Watch Well Games Issue #44

Pursuing the possibilities on the horizon. Plus, episode 5 of Record of Lodoss War.

K.J. Montgomery

and

CJ Weigel

Jan 10, 2025

Welcome to our RPG community newsletter!

Hi, I’m K.J. In today’s newsletter, we look forward at the possibilities on the horizon. Also, CJ Weigel joins us once again, analyzing episode 5 for Record of Lodoss War.

🗣️ Want to connect more with community? I post Notes every 3-4 days to bring us together and share ideas. I hope you’ll join in the conversation.

🌅 Looking forward 🌅

In the last newsletter, I said this:

Create the game YOU want to play. You need to be pleased with your own work. Don’t sell out, compromising who you are for a short-term gain. Keep moving forward in your creative endeavors (even if they’re not RPG-related) and enjoy the journey.

Maybe you’re a creator.

What type of game would you make if you created the game you would want to play?

Maybe you’re a GM.

What would you tell creators to remember on the GM side of things when they’re creating their games?

Maybe you’re a player.

What would you want creators to know about you and keep in mind before they press the “Publish” button?

Leave a comment

If we want to see games that are created with us in mind, we need to consider…us.

This is a gif. Don’t take it seriously. I don’t own a hot tub.

That in mind, I’m working on a Watch Well Games creators’ coalition. I’ve been hammering out the details of what this could possibly look like if I move forward with the concept. Here’s the basics I think I’ve nailed down so far:

Limited membership. This sounds bad. It’s not. Not everyone will have the skills, time, or bandwidth to be a part of this. Not everyone will want to collaborate on indie, stand-alone games. A limited-sized coalition can keep projects on-track. Also, I need the initial membership to be manageable.
Common sense and human decency. Let’s address the ~~elephant~~ dragon in the room. We’re not always going to see eye-to-eye on non-game related issues. However, I think we can all agree on the basics enough to enjoy this hobby and work together, even if our personal lives may look very different. Let’s be mature with a solid head on our shoulders and a healthy sense of humor.
Good game design doesn’t equal perfection. We can work hard, pursue excellence, and still fall short in some way. Someone won’t like what we create. It just wasn’t their bag or vibe or whatever the cool kids wanna call it in 2025 - AND THAT IS OKAY.
Collaboration. Creators who agree to be a part of the coalition share their skill sets in exchange for the skills that they lack, yet others in the network possess. EXAMPLES: (1) Suck at drawing? No problem. Bob* paints happy accidents. He also sucks at layout, something you excel at. You agree to trade skill-for-skill. (2) Sally* loves meeting new people and has free time to keep an up-and-coming creator on track with their latest project. Sally makes a new friend, and the product is released “on time.” (3) Some creators may prefer to get paid, but they’re willing to offer reduced rates to fellow coalition members.

If you think you’re an indie RPG creator with a decent skill (or few), who is also a decent human and enjoys growing with every project, reach out to me. You might just be a good fit for the coalition.
*Bob and Sally are not real and not a part of the coalition. Sorry to disappoint.

If all goes well, I’m aiming to make this “official” with a soft launch sometime early this year. Stay tuned.

✏️ Wrote: Record of Lodoss War - Episode Analysis, Part 5: The Desert King

Special guest writer CJ Weigel

From Wikipedia:

King Kashue, the mercenary king of Flaim, makes his way towards Valis to meet King Fahn. On his way he briefly meets Prince Jester of Moss and later Karla introduces herself to him. The group are given an audience with King Fahn and they celebrate their rescue of Princess Fannia. King Kashue makes his entrance and Parn seems particularly awestruck with him, to Deedlit's annoyance. Woodchuck quietly slips out and plays dice with the guards. When he is discovered cheating he is kicked out the guards barracks. He wanders round the castle and notices dead guards who have been slain by the prisoner Naba whom Karla has released. Rushing back to the celebration ball which Naba has crashed as he attempts to kill Kashue, Woodchuck throws Parn a sword and he distracts Naba long enough for Kashue to kill him. Later when Kashue is teaching Parn to swordfight Karla makes another appearance. Unsure of her motivations King Fahn, Kashue and Prince Jester decide to send Parn to travel to Wort to discover more about Karla. Meanwhile an advance raiding party led by Lord Ashram wipe out the Valis border guards enabling Beld to advance into Valis.

Welcome back to my analysis series! Episode five almost entirely avoids combat, focusing instead on role-playing opportunities. The bulk of the episode revolves around a royal ball, thrown to raise morale for the war that Valis is being thrust into. It’s pretty straightforward, with a few interesting details. Firstly, early in the ball we hear a bard singing about the conclusion of the last conflict, and learn that many of the characters we’re already familiar with - notably Fahn, Beld, and Leylia - were instrumental characters in it. We also get a hint at Beld’s fall from grace. Writing music for your game can be a lot of fun, but also a LOT of work. In my opinion, the effort is well worth the reward once in a campaign, but more than that can become a burden.

We also get to see a social encounter structure similar to Justin Alexander’s advice in “So You Want to be a Gamemaster.” The primary event is the dance hall, and most of the characters spend their time interacting with nobles here. Separate but still visible from the dance hall is the balcony, where Ghim has a drink (and where secret conversations could be held in-game). Even more removed, Woodchuck leaves the ball to go gambling with the guards. Each area progresses the characters or the plot in some manner; the dance hall introduces King Kashue, the balcony offers some character development for Ghim and Deedlit, and the guardroom hints at the upcoming combat.

Throughout the episode we also discover several new plot points; King Kashue is seen riding across the desert and through the forest to reach Valis, and is approached by Karla the Gray Witch with an apparent offer for power; King Jester is briefly introduced, riding a wyvern and eventually bringing news of the fall of the norther border; and King Beld’s Demon Sword reacts with King Fahn’s (presumably blessed) sword, setting them up as interesting mirrors of one another. After the ball, a war council is held (I wouldn’t run this as a full social scene like the ball, rather a short conversation) and we’re told that Karla is a legendary witch from an ancient, mythical kingdom.

Banquets, balls, and the like are one of my weakest points as a GM, so I took plenty of notes during this episode. As usual, here are a handful of lessons learned:

Social encounters should be varied. Have multiple areas with different opportunities for the PCs to explore, multiple NPCs to speak with, and even a few indirectly related activities to enjoy in case a player isn’t engaged with the scene. Ideally, every interaction should progress the story, develop a character, or introduce a setback.
Use NPCs to communicate the scale of a threat. It’s a simple trick, but effective; after the PCs have context on the villain’s actions, you can broaden the scope with an NPC simply discussing the same issue, but a long ways away.

Mirrors and foils are your friend. If the evil king has a demonic sword, maybe there’s a divine sword elsewhere; if a PC is serving honorably as the king’s knight, they could have a dark reflection in the enemy’s forces. It’s usually an easy thing to throw into your campaign prep, but has an outsized impact on the apparent cohesion of your game world.