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Wednesday, September 26

OpenQuest Character Creation Point Total

I've spent some time creating characters with Newt Newton's great fantasy rpg rules OpenQuest, and I have to admit to the few house rules I've settled on.

If my addition is right, the overall points used in creating a character are 255. If you decide to have your character have the powers of Sorcery or Divine Magic they get +40 pts towards either their Sorcery or Divine Magic skill. There are some additional restrictions on how the points can be distributed amongst the characters abilities and skills, but it seems 295 is the uppermost point total for starting character creation.

As I've mentioned in other posts on my blog, I really dig the "Open" of OpenQuest. Therefore I've decided that players can spend the 295 points any way they want. The only restrictions I would be keen on enforcing is some max limits on attributes as they relate to the race so selected by the player, but that's about it!

There doesn't seem to be any reason to impose any more limits, unless the Game Master is not involving himself with the character creation process with his players.

But that, to me, is an rpg no no. I find GM involvement in new character creation important when beginning a new campaign.

Monday, September 24

I'm in on Dredd 3D

The future America is an irradiated waste land. On its East Coast, running from Boston to Washington DC, lies Mega City One- a vast, violent metropolis where criminals rule the chaotic streets. The only force of order lies with the urban cops called “Judges” who possess the combined powers of judge, jury and instant executioner. Known and feared throughout the city, Dredd (Karl Urban) is the ultimate Judge, challenged with ridding the city of its latest scourge – a dangerous drug epidemic that has users of “Slo-Mo” experiencing reality at a fraction of its normal speed.

During a routine day on the job, Dredd is assigned to train and evaluate Cassandra Anderson (Olivia Thirlby), a rookie with powerful psychic abilities thanks to a genetic mutation. A heinous crime calls them to a neighborhood where fellow Judges rarely dare to venture- a 200 story vertical slum controlled by prostitute turned drug lord Ma-Ma (Lena Headey) and her ruthless clan. When they capture one of the clan’s inner circle, Ma-Ma overtakes the compound’s control center and wages a dirty, vicious war against the Judges that proves she will stop at nothing to protect her empire. With the body count climbing and no way out, Dredd and Anderson must confront the odds and engage in the relentless battle for their survival

At last, an actual comic book adaptation. I had my reservations about Dredd – The trailer did little to inspire, which made me think this incarnation might actually be worse than Stallone’s horrible campy version.

 But I’m happy to report Dredd is very good. Not only did it put my fears to rest, but banished any memory I had of Danny Cannon’s Judge Dredd. Finally, the Judge Dredd I grew up reading in 2000 AD comics has been rightly portrayed. With so many great films yet to come, I may have to extend my yearly list because of films like Dredd.

 When I heard that Karl Urban was signed on to play Dredd, I knew it was a good move. Urban embodies Dredd, and has his characteristics down to tee. Even the famous Judge Dredd profile looks exactly how 2000 AD artist Carlos Ezquerra used to illustrate the character. Urban is brilliant in this, and I hope he signs on for the upcoming sequels. Oh wait! If they decide to make any sequels! 

Lena Headey (Game of Thrones) as Mama does a superb job – she’s just a nasty piece of work. Just as her Game of Thrones character but with a bit more bite. In a year where we’ve had loads male villains, Headey holds her own in Dredd, and puts in a memorable turn as the Mama. Olivia Thirlby offers good support as the daisy faced rookie and the reliable Wood Harris puts in a solid performance as the slimy henchman to Mama.

 The story in Dredd is very similar to that of The Raid: Redemption. The two judges have to battle their way to the top, to get to Mama. Although I saw The Raid earlier this year, Dredd holds its own when it comes to the set pieces, which are fast, furious and very violent – but almost comically violent?

Visual effects are stunning. The use of the 3D Phantom camera in the slow mo scenes looks extraordinary. One of the few films this year I would definitely say is worth seeing in 3D. Mega City One looks beautifully Utopian, which is how it should look. I really like the look of this version of Mega City One. Big, tall, monolithic buildings in a harsh, dystopian environment look visually stunning. Mega City One in the original Dredd film had a sort of Blade Runner look to it, which I didn’t appreciate as much. 
Gone and erased are memories of Stallone torturing Dredd’s infamous catchphrase ‘ I AM DA LAAAHH’! Dredd is an exciting, visceral thrill ride of a movie. Karl Urban puts in one of his best performances as Dredd.  The reviews for this have been extremely positive. And I hope the box office viewing public are just as generous. Dredd is faithful to comic book and to its main character.
 I’ve given it lots of praise, but Dredd isn’t perfect. It drags in several places to focus too much on character development. Plus the film is much longer than it needs to be. Other than that Dredd is awesome and will definitely deserve a second viewing.

Good performances, action packed and very violent. I recommend you see Dredd, but it may not be for the faint of heart.

I have hopes this R-rated version will deliver the dark world of Dredd which never appeared in the Stallone version!


Jongo the Thieving Gnome's Battle Magic

My OpenQuest Fantasy Adventure #1 is cast in a decidedly traditional fantasy setting where the main characters are creatures of fairy tales; elves, dwarfs, gnomes, pixies, centaurs, dragons, etc.

Here is the thoughts which went into the write up for Jongo's character as I followed the rules for character creation;

All abilities begin at 8, so I mold them into a picture of a typical gnome of the Vlaymoor Forest, the starting point of the campaign. Adjustments of note would be decreased SIZ and increased DEX, and POW.

Nothing fancy with the skill package. I do decide to forgo high combat skills. Jongo is a thief and prefers to go about his business unnoticed. I did sink many points into his Mechanism skill.

I divide his 6 magic points into inherent racial abilities and magical artifacts.

 For the gnomes racial abilities I choose Enhanced Deception (2), Enhanced Athletics (1), and Enhanced Influence (1). The last two points are spent on creating the two magical artifacts I want the character to posses. The first is called the Crystal Clock, a small time piece Jongo keeps on a chain in is pocket. It allows Jongo to Enhance Perception when searching for Faerie Folk, and other magical creatures friendly to the Fay. The other artifact is a willow wand embued with a spell known as Woodland Paths. Casting this spell from the wand allows Jongo to pass through dense thicket and other difficult terrain as if it were clear.

There you have it. Besides crunching the numbers to get your desired starting values this player character is ready to go.

The Hobbit Trailer

Exciting times to be able to see some of the source material for our greatest modern archetypes hit the big screen!

Sunday, September 23

Dr. Who Season 7 Finale



The first trailer for the Season 7 fall finale of "Doctor Who" has arrived, and it puts Amy and Rory in a life-or-death situation.
"It's a heart-breaking goodbye to Amy (Karen Gillan) and Rory (Arthur Darvill) -- a race against time through the streets of Manhattan, as New York's statues come to life around them," reads the episode description.
Titled "The Angels Take Manhattan," the episode airs on Saturday, Sept. 29.
While the fate of The Ponds is unclear, BBC America and executive producer Steven Moffat warned that fans should not expect a happy ending.

Saturday, September 22

Magic in OpenQuest for Non Magic Users

To fully enjoy OpenQuest d100 based RPG from d101 Games one must embrace the author's approach to magic for a fantasy role playing game.

There are three "schools" of magic in the core rules; Battle Magic, Divine Magic, and Sorcery. Unlike fantasy rpg's which limit the use of magic to a specific "class", OpenQuest allows any character at creation to be adapt in the magical arts. In fact every character at creation has to apply six points of magnitude towards the creation of spells whether they are interested in playing some type of magic wielding character or not.

Starting magic is selected by the expenditure of 6 points of magnitude. The player is free to spend them in any manner. A player may choose six individual spells all at 1 magnitude, or select one spell at magnitude 6. Or some variation in between. As stated above, selecting spells from the Divine Magic and Sorcery lists come with some restrictions. This is an attempt to simulate the commitment necessary to master these schools of magic by restricting the amount of character creation points allowed on other skills outside of magic.

But what if you are interested in playing a Barbarian, a Mercenary Knight, or even your traditional Thief? To leave those magic points on the table and not use them would make your starting character much weaker than other players who embrace the use of magic.How should the basic spell list found in Battle Magic be added?

This is where the aspect of "character concept" really shines for OpenQuest. For example I will use Jongo the thieving gnome. Through the character creation steps we've spent some points on attributes, many on the appropriate skills such as Athletics, Deception, Mechanisms, and Dodge. Now it is time to deal with those pesky magic points. Well, since we are playing a nonhuman race, one with a rich literary tradition of magical tricks and talents, it should not be too difficult. Probably the most useful Battle Magic spell for non spell users is Enhance Skill. What thieving gnome would not have an uncanny ability to disappear amongst the underbrush? Or surprising skill discovering hidden traps, or perhaps see normally invisible pixies and sprites?

This is an effective technique for giving your barbarian "berserker rage", or your martial artist a "killing strike". Want your archer to have an effective "called" shot, the enhanced skill spell is your ticket. Creating an elf warrior you may want to add the unusual ability to see in the infrared spectrum. Not a problem with the right application of Battle Magic.

Don't limit yourself to the initial skill list found in Newt's original rulebook. There is no reason why you can't come up with suitable spells which fit your character's concept. Any good Game Master will help you shape your ideas to fit well with the game. Anyone who has ever enjoyed Champions from Hero Games will be familiar with creating interesting effects and abilities from fairly general spell lists.

*OpenQuest uses the Mongoose Publishing RuneQuest System Resource Document.

Sunday, September 16

Getting People to Play

Finding interested gamers in rural parts of the US close enough to play face to face RPG's is difficult if not nigh impossible. By interested gamers I am referring to people (with or without previous RPG experience) actively looking to play. This means you will have to take embark on the risky affair of asking people, who have never considered RPG's as a source of entertainment, to play. Risky because it will feel like high school dating all over again and you will most likely face a consistent stream of rejection.
But you will have to go to any lengths to succeed. And this means sticking your neck out.