A free update with a major layout overhaul, minor fixes, balancing changes, and form fillable sheets.
Preface
Back in January, I posted the first version of the GEMulator to Reddit. A day later, I uploaded it to DrivethruRPG. The feedback was really positive and I never expected so many people to actually download it.
Originally, I made that version as a learning project to dive into the world of Desktop Publishing. Back then, I was quite happy with what I created, but I've learned a bit since then. I also found several mistakes (spelling, grammar, logic errors) and felt like the overall concept could use another round of polish.
Because the original file was a disaster barely holding together, I decided to completely remake the layout in a more organized fashion. Most of that happened behind the scenes but I hope you can appreciate the new version and the work I've put into it.
What has changed?
Layout
The
most obvious one first. Pretty much everything changed here and I think
it looks much better than before. Don't worry, the old version will
still be available on the Resources/Downloads page of the Solo Tabletop Blog.
Interior Artwork
Besides
the cover, the original version had no artwork or graphical elements.
It was black text on a white background. Good enough to get the
information across, but not that exciting to look at. Version 1.1 is
full of beautiful public-domain paintings from a variety of artists. Be
sure to check out the detailed art credits.
Scene Transitions
The
Scene Transitions table moved some of its entries around. Instead of
constantly changing your expected Scenes (albeit in a 'positive'
manner), low results now mean 'No Change'. Essentially, the positive
results moved to the middle of the table. High results still lead to
negative results.
Play Sheets
Let's
be honest, the old sheets were pretty much useless for digital play and
not great to work with when printed out. It felt weird to have the
Active and Background Lists on different sheets.
Version 1.1 introduces The Chronicle. It has all the Lists on one page and gives the other sheets more room for other things. The boxes are still pretty small but that's by design. You should only summarize the most important bits of your game. The rest should be in your normal notes.
Form Fillable Sheets
Many
of you play completely digital, so I made a separate download for form
fillable versions of all play sheets. The font can get a bit tiny in
places but you're on a computer - just zoom in.
Core Gameplay Loop Clarifications
The Scene gameplay loop has clearer instructions that should make the process of Scene Transition clearer.
Some of the numbers from the Campaign Parameters have been tweaked a bit.
What stayed the same?
Copious Amount of Random Tables
I only fixed minor spelling mistakes and changed a few entries here and there.
Focus on Campaign Play
The
GEMulator is still very much an emulator for long-term play. The minor
balancing changes did not influence the core gameplay loop of the
Campaign, Adventure, and Campaign Turn.
The Price
It's
still free and that won't change. It's marked as Pay-what-you-want, so
you can donate money if you want to support my work. Every amount is
highly appreciated - many thanks to everyone who has already done so.
The License
It's openly licensed via CC-BY-NC-SA 4.0.
You can do whatever you want with it, as long as you credit me, don't
use it for commercial purposes, and share your work with the same
license.
Pretty much everything else
This
isn't a complete overhaul of the rules. It's mostly a polishing pass
and layout change. You'll still recognize most of the old version.
What do you mean don't start with your character? How could you say that? The first step is always make a character..... Oh wait....
ReplyDeleteThere was an explosion in a New York City laboratory and mutated animals are roaming the streets. The United States Army has called me in to investigate....
Good thing I'm not a paladin!
Exactly, I find it much easier to start that way. It also allows you to tie your character into the narrative from the very beginning.
DeleteYep. They flew him in from across the country!
DeleteAlso, I am paying attention and went for a rules system with a little more crunch. It's not super crunchy, but more than what I was using.
One-Shot RPG
I like it!
I have my character! Joseph Landolph.
ReplyDelete(He's an actual professor at the University of Southern California)
Lol that is fun!
And I guess for some feedback on your supplement, I think it's weird to have the die roll for determining the campaign length. It's possible for a short and long campaign to be the same number of adventures.
ReplyDeleteI'm aware that you make it perfectly clear that these can and probably will change, but it seems like that column should list ranges instead of die rolls.
Thanks again for making this available, it's amazing.
Thanks for the feedback! I agree that it would be strange to roll up a short and a long campaign with an equal amount of adventures. Something like "2-4 Adventures" could have worked, but I wanted every entry to have the option of a random roll. I assume that most people just pick the entry that matches their planned campaign.
DeleteIt's very hard to establish a definitive amount of adventures at the very start of the campaign. Most stories develop in unexpected directions and may get cut short or run longer than expected. I highly recommend that you see the number of adventures as more of a guideline instead of a hard rule. Be flexible and remember that you can always change everything later down the line.
The problem is that later down the line never comes... Without the destination in sight, I get off the train and go somewhere else.
DeleteI've started to see success by forcing myself to chase resolution, and then extending that each time.
If I let it wander, it won't come home. I'll get there someday but not yet.
Actually sitting down and finishing a campaign can be surprisingly difficult. Just remember that nobody is forcing you to do that. There is no "right" way to play solo. As long as you're having fun, it's totally fine to just create different concepts and trying them out for a session or two.
DeleteEverything is playing, even if it's just reading a new game and thinking about the kind of games you could play with it.
Something that helped me is a specific timeline. Give yourself a time limit for the entire campaign, or have a concrete finale in mind.
Maybe the BBEG is planning an attack, and you only have x amount of days to prepare.
Maybe the corrupt mayor is trying to get reelected, and you only have a month to expose him.
Maybe the space station has lost power and oxygen is slowly running out.
Each day/week/month/whatever could be a single adventure, or you might group some together. Anything that divides the campaign into clear chapters makes it a lot easier than an open-ended narrative.