Review
- User profiles. Some other services still don’t have this.
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- “Through the years” lists let you watch Star Wars, Marvel, etc in release order.
- Shows release on schedules. Default mode is not bingeing.
RPGs with Kids
I recently shared pictures from an RPG I ran for my niece and nephew during thanksgiving week.
I tried running [Dungeon World](https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/108028/Dungeon-World ?affiliate_I’d=21283) for them last year, which was a bit too tricky of a rule set for them at the time. This time, I decided to start with Risus, a very simple system that uses ratings called “clichés”.
Since we play Team Fortress 2 as a way to hangout and talk, we decided to set the game in the TF2 setting and use the TF2 classes (scout, soldier, pyro, demoman, heavy, engineer, medic, sniper, and spy) as our clichés. Having this pick list gave them enough, but not too much, variety to choose from.
I used a semi-standard Risus setup of starting ratings at 4, 3, 2, 1 (for the total of 10). I also told them their agency would give them 1 basic weapon and 1 tool, or 4 tools. They both chose the first option. (Maybe I should have made it 5 tools, as it didn’t seem like a hard choice but for them.) They also picked code names and their “real names”. I encouraged them not to have the same things as each other in 3 and 4. Their characters started off like this:
Codename: Z7 Real name: Megan 4: Engineer 3: Scout 2: Spy 1: Heavy Basic Weapon: shotgun Tool: Wrench
Codename: H6 Real name: Jace 4: Heavy 3: Pyro 2: Scout 1: Sniper Basic Weapon: rifle Tool: binoculars
We didn’t have enough d6s, so I used d10s. I also used the Risus variant where you look at the best die in the roll, instead of the total. To play, when they wanted to do something interesting with an uncertain outcome, I asked them to describe it, told them which of their cliches was appropriate, and gave them a difficulty between 6 and 10. I also brought in the Risus conflict rules, again using versus instead of totals.
I also brought in “bennies” to the system, in order to give us a little more flexibility. I awarded them 1 at the start of their mission, and told them they’d get another any time I thought they did something really interesting or clever. They could give me a bennie when they failed a roll and wanted to re-roll it. However, when I got a bennie from then, I could put it back in the pool to add a twist to the story. (In retrospect, I could have instead set it up where I “pay” it to whoever was affected by the twist, but this gets complicated when it could affect both of them.)
I did one more piece of prep. I marked up a pile of note cards with “standard exits” at each cardinal direction and various paths connecting them.
To play, I asked them to pick a card (from a face down spread). I added some more rough drawings to this card to turn it into their headquarters for their agency (which they decided was called the “Adventurers Agency”).
They were given their mission: to shut down the Mann Co factory that was producing robots that were being created and sent out to take over the city. They were also warned that some of the robots had been designed to look like humans! They were able to requisition a little more equipment, based on the mission. They ended up with a stun stick (with 3 charges), 1 stick of dynamite, and x-ray googles that could look through a nearby surface and maybe detect false robots.
The rest of it played out through the story. When they traveled “off a card” on our map, I had them pull a random card to place in that direction they went, and I added a few more light details to that section of the map that was being built out. I had decided at the beginning which one would represent the final factory, but of course I provided a lot of challenges to them along the way.
The finale was when they ended up using the stick of dynamite to disable the power supply for the plant. We had a lot of fun, and they keep asking to do another mission!
I’m happy to answer any questions about how I setup or ran this!
From an RPG with niece and nephew. A Risus-based TF2-inspired build-as-you-go game where the agents had to shut down a Mann Co robot factory.
Edit: full writeup now here
I added a new resource to my Security Thinking for Big Data reference. “A Practical Way to Include an Ethics Review in Your Development Processes” from Laminar Group.
Sunday Quote 📚
Sunday Quote
Four cool things about Disney+
Sunday Quote: re: the famous marshmallow experiment. Social sciences are finding over and over that people don’t succeed based on “best willpower” but on how they align their habits, environment, and focus with their goals.
Made our own blend of Wemyss Spice King 🥃
Sunday Quote 📚
Sunday Quote: “…that’s exactly what the early Christians were executed for, for pledging an allegiance to another kingdom, another Lord—treason.”
Finished 📚 How to Be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi. Highly recommended. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Glenmorangie Bacalta 🥃, lake, fire, sunset, family, friends. 👍👍👍
Reading Will Larson’s An Elegant Puzzle and noting he’s in lock-step with Sally Williamson on the topic of Leading Executive Conversations. Great stuff here and throughout the book so far. 📚
The latest Links for Resilience newsletter is out, featuring stories on Security, Sustainability, Society, and Self.
📚 Recommended: How Long ‘Ti’l Black Future Month N.K. Jemisin.
Finished 📚: The Long Earth by Terry Pratchett and Stephen Baxter. Highly recommended. I haven’t rated a book ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ in a long time! (There’s only 14 such books)
I’m back from #GenCon19, so I released a podcast about Games! Available now for subscribers of Resilient.
#GenCon19 Day 3
It was back to Games on Demand, again. Miles and I got to try out Maze Rats. I confess I have avoided a lot of the “OSR” space due to encountering so much toxic behavior from that community. That said, this was a simple and fun game, and I may add it to my toolbox along with new-school old-school games like Whitehack, Torchbearer, and Vagabonds of Dyfed.
We also got to try out another card-based RPG. I’m always eager to try these, because I love cards and have been tossing around ideas for my own game for years. Capers is a dual-named game because in it you play both supers (caped, get it?) and are involved in prohibition era-capers.
We had a pretty inexperienced (I think?) GM, so I’m not sure I got a good shake of this game, but I learned enough about how it’s setup to see what I liked and didn’t.
Saturday was also the day I got the David Peterson AKA Mouse Guard commission of our beloved dog Siku!
#GenCon19 Day 2
I started today off with some Games on Demand, and Miles, Christian, and I got to try the Penthouse playset with a couple others. It was epic in both the funny and horrible ways that Fiasco should be. Fiasco at GenCon seems to now be an annual thing for Miles and me.
Then, it was time for our Aecer’s Light Burning Wheel game with Mad Jay. We had a great time, and I’m very interested in what he is doing with the Wolfen and Roden in Burning Wheel. The zine and scenario are going to be great!
I got a chance to swing by the Burning Wheel Headquarters booth and see David Peterson (AKA Mouse Guard) in action, working on the piece I commissioned. That was quite the treat, and I’m really excited about how it is going to turn out!
I also found a good-condition used physical copy of the D6 System book, which you may recognize as the core rules that powered West End Games Star Wars (and other games).
The day ended with a fun dinner with friends. Looking forward to another great day at #GenCon19