greatcleave

Dying Memories Logo/Cover Contest

2011-08-18T11:21:00.000-07:00

Post World Games : It's Official

2011-07-02T20:01:00.000-07:00

I have started a new website.

Post World Games is an ongoing project of mine involving all manner of games. It is a for profit series of projects, but the focus is on the stuff I'm making.

It'll be slow to start, but I expect it to pick up steam by the end of the year.

postworldgames.com

Metagaming 101

2011-06-26T13:07:00.000-07:00

Rob Donaghue over at Some Space to Think, wrote an interesting article about Metagaming. I responded to his blog and then I also posted that response (with a little more meat on it), here. [Link]

Let me start by saying Metagaming is good. If someone accuses you of metagaming, I'd be curious to know what they mean and why that's a bad thing. My assumption is this.

Player one sits down to "be in character." Player two sits down to "kill things." Player three sits down to "hang out with friends." GM sits down to immerse players in his gaming world experience. They get together once a week, have snacks, talk about work, and kill 20 orcs before the night is over. That is not a far-fetched scenario by any means.

Player four is invited to join the group and he comes from a different background of gaming. He acts on information his character wouldn't have, he adds details to the world the GM didn't approve, and he jumps back and forth between 1st and 3rd person to suit his needs, sometimes narrating some of the background action.

All of this may get under the GM and player's skin.

For those raised on D&D, this is not how you do things.

But I'm getting away from the author's point.

I think the difference here is inherent in the difference between design and play. A designer designs the game he likes. A developer makes sure that game is fun for as many people as possible. And then the player does whatever he wants with it. Take GTA for example. You can do all the missions or you can run around kill pimps and hookers. It's up to you.

That said, a fundamental flaw in the design of MMOs and non-tabletop RPGs is the lack of team coherency and unity. If everyone is vying for control of "top dog" then the game becomes a pissing contest of who is better at min-maxing their character and so on.

And that's no fun.

A good game designer designs numerous paths to victory. And that's usually some sort of "meta" design. Take D&D1 for example. Not a well-designed game by any means, but if a wizard is really powerful at 10th level, but not very powerful at 1st level, is it meta to wait it out and hope for a powerful character later? Sure. In the purest sense of the word, yes. But that's not a bad thing. People use META like a pejorative. But it's not.

As a player, I get to be Actor, Author, and Audience all at once. And that's where META is far better than some of these simulationist or immersive players can understand.

Why limit myself to a single point of view and only enjoy one aspect of play? It makes no sense to me.

In all fairness, I gave up DM Authority games a long time ago. The INDIE movement got one thing right. Everyone at the table has the brain capacity to make decisions about how the world works and what constitutes success.

I hope that if the MEEK have taught us anything, it's that playing at the table with the right group of people is more important than worrying about which die probability curve is best for this situation, when the real question is... will the story be enriched by me failing right now?

If more games gave out points for failure, you'd see more people flub things early on in order to get those juicy "drama points" that pay off at the end. Which brings us all the way back to our quintet of gamers.

Player four may be breaking a lot of rules of this group's social contract. But he isn't really breaking any good rules. What he's done is take people out of their comfort zones. The fact is, the metagamer may be just as selfish in his endeavors as any other player, but he's looking at the complete picture. And a gamer who believes there is only one path to fun isn't missing out on a lot.

Sermon over.

Hunting Party by Gorilla Games

2011-06-08T21:52:00.000-07:00

Press Release

Gorilla Games is proud to announce the release of the "Hunting Party" stand alone card game in August of 2011. Hunting Party is designed by Jeff Siadek with Art by jim pinto, Andrew Hepworth, Janine Johnston, and Vaughn Reynolds.

In Hunting Party, players take on the roles of hunters on safari in Victorian Africa. Each hunter has a unique talent and scores points for bringing back trophies and accomplishing their secret goal.

You choose your action each turn and collectively choose the fate card that will apply. If you Shoot an attacking animal, you bag a trophy but if you Camp when an animal attacks, you discard cards. Hunters die when they run out of cards so be careful!

You'll brave the dangers of Vine Bridges, Ambushes, Quicksand and much more.

Adventure Awaits!

Hunting Party comes with 108 cards and one rules sheet in a tuck box.

Product code ooc1102
MSRP $14.95 U.S.
Playing Time 1 hour

1-Hour Game Challenge

2011-05-27T04:06:00.000-07:00

I just wrote up some prototype rules for a Logan's Run style RPG. It's 4am and I started around 3am. Guaranteed to be amazing.

Anyway. I'll be testing them this weekend (I hope) and if anyone wants to read them after the convention, I'll be glad to e-mail a PDF out.

Enjoy your weekend.

Travis Heermann Releases Heart of the Ronin

2011-05-25T15:49:00.000-07:00

My writing partner in crime, Travis Heermann has published a novel set in feudal Japan.

I am just now starting to read it myself, so I can't give you any more information than, it looks awesome and I know Travis doesn't suck as a writer.

Below is both the cover and link to the book.

Link

Strategicon May 2011

2011-05-25T02:19:00.001-07:00

Game convention weekend at the LAX. I'll see you there… if you're local, that is.

Mario Kart

2011-04-28T00:56:00.001-07:00

Pirate Ship Bedroom

2011-04-20T22:29:00.001-07:00

There's no question this kid has the coolest dad.

Link

Looking for Proofreader

2011-04-09T22:43:00.001-07:00

Hey. Find me if you're interested in reading some PDF material for me in exchange for thanks, and maybe some free stuff from my personal library.

Or maybe just a shout out on here.

Nerd with Katana makes the News (not in a funny way)

2011-03-26T13:45:00.001-07:00

Link

For those who don't know, Hemet is small white-trash town here in southern California. Each year, it produces a small supply of Nobel Prize winners in both Crystal Meth and Walmart Shopping.

Eric Lofgren Art

2011-03-17T15:14:00.000-07:00

After many years in the rpg and ccg freelance market, Eric Lofgren has ventured into the limited license field with a large storehouse of art built up from years of illustration commissions and personal artworks in color, grayscale and black and white. This will be an ongoing venture that will be added to over time and it's his hope that the work will come into contact with people in the industry in need of low priced, but high-quality professional work already successfully tested in the market. As well as new works created just for this venture. Follow the link to for more information and contact info.

Link

Looking for Web Person

2011-03-04T14:08:00.000-08:00

Looking for Web Person to work on project(s) together. Includes gaming and non-gaming related projects.

Contact me if you're interested.

Work in Progress

2011-03-04T09:16:00.000-08:00

For those of you unaware, I am presently free of the constraints of servitude. In other words, I am no longer at AEG and haven't been for sometime. I made no public announcement this time upon leaving. The industry is different now and my feelings about the matter are different than they were in 2005 when I left the first time.

All that said, I'm working on a number of personal gaming projects related to my interests, rather than committee interests. Below is one of several games I'll be releasing in some capacity this year.

This is more of a teaser than anything else. The font isn't finalized and the interior is still being hobbled together. When I am ready to give details about the game, I will. I have other RPG concepts in the works as well as a GM advice sheet that I'm developing.

I also have some board games and cards games that I'll be pitching to a few people in the industry I trust. If they don't go over, maybe I'll do them as POD games through places like gamecrafter.com.

Sorry for the morose tone, this morning. I've been up since 2am. Probably need to get some sleep.

Looking for Playtesters (RPG)

2011-03-02T00:57:00.000-08:00

It's been a while since I posted. I'm sure no one's cheating this site anymore.

But.

If you are, I am developing a number of short, indie-style RPGs and I'm looking for people to play them.

If you're interested, please contact me through the comments below.

Agricola

2011-02-11T05:02:00.000-08:00

If you've ever read the rules to this game, at the very end you can find solo play suggestions, which require you to play SEVEN times in a row.

And of course...

I did just that tonight.

The rules include a system of growing occupations that can be very interesting, but also overpowering. For instance, my last THREE actions on the last turn of the last game netted me ZERO victory points.

Still. I'd probably do it again.

Hello Cthulhu

2010-11-13T22:09:00.001-08:00

Sir Ian McKellan

2010-10-11T23:33:00.000-07:00

L5R RPG : FInal Rest : Epilogue : Hour of the Hare

2010-08-31T01:34:00.001-07:00

A miserable end to any revenge story is one where the protagonist does not get his revenge at all. However, the GM of this story may choose to have both the protagonist and antagonist die. Or have the protagonist learn there is more to this story than just a kidnapping. Or, have the villain escape for a long term nemesis to hound and annoy Samurai X.

GM's should tailor the finale and the denouement to the player's style, giving some degree of control to the player who has endured so much to get to this point.

Some final questions.
Does Kajime survive?
Is the ceremony thwarted? If not, what happens?
Who else knows about this?
How does everything turn out for the other parties involved?
Are magistrates involved? Or does the story end inside a vacuum, with 99.9% of Rokugan never hearing anything of this tale?

Homage
Man on Fire

L5R RPG : FInal Rest : Part 12 : Hour of the Tiger

2010-08-31T01:34:00.000-07:00

Hour of the Tiger
In this chapter, Samurai X has his final showdown with the leader cultist, who is no push-over.

First. He must find him in the temple.

Second. He must stop the ritual before the final hour bell rings.

Third. He must get his revenge.

Step one can be as easy or tough as you'd like. Is the interior a labyrinth? Is there a second or third floor? Are there secret doors? Panels?

Step two involves a little more creativity. Should Samurai X get to the final chamber of the temple, the entire room goes pitch black as the cult leader waves his massive cloak and extinguishes all of the candles.

And then the snakes enter into the room

So. Step three becomes more about surviving and escaping with Kajime and less about killing the leader of the cult.

Note. The leader's stats should be similar to the PCs. His skill sets also similar, although

Required Rolls
Everything

Homage
Silence of the Lambs

L5R RPG : FInal Rest : Part 11 : Hour of the Ox

2010-08-26T01:34:00.000-07:00

Hour of the Ox
In this chapter, Samurai X must fight wave after wave of fanatical zealots, loyal to the cult's cause. The interior of the temple can hold as many monks/cultists as you would like, but beyond 30 and this is going to get very silly. The hallways are wide enough for 2-4 cultists, coming wave after wave.

The PC should actually get tired of the fighting.

As for the temple itself… since this temple was built for another purpose, feel free adorn the interior however you like, and desecrate the walls with unholy words, strange markings, and blood.

Required Rolls
Fighting. Lots and lots of fighting.

Homage
Jackie Chan

L5R RPG : FInal Rest : Part 10 : Hour of the Rat

2010-08-25T01:33:00.000-07:00

Hour of the Rat
In this chapter, Samurai X must find a way inside the temple, which has been barred during his fight with the other cultists and with 'Moose.' And since it's uncertain where the hostage is, burning down the temple is not an option.

And time is running out.

The GM should increase the tension here. Screams from inside the temple, eerie sounds that aren't quite right, and movement in the dark that can't be parsed or explained. All the while, the temple proves to be insurmountable as a task in from of him.

Required Rolls
Anything requiring ingenuity or persistence.

Homage
Throne of Blood

L5R RPG : FInal Rest : Part 9 : Hour of the Boar

2010-08-12T01:34:00.000-07:00

Hour of the Boar
Having just killed a squad of cultists, Samurai X must now contend with the temple bodyguard who is no push-over. It is recommended that you open with a sweeping scene of the carnage surrounding the samurai, followed by some cleaning of his wounds, and the bathing of his sword in a brook of clear water before ascending the step of the temple.

The temple bodyguard is a moose of a man, without much brains and easily manipulated by the cult leader. "Moose" as he is called by his fellow cultists should make even a Crab samurai stop and consider what is at stake here. If this guy gets in one solid strike, it is all over…

It is recommended that the GM use some kind of time-stopping, dramatic showdown rules here to really ramp up the drama…

Required Rolls
Intimidate
Awareness
Perception

Homage
Yojimbo

L5R RPG : FInal Rest : Part 8 : Hour of the Dog

2010-08-11T01:33:00.000-07:00

Hour of the Dog
In this chapter, Samurai X seeks out the temple. Perhaps with the aid of a local, or through grit and determination, he comes upon a well-defended temple. Which should seem suspicious, since most monks have nothing to guard.

This chapter is pretty straight-forward. Keep throwing cultists at the samurai until the he has had enough a dozen or so should do it.

Required Rolls
Fight!

Homage
Sanjuro

L5R RPG : FInal Rest : Part 7 : Hour of the Rooster

2010-08-01T01:33:00.000-07:00

Hour of the Rooster
In this chapter, Samurai X basks in the glory of his actions from the previous chapter, either from violence or subtlety. Regardless of the reason, the people of the village take notice of the samurai's prowess, feed him, bathe him, and guide him up the road to the temple that he seeks.

It's only a matter of time now…

The Samurai should be able to taste his revenge.

Required Rolls
Test of Honor

Homage
Zatoichi anything

L5R RPG : FInal Rest : Part 6 : Hour of the Monkey

2010-07-13T01:32:00.000-07:00

Hour of the Monkey
In this chapter, Samurai X reaches the half-way point of the story and the first real break in his travels. A small village in a remote part of the province is the resting place of several cult members, indulging in worldly pursuits before their plans see fruition.

There are many roads the samurai can take here. Direct confrontation will most likely lead to violence, which isn't necessarily a bad thing… these cultists deserve to die, but it could mean jeopardizing the mission. Subterfuge will lead to more information about the whereabouts of the enemy, but an honorable samurai would never reduce himself to suck chicanery. Taking a cultist alive won't help matters as they are sworn to secrecy. And waiting to see what the cultists do is not an option, as time is running out.

It is up to the GM to determine the next course of action for the hero, as time is running out.

Let the samurai set his own path here.
Be prepared to dig two graves.

Required Rolls
Kenjutsu
Dodge
Anything related to fighting

Homage
Ronin Gai

L5R RPG : FInal Rest : Part 5 : Hour of the Goat

2010-07-12T01:32:00.000-07:00

Hour of the Goat
In this chapter, Samurai X must take time to re-center himself and reflect on what has happened so far and where he is going. Wisdom gained here will help him in all the following chapters of the story.

After the last chapter, the samurai should be on the right path to finding the cultist. The road is brambly, overun, and generally not well maintained, but eventually he will reach a bridge over a calm brook of water. Serenity starts to seep in and the surroundings take the samurai away to a better place. Cherry blossoms fall to the earth and mingle with the near-perfect beauty of the surroundings.

The scene is breathtaking, even for a a samurai who has seen it all.

Almost blending into background is a lone, elderly monk, who leans on his staff and watches the water cascade ever so effortlessly down the brook. He beckons to the samurai to join him in quiet contemplation upon that which Amaterasu has blessed us with.

The goal here is to calm the samurai who is most certainly vexed by the situation he is in.

Guide the samurai to inner tranquility
Get him to focus his mind and body
Offer him wisdom that will aid him in the final chapters
Answer one question he has
Offer the samurai experience points once it is over

Required Rolls
Void
Meditation
Tea Ceremony

Homage
House of Flying Daggers

L5R RPG : FInal Rest : Part 4 : Hour of the Horse

2010-07-09T01:32:00.001-07:00

Hour of the Horse
Once again, speed is of the essence. If Samurai X wasted time in the previous chapter — as he should have — then he should feel as though the trail is growing cold. If he questions the locals, they know nothing. If he searches for tracks, they are washed away by a small creek. If he pushes on, despite having little clues, his horse collapses in exhaustion.

The is a good time to get the samurai lost. Take him down a road into a part of the empire he is not familiar... and watch what happens. This should be a short distraction from the task at hand, but being lost should definitely worry the PC. He is now in a place where the villagers do not recognize him or do not trust him. Perhaps they even have their own dialect. Play it up however you like.

Do not distract the samurai for than one (rokugani) hour, but make finding his way back difficult.With or without a horse. Throw in a minor side-plot about a peasant needing help with a bully or something if you really want to mix it up.

I don't recommend it, but it's your game.

Required Rolls
Willpower
Perception
Honor

Homage
Throne of Blood

L5R RPG : FInal Rest : Part 3 : Hour of the Serpent

2010-07-06T01:32:00.000-07:00

Hour of the Snake
In this chapter, Samurai X must choose between two paths. He can believe whatever lie the cultist told him last time or he can go the opposite way (it is the GM's job to make sure that there are only two real possibilities at this point). One decision will surely put him hours behind where he needs to be.

The point of this chapter, however, is to heighten the tension and let the PC think he has lost time. Perhaps the cultist had a map to a place that does not exist. Perhaps he gave bad directions or with his dying breath tells the samurai the missing girl is in a place far from where she really is.

Speed up the action
Slow down the action
Describe unimportant things in detail
Gloss over seemingly important things so the samurai must ask questions

Required Rolls
Perception
Willpower
Intelligence
Honor

Homage
16 Blocks

L5R RPG : FInal Rest : Part 2 : Hour of the Dragon

2010-07-02T11:31:00.000-07:00

Hour of the Dragon
In this chapter, Samurai X comes upon one of the cultists on the road. The cultist is disguised, and is actually here to detain the samurai, but that should not be evident. Vengeance should fill the mind of the samurai, clouding his decision-making. The overly helpful-cultist should send up a warning flag, eventually, but only after he has done everything in his power to confound the samurai.

Should the samurai try to the cultist, however, the cultist is ready.

If a fight ensues, make sure it spills into the streets and becomes as public as possible. While this is the last thing the cultists want, this is a great way to heighten the drama and tension. Now the samurai has publicly defeated (murdered) another person. Certainly magistrates or authorities will hear of it.

Lie to the samurai.
Lie some more.
Give false information.
Misdirect.
Offer aid that is unreasonable, but seemingly a gift.

Required Rolls
Manipulation
Kenjutsu
Perception

Homage
Kill Bill, Vol. 1

L5R RPG : FInal Rest : Part 1 : Hour of the Hare

2010-07-01T11:31:00.000-07:00

Hour of the Hare
In this chapter, Samurai X must give chase. And quickly. Speed is everything here. Do not give the PCs time to think about anything. Every peasant they talk to gives different information about where the cultist went. Most did not see them. Others are terrified of both the samurai and the cultists. A few are willing to help, but don't know much. Only one knows the truth.

Keep the PCs on their toes.
Keep them guessing.
Put an hourglass on the table to increase the tension.
Play music from the Onimusha video game.
Distract them with the descriptions of mundane activity all around until they focus their mind on the task at hand.

Required Rolls
Void or Meditation

Fire or Dexterity
Air of Awareness

Homage
Akira Kurosawa's Stray Dog

Goru runs to the street, finds a peasant gathering water from the well for early morning tea and soup. He makes wild accusations, he points and shouts. He even threatens the peasant. This continues for several minutes as he goes from peasant to peasant looking for answers. In desperation, Goru starts running north to the edge of the village and he does not stop running until he spots a dirty mendicant digging in the mud of worms… a few zeni should get this man to tell Goru everything he needs to know.

"My steps never faltered. My resolution never wavered. I am samurai. I am the way and the path and the sword. Nothing, not even the ignorance of the cravenly will deter me from finding Kajime. These villains will taste my blade. The heavens will tell my tale."

L5R RPG : Final Rest, Part 0 of 12

2010-07-01T01:31:00.000-07:00

In contrast to the previous adventure which takes place over many days, weeks, etc... depending on the length of the chase, this adventure is structured over a 24-hour (12 in Rokugan) period, with each hour broken down into a separate chapter.

Having nothing to do with the the show 24, this idea was based on a video game I played where the main character was racing up a hill against a clock... and that blossomed into what you are reading now.

This is the start of a 12-part story, that I will detail over 12 small blog posts.

Zero
Samurai X must get from location A to location Z in 24 hours. The reason is inconsequential to the story. The GM is encouraged to make this a revenge story, but it's not necessary. The threads of the plot will be left open for you to detail.

Each chapter will have an example based on the idea that Goru must reach the Swift Viper's Temple before the sun rises tomorrow in order to stop the Cult of the Snake from sacrificing his daimyo's niece — Kajime — to the great serpent.

"The run was rising. Kajime was already gone… My head still spinning from last night's sake and whatever those bastards used to poison me. They should have used a lethal dose. Whatever lead time they thought they had, wouldn't help. I am coming for you."

Girlfriend Deletes Boyfriend's WoW Characters

2010-06-14T10:29:00.001-07:00

I don't like WoW, so I don't really care what this guy is going through, but man is this chick out of line. Way way way out of line.

This is why women and gaming don't mix, people.

Link

Board Game Documentary

2010-06-14T10:12:00.001-07:00

Link

Kublacon

2010-06-02T13:43:00.000-07:00

It's been too long a break from posting and luckily for anyone who comes to read this blog, my regular computer is being worked on... so I'm stuck on this water-cooled VAX-encapsulated calculation machine. Also known as a bubble-shaped iMAC.

I just returned from the Bay Area's favorite game convention, Kublacon… run by Japji Khalsa, a perennial feature in the gaming industry. I attended the show from Friday at 2pm until Sunday night at Midnight and had one of the best times I've ever had at any show.

I demo'd Thunderstone and Adventurers many many times.

And I played a few of my own designs with friends as well. However, the highlight for me was playing George's Children, which we haven't played in a long time, Dogs in the Vineyard (with Inquisition-era Paladins), and Tales of the Arabian Nights (by Z-Man games). George's was the best of the games, but we did get in THREE different games of TALES during the weekend.

I also got to see a few friends that I haven't seen in a while.

Someone ran a session of Thunderstone as an RPG. But I didn't get to play in it because I was starving and had to get some food.

Great show. I'm hoping to see everyone there again.

Family Games : 100 Best

2010-05-12T16:36:00.000-07:00

Yours truly has an essay coming in Green Ronin's Family Games : 100 Best, edited and compiled by Mr. James Lowder himself. Rumor has it that James almost stalked and killed writers who were late with the essays. However, my abysmal essay was submitted over a year ago. Who knows if I even agree with my opinion anymore?

Anyway. If you liked this first one, this promising to be a hit. And Robert Schwalb and I appear back to back inside the book. Weird.

Link

UPDATE: We were mentioned on wired.com

L5R RPG Adventure : Winchester 73 : Kono no Tachi

2010-04-26T03:54:00.000-07:00

If you've not seen this classic Western, Winchester '73, it's not a deal-breaker to run this RPG Adventure. However, if you'd like to watch it, it's really good. If you do intend to see it, do so before reading this, as the adventure has spoilers.

what you will need
one gm
two players
any edition of the legend of the five rings roleplaying game
rank 2 characters with significantly developed histories (see below)
a willingness to start a campaign from scratch and/or make characters specific to this adventure's tone

names
if you need names for characters, use these. but you might want to set this adventure in your own game world, so use whatever you like.
city — shinsei's hope
local lord — lord kenjire
blacksmith — o-kono

blade — kono no tachi
murderer — tsuchiro

background
this adventure is set in any mid-sized town/city in rokugan. the crab or crane are ideal to host it, but it can really be anyone. the story begins when a master craftsman forges his final blade before retiring and giving up the blade to his lord. spending a lifetime honing is skills and perfecting his craft, this blade is the most perfectly balanced, most delicately engraved katana he has ever created. there's all kinds of cool here for a montage scene involving it's creation, the blessing of the water that cools it, and so on. his lord, a benevolent man, decides that the blade belongs in the hands of a true master. and in order to find this master, he holds a competition six days after the setsuban festival to determine who should receive the blade.

so enters the player characters — as well as a host of npcs.

characters
one of the players will take on the role of the "main character" [character a] and the other should be his "sidekick" [character b]. in rpgs circles this is a rare adventure structure, but it's very important to this story's development that only one of the characters bear a "grudge" and the other support his friend in this task. if the gm runs another adventure for these characters, he can balance it with a tale focused on character b.

the two characters are completely loyal to one another. party in-fighting has no place here, although the sidekick is allowed to be the comic relief at times, and certainly question the judgment of his friend. character a probably shouldn't get angry at this. he knows character b has his best interests at heart.

character a should max out his kenjutsu and iaijutsu as much as he can. he should also be a ronin, recently deposed after the murder of his master — a shameful act that has forced him to hunt the killer, rather than commit seppukku. there's a number of roleplaying advantages and disadvantages that reflect this background, so i leave it to the gm and players to find the best mix. this means character b is either from the same school/master, or a long-time friend of character a. either way, the characters aren't part of the social structure of rokugan — they have their own revenge mission to attend to.

lastly, character a (and b) should come from honorable families or at least backgrounds that do not encourage murder or treachery. this story doesn't make much sense if character a kills the murderer in his sleep.

character b should take a number of utility skills as well as a few combat skills that character a did not take (so they don't overshadow one another mechanically). he should not have many disadvantages. being character a's friend is disadvantage enough. also, since the adventure is not really his, he would be silly to allow him an enemy, addiction, haunted past, or any other self-interested disadvantage that draws attention to him.

character a arrives in the town, not knowing about the tournament, but instead following a lead on the man who killed his master (a fellow student of that same master). he quickly finds the culprit in a tea house (he's here for the competition), but must obey the local lord's law of no-fighting under the same moon as the setsuban festival (it will be eight more days before changing of the moon). in the film, this murderer is character a's brother, which the movie keeps a secret until the final act. it is not necessary for this adventure, but would be really cool if the gm and players agree.

note: if you're already running legend of the five rings for two players, this is a great adventure to place in the middle of your campaign, as a revenge tale for one of the pcs. although it would make him a ronin, so the gm should offer up some character points or xp as a reward for going along with this.

at this point, the adventure begins.

plot
character a has a number of choices here. he can wait patiently for the moon to change, hoping that the murderer doesn't slip from his grasp. he can enter the tournament and hope to win the blade. he can try to fight the murderer and face the prosecution of the local lord (should he survive the fight).

the obvious plot here is for the pc to join the competition, but the gm is encouraged to take this plot in any direction he wants. since this is a revenge story, the gm's goal is to draw out the killing as long as possible, in order to make the pc earn it.

anything but the competition
if the pc waits, the murderer flees in the middle of the night and the hunt begins.
if the pc fights the murderer in town anyway, he will most certainly lose (see below) and depending on the circumstance be on the run. not a good place to plot revenge from.
if the pc does anything other than enter the competition, the gm will have to decide what happens, taking into account everything written here.

competition
if the pcs enter the competition, the gm has the opportunity to draw up a 32 (or even 64) samurai tournament. he can really go nuts and develop every samurai in the competition, or just worry about the top eight. it should be noted, that it does not matter who wins (see below) as events will follow that get the adventure really rolling.

each round of the tournament is a non-lethal, boken-only duel. the first strike is all that is required to win, so the gm has to be careful about how to adjudicate this under the present dueling rules, because crane npcs and those with high-void have a huge advantage.

in a perfect world, the tournament comes down to character a and the murderer, with either winning as a great finish to the competition. more drama can be added by having character a holding himself back from giving the murderer a true thrashing with the boken. the gm is free to tailor this portion of the adventure to his personal taste.

the sword
whatever the outcome, the murderer will steal the sword and flee the city in the dead of night before the actual ceremony of gifting the sword can take place. maybe the murderer kills a few guards or the npc who was supposed to win the blade (if neither of the main figures won it). if this happens, the gm should give the pc some way to intervene — if necessary — but this is a plot-heavy adventure (at this point), so a lot of fudging might be in order to ensure the murderer gets away. but, some distraction or intervention should stop the murderer from being able to kill character a outright, too. short of losing the sword (if he even had it), the character has lost anything else (maybe a few boxes of honor and a few bruises).

wow. that's a poorly constructed paragraph.

additional complications include:
character b being distracted with menial tasks (i'll get the horses)
character a being drugged or knocked out
the local magistrate having to intervene (or being paid off)
another murder at the hands of the culprit, adding to his list of offenses
the player's horses are stolen, giving the murderer a head-start

each complication puts the pcs that much further away from their goal. each complication helps build the bulk of the story, however, so it's a balancing act for the gm and pcs.

the hunt
now the pcs have an objective they can pursue. with the murderer on the run, they can give chase. the gm should determine how many hours (or days) the murderer is ahead of the pcs. using the following chart, the gm can divide the time into segments.

headstart segments
0-3 hours special
3-6 hours 1 hour
6-12 hours 2 hours
12-24 hours 4 hours
24-48 hours 8 hours
48-96 hours 16 hours
96-192 hours 32 hours
192+ hours lost

each segment is a measure of how much time the pcs will gain or lose on the suspect during each leg of the hunt. up to twice per day, the pcs should be allowed a chance to gain on the subjet, by following local clues, interrogating people, and common sense ("he'd have to stop for water at some point at there's a river this way"). each of these "tests" should be a contested roll of some kind, devised by the gm, bearing in mind that the further away the murderer gets, the harder he will be to track. also bearing in mind, that once the pcs are less than a day from their prey, the tension will certainly mount, and the murderer will get sloppy.

this, dear readers, is a classic game of cat and mouse.

once the pcs are within 3 hours of the murderer, the adventure grows tight. the murderer must act now… and all of his options are drastic and panicked.

a quick murder should force the honorable pcs to stop and help.
a hostage will make them think twice before attacking.
threatening to break the katana should stop them.

the murderer
whatever the murderer's skill level at the beginning of the game, the murderer's stats are exactly the same, except he rolls 1k1 more in every combat related skill set. however, the murderer will not acquire XP as the adventure goes on, but the pc will. this means the pc will most-likely lose in a straight up fight with the murderer early on, but will grow into a better swordsman overtime.

the murderer's needs
the murderer is not just a 2-dimensional villain. he should be fleshed out by the gm. is he really character a's brother? did he kill the master for a reason? revenge of his own? to learn a secret? to bury a secret? to hide his shame? to avoid dishonor? if the gm doesn't have an answer to these questions, i have provided a character sketch for our villain tsuchiro (see below).

once you know who the murderer is, you may need to determine his needs. if he's a pirate, he's going to need a boat. if he's a "ninja-type," he's going to need a disguise. if he's a member of the imperial family, he's going to need to cover his tracks and destroy any evidence linking him to this "identity" and so on. in our version, tsuchiro is a self-centered, cowardly brute. his needs are simple:

horse (if does not have one)
water
food
shelter
change of clothes
rejoin his "gang"

the clues
as the pcs get closer and closer to the murderer, they should hear rumors of what he's been doing. "he wasn't alone." "had a woman with him." "two of his gang stole my horses and ran off without paying." "he looked hungry and mean." "someone gave him that scar."

obstacles
if you want to continue to confound the pcs and slow them down, put some obstacles in front of them. bandits could attack, or a village could be in need of aid. a way station is burned to the ground (perhaps by the murderer), or the local magistrate needs assistance in transporting a prison. if you own the gm's survival guide, roll up some random goodies and take the pcs on a tangent for a few hours.

the finale
once character a has finally cornered the murderer, the showdown begins. the showdown is a great concept that i've always wanted to sneak into any edition of L5R (or any RPG for that matter). but the drama of the samurai really embodies the showdown. so. here's how it works.

first. forget what you know about initiative. the showdown isn't about going first. it's about having the will to hold out as long as possible and force your opponent's hand.

second. it's very much like every showdown you've ever seen in a movie, where the camera cuts from one angle to another, showing the intensity growing on the faces (and features of the characters involved). the showdown at the end of good, bad, and the ugly is ideal.

okay. here's how it works. each character multiplies his FIRE by 5. this is the value of his "patience." sorry. i don't have a better term. each round of the showdown, the characters will make contested willpower rolls. each time a character fails by a measure of 5, he removes 1 point of patience (2 if he fails by 10, and so on). should this patience ever reach 0, he acts, strikes, lashes out, etc. his action is his own, but his timing is not. he's lost the showdown, and played his hand.

during the first round of combat, the character that "lashes out" acts last. if there are still people in the showdown, they will act in descending order or remaining "patience." so, the character who held out the longest, will actually act first. in a game about samurai, this is hugely important, because there might not be a second round of action.

in the showdown of this adventure, character a should have a huge advantage over the murderer (while character b deals with the "gang," etc.) — after all, the murderer has been chased for days and is exhausted and desperate. whatever drove him to murder his master did not die there… and his past has come to haunt him.

if the gm has done his job correctly, there's a lot of cool drama here.

tsuchiro
tsuchiro never bothered to fathom the candle and the flame... he just wanted the flame. meditation and honor were breaks in-between lessons about perfecting the sword stroke. his master always tried to nurture his intellectual needs, but tsuchiro had none. while the other students learned go, shogi, and poetry, tsuchiro learned how to run faster, climb higher, and plot deeper. when he was old enough, tsuchiro began to sneak from the dojo and committ petty crimes… anything to challenge himself… to see what he could get away with.

tsuchiro grew addicted to the life, addicted to the thrill of being a samurai on the outside, and a criminal on the inside. this duality never escaped his master, or character a. but his master's code also taught temperance and understanding. in time, tsuchiro would grow out of his antics, right?

epilogue
revenge stories fork at this point. some deal with the pointlessness of vengeance. others deal with the emptiness of no longer having a goal. some speak to faith... "how did the heavens let this happen in the first place?" and others still speak to the restlessness in all of us to mete out violence with violence.

what conclusion will the players draw? the gm? your characters?

and is this the end for them? or is the road of justice just beginning…

Hey Everyone

2010-03-31T23:54:00.000-07:00

So. I've been buried with a lot of work, lately. I haven't been gaming for a while. And I generally have lost faith in gaming groups... ah... just let me got through my grief.

That said, I have been busy as the art director of L5R again, and I'm also finishing up my tour of duty on Thunderstone before Brent Keith takes it over.

Sometime in the summer, I'll be able to tell everyone the cool thing I've been working on.

In the mean time, I'm just really filling up internet bandwidth.

Blackmoor Fate

2010-03-25T11:26:00.000-07:00

Over at my portfolio, there's a discussion about what happened to Blackmoor.

I posted the cover I designed as well. For anyone that's into that sort of thing.

Link

Geek Art

2010-03-18T11:35:00.001-07:00

Without introduction…

Link

Hiatus

2010-02-16T21:06:00.000-08:00

Sorry for the long break in posts. Work has been arduous. My RPG group is no more. And I'm generally writing so much during the day, I have no interest in typing anymore at night.

The good news, though. Thunderstone is already sold out and we're printing it again.

Who knew?

Looking for Playtesters

2010-01-24T14:33:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone. I know I've posted about this before, but if anyone is available to playtest board games, please contact me through the comments or e-mail.

Thanks

Awful Game, Awesome Marketing

2010-01-12T09:42:00.000-08:00

I don't play MMOs. I don't like walking simulators. Not sure how fun it is to watch a character walk from point A to point B and then back to point A.

However, a friend of mine tries all the new ones. Even if it's just a week. He of course tried the really, really, really poorly thought-through MMO — Age of Conan. I won't go into why it's bad. If you've played it, you know. If you haven't, go find one of the 600,000 disgruntled reviews online.

Below is a copy of a mass e-mail sent to a quarter of the planet who started and no longer plays this atrocious MMO.

This message is being sent to you because you have shown an interest in Funcom products. Get your email from Funcom, add newsletters@newsletter..funcom.com to your address book. You may unsubscribe at any time. [see the extra punctuation?]

Dear customer, [notice lack of capitalization in a form letter]

Thank you for playing Age of Conan.

As part of our maintenance your account is now flagged to have your characters below level 20 deleted as part of maintenance. Please re-activate your account now to ensure that your characters progress and names stay intact.

[say what now? my 200kb of data is ravaging your server?]

As a welcome back offer we would like to give you a time-limited offer for 7 days of additional play time if you choose to re-subscribe now. Please click this link to use this special offer!

[so... first you threaten me and now you're welcoming me back?]

We hope to see you back in the game preparing your characters for the new adventures that will soon be introduced in the expansion "Age of Conan: Rise of the Godslayer". Click here to read more about the expansion.

Here are just some of the some reasons why you should return to Age of Conan now:

Veteran Points
Exclusive Subscription Rewards
Free Level 50 Character
Tons of New Conent
Enhanced Performance
Most improved
MMO of 2009

Welcome back to Hyboria, Adventurer!

[to quote Moe: "that's a funny looking strike."]

© 2010 Funcom. All rights reserved. © 2010 Conan Properties International LLC ("CPI"). CONAN, CONAN THE BARBARIAN, HYBORIA and related logos, characters, names, and distinctive likenesses thereof are trademarks or registered trademarks of CPI unless otherwise noted. All rights reserved. Funcom authorized user. Windows and the Windows Vista Start button are trademarks of the Microsoft group of companies, and "Games for Windows" and the Windows Vista Start button logo are used under license from Microsoft. Eidos & the Eidos logo are trademarks of Eidos Interactive Ltd. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Software platform logo (™ and ©) IEMA 2006. The rating icon is a registered trademark of the Entertainment Software Association.
Funcom is headquartered at
Funcom GmbH, Lavaterstrasse 45, 8002 Zürich, SWITZERLAND
You may unsubscribe from this publication at any time.

Ah. Yes. It all makes sense. Switzerland. That poor, third-world nation devoid of grammar and common sense. I understand the letter perfectly. We should be grateful they were able to even program this game on their country's single Apple 2E. They had to import an Amiga from Luxembourg to finish the job, I hear.

Sigh.

Video Game Break

2010-01-11T20:00:00.000-08:00

I took a short break from work at the end of the year (as well as RPGs) and played a few video games... and I thought it appropriate to tell you what I thought of them — because you're dying to know.

GTA 4. I took a long hiatus from this game because the damn phone calls stopped me from playing the game. Anyone that's read a review of GTA 4 or otherwise played with the game, knows how annoying it is to have Jacob, Roman, and your bevy of girlfriends calling every 10 minutes wanting to hang out. With a character as rich as Niko Belic and a story as deep and moving as GTA 4, no one wants to stop and shoot pool.

It was fun once. Pool doesn't get better in GTA the 17th time you play it.

And neither is Air Hockey in the Lost and Damned expansion.

Dancing is annoying in Ballad of Gay Tony, as well.

GTA 4 was worth every penny and then some, beyond the in game distractions. Only a couple of the missions were really really hard and the story peaks in the game can't be matched by any version of the franchise. The follow-up games are weak by comparison.

MOST AMAZING GTA 4 MOMENT: I was done with the game and shooting random people and cops (as is my want). I walked up to a cop car. Fired into the passenger's seat and filled the window with blood (it was graphic). The driver got out and died soon after. The city went nuts with terror and I got into the car and drove away; the dead cop still sitting next to me. Later, I got hit by a cop car and the passenger's door opened. It wasn't however, until I drove backwards and spun the car hard into a bootlegger turn that the body flopped out of the car, onto the pavement, and under the wheels. While most people might be sickened by all this, I marveled in the physics engine that understood inertia and acceleration.

Assassin's Creed 2. Also known as GTA: Crusades is a vast improvement over Assassin's Creed 1. However, the repetitive and mindless side questions and treasure hunting do nothing but clock more hours on the game. You gain absolutely nothing from them.

Even the special Armor isn't important to the finale, despite SIX ADDITIONAL QUESTS to find it.

The worst part of this game though, has to be the brain-dead idea of adding "city-building" to the game. Money effectively becomes useless by the time you get to your second assassination (and there are nine of them again — how creative). Effectively, you inherit your uncle's villa and must improve it — fixing whatever fell into disrepair. The game then starts spitting out money in 20 minute intervals (that's right 20 minutes) to the tune of 2,000 florins (to start). This number climbs to 20,000 by the end of the game. After the game makes FOUR DEPOSITS (of any size) into your account, it caps out and your sister takes the overage (who cares?).

If you need money, just leave the game on and walk away (mow the lawn, whatever), because there is no time urgency of any kind in the game. None. Zero. Ever.

Imagine playing an RPG that rewards a player who sits there and has a staring contest with the GM during a seven-player combat and you've got an idea of how bad this mechanic is.

Not. Thought. Through.

The conspiracy gets a lot more interesting to be sure. And the glyph puzzles are interesting, if not sometimes annoying.

And I of course loved the Italian motif. Venice is so well done, and each of the four towns has it's own personality and size (no more three same-sized cities, with three same-sized sections). This part of the game felt really organic and when he had to visit a muddy little nothing of a village, it brought everything into focus that this really was the Renaissance.

Guitar Hero Van Halen. My worst purchase this season was GHVH. Not only is Van Halen a most mediocre band with two extremely talented musicians, but the team who phoned in this game, apparently didn't even like Van Halen.

Where do I start with what's wrong with this game?

Song List. 25 Van Halen Songs. 19 Guests. Maybe 3 of the guest songs are fun. Regardless of whether I like the songs or not. Some of them just arent' fun. Of the 25 Van Halen songs, one is a repeat from World Tour (Hot for Teacher), and the three instrumentals are all saved for the very end, instead of peppering them throughout.

Now. I'm no David Lee Roth or Sammy Hagar fan. I don't tune into VH for the vocals. In fact, this game helps to sharpen the edge of all the bad VH lyrics as you traverse the landscape of "songs about girls." Every overplayed, annoying Van Halen tune you can remember from the 80s is on here. Even Jump. Dear god. Jump. To make matters, worse, Panama... among the best of their tunes is the FIRST one you play, making sure that you play the simpliest, stupidest, most dumbed down version of the song possible.

Sigh.

I haven't finished all the songs and I'm not sure I'm going to. Game Stop will probably give me $30 for it and I'm going to see if that can go toward my copy of Mass Effect 2, which promises to eat my soul unless I feed it everyday.

If anyone from Red Octane, Activision, or Neversoft is reading this... "go to hell." GHVH was disappointing.

ASIDE: I'm not a Metallica fan, either. But GHM was a lot of fun. GHVH is an exercise in sad, mediocre gameplay.

UPDATE: I owe everyone a story about how the L5R campaign ended, the next d20 World installment, and the set up for our new fantasy campaign (using the rules from Tribe 8).

Gamer Sex

2010-01-11T11:38:00.001-08:00

Link

Another Interview : Dice Tower

2009-12-08T17:02:00.000-08:00

Mary Prasad from Boardgamenews.com interviewed me while we were at Board Game Geek con and the MP3 is posted at dicetower.com

My voice is kinda sexy, I think.

Ha.

Enjoy.

Link

Thunderstone Board Game

2009-12-01T13:16:00.001-08:00

If you didn't know, the new upcoming release from AEG — Thunderstone — is my development. Designed by Mike Elliot (w/ art by Jason Engle), Thunderstone is a big new release from Alderac. Taking some of the game logic from the ever-popular Dominion, Thunderstone turns the deck-building genre into the also ever-popular dungeon crawl.

In Thunderstone, players build a deck of Heroes to go into the dungeon and kill bad guys, earn XP, level up their characters, and attach bigger and bigger weapons.

But before this starts to turn into an advertisement, I wanted to talk about the design and development process of this game. Because that was really fun and since I'm working on the expansion now, I just needed to share it to someone (I don't care if you're not listening).

Also, the solo rules are up on our website now, I think. Check it out.

More news when I have it.

Link

Monsters Attack USA...

2009-11-29T10:38:00.001-08:00

... but take an extra week to get here.

Come in Tokyo! Come in Tokyo!

Link

L5R Campaign : The Plot

2009-11-26T00:48:00.001-08:00

Okay. We're one session away from the end. So, I think I can tell everyone what's going on.

Timeline
Two years ago, Otomo Ryogo married a Crane woman (Doji Akore) in secret, despite the disapproval of both families. After the passage of time (irrelevant), the secrecy began to tear him apart and Ryogo-sama took his daisho and his name and traveled West, believing he could achieve glory in the Shadowlands by defeating a monster — any monster — and returning with some kind of trophy (yes, he is a confused little noble with no concept of what the Shadowlands truly is).

Some research uncovered tales of an oni that could shape itself into anything. Believing this to be a great threat to the Empire, Otomo Ryogo made the monster's defeat his mission. More research revealed a temple on the east edge of the Shinomen forest where wayward monks studied arcane lore. Visiting the monastery, he approached the leader of the order and asked for their help in

a. disguising his appearance
b. branding the otomo mon to his arm
c. securing the power he needed to defeat the oni

Not understanding the true nature of the temple (they were bloodspeakers afterall), Ryogo woke several days later, branded and disoriented. He also found that a large portion of his tongue was removed to satisfy some sick ritual of the temple monks. But in Ryogo-sama's addled thought-process, this was a small price to pay for the power he was "given."

Unbeknown to the Otomo, however, his soul was how inextricably linked to Jigoku and the taint of maho. Rather than give him the power to destroy the oni, they made him a vessel of unquenchable rage, unable to ascend into the celestial heavens alongside his most honorable ancestors. In a twisted joke, they also took enough of his tongue, so he could never speak of it to anyone.

Trudging into the Ox lands and finally into the blasted Kuni plains, Otomo Ryogo hunted the beast he sought... or whatever he would find…

Months later, disoriented and devoid of his noble bearing — he lost his daisho — Ryogo stumbled into a remote Unicorn village on the edge of the Empire. Believing himself possessed and tainted, he sought jade to cure himself (again, naive). Seeking the aid of two ronin, Otomo Ryogo offered what little wealth he still had.

This would be the final mistake Ryogo would make.

During the transaction, the ronin used a painful and exotic poison that would slowly erode his mind and eventually his nervous system. Otomo Ryogo would die a horrible death 12 hours later in the middle of a rice paddy on the edge of a Unicorn farm, while the two ronin made off with his armor, wakizashi, and scant remaining zeni.

Enter the PCs
On the edge of Rokugan, a noble's body is discovered, picked clean by the elements and discovered by an unmotivated and unsavory Unicorn Magistrate (Shinjo Hanri). Reporting the death at his convenience, it would be six weeks before the PCs would arrive to find the body and a few scant details about what brought this unknown Otomo was doing so far from the heart of the Empire.

How would five lowly Jade Legionnaires piece together the scattered details of this random and inexplicable murder? And why is it that the Crane already know of it?

The plot thickens…

Board Game Geek Con

2009-11-17T22:18:00.000-08:00

Brent Keith and I will be at the convention all weekend. BGG Con is in Irving or Dallas, at the Westin/Airport thing. Never been before. Directions on the site are pretty shoddy, unless the process of landing and finding the Westin is that easy.

Nonetheless, I'm excited to be showing off Thunderstone, the Adventurers, Infinite City, and a few other games Brent and I developed this year.

Look for me at the AEG booth if you're going.

L5R CCG Art : Teaser

2009-11-15T23:22:00.000-08:00

I really can't sleep and I don't feel like typing up too much, so here's some art for an upcoming L5R CCG set that I art directed (yes, I'm back). I assume that I can tease you with this and someone is just going to have to shut me down if they don't like it.

Art by Andy Hepworth. This is certainly one of the best looking pieces art and his work has skyrocketed since we started working together on a regular basis (we have a project coming, check your local news).

L5R RPG Campaign : The Cast

2009-11-12T11:10:00.000-08:00

Presently, I am running a Jade Magistrates campaign, where the five players are all "elite" samurai, working to subdue or otherwise cover-up nastiness that takes place in the empire. Shadowlands-related rumors, heinous murders, and superstitions all fall under their pervue. Presently, they are wrapped up in a couple of plots — the most important of them being a plot about a dead Otomo found on the edge of the Unicorn lands.

Because no one in the game has a good (or memorable) character name, I will merely list everyone by Player name and Clan/Family.

Aaron is the defacto leader, with a higher status that everyone else. His character is a Yoritomo courtier (weird, I know) and married to a Miya who objects heavily to their marriage. She openly detests his presence in her home and maintains her own wing of the estate.

Collin is playing an Akodo Strategist. He loves sake and is presently involved in a pretty dark story about his spirit being "fractured" after a horrible ritual.

James is playing a Moto Bushi completely devoid of tact. His viewpoint on bushido is always refreshing and eye-opening. He has taken a teenage peasant under his wing as a groom for his horse and armor. However, recently the young man (Juni) spoke up inappropriately and was sent home to his mother to learn his place.

Jason is playing a Bayushi Scout with limited political skill and a family struggling to reassert itself in court.

Weston is playing a Kitsuki Investigator with his own eta attendent. Although last session he was very tired, Weston's character is the only one asking important questions that typical samurai would never ask.

Story-wise, the characters are in a deep-deep pit of trouble. And when I can, I will post updates of their progress.

L5R RPG Campaign

2009-10-25T10:16:00.000-07:00

I've been running an L5R Campaign for the group (six of us total now), and while it's been moving slow, I think the player-based style is perfect for L5R. In fact, I intend a post soon about how L5R can be a STORY GAME.

In the mean time, the players are embroiled in a "murder mystery" and they've all come to take very different Points of View on what has exactly happened.

I'd rather wait to post what's going on, until the players reach a milestone in the story, since some of them read this blog.

Attention Game Designers

2009-10-14T15:15:00.001-07:00

AEG is looking for innovative new designs for a line of board games releasing in 2010 and 2011. The games are set in a renaissance city, and the mechanics and theme of the individual designs can explore various aspects of life in the city, (mercantilism, politics, crime, war, etc.) From board, card, or other games we are not limiting the type of games we are looking at. As far as play style or experience it could include any style of play from resource management, economics, area control, and more. Euro-style and American nothing is off the table as long as it is fun. Innovation is a bonus!

If you will be attending Essen and think you have a game that fits please come visit the AEG booth 9-70 and ask for Todd Rowland or Mark Wootton.

If you will not be attending but would like to submit a prototype to AEG please e-mail customerservice@alderac.com and we will get you a game submission form right away.
AEG is also looking at other less specific games for our 2011 and 2012 schedule. Again the only limiting factor is that it is fun. We look forward to meeting you and playing your games.

Fear the Boot Interview

2009-09-24T08:07:00.000-07:00

jim pinto appears courtesy of Capital Records.

Link

Update

2009-09-14T09:40:00.000-07:00

Hey Everyone. I've been really sick since GENCON, so I'm behind on everything. Our board game division is making headway in the industry. And soon I'll be able to share some cool news about forthcoming projects.

RPG Earth will continue soon.

Thanks for your patience.

Labor Day Weekend : Gateway

2009-09-01T02:53:00.001-07:00

I always alert people that I'll be at the local convention (LAX Radisson), but no one ever shows up to playtest and/or hang with us.

So.

Forget you, this time.

Jerks.

In all seriousness, I hope to have four games to show off. Finger's crossed.

Aug/Sept 2009

2009-08-26T23:44:00.000-07:00

Gencon nearly killed me. I got sick coming back and now, two weeks later, I'm still not feeling well.

"Damn you working from home and not being exposed to germs often enough."

That said, I'm buried with work on Infinite City and Thunderstone. After that, I have to get a few new board game designs into playtest and then share them at Gateway 2009.

So... all really bad excuses for not posting, but I throw myself on your humble mercy. Both of you.

GenCon 2009

2009-08-12T00:16:00.000-07:00

I'll be leaving at 7am on Wednesday to fly to Gencon. I'll be working the AEG booth the entire time, so feel free to visit. I'll be the guy who makes it look easy.

D&D : My Love-Hate Affair

2009-08-04T13:39:00.000-07:00

I'm about to say something apocryphal. Something that gamers never live down. But I'm going to say it and deal with the consequences.

I resent all of my years of playing D&D.

Let that digest.

Okay... feeling better yet?

No?

I'll give you a moment.

Okay?

Now.

And now let me explain.

Being trapped somewhere between a liberal education and a jaded world view, my desire to game stems from a much different place than most. I have no interest in reliving the Lord of the Rings books, I hate The Princess Bride, Monty Python stopped being funny when everyone started quoting it, and Conan was just… okay.

All four of those statements would have me strung up at Gencon, if uttered aloud. And for the author of the WLD to publish them publically, that's a big dose of what the hell!?!?

Now. Let me copy something from the intro of the Ultimate Toolbox…

I can remember my fascination with charts and tables going back to high school gaming. Even before that I had a love affair with baseball statistics and numbers. Heck, I used to read encyclopedia entries for fun. When I saw the potential for a random name generator in my fantasy roleplaying (at the age of 12), I didn’t let my lack of understanding about dipthongs and bilabial tones stop me from making the world’s worst graph of syllables, consonants, and vowels.

My fascination with charts died when I got to college where I was writing stories, rather than building complex game worlds. Certainly they would always be my mistress, as some of my past designs and campaigns would suggest, but I never loved them with the same enthusiasm... only turning to them before a game, never during.

All of that changed when I started working on the 7th Sea and Legend of the Five Rings roleplaying games. All of a sudden, I found myself buying reference books again, pouring over foreign language dictionaries, and letting myself get inspired by something as simple as a song title or lyric. Inspiration was everywhere and once again I was a sponge, soaking up the data that would be used for great adventures.

This book is a culmination of years of not just gaming, but the inspiration for that gaming—both my side of the table as well as Jeff’s and Dawn’s. This book is packed with stuff. I wish there was more, to be honest.

Now. This is all a lot of disclaimer nonsense. Let me get to the point of my post.

D&D is not the game for me and never has been. It took me over 20 years to understand this. Instead of seeking out gamers that were like me (they don't exist anyway, but whatever… that's another post), I kept trying to fit other gamers into my play style. And in order to game with anyone in the realms of sorcery and magically hoopie-do, I needed to use the tool everyone else knew… D&D.

But D&D never felt right. I don't care about keeping track of arrows. Grell's don't make any sense. I don't really think watching someone roll a 1d20 is fun. Why are we going to another tavern? Keeping track of attack bonuses from 17 different +1 items is not a story to me. Being forced to wear armor when I'm not a knight is lame. I'm sorry.

The game mechanics of D&D always came before the logic of a fantasy setting or the interest of a good story. D&D placed limits on creativity by forcing me to always go on the adventure that was always mapped out for me. [Sandbox games weren't a term yet, but I was already running them.] I never could put a finger on it, but D&D didn't fill the void that needed filling.... hmmm.... there's a better way to write that.

And while Vampire was a great idea, everyone that played it near me was waaaay too into it. You know what that means.

It would be years before Luke Crane would write Burning Wheel or Dogs in the Vineyard would scorch a path across the gaming frontier. The 80s and 90s were unkind to creative-types, but heavily favored gamers who loved "crunchy numbers." GURPS, anything FASA, Rolemaster, Palladium, the list goes on.

I had the pleasure of gaming with my good friend Lenny (among others) from 1995 to 2005, telling some fantastic stories in that time. Looking back, we played a lot of D&D, when we should have been playing Barony, or Good Guys Finish Last, or Psychosis, or Lost Souls, or Whispering Vault or Kult or a bevy of other off-broadway games that always placed story and character at the apex of the game… not initiative, move-equivalent actions, and Health checks.

God. What a waste.

I really don't have a point here. I'm sorry. I just wish I could go back and time and get all those hours of D&D back and use them for good… instead of mediocrity.

If you're enjoying D&D. Great. But it's not for me. Never was. And I wish I'd known better… or someone had said something to me. Man. Now the Tomb of Horrors is even lamer.

ASIDE: While I was first writing this (months ago), Dave Arneson passed away. And I owe so much to the fact that he inspired the first nuggets of what it is that I'm talking about here. Let me be clear that I love what has been done for this hobby. But I spent a lot of my "hobby time" trying to make this square peg fit into my round hole… wait… that's not how I want to say that… damn it. Erase. Erase.

RPG Antigua and Barbuda

2009-08-01T12:16:00.000-07:00

Antigua and Barbuda are a pair of islands in the Lesser Antilles Archipelago of the Caribbean.

Despite it's high levels of tourism, the islands is best known for its sugar windmills, due to the extensive sugar plantations on the islands. Historically, Antigua is another microcosm of the slave trade in the Caribbean and colonial expansion. Antigua fits best into game campaigns that aren't necessary "squeaky clean" fantasy that's been sanitized from issues of Hegemony, slavery, subjugation, and genocide (there were Indogenous people there until 1100 — the Arahawks, who were displaced by the Caribs).

This is another short post. I'm not sure there's much I can say about any island in this chain, but I will do my homework on each one. I promise.

How Do I Play D&D

2009-07-31T07:59:00.001-07:00

If you don't mind a laymen mocking your hobby, he's an old article about D&D.

Link

RPG Angola

2009-07-27T23:00:00.000-07:00

There really is no such thing as sub-saharan African nations before 1950 or so. Until the French and British draw imaginary lines in the ground. All of Africa is disparate tribes of varying size... with the Ashanti and Zulu best known among Westerners.

So.

I'm going to make a deal with everyone right now. When I'm done with all of the nations, I will come back and write up what little I know about Africa (and try to do some research before then).

Until then, I will just post each nation, with some disclaimer text, like...

The Angolan Civil War was fought from 1975 to 1991 (although formally 2002) after the Angolans won their freedom from Portugal. I wonder if this is the last hold out of the Imperialist age? Does this beat out the Falkland Islands? 500,000 people died.

Khoisa and Bantu are the primary languages.

The Angolan Navy has only 3,000 men and women.

The country actually has a rabies epidemic.

According to Wikipedia:

Teachers tend to be underpaid, inadequately trained, and overworked (sometimes teaching two or three shifts a day). Teachers also reportedly demand payment or bribes directly from their students.

From the US State Department Website

ENTRY/EXIT REQUIREMENTS: A passport and visa are required and must be obtained in advance. An International Certificate of Vaccination is required. Visitors should allow several weeks for the processing of their visa application. Angola does not issue airport visas. Persons arriving without visas are subject to arrest or exclusion. Travelers may also encounter delays if they do not have at least one completely blank visa page in their passports for entry stamps. As of November 1, 2007, Angola no longer requires travelers to have an exit visa. Travelers whose international immunization cards do not show inoculations against yellow fever within the past ten years may be subject to exclusion, on-the-spot vaccination, and/or heavy fines. Visitors remaining in Angola beyond their authorized visa duration are subject to fines and arrest. It is illegal to attempt to carry local currency out of Angola and persons found attempting to carry local currency out of Angola are subject to having this currency confiscated by customs officers. Current information on entry requirements may be obtained from the Embassy of Angola at 2100-2108 16th Street NW, Washington, DC, tel. (202) 785-1156, fax (202) 785-1258.

That's a friendly country.

Also:

CRIME: Crime is a serious problem throughout Angola. While most violent crime occurs between Angolans, foreigners have occasionally been attacked as well. Street crime is a regular occurrence in Luanda. The most common crimes are pick-pocketing, purse-snatching, vehicle theft, and vehicle break-ins. Armed muggings, robberies, and carjacking involving foreigners are not frequent but do occur. Americans are advised to avoid Roque Santeiro and Rocha Pinto, and to only travel the “Serpentine Road” in front of the U.S. Embassy by car. In general, movement around Luanda is safer by day than by night. Touring after dark should be avoided. Police and military officials are sometimes undisciplined, but their authority should not be challenged. Air travelers arriving in Luanda are strongly advised to arrange reliable and secure ground transportation in advance; there is no regular taxi service. American citizens are advised to avoid the use of the public transportation known as “candongueiros” or “taxistas”; these multi-passenger vans are largely unregulated and often dangerous.

Names
Check out the Ultimate Toolbox for Eastern, Southern, and Western African names.

Twilight 2000

2009-07-24T11:46:00.000-07:00

Westen joined the group and the twilight team last night. He's playing an Irish Medic/Chaplain.

The team has also reached a critical moment in their attempt to escape Poland. Nearing the city of Weiland, the team has reached a small contingent of Russian soldiers repairing the road and bridges near the Warta River, along with a garrison of soldiers inside the village.

We only got to play for three hours, because of timing, but the entire game was spent trying to figure out how to repair the jeep they have and/or steal a Russian jeep. They are dangerously low on fuel, food, and morale. They are out of MRE, only have a few potatoes left, and four cans of peaches remain in their stores. The Land Rover has bald tires, and is out of fuel, with a small crack in the fuel tank, which is soldered now... but another hard bump is going to crack it open again.

The team is in bad shape, less than 30km from Kepno — a city where they believe Americans are hiding out — low on supplies, tired, and deep into several plot threads. They just don't realize it.

RPG Andorra

2009-07-21T22:44:00.000-07:00

To be honest, I know very little about Andorra.

I know they have low tax rates and a long life-expectancy. The population is less than 100,000. Um. They speak Catalan?!? Cripes. I'm floundering here.

From the Government's Website:

HISTORY
Andorra is the last independent survivor of the March states, a number of buffer states created by Charlemagne to keep the Muslim Moors from advancing into Christian France. Tradition holds that Charlemagne granted a charter to the Andorran people in return for their fighting the Moors. In the 800s, Charlemagne's grandson, Charles the Bald, made Count of Urgell overlord of Andorra. A descendant of the count later gave the lands to the diocese of Urgell, headed by Bishop of Seu d'Urgell.

In the 11th century, fearing military action by neighboring lords, the bishop placed himself under the protection of the Lord of Caboet, a Spanish nobleman. Later, the Count of Foix, a French noble, became heir to Lord Caboet through marriage, and a dispute arose between the French Count and the Spanish bishop over Andorra.

In 1278, the conflict was resolved by the signing of a pareage, which provided that Andorra's sovereignty be shared between the Count of Foix and the Bishop of Seu d'Urgell of Spain. The pareage, a feudal institution recognizing the principle of equality of rights shared by two rulers, gave the small state its territory and political form.

Over the years, the title was passed between French and Spanish rule until, in the reign of the French King Henry IV, an edict in 1607 established the head of the French state and the Bishop of Urgell as co-princes of Andorra.

Not being a master of middle ages politics — not that I wouldn't mind knowing more — the storyteller in me thinks there's more story here than culture.

The Website also says the country is 1/2 the size of New York City.

Seriously. I've got nothing more to write. This is a nation filled with Catalan, French, Portuguese, Spanish, in addition to the native Andorrans… all descendants of Spanish and French I'm sure. Fantasy games are filled with these kinds of countries. If I were going to use this country in my game, I would set up a buffer kingdom, with a bishop/prince as the new ruler of this very small "Duchy" with all of the headaches of forming a new nations, while still dealing with an invasion force (Moors or otherwise). PCs get knighted after proving their worth and are encouraged to recruit more soldiers to defend the "Kingdom."

Good? Can I go now?

Andorra Names
Seriously?

Okay. Just do some research on French, Spanish, and Catalan names... or just wait until I post those nations.

RPG Algeria

2009-07-19T10:35:00.000-07:00

Before we can talk about Algeria, we must take a moment to talk about the difference between Arabs, Persians, and North Africans. Even though these countries share a religion and a language (Arabic), they are not all the same. In fact, to say that Arabs and Persians are the same is similar to saying French and English are the same.

And they are not.

Algeria is one of the largest nations in Africa, but unfortunately, most of it is desert. Useless desert.

Historically, Algeria was the home to Berbers (we'll get them later) and then Carthaginians who pushed their way in during the Punic Wars. Romans and Vandals have also been involved in the history of Algeria, but we really need to pinpoint an era of the country to do it justice, so I'd like to approach Algeria in this manner.

First, because most Middle Eastern and African nations today have boundaries that have little to match their historical cousins, I can't always explore the minutia of cultures like Mahgreb, Numidia, and the dozens of Berber tribes. I can only explore these ideas as far as time will allow. This blog is free, after all.

Secondly, there's a lot of research people can do on their own. I'm mostly working from my own knowledge of these nations, with some wikipedia help when I get stuck. North Africa is not my strong suit, but I am still fascinated by it. If I get something wrong, don't hesitate to correct me.

Gaming Algeria
As a fantasy nation, Algeria would have a long history of Berber influence and culture. In fact, even during times of occupation, the Berber culture and faith changed very little. That is until the Arab conquest, when the Berbers converted to Islam.

For roleplaying opportunity, I think this is an excellent time period to examine.

Imagine a culture, dominating a region as large as an area the size of the Gibraltor to the Nile, slowly subsumed by an invading force over 60 years, while converting to the invading faith — and not by force. Imagine two cultures, at their peeks, colliding and melding, to form a society that still survives to this day. [Culturally, modern Algeria is not very different than it was 1400 years ago.]

Now. Imagine that Berber land cut off from other portions of the Berber lands. To the far east, the Berbers quickly turn their back on the old culture, but to the west, their is a staunch need to adhere to language, customs, and traditions. In fact, this cultural "purity" would lead to the revolts in the mid-8th century to the notions of Berber slaves. Although, this revolt did not happen in Algeria, it is relevant to a discussion of the culture.

Culture and Character
"Berbers" as a sub-race of humans in a fantasy game would definitely show signs of high WIS and cultural acceptance. Berbers are tribal, semi-nomadic, and subsistence farmers. Tribes are small, and unified with so much variation in cultural rites from one tribe to the next, GMs could really develop anything they wanted here. Predominately patriarchal, some tribes actually allowed women to make decisions and be equal to men.

The people are expert weavers, producing fantastic tapastries. Traditionally, Berbers built small, functional cities, relying on their own work rather than the production of others (as would be typical of a Western Fantasy setting). Scholars and artisans only developed after the Islamic invasion of the 7th and 8th century.

From a roleplaying point of view, Berbers are a fantastic culture of study because of how long they remained constant. Without outside influence, Algeria never changes.

Recent History
Algerians, Iranians, and Turks have been nominated (over the years) by Rand McNally as the friendliest people on earth to travelers... which feels contrary to the negative view Muslim nations are attributed by the media. In a roleplaying context, this means a nation where people help foreigners, greet other nations, and in general do not make war, but rather extend and exchange culture.

Berbers are also studied for their genetics, since strains of Berbers and Maghreb DNA has been traced back 50,000 years. Hardly relevant to this post, but I read about it in the waiting for at the dentist's office.

Algerian and Berber Names
Female: Aicha, Asma, Assia, Basma, Fawzia, Hayat, Imane, Ismahane, Mariyam, Meryem, Mouna, Nadjet, Najiya, Naouel, Narimane, Nejma, Rachida, Rayane, Samia, Shada, Sihem, Sonia, Soraya, Souad, Soulaf, Yasmine
Male: Bakri, Bassam, Bilai, Farid, Fouad, Gabir, Hassan, Hatim, Khalil, Lounes, Mashaal, Qais, Reda, Said, Samir, Sofiane, Talal, Yassin, Yanis

Polycon XP

2009-07-18T13:00:00.000-07:00

Someone is going to have to explain to me why no game convention has ever undertaken the idea of handing out XP to attendees and making those XP mean something... seems like an obvious leap in logic. Just slap it on the badge.

However, today's post is about the POLYCON experience. Polycon is a small, university-sponsered convention in San Luis Obispo, California. It's a once a year thing, middle of the summer, and it's about as relaxed and slow as I've ever seen a gaming convention.

Seriously. These people were on quayludes or something.

Let's begin with the trip up. A four-hour trip up the 101 became a six-hour trip thanks to 4th of july-related traffic and bottlenecks in Santa Barbara. Add in a young drive (not me) who likes to text and surf the internet while driving and you have a very "unrelaxing" six-hour drive to SLO.

During the course of the next 42 hours of convention (yes, the con ends at 2pm on Sunday... what?) I played a couple of board games, tested my board game twice, ran a LARP, and watched a drunken idiot ruin one of the best Paranoia games ever devised. We also got in some Apples to Apples, with gambling (I lost $8).

I did play Small World on Sunday before the 2.5 hour auction. I also played DON with Tom Jolly and plaid $26 for two cokes and three sliders. Mmmmmm.

The trip home was a chore, and I won't go into that.

My ultimate review of the con is that people in SLO are used to gaming together all the time, so a CONVENTION isn't special to them and therefore the time spent at the convention isn't as important as it would be to someone who loves going to conventions.

Considering the 12 hours to travel time to get to a convention that lasts only 48 hours (that includes sleep time), I don't suspect I'll be going back. But if you live close to the convention, I would recommend attending at least once. The auction was awesome and the energy is really great. Very relaxing group.

Gaming Night

2009-07-17T11:34:00.001-07:00

One of the players couldn't make it last night, so the remaining four of us played a few board games.

Don. A bidding game by Queen's Game. I think I've talked about this game before. While RA is the king of bidding games, this one is a very close heir to the throne. A lot of people don't like it because once you're behind you stay behind, but I think if all the players know that, bidding becomes more aggressive.

God Dice. We've played this one quite a bit before. It's a nice distraction of a gladitorial game. It's kind of like Yahtzee with violence. I actually hate to admit that I like it, considering how simple it is. My biggest complaint is the component quality. Someone spent good money on art and graphics, but not on typesetting, dice, or dice symbols. I can imagine how this happened, because I know the nature of deadlines in the industry... but it's still kind of a bummer. I'm also confused why they ordered a separate piece for the cover. With six expertly painted characters inside the box, the cover could have been a gorgeous collage.

Shadows over Camelot. Two of the players had never played before. And because I demo games like I learn them (by just digging in and playing), there might have been some confusion. However, we finished a four-player game in one hour... an unheard of feat. We didn't play with a traitor, since it was their first game, but we'll rectify that next time.

10 Days in the USA. Everyone knows this game. A quick little rummy-style geography game. I won. And rather quickly, I might add.

We stopped playing at 1130pm, but talked for another hour before going home. And Jason said he had to work.... whatever.

RPG Albania

2009-06-30T23:32:00.001-07:00

Albanian Warrior
by Stepan Feodorovich Kolesnikov

Albania represents one of many Balkan states. Since Raavnia is based so heavily on the Balkans (especially Yugoslavia and the Magyars), I can't see talking about it too much here. Rest assured, the best use for Albania in a fantasy game would be as the crossroads between warring nations, as a staging area for another war, as an enemy/ally of a Turkish-style nation, or as a fledgling nation, trying to catch up culturally and technologically with the rest of the world.

It's ancient name is Shqipëri.

Albanians are known for being free-thinking and multiculturalism. Despite the west's impression of Albania, it is one of the most progressive nations on earth. The life-expectancy is pretty high too. It's low population ensures a high quality of life for everyone as well. Albanians went a long time without a written language, indicating that they found other ways to communicate (using other nation's languages in both education and commerce).

Historically, Albanians were devote Catholics, but today most do not practice religion. Again, I recommend the Cerul religion from my earlier Raavnia posts if you intend to use Albanians in your fantasy or middle ages games.

Albanian PCs
Albanians receive a WIS bonus, I presume… or Education if your game system allows for such a thing. They also live a little longer than most.

Albanian Names
Female: Adelina, Besjana, Bora, Diellza, Edona, Fatime, Gezime, Kujtime, Megi, Odeta, Rozafa, Sanije, Suela, Valmira, Vjollca
Male: Afrim, Azem, Besim, Egzon, Fatos, Fitim, Gezim, Ibish, Kostandin, Leka, Lulëzim, Pirro, Rinor, Skender, Sokol, Tariq, Uran, Valdrin, Xhoi

RPG Afghanistan

2009-06-29T22:48:00.000-07:00

Artwork stolen from the web.
Could not identify artist.

I think there was a d20 book about modern Afghanistan, but I'd rather talk about the cultural heritage of this tribal and war-torn nation.

First off, most Afghani do not consider themselves part of a nation, but rather a tribe. Most don't even call themselves Afghani as this is just a translation of the name of a single tribe, most prominent at the time. Before 1747, the nation did not exist, and the tribal land was merely a road between east and west trade.

It is during this era, the Durrani Empire, that I consider Afghanistan (literally Afghan place) to be the best for fantasy gaming (although it is argueable that Turkish invasions and the Shahi Kings are also noteable time periods to game in). Taking away the technological cortex of the time, the civil unrest and social change that followed the assassination of the Khan and the start of tribal unification, the people of Afghanistan are fascinating to use as a model for human behavior in a fantasy world.

I don't want to get to far into this, because otherwise I'm writing a free sourcebook, but gaming in this environment (or a game world inspired by this environment), is about the various tribes, clans, and regional disputes. Thematically, a campaign set in Afghanistan would cover the typical fantasy tropes (lots of caves after all), with the added bonus of neighboring nations (who don't have to be human) trapsing through the land to conduct trade. Add in tribal hostility and PC agendas, and you've got the ingredients for a tumultuous campaign.

My personal taste is to do Afghani Dwarves at war with one another.

The people of the region predate Mohammed, Buddhism, Zorastrians, and the settling of the Indus Valley. They once possessed high levels of literacy and education. The range of religions, cultures, and teachings was immense. However, once Islam arrives, everything else is thrown out and Afghanistan's diversity begins to wane. Since the Afghani are mostly Sunni (a more conservative interpretation of Islam), they believe anyone can become Iman, which leaves room for PC clerics to advance far in the faith, by displaying a true understanding of the word.

Advice
If the Afghani in your game are "Humans," then humans should be broken up into sub-races or tribes, that each have their own subtle, modifications. For instance, one tribe has low-light vision, another has +5 ft. of movement, another can track really well, and another gets +1 Charisma (dealing with travelers and traders a lot). The list is so long, I couldn't possibly cover it all, but I remember a BLACKMOOR book that covered this stuff fairly well. Something about Horseriding and all the tribes.

Afghani as Neighbors
If the Afghani are not the focus of the campaign, they become a neighboring nation with conflicting ties to the PCs. Each tribe would have different trade concessions, cultural standards, and levels of diplomacy.

Afghani as Enemies
Afghani maintain tribal loyalty above all things, are quick to war, and remember blood debts for generations. They are proud, which is another word for stubborn. Their land has always been difficult to take and hold by invaders, because Afghani are tenacious warriors. Surrendering is not part of their vocabulary (it took Alexander five times as long to take the region as it did to take Persia).

Afghani Names
Female: Farishta, Gzifa, Hidi, Khadija, Muna, Uzuri
Male: Ajani, Ahmad, Hafizullah, Sindo, Yasir, Zemar

Racial Stereotypes

2009-06-29T22:47:00.001-07:00

I've always wanted to do a book that explores all the great civilizations of the world at their "peak" and discusses how to roleplay these various cultures. The book (if done for a d20 product) would also include game system notes.

So.

As the weeks progress, I'm going to try to post some ideas I have (coherent or otherwise) on every culture I can think of.

If I miss something, or you want to see it explored here, drop me a line.

Game Updates

2009-06-29T21:27:00.000-07:00

If you head over to my portfolio (knightimestudios), you can see some of the games I've been doing packaging and development on.

Can't show everything, yet. But this is a nice large update.

Also, alderac.com has some updates on other games.

Despite the bad placeholder text, the new web design looks great.

Link

PolyCon, 4th of July

2009-06-25T11:20:00.000-07:00

I will be at PolyCon in SLO the weekend of July 4. I'll be playtesting a few games, running a LARP, and in general hanging out with some stoner-slackers from the Central Coast.

Seriously, though. I have three board game designs to show off and do final run throughs on. Hope to see some people there.

And after GENCON, I hope to have about 100 more things to talk about. Sorry it's been so slow lately.

Podcast with Board Game Babylon

2009-06-16T00:12:00.001-07:00

Post 68 is Eric Burgess and I talking about games during the GAMEX 2009 convention. This is about 1 or 2 in the morning, when we did this, so I'm sure I was a little liberal with my feedback.

Enjoy.

Link

George's Children Available on Amazon

2009-06-06T17:03:00.000-07:00

I have about 10-20 books available on Amazon (some with or without my name on them). So it's not really a big deal to be noticed by them. But, this new pilot program at LULU (who I self-publish GC through), now has George's Children available on Amazon, for about the same price, I think.

Anyway. That's pretty cool.

Link

Twilight 2000

2009-05-30T00:35:00.000-07:00

Started a new campaign for the group. Since no one has played the original, we are going through the first edition boxed set, starting with Escape from Kalisz (although I have them escaping from Lodz instead). They've headed south (I let them choose) and are dealing with all sorts of issues related to "no food and fuel."

Everyone made soldiers in the British army, so it's been interesting to see the AUSSIE search and rescue Sergeant (Aaron) running the show. Colin is a Cavalry Scout (with a knack for overcomplicating everything) and Jason is Intelligence, versed in six languages, I think.

Session one was short, so I'll be combining one and two into one report in my next blog post.

Update : Gaming and Such

2009-05-21T13:44:00.000-07:00

This weekend is Strategicon, Gamex at the Sheraton (one time only at that hotel) at LAX.

I will be playtesting a few games at the show — my designs in fact — with some of my friends. If you're going to be at the show, let me know. We can play/schedule a time for you (the reader) to game with us.

I ordered a copy of WIN PLACE and SHOW from ebay and it just arrived today. Near perfect condition, considering it's over 30 years old.

If you've never played it and are even remotely interested in horses, I highly recommend it. One of the best board games ever made.

Still holds up, unlike it's cousin Circus Maximus, which fails to do what it's supposed to do.

Ultimate Toolbox PDF is coming

2009-05-17T15:53:00.000-07:00

While researching FINNISH names to fix one of the charts in the book, I came upon this...

ILMARINEN: Finnish name derived from the element ilma, meaning "air." In mythology, this is the name of a sky god.

ILMATAR: Finnish unisex name, derived from the word ilma, meaning "air." In mythology, this is the name of an androgynous virgin deity of the air.

JOUKAHAINEN: Finnish myth name of the rival of Väinämöinen, possibly meaning "great, large."

LEMMINKÄINEN: Finnish myth name of a hero of the Kalevala, a sorcerer or magician said to be able to "sing the sand into pearls." The meaning of the name is unknown but it is probably related to the name Lempi, meaning "love."

TŠERNOBOG: Finnish form of Slavic Crnobog, meaning "black god." In Slavic mythology, this is the name of a god of evil and darkness, the counterpart of Belobog ("white god").

VÄINÄMÖINEN: Finnish myth name of a magician and hero of the Kalevala, who is challenged by the youth Joukahainen. The name means "wide and slow-flowing river."

These sound like great villain/hero names for your fantasy adventures (insert weird music). Enjoy.

WWII Monopoly?

2009-05-14T23:12:00.001-07:00

Although I would barely classify Monopoly as a game, I think this news article is interesting enough to gamers to merit inclusion on the site.

Link

Also, check out a board game called Skedaddle or Escape from Colditz, depending on what you can find.

Link
Link

Word of the Day

2009-04-26T02:24:00.001-07:00

What were the chances…

Word of the Day for Thursday, April 23, 2009

paladin \PAL-uh-din\, noun:

1. A knight-errant; a distinguished champion of a medieval king or prince; as, the paladins of Charlemagne.
2. A champion of a cause.

Once in power, though, Clinton stumbled repeatedly over obstacles created by the schizoid campaign he had conducted, in which he had cast himself simultaneously as the champion of a more conservative Democratic credo and as a paladin of the party's traditional activism.
-- Robert Shogan, The Fate of the Union

Even Columbia University economist Jagdisch Baghwati, the paladin of free trade, calls for controls on capital flow.
-- "Terrors in the Sun", The Nation, June 29, 1998

Matisse, paladin of modernism, is a long way from us now.
-- Robert Hughes, "The Color of Genius", Time, September 28, 1992

. . .the celebrated but distrusted paladin of imperialism and the romantic conception of life, the swashbuckling militarist, the vehement orator and journalist, the most public of public personalities in a world dedicated to the cultivation of private virtues, the Chancellor of the Exchequer of the Conservative Government then in power, Mr. Winston Churchill.
-- Isaiah Berlin, "Mr. Churchill", The Atlantic, September 1949

Paladin derives from Late Latin palatinus, "an officer of the palace," from Latin palatium, "royal residence, palace," from Palatium, one of the seven hills of Rome, on which Augustus had his residence.

Dogs in the Vineyard : Red Rock

2009-04-25T14:49:00.000-07:00

RED ROCK
Red Rock lies between one and two weeks south of Bridal Falls. An exclusive settlement of faithful, it spans over ten square miles of dry, harsh land. When the dogs arrive, it is fall and the harvest is coming in… shy of expectations.

SOMETHING’S WRONG
Seven or eight months ago, Steward Peter passed on. His son, Seth, was expected to take over the position, but quickly the townsfolk determined they could govern themselves without a steward. Without a steward, the church was locked up, and the people expected to “manage” their families according to the word. Brothers Jackson and Levi rose to the highest ranks of the town, openly displaying their strength. Brother Seth (expecting to be steward) has been cuckolded by Jackson. Sister Ruth holds private readings of the book of life with women in the community.

PRIDE
The people believe themselves capable of self-control and governance, rejecting the notion of a steward. Seth believed himself the “next in line,” with or without the sanction of Bridal Falls. Sister Ruth now reads to some of the women who need direction in households devoid of faithful leadership.

INJUSTICE
The weak are generally ignored. The elderly have nothing to offer, spending their days sitting in vacant wonder at the conditions of the settlement. Seth’s wife has left him for Jackson. Seth, without children, works tirelessly to provide for himself. The townsfolk generally disrespect him (some children openly throw rotten fruit at him when he pulls his cart through town).

SINS
General pride and selfishness — no one specific sin stands out as a great transgression
Laziness — some children do not work and most elderly are expected to step aside
Temptation — some have started playing games like checkers during working hours and others imbibe coffee

DEMONIC ATTACKS
The demons have subtlety planted the seeds of discord through prideful action. Seth’s quick ascension to steward was firmly rejected by stronger members of the flock, fomenting a healthy dose of ego into some settlement members.

FALSE DOCTRINE
We can govern ourselves. We are righteous and divine. No sin shall deter us from our faith.

“Iron sharpens iron.” Only the strong deserve to be considered divine in the eyes of the King of Life.

CORRUPT WORSHIP
Sister Ruth reads with some of the women. In addition, Jackson and Levi carry weapons openly in the streets as a demonstration of their “alpha” status. The two consider strength a virtue and equate bullish behavior with strength.

FALSE PRIESTHOOD
There is no priesthood any longer, as such, everyone has strayed from the path, even those who continue to live justly.

SORCERY
In the face of the “might makes right” ideals of Jackson and Levi, mediocrity has taken ahold of the settlement. Those who have what they need, grow content, and overlook those in need.

HATE AND MURDER
Children openly mock Seth and Jackson makes sure to put Seth in his place whenever possible. Humiliation and contempt are the order of the day. Many people see that Seth is nothing more than a cuckold now and few have sympathy for what has happened to him. If something isn’t done, Seth will either be killed or he will hang himself out of desperation.

WHAT DO THE TOWNSPEOPLE WANT FROM THE DOGS?
The people want a fair appointment of a steward. If possible, the punishment of those have turned so far from the faith.

WHAT DO THE DEMONS WANT?
The demons want the people of Red Rock to fall further and further from the teachings, every so slowly… so that none notice their complete disregard for one another.

WHAT DO THE DEMONS WANT THE DOGS TO DO?
The demons want the dogs to place Seth in charge of the settlement. In a few months time, he will be dead or infirm and things will return to normal.

WHAT WOULD HAPPEN IF THE DOGS DIDN’T COME?
Eventually Seth would die — either through suicide or murder. Gluttony and slovenliness would overcome the town. In another year, it would hardly recognize a settlement of the faithful.

KNOWN ISSUES
Brother Jackson is the true leader of the community. He walks with a natural swagger and openly displays a pistol in his belt. He is a natural for the position, with Brother Levi acting as his second. Levi is less natural in the role of a leader and mimics much of Jackson’s behavior.

Brother Jackson — who already has two wives — has taken on Seth’s ex-wife into his home. While they are not officially married, enough townsfolk have turned a blind eye as for it to not matter.

Brother Levi treats his wife like property, sometimes going as far as slapping her in front of others (although this is rare).

Sister Ruth holds private vigils in her home. People know of this, but convince themselves that it’s not happening.

Seth is openly disrespected by over half the congregation.

Adah visits with Sister Ruth for readings and is considered her most trusted “student.” Her husband (Bartlby) is blissfully unaware that there is anything amiss in the town at all.

Brother Issac and Sister Mary (and their two children) stand as two of the beacons in the community. They have not been taken in by any of the malingering or false worship. Sadly, they have done little to stop it, either. Issac sees an obligation to his family first and the community second.

There Can Be Only One, huh?

2009-04-18T17:02:00.001-07:00

There is no arguing that gamers are fascinated with Scottish culture. Irish and Welsh are a far second and the English aren't even interesting to the English (with the exception of Arthur, who is argueably both Celtic and French). Every gamer looks for any excuse to remind the people around him that he is 1/18th Scottish and his family tartan is Raspberry Scone and Lemon Drop Vodka (or whatever colors he makes up, because no one challenges that nonsense).

But. Here's the question. When did it start? When did gamers become so obsessed with Scottish culture. Because it's not in D&D. Not initially anyway. Was it Highlander? Were we all growing pubes in 1985 at just the right time for Connor MacCloud to come along and be just "Northman" enough to itch our gamer-gene enough for everyone to be fascinated with this otherwise small portion of the world's geography?

Or is just that rampaging highlanders in kilts and big beards are going to be cool, even if Christopher Lambert's accent makes little to no sense?

Note: I love the original movie and hate everything else after it. I'm not a purist, I just think it's all stupid. So, I'm not going after Highlander to make fun of it. Rather, I'd like to know why people are so damn interested in pretending to be Scottish and not for instance… Bulgarian.

Industry Gamers

2009-04-05T22:47:00.000-07:00

I've been designing and writing in the industry since 1996, when I started on Shadis magazine. Come GENCON, that will be 13 years of work.

Crap. That long?

In that time, I've worked with only a small percentage of the people I'd really like to do projects with. And some of the people I HAVE worked with, I'd like to work with again. So, in no particular order (other than alphabetical), is a list of people I'd love to do something with. Anything really.

Drew Baker. I think I bug Drew once a month to do something together. He's so damn lazy.
Wolfgang Baur. I think Wolfgang's present book line series is absolutely brilliant. I'd kill to do the graphics on one.
Jon Hodgson. We already did George's Children together, but Jon and I get along so well, there are about 20 games we could develop together with his art range.
Michael Kaluta. Comic book, game, whatever. Anything he wanted, really.
James Lowder. Technically doing something now, but I'd rather do a book series of some kind.
Craig Maher. See my notes on Drew Baker.
Raven J. Mimura. Raven and I were supposed to do a card game together years ago. He's among my favorite people and my favorite artists. Damn we'd make a good team as the leads on a vampire game.
Jason Morningstar. One of the most talented designers in the industry.
William O'Connor. One of my best friends. I miss you, man.
Chris Pramas. Another great friend. I think Chris and I would have fun making a modern cyberpunk meets psionics game.
Klaus Scherwinski. I'd kill to find a project his art WOULDN'T be perfect for.
Robert K. Schwalb. One of the best writers on the WLD, I will say this again. Robert and I would have made a great team for the design of 4th edition. That was before it came out the way it did. We talked about this briefly in 2005, but he had to go and make money on important stuff.
Mark Smylie. I won't stop pitching my comic book idea to Mark.

Tribal Wars

2009-04-04T18:20:00.001-07:00

Gah

Can't stop playing.

Link

Elder Sign

2009-04-04T00:10:00.001-07:00

Logo : Swashbucklers of the 7 Skies

2009-04-03T18:02:00.000-07:00

There's a logo contest going on over at http://www.7skies.net/. The game looks sweet too.

Very cool idea, too.

I made a couple, of course. Can't help myself, even if I'm not as good as Dale Horstman.

And one more…

… just for fun.

Grappling Rules Stupidity

2009-04-01T16:08:00.000-07:00

For years, we gamers have mocked RPGs for complex and inane grappling rules. And thanks to a recent gag on Darths and Droids, I find myself ready to mock them as well.

Only, I don't have to. Because Skip Williams shows us exactly why even the BASICS don't work — in what can only be described as the biggest dose of irony the internet has ever seen — I really don't need a punchline to this level of mockery!

So.

To put my money where my mouth is, here is my attempt to make an alternative to the horror that is D&D Grappling.

Grappling
First. Let's start with the fact that D&D's combat rules are based on miniature play and have never changed. Monks "punching" their opponents is stupid enough, but alright. Trying to bear hug during a skirmish is beyond stupid.

So. To get back to where grappling was when Gygax wrote that annoying little paragraph back in 1st Edition, let's pretend that it's not about "hurting" an opponent, but about "holding" an opponent.

Also note, these are short-hand notes. They could be expanded a little, but this is certainly only about 300 words of text (max) in any rulebook.

Simple Rules
Roll your touch attack to grapple. However, the opponent's STR should also come into play, so add that to his AC as well. Unless he's subdued, he's not going to sit there and let you put your hands on him. There's no AOO. While it makes sense, it also slows play. 3.x is already a slugfest to play through. Let's keep it moving.

If you fail, then nothing happens. Move on.

If you succeed, you now have a HOLD on your opponent.

Whlie HELD, the opponent suffers a penalty to AC and BAB equal to the STR bonus + Size modifer (a small creature is less likely to HOLD you and a large one MORE likely) of the person holding him (minimum 1). Since this is a standard rule of the game (now). Everyone should just have a GRAPPLE stat on their character sheet. If this reduces the target's AC below 10, he is considered flat-footed. If this reduces the target's AC below 1, he is considered prone (pulled to the ground).

To extend the hold, the attacker must succeed at a contested Strength check. Failure does not lose the hold, but success adds 1 to the penalty for being Held.

At anytime, the target may use a Standard action or Move action (at -4) to break the hold, by making a contested Strength check. The attacker gets a bonus to the check for an extended hold (equal to the bonus accumulated so far). Watch wrestling. The longer you're held, the more tired you get.

Dogpile
Small creatures need to work en masse to pull a large creature down. Every creature beyond the first adds to the HOLD penalty. The increase is equal to the STR bonus + Size modifer of the person holding him, minimum 1. Get enough small creatures together and you can pull someone large down.

That's it. Done.

Grappling doesn't do damage. It holds people in place.

Fun Over at Story Games

2009-03-30T16:33:00.001-07:00

Link.

John Madden DM

2009-03-28T13:07:00.001-07:00

Ultimate Toolbox Notes

2009-03-28T10:26:00.000-07:00

Not just for D&D, this fantasy book is finally out. People are getting copies, asking questions, and… from what I've heard… generally loving the book. I've been thumbing through it lately, keeping it next to my desk. I seriously wish I had a fantasy campaign to build so I had a justification for using it.

I did brainstorm some ideas for games it goes well with.

Burning Wheel
D&D
Harn. Harn has inspired my writing more than any game world. It's rich, detailed, intelligent world design is just amazing. And it's sad that more gamers prefer the ridiculousness of Eberron and Forgotten Realms over something like Harn or Pendragon.
Any I.C.E. product
In a Wicked Age (some of this stuff makes awesome Oracles)
Pendragon. Requires lots of name tweaking, but there's certainly some room for ideas.
Warlord. Warlord was inspired by Greyhawk and Greyhawk is sort of the starting point for everything.

What I'd really like to do is write up a few new oracles for In a Wicked Age and let fantasy players pick apart the lists for random goodness.

We'll see what I have time for.

Ultimate Toolbox : Freestuff (Military Honors)

2009-03-27T14:18:00.000-07:00

Military Honors 1
1. Bravery Medal
2. Bronze (Lion) Medallion
3. Captain's Honor
4. Cardinal's Prize
5. Cavalier's Star
6. Chancellor's Favor
7. Chivalric Decoration
8. [City's Name] Cross or Star
9. Civic Crown
10. Commander's Pin or Shield
11. Commendation of Heroism
12. Courage of the Wolf Award
13. Cross of War
14. Distinguished Command Cross
15. Distinguished Service Award
16. [Division Name] Medal
17. [General's Name] Medal
18. Gold Crest
19. Hero of [Nation Name] Medal
20. Honor of the Crown Medal

Military Honors 2
1. Honorable Conduct Medal
2. The Iron Hammer
3. [King's Name] Medal
4. King's Pride
5. King's War Cross
6. Knight's Cross
7. Legionnaire's Service Medal
8. Mark of the King's Champion
9. [Medal for Long Service]
10. [Medal for Serving in a Specific Campaign]
11. Medal of Chivalry
12. Medal of Valor
13. Medal of [Year]
14. Medallion of Bravery
15. Mercenary's Medal
16. Military Cross
17. [Military Funeral and/or Memorial]
18. [Military Order]
19. [National Holiday]
20. [Ovation]

Military Honors 3
1. The Queen's Blessing
2. Paladin's Cross
3. [Parade]
4. Prince [Prince's Name] Honor
5. Ring of the Prince
6. Royal Star of Courage
7. Sigil of Loyalty
8. Squire's Medallion
9. [Statue and/or Memorial Statue]
10. Star of Gallantry
11. Star of The King's Champion
12. Templar's Favor
13. [Tomb]
14. Uncommon Service Award
15. Volunteer's Medal
16. [Victory Title]
17. War Honor Cross for Heroism
18. War Merit Cross
19. [Weapon]
20. Wound Badge

Military Orders
1. House Order of the Honor Cross
2. Military Order of the Lion
3. Order of the Black Eagle
4. Order of [Color]
5. Order of the Crown
6. Order of [Diety's Name]
7. Order of the Garter
8. Order of [General's Name]
9. Order of the Griffon
10. Order of [King's Name] Crown
11. Order of the King
12. Order of [King's Name]
13. Order of the Prince
14. Order of the Queen
15. Order of the Red Eagle
16. Order of the Titan
17. Order of the White Lion
18. Royal House Order of [Name]
19. Royal Order
20. Royal Order of the Queen

Victory Titles
1. Champion of the [Battle or Place Name]
2. Defender of the [Place Name]
3. Dominator of [Enemy Name]
4. Earl
5. Gatekeeper of [Siege Name]
6. Guardian of the Throne
7. Hunter of the [Beast Name]
8. Hammer of the [Nation Name]
9. Lord of [Place Name]
10. Keeper of [Ideal]
11. King's Champion
12. Knight of Renown
13. Overseer
14. Paladin of [Ideal]
15. Prince
16. Sentinel of [Place Name]
17. Siegebreaker
18. Scion of [Ideal]
19. Warden of the [People]
20. Watcher of the [Place Name]

* In nearly every instance, Crown, King, Queen, Prince, and Throne are interchangeable.

** Ideals are associated with what made the victor famous (courage, purity, valor, etc.)

Ultimate Toolbox : Free Stuff (Diseases)

2009-03-25T09:49:00.000-07:00

Disease Symptoms 1
1. Abscess
2. Adipsia (lack of thirst)
3. Agitation
4. Anger
5. Anosmia (loss of smell)
6. Anxiety
7. Apathy
8. Back pain
9. Blindness
10. Blotchy skin
11. Blueish skin
12. Blurred vision
13. Boils
14. Bone pain
15. Breath odor
16. Burning sensation
17. Changes in sleep patterns
18. Chills
19. Choking
20. Comatose

Disease Symptoms 2
1. Confusion
2. Convulsions
3. Coughing
4. Cracked lips/dry mouth
5. Cysts
6. Decreased ability to clot blood
7. Decreased attention span
8. Decreased coordination
9. Decreased movement
10. Decreased recall
11. Decreased responsiveness
12. Dehydration
13. Delirium
14. Depression
15. Difficulty swallowing
16. Drowsiness
17. Ear infection
18. Easy bruising
19. Emotional instability
20. Fever

Disease Symptoms 3
1. Flank pain
2. Flashbacks
3. Gum bleeding
4. Gum discoloration
5. Gum swelling
6. Halluncinations
7. Headaches
8. Hearing loss
9. Hives
10. Hoarseness
11. Hyperventilation
12. Impaired vision
13. Intense abdominal pain
14. Intolerance to cold/heat
15. Irritability
16. Itching, severe
17. Jaundice
18. Joint pain
19. Kidney pain
20. Lethargy

Disease Symptoms 4
1. Light sensitivity
2. Lockjaw
3. Malaise
4. Memory disorder
5. Mental disorder (mania, phobia, etc.)
6. Metallic taste in mouth
7. Muscle cramping/pain
8. Nausea/Vomiting
9. Necroticis
10. Night blindness
11. Nosebleeds
12. Numbness
13. Open sores
14. Organ failure
15. Paleness
16. Palpitations
17. Paralysis
18. Poor balance
19. Posturing
20. Pustules

Disease Symptoms 5
1. Rash
2. Redness
3. Restlessness
4. Rigidity
5. Ringing in the ear
6. Seizures
7. Shortness of breath
8. Skin lesion/ulcer
9. Slurred speech
10. Sore throat
11. Spasms
12. Sweating
13. Swelling
14. Tenderness
15. Tooth pain/cavities
16. Tremors
17. Vertigo
18. Vomiting blood
19. Weakness
20. Weight loss

What the Heck?

2009-03-18T13:14:00.001-07:00

I can't stop myself from posting on ENWorld lately. I should compile all my advice and put it here on my blog.

Gah.

Need to get back to work. No time to dish out advice. Bad jim.

Woohoo!

2009-03-17T23:28:00.001-07:00

I showcased SIX board game prototypes at the office today and all of them were approved.

The sixth game didn't even have any pieces or components, just scribbles on a dry erase board.

If I was a champagne, I'd be spilling over the rim now.

Oh wait. That sounded dirty.

GM-Less D&D

2009-03-16T07:18:00.000-07:00

Copied from my post on ENWorld.

Among my internet habits (beyond over-posting for two weeks straight and then disappearing for months on end) is the overwhelming need to talk and post about the cause of a [I]disease[/I] and not talk so much about the symptoms.

For instance, someone might complain about hit point progression in 3.75 and how at the higher levels, some classes just outpace one another, yadda yadda. And while most gamers will try to find the sweet spot of the hit point conundrum, I for one would like to see hit points removed from the game.

See. I've just cut away the cancer, not tried to treat it like a cold sore. This often gets me into trouble because I...

a. Oversimplify problems
b. Ignore the debate raging and present a new caseload
c. Am often wrong

Over on another thread, Jack7 brought up a great post about World Design… is the world there for the characters or are the characters there for [to explore] the world.

A lot of great debate started, and in the end I pointed at two causes of the disease, rather than pointing out the symptoms.

One. Many tropes of 1st Edition (stealing from the dead, XP, and [I]found[/I] magic items) continue on into future editions while other tropes (PCs as mercenaries) get dropped off and replaced with notions of Heroism. After all, if the PCs are heroes, why is there an alignment system? Why do I still get XP for killing baby goblins?

Two. [More important to this thread] I think D&D suffers from so many problems because of the GM vs. PC mentality that there's no immediate solution to Jack7's initial post.

Let me explain.

First. Let us start from the basic premise that D&D is not a game, but a toolbox for creating gameplay experiences. What's the difference? Expectations. D&D sitting on my shelf is nothing more than a nerdy book with cool art. Risk on my shelf is still a box full of dice, cards, and plastic cannons. D&D requires me to think, create, explore, develop, and about 200 more steps before I'm ready to play. Risk is ready to play as soon as I shuffle the cards and pick a color. D&D involved a social contract, preparation, imagination, and suspension of disbelief. Risk requires two or more players and a flat surface 30" by 40". D&D is explored and played differently from house to house. Risk is the same the world over.

For today's examination, I'm going to use a number of theoretical examples. Any one of them could be replaced with another example. Please do not try to pigeonhole or demonize my thesis with anecdotal evidence that "my group doesn't do that." Jack7's entire thread is filled with people "offended" by the notions he is presenting because they don't game that way. And frankly, I don't see much use for "my group" evidence when the hobby is about trends.

Imagine the GM has just spent 30 hours prepping a new campaign world, setting up the first adventure (or two), outlining his campaign, and generally getting ready. Each player makes a character in a vacuum for this campaign, because even though the GM has asked everyone to make the characters together at the game table, two of the six players refuse to do it this way and prefer to have a week to read every feat tree for every possible combo imaginable.

So far, nothing I've said is out of the ordinary or is impossible to imagine.

Imagine that the GM has built an open-ended game plan. He's heard complaints about "railroading" before and he's decided this campaign is going to offer opportunities for PCs with goals. In fact, most of the campaign is urban and combat will be (about) once a session, maybe a little more.

Now. This is where the example forks. In one example, the PCs sit there doing nothing, waiting for the GM to give them a plot to follow (railroading). The GM has made it clear this campaign won't work that way, but old habits die hard and the players are uncomfortable in this new sandbox. If they aren't pointed at orcs to kill, what do they do? In no time, the campaign begins to grind and in no time, the GM is forcing plot hooks onto the PCs, removing choices and options.

In another example, one of the PCs decides to do something so stupid and inane (set off a fireball in a tavern, for instance), that the obvious ramifications of this action can be felt two houses over, where people don't even know what D&D is. The campaign has now run aground, but for very different reasons. Three of the characters are found culpable in the act, sentenced to death, and replaced with new PCs. The other characters now have to either figure out how they know these new PCs and/or ignore the obvious logic flaw of just having a new wizard in the party and/or leave it to the GM to explain away.

In both examples, the GM has done 99% of the work to make this campaign and the responsibility of making it work and getting the engine moving has all been his.

Hardly seems fair, right?

A vocal minority might say, well the GM gets more fun out of the game, so he should do most of the work. To you, I say, "you're wrong."

Another minority might say, that sounds like my group. And to you, I say, "you're a jerk."

Another segment of the populace might say, "yeah, we've got those guys at our game table, too."

The list goes on.

And for 20+ years most of us have learned to either, put up with this kind of behavior, and/or learned to expect less from our game sessions. To quote my buddy James, "Yeah. I just take it all a lot less seriously now. Too many campaigns die so quickly, I just don't get invested in my characters anymore."

This is not an uncommon attitude. Many people eventually move on from gaming because of it.

[My point is coming. Hold on.]

Now. Imagine we decide we want to solve this problem. Because, wasting 30+ hours on a game to have someone ruin it, is a problem. If you're a PC that doesn't think this sucks, please do not post. If you're a GM who feels my pain, continue reading.

There's two problems at work in this scenario I've described.

One. Player investment. The only time they've spent on this game is making their characters and reading a few new character class/feat/race combos that really work together.

Two. Expectations of a GM. Players raised to expect the GM to "entertain" (read, do all of the work) come to the table with different wants/desires/fallacies about the social contract. Short of asking them to leave, the solutions don't grok with everyone. After all, who among us didn't ruin his fair share of campaigns as a teenager before realizing, "crap, that's not cool."

[Aside: Three. Breaking the GM. I actually knew some gamers who set it out as their goal for each campaign to "break the GM." I thought this ranked high on the douche-bag scale, so it doesn't make it into my argument, but it is a funny anecdote about piss-poor players.]

Now. The solution to this conjecture is two-fold. One, we put the PCs in the driver's seat. We involve them in world building (ala Burning Wheel) and give them a stake in the events of the world (even if that means starting them off with a house in the urban setting and making them residents of the town they are adventuring in). If the PCs are invested in the world — if the players get to help design it's elements, choose it's adversaries, build some world elements (race relations, geography, etc.), impact it's tone, and generally HELP the world design — then they are less likely to burn it to the ground. I could go on about this for days, because I've done this many times. If you'd like, I'll post some advice on my blog about it. But it's not my point at all.

The second is going to make a few head's spin off their tops, but it's the whole point of all of this.

GM-less gaming.

And that might sound like a pun, but it's not. It means two things.

Running without a GM and running with a GM who is less involved as an overseer and more involved as a moderator. Notice the slight shift in terminology being used as more than just a 1980s smoke-screen to disguise the role of the GM.

I'm talking about actually playing an RPG without a GM. D&D for that matter. This is an extremely radical point of view, to be sure. But it can be done. [In fact, as much as I dislike 4E (please no version wars), it's actually perfectly designed for it.]

Now. Before I continue, let me be very clear.

This isn't the only remedy for certain kinds of gaming ailments and this cure isn't for everyone. It's just free advice. Think of it like an internet hug.

Now. Let's break down some of the functions of the GM and figure out how these projects can be handed off to the team.

World Design. Back in the day, Last Unicorn Games produced one of the most underrated projects of all time. An RPG called Aria. In it, they described a new concept called the Metamyth, or mythbuilding. Instead of being an RPG about collecting treasure and killing monsters, it was an RPG about building a world, village, character, and myth. The second book in the series was fantastic and basically taught the players how to world build.

Using this system (or an abbreviated version), any team can build a game world worth playing in. Barring that, Burning Wheel has a fantastic world-building system as well. Barring that, everyone buys the same game world from company X and reads it. We did this one for Ravenloft, only we had a jerk at the table so it didn't go very far. But the experiment was worth the time.

Campaign. Not to be confused with world-building, the campaign is about the elements of the world that PCs want to explore. What's the widget they need to acquire? What's the dragon's name they need to kill? What's the thrust of the campaign that's worth sacrificing a year of your life to accomplish?

Stealing from the 36 Writer Plots, the campaign can be generated randomly or determined through bidding, or… just agreed upon by players who get along. The entire campaign thrust, however, should be about something, even if the smaller pieces to get to the THING don't always add up to the gestalt of the THING.

For instance, a campaign about wiping out the orc nation of Bone-Bone will probably be about an accumulation of power, some treaty signing, and a few quests to prove yourself worthy of this lauded goal. In the end, the final battle with the Bone-Bone orcs will be epic and massive, requiring all of the PCs resources (and even the expectation of failure).

Since the players can easily choose a campaign plot, we've eliminated another TASK from the list of things a GM must do to "entertain."

Moving on.

Adversaries. This one is pretty easy, actually. While it sounds complicated, it's not. First off, everyone loves making characters. Secondly, there are about 6,000 published books (number not verified) about NPCs and things to encounter. If you can't jot down a name, class, and a few relevant stats on an index card, then what good are you?

A stack of adversaries should be about 100-200 high depending on the scope of the campaign. It should be mostly NPCs of the dominate race in the game world. In fact, each card can be double-sided with NPCs on one side and monsters on the other. Draw one at random when you need to. Keep the important NPCs handy if you need to refer to them again.

Plot. This is a little trickier, but still manageable. In fact, rather than tell you how to do it, I'm just going to point to the successes of games like In a Wicked Age, Burning Wheel, Inspectres, and so on. Seriously good stuff and a lot of advice on how to let players build scenes.

Moderator. Here's where the fun comes in. Many players turn to the GM for interpretation of the die rolls. Why? Is his logic so much better than mine? Is he really smarter, more creative, more capable of determining what a '16' means? Why can't I narrate my successes? Why can't the guy to my left narrate my failures? When I designed George's Children this is the number one thing I did to remove a GM from the game and let everyone play.

It really is that simple. For that matter. Why can't the guy to my left roll the dice of the monster that is attacking me as well? In the open? Why does it have to be a secret?

XP and treasure should be a cinch to figure out if you can do all this other stuff. Although I'm guessing the rewards of running a GM-less game will resonate in such a way, that stopping to roll up treasure will stop being as fun as it used to be.

Cause and Effect. One of the most important roles of a GM is determining the ramifications of the PCs actions. If they burn down the village of ABC, how are the people in village DEF doing to respond? Again. Why is the logic of the GM so much better than the logic of the PCs? Couldn't the players themselves determine for themselves that they need to hide out for a while and/or skip town for stealing Mrs. Blankenship's pies?

Okay. I think I've said enough for now.

I think this is a good place for the discussion to begin.

The Game World We Live In

2009-03-14T13:08:00.001-07:00

Wow. Smartest post on the internet in a very long time.

Seriously smart stuff, worthy of inclusion.

Link.

Mutations

2009-03-13T16:35:00.000-07:00

I'm working on some ideas for a game that involves post-apocolyptic type mutants. Anyone that can point me to some powers and/or lists of powers would be great. Feel free to post some ideas in the comments if you like.

Ultimate Toolbox

2009-03-13T12:12:00.000-07:00

400 pages
1000+ tables
Endless gaming potential

Here's some free charts that only recently got made.

1d20 Mercenary Companies 1
1. Arcane Corps
2. August Trackers
3. Banik’s Crawlers
4. Bastion’s Chargers
5. Berrig’s Muster
6. Blackblood Legionnaires
7. The Blades of Tannahawk
8. Bloodmoon Tyrants
9. Blunderbuss Enforcers
10. The Bonecrushers
11. The Clansmen
12. The Cloudkings
13. Coin’s Hold Outfit
14. Company of Aegis
15. The Corruptors
16. The Crimson Guard
17. Darksky Archers
18. Deadman Lancers
19. Deadwind’s Fist
20. Death’s Company

1d20 Mercenary Companies 2
1. Devil’s Vale Detachment
2. The Devil’s Rats
3. Doomknights of Ithaca
4. Doomsmen
5. The Dragon Horde
6. The Eagleriders
7. Falconfyre Raiders
8. The Fangs
9. Fellon’s Lowhunters
10. Fiendfyre Crew
11. Fifty-Seven Blades
12. The Final Siege
13. Firavun’s Men
14. Forthman’s Riders
15. Frontier’s Gauntlet
16. Frostlance Brigade
17. Garum’s Band
18. Ghoulslayers
19. Goblinbane Squad
20. The Godless

1d20 Mercenary Companies 3
1. Gorgon Crushers
2. The Grey Riders
3. Greenking Footmen
4. Guardians of Rebuke
5. The Hawks
6. The Hammers
7. The Helmsmen
8. High Metal Assembly
9. Hooded Cartel
10. The Ironmen
11. Iverman’s Command
12. The Ivory Crown Ring
13. The Jackals
14. Jakara’s Troopers
15. The Kinslayers
16. Knights of the Anvil
17. Korissin’s Army
18. The Lashers
19. The Maulers
20. Merchant Shield Combine

1d20 Mercenary Companies 4
1. Mountaincleave Horde
2. The Murdermen
3. The Nevermen
4. Northmen of Steel
5. The Oathhunters
6. One Hundred More
7. Orcskinners
8. Order of the Lock
9. Pathforgers of Anoch
10. Pilot’s Dragoons
11. Queen’s Harriers
12. Quinon’s Gang
13. Redwolf Pack
14. Retinue of the Damned
15. Riseneye Avengers
16. The Sellswords of Cairn’s End
17. Sentinels of the Black Stone
18. Seven Against All
19. The Shadowmen
20. The Shieldbearers

1d20 Mercenary Companies 5
1. The Sinisters
2. Skulks
3. The Skullsmiths
4. Soldiers of the Spear
5. The Sovereign
6. Stainsword Troop
7. Sunderstone Axemen
8. Tanner’s Scouts
9. Team of the Scarred Scale
10. Thorn Legion
11. Titan’s Pact
12. The Trollslayers
13. Warriors of the Tattered Banner
14. Werejackle Brigade
15. Whitecliff Plainsmen
16. Winged Contingent
17. Winterfire Legion
18. The Witch’s Curse
19. The Wraiths
20. Wyvern’s Watchmen

New Adventures

2009-03-13T10:48:00.001-07:00

We met with a new gamer recently (Colin), who should be interesting to hang out with. We're going to try George's Children for our first game session, followed by some Dogs in the Vineyard, and topped off with IN A WICKED AGE, which I've been dying to play again.

Aaron is about to have his baby, so until he's out from under the weight of "new born baby stuff" it looks like it's board games for a while at Jason's place on Thursdays.

Anyway. You didn't sign up for gossip, you want to know about gaming. So. Bear in mind that I intend to run Dogs in an alternate setting (Inquisition perhaps) and I want to use In a Wicked Age with all of my COIL notes.

We'll see what happens.

I should have a TOOLBOX post for everyone soon, as well.

Board Game Design

2009-03-04T17:30:00.001-08:00

I've been working like a dog for the past couple weeks. Haranshire campaign is probably dead and soon I'll have some notes to share with everyone about some board games I'm designing.

Anyway. Sorry for the pause in posts.