https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeXvHKXbn0EnJ5rXN9UICsiyynvdAZOHW3AIhVItFEjajUkMA/viewform?usp=publish-editor On Wednesday, March 18th at 7:00 PM EST, we'll be running a collaborative world-building session for anyone interested! Learn how to kick off a proactive, emergent game by participating in the process, and set up the campaign for our West Marches game in the months to come. You can learn more about the upcoming campaign here, and you can RSVP for the collaborative event with the link at the top of this post. There's no player limit for this meeting, so no need to worry about if there's room. For those who can't make it, don't worry! We'll be putting up polls and bits of the process here this week, so you'll still be able to leave your mark on the setting before the game starts. Check in the Live Events channel each day, as we'll be covering the setting, factions, NPCs, and more. Please note that this will be recorded and posted in our classroom tab (and nowhere else!) as an example of the Session -1 process. If you're uncomfortable with this, you're still welcome to join us with your camera and/or mic off, via the chat in the event, and in the surveys we'll run this week. Also feel free to reach out to us if you'd like us to edit the video before uploading it. Can't wait to see you all there!

Next week, we'll be running Session -1 for our West Marches Blades in the Dark campaign! Anyone is welcome to join, but we all know scheduling can be tricky, so I'll be fielding suggestions ahead of time in the lab, so everyone can participate! First up, let's discuss the setting! Blades in the Dark takes place in a dark, post-cataclysm world. In the wake of an ancient disaster, ghosts and leviathans roam the sunless lands, forcing civilization into small, protected pockets. Our crew of scoundrels lives in Duskvol, an early industrial city that powers ghost-repelling lighting gates using leviathan blood as its main energy source. Everyone who dies comes back as a dangerous ghost, unless properly disposed of by the Spirit Wardens. To leave the city is almost certain death, and criminal factions strive desperately to gain a hold against one another. As a result, crews can’t just leave town and wait for the heat to die down; you’re in a pressure cooker environment, with ever-escalating stakes and danger. Drive your character like a stolen car! I've attached a map of the city below! The setting has some pretty important Givens baked into it, but there's still plenty of room to make the setting our own. We'll be building the details collaboratively---feel free to list some ideas under this post, or respond to one another and build off of the concepts. If you're unsure, I've also attached a table from the appendix of the Collaborative Campaign Design book with some inspirational questions you can answer or tweak or ignore (although not all of them are applicable to this setting). The table is broken into two images since it was split across two pages. I'll start! I rolled a 19 on the table (pretty good luck!) which is "Can people ascend to godhood? Have they already?" I like this a lot, so I'll say yes, yes they can! This sort of applies globally, although for this game, I think anything that says "world" in the prompt could also be treated as "city." I'll say the legendary emperor of the setting ascended to godhood long ago when the world fell, which is possibly part of the reason why the world is so messed up! So people can ascend to godhood, but it has a terrible price. It's probably not "true" godhood, since the emperor still rules the world directly and presumably has a flesh body, but I'll save that detail for when we do NPCs!

Starting Wednesday March 18th, we'll be running a West Marches style, ongoing campaign that anyone can join! We'll use the practices of our books to build an emergent, proactive game, starting with a Session -1 and creating character goals. We're expecting to run a few different games in the future, but to start, we'll be using Blades in the Dark for it's pretty easy-to-pickup rules, and its crew rules (which facilitate a rotating table). Something we've been seeing in the lab a lot is that most of the GMs here haven't actually been able to play in a proactive game (as a PC, that is). So much of this hobby is learned via experience, plus we just want to run more games, so this is our way of getting both. So how will it work? On the 18th, we'll have a Session -1. There will be polls and other events in the leadup for folks who can't make it, so everyone will help shape the variation of the Blades in the Dark setting we'll be playing in. Afterwards, we'll play each Wednesday. Signups for a game will go out two weeks before it starts for our Gold members, and one week before for the rest of the lab---seats are first come, first serve! Our tables will start at a max of five players---this may change as we learn and adjust. The games will be absolutely free of charge to make them as accessible as possible (for reference, StartPlaying games will usually be about 15--30 bucks a seat). This is what's called a "West Marches" game. For anyone who doesn't know this style, it's basically an open table campaign with an ongoing setting. Whoever can make it to a session forms the group, they set their own objectives, and they usually work as some sort of broader organization (in this case, a crew of criminals). A player could attend a dozen sessions, or they could just try once and not need to feel pressured to continue. If you're interested in more info about what this style of game is, give it a google! If you want a longer explanation, this video has a great overview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oGAC-gBoX9k

We're running an 8-week workshop series about converting/creating a proactive roleplaying-style game with your group! The purpose is to help you turn your current or new campaign into a proactive, character-driven game and practice designing encounters that respond to your group's goals. Here's the syllabus: - Week 1: Welcome & About PARP - Week 2: Creating/Refining PC Goals - Week 3: Faction Design - Week 4: NPC Design - Week 5: Location Design - Week 6: Rewards - Week 7: Conflict - Week 8: Encounter Design + Testing Extravaganza This is a workshop we've run before and gotten good feedback on, but we've added/refined some things that I'm excited to show you. Enrollment in the workshop is a free bonus available to Gold members who signed up for the annual plan, so if you are interested but haven't done that yet, go check out Gold. We'll be recording the workshop and posting it in the Classroom for everyone else. The main drawback of the recordings is that you won't be able to work through the exercises with us and get feedback, but you'll still be able to do them on your own. Attached: some feedback from our last round of workshop members. If you're interested in joining us for the workshop, check out Gold!

Featuring @Mark Petersen and @Eric Person . Thanks also to @Jay Underwood for coming out and riffing with us. Good to see everyone! See you at the next one!