Next #trpg project(s): first a short one-shot with Hard Wired Island and its amazing Cyberpunk setting, then either Agents of Dune + Masters of Dune for #Dune2d20 (Modiphius), or The Fall of the Children of Bronze for #JackalsRPG. The "drive" narrative mechanics of Dune stirs my curiosity, while The Fall of the Children of Bronze seems both more manageable and perhaps even more epic than Masters of Dune.

Any opinion on this, fellow players?

We avoided combat in our #Dune game tonight, but the party's security officer had a dance battle to win over a fur whaling captain high on semuta. They got him to conga line out of the dance floor to exchange information. I didn't expect that!

I don't mind using some aspects of the #Dune2d20 system for contests. I'm experimenting with keeping the skill challenges succeses required unknown when influence is in doubt to get players to spend more meta resources to cement their power.

We avoided combat in our Dune game tonight, but the party's security officer had a dance battle to win over a fur whaling captain high on semuta. They got him to conga line out of the dance floor to exchange information. I didn't expect that!

I don't mind using some aspects of the #Dune2d20 system for contests. I'm experimenting with keeping the skill challenges succeses required unknown when influence is in doubt to get players to spend more meta resources to cement their power.

@kikuchiyo I've taken the Gom Jabbar Podcast view of canon. Frank Herbert's books and the Dune Encyclopedia are the "primary" sources worth reading. The rest is probably not for me.

Brian Herbert's "House Atreides" issues comic series and Modiphius' #dune2d20 "Lore" built from Dune books that covers the "Prequel" era didn't leave me with much confidence.

I just need to find my NEXT series to read! It's all going to pale in comparison to Dune though.

I try to make some backstory written materials to explain #dune2d20 NPCs motivations. It helps everyone know the characters and is a creative writing challenge.

Last week was a scandalous leaked Space Guild Internal Memo with additional NPC commentary recommending potential internal courses of action.

This week, salacious fake text messages between Envoyboi & a Space Guild Mermaid as they discuss a daring planetary coup with emojis.

#Dune

The entire pitch for #dune2d20 is how the rules scale at different levels of conflict. Duels are meant to be as tactical as a complex battle with feints and deceptiom, espionage shares characteristics with warfare, intrigue is just social warfare without the body count, etc. I totally dig this idea.

However, the implementation of the #2d20 system has so many quirks and system mastery is much harder than it needs to be. Even when it abstracts complexity it still makes it difficult.

#Dune2d20

The subsystems for harvesting spice or running political encounters are not clearly written enough for me. It feels like someone simultaneously overexplains a board game you are supposed to already know how to play, but doesn't show you what you need to focus on doing at the same time.

The best part of the core book rules are the explanations of what a character does and why she is doing it in a scene. Supplements lack this clarity.
#dune2d20

However the #dune2d20 pregenerated scenarios, other than providing some NPCs are entirely useless to me. The focus on scripted stories with dialog trees for results and at best work like a choose your own adventure pick a path scenario.

I don't even know how you're supposed to play RPGs that way. Not what I wanted at all. I just use the NPCs and ignore everything plot related.

#Modiphius #Dune2d20 setting and characters evoke Dune well. Playing with metacurrency does make for interesting moments that feel earned.

Dueling being movement of weapons across body zones was so counterintuitive that we just SKIPPED a dramatic encounter rather than learning how to run duels last night.

People who design games are tapping out on the complexity. I've read the rules to the espionage & intrigue sections and find it more intuitive than a simple brawl despite shared mechanics

As my comfort with #dune2d20 grows, the more enjoyable the game becomes. A big adjustment from the lighter #ttrpg we usually run, but its core dice pool & metacurrency idea isn't as intimidating as it first looks. We even got to exploit the different types of movement in a scene, which I had forgotten last game.

My players took to using the exclusive information as leverage to get them access to a ship.

Playrole.app rolled hot for the GM. So many player 20s! :sickos:

@myxomycetes Watching some #CirqueDeSoliel performances on YouTube for inspiration for the #dune2d20 events tonight. Absolutely insane athleticism to behold. I'm to mesmerized to actually write.

No joke, but Cirque de Soliel is serious Dune shit. #Dune2d20

Devised an orbital wreckage system for my #dune2d20 game. The floating hex-city moves along the equator. There is a destroyed Heighliner in a collapsing orbit above the planet. We are going to roll to see where the debris lands. The cylindrical hex-map has coordinates for d20 longitude and d12s latitudes.

The space debris either annihilates part of the hex-city or becomes potential assets for exploration later. The players can send out assets to contest the hot spots.

#dune #ttrpg

Asked my players what they wanted me to focus on as I continue to further my #dune2d20 homebrew setting.

They wanted a mystery to resolve about an event that is unfolding, which would involve their recent arrival on a new planet.

Intrigue within #Dune is also a good fit for mystery. I returned to #RPG by running Monster of the Week. It taught me how to write RPG mysteries, and I've used those techniques several times. I just need a spark of inspiration now. Looking forward to running it soon!

Setting up tokens on #roll20 and organizing was a pain, setting up character sheets was functional but fully manual. Honestly, other than having an integrated character sheet and dice roller for the #dune2d20 game I ran, #Roll20 did very little to HELP me tell my story. I just want it to get out of the way.

I want an integrated character sheet and roller with a VTT that is as SIMPLE as possible.

@MirrorAyako I am adapting the #Dune - Adventures in the Imperium book for an icy brine sea planet with fur whales.

The players landed on a floating city with the Emperor's Envoy last night and learned that the entire planet had been banished from the Imperium. It was a fun tutorial for the #dune2d20 #duneRPG system.

The players have been thrown into the deep end of galactic politics. I got to share tons of new lore I learned from the Gom Jabbar podcast.

https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/338242/Dune--Adventures-in-the-Imperium--Core-Rulebook-Standard-Edition

@MirrorAyako The ultimate goal has been to get comfortable enough with the unusual setting to run a Dune game for my TTRPG friends, which kicks off session zero tonight.

The depth of the #dune2d20 system to replicate the Dune world is suitable for the type of stpry I want, but trying to bootstrap my Dune lore and those new game rules into a framework for people only casually familiar with the setting is a challenge.

@MirrorAyako
Someone just asked me to prepare for our #Dune2d20 game, "What's the deal with mentats and twisted mentats?"

I suddenly had way too much info to share witj them. It's fun to have a show to explore it since no one else I know is as big in the series as I am at the moment.

@MirrorAyako
I finished the first two episodes of the Gom Jabbar podcast on my walk this morning and downloaded ten more. I like to catch up when I find a new show. I've been looking for a podcast of this tone that explains more of the Dune series.

Do I need to KNOW about any of this stuff for my #dune2d20 game? No.
Is it a fun universe to explore? Absolutely.
I wouldn't have read the 5 books if it wasn't interesting.

#Dune2d20 session 0 this weekend. Focusing on character creation and explaining rules.

I'm homebrewing and feel the need to create House factions, tokens for their agents, mysteries and adventures. I want to make everything now but don't have the time! We just have to start playing.

In the past I overwhelmed players & myself with over-preparation. We are starting in media res with intrigue afoot and will discover as we play.

I have a concept, but building new Dune Houses intimidates me.