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Setting Sheet: Tansaar

This is our first of a new type of Freebie Spotlight: the Setting Sheet. Basically it's a page--both front and back--detailing a particular setting in brief. Over the coming month or two we plan to release a number of setting sheets, all leading up to the release of our final product for the first generation of Saga Machine games: Nexus Endtime....

About Facing and the Grid

One element of the Saga Machine system that I've been debating the utility of is that of facing in combat. Currently, when using tactical positioning in combat, the system tracks which space the character is facing. The idea behind this is that tracking facing is both a nod to realism and allows for the GM to easily determine when to apply modifiers based on where a character might be facing. Facing also, in theory, makes it easier to have an easy mechanical hook to apply the Sneak Attack trait, as well as to handle situations where staring at an object has a significant consequence (such as seeing Medusa or the gaze of a basilisk). It also can tie into systems such as for vehicles, where a moving object has a clear direction and limited ability to turn....

Computing Traits

In preparing development for the next generation of Saga Machine games we've got a lot of mechanical bits and bobs to get a handle on. Between the core rulebook, companion and all the setting books we've got hundreds of traits and stat blocks. All these mechanical bits can make altering the game system a complicated process, as changing one trait can mean resulting changes in scores of stat blocks; and altering a core game mechanic can mean changes in every such block....

Rethinking Encumbrance

Many RPGs have a system for dealing with encumbrance and how much a character can carry. On the surface, the purpose of encumbrance is pretty straight-forward: It's a mater of simulation and verisimilitude: A person can only carry so much without being burdened by it all. Underneath, however, encumbrance rules play a variety of more subtle game roles. It's these games roles that I'm going to take a closer look at in this post, and then I'm going to look at a new encumbrance variant that may see use in future Saga Machine games....

Structure of Second Generation Games

We're working on the next generation of Saga Machine games, but we're not sure quite yet what form those games are going to take. The first generation of games were structures in a way where there was one genre-agnostic core rulebook, and then individual settings were released as supplements requiring the core rulebook. We may be doing this again with the second generation of games, or we may decide to change the structure and release each setting as a stand-alone game--with all of the rules necessary to play the game in one book....

Reconsidering Initiative

I was thinking about initiative recently--what it means in the game world and how it ought to work....

Introducing the Development Blog

We'd like to introduce our new Development Blog. This blog is going to be a whole lot less formal than the TabBlog. It's a place where we can ramble on about the direction we're going with development, on our second generation of Saga Machine games, or anything else with RPG development that comes up. Some of these posts will be about specific design goals we have with the game, some might be about things in Saga Machine that we're looking to improve upon and some might just be idle thoughts. Whatever the post is about, we welcome your feedback on the post, either by going to the discussion page for the Development Blog and leaving a comment there, or by going to the "Tab Forums" link on the left and making a comment in our forum....

Introducing the Development Blog

Welcome to our new development blog. This blog is going to be a whole lot less formal than the TabBlog. It's a place where I can ramble on about the direction we're going with development on our second generation ofSaga Machine games, or anything else with RPG development that comes up. Some of these posts will be about specific design goals we have with the game, some might be about things in Saga Machine that we're looking to improve upon and some might just be idle thoughts. Whatever the post is about, we welcome your feedback on the post, either by going to the discussion page for the Development Blog and leaving a comment there, or by going to the "Tab Forums" link on the left and making a comment in our forum....

"What Comes Thereafter" Released!

Hot off the press, we've just released What Comes Thereafter, a full campaign for our flagship Trystell: Reborn setting! Picking up where the "What Lies Beneath" campaign (found in the back of the Trystell: Reborn hardback) left off, this campaign presents fifteen new adventures in and around the core city of Melanoc. It pits players against political opponents, invading armies and the plots of sinister secret societies. The campaign should be enough to bring a party of characters from Distinguished level, all the way to up Legendary! It's our first higher-level campaign....

Where did the old posts go?

You may be thinking to yourself, "There used to be posts here going back to 2007. Where did they go?" Don't worry, you can still find them. They've just been moved to the Development Blog. In fact, as of early 2014, all of the old Tab Creations Collective posts can be found there. This blog has been reserved for official announcements regarding Tab Creations LLC....

Posts by Thorin Tabor

Setting Sheet: Tansaar

About Facing and the Grid

Computing Traits

Rethinking Encumbrance

Structure of Second Generation Games

Reconsidering Initiative

Introducing the Development Blog

Introducing the Development Blog

"What Comes Thereafter" Released!

Where did the old posts go?

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