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Devlog: Tampalasan Initiative System

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Other World's Lo-Fi RPG: Troika! x 24XX System Conversion

* casts revive blog *  I've been polishing my game recently, A Goon's Guide to the Galaxy (GGG) , which is born out of the 24XX Jam (check it out, a lot of cool projects in there). GGG was originally a Tunnel Goon's hack , Galaxy Goons , which I was thinking of converting into Troika! earlier this year. But I think 2400's system fit my idea more of a modular but weird characters taking space ferries vs Troika!'s built-in personality and quality on each background option. So that settled that. I do like both games, and I wanna be able to play both genre-busting space games. So why not have both?  Below is a guide to convert Troika! characters into 24XX system, and vice versa.  put them all together in a blender and have fun. cover images are from respective games, used without permission. - - -  From Troika character to 24XX: 1. Take any Troika character background. Don't roll Stamina, Skill, nor Luck. 2. Convert Skill ratings as such:  1-2: d8 skill die 3-4: d

Potted Plants in Peril: Planted TRPG PITCH Review

My first short rpg review, and I will take on 4 micro-rpgs already! I am cheating a bit, since they are all under one resolution system and a connected setting/premise, even though this review is technically for 4 micro-rpgs. These are games by Sinta Posadas , known as diwataMANILA in twitter. I'll be reviewing Succulent Sorcerers , Petal Paladins , Bonsai Brawlers , and Mossy Mechanics , all under Planted TRPG-verse! Screenshots of the game below are all used with permission of the author for the purpose of this review. The four warriors of the Planted TRPG universe - - -  PREMISE You are sentient potted plants, with each archetype having their own abilities and adversities. Each edition provides different character options and session scenarios, but all use the same resolution system of roll under d6, intended for a one-shot play. They look like little playbook-rpg zines per edition, that can be played with each other.     Each archetype has their own starti

P.I.T.C.H. Review Primer (What, How, and Why I Want to Review in the First Place)

I have been thinking about making review for short and small rpgs since last year, originally as part of a Patreon offering. But circumstances arise and I didn't get to make a Patreon before it made changes into tier packs. I was advised not to make one unless I have a grandfather account, so I postponed the idea. There's always new rpg projects and works coming out, but I think it gets drown out with the powerhouse works, indie darling releases, and rpg discourse takes that we see in blogs, discord servers, and twitter. I asked twitter about interest for this kind of thing, and people are quite positive about it . So I'll make mini-reviews for those works I find noteworthy  from itch.io, drivethrurpg, or from personal blog/sites. And I'll call it a P.I.T.C.H. Premise - the theme or premise of the game, adventure, or supplement.  Impression - the aesthetics of the project; less technical about layout and design and more about how captivating or sty

Troika Background - Shapeshifting Chicken of the Night

So I made a collection of chicken-inspired backgrounds for the other world's favorite rpg . It is also my submission for Chicken Jam . I called it Life of the Poultry , because I don't want to stretch people's mind about what to expect in the pack. One of the backgrounds in it, which I have been teasing in my twitter timeline , is based on Filipino monster lore* about black chicks ( itom nga piso ) that can be ingested, so a human becomes an aswang. This will cause them to crave for human flesh but to gain the ability of chimeric transformation. It is said that you can make an aswang regurgitate the black chick, potentially turning them back to human, by making it extremely dizzy so it starts vomiting. You then hang the individual by its feet and light a pile of rice straw beneath it. The smoke will make the aswang vomit more, flushing out the black chick.  But this black chick says fuck it, I'm not gonna go another person's stomach. Here is a reveal of that

4E D&D Hack: HP costs on Powers

I made a twitter post about this, and I decided to blog it as well for posterity. I'll also adjusted some theories and numbers, expound the reasoning behind this hack, and showed what to expect in game play. You can check the original twitter thread here . - - -  So first, I'd like to point out the idea of HP from 4E D&D, seen on page 293 on D&D 4E PHB. HP =/= Life Points. So we're extending the meaning here of HP as stamina and mana as well. It's more than just health points. Hit points help you stay alive and able, and will now fuel your strongest of powers. Now the key change is that you still play 4E DnD as is, except powers with Encounter and Daily keywords now have HP costs , regardless of power type (class, racial, utility, theme, etc), and you are no longer limited by their casting limits . These are some new rules: You can now cast any powers many times, as long as you have enough HP to do so. No limits. Encounter powers costs power le

Dex-Int Initiative - d20 Initiative System Hack

Something I have thought of a few months ago, but I keep forgetting to write about. If you want to add a small layer of variance in your d20 initiative system, but still want the predictability of a tracked initiative list, you might be interested in this. - - -   It's another initiative-related post, so have a google image search again. When rolling initiative, create two sets of initiative track for combat, one for odd-numbered rounds and another for even-numbered rounds. For the odd-numbered rounds of combat, add Dexterity modifier to the initiative roll to determine the result. For the even-numbered rounds of combat, add Intelligence modifier to the roll. Note that each combatant still rolls one initiative roll, they just have a different ability modifier for the two tracks of initiative. Any additional modifiers from other sources (features, feats, spells, etc) still apply to all rounds. Why do this?  1. A chance for Int-based characters to act fast, after seeing