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GM backpack from Earthdawn Blog

Earthdawn Blog — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 14:34:00 +0000

Crossover Games: What’s Your Poison? from World of Corruption

Viriatha de Cordova — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 14:00:01 +0000

Cities are covered in a million eyes – and they all watch each other. – IO9 I love crossover games. They offer so much more room for originality and creativity than an out-of-the-box setting of any kind. I once had a Cyberpunk/Vampire campaign that ran for close to a decade and was easily my most successful [...]

Alea iacta est from Level 1 GM

Level 1 GM — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 11:11:36 +0000

For such a group of people known for following one system or another and insist on a logical system of rules that make sense, gamers are a superstitious bunch. For all that we argue with the GM about how something works mechanically or how something is “not realistic”, touching someone else’s dice without permission can get [...]

Adventuring Adventurers of Adventure from Held Action » Role-Playing Games

Held Action — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 10:30:31 +0000

I didn’t think this GURPS Cabal adventure would capture my imagination like it did. I got in two and a half good hours of writing last night at Muddy Waters, scribbling down initial thoughts and setting details. That flip through the book last week not only refreshed my memory, but somehow got my brain willing [...]

Blackwood Belated from Risus Monkey

Risus Monkey — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 02:17:00 +0000

Between my Beyond Sanctuary series and my Geomorph experiment, I'm finding it tough to make time for other posts. This kind of bums me out, since there is a bunch of stuff on my mind that I'm itching to put into print. With a few minutes to spare this evening, I find myself with just enough time to give a shout out to Matt Jackson (i.e. Snikle) over at ..lapsus calumni... I noted his excellent one-page Risus adventures back in December but he's really been on a roll lately. Check out his excellent Blackwood setting, which has a seriously spooky "Hellboy meets Lovecraft by way of The Alienist and The Devil In The White City" vibe. Sounds like my cup of tea. I'm a sucker for Victorian/Edwardian horror. The Blackwood rules document is well done and contains an interesting rule for giving players a chance to contribute to the setting when they do exceptionally well on rolls. I think I'll be stealing that one for future games.

[Let's Study - C:tL] Fairest from Life and Times of a Philippine Gamer

Life and Times of a Philippine Gamer — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 01:42:59 +0000

The Fairest are the shining stars of the Changeling Courts. No matter what form or occupation they dedicate themselves to, these Changelings invariably draw every eye in the room towards them. While some celebrities may decry that their beauty is a curse, none understand that cliche more than the Fairest. The Fairest embody the greatest paradox

My Boxed Set Has Arrived! from PLANET ALGOL

Planet Algol — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 00:05:55 +0000

Oh sorry, not the Swords & Wizardry boxed set (although I do want one of those!), but one of Lester/B Portly's Authorized Limited Edition Carcosa Box Sets (#4 out of 10)! It's missing Fungoid Graden of the Bone Sorcerer and Obregon's Dishonor on account of me not owning copies of either (I'll buy them soon).

All of this awesomeness is in addition to printed digest sized copies of Encounter Critical and Savage Swords of Athanor courtesy of the same madman...I can't wait until he does a proper Encounter Critical boxed set!

Lester always had great ideas and advice for the Planet Algol gaming & publishing endeavors, I couldn't imagine gaming without him after only a few months of him at the table, and hopefully someday he'll help me produce something really special...*

* (sorry, I feel douchey being all coy about a great idea, but nobody we know of has done this and it's so obvious once you think of it...)

Apologies for the crap photos, I couldn't find the "good" digital camera and I'm in too impatient today to muck about taking good photos and photoshopping them.

Aside from the "object fetishism" of this boxed set, it's actually quite practical. I can throw my copy of Savage Swords of Athanor, digest-sized Swords & Wizardry Monster booklet, and one of my playtest-draft copies of Planet Algol 1 into the box, and I have a complete tiny package of gaming goodness (One of the Carcosa booklets is the "Men & Magic" section of the Swords & Wizardry rules) that I can take anywhere, perfect for vacations, long car rides, lunch breaks, whatever.

I am now an eminently portable dungeonmaster!

Beyond Sanctuary: Scene 4 from Risus Monkey

Risus Monkey — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 20:39:00 +0000

For an introduction to this Mythic Game Master Emulator Sandbox adventure, see this post.
Setting details and links to characters are posted here.
Previous scene: Scene 3

SCENE 4
In which Dori returns to pester the party.

CHARACTERS
1. Valdora's pony
2. Karly (Arien's horse)
3. Lanumas (Kandara's familiar)
4. Comet (Tenistan's horse)
5. Dori Cabbagestalk
6. The dervishes

THREADS
1. Find the mythical Elven Homelands
2. Solve the mystery of the lost dervishes
*. (exploring the ruins is too open-ended to be a thread)

CHAOS RANK: 4

***

The scene is interrupted!

MYTHIC EVENT: NPC Action (Dori), Expose Inside.

The party follows the trail of the Hobgoblins to a ruined fortress. They find evidence of the hobgoblin camp, but nothing is really salvageable. While poking around the ruins, Dori Cabbagestalk makes a sudden appearance from behind an outcropping of rocks.

Dori: "Now, I know what you're thinking."

Hal: "Dori, you should be heading back to Sanctuary."

Dori: "Yeah, I know, but I thought you could use some help. Besides, I thought I should mention that this is where I found those horsemen. I mean I was about ready to explore this ruin when I saw these guys looking very confused...[she points]... right over there. I suspected them of pillaging the place for treasure, so I naturally snuck into their camp. I have been coming out her for months, but... well... I haven't exactly gone in just yet. Those hobgobbies that you fought are one of the reasons. I've seen other creatures here as well. Kobolds and regular gobbies, for example."

Arien: "Why didn't you come forward with this infomation before? It would make things so much easier."

Dori: "Didn't think you'd believe me. Besides, I didn't know you were coming here. Hey, could I snag a bite to eat?"

Valdora: "We gave you rations."

Dori: "I guess. But if I'm going to come with you then I may need more."

Valdora: "You're not coming with us."

Liamas: "I dunno, she could be useful."

Arien: "Well, she's already here. She'll cause more trouble if we let her rummage through our pack animals."

Dori: "Yippee!"

Hal: "Arien, do we really want to be responsible for her welfare? She has no armor and only a dagger for a weapon."

Tenistan: "We have extra weapons. Certainly, the hobgoblins had weapons that she can use. And I agree with Arien. It's safer for us if she comes with us."

Hal: "Very well."

With that, the party completes their noon-time meal, locates the dungeon entrance, confirm signs that the dervishes were here, and prepares to venture below. Here are the preparations (all character bring their valuables with them):

Hal takes all of his tools, a waterskin, and a backpack. He also brings one meal, just in case.
Valdora takes most of her tools (her Artificer tools are carried in her backpack in case she needs to shed the weight). She brings her hip-flask, an extra ration, and a waterskin. She also brings the scroll case for the party map. She secures her pony near a patch of grass and thistle.
Arien brings all her tools but her spellbook ink. She does bring her backpack, parchment, an extra meal, waterskin, and tinder box. She does not tie up Karly and instead relies on her elvish nature to hope that she remains (use a TN roll when they get back).
Tenistan restricts himself to his sword, bow, quiver, mace, and lasso (as far as weapons go). He does not bring his shield. He also brings a backpack, large sack, 1 flask of oil, the holy symbol, a waterskin, and an extra meal.
Liamas brings all his tools, a backpack, his flask, a waterskin, and an extra meal.
Kandara brings all her tool, a backpack, an extra meal, a waterskin, and mapping supplies.
The party gives Dori an extra meal.

***

CHARACTERS - Hobgoblins, Goblins, and Kobolds mentioned and are thus good candidates for the Character list (so they may appear as random encounters).

UPDATED THREADS
* Find the Elf Homelands
* Solve the mystery of the lost dervishes
* (exploring the ruins is too vague to be a thread)

CHAOS FACTOR 4 (unchanged)

Next scene: The party begins to explore the ruins.Note that this scene is an example of Mythic scene interrupts standing in place of wandering monsters. Fixed encounters will be rolled on various D&D tables.

Its not easy being Alpha from Temple Lion

Temple Lion — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 18:43:14 +0000

Back in January, I was invited to join a gaming group starting up a new “pack” in Werewolf: The Apocalypse. I knew the Storyteller (Jarvis) and one of the players (John) pretty well and had met the other players (Devon, Tony and Leslie), when, in support of the Jarvis, they helped make the Indie RPG [...]

Another Way of Thinking of Stats in Risus from Risus TOTM

Risus TOTM — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 18:07:47 +0000

It’s all in your cliché ratings. A rating encompasses everything - not just raw skill, but also natural talents, physical, mental, spiritual, etc. attributes, and just about anything else most traditional RPGs require dedicated stats for. A cliché rating tells you how well all of these things work together (the higher the rating the better).

You have no need to worry about a specific rating for stats (and think about it, how can you really know what your stat ratings are anyway).

Savage Menagerie: Leperkahn from The Savage AfterWorld

The Savage Afterworld — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 17:00:00 +0000

No. Enc.: 1 (1d4)
Alignment: Chaotic
Movement: 120' (40')

Armor Class: 5
Hit Dice: 4
Attacks: 1 (weapon/disease)
Damage: as per weapon
Save: L2
Morale: 7
Hoard Class: X

A Leperkahn (pronounced lep-purr-kahn) is an evil, shrivelled, disease-carrying, human mutant who lives only to make more of his kind. Leperkahns often dress in green (to better camouflage themselves in the forests in which they dwell). Leperkahns are often found alone, although a Leperkahn lair will have 1d4 of the mutants living there.

They have a maximum height of 2 feet due to their dwarfism mutation. Due to this decreased height, they receive a +1 bonus to hit human-sized targets or bigger with a handheld weapon, although they also get a -1 penalty to damage. Their height also gives them a bit of a bonus on their AC.

Where Leperkahns are dangerous in with their disease touch mutation. They are disease carriers who actually delight in spreading their illness to other Pure Strain Humans, which is how they propagate their species. If a Human is touched by a Leperkahn, they will be infected by a wasting disease that will do 1d10 hit points of rotting damage a day. The Human's body will misshape and warp. His mind will become corrupt and twisted. If the progress of the disease is not stopped, within a week the Human will have transformed into an evil Leperkahn as well. They will be lost to the party and will become an NPC creature. However, if the disease *is* stopped, the damage taken by the rotting disease is permanent. Fortunately, only Pure Strain Humans are susceptible and all others are immune to this rotting disease.

Leperkahns have a an eerie, maniacal, high-pitched laugh. If you hear it, it's best to leave the area before they attack.

Mutations: dwarfism, toxic weapon (disease touch)

NOTE: Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Ierne: Celtic FATE from Highmoon's Ponderings » RPG

Highmoon's Ponderings — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 16:21:08 +0000

Happy Ireland day to all. It seems like the perfect day for me to finally talk about Ierne, don’t you think? For a few weeks now I have been writing these little vignettes set in a land called Ierne, each showing a small glimpse of ongoing events before moving on to the next tale. I have [...]

Starting Over… from Moebius Adventures

Moebius Adventures Blog — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 16:05:33 +0000

Just like the rest of life, sometimes it’s time for a do-over. Thus begins a new chapter in the life of Moebius Adventures (MARPG) games. Image via Wikipedia Here’s the scoop. We have a streamlined system. It needs to be tested seriously. So who better to take a look at some of the mechanics than… you! That’s [...]

Protectors of Éire for the Ghosts of Albion RPG from The Other Side blog

The Other Side — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 14:53:00 +0000

Tá an chumhacht agaibh. Cosnaímis mé, a Chosantóirí na hÉireann!The Protectors of ÉireLike it's neighbor, Albion, Éire (the mystical name for Ireland) has also had her Protectors. At the time of Swifts (1839 on) the Protector of ...

Character du Jour: Jeroboam Soames from Greywulf's Lair » RPG

Greywulf's Lair — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 12:44:53 +0000

“Where is my son?!” the elderly man struck with a force way beyond what seemed possible for such a frail form, and the creature backed from the rune-encrusted blade, its watery eyes revealing a mixture of fear and greed passing across its simple mind. “I will not ask again. Tell me what your master knows about [...]

Need Help Finding an Alternate Raise Dead/Resurrection Table I lost track of from The Hydra's Grotto

The Hydra's Grotto — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 05:25:00 +0000

A while ago- It must have been in the days of WFRP2 and Heroes of Horror- I found a really cool resurrection/raise dead chart that allowed for weirdness around said spells. That is it made them way more interesting. The gist was these spells could go...

2e Tuesday from Warning - Mutagenic Substance

Mutagenic Substance — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 03:52:00 +0000

That's right, Gamma World 2nd edition... what 2e did you think I meant? Every Tuesday I will pick one of my favorite monsters from the fully illustrated bestiary included in the 2d edition Gamma World Basic Rules Booklet and convert it to Mutant ...

Beyond Sanctuary: Scene 3 from Risus Monkey

Risus Monkey — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 02:37:00 +0000

For an introduction to this Mythic Game Master Emulator Sandbox adventure, see this post.
Setting details and links to characters are posted here.
Previous scene: Scene 2

SCENE 3
In which the party does battle with a band of hostile humanoids.

CHARACTERS
1. Valdora's pony
2. Karly (Arien's horse)
3. Lanumas (Kandara's familiar)
4. Comet (Tenistan's horse)
5. Dori Cabbagestalk
6. The dervishes

THREADS
1. Find the mythical Elven Homelands
2. Solve the mystery of the lost dervishes

CHAOS RANK: 3

***

The scene occurs as planned (such as it is).

The party wakes on the morning of September 9th. [Q: Is the weather clear (Likely)? No] There is a light rain and the air has become a little cooler (it's always cooler in the evenings and mornings at this altitude). They share left-over mule, beer and rations with the dervishes. Dori is nowhere to be found. [Q: Did she steal anything? (50/50)? No] After a quick search of their belonging the party decides that she did not continue her pilfering ways.

Communication with the dervishes is proving to be a challenge and Hal expresses a desire to return with them to Sanctuary to solve the mystery of why they are so far from home. But Arien convinces him to stay. She reasons that they will likely be in Sanctuary upon their expected return in a few weeks.

Q: Does the party travel for more than a day without an encounter? [Likely] NO! They will have an encounter shortly after parting with the dervishes in mid-morning.
D&D ENCOUNTER TABLE: Humanoids with ruins w/in 5 miles! Hobgoblins!
Q: Are they a challenge to the party? [Unlikely] No.
Q: Are there signs of them before they are encountered? [50/50] Yes.

Crossing a stretch of hill scrub-lands...

RISUS: the party gets base TN7 rolls to detect evidence of humanoid activity.
For Hal, it's 17 for Cleric and 12 for Mariner. He chooses Cleric and fails.
For Valdora, it's 12 for Tomb Raider (her best cliche). She rolls 19 and succeeds by enough to identify the species. No sense in rolling for anybody else.

...Valdora easily notices footprints, spoor, and dropped tools. Having experience in fighting such creatures, she points out that they almost certainly belong to Hobgoblins. And not only that, the evidence suggests that they traveled this way recently.

The party discusses its options. Hobgoblins usually lair in ruins or surface villages. Somebody is going to need to scout ahead. Better yet, a pair should probably attempt the scouting. As party sneak, Liamas volunteers. He is paired with Arien (probably the next stealthiest).

RISUS: Roughly converted from the rolled D&D encounter, the opposition is as follows:
Hobgoblin Leader Armed With Glaive and Morning Star (3)
Squad of 2 Hobgoblin Assistants Armed with Spears (4)
Squad of 10 Hobgoblins Armed with Spears (4)
Squad of 3 Hobgoblin Scouts Armed With Morning Stars (3)

NOTE: Risus combat details will now be interspersed with the regular narrative (writing everything twice was becoming a pain in the arse).

Liamas and Arien will need to make opposed checks vs. the Hobgoblin Scouts to determine surprise (I'm going to rule that one side or the other will need to win by a good-sized margin to achieve surprise). Liamas rolls 14, Arien rolls 8, the Hobgoblins roll 13 so nobody has surprise. The first round of combat starts!

Liamas attempts to remain hidden. He'll try to assist [i.e. Team with] Arien with some thrown daggers from the shadows if it looks like she needs help. At close range, Arien keeps her shield between herself and two of the hobgoblin scouts while she does some fancy swordwork against the third. She rolls 20! Liamas saves his daggers (he rolled no 6's). The hobgoblins roll 16 and press her ferociously (they hate elves!). But Arien's at the top of her game and she gives one a nasty wound as well as a small cut to another.

UPDATE: Squad of 3 Hobgoblin Scouts Armed With Morning Stars (3 2)

The hobgoblins yell for reinforcements and press their attack. They roll 7. Arien repeats her tactic and yells for her allies as well. She rolls 14 and slays the more wounded of the two with a nasty slash across the throat, Liamas again stays hidden (no 6's).

UPDATE: Squad of 3 2 Hobgoblin Scouts Armed With Morning Stars (3 1)

Q: Do the Hobgoblin's arrive before the rest of the party? [50/50]? No.

The Hobgoblins and the rest of the party arrive at the same time for a massive brawl in the hilly, thicket-covered lands.

Arien attempts to finnish off the two remaining hobgoblins with a couple of quick strikes. She rolls 12 to the squad's 5. She succeeds and immediately looks for additional targets.

UPDATE: Squad of 3 0 Hobgoblin Scouts Armed With Morning Stars (3 0)

Tenistan charges on Comet through the brush straight for Hobgoblin assistants. He rolls 8 and Comet cannot attack [no 6's on the Team roll]. The hobgoblins set their spears for the charge and roll 17, almost scoring a critical hit*. Tenistan is unhorsed and battered.

UPDATE (Tenistan): Muscular Human Cavalry Officer (4 3)

* NOTE: I am using a House Rule that says if there is a margin of 10 or more in a combat roll, a critical (1d6 damage) is achieved. Given the large party size, I figured this would speed up play.

Hidden in the brush, Liamas attempts to sneak behind the leader and backstab him. He'll pump his Adventuring Rogue and use a Lucky Shot in an effort to land a critical. 20! The leader only rolls 8 so it is a critical. He rolls 6 dice of damage and goes down.

UPDATE: Hobgoblin Leader Armed With Glaive and Morning Star (3 0)

UPDATE (Liamas): Fearless Halfling Adventuring Rogue (4 3). Lucky Shots [x] [] [].

Kandara opts to lob a Fireball at the squad of 10 of Hobgoblins. They see her casting the spell and some try to throw spears to stop her. Kandara will use a Double Pump to increase her chances. She rolls 27! The Hobgoblins only roll 9. She rolls 4 damage and takes out the entire squad!

UPDATE: Squad of 10 0 Hobgoblins Armed with Spears (4 0)

UPDATE (Kandara): Adventuring Wizard of the Hidden Vale [4 3]

Hal and Valdora rush to assist Tenistan. They team up, fighting back-to-back with Valdora in the lead. She rolls 17. Hall does not roll any 6's. The Hobgoblins roll 16 and one of them suffers a nasty wound from her axe.

UPDATE: Squad of 2 Hobgoblin Assistants Armed with Spears (4 3)

It's the Hobgoblin's turn and they are in a hopeless situation. [Q: Do they surrender (Likely)? No] They choose to fight, focusing their attention on Valadora. Of course, the whole team comes to her defense. The Hobgoblins roll 6. Valdora rolls 12. Hal doesn't help much. Tenistan missed with his weapons, but Comet delivers a blow with his hoof. That pushes things into critical territory and the Hobgoblins are slain.

UPDATE: Squad of 2 0 Hobgoblin Assistants Armed with Spears (4 0)

As is typical of the way I run Risus, I make after-battle checks to see what wounds are temporary and what cliches can be recovered right away. Tenistan rolls to recover and his injuries are merely flesh wounds. Liamas gets his dice back from the situational Pump, though he is still down one Lucky Shot. Kandara will not recover her lost die in Wizard until she rests and prepares spells again.

UPDATE (Tenistan): Muscular Human Cavalry Officer (4)
UPDATE (Liamas): Fearless Halfling Adventuring Rogue (3). Lucky Shots [x] [] [].

Looting the bodies, the party discovers 256 cp and 128 gp. There is also the hobgoblins' gear, which may not be worth saving.

D&D Tables: There is a ruin associated with the hobgoblin encampment.
CQ: What is the nature of the ruin [Mythic]? Persecute Tactics. Something military and something unjust (probably a warlord's domicile... maybe a ruined castle.

More importantly, the hobgoblins were encamped above a ruined structure. The party takes a brief rest, eats a small meal, and prepares to begin exploring!

***

CHARACTERS - No additions.

UPDATED THREADS
* Find the Elf Homelands
* Solve the mystery of the lost dervishes
* (exploring the ruins is too vague to be a thread)

CHAOS FACTOR 4

Next scene: The party begins to explore the ruins.

[Let's Study - C:tL] Elementals from Life and Times of a Philippine Gamer

Life and Times of a Philippine Gamer — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 02:02:40 +0000

Interestingly, the Elemental Seeming Changelings are one of the Seemings that I thoroughly equate with the “Lost” aspect of the game. Elementals are Changelings who have taken on aspects of the most primal of Arcadia’s essences. They are the whispers in the wind, the alluring dance of the flame and the unyielding resilience of stone. Much

Traveller Rule 2: Story from 8:05 p.m.

8:05 p.m. — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 01:39:51 +0000

I spoke before about “story” being the key to an exciting Traveller campaign. In my opinion, if you neglect to provide enough material for heroics and character development your game will quickly spiral into the mundane. The solution that works best for me always comes back to story. If I can [...]

Spycraft 3.0 Coming Soon… from Life and Times of a Philippine Gamer

Life and Times of a Philippine Gamer — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 01:16:04 +0000

I have to admit that I wasn’t expecting this… but I’m glad that it’s happening: Crafty Games Announces Spycraft 3.0 Omaha, NE, March 16, 2010 – Crafty Games today announces that its award-winning OGL action and intrigue game, Spycraft, will see a Third Edition, powered by the acclaimed Mastercraft system and with a renewed

Star Wars, Kira Keldav – Writing Home from Emergence Campaign Weblog

The Emergence Campaign Logs — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 18:34:26 +0000

Here we have a small item from one of the Star Wars players… Hey Sabrina; This is Kira, your little brother! For all I know, you and the rest have probably written me off as dead after the destruction of the Naichron. Now please don’t kill me for not getting in touch sooner but [...]

A Case for Stats in (and out of) Risus from Risus TOTM

Risus TOTM — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 17:58:39 +0000

Pretty much every RPG has them. Yet Risus doesn’t bother; it only has ratings for clichés. What do they tell you about how strong your viking warrior is? Risus should add stats in some way.

Clichés handle the skills, just fine, but with detailed stats, there is no need for a When Somebody Can’t Participate rules - you’d simply get a set number of dice based on a relevant stat.

Of course, adding stats makes Risus much more complex than it needs to be. Risus thrives in an atmosphere of open, freewheeling roleplaying. You’d have to come up with rules for how stats are applied to clichés; you’d probably have to change the mechanics of the system; you’d probably not be playing Risus any longer.

Plus, where do you start with stats? How many should there be: 3, 6, 12, 20? Does a small set of numbers really tell you much of anything about your character that can’t be done as part of your cliché description?

A lot of people new to Risus see lack of stats as a shortcoming. However, once you really understand that a cliché can be more than Viking Warrior (3), but could be Ax wielding, grog guzzling, champion arm wrestling, Viking Warrior (3). The only limits are you imagination and the sensibilities of the campaign (or lack thereof).

If you really think you have to have stats, you might be better off sticking with something else. However, if you are will to let yourself be creative, Risus is definitely more fun.

Mass Effect on Paper, Part 2. from Wrathofzombie's Blog » Role-playing

Wrath of Zombie — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 17:16:25 +0000

An awesome person did a conversion for Mass Effect 1. I found it on Savage Heroes. A really wonderful site for anyone who has never been there. For anyone interested in using this conversion, or building a Mass Effect game yourself, here is the Mass Effect Wiki, chalk full of info! Another site [...]

Trolls in Loaerth & Feywyrd from Nevermet Press

Nevermet Press — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 12:00:00 +0000

As promised in yesterday’s overview of the races in Loaerth & Feywyrd, today we will take a closer look at trolls. Trolls in Loaerth & Feywyrd are intelligent, playable humanoids and quite different from the creatures of the same name in the Savage Worlds Explorer Edition core book. Through out this article you will see how [...]

Traveller Product Ideas from RPG Blog II

RPG Blog II — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 11:35:00 +0000

The following products are ones I’d love to see for Mongoose Traveller. (Yes, I know my tastes are probably weird and off-base, but I like what I like and want what I want. At least I’m not suggesting any products that involve Boom Guns with plasma bayonets, or a planet full of intelligent, cybernetics-enhanced T-Rexes, right? As a Rifts player, that’s a miracle in and of itself):

Uncommon Valor: Sacrifice In Space

This product takes the ideas of trading survival (and thereby success) for a nasty injury from such Flying Mice titles as In Harm’s Way. The airlock malfunctioned, endangering the whole crew. Does Petty Officer Smith improbably get it closed in time before you Jump? Yes, but at what cost?

The idea is that you either auto-succeed or get a magnificent bonus to your death-defying risk, but that in the best tradition of Admiral Nelson or Winfield Scott Hancock, that victory comes with a very personal price. I see d66 charts you roll on for your injury for Army, Navy, Marines, and Scouts. Perhaps you come away with a slight limp (-1 DEX). Or perhaps your extended recovery leaves you weak (-1 STR). Maybe you’ll need a prosthetic hand, but what’s that to a Hero of the Fleet? Besides, that facial scar makes you look dashing.

Mongoose Traveller already has an optional “death or glory” type rule for their Event tables during character generation, but this would be for more in-play.

Theoretical Size/Price: 16 pages, $1-2. This would be a pretty small pdf.

Imperial Navy Handbook

We already saw something like this with Martin J. Dougherty’s Grand Fleet (only more complex), but I’m imagining a cheap, easy-to-follow 32-page pdf here, along with some uniform ideas, rank illustrations, basic fleet structure, and so on. If you were a new recruit to the Imperial Navy, this would have everything you need. I’m thinking like a 32-page pdf here, directed towards novices and those who want easily-digestible bits about one of the services. A player decides to play a Naval character, simply hand them this. It would be cool to have the same thing for the Scouts, Marines, etc., at some point down the road.

Theoretical Size/Price: 32 pages, $3.50. Just because I like saying “three fiddy”.

Ship’s Locker

Another grab n’ go title, this book would list common equipment (with relevant values and stats, where applicable) for some of the most commonly-used ship variants. Want to know what your Free Trader will likely have in its ship’s locker—how many weapons, vacc suits, what sort of other supplies? What about a mercenary cruiser, safari ship, or lab vessel? Don’t spend hours in Central Supply Catalog outfitting your ships while forgetting the basics—simply find your ship’s type, pick whether it’s Resources Level is Poor, Moderate, or High—and record what’s onboard.

Theoretical Size/Price: 32-48 pages, maybe a bit less depending on how extensive the descriptions are and how many different types of ships are represented. $2-3 or so?

Scout Survey Series

Basically, each entry in this series details a world, gives you the world basics, complete with world hexmap, trade, government, and population information, a brief Who’s Who and planet history, and a solid collection of adventure hooks. The idea is they can be dropped right in to a game or campaign and give your characters plenty to do. There have books done like this in the past (such as the Planetary Survey line with SJ Games), and I thought they were really interesting and useful.

Theoretical Size/Price: 16 pages each, let’s say for a buck each.

Of course, if I could write worth a toss, I’d do it myself. But for now, I’ll hope someone more talented comes along with the same ideas and intentions as I have.

Geomorph #21 from Risus Monkey

Risus Monkey — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 11:04:00 +0000

The Monkey Mapper needs more sparse tiles but this is not one of them. Here are a series of interconnected rooms with interesting features including a fountain in the south-west, a fireplace in the west, three cages in the east, and five statues. Look for this tile and the previous one to be uploaded to the Mapper either tonight or sometime in the next few days.

Test run for Random Lord Generator from Game in the Brain

Game in the Brain — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 03:58:00 +0000

Experimenting with Random Lord Generator. I used this dice roller to generate a list of d6 rolls. Following the step by step aspects in the table, I will just use the numbers as arranged.451, 165, 124, 541,144, 514, 313, 614, 455, 454, 614, 413,655, 65...

Lost Vegas #3 (A Call of Cthulhu campaign) from The Dwarf and the Basilisk » RPG

The Dwarf and the Basilisk — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 03:20:26 +0000

The Night Floors (Part 1) (adapted from the Dennis Detwiller scenario of the same name) Wherein the investigators uncover a place where up is down and fiction can be reality… Cast Joe …… James Walker, an antisocial forensic scientist Shannon …… Sister Sarah Anne Flemming, a physically scarred Catholic nun William …… Shane Proctor, an outcast FBI field agent In the midst [...]

Star Wars Session IV from Emergence Campaign Weblog

The Emergence Campaign Logs — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 01:10:04 +0000

For the convenience of those players doing character-viewpoint writeups, here’s a basic summary of session four… Session four started off with the party divided: Kira, Khadim, and 10-CH had stayed at the spaceport to talk to the incoming Jedi – who, at least hopefully, really would be Jedi and not Sith. Sometimes it was [...]

[Let's Study - C:tL] Darkling from Life and Times of a Philippine Gamer

Life and Times of a Philippine Gamer — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 00:04:10 +0000

Darklings are said to be mortals who have done something unwise and attracted the attentions of the Fae. Whether by being where they shouldn’t be, or doing something they shouldn’t be doing, these Mortals have made themselves to be targets by breaking the rules, however obscure these rules may be. It is little wonder then that

Beyond Sanctuary: Scene 2 from Risus Monkey

Risus Monkey — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 21:36:00 +0000

For an introduction to this Mythic Game Master Emulator Sandbox adventure, see this post.
Setting details and links to characters are posted here.
Previous scene: Scene 1

SCENE 2
In which the party makes contact with a a group of dervishes pursuing a young female rogue.

CHARACTERS
1. Valdora's pony
2. Karly (Arien's horse)
3. Lanumas (Kandara's familiar)
4. Comet (Tenistan's horse)
5. Hal's mule

THREADS
1. Find the mythical Elven Homelands ("mapping the Wildlands" is too broad and vague)

CHAOS RANK: 4

***

The scene is interrupted!

MYTHIC EVENT: NPC Negative (Hal's Mule), Abuse of Reality. I'm going to say that over the course of the next day, Hal's mule goes lame.

Q: Does this happen at the same time as an encounter [Unlikely] Yes.

D&D TABLES: What is the terrain? High desert badlands.

D&D TABLES: What is encountered? NPC Escapees!

Q: Just one NPC [Likely]? YES.

D&D Tables: Female human thief.

Q: Does she have more than 1 cliche [50/50] Yes. I used UNE to determine that she's a human female thief who's "an obnoxious gypsy" of comparable power level to the characters (from now on I'll just use FATE question for that). her motivation is "proclaim religion", "plunder industry", and "follow compassion".

Dori Cabbagestalk
Cliches: Farm-girl in Over Her Head (3), Adventuring Thief (3)
Gear: none.

Q: Is she obviously being pursued [Likely]? VERY MUCH SO!
D&D TABLES: What is pursuing her [consult wilderness encounter table] "Dervishes".
Q: Do they outnumber the party more than 2:1 [Unlikely] No.

During the next day, Hal's mule goes lame trying to navigate some loose rocks. While tending to the wounded beast, a ragged-looking human female runs into view. Appearing from behind a massive rock formation, about 10 horsemen ride towards the woman [Q: Scimitars drawn (50/50): NO!] with lassos and bolas.

It's split second decision time for the party.

Q: Do any party members recognize the dress or appearance of the nomads [Unlikely] Yes.
RANDOM PC: Hal.

Coming up from tending his fallen mule, Hal Ptor raises a hand in warning to his fellows, "Wait, I know these men by their dress. They are followers of Sul, the lord of Light. They hail from a region not far from my own. What they are doing here I do not know. But they are known to be just and honorable people. Surely, this woman must have done something wrong."
Valdora draws her axe and says, "Blame the woman, do you? We'll judge this matter when we have more information." With that, she rides to interpose herself between the woman and the riders. "Halt! This woman is under my protection until withdraw it!"

Q: Do the riders understand the Common Tongue [Unlikely]? No.
Q: Do they react with armed hostility [50/50] No.

Some of the riders try to ride around Valdora. Other pull up with a show of their hands.

Liamas runs to the side of the woman (a disheveled but moderately attractive blond woman clad in rustic clothes) and draws his sword. Tenistan says, "oh hell" and rides forward with his hands upraised to diffuse the situation. Arien attempts to cast invisibility [RISUS: Rolls 6 on Sword-Mage which doesn't beat TN9 for Invisibility] and fails. Kandara stands back and witholds her action.

RISUS: If anybody knows their language, it is Hal. It's a TN 15 roll on his Mariner cliche. He rolls 11 and fails.

Hal strides forward and attempts to mediate the situation with gestures. [RISUS: TN15 on his cleric cliche - He succeeds!] Everyone calms down.

Skipping ahead past the actual conversation to get to the meat of the situation (and suspending rules for event interupts due to number of questions being asked):

* Does the party learn what the woman did [Likely]? Yes.
* Did she steal something [Very Likely]? Yes
* Does the party learn what the dervishes are doing in the Wild North [50/50]? No. That seems to be too difficult to explain. Can they tell that they are lost [50/50]? Yes.
* Does the party learn of any interesting ruins ahead [50/50]? VERY MUCH NO. The dervishes are evasive.

With that, the party tries to draw a map to direct the dervishes towards Sanctuary. After sharing a meal, the party does manage to settle the dispute with Dori. She's very thankful and wants to accompany the party. Almost uniformly, they say no (though they do give her a water skin and two days of food).

The party turns around and rides with the dervishes and Dori back to the scrublands. They will then take a slightly differnt path to adventure.

Hal attempts to heal the Mule [RISUS: TN10 roll for mundane healing]. He fails and has to put it down. They butcher the mule and share it with the dervishes (and Dori) that night.

***

CHARACTERS - Add Dori and the dervishes. Remove Hal's Mule.

UPDATED THREADS
* Find the Elf Homelands
* Solve the mystery of the lost dervishes

Updated Chaos Factor 3

Next scene: the first encounter after the party parts ways with the dervishes.

Mass Effect on Paper from Wrathofzombie's Blog » Role-playing

Wrath of Zombie — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 20:38:27 +0000

Like so many other people I have seen on RPGBN, I have fallen prey to Mass Effect 2. I’m nearly done with my first run through of the game and am honestly loving EVERY minute of this game. It amazes me how deep the character development goes for, not only Shepard and his [...]

Black Rose, Replies from The Other Side blog

The Other Side — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 16:18:00 +0000

It's reader participation day at The Other Side. Here are some replies to my "Black Rose" posts.Rhonin84 said...The land that the Queen rules over is the last bastion of light besieged on all sides by the encroaching darkness, all of her all...

The Top 5: The Week of Mar. 15 from Dice Monkey

Dice Monkey — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 13:00:25 +0000

Happy St. Patrick’s Week, everybody! Hope you celebrated Pi Day yesterday like we did in the Meredith household. Sorry we didn’t have a Top 5 last week, but things got hectic. But here we are again this week! Let’s dive into it. 1. Savage Potter and the Second Draft You can click here to download the pdf. [...]

The Races of Loaerth & Feywyrd from Nevermet Press

Nevermet Press — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 12:00:00 +0000

Welcome back! Over the next couple of weeks we will be detailing each of the player races that will be available in the Loaerth & Feywyrd Campaign Setting for Savage Worlds. Last month, I posted some musings about how the races might play out in L&F, and got some great suggestions from the community as a [...]

Septimus News and WEG Update from RPG Blog II

RPG Blog II — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 11:41:00 +0000

The news continues to be poor for West End Games fans.

I saw yesterday that Bill Coffin, ex-Palladium author and writer of the long-delayed Septimus RPG, stated that WEG's Eric Gibson had simply stopped returning his emails. It sounds like if there's a future for Septimus, it might be in fiction, not RPGs.

"I had been warned that I might get burned doing business with Eric. He's a very nice guy and his heart is really in the right place. But it doesn't look like this project was ever on very steady ground. I just feel bad for anybody who ever wanted the game. You guys have been jerked around so badly on this.

I need to check my Septimus contract once more and see what I can still do with it. I think I might have just signed over the RPG rights, in which case, I'll get on developing this as a novel series, which had been my original intent".

--Bill Coffin

Eric Gibson's rebuttal to all this?

"I'm must admit that at times a stress reaction for me is to disconnect, but this is not the case right now. I don't have the TIME to communicate as much as people would like me to. Moreover, it is a simple matter of priorities. As much as people might be angered, hurt or suprised in me saying so, virtually every other activity in my life has priority over WEG at this point in time. It's not a stress reaction. At least not directly. I'm not angry, stressed (with regards to WEG), or any such negative emotional state. I am -- nothing. I'm wholly apathetic to the publishing field in general. It simply a matter or identifying what things in my life can contribute to some kind of positive future for myself and my family, and it is high time I realized that WEG is not able to do that for me".

--Eric Gibson

Ya think? Look, you gotta put family first, but don't jerk everyone else along because of it. Take a deuce or get off the pot.

I think it's time that we few remaining d6 fans give up on seeing anything substantial from West End Games (if indeed we have not already), either in terms of support for an open system initiative or any sort of new gaming material. Given the track record of Mr. Gibson, I'm not sure why anyone would believe anything will ever come of any of this, no matter how good his intentions. As of now, it sounds like his intentions are to engage in pure publishing apathy, so perhaps that's one plan that will be seen through.

How frustrating.

The Week In Geek… from HeroPress

HeroPress — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 09:00:00 +0000

A round-up of geeky news you might have otherwise missed...(1) The Vorpal Blade Went Snicker-Snack: Timed perfectly to coincide with Tim Burton's Alice In Wonderland, Skirmisher Publishing has released an OGL roleplaying supplement inspired by the work...

GUMSHOE Sale on RPGNow from Stargazer's World

Stargazer's World — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 08:05:11 +0000

I just read about this on Simon Rogers’ LiveJournal blog: All of our GUMSHOE PDF products are on sale over at rpgnow.com at a 15% discount until 19th March. Our average rating over 22 reviews is over 4 out of 5. So that’s Trail of Cthulhu, Mutant City Blues, Esoterrorists and Fear Itself. Get them [...]

Random Lord Generator and Empires before Alexander from Game in the Brain

Game in the Brain — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 04:45:00 +0000

The Random Lord Generator is meant to allow for the quick, simple, and detached creation of NPC lords as allies, patrons, or adversaries. They are also designed in mind of populating a setting for a GURPS Mass Combat War Campaign. Random Character crea...

Beyond Sanctuary: Scene 1 from Risus Monkey

Risus Monkey — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 02:00:00 +0000

For an introduction to this Mythic Game Master Emulator Sandbox adventure, see this post. Setting details and links to characters are posted here.

OBLIGATORY DISCLAIMER: This is an actual log of my Mythic session. I have only edited it for format and obvious errors. If this were a story, I'd no doubt write it differently. Due to the Sandbox nature of this game, not every scene will be interesting (though having played ahead, I know that things will start to pick up fairly soon).

SCENE 1
In which the party begins their quest for adventure in the Wild Lands beyond Sanctuary.

CHARACTERS
1. Valdora's pony
2. Karly (Arien's horse)
3. Lanumas (Kandara's familiar)
4. Comet (Tenistan's horse)
5. Hal's mule

THREADS
1. Find the mythical Elven Homelands ("mapping the Wildlands" is too broad and vague)

CHAOS RANK: 5

***

The scene happens as planned.

Q: Is the weather nice and warm [50/50]? No.

We begin with a pleasant enough fall day, but as the party follows the old track up (and then down) the pass beyond the North Gate, a weather system blows in. It is now raining and the visibility is rather poor. The party is now traveling north-west and it is late afternoon on the first day.

Q: Do they see any signs of settlement [50/50]? No.

Q: Any obvious path [50/50]? No.

The party continues through the scrubland, following the same general north-westerly direction until they make camp.

Q: Does the weather improve soon [50/50]? Yes.

After a few more hours of travel away from the mountains, the weather improves. Arien and Tenistan take the lead in making camp (finding water and such). Only Kandara and Liamas lack tents. Liamas tucks himself into Tenistant's tent and Kandara accepts Arien's offer to sleep in her tent. Watches are established (Arien, Hal, Valdora, Tenistant, Liamas, and Kandara).

Q: Is there an encounter [Very unlikely]? No.

Ending the Scene: Not much is happening, but that's expected. The next expected scene will be the first encounter (using OSRIC tables). The Chaos Rank is lowered to 3 (the party is definitely in control).

***

Even though nothing of note happened in this scene, it is a useful test in how to handle old school overland travel using the Mythic GME. In this first scene, I thought to make a scene represent a day of travel with Mythic random events leading to possible wilderness encounters. Clearly, that's going to get boring quickly. Instead, I'm going to shift gears and plan my next scene based on either the expected next wilderness encounter (achieved by rolling on various D&D tables) or some other expected significant event. Having played ahead for several scenes, I can attest that it works much better. In scene 2 (coming tomorrow evening), things begin to get interesting.

Photo of Fantasy Wargaming by Bruce Galloway from Continuing Clockwise

Continuing Clockwise — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 19:56:15 +0000

Here is a picture of my copy of Fantasy Wargaming, The Highest Level of All, which I wrote about a week or so ago.

Skill Package: Washed Up from 8:05 p.m.

8:05 p.m. — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 15:52:27 +0000

One of the interesting new features with Mongoose Traveller is their use of skill packages at the end of character generation (p. 37). By selecting a particular package, the PCs begin to create a basic sense of who they are and why they adventure together. Of course, being the twisted (er, creative) person [...]

Mass Combat Low Tech Templates from Game in the Brain

Game in the Brain — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 08:46:00 +0000

Made a bunch of GURPS 4e Mass Combat Low Tech templates. They feature the basic Ally cost and some lenses. Right now I'm constructing a way to randomly roll up Lords or Status 5 and 6 characters. They make great adversaries and patrons for a campaign. ...

Crosslink Updates from Emergence Campaign Weblog

The Emergence Campaign Logs — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 04:02:24 +0000

Continuing with catching up on the indexing, here we have a selection of links to some of the player blogs – and the materials they’ve come up with. Star Wars d6: Alys Diary: Session II, Session III, Ben Therus: Precognitive Advisor. Eclipse d20: Dr Soloman Brenner: A highly skilled, if monstrously immoral, surgeon from the Linear Realms. The [...]

Making the Most of Mythic Structure – GamesU 2009 from Temple Lion

Temple Lion — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 03:09:46 +0000

In this session from GamesU 2009, accomplished game designer and screenwriter Matthew Grau discusses the monomyth and how to use it to create epic and enduring stories in your games. Popularized by Joseph Campbell in his book “Hero with a Thousand Faces”, the monomyth is a powerful tool for story structure. It is taught [...]

Latest Material Index from Emergence Campaign Weblog

The Emergence Campaign Logs — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 01:56:01 +0000

It’s once again time to get the latest material index updated and to transfer the material from the old one to the main index tabs at the top of the page. If you want the very latest material, it may be necessary to either scroll down or consult the “Recent Posts” listing-widget on the [...]

Finding A Starship from RPG Blog II

RPG Blog II — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 20:35:00 +0000

I was looking for a ship to pass as the 600 d-ton science vessel I'm creating for our upcoming Mongoose Traveller game, and I was simply not having any luck. Either I didn't like the layout, or it didn't meet the requirements of a science vessel.

Should have known, of course, that the Wayback Machine would come through. I found a lab ship variant of the Orca from an old site for a (now-defunct?) Zaon RPG, (warning: slow load) and I think it just might work. I still need to make a few adjustments, and I still have a little time to switch in case I find anything better out there.

(It looks like here the designer of the original ship plans is claiming copyright on the plans. I guess I'll need to PM him, though since it's for non-commercial use, it should be fine).

Microlite20 Under New Ownership from Stargazer's World

Stargazer's World — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 19:12:59 +0000

On March 12th, Robin Stacey (aka Greywulf) announced that he had sold the rights to Microlite20, including microlite20.net, to Seth Drebitko. I quickly asked Robin to get me in touch with Seth, which he did, and Seth was gracious enough to answer some questions about the sale and the future of Microlite20. Here’s [...]

Host Migration Complete; Site Migration to Follow from Critical Failure - The GURPS Podcast

Critical Failure: The GURPS Podcast — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 15:19:47 +0000

Morning to everyone, So, I’ve managed to move the podcasts to the new host, A Small Orange, and everything seems to be going great. As you can see, I’ve reduced the number of podcasts down quite a bit and eliminated the OGG stream completely. The old host was providing MUCH more diskspace, but had serious lag [...]