I wrote some notes a while ago so forgive me for brevity. This morning on the bus….I kinda expanded them. Images are placeholders, I’ve pinged my artist, Dino, to produce some nice original art. The Long Stair was an internet thread on rpgnet which imagined, possibly to excruciating detail, what happens when a fantasy world… Continue reading The Fantasy War – putting the War in Wardrobe
Category: Game Design
Progress and updates on the game design process.
One Page RPG Jam 2024 – Who’s Afraid Of The Big Bad Wolf
This is an examination of being a starfaring race in the Dark Forest. The idea of a violent and hostile void out there filled with predators lurking in the vast darkness between the stars. Welcome To The Dark Forest
One Page RPG Jam 2024 – Communists in the Funhouse
So, where did this one come from? Communists in the Funhouse is a euphemism used in Denmark to describe a woman who’s at a certain stage of her menstrual cycle. My wife and I thought this was hilariously phrased and as a result, it had to inspire a mini-game. So, if it tickles you, pop… Continue reading One Page RPG Jam 2024 – Communists in the Funhouse
One Page RPG Jam 2024 – We Go In – Saving the World when you’re not From The World
The third RPG I’ve posed to the Jam is WE GO IN The concept is being a disaster relief operative. A little like “International Rescue” also known as Thunderbirds. Now there are differences It’s team based per player rather than playing a single “brother” with their own craft. Every player has the same vehicle (though… Continue reading One Page RPG Jam 2024 – We Go In – Saving the World when you’re not From The World
One Page RPG Jam 2024 – Chosen Men – “Sharpe” by any other name
The second RPG I’ve posted for the Jam is Chosen Men This game is the “Sharpe” of RPGs. The idea of romping around Spain putting Napoleon back in his place has entertained me for years while watching the TV movies and also then reading the books. If you’re familiar with the concept, you’d have no… Continue reading One Page RPG Jam 2024 – Chosen Men – “Sharpe” by any other name
One Page RPG Jam 2024 – Talking to Dragons – an Earthsea-inspired RPG
So far I’ve posted two entries for the Jam The first is….Talking to Dragons This is the base system for “Tales of Distant Lands” and could be considered a QuickStart so it’s also available on DTRPG. I’ll still be working on the full release of Tales of Distant Lands obviously
One Page Game Jam 2024
We will be hacking together some entries for the one page game jam over the coming month. Pop onto our discord if you want to join in.
Tales of Distant Lands: The Song of Rusal and Erse
The Song of Rusal and Erse In the history of Saaland, Rusal was a legendary warrior, poet and prince. In the story, Rusal become enchanted with a woman he sees on a passing ship and pursues her by jumping in the water. But the waters are too strong for him to catch her. The song… Continue reading Tales of Distant Lands: The Song of Rusal and Erse
Maps of Ilsien
I put a new [public] Patreon post up today. Maps are hard. Well, they’re hard to get right.
Languaging and the Naming of Things
One of the important things for the World is familiarity. I remember reading a great (and hefty) first RPG by a Scottish crowd and one of the things I remember most is not their evocative prose or the art which captured the sort of neo-victorian fantasy world, but that they took the time to use… Continue reading Languaging and the Naming of Things
Talking to Dragons
Dragons of all shapes and sizes occupy this world but due to the spread of wizardry, they are most often found on remote islands or on lonely peaks. A solitary race of oviparous hermaphroditic flying lizards capable of parthenogenesis and, when mature enough, breathing fire. It takes a dragon over a hundred years to go… Continue reading Talking to Dragons
Patreon Launched
Some small encouragement from people exposed to my first short story set in the “Tales of Distant Lands” world, I’ve launched a Patreon. You can have a look at it here: https://patreon.com/Lategaming All new content for “Tales of Distant Lands” will be released on the Patreon first and then updates posted here later. So, come… Continue reading Patreon Launched
In development: Tales of Distant Lands
Tales of Distant Lands is a working title for a game I’ve been dreaming about for decades. The core inspiration is definitely Earthsea, based on my love of “A Wizard of Earthsea” and “The Tombs of Atuan” which I read as a teenager. I’m currently re-reading Tombs after reading AWoE last week. The author, Ursula… Continue reading In development: Tales of Distant Lands
So What’s Next?
It has to be said we are YZE (Year Zero Engine) fans here at Lategaming – you only have to look at our recent releases. Always interested in new ways to bring the apocalypse. With this latest update, there’s nothing stopping you from having Supersoldiers fighting Dragons on the fields of Poland while psychics battle… Continue reading So What’s Next?
Here Be Dragons – a new enemy for Twilight 2000
Here Be Dragons – A new Enemy for Twilight 2000 [Scenario][Game Aid][Paid] Here Be Dragons is a different look at the post-apocalyptic world after a awakening of an ancient enemy brings our civilisation to ruin. This reign of Draconic Rulers brings down a Rain of Fire and destruction by tooth and fang. Smoke fills the… Continue reading Here Be Dragons – a new enemy for Twilight 2000
Whole New World – a Sci-Fi setting using Y23E/YZE as the basis
We’ve started working on (yet another) world. A Sci-Fi setting we are calling “Whole New World”. Premise I’ve been a big fan of Interstellar, released in 2014 (and therefore has it’s 10th anniversary later this year) and I’m very keen on the rush of mature Sci-Fi we got around that time. Interstellar in particular was… Continue reading Whole New World – a Sci-Fi setting using Y23E/YZE as the basis
New and Shiny: Enhanced: Super Soldiers in the Twilight War
We just released Enhanced. This one has been a long time in the making and, due to the amount of art (all done by humans), the most expensive book we have produced to date. Remembering that all of our books are about recouping costs so we can pay more artists! Enhanced is a supplement for… Continue reading New and Shiny: Enhanced: Super Soldiers in the Twilight War
A Hopeful Ending and a New Beginning
We played our final session of The 23rd Letter play test this week, and wrapped up the story of Poppy and her baby. After recuperating overnight (under Joy’s watchful care, and a handy saline drip), Poppy recovered enough from her ordeal to tell the group about what had happened, which really just confirmed all their… Continue reading A Hopeful Ending and a New Beginning
Rise of R’lyeh Character Sheet
We have a character sheet for Rise of R’lyeh now.
Rise of R’lyeh – Apocalyptic Mythos Horror
Playtest copies currently available Rise of R’lyeh is designed to work with the Year Zero Engine (Step Dice) shared by games like Twilight 2000, Bladerunner, Terminal Shock, The 23rd Letter and Excession. It can be mixed with other third party supplements like Deadzone, Twilight Tangents, Twilight 2249 or any of the others out there. Mythos… Continue reading Rise of R’lyeh – Apocalyptic Mythos Horror