The idea of an open-table style sessions based on the Spire game and setting originates from a few aspects.

First, after an extended play of Eidolon Sky that was a blast (NOTE: and I still have to write an AAR for that one) I want a continuation that is less railroad-y and allows the characters operate on a full scale in the mysterious skyscraper city of Spire. Another published campaign frame, Kings of Silver supports exactly that style: there is no set mission for the ministers except for the generic "overthrow the Council, instill the revolt"; the situation is presented in a set of newspaper clips and will evolve anyways with- or without active characters' intervention. Certain complications may come out as a result of the ministers' inactivity, but nothing as bad as an impeding doom tomorrow. In some weeks - yes, maybe, definitely...

Second, I want to incorporate tasty extra mechanics from the Magister's Guide:

• the Safehouse to be made the PC's Headquarters. Not only the downtime community hub: through development and upgrades it provides extra abilities to the characters! In fact, Kings of Silver already provide the template for it, a casino house called the Manticore with details on its personnel. I think it's a great substrate to build some interactivity on it, and in terms of visuals too (working on it).

• the Liberty escalation system is also an option, mostly to tweak the difficulty towards the endgame. As the PCs make noticeable changes in Spire, they can feel the reaction of the ruling class too.

• character options and extra playable classes from the Sin are planned as prestige rewards for justified sacrifice. They will be personal rewards for players whose characters get out of play... in a picturesque way that also make sense lore-wise.

^ a schematic of the open-table main space layout, on a pseudo-infinite surface

And third reason is merely to simplify organization of the sessions. Many times we have postponed our play because some of the players could not make it. When in a narrative-heavy game a break occurs spanning many weeks, it makes it hard to keep up and make a consistent and finished story.

Open-Table should help with organization: with a pool of somewhat active players large enough, the scheduled session is likely to happen. And if I come up with a clever way to track the subscriptions and anticipated minister's moves, maybe my throughput will increase too.

^ start of preparations within PlanarAlly VTT

This section of my blog will hold a devlog of the open-table preparations as well as reference materials for the players. I'm planning to host the virtual table on PlanarAlly, and knowing that certain players have troubles even with its interface, the game instructions will be posted here. Any original artworks and resources worth mentioning will find their way in this topic too.

So if you are interested, bookmark the Manticore's Den and keep an eye on the dedicated channels. Yep, no RSS here yet. This place is brutal. You are warned.