The Mushroom Press Design Blog

I'm really nervous about the Parliament playtest. I just had the in-house group make characters; tonight or tomorrow I'll be prepping for the second playtest; first test with the new rules.

My stomach is in knots; I've never been this nervy about a playtest before. I have a lot of confidence in the system I've designed, but I keep feeling like I'm going to get in front of them and all the disparate parts won't click and I'll not know where to go from there.

I've been GMing a long time. The only thing that makes me nervous is the idea of being dead in the water, with no idea how to handle what my players just pulled off. I imagine its similar to the feeling a comedian gets when they're dying on stage.

I'm really worked up about it. If this doesn't swim, it sinks, and I'm back to the drawing board.

Wish me luck.