Conventions, Morning After Rules and Notes on the Setting

Outrider at convention tables?

Just got in another great playtest session in last night. I taught my friend Bill to play and loaded him up with an armfull of cards, tokens and various other paper bits. He's going to teach/run some games at an event he and his college-days buddies have dubbed 'Geekend'

More than one person has commented on the teachability of the game. Some have said that newcomers can learn the basics in less than ten minutes. I didn't originally envision Outrider at conventions, but the ideals of creating rules that are quick to learn, quick to play that deliver a satisfying amount of detail and enjoyment are certainly in line with the makings of a great tourney/con style wargame - and these are all ideals that I am purposely trying to work into Outrider.

I'll post specifics of upcoming convention / group play here when I get more specifics form the various event/group directors. At present I am formulating plans to demo the game at some cons over the course of the year.

'Morning After' Rules

After a round of playtesting last night, I am left with a few new situations that will be addressed in upcoming rules revisions

• How to treat an ATTACK card that is the point of impact in a collision.
• Rules surrounding making multiple shots from a standstill (i.e. spending all available APs on shooting, not moving.
• Softening the difficulty of some maneuvers (Easy turns should be ... easy!)
• Along with maneuvers, the loss of control results will be tweaked - the intent was to make failed driver rolls end in incomplete actions more than loss of control, but the opposite seems to happen more often
• Rethinking the AP cost/Difficulty of actions such as shifting gears, attack tokens, etc.

Those are the current items on the drawing board. I'm really excited as to how the game has evolved so far. It feels close.

Notes on the game's setting

I have received some requests to explain the game's setting, as I make reference to things in the flavor text and scenarios that assume a bit of understanding on the part of the players. Being a lover of theme, even in non-rpg games, I wanted to create a backstory for Outrider. There are many car-combat games out there (board and video) and I wanted to distill elements that I loved into one game.

The year is 20xx. America has suffered the devastation of a second civil war. The conflict spread worldwide as various nations and interests in the world worked agasinst one another to preserve/destroy the influence of both the Corporate States of America (CSA) and the remnants of the United States of America (a collection of successionists). More than a decade after the 'War of Corporate Agression,' the world is struggling to function at a pre-information age level. With isolationist ideals at at all time high most individuals and remnants of government are very protective of their own interests.

The base game begins in the New Republic of Texas, an idependent state that has kept itself neutral in these years of reconstruction. Although the state's political ideaologies align with the successionists, the lucrative petroleum deals it holds with the corporate states would too valuable to lose. Most of Southwestern North America has regressed to a vast wasteland of desert, with a few shanty towns and centers of industry that are governed by some flavor of martial law or frontier justice.

The three factions represented throughout the base game are:

The Outriders

Outriders are mercenaries that are hired to be the guides, protectors or couriers through this brutal environment. Outriders are typically displaced Texan, US and CS citizens desparately eeking out a living anyway they can, even if it takes them outside the law (which it usually does). Anyone who wants discreet passage or parcel accross the wastes will seek the services of an Outrider as well as those who need someone to raise a little hell - No job is out of the question, if the price is right. At some point most Outriders operating in Texas are scouted by both the Rangers and the cartels. Some join one, some the other but most stay self-employed.

The New Republic of Texas Rangers

The Republic of Texas Rangers, or ROTORs as they are more commonly referred to, act as both the law enforcement and military for the Republic of Texas. They exist only to protect the inerests of the republic. Known to employ and often recruit Outriders, they by no means officially endorse the occupation of Outriding, as they often seek out and destroy Outriders when a conflict of interest arises. The ROTORs are currently engaged in a campaign to eliminate the influence of the Comanchero that is present in Texas and the southwest.

The Comanchero

The Comanchero are a group of Outriders on the payroll of a huge Central American smuggling cartel. Comancehros are frequently used to do the dirty work of the cartel within the US, Texas and CSA territory that borders the wastelands. At times they can form shaky alliances with freelancing Outriders, but once a common goal is achieved, the alliances dissolve (usually ending in violence).

A glimpse into Outrider's future

I currently have the base Outrider rules distributed to about three separate groups, not including the games I have been running. Next week, my friend Bill will take the rules and some prototype components (I am lending him some of my duplicates) with him to his annual 'Geekend' pilgrimage to Tennessee, where he'll get the chance to see how teachable it is to a (semi) large group.

All that being said, I'm getting a bit impatient with myself. There's so much I want to add, but at some point I just need to be set realistic goals.

I feel pretty confident in the basic rules. I want to make them complete and presentable enough to upload them as a full game to BGG. At one time, I had aspirations of self-publishing through a venue like the wargame vault, but I find myself really drawn to the current PNP movement on the geek.

Taking a break from obsessing over the base rules, I started revisiting some old ideas that I want to introduce into the game. These expansions will address many of the frequent questions I get about the game.

DEALIN' DAMAGE

The most basic expansion to the game is the addition of the damage deck. The premise is this: Anytime you would normally tick off a point of damage on the damage track, you will draw a damage card instead. A good portion of the cards will simply be 'Take a point of damage' but there will be detailed damage as well (i.e. damage that targets vehicle dice/attributes directly). There will be a few lucky miss type cards and maybe one or two catastrophic damage cards. I'm going to introduce the initial deck into my games later in March(?) or so. Stay tuned for files.

PASSIVE AGRESSION

The most frequent question I get is: 'Where are the oil slicks/caltrops/mines/etc?' I haven't forgot the passive weapons - they were intended to be a part from the start. Passive weapons will be maneuver cards. When you move, you will lay down slicks/etc as you move. Each passive weapon card will remain on the table until crossed by a vehicle. Obviously each passive weapon will have its own unique effects.

NOT-SO PASSIVE AGGRESSION

The passive weapons are actually part of a as-yet-untitled equipment deck. At the beginning of a game, players will agree to draw special equipment cards utilizing any agreed upon system. Currently untested, it should be possible for custom effects to be achieved by stacking certain equipment. All of the equipment won't strictlybe offensive or defensive. Some of the current plans include:

• Engine upgrades, including Super/Turbocharger(s) and NOS bottle
• Handling upgrades like an off-road lift kit
• 'Special' equipment like Fuzzy Dice, Dashboard Mary and a Pine-Scented Air freshener (don't laugh, they may be more powerful than you think)

But there will be plenty of blatantly dangerous stuff too:

• Flamethrower
• Rockets
• Saws, blades, ram plates and all sorts of collision nastiness
• and much more (stay tuned)

These (and lots of others not mentioned) are still in a conceptual stage. I really want to introduce them, but I want the base game balanced out first.

Next post, I will touch on some of the fluff elements to the game - mostly regarding the setting and exactly why this is all happening.

-G

Welcome to DFG.com

Welcome to the temporary home of DiceFestGames.com. I haven't had time to put together a site, so this blog will have to serve my needs for now.

My name is Gregg Lewis-Qualls and I've been gamer of all stripes for many, many years. Recently I promised myself (and others) that I would get off my rear and do something creative in 2010. I have been kicking around a few ideas for board, card and tabletop games for many years - some even have their roots in the games that friends and I used to play in high school (that's the late eighties/early nineties for those playing along). Impressed by the rise of web-based publishing, I've decided to make a go of it.

The projects so far:

OUTRIDER

Outrider is a post-apocalyptic wargame set in (you guessed it) the semi-near future. Decades after the second American Civil War (CWII) - a conflict that spread across the globe - The wastelands of Middle-America give rise to a martial civilization not unlike the American Old West. Anyone seeking passage or parcel across the wastelands can hire Outriders, rugged mercenaries who pilot heavily armed vehicles built to withstand the punishment of the wastelands.

Players take on the role of Outriders, making their living running and gunning along the desolate, desert highways. Using a mixture of card and dice mechanics as well as wargame inspired play, Outrider gives the players a high level of detail and customization over their vehicles, while keeping the play intense and fast (as a game about cars with guns should!). Outrider is a miniatures-based game that uses cards and counters that can be printed and made with common, inexpensive materials as well as having possibly the largest range of inexpensive miniatures - 1/64 scale diecast cars.

Engage!

My second work in progress is a space combat sim. Still in early stages of development, this game will feature simultaneous movement mechanics and highly detailed 'helms' that will allow players to use dice and cards to represent customizable shipboard equipment. The play will be closer to a naval conflict as opposed to dogfighting as the focus is on capital ships skirmishing at sublight speeds.

TBA Dungeoncrawl

I'm also in the brainstorming stages for a dungeoncrawl 'Ghost hunter' type game that will focus around bidding-style mechanics for resolving actions/attacks.

That's all for now, I'll be posting updates as the come down the pipe.

-G