Dimension Hopping

 

This goes into my Venger methodology of running games here.  If possible, I like to bring the players into the creative space in order to make it even more of a shared campaign setting.

Case in point!  We didn't have enough players for our regularly scheduled Cha'alt campaign.  So, instead, I ran a 2-hour session including the two players we did have and my son, the one kid of five who actually (currently, anyway) likes TTRPGs.  

The adventure I prepared had certain assumptions.  Namely, continuing from where the usual PCs in our campaign left off.  Throwing a monkey-wrench into things, the two players decided to roleplay brand-new characters.  In order to not screw up the continuity too badly, I decided the events of this session occurred in another dimension (which is my go-to solution for such things).  But when we go back to our regularly scheduled program, I want the events of that half-session to have, more or less, taken place in the prime dimension where all the campaign's action has been happening.  

After giving it some thought, I'm going to (hey, it's 4:37pm!!!) let those events take place in both, but the prime dimension will have differences.  I'd like each player (even those who weren't there for the half-session taking place in a different dimension) to name one difference that uniquely took place in the prime dimension as opposed to the other one (I'll just say the puchsia dimension because that's the first one that came to mind).  

For instance, when the starry turquoise mist coalesced into a horrid entity, maybe the mist was tangerine in the prime dimension.  Yeah, doesn't have to be anything Cha'alt-shaking, could just be a surface discrepancy that's just interesting and fun to note.  However, a player could say that the tentacled, shimmering, turquoise entity whispered his name at some point during the battle.  

"What does that mean, master?" the demon behind the curtain asked.  At this point, the greenish tentacled one nods all too knowingly... 

If a player-suggested detail leads to something more substantial down the road, cool.  If not, that's ok, too.  I think this will be a fun house-rule when significant events also happen in another dimension that the PCs are going back to... or coming from in the skinematic Vengerverse.  All that shit happened, but there are differences and the players suggest them, one each sounds appropriate. 

Ok, that's all I've got for today... oh yeah, one more thing.  For weeks now, I've been meaning to officially come up with a Cha'altian phrase for "it is what it is," "no worries," "no problem," or "don't worry, be happy."  In the ancient tongue of Cha'alt, I give you haza'aka vadar.

Enjoy,

VS

p.s. Want some hardcover Cha'alt?  Here's how (and they're currently on sale!)!!  Almost forget, we're still doing the half-year online convention that shall henceforth be known as VENGER CON V.5 : The Beast Awakens from Friday, January 8th - Monday, January 11th... officially sponsored by the Red Room.  

Where Were You?

 

This is the first thing going in the new book.  

But that won't be for a while.  I've decided to take a year-long break from any crowdfunding or release of a project that's more than a six or seven-page PDF.  

I would release this all by itself, but it's too short for even a PDF release; just perfect for a blog post, or a one-page explanation in the appendix of the aforementioned new book.  So, what is it?  Let me elucidate, hoss...

If a player has been absent for more than one session in a row, he's likely fallen behind in terms of XP.  While it's all fine and dandy if that absent PC is at a lower level than everyone else, it can be a hassle for both his fellow players and the GM.  Specifically, the lower-level PC will be in greater danger while also being of less help in an emergency, which then puts the rest of the party at risk, or influences the GM to make the adventure less strenuous... and possibly less rewarding.

You know how GMs hate the multi-page backstory of a fresh player-character that's just starting out?  Well, I'm turning that idea on its head by asking that absent player to write-up and then verbally present a fleshed-out bullet-point list of at least 7 things that PC experienced while they weren't with the party.  

This can be made-up of things they did, saw, survived, prevented, rigged, ran away from, broke, fixed, heard about, fought against, killed, looted, saved, found in a crevasse, pushed, filed, stamped, indexed, briefed, debriefed, and numbered.

Now, this particular path diverges in the desert, as it were.  There are two schools of thought...  

First, the PC can explain his absence from the party and what he's been up to in-character.  So, this is now what the other adventurers are hearing and they can make of that what they will, also in-character.  If the missing PC found a magic ring, where is this ring, now?

Second, this option is storygame-adjacent.  As the GM and players listen to everything, they are free to make suggestions... adding, subtracting, twisting, turning, coloring, and embellishing.  This is a way of collectively crafting the narrative.  Not every item on the list needs to be tweaked.  Some or maybe even most can stand-alone just as they are presented.  However, the occasional item might be improved with feedback and suggestions, like a writer's room.  After all, the other players know the PC in question well, one hopes, and should be able to provide insight based on that knowledge. 

The GM has the final say on what's actually canon.  Again, a discrepancy between the story told by the absent adventurer and what really happened might be glaringly apparent.  

What do they get for their trouble?  A singular level-up.  They might still be behind, but at least not as much.

Now, what to do with PCs who find themselves laden with magic rings and the like?  In this case, it's important to have balance.  Acquire a magic ring?  Ok, then something equally bad should also happen to even things out, like the PC also sprained his ankle.  Now, if the magic ring was found and then lost, the ankle could have been sprained and now it's better.  But if he still has it in his pocketses, perhaps the sprained ankle persists... which means he can't run.  At best, he's hobbling away like Johnny at the end of Mike Leigh's Naked (1993).  Thus, restoring the balance.

What this does is...

1. Explain what happened during the PC's absence.
2. Gets that PC up-to-speed so they don't fall behind.
3. Adds to the campaign setting by coming at world-building from a surprisingly new angle.
4. Gives the GM more to work with as he facilitates the Living World and Living Story.

Ok, there might be a chance to use this if one of our players returns tomorrow (jury's still out).  Regardless, I feel like this is a neat addition to the table, and if you like it, I hope you use it, too, and tell me how it went.

Enjoy,

VS

p.s.  Yes, weekend badges are now available for July 2026's VENGER CON V: The Will To Power.  Want the hardcover Cha'alt trilogy?  Here's how (and they're currently on sale!)!!  

Ask Players to Elaborate the Rolled Result

 

For the past few months, I've been running a once-a-month 2-hour Cha'alt game for my one kid who currently likes roleplaying games.  

Certain players from our regular Cha'alt campaign generously participate so that it's not a GM and solo-player situation (which is fine, but far from ideal).  I'm grateful for their participation.

Yeah, it's geared-down to a PG-13 level, which basically means you get seven-eighths of the Cha'alt experience... just leaving out the sleaze.  Not a problem since there's still plenty of eldritch, gonzo, science-fantasy, post-apocalypse, humor, pop-culture, and grindhouse exploitation for everyone.

In the regular Cha'alt campaign (about to enter our 4th year this Saturday), I occasionally ask the players to tell me what they're characters are doing in the cantina, or what they got up to last night at that party or what kind of hat an NPC is wearing, stuff like that.  

In our last once-a-month game, over the weekend, I had the players roll a d6 on this random table to determine a prior experience their character had with the Crimson Rock of Sacrifice.  And before rolling, I told them that if they could elaborate on the result with an extra detail or two, I would reward them with a point of Divine Favor.  

Essentially, this is an easy and immediate way for players to add to their background, creating bits and pieces of the campaign setting without turning it into a wholesale storygame.  In each case, for all 5 players, there was a nice little sentence or two that expanded something about their characters and/or the world at large.  In some cases, revealing much more about their character than any pre-written backstory or standard decision-point, like which way to go, right or left?

I'm a firm believer that moments of storygame-adjacent gaming (I wouldn't really call asking players for a creative contribution "mechanics") improve the overall RPG experience because it gives players an opportunity to creatively express themselves, impacting, as I've said, their character and the campaign setting simultaneously... without the world feeling arbitrary and subjective.  

While I won't be detailing what happened in that session, I can say that due to a Federation-assisted water shortage, the adventures from A'agrybah journeyed to an oasis to quench their thirst and perhaps make some money.  By the end, they found a way below the sand and were able to open one of seven colorful keys to whatever awaits them on the other side.

While the once-a-month campaign is distinct from our long-running Cha'alt campaign, involving the Crimson Bastards, certain details will carry-over.  For example, the color-keyed locked wall and the Federation data-center blown up by rebels.  

I encourage you, gentle reader, to do similarly.  Next time you have the PCs roll on a random table, ask them to embellish whatever you're about to read - and give them a reward to incentivize good behavior.  If you don't use anything like Divine Favor or inspiration, give them a d6 they can use at any point in the session to boost one of their rolls.

Please, come back and comment with any storygame-adjacent stuff you come up with, and say if it was successful or not, and what happened.  ;) 

Thanks,

VS

p.s.  Yes, weekend badges are now available for July 2026's VENGER CON V: The Will To Power.  Want a great new TTRPG community where you can hang out with other gamers, get ideas, advice, and training in order to improve?  Look no further than the fastest-growing group on X - it's the Kult of Kort'thalis.  Want the hardcover Cha'alt trilogy?  Here's how (and they're currently on sale!)!!