The first and most important thing i decided, was to create a layout of each of the game's elements. What i'm trying to do is lay out everything you need to know initially to start playing. Ideally i'd like it to be quick, so laying out things in a logical progression is very important. Players should be able to read the rules as they play along without having to stop much along the way to read long convoluted rules.
I believe that actually playing a game is one of the best ways to learn how to play a game. My objective in making this quick start is to guide new players through that very experience. An actual physical example of gameplay is in my opinion the best example. By the end of playing through the quickstart, i want them to be able to jump right into creating their own characters and start playing as quick as possible.
So with all that in mind I created a general layout.
(the following notes are brief and unedited, this is not the quickstarter itself just how i want to organize it and what i want to put in each section)
---- start of layout ----
Introduction
Shards is a game for two to five
players that uses Miniatures (or any other suitable representations)
and Maps to play out adventures. In this game your players will
explore locations, finding exquisite treasures and perilous
adversaries all while building a rich a developing game lore along
the way.
The Tutorial below only uses one
character, but that shouldn't stop you from playing through it as a
group. Run through the tutorial together, it's a fun and easy way to
learn the game with in play examples before setting out on your own
adventures.
What You Will Need
-Print outs of the
game resources
-An 8 sided die
(1d8) and two 10 sided die (2d10) for each player
-The Game Master
(GM) will also need 1d4, 1d6, 1d12 and 1d20
-Tape measures are
not necessary, but you may use them if you wish
-Miniatures or
suitable representations for the Characters, Adversaries and NPCs
(I suggest either
using reaper bones minis or the wealth of paper miniatures available
on the internet)
-A gaming surface,
either a printed copy of the Shards Maps or Tabletop Terrain of your
own devising.
Set-up
Place the map and player resources within easy reach of the players.
Players then select their characters taking all necessary item cards
and tokens, and place their miniature next to the Ether Kiln
Ether Kilns
Gives some quick background information on the world, covers that
your form is made of memories and that you may not know exactly why
you are here, but you know that you must fight your way to your
destiny
Manoeuvring
Teaches the basics of movement in Shards, the concept of a manoeuvre.
The maximum number of manoeuvres in a turn.
Enemies ahead
A quick description of the Enemies in Shards, presents the concept
that you must fight to survive.
Additional Manoeuvring
Getting to an enemy before it has time to react. This means that the
placement of the first enemy must be within
Making an Attack Move with a
Weapon
Covers the concept of making a Move from a weapon card
Passing your turn and Conserving
Stamina
Covers
the concept that how many actions you can make in a turn is dependent
on your stamina, covers stamina recovery (just the idea that you will
recover stamina each turn) and stamina management ideas.
You
may continue to act during your turn until either you pass or run out
of stamina.
Evading or Blocking an Attack
How to evade an attack (using up the rest of the character's stamina)
then how to block an enemy attack because no stamina left.
Stamina Recovery
How much stamina is actually recovered, getting ready for another
round
Making a Combo Move with a Weapon
and Combo Points
Covers the concept of Combo Attacks
Collect Combo Points from Unbroken Combos to upgrade your weapon
Boosting Attacks and Poise
Reducing Enemy Poise by Making Combos Attacks
Boosting attacks and breaking poise to automatically hit with the
subsequent attacks.
Collecting Fragments from Slain
Enemies
Killing an enemy and collecting their fragments, done automatically
Item Drops, Mementos and Lore
Points
How enemies drop items, which items they drop, and what a memento is
briefly, mementos explained in further detail later
Combo Points and Weapon Upgrades
Spending Combo Points
Approaching a Group of Enemies
A group of enemies ahead, suggest the character to rush into the
centre of them and preform a fully boosted combo.
Being Swarmed and Character Death
A talk on how approaching a situation in different way effects the
outcome. The above rushing into the centre of a mob of enemies is
designed to kill the Character. Also briefly discuss losing your
Fragments.
Respawning at Ether Kilns and
Wasting
When a character dies, Read this bit about respawning at ether kilns.
What wasting is and how it temporarily reduces your maximum health
to a minimum of 10 hit points.
Reducing Wasting by Linking Lore
Points
How you can use lore points to reduce wasting and recover back to
maximum health.
Trying it Again This Time
Considering Threat Ranges
Fighting your way back through the initial enemy, and approaching the
group of enemies differently so that you can overcome them.
Recovering Lost Fragments
Recovering your lost fragments from an area.
Imbuing at a New Ether Kiln and
Recovery
Activating new checkpoints by “Imbuing” Ether Kilns. How resting
at an ether kiln recovers your Health and Stamina.
Leveling Up at an Ether Kiln
How to use your Fragments at an Ether Kiln to Level Up your
character, called Memory Level
NPC's and Quests
Meeting an NPC, NPC dialogue and Lore Points associated to meeting an
NPC.
Quests Granted by NPC's
Area Boss Fights
Encountering a Boss “Arena” fight, and how to fight bosses. Once
you enter a Boss Arena, you cannot leave until either the boss is
dead or you die. Good luck! Try different tactics, use different
items.
Congratulations on Completing the
Tutorial!
A congratulations and a suggestion to try out the full game, building
your own characters,
---- end of layout ----
So that's the plan! I'm going to go over each of these sections in more detail and find out how to make the experience tight so that every time you run through it, it yields the same results.
I have a lot of work ahead of me, but like i mentioned earlier, i want to get out a playable copy of this game as soon as absolutely possible.
Till Next Time
-Tom K.
*A note on the game mechanics updates, I do update the files from time to time, so check the downloads section to make sure you have the most recent versions to stay up to date.
