Some news about Two-Peaks Island
Other versions
It's been a long time since I last wrote about Two-Peaks Island. Other creative projects had taken priority, and to some extent still do. But with summer upon us and the possibility of launching a new campaign soon, I thought it was time to get back to it.
And to do that, what better way than to dive back into the Ashcan booklet and see if everything still fits?
Well, as a result of my experiences over the past year with the new versions of Carved from Brindlewood, listening to podcasts (The Darkened Threshold, Dice Exploder, The Gauntlet Second Edition), a few TTRPG readings, but also some writer's block, I realized that I didn't like the current structure of the game. It works, but some elements are too cumbersome.
I don't want to bring a long campaign game just yet. And mixing the individual mysteries, the island's great mystery, the Witches and the Foundation all at once makes for a lot (too much) of stuff. Plus, I had some writer's block about the Foundation and how to present it in the campaign. I'm planning to publish what I've written about it - it might inspire people, who knows. But I've made the decision to cut it. The Foundation will still be there, but in a different incarnation. Not as a global presence on the island, as the backbone of the campaign. That was too many things, and I couldn't see how I could have the story of the island and the two witches on one side, and the story of the Foundation on the other. So that's one of the big changes to come, which will have an impact on the campaign and will be put to the test this summer, if all goes well.
The other major point concerns the structure of the game. I had gone for a fixed Dawn/Day/Dusk/Night structure, as in Public Access or The Between. But these games generally feature a timer for the night phase, whether it's Odyssey Tapes or Unscenes. What's more, this structure led me to formalize the Camp scenes, to count their number to see if an Island Clue was created by the players, and to heavily formalize the Dusk and Dawn phases. I've noticed that creating a Clue from scratch, based on an entire game session, isn't always easy for players. Either too much has happened, or nothing is obvious.
So I'm going for a looser structure, inspired by what The Silt Verses does. There will no longer be Day/Night Moves depending on the phase you're in. Instead, there will be a Risky Move, and a Dangerous Move, with triggers based on the action taken. Thanks to White Mountain Rescue for opening my eyes.
Another change, which is a kind of a reintroduction, is the return of travel. In a first version that was never released, I had formalized travel from one place to another on the island. I'm going to reintroduce it, using Journey Scenes similar to those found in The Silt Verses or Cryptid Creeks. Camp scenes will incorporate this pattern, and it will become the only way to heal your Conditions: travel to another location on the island, or take part in a Camp scene.
Something that worked very well in the first playtests were the Island Memories. These will stay, of course. But they will be accompanied by the discovery of an Island Clue. I'm still thinking about how to approach this.
So I still have to write up the general outline of the campaign, a few mysteries so as not to be caught off guard when launching a campaign, and no doubt a revision of the booklet at that point. Having unblocked the Foundation story and how to integrate it into the campaign, I've also unblocked a few mysteries.
If you have any questions, comments, ideas or desires, don't hesitate to contact me wherever you find me!
See you soon for more news from the island!
