[Q&A] Rasmus Strand (Lost Roads of Lociam – Age of the Black Chaimara)

[1:03 PM]Rasmus – Lost Roads of Lociam: Hello. My name is Rasmus Strand and I have been playing role playing games since the ’80s. I started making my own games very early on and while they weren’t very good I hope to have developed a bit since. I printed my last game 10 years ago and now I am finding myself with its next iteration done. This is the Lost Roads of Lociam. This game is currently available on Kickstarter and I am hugely excited to be here. (done)

[1:04 PM]Dan the GMshoe: Thanks, @Rasmus – Lost Roads of Lociam ! The floor is open to questions!

[1:04 PM]Dan the GMshoe: What is the premise of the game?

[1:06 PM]Rasmus – Lost Roads of Lociam: The Lost Roads of Lociam is a fantasy role-playing game set in a world filled with ancient conflicts. The entire world is based on the balance between the Chaos and Order, with the forces of each struggling for supremacy. There are ancient races, like the elves, that struggle against the younger races, like the humans. There is religious strife between different churches, and in the latest version of the game an old pantheon of gods called the Black Chaimara has risen to prominence once again and plunged the world into bitter war.1

[1:07 PM]LibrariaNPC: First big question I love to drop: what’s the system for the game? Something that already exists, or something you made? And if it’s something new, what can you tell us about it without spoiling too much?

[1:08 PM]Dan the GMshoe: Are the Black Chaimara for Chaos or Order?

@LibrariaNPCFirst big question I love to drop: what’s the system for the game? Something that already exists, or something you made? And if it’s something new, what can you tell us about it without spoiling too much?[1:10 PM]Rasmus – Lost Roads of Lociam: When I had completed the last version of the game, which was very old school, I kept tinkering with it for about a year and a half, correcting shortcomings and adding elements that I thought were lacking. After about 18 months I came to the realisation that the game was as good as I was going to be able to make it, and it wasn’t good enough. This new version of the game shares nothing of the rules from the older version. It has been redesigned from the ground up using a 1D100 system and a one-roll resolution mechanic for essentially all the challenges including combat. This means that you only roll a single die to determine the outcome of any obstacle that you are facing. The system is based on older 1D100 systems, of course, but has a lot of novel mechanics in it that are pulled from other sources of inspiration.

@Dan the GMshoeAre the Black Chaimara for Chaos or Order?[1:13 PM]Rasmus – Lost Roads of Lociam: The Black Chaimara has struck blows against pretty much anything that has come close to it. Tt has attacked human churches, Elven settlements, Dwarven fortresses, Chaos fleets, libraries of ancient lore and pretty much everything else. They stand as their own separate, violent thing. They are a “ might makes right” and ” you eat what you kill”- sort of church. They are certainly not aligned with Chaos or Order, they are just a reflection of a more primitive age that has now come again.

[1:14 PM]Dan the GMshoe: Are they analagous to HPL’s Great Old Ones?

@Rasmus – Lost Roads of LociamWhen I had completed the last version of the game, which was very old school, I kept tinkering with it for about a year and a half, correcting shortcomings and adding elements that I thought were lacking. After about 18 months I came to the realisation that the game was as good as I was going to be able to make it, and it wasn’t good enough. This new version of the game shares nothing of the rules from the older version. It has been redesigned from the ground up using a 1D100 system and a one-roll resolution mechanic for essentially all the challenges including combat. This means that you only roll a single die to determine the outcome of any obstacle that you are facing. The system is based on older 1D100 systems, of course, but has a lot of novel mechanics in it that are pulled from other sources of inspiration.[1:15 PM]LibrariaNPC: So what would make this unique compared to other d100 systems? I’ve played my fair share of them, and I always felt they were overly convoluted, often unbalanced, and often best for smaller doses since many were linked to grimdark

@Dan the GMshoeAre they analagous to HPL’s Great Old Ones?[1:16 PM]Rasmus – Lost Roads of Lociam: No. the Cthulhu mythos speaks of cosmic gods that no one can understand. The Black Chaimara is certainly understandable. They are just incredibly violent, that’s all. They are more akin to what a warring tribe of cavemen would have been aligned with back in the ages where tribes fought over fire and cave space. They cut their teeth on their oppositions and tear through the world in order to subjugate it the way that they once had the world under their thumb.

[1:16 PM]Dan the GMshoe: Ah, I see.

[1:17 PM]Dan the GMshoe: Before you address @LibrariaNPC’s question, do you have a character sheet that we can see?1

[1:20 PM]Rasmus – Lost Roads of Lociam: Here’s the character sheet.

@LibrariaNPCSo what would make this unique compared to other d100 systems? I’ve played my fair share of them, and I always felt they were overly convoluted, often unbalanced, and often best for smaller doses since many were linked to grimdark[1:20 PM]Rasmus – Lost Roads of Lociam: The system currently in place for the game has only 12 stats. Each of these traits are umbrella terms for a collection of skills and attributes that allow for quicker gameplay focused primarily on story and not on the nitty-gritty and minutiae of rule interpretations. The resolution mechanic itself is simple, simply roll under the trait you are attempting to use, where a greater difference is better than a smaller one. In some cases, a certain difference will be required in order to attain success. One element that has been introduced in this rule set is the ability to exert a trait, essentially buying a success with the price of exhaustion for the rest of the adventure. This turns ability scores into resources, adding another dimension to how you plan and execute your challenges.

[1:20 PM]Dan the GMshoe: Let’s see here…

[1:22 PM]Dan the GMshoe: Can the game handle scores in excess of 100%?

@Dan the GMshoeCan the game handle scores in excess of 100%?[1:24 PM]Rasmus – Lost Roads of Lociam: The core rule book is concerned with humans. Humans have a stat range that goes from 1 to 100. While other races can exceed this, the core rules don’t need to concern itself with that at the moment since only humans are playable in the game. You can get a vastly higher number in Martial, the combat stat, by stacking specialized training, heavy armor, and terrifying weapons on top of your murderous talent for war. However that is contained within that stat and only applies to when you are fighting other people. There are situations in which you can stack positive modifications on top of an already high skill, resulting in a trait that exceeds 100, but your trait in and of itself is not likely to ever get above 100. (edited)

[1:25 PM]Dan the GMshoe: Does the core rule book not include a bestiary?

@Dan the GMshoeDoes the core rule book not include a bestiary?[1:26 PM]Rasmus – Lost Roads of Lociam: The core rule book has a chapter on terrifying things you can encounter out in the world, but the only stats there that exceed 100 are the combat prowess of things like Trolls and Wyverns. There aren’t any entries in the bestiary of things with over 100 in Communication for instance. Rules for traits exceeding 100 will be featured in one of the planned expansions. (edited)

[1:27 PM]Dan the GMshoe: Ah, I see.

[1:27 PM]Dan the GMshoe: Do you offer any interesting twists on the standard fantasy races?

[1:28 PM]LibrariaNPC: So with the proliferation of D&D and the long history of other medieval fantasy games, what makes Lociam stand out? Why should I play this over the (literal) dozens of other medieval games that are already out?

@Dan the GMshoeDo you offer any interesting twists on the standard fantasy races?[1:29 PM]Rasmus – Lost Roads of Lociam: The core rule book only allows you to play one of the nine races of humans that currently inhabit Lociam. There used to be ten, but one of them went extinct many ages ago. I have focused on the cultural diversity between these races and how they are apart from one another, even though they share a common ancestry and creator. Other races will be playable in later books, but instead of trying to make the core book an unwieldy mess by trying to include everything I instead opted for a sleeker design that focuses on the humans and human affairs in the world.

[1:32 PM]Dan the GMshoe: How common is magic, and how powerful does it get on the high end?

@LibrariaNPCSo with the proliferation of D&D and the long history of other medieval fantasy games, what makes Lociam stand out? Why should I play this over the (literal) dozens of other medieval games that are already out?[1:33 PM]Rasmus – Lost Roads of Lociam: A lot of other games lean on to their rule mechanics in order to be unique. The Lost Roads of Lociam is more of a vessel for storytelling than it is a rule system. It is more about the interesting stories you can tell in this world, not an exercise in mathematics or minimaxing. While I am certain that there are other games out there that do this just as well or better, this is the game that I wrote, and there are stories to tell in this setting that have not been told in other games before. I wanted to make a game that allowed for the story to be a central part of the gaming experience, not bogged down with the overly complicated rules for handling certain, or all, challenges. I have played a lot of older role-playing systems where the rules became more important than the story, and I have fought very hard to try to make this game different.2

@Rasmus – Lost Roads of LociamA lot of other games lean on to their rule mechanics in order to be unique. The Lost Roads of Lociam is more of a vessel for storytelling than it is a rule system. It is more about the interesting stories you can tell in this world, not an exercise in mathematics or minimaxing. While I am certain that there are other games out there that do this just as well or better, this is the game that I wrote, and there are stories to tell in this setting that have not been told in other games before. I wanted to make a game that allowed for the story to be a central part of the gaming experience, not bogged down with the overly complicated rules for handling certain, or all, challenges. I have played a lot of older role-playing systems where the rules became more important than the story, and I have fought very hard to try to make this game different.[1:35 PM]LibrariaNPC: Well said, and I am happy to hear that was the goal! (And sorry if the question sounded snarky; as a librarian, I see WAY TOO MUCH MEDIEVAL anymore)

@Dan the GMshoeHow common is magic, and how powerful does it get on the high end?[1:37 PM]Rasmus – Lost Roads of Lociam: Magic is extremely prevalent in the world of Lociam. Essentially all sentient beings can learn magic, and while not all of them do, it is still a very common thing. Magical training is part of your professional training, so that a blacksmith, for instance, would learn magic that would aid them in their craft, a warrior would learn magic that would help them on the battlefield, and a sage learn magic that can help them in their daily librarian tasks. Then there are of course those who devote their life to the study of magic, pointy hat and stars on robes and all that jazz. For them there is a system of Spheres of Higher Magic, and there are five of these spheres in the core rule book. These range from simple effects such as turning saltwater into fresh, up to the point of raising volcanoes from the ground or making people live forever. More spheres of higher magic will be introduced further on, one of the stretch goals for the running a Kickstarter campaign contains the Sphere of Nightmares, for instance. The expansions will include even more, and one of which is the Sphere that would allow you to create magical items, to name but one.

[1:38 PM]Dan the GMshoe: Interesting. So the more common magics are fairly utilitarian in nature?

@LibrariaNPCWell said, and I am happy to hear that was the goal! (And sorry if the question sounded snarky; as a librarian, I see WAY TOO MUCH MEDIEVAL anymore)[1:39 PM]Rasmus – Lost Roads of Lociam: The last version of the game had a lot of rules. If you count “ moving pieces”, by that I mean individual stats on a character sheet, Dungeons and Dragons 5th edition has around 150 to 200 for a normal character and of course more for a spellcaster. Rolemaster had in excess of 400 and Lost Roads of Lociam has less than 20. I wanted to pair down the mechanical challenges so that they wouldn’t take center stage.3

@Dan the GMshoeInteresting. So the more common magics are fairly utilitarian in nature?[1:42 PM]Rasmus – Lost Roads of Lociam: Absolutely. A blacksmith, for instance, would learn magical mending, which isn’t quite as good as if you did it by hand, but it is quick and dirty. They also learn a type of magic that allows them to sleep soundly after a long day of hard work, no matter the noise and hub-ub going on around them. These are things that tradespeople would learn if they had the ability to. A thief, on the other hand, learns how to blend into the background, to be more difficult to notice, but also how to place a magical “ tracker” on an item, so that they can stalk a person, or find a coin that has been deposited in a vault. There are no classes in this game. The professional trainings are just things that happen when you grow up, and you are free to learn all of this magic as to game progresses. These are just the ones you get for free, if your talent in Magic is good enough. (edited)

[1:43 PM]Dan the GMshoe: What is the magic system? Are there any limits on spellcasting, like magic points, fatigue, or spells per day?1

@Dan the GMshoeWhat is the magic system? Are there any limits on spellcasting, like magic points, fatigue, or spells per day?[1:48 PM]Rasmus – Lost Roads of Lociam: There are no Mana points, or spell slots. There are difficulties you need to overcome in order to successfully use magic, so that turning salt water into fresh all you need need to do is roll a difference of 25 compared to your magic trait. This isn’t very hard if your magic trait is 75, all you need to do is roll 50 or less on a 1D100. However, if you wish to raise a volcano, the difference needed is 125. This means that you need to stack some positive modifiers on top of your already high Magic trait in order to accomplish this goal. You do this by using material components, taking your own sweet time, drawing glyphs in the sand before you, and so on. This takes a bit out of you both out of pocket and hours out of your day. There is nothing preventing you from essentially spamming turning salt water into fresh other than the risk of rolling a botch, in which case you might lose your character. Botches with higher Magic can be fatal.1

[1:49 PM]Dan the GMshoe: What determines a botch?

@Dan the GMshoeWhat determines a botch?[1:51 PM]Rasmus – Lost Roads of Lociam: A roll of 100 is bad. A roll of 1 is good. Naturally, the difference between a trait and your roll can never be better than if you roll a 1. A roll of one is a perfect hit in combat, meaning you are likely to take someone’s head off. On the other hand, if you roll a 100 then the gods are not smiling at you, and you are likely in for a rough time.

[1:52 PM]Dan the GMshoe: How does combat work?

@Dan the GMshoeHow does combat work?[1:52 PM]Beyla 🎉: I was about to ask that!1

[1:56 PM]Beyla 🎉: Do you have any art work that we can see from your book?1

@Dan the GMshoeHow does combat work?[1:58 PM]Rasmus – Lost Roads of Lociam: Combat is all about the differences. You roll against your Martial trait, as modified by training and equipment and whatever else, and your opponent does the same. Whoever has the best difference wins. The bigger the difference, the more decisive the win. Let’s say that Dan has a Martial of 44. He faces off against Beyla, who has Martial 41, but is armed with a wicked-looking sword which gives her +10 to Martial. This means that her combined Martial is now 51. Dan is unfortunately unarmed. Dan rolls a 1D100 and scores a 27. The difference between 44 and 27 is 17 . This is his difference. If Beyla gets a better difference than 17, by rolling 34 or less, then she is going to win this fight. If she happens to roll even lower, the difference will be higher, and Dan will walk away with more bruises and lacerations. If her roll is higher than 34, then Dan’s difference will be greater, and he will win this fight. If she were to roll a 100, she would probably be in a world of hurt.

[1:59 PM]Dan the GMshoe: How is damage figured?

[2:00 PM]Rasmus – Lost Roads of Lociam: One of the many gods

[2:00 PM]Beyla 🎉: Ooooo he has a Norse kinda feel to him

[2:00 PM]Rasmus – Lost Roads of Lociam: Breaking into a tomb as a sort of hobby. You know. For gold.1

[2:01 PM]Rasmus – Lost Roads of Lociam: Illustration for the rules for encumbrance. (edited)

[2:01 PM]Dan the GMshoe: If you don’t find gold today, there’s always tomb morrow.1

[2:01 PM]Rasmus – Lost Roads of Lociam: Don’t fight giants.1

[2:01 PM]Rasmus – Lost Roads of Lociam: And don’t mess with magicians. They will turn you into trees.1

[2:02 PM]Beyla 🎉: THESE ARE GREAT!!!

@Rasmus – Lost Roads of LociamAnd don’t mess with magicians. They will turn you into trees.[2:03 PM]Dan the GMshoe: I may be going out on a limb, but that guy’s been bushwhacked.1

@Dan the GMshoeHow is damage figured?[2:04 PM]Rasmus – Lost Roads of Lociam: Damage is divided into four levels, sort of like hit points I guess. Normally all you do is check the difference between differences in combat and there is a little table that tells you how much damage the winner takes in the fight, and how much damage the loser takes in the fight. Healing and recovery is managed by how tough you are, so that a similar wound on two different people will take a different amount of time to heal depending on who they are. You can of course prolong this period by not resting, or just use magic to make the entire recuperation period go away.

[2:04 PM]Dan the GMshoe: So is the entire combat is determined by a single roll?1

@Beyla 🎉THESE ARE GREAT!!![2:05 PM]Rasmus – Lost Roads of Lociam: Thank you. For ease of navigation through the game, I have endeavored to put one piece of art on each spread, every two pages. This has required a great deal of artwork, but I felt that it gave a distinct feel to the book and I’m very happy that I went that route.2

[2:06 PM]CoalCrystal: Are you the artist?1

@Dan the GMshoeSo is the entire combat is determined by a single roll?[2:07 PM]Rasmus – Lost Roads of Lociam: Yes. All the challenges are resolved with a single roll. This makes combat very unforgiving and dangerous. pretty much the same way that it is in real life. Rather than trying to murder-hobo your way through any challenge that you face, you might need to think through your options a bit more carefully, and not just wade in, sword drawn, hoping that you will come out okay. It is not that kind of game.

[2:08 PM]Dan the GMshoe: How does combat handle multiple combatants?

@CoalCrystalAre you the artist?[2:08 PM]Rasmus – Lost Roads of Lociam: No. unfortunately I can’t draw worth anything at all. I think I have contributed with a few maps, but that’s about it. These are all artworks either from dedicated illustrators, or from the public domain, that I have found fitting. The British Library released thousands of images that they left under an open license which I have used throughout the books whenever they suited.1

[2:09 PM]Rasmus – Lost Roads of Lociam: To answer the question not asked, but asked. “Is it hard to learn!? Cuz I am new and a 1D100 seems intimidating “ The only hard rule in the game is to roll under your trait with 1D100. It is not terribly difficult to learn. Everything else is optional. If you don’t like the rules for sneaking, you can just disregard them and say “ roll under your Athletics” and just ignore the rules for sneaking. They aren’t that important. It is more important that you have fun when you are playing the game than getting stuck in modifications to how well you can sneak this day.11

[2:10 PM]Beyla 🎉: This game feels very true to real life with healing times different character to character and combat dependant on the creativity, intelligence forethought of the player and so much luck from that 1 dice. Is it hard to learn, manage and execute? I am super new and have no experience with 1 die

[2:10 PM]Beyla 🎉: …. Dang it! … you already answered that

[2:10 PM]Dan the GMshoe: (Sorry, I’ll be right back. Dog needs out.)1

@Dan the GMshoeHow does combat handle multiple combatants?[2:12 PM]Rasmus – Lost Roads of Lociam: Let’s say that Dan and Beyla are facing off against Coal and a librarian. Dan will roll for his Martial test. His difference is 12. Beyla rolls for hers. She rolls well and her difference is 47. Coal rolls for his. The difference is 9. The librarian then rolls and gets a difference of 37. That means that on one side the combined difference is 59, and the other side has a difference of 48. Coal and the librarian are therefore going to lose this fight, but not without bruising the winners before they are driven off.2

[2:12 PM]Beyla 🎉: OOOOOOOH!

@Beyla 🎉This game feels very true to real life with healing times different character to character and combat dependant on the creativity, intelligence forethought of the player and so much luck from that 1 dice. Is it hard to learn, manage and execute? I am super new and have no experience with 1 die[2:12 PM]Rasmus – Lost Roads of Lociam: Luck is only a factor if you aren’t sufficiently prepared. If you have stacked enough positive modifications on top of your trait then nothing short of natural 100 is going to screw you over. (edited)1

[2:13 PM]Dan the GMshoe: (back, sorry)11

@Rasmus – Lost Roads of LociamLet’s say that Dan and Beyla are facing off against Coal and a librarian. Dan will roll for his Martial test. His difference is 12. Beyla rolls for hers. She rolls well and her difference is 47. Coal rolls for his. The difference is 9. The librarian then rolls and gets a difference of 37. That means that on one side the combined difference is 59, and the other side has a difference of 48. Coal and the librarian are therefore going to lose this fight, but not without bruising the winners before they are driven off.[2:14 PM]Dan the GMshoe: Hmm. Interesting!

[2:15 PM]Dan the GMshoe: As far as weapons go, it looks like you lump together accuracy and damage. How do you handle something that is unlikely to hit but that will do massive damage if it does, like a boulder rolled down a mountainside?

@Dan the GMshoeHmm. Interesting![2:15 PM]Rasmus – Lost Roads of Lociam: This of course means that if you are facing Ylva the troll with her intimidating Martial of 230 you might need to pool your resources, set aside your squabbles so that the four of you can face off against her. Any single fighter is bound to turn into pulp when facing her and her uprooted tree that she uses as a club.

@Dan the GMshoeAs far as weapons go, it looks like you lump together accuracy and damage. How do you handle something that is unlikely to hit but that will do massive damage if it does, like a boulder rolled down a mountainside?[2:18 PM]Rasmus – Lost Roads of Lociam: To be honest the mechanics aren’t that concerned with that sort of difference. There’s a line in one of the Songs of Ice and Fire books, I fail to remember which one, where Daenerys is looking at a fight in a gladiatorial arena and a slow and powerful fighter is facing off against a smaller but faster one. The line goes something like it doesn’t matter how you fight, only how well you fight. and I think I took that to heart. If you are dangerous, it doesn’t matter in what way you are dangerous. You might be dangerous because you are unerringly accurate in your strikes, or that each strike just deals a huge amount of damage. Averaged throughout a fight, these two styles might deal the exact same amount of damage. Environmental hazards such as a boulder rolling down a hill would not be handled using the Martial trait. It would be a matter of getting out of the way. If you fail, you would take a bunch of damage. (edited)

[2:19 PM]Dan the GMshoe: Given that physical strength is rolled into the Martial trait, how do you determine pure feats of strength?

@Dan the GMshoeGiven that physical strength is rolled into the Martial trait, how do you determine pure feats of strength?[2:20 PM]Rasmus – Lost Roads of Lociam: Feats of Strength are handled under the Athletics trait.

[2:21 PM]Beyla 🎉: What do forester and communication cover?

[2:22 PM]Beyla 🎉: Meaning … strength = athletics. What attributes go into forester and communication

@Beyla 🎉What do forester and communication cover?[2:23 PM]Rasmus – Lost Roads of Lociam: Forester is all about how good you are when there are no roads or roofs. It covers things like foraging for food in the wilderness, cutting tracks to pursue someone, building a shelter in hard weather, camouflaging yourself and your friends under moss and rocks in order to evade pursuing Wriaths, and so on. Communications is about how charming, persuasive, manipulating, intimidating you are. It also covers your innate skills for languages, including foreign ones.1

[2:24 PM]Beyla 🎉: What is your favourite part about your game? And do you have a favourite NPC?

@Beyla 🎉Meaning … strength = athletics. What attributes go into forester and communication[2:25 PM]Rasmus – Lost Roads of Lociam: There is no sharp analog translation between “this person is strong therefore they are good at Athletics.” There is more to these traits than basic physical talents. A person may be strong but have poor Athletics because they’re coordination is bad for instance, whereas a weaker person might have a higher Athletics because they are faster and have better balance. It doesn’t matter in what way they are better in athletics, only that they are better in Athletics.1

@Beyla 🎉What is your favourite part about your game? And do you have a favourite NPC?[2:27 PM]Rasmus – Lost Roads of Lociam: I have spent many years writing this game. During that time I have had stretches where I have been very bored with writing it. in order to liven it up I have snuck in dozens and dozens of Easter eggs. It is incredibly rewarding when a player across the table raises an eyebrow and goes ”heyyyyyyyy….” when they spot one of them. As for a favorite NPC, the introductory Adventure ”Lights in Old Houses” has some monsters in it with some quirky personalities. I’m not going to spoil the adventure, but they were incredibly fun to write and while a murder-hobo group might never uncover any of it, another group might.1

[2:28 PM]Beyla 🎉: What’s the difference between lower and higher magic.

[2:29 PM]Rasmus – Lost Roads of Lociam: As far as the game itself goes, I really do like the combat system, almost as much as I like the magic system and the rules for prayers. I think the most novel part of the game might be the way you spend money, but it is more of an aside than the more central themes of magic and faith.1

@Beyla 🎉What’s the difference between lower and higher magic.[2:31 PM]Rasmus – Lost Roads of Lociam: The magic trait covers three different “ skills”. One is the sense of magic, just like you are able to see because you live in the world that has light, and you’re able to hear because you live in the world of sounds, the people on Lociam are able to sense magic because they live in a world of magic. The second skill is Lower Magic and that is the magic that is taught as part of the professional training as mentioned before. The difference between the training of a blacksmith, a thief and a warrior for example. And the third skill, if your magic is high enough, is the pointy-hat, stars-on-robe, Fireball-tossing higher magic.

[2:32 PM]Beyla 🎉: Interesting!1

[2:33 PM]Dan the GMshoe: You mentioned faith back there. Does faith have supernatural effects like miracles, distinct from magic?1

@Dan the GMshoeYou mentioned faith back there. Does faith have supernatural effects like miracles, distinct from magic?[2:36 PM]Rasmus – Lost Roads of Lociam: Yes. magic is something you can train. Faith is not something that you do, it is something that your Gods might do, if they like you well enough. You can be more or less of a zealot, but that doesn’t guarantee that your Gods like you. There are several different religions in the world Lociam, and each of them promote a certain behavior. You can sit in prayer, fasting and meditating, or go into wild exaltation and revelry dancing for 4 days, to call upon the miracle to happen and if it does it may change the course of the entire adventure. It is not always possible to devote that amount of time of course. It’s not all challenges that can be met with a month’s worth of meditation and fasting after all. 1

[2:37 PM]Dan the GMshoe: How likely is the average peasant to have seen an actual monster?

[2:38 PM]Beyla 🎉: How scary are the monsters?

@Dan the GMshoeHow likely is the average peasant to have seen an actual monster?[2:40 PM]Rasmus – Lost Roads of Lociam: That’s a really interesting question. I have found that there is a great illogical inconsistency in the way that a lot of fantasy worlds are written. They are populated with such a vast array of dangerous monsters that humanity would have been squashed out very early on. If there are that many dragons and ogres and giants and liches and vampires and werewolves and oozes as there are in certain other games humanity wouldn’t stand a chance. The Lost Road of Lociam focuses more on the humans as antagonists. There are monsters in the rulebook, and in some of the adventures, absolutely. But humans are by far more numerous and by far more interesting than trolls and ghouls and giant spiders. In civilized neighborhoods you are unlikely to see anything scarier than a wolf if you live an average life. It is for those foolhardy few, the adventurers, that the rules for trolls and giant snakes exist. Because those kinds of fools go and seek out those kinds of monsters. (edited)1

@Beyla 🎉How scary are the monsters?[2:42 PM]Rasmus – Lost Roads of Lociam: Most of the monsters are very intimidating if you are alone. A ghoul is likely to be more than a match for a human who isn’t covered in plate and swinging a very heavy sword. A Troll or a Wyvern even more so. However, for a prepared band of adventurers they are a challenge, not a certain doom.11

[2:43 PM]Dan the GMshoe: No game is perfect or for everyone. What is your least favorite aspect of this game?

@Dan the GMshoeNo game is perfect or for everyone. What is your least favorite aspect of this game?[2:47 PM]Rasmus – Lost Roads of Lociam: I realize that a lot of people are going to dislike this game because it isn’t ” crunchy” enough. It doesn’t have the granularity of some other systems, where the details matter more. Personally that is not a big concern of mine. I think, for myself, the thing I like least is that I have been unable to include all the things that I wanted to include. In previous incarnations of this game it was over a thousand pages thick, covering all manners of rules and exceptions. I have had to prune away a lot of that and stow it away into adventures and expansions. Sometimes that irks me a bit especially when I consider that there is so much more to tell that simply will not fit into this one book. There aren’t any rules for Alchemy for instance. I like the rules for alchemy. I am going to make sure that they are included in the first expansion. (edited)

[2:48 PM]Dan the GMshoe: A solid answer!

[2:48 PM]Dan the GMshoe: How large is the game’s bestiary?

[2:48 PM]Rasmus – Lost Roads of Lociam: Lemme check…

[2:49 PM]Rasmus – Lost Roads of Lociam: It is 5 pages, covering 7 animals, 3 Mythical creatures, 2 Magical creatures, 3 Mythical Peoples and an array of human NPCs. There are more creatures in the introductory adventure, and in some of the subsequent adventures as well. (edited)

[2:52 PM]Dan the GMshoe: In the time remaining, is there anything we haven’t covered that you’d like to bring up?

[2:58 PM]Rasmus – Lost Roads of Lociam: I would like to mention that the game is currently up on Kickstarter. It will be released on DriveThruRPG as both PDFs and print. The core rule book will be Pay-What-You-Want, and it will include all the basic rules needed to play the game including example characters so that you can set off to play immediately. The rules for creating your own hero are in a separate book. This will be made available at the same time. The introductory Adventure “Lights in Old Houses” will be available for free, and any adventures that get unlocked as stretch goals during the Kickstarter campaign will be made available there as well. The game itself is complete and doesn’t need the budget from the Kickstarter campaign. I have backed over 300 projects on different crowdfunding platforms and just wanted to try to run one on my own. Most of the money is going to the illustrators at this point. I just wanted to reward them for all their fabulous talent. I am looking forward to seeing how the new version of this game will be received. It is a very different game from what it was when I released it back in 2012. I think that players might find the novelty of some of the mechanics quite interesting, as it allows for a different kind of storytelling than they are used to, especially if they have only played games like Dungeons and Dragons or Pathfinder. There’s a lot of leeway here for storytelling that can sometimes be lost in the maelstrom of terms and rules and math of so many other games. I have tried to make something that I would enjoy playing and I hope that others will as well. https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/317220809/lost-roads-of-lociam-age-of-the-black-chaimara/(edited)KickstarterRasmus StrandLost Roads of Lociam – Age of the Black ChaimaraA fantasy roleplaying game set in a dark age of strife and heroes.

[2:59 PM]Dan the GMshoe: Thanks very much for joining us, @Rasmus – Lost Roads of Lociam !

@Beyla 🎉How scary are the monsters?[2:59 PM]Rasmus – Lost Roads of Lociam: Oh, and the scary things, the undead, will have their own book, later on. Very very scary stuff.

[2:59 PM]Dan the GMshoe: Usual reminder: If you’ve enjoyed this Q&A and would like to treat me to a coffee or two, you can do so at https://www.ko-fi.com/gmshoe. Anything’s appreciated! Ko-fiBuy Dan Davenport a Coffee. ko-fi.com/gmshoeBecome a supporter of Dan Davenport today! ❤️ Ko-fi lets you support the creators you love with no fees on donations.

@Dan the GMshoeThanks very much for joining us, @Rasmus – Lost Roads of Lociam ![2:59 PM]Rasmus – Lost Roads of Lociam: Thank you for having me

[3:00 PM]Dan the GMshoe: If you’ll give me a minute, I’ll get the log posted and link you!

@Dan the GMshoeIf you’ll give me a minute, I’ll get the log posted and link you![3:00 PM]Rasmus – Lost Roads of Lociam: You might need to do a search-and-replace for “double spaces” in my answers, as I think the editor snuck a bunch of them in.

[3:00 PM]Rasmus – Lost Roads of Lociam: It might look ok on Discord but in text it will be a mess.

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