A blog post putting some of the speed run and Ritual of Scrying material all in one place.
http://www.worldswithoutmaster.com/blog/2018/5/30/to-craft-an-enthralling-short-story
Thursday, May 31, 2018
Wednesday, May 30, 2018
More Ritual of Scrying Pondering...
More Ritual of Scrying Pondering...
Thinking about the name for the player who participates through the Ritual of Scrying. I'm tempted by Mage Player, to fit with the whole Rogue Player business, and to resurrect "mage" after I expelled it from the name of the thread. But I'm not entirely onboard with it.
While I ponder, I'm curious about your opinion. Do any of these appeal to you? Do you have a better one?
Thinking about the name for the player who participates through the Ritual of Scrying. I'm tempted by Mage Player, to fit with the whole Rogue Player business, and to resurrect "mage" after I expelled it from the name of the thread. But I'm not entirely onboard with it.
While I ponder, I'm curious about your opinion. Do any of these appeal to you? Do you have a better one?
Tuesday, May 29, 2018
Hi!
Hi! I've only played Swords a couple of times and have watched a couple of actual plays. I love the system but have a couple of issues with the way that gameplay seems to unfold in practice:
1. The rogues are so different from each other that it is unclear how or why they would work together.
2. There is very little if any interaction between rogues. Maybe one rogue comes to the rescue of another, but no sustained dialogue. The dice are almost like a talking stick -- whoever has the dice narrates while everyone else sits and listens.
Is this true of other people's games? If so, do people see these issues as problems or just characteristics of the swords & sorcery genre? If they are a problem, have people adopted any measures to help address them?
1. The rogues are so different from each other that it is unclear how or why they would work together.
2. There is very little if any interaction between rogues. Maybe one rogue comes to the rescue of another, but no sustained dialogue. The dice are almost like a talking stick -- whoever has the dice narrates while everyone else sits and listens.
Is this true of other people's games? If so, do people see these issues as problems or just characteristics of the swords & sorcery genre? If they are a problem, have people adopted any measures to help address them?
Monday, May 28, 2018
This is a writeup of a Discovery Phase quickstart.
This is a writeup of a Discovery Phase quickstart. This isn't something I normally do, which is strange as often there is a key mid-game Discovery Phase that melds the start of the game with the end.
I feel that maybe the Discovery Phase doesn't really let us see that much about the Rogues unless you allow a lot of colour around their investigations.
https://medium.com/@robert_carnel/the-golden-pass-between-the-theocracy-of-dumator-and-the-forests-of-the-fallen-has-a-famous-resting-7f0a0e1dd72c
I feel that maybe the Discovery Phase doesn't really let us see that much about the Rogues unless you allow a lot of colour around their investigations.
https://medium.com/@robert_carnel/the-golden-pass-between-the-theocracy-of-dumator-and-the-forests-of-the-fallen-has-a-famous-resting-7f0a0e1dd72c
Sunday, May 27, 2018
Seen in the wild @ Kublacon 2018 - Burlingame, CA. Let’s see if we get any takers.
Seen in the wild @ Kublacon 2018 - Burlingame, CA. Let’s see if we get any takers.
Friday, May 25, 2018
I've written up an opening Rogue's Phase, generally I tend to come up with something after the characters are...
I've written up an opening Rogue's Phase, generally I tend to come up with something after the characters are generated so it reflects the world implied by their backgrounds but I also think it's useful to have situations that have already worked in the past and could perhaps work with a range of character types.
I have a couple more of these I'd like to share.
https://medium.com/@robert_carnel/the-palanquin-ambust-dad05984e5bc
I have a couple more of these I'd like to share.
https://medium.com/@robert_carnel/the-palanquin-ambust-dad05984e5bc
Wednesday, May 23, 2018
Working on a ritual for those who enjoy watching Swords games on YouTube and Twitch.
Working on a ritual for those who enjoy watching Swords games on YouTube and Twitch.
The Ritual of Scrying
A thousand sorcerous eyes watch the rogues with keen and unfathomable interest—for rogues are disruptors of the delicate plots of destiny and wizards alike. If your eyes are among the thousand, you may invoke the Ritual of Scrying to peer across the astral plane and scrutinize the rogues while protecting your own eldritch machinations.
While watching a game of Swords Without Master unfold—but not participating as an Overplayer or Rogue Player—you may record Scrying threads. Scrying threads are aberrations, apocryphal versions of the Motif, Moral, and Mystery threads that you record based on your personal inclinations and observations of the game.
To prepare your Scrying threads, you will need a sheet of paper and a simulacrum. The paper must have room enough to scribe and sketch the visions as they come to you. Here you will record your observations and map the patterns they weave into fate's skeins. The simulacrum is an object of our world that reminds you of your wizard's souls. It will anchor you to this world as you journey into that of the rogues.
Cast now your soul across the astral sea to the realm of the rogues. Place yourself in their situation. Listen with care to the words of the players. Your sorcerous senses will bridge the worlds and present to you a rich vista. Heed the words and when you hear something worthy of a Motif, record it on your Scrying thread. The Scrying thread is yours and yours alone. So it matters not if the players also record the Motif. All that matters is what you have witnessed and recorded.
Likewise, when a Moral is rolled, you shall write your own lesson to be learned upon your Scrying thread and when a Mystery appears, you shall write your own question worthy of investigation. Undoubtedly these will not match those recorded by the Rogue Players.
Write your elements wherever and in whichever manner serves your arcane purpose. Leave room to add to it as the game progresses. For, unlike the Motif of the Rogue Players, the Scrying thread is not limited to a mere three elements.
When you hear the players narrate something that echoes an element on your own Scrying thread, record that echo and draw a silver cord connecting it to the original element. As the game progresses, the patterns in your web will begin to reveal themselves. But will you behold the truth before the game ends?
Upon the end of the game, recall your simulacrum and let it draw you back to your world. Now the contemplative work of the wizard begins. What meaning lies among your scrawl? What has been woven and how will it affect your own plans?
Compare your notes with fellow wizards so that you may glimpse theirs. What secrets have they uncovered?
Should you find yourself at the table as an Overplayer or a Rogue, you may take any three elements from a Scrying thread that are connected through silver cords and present them as part of a Destiny trick.
The Ritual of Scrying
A thousand sorcerous eyes watch the rogues with keen and unfathomable interest—for rogues are disruptors of the delicate plots of destiny and wizards alike. If your eyes are among the thousand, you may invoke the Ritual of Scrying to peer across the astral plane and scrutinize the rogues while protecting your own eldritch machinations.
While watching a game of Swords Without Master unfold—but not participating as an Overplayer or Rogue Player—you may record Scrying threads. Scrying threads are aberrations, apocryphal versions of the Motif, Moral, and Mystery threads that you record based on your personal inclinations and observations of the game.
To prepare your Scrying threads, you will need a sheet of paper and a simulacrum. The paper must have room enough to scribe and sketch the visions as they come to you. Here you will record your observations and map the patterns they weave into fate's skeins. The simulacrum is an object of our world that reminds you of your wizard's souls. It will anchor you to this world as you journey into that of the rogues.
Cast now your soul across the astral sea to the realm of the rogues. Place yourself in their situation. Listen with care to the words of the players. Your sorcerous senses will bridge the worlds and present to you a rich vista. Heed the words and when you hear something worthy of a Motif, record it on your Scrying thread. The Scrying thread is yours and yours alone. So it matters not if the players also record the Motif. All that matters is what you have witnessed and recorded.
Likewise, when a Moral is rolled, you shall write your own lesson to be learned upon your Scrying thread and when a Mystery appears, you shall write your own question worthy of investigation. Undoubtedly these will not match those recorded by the Rogue Players.
Write your elements wherever and in whichever manner serves your arcane purpose. Leave room to add to it as the game progresses. For, unlike the Motif of the Rogue Players, the Scrying thread is not limited to a mere three elements.
When you hear the players narrate something that echoes an element on your own Scrying thread, record that echo and draw a silver cord connecting it to the original element. As the game progresses, the patterns in your web will begin to reveal themselves. But will you behold the truth before the game ends?
Upon the end of the game, recall your simulacrum and let it draw you back to your world. Now the contemplative work of the wizard begins. What meaning lies among your scrawl? What has been woven and how will it affect your own plans?
Compare your notes with fellow wizards so that you may glimpse theirs. What secrets have they uncovered?
Should you find yourself at the table as an Overplayer or a Rogue, you may take any three elements from a Scrying thread that are connected through silver cords and present them as part of a Destiny trick.
My SWM character sheet. Design in line with some of my other play aids.
My SWM character sheet. Design in line with some of my other play aids.
Available here: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1VIS4P1Y_PIRBZyWYRlpul_qlQcozO7hn
Going to try running over the weekend at our local Kublacon
Wednesday, May 16, 2018
Anyone care to play a Tale over RoleGate?
Anyone care to play a Tale over RoleGate? It's a new asynchronous roleplay service that looks like it would work very well for SWM. I've started a game, password is "ep".
https://www.rolegate.com/swords-without-master
https://www.rolegate.com/swords-without-master
Wednesday, May 9, 2018
Resharing this post for the community.
Resharing this post for the community.
Rogues! The first speed run of Swords Without Master is up on YouTube. Links should be in the blog post.
Also, if you missed it on Twitter, we have some fanart from the first episode!
https://twitter.com/buttopian/status/990970122432077832?s=19
https://twitter.com/buttopian/status/991764825062674434?s=19
https://twitter.com/buttopian/status/993796642682949632?s=19
Originally shared by Epidiah Ravachol
It has begun! On Sunday, April 29th, over on the ActualPlay Twitch channel, we had our first of several Swords Without Master speed runs. You witness the glory for yourself!
https://dig1000holes.wordpress.com/2018/05/09/speed-runs-of-swords-without-master/
Rogues! The first speed run of Swords Without Master is up on YouTube. Links should be in the blog post.
Also, if you missed it on Twitter, we have some fanart from the first episode!
https://twitter.com/buttopian/status/990970122432077832?s=19
https://twitter.com/buttopian/status/991764825062674434?s=19
https://twitter.com/buttopian/status/993796642682949632?s=19
Originally shared by Epidiah Ravachol
It has begun! On Sunday, April 29th, over on the ActualPlay Twitch channel, we had our first of several Swords Without Master speed runs. You witness the glory for yourself!
https://dig1000holes.wordpress.com/2018/05/09/speed-runs-of-swords-without-master/
Tuesday, May 1, 2018
Speed Runs on Twitch
Speed Runs on Twitch
Here's our first speed run of #SwordsWithoutMaster up on the Actual Play channel on Twitch. I was super nervous going into this for some reason, despite having played Swords approximately a thousand thousand times, but I had absolutely no reason to be. It was glorious!
The link to the video on demand is below. The whole video is about 2 hours long, but our speed run, from first Overtone to last Reincorporation, minus the brief intermission between first and second Motif, was 50 minutes and 16 seconds.
The beginning of the video is Rogue creation and a brief barfing of the rules. The speed run itself starts around 42 minutes in.
Technical Details
I can't speak to how the Twitch set-up worked entirely. Sean Nittner worked that magic. Our gorgeous playmats are courtesy of Tim Denee.
But I can tell you how we made the dice work in Roll20. I've uploaded all 36 pairs of dice facing to the Swords Community resource folder. You can get them here: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1FIZqfa_bVq8Dj525W1GGJJq2ru154YFu
Log into Roll20 as a GM and set up your game. Go to the Collections tab in the sidebar on the right. At the bottom of that you should see Rollable Tables. [Add] one and then click on the table you just added. That should bring up a dialogue box for creating your table.
Name it something fun, like Tone-Bones. Check the box next to "Players can roll from table?" because you'll want that.
Now let's add table items. Click [Add Item] drop g1j1.gif in the icon spot and label it 1 Glum 1 Jovial. Now repeat this 35 more times. Save changes.
Now on the sidebar by your Tone-Bones there should be a button that reads [Token]. Click that and dice will appear in your play area. As the GM you can move them about, adjust their size and do what you will with them. Most importantly, you can right-click on them, choose Multi-Sided from the pop-up menu, and then choose Random Side to roll them.
Fun!
Now double-click on the dice to bring up the Edit Token dialogue. There is a bit in there where it says Controlled By. Make sure that reads "All Players" so that your Rogues can grab, shove, and roll the dice as well.
I think that's it. Go forth and adventure!
https://www.twitch.tv/videos/255806623
Here's our first speed run of #SwordsWithoutMaster up on the Actual Play channel on Twitch. I was super nervous going into this for some reason, despite having played Swords approximately a thousand thousand times, but I had absolutely no reason to be. It was glorious!
The link to the video on demand is below. The whole video is about 2 hours long, but our speed run, from first Overtone to last Reincorporation, minus the brief intermission between first and second Motif, was 50 minutes and 16 seconds.
The beginning of the video is Rogue creation and a brief barfing of the rules. The speed run itself starts around 42 minutes in.
Technical Details
I can't speak to how the Twitch set-up worked entirely. Sean Nittner worked that magic. Our gorgeous playmats are courtesy of Tim Denee.
But I can tell you how we made the dice work in Roll20. I've uploaded all 36 pairs of dice facing to the Swords Community resource folder. You can get them here: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1FIZqfa_bVq8Dj525W1GGJJq2ru154YFu
Log into Roll20 as a GM and set up your game. Go to the Collections tab in the sidebar on the right. At the bottom of that you should see Rollable Tables. [Add] one and then click on the table you just added. That should bring up a dialogue box for creating your table.
Name it something fun, like Tone-Bones. Check the box next to "Players can roll from table?" because you'll want that.
Now let's add table items. Click [Add Item] drop g1j1.gif in the icon spot and label it 1 Glum 1 Jovial. Now repeat this 35 more times. Save changes.
Now on the sidebar by your Tone-Bones there should be a button that reads [Token]. Click that and dice will appear in your play area. As the GM you can move them about, adjust their size and do what you will with them. Most importantly, you can right-click on them, choose Multi-Sided from the pop-up menu, and then choose Random Side to roll them.
Fun!
Now double-click on the dice to bring up the Edit Token dialogue. There is a bit in there where it says Controlled By. Make sure that reads "All Players" so that your Rogues can grab, shove, and roll the dice as well.
I think that's it. Go forth and adventure!
https://www.twitch.tv/videos/255806623
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