A blog post putting some of the speed run and Ritual of Scrying material all in one place.

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

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?

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?

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

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.

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

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.