HEDGE MAGIC
With the midpoint of the year coming up I'm starting to look at what things I really want to get done by the end of 2022. Part of that involves going back and looking at all of the game hacks I've done. I’m trying to assess which ones were successful, which ones didn't work at all, and which ones have promise and are worth developing further. It's honestly a mixed bag.
The hack that's gotten the most attention and yet is the biggest mess is my Changeling the Lost PbtA hack. It's certainly one I've run the most, and the one others people have run the most. People reach out to me about it more often than anything else.
I say it's a mess because it's got a lot of moves; probably more than it needs. And the playbooks have a lot of stuff…honestly they’re overstuffed. Yet they're also pretty fun. Players have rich choices and there’s less doubling up of abilities within each playbook than you might expect. You can make very different versions of characters from the same playbook. My Changeling the Lost PbtA hack builds on many other games: Hearts of Wulin, The Veil, Masks, Urban Shadows, and beyond. It really deserves another rewrite and redevelopment.
Each time I've revised it I've focused further on what I like from Changeling the Lost, and cut away some things that are important to other people CtL but matter less to me. For example a focus on contracts as rich lists with distinct catches, Clarity as a key sub-system, the pledge making mechanics, and a bunch more. The next time I revise I have to decide if I want to change even more and spin it off into its own thing or keep it as Changeling the Lost but try to just clean up mess.
Below I link to my character keeper for this. I love online keepers because they’re one of the best tools for hacking, revising, and developing ttrpgs. I don't have to write out big rules chapters or anything like that. I can get all the playable elements down in one place. It is also an easy thing to hand off to other people who have PBTA experience with. They can look at it and go “oh okay I can run this.” Note that this is still a rough, in-progress game but fairly playable. Below I also link to some other posts that I've done related to Changeling the Lost you might find useful and interesting if you like the setting.
Changeling the Lost PBTA Keeper
IDEAS ABOUT CHANGELING
The Courtly Campaign
Kith and Kind: Some Brainstorming on Changeling the Lost
More Kith and Kind: Continued Brainstorming on Changeling the Lost
Changeling Civil Ceremonies
Changeling the Lost as a Lens for Horror
Albums Written for Changeling: Middle Cyclone
Changeling Songs
Building Hollows for Changeling
Spoiling the Setting? Thoughts on Player Knowledge (examples from Changeling)
Changeling the Lost and FATE
Changeling the Lost for Fate Accelerated
Changeling the Lost GM Jam
Changeling the Lost and DramaSystem
Kingdom: On Fae and Samurai
NEW CONTRACTS
Court of Judgment and Contracts of Weights & Measures
Contracts of the Merciful and Contracts of Sentencing
Contracts of Words and Contracts of Roads
Contracts of Uniform
Contracts of the Prisoner
Contracts of Kohl
FRAGMENTS FROM MY CAMPAIGN
The Neon Hedge: Building Changeling Las Vegas
The Wayward Notebook
Applying Hamlet's Hit Points: A Changeling Session Analysis
Two Successful GM Tricks from Changeling
Changeling Scene Postscript
Sharing and Play
Changeling Campaign Themes: Planning Wayward
Why You Should Never Look Behind the Campaign Curtain
Pieces Fall into Place
Sarah No-Tears Dreams
YouTube Playlist of Changeling Lost Vegas Sessions
Changeling Lost Vegas: Session One
Changeling Lost Vegas: Orientation (Part One)
Changeling Lost Vegas Orientation (Part Two)
The Tarot of Changeling Lost Vegas
REVIEWING THE BOOKS
Product Guide for New Players
Changeling the Lost
Autumn Nightmares
Dancers in the Dusk
Equinox Road
Goblin Markets
Lords of Summer
Night Horrors: Grim Fears
Personae
Rites of Spring
Swords at Dawn
Victorian Lost
Winter Masques
Glimpses of the Unknown (WoD)
In another post coming up I'll also look at some of the other hacks I have on the table. Some of these I might want to go back and revise. And maybe I'll solicit some feedback and suggestions about which of these is most worth doing.
With the midpoint of the year coming up I'm starting to look at what things I really want to get done by the end of 2022. Part of that involves going back and looking at all of the game hacks I've done. I’m trying to assess which ones were successful, which ones didn't work at all, and which ones have promise and are worth developing further. It's honestly a mixed bag.
The hack that's gotten the most attention and yet is the biggest mess is my Changeling the Lost PbtA hack. It's certainly one I've run the most, and the one others people have run the most. People reach out to me about it more often than anything else.
I say it's a mess because it's got a lot of moves; probably more than it needs. And the playbooks have a lot of stuff…honestly they’re overstuffed. Yet they're also pretty fun. Players have rich choices and there’s less doubling up of abilities within each playbook than you might expect. You can make very different versions of characters from the same playbook. My Changeling the Lost PbtA hack builds on many other games: Hearts of Wulin, The Veil, Masks, Urban Shadows, and beyond. It really deserves another rewrite and redevelopment.
Each time I've revised it I've focused further on what I like from Changeling the Lost, and cut away some things that are important to other people CtL but matter less to me. For example a focus on contracts as rich lists with distinct catches, Clarity as a key sub-system, the pledge making mechanics, and a bunch more. The next time I revise I have to decide if I want to change even more and spin it off into its own thing or keep it as Changeling the Lost but try to just clean up mess.
Below I link to my character keeper for this. I love online keepers because they’re one of the best tools for hacking, revising, and developing ttrpgs. I don't have to write out big rules chapters or anything like that. I can get all the playable elements down in one place. It is also an easy thing to hand off to other people who have PBTA experience with. They can look at it and go “oh okay I can run this.” Note that this is still a rough, in-progress game but fairly playable. Below I also link to some other posts that I've done related to Changeling the Lost you might find useful and interesting if you like the setting.
Changeling the Lost PBTA Keeper
IDEAS ABOUT CHANGELING
The Courtly Campaign
Kith and Kind: Some Brainstorming on Changeling the Lost
More Kith and Kind: Continued Brainstorming on Changeling the Lost
Changeling Civil Ceremonies
Changeling the Lost as a Lens for Horror
Albums Written for Changeling: Middle Cyclone
Changeling Songs
Building Hollows for Changeling
Spoiling the Setting? Thoughts on Player Knowledge (examples from Changeling)
Changeling the Lost and FATE
Changeling the Lost for Fate Accelerated
Changeling the Lost GM Jam
Changeling the Lost and DramaSystem
Kingdom: On Fae and Samurai
NEW CONTRACTS
Court of Judgment and Contracts of Weights & Measures
Contracts of the Merciful and Contracts of Sentencing
Contracts of Words and Contracts of Roads
Contracts of Uniform
Contracts of the Prisoner
Contracts of Kohl
FRAGMENTS FROM MY CAMPAIGN
The Neon Hedge: Building Changeling Las Vegas
The Wayward Notebook
Applying Hamlet's Hit Points: A Changeling Session Analysis
Two Successful GM Tricks from Changeling
Changeling Scene Postscript
Sharing and Play
Changeling Campaign Themes: Planning Wayward
Why You Should Never Look Behind the Campaign Curtain
Pieces Fall into Place
Sarah No-Tears Dreams
YouTube Playlist of Changeling Lost Vegas Sessions
Changeling Lost Vegas: Session One
Changeling Lost Vegas: Orientation (Part One)
Changeling Lost Vegas Orientation (Part Two)
The Tarot of Changeling Lost Vegas
REVIEWING THE BOOKS
Product Guide for New Players
Changeling the Lost
Autumn Nightmares
Dancers in the Dusk
Equinox Road
Goblin Markets
Lords of Summer
Night Horrors: Grim Fears
Personae
Rites of Spring
Swords at Dawn
Victorian Lost
Winter Masques
Glimpses of the Unknown (WoD)
In another post coming up I'll also look at some of the other hacks I have on the table. Some of these I might want to go back and revise. And maybe I'll solicit some feedback and suggestions about which of these is most worth doing.
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