I am so bad at this blog thing. If I had a topic that was bugging me, I could write 5,000 words on it in an hour and be posting in without even a read-through. But when it comes to talking about my games or what I’m working on, I turn into an introverted idiot.

While I continue to have people read Dying Memories and push off my publishing of a done-game, I have moved onto the Plague (as well as two card games, a board game, and two more roleplaying games). For lack of a better word, I alone would want to run/play the plague, but my friends have been very helpful in helping me playtest it anyway.

Five games later… I think I have something.

The original concept for the Plague was to toy with the concept of isolation and the effects it has on people. How decisions change when people stop thinking their behavior affects those around them.

And I think I’m onto something, finally.

First off, the game can be played with or without a GM, but it is clear to me that a GM is the way to go. Secondly, I’m still running into the issue of what are “scenes about.” A great deal of the other factors of the game (behavior, interludes, symptoms), all work very well. But scenes are so frickin’ short, I’m finding it difficult to get people to roleplay longer than a few minutes. And for a game that lasts maybe 6 or 8 scenes long, this is a bit of an issue. Scenes should be 15-20 minutes long, not 5.

The present character sheet includes the stats of Anchor (which is how rooted to reality you are), Hope (self-explanatory), and Willpower (you bridge to things, rather than people). Like a standard RPG, these values start at X based on the player’s allocation of points, although frankly I think 7 points amongst the 3 is too much.

There’s also a stat called Isolation, which players cannot control (directly). It works fabulously at the moment. I’m very happy about this.

In the meantime, I’ve conceived on a cool idea for a drama booklet that aids the players/GM with telling the story of The Plague. I’m eager to get cranking on this.

Okay. It’s getting late. I’m going to crank on these charts and post again soon.