CALICO // VISIONS

 Dungeon Design 10 // A Series of Tubes     I'm a little late to this one. Didn't notice, did you? A dungeon can be a lot of things, but the grand majority of them have this one thing in common: they're one-note.       Think about it this way // dungeons are usually uniquely linear in most games. They often have only 1 goal // to reach the end, defeat the boss, save the princess, whatever. Some special dungeons might have 2. Even if a dungeon loops around itself and is rather nonlinear and skillful in its design, it might only have one way to "win". While there may be nothing wrong with this in conception, this practice, as well as a few others, often lead to dungeons that are shallow and dull.     How do we fix this? Subgoals . Bottlenecks and Subgoals .         --------------------------------------------------------------- //     Some Things to Think About // The use of "subgoals" should ...

A Limerent's Guide to Tactics // Team Compositions     In my myriad of playtests for this game, I have found that players (and GM's!) alike struggle in a great many ways when it comes to playing the game efficiently. Despite being a tabletop roleplaying game, Psychomortis is an experience that demands a lot from its participants, and one of those things it demands is skill and mastery.    It is also a very team-based game that requires a lot of work and communication between people. A single powerful character can only carry a party so far, and by around the Citrinitas stage of advancement, this tactic stops working almost entirely.     In my mission to aide those who are struggling, I plan to be writing a small (maybe) series (maybe) of short (maybe) guides on how to create teams, build a character, construct adaptive tactics, and the various ways in which you can use your tools to your advantage.       Nothing in these guides...

Dungeon Design 01  // It's About Making Connections     It has been brought to my attention that the last blogpost I made read like it was written by an udder madman. I promise you that it might have been, but I will make an effort to write in such a manner that is more easily understood and with better flow. This time.       There are a few things I need to make very clear on this topic. I will not be writing basic advice here // standard things like looping your rooms, or "Jaquaysing" a map. There are numerous ways and places you can find that kind of information, and there would be no reason for me to write about it.    --------------------------------------------------------------- //     Breaking Down some Preconceptions // Dungeons should never be designed to simply be rooms connected by hallways. If a map is laid out this way, it doesn't matter how 'jaquaysed' it is, or how much it loops, it will always be boring. ...

Somnambulism 101 // Pre-Session Advice      I've become aware of the possibility of the struggles of playing Psychomortis. I have also become aware of the possibility of the struggles of RUNNING Psychomortis. One of these activities is much harder than the other. Despite the reputation that Psychomortis strives for; one of brutality and hostility, I do intend my game to be played .     Here I plan to collect a variety of potentially short-form or potentially long-form writings on the subject. I have run a weekly game of Psychomortis for well over a year now, and I feel as though I have learned how to wrestle with this unruly beast of a game quite well.     While Psychomortis is indeed a struggle to learn and truly adapt to, it is immensely rewarding in its gameplay and narrative constructions. Games will often be naturally multi-layered and characters will naturally grow, change and go through arcs as enforced by organically flowing mechanic...