So I am suddenly dealing with a challenge I had not expected to have to deal with previously.

I have a goal here — rather obviously given I created a website and all that — of sharing this with people. Turns out that I cannot do so legally if I use and openly involve D&D rules.

because there are rules to that.

Annoying little ducking things, but rules are rules, and so now I am left with a unique challenge. I am going to leave the basics as designed for D&D in place, but they will be additions as options for others, thought for this site and the rest, it now looks like I will have to start adding in my own gaming system and mechanics for the whole thing.

On one hand, this is good — the travel rules, for flying craft, the sailing and overland vehicle rules, that nature of the classes and all that — it all suddenly gets to be very different and also *will work with the setting more tightly*.

That seems super useful to me, in my way of thinking. But it means a shit ton of work, and over on FB I have been whining about it.

I mean, I did invest pretty heavily in setting things up for virtual work using tools and systems and such. Like, a lot of money. Because I wanted those tools and systems and such to be easily accessed and usable and all that.and a custom system not only creates an extra barrier to use, it also makes it basically impossible to use those tools.

Flipside — I get to do it all here, lol.

I am kinda weird that way.

Now that means yet more delays, though. Good ones, to be sure, but this is looking more like Wyrlde 2025 than Wyrlde 2020, lol.

I don’t think it will really take that long mind you, but that is how it *feels*.

In any case, the system will now be what I turn my attention to, and the existing stuff specific to D&D will get set to the back.

I did successfully reduce the number of cultures down tot he number I wanted, and still retained their individual qualities. The writing on those proceeds apace, and won’t likely stop — this just allows me to really get into it.

THe new world map is still on standby, but I have the rough for it ready and just need to start doing a digital version of it. The need for developing out mechanics (not nearly as involved as it might seem for me — I have a lot of practice) presents only two sorta challenges — spells and monsters.

Spells (magic) I can do and will likely have a lot of fun with. IT also allows me to really get into a recent awareness of some issues, since I had wanted to do a spell point system anyway.

For monsters, this lets me shift more towards the old style for them, and also develop them out within the particulars of the adventure.

THe big thing that this does, though, is it means I will use Levels more broadly, and change some of the core attributes. Because it should at least match something like the typical tropes in the inspirational material.

Since I expect to use the setting for at least one story myself, it will also help a lot with that.

Lastly, it means I can genuinely set the level cap at 25. Five being a rather important “sacred number” and 25 being the sacred multiple of that, it works in that sense, but may change as I develop out the basics.

THe core concept draws from Jeff Grubb’s work in creating the MSHAS system, and I had used it in a heavily modified manner previously for one incarnation of Wyrlde. The particular style of mechanics — fast, fluid, not too overbearing but still crunchy — is perfect for what I want to see, and lets me structure the “classes” more effectively.

It does play havoc with a few things — backgrounds now become a little more important, and class becomes less so — but still present.

I will get into that soon, and with the upcoming major update to Wyrlde here, it should be interesting to see how it works.

lastly, as an update, I had cause to do some adapting at work, and so now I am able to write posts on the fly on my ipads, using a keyboard system, so I will have a bit more to say and do — or at least, that is the hope.