ANOINTED v0.2 is out, I made a tutorial for it, and I want to talk about it.
June 22, 2023
So ANOINTED just got a big update. Part of that is that I added a Tutorial region! I wanna talk about it.
The region
ANOINTED's premise is that you are an immortal warrior (an Anointed) who has been locked away for years following ages of glory, intrigue, war, and disillusionment. When you emerge, you have no memories, but are called/drawn/etc to return to the side of the (long dead) king to whom all Anointed are beholden by ritual bond.
Fitting that, the premise of this region is that moment of emergence: you are suddenly freed from the bottom of a prison and have to fight your way out. Along the way, you gain a little context about what's going on and regain a few memories.
(sidenote: My RUNE Realm The Cragcliff Reformatory was intended to be a tutorial for ANOINTED originally, but I had scrapped it because it was too much for a tutorial before repurposing it for RUNE and making this simpler one. You can see the influences/similarities if you look closely. Remember, don't throw anything away, just shelve it! It might come in handy later.)
Most Region maps are pointcrawls with multiple directions, branching paths, etc. This one's a straight shot, 1-2-3-4-5. Many would have clocks, for simplicity I'm choosing not to include one here.
Intro
I describe the setup, then walk players through chargen: pick a Background (Brigand, Cleric, Knight, Magus, Mercenary, Thief: these set starting Attributes and equipment, Souls-style), pick out two Memories based on that Background (which add +1 to an Attribute).
① Sanctuary Cell
It's the Sanctuary (i.e. bonfire, i.e. Sigil.) I put some text here reminding players a reminder here to check (and make a choice about) your equipment and make sure you know what it does before going to the next segment.
② Low-Security Cells
Here's the first area: an encounter with Dregs.
Dregs are my unsubtle replication of Souls Dreglings: earlygame enemies that are mostly a threat when off guard or in numbers. They're pretty weak. 2 per player is no big deal.
But...the thing is, depending on your setup, you just don't have to fight them. This is where Disposition comes in:
- By default, they're Aggressive, aka attack on sight.
- But...if you've got enough Conviction or Prowess, you can make them Wary. This means they won't attack you unless you try to scavenge! You can just walk on by if you're into that.
- Or, alternatively, you can make them Fearful. This means you also don't have to fight them, because they run away. The implication is that this means they'll be your problem in the next area, but we'll get there - this is me setting an expectation that sometimes things will interact in unexpected ways. Because it's a TTRPG, you'll see what that interaction looks like in the next Location even if you didn't do it here!
The description tells you all of this, because this is a tutorial. If you choose to fight, it tells you how combat works GMlessly (each enemy acts based on range and conditions, Dregs are very simple and work purely on proximity to the closest target, with stronger attacks if they start their turn closer). It also reminds you about Embodying Grace (not-Estus). If you defeated them or scared them off, you can pick up some guard equipment (a Spear, a Round Shield, and some Leather Armor, giving folks a little bit of build variety). The Dregs have a Relic Scrap, which can make an encounter easier going forward.
③ Guard Station
Remember what I said about Fearful making Dregs run here? Well, if you do that, these guards will have killed those Dregs for you, but are in disarray as a result: those dispositions become default Aggressive (Guarded is worse because they start combat shield-up, this is an improvement), Distracted Skill 3 (which means you can ambush them).
Thinking about numbers, 5/6 of the classes start with 2-3 Prowess or Conviction (only Magus is low at both) and 3/6 of the classes start with 2-3 Skill (Mercenary, Thief, Magus). Given that you get +1 to two Attributes, this means:
- Just about anyone can at least do at least the Wary thing if they want. Even Magus could get to Fearful if they put both Attributes into Conviction.
- If you have two players who picked different Backgrounds, you've got a good shot at either being able to Fearful -> Distracting as above or pick the ambush from the getgo by splitting that 6 Skill Challenge into two 3's (which you can do, as long as both characters have 3 and expend their Skill).
- If you skipped out on Fearful you've at least got the stats to make them Aggressive, which is better.
My notes here remind folks that Spearmen actually have defenses at all (Staggering them and attacking when they're not Guarding matters more) and that Apprentices deal Magical and not Physical Harm (meaning if you've been relying on tanking hits as a slow, heavily-armored Knight you might be in bad shape against that Apprentice: consider which Reaction to use, Guard vs Dodge vs Parry, and it might save your life). Because there's an Impassable hex in between, there's a high chance that nobody's going to be able to hit that Apprentice before it can attack, and if they do they'll find out about what Spearmen do at close range (it's shield bashing).
When they win, they'll get 2 Holy Water (restore Health) and 2 Rare Spice (restore Focus). Odds are they'll need a little pick-me-up at this point.
④ Entrance Foyer
No frills. This is a kind of "miniboss" to prepare you for the real deal.
My description notes that Knights are more dangerous and reminds you to reserve actions to use Reactions. It also reminds you that you can go back and rest, this area doesn't respawn enemies or have a Clock so it's fine.
I also reveal who freed your Anointed: someone in strange close with Volhyr's crest on them. This is when I spring the fact that you remember the King (or at least, your theoretical oath to him) and feel the call.
⑤ Courtyard
Big man on campus. This is your first Major Threat (boss): another Anointed who has been bound to serve as warden.
He's not too-too bad, but every time he hits a multiple of 10 Health (he has 30 to start) he'll spend his round calling for reinforcements while turtling up. This gives you a good opportunity to think about switching targets and changing tactics based on bosses' actions (as (thers will have big nasty attacks that you'll have to dodge triggered at this threshold).
At the end, I pose a Memory question asking about how you know of him (as he is also Anointed, you have likely crossed paths in the past). He's got a sword that can buff allies and a very big, chunky shield. Then, you're free to start the game properly!
I'm very proud of how it turned out and I want to do this for more games, it's fun and helpful. Give it a shot if it sounds cool!
(Read the original on cohost here!)