Masks & Fear

Thomas Manuel

A row of colorful masks

I. Spotlight

The blog mynerdyhobby has a great post about the value of a worldbuilding rule like “everyone wears a mask“. Not only does it lead to a more evocative world but it could also make NPCs easier to remember. It’s written as an idea for Mythic Bastionland but works for any game where you can get a little weird with the setting.

II. Media of the Week

  • I enjoyed this video of a review of the D&D campaign The Night Below from someone who’s played it a couple times.
  • I’m really enjoying the vertical videos of Sean Foer over on Youtube. A lot of the videos are a direct response to viewer comments and it always feel like a sharp conversation.
  • Cozy RPG Reviews continues to make some nice videos as well, including this one about the sci-fi worldbuilding game (where you collect real rocks and use them as planets), A Perfect Rock.

III. Links of the Week

  • This is a nice post to bookmark: It’s the full list of thematic collections and recommendations made by the blog, There’s a TTRPG For that.
  • I enjoyed this review from Idle Cartulary of the free heist adventure Rare Bird: “I love a module with a solid moral dilemma at its’ heart, and while in Swyvers you’re generally not good guys, and here you know you’re working for the bad guys, the moral dilemma that can ensue if you succeed in stealing the bird is a very, very juicy one.”
  • TTRPGFans has a post about a new shonen anime RPG based on Draw Steel.
  • Very serious number crunching on the subject of Kickstarter whales, the big spenders and outsized influencers of a crowdfunding campaigns.
  • The Murkmail blog has a nice post that delves into that question of “how do you decide what a game is really about?”, specifically responding to the idea that if a game is not about its rules, then it can’t be about everything that’s not rules as that list is infinite. Their conclusion has an interesting framing to it: “Games are about their complex rules and complex judgements.”

IV. What am I playing?

On Deeper in the Game, Chris Chinn wrote a nice post about how Daggerheart borrowing GM moves from Apocalypse World doesn’t really work very well: “My main point is in this whole thing is; I bet most DH GMs will sort of skim the GM Moves, and some will play mostly ignoring them, and there will be little or no functional difference in how the game runs.”

Daggerheart links making GM moves (out of turn) with a currency called Fear. This maps onto what I’ve seen which is that a lot of D&D DMs already feel like they can do anything outside of combat so they default to thinking that the Fear resource is only for giving them extra power in combat. Why would they need it outside?

I find that I don’t have any problem with spending Fear in Daggerheart. In my head, I spend it whenever I want to say anything and the players haven’t turned to me for a move specifically. I spend it when I think the scene is slowing down. I spend it when I have a good idea for an NPC to show up. In other games, I might’ve waited for the players to clearly give me an opportunity to do these things but in this game, I just do them whenever I want. I rarely have any Fear remaining.

V. Small Ads

All links in the newsletter are completely based on my own interest. But to help support my work, this section contains sponsored links and advertisements. If you’d like your products to appear here, read the submission form.

  • Petmon is a diceless, digimon-inspired TRPG focused on the bond between Chosen Child and Petmon, growing into an adult, helping others realize their full potential, and overcoming great evil. It is now live on Kickstarter.
  • Virtual Battle Mat: the simplest VTT online. Drop a map, place tokens, play. Voice and video built in. No rules engine, any system. Feels like a real table. vbm.games

This newsletter is sponsored by the wonderful Bundle of Holding. Check out the latest bundles below:

  • Runehammer EZD6, a fast-playing multi-genre RPG with clear rules and well-designed character sheets.
  • Apprentice Decks, a GM resource for generating ideas from Nathan Rockwood at Larcenous Designs.

Hello, dear readers. This newsletter is written by me, Thomas Manuel. If you’d like to support this newsletter, share it with a friend. If you’d like to know more about my work, check out the coolest RPG website in the world Rascal News or listen to me talking to other people on the Yes Indie’d Podcast.

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