Twice at Gen Con I got to run Razed for players new to the game and, in many cases, new to the Gumshoe system. Each game was an eye-opener.

Before I type another word, though, I’ve got to heap praise on the things that made these game sessions possible: Games on Demand and a slew of curious, open-minded gamers. Games on Demand was a hub of activity at Gen Con, busy with bodies throughout the show. If you’re unaware, Games on Demand is a matchmaking program that pairs players in search of games with GMs looking to run games. Many of these games are independent titles and some few of them (like Razed) are playtests. As a GM, you volunteer your time in one or more two-hour slots, list a bunch of games you feel comfortable running, and gather players from the gamers that assemble on the slotted hours—organic, easy, effective.

For example, in two different slots, when we had players looking to play something, they knew not what, I offered up Razed. In each slot I nabbed a full table of four or more players, based off this simple pitch:

Razed is a post-apocalyptic survival and investigation game forthcoming from Pelgrane Press.

In both cases, hands went up before I finished the pitch. So that’s the second thing I want to heap praise on: the willingness of gamers at Gen Con to try new games. A mighty thanks to all of you who played in my Razed sessions, truly.

Now, let’s talk about how my eyes were opened and what I saw.

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Razed's Temporary Character Sheet

I’ve gone through and made some revisions to Razed’s character sheet as part of the next phase of in-house playtesting. I have hopes that this will be the last major phase of testing before I can start nailing down parts of the manuscript.

In this version of the sheet you can see a still-in-flux ability list (Geology probably will not survive this round of play, for example), an augmented version of the Civility Meter, and a hint at how the equipment system might or might not work (depending on how playtests go this time). And, of course, you can see that Health and Stability are intact Gumshoe-system components in this game. So, too, Drives are in play. Much of this falls under the if-it-ain’t-broke theory.

Yes, the sheet uses a mix of typefaces and some really haphazard design styles. This is intentional. Razed is meant to be a distressed mismatch. Still, don’t fret — this isn’t what the final sheet is going to look like. Not quite.

What this sheet doesn’t show off are a few wrinkles to the action and combat mechanics, some of which I’ve successfully tested thus far and some of which I’m about to test for the first time. The system is still straightforward, but it offers just a few more tactical options and decision points than traditional Gumshoe systems to date. I think it’s good, but we’ll see yet.

We’re reaching that point where I need to start turning my paper notes (kept in a Moleskine cahier and loose sheets of paper) into a more formal manuscript for vetting and perusal by wiser minds than mine. I have about a third of the manuscript already typed up and expect the rest of it to happen quickly, once I can get a few other projects off of my desk. I’m eager to get Razed in front of people — to make it a real, live game.

This is part of a series of posts looking at the nature of the cataclysmic events that shook and tumbled the world of my forthcoming post-apocalyptic survival game, Razed. This time out I muse about some ways that a post-apocalyptic world changes things… and people.

These features reference various popular media sources, especially movies, and shamelessly spoil them in the process. So: Beware of Spoilers Beyond This Point.

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Scientific American offers up a short survey of apocalyptic visions to supplement their September issue, which I haven’t seen yet. Did your favorite apocalypse make the list?

Meanwhile, Web Urbanist offers up another slew and a half of apocalyptic visions, with lots of great (and horrific) imagery to back it up. I’ve had this tab open for more than a week. I just keep going back to it as I make notes for Razed.