Category: Stonetop

Yay! Stonetop was featured (positively, even!) on the Discern Realities podcast.

Thanks for kind words and coverage, David Perry and Jason Cordova! And I’m glad you enjoyed our sessions at Gauntlet Con, David. Y’all were a joy to play with.

Originally shared by Jason Cordova

The newest episode of Discern Realities is here! In this one, David LaFreniere and I discuss Stonetop, Ancient Worlds: Atisi, how to “stick the landing,” and some classic magic items from the Dungeon World Tavern. We also continue our actual play of the story of St. Evelyn the White.

Enjoy!

https://www.gauntlet-rpg.com/discern-realities/episode-60

WHO LIKES INVENTORY SYSTEMS?

New Inventory System for Stonetop

I’ve spent the last few weeks updating Stonetop to use a new inventory system. Here’s the new system at a glance: And here’s the detailed explanation. When you prepare for an expedition , decide if you’re carrying a light, normal, or heavy load-this tells you how many slots you have available.

The Judge in my long-running home game chose that the Chronicle “Contains a few dangerous artifacts.” He left them alone to start, but recently they set out to hunt down a sorcerer deep in the Great Wood. They knew they’d be taking the fae pathways of the waystones, and he wouldn’t be able to bring his iron hammer. “Are any of the dangerous artifacts in the Chronicle hammers or other weapons?” he asks.

Well, with an invitation like that… of course. I had him roll a bunch of times on the minor arcana generator. We got:

> Origin: Primordial Power

>> Aspect: Diminished/fragmentary/shattered & roll again

>> Aspect: Creation/shaping/invention

> Shape: practical item >> tool

> Extraordinary property: absorbs __ and stores its power

> Limit: indiscriminate

So… a diminished/shattered primordial tool that absorbs something and stores its power, involved in creation/shaping and its power is indiscriminate.

Here’s what I gave him:

(EDIT: Crap. I just realized that the second bullet should say “Tell the GM how many charges you expected, and ASK what happens next.”)

Stonetop at Gauntlet Con 2018

Stonetop at Gauntlet Con 2018

I had the absolute privilege to run three sessions of Stonetop as a “long con” at Gauntlet Con 2018 last weekend. The players (David LaFreniere, Greg Gelder, Tyler Lominack, and Horst Wurst) were amazing: creative and engaged, giving and attentive… pretty much everything a GM or fellow player could ask for.

Aaaaand the gripping conclusion of Gauntlet Con 2018’s long-con of Stonetop.

Really, it’s just the first half that’s “gripping” and a conclusion (but it was gripping!).

The second half shows off some of the most Stonetop-ish stuff of Stonetop: the return home, the reactions of friends and neighbors, how the PCs interact with each other between adventures, the turn of seasons, and the pursuit of steading improvements.

Many props to the players for fully engaging in that part of play, even though we only had a couple hours and it was obvious that we wouldn’t get to see the fruits of their efforts.

Thanks, Horst Wurst, Tyler Lominack, Greg Gelder, and David LaFreniere! I had a blast.

https://youtu.be/Ve6Tn58EOEA

Session 2 of Stonetop at Gauntlet Con 2018. YouTube really likes Greg Gelder’s face. Or maybe it’s the mic that it likes. It keeps making it the thumbnail.

David LaFreniere, Tyler Lominack, Horst Wurst

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZepzANQWvZs

I had the absolute privilege to run Stonetop with David LaFreniere, Greg Gelder, Tyler Lominack, and Horst Wurst at Gauntlet Con 2018 this past weekend.

We did a 3-session long-con, and despite all my “ums” and “ahs,” I was super happy with how it went. If you have have the chance to play with any of these fine gents, take it. They’re just great.

Here’s session 1, mostly unedited (just the breaks taken out and a little bit of transition music added).

https://youtu.be/w4wR8gtjB54

Some info on Marshedge, the “proper” town to Stonetop’s east.

Marshedge

Marshedge is about 10 days’ travel from Stonetop, via the Highway through the Steplands. It’s a relatively safe trip, as long as you stick to the safety of the roads. The town overlooks Ferrier’s Fen, a vast, mist-shrouded wetland between the Great Wood, the Steplands, and the Manmarch.

Just officially registered my Stonetop “long con” events for Gauntlet Con: Stonetop: Into the Woods (3 parts). They’ll be:

Friday, 19 Oct, from 2pm – 6pm EST

Saturday, 20 Oct, from 10am – 2pm EST

Sunday, 21 Oct, from 8am – 2pm EST

The blurb:

The crinwin (horrid little things that live in the trees) have been getting bolder of late, and hunters and trappers report all sorts of darksome signs. Tonight, though, they’ve gone too far! An infant is missing, a father injured, and someone swears that they spotted crinwin inside the ringwall! What do you do?

Pretty seriously thinking about making this change for Stonetop. I’d love some more feedback.

Originally shared by Jeremy Strandberg

Continuing to tinker with Hack & Slash

Here’s what I’m thinking. Explanation in the blog post.

HACK & SLASH

When you fight in melee, roll +STR. On a 7+, you attack your foe (deal damage!) and suffer the enemy’s attack; on a 10+, also pick 2; on a 7-9, also pick 1 (but not the first one).

● You evade/counter/prevent the enemy’s attack

● Your attack is powerful/fast/brutal: add +1d6 to your damage

● You hold the initiative or give it to an ally; say what you do next, or who gets to go next

Thoughts?

(edit: slightly reworded; it used to say “By default” instead of “On a 7+;” changed because I want a miss to still be completely undefined. I know I’ve had H&S misses where I brought in something out of left field, like a grim portent, instead of the enemy attacking. I also rephrased it to say “you attack your foe (deal damage) and suffer…” because I intend to have “Deal Damage” be it’s own basic move when I’m done.