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Thank you for your comment, I'm glad you like the look of the game so far :)

I'm definitely gonna start doing more Ashcans for games I have 'ready' but not 'finished', I don't get too much free time for working on zines and games either so doing finetuning/balancing on a game just isn't an option unless I want to release a game every year (or longer!)

I'm looking forward to seeing what you put out next, Ashcan or otherwise!

Thank you so much man! I hope you have fun with it!

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This is a very good read :)
Runescape was probably the most influential piece of media for me growing up, as well as Talisman 1E. I played as a kid before the Grand Exhange was introduced, and opted to play Ironman mode in Oldschool to rid myself of the temptation. I played without the Wiki, which encouraged me to ask other players for help/advice if I couldn't for the life of me figure it out myself!

Sorry for all that rambling, here are some of my design thoughts on Runescape:

Tools with Multiple Uses:
Runescape is fickle when it comes to this one. Some tools, like the Knife and Chisel, are used in a variety of different scenarios and activities which I like. However, the fact that Battleaxes cannot be used to cut down trees has always bugged me, and if more tools had the same variety that a Chisel did it would make planning out your equipment for a quest much more interesting. 

This is a lot easier to do in a tabletop game than in a virtual one. Giving players more versatile equipment that encourages them to think creatively with what they have can lead to many more interesting moments in your games.

NPCs as part of the World:
There are a *lot* of NPCs in Runescape. Many of them I don't interact with (or can't, really) once their quest is complete. Some NPCs are used in multiple quests, which can make dialogue options sometimes confusing but that's a limitation of the computer game. I always found it strange as a kid that once you've done a quest for a character all they can do is essentially say 'well done' and aren't part of the game anymore.

In my table games I always try and do the opposite. I'll always re-use NPCs where possible, as it not only saves time preparing a character, but also gives the players a familiar face, friendly or otherwise. Perhaps players need a potion for a quest, but the only brewer in the land is a druid they wronged in a previous adventure. This leads to players thinking more about the social consequences of their adventures and puts them more firmly in the world they're exploring. Do they now force the druid to brew them a potion, or try to right their previous wrongs? 

Food as Culture:
This is probably one of the biggest things I learnt from Runescape in terms of design, and links into my next point a bit. Different cultures/settlements/creatures will eat different types of food, usually determined by their environment. This sounds obvious when written, but probably not something many people think about too often. How many times in a tabletop tavern do your adventurers eat 'food' and drink 'ale'? 

In Runescape, the people of Lumbridge have a lot of cow and chicken farms, while the people of Karamja eat tropical fish, goblins eat cave-bats and toads, and so on. When players are eating in your tabletop game, think about where they are and what the local people have to hand. You could give food systemic properties (advantages/disadvantages) to influence players to interact with food more often, but even if it's just a 'cosmetic' change, it can still help immerse the players in whatever region of the world they're in. 

Crafting and Survival:

Many of the attributes you have in Runescape don't contribute to combat or magic at all, and yet they're often some of the most important (especially without the Grand Exchange!). These are your crafting and survival skills. These include things like Fishing, Firemaking, Herblore, and are essentially skills that enable you to make useful equipment/resources out of the natural environment. Although there's no hunger/survival systems in Runescape, you'll often need to eat to regain HP. Killing and cooking small creatures like Chickens yields few HP, but as you increase your relevant skills you can prepare more restorative foods and more powerful potions to aid you.

These mechanics are best utilised in Runescape 3's Dungeoneering minigame, which is essentially a rogue-like dungeon crawler built into Runescape. Pools in dungeon rooms can be fished in, vines on the walls cut down and campfires made from them, there may be geodes or ores in crumbling walls to make metals from and so on. It creates a really cool feeling that you're making the most out of scant resources, a lone adventurer in the depths of this sprawling dungeon. 

I do tend to use survival mechanics in table games. Players need to eat, sleep, drink, and not doing so comes with detriments. This makes wilderness travel all the more interesting - players want to reach their objective as quickly as possible, and different terrains come with different advantages/disadvantages. It makes the wildernesses of the world feel more real, and not just a literal walk in the park.

I realise I've rambled on quite a bit there, I just like Runescape a lot and over the years it's made me think more deeply about the fantasy worlds I create. 

Thank you for making this zine, it is very good :)

May thine sword be ever sharp, and thine cunning ever sharper!

Yo! Yeah I've deleted Instagram, I've still got you on Discord so just messaged you there <|: )

Thanks for checking up on me, honestly means a lot :) 

Thank you! I hope you enjoy the digital version! That's strange it didn't come up on any searches, I'll look into that thanks for letting me know!

Hi Fasssq! I hope you're enjoying the physical copy! That was the first zine I ever put out, so I hope it stands the test of time! It has its own itch page here: https://jamzilla.itch.io/tot
Given that you've already got a physical copy I'd be more than happy sending you the digital stiff for free, let me know your email and I'll send a download link over to you! <|: )

Thank you! I'm glad you're enjoying <|: )

I do print my own zines, I don't have the most professional setup but I've got all I need for small runs of zines and stuff like that! The printer I use can print borderless on some paperweights but only one-sided! I print 4 A6 pages on one side and then manually feed it back in to print the reverse on the other side. I then cut the zines with a metal ruler and a craft knife and use a long-arm stapler to bind them. It's always vey chaotic when I'm printing zines with sheets of paper lying around everywhere but definitely worth it :)

I might expand these out into a full hack and post that at some point, but for now here's a few special troop types to field, as well as some specialty hirelings for campaign play!

The cost listed is for individual troops, not entire units! So ten Questing Knights would cost 240c. I haven't played with these units yet so they might be too expensive/cheap. 

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Questing Knight:
3 Hits, Armour Rating 6, Movement 18 squares, Morale 11, 24c

• Subtract 1 to your own morale tests while you have any Questing Knights on the table. 
• If Questing Knights charged into melee as part of their Movement phase and were not subsequently charged they gain +1 on their attack die rolls for that combat only.
• A unit of Questing Knights that charges into melee immediately inflicts 1 Hit on the charged unit. If this completely destroys the charged unit, the Questing Knights may continue their move.

Trebuchet:
2 Hits, Armour Rating 6, Movement 0 squares, Morale 9, 35c

• Trebuchet units suffer no penalty for medium or long range missile attacks.
• Each trebuchet shot inflicts D3 Hits instead of 1.

Dragon:
5 Hits, Armour Rating 6, Movement 20 squares, Morale 10, 60c

• Dragons may only be fielded in units of 1
• A Dragon may fly over terrain and other units as part of its movement.
• A Dragon may breathe fire as a missile attack each turn. Any target units that are hit are set ablaze. At the end of each turn roll a D6. On a 6, any unit that is ablaze takes a Hit. A blazing unit may put itself out instead of moving normally.
• A Dragon that charges into melee immediately inflicts D3 Hits on the charged unit. If this completely destroys the charged unit, the Dragon may continue their move.

Giant:
3 Hits, Armour Rating 5, Movement 9 squares, Morale 9, 22c

• Whenever a Giant is slain in melee, roll a D6. On a 4+ it falls flat on the enemy and inflicts Hits equal to the roll.
• Any units of spears that are Set when charged by Giants gain +2 to their roll.

Specialists:

• Engineer - 100c (Needed for Trebuchet units.)
• Enchanter - 100c (Needed for Questing Knight units.)

Jamzilla, 2024

Hell yeah this is rad! Definitely got me wanting to put together a list of monsters to hire and spells for sorcerers! If I put some stuff together for it and post it on itch is that cool by you? Amazing work though forsooth!

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Thanks so much! I’m glad you enjoyed it <|: )

Alas! I sent them out yesterday! I’ll get this one posted out to you tomorrow, hope you enjoy it <|: )

I’ve just put up the physical copies! If you’re in the US, you might wanna wait for Knave of Cups’ next drop, they’ve got a few copies on their way! <|: )

There are! I haven’t posted them up yet but am planning to do so by the end of this week! As well as the zines there are A3 foldout maps! I’ll reply to your comment again to let you know when they’re up! <|: )

Thank you so much! I’m glad you like my work :)

Thanks so much for ordering a copy, I honestly really appreciate it! I’ll send you an email soon when I’ve posted it out to you, and I hope you enjoy it once it arrives!

Amazing! I always use Hearseeker whenever I run a proper dungeon-crawl, so that honestly means a lot! <|:^)

Yo! Not sure if you’re into Caves of Qud (very Dune inspired science-fiction game), but the soundtrack in that game is honestly really good, might be worth checking out as inspiration or just something to build from :) You can check it out here: https://soundcloud.com/craigoryham/sets/caves-of-qud-sessions

Amazing! Thank you so much, and for getting Bile Keep as well honestly it means a lot :D I’ll have to put in some extra goodies as well, thank you fr :)

Yeah I'm planning on using the Urth Simulacrum for my next project, really cool :) Im gonna read the first 3 issues of Vaarn so I know a little more about the setting and rules :)

And thanks! Awesome gross is EXACTLY what I was going for, I appreciate it :)

I just checked it out, it's rad! I was looking through your Urth Simulacrum the other day as well, I can't believe I'd never stumbled upon Vaarn until now, totally up my street! I'm currently doing a project for Zinequest but definitely gonna work on some more Vaarn stuff once that's done! Used to play a lot of Caves of Qud and Gamma World, and the Dune novels are a massive inspiration for me too!
But yeah nice work on the generator, really cool :)

Thanks for the invite, unfortunately I don't use Discord.
Can't wait to see what people create for the jam though! :)

Hi everyone, really looking forward to the jam :)
I'd somehow never heard of Vaarn until now, but definitely seems like my thing, really cool!
I'm putting together a little adventure zine, it's going to be set in Vaarn but system agnostic :)

What's everyone else working on?