Ravenstone Rules Update, and Mocha!

I have completed the first two chapters of the play-test rules for Ravenstone, my family-with-superpowers RPG. They can be found here:

Ravenstone Play-test Rules

Chapter 1 is just a short intro. Chapter 2 covers Family and character creation. It's in need of some editing, so any feedback is welcome. Chapter 3, the rules of play, are coming next.

I also finished making a prototype for a coffee-themed card game that Sarah and I designed together. "Espresso" and "Barista" are already taken as card game names, so I'm calling mine Mocha, after our favorite coffee drink. It's a simple, Uno-like card game for 2 to 4 players that can (probably) be played in about 10-20 minutes. Each player has three cups of different sizes -- Short, Tall, Vente. You start with a hand of ingredient cards (Espresso, Steamed Milk, etc.) and play them onto cups to build different espresso drinks. There's some strategy to where you place your cards, as you score points for drinks in front you, and certain ingredient types must be played in a particular order. You lose points for cards left in your hand at the end, so I'm guessing a large portion of the game is mitigating your losses as best you can. Hopefully we'll find some victims to help us try it out this weekend.

Ravenstone - Playtest Rules

It's been a while, but I'm back.

This week and next, I am working on a revision of my rules for my rpg magnum opus, Ravenstone. In it, you play a creepy, dysfunctional family that fights monsters from beyond time and space. Kinda like if the Addams Family mated with the Winchesters from Supernatural, then used their resulting superpowers to hunt Lovecraftian horrors in a decade-spanning history written by Alan Moore. Kinda like that.

My wife, Sarah, and I are also working on a cooperative board game to replace the WarhammerQuest-shaped hole in our hearts. Our goals are to speed up play, replace the randomness with decision-making, and inject more of a sense of narration, while keeping the exploration, character growth, and cooperative elements of the original game. We are also replacing the Ameritrash big-guys-with-swords feel with an epic puppy-ton of cute. Just look at this mummy:



Edit: Oh, BTW, thanks to Wil for linking me from his site!