The first Neon Marsh 'dungeon' to be finalised: Deltaville. I'm playtesting it tonight. (So don't zoom in, players ;)

The first Neon Marsh 'dungeon' to be finalised: Deltaville. I'm playtesting it tonight. (So don't zoom in, players ;)

[Edit : At some point during my lengthy explanation (sorry for that), I decided to do an alternate guideline for...

[Edit : At some point during my lengthy explanation (sorry for that), I decided to do an alternate guideline for spell cost that made sense to me. I'm not trying to be patronizing, just to help myself and maybe the game. Also because I don't have much experiences with MM and D&D, it may not be balanced. It's just an exemple to explain what I mean.
Thanks in advance if you can help me. Also I'm french and it's late, sorry for any typo !

Love MM, can't wait for final release.]

I've recently played MM for the first time. I had never played a D&D like game. It was short and we did not encountered many situation (no combat nor a single spell use yet), yet here are two questions/remarks from reading the rules :

- How does multiple attacks work ? It is said in the combat rules that you only roll the d20 once per turn (unless complex turn). But when levelling up you can get extra mêlée attack. How should I manage those ? If I got a character with 3 attack per turn, do I get to roll damage for all of them after succeeding the one stat check ? Or do I break the only one roll rule ?

- Spell cost guideline is not clear for me. It's a big time problem for me right now so I'll get extensive.
I love the spell philosophy in MM. You get room to improvise and basically, the more you want to do, the more you have to pay. I know you would need a few session before getting used to improvise spell cost, but the spell cost guideline is too messy for me to understand how much should cost even a basic spell.

It says first a basic spell cost 1, does either 1 heal or 1 damage. This is solid, I understand. Then it says to increase the cost by 1 to 5 for each.
Problem : It's already getting vague. 1 to 5 is a big range, and how would I know if It's +1 for instant casting time, but +3 for long range ? +5 for large area ? For extra targets I'm assuming that it cost +1 for each additional target.

Then it says "damage or healing (from a single d6 to d12 per character level)".
Problem : I don't understand if the character level is determining the size of the dice (d6 to d12) ou the number of dice you get (should a level 3 automatically get 3d6 ?). And then again, to what cost ? Does a d6 cost less than a d12 ? Does a d6 cost 1 and a d12 cost 5 ? How does the character's level impact the cost ?

So here I already don't get how much is going to cost a lvl 1 character healing spell. I would assume from what I've read that a spell called "cure wound" cost 2 points for 1d6+1 heal. (1 for basic spell, +1 for the healing tag). I assume the player can pay additional point for additional d6 (1point for 1d6).
Don't ask me how the same spell work for a level 3.

But then, in the "Wounds and Death" section, under "Magical healing", it is said : "a typical healing spell should cast 3HP per d8 of healing, with a limit to 1d8 per character level."
Explain like that it's actually more clear ! A d8 size die cost 3HP, and you have a purchase limit of 1d8 per character level. But it feels like a different rule that the one in the actual spell cost guideline, so it mess with my head...
It's too bad that you don't set more exemple like this one for typical spell cost, with such clarity, and that the only one is not even in the spell cost section.

Talking about spell exemples, I don't find them much helping, because you never state their "vanilla" cost. How much would have cost Melt them Faces if the player had not asked for specific effect ? And to what effect ?
Only "Hearing the Wise Wyrm's Councel" spell helps with that. It say it cost 8HP vanilla. But sadly it does not explain why. But then with this base cost I can understand better how the specifics then influence the cost.

I feel like the rules should set a certain basic cost for each die size, that represent the minimum you need to pay to expect a certain spell power.
Exemple : 1HP for d6, 3HP for d8, etc...
For spell that doesn't use dice size (like the wirm one), we should get a basic word scale equivalent to make our choice (ordinary for a d6, extraordinary for a d12).
Then say explicitly how a character level influence that base cost (I would go like in your healing spell exemple, with the limit on number of dice you can use).
Then only add the improv part with the bargaining for specifics. Because you want to keep some room for the GM, as it is what's so good with MM.
And I would say "add at least +1 to the cost for each instance of any of these effects : effect list

[At this time I just decided to write a guideline example to explain my point of view]

Necromancing a thread:

Necromancing a thread:

https://plus.google.com/u/0/+EricNieudan/posts/SKNBZwombD2

That was about a year ago. Is that still considered the appropriate procedure? I ask because at the moment in the v1.1 of the rules, I think most of that can be inferred from the rules except step 6...

"6. Have all NPCs done something? If not, the referee describes what they do and gives whoever is affected a chance to react - this can involve an out-of-sequence check, for instance to avoid an attack or spell. "

that idea doesn't seem to be anywhere in the rules; rather, it feels directly contradicted by the rules that seem to be clear that only PC's take turns.

It makes perfect sense, and also helps explain my confusion about exactly what shields do. I like this procedure a lot. Just making sure I haven't missed a post that changes/alters it.

Our new sponsor!

Our new sponsor!

(You laugh, but I just put a mention to goat milk coffee in The Neon Marsh.)

That first session of the Monthly Americano Anomalies! I'm thinking Saturday 22nd of September.

Originally shared by Tore Nielsen

That first session of the Monthly Americano Anomalies! I'm thinking Saturday 22nd of September.

How does that sound, Eric Nieudan, Evlyn M, Igor Holland-Moritz, NMEAST, and others who are interested?

I've been feeling like I'm missing a rule for inter-PC relationships and bonds. So here's a suggestion:

I've been feeling like I'm missing a rule for inter-PC relationships and bonds. So here's a suggestion:
- You have one bond with each other PC. Each bond is represented by a risk die. How innovative! Each bond starts at dR6, higher values mean closer frienships.
- Whenever you help or hinder another PC, roll your bond dR. On a 1-3, your action has no effect. On a 4+, you can give them advantage or disadvantage. Yes, it's easy to hinder your closest friends: after all, they will care about your opinion!
- If you're helping, step down the dR on a 1-3 as usual (failing to help made things awkward). If you're hindering, step down the dR regardless of the result!
- If the bond die fizzles, the tension finally explodes and a big argument should happen!
- When you keep each other company around the campfire and/or share something personal, roll your bond dR. If you roll the maximum value, step it up. If you step it up above dR12, you have forged a lasting friendship that bards will sing about! Your bond dR can never be stepped down again, and you can mark it as a fulfilled objective for the purpose of leveling up.

IT IS HAPPENING.

IT IS HAPPENING.

Originally shared by Paolo Greco

Fancy a Macchiato Monster layout proof?

I want to run an ongoing once-a-month game of Americano Anomalies (my modern weirdness/urban fantasy hack of MM) on...

I want to run an ongoing once-a-month game of Americano Anomalies (my modern weirdness/urban fantasy hack of MM) on Hangouts.
I would like to make it a drop-in-drop-out game, where the characters live in the same run-down tower block.

You're all invited, of course.

One thing I have been thinking about hacking into MM is slightly different rules for the CON save when a PC falls to...

One thing I have been thinking about hacking into MM is slightly different rules for the CON save when a PC falls to 0 hp. I like that there are negative consequences, but I am not positive that I enjoy the deleveling rule.

I have yet to play more than a single session of MM, so I am not sure if the goal structure and deleveling works as a nice motivator to constantly be making and fulfilling goals, but I am considering making Recovery a Risk Die, kind of following the "Stamina and Sanity" section.

So a player would roll this die when their character succumbs to 0 hp. Fizzling out means death. 12 would probably be something like returning with 1 hp, no other consequences, and some other values would provide the character with something that changes them - maybe a negative trait representing a nasty wound, the fear of what struck them down, or the horrors of being at deaths door.

Any thoughts on this? I suppose this would make the game much less deadly, as you were given a few downgrades on the die before permanent character death. The thing I like about the idea is that you could look at a sheet and see how a rough life of adventuring has had a dramatic effect on the character.

I am making faction sheets for the Neon Marsh.

I am making faction sheets for the Neon Marsh. Would you need anything else to run (knowing that the factions are presented in the text as well)?

I am very happy to report that I have signed off the MM manuscript.

I am very happy to report that I have signed off the MM manuscript. It is DONE as far as I am concerned. This one--month hack took me two years and eight month to complete, but I think it was time and specialty coffee well spent.

This is the sort of thing that I hesitate to share, because the rule in MM for coin purses/bags is so elegant, but...

This is the sort of thing that I hesitate to share, because the rule in MM for coin purses/bags is so elegant, but math wise...I think there may be an issue for consideration. Its not an issue with the dice themselves, its an issue with the splitting/combining rule. (Also, forgive me if someone else has already talked about this I couldn't find a post about it).

Thinking about the probabilities associated with risk dice, we can apply the negative binomial theorem (https://stattrek.com/probability-distributions/negative-binomial.aspx) to determine the expected number of purchases you can get with a die before it steps down (or in the case of the d4, disappears). The formula for the expected number of purchases BEFORE the step down is

(1-Prob of Step down)/Prob of Step Down

so the expected number of purchases is

(1-prob of step down)/prob of step down + 1

This gives us the following:

d12 - 4 purchases - 13.33 total before exhaustion
d10 - 3.33 purchases - 9.33 total before exhaustion
d8 - 2.66 purchases - 6 total before exhaustion
d6 - 2 purchases - 3.33 total before exhaustion
d4 - 1.33 purchases

(Total before exhaustion is simply the sum of the die plus all lower dice expected purchases).

The rule for coins is that you can split a bag into 2 bags by stepping down the die of both bags. However, if you look at the table, in every case the expected number of purchases you can make with 2 bags of a step lower is more than the expected number of purchases you can make with the original bag. This leads to the seemingly weird situation where you can buy more stuff if you split up your pile of cash into smaller piles, and less if you horde it into a big pile.

In fact, assuming you start with a d12 bag of coins, here are the expected number of purchases you can make if you...

Leave it as a d12 - 13.33 purchases
Split into two d10s - 18.66 purchases
Split into four d8s - 24 purchases
Split into 8 d6s - 26.66 purchases
split into 16 d4s - 21.33 purchases

I could have a major problem in the logic or math above, in which case please call me out on it.

I suspect that maybe the idea is that by combining bags you reduce the encumbrance (if I am following the rule correctly) but reduce purchases, but clever players will be inclined to try to split the bags up immediately before purchase. 8 d6s buys TWICE as much stuff, on average, as a single d12.

I'm not sure if there is any "solution" to this, because as I stated before, the splitting/combining rule is very elegant at the moment, and all the potential changes I can think of make it more complicated in ways that don't seem worth the cost to me. But its worth remembering that, the way the rule is written at the moment there is a strong incentive for the players to combine bags as much as possible while outside of town (to reduce encumbrance) and then to split bags as much as possible while in town on a shopping spree. Maybe force the players to combine up all of their party/personal cash into the highest levels possible prior to the shopping spree? At a minimum, I think GM's should be cautious about allowing splitting of coin bags when there is not a clear in-game reason for the split.

Again, this only applies to coins, because only coins can be freely split and combined. You can't split/combine your beef jerky rations or your armor or your ammo.

Last day in Glasgow and I am chugging along on the Neon Marsh.

Last day in Glasgow and I am chugging along on the Neon Marsh. Definitely not at the layout phase yet, just trying out some things...

Who wants a playbook style A6 character sheet? It's a rough job, but it's here:

Who wants a playbook style A6 character sheet? It's a rough job, but it's here:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/q09j0wvmttglumh/MMCharSheetNEW.pdf?dl=0

After the Henry Justice Ford project, here is a new foe for Eric Nieudan - Snails!

After the Henry Justice Ford project, here is a new foe for Eric Nieudan - Snails!
https://mastodon.social/@natecull/100496139570166784

I've worked up some simple rules for running Star Wars d6 adventures with MM.

I've worked up some simple rules for running Star Wars d6 adventures with MM. Simple Jedi rules and the equipment tables.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1OTUUqcf8eeRJO-wDf8YFz5my4xcE2qZj/view?usp=sharing

I've mentioned previously I'm planning to run Luka Rejec 's Ultraviolet Grasslands with Macchiato Monsters.

I've mentioned previously I'm planning to run Luka Rejec 's Ultraviolet Grasslands with Macchiato Monsters. I put some notes together for this, which I have not playtested yet because the game doesn't start until next month. But I thought they might be of some interest, so, here you go. Comments are turned on, so feel free to leave any thoughts on the document you wish.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1fy_oiu4g_zGHUUT7i2I8XrM9tg_Rw5uXd15h71_A36M/edit?usp=sharing