Progress Journal, October 2025
Greetings Mythicists! I hope your month is going well and your player characters are just about ready to go trick-or-treating!
Here's a peek at what's going on around here ...
The Plot Thickens
So, I was working on the One-Page Mystery Crafter chapter for Micro Mythic, which was the last chapter to complete. Then I realized, the book needs one more One-Pager: One Page Plot Crafter!
Here is my logic: There are two basic ways to spin an adventure with Micro Mythic. You can use the GME and see how an adventure unfolds, or you could use the Mystery Crafter for a mystery oriented adventure. This felt lopsided to me, that the only structured method is for mysteries. I considered broadening the Mystery Crafter to include any kind of goal oriented storyline, but it just doesn't work that way ... mysteries with suspects and clues are different.
So I decided Micro Mythic needs the option of a structured approach to any general adventure storyline. One-Page Plot Crafter is based on the 3 Act structure from issue #42.
I think this rounds out the book nicely with ten one-pagers (I don't know why 10 sounds more pleasing than 9, but it does to me and that's just the number this has turned out to be).
The book is moving along nicely! I'd like to say it'll be out by the end of the year. While I may not make that deadline, it should be close!
Talking About Micro Mythic
I finished the One-Page Conversation Crafter chapter, which just leaves the Mystery and (now) the Plot Crafter chapters to do.
When I first started putting this book together, I had to really think about adding a one-pager for conversation. It seemed maybe too specific for a book like this. However, creating conversation is one of those persistent issues that solo players often bring up as a difficulty. In the end I decided that a book that's meant to be a simple solo RPG system should not only strive for simplicity in scope of rules but also to simply solve common problems. Thus, the One-Page Conversation Crafter stayed in!
I feel especially good about this decision in light of the most recent Mythic Magazine issue, which is all about conversation. The basic approach in that issue, which derived itself from an article in issue #48, is the basis for Micro's rules.
Spellcraft And Cyberware
The next issue of Mythic Magazine will feature articles on randomly generating magic spells and incorporating cybernetics and cyberpunk elements into your adventures. This should be a crunchy issue, with lots of tables!
A Milestone Celebration!
We just had Mythic Magazine issue #58. I'm working now on #59. Which means, issue #60 is five full years! Wow. That happens this coming December. To celebrate, I'm having Jorge whip up a little something I'll give to you all in December. It's a project I've wanted to do for a while but it just hasn't found a place in previous issues of the magazine, so I figured now is the perfect time to go ahead with it!
What is it? You'll have to wait and see :)
Happy adventuring :)
Comments (10)
So much sweet stuff. I love it.
Thank you :)
I like your comment about mystery crafter and more general plot creation. Your mystery crafter made me think of all plots as being mysteries which can be handled as such. However, the whole suspect/clue thing is a bit specific. I've been trying to come up with my own philosophies relating to plot creation/management lately which have been informed by tools like Mystery Crafter, your 3 Act worksheet, PUM, Adventure Crafter and progress tracks.
Thank you :) I agree with you, the suspect/clue mechanic is very specific. In Micro Mythic I started to generalize the Mystery Crafter to have it act as an all purpose plot driver. However, there's a fundamentally different approach to a quest when you have a group of suspects/destinations/solutions and you must figure out which one it is, and quests that are journeys of discovery where you don't know the suspects/destinations/solutions until you run across them. I'm glad you mentioned the 3-Act worksheet, since the Plot Crafter in Micro Mythic is derived from that. I feel like there are three ways to emulate plot: open-world with the GME alone, narrative driven with the Plot Crafter/3-Act approach, and mystery driven. Those three should cover just about any adventure, and you can hop from one approach to another during the same adventure depending on your needs.
Its been so long indeed
The Plot Crafter sounds exciting! AC is my favorite product of yours so far (I use it at least two or three times a week), and I love that this is something similar yet different. I can't wait! If you ever need a tester or proofreader for the Micro Mythic book, let me know. 🙂
Thank you Erik :)
Is the 1-Page Plot Crafter different from the 1-Page Adventure Crafter? I notice they share a color, but that could just be coincidence.
They're similar in that they involve creating plot and narrative. That's why I decided to make their colors very similar. However, the AC is about creating narrative events, like adventure seeds and histories. The Plot Crafter is about guiding your adventure so certain narrative beats happen along the way toward a goal, and that the goal is inevitably reached in a reasonable amount of time. It's for players who find using the GME to create adventures to be too open-world and meandering, and want something that feels more cinematic.
It’s so nice to have been on board since the start! Mythic started a solo play revolution in tabletop. You’d get laughed out the room back in the day “just write a book!” (That is not the same thing as solo lol)