Uprise: Bandits At War

One-pagers are a kind of adventure prep that I use which I outlined in an older post over at Sword’s Edge. Basically, because I am very comfortable with improv gaming, I usually work from a very basic adventure outline and do everything else on the fly.

Below is a one-pager based on the movie Uprising, which I reviewed at Sword’s Edge. There are no NPCs/challenges/obstacles statted out—no mechanical opponents presented—so you might need to cook some of those up if you use this. The ideas are there. Run with them.

Story

The PCs are bandits that have formed into an irregular force protecting the local communities from the depredations of the armies fighting the wars—whether those are the nominal “lords” of the land or the armies invading that territory. They haven’t been especially cruel to the villagers, but they are criminals, and their raids have likely created hardship for the local population. They will face both violent encounters with the contending armies, but also interpersonal challenges in finding peace and mutual support with the villages they are now protecting.

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Turning the Engine Over

Wow, quiet around here. I wonder why.

Oh. Right. Me.

Okay, so the key enterprise for SEP right now is finishing Nefertiti Overdrive to deliver to the backers. That is actually out of my hands as it is out for layout (with Todd Crapper of Broken Ruler Games).

The cover for the Found and the Lost which has a warrior in a snowy forest watching an eclipse

Part of the Nefertiti Overdrive Kickstarter was the updating of adventures, and I’ve finished both Proof of Death and Judged. I’m in the midst of updating Get Netiqret, and have at least three more: The Icon of Amun-Ra and The March Up Country will complete the story of the fall of the 25th Dynasty, and I’ll also be updating Daughter of the Sun, the adventure focused on Pharaoh Tutankhamun’s widow—the daughter of Nefertiti. Once all that is done, I’ll embark on a completely new adventure: In A Sea of Dunes. 

The other project is a system—tentatively titled The Found and the Lost—that has been alpha-playtested and seems fit for purpose. I’m not keen to Kickstart that, but I might do it with a low target as Kickstarter can provide a marketing advantage. I’m generally not bringing a lot of the audience for my crowd-funding campaigns. A lot of the backers come from the platform itself.

Deep in the backburner is version of Centurion that is devoid of the historical information and is just a presentation of the system; an update of Kiss My Ass; a complex system on which I have modules for fantasy, modern military action, and cyberpunk. I don’t know if any of those will ever see release.

This place is quiet, but that’s not because nothing is happening.