Howdy!
what's new?
Since the last issue, I've been hard at work developing the website, and hopefully you'll be delighted to note that it's now pretty much completed and ready to roll.
The entire game deck has been recreated on the site, with navigation throughout via global search, menu, and in-text hyperlinks, making it as easy as possible to find what you need quickly. I've added a contact form, a 'toss a coin' page to help you support the development if you like, and sprinkled some of the chaos roll generators I've made into the relevant sections of the game. On those generators, I've also slung in a few more which take the game mechanics, like watch rolls & creature creation, and allow you to pull together all their random tables at the click of a button. Some GMs prefer generators like this to give them more head space and time to focus on the rest of the session, so they're there if you need them rather than rolling everything out at the table.
I imagine that the website's going to be kind of fluid as we move on and more souls find and engage with the game, so have a look, and if you see anything on the site that doesn't fit with you or if you've any suggestions to make, be sure to let me know!
free maps
As you might've spotted, I've also started adding free battlemaps onto the site. My idea is that for each location in The Realm, which is the blank setting in the game, you'll have access to an increasing number of maps for use in any encounters you lay out for the players. Some GMs like using maps, some don't, so again, they're available if you need them.
These are all provided for free, with a consistent style and 8k HD quality, and I'll be aiming to add more and more as time goes on. If you download the free zip, you'll be notified every time more maps are added. Again, if you've any suggestions for maps, pipe up and I'll get to work on them.
why all the chaos?
and does it mean there's no story?
My aim with this game, of course, is utter chaos at the table. That might not suit everyone. I've played with a fair number of souls who say they prefer a structure in their game, a linear story, the security of a pre-written module, something which will develop out clearly in an arc for their characters and their group that makes sense to them.
I talk about this in my book, however, that chaos and clarity in sessions don't need to be mutually exclusive, that from chaos, in fact, can unfurl story arcs that ok weren't planned out in advance, but that are able to be shared and enjoyed by all at the table with a similar level of surprise because everyone had a hand in how things played out.
So when I hear people say they prefer linear modules, or a clear development in their characters and what's unfurling around them, I think it's necessary to point out that spreading chaos in your sessions can be a means to that end. Preparing less in advance of your sessions, and leaning into the unknown, is an approach that can spark story arcs more aligned with the collective, organic imagination around the table, and can leave everyone at the table in equal parts shocked and energised by what they may not have anticipated but which very much engages them, inspiring them to work together to create a story that's told only after the session's done rather than charted out before it.
sparks of randomness
And so, this game relies a great deal on random generation, on using sparks from tables to create moments in sessions that neither you as GM, nor the players, could have anticipated and now need to make sense of. And that's ok. It ain't as hard or as different as you might think. Even in games and modules with more linear structures, to the players most things are unknown until encountered and worked out from the evidence to hand, and there's little difference to the players, then, if what they face has been generated randomly or has been written out in advance.
For the GM, ok you won't be able to lean on something written or planned out yourself in advance of sessions, but it's not like that leaves you with the sole task of working things out and making sense of what's happening. As you might've seen, the game encourages everyone at the table to work together on that front. I appreciate that this might generate an experience that differs from 'the norm' of players waiting for the GM to create everything when it comes to scenarios and conflict, and again, that it's not everyone's cup of tea. But if you'd like an experience where everyone's sparking off each other, basing what's unfurling around what each of the GM and players find cool rather than the players shaping their fun around the confined realms of the GM's imagination, then hopefully you'll come out the other end as surprised and delighted as each other about how it all turned out, about how unique to your group this experience ended up.
This uniqueness springs from that collective imagination of those at the table. It refuses to cede inspiration to the GM or to whoever may have written the module. Therefore, it can end up feeling more owned, more innately connected with everyone at the table, because it's been pulled from that shared well of creativity.
But hey, enough of that for now. I'll likely ramble on about stuff like this as we go on, but would love to know your thoughts on this kind of approach. Having looked through the game, how do you think you'll run it. What hopes or fears do you have with it? If you've given it a try already, how did it square with you?
thanks so much!
for your support & inspiration
Please share the game with all & sundry, spreading The Chaos into every dark corner its flickering torches haven't quite reached. My aim is for the game to grow like an invigorating fungus on the minds of the OSR community and beyond, and I can't thank you enough for being a part of this.
Meantime, if you've not yet joined The Realm discord, here's the link for that, and I look forward to seeing you there! Be sure to let me know any suggestions you have about what to include in the next issue, or about the game itself, and enjoy the rest of your day. :)
Best,
Scott
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