Design
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What’s your apocalypse?
I was writing a post about a timekeeping technique called Time Bubbling (coming soon!), and I realised that there was a worldbuilding technique that I think is essential to most fantasy worlds that we play treasure-hunting in: Apocalypsing. Don’t worry, this one will be a quick one. Most D&D-likes are post-apocalyptic. When you’re world-building, the… Continue reading
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Combining fast travel and pathcrawling
Honestly, if you thought I wasn’t going to come back to Advanced Fantasy Dungeons, you were being optimistic. Marcia’s Mosaic Worlds neatly matches with AFD’s counties, and then she wrote about Fast Travel using these counties, which provided me with impetus to trial an option where the words “watch” and “hex” are excised, when they… Continue reading
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Advanced Fantasy Dungeons: Pre-alpha reflection
If you’re walking in on the end of the Advanced Fantasy Dungeons series, there’s an index here. That’s a wrap! Kind of, anyway, we have our rules sketched out. Advanced Fantasy Dungeons is the broadest, largest game I’ve written. Next, I’ll start laying it out into an alpha document so I can start limited playtesting… Continue reading
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Rules Sketch: War revised
If you’re walking in on the middle of the Advanced Fantasy Dungeons series, there’s an index here. I want to increase the tactics and surprise of war without increasing memory or complexity. Here’s our first attempt, where I was mirroring Journeying: When you issue an order to a battalion, tell your general. They will report… Continue reading
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Rules Sketch: Stocking and creating treasure
If you’re walking in on the middle of the Advanced Fantasy Dungeons series, there’s an index here. Treasure in second edition is a ridiculously complicated affair. Each creature is assigned a treasure type such as D, M x 100, or Q x 10. Major treasures are in a lair (A-I) minor treasures are on the… Continue reading
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Rules Sketch: Granted Powers
If you’re walking in on the middle of the Advanced Fantasy Dungeons series, there’s an index here. The challenge with granted powers is that I don’t want them to just be free spells. Let’s look at the granted powers in the “design a faith” section of the Complete Priest’s Handbook. Some are intended to replace… Continue reading
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Rules Sketch: Class followers
If you’re walking in on the middle of the Advanced Fantasy Dungeons series, there’s an index here. I’m not sure exactly how to present the fighter’s Elite Followers. I wonder if, it’s presented as, fighters just get a lieutenant and an army. They don’t have to ask for it. They come. Their followers are, then,… Continue reading
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Rules Sketch: Favoured enemies
If you’re walking in on the middle of the Advanced Fantasy Dungeons series, there’s an index here. Ok, so my problem with favoured enemies is that it’s pretty racist, but there is a mechanical reason for the generality of it: If I say “I hate all goblinoids”, my ranger is more useful that if they… Continue reading
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Rules Sketch: The basic procedure (part 2)
If you’re walking in on the middle of the Advanced Fantasy Dungeons series, there’s an index here. After removing concepts of desperate or controlled position from various rolls by reducing the presence of disadvantage, I feel I need to revise the basic procedure and GM moves to reflect the GMs communication and enactment of fictional… Continue reading
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Rules Sketch: Proficiencies revised
If you’re walking in on the middle of the Advanced Fantasy Dungeons series, there’s an index here. I realise I haven’t listed or talked about proficiencies exactly. Let’s give it a go. Here is the ability check rule: When you attempt a task, consider whether it requires training, or whether anyone can do it. If… Continue reading

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