Nerdtropolis

Ars Magica - saga plan

2012-01-28T12:33:00.002Z

Where I have historically gone wrong with Ars Magica, and numerous other games for that matter, is on not starting out with a framework on which to hang the campaign. Learning from one's mistakes is a fundamental element of intelligence, I'm led to believe, so I'm beginning this saga with an initial plan. As with all such plans it will be subject to discussion with the players, but it's important to have a starting point from which such discussion can stem.

The saga will be based around the Rhine Gorge, within the Rhine Tribunal. The magi will be tasked by the Order of Hermes with establishing a new covenant in this region.
The magi are freshly gauntleted and will begin their story at the covenant of Durenmar, wherein they will officially be sworn into the Order.
The initial sessions will involve the magi researching the Rhine Gorge, assembling appropriate companions and grogs, before beginning a series of exploratory ventures into the region.
Each venture will be led by one magus, accompanied by two or more companions and a selection of grogs.
Eventually a suitable site for the new covenant will be decide upon by the magi and the process of establishing a permanent presence in the Rhine Gorge can begin. At this point we will begin building the covenant, according to the rules on pp.202-211 of the main rulebook.

What I'm hoping for is a sandbox-type exploration of the Rhine Gorge and perhaps even its neighbouring lands. The place is packed with interesting locations, people and legends. There are also several good options for covenant location, although the ultimate decision rests in the hands of the players. I'm looking forward to seeing how they go about gathering resources and allies for this, as well as choosing the eventual site of their new home. By the time the new covenant is established we should have a firm sense of each of the magi characters and some of the companions, too.

Ars Magica - a smouldering romance

2012-01-15T13:13:00.000Z

Ars Magica and I have begun a courtship, which will hopefully be long, passionate and fulfilling. A setting has been decided upon, a broad theme chosen, Magi characters are being created (slowly and lovingly) and an Obsidian Portal entry has been created. The coming weeks of amour will bring:

Creation of a pool of Companion characters;
Creation of a small pool of Grog characters;
Establishment of short, medium and long-term goals for the Magi characters; and
The first session of full play.

Ars Magica - a chaste love-affair

2011-12-05T17:12:00.001Z

I've had a profound love-affair with Ars Magica since the first day I gazed upon this book.

From that fateful day I got sucked into the mythic Europe created by Jonathan Tweet and Mark Rhein.Hagen. I collected a fair amount of the game's third edition,

but it was Atlas Games' fourth edition that really set me alight with an incandescent passion for both the setting and the system.

I bought fifth edition and promptly got rid of it, not because it was bad but rather because it made changes that I found unpalatable.

Anyway, this preamble leads me to the point of my post, which is that I've always struggled to run a long-lasting and compelling campaign (or saga, to use Ars Magica's parlance) that meets my expectations, along with those of the players. I'm a fiend for medieval European history, especially the encounter between religion and magic, so the demands I place on myself when running an Ars Magica saga tend to get in the way of running an enjoyable game. My big mistake is to expect everyone around the table to share my passion, not just for the game but for the history that underpins the setting. I need to calm down on that score and appreciate that my enjoyment of the game will differ from that derived by the people playing it. I've also struggled to cope with the idea of a party of Magi gallivanting around the European countryside having adventures and so forth. When I next come to prepare a saga for this wonderful game I think I'll have the players create their Magi characters and then go on to prepare a roster of Companions that, at the start of play, don't belong to any one particular player. I will then prepare episodes that focus on individual Magi, ensuring that each player's Magus character gets an episode of several sessions. The other players can select a Companion character from the pool that was created prior to play, making their selection based on the nature of the episodes ahead. The other Magi characters can spend the intervening time performing laboratory work and engaging in other behind-the-scenes wizardly antics.

Perhaps such an approach will finally result in me running the saga I've always wanted, thus consummating a love-affair that has chastely endured for so many years.

Burning Wheel - Obsidian Portal update

2011-12-04T12:34:00.000Z

I've finally updated the Obsidian Portal pages from the last session of our sporadic Burning Wheel game. I find OP to be an invaluable GM resource for managing a campaign that only sees active play every other month, at best. I hope to run another session in January and continue to build this fantasy city, with the help of the players. It is a vanity project, but one that I hope people enjoy playing and developing at the table. Burning Wheel is an excellent system for this model of improvisational setting-creation. As the GM I never know exactly where a particular thread is going to lead and the conflict resolution mechanic ensures that surprises keep cropping up.

FRPG mechanics - an idle musing

2011-12-04T11:06:00.000Z

Sat here, pondering game mechanics, my mind wanders along a disused and largely overgrown track that leads to a pleasant glade, wherein I pause to consider game mechanics in a non-existent, stock fantasy RPG.

Anybody, that is to say any character "class", can wield any type of weapon they choose. You want a wizard with a sword? Sure, why the hell not? However, this guy should be nowhere near as effective as a fighter similarly armed. I rather like the idea of character classes rolling different dice sets, based on their areas of expertise. So, in the wizard vs. fighter combat, the former rolls 3D4 to hit and do damage (one roll), whilst the fighter rolls 3D8. This situation would be reversed in the case of casting a spell from a scroll. In a way, I’m advocating the concept that every PC is an ‘Adventurer’ class, with different areas of speciality chosen during character creation. Perhaps the player allocates different dice to different aspects of the character, thus determining a role within a party, without the need for traditional character classes.

E.g.

Allocate D4, D6 and D8 to Combat skills, Magic skills and General skills. Of course this model could be extended to include D10 and D12, if greater granularity of the skill sets is required.

Am I talking tosh?

CottageCon III: 3D - The Report

2011-11-28T15:57:00.004Z

After some procrastination on my part, here are the brief write-ups of the games we enjoyed at CottageCon III. Rather than painful, blow-by-blow accounts of actual play (which I hate), I’ve instead gone for general impressions and thoughts about the games we played.

Monkey

As opening games for a convention go, this is perfect. The pre-generated characters presented a good mix of the different types of immortal it is possible to play. I played a demon called ‘Donkey’, what are the odds? The mechanics of the game were easy to pick-up and facilitated the kind of game we were all expecting to play. The moment at which it really came alive for me was during a scrap with some bandits on boats. The way in which a couple of the players described their characters rocketing out of the sky and slapping a boatful of bandits each, brought back fond memories of watching the Monkey TV series as a child, whilst flinging myself around my parents’ living room. Any RPG that can tap into that vein of childhood nostalgia gets a big thumbs-up from me. Matty did a great job of portraying the NPCs, especially the main antagonist who very nearly handed us our collective arse during the final showdown. We quickly realised the benefits to be reaped by working collaboratively in such a fight and managed to triumph. I’m not convinced that I would want to play a campaign of this, but as a one-shot it absolutely rocked and kicked off the weekend brilliantly with the bar set quite high for the other GMs.

AD&D

This game managed to trigger my nostalgia centres, too. I have many fond memories of playing AD&D on Saturday afternoons through my early and mid-teens. There was no need for any introductory preamble to the rule-set with this game and we jumped straight into a city-based scenario of criminal gangs and nefarious plots. The party was very combat oriented, with two Fighters, one Ranger, one Paladin and one Thief. Marcus had written some interesting background and personality notes for each PC, which referenced a mission the party had recently completed. A love-triangle was established between the Paladin, Ranger and Thief, which would have been good to explore but required more time than a single 4-hour session. The city-based elements of the scenario worked well enough, but using AD&D for such adventures feels like jamming a square peg into a round (portable) hole. The scenario came alive once we got out of the city, into the wilderness and started tackling ogres. Somehow I managed to play the whole scenario without losing a single hit-point. I told you that Paladins are cool.

Hot War

My first spot in the GMs chair brought a return to the game that has become a perennial CottageCon favourite. As usual with this game, an initially simple set-up, coupled with strongly motivated and interesting PCs gave us four hours of intense gaming. Diametrically opposed personal politics played a key role in this game, with some PCs positively seething with hate for their erstwhile SSG colleagues. The star of the show was Matty’s portrayal of a naïve, lovelorn young BERB researcher, who constantly opened his mouth before engaging his brain. The almost comedic pathos of this PC was thrown into stark relief when he cold-bloodedly executed his former mentor at the BERB. This gave rise to several seconds of stunned silence from everyone, which is always a great gaming moment. Where other games of Hot War have ended with something of a resigned whimper, this one went out with a bang as the PCs executed a coup by subjecting the PM and his cabinet to a lethal nerve agent. I adore running Hot War and this session was no exception, but next year I’m going to give it a rest and run something else. It’s a very draining game to run well and sometimes it’s just too relentlessly miserable for words.

The One Ring

The second of the three new games (well, new to us) rolled out on Sunday afternoon, which seemed a perfect time to head off to Middle-earth. Lavish, full-colour character sheets were provided for a fellowship that encompassed men, dwarf, elf and hobbit. The books for this game are things of great beauty and I’m happy to report that there is real substance beneath that style. The core mechanic was easy to pick up and we were soon making skill checks, engaging in combat and spending points of Hope like there was no tomorrow. I did get a kick out of using the official dice, but it quickly became apparent that these are nothing more than a novelty item and you can easily play the game without such fripperies. The combat system is well-designed, playing quickly and intuitively, much like the system as a whole. The most important thing is that the system, along with StevieB’s excellent GMing, made the whole afternoon feel like we were really in Middle-earth. I can’t really explain how this happened, but it’s the first time I’ve felt that a game successfully captures the feel of Tolkien’s setting and I can only recommend that you play this in order to get a sense of what I’m talking about. We already have another session planned for the next couple of weeks and I foresee TOR becoming a firm favourite of the TNC.

Wordplay

Based on our Sunday evening game, Wordplay has a good chance of joining TOR as a favourite game, albeit one that can be used as a go-to system for any kind of RPG experience you may want. I was very nervous about running this, for a number of reasons. Firstly, running the last game of the weekend you want to ensure that you all go out on a high note. Secondly, I’ve never run Wordplay and have only played it once, at Continuum 2010. Thirdly, I wasn’t at all sure that my WW2 scenario would stand-up to actual play. As it turned out, all my worries were unfounded and we had a rip-roaring time playing D-Day via the pages of Commando Comics. The system was a great hoot to play with and we were soon throwing ridiculous amounts of D6 across the table as the PCs valiantly helped to capture a German gun-battery in the early hours of 6^th June 1944. There were some tense moments, such as dealing with identified French collaborators and the capture of a SS Officer, all of which were handled without recourse to the mechanics. The combat elements of the scenario, particularly when dealing with cooperative and coordinated efforts, worked really well; far better than I had hoped. Bullets and grenades flew thick and fast and the excitement of Saturday afternoon war films seeped into our cottage in the Yorkshire Dales, courtesy of the most elegantly simple rule-set I’ve ever encountered.

L5R fiction

2011-11-25T20:40:00.001Z

The prodigiously talented Sean Holland, of the Sea of Stars blog, has had some fiction published on the L5R website. If you have any interest at all in Rokugan then go here and read Sean's story. Whilst I'm pimping, you should also check out his blog, which is crammed with great RPG ideas. I wish I had a fraction of the ideas bursting out of this guy's head.

Damn you Gumshoe!

2011-11-22T11:37:00.004Z

I am very excited at another upcoming release from Pelgrane Press, which incidentally is rapidly becoming my favourite RPG publisher du jour. ‘Night’s Black Agents’ (hereafter NBA) is touted as Jason Bourne does Vampires and strikes me as a rich vein (sorry) to tap for high-octane, over-the-top, supernatural action. The website promotional material describes the game thusly:

"Night’s Black Agents brings the GUMSHOE engine to the spy thriller genre, combining the propulsive paranoia of movies like Ronin and The Bourne Identity with supernatural horror straight out of Bram Stoker. Investigation is crucial, but it never slows down the action, which explodes with expanded options for bone-crunching combat, high-tech tradecraft, and adrenaline-fueled chases."

So, what a game of this kind needs is a robust mechanic for handling physical action, right? You see where I’m going with this, don’t you? As I wrote previously, Gumshoe is woeful at handling physical action, especially combat. I expect a game like NBA to be bursting with frenetic fights, car chases, explosions and plenty of jumping through windows. In my experience Gumshoe cannot handle any of this in anything approaching a satisfactory fashion. I see that the blurb informs the reader that there will be additional rules for handling this kind of action, but what Gumshoe needs is not “expanded options” but an entirely different mechanic. I realise that I shouldn’t judge these rules without seeing (and more importantly, playing) them, but I can’t help feeling that they simply won’t be up to the job. Hippy, narrative games are great and I enjoy them a great deal, but sometimes you need a certain degree of crunch to satisfactorily model physical action within a game. Using Gumshoe for a game like this strikes me as a square peg in a round hole. Having said that, I will most likely buy it because PP always produces gorgeous books that are very well-written. I’m confident that the setting and background will be top-notch, with enough detail to be intriguing but also with sufficient blank spaces for individual groups to make it their own, in much the same way ‘Ashen Stars’ handles its setting. Once bought, I will undoubtedly go looking for a mechanic that I believe will better facilitate the kind of game I expect NBA to be and that system will most likely be ‘Unknown Armies’. As long as I continue to part with money for its books, I doubt that PP will give two figs for my opinion of its sub-standard rule-set, which is completely fair enough.

Monkey at CottageCon III: 3D

2011-11-10T09:56:00.001Z

A Bag of Wind

GM: Matty

The Jade Emperor wants you to escort one of the Queen Mother’s handmaidens to a party on Ki Yin’s Western Island.

The only problem is that someone has stolen the Windlord Fung Po’s magic Bag of Wind, while Demons run amok and heavy rains flood the lands of the Tang Emperor.

As disgraced immortals of the Western Heaven you see more than a few opportunities to make up for your previous mistakes and return home.

Please note – you will require a deck of cards to play (and don’t forget the Jokers!), but flying clouds are optional. Also, a little preview is available at http://d101games.co.uk/files/2009/04/monkey-preview-july07.pdf

Thoughts on Ashen Stars

2011-11-06T11:44:00.001Z

{That's your game, that is}

We've played a handful of sessions of Ashen Stars and overall I think it's a bit of a donkey. Now, on first sight this seems like an insult, as many people use the term pejoratively, but I happen to like donkeys. In fact they are my second favourite animal, but that's not to say that Ashen Stars is my second favourite RPG, no sir. I should probably get away from this slightly peculiar metaphor and get to looking at the game itself.

The Good Donkey Bits

The setting is well-presented and maintains a logical consistency in play. It's sufficiently different so that you feel like you're playing something you haven't tried before. The background is interesting and provided enough material for a group to make the setting their own, without having to absorb a huge mass of canonical 'facts'. This has been a barrier to several RPGs I've read over the years and I'm glad to see that Pelgrane Press avoided this design faux pas.

The aliens are interesting and make you want to play one, rather than a stock human. Again, there is a goodly amount of background information on each species, but not so much as to overwhelm the player and remove all creativity when portraying one of these guys. As with the setting, there is ample space for a group to personalise the alien races.

The central theme of altruism versus self-interest really comes through in play and is hard-coded into the system design, by ensuring there is a load of cool stuff for players to hanker after; be that cyberware upgrades or modifications to their ship; balanced against relatively small pay-cheques for contracts. Players often want to do the right thing, but sometimes have to do the thing that nets most money and may be morally dubious.

Having each PC take specific roles on board the ship and on planets creates a great dynamic whereby everyone gets a chance to shine and take charge, depending on the situation. This is something I really liked with the LUG Star Trek RPG, and Ashen Stars does the same thing.

The Bad Donkey Bits

I really am beginning to despise the GUMSHOE system. The more I experience it, the more I believe it smells of tinkle. I've now experienced it as a player and as a GM, with the latter experience further informing my view and confirming the suspicions I had as a player. Put simply, the system is deeply poor at facilitating physical conflict of any kind. Now, I'm not some hoary old tabletop dude who demands painstakingly detailed rules for combat and the like, but I do want a system that doesn't devolve into 'Rock, Paper, Scissors' as soon as guns are drawn. This problem has the secondary effect of making the more warrior-like alien races a tad redundant. A player choosing such a character is saying to the GM, "I'd like some opportunities for scrapping, please." If the system won't permit this to happen in a satisfying manner, the GM is likely to want to avoid such opportunities arising, thus leading to much frustration for the player and a considerable reduction in his enjoyment of the game. Both these things happened at our table.

The manner in which GUMSHOE runs investigative scenarios is really nothing more than a set of advisory notes on running such games. It would have been better to produce a pamphlet along the lines of 'Robin's Laws of Good Gamemastering', rather than designing a whole system for such play. Picking up core clues, which drive the narrative forward, is automatic in GUMSHOE games. Other clues can be gained by rolling or spending points, but are not necessary to solve the mystery. Therefore, what is happening is an unfolding narrative/collaboratively told story, which is good fun but is it, strictly speaking, a game? I don't believe it is. Furthermore, I believe that a GUMSHOE scenario could be played without recourse to a rule-set, by simply revealing the story to the players as they gather the core clues, leading them from one scene to the next. This happened at our table in what eventually turned out to be our final session of Ashen Stars.

Rescuing the Donkey

I will certainly return to the universe of Ashen Stars, but it will not be in the company of GUMSHOE. My thoughts at this point revolve around using Traveller to power any future games in this setting. It's an elegantly simple system and the militaristic focus of character generation is congruent with the war-torn setting of Ashen Stars' Bleed.

For now though, the TNC is heading to the Dying Earth.

CottageCon III: 3D - The Timetable

2011-11-02T11:39:00.001Z

Here is the intended schedule of events for the impending CottageCon III: 3D.

Friday

14:00 Arrive and get settled-in

15:00 Boardgame – BSG

18:00 Dinner – Sacha’s Mexican feast

19:00 Game 1 - Monkey

23:00 Late-night film – Monty Python and the Holy Grail

Saturday

10:00 Country walk

13:00 Game 2 – AD&D

18:00 Dinner – Tim’s Thai curry

19:00 Game 3 – Hot War

23:00 Late-night film – Aliens

Sunday

10:00 Country walk

13:00 Game 4 – The One Ring

18:00 Dinner – Marcus’ marvellous Sunday lamb dinner

19:00 Game 5 – Wordplay

23:00 Late-night film – The Princess Bride

Wordplay at CottageCon III: 3D

2011-10-28T13:51:00.002+01:00

‘Utrinque Paratus’ – a Wordplay scenario of daring heroics against the odds in Normandy, June 1944.

GM: Sacha

As members of 9^th Parachute Battalion, you are the best of the best. You have trained long and hard for this day, when you will drop into occupied France and help pave the way for the imminent launch of Operation Overlord. Your mission is to neutralise a German gun battery, that otherwise will pound Sword beach as Allied soldiers swarm onto it at first light. The only obstacle to success is the 150-strong German garrison that currently mans the battery. This should be easily surmountable by the might and skill of 9th Para. Unfortunately, your aircraft came under heavy fire as it dropped out of low cloud and you now find yourself landing in a French field, scattered and cut-off from the rest of the chaps. It’s time to find some friendly faces and work out where exactly you are.

How do you (yes you) combat GM distraction?

2011-10-22T12:18:00.000+01:00

{Too many games, too little time, too much distraction}

How do you (yes you), as a GM, recapture the love/mojo/whatever for a campaign that has been on hiatus and now has the players clamouring for a resumption? The campaign ran for a considerable period of time and was thoroughly enjoyable to both run and play. It was placed on hiatus whilst you (yes you) took some time out to prepare the next phase and recharge your GM batteries. In the intervening time you've played some games run by other GMs, perhaps played some board and card games and maybe run a handful of sessions of some new, untried game that has been sitting on your shelves for a while. All of which distraction has served to give you a much-needed break from your epic campaign, but also led you to think about all the other games and epic campaigns you wan to run. Simultaneously, the RPG industry being what it is, more cool and lovely games have found their way into your ever-expanding collection, thus adding to the levels of distraction.

How do you (yes you) navigate all these obstacles in your path to resuming a campaign that was fun for all and that you (and more importantly your players) want to to take to its conclusion?

The One Ring at CottageCon III: 3D

2011-10-21T16:46:00.001+01:00

'The Marsh Bell' - an introductory adventure over the edge of the wild for The One Ring RPG.

GM: StevieB

It is the year 2946 of the Third Age, and the lands east of the Misty Mountains stir. From the cloud-shrouded peaks above the High Pass to the spider-infested gloom of the forest of Mirkwood, paths long-deserted are trodden once again. Busy merchants carry their wares to new markets, messengers bring tidings from foreign realms, and kings send forth armed men to extend their influence and the rule of law. Some say that a new age of freedom has begun, a time for adventure and great deeds to reclaim glories lost in long centuries of oppression and decline.

But adventures are not really things that people go out and look for. They are dangerous and rarely end well. While it is true that a handful of valiant individuals set out to make their mark on the world, for others it seems that adventure chooses them, as though it is the path they are fated to tread. They are restless warriors, curious scholars and wanderers, always eager to seek what was lost or explore what was forgotten. Ordinary people call them adventurers, and when they return successful, they call them heroes…

You and your companions are one such group. A fellowship of the best of the Free Peoples, inclined to make a difference. Fate has brought you to Esgaroth, friendship has brought you together.

You hear news that Hraf son of Hrabin, a Raven of the Mountain, brought to Erebor some sinister tidings: two Dwarven messengers who left the Lonely Mountain on an errand are nowhere to be found. The Kingdom under the Mountain is astir, and Glóin the Dwarf himself, envoy in Esgaroth for The King Under the Mountain, has spread word that whoever provides news of the missing Dwarves will be richly rewarded.

AD&D at CottageCon III: 3D

2011-10-14T15:19:00.000+01:00

'Valentine's Day Massacre' - an urban adventure for 1st edition AD&D.

GM: Chief

The Imperial Guard of Nedrane have outposts in all of the allied countries within the civilised world, ensuring the imperial highways are well maintained and safe. Although they have to appear neutral towards a country’s internal affairs, they do keep watching for any political or social strife that may adversely impact on Nedrane’s trade and economic prosperity.

In the city of Alenga, capital of Kendale, the activities of the criminal underworld have long been a concern for Nedrane and the Imperial Guard. Following a number of years where the organised criminal activity has been quiet and low key, there now appears to be moves afoot by the Imperator of the Walker gang, Valentine Walker.

You are part of a team employed by the Imperial Guard to investigate anything that Nedrane is concerned about, but in which the Imperial Guard cannot get involved due to their veneer of neutrality. Drinking one evening in Kendale’s luxurious White Hart Inn, you are approached by Jocelyn, your Imperial Guard contact. That can only mean one thing – time to stop drinking and start planning for your next assignment.

Hot War at CottageCon III: 3D

2011-10-09T10:42:00.000+01:00

'Things Fall Apart' - A Hot War situation of politics, murder, oppression and double-dealing.

GM: Sacha

The year is 1963, the place is London. A little over one year ago, the Cold War went hot. In addition to the limited nuclear exchange between NATO and Warsaw Pact powers, sinister, darker weapons were deployed from the shadows. Twisted technology produced weapons that tore holes in reality, birthed unspeakable horrors and drove men and women insane. Survival and re-building are all that matter now, but human nature has a knack of reverting to its most basic and bestial form when faced with tragic circumstances, and everyone has their own ambitions. Into this unholy mess steps the Special Situations Group (SSG), a rag-tag collection of men and women tasked with the jobs too dirty or dangerous for anyone else to even contemplate.

The Maze. A hastily constructed shanty town in Willesden, north London. A warren of tight tunnels and passageways, with shacks and temporary structures crammed into abandoned warehouses. Only the residents know the layout, and even then it changes often enough for some of them to get lost on occasion.

Gangsters, black-marketeers, political dissidents, escaped convicts and terrorists call The Maze their home, sheltering here from increasingly oppressive law enforcement. Armed guards, most of whom are old soldiers, are posted on the perimeter. It is a fortified, no-go area for the police and a safe haven for anyone on the run from the law. It is into this place that your team must now go to capture a dangerous political agitator and terrorist. Watch your backs.

CottageCon III: 3D

2011-10-09T10:14:00.001+01:00

The third annual TNC get-away to the countryside, for a long weekend of nothing but games, is nearly upon us. This year the Crew returns to the bucolic idyll of Wharfedale, where we will be staying in a converted 19th century mill-cottage, on the banks of the River Wharfe. Here are some pretty pictures:

The plan is to have five gaming slots across Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Games will be run by Chief, Matty, StevieB, Robin and me. The projected offerings are AD&D, Monkey, The One Ring, A|State and Hot War. Over the next few weeks I will be posting teasers for each of the games on offer, starting with my situation for Hot War.

Some things are just too ace for words

2011-10-07T11:46:00.000+01:00

Have a great weekend, everyone.

Cool news from The Bleed

2011-10-07T10:15:00.003+01:00

The last two sessions of Ashen Stars have proved very interesting for a variety of reasons, some of which concern the setting (or our take on the setting) and some of which concern the game itself.

The Tavak immune system is incredibly hardy and capable of fighting-off most viruses and pathogens. This proved useful in developing an antibody to combat a genetic virus.
All Combine starships carry the designator, 'CSS', which stands for 'Combine StarShip'. Hence the players' ship is the CSS Unforgiven.
Keane never pulls his gun, unless he intends to use it.
Talking is almost always preferable to fighting.
The pleasure planet of Andarta is like a very seedy, grubby and cheap version of Risa.
The fear that this scenario would quickly degenerate into 'Carry On Sc-Fi' was unfounded. Whilst there were occasional lewd remarks and bouts of sniggering, overall the TNC behaved in a mature fashion whilst playing this shagadelic scenario. We must be growing up.
The scenario was well-written and logically presented, resulting in an easy run for me. I don't have much experience in running detective/mystery type scenarios and I'm hugely grateful to Gareth Hanrahan for his first-rate presentation.
The moral dilemma presented at the conclusion of the scenario was the stuff that really good science fiction is made of.
We are really looking forward to playing the remaining three scenarios in this book and hoping that the quality is maintained.
An ability that I thought would present huge headaches, because it essentially allows a PC to see a glimpse of the future, actually turned out to be both useful and good fun. The ability effectively permits me to foreshadow one key event in the upcoming investigation, but doesn't result in a full-blown, premature reveal of information.

Next Time: The dark secrets of Dead Rock 7 await the crew of the CSS Unforgiven.

Paladins and the avoidance of ass-clownery

2011-09-29T20:07:00.001+01:00

This post by the perennially thought-provoking noisms led me to musing about Paladins.

I think that Paladins have been misunderstood for many years. One reason for this is that we generally encountered AD&D when we were children and failed to grasp the greater levels of complexity within its design. This was a game written by adults, for adults. We were children trying to understand a very complex and disorganised game. One of the main victims of such misunderstanding is the poor old Paladin. This class is traditionally regarded as a holy warrior, fighting for his god and spreading the good word. This description more accurately fits the Cleric. A Paladin must be of Lawful Good alignment. Most deities and their worshippers are not Lawful Good (hereafter LG). This line of logic leads to two possible conclusions:

1. Only LG deities have Paladins within the ranks of their worshippers; or

2. Being a Paladin has nothing to do with religion.

The second option seems better, to me. This leaves us with a warrior who fights for a specifically defined version of goodness; one that has structure, codes, definite ethics etc. Not for the Paladin the woolly-minded goodness of the Neutral Good brigade, nor the free-spirited beneficence of the Chaotic Good crowd. The Paladin believes in a neatly defined and ordered form of goodness that directly serves and enables a specific organisation or concept. Admittedly this could be the church of a LG deity, but it could also be the concepts of civilisation or law and order, for example a Paladin serving the encoded goodness represented by the Imperial Guard, or similar institution. In short, I don’t believe that Paladins must necessarily be ass-clowns. Their insistence on having no truck with evil individuals is surely no different than the character who walks a neutrally or chaotically good path? Why would these guys want to knowingly and willingly associate with evil dudes, anymore than would the Paladin?

Am I making sense?

From all this came the following vaguely-formed idea:

Lord Tha’aatchor passes a decree that restricts adventuring parties to exploring subterranean complexes containing solid evidence of evil creatures or evil doings; anything else is just grave-robbing, which is morally reprehensible. Adventuring parties must be chartered and provide evidence to support the legitimacy of their dungeoneering, and so exercise rights of ownership on all loot gained by such endeavours. Suddenly, permissible dungeons are at a premium, leading to overt conflict between adventuring groups. Enterprising adventurers may resort to faking evidence to support their illegitimate tomb-raiding.

Single class party - Palladium style

2011-09-25T11:57:00.000+01:00

This is related to the so-called thoughts I posited here.

Create a party of Gladiator characters, as per p.16 of 'Palladium RPG Book III - Adventures on the High Seas'. Some negotiation regarding stat generation methodology may be required. My usual approach is to allow players to replace woeful rolls with the stat minimums required for a particular OCC.
Interpretation of stats will lead to some interesting characterisation. For example, the Gladiator with the highest PB is probably favoured by the noble ladies of the Eastern Territory, or wherever the campaign is based.
Weapon specialisation will certainly be another defining element of the characters. The range of Weapon Proficiencies offered by PFRPG means that there is plenty of room for personalisation in this regard. Inspiration can be drawn from the different types of Roman Gladiator.
Run a handful of sessions with the PCs participating in gladiatorial games and socialising with their fellows, away from the arena.
No player enjoys having their PC held prisoner or bound into servitude and inevitably thoughts will turn to escape. A good GM will do everything in his power to encourage and facilitate such plans, whilst placing appropriate challenges in the players' path to freedom.
Perhaps some PCs escape, or even manage to earn their freedom, returning to liberate their former compatriots and maybe sparking a wholesale slave revolt in the process. From tiny acorns and all that.
Begin every session with a rousing cry of 'GLADIATORS! READY!'*

*Or not. Tastes may vary.

Some initial observations on Ashen Stars

2011-09-23T17:05:00.002+01:00

After our first session playing Ashen Stars, I had the following thoughts, not necessarily in the order presented below.

The setting is well-presented with a Goldilocks amount of detail. We have already started to establish small details of the setting, as perceived by the TNC. For example, the Tavak homeworld is located within the Aventine Cluster.
We learned that that Medic's name is McCoy (FFS). Nobody knows her first name. She doesn't like being called 'Veins'.
Vas Mal craniums glow with incandescent blue light when employing psychic abilities.
'Explosive Devices' is listed as an Investigative Ability, when it more logically sits within the list of General Abilities.
The introductory scenario in the rulebook is of a standard not usually evident in most such scenarios.
As GM, I need to ease back on the rate at which I dispense clues and information. The players should have to work a little harder and really think about which abilities they employ in any given situation, for the purposes of gaining clues. The preceding sentences do not apply to core clues.
When Lasers go planet-side it is traditional that the entire crew leaves the ship.
Starships are incapable of intra-atmosphere flight. This is why we have shuttles.
Durugh society has a rigid caste system. We don't yet know the caste to which Keane belongs.
Nobody has yet presented a personal arc for their character, as detailed on pp.10-14 of the rulebook.
Cyrus is eager to discover any information regarding the Mohilar.

I think we crammed a lot into a three-hour session, managing to play through the whole of the introductory scenario. This means we can now progress to the first of the scenarios in 'Dead Rock 7', the portentously titled 'The Pleasure Bringers'. I imagine that from hereon we may spend a couple of sessions on each scenario, which will take us nicely towards the Grand Tribunal that is CottageCon III: 3D, about which I will soon be posting more information, including details of the games we will be playing.

Next Time: Shagadelic Sci-Fi

Single class party

2011-09-19T19:55:00.001+01:00

The character creation session for our 'Ashen Stars' game, last week, got me to musing about character creation in general and specifically about that hoary old chestnut, party balance. I like the method used in 'Ashen Stars' to create a crew, with each PC having a specific role aboard ship and one whilst planet-side. I also like the way in which the process encourages the players to ensure that every Investigative Ability is covered by at least one PC, with at least one point in each Ability; in this fashion the group will always be able to gather the core clues that lie at the heart of any investigation in a GUMSHOE game.

The above preamble leads me to thinking about more traditional class/level games, such as D&D (in its many incarnations), Palladium Fantasy, MERP etc. Some of my earliest recollections of playing AD&D revolve around the perceived need for party balance.

"What do you mean, we don't have a Magic-User? We HAVE TO HAVE a Magic-User, so you're it. I don't care that you rolled the stats for a Ranger, you're the Magic-User because the party doesn't currently have one. So there."

I'm sure this kind of thing has happened at many gaming tables, across the years. For a long time I never questioned this philosophy of balance, possibly due to the fact that I used to spend a lot more time playing and running games, as opposed to merely thinking about them. 'Ashen Stars' brought me back to considering this idea of balance and my thought train headed down a previously unexplored side-track.

Take your class/level RPG of choice. Let's use AD&D for purposes of illustration.
Create a party consisting of one class. In this example let's imagine we create a party of Fighters, which is one of the easiest classes to qualify for. Stats are generated by rolling 4D6, picking the best three and assigning as the player sees fit. A party of Rangers would be super-cool, but statistically improbable without employing one of the more esoteric methods for stat generation.
The players now have to flex their imaginations a little more vigorously than they would when simply conforming to the archetype suggested by their class.
Through interpretation of stats, each PC begins to take on its own distinctive personality. What does a low score in Wisdom mean to the person playing the Fighter with such a stat?
From the stats we can begin to discern the roles that each PC will possibly take within the party. The high Dexterity dude becomes the party's missile weapon specialist. The guy with exceptional Strength becomes the party's first man in. The PC with good Intelligence becomes the reconnaissance expert. High Charisma dude must surely be the party's face-man, etc.
The next point of individualisation comes via weapon and armour selection. We've already mentioned the missile specialist, so his weapon proficiencies will focus on bows and the like, whilst wearing light armour. The guy who is first in the room probably wants to look at the heavier end of the melee weapons and the best armour he can get his hands on.
Having created your party of Fighters, let them loose on an adventure/dungeon and see how they fare. My guess is that they'll do just fine.

Meet the crew of 'The Unforgiven'

2011-09-15T18:29:00.003+01:00

That being the name chosen for the Runner Class starship of our Laser Crew that, from next week, will be solving mind-wrenching mysteries across time and space. Or something.

Cyrus Oppenheimer (StevieB) - Vas Mal - Face/Hailer/StratCo - Drive: Re-evolution
Keane (Chief) - Durugh - Bagger/Gunner - Drive: Comradeship
Vedek (Timbo) - Tavak - Techie/Mapper/Pilot - Drive: Professionalism
Tukik (Matty) - Tavak - Wrench/Chopper - Drive: Meditative Reconciliation

I'm not too surprised that we ended-up with a 100% alien crew, although I thought that a Cybe may have sneaked in. All Groundside and Warpside crew roles have been filled, courtesy of two PCs fulfilling dual roles where necessary. The Medic role will be filled by a NPC, for which I'll simply note the pertinent abilities. Personality for this character may develop in play, or not. If a PC gets greased early doors, there's an option to turn the Medic into a PC. We ensured that every investigative ability is covered by the crew, so there will never be a time in play when a core clue can't be picked-up by somebody. This also means that nobody is really a specialist at the start of play, which is a good thing. Extra build points can be awarded during play so that players can develop their characters according to whim and desire.

Next Week: Actual, honest-to-goodness, roleplaying!

So wrong it's right

2011-09-11T11:07:00.001+01:00

Reading this latest post by Zak S. makes me want to play an uproariously drunk and foul-mouthed session of this:

{Yes, I'm ashamed to say I own this turkey}

Note: I didn't say I wanted to watch the film.

Crypts & Things is coming

2011-09-10T14:42:00.000+01:00

The new (old) game from the creative powerhouse that is Newt Newport will soon be emerging onto the prime material plane. Ladies and gentlebeings, I give you Crypts & Things.

All change!

2011-09-08T20:02:00.000+01:00

No, this isn't the cry at the Annual Changeling Convention, but rather a quick update on the state of gaming within the TNC. Following a constructive debate about 'The Armitage Files' the group decided to abandon this flawed gem of RPG design and make preparations to enter the Bleed as a band of steely-eyed Licensed Autonomous Zone Effectuators. I think this is a record for the TNC, in terms of the time elapsed between a new game entering our hive mind and actually playing the darned thing. I'm very excited to be running 'Ashen Stars' so soon after adding it to my collection and I'll post any interesting tidbits that arise in play.

Mission 1 - character creation! A brief round-up of the crew will appear after next Tuesday's session, which will also hopefully include some actual play.

Can I play a Skeksis?

2011-09-04T13:52:00.000+01:00

Oh my word, please let this happen.

Dark Crystal RPG

Distracted by RPGs

2011-09-03T17:24:00.000+01:00

How often do you find your non-gaming train of thought derailed by tangentially related RPG musings? I must confess that it happens to me with embarrassing and unhealthy regularity. Take now, for instance, I'm working on an essay for my degree course, which is examining the relationship between Christian missionary activity and pagan traditions in Western Europe. Intertwined in this topic is the unavoidable subject of magic (you see where I'm going now), on which I own a not inconsiderable number of books (or should that be tomes?). Consequently my brain is now feverishly plotting an Ars Magica saga concentrating on the diametrically opposed relationship between the Order of Hermes and the medieval Church. Now, I'll freely admit that I'm probably the only person interested in such a campaign, but I can't seem to stop my brain running off down this track. I just know that when I come to proof-read this essay I'm going to find references to Creo Aquam and Certamen.

Owner of the magic armour

2011-09-03T16:07:00.000+01:00

Noism has posted a well-observed note about magic items in D&D type games. I particularly like the simple rule he proposes for carrying this thought forward into actual play. I'll certainly adopt this idea when next running AD&D or a similar game. If nothing else, it should spark some interesting role-playing moments as the great-grandson of Magnar the Slayer spots a hapless PC brandishing his ancestor's enchanted battle-axe.

Continuum 2012

2011-09-03T14:08:00.000+01:00

Here is the first progress report from Britain's friendliest games convention. I'm not wishing away my limited time on this big blue and white marble, but I'm very excited by the fact that I get to attend another of these magnificent events in the not-too-distant future. If you don't usually attend conventions (and I can't blame you if you don't) I recommend Continuum, which is fun, friendly, laid-back and jammed to the rafters with ace games and quality people. If you book this year you can save yourself a crisp tenner on the price of a three-night sojourn in the East Midlands. Treat yourself, you know you want to.

Corrections to Traveller required?

2011-09-03T13:37:00.000+01:00

Does this article mean that I need to take a red pen and a highlighter to my copy of the 'World Builder's Handbook' for Traveller? I'll probably pass, seeing as that book tends to fry my synapses whenever I come to use it. The article does pose some interesting questions to the way in which planetary systems are created in games such as Traveller and highlights (once again) the potential scientific hiccups of a SF RPG that is over thirty years old. Having said that, I've always found that a lot of the charm of Traveller lies in it being a product of the time in which it was written, which fact explains why I've never embraced the game in its newer iterations.

RPGs are alive and well

2011-09-03T10:45:00.000+01:00

At least in Austin, TX, according to this article. It is heartening to read such an item in the mainstream press and gives me hope that the ever-present cloud of doom hovering over the projected future of our hobby may be just an illusion.

Well, I'm back

2011-09-02T11:31:00.000+01:00

A thoroughly enjoyable holiday on the shores of Lake Annecy has revivified my aching body and cluttered brain. After ten days of consuming three times my own mass in saturated fat and a large pond's worth of wine, I'm now ready for some clean living and seriously focussed nerding. My first job is to write a 5,000-word essay for my History degree and then revise for an exam in early October. In between such endeavours I intend to put in some work on the Pendragon campaign and run some more Burning Wheel, having gained more inspiration from wandering around places such as Chambery and Conflans. I also need to make a firm decision about what I'm going to run at CottageCon III, in November. On which note, I've just started to read 'Ashen Stars', the new Space Opera offering from Pelgrane Press, and it's looking very promising indeed. Having played 'Trail of Cthulhu' for a while now, I'm interested to see how the Gumshoe system works in a different genre. Speakng of ToC, I 've been wool-gathering about the way in which the sanity and stability mechanics work. I will post my thoughts here as soon as I can formulate them into a cogent stream.

BSG RPG Scenario Ideas 2

2011-08-16T20:57:00.000+01:00

Here are another couple of seeds for BSG scenarios.

The PCs are part of a Marine unit deployed to a civilian ship in order to prevent rioting in response to the announcement of water rationing. The PCs are called to action as soon as they arrive, their very presence being sufficient cause for a riot to break out. Somebody on board this ship is running a black market operation in water-supply. They have access to a small but highly efficient (possibly military) water recycling system. Investigations reveal the existence of a blossoming, fleet-wide black market in consumable goods. Inspired by the episode 'Water'.
The PCs are all pro-Zarek ideologues and, when Zarek's message is broadcast across the fleet, they decide to stage a coup, in support of Zarek, on the ship they currently call home. This would be a free-ranging scenario, with the players very much in the driving seat and deciding the course of events. The GMs role here would be to present realistic and appropriate responses to the PCs actions. This would develop into an escalating game of action and consequence. How far will the PCs go for their ideals? Inspired by the episode 'Bastille Day'.

BSG RPG Scenario Ideas 1

2011-08-16T19:55:00.000+01:00

I've been re-watching BSG and coming up with outline ideas that could be used for the RPG, whether that be the officially licensed game or a ruleset of one's own choosing. I'm thinking that 'Wordplay' could provide a good framework for a rousing few sessions in the BSG universe. The following nuggets assume knowledge of the series.

The scenario begins on one of the colony worlds at the moment of the Cylon attacks. The PCs must escape from the planet by any means. Once they successfully escape the planet, the PCs rendezvous with Colonial One and are tasked with searching for other ships that have escaped the attacks. Will the PCs comply or will they choose another, more nefarious, course of action? There is an option for PCs to be naughty and engage in piracy, for example, after all, the remnants of the Colonial Fleet have their hands full at this time. Inspired by the Mini Series
The PCs escape the attacks aboard the Olympic Carrier. When the ship is taken by the Cylons the PCs are among several people who manage to hide and remain aboard after the vessel is fitted with nukes and returned to the fleet. Their mission now is to regain control of the ship before it is destroyed by Apollo. One of the other people in hiding is Dr. Lucien Amarak; a man who holds compelling evidence of Baltar's treachery. Perhaps one PC is a Cylon sleeper, who activates if the PCs successfully gain control of the ship. Inspired by the episode '33'.

Another Attack of Gamer ADD

2011-08-14T12:34:00.000+01:00

It's bloody typical, isn't it? I finally rediscover my focus for preparing and running the next phase of the GPC, and then Arc Dream completely derails my thought process by mentioning the DG stand-alone RPG. Now, whilst I'm probably not going to buy this (stop rolling your eyes), I do find myself pawing at the various DG books in my collection, whilst brewing ideas for a PISCES campaign. All of this is not helped by the fact that I started re-watching season 1 of 'The X Files', last night. Oh-oh, what's this in my hands? DG 'Targets of Opportunity'? That's torn it. Take a guess at which gaming book will be coming on holiday with me?

<HINT: It will not be 'Perilous Forest'>

New Delta Green RPG Announced

2011-08-13T13:15:00.000+01:00

The following sentence caused my nipples to explode with delight:

"We’re working on Delta Green as a standalone roleplaying game."

The quote is from the Arc Dream website and the full announcement can be read here .

I adore DG and have voraciously gobbled-up all the material that has been published since the initial book, all the way back in 1996/97. I deserted the BRP rule-set in favour of the core mechanic from 'Unknown Armies', so I will be very interested to see what Arc Dream produce in terms of rules for what is, in my view, the finest iteration of Cthulhu gaming material. The only stumbling block to me buying this will be if great swathes of material I already own is re-printed in this new book. If that's the case I shall most likely stick with my DG/UA mash-up. Nonetheless, this is great news for all fans of DG and I wish Arc Dream every success.

More thoughts on rebooting the GPC

2011-08-13T11:52:00.000+01:00

Over the past few days, my mind has been wandering with regards to the looming reboot of our Pendragon game. As usual I have scribbled down my thoughts in a notebook and now transfer them here, to the realm of digital posterity.

The knight to whom the PCs are squires is called Sir Ewan. He is a vassal knight of Lambor and holds several manors from Blamore de Ganis, Baron of Lambor.
Sir Ewan is a bit on the thick side, bless 'im. A consequence of this is that the squires will be able to do a lot of thinking on his behalf and thus steer him towards, or away from, individual adventures.
Sir Ewan constantly exhorts his squires to seek out noble adventures and quests for him to pursue. This means that the squires will get plenty of opportunity to flex their courtly skills in the pursuit of information.
The campaign will reboot using 'Perilous Forest', specifically the section that details a journey along the King's Road, from Eburacum to Carduel.
Characters will be created using the rules from 'Knights Adventurous'.

Thoughts on a reboot of the GPC

2011-08-11T15:45:00.001+01:00

I have the unenviable reputation, amongst my fellow gamers, of being easily distracted when a campaign enters a hiatus. There have been many instances across the years, of campaigns that have paused whilst I took a break from GMing, ostensibly in order to plan the next phase of a particular campaign. I look back, through +5 rose-tinted spectacles of hindsight, at such examples as the Paris/Venice VtM chronicle, the zeroes-to-heroes Balazar RQ campaign and the freebooting, Elite-a-thon that was our Spinward Marches-set Traveller campaign. In each instance, at the point at which these games paused, my intention was to continue with them after a short break to recharge my GM-battery. In each instance, I failed utterly to deliver on this intention, becoming distracted by the myriad games that sit on my shelves. Perhaps this is the curse of the RPG collector, to forever be burdened with more games than you can possibly play and therefore doomed to never quite get around to running that epic, generational campaign that you know lies within you.

The guys I GM for are very familiar with this situation and I see the looks of recognition and slight disappointment that cross their faces whenever a campaign is paused and I begin yammering on about the latest “cool” game to catch my eye. I think I spotted those looks recently as I frothed and foamed about the 4th edition of L5R, a game that has truly captured both my heart and mind. I could sense the feeling of impending doom being spelled-out for the continuation of the Great Pendragon Campaign, and saw that feeling manifesting on the faces of the TNC. To be perfectly honest, I did wonder for a moment whether the GPC would join the ranks of other, greatly enjoyed campaigns. It was at that moment that I made a firm decision to break this particular pattern of behaviour and commit myself totally to seeing the GPC through to its final, bloody conclusion at the battle of Camlann.

I’m a firm believer that talk is cheap and that actions are what make our reality manifest, according to our desires. Therefore, I took out my battered Moleskine notebook and wrote thusly:

28/07/11 – Ideas for re-boot of the Pendragon campaign:

1.      PCs begin as squires, not all necessarily the same age;

2.      The squires are all in the service of one knight. This knight is obviously superlative or even spectacular to have so many squires;

3.      The knight is likely a member of the Round Table and a glowing example of knighthood i.e. he has both Chivalry and Religious bonuses;

4.      The knight expects a very high standard of behaviour and performance from his squires;

5.      The knight encourages competition amongst his squires;

6.      The re-booted campaign will not be based in Salisbury;

7.      The initial few years will focus on adventure and travel, rather than battle and courtly duty;

8.      Progression to knighthood will not be automatically assumed; it must be earned through deeds.

I think that, for the first time, being distracted by another game has actually re-ignited my creative flame for the paused campaign and, for that reason, I love L5R just a little bit more.