JWAW is now running on Troika! - Devlog #6

Journeys Weird and Winding is back to wind another day. Apologies for the very long break between updates, I took a hiatus from working on the game and immediately went into a full revamp when I came back, but now I'm hoping to be more consistent. While I was away, a lot changed with many aspects of the game, most notably the system it runs on. While JWAW initially launched as a hack of MÖRK BORG, I've since switched over the core rules to align with Troika! The version of the game that runs on MÖRK BORG is still available and may also get updated in the future, but right now the Troika! version is the new guy in town who everyone thinks is cool. 

Moving to Troika!

Why the switch? I still love the MÖRK BORG rules and their whole aesthetic, but I decided that running the game on a hacked version of Troika! was more inline with the world for a few reasons:

• The initial concept for JWAW was first conceived with Troika! in mind, fun fact. I had come up with the world of Vaream long before that, but when I found a Troika! book for sale I thought the style and loose nature of gameplay would lend itself perfectly to the vibe I was currently going for. My later discovery of MÖRK BORG and a desire for a more grounded and gritty aesthetic took me in a different direction for a time, really until a few weeks ago when I decided that I wanted to bring back more of the gonzo strangeness I'd been going for at first. 
• A lot of this came from playtesting, where the folks I've been running a campaign with resonated the most with the aspects of the world and gameplay that emphasized magic, storytelling and character. These were elements of the game that I found difficult to put more weight behind with the current system, so I decided to go back to Troika! and see if that helped, which it did.
• I've never loved player leveling systems in TTRPGS, and I couldn't find a satisfactory way to incorporate one into JWAW until I dug more into how Troika! handles it. I was a big fan of focusing leveling on actual Skills and Spells that progress through use. Party leveling still exists relatively unchanged. 

That wasn't that many reasons, actually, but there it is. JWAW is still designed to be hackable and licensed as such, so play with the rules as much as you want. If you change something around and it works great, let me know! I'd love to incorporate player feedback into the system as often as possible. 

New Stuff

And the new version of JWAW, titled the Troika! version, has a lot more than a switched around system. As outlined on the game's main page, there's a ton of new content to bring into gameplay. I'm talking 36 Character Backgrounds (there used to be 6), 36 Spells, 24 Incantations, 54 Beasts and a lot of other cool stuff. The world of Vaream is growing and will continue to expand beyond what's included in the pdf. 

In these develops, the plan is to not just update y'all on changes to the game, but also drop in new content when I can. First on my list there is updating the Character and Adventure Sheets to match the new system. After that, I have ideas for sharing bits of new content like Player Backgrounds, Spells, Destinations, Beasts, etc. 

Also, shameless plug, but if you like the world being described here and want to be a part of expanding it, I'm always looking for artists and writers to collaborate with! Just reach out!

Ok that's all for today. I hope you enjoy the game and thank you so much for reading.