Game in the Brain

Looking at the the old GURPS lite for Low Tech I made a long while back. It was made even before Gurps LT came out. I remember that took me a few months to fully assemble that and maybe I can do that again. Sadly I can’t find the original .doc so I can’t edit it. I would need to re-input EVERYTHING.

So realized that the 30 page era-specific hand-out can be my new means of catharsis. Much have been made since I last made that: I have made about a ton of lenses for medieval setting and I’ve done much to improve my Open Source RPG system. In fact I should have everything I need if it were not for the problem of having lost some key files.

So I have a new objective and new way of doing things. What I plan to do is make those 30 page hand-outs again inspired by the GURPS lite for low-tech but with more features: Flow-Charts for character creation, combat, success rolls resolution, and other rules that a visual learning like myself can quickly pick up with the use of presentation mediums. 


Although this will be using Open RPG system, which is inspired more the JDM and Cogniton sciences that allow the measurement of human performance and condition. Its a system that really is designed with simulation in mind and facilitated problem solving exercise like Dynamic Case Studies (case studies that have fog of war and asymmetrical information).


The structure is going to be straight forward, but inclusive is the random character generator rules that are compatible with PBEM tools found online for quick character generation. 


Proposed Structure: 

• What is an RPG
• What is this Booklet for
• explains the Genre this booklet is for. 
• Basic Concepts in RPGs
• Players and GMs
• Characters and NPCs
• System for success and resolutions flow chart
• System for Success & Resolution
• Character Credits
• Concept Map?
• Character Creation
• Explanation of Characters of this Genre
• Character creation flowchart 
• Social Status then Cultural Background
• Random Character Creation tables 
• Character Education and Skills
• Character Equipment Assets
• Character Current Circumstance
• .. etc…
• The Human Condition  (non-dualism)
• Basic
• Physical Limitations and Capabilities
• Mental Limitations and Capabilities
• Combat Rules
• Combat Flow chart 
• Players Roles
• GM roles
• Team Leader and Lieutenant 
• Team Scribe and Lieutenant scribe
• Appendix
• Character Sheet Form (editable pdf page)
• GM Preparation form and guide (editable pdf page)
• Players Preparation form and guide (editable pdf page)
• 3×4 Hex Maps
• Hex Tokens (flat tokens for mooks, standing tokens for key characters). 

i’ll just have sample encounters on the blog.

Possible Inserts – if i had money

• Comics
• explaining what is an RPG
• explaining Setting – A 5 page spreads that captures the setting’s premise. 
• Example: Ancient Eras: Reconquest of Rome (6C CE) – The Wars of Belisarius. A 5 page comic that captures the ambition of justinian and belisarius and the danger that awaits the players. Probably would cost me $30-40 per page (writing, editing, layouting and illustration). 
• sample resolutions – an illustrative example of core principle. 
• Writing Sub-contraction – $20 per page for the really good ones here.  
• Technical illustrations — probably would cost me about $2-4 per challenging element (not per page, if a page has about a lot of elements i’d be paying more for that page). Example of a $4-6 (1 hour for skilled fine arts graduate – either UST or UP trained) element: technical illustration of a full suit of 11C mail sketchy but clear, low texture detail, with some shades with references (using osprey).
• Equipment
• Assets
• Vehicles
• Maps

Sample Titles – assume text primer in as many pages follows the comic.

• Ancient Eras: the First Crusade (11C CE)
• a 9 page primer of how ebbing strength of Rome, and a call for mercenaries turned into the crusades. 
• Ancient Eras: The First Empires (22C BCE)
• a 5 page the introduction of Sargon, and the empires and emperors that would follow him. 
• Ancient Eras: The Axial Age (7C BCE)
• a 5 page look into the age that propelled human thought: the age of western and eastern philosophers that changed the meaning of life. To the west the flowering of religions, to the east the hundred schools of thought. 
• Modern Eras: the Philippine Revolution (19C CE)
• 9 pages summary of the tragedy and horrors of what would be the Philippine revolution. 
• Modern Eras: The Information Age (2010C CE)
• Future Eras: The New Giants (2040C CE)
• Future Eras: Intra-stellar Age (2100C CE)
• Future Eras: Interstellar Age (2200C CE)

Libreoffice Tricks: 

• Figured out how to have multiple column formats in a Libreoffice Writer doc. Answer, break the elements up to sections. Also Insert > Indexes and tables > Table of Contents has the ability to be broken up into columns as well. 
• Figured out how to make Editable PDFs, great for Character Sheets and other usefull Forms. View > Toolbar > Forms Design or Forms Control. This takes practice BTW. This is a great trick for Contracts and Agreements, since it allows us to give a “blank” contract. We have a client who like to edit the contract when we give the PDF, without stating clearly what they edited only to be found out too late (fortunately his edits have a strange effect in Philippine law, but in the future we will not leave such things to chance). 

These are all easier with the 21″ monitor I have at home than the 14″ monitor at work :(.