And now for something a little different: A slayer of monster's by trade, Steiner hunts an unknown monster that...
And now for something a little different: A slayer of monster's by trade, Steiner hunts an unknown monster that stalks the countryside. Yet in the Ironlands, things are rarely what they seem.
So, I'm a large fan of the Witcher series and after a chat with Shawn Tomkin about the feel of combat, I wanted to try out a character that was built for combat and see if it affected the tension level of the fight. This chapter is the result. It is worth mentioning, this narrative is lifted in content and theme from Andrzej Sapkowski's "The Witcher" and reimagined for Ironsworn. Also, the dice rolls tend to change things. :-)
I'm happy to say, combat is still stressful and doesn't ever seem to drag for me. Steiner is naturally able to handle more difficult challenges, but the dice are fickle and not even trivial fights should be considered safe.
Thank you to everyone who reads, I hope these inspire.
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1NEAWnnkiIQuSZ_ExWMhOmcfYoPMFmlCv
So, I'm a large fan of the Witcher series and after a chat with Shawn Tomkin about the feel of combat, I wanted to try out a character that was built for combat and see if it affected the tension level of the fight. This chapter is the result. It is worth mentioning, this narrative is lifted in content and theme from Andrzej Sapkowski's "The Witcher" and reimagined for Ironsworn. Also, the dice rolls tend to change things. :-)
I'm happy to say, combat is still stressful and doesn't ever seem to drag for me. Steiner is naturally able to handle more difficult challenges, but the dice are fickle and not even trivial fights should be considered safe.
Thank you to everyone who reads, I hope these inspire.
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1NEAWnnkiIQuSZ_ExWMhOmcfYoPMFmlCv
I read the title of the doc before the post and went "Ha, someone's doing The Last Wish in Ironsworn. Cool"
ReplyDeleteJeremiah Wenneker Steiner is one tough customer - bravo.
ReplyDeleteYou did a good job of nailing the tone and themes of the stories. Monster-slayers clearly need to earn a degree in counseling while learning the other tricks of the trade!
Justin Gordon. Excellent. That was the exact intention. While my writing is a fair bit different from Sapkowski's, I hope that I did the tale justice. Ironsworn feels like it could represent a Witcher style/theme game very well.
ReplyDeleteBjorsa Brimrsson, I appreciate the tone and theme commentary particularly. Thank you very much. Earning a counselling degree via the school of hard knocks? Trial and error? Possibly an honorary title? I can see it now, Geralt of Rivia, PhD., Grief and Family Counselor.
ReplyDeleteIf you end up playing Steiner further, giving him the Bladebound path would make a lot of sense, you could reskin it as the Witcher's Silver Sword with no changes since it already inflicts a penalty on attacking a non-monster! Unless of course that's what the black-iron blade you're reforging is all about
ReplyDeleteJustin Gordon, Honestly I'm not certain about the black blade either. The vows were randomly generated via the method Shawn Tomkin mentioned a few posts ago. You're right though, Blade Bound would represent that well. Though you might be thinking of the older version. The latest version of that asset applies the spirit penalty regardless, iirc. I'm also toying around with an idea for Witcher [Path] to represent some of the mutations. Enhanced Senses as a bonus to Face Danger maybe, accelerated metabolism to help with healing and maybe resisting diseases, etc.
ReplyDeleteThis is timely, Jeremiah Wenneker, as I've been playing a bit of Witcher 3 lately (yes, I am three years behind the rest of the world -- the sad thing is I preordered it and only now am getting around to playing).
ReplyDeleteI'm thrilled to see you exploring some of it's themes via Ironsworn. Super compelling and atmospheric story as always, and I hope you bring him back for a sequel at some point.
Your recent fights have made me happy about the evolution of the Turn the Tide move and the decision to give initiative with strong hits on Endure Harm/Test Your Spirit.
Shawn Tomkin, you're in good company! I only started playing Witcher 3 a few months ago. When I first saw the Monster Slayer Asset, I thought Witcher-like characters would work well in Ironsworn. As I've said before, you' have created a wonderful world and system for us to game in.
ReplyDeleteShawn Tomkin There's THREE of them now?! Oh, wait, I own them? {rolls eyes} Darn GOG.com and Steam, with their sales... I honest-to-God have the first one downloaded on my PC at home, ready to install, and it's been there since about 6 months ago. Sigh... ;D
ReplyDeleteHah, yeah Dan Davis. My GOG an Steam backlogs are ridiculous. I'll never get around to playing them all. Not even 10% of it. Maybe when I retire I'll catch-up, but by then there will be new games to play.
ReplyDeleteIf you do get around to playing one of the Witcher games, I would suggest just jumping to #3. You'll miss out on a few story callbacks, but nothing major. It's the most finely tuned/fun/awesome of the three.