Initiative Without Dice? [Optional Core]

In the Optional System, the Team with the Edge gets to act first.
The problem is establishing which Team gets that honour. 

I am the Warden!!

During last week's recap of our first playtest session of High Plains Samurai, I mentioned the need for initiative in the game. On the surface, the idea sounds simple and viable because the majority of initiative rules in RPGs involve a dice roll and since the Optional System is a dice-rolling machine, this shouldn't be a big deal, right?

Wrong. Wrong wrong wrong. I had no idea how wrong that theory was.

Let's start by explaining how turn order works in Killshot, the original and only published version involving the Optional System. The main characters, AKA assassins, pretty much always go first. Because it is a game of strategy and planning, players must set a plan in motion and will likely always go first. That works for a realistic and tactical game like Killshot, but it's shit in a martial arts clone. It provides a near automatic victory for the heroes assisted by their bonus options, Pass reactions, and everything else. The only other means to force heroes to go next involves villains and thugs applying triggers before the fight scene begins, but that can get old and tired after a while. And what if the heroes set down a trigger designed to go off when the thugs' trigger activates, huh? It can potentially reach ridiculous heights.

Relaunching The Continuum

I am the Warden and this is the new video signalling the relaunch of Mystical Throne Entertainment's Kickstarter project, Twilight Continuum.


Some of it may seem familiar, but a massive chunk of this puppy is brand new and expanded from our last effort. Instead of aiming for funding a single book and reach for the remaining five volumes as stretch goals, this edition is shooting for the entire series - all 6 volumes - in one fell swoop. Our goal? $35,000.

At the time of writing, it's only been a couple of hours and we're already over $1,000 with only 15 backers. That's nearly $350 better than an entire day's results from our previous attempt, making it clear that the extra work invested into this second effort is already starting to pay off. If things keep going at this rate (long-term speaking that is, seeing as most Kickstarters go through an opening peak, followed by a middle point lull, and caps off with a final high point), we should easily hit our final goal and bring this 6-part Savage Worlds adventure serial to life.

What exactly are you waiting for? If you like Savage Worlds and space operas, this project is the very thing you're looking for. Check out the complete project to find your perfect reward level. 

Problems Solved

I am the Warden and I can't begin to tell you how relieved I am!!

Yesterday's post carried some happy and unfortunate news. Today, it's all good news.

The missus received a phone call from Algonquin College regarding yesterday's events with an offer to convert her application and approval to the Fall semester. In other words, she's going back to school for Community & Justice Services. We're both going back to school to start rebuilding our lives.

My head's spinning with eager anticipation right now, but it's spinning in a good way. Like the buzz you feel while you're drunk. I want to thank everyone's kind words of encouragement, even those from people I've never met before and those she's never heard of before. Hopefully, this will be a sign of many things to come. 

Some Things Change, Others Remain the Same

I am the Warden!!

It's time for me to explain recent events to everyone. Over the past few weeks (and over the last couple of years, to be honest), I've been hinting at significant personal issues that have bogged down my work yet never got into details. I think it's time to reveal what that was all about.

Four months ago, my income replacement benefit was cancelled by my insurance company as well as the retraining plan submitted to the same company intended to help me return to full-time employment. After two years of being unable to return to a gainful life due to physical and cognitive issues, I was dumped and left to fend for myself. I began the search for a new means to support myself and my family.

Simultaneously, my fiancee (who suffers from epilepsy) has been vigorously trying to return to school herself, an effort equally complicated by our dire financial situation. Ironically, she had more options to work with than myself because of our province's student loans program. (I'm ineligible for these programs because I'm currently unable to pay for my previous student loans.) For the last few months, she's been searching for an online diploma program that would allow her to return to a normal life without her condition interfering with her efforts.

Today, we both received some outstanding news. Then one of us had our news trashed by bureaucracy.