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Guild Chronicles: Desk-side Tales

Running the front desk of the Guild, slowly build the world based on the people you meet and the stories they share. · By HitokiriChibi

Did you play at PAX 2024?

A topic by HitokiriChibi created 46 days ago Views: 44 Replies: 5
Viewing posts 1 to 4
Developer

If you did, I would love to hear your stories here!

What sort of world, guild and characters did you end up making and how did you feel about the game overall? Were there parts where you felt stumped or felt you needed a bit more guidance on? What worked and what didn't?

As the creator, I loved seeing how diverse and creative everyone was with the game. It never felt like the same guild concept was used twice, which I think is impressive given there were almost 30 players who gave the game a go! It was also great seeing how everyone was willing to use the cards in a versatile manner, which is another thing I was hoping to achieve. This is an open world game where you can take what I give you and use it in unique ways that will better suit the type of game you want to play. There is no wrong way to play, as long as you're having fun and (hopefully) end up with a world filled with a colourful cast of characters who are sharing their lives with you. 

Hah yes! I was there on Saturday.

Kaze's Krafty Kompositions, a mobile magical item repair store in a punk/anarchic post-enviro apocalypse world.

Famous for having once repaired the Arcadian Knot. Infamous for its repaired products always smelling like cotton candy forever thereafter.

My bestie was a patchy ragdoll cat. My nemesis was a curmudgeon who ruined the store's perfect 5-star rating. My enigma was a customer who always brought weapons in for repair and cleans her teeth with a pitch-black toothpick.

I loved how the deck had multiple instances of the same people, as that prompted me to think about how the different emotions they brought to the store might have come to pass, and it let me build up a story (and friendships) with them and the person behind the desk. Really clever idea! I'm excited to see the next updates - adding in 'me days' and the bestie/nemesis/enigma to the deck will really round out the story possibilities.

Developer

Yeeeee, awesome concepts and fab feedback! I remember a few people mentioning the same thing about bringing the connections in a bit more and the 'me' days is also super valid.

Thank you so much for sharing your experience and ideas :D

I played it! 

What sort of world, guild and characters did you end up making?

I created The Siren's Loft in a generic fantasy city. The Siren's Loft is a bard hiring service that wasn't super reliable with a receptionist who cared more about the paycheck than the job. 

How did you feel about the game overall? 

I love world-building and I'm a forever GM, but what I thought was so amazing about this game was how it helped stories to emerge. I am the kind of person who loves to try and connect things. I had an emergent story line about a new teen hire who seemed to have made some kind of devilish contract with someone... but my guy didn't get paid enough to care. 

Were there parts where you felt stumped or felt you needed a bit more guidance on? 

Defining what a shift is and how many card draws to have per shift. I know this is highly flexible and from what I could tell you've left it open. But I ended up landing on a one shift = 3-5 card draws.

What worked and what didn't?

I think the deck I had was a little too weighted in "Youths" in the prompt category. I kept drawing them and I got so frustrated that I ended up just hunting for a prompt card that wasn't a "Youth".  I do feel like even though it is a solo journalling game, creating a defined "loop" of what a shift is could be helpful. 

Other feedback:

Bouncing off what Fox Tale Games has said about "me days", adding in a "downtime" game loop could be a fun expansion. E.g. what does this receptionist do/explore/run into outside of work hours.

Anywho, those are all thoughts and you of course can take what is helpful (if any) and discard the rest. I had a really great time playing the game and can't wait for the release.

Developer

Yay, thank you for sharing your concept and thoughts!

Very valid feedback and I think what you're saying about defining a shift is definitely something I have space to expand upon in the more filled out Player Guide :D

And yes, I think after a few plays I was seeing people pick up the same types of cards so I really wanted to shuffle those around more for diversity. A bit of behind the curtain - I actually had an even split of 10 cards for each of the 5 'character types'. Adding in the connections and 'me' days though will definitely add to mixing things up even more I think.

Yes!  I played at PAX, and loved it!

Unfortunately my brain doesn't retain a lot of details, so I can't offer much in the way of specific feedback... but I thought it was still worthwhile just to let you know that I enjoyed it and I look forward to seeing where further development takes it :-)