Original post with attachments at Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/wanderingbeekeeper

This week's page count is only up 3 from last week, but there's been a good deal of revision going on, alignment of mechanics, filling in of gaps going on. I'm working on bringing the mechanic in for a landing, having a playable mechanic that can be sandboxed while I build the sample adventure. In the process, I've come to some conclusions.

This is not a beginner's game system, or game world. The mechanic and the world both assume a level of experience on the part of the player, that they are familiar with the concepts, understand what safety mechanisms are and how you use them at the table, have delved a little into the theories of drama and roleplay and story structure. There's some shortcuts taken in the explanations. You've done this before, so I don't have to explain the basics, just make reference to them and everyone knows what I'm talking about. 

I have to have a disclaimer up front that says this. It would be grossly unfair to novice players and experienced ones both to not state up front the intended audience. You do that in technical documentation. Right up front, you clearly state, this document is intended for a specific skill level and technical understanding. Explanations of topics below that level are outside the scope of this document. I need to level set with the readers at the outset, saying, if you are new to gaming, welcome, I sincerely hope you enjoy your time with this hobby, but this may not be the game for you just yet. If you want to give it a go, I can guarantee it'll be a learning experience, as you research a number of topics within and surrounding the hobby. I want to make sure that I do not talk down to the novice player, but I have a responsibility to tell them what the expectations are, that this is an intermediate text, not a foundational one. 

That's going to be a bit of a balancing act. Any advice you, patrons and public alike, have, would be accepted in the spirit given. In the meantime, let's look briefly at where we are.

The spreadsheet is attached, as always, and you can see the word count and page count for measurements of quantity. Specific efforts are on the Changelog tab. Effort this week has been scarce due to dayjob considerations, and has focused heavily on a revision and march toward completion of the Actions/Combat/Consequences chapter, which is the heart of the game engine. Noteworthy is expansion of the Consequences section, with the Self Connections (Body, Mind, Spirit) completed in draft and the Social Connections partly done, with Family and Community discussed and Tribe remaining to be detailed. 

Once this chapter is done, there should be the rough shape of a playable system, and Dynamic Balances can be brought to the table for sandbox playtesting. I would like to run two sets of players, one with the urban pregens, one with the rural pregens, to put those character designs under the microscope. Patrons have pre-reserved seats in either group, please let me know which one, or both, you want to participate in, and what your schedule is like. Everyone else is first come, first served. Hit me up at wandering-beekeeper@protonmail.com or at WanderingBeekeeper@dice.camp on the Fedi. 

This release is noteworthy for one more item: Attached to this post is an introductory PDF for the game, consisting of the front cover, front matter, and Introduction chapter, currently in manuscript layout. This file provides a way for the public to preview the development effort. It will be updated as the content and layout mature, but will not have additional game material added to it. Please feel free to share feedback on it in comments on this post or at the contact points mentioned above. Thank you for your time and attention.