Major Update for March 2018
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After some weeks of intense work on the game (including playtesting to fine-tune the numbers, editing, layout and page design), it has become apparent that we’re going to narrowly miss our goal of releasing the PDF for the Knights of the Black Lily Quickstart Beta rules in time. Instead, we’re aiming for an early Q2 2018 release now, which will probably (but don’t quote us on that) mean: late April 2018.

What is missing?

For the most part, the graphics design. Tanya Anor is busy working on the art for the outer margins of the book as well some ornamental elements. As a progress report to you, we can share with you below rough sketch that shows you where the page design of the game is headed… Read More

Spotlight: Fortune and the Call of Cthulhu problem
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The Problem: A sometimes overheard complaint about the venerable Call of Cthulhu role-playing game is that the players might collectively fail their test to spot a vital clue. Consequently, the party might get stuck in their investigations indefinitely – which is no fun! The role-playing game Trail of Cthulhu set out to solve the above Call of Cthulhu problem by creating game rules that ensure that so-called core clues can never be missed. This, however, replaces the Call of Cthulhu problem with the Trail of Cthulhu problem: people do like egghunts (that’s why there is an annual, literal egghunt every Easter Sunday), so how do we ensure that there is something at stake for your players in finding the clues and at the same time prevent them from getting stuck indefinitely?

Our Solution: Every time your players miss a core clue, you have the option of providing them the missed information in a different way – at a cost in Fortune Points. … Read More

A Brand New Angle on Running RPGs (Series on Crunch – Part II)
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On Challenge-Driven Game Design.

The Problem: You want to run a long-term campaign in which the players run protagonists (or even heroes) comparable to Conan, Frodo or Jon Snow. That means character death should be infrequent and failing to beat a scenario should probably be too. If your players have any experience in role-playing games, they are likely to pick up on this quickly – so where does a sense of challenge for them (the players NOT the characters) come from?

Our Solution: Keep track of how much luck the party has consumed during the course of the current scenario. And right before the boss battle, you take stock of the final tally of luck consumed and then shape the highpoint of the adventure according to that. … Read More

A Favorite New Pet (Series on Fluff – Part II)
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It is an age of turmoil and superstition. Of war and faith. Of uncertainty and opportunity. Having subjugated and succeeded the elven realms, wide swathes of the Ilethrean landmass are firmly under human control. If anything, the slowly but steadily swelling numbers of demons, year-by-year and in a seemingly endless plethora of types, appear to be a looming menace for the ranks of Mankind’s warriors that have split the continent among each other. With each passing year, more and more demons can be seen openly prowling the streets of towns and bustling cities… Read More