+Brian Isikoff flashed on Google+ he was considering USR Sword & Sorcery for running +Mike Evans Ennie Award Winning setting Hubris!
That. Is. So. Cool!
Contact Information:
jay@vanishingtowerpress.com
Wednesday, February 14
Sunday, January 28
Norton & Goodman together again…
One
of my regular players could not make last weeks regularly scheduled
game. Going on over two years of online play he has never missed a
session so he is involved in like everything which has happened to date. During the previous session when the good Dr. Thomas Norton last
played he ended up getting separated from the party so being absent didn't force any hand-waving to explain his absence. Still, with vacation coming up here at the end of the week another
regularly scheduled session was going to be scratched leaving the
next live session not until February 18. Damn, just too darn long for
my tastes. What to do, what to do…
I
decided on an off week bonus game session. It would focus on the
activities of the Dr. until he was able to rejoin the party proper.
This would also give me a chance to let a previous regular player
jump in for a session since, no fault of his own, he had to change
his schedule like last year and could no longer make the live
sessions.
Without
going into a detailed session report, okay, a mildly detailed session
report, I have to say I really like splitting the party and having
action happen “off-screen” to the rest of the party. Time
commitments are the only thing holding me back from doing this
ongoing, but getting in another session covering mushrooming campaign
action was a blast. First, I get a bigger game world with multiple
courses of action occurring. Second, it gives me practice towards
accomplishing my ultimate role-playing goal. I'm sure this has been
done before, but I would like to have different campaigns with
different players meet up in special cross-over sessions much like
Elric would run into manifestations of himself in the multiverse.
This means I would have tangential relations to the major world
changing effects/enemies in each of the different campaign worlds and
players who previously didn't know anything about the other game
would find themselves face to face with PC's they've never
encountered before, even possibly playing a completely different game system then the other party. Something uniquely doable with online play.
But
on this night of January 19, 1646 in Great Yarmouth the gasping,
spent Dr. is urged on by his old Puritan soldiering grognard
companion Saul Goodman coming out of the gloom. Recently returned
from a secret mission on Zeal's behalf he immediately searched for
Dr. Thomas Norton when finished debriefing. Norton had split from
his badly wounded companions in the hopes of keeping the escaping
Xaxus/Martyn, the current villainous threat, and his loaded wagon in sight.
Random
rolls established how long before the pair located the now abandoned
wagon and we got underway. This is where I hoped to channel some of
those great city pursuit adventures. A bit of Carlito's Way, The
Matrix Reloaded, Collateral, Bourne Identity, etc. was what I had in
mind for the session, but this is 1646. What kind of sexy, neo-noir,
dangerous urban challenges does a cold night in the golden age of
dysentery have to offer our ruthless duo? What would actually be
interesting to encounter but not seem like utter rubbish? Going to
the historical record has been really useful for my game prep. One, I
know “bollocks” about this period of time, and two, +James Raggi has built his successful line of game adventures on this time period
so this tells me there are plenty of real horrible tales to be told
from such a record. Still the question stands, what is their to
do in a town like Great Yarmouth when street lights haven't even been
invented yet?
The
abandoned wagon provided a rather staid opening for session
start. I spiced it up with some hanger-ons drinking and fornicating
among the ransacked goods. This gave the PC's their first chance to
pick up the trail. Their target left with one of the locals and they
got a direction. The next possible encounter was a Puritan mass for
some of the destitute locals. While there target was not here I
provided another clue from a parishioner. What made it interesting? I
poached descriptions from the beginning of Moby Dick. Ishmael's night
wanderings in Nantucket can provide great sights, sounds and smells
of an active fishing town. Sexy? In the eye of the beholder. But its
Melville, the guy can write. You would have to be one of Dr. Norton's
patients not to respond somehow to what he is laying down. So this
encounter gets the PC's some more concrete location information and
they make their move. I couldn't find any “historical” record of
my next location, I made it up, but it was time to put out my 1646 disco ball! An
illicit “tea” shop serving up the new rage from the New World;
coffee and cocaine! Complete with a tuned-up accordion player and
upscale clientele. I'm a big fan of random encounters and I rolled a
Doctor, a Dr. Howy Brass, as the random NPC the villain would encounter here. I rolled
this ahead of time during my session prep. This gives me time to ask myself the usual questions; "Why would Xaxus find this person interesting/useful?", "What would such an encounter lead to?". This would be my plot hook
to hang my alien god on so I wanted it to be satisfying, make sense and offer opportunities to kill PC's. Back to historical
research. What fucked up things could your average Paracelsan
physician get up into? I came away from google with Distillation Furnaces and
Boyle's Law. Click, click, click. So we have coked out monied
gentleman, one experimenting with purifying the mind of ill-humors
and a desperate alien entity looking to convert as many people as
possible to his cause as willing slaves, hmm….
I
won't bore you with any more details. Suffice to say this provided
plenty of activity and action for the PC's to engage with and let the
bloody chips fall where they may. And it left me feeling, split the
party? Hell yeah!
Friday, January 26
Assassin's Guild Random Name Generator
Scott Malthouse posted a quick table which will give you one hundred random names for your Assassin's Guild. Here is the text thrown together for your very own one-click generator;
How To Create a Gangbusters Gathox Character
Starting work on my Gathox Vertical Slum campaign world with Gangbusters rules for a hope to be face to face game. Here are my initial character creation rules outlined for use at the first session.
Players
create their PC's by rolling dice to find the
characters' four starting ability scores. These are the standard
attributes listed in the Gangbusters core rules; Muscle, Agility, Presence and Observation. Feel free to
roll these scores in any order you wish. But unlike in the regular
Gangbusters rules, do not automatically add the ABILITY
MODIFIERS for each ability. Whether or not a particular ability
receives the modifier is determined by choice of character class.
A player may choose any one of the following classes for their new
PC. Read the description
for each character
class from
Gathox Vertical
Slum.
When you find one you like apply the ability modifiers listed below
for
that class to the
single
starting attribute named.
Street
Tough - Presence
Soldier
- Muscle
Martial
Master - Agility
Spiritualist
- Luck
Faith
Healer - Presence
Cosmic
Doctor - Observation
Hit
Points and Punching Score are determined normally. Following
are additional changes a particular Character Class will make to the
regular Gangbusters character creation process.
Street
Tough: While this militant receives an ability modifier only for
Presence, their Punching
Score
is determined as if they had received an ability modifier to Muscle.
For example; a Street Tough with a Muscle of 50 would have a Punching
score of 4 instead of 3.
Soldier:
Starts the game with the skill Public
Speaking.
Starting skill level is determined per standard Gangbusters rules.
Public Speaking in Gangs
of Gathox is referred to as Discipline
and the skill's general use and effects are detailed in the Gathox
Vertical Slum
setting book.
Martial
Master: Starts
the game with the skill Martial
Arts.
Starting
skill level is determined per standard Gangbusters rules. The
effects of Martial Arts in combat are detailed in Part 11: Optional
Expert Rules of the Gangbusters rules.
Spiritualist:
Their roll for starting Luck
attribute is done by applying an Ability Modifier to the percentile
roll before the score is divided in half. Their
power of Psychometry
can be used as described.
Faith
Healer: Their power of Lay
on Hands
can be used as described.
Cosmic
Doctor: Their power of Echoes
of the Future
can be used as described.
The
three Mentalists classes are still subject to random wild magic
effects as described in the Gathox
Vertical Slum
setting book.
Mutants
are created per normal Gangbusters rules. This means unlike the militants and mentalists listed above, mutants do receive Ability Modifiers. After attributes are figured then roll for their
mutations per Gathox Vertical Slum setting book.
Sunday, January 21
LotFP off the Shelf, again!
Today's
game session had the PC's leaving the city proper
hot on the heels of an adversary. I was prepared for the PC's to get
bogged down in more street to street action but the random encounter
I rolled gave them a slight advantage and they were able to allude
the major confrontation which threatened them at session start. With
increased freedom of movement the action quickly outstripped any prep
I had done. Going on vacation soon so truth is I really did no
prep for today's game.
We
are playing Renaissance but I include many LotFP adventure modules in
which to build my fantasy English Civil War world on. I'm not too
worried about spoilers here because I chop up all the published
materials I use to obfuscate what will come next. These are all
seasoned gamers and have tons of time in CoC adventures
so I know I have to work to keep things interesting. Including making
encounters mysterious even if the players have read the material.
Saying
I did no prep is not actually correct either. Because I like to
purchase quality stuff that meant I had just what I needed on my
shelf. Scenic Dunnsmouth was
about to see its first game in
live fire!
Now
this adventure module by +Zzarchov Kowolski is not one to use unread.
But I had read through the module when I initially bought it and even
used the built-in prep sequence to see what I had. Therefore I had
some idea how I was going to use the content. I just didn't remember
it all. What I did know was the
module was filled with detailed NPC's and locations and should give
me enough hooks and seeds to keep the hunt lively. The trick is what
to cut away. Not every NPC can be a psychotic nut-job devil
worshiping cannibal. Not
every location can be fraught with danger, otherwise “suspension of
disbelief” gets eroded and the campaign's uniqueness is diluted.
This just makes the module
the center of attention, not the PC's. The
other trick is to deftly incorporate the ongoing game events the
players are concerned with seamlessly
with the written material in front of me. So the events don't seem
forced or the PC's feel shoehorned into situations and their agency
has been stripped away.
Scenic
Dunnsmouth performed admirably.
I was able to scan locations
quickly and decide what would
be encountered first. Followed by the laundry list of NPC's I could
populate encounters with vivid personalities. This
gave the PC's buttons and levers to push, get some environmental
feedback as they figure out what to do. This also gives me time to
make picks. Who is false, what are the dead ends, and where would the
big bad go in this situation. I'm not saying walls of text and
endless detail are what is found inside. No, just that Kowolski
provides people and places which are interesting.
With my random name generator
I made earlier I was able to use the tried and true technique of
changing names. But not always. Because in the rush of gaming I
sometimes forget which name was assigned to which NPC. Peoples
& Places and Miscellania
were the two sections of Scenic Dunnsmouth I
relied on the most. PC's got folks to interact with, their suspicious
of everything which moves, I got only forty more minutes of game time
to fill…
I
don't want to make it sound like my whole game is one random table
after another, but random tables are an essential tool to keep me
from bogging down. Consistently LotFP adventures have given me these
essential ingredients; 1. Interesting
stuff for PC's to engage, and 2. Interesting stuff for me, the Game
Master, to mull over and what it could mean for the PC's future
fortunes.
I
also don't want to make it sound that whatever comes off the LotFP
press is useful to me. If adventure material does not fit my vision
I'm not going to use it in the game. My players deserve more than
just filler. But as I run more games not in the dungeon, without
those reliable thick walls to contain a session's activities, I find
this companies output gives me stuff to use immediately which
interests me at the table as well as my players. This is also the
easy part. Now things are set in motion. Now I need to drill down
into my ideas and my
originality to tie what was started by the PC's together into
horrible climaxes where all hangs in the balance!
Friday, January 19
Some Dolmenwood Tavern Adventure Hooks
All
who pass through Castle Brackenwold stop for a drink at the Four
Captains whether they are searching for work, information or
adventure.
The
following adventure hooks can be found out at the dirty, meager
tavern:
-
The lord of Castle Brackenwold is offering 500 gold(or silver) for the head of an insurgent peasant leader at the Shanty Wood woodcutter's camp. Those interested should report to the sergeant at the barracks. This is being advertised on a flier tacked on the wall.
-
A disinherited noble seeks brave men of honor to help him restore his estate which lies to the south east on the open plains. He is buying rounds of drinks in attempt to sway the disinterested local riffraff.
-
An exhibition to find a route through the unexplored Machswold is looking for stout explores to join their team. Those who help with the success of the exhibition will earn shares in the King's Trading Company. The troop of twelve explores is about to leave for Prigwort. There they will camp for several days as they prepare rafts to cross the Groaning Loch.
-
Two old sisters, one of them armed with an aged long sword, the other robed leaning on a walking stick, know of a ruined monastery. They believes there is a hidden tomb beneath, undisturbed, because it is protected by an unusual lock. There should be enough wealth in such a place to make everyone fabulously wealthy. She has an odd lodestone she claims is showing the tomb is not far north of the castle in the Brackenwold.
Here are the stats for the two old "sisters":
Wednesday, January 17
Dolmenwood Gypsy Encounter
For those who want to add a cliche forest road encounter for their Dolmenwood Campaign I present to you the Gypsy Wagon!
Encounter
Results
Gypsy Wagons:
Either encountered making their way, or pulled up in camp the Gypsy
Wagon is a hodgepodge of useful and baneful encounters. If the PC's
ignore the Gypsy Wagon they will be unmolested. If the PC's stop to
talk with the Gypsies they will be shown to the Matriarch of the
caravan. She will offer any assistance her meager train may offer;
provisions, information, first aid for the injured. All she asks is
to pick a card from her deck of fortunes. This request will be made after assistance has been rendered and much feasting and dancing has been had in the camp. Grab a deck of normal
playing cards and pull one. While only one card is being pulled the set up should be of an elaborate fortune telling reading within a heavily curtained wagon. Lighted candles and cheesy effects will give the Matriarch the appearance of a typical entertainer, but her readings do have power. Have one of the PC's pull
a card while you hold the deck and snicker. Regardless of suit read the
description for the matching numbered card. After much shuffling of
books and papers, state;
Ace: “Happiness and
joy are for those who sleep. Your journey will leave you dead and
alone.” The PC's are encouraged to spend the night with the Gypsy
caravan. If they do each character will be visited by strange dreams
while slumbering. These will leave the characters uneasy with
feelings of dread in the morning which are hard to shake. From now on
the Matriarch will have a sense of the character's well being while
in Dolmenwood. When out in the wilderness and the party is in
distress she will dispatch woodland animals once which would be
appropriate to provide some form of immediate aid.
Deuce: “Beware
treachery, especially from those you trust.” Moving forward in the
campaign every time the party gets a favorable reaction roll from
NPC's there is a 15% chance the NPC is actually playing the Party
false and will attempt to deceive, rob, capture or kill members of
the Party. Once they are betrayed the curse is broken.
Three: “The future is
pregnant with disaster.” For the next three days the Party will
have a daily encounter which will go poorly or poses some kind of
threat.
Four: “Act swiftly or
all is lost.” Upon hearing this fortune if the PC's immediately
press on they will encounter someone who will be able to provide aid
and/or useful information on their current adventure. If not, if the
Party actually stays the night with the gypsies they will awaken with
the camp having moved on. Besides not waking to the departing camp
the party as a whole is light 50% of their hard currency or
foodstuffs.
Five: “Unify, even
with your enemy, or all is lost.” The next encounter which requires
a reaction roll if the one who drew this card is present than the
reaction will at least be favorable.
Six: “You cannot
afford the luxury of trust.” The next time the PC's ask someone an
important question (not a gypsy) and are told the truth the one who
drew this card is sure they are lying.
Seven: “Reckless
abandon and chaos are your only friends.” The next time the PC's
flee an encounter the one who drew this card will not be caught.
Eight: “Search deep
beyond the meaning of oaths, even if it means torn hearts pulsating
in your blood stained hands.” The first time the PC's are lied to
the one who drew this card will know it.
Nine: “If you wish
it, it will come. If not now, then you must take it by force.” When
the PC's first encounter treasure or receive a reward for deeds done
they will receive an additional 100 pieces of gold.
Ten: “War! You will
witness the devastation of armed conflict.” The next time the PC's
are in a walled settlement it will fall under siege by whatever
appropriate force makes sense to you.
Jack: “Do not temper
lust, lay waste.” The next time the PC who drew the card is in a
tavern they get wildly drunk and must roll on the “Carousing
Mishap” table of your choice.
Queen: “For the
future be clouded, trust that blood will flow.” For several nights
hence a werewolf will stalk the party. While the first two nights are
black with dark clouds on the third night the sky will clear pregnant
with a heavy, full moon. Then the night beast will attack. If the
PC's are not alone than who the werewolf attacks needs to be rolled
randomly. If the PC's are indoors or underground they should be able
to avoid the beast's rampage. The darkened two nights prior will give
the PC's an opportunity to notice they are being stalked if they are
keeping a sharp watch.
King: “Faith in the
old gods is misplaced. Ruthlessly stamp out heresy.” The next time
anyone of the Party present at the reading encounters a Cleric they
will be accused of being dangerous blasphemers of the one true faith
and will be driven from the holy person's sight.
Joker: “Disguise
yourself from you kin, they seek to pull you down.” One time a PC
will not be recognized by an enemy seeking them out. The PC will have
to be present at the card reading to have a chance of being
unrecognized in the future. This will apply to all PC's present but a
PC can only benefit from this effect once.
Advertisement: Random
roll (1D10) from the 1e DMG random encounter chart page 174.
1 is a Dungeon Encounter,
2 is a Underwater Encounter,
3 is an Astral & Ethereal
Encounter,
4 is Psionic Encounter,
5-10 is an Outdoor Encounter.
Yeah, I know, how the fuck do
I do an Underwater Encounter on a woodland road? I leave you to your
imagination. Besides this table entry is useless without the DMG so
you might have to just make it up anyways.
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