Post by ApolloBar in The Librarian's Apprentice comments

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Hi, I am absolutely loving the game so far (thanks for the Community Copy)!

But I'm not sure I understand the directions correctly? I think I need a flow chart, lol! This is my understanding so far:

Every turn, the play loop should have the following steps in the following order:

Travel Action
Roll on description tables to create a room
Roll on the Events & Secrets Table
Roll on the appropriate NPC Table to create the NPC from step 3
Research Action
If you rolled a number equal to or less than both cards during the Research Action in Step 4, roll on the Complications Table
If applicable, do the Resolve Complications Action

If I get a complication during the Travel Action in Step 1, at what point in this loop do I add that?
And is the game over when my fatigue is at 4 or when it is at 5?

Thanks again, this is such an imaginative and immersive game!

Almost Bedtime Theater17 days ago

Thank you for the questions! You are doing well in your understanding of the directions. I would make just a few tweaks to your play loop:

If you get a complication on step 1 (Travel), roll on the Complications table right away to find out what it is so that you can have it in mind as you figure out what else is in the area (steps 2-4).
On step 4, you can use the tables to add any NPCs you want. You are not limited to just NPCs mentioned in the Events & Secrets table.
Add a step immediately after step 4 that says to resolve the Travel complication if there is one.
Add a step after resolving the Travel complication that says to collect the document you were looking for if you added a face card to the map.
Step 5 is the correct place for the Research action, but I would note that it is optional.

And the game is over when all 4 of your character’s Fatigue boxes are marked. That said, your familiar can take a point of Fatigue on your behalf, so you technically have 5 Fatigue to work with.

If you have any additional questions, please let me know. I’ve included game loop diagrams in a couple of my other games; I should really add one to this game as well!

ApolloBar1 day ago

Thanks! I created a little flowchart based on your recommendations and found that it helped me keep track of things better. So I uploaded it here, in case others find it useful

Almost Bedtime Theater1 day ago (1 edit)

Awesome! Thank you so much for sharing it!

itch.io

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