Hello Again and New Game Company!

[mccleverly]

Hey guys! My name's Mik and I posted here a bit a long while ago. I hope now that my life has become a bit more settled I can be more active here and in the community.

Since this is the "self-promotion" section I also wanted to let you know about a brand new publishing company, End Transmission Games (http://endtransmissiongames.tumblr.com/), which has released its first print publication, SPLINTER. We had our official release at I-CON this year, and we're about to have a demo at the wonderful Fantasy Games and Hobbies in Mahwah, NJ, on the 19th. And if any of you are going to Gen Con this year, we'll be there as well.

SPLINTER is a full pen and paper roleplaying game using a unique d6 system.

"Earth, 2471 AD. The only thing that matters is The Game. Whether you’re a trained Professional — part actor, part athlete — or an Amateur, a conscripted gladiator, you are a Player. With an audience of millions watching, you enter The Splinter, a VR mega-dungeon.

The Splinter is an ever-changing megastructure that takes the form of a labyrinthine series of dungeon levels. At any time, any part of any level of the Splinter can transform, move, or disappear entirely. The denizens of the Splinter, taken on by Players as their Avatars, are equally strange; powerful shapeshifters who can “tune”: alter reality through will alone.

ON EARTH, only the rich and famous can afford freedom. The only way to get famous is to put on the best show you can… or die trying.

IN THE SPLINTER, everything is out to kill you. And when you die in the Splinter, you die on Earth.

Will you become a star, or a smear on someone else’s highlight reel?"

If you feel like giving a little love to a fledgling company, check us out. You can purchase our game here: http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/EndTransmissionGames, and also at the indie rpgs un-store, and very soon at IPR.

Sorry for the gigantic post and thanks for reading!

[jenskot]

Is there a GM?

What's it like to GM?

Is there anything the GM needs to prep? How long does it take?

Are there cheat sheets for the players who haven't read the rules?

[mccleverly]

Thanks for the questions!

It's a fairly traditional game in that there is a GM. Since the game takes place in two places (dystopian Earth, similar to Matthew Woodring Stover's Acts of Caine series, and the Splinter, an infinite megadungeon), there's a lot of flexibility in the kind of focus the GM wants to place on his or her campaign. You can have your campaign take place mostly on earth, surrounding the struggles of the Players to get famous, earn their freedom, and fight the system, or place your focus largely on the dungeon that is the Splinter and the exploration thereof.

One of the major aspects of the Splinter itself is that it's constantly changing and shifting (at random or at narratively appropriate moments, at the GM's discretion), and it has levels of technology anywhere between traditional Medieval swords and armor, modern day weapons, and even technomagical futuretech - and all of these things can exist side by side. The book includes random generation tables for quick Splinter level creation, but if a GM wants to take a bit more time to create an area of the Splinter that's more cohesive they're more than free to do so.

There are a lot of different "modes" of gameplay, both within the narrative of the game universe and also for a GM and players. If you want to, you can focus on a game mode that's quick PVP with no story, a longer Dungeons and Dragons-esque sprawling dungeon adventure, team capture the flag... basically anything you can come up with. We have ideas included in the book as well.

The coolest part of the game's rules is that, as a GM, there is a specific and numerical and instant reward you can give your players for roleplaying well. Since what takes place inside the Splinter is being watched by an earth audience, there is a mechanic in place for "color commentary." When a player wants to perform an action, they can narrate what they want to do as though in an action film. The GM can then reward that player extra dice for that specific action depending on how good they think this commentary was.

Sorry the answers were so vague... one of my favorite aspects of the game is its flexibility so it's a bit hard to answer your questions concretely. I do have a cheat sheet that I give to players at demo games, but I'm not sure how useful it is outside of a demo setting.

Again, thanks for the questions!

[jenskot]

Cool, thanks for the answers.

[zuk]

Sounds interesting. Will have to check it out.

[mccleverly]

Thanks Zuk!

[Deliverator]

Demo it at Recess?

[mccleverly]

I'd love to Are GM submissions still open?

[Pillar]

I'd love to Are GM submissions still open?

Submissions haven't started yet -- stay tuned!

Pillar