More than Nothing: Partopian Police

[Part of the Party Time journal]

Having been arrested and stripped of all gear, the teens find themselves in an arena with seventeen other prisoners in a trial by combat against four sabretooth cats! Ughh spends most of his time convincing the other NPCs to fight while Jerghonson makes the cats hit each other while Aah and Mamita dextrously do acrobatics to avoid them. Ultimately, all the cats are slain and the eight survivors (the four PCs, their friends Waywocket and Rowina, and previous race contestants Yuriet and Crixus) are congratulated by Praetor Artorias who then recruits them into his army so that they can be more than nothing. 

It is night time, beneath a handful of stars, when the recruits officially graduate and are given clubs and blue tunics. Captain Tamir tells them that Aeteran Emperor Julian is in need of man power in a war against the hordes of Bhir'Beli to the South, so the new recruits will serve as the Partopian police force while veteran soldiers are sent off to battle. 

Their first few missions are simple affairs: clearing out a blockage in the sewer caused by some whack job trying to make bigger rats, find the stolen offering box from the temple of Koochikoo (stolen by the simple groundsman who wanted to impress a girl but the girl then tossed it in the river, Ughh makes her go swim for it), and being temporary prison guards to an underground jail where incarcerated criminals were recently vanishing (one of the locked up people was a shape shifting slime, eating the others in their sleep - set on fire by Aah after Ughh discovers it).

They also retrieve a wagon for caravaner Jhonen from some bandits who pose as farm hands who are no match for the team that have a surprisingly cinematic fight sequence with them (the players tell me what they do and the dice decide if it works or not, I only decide the effectiveness of the action or the repercussions for failure).

Plot armor was used this time (mainly in the arena)!

Jerghonson had a sibling Jimgonson who was always his biggest rival as he was much wiser, claiming "you're not smart enough to read my books!"

Mamita always had a hard time making friends because she's smarter than them.

Ughh has a story when his caretakers lost him in a forest as he was "hiding in the shadows". Ever since that time could merge with the shadows as long as no one is looking.

Aah was a street orphan but she was taken in by Governor Quintus. While delivering vegetables for Quintus to a market stall one day she gave some to a beggar figuring they wouldn't be missed.

More than Nothing: Those Thieving Teens

[Part of the Party Time journal]

At Partopia (after a time skip), a bunch of teenagers including Ughh, son of Ugh (Juris), Aah, daughter of Sith (Rose), Mamita, the daughter of Mama (Mom), and Jerghonson, the son of Jerghon the great (DL) have been roped in by their friends Waywocket and Rowina into a race across the city for some free drinks. Mamita ends up winning this with Aah's help, who physically body blocked Yuriet, another race competitor into a river.

Enjoying their drinks at the tavern they learn of another contest, this time one of thieving. The rules are no killing, no buying, and only it can only be a singular item (so lots of coins won't count) from within the city of high worth to impress the thief "king" Autolycus who promises a nice reward to the winner. Rowina and Waywocket want to participate and be more than nothing and... I am surprised my usually goody two shoes players goes for it! Getting some promising leads from the bartender they all pick different targets to rob!

Aah and Waywocket steal a jeweled crown from a jeweler's store via some Mission Impossible skylight acrobatics, Jerghonson frees a harem of high value slaves from a slave trader via distracting the guards away, and Ughh has a challenging time breaking into Governor Quintus' manor fortress via wall climbing, sneaking past multiple guard patrols and breaking into the Governor's vault which is only filled with sentimental artifacts like an arrowhead and a broken sword. 

Mamita has the easiest time plucking an "Everliving flower" from the temple of Koochikoo (a diety of growth) but the "Everliving" part turns out to be a lie as it wilts just as she presents it to Autolycus. Also fake is the crown Aah stole from the jewelers as it is the replica Autolycus placed there himself after he stole the real thing. The thief king refuses to put a value on the lives of the slaves Jerghonson rescued, disqualifying him from the contest but at the same time earning some massive applause as that well known slave trader he stole them from is a douche, and Ughh's stolen trinkets get him nowhere. (PCs didn't ask around enough for better targets) 

Despite losing the contest (some kid got the key to the city somehow lol) all participants are given a small gem as a token of Autolycus' appreciation before he then sets up a different challenge: the assassination of Governor Quintus! The team decide to nope the hell out of that one but as they are leaving soldiers (having been tipped off) arrive and arrest the vast majority of them (Autolycus escapes) and they soon find themselves sent to the arena for the amusement of the crowd...

Paradise Killer Trash Goblin Sunderfolk

Three chillaxing games.

Paradise Killer

In this first person detective game you need to find out who killed a bunch of people on Paradise island. With easy controls, a very beautiful 3D map and a cool sound track it really makes it an inviting place to explore. I do wonder then why the place is populated only by a dozen or so 2D anime sprite characters who don't move? There's a bit of backtracking to talk to people and find things but my main problem is that in the game's narrative the world is about to end and reset anyway so it feels like its all for naught and doesn't matter. This one is an odd duck for sure.

Trash Goblin

In this game you are a newbie goblin tinkerer in a fantasy city with an endless supply of junk that you need to chisel the grime off, clean and possibly put together to then sell to visitors that come by (or at the market when you unlock that) - and then you can upgrade your tools and little basement shop using said funds. So its a lot like Toy Tinkerer which I really enjoyed until they put so much grind into it. While this one also has a bit of grind, there's also a story to follow which I very much appreciate - and there's no real negative consequences to deal with. Can't supply what someone is asking for? It's ok, they'll come back another time. Run out of money? No problem, you'll be able to sell stuff eventually and your shop somehow has ZERO expenses (all expenses are just to make your life easier) so you can just ignore everyone / close the store window and focus on assembling stuff if you like. I really like this one. :) 

Sunderfolk

This game feels like Gloomhaven light. In it you play a fantasy party who take turns strategizing and battling on hex maps using your available "cards" to move. Unlike Gloomhaven those cards aren't "two sided" and don't get removed from your deck. The story and art is pretty cute and the town interactions are fine, but most of the game is the combat itself which is pretty decent - until they slowly but surely push every encounter more into the "puzzle" territory rather than keep it tactical. Once it got to the bit where I had to position enemies and characters on pressure plates at the same time,  which is easy enough but freaking annoying, it no longer was fun for me.

Doomblade Arranger Down in Bermuda

Three Epic freebies that aren't so epic.

Doomblade

This platformer has you playing as an imp who follows some whispers that lead her to the titular sword (an opening that worked for Conan right?). This sword is bloodthirsty though and soon enough you'll be backtracking your way through enemies like mad. Backtracking. I hate it. Also there's a strange design decision here where your character is actually kinda slow and not super agile, but if there's an enemy you can click on with your mouse cursor you fly directly at it with the sword. Half the time this kills them. The other half it just stuns them because they are needed for platform traversal. I didn't like it.

Arranger

This is a super strange puzzle game because when you move, everything in your row or column moves with you - looping around to opposite ends if possible. This means the fastest way down a hall is usually to walk into the wall behind you so that you appear on the other end! That sounds neat, but most of the game is trying to move stuff to exact places, and not everything can be conveyor belted around. You want to kill that worm thing in the way? Work out how to move the sword to its face. You want to open the locked door? Work out how to move the key from point A to point B. It's definitely different, and while I didn't mind the village stuff as there's story there - once you get out into the wilderness it feels like there are puzzles in the way just for the sake of puzzles being in the way.

Down in Bermuda

In this kiddie friendly puzzle game you move from island to island after unlocking the "gates" in each, but the game play is more akin to Boxes: Lost Fragments where the islands themselves serve as a box that you (as god/the player) can manipulate which is really handy because these islands have buttons, levers, and locks that need keys? Not the sort of puzzle game I thought it would be. Not recommended.

Fear the Spotlight and Sorry We're Closed

Two horror LGBT Games.

Fear the Spotlight

A nerdy girl agrees to help her goth chick crush sneak into the school library to conduct a seance during a thunderstorm and, yeah - bad things start to happen! With blocky graphics and an intentionally bad shaky cam this actually isn't a bad horror game that's decent at building tension with some decent jump scares and a "sneak past the monster mechanic" while solving the puzzles that keep increasing in difficulty. I was pleasantly surprised by this one - it might not look like much but its pretty good. Recommended!

Sorry We're Closed

Keeping in vein with the above, this game has got demons and monsters and possibly zero straight characters and a bit of a step up art wise, though a fair bit of it is odd. It isn't a stealth game though and instead plays more like Resident Evil with all its fixed camera angles and needing to save at pay phones. While its still a horror (of a more adult variety) its not as scary as the above, simply because you can fight and destroy the monsters in your way. It's annoying that they respawn though, and that there's a fair bit of backtracking. While I liked this one, I felt Fear the Spotlight is better.

Eurovision 2026

This years Eurovision has come and gone, and surprisingly there was a shortage on "women lacking gowns". Instead we got nice gowns, some opera, men in armored gowns, face masks, a silver man, a cat man, a banging Moldovan song, a trip back in time with nice dance moves, some mandatory witches, someone setting the stage on fire, a bonkers UK entry, and a few acts into rope play? The winner had a pretty catchy tune, and I think you can appreciate the awesome choreography more from this audience POV video! That last link is a must watch!

I also very much appreciated the Wasted Boat comedy opening by the hosts which is a parody of last year's winning song, Wasted Love.

For some bonus non-Eurovision tunes, here's Lyv's bardic music channel once again - she's been making a whole bunch of songs! And if you need something *much* heavier after all that, how about "Wrecking Ball, but in the style of Linkin Park"?

Take it easy everyone! :)

Mongil: Star Dive and Girl's Front Line 2: Exilium

F2P games with gacha fanservice!

Mongil: Star Dive

This game is set in a fantasy land where fauna are starting to exhibit violent tendencies and its up to a squad of monster -hunter- tamers to sort it out. Good graphics, excellent animation, an interesting actiony fight system and a good dose of humor are all very welcome surprises in here (as well as being simpler than some of its competitors). The humor especially as the game plays out much like a comedy, including the "taming" process itself. 

That said it is still very "new" with lots of empty unused spaces that you can just tell will be for future content. Also the leveling up system for your random party and their gear, is quite a grind once you hit those level walls which you'll get to sooner than you think. Again, it might just be a case of being new but that killed the game for me.

Girl's Front Line 2: Exilium

This game is set in a post apocalyptic land where fauna ARE violent, just like the numerous PMCs you go up against with your squad of combat "dolls". Yep, its very Ghost in the Shell here with disposable bodies, body parts, and consciousness backups and uploads. Combat here plays more like XCOM and has a puzzle challenge component to it (kill 3 guys in the first round etc) which is neat - though you can also get one support "doll" from someone else and just deploy a level 60 each time to power your way through. :P

The story pieces come in fully voiced (no English dub) visual novel style which I find annoying, but the stories themselves are pretty neat and the art is quite good. While there's also a grindy component to level up your squad its easier to do so here than in Mongil, and because its an older game there are many game modes available to play through even if you find yourself lacking resources or levels to forge on through the main story. Recommended, but be careful as this is an addictive time sink!

Mayor of Kingstown and The Madison

Another pair of Taylor Sheridan shows!

Mayor of Kingstown

Kingstown must be a crappy place to live, especially if its only feature are the number of prisons nearby. The titular "Mayor" is not actually the real mayor of the city, but a fixer (played by Jeremy Renner) who tries to find creative solutions to keep the peace between the cops and the various warring gangs. He's definitely well connected, isn't afraid of getting his hands dirty, and usually doesn't have things go his way which makes for an interesting show, even if he spends at least 40% of each episode talking on the phone while driving ins his car. I'm just curious why everyone seems to listen to him? Still I've very much enjoyed the four seasons of this so far and am looking forward to seeing how it concludes in the fifth.

The Madison

This so far one season "slice of life" show follows a woman played by Michelle Pfieffer and her city based family deal with the sudden loss of her very outdoorsy husband, and finally going to his favorite spot on Earth (the Madison River) to visit his now empty cabins. While the main theme of this show so far seems to be dealing (or not dealing) with grief, there are some funny moments and some introspective ones too which make it interesting. I did not like the extended time in the opening episode on fishing though, but hey, that's just me. It's funny how easy it is to hate some of the characters though. That's something Mr. Sheridan writes really well. :P Not sure yet if this is recommendation worthy, but I'll be watching season two when it arrives.  

Kill Lupercal and Space King

Warhammer 40K, and 40K adjacent?

Kill Lupercal

This short three episode series focuses on a titan crew as they deploy to defend Terra against the forces of chaos led by Horus Lupercal, once the most favored son of the Emperor of Mankind. While the "extras" don't have the best CGI the main characters and titans are well done, with nice action bits to accentuate the all too short story oozing in dark 40K goodness. Recommended especially for those who like Warhammer related stuff!

Space King

This animated youtube series follows a bunch of -space- psycho marines on their quest to find their missing god, the titular Space King, and is a hilarious take on the "totally not warhammer 40k" universe. Definitely for a more mature audience, and again if you like Warhammer 40K you might get a laugh from this. Go check it out, it's free on youtube!

Tron: Ares and Wake up, Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery

Sequels that continue a franchise.

Tron: Ares

In a world where arcade game machines have enough power to create a fully immersive and digital world that you can enter by "digitizing" yourself, this latest movie of Tron actually goes the other way around where a created program (played by Jared Leto) wants to export itself to the real world. While the effects are much better than the older Tron movies (except the part that intentionally goes old school), there are some major plot holes that you'll need to jump over. Like, if Jared Leto is your best program why wouldn't you just make multiples of him instead of making different, inferior versions? Even non-techy audiences will need to leave common sense at the door.

Wake up, Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery

Benoit Blanc (played by Daniel Craig) is back, this time solving an impossible crime in a small parish with a crazy priest and a small congregation of psycho almost-cultists. Like the previous movies this one has good cinematography and a pretty interesting puzzle to solve. While there's a bit of "god bashing" in it mostly done for laughs, I do like that it's tempered with the "good priest". Also, it's definitely better than the second movie (Glass Onion). Recommended! 

More than Nothing: The Axolotl

[Part of the Party Time journal]

Barricading the way behind them in case the blue gnomes heard the fighting (they did), the team hurriedly descends to the lowest level where they come across a large cavern crawling with blind miners going back and forth. They have to navigate this as quietly as possible and do very well until Ugh rushes the last bit attracting attention at the very end. A cave in saves them from the blind miners, but now they're trapped in another chamber with the thing that caused the cave in, a great Axolotl type lizard with many legs munching on a blind miner! It turns with great interest to the new snacks that just arrived (queue boss music)!

Jerghon the Great leads it one way (its basically playing snake - moves fast but can only turn 3 times during its move) to let the others run through the tunnel it came through, then dodges it to follow. They reach another section of blind miners but with the "well" down to the underground river in sight and the lizard hot in pursuit they decide to sprint through them, losing Doxxer before jumping into the fast flowing river below - which proves to be very long and just as deadly. None of their remaining NPC allies survive it (alas poor Ungala, Winnie and the nameless folk), but the four of them eventually wake in some sort of tent with other mine survivors who had jumped the well before them and are now guarded by foreign looking guys.

An official named Quintus soon arrives and says that his men pulled them from the water, and that they're now all a long way from Goat Getterville. Quintus admits he is not a generous soul but offers a deal: that they all work for him to finish his half-built city of Partopia and in exchange they can become citizens if they so wish. But its an all or nothing offer. Either all of them leave and chance the wilderness or accept the deal. 

Since the other survivors are leaning towards staying, the four leaders agree to the deal as its more than nothing and help finish the city over the next five years - after which they all depart back to Goat Getterville... leaving their kids behind.

Plot armor was used this time!

-Master Builder Ugh used to be a farmer who walked away from a juvenile snake on his farm.

-Master Warden Jerghon the Great didn't care that the community previously thought he was a good for nothing layabout for working on a game involving rolling stones.

-Master Miner Mama had a lazy neighbor called Chitty Chatty who asked help to plant her field. Mama agreed because the neighbor helped her previously with something, and while doing so Mama found a blood ruby gem in the neighbors field which she secretly kept for herself.

-Overseer Sith was previously a hunter with a side kick called "Big Man". After tracking a dangerous ostrich by smell one hunt, Big Man then wanted to earn the bounty of an ostrich feather by reporting that he slew the beast and made her look incompetent. Sith then killed Big Man and took the feather for herself.

More than Nothing: The Great Mine

[Part of the Party Time journal]

Empress Palisa, the daughter of "Rou the beheader" and leader of the Goat Getterville nation could see the value in the precious metals hidden in the ground and commissioned a great mine constructed - overseen by our new heroes: Master Miner Mama (Mom) the daughter of Ma, Master Warden Jerghon the Great (DL) who is the grandson of Jerg, Master Builder Ugh (Juris) the third cousin of Ugh, and Overseer Sith (Rose) the neighbor of Rou.

[We had a bit of a mad-libs session prior to this where they basically designed the mine and its problems by taking turns with my prompts with hilarious results, so most of this bit of the adventure is of their own making :P]

Over the years the mine slowly became more and more dangerous and we pick up as the leaders attempt to evacuate everyone out. Alas, an earthquake sends them plummeting down one level into an underground lake which in unusable due to all the possum pee in it. Determined to escape and to be more than nothing, they and three other nameless survivors head back upstairs only to find the exit collapsed, but they manage to scare a bunch of angry possums away from a barricaded door to the barracks. 

Inside is the now elderly Winnie who can sense there's a way out through a deep underground river at the lowest level which he knows about due to his fisher people heritage. After Mama helps the team avoid a minor cave in, the team descends to the prison level (which the leaders agreed to build down here) and release Dodo, a saboteur descended from the Ostrich Riders; Doxxer, a spy who knows Jerghon's secret (that he still carries Mmmbop's ponytail); and Ungala - a deep scout who reports the rest of his unit was bitten by rabid possums. 

The result of the bite is clearly seen in his buddy Bunga, locked in a separate cell. The now blind man paces back and forth predictably but when he hears a noise he charges aggressively and attacks in that direction. 

With that knowledge they continue down, sneaking past strange blue gnomes now looting diamonds from a doorway broken open by Dodo and reach the illegal Ostrich rider hideout below. They send Dodo in first to calm his compatriots down but he gets torn apart by giant rabid possums that then rush the party, slaying one of the "spare" nameless guys before the team manages to defeat the beasties with their pickaxes.

More than Nothing: Rou the Beheader

[Part of the Party Time journal]

Sometime later the Goat Getter village is flourishing, but Shania arrives with a request to help defend Twain against the expanding territories of Tan-ned - a large city to the North, forcing villages to join or die. They agree that this threat is more than nothing and arrive just in time to defend against the pony tailed forces of Akin-Ka, but are caught by surprise by their ponytail dagger throw which kills many of the defenders. Rou and Ug's use of "I am bright!" saves the day, blinding the enemy forces who are then massacred. Rou beheads Akin-Ka post mortem.

With Shania insisting on pressing the advantage, she rallies more fighters and they them march unopposed all the way to Tan-ned which is strangely undefended? Sensing a trap they divide their forces in two, Shania and half the warriors will hold outside while the Goat Getter heroes enter the "palace temple" (just a covered platform higher than the other buildings) with the other half. Sure enough, Tan-ned's leader Mmmbop is there waiting for them with his guards and uses the powers of his god "wormy" to explode people into wriggling masses worms (by wiggling his fingers and chanting "wormy wormy wormy").

The team rush forward through the defense, and the defenders fail their ponytail dagger through after Rou throws the head of Akin-Ka at them! Mmmbop also critically fails trying to worm-splode Jerg so instead his fingers all turn into worms and fall off. Rou then hits him with a knife to the leg before Jerg captures him and leads him out to the overlooking balcony, where Rou publicly beheads him. This routs the remaining enemies.

Alas, Shania died in the battle outside but everyone else - including the rest of Tan-ned's oppressed citizens now see the four as their saviors and rejoice at Mmmbop's defeat and years pass in relative peace as the Goat Getters inherit the amassed territories of their enemy!

[This is the end of the current characters as I force retire them, and not one of them used any plot armor :P] 

More than Nothing: The First Village

[Part of the Party Time journal]

At the edge of the misty forest the Goat Getters encounter a small group of apes who warn them of a war being waged by their kind and the forest floor dwellers of Shroomy, also noting all the goats would be "shroomed" by now. They accept the apes offer of climbing up above the shroom-mist and meet the apes god "QQ", a large rainbow serpent who asks for their assistance in winning the war but since they refuse, QQ just let's them cross the tree tops to the other side of the forest and warns them never to return.

On the other side of the forest the now somewhat hungry tribe find a ruined settlement where they engage with beasts they've never seen before (dinosaurs) and clear them out. Obelisks in the ruins are decorated with pictograms of farming and building which Mama Yapa understands. She declares the time of wandering is over, and the tribe will settle down here to try farm the land. They will be more than nothing.

The young heroes are sent to gather wood and not willing to return to the misty forest, follow a large river the opposite way, encountering a sheep herder looking for his missing dog and a naked fisher person named Testikles whose invitation to visit his nudist village is rejected.

They eventually reach another farming settlement of Twain and the super friendly leader Shania agrees to help the Goat Getters as much as she can. Providing seeds, timber and a cart to transport it as well as information on the area. On the way back the team encounter a naked fisher kid named Poo on the side of the road, crying because his people sacrificed his dad to their god, the Crocagatorman, in accordance to their practice of sacrificing those above a certain age.

Rou takes the kid under her care, renaming him to Winnie instead and returns him to the Goat Getter Village which has suffered an attack while they were away. Mama Yapa says the ostrich riding raiders took some of their people off with them to the West and so the party pursues, detouring slightly when they come across a trio of naked dog worshipers and a pack of various dogs they admit to "freeing from slavery". Ug does an amazing speech that involves letting the dogs decide if they are happier with their owners and the trio agree to return all the stolen dogs while giving directions to the raiders and suggesting they only respect strength. 

As such when they find the raider camp, Jerg approaches alone and challenges their wiry short leader to a duel - and kills him with the Ug's obsidian blade after dodging the thrown javelins and mounted ostrich. The rest of the raiders kneel before Jerg, muttering "you earn what you kill" (thanks Riddick) and so not only do they free the prisoners, the raiders are also assimilated into the Goat Getter tribe!

More than Nothing: The Goat Getters

[Part of the Party Time journal]

Ug (Juris), Rou (Rose), Ma (Mom) and Jerg (DL) are young cavemen out to prove themselves on their first unsupervised goat hunt, armed only with their wits and fists. It's a ritual of the "Goat Getter" tribe (PC named) that has followed this massive herd of goats over the years. 

Having tracked their prey to the foothills of the Black Mountain, Ug accidentally spooks the goats which sends them running. A sabertooth cat takes advantage of this, killing one goat and running off. Somehow the team loses track of the herd but finds the cat tracks and not willing to return empty handed follow them to a lone tree beneath which is the goat carcass.

The sabertooth strikes from hiding, mauling Jerg but Ma kills it by bashing it with a rock and saving him. They take both dead animals back their nomadic camp but on the way find a group of weeping, dark skinned mountain folk who have been brutalized and or killed by something. The hunters decide to go past quietly.

Back at base, tribe leader Mama Yapa is happy with their performance, beating even the veteran hunters who returned bruised, scratched and empty handed. Over dinner under a pitch black night lit only by two stars, Ug overhears the veteran group boasting about their exploits against the mountain tribe.

The next day the four are off hunting again but this time Rou spots a child seemingly made of light high atop a cliff. They go to investigate and the celestial child, "Sunny" asks for their aid in rescuing an ally from his enemy who will not expect the intruders to be more than nothing, and in exchange will lend them his power if they are successful. They agree and are instructed to leap off the cliff onto an invisible bridge. Ug goes first and sure enough he doesn't fall, so the party follows the bridge directly to a tear in the sky, leading to a realm of dark and freezing cold - a large, chained wolf imprisoned beyond icy stalagmites.

They work quickly to free the creature (taking cold damage over time) when a voice commands them to stop. It is the darkness, and it doesn't want Sunny to gain more power than he already has so instead offers to give them a weapon to kill the child instead. Ug tricks the darkness into gifting him obsidian blade (an ever sharp rock) with a false promise of slaying Sunny. They free the wolf, who turns out to be Luna, and exit just in time.

As a reward, Sunny teaches them how to summon his light: to stare directly at the sun and yell "I am bright!". The pair then vanish and since night is fast approaching the young hunters return to base, noticing there is now a moon in the sky. The peace is interrupted in the village when a giant "centipede" made of a mass of congealed corpses arrives and starts killing their tribesmen, by folding them in half and putting their heads in their asses. 

Ug distracts it while Jerg locates the puppeteer mountain tribe caster on a nearby hill, using a dead baby as a hand puppet to control the creature. Jerg kills him with a large stone then tears the baby corpse in two, destroying the monstrous centipede.

Mama Yapa decides to move the survivors off the cursed mountain to pursue the goat herd into the misty forest beyond.

More than Nothing: The System

[Part of the Party Time journal]

It's homebrew time again, and this time around I'm using a simplified Ironsworn system which uses five base stats: Edge for dexterity stuff, Might for strength and fighting stuff, Wits for smart stuff, Heart for will and talking stuff and Shadow for hiding and spotting hidden stuff. Skills go up or down when I deem them to do so. :P

These all start as blank and can go down to -3 and up to +3. When doing a dangerous or interesting action the player will roll 1d6 and 2d10. The d6 result then gets modified based on the number against the relevant stat (plus any extra situational bonuses or negatives) and if that beats both d10s its a success, if it beats one d10 its a partial success with consequences, and if it beats neither d10 its a failure with consequences. Should the d10s have the same number that's a critical (success or failure defined as before).

Characters have 13 boxes for health and stress, health being marked off from the left while stress starts from the right. Health being harder to recover. PCs can spend 2 stress on their own character to reroll all dice, or 1 stress (for themselves or their team mates) to reroll one dice. And they can just keep doing that. If the bar fills up with stress and/or damage then the character is "out" and quite probably dead.

I'm also adding occasional table top warfare here using old toy figurines, with simple rules of you can walk 3" and do something or run 6" and do nothing else. Heroes need to be within 2" of allies to command them (and said allies have to be a chain of 2" or less apart each to move together) and at the end of movement all units have to be facing the same direction (usually, unless it was an intentional "spread out" command). In instances where I have grid maps, its the same with the walk being 3 squares and the run being 6 squares.

Bad guys don't really get to roll in most situations except in the table top warfare bit. There its simply a dice roll (and I determine the situation on how many dice) and the result equals how many soldiers die and/or how much damage goes to a PC. 

Lastly, each character has an option to avoid damage by using limited "plot armor". These are basically a set of flashback questions made from plot threads I couldn't incorporate into the main story that lead us to know more about each character's past, usually shady or dark. It's funny that my group knows what I'm like and try their best to avoid using it at all costs!  

As usual I'll throw in more systems as we go along but those are the basics, and a lot of this is based off the many RPGs I've been reading through. :)