Blog Posts
Subsystem overview and the three games I'm sketching out with it.
November 25, 2022
RUNEvember Session 10: Abrus Island
November 24, 2022
Session 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9
This time, I washed up on Abrus Island!
Agonizing coughing. Heaving expulsions of salt water. Then, finally, a laborious inhale. You live. Wiping sand and blood from your face, you try to piece together the events of the previous night: a sudden severe storm, a giant waves, the crack of the ship’s hull, pain, darkness. You’ve washed ashore here, wherever that might be. Standing, there’s a familiar pull on your soul – a Sigil nearby. Although carved by unknown hands, you feel linked to it. You lash together a simple spear and grab a piece of driftwood as a crude shield before heading off into the dense forest ahead.
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RUNEvember Session 9: Coral Rock
November 19, 2022
Session 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8
For this session, I returned to Coral Rock:
The sigil seared into the ground shimmers like the bright, crystalline sea that laps against the coastline. A gulch between two hills fills with water, turning the north end of the peninsula into an isolated landmass.
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RUNEvember Session 8: The Cracks Betwixt
November 16, 2022
Session 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7
This time, I ran through The Cracks Betwixt, another pamphlet Realm!
When something shatters, it leaves behind cracks. Over time, those cracks fill with all sorts of interesting things. All sorts of filth. All sorts of riches.
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RUNEvember Session 7: Cragcliff Reformatory
November 14, 2022
For this session I revisited my first Realm, Cragcliff Reformatory!
The very name elicits an involuntary response: it conjures up an image of a horrible, nightmarish facility designed solely for the purpose of detaining magic-users of all kinds, run by the infamous former mage-hunter, Inquisitor Tremain. You had thought it to be nothing but legend. You were wrong.
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RUNEvember Session 6: Obsidian Brink
November 13, 2022
Next up is Obsidian Brink, another pamphlet Realm.
You are being followed. The instant you set foot in this Realm, something caught your scent.
It’s been hunting you ever since.
The runes carved into your being hum within you, not resonating with a source of power, but urging you to escape this place.
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RUNEvember Session 5: Castle Blanchard
November 11, 2022
Fifth on the list was Castle Blanchard.
This fragment of Obron is like something out of a fairytale: rolling hills provide the backdrop for an imposing castle on the banks of a gorgeous river. But strife rules this Realm: smoke drifts from the green hills hangs over a castle overrun with thorny vines and twisted trees beckon with gnarled branches across the river. Something has gone terribly wrong here.
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RUNEvember Session 4: World's Grave
November 9, 2022
Fourth on RUNEvember, we're entering the World's Grave.
You wake in smothering darkness and claw your way out of a shallow grave. The air hangs heavy with humid decay. In the distance the land cracks into a cavernous maw. You carve the Sigil into your tombstone and set out.
Overview and Realm Mechanics
Another horror-ish one, this one has a unique mechanic: Remains. When enemies die, they (mostly) drop a Remains tile on the map. Enemies interact with these sometimes (consuming them, mostly), and after combat they can be collected for use if they're still on the map. This is a pretty interesting mechanic and gives you reasons to be more aggressive against otherwise not terribly threatening enemies (because sometimes they'll gobble up your precious Remains).
...RUNEvember Session 3: Obran Express
November 7, 2022
On the third stop, we've hit our first pamphlet realm, Obran Express! There are 4 of these right now if my memory serves. These are Realms that fit on a sheet front and back, usually they have 4 points and take like half an hour to play tops.
Glass shatters and screams echo across the Obran Express. Your journey to another realm interrupted, you sigh, scratch a hasty sigil. and draw your weapon. Nothing is ever easy.
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