CraftWork, B/X & OSE Saves, and Character Optimization

So, all this Craft stuff is cool, but I don't really see how it works with the class-based save system in my game. If I am a third level Fighter, then that dictates my saves. How does that work if I have two levels of fighter and one level of thief, for example?

Solution #1

Use the total number of levels in your predominant craft to determine your save chart. Your save chart will switch around as you progress, but probably not as much as you might think, generally once or twice over the course of a character's life.

Solution #2

Use the save chart that you started with as a class and continue using that one, referencing total levels, all the way through your Character's career. You could say that this represents natural tendencies, or you could rationalize by looking at the total number of saves you'll actually take throughout the characters life. The percentage difference is not high.

 

Okay, so then I should probably start off with the best chart, because that will give me an advantage. Yeah, you could, and you could optimize your movement through the Crafts to get the best set of skills and the most uses of abilities. That might be kind of fun to work out (It actually IS kind of fun to work out!), but it also is not much fun to play, especially over time. CraftWork is an easy system to exploit from this perspective, but at the end of the day it is built to develop characters not caricatures.

One Potential Introduction to The Dim

The Dim is what I call my campaign world and reflects how I like to play. It is multiple times in the history of a particular place.

It is an evolving history and story of a place which bends and weaves with the players actions. 

It is a setting where players and characters are on an equal footing with regard to their knowledge of the world. Too often it seems players are expected to know what their characters know, and inhabiting a character feels like skin that is too loose, with too much space between you as the player and the character you are playing. With the players as strangers, travelers, released prisoners, or such, there is little reason for them to know much about the world, and much reason to wonder about the things they encounter. The players and the characters are building a knowledge of the world and building the world along with me and along with each other.

It is a campaign, but it is not scripted, and the maps and writings produced are not fiat. They are possibilities. By creating a world, I create a set of possibilities, a loom, on which everything is woven at the table.

CraftWork in Action!

So, a cleric, two thieves, and a wizard walk out of a bar, having completed a scourging of the ghosts that were leaking into the back room. Proud of their accomplishments and with their purses a little heavier, they're ready to level up!

What do they do? The cleric decides to stick with SoulCraft, and chooses a blessing to help with healing, as that was sorely lacking in their first adventure. One thief was the first to touch in ancient book in the decrepit subterranean chapel, and this encounter precipitated an awareness of necrotic magic, otherwise known as moving into MageCraft-Sorcery. The second thief, enamored of the clerics leadership and the power of his cult in this port city, decides to pledge his allegiance as well, and chooses a path of righteousness, armed with a powerful holy cudgel. The wizard, having appropriated the ancient book, adds a level and deepens their arcane knowledge.

This was a recent turn of events in one of my campaigns, and I thought it was a good illustration of how CraftWork can be used to reflect and build on events of the evolving story we are building together. All of these decisions made sense, and all of them spoke to directions the characters wanted to go. They all provide story hooks, motivation, and direction for character development in the future. It is also fun to see CraftWork in the wild, with players making decisions I never envisioned.

Vision and Design II

So, CraftWork is submitted, and we are starting to work on promotion at a scale appropriate to the project! I wrote a little bit at the beginning about the design process and some of the thoughts for me given my low vision, and I wanted to return to them a little bit now that we are on the other end of the process.

One of these is the process of letting go of some decisions, elements, and aspects of design, where I cannot make a fully visually informed choice because I cannot see or visualize the options. There is a evolving and increasing degree of trust in my collaborators both on this project and others.

This hinges on communication, obviously, so having some longer discussions about the parameters and feel of the project were really important. They set a scope and range for the collaboration, and also set some starting points for enacting the design. These are obviously important in any project, but It is harder to say, 'that doesn't work,' when you cannot see 'that'! It was also helpful to provide examples of what does and does not work in a design, so there was, slightly, less backtracking. This was relevant to level of grays, contrast, amount of text on a page, font size etc

At the end of the day, I think the process worked well, and I am proud of what we accomplished. I can't wait for you all to see it!

Crafted Characters II

So, this was an interesting build! They not only stayed in SoulCraft for all five levels, but they stayed in the same branch (Tempest!) and then mustered out. They also rolled no additional combat skills and no blessings, so their clerical focus is on themselves really, not on aiding others. I made a nudge in the possession rolls (choosing a wind focused icon).

Aguella 

Officiant of Wind: Shield of Faith

Background: Potter, Gnome, Eldest

Level 5

Str 15

Dex 17

Con 10

Int 9

Wis 13

Cha 8

HP 31

Proficiency 3

Devotion 8

Skills

Simple Melee Weapons, Pottery, Oratory, Climbing, Cartwright, Cryptography, Survival (Land), Wayfinding, Arcana

Holy Abilities

Lighting Staff, Storm Cloak, and Cyclone Shield

Miracles

Miracles of Fog, Wind, And Thunder

Significant Possessions

Refuge Chest, Unbreakable Staff, Icon of the Dawn Wind, Polymorph Potion, Map

From all this, Aguella is an accomplished crafter, probably able to build or construct relatively complex objects out of wood, as needed. There is definitely an element of the wanderer in them, given the survival  skill, the wind focus, and the clerical abilities that aren't particularly geared towards others. They could be a spy, or involved in outdoor espionage, so maybe they are used by the temple on particular long range missions, delivering or retrieving holy items from desolate places.

Vision & Running a Game

A couple more notes and thoughts about playing with low vision. I have adapted a great deal over the years to managing and running a game, and my toolkit is now pared down both for visual accessibility, simplicity, ease of operation, fast play, and group storytelling.

What I Bring to the Table

A rollout dice mat with an incorporated zipped dice pouch. This serves as a physical, tactile space where my dice and active note cards live.

A wooden block with slots to hold note cards upright. These are cards that contain the beats or points that the players might hit in the session, NPC mood levels, and other critical information. Given that it's a note card, there are never more than 4 to 6 items on the card. I make a new card for every session. There is another slot that often holde a wandering monster that is 'on deck'. 

A short stack of cards containing creatures, NPCs, and other encounters that might enter the session. These are sorted and created ahead of time so I don't have to comb through a book or other references in order to find details. They are easily shuffled to randomize draws and very specific to the particulars of the session.

My notebook, with relevant pages clipped or marked for reference.

Copies of the following small volumes: Monsters & and Mazerats. The latter is for its wealth of tables, especially for NPC motivation, and the former is a quick go-to for creatures when the players go in an unanticipated direction.

A single sheet with character and party notes, timeline, significant treasure, usage dice notes, or other things that I am tracking that the players may or may not be aware of.

If the situation warrants, there may be a map, or my new individual room cards, to lay out in the center of the table for reference and orientation.

That's it! Visually there is very little to keep track of, so little to lose. If I had a lot of notes or reminders, I would not see them during the game anyway, so they have been eliminated or condensed to that single card. All hit point or other record-keeping is done directly on the creature cards. Any other notes go on the party record sheet. 

CraftWork Character Sampler I

Some days I just can't stop rolling up characters. I have a box of hundreds of note cards from my first days of Traveler in the mid '70s, when I would sit for hours and roll up characters until they died or mustered out. CraftWork is equally satisfying!

Here is one from the upcoming Zine!  

Ajest (Level 7)

Human Thief-Sorceror

Core Stats: Str 8 Dex 13 Con 15 Int 12 Wis 8  Cha 14

Proficiency = 3

Reputation Maximum = 3

Casts = 6

HP = 42

Skills: Sling, Pole Arm, Simple Melee Weapons, Dirty Tricks, Light Armor, Forgery, Find Secret Doors, Listen, Find Healing Plants, Nature, and Brewing

Spells: Pass Silently (1), Fiery Step (1), Incite Smoke (2), Fiery Effect (X), Conjure Insects (3), and Personal Cyclone (3)

Abilities: I Know a Guy, Double Double, and Cunning

Using Ajest right now as a leader of a underworld faction in the city of Lapis. Unassuming, blends right in, nothing to tell you that the older guy at the end of the bar is not what he appears.