If you follow me on Instagram, you’ll have seen my recent experiments with paper miniatures for play with the tabletop RPG I’m writing, Long XVIth. This is a new experience to me, as in the past I’ve always been a 3D (e.g. pewter, resin, or plastic) miniatures guy. But with…
Long XVIth is a roleplaying game I’m writing and playtesting for adventures in and inspired by Renaissance Europe. I’m a history nerd fascinated by this era; this is my justification to play within it. Its mechanics take the spirit of the OSR (random character generation, streamlined mechanics, limited mechanical options,…
Tyrol is a region in the Central Alps which, though modernly split between Austria and Italy, was historically firmly under the control of the Austrian Habsburgs. The campaign will take place in its “Oberland” in a West Marches style, with PCs generally basing out of Innsbruck, the primary city in…
As I develop my d20/OSR-inspired rules, I’m also looking at both the campaign premise and setting. Though my primary historical focus is on the Renaissance Netherlands, I don’t want that to be the campaign setting for two reasons: To keep my players (most of whom will be my…
The fourth playtest of 15XX introduces an overhauled terrain system that includes rules for grizzly “macabre remains” littering the scene of the encounter. I’ve been playtesting this terrain type using casualty markers, but spent a few nights building a dedicated terrain piece. I’m not including these rules for the sake…
I released the fourth closed playtest for 15XX a couple weeks ago. In that time, my focus has been on getting the word out about the rules and getting them into the hands of my (up until now) scattered group of closed playtesters. This weekend, I had a chance to…
Last year I began work on a no-magic, historical RPG using a modified d20 / OSR chassis. As I worked on the rules, that chassis began to grow and mutate. Lots of rules and subsystems. Accounting for social class dynamics in the “long sixteenth century” and more. It got to over…
Exciting news! I’ve just wrapped up and released the fourth closed Playtest for 15XX: my narrative skirmish game for Renaissance-era Europe. How to View the Rules: Current playtesters, check your emails or the Facebook group. Not a playtester? Sign up to become one. Rules Updates While each playtest will include…
In thinking through and around the question of critical fails (specifically to model the advantages and risks firearms have compared to bows and crossbows), I’ve started to consider a new approach to the games two core mechanics of the dice pool and initiative tokens. Take a look at this and…
I am deep into the editing and revisioning work on 15XX as I get ready for Playtest 04 (sign up for the closed playtesting here!). I hate the page-by-page editing. I’m a big idea guy, and find work that requires a close attention to details toilsome to get through. But…
Playtest 03 has been in the hands of closed playtesters for blind reviews since January. I’ve gotten some helpful feedback, but – because of COVID-19 – haven’t had a responsible chance to get a game in with another player until this past week. I’ve got most of Playtest 04’s updates…
In theory, I am a narrativist GM who enjoys character arcs and well-developed backstories. In practice, I end up running gag-filled game sessions with my friends that, while not totally full of murder hobos, is more Monty Python than Lord of the Rings. The over-the-top, tongue-in-cheek weird fantasy setting and…
The past months have been full of Very Serious Things. Obligations and personal projects that have a weight of Getting It Right: Settling my mom’s estate after she passed in February (PS: grief & probate is not a fun combo) Getting 15XX revised and into its fourth playtest Ongoing Renaissance…
My gaming focus has been largely with developing and playtesting the Renaissance skirmish rules over the past few months, but with the faintest glimmers of light appearing at the end of the COVID-19 tunnel – and the hope that organizing gaming might return in time, I’ve circled back to a…