MMXXI - Pain progress report

 

Wow... three posts in 2020...

This time I decided to give up on any RPG-related plans. I just try to do my part of work but without any promises to anyone - even myself.

BUT I think there is one thing I could share with you - progress I made with designing Pain since my last post.

You know me - bullet point list incoming!

• I'm currently revising everything I wrote so far - condensed text fits into 27 A4-sized pages. And I rather remove stuff than add new. I simply rip out anything I'm not entirely satisfied with. This should help with, well, finishing it!
• Yup, only twenty seven pages. But when divided into chapters and fit into B5 format (which will be the final one - or at least I think so) they already take 77 pages. And that's without even touching game mechanics.
  
• Moreover - many entries must be expanded. Some really important figures and places are only described in 2-3 sentences. But for now I hit the wall and my brain is empty. So I focus on other aspects of the design.
• No artwork touched so far, except the first attempts to design a logo. I posted some initial doodles on my Instagram.
• I often switch methods of designing new stuff - sometimes I write only on Google Docs, sometimes I use pen and paper. The latter works especially well with revisions - but geez, applying the changes to the GDocs is PITA! But there is no way around - I tried a tablet but it was even worse than relying on a laptop! Good thing is that I borrowed one and had not spent any money on my own device.

I really hope that I will finish this game in MMXXI. But we all know how things are looking now. Still - expect no excuses for my laziness. If i drop it for several months due to me being too lazy - I will let you know haha.

Okay, I think it's enough for now. Still no promises - but I will TRY to post at least monthly updates on topic of this project. And it's more than sure that I will drop some less-important stuff on my IG (link above).

Stay tuned and be safe out there!

Pain is Eternal

 

still WIP, needs rework

Uh oh. Blogging is weak in me! But I am still working on my game, which I mentioned several times before under this tag (and several other tags as well, as my RPG-related settings and projects intermingled and devoured themselves over and over). But even the name of the game was changed.

PAIN IS ETERNAL.

Yup, that's a saying from the game's world - Pain is name of the city. The only city that survived the Fall (click but bear in mind that this info be quite outdated). And as you can see on the map above - there's quite a lot of things happening under it. So - maybe you should expect some solid underworld-crawling.

Next thing - there will be only one playable race - the Unliving Ones. Humans are now extinct and only the "amalgamations of biological flesh and arcane technology" remain. More info soon (ha, fucking ha... expect to read about them in the next 4d6 months).

Also - game will most likely use my percentile mechanics, a derivative of an engine used in Perilous Ages. But it will be even more streamlined and gritty. Why the d% engine, instead of more standard OSRish approach? There are two main reasons. First - I dislike asymmetrical combat (passive defense and binja armor paradox - the more heavy armor you have, the smaller the chance to hit you is). Second - percentile mechanics are really, REALLY easy to convert them to any other existing ruleset. And they are extremely easy to hack / modify. At least IMO.

However - this time things will be soo fucking different from my previous releases...

Let's be honest - I fell in love with MÖRK BORG. Absolutely, both in terms of aesthetics and content. What is even more interesting (at least from my point of view), I planned to do something similar two years ago - but still had no clue how to start (or finish). Artpunky rulebook is a way for me to go. And - as I already have like ~70 A4-sized pages full of text (not counting the rules) - it will be quite big.

I will try to update the blog with some Pain-related news. Also, check out my Instagram profile and add me on MeWe.

World of Ortix on Instagram!

CLICK ME

Today I created an IG account for my geeky activities, mostly the ones connected to all my blogging/RPG-related stuff. Of course, I will still try to update this blog - but as you can see, I'm not very good at it nowadays.

On the topic of Pain RPG / whY - I'm still making progress with the game. Once I create something more coherent, I will post it here.

Ortix Year Ten (+ map!)

Wow... a decade of this blog.

As you can see, I'm still kicking. Not very active on the RPG-side of my numerous hobbies - was mainly focused on drawing, painting and music. But from time to time i work on the Pain project, adding new stuff - but mostly reworking the old ideas.

For example - yesterday I made a small, very basic version of the cross-section of the City of Pain, which you may gaze upon. Right here, right now I'm working on the much bigger and much more detailed one. Most likely will post some progress photos on my MeWe profile.

Rest in Peace...

[whY] The Shards

1. All Shards revolve around some kind of central location, a place where immense power can be found.
2. Not all Shards are inhabited - conditions on some of them are quite lethal…
3. Shards that are left unprotected may vanish. Sometimes they reappear, twisted beyond recognition.
4. An artificial black hole is located in the center of all Shards. And all Shards are somehow connected to it.
5. Boundaries of some shards are clearly visible, while others seem to stretch infinitely.
6. Shards that are uninhabited by humans are sometimes home to some unspeakable monstrosities, much better adapted to particular fragments of reality.
7. From time to time, particular Shards seem to overlap. There was a clan who possessed a method of determining when and where it will occur. Or maybe it was just another myth.
8. Some shards are artificially lit, while others seem to be surrounded by dim glow. Night-day cycle is extremely rare.

The very first Ortix Podcast!

THE GUILTY FUCKER

Well, it happened. I recorded my very first podcast ever.

I was really nervous, the hum of the laptop can be perfectly heard (even though I recorded using the contraption presented above!) and my English is shitty. But I felt the urge to record it and I did it.

In this - the first ever - episode, I'm talking about the whY setting, its background, some basic features and the form. It's not very long, and most likely not very good as well! But I hope you'll enjoy it :)

Ortix Podcast S01E01 - Introduction and something about The Game Called... whY