Happy new Year!
Wyze plans & Realmcraft '24
Welcome back to 'Wyze and Snarl,' a universe where imagination knows no bounds, and every path leads to the extraordinary. Thanks for your continued support. If you're a seasoned member, share our world with other Brave Souls in your network and help our community thrive. Show your love with a ❤️, and share your thoughts in the comments.
Last year finding time to play and write was a bit difficult. I don't expect this year to be much different. However,that doesn’t mean I won't tackle the challenge! Life will always toss us for a loop, if last year taught me anything it is practice makes progress. That said here's the plan for this year.
Last Year Discoveries
If you have been here long you know I have been throwing things at the wall trying to find what sticks. I have played using various systems, tried different formats, and tried to weave different tales. The only constant being the Mythic GME system. I am rectifying that this year with a bit more clarity around the experiment that is Wyze and Snarl.
This newsletter is my own private love letter to storytelling, art and creativity across mediums. The format may change from time to time as I explore certain aspects of my expression. So you might get some badly drawn comics from time to time. The core loop of Solo game to written narrative to reader choice is still the ultimate goal. My esteemed compatriot
has nailed this in a way I sorely wish to emulate. Albeit, in our own Unique way here at Wyze and Snarl. As audio is something I want to dive more heavily into this coming year.With that in mind I believe it is important to Nail down A few things. Namely, our system and our setting. My system has been pretty consistent as I have stated, but the setting I think has been much harder to convey and nail down. This has been a failing of mine wanting to allow my homebrew world to breathe. However, every homebrew has a foundational Springboard.
uses the Stonetop setting as it's launch pad.A Return to Form
Of course you are wondering what our proverbial Launchpad will be right? Well I had to look back at some older post to find it, but some of you might remember Yrkoon and the Frostgrave system. You can see where I tried returning to this subconsciously last year when I wrote Ysdelfer. I love the way the Frostgrave system leaves room for character deaths, and is open ended enough to give characters other motivations for their exploration. The setting is described below and will be tweaked for our homebrew version of the world. Never winter amongst the Dunes of the Aamsk.
After a thousand years, the fell winter has passed. The snows have receded, and Felstad has been uncovered. Its buildings lie in ruins, overrun by undead creatures and magical constructs, the legacy of the empire's experiments. It is an evil, dangerous place. To the few hardy souls who inhabit the nearby villages, the city has acquired a new name, 'Frostgrave', and it is shunned by all right-thinking people. For those who seek power and riches, however, it is an unparalleled opportunity, a deadly maze concealing secrets of knowledge long forgotten...
Long ago, the great city of Felstad sat at the centre of a magical empire. Its towering spires, labyrinthine catacombs and immense libraries were the wonder of the age, and potions, scrolls and mystical items of all descriptions poured from its workshops. Then, one cataclysmic night, a mistake was made. In some lofty tower or dark chamber, a foolish wizard unleashed a magic too powerful to control. A storm rose up, an epic blizzard that swallowed the city whole, burying it deep and leaving the empire as nothing more than a vast, frozen wasteland. The empire shattered, and the magic of the world faded. As the centuries came and went, Felstad passed from history to legend and on into myth.
-Joseph A.McCullough
I want to emulate that core narrative loop, as well as highlight that no one is sacred. Part of why it was hard to continue Yrkoons story was due to game setup and length. However, I do believe with some new additions from the Mythic Magazine it is possible to emulate this game and narrative loop. So how will we achieve this?
Well let's get into the ink and bones of it.
Setting & System
Frostgrave is our setting and narrative Springboard as such I will be taking ideas, mechanics, scenarios and broad world strokes from the following books.
Frostgrave 2e: Permanent Injury, Black Market, Base Establishment, Random Encounters
The Maze of Malcor: Campaign Fodder
Thaw of the Lich Lord: Campaign Fodder
Frostgrave Folio: Sellsword-Captain, Arcane locations
Into the Breeding Pits: Underground Exploration
Forgotten Pacts: Forging Pacts, Advanced Summoning, Mystic Brand
Blood Legacy: Vampires and Giants
FG-Ghost Archipelago: Wardens and Heritors, Blood Burn, Small Boats
GA-Gods of Fire: Tribals, Small Boats Expanded
Now of course this seems like a ton of supplements but we are only taking bits and pieces from each book and modifying it for our purposes as we are adapting the Frostgrave skirmish system for a more heavily narrative and Solo focus using Mythic GME 2e. Just so we are clear here are the Mythic books and Supplements I will be referring to as we branch off from Frostgrave and the frozen city of Felstad into the sands of the Aamsk desert in Wyze.
Mythic GME 2e: Fate Check
Variations: Bg Gen
Mythic Magazine #2: scene adjustment
Mythic Magazine #8: backstory
Mythic Magazine #21: Mythic Magic
Mythic Magazine #26: procedural drama
Mythic Magazine #28: narrative Combat
Mythic Magazine #31: One page location crafter, rules light mythic
Mythic Magazine #33: Mass Combat, sandbox play
Mythic Magazine #36: Location Based Adventures
Mythic Magazine #37: Troupe Play
It might seem like this may be too much for wanting to run a rules light game and system. However, not everything will be utilized all at once but when it is appropriate for the narrative. This is a continual experiment in emergent story and Solo RPG play. These tweaks and changes are always in the name of honing my story craft.
What about the Old Lore?
So does this mean an entire over haul of things once Again? Not exactly there are a number of things that will be familiar. Here are some older post we will be pulling from as we endeavor to solidify and refine the world of Wyze.
Reader Agency
What about you? Do you get a say so in things, and what of those that made characters? Yes and yes! Since, post frequency will be one to two installments a month moving forward. This frequency will allow me to weave your characters into the narrative more freely given the extra time. The return to the Frostgrave game loop and core motivations also provides us a method by which to further reader engagement, and agency. In most cases our adventures will always end with us going back to base, which offers choices for leveling, Base building, as well as our next excursion!
Realmcraft ‘24
The final portion of these changes and tweaks is what I am calling Realmcraft ‘24! If you are familiar with dungeon 23 then you might already know where I'm heading with this. This will be a highly altered approach to the dungeon 23 format taking a few pages from others. Realmcraft ‘24 will consist of the following schedule. (Courtesy of Emmy verte over a Spooky action at a distance) Tweaked for our purposes.
Monday - Location description.
Tuesday - Item or Flora description. Either a Snarl item or something vital to people's way of life. Or Plant life and vegetation description.
Wednesday - Location description.
Thursday - Npc or Fauna description. Flesh out an NPC from a previous location, their personality & motivations. Or animal description
Friday - Location description.
Saturday - Faction detail, a special resource, method, or knowledge the faction has. Either creating a new faction or writing a brief element for an existing one. Create connections between the factions.
Sunday - Rumor about something you’ve written in the past week.
This project will be tied to our game as we flesh the world out on notes. We may find ourselves looking into the rumors or running into the different Factions and Npcs we create. I am more than excited to begin this new year and new journey! I hope you are just as excited. As always thanks for reading and being part of this experiment of ours in this corner of the internet.
Fellowship
Don't forget to check out my fellow compatriots on the Stack!
writer of is currently taking votes on where PTFO should go next. I for one am still on the fence and patiently waiting to read all the pilot episodes before casting my vote.If you enjoy the world of Stonetop,
the writer of has begun his own story and I must say it is such a captivating tale!If you are in need of some levity in your fantasy
the writer of will have you rolling!