Latest Articles and Activities of Game Designer Jim Davenport
Well, it took just a little bit longer than expected but Savage Characters Volume 1 now comes with a conversion of all 20 characters (and the setting rules) to SWADE-compliancy. All previous buyers get a copy of the conversion document for free.
And it is a great time to pick up a copy until the end of July during DriveThruRPG’s Christmas in July sale!
To celebrate the 100th copy of Art of Negotiation sold, we have awarded that lucky buyer a free digital copy of Savage Characters Volume 1!
Soon, I’ll be releasing the SWADE conversion of all 20 characters stats to all owners of Savage Characters Volume 1 so look for that notification in your inbox.
Work continues on the first Savage Adventure from Dragonlaird Gaming: Colonel Bull’s Body. Set in the haunted west setting of Sixguns and Ghost Lands, our player characters are sent to bring a body back in order to gain an inheritance but naturally, there are weird and dangerous trials before they can feel the money in their hands…
We’re very pleased with the response to our Art of Negotiation publication on DriveThruRPG. We’re rapidly nearing a sales milestone.
Thank you for your support!
While watching “News of the World” starring Tom Hanks (fine film, recommended, spoilers ahead), I was struck by the relationship between the older man and a girl who had been stolen from her German immigrant family when very young and raised by Kiowa Native Americans. For the start of the film, they have no way of speaking to each other while he has to try to protect her in several situations. He has to prove herself to her by his deeds. How does he protect her, provide for her? How does he treat other people? Does he have friends or only enemies in the harsh world of 1870 western United States?
Consider introducing this situation into your campaign. Introduce an NPC who needs to be helped, protected but with whom the players can’t communicate verbally. Children trigger others to protect them and look out for them. A lack of common language or perhaps a deaf child would create the barrier for game play. Then you need to create situations or interpret planned situations to see how the PCs navigate it with the child. What accommodations do they make to keep her safe? Do they give her freedom or lock her up (for her own safety)? Do they change their course to get her to a safer situation? Do they try to learn her language or build communications? Do they realize that she can help them once she judges them to be honorable, not a threat to her?
In the film, Hanks determines that there is no place for the girl safer than with him so they end up together. That would be an interesting outcome for an adventuring party, to gain a ward of sorts.
Give it a try and let me know how it works out.
When the future of your character is on the line, do you want to leave it down to just one roll?
There are all kinds of negotiation in life… haggling the price for corporate secrets, pleading your case to the King’s court, brokering a peace treaty in time of war, or even bargaining for your soul with the Devil himself. These situations deserve as much spotlight and fun as combat does.
Negotiation is a part of gaming that I’ve always felt was tough to do well. There could always be a conflict between what the rules said and what you wanted to decide for your character. Or the resolution was too brief. Or it was just down to a good or bad roll.
The Art of Negotiation is an optional rule subsystem for Savage Worlds Adventure Edition to make these situations fast, furious, and fun! It includes rules for performing negotiations, two new hindrances, two new edges and plenty of examples of ways you can use these negotiation rules. It replaces the Social Conflict rules in SWADE for those situations where more drama, stakes, and attention is warranted.
The Art of Negotiation on DriveThruRPG
March 23, 2021 Update: Showcased by Pinnacle! Pinnacle’s Licensor Spotlight
Greetings Friends and Fans!
Things are in motion here at Dragonlaird Gaming. We’re coming up on our 130th publication including columns and articles for Knights of the Dinner Table magazine, work for other products, and my own publications.
Art of Negotiation
This has finished layout and will soon be posted on DriveThruRPG.
Savage Characters Volume 1 goes SWADE!
We’re completing our conversion of the setting rules and 20 characters to be SWADE-compliant and take advantage of changes in the rules. These will go to a simple round of layout and be made available for free to everyone who has purchased a copy of Savage Characters Volume 1 at DriveThruRPG.
Adventures in the four Savage Characters settings
Once Art of Negotiation and the SWADE conversion are both finished and released, we’ll dive into the Adventures we aim to publish this year with one per setting. As a sneak preview…
Dark Ages and Dragon Gods – “Ashes to Ashes” – Our adventurers are drawn to the Greek peninsula, laid waste by the Dragon God fifty years ago…
Theta Ships and Iron Men – “Last Flight Out” – Stranded on a colony world that is about to be abandoned, can our heroes find a way off planet before its too late?
Sixguns and Ghost Lands – “Colonel Bull’s Body” – Our heroes are sent into the Weird West to recover the body of an important man with a disturbing past.
Demon Streets and Made Men – “Come and Hear the Music” – A period adventure set in 1969, our crew is sent to some hippie festival to bring back the daughter of the Don.
More to come soon!
Jim
Dragonlaird Gaming has been busy since the last posting though as with everyone the pandemic has disrupted time and attention. We’ve continued our partnership with KenzerCo and Knights of the Dinner Table with more Gaming the Movies articles: The Boys, The Way, Short Cuts, and Locke & Key. We’ve also produced articles for them: 100 Questions to Add Depth to your Character, Apocalypse How, and Deep Dark Secrets.
We’re back to working on material for Savage Worlds, now for the current Adventure Edition. We have an alternative rules sub-system for negotiations that is being prepared for sale as part of the Savage Worlds Adventurer’s Guild on DriveThruRPG.com. We hope to have that available in the next couple months as we’re ordering art and going through some playtesting.
In parallel, our home group has been playing Blades in the Dark using Roll20 which is an interesting change of pace. Definitely different sorts of “game economies” to manage while creating the narrative story. There might be an opportunity to develop some material for that system or a reskinned version of it. Thoughts are being thought in that direction.
We hope everyone is staying safe, following the recommendations of the medical professionals, and hope we all get to slinging dice together soon… 2021?
You can use your trappings with your powers, but what about your skills? Your edges? Your attributes? Really make your spell-caster distinctive with these easy tips.
Hey, quick update. Too much time has passed since my last update (mea culpa). A lot has been going on.
I’ve continued collaborating with SPQR Games, starting a series of adventures, each one focused on a different archetype from the setting. I’ve completed Spy and Assassin so far.
I’ve also been working another setting, SAINTS and Synners, which released a Jumpstart with the release of Savage Worlds Adventure Edition. The setting is basically a Suicide Squad Space Opera. I rewrote the JumpStart adventure and playtested it at Origins this year and two more times. I think it is quite a thrill ride.
I published a few articles with High Level Games last year (“3 Keys to Building a Savage Character”, “3 Keys to Taking on a Mastermind”, “3 Key Sources of Disaster”, “3 Ways of Love and Drama”, “4 Ways Battles Get Weird”)
So the writing and gaming continues at Dragonlaird Gaming. I haven’t been publishing new products as I’d expected by now but I am enjoying writing for other settings, writing articles for Knights of the Dinner Table magazine, and running games in my own Dark Ages and Dragon Gods.
Until next time…
And now the hardcover print-on-demand format version is available. We’re very pleased to be able to put Volume 1 on our gaming shelf in this elegant hardcover next to our other Savage Worlds resources. Check it out at DriveThruRPG.