Embrace the dream of '90s tabletop roleplaying through the darkness-fueled madness of immortals, werebeasts, car wizards, and more!
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This post is for backers only. Please visit Kickstarter.com and log in to read.
This post is for backers only. Please visit Kickstarter.com and log in to read.
LAST TIME ON, Katanas & Trenchcoats Updates
TIM: I’m going to keep running this game and we’re working to make sure everything is working cleanly in tandem with the rules.
RYAN: That’s all fine and good, but I seriously still need to do a final redline here.
TIM: Okay, but let’s get these docs into word ASAP.
RYAN: No problem….
As TIM turns away from RYAN, RYAN’s eyes flash indicating a spooky takeover.
CUE BLOOD SPRINKLERS.
Edit is in process, and I’m starting to lay things out. The template is old and has definitely needed some updates since the last time we looked at it, and we’re working to figure out how all of these disparate pieces of text, imagery, and side-commentary fit into everything.
Take a look. Here’s roughly 50 pages of laid out material to look at. This link is good until the 19th, so get to downloading!
Some quick notes on things to be done (not necessarily in order).
Secondarily, in my search for “appropriate” images for this update, I found this unbelievably 90s-tacular screencap from the Highlander TV show. And it gave me an idea… Submit some K&T “appropriate” captions for this picture and we’ll ALSO show off the Phantom Splat!
Next Steps…
—lyric from “Sparks” by Faith and the Muse
Tim here, and I'm happy to say we have a complete manuscript! Which is to say, all of the pieces are in order and Ryan is giving it a final author’s pass before the complete tome, as a coherent book (instead of just a semi-scattered handful of documents) goes to a set of fresh editor eyes for the final shaping into a document that goes into layout.
Why is this the final author’s pass now, instead of two weeks ago? Because Ryan is a pain in the ass perfectionist and doesn’t know what “Rules-Lock” means. To be fair, they weren’t big changes and they’re all for the better. (He also got sick last month and had a COVID scare, but we both think it's funnier to pick on his endless tinkering.)
While Ryan is wrapping up his author’s pass and compiling everything, we’re working on ironing out the last of the splats. The vampire, in particular, is troublesome (oh good, we saved the hardest for last…). The hunter too, but in a very different way.
We made the logistical choice to pull the splats apart from the manuscript in terms of working on them, because a) they’re not part of the core rules text, and b) the rules they reference really need to be finished and locked down beforehand otherwise we’d be editing back and forth in a massive wasted effort to keep in sync. Easier really to do one and then the others.
In the context of supernaturals media, hunters usually represent strict antagonism towards other supernatural creatures. There are exceptions of course, but those are almost always driven by larger plot factors as opposed to community interactions. And so writing that involves diving into our version of a hunter’s origin story, and a deeper core motivation beyond “kill monsters.”
Vampires turned out to be the toughest because there’s so much context, reference material, and drastically different interpretations to draw from. They’re predatory monsters, but sometimes also pretty nice (just watch out for the fangs). They embody sex and hierarchy and power which makes for a delicate balancing act to capture that without either defanging them (see what I did there?) or creating a clown car to creeperville. We’re working that out, and while they’re difficult, I’m already feeling really satisfied that they’ll hit all the right buttons while bringing something new to the field.
To both of these particular ends, the new sessions our gaming group is playing now includes all of the splat revisions we aren't satisfied we've tested enough. I’m completely loving our guidance chapter and how it distills an immense wealth of RPG expertise, advice, and techniques into a roughly 8000-word chapter focused on running K&T, and strikes me as immediately useful for many other games as well.
One of those techniques is a little something we like to call the…
from the text:
>>> The Darkest Cosmos is a roiling mass of potential, full of inconsistent details and looming catastrophes. Some Heralds map out that roiling mass of potential on a sheet of paper. This technique harnesses the venerable axiom “as above, so below” to create an artifact we like to call the Cartograph of Damocles.
>>> A Cartograph records the significant characters, organizations, places, events, and items in the game as nodes sprinkled across the page and connects them in a network of lines describing their connections. It looks like a cross between a constellation and raving conspiracy theorist’s corkboard.
Following is a small portion of the initial outline of what the players of my developing game came up with in character creation, including their current Deep Yearnings, Wellsprings of solace, and some of the direct connections between the protagonists. I’ve left a substantial chunk of elements out of this, since it’s where the Darkest Cosmos is creating further (shadowy) connections between the different nodes that everyone has named. Along with all of these, we’ve got some larger overarching elements which are the boxes in the corners, that are working to spice up our particular Darkest Cosmos.
The advantage of using this technique as part of running games is that you have literally everything that's important in front of you at a glance. It's useful in most any game. And for K&T specifically, we've developed mechanics that help to illuminate player-chosen hot-button elements, so you as the Herald know exactly what to connect to larger threats and then slam those buttons to create the most deliciously dramatic situations.
Hopefully by next month we’ll have a clear timeframe for getting documents into layout, and once that is happening we’ll start releasing preview PDFs for your hungry eyes. Ryan in particular is really interested in how you all react to the text once it's in layout, because he'll be looking for feedback about how well the book—not just the text—sets you up for success in learning and playing. That for him is the final big test, because making sure the book works in layout is a step often missed in game development.
#YOLF