6
Jan

New Rules - Alice isn’t a d20 game

   Posted by: MGHurston   in Alice

So on a whim that ended up taking me the better part of the evening, I ended up throwing out (figuratively) my d20 modern and 4th edition cheat sheets and stripping Alice down to her nickers. I felt that this story which leads to a game which is story driven should be, well, all about the story and the events of the characters. It’s been a long time coming with me, but I’ve always had a love hate relationship with dice - the need to have so many, though having so many is cool, but its the need that bugs me. So what the hell am I babbling on about?

I’m making my own set of rules for Alice. I’m designing the actual game play to be simple and fast paced so that players can focus on playing and GM’s can focus on story telling. That said I’ll give you a brief run down of what I came up with, though I won’t go into specifics yet and I’m going to be very vague.

Each character’s stats and abilities are represented by a character wheel. There are 5 character stats, 3 of which are “primary” meaning they affect many of the various actions a character can do. Characters can focus on a particular primary stat which will give them bonuses related to situations or abilities requiring that stat.

Character Death - death doesn’t always keep a good player down, and there are some fortunate and unfortunate things that may happen when another one bites the dust.

Currency - I’m implementing a barter/coin system - this won’t make sense till you read the whole section.

Combat and all rolls only require the use of a single D10, everything can be done with just that. The only thing that uses different dice are specific tools/weapons, though it’s possible to only give items to players that use a D10.

Gains and Falls - think of these as like fallout perks had a baby with my heritage traits.

Abilities - chosen from lists that pertain to a characters primary stat, though vanilla ones exist as well.

I’m pretty happy with what came about yesterday with all this and I know some of you are probably wondering “WTF is that!” but trust me, once you skim through the final you’ll make a sound that goes something like “oh, that’s cool, I like that.”

Edit: Also I should add, less anyone think this is just going to be some game and not have a story to go with it, I’m aiming to do even more with stories than I did with Ave Molech, and anyone who has looked at those books knows I like my stories.

3
Jan

The Good, The Bad & The Economy

   Posted by: MGHurston   in Alice, Morbidgames

First things first, the good news was that in 2008 MORBIDGAMES had a total of 700 new faces partaking of this world, Ave Molech. This is something I am very excited about as it’s 7 times the amount of downloads we had in 2007. I think a lot of this was due to my attempts at trying to keep up with the various gaming communities at RPGBomb, RPGLife (formerly RPGNews, etc.) and RPGNet. Who all have many people I hope to work with or have been very supportive in my endeavors. It also helped that instead of just having the PDF available at OBS I was able to expand out to YGN and E23. While the actual print sales were very quiet (there were 12 sold), having the book available in paperback via Amazon and Barnes & Nobles was a feat that if nothing else was a good learning experience. And, while I can’t trace any significant traffic or purchases back to them, the social sites, such as Myspace, Friendster, Facebook among others seemed to at least trickle in new people almost every time I put up a bulletin or syndicated my blog everyday. Sadly, I was unable to make it to GenCon as well as ComicCon this year, and it’s looking like 2009 I will not be able to either.

Now for the bad part, I haven’t been able to get any work done on Alice, nor have I been able to spend as much time this past couple months on Ave Molech and the social outlets I have in place. Don’t worry, I’ll still be here though, I’m not going anywhere yet at least. Unfortunately though, due to my day job demanding more of my time and cutting back on my pay, I’ve been forced to look for a second job. Since the market right now sucks, that hasn’t been easy for me, and I have started doing some few odd jobs here and there for whatever people will pay me. This looking and working requires a lot of my time and since I have a house, wife and pets I need to take care of it also requires me to make more than what I can right now from MORBIDGAMES. Obviously, I do want to expand the world and have others like Alice Wonderland, but I also need to take care of my family. While I believe that one day, perhaps even by next year if MORBIDGAMES can grow another 7 times the amount of downloader’s, then I won’t have to work so hard and can focus more on these little stories, but until then I got to do what I got to do.

That said there is a light at the end of the tunnel. If things pick up again at my work, or I can find something more steady either here in Vegas or in San Jose, I should have enough half written thoughts to start coming up with new and better material quickly. In addition, I also was able to finish my online store setup, however it’s still being tested and if the tests go well these next weeks then I’ll just flip the link on and people will be able to buy PDF’s direct from me (print books will need to wait until a later time). Also it should be mentioned that I have continued to update my business plan and am seeking financing to be able to do this full-time. So far this hasn’t gone well for me, not surprisingly, banks just don’t want to give out loans to anyone right now. So it’s going to be tough, but I’ll continue to update as much as I can and maybe in this brief down time, I’ll clean up the Feats, Spells & Psionics and Occupations & Classes PDF’s I’ve had collecting dust on this site since I started and get polished ones released soon.

Finally, thank you all for your continued support and for making 2008 the best year ever for MORBIDGAMES.

17
Dec

Dungeon Adventure: Touch of Madness

   Posted by: WoTC   in Wizards

The town of Wellspring has suddenly come under attack from aberrant monstrosities. Can the PCs discover the nature of the attacks and put a stop to them?
10
Dec

Dungeon Adventure: The Temple Between

   Posted by: WoTC   in Wizards

The Scales of War Adventure Path concludes the heroic tier of play with “The Temple Between.” The PCs return victorious to the city of Overlook, but as the city marshals for war, the PCs' offers of aid are rebuffed at every turn.
30
Nov

December $1 Sale

   Posted by: MGHurston   in Uncategorized/Personal

Given the current state of the economy, thinking about how much to spend on a game shouldn’t be a concern. Because of this we’re allowing everyone to try out all of our products for a single dollar. From now until Dec 31st you can purchase the Ave Molech Complete Bundle from RPGNow / DTRPG for $1.

http://www.rpgnow.com/product_info.php?products_id=58459?affiliate_id=165172

19
Nov

Dungeon Adventure: Sand King’s Daughter

   Posted by: WoTC   in Wizards

The Tomb of Urum-Shar is the lair of a powerful brown dragon, with a hoard almost unmatched in myth and legend. Heroes who enter the "Tomb of the Sand King's Daughter" may face the potent Urum-Shar herself.
15
Nov

RPG-Resource.org.uk Reviews Ave Molech

   Posted by: MGHurston   in Morbidgames

“Overall, this is indeed a rich and intriguing setting with a heady blend of steampunk and fantasy with elements of horror lurking, potential for exploration and intrigue and scope for a range of adventures to suit all tastes, especially those which go beyond pure combat and loot aquisition.”

Full detailed write-up can be found here:
http://www.rpg-resource.org.uk/index.php?article=4031&visual=4

Also check out the reviews section of our site for additional reviews on our other products.

12
Nov

Dungeon Adventure: Den of the Destroyer

   Posted by: WoTC   in Wizards

The Scales of War Adventure Path continues when the PCs receive a strange summons from an unexpected source. It takes them back to Brindol and sets them on a quest that may change the course of their fates.
12
Nov

Dungeon Adventure: Den of the Destroyer

   Posted by: WoTC   in Wizards

The Scales of War Adventure Path continues when the PCs receive a strange summons from an unexpected source. It takes them back to Brindol and sets them on a quest that may change the course of their fates.
7
Nov

All things on hold

   Posted by: MGHurston   in Uncategorized/Personal

I’m going to be absent for a little while unfortunately. My wife has been very sick lately with a thyroid problem and the company I work for on my day job has a lot of things going on right now as we try to get some deals done, as well as I may be transferring back to the bay area come the beginning of the year if things don’t turn around drastically and go extremely well out here. Everything I was planning is on hold right now.