this summarized campaign for free!

Five books, each one can work somewhat as a standalone mystery for Tiny Cthulhu, but overall work best as a campaign for your group.

The Sleep Experiment (Book One)
The Man At the Foot of the Bed (Book Two)
The Beached Thing (Book Three)
Drawing the Silver Key (Book Four)
The Door is Open (Book Five)

SPOILER WARNING FOLLOWS!
SPOILER WARNING FOLLOWS!
SPOILER WARNING FOLLOWS!

Each book touches on a different idea that i wanted to explore:
The Sleep Experiment drew inspiration from the "Russian Sleep Experiment" creepypasta stories.
The Man At the Foot of the Bed explores the concepts of bangugot and death via sleep.
The Beached Thing is a survival horror story.
Drawing the Silver Key is an isekai horror story.
The Door is Open is the finale, tying things together, but also explores the memetic nature of rituals.

Hoping you all like it as much as I did writing them up.

TAGBites #038: Delta Green - Loop

Got to play DELTA GREEN as the game session for the year as well as the first item for my 12 NEW GAMES EACH YEAR challenge!  We've been fans of Call of Cthulhu and Pendragon for quite some time, so it wasn't too much a leap to switch to this game.  Getting used to Will Power Points and Bonds was a tricky thing but definitely nothing too hard to navigate.

Had four players: Titus, Lanz, Jin, and my life-partner, Rocky.  It was officially Jin's second RPG game ever, so I felt quite honored and happy to be able to run this for him.  For the rest of us (perhaps save Lanz, I could be wrong) it was our first foray in trying this game system.  I cobbled up a story by combining elements from the module The Observer Effect with the concept of Global Frequency (comic) and had them handle a strange time-loop incursion as a one-shot story.  Personally, I loved how it turned out!

You can watch the session here:
https://www.twitch.tv/videos/1698049403

Thank you, jim

This is a moment for me.

Nothing big.
Just happy to hit a personal milestone.

Ending 2022 and welcoming 2023

Looking forward to a good year this 2023.
While generally 2022 was not that bad, there were still those moments that were just exhausting and trying - including a time when this blog, TAG Sessions, was shut down after certain "complaints" and "violations" were cited (and later overruled) - which nearly had me calling it quits on the entire thing. Thankfully, I continue to be surrounded by awesome friends, kind gamers, and critical individuals who handle events in a clearer and more rational manner.

Completed my 12 New Games personal challenge again!  This year, was able to play/run new game systems as well as expand on having some of them as multi-session mini-campaigns to provide a better fulfilling story and experience.  Summaries of such sessions are usually shared in the TAG Sessions Facebook Group (feel free to ask for membership, but please do be sure to answer ALL the questions properly) to be part of the fun.    This year had two mini-campaigns (Pendragon and Night's Black Agents)

Among this year's 12 New include:
1) Praxis: Our Lost Way
2) Star Trek Adventures
3) Praxis: Lambs
4) The Hunted
5) Mashed
6) Hearts of Wulin
7) Horror on the Orient Express
8) Savage Worlds
9) Golden Sky Stories
10) Trail of Cthulhu
11) Reign of Terror 
12) Avatar: Legends
13) Alas for the Awful Sea
14) Cairn

Very happy to have such a robust list of systems and books to have explored.

Targeting a good selection of possible games for this year, including stuff like INVISIBLE SUN which keeps touting itself as a very unique game system (I'm not convinced quite yet) and DIE RPG (which was an amazing comic, but I have no comments for now on the game system). 

Sadly, though, this year, was definitely not as productive as I wished to be. With the blog being shut down for a while, lost tracking some of the stuff I released this year.  But among them are:

The Lands of Voce Luminare - Book 01: War of the Widows Supplement

Buy it at DriveThruRPG: War of the Widows: Book 1: Lands of Voce Luminare

The Sleep Experiment - Lying City Mysteries - Book 01 for Tiny Cthulhu

Buy it at DriveThruRPG: The Sleep Experiment

The Man At the Foot of the Bed - Lying City Mysteries - Book 02 for Tiny Cthulhu

Buy it at DriveThruRPG: The Man At the Foot of the Bed

The Beached Thing - Lying City Mysteries - Book 03 for Tiny Cthulhu

Buy it at DriveThruRPG: The Beached Thing

Drawing the Silver Key - Lying City Mysteries - Book 04 for Tiny Cthulhu 

Buy it at DriveThruRPG: Drawing the Silver Key

Faith Heal Her - Bow Your Heads - Book 01

Buy it at DriveThruRPG: Faith Heal Her - Bow Your Heads

50 Mortal Musings

Buy it at DriveThruRPG: 50 Mortal Musings

And sadly, that was it. 

I did a lot of work on a few other books, including rewrites of the book formerly known as Once Upon a Time in Jianghu, book 4 of Sid's Real Life, unHuman (a Changeling the Dreaming supplement), Bulong (a Changeling the Dreaming novelette), Mythography (a Trinity campaign), Blazing Hearts Revolt, book 3 of the Reconquista Vampire novelette, Diliman the RPG, Dreamscrapers, and even a MODELS quickstart. 

I have no idea if I will succeed in finishing any of them this 2023.
But at least, this year, the Pandemic seems to have giving us all some breathing room.  We have gained some space to reconnect with friends and to find opportunities to step outside beyond our prison-sanctuary rooms.

Here's hoping it goes well.