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2022 Fall Update (PAX Unplugged, MAGFest)

  I have two conventions coming up where I’ll be running both Alter Arms and Skrap Packs . The first is PAX Unplugged in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania at the Pennsylvania Convention Center, Dec. 2 & 3 as part of Games on Demand . The next will be at Super MAGFest in National Harbor, MD at the Gaylord Convention Center, Jan 5-7, 2023 as part of the MAGFest Indie Tabletop Showcase (MITS). Some changes I am implementing for playtests the playtests include: Alter Arms Updates: For a look at the full rules, you can join the discord . Updated references to drama (the health mechanic) levels to reference base 5 instead of base 4 (each form that a character has unlocked gives them an additional 5 drama they can take before they crash (as opposed to the prior 4 drama per form) Update pratfall rules to mention that you can choose to either lose 2 drama or add +3 to any current assets (creating a new asset at +3 if none currently exist). Rolling a ‘1’ when making a move gives you the choic
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Coming Up: BlerdCon 2022

  I'll be in the tabletop room at BlerdCon 2022 on Saturday, July 9 from 2PM - 8PM Eastern time. Be sure to stop by for a demo at one of my favorite conventions! Learn more here about the event here!
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Post-MAGFest 2022 Playtest Report

  MAGFest 2022 was a great experience! I learned more about encounter balance for both Alter Arms and Skrap Packs, and met a number of wonderful people with some great stories to tell through the games and feedback to provide. With Alter Arms , the main feedback I got was in terms of learning the system and encounter balance: Coming into the game with characters with at least one advancement can be fun when multiple special abilities are applied to actions, but it can be overwhelming for new players learning the new system. The different kinds of actions a character can take, the bonuses they can create for themselves and their allies, and managing the pressure their characters are under can be a lot to take in all at once. What I've found by comparing the MAGFest 2022 playtests to other playtests is that the game is easiest taught in steps: at PAX Unplugged I brought characters in before they had any transformations or special abilities. They were left to solve problems with just
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MAGFest 2022 Playtest

  I'll be at MAGFest 2022 (Gaylord Convention Center, National Harbor, MD, Jan 6-8, 1PM until close) as part of the Indie Tabletop Showcase, a venue where tabletop designers can demo their games. There, I'll be running Alter Arms , a tokusatsu-inspired tabletop role playing game where players take the role of heroes who gain a variety of powers by taking on different forms, and combining the abilities of those different forms together to pull off spectacular feats! I'll also be running Skrap Packs , a rules-lite, card-based tabletop role playing game where players build decks of cards, with each card representing an item they've scavenged. They'll use these items in creative ways, to solve problems, even combining them together to build new and unique tools! I'll have a rundown of feedback of the games sometime in the following week. My next demos after MAGFest will be: Alter Arms: Jan 15, 2PM-4PM Eastern via Discord where I'm starting an ongoing campaig
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2021 PAX Unplugged Games On Demand Playtests

  A photo of a Skrap Packs playtest by one of the players  Thank you to all the playtesters at PAX Unplugged 2021, Games on Demand for a very busy weekend! It's always great to have a game, but I also got some great feedback: ALTER ARMS Alter Arms playtesters at PAX Unplugged 2021 During Alter Arms, players pointed out that not all of the character archetypes were as beneficial for players as others.  For the sake of clarity, I'm going to explain the character archetype move rules in a way that doesn't require full knowledge of the system. Character archetypes are subclasses for characters that give them access to moves that mechanically reflect the functionality of different members of a team you typically find in team henshin-hero shows like Super Sentai, Sailor Moon, etc. They are important because they give characters access to unique actions that can: A) Allow them to lower their own or another character's drama ( in this system, instead of characters losing  hit p
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2021 Fall Update

As of this writing, my next in-person playtests are going to be at: PAX Unplugged 2021   as part of Games on Demand : Dec. 10 - 11, 2021 at the Pennsylvania Convention Center.  MAGFest 2022 as part of Indie Tabletop Showcase : Jan. 6 - 9, 2022 at the Gaylord Convention Center  Katsucon 2022 : Feb. 18 - 20, 2022 at the Gaylord Convention Center I hope to see you there! If you're interested in virtual playtesting, join the Discord! I've been continuing regular playtests of Alter Arms through the discord I set up late last year. By this point, I've run through one full campaign with a group of players, observing how they advanced their characters and the impact that had on things like enjoyment and the increase in their effectiveness in handling problems.  The big things I've noticed include: I am able to increase player agency against stronger foes by giving them the default ability to create "assets," narrative objects they put into the game world based on acti
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