Thanks! Yeah, I'm not particularly satisfied with the ending (or lack thereof) either. I was a bit overambitious with the scene concept and didn't have the time or motivation to completely restructure it after I realized I wouldn't have the space I needed, so it was reworked into a cliffhanger. The team didn't have enough time to complete their mission, and I didn't have enough words :P
Toastmortem
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A great read, I think my favorite so far! I actually quite liked the repetition of "she remembered" throughout. It emphasizes to the reader that each memory is significant to Ravenna, and it's significant that she remembers them. There's a couple places where the wording is a little unwieldy, but with some slight refinement, it would be perfect.
Nice work! The story was interesting, on theme, and had quite enjoyable characterization and banter between the two lead characters. My only real critique is that there are a few grammar issues and shifts between past, present, and future tense throughout the story, which effects the flow of the narrative. However, that should be fixable with a quick editing pass.
I really love the exploration of the Prime Brothers and how well you fleshed out the culture of the detachment in such a limited time, as well as the structure of the story. High marks overall from me! My only criticism is that I'm not sure 1000 words was enough to really effectively setup Sunan's eventual disillusionment. Just a limitation of the format, I think.
Howdy!
As written, ranged attack rolls are not modified by any character skill. My intention was to represent fast, desperate fighting in confined spaces where aim doesn't really matter so much as who puts the most lead/laser/plasma downrange the quickest. So I didn't think such a skill was necessary. Though, feel free to add a "Marksmanship" skill if you think it makes sense and would suit your game better.
Thanks for considering the system! If you do run it, I'd love to hear how it goes.
I can’t speak to Cult of the Reptile God specifically, but there are a handful of things that may need consideration. (Apologies for the wall of text to follow)
Mechanically, monster stats will need some slight tweaking, as AotT uses ascending AC rather than the traditional descending and AC/To-hit bonuses don’t necessarily scale the same as the class/monster attack matrices of old. AotT also has quite simplistic character advancement that doesn’t require gathering gold for XP, so treasure is far less important to the PC and you might consider using “milestone” advancement to ensure the PC levels at about the same pace as the adventure expects (or tack a Gold = XP system onto AotT for the PC and retainers).
Additionally, there is the the lack of magic-using characters in AotT, which may not matter in low level adventures where 1st level magic-users traditionally don’t have much magic to use, but may be a problem in ones which expect the party to have access to magic abilities. This could be circumvented by the addition of Tech items which perform a similar role to a particular spell/ability. Likewise, magic items present in an adventure could be re-flavored as tech or kept as-is depending on preference, with the Decipher Text skill substituted in to read magic scrolls, and Use Tech to intuit how to use a particular wand. Perhaps a character versed in Runic or Ecclesiastical can simply read and use scrolls as a magic-user or cleric?
Depending on the particular adventure, the Subtlety mechanic may or may not apply at all. In an adventure like Against the Cult of the Reptile God, it could be used to determine if the cult members realize the PC is getting a little too curious and decide to deal with them, or are too oblivious or proud to realize the threat they pose.
Finally, consider that while a 1st level Thone Agent and retainers should be mechanically similar to a party of 1st level adventurers, it’s still only a single player navigating the adventure. Puzzles and challenges that might be trivial to a group of 3 or 4 players, able to bounce ideas off each other and come up with creative solutions, may not be to a single player alone. They might be able to “brute force” some problems with skill rolls, but there may be times where they just get stuck and need a gentle nudge from one of their retainers or another NPC.
Thanks for checking out the game, and if you do end up running Agent of the Throne, please let me know how it goes!
On behalf of myself and the others that helped make the game, thank you very much! You are far too kind and I appreciate your words immensely.
Once again, thank you for hosting the jam. I have far too many ideas that never amount to more than some messy notes in a word document, but this provided the motivation to actually make something playable. It was an absolute blast and the limited time was helpful, strangely enough. There were plenty of ideas and details I wanted to include but didn't have the time to (encumbrance, exploration procedures, etc.), but I think the game may be better for it. At the very least, it's far cleaner and less confusing than it may have been.
I hope to update it in the future with additional enemies, art, and perhaps write some adventures/investigations for it, but I'm probably getting ahead of myself.