Here’s me trying a new thing, where I put the post-chapter notes into a Comment. Is this a gimmicky tactic to encourage engagement? Mayyyyybe. But I do also like letting the chapter/fiction/play hang by itself as its own thing without the “out-of-character” notes intruding. Anyways, let’s get on with it.
Experience Update: Dee gains 2 Promotion Points (Finding a clue, Uploading evidence), while Fletcher gains one (Finding a clue). They both gain 2 Humanity Points (Connected to someone on a personal level, Interacted with their Key Relationship).
Not a ton of dice rolling or excitement in this chapter, but lots of character development. I have to say I struggled at the beginning, trying to come up with ideas for what to do. I’ve found what works for me in moments like these is just to start writing, start moving the story forward without judging it. Write first, ask questions later. I can always go back and change things if events don’t feel right, but you can’t do much with a blank page.
I expect we’ll get to the big event in the next chapter, so we’ll see how that goes!
You might be wondering how Fletcher and Lara’s conversation had to do with the oracle ‘defeat’ ‘peace’ and… guess what? It doesn’t. It doesn’t have anything to do with it. I couldn’t make heads or tail of it so I just went with what was in my gut. You don’t always have to follow what an oracle tells you. It’s there for inspiration, take it or leave it. I could have rolled again but instead I had an idea and went with that.
Just so you know, I’m not loving the format of my substack right now, so don’t be alarmed if things change a bit. I hope to have it more settled and set up in a way that makes more sense by the new year, and giving Paid Subscribers a bit more input and influence in regards to the games I play and solo tools I use as well as direct influence on future in-game decisions that affect the story and characters. Still trying to figure it out as I don’t want to gatekeep actual solo-gaming content but do want to give readers value for their payment.
Nice work on the chapter. I'm still enjoying reading it. In fact, I went back to the beginning and read it all again over the past few days.
One aspect I'm enjoying the most is that you're focusing less on the case and more on the protagonist's internal states, and how they deal with what's happening in the case, and greater world around them. The internal drama is what interests me the most in stories, so well done!
Rereading this has made me want to get back to the solo BR game I started a while back as an experiment in using Mythic Mysteries.
Also, ‘defeat’ ‘peace’? I probably would have had Lara say something to Fletcher that bugs him, so that it eats away at him in the background, causing him to worry and potentially get distracted from what he supposed to be doing.
That's such a good idea! Ugh! Sometimes I struggle with the more abstract oracle table results. I kept thinking Lara is bringing a problem to Fletcher, how could defeat peace be a problem for her that she needs help with?
Thanks so much for the comment, I love to hear that readers are enjoying the internal character conflicts. I get a bit nervous when there's few rolls and no action so that's nice to hear. Regardless of the game I play, I'm always interested in the characters thoughts and feelings.
I'd like to hear more about your own game if/when you get back into it! I did look at a few mystery tools, such as Motif Story Engine, which has a mystery tool, but I didn't feel like adding more complexity into the game.
Here’s me trying a new thing, where I put the post-chapter notes into a Comment. Is this a gimmicky tactic to encourage engagement? Mayyyyybe. But I do also like letting the chapter/fiction/play hang by itself as its own thing without the “out-of-character” notes intruding. Anyways, let’s get on with it.
Experience Update: Dee gains 2 Promotion Points (Finding a clue, Uploading evidence), while Fletcher gains one (Finding a clue). They both gain 2 Humanity Points (Connected to someone on a personal level, Interacted with their Key Relationship).
Not a ton of dice rolling or excitement in this chapter, but lots of character development. I have to say I struggled at the beginning, trying to come up with ideas for what to do. I’ve found what works for me in moments like these is just to start writing, start moving the story forward without judging it. Write first, ask questions later. I can always go back and change things if events don’t feel right, but you can’t do much with a blank page.
I expect we’ll get to the big event in the next chapter, so we’ll see how that goes!
You might be wondering how Fletcher and Lara’s conversation had to do with the oracle ‘defeat’ ‘peace’ and… guess what? It doesn’t. It doesn’t have anything to do with it. I couldn’t make heads or tail of it so I just went with what was in my gut. You don’t always have to follow what an oracle tells you. It’s there for inspiration, take it or leave it. I could have rolled again but instead I had an idea and went with that.
While I’m here, I want to share that I’m playing a simple hack n slash-type OSR game in my Substack Notes, link here: https://substack.com/@playingwithmyself/note/c-44345533?utm_source=notes-share-action&r=1n8czw
It will be updated daily.
Just so you know, I’m not loving the format of my substack right now, so don’t be alarmed if things change a bit. I hope to have it more settled and set up in a way that makes more sense by the new year, and giving Paid Subscribers a bit more input and influence in regards to the games I play and solo tools I use as well as direct influence on future in-game decisions that affect the story and characters. Still trying to figure it out as I don’t want to gatekeep actual solo-gaming content but do want to give readers value for their payment.
As always, thanks for reading!
Nice work on the chapter. I'm still enjoying reading it. In fact, I went back to the beginning and read it all again over the past few days.
One aspect I'm enjoying the most is that you're focusing less on the case and more on the protagonist's internal states, and how they deal with what's happening in the case, and greater world around them. The internal drama is what interests me the most in stories, so well done!
Rereading this has made me want to get back to the solo BR game I started a while back as an experiment in using Mythic Mysteries.
Also, ‘defeat’ ‘peace’? I probably would have had Lara say something to Fletcher that bugs him, so that it eats away at him in the background, causing him to worry and potentially get distracted from what he supposed to be doing.
That's such a good idea! Ugh! Sometimes I struggle with the more abstract oracle table results. I kept thinking Lara is bringing a problem to Fletcher, how could defeat peace be a problem for her that she needs help with?
Thanks so much for the comment, I love to hear that readers are enjoying the internal character conflicts. I get a bit nervous when there's few rolls and no action so that's nice to hear. Regardless of the game I play, I'm always interested in the characters thoughts and feelings.
I'd like to hear more about your own game if/when you get back into it! I did look at a few mystery tools, such as Motif Story Engine, which has a mystery tool, but I didn't feel like adding more complexity into the game.