Home away from Home

This blog is being discontinued.
The new home for all my game design projects is the unPlayable_Games page.
I also set up the linked FaceBook and Google Plus pages.


If you look for "Tactical Ops" in the new website you won't find it.
I took its generic ass and used it to implement my own setting-specific rpg: Dreamwake.
But do not fret... the core rules are the very same!
I just added the setting-specific materials (using them as a big practical example of what you can do with the rules) and moved the generic world-building stuff to an appropriate appendix.

Soon the new beta-rulebook will be available on the website.
I'll tell you all about it when it actually gets there.

Rules They Are A Changing

After quite some time spent playtesting and refining, after some very interesting meetings and chats with other designers, after some more playtesting and then finally some additional playtesting too... after all that I present to thee the latest and greatest version of my game!

Game structure is the same, and core mechanics are the same too (with a few exceptions) but so many other things received fixes that I wouldn't know where to begin!!!
Or I could post the changelog... yeah... that too u_u

Enjoy Tha Goodness Ye Freaks!
(I know, I shouldn't get carried away, sue me! :P)

TOps Beta Rules
TOps Beta Sheet

TOps change log:
- attempted some typo corrections and text editing
- expanded the Introduction info
- all new dice rolling mechanic!
- all Effort rules have been removed from the game
- “Simple” CharGen is now THE CharGen method
- fixed CharGen points for MODE, Tools and Perks
- the Social skill-group got renamed to Communication
- added a fix to the Multiple Characters in a Challenge section
- Mementos mechanics radically changed
- Support rolls work differently
- awesome Victory rolls can drop more than one Complexity point at once
- Complexity does not earn Influence anymore, but rises an Obstacle’s VP value
- various fixes to Soft Opposition effects
- various fixes to Hard Opposition effects
- fixed many Goal mechanics
- added a new Hurt as a Resource option to nullify Hard Opposition effects
- radically changed all FollowUp procedures
- Consumable option removed from the core rules
- changed the way Drawbacks work
- fully revised both Cyber Ops and Fantasy Ops appendix

Sword & Sorcery in the language of Dante

Some love for our ITALIAN players... ecco la fiction prodotta durante una campagna fantasy di TOps della durata, al momento, di ben 5 sessioni!

Enjoy!

LINK

I told you u_u

As promised a few days ago I present to you all the latest BETA Rulebook and its unbelievably  improved Character Sheet!

And this is a quick list of all the main chnges and updates:

- attempted some typo corrections and text editing
- introducing the Dice-Card system, to use a deck of cards in place of the dice (NOT YET IMPLEMENTED!)
- cleared A LOT the communication rules about Detailing and Fiction Manipulation
- added a Nemesis step to the Scene Framing procedure
- Simple CharGen rules are now an official option
- MODEs no longer have a Defensive Way of action
- MODEs are now 0 to 5 instead of 0 to 3
- 1 Effort point buys 1 Action die
- Perks now cost 20 Influence for all levels, max 3 levels
- Inner Strength rules are now official
- Mementoes cost 20 Influence instead of 10, and can only be 5 in total
- adding a PC to a scene costs 5 Influence
- rising Complexity now earns +3 Influence instead of +1
- fixed stuff on all Hard Opposition effects
- Character Sheet and Game Summary Sheet are now merged into a single sheet, for ease of use and instant access to all important info
- small fix to how Drawbacks work
- big fix on how Consumables work
- removed the Revive option and fixed the Game Over rules
- fixed a few details in the FollowUp phase
- Defeat conditions explained
- Obstacle identity explained

Enjoy!

---

EDIT 18-09-2012
I forgot that the Dice-Card system is not yet implemented!
Sorry for the error >_<

After A Long Silence

The past few months have been quite hectic.
This, added to my natural lazyness, meant I had no time to post here.
But things happened... oh boy, YES they happened!

First of all I'm giving you the actual play of a two session game, in a fantasy setting.
It has lots of game-relevant meat, and is very slim on the resulting fiction, so it's a quick and dirty reading.
Enjoy it HERE.

Then I'm announcing ANOTHER actual play that took place during the italian game convention GnoccoCON, happened the 1st and 2nd of September 2012.
It was a 6 player game where I took part only as external facilitator.
But I'm keeping it hostage for now, you'll have it only on the next blog update!

Finally I'm telling you that the game rules have received quite some love in the past months, and a host of little (and not so little) changes have been brought into effect.
As the text is currently being revised I'm not yet gonna give you a new rulebook version, but I'll tease you with a partial change log:
- made some typo corrections and text editing
- introducing the Dice-Card system, to use a deck of cards in place of the dice
- cleared A LOT the communication rules about Detailing and Fiction Manipulation- Simple CharGen rules are now an official option
- MODEs no longer have a Defensive Way of action
- MODEs are now 0 to 5 instead of 0 to 3
- 1 Effort point buys 1 Action die
- Inner Strength rules are now official
- adding a PC to a scene costs 5 Influence
- rising Complexity now earns +3 Influence instead of +1
- fixed stuff on all Hard Opposition effects
- Character Sheet and Game Summary Sheet are now merged into a single sheet, for ease of use and instant access to all important info