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A Day in the Life: a Grizzly Update

So many ideas, so little time.

Seriously. I was hit with life like a truck hits a moose. Neither comes out too well, and everything grinds to a halt. There are a myriad of projects I have in the works here at The Grizzly Rant and the Grizzly Encounter series, but these will be postponed for a bit longer.

For some bizarre reason I have yet to figure out, folks appear to enjoy my ideas and products. For that, I am blown away, humbled, and grateful. I fully intend to keep working on all of it for a simple reason:

I love Game Mastering at my table. These ideas, projects and products are things I create for my players. And with a little cleanup, they enhance our hobby and my favorite game system, Index Card RPG.

That being said, I know a scant few of y'all actually follow me (can't fathom why), so here are a few brief updates on what I am slowly working on between moving and prepping for a new classroom:

The Grizzly Rant: Idea Factory

The blog will continue faster than the Grizzly Encounter series because they are easier. However, finding the spare few moments to jot down the ideas in my brain, even the summaries of them, are difficult at the moment. Here are a few of the posts I have planned in the (hopefully) near-ish future, i.e., before the end of 2018:
  • NPCs as Loot: Companions in ICRPG
  • Jar of EVIL: Monster Classification
  • Roll20 and You: The ICRPG Way (Series)
  • And updates on CIVILIZATIONS, MYSTERIES and JOURNEYS

Grizzly Encounter Series: ICRPG Game Supplements

These will take longer. Like, way longer. I have no idea anymore, so I'm going to stop giving specific estimates. The ones listed below in my GM Journal are in various stages of development; some are battle-tested, some are not. One's that are art-heavy will take a long time. 

In addition, publication is on hold as I learn to work Scribus. Creating the PDFs in Adobe Acrobat Pro is... frustrating. And getting to be expensive. And not allowing me to create the kind of product I eventually hope to put out there for y'all.

Here are the projects that are currently in some stage of production. I hope to have them published between this fall and winter of 2019. In no particular order:
  • MONSTERS VOL 1: Minion, Harbinger and Certain Doom level monsters for your players!
  • MYSTERIES: Create and run Stories as Intrigue in your Adventures and Campaigns!
  • FORCES: NPCs, Companions, and Character creation the Grizzly way!
  • Updates to CIVILIZATIONS and JOURNEYS

CONCLUSION

While I disappear from time-to-time, GM Grizzly will eventually emerge from the cave like the proverbial bear from hibernation. There are many wonderful topics to discover and discuss about this system and our hobby. And as always,

Happy gaming. - GM Grizzly
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Comments

  1. UnknownJune 22, 2018 at 6:04 PM

    I know exactly what you mean buddy...ive got a ship race around a solar system my players absolutely loved and I can't seem to find the the time to put it in a google doc. or pdf. I would love to share it with the G+group. Take your time man, you'll pull through even stronger. I'm a huge fan of your supplemts cause they're streamlined in the ICRPG fashion and table ready. And as still a fairly new DM(1year now) I'll take all the tips I can get. Cheers!!!

    STRENGTH HONOR AND ICRPG

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    1. GrizzlyJune 22, 2018 at 6:14 PM

      Thank you! Yeah, it takes time, even to put it in a g-doc. I do find it worthwhile, and folks like you help me keep going with publishing them. The task of the GM is tough, indeed! It's weird, but I approach it much like the engineer I spent way too long in school to become: work hard in design now to be lazy later. Keep on keeping on!

      In fact, most of what I'm doing now in my RPG space is trying to create a narrative structure generator, which is oddly different from even the LOG, DEW, DDD and Archetype system of ICRPG. Those go a long way and make a wonderfully mechanically fun game with story elements, but I want to weave story and drama back into the very marrow of the game, down to the start of creation. Lots of crazy updates to things coming, and MYSTERIES and FORCES are gonna be something else entirely!

      Delete
  2. Chris RutledgeMay 31, 2019 at 9:49 AM

    Man, John, I love your stuff! You break down major aspects of human existence into practical and engaging mechanics. I'm also really excited to read about your current projects here and on the Runehammer forums, as they've been ones which have been of interest to me! Specifically,

    - Narrative structure generator (Propp's "Morphology of the Folktale" has been useful)
    - Simplified/distilled/universal approach to stats (I've been using the template of Enneagram and similarly arrived at "body [STR DEX] / mind [INT WIS] / spirit [CHA CON]").

    This work has been done to the end of identifying universally applicable narrative and cultural tropes in an attempt to render more authentic experiences (like how would the container and content of ICRPG look if it were developed by and for a Samoan audience? What elements of travel--seafaring is huge--,the supernatural, conflict, identity, and community are meaningful enough to mechanically render? How would their approach to narrative change the system, itself?)

    Back on ICRPG specifically, what would a good approach for handing factions (warring guilds, worker uprisings, etc.?) If you've done this, have you found success CHUNKing them as an element of CIVILIZATIONS? I love how well Forged in the Dark handles them, and was wondering if you'd found a satisfactory way to render them.

    Anyway! Thanks for reading, and thank you for making available such useful content!

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  3. GrizzlyJune 1, 2019 at 5:04 PM

    Thanks, Chris!

    I've been thinking about factions and large scale combat for a while. The HORDE mechanic in MONSTERS VOL 1 was my experiment with CHUNKing large groups to streamline combat. My next CIV update will (hopefully) contain a section on guilds/factions.

    My plan is to CHUNK an organization (functions, perks, personnel, etc) like a building. Main difference is to create 1-3 notable NPCS from FORCES (almost done, probably out by the end of the year) and tag a ORIGIN/DESTINY to the guild or faction itself. Give guild/faction membership a benefit, history and goal as well as someone to interact with personally. Uprisings/revolts would be structured similarly. Treat the whole thing as a single entity with various powers. A Faction LOOT item could be added to PC members (like my Companions) to signify membership and grant bonuses/effects. Also helps players keep track of who they're sided with.

    Taking over or defeating a group (or inter-group conflict) would be some sort of attempt and Effort against the CHUNKS. Defeat a CHUNK and either eliminate or take it over. PCs could play to the ORIGIN or DESTINY for membership.

    Still very much in Beta, not even blog post ready. But I hope to test it next time my group lands in a city/space station.

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