Daniel Sell

On backing and not backing

I understand there is a certain amount of pressure in the fact that your coming and going from a Patreon is broadcast to the creator. Some people feel wedged in by politeness, some people send me sincere emails about why they can't stay. So to you I say come and go at your leisure.

Patreon is a frivolous expense, one you should only engage in if you can comfortably shoulder the burden. I understand this. Some Patreons also don't give you what you want, or change in ways you do...

An aside

I don't say it ever, but I am firmly rattled by the presence of anyone here. You have tolerated my, shall I say, unpredictable work practises with unreasonable calm for a long time now.

I have no insight, just gratitude.

Updated Enemies

This is the updated enemies section, finally finished. Editing will be happening but it's basically done. It's a relief to be finished with any form of large scale draft for the time being, so now onto backgrounds! I have about 150 to write so hold on to your hats.

The Updated Bestiary

It's a mess, I apologise. And unfinished and holy baloney this is gonna be right to the wire. Weeee!

Don't you worry, I know what I owe you. Debt is accruing! 

A Map of the Blancmange & Thistle

It's sideways, I know. Don't question it, PDF editors are a pain in the arse.

Maps!

Troika Adventure

Things will start to appear now. I have three weeks of updates to make up for thanks to the Kickstarter timing.

For now here is the adventure that is going in the book. It existed as a framework before the stretch goal was hit, just as an idea I was playing with. Nothing revolutionary just a simple structure to start using the system. Still in draft form, slapping meat on its bones before I pull it all off again.

I honestly dislike writing adventures like this, with beginnings and ends. ...

Where's my update?

If you didn't notice, we tripped over the threshold to do meaty weekly updates about a week ago and there hasn't been one. Well, I've been delayed because of the insane work going on around the Troika Kickstarter. I'm keeping track though! You folks'll get everything owed, have no fear. There are already drafts of the things I want to kick out here so I've got a good idea of what's going to get done.

Back down the Kickstarter mine for me.

Definitely not needed

I think this is redundant, since you are the Troika super fan elite, but I'm putting it here just in case.

Also remember: anyone who was a patron before the KS started will get the PDFs for free and when the campaign ends will get a way to receive free postage on your stuff.

Discord Server

Here we are: https://discord.gg/RpWQhEE It's for the broader publishing endeavour, but has a little troika back room.

This is just a preview!

Live on Monday. You guys have also got to the point of me being obliged to do meaty weekly content. This will happen also!

EDIT: Ok, patreon messes with the link, here's the manual thing: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/846377662/249641940?ref=545973&token=39bc5cd8

Yongardy Lawyer

The background illustrations are finished. Now every entry has a tidy little picture like the one above.

We're rapidly approaching the end everybody.

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1G8WMUTzQ9pJ9RwFDRT3_JrkudPoiwoqA?usp=sharing

Hugefish

Bramble Masshead 7/12/4

Spell: Explode

Fishmonger with a selection of fresh local catch. Uses huge amounts of ice, it fills the aisles and pours in to the street where children play in it and throw snowballs at customers. Masshead is a huge boulder of a man, head the size of most people. Unreadable, indifferent, collects bottles. Crabfish 3p, Bishopfish 12p, Popefish 1fl, Cod 5p, Whale/lb 4p, Cockles 2p/lb. Pathway to a friged sphere in the basement, occasionally blows frozen ...

New Character sheet

The scan is a bit rough, but this is the new character sheet going in the next printing of Troika. I also have some more art to show you but it needs to be fiddled with first. Updates coming soon!

Temple of All-Gods

 Bishop of Barley 9/16/3

Spells: Natter, Cockroach, Fear, Read Entrails

More like a hotel than a temple. A lobby with receptionist directing customers to the appropriate room of worship. 1 in 6 chance your god or gods is not represented. Open to requests of additions, which will be taken in to serious consideration by the Bishop upon a room becoming available. Bishop is young, willowy, dressed in a mishmash of holy vestments: mitres, furs, blood and berries etc. Willing and able to ...

Troika - Raw Text

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1qMwUrM8uW-jY-rvWHwRMXzsjACbGuG_0MniymZH_VYY/edit?usp=sharing

This is the working copy of Troika for the reprint. Currently only pulling the text around slightly to address some niggling issues, further edits will happen soon.

Work on the reprint is coming along

The text is almost finished being tidied up, the art is happening.

The copious art being created is to act as another stimulus to trigger creative friction in the reader. Without telling anyone anything concrete it will nudge us all along to similar though divergent conclusions.

Negative Peculiarities

After some thought on the subject there is a move to get rid of mechanically detrimental peculiarities. Though fun and funny to have minefields of pain during character creation they are impractical from a play standpoint. Consider you have detachable hands, you are definitely going to remember and tell everyone when you get handcuffed to a radiator. However, if you have eyestalks that give you a penalty during grapples, what is your motivation to remember? And if you do remember it's not a poin...

Adventure Logic

Here: http://whatwouldconando.blogspot.com/2018/05/troikan-bumble-logic.html

It's not directly related to anything especially, but I feel it's inside our interests here. I spend all my time making tools and none explaining how to use them, so I thought I'd do the opposite for once.

Where do you currently value focus?

Wrapping the rules in a new body is sucking up an alarming amount of time and energy. I feel bad for the other two books. Where do you value time?

So you know: Gnosis has had a lot of work done to it, but it keeps growing with more work so the end often outpaces progress. Peculiarities has a solid finish line to aim for. The hardback is just a matter of re-editing it and getting an awful lot of art. "Just".

Third Printing

Troika sold out again. The relative quiet here has been due to me preparing for this eventuality, which is ahead of schedule. The plan was to slowly build up a load of art, get a new layout, have a proper character sheet made and then find a couple of grand to have it printed in hardback and quantity. This didn't get very far and the unexpected escalation means I need to move the printing up the production line. 

I don't want to make this super public because it's all very vagu...

Still initiative & Gods

The kickstarter is solid, the cards are looking handsome. No one needs to concern themselves with that anymore. Hooray!

Core Troika work has been split between the adventure and Gnosis. The adventure took me down a dead end full of red herrings and regrettable decisions. So it goes.

Gnosis is looking healthy, I am in the groove and plugging along. If momentum is maintained I can get the first draft of the text done within the month. 

You can see the progress on the ...

Inititative & Gods

Those cards are up and out. They're doing ok, reasonably likely to hit their funding.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/846377662/troika-initiative-cards 

In the meantime I'm splitting my time between managing other projects and writing three Troika! books. Though it might sound like it's splitting attention, I work better when I have something to absorb my deflected ent...

Troika! Initiative Kickstarting

It's not live, don't panic. What you're seeing is a messy preview.

Since this is just between you and me, lemme dump this here: pricing things is hard. After DriveThruRPG have got their hand out of my pocket these things are likely to only make me a couple of quid each. At that rate they'll pay for themselves in a decade or so. I could go the G...

Initiative Cards

I'm not entirely pleased with using coloured dice as an initiative pool, so I put together some cards with the help of Andrew Walter. They work as you would expect, but with a little deck rather than a little bag.

The art is done, now I'm playing with proofs. Like the little paper orcs and the Pocket Dimensions, this is something I wanted for my own games at home and will hopefully do well enough not to sink me into the ground. Fingers crossed.

I'll put together a l...

Cutaway Towers

A map, for an adventure. The game is broadly ready to go, but there are some things to work out with the solo elements. Such as whether something that is mostly just a novelty is worth such an investment of time and page space.

Cecil Howe made this ages ago for me. I've been very bad at putting it in a book since then. Working on fixing that.

Work in progress backgrounds from an upcoming adventure. Sssssh.

1. Chattels Handler

You are duty bound to uphold this most revered of tasks and you perform it with gusto - to lug the stuff. You know where its stored and if you aint got it they aint getting' it! The only item you personally own amongst the packs, panniers, purses, pouches and pockets is a massive skillet. You can wield it destructively if need be.

Possessions

• Many sacks and suitcases
• Massive skillet
• 8 additional ...
  2018-01-11 14:22:22 +0000 UTC View Post

Kinidymos, Hunter of the Undivided

Kinidymos 

When the inner becomes outer, and the upper becomes lower, when the male and female form the single-backed child who's eyes are replete with eyes and who's image is in place of an image, then you will enter the kingdom. These sidereal psychopomps will lead all matter to the monad and terminal oneness, it is the duty of the kinidymos to ensure this never happens.

Possessions

Dyadic compass

Disunional sword

One weapo...

Cordial of Conduct

Conductors were once an essential administrative arm of the Phoenix Throne, whose duty was to brief exaltants on the applicable procedures for interacting with diplomatic cacogens, undines, and all other possible spherical dignitaries. However since the Collapse of Good Governance, the Uncivil War and the repurposing of the sea towers, contact with the outer worlds has fallen from favour. So instead they read their books in the decayed and forgotten suites of the Green Palace and prepare for the...

Good Dog (AKA the best background)

Good Dog 

You’re not a magic dog, you’re not a talking dog, but you are a good dog.

Possessions

A neckerchief OR a collar and half a leash OR your favourite ball

Skills

3 Awareness

3 Dig

2 Run 

2 Track

2 Sneak

2 Swim

1 Sleight of Hand

1 Tunnel Fighting

1 Bite Fighting

(I think I made th...

Boiled Egg Pedlar & People Pet

Boiled Egg Pedlar

You wake up early every day to set your cauldron bubbling. Before anyone else has awoken there you are, walking the market from top to bottom to top again. You ignore the silk sellers and fire sellers and moss sellers, the bubble makers and book lenders and tooth pullers. You don't waste your time watching their shows and gimmicks, their noise and theatre. No, what you have everyone wants and they know where to go when they need it. What you have is eggs.