#signalflare don't go down with the ship; come join the community over on Discord.

#signalflare don't go down with the ship; come join the community over on Discord. Lots of great stuff happening: monthly themed events, hacks and rituals, crowd sourced Rogues, and more!
https://discord.gg/63jEHWR

did this community get exported?

Likely there aren't many of you left here, but for those who are - if the demise of G+ has left you wondering where...

Likely there aren't many of you left here, but for those who are - if the demise of G+ has left you wondering where you'll discuss games online I would heartily recommend The Gauntlet Forums.

Originally shared by Jason Cordova

The Gauntlet Forums

Ever since Google announced the closure of G+, folks have been wondering where The Gauntlet would go. Today I am delighted to let you know the answer:

The Gauntlet Forums!

Shane Liebling and a bunch of other awesome folks have been hustling to get the forums finished in time for the (accelerated) closure of G+, and they are now ready for you to join at the link below!

Please read the intro message, particularly the FAQ and the Inclusivity Policy. All the values we built this community with will transfer over to the forums.

Once you're all set up, start interacting with posts so you can raise your trust levels. Keep an eye on the Announcements section, which is where we will post new podcast episodes, contests, Gauntlet Con info and other official business. RPG Chat and Game Design is where I expect most people to hang out. And Gauntlet Hangouts is where we will be announcing new games on our calendar.

We have archived this G+ Community so we can access its content whenever we need to. G+ was good to us, and we're sad to see it go, but we're ready for the move.

So, please, do come join us at the new home of The Gauntlet!
https://forums.gauntlet-rpg.com

G+ is fading into the west at the end of this month, but the Swords community is not!

G+ is fading into the west at the end of this month, but the Swords community is not!

Folks, over on the Discord Without Master, we're doing a March of Swords--putting together a bunch of rogue-made material for the game. Join us and share your own experimentations!

https://discord.gg/hYaDQ4R
https://discord.gg/hYaDQ4R

Behold!

Originally shared by Epidiah Ravachol

Behold! Shel Kahn has just given us our first glimpse at what the final Wolfspell will look like. The art on the cover is still a work in progress, but look at how it’s progressing! Imagine this beast standing before you, one foot tall and a powerful…
http://dig1000holes.wordpress.com/2019/01/25/divining-wolfspells-future/

#Wolfspell🐺officially passed the 80% mark just about a day and a half into the campaign:...

Originally shared by Epidiah Ravachol

#Wolfspell🐺officially passed the 80% mark just about a day and a half into the campaign: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/epidiah/wolfspell

Folks, I'm so happy about this. This weirdo idea of a tabletop roleplaying game printed on a record jacket is about to become real!

The Super Blood Wolf Moon is here and the #Wolfspell🐺 Kickstarter has begun!

Originally shared by Epidiah Ravachol

The Super Blood Wolf Moon is here and the #Wolfspell🐺 Kickstarter has begun!

🐾 Transmogrify your flesh into that of a wolf!
🐾 Howl and lope with the pack!
'🐾 Seize your very own copy of the first tabletop roleplaying game printed in the liner notes of a record album jacket.

Featuring the epic art of Shel Kahn!

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/epidiah/wolfspell

Don’t let another morning go by without the Breakfast Sandwich Maker by Hamilton Beach.

Don’t let another morning go by without the Breakfast Sandwich Maker by Hamilton Beach. It lets you enjoy a homemade breakfast sandwich, made your way, in the comfort of your own kitchen. Cleanup is easy because all removable parts go in the dishwasher.

Visit us today and purchase your own at https://amzn.to/2SCwyQN

Folks!

Originally shared by Epidiah Ravachol

Folks! I've got a Kickstarter on the horizon! I'm publishing Wolfspell in a physical form. In a completely metal 🤘 physical from. It's being printed on the inside of a trifold album cover, gloriously illustrated by the amazing Shel Kahn!

We're launching the Kickstarter late on a Sunday night because THAT'S WHEN THE SUPER BLOOD WOLF MOON is. And I can't stress that enough. SUPER BLOOD WOLF MOON means metal roleplaying!

Here's a link for details: https://mailchi.mp/97d5304ecd2a/pack-lend-me-your-howl-wolfspell-kickstarter-news
https://mailchi.mp/97d5304ecd2a/pack-lend-me-your-howl-wolfspell-kickstarter-news

What tale is this?!

What tale is this?!

http://pulp-lit.com/270.html
http://pulp-lit.com/270.html

I would like to organise an online game of Swords without Master for a group of friends.

I would like to organise an online game of Swords without Master for a group of friends. What would be the right tools to have the visual greatness of the speed runs that were recorded this summer?

The Utopiales is one the biggest SF Festival in France.

The Utopiales is one the biggest SF Festival in France. And there is a Gaming Area in it. Some 40 games simultaneously at some time. And here I was, creating a fine tale with four rogues ... The article is in French, and I took the "Fictive Fun" style for exposing the Motifs.

Also, I ran two games of "The RadX Orphans", a Diesel-punk / kids with powers hack of SWM (more on that on my blog in french, but I can talk about it in english), and one more game of Ghosts Without Master, a lighter "hack" with mainly two other Tones : Calm & Sinister. This one will soon be presented ^^. Think Dark Souls, Ravenloft, Castlevania, Darkest Dungeons, Seven to Eternity ...

French people, in the west, start to know how good SWM is ^^.

http://www.gulix.fr/blog/2018/11/05/utopiales-2018-swords-without-master/
http://www.gulix.fr/blog/2018/11/05/utopiales-2018-swords-without-master/

A thing I’ve been doing for the last few SWM games I’ve run.

A thing I’ve been doing for the last few SWM games I’ve run.

Problem - SWM and RPGs in general are very open. Without a grounding in a setting it can be very difficult for all players (GM included) to have a shared vision of an encounter, scene, or heck even a predefined setting.

I’ve played and run SWM games where player perceptions never really line up. I’ve seen this in more traditional RPGs too. One thing I’ve been trying that seems to help is:

1) before play begins every player including GM states a single word or short phase that epitomizes Sword & Sorcery for them.

2) everyone then provides a brief explanation of “why”, including any details of what they hope to bring into the game from their term or phrase

This process seems to then have an effect on the phases as we move forward - even if it were subconscious or unintentional.

Example list for a recent game:

Hyborea
Scheming Guilds
Forming Bonds w/ Strangers
Magical Travel
Unexpected Transformations

And another:

Hyborea (ok guess which one is mine)
Low Magic
Finding Home
Camaraderie

A successful Sunday hosting 2 games of Swords Without Master At Big Bad Con - sharing the game with 7 new players...

A successful Sunday hosting 2 games of Swords Without Master At Big Bad Con - sharing the game with 7 new players who were all enthralled. Good times.

Rogues Without G+

Rogues Without G+

The auguries have been read, and this world is destine for an apocalypse. Where then should rogues such as yourselves find the adventure you crave?

Discord Without Master is a great place to find a game to play in: https://discord.gg/7RWbHM5
It's also got its own alchemical laboratory.

I'm on Facebook, but only rarely, and I'm not super comfortable with its interface. I'm also on Twitter (@Epidiah): https://twitter.com/Epidiah There's no centralize community over there, but that's nothing a few hashtags can't solve. #SwordsWithtoutMaster #SundayAMSwords and #Eidolon are a good place to start.

There's also a bit of a indie gaming community over on dice.camp. I'm over there as well.

If anyone has other suggests of where to find like-minded rogues, please leave them in the comments below.

Starting in 10 minutes!

Starting in 10 minutes!

Originally shared by Josh McGraw

Rogues and Overplayers! Come join us on Discord Without Master this weekend for Sunday AM Swords! We'll be organizing at 0900 GMT-4, with additional opportunity available at 0900 GMT-7. No prior experience or prepared Rogue is necessary; newcomers welcome!

This event is Epidiah Ravachol endorsed! :D
https://discord.gg/u9BxdyY

Rogues and Overplayers!

Rogues and Overplayers! Come join us on Discord Without Master this weekend for Sunday AM Swords! We'll be organizing at 0900 GMT-4, with additional opportunity available at 0900 GMT-7. No prior experience or prepared Rogue is necessary; newcomers welcome!

This event is Epidiah Ravachol endorsed! :D
https://discord.gg/u9BxdyY

Our game of Swords Without Master just concluded on Rolegate featuring two of the #crowdsourcedrogues!

Our game of Swords Without Master just concluded on Rolegate featuring two of the #crowdsourcedrogues!

It's a brief, but epic tale that you can read in its entirety here. If you decide to scry it, please let us know!
https://www.rolegate.com/ref/A554551N/completed-swords-without-master-of-forest-flames-and-death
https://www.rolegate.com/ref/A554551N/completed-swords-without-master-of-forest-flames-and-death

I want to write short stories, but I'm also interested in doing it collaboratively and with game-y elements to guide...

I want to write short stories, but I'm also interested in doing it collaboratively and with game-y elements to guide and inspire more than just writing whatever I want straight up. I'm compelled to adapt SWM into a GM-less partners' writing prompt and pacing engine, essentially as one long rogues' phase. How do you all think this would work?

With a writing partner:
1. Choose two styles for your tale, and possibly a title thread. (obviously some styles 'rules' may work differently in this mode; just adapt and go with it).
2. Create either one or two protagonists, as usual for SWM (eidolon, all deserving of a name, feats heroic), but without tricks.
3. Someone rolls an overtone and establishes an opening shot/scene including thunder.
4. Alternate turns playing out one long rogues phase (rolling dice for tones, overtone, and noting motifs, mysteries, and morals as usual). They both answer the demand given them and end their turn by making a follow-on demand.
5. If someone wishes, while they hold the dice, rather than making a new demand, they may temporarily shift into a discovery stance and describe something about the setting, environment, or a side character that a main character notices or fails to notice, followed by asking a loaded question of the other writer, who then rolls the dice and follows through on developing the new discovered information in the rolled tone.
6. As usual, when three motif threads are filled, enter endgame and reincorporate threads. When both writers have reincorporated, end after one more reincorporation occurs. The writer who didn't get a second reincorporation may add an epilogue statement or choose to end the tale.
(7. Note questions and implications that could fuel a new tale.)

This type of game would probably get fuzzy with affordances and constraints since main characters may be more shared, unless each writer's noted named items are fully within their purview, even if they're different aspects of a same character. The pacing and intimacy would depend heavily on the sorts of rogues' phase demands the players give each other. They could go wildly broad and action-oriented or wildly tight and personal/internal.

What would work or not work about this? Is adding possibility for the pseudo-discovery phase unecessary and complicated? Should it just be mechanically all a rogues phase?

A question came up, could you please help me sort it out?

A question came up, could you please help me sort it out?

A stranger is OPing for me and my friends in PbP. During play I raised my character unstated 'power level' to be able to beat his enemies because the situation looked diresome (the rogues against a whole city state). The OP did the same because he felt that we are slaying our enemies like flies. We basically tried to match each other a couple of times and this created a frustrating loop. We realized this conflict of agendas but could find any written principles on what to do and how to solve this problem.

I've always thought that in the end rogue players have nearly full control of what is weaker and what is stronger than them. I played a shitload of Sw/oM but I'm not sure if I say this from a flawed conviction.