I recently posted up the latest versions of the character creation and game creation sections of the Hot War text up on the Contested Ground Studios forum. I'm really excited about this, as I think that the game has come together excellently. Some polish required to be sure, but I'm thrilled by the evolution from a simple port of the Cold City mechanics into a set of mechanics that support what Hot War, as a totally different game, is all about.

I was discussing the situation for a Hot War demo with the estimable Mr Gow of this parish. We brainstormed some thoughts on it, but I'd also like to through this open to the floor. Not only to help create the demo itself, but also to show the process of creating a 15 minute demo.

We're playing a game of Cold City, but using many of the Hot War rules, at the MK RPG club (details). A couple of questions about resolving hidden agendas have come up.

Hidden agendas are rated by the number of scenes they can be brought into. When an agenda is used in a conflict, it's maked with a + or - depending on whether the character succeeded in that conflict. When you've used it in the alloted number of conflicts, you compare the +s and -s to see whether the objective in the agenda succeeds of fails.

The previous episodes in this playtesting saga have been related in the following threads:

Game & character creation

Battersea, part 1

Battersea, part 2

My ongoing tinkering with the text for Hot War has sent my off down a couple of roads recently. One regards the section on Authority in the game. This is something Graham has been struggling with, although I'm not sure what direction Grahams thoughts go in at the moment. However, I was recently struck with the realisation that having that section on authority early on in the game text could be a little intimidating. It's not theory-heavy, but does get a little dry at point.

The third session of our Hot War playtest here in Wellington took place tonight.

The details of the initial planning stage can be found here.

The details of the first actual session of play can be found here.