Dog Day Games

Qwixalted is Finished!

2011-11-01T05:11:00.000-07:00

At long last, the BEAST is free.

For all of you that contributed, advised, and inspired... THANK YOU!

For all of you that will play, read, or otherwise enjoy... You're Welcome.

And especially for Matt... Thanks buddy.

Qwixalted - Official Wiki Launched!

2011-02-02T01:32:00.000-08:00

My playtests continue to go famously and the RPGnet discussion has developed some very different design goals and desires for the project. Therefore... the Qwixalted Wiki was born!

My own rules are, naturally, still in the works, but Matt (Daiklave on RPGnet) has already posted his own, completely playable and very awesome, rule set. Several tweaks, add-ons and hacks will probably find there way to the wiki in the near future as well!

Come by for a visit!

Playtest in the West - Mass Combat

2011-01-07T22:59:00.000-08:00

Last week, we actually got to use the Qwixalted mass combat rules a bit. Unfortunately, the unit stats were a little too much Exalted 2E and not enough Quickstart.

Rethinking a bit, I'll try something more like this next time...

Unit Stats

Leaders fight normally, with additional bonuses granted by their units.

Drill: The unit's combat effectiveness, adds Damage successes.

Drill = 1 for poor troops, 2/average, 3/good, 4/great

+1 for Essence Wielders (Ghosts, God-Blooded, etc)

+1 for Artifact Weapons

Morale: The unit's fighting spirit, adds to PDV.

Morale = Half the Leader's Presence

Armor: The unit's Armor rating, adds to Soak.

Size: The unit's size, adds to Health, and Size difference grants bonuses. Solo units are Size 0.

5 / Fang
25+ / Scale
125+ / Talon,
250+ / Wing
500+ / Dragon
2500+ / Legion

Each point of Size adds +6 bonus Health to the Leader. Larger units add (Size Difference) as Damage successes. Smaller units add (Size Difference) as Initiative and Move successes.

Example: A compliment of Skullstone's Zombie Marines

Drill: 3 (+3 Damage successes)
Morale: 3 (morale for undead should probably be maxed at 3, +3 PDV)
Armor: 1 (+1 Soak)
Size: 2 (80 zombies can pack into a ship's hull)

Mass Combat will play out almost exactly like regular combat, but the leader uses War to attack and adds bonuses from the Unit.

Qwixalted - The Basic Rules

2010-12-06T18:04:00.000-08:00

*This is the first in a series of previews directly from the Qwixalted rules as I write them. I've gotten a LOT of questions along the lines of "When will the game be done?!". In response, I've decided to post sections of the text as they are completed, allowing those interested to follow my progress as well as giving access to the most current implementations of the rules. With further playtesting, the game may change a bit before release. But aside from minor issues, the final text should simply be a compilation of these posts.*

TAKING ACTION – The Basic Rules

Chosen by the gods of Creation, Exalted will accomplish most tasks without rolling at all. Exalts roll only when Complications make a task more difficult and failure is just as interesting, cool, or fun as success.

Dice Pool: Pick the most appropriate Ability for the task and grab dice equal to its parent Trait.

Survival tasks are covered by Zenith for Solars, No Moon for Lunars, Wood for Dragon-Blooded, etc.

Bonus Dice: Usually, you’ll grab some bonus dice to add to your pool.

Charm, Spell, Stunting, Background, Artifact, Virtue, Help Dice, etc.

Difficulty: The difficulty is the number of dice subtracted from your pool. Usually, -1 per Complication (-5 Max) stated by the GM.

Heavy Rain, Darkness, Unfamiliar Language, Long Range, Missing Pages, etc.

Penalties: Other penalties, such as wounds or an opponent’s defenses, may subtract further dice, but have their own rules.

Minimum: No matter the difficulty, Exalts always roll at least 1 die.

Successes: After a roll, 4s and 5s are successes. 6s are 2 successes each!

Exceptional: 1 success accomplishes the task, but 5+ successes marks an Exceptional Success and, outside of combat, brings additional benefits.

Crafting Unbreakable Items, Learning Additional Facts, Resisting Toxins Permanently, etc.

Dice Pool = Ability + Bonus Dice – Complications – Penalties

Playtest in the West - Dark Fates from Mountain Witch

2010-12-06T17:36:00.000-08:00

For a long time I'd been pondering a con scenario for Exalted based on the incredible, can't say enough good things about, Mountain Witch rpg.

In Mountain Witch, six disgraced ronin team up to climb Mount Fuji and slay the Mountain Witch. Yet each of them volunteered for a dark reason, the revelation of which would turn their companions against them. Bringing those dark fates to an Exalted scenario involving six dynasts on a Wyld Hunt was too enticing a proposition to pass up. It worked great!

The actual mechanics themselves continue to work wonderfully with very few hiccups. A minor issue came up when a player asked about creating a poison for his arrows, but it was satisfactorily house ruled in a flash.

It did make me wonder about crafting rules and poison though. So now I'll think about on how/if they should be included.

Playtest in the West - Skipped a Week

2010-11-30T16:00:00.000-08:00

We had a player out so we decided to skip game on Sunday. I always hate that, but sometimes it's better than finagling the story to account for absences.

This week I'm preparing another playtest adventure for the local Game Day. It will be a bunch of pre-generated Dragon-Blooded forming a Wyld Hunt to hunt down an Anathema. I'll use the dark fates from Mountain Witch and play the story out like a Mountain Witch game using Qwixalted characters and mechanics. It should be a total blast!

On the Qwixalted Development Front, the week has had a few news worthy moments.

Aprogressivist, a very helpful RPGnetter, has taken the initiative to start up a PbP game over the RPGnet wiki. As far as I know, he's still taking new players and you can find all the details here.
A little Googling turned up a Portuguese forum discussing what games should be taken to a local con, Qwixalted came up!
Chronicler, another awesome RPGnetter, not only donated to the effort by actually sending me a gift, but he also swiped qwixalted.blogspot.com for himself! The blog's brand new, but may be worth watching if you're a fan of the project.

Playtest in the West - Intro

2010-11-23T01:51:00.000-08:00

Yesterdays playtest was short (late players) but sweet.

I got our zany group of unlikely Celestial buddies together using the old standby of The Common Enemy. The PCs were taking in a play when some Dragon-Bloods showed up and a crafty Air-aspected investigator spotted some Anathema. Here's hoping I can turn their partnership of convenience into a serious (or at least semi-believable) team up.

We ran into a couple minor mechanical questions regarding the Multiple charm and Countermagic, but they've since been resolved. That's exactly what playtests are for, right?!

Highlights

Supernatural+Paced+Craft allowed our unarmed Sidereal to instantly fashion a giant maul made of the audience's laughter. Perfect for his signature Fighting Style!

Playtest in the West

2010-11-15T00:23:00.000-08:00

With Neoncon done and a little more tweaking out of the way, my regular Sunday group finally got back together for some regular playtesting of the Qwixalted rules.

To give this game a proper run, we decided on a mini-campaign in the West. I mentioned how cool it would be to playtest several character types and somehow got a Sidereal, a Lunar and an Abyssal! We've got a tenuous connection for them, but I'm hoping it doesn't all come crashing down once the plot takes off.

Speaking of plot, I should probably go find one of those. :-P

Character Creation Session Highlights

Badass names for badass Fighting Styles!

The Agile Fist of Damnation (Abyssal's Fighting Style)
One Thousand Chimes of the Waking Dawn (Sidereal's Fighting Style)

Best Motivation Ever!

Construct the bell who's perfect chime will cause mass exaltation throughout all of Creation.

Similarities...

2010-11-10T02:25:00.001-08:00

For those of you cool enough to be reading this blog and have a copy of the new Hellas book...

You may notice some mass combat rules that seem familiar...

That's right kids, I'm in print!

Apparently, Jerry has no idea what my actual last name is. But small things like that can't stop me from being ridiculously excited about the whole thing!

Playtests are Going Well!

2010-11-09T01:24:00.000-08:00

With the successful RPGnet post (150 posts & 6500 views!) and two great playtests at NeonCon, I'd say the Qwixalted conversion is humming along nicely.

I've put a bunch more docs in the Qwixalted Folder and I'm beginning work on the final pdf.

The majority consensus seems to be "You should file the serial numbers off and publish this shit man!" To them I simply smile and say, "It's all part of the plan..."

Speaking of Qwixalted, here's a good con story for you. Jerry Grayson and friends had just dragged their way through a clunky Eclipse Phase game. All were growning about the system's repetitive rolls and Trentin (a good friend and Qwixalted playtester) mentioned that the game could use a qwixing. Jerry loved the idea of 'eQwix Phase' and said that should be my thing. "Your game should just be called Qwix. You could take all the bad systems with good settings and Qwix 'em up!"

Not a bad idea Jerry, not bad at all. :-P

Qwixalted at NeonCon!

2010-10-30T12:26:00.000-07:00

After the successful playtest last weekend and some unexpected interest on RPGnet, my super sweet Exalted rules are coming together nicely.

I may not have a pretty little document put together by the 4th, but Qwixalted will definitely be on the menu at Games on Demand for NeonCon. See you there!

Qwixalted

2010-10-23T04:05:00.000-07:00

After weeks of searching for a viable system for the liquid cool of the Exalted setting, a thread on RPGnet ultimately led me back to the 1st Edition Exalted Quickstart.

I couldn't get it out of my brain, so I may as well share it with the world. :-P Here's where I'm at so far...

Edit: I'm sticking all relevant info, sheets, and rules into a Qwixalted GoogleDocs folder as I complete it. Check there for updates and downloadables!

Apocalypse World Chargen!

2010-10-06T13:32:00.000-07:00

My Girl has finally agreed to run me a game of AW. I'm still not allowed to read the book, but Sunday will bring sweet, sweet character creation and maybe a little setting brainstorming.

Sounds good to me!

Those of you showing up at NeonCon next month, hit me up at Games on Demand for an Apocalypse World session of your very own! And if my grasp of the rules seems sketchy . . . blame the girl that held the book hostage. ;-)

Games on Demand: NeonCon 2010

2010-09-23T15:26:00.000-07:00

Games on Demand is coming back to NeonCon 2010. If you saw it last year, you know the deal. If you didn't, it was glorious!

What is it?

I originally saw Games on Demand at GenCon and it struck me as a great way to facilitate rpgs at cons. A table is set up with a host of games spread out. Attendees walk up and say "I love me some [preferred genre]!" The volunteers at the booth say "Of course you do, fine sir. Have your heard of [recommended game]?" After an excited elevator pitch about the awesome that is [recommended game], the booth volunteers find a way to get the excited attendee into a game right then and there. If that's not possible, the volunteers arrange a future time when that game can happen.

Who Runs?

The volunteers are absolutely everyone and anyone that wants to pitch in to run (or sometimes just play!) an impromptu game session with whomever shows up asking for one.

Who Plays?

The players will be people with a few hours to kill before their next event, people that have heard good things about [the new hotness] and want a chance to try it out, and passersby that look bored or curious until we use all of our mad carnie tricks to get them seated, playing, and having an awesome time.

What Games?

Last year, GoD was the main way to bring a little small press (or Indie or Story Gamey or whatever) love to NeonCon. This year, many indie/story games are being added to the schedule, so I'm not too worried about championing the indie cause this time around. Let's play whatever we want!

GoD can handle anything from the hippie stuff like Dogs in the Vineyard and Primetime Adventures to older or more nichey games that don't see enough convention love like Mechwarrior or 1st Edition D&D. The only requirements are that the games must come from our own collections, they should be games we can run well, and they should be games we're excited about. Hell, bring D&D4E if that's what you love! I would've been all over a chance to check out a 4E session that didn't involve registering with organized play craziness.

The 4 Goals for Games on Demand 2010:

Offer games that can be played immediately via low prep-time, pregens, easy to learn rules, etc.
Offer a sign-up board where future games can be arranged when immediate play is not possible.
Showcase little known or under appreciated rpgs via GMs that are knowledgeable and excited to run them.
Offer 'popular' games that gamers have already heard about, educating and hopefully exciting them about a new game. Apocalypse World, Dresden Files, etc.

When Can I Play?

Games on Demand will run each day of NeonCon 2010.

Thursday, November 4th: 7p - 11p

Friday & Saturday, November 5th & 6th: 11a - 11p

Sunday, November 7th: 11a - 6p

How Can I Help?

Contact me if you want to run some games with GoD. Let me know when you want to help, what games you want to run, and any other questions or suggestions you may have. You can help out all day or only 4 hours. We can even put you 'on call' should we find any interest for that one game you really want to run!

Still Can't Read Apocalypse World...

2010-09-13T12:14:00.000-07:00

It's now 5 weeks after GenCon . . . and I still can't read Apocalypse World.

It all started when I got my girl into roleplaying, little did I know it would backfire on me one day. It wasn't too hard to get her in, she plays all sorts of video games and we had a blast playing through Borderlands together.

Of all the rpgs I ran for her though, she liked Dogs in the Vineyard the best. Walking around the GenCon sales floor I pointed out a familiar face to her, "That guy's Vincent Baker." She looked at me blankly so I elaborated, "He wrote Dogs."

Her eyes lit up. It was hilarious and adorable. I led her over to the Lumpley/Forge booth so I could check out the new hotness. There it was, the new shiny from various rpg forums, Apocalypse World. I picked it up and flipped through as Baker finished up a demo. He chatted with us for a bit and gave us a run down of the game.

After the chat, I asked, "So what do you think babe? Should we pick it up?" Her favorite rpg author had written a game, a game just like Borderlands, a new game that Jarvis didn't know how to play! The "YES!" didn't take long.

Within hours I was informed that the crisp new Apocalypse World book I just purchased was now her game. "You can't read it because I'm going to run it and I don't want anyone else correcting me on rules."

[Edit: I later discovered that the underlying reason is to prevent me from 'knowing the game' better than she does. Expertise breeds confidence and she wants to be the AW expert when we sit down to play.]

And here we are. Five weeks later and I still can't read the hot new book because my girl insists on running it for me. Awesome and totally not, all at the same time. :-P

Game Hacks: Cool Points

2010-09-08T13:12:00.000-07:00

Cool Points are the first story game hack to make it into every game I run. They've changed a lot over the years, but you'll probably spot similarities to Primetime Adventures, Fate, Serenity and Agon at the very least.

Here's how I currently use them in my Werewolf: the Apocalypse game.

Budget

The GM starts with cool points equal to 5x the number of players. My games usually have 4 players so that's 20 cool points. If the players start a fight with an NPC or each other, that's on them, but if the GM throws some hardship at them, it's paid for with cool points.

1 cool point allows me to 'buy' a threat, obstacle, or opposition that's roughly equal to the PCs themselves [3 12th level ninjas vs the three Level 12 PCs]. Each additional cool point buys additional baddies or increases their potency.

Once the threat or encounter is overcome, the cool points used to create are distributed to the players evenly. Any remainder sits in the center of the table!

Additionally, each player starts with a number of cool points himself. This allows them to grease the cool point wheels before they hit the first conflict. In my Werewolf game, they start with 1 cool point per Rank. This is roughly equivalent to Level/4 in a d20 game.

Reward

Whenever someone does something 'cool' at the table, another player can throw them a cool point as recognition, from the 'remainder pot' on the table or their own stash. In my games, they're handed out for everything from badass dialog to hilarious jokes and even tasty snack contributions. Players are encouraged to reward cool points for anything and everything that makes the entire rpg experience more fun for them.

Note that players are equally encouraged to reward the GM with cool points in the exact same way. Likewise, the GM can reward players with cool points directly.

Bonus

At their most basic, cool points can be spent on any roll for a small bonus. In my Werewolf game, this means they can roll 1 extra die. Cool points can even be spent after a roll has already failed, in hopes to turn a failure into a success. Cool points awarded to the GM can be spent the exact same way. The GM can boost an NPC's roll by spending a cool point.

Cool points spent to modify a roll are always given to the player that was targeted by the roll. If you use a bonus against him, he gets the cool point after you spend it. Points used against NPCs or the environment are naturally handed back to the GM. Points used by the GM against players are handed directly to them after the roll.

Plot Points

Outside of rolling dice, cool points can also be spent to make major or minor plot alterations. The GM can obviously do this for free, but players need to spend cool points to alter things normally outside their character's control. Call it 'dramatic editing' or whatever you wish, but it simply allows characters to find a handy garbage chute when they really want one.

Making more significant changes requires more cool points (players can all contribute), but here are some basic guidelines.

1 = Minor/Insignificant Change - The necromancer should be a chick! That'd be cooler.
4 = Meaningful/Significant Change - I think the prince should have a crush on me!
7 = Major/Serious Change - The necromancer is in love with the prince!
11 = Grand/Enormous Change - The necromancer IS the prince!

Soft Compels

Cool points can also be used as a 'soft compel'. It's soft because the GM forces nothing on the player, nothing they must buy their way out of. It's just a way for the GM to add incentive to a particular course of action or inaction. [Seriously guys, we can't have him as a recurring villain if you don't let him get away this time. How 'bout 3 cool points and he walks?]

Players can also bring this on themselves. Anytime they willingly disadvantage their character, they take a cool point for their trouble. [My ankle never healed right after that last fight. Looks like the assassin gets away. Darn, I guess we'll be seeing him again then!]

Leftovers

Any cool points left in a player's hands at the end of a session become bonus XP. This is partly to reward players that earned so many cool points and partly to limit their flow around the table. If all cool points got spent on dice rolls, game 'balance' might suffer. If they all get spent on plot changes, the fiction could get too tangled. A reason to horde them seems to be almost as valuable as a reason to spend them!

****

That about does it for cool points, maybe I'll encourage my players to chime in with their opinions of how all this works at the table!

Rethinking RPG Combat

2010-09-03T15:14:00.000-07:00

A dude over on RPGnet asked for a great system for handling martial arts. Someone recommended a poorly edited and long forgotten rpg called Fireborn. Holy shit!

I skimmed through the book when it first came out, but the idea of heroes as reincarnated dragon spirits never really sat with me. Not when I already had Exalted for the whole reborn heroes and wuxia action anyway. I should've looked harder. The Dynamic D6 system is fast and fluid and chaining 'moves' together for each action roll is just fucking brilliant!

I've had a design project on the back burner for a while, but it really needed its own system. Something built from the ground up. Something fast and flashy. Something a little different than the back and forth tennis tempo of most RPG fights. Fireborn got me excited about combat rules again. It made me see that Equilibrium and Hard Boiled can work as RPGs. It got to sit down and start working out a shiny new rule set.

Who knew modern-day dragons have been quietly holding badass wire-fu battles, under our very noses, for the last five fucking years?! Shame on you Fantasy Flight, you should've said something.

Locations as Characters

2010-09-02T00:18:00.000-07:00

During Shark Bone 022, we talked about the Locations as Characters concept from Invite Only.

Invite Only says give your important scene (setting, location, whatever) a concept, a few notes, and a virtue/vice combination. Think about it like a character and bring it to life. It all seems a bit ambiguous though.

I had a few thoughts on the show and a few more once we stopped recording. The discussion is over on RPGnet and only time will tell how productive that turns out to be. Until then, though, here's the gist...

Locations as Characters

Details - Each location should need only a few brief elements to really shine.

Name: The name. (Hills Cemetery)
Concept: The few word concept of the place. (Spooky Graveyard)
Theme: The feel of the place, what it stands for or against, etc. (Creepy)
Showcase: An item or person that exemplifies the concept and theme. (The unmarked grave no one goes near.)

That's the basic part, here's where it gets fun.

What if each location also got a Rank? What if that's how many dice it got to further its theme? Of course, a spooky graveyard doesn't actively try to scare people away, but damn if trespassing PCs don't have to resist 3 dice worth of fear just for being there.

At the same time, these dice would aid or hinder any action taken by a PC that supported or resisted the location's theme. Want to get answers out of that mook? Threaten him at the spooky graveyard! Want to seduce that cute girl from the office? The spooky graveyard's probably not the best place to do it. (Though scientifically, it actually would be!)

Even better, what if each location actually got an action. Every once in a while during narrative scenes or at the end of every initiative round. You dive into an open grave for cover, they fire wildly in your direction, then spooky graveyard rolls 3 dice to intimidate you as you realize 'open' does not mean 'empty'.

Location actions could be taken by the location itself, like chill winds and eerie howls, or taken by the inhabitants of the location, like child ghosts or the crazy grounds keeper. The location is never, well rarely ever, an actual participant in the conflict, just an active backdrop.

Picking a fight with the president of a biker gang will probably make every biker in the bar an active participant, but that doesn't stop the bar's owner or some of the strippers from taking action for the bar itself.

What do you think? Are we on to something?

Pacing Mechanic

2010-09-01T17:02:00.000-07:00

Preparing for Shark Bone 022, I watched Deep Blue Sea and had a revelation regarding pacing. I talked about it a bit on the show, but I'd like type it up and save it here.

In the movie, sharks attack people.

Sometimes the people do inherently dangerous things like run from secure location to secure location, try to rescue a friend in danger, etc. These moments are inherently tense and dangerous, these are the times when failure brings death, lost health levels, and pain. This is where all of the normal rules and mechanics from whatever rpg you're playing come in.

Between these moments of inherent danger and risk though... the people do other stuff. Boring stuff. Safe stuff. Sometimes they deliver flat exposition, sometimes they mend wounds, sometimes they fortify their position, sometimes they get to know each other, etc.

The trick is, that each 'safe action', each passing minute without a death or dismemberment, only increases the feeling that another mother fucking shark is about to get a tasty human snack. Substitute sharks for zombies and you have the rhythm of every zombie movie ever made. The longer the heroes avoid doing anything dangerous, the higher the chance the danger will come to them.

The well-versed among you are thinking this sounds a lot like the pacing mechanic in Shotgun Diaries. Well, you're right. And wrong. Shotgun Diaries increases the zombie clock after every 10 minutes of real time. In my opinion, it fails.

I propose increasing opposition after every 'safe action', that is after every action that brings no inherent danger. The PCs want to chat for 30min of quality roleplay? Awesome! Don't interrupt that shit for anything. Don't bring in the zombies when the PCs are at each other's throats and bringing their own danger. Just sit back and enjoy the mayhem! On the other hand, when the PCs fortify their location, investigate the outbreak, heal their wounds, and otherwise avoid the danger outside. A few more zombies gather on the outskirts.

If you want to raise tension in a zombie or slasher style horror game, use this...

Every time a player calls for a dice roll that doesn't bring or risk something dangerous, increase the opposition. In WoD terms, add an extra die to the next enemy attack. In D20 terms, add a +2 bonus to the next baddie.

If your zombies roll 2 dice to attack (or has a +4 bonus to hit), three safe actions between attacks will mean the next zombie rolls 5 dice (or has a +10 bonus). Hell, three safe actions could just as easily allow you to introduce a brand new threat (like a gas leak) at 3 dice!

That's it! Easy enough right?

Games on Demand: GenCon vs. NeonCon

2010-09-01T16:00:00.000-07:00

A few years ago, a visit to GenCon's Games on Demand area blew me away.

Playing when I wanted, no scheduling or signups necessary.
Playing what I wanted, small press games that don't get the usual convention love.
A stable of willing and excited GM volunteers waiting for me.
A donated pile of books, dice, and everything else needed to play.
A 'library' of small press games to choose from.
Even a promise to sit down and figure out any game I brought.
The unprecedented opportunity to 'window shop' rpgs. "Looks interesting... let's play!"

I worked hard to emulate the concept at NeonCon 2009 and I think I did pretty fucking well. I had 5 or so volunteers to help run the tables. We ran 19 sessions and 16 different games. We played everything from Hunter: the Vigil to Dogs in the Vineyard, anything that wasn't getting the love it deserved from the RPGA and other scheduled gaming.

Strangely enough, during my entire visit, the Games on Demand offering at GenCon 2010 was disappointing as hell.

No sign-age, no markings, no greeters, no indication of being in the right place.
No excited and available GMs to accept me and my fellow willing gamers.
No visible library of games to peruse or flip through while waiting for an available GM.
No obvious way to get involved, call 'dibs' on the next game, or anything.

What did it have? I'm glad you asked...

An Apocalypse World book was the only indication that it wasn't another RPGA event.
Eight or so tables, all full, all happily mid-game, all oblivious to passers-by (me).

What does this all mean? I'm I just bitching about a crappy con experience? Not at all kids. What it means is that Games on Demand at NeonCon 2010 will rock that much harder than it did last year! I had a blast last year and I learned a lot about running a good event. I saw piss poor execution at GenCon this year and I learned even more about running a good event.

I'll keep you posted and I'll see you at NeonCon!

Blog of the Dead

2010-09-01T15:13:00.001-07:00

Since my head's been out of 'design mode', I've let this blog fade considerably. That's a shame cause I generally have a lot of good ideas, they just don't happen to be full games.

So, using all my mighty necromancy powers, I'll attempt to bring this blog back from Oblivion with more of a focus on General RPG Thoughts rather than Games I'm Designing.

Slew of posts, coming up!

WoD: Mirrors

2010-07-30T17:02:00.000-07:00

Finished WoD: Mirrors today. Holy shit.

Fate and Savage Worlds are great go-to-games for homebrew attempts to make your own game using their generic systems. They've always lacked something for me though. (Maybe it's dice pools?) With Mirrors and the WoD Rulebook, I can literally trick out the Storyteller system for anything I want to play! Hell, even Fate's beloved Aspects get applied (and remixed) as "Player-Described Merits".

Good, good stuff!

A few of the things I'm really thinking of dropping into my Werewolf game:

Sway (Social Combat Rules)
Anticipation
Setup
Rapport (much like Trust from the very cool Mountain Witch rpg)
The Cup (of mysterious goodies)

A few things I will be dropping into the game:

Player Described Merits
Mob Rules (lumping 30 zombies together as a single character)
Decompression/Compression (more something to consider while I GM than a rule to implement)

Grab the pdf for super cheap on DrivethruRPG!

Swashbuckling and Skullduggery!

2010-03-22T20:13:00.000-07:00

At last, we come full circle. I sat some friends down the other day to playstorm some of the concepts I've been batting around for a pirate game using Liar's Dice. You may recall me mentioning this a while back.

As it turns out, the idea held up remarkably well. A few confirmations and several notes later, I'm sitting on the makings for a pretty fun little game! After talking to my favorite artist, I've got some great ideas of how to present and package this little gem.

I've been excited about most of the projects I've worked on. I've learned a lot, even if I don't plan to push any of them toward publication. This is the first time, however, that I've suspected real potential.

Coming soon...

Shark Bone!

2010-03-20T20:48:00.000-07:00

What has two thumbs and acts as a co-host on the new rpg podcast Shark Bone?

This guy!!

Project Cyberpunk

2010-03-10T11:51:00.000-08:00

Do you want to play Cyberpunk? Do you feel the rules are a bit outdated? Me too! Luckily, there's a nifty little solution that's even been tried and tested with good times by all.

Just download this nifty little character sheet made by my friend John for the best sci-fi rpg that's still not released! (Keep going Matt, we'll be patient!)

Project Vanguard + Cyberpunk = Awesome Fun

Kickstarter.com

2010-03-09T12:18:00.000-08:00

I discovered Kickstarter from a thread on RPGnet. The entire site is dedicated to funding projects of all kinds, seemingly any kind, via patronage.

A patronage model means people, fans, strangers, or whoever pitch in money to fund a project or pay an artist for a creative endeavor. Patronage Funding has seen success in several different markets and it's been making quite a splash lately in the RPG industry. Older titles such as Wild Talents and Reign as well as the new Pathfinder Modern project are prime examples of Patronage and Ransom model funding in the gaming industry.

What I find fascinating about Kickstarter is that they've linked up with a trusted site to allow 'backers' to pledge money via the Amazon payment account that everyone and my mother already has. Additionally, if the goal for pledge money isn't reached, none of the backers are actually charged for their pledges.

Let me give you an example: I fork over $50 to help kickstart the Pathfinder Modern project. Not only does that give me access to their design blog and project forums, I'm also promised a hardcover copy of the finished book. So for $50, I'm preordering the book and helping to fund the project. Should the project not raise enough money, the book is never produced and I am never charged!

What a fascinating way to fund a project. What an interesting way to buy into, not only the finished product, but the design process as well.

What does this mean for you? What does it mean for me? Who knows?

But I'll be damned if I can't think up a project worth kickstarting for a $100 or so. You know, just to test it out. :-)

Geek gifts YOU should have!

2009-12-25T23:24:00.000-08:00

The holiday fairy was kind this year, I got some truly awesome Geek Gifts. I'll tell you why they're cool and show you where to find them.

Zombie Cinema

Why It Rocks: A badass little boardgame/rpg hybrid about the zompocalypse. Each player narrates a little scene until a conflict between characters comes up. Then dice are rolled, losing character moves down the board (toward the zombies) and winning character moves up (toward Escape). A tie moves the zombies closer to the characters. Lean, mean, and looks like a load of fun!

How Much: $20. There's not much in the way of pieces, but it's pretty enough. Parts + Concept is definitely worth 20 bucks.

Awesome Adventures

Why It Rocks: Someone thought the award-winning FATE rules for Spirit of the Century were far more tedious than necessary. Someone felt a 'pulp' game needed to be faster and sleeker. Someone took the love and the time necessary to retool FATE into a game that truly rocked. This... is everything I wanted Spirit of the Century to be. This... is the essence of FATE.

How Much: $20. Very, very worth it. Spirit of the Century is a great game and well worth $30. Awesome Adventures is a much better game (my opinion) and definitely worth $20.

Dice Sampler - Set of 105 (no, seriously)

Why It Rocks: A nice, clear mini-tackle box sort of thing containing...

35 d20s - more than enough for D&D!

30 d10s - more than enough for World of Darkness or even Exalted!

10 each of d12s, d8s, d6s, and d4s - 10 each is the number I'd have picked myself, more than enough!

How Much: $12, that's the best part! As a gamer, of course I've got enough dice. But now for $12 I've got a spare box I can pull out if someone forgets theirs or if I'm running for newbies that don't have their own sets yet. This thing would sell in a game store for like $40, but for $12 a starting gamer could get all the dice they'll ever need! Well, mostly. But you know what I mean! :-P

Alright, I've shown you mine. What did you get this year that I'm totally going to be jealous about? Send us a link and tell us why it rocks!

Rules of War: HELLAS (and D20) Edition!

2009-10-02T02:00:00.000-07:00

A buddy of mine, one of the writers of HELLAS, asked about the rules I created for rpg mass combat. He wanted to give them a look, since some of my players were raving about them. After glancing at them, he said "This looks good. Is there a way you can convert it and make it more applicable for HELLAS?"

I naturally said "Sure!" and then immediately thought "Wait... How fuck do I do this?" It took a little crunching, but I managed to convert the die pool system I had originally used to a simple version of the Omni System that uses only a D20. I managed to keep all the flavor of the original rules and even incorporated a little of the panache that makes HELLAS so fun.

As a bonus, there's absolutely no reason the HELLAS version of The Rules of War won't drop smoothly into any other D20 based game out there! Enjoy...

The Rules of War - HELLAS Edition

Warfare Mechanics Inspired by Sun Tzu

When 550 soldiers attack 1000 farmers, most game systems break down. These rules handle large battles quickly, with just enough strategy and drama to maximize the fun, while the PCs get a chance to influence the battle around them!

Size

The larger army always starts at Size 10. Divide the number of troops in the larger force by 10 to determine the worth of each point of Size and then give the smaller force a proportionate Size (round up). This represents quantity alone, quality is factored later. Size, for both armies, may be doubled for longer (i.e. more dramatic) battles.

Example: If 1000 farmers are Size 10, then 550 soldiers are Size 6.

Strength

There are six fundamental factors to determining the outcome of a battle. Superiority in all six of these factors all but guarantees victory. Therefore, advantage in any factor grants an army 1 Strength. Determine which army possesses the advantage in a coming battle by answering the following questions:

Psyche – Which army possesses the highest morale?
Heaven – Which army benefits most from the weather, time of day, etc?
Earth – Which army gains more advantage from the terrain?
Leadership – Which of the two generals is the better leader?
Discipline – Which army is more skilled, trained, and supported?
Spear – Which army uses the best weapons and technology?

No significant edge, grants no bonus for that category. Clear advantage grants 1 Strength.

Example: The soldiers have high morale, good leadership, great discipline, and good weapons, giving them 4 Strength. The farmers gain advantage only from their home terrain, leaving them with only 1 Strength. The sky, cloudless and clear, grants no advantage and no bonus to either side.

Battle

To do battle, each side will implement a simple strategy to apply its Strength most effectively against the enemy’s Size. Each round of battle consists of the following phases:

1. Strategy – Armies choose how much Strength to apply to defense and how much to offense

2. Chaos – A D20 is rolled for each army, with the Degree of Difficulty determined by the following:

a. Strength applied to offense adds a +2 bonus to the rolling army’s DOD

b. Strength applied to defense adds a -2 penalty to the opposing army’s DOD

3. Reckoning – Compare the final roll, after modifiers, to the Omni Table as usual:

0 or Less Critical Failure Lower the rolling army’s Size by 1

1–5 Failure No damage is inflicted to the opposing army

6–10 Partial Success Lower the opposing army’s Size by 1

11–19 Success Lower the opposing army’s Size by 2

20 or More Critical Success Lower the opposing army’s Size by 3

Example: The soldiers apply all their Strength to defense ( -8 to the farmers’ DOD) and the farmers apply theirs to offense (+2 to their own DOD). A D20 is rolled for each army, the soldiers have a 15 and the farmers have a 16. After factoring in Strength, the soldiers remain at 15, but the farmers are dropped to 10 (16 rolled, +2, -8). The soldiers lose only 1 Size while the farmers lose 2. The farmers fought surprisingly well that round (rolling a 16), but still lost many men.

Spotlight Missions

After each round of battle, PCs can volunteer for spotlight missions in an attempt to affect the factors contributing to the opponent’s Strength or their own. Many PCs can volunteer for the same mission, thus fighting together and increasing the chance of success, or separate to take on several missions. Missions can be anything the PCs dream up, scouting, assassination, demolition, etc. It’s up to the GM to determine the difficulty and opposition for each mission, but they are under no obligation to make a tough assassination attempt easier should only a single PC undertake it.

Note: Only PCs not directly contributing to Strength can undertake spotlight missions. A PC acting as the general of his army, thus contributing Strength through Leadership, cannot step down for a secret scouting mission without forfeiting his contribution to Leadership as well.

Missions are resolved using the normal rules for HELLAS. A spotlight mission can be detailed and drawn out to add drama or shortened and summarized to speed the action. Ultimately, each spotlight mission should produce an opposed action to gain, or maintain, the advantage. After the roll, the Strength point for that factor goes to the winner.

Example: Two farmers attempt to break the soldiers’ morale by undertaking a spotlight mission. They decide to defeat a group of 10 soldiers in a spectacularly bloody fashion, loudly proclaim themselves to be “The Chosen Warriors of the Right Hand of Areson”, thus sowing fear and uncertainty among the opposing ranks. Should they succeed in defeating those 10 soldiers, they’ll need a Deception roll vs. the soldiers’ or their general’s Deduce Motive as he attempts to rein in his men. The Degree of Difficulty for that Deception roll can, and should, be modified if they defeat more or less than 10 soldiers.

Players should be encouraged to get very creative with ideas for spotlight missions, but GMs should step in with any ideas or alterations of their own. If a PC wants to call forth Hephaeston to melt enemy swords, the GM should help out by declaring the number of swords necessary to make a difference.

Additionally, PCs may opt to protect the Strength of their own army rather than weaken their opposition. An army that already possesses superior Leadership has no need to undermine their enemies. Instead the PCs could simply guard their own leaders to make sure no terrible fate comes to them. This is, of course, an opportunity for the GM to send assassins their way. Treat it just like a spotlight mission being undertaken by the opposing forces!

Casualties

An army is defeated when its Size is reduced to zero. Whether this defeat is due to destruction, rout, or retreat simply depends on the narration up to that point. After the battle, each army attempts to recover its losses by healing the wounded or tracking the fleeing. This is done by rolling a D20 for each army, applying a Degree of Difficulty of -5 (loser) or a +5 (winner), and checking the result against the Omni Table:

0 or Less Critical Failure Army loses an additional Size from disease, injuries, etc

1–5 Failure Army recovers none of the Size lost

6–10 Partial Success Army recovers only 1 point of Size lost

11–19 Success Army recovers half (rounded down) of all Size lost

20 or More Critical Success Army recovers all Size lost

The GM is encouraged to modify the DOD on the casualty roll during unusual battles. The Atlantean habit of devouring dead opponents would make recovery for difficult for the opposing armies. Alternatively, Priestesses of Hestia will have an unusual knack for recovering their own fallen warriors.

The Rules of War

2009-09-14T05:17:00.000-07:00

The Rules of War

Warfare Mechanics Inspired by Sun Tzu

Written by Jarvis Mishler

When 600 soldiers attack 1000 farmers, most rpgs break down. These rules handle large battles quickly, with just enough flavor and drama to maximize the fun, while the PCs get a chance to influence the battle around them!

Size

Give the larger army 10 tokens. Divide the number of troops in the army by 10 to determine the worth of each token. Give the smaller force a proportionate number of tokens (round up). This represents quantity alone, quality is factored in next. Size, for both armies, may be doubled, tripled, etc. for more ‘dramatic’ battles.

Example: if 1000 farmers have 10 tokens, then 600 soldiers have 6.

Strength

The Way – Which army possesses the highest morale?
Heaven – Which army benefits most from the weather, time of day, etc?
Earth – Which army gains more advantage from the terrain?
Leadership – Which of the two generals is the better leader?
Discipline – Which army is more skilled, trained, and supported?
Steel – Which army uses the best weapons and technology?

No significant edge, grants no bonus for that category. Clear advantage grants 1 Strength.

Example: Soldiers have high morale, good leadership, great discipline, and good weapons, giving them 4 Strength. Farmers gain advantage only from their home terrain, leaving them with 1 Strength. The sky, cloudless and clear, grants no advantage and no bonus to either side.

Battle

To do battle, each side will implement a simple strategy to apply its Strength most effectively against the enemy’s Size. Each round of battle consists of the following phases:

Strategy – Armies choose how much Strength to apply to defense and how much to offense
Chaos – Armies roll 6 dice and count successes
Strength applied to offense adds automatic successes
Strength applied to defense subtracts successes from the opponent
Reckoning – Each remaining success lowers the opponent’s Size by 1 token

Example: Soldiers apply all their Strength to defense and farmers apply theirs to offense. Both armies roll 6 dice, soldiers roll 2 successes and farmers roll 4. After factoring in Strength, soldiers end with 2 successes and farmers end with 1 (4 rolled, plus 1 automatic, minus 4). Soldiers lose only 1 Size while farmers lose 2. The soldiers’ victory proved costly.

Spotlight Missions

Missions are resolved using the normal rules for the rpg you’re playing. A spotlight mission can be detailed and drawn out to add drama or shortened and summarized to speed the action. Ultimately, each spotlight mission should produce an opposed die roll to gain, or maintain, the advantage. After the roll, the Strength point for that factor goes to the winner.

Example: Two farmers attempt to break the soldiers’ morale by taking a mission. They decide to defeat a group of 10 soldiers in a spectacularly flamboyant fashion, loudly proclaim themselves to be “Dragon’s Chosen Warriors of His Holy Wrath”, and so fear and uncertainty among the soldiers. Should they succeed in defeating those 10 soldiers, they’ll probably need a bluff roll vs. the soldiers’ will or their general’s leadership as he attempts to rein in his men. Their bluff roll may be easier or harder should they defeat more or less soldiers.

Players should be encouraged to get very creative with ideas for spotlight missions, but GMs should step in with any ideas or alterations of their own. If a PC wizard wants to use a “Heat Metal” spell to melt enemy swords, the GM should help out by declaring the number of swords necessary to make a difference.

Casualties

An army is defeated when all of its Size tokens are lost. Whether this defeat is due to destruction, rout, or retreat simply depends on the narration up to that point. After the battle, each army attempts to recover its losses by rolling 1 (loser) or 2 (winner) dice for each Size token lost. One Size token is recovered for each success on this roll as warriors are healed, pulled to safety, etc.

Dice Pools

Missions always use the normal rules employed by the rpg you’re playing, but a simple dice pool is used during the ‘chaos’ phase of combat and recovering casualties. If the rpg you’re playing doesn’t already use dice pools and successes, just grab some six-sided dice. Any die that rolls 4+ is considered a success. A high target number (5+) places more value on Strength (automatic successes) where a low target number (3+) introduces more randomness during the battle. These rules were written with a 30% chance of success in mind (8-10 on a D10), but you are encouraged to adjust this as you wish!

Mass Combat Plug-In based on Art of War: Intriguing or Useless?

2009-09-10T18:30:00.000-07:00

I'm currently re-reading The Art of War. I'm also finishing a long campaign that's led up to epic thousand man battles. There are currently two things going through my mind:

1. Mass Combat systems in RPGs are atrocious at worst, groan worthy at best. Yet, 'epic heroes' will inevitably find themselves there time and again. As fun as it is in the movies, it's absolute shite in an RPG. Even DitV's awesome rules for Groups break down when you have a group of 50. (break down as in tedium, not 'realism')
2. The Art of War is simple, classic, deep, and heavy with the ring of truth.

My idea (inspired by Daniel's Fighting Fighters) is to design a plug-n-play set of Mass Combat rules that can drop into almost any game, using the classic Art of War as a starting point.

The Art of War 1:4The art of war, then, is governed by five constant factors, to be taken into account in one's deliberations, when seeking to determine [advantage] . . . These are: (1) The Moral Law; (2) Heaven; (3) Earth; (4) The Commander; (5) Method and discipline.

To me, this just screams for the initial skill rolls to martial your troops and the recon missions necessary to gauge the enemy's strength. The better your scouts or generals roll on their 'Knowledge Nature' checks to evaluate the terrain, the larger the bonus provided to your army for the upcoming battle. Etc, etc, etc.

So what do you all think? Is this a curious idea that you'd love to hear more on or is this a complete waste of time and something you'd never use?

Done and Done

2009-09-06T10:01:00.000-07:00

Dead Running is finished and uploaded! Time to go catch a couple hours of sleep before my Sunday game. ;)

Character Sheet!

2009-09-06T08:51:00.001-07:00

All done with the text of my game, now I just need the character sheet!

GM Duties

2009-09-06T01:16:00.000-07:00

In a game of Dead Running, the GM has several duties to keep the story flowing.

Interesting Opposition - The GM should always use interesting obstacles and opponents. A retinal scanner is more interesting than another locked door and a blackmailed father is more interesting than another thug. Also, it's the duty of GM to create interesting alternatives for tests. When a player tests to steal a car, "you fail" is much less interesting than "the car's owner sees you and comes running, with a knife."

Encourage Suspicion - When the players narrate, the GM should offer ideas to make characters more suspicious. When the GM narrates, all manner of NPCs, opponents, and even obstacles can be used to breed suspicion among the characters. Maybe the police only hassle half the team, maybe thugs kidnap a character and suddenly return him without injury, maybe an opponent keeps giving signals to one of the characters, etc. Little things like these can go a long way to set the mood of the game.

Spend Harm - The player lost a test. The GM was about to narrate an awesome defeat, but the player took a re-roll. Now it's the GM's duty to use the harm generated to make things tougher for the rest of the group! Spend that harm. Spend it!

Bring it Together - The toughest duty the GM will face is tying the whole tangle of plot together. If one player narrates rabid dogs tracking the courier team and another narrates secret microchips, it falls to the GM to tie these threads together with implanted tracking dogs or the like. Some threads can't be tied together, and that's fine, but it's the duty of the GM to create the most entertaining and sensible story possible.

Settle Disputes - This is when the GM steps in to mediate. When one player claims he stole narration before she did, the GM is the final word. If two players both want to start the next scene, the GM chooses one. Should pirates begin fighting ninjas during the game, the GM settles the debate.

The Order of Play

2009-09-05T18:01:00.000-07:00

The Opening Scene

The opening scene is always the introduction of the team. The Company introduces the Null to the team that will function as protection and aids during the mission. This is a chance for the players to describe their characters and roleplay the introductions. Don't forget to be suspicious!

"I'm Ann. I'll handle any legal trouble we find. And don't ask about the tattoo, it shouldn't be a problem."

Combined with the introductions or taking place shortly after, the characters each describe what sort of opposition led to the downfall of the last courier team they were assigned to. This is how the players tell the GM what sort of story they'd like to see in the upcoming mission. Gorgeous femme fatales are a very different kind of opposition than high tech security grids, producing a very different kind of story. Any expected opposition should be described through roleplaying.

"I'm packing some major firepower this time. Those mutant freaks won't know what hit 'em!"

During this first scene, the GM takes furious notes regarding any suspicious activity from the players and the opposition they expect to face. These notes will be used throughout the story to tie the plot together and tailor it to the player's interests.

Notice that the GM never describes the mission itself. This is because the details of the mission haven't been established yet. Dead Running is designed to be a no-prep game, so all mission details are revealed through play!

Plot Scenes

Missions have a set structure that serves everyone as a creative guide. This is the general path that the mission will take, but all the individual details are up to the group:
First Sign of Trouble
The True Threat
The Chase
The Countdown
The Twist
After the opening scene, the first player with a good idea for Scene 1 (First Sign of Trouble) sets up the beginning of an appropriate scene and the GM takes over from there. The player only opens the scene, presenting a location and situation for the GM to run with, it's the GM's job to take over and add additional details, obstacles, etc from there.

These scene starters can be as simple as...

"We're on the highway, when Max looks back and says 'I think we're being followed.'"

Or as detailed as...

"It's raining at the dock and our courier team is restless. The ferry was supposed to be here 30 minutes ago.
A dark figure approaches and everyone tenses, preparing for the worst. The old man introduces himself as
'Benny', our contact. Ann raises a suspicious eyebrow, 'Benny, huh? I thought you'd be younger...'"

The only requirement is that the player give the GM both the location and the starting situation for the scene. Plot scenes can (and probably will!) evolve organically beyond the starting situation and sometimes even beyond the location. This is entirely up to the GM and should be done when it feels natural for the story. After giving the GM a location and a situation for the plot scene, the player's job is done.

Once all the obstacles and opponents in a scene are dealt with, the GM will end the scene and call for another player to set up the next one. Players set up subsequents plot scenes the same way Scene 1 was set up, by providing the GM with a starting location and situation. The game continues this way until all plot scenes have been set up (by different players if possible) and played through.

End Game

After Scene 5 (The Twist) wraps up, the GM takes as many loose ends, plot lines, surviving opponents, and story threads as seem appropriate and brings them all together for the End Game scene. The GM's goal is to bring all that built up suspicion to a boil and then work with the players to guide the scene to a entertaining and logical (or not!) conclusion.

Besides the climax, the End Game scene brings one major rule change.
Player vs. Player conflict is now possible. Everything from arguments to gunfights can now be resolved with a die roll, but these tests are always considered harmful (with no need for the GM to spend harm!).

The initiating player rolls normally, against a resistance of half the trait used by the opposing player to defend. Narration goes to the 'winner' of the die roll as normal, while the 'loser' lowers an applicable trait. Either player can spend suspicion to force a re-roll and stealing narration works normally.

Turn Order: If multiple players are involved in one conflict, a basic turn order (clockwise) may be needed.

The End Game scene will probably escalate quickly and that's a good thing. This is the exciting conclusion everyone has been building towards. On its own, the scene will naturally evolve, twist, and, eventually, come to a close. Once there is no further conflict to resolve in the scene, the End Game phase is over.

Epilogues

If the group wishes, each player can take a turn to narrate a quick epilogue scene involving their character. This is a chance to see the hero riding into the sunset or an escaped villain getting an unexpected surprise.

Setting

2009-09-05T16:58:00.000-07:00

Setting Out

Dead Running has no inherent setting. The events of the game could just as easily take place next week as the far future or, with a bit a tweaking, the distant past. There are only a few core elements that every game should include. These are as much a reminder to the GM as they are seeds to kick start player imaginations.

The Event awakened or gave psychic ability for every one equally. Everyone can now read minds. Whether this resulted from radioactive mutation, evolution, or alien invasion can be decided each time the game is played.
Ideas become so easily shared or stolen that there are few secrets left in the world.
Powerful or paranoid individuals become reclusive to protect their own thoughts and ideas.
The Company formed as the most secure way to deliver an idea, message, concept or plan.
Nulls, unable to be read, work as couriers for The Company.
Unreadable minds produce psychic static, easily detectable by the rest of the population.
Psychics are provided to the Null to act as security during the mission.
Anyone is likely to capture the Null since whatever it's carrying must be important.
The toughest missions require traveling through dense populations where the Null can be easily detected and thus easily compromised.
Dead Running is about those tough missions.

These are the only setting elements that are required for the game. Everything else is set dressing. Police, mutants, gangs, magic, ninjas, lasers, cybernetics, and all the rest can be sprinkled into the story as you wish. If the game still works for you without one of the 'required' elements, that's fine too. The main goal of this game is for everyone to have fun!

Naming Conventions

2009-09-05T15:45:00.000-07:00

I needed something short and punchy. I needed something that alluded to either psychics, zombies, or couriers. I need something that sparked the imagination, but didn't give away the game. I needed a title that would help my game, but not hinder it.

Star Wars RPG - The title's good and short. It describes the game exactly, but leaves nothing to the imagination. Therefore, a hardcore trekkie may never pick up the game by sticking to the mantra "Star Wars sucks". The game could be a fantastic system for any science fiction story, but the trekkie will never find out.

Dogs in the Vineyard - Short. Describes the game exactly, but only through metaphor leaving much to the imagination. No one will say, "Vineyards suck so I'm not playing it." The game benefits from a grabby and symbolic title without being hindered by it.

I also wanted a subtitle for my game. My sister suggested a "Title: Subtitle" format and I told her that format was already inextricably tied to White Wolf. In giving my sister a quick example title and subtitle, I ended up inadvertently creating the best title e

ither of us could think of. We thought up several more, but we kept coming back to the 'example title' I had given her.

Without further ado...

I convey big business, zombies, couriers, assassins, and the daily grind all at the same time. I think that's the font I'll stick with for finished document and it should be a lot more legible after on a printed page. If not, I'll tweak it a bit of course.

The Mechanics of Mind Reading

2009-09-04T22:41:00.000-07:00

No Failure

In Dead Running, nothing never happens. Something is always more interesting, fun, and entertaining than nothing therefore something must always happen.

This means tests may never be pass/fail. Any test that is pass/fail, due to lack of creativity from the group, automatically succeeds. Traits are only tested when it will produce one of two outcomes, both of which are interesting, fun, or entertaining (preferably all three!).

Pass/Fail: A fence can be climbed (pass) or not climbed (fail).

In Dead Running, a character attempting the above test would automatically succeed. Failure would mean nothing happened, the character is still on the same side of the fence, and in this game nothing never happens.

Pass/Pass: A security system can be deactivated (pass) or triggered (pass).

This conflict is more interesting because either option produces a change in the story. Dead Running is not about shooting or missing, it's about shooting or getting shot. With a little thought, you can turn any pass/fail test into a pass/pass test. In the above example, not climbing the fence could mean getting caught by security, being separated from the others, or being forced to go the long way.

Mundane Tests

Mundane tests involve any attempt to use Intelligence, Strength, or Charisma to complete a task. Whenever a character faces an Obstacle or Opponent rated 4 or higher, the player must roll an applicable trait die and get a result equal to or higher than the task's resistance. Resistance is determined by the following chart, with the GM serving as the final arbiter:

Resistance Chart

Obstacles

Opponents
2
Easy

2
Novice
3
Normal

3
Average
4
Difficult

4
Skilled
+1
Hurried

+1
Group
+1
Harmful

+1
Harmful

Since only tasks rated 4+ require a roll, a character automatically succeeds at climbing a chain link fence or scaring a child (easy), but a roll would be required to climb a barbed wire fence quickly or defeat a group of armed street kids (difficult).

Narration: If the player rolls higher than the task's resistance, the player narrates that character achieving its goal. If the player rolls lower, the GM narrates an alternative outcome. All narration is final. A re-roll may change the outcome of a test, but once narration begins the test is decided. Additionally, the same test may never be tried twice. At least one of the possible outcomes must be changed to create a new test.

Notice that the GM never rolls dice during Mundane Tests. The GM simply sets a resistance for the task and thinks up an alternative outcome should the player roll low.

Insight Tests

Insight tests are resolved differently than mundane tests. The player calling for an Insight test does not roll at all. Instead, the player uses his own psychic ability to read the mind of his target, usually the GM.

Once the GM announces the opponent's resistance (2-6), a die is rolled equal to twice that resistance (d4-d12) with the result visible to the GM but hidden from the player. This is called the target number.

The player then chooses a range of numbers equal to half the Insight trait of the character. If the target number falls within this range chosen by the player, the Insight test is successful!

Player: "I'm totally plunging. Is the cop really here to help?"
GM: "Okay! That cop's average, so I'll call him a 3. That gives me a d6!"
Keeping the roll hidden from the player, the GM rolls a 6.
Player: "D4 Insight means my range is only 2. Um... I'll go with 3-4!"
Smiling, the GM reveals the roll and the player groans.
GM: "6! The cop feels the mental intruder and pulls his pistol..."

It's important to note, the player may choose a range that 'wraps around' the die such as 6-1 (6,1 on a d6 or 6,7,8,1 on a d8). If the player above chose 6-1 instead, the Insight test would have been successful. Additionally, a d10 Insight will always succeed at reading a novice mind since a range of 1-5 covers any result on a d4.

Narration: As above, the player narrates a successful Insight test while the GM narrates the alternative outcome of failure (usually a now hostile opponent!). This means players actually describe the thoughts they read! In the example
above, the player would determine if the cop was honest or crooked.

With the basics of Insight covered. We can get into the deviations encountered by different uses of the talent:

Eaves Drop - Resolved normally against a single opponent. Against a group, only the toughest resistance is rolled, but failure alerts the entire group.
Trace - Test once to read the surface thought, test again to ask a question linked to that thought, test again for another question, and so on until failure.
Plunge - Test to ask a single question from the target.
Devour - Succeeds automatically on dead minds, but requires several minutes. Nulls will resist unless immobilized or otherwise incapacitated.

Psychics can attempt feats outside their expertise, but range is only a single number.
Eaves Drop can be performed in conversation range, but every other talent requires touching the target.

GM Psychics: When an opponent wishes to read a player character, the Insight test is reversed. The player rolls Insight
and the GM chooses a range of a numbers equal to the opponent's resistance, attempting to guess the player's roll.

Suspicion

Dead Running thrives on suspicion. To encourage suspicious behavior among the characters, suspicion points (tokens, beads, pennies, whatever) are awarded to the player. Each time a character displays behavior or speech that casts doubt on the character's loyalty, another player or the GM can award a suspicion point. One point of suspicion is generally enough acknowledge the player's actions, but a second may be given for exceptionally devious acts that make everyone pause.

The key is not to act like a traitor, whether it's true or not, but to act suspicious. If characters begin behaving too traitorously, they may notice certain players (or even the entire group!) not awarding suspicion for further traitorous acts. If the whole group believes you a traitor, no one will be surprised when you act like one. Don't worry, now you'll start getting suspicion when you act loyal!

A player may spend suspicion in two ways:

Re-roll: 1 suspicion allows the player to re-roll a test they just attempted
Narration: 1 suspicion allows the player to steal narration after any test
(2 suspicion allows a player to steal narration from the stealer, then 3, etc.)

In this way, a player may spend suspicion for a re-roll, overcome the obstacle, narrate something suspicious as the result, and possibly regain the suspicion right back. Boom! Free re-roll! Also, stealing narration when you have a really good idea can lead to your character behaving so suspiciously that you get 2 points, spending 1 suspicion to gain 2!

Harm

Anytime suspicion is spent for a re-roll, the token becomes a point of harm and is handed to the GM. Suspicion spent for narration is just placed back in the pile, narration never creates harm. Harm spent by the GM simply returns to the pile of suspicion waiting to be awarded back to the players.

The GM can spend a point of harm to add the 'harmful' quality to any test. Naturally, harmful tests get +1 resistance as per the Resistance Chart. Losing a harmful test carries additional consequence as the player must permanently lower a trait by 1 die size. Although the GM makes the test harmful and narrates the consequence of failure, the player chooses which trait to lower as long as it makes a good story.

For example: Even if Intelligence is used to disable a harmful security system, the resulting electric shock could harm Intelligence (fried neurons), Strength (debilitating injury), Charisma (burns), or Insight (altered brain waves).

Any trait reduced below d4 (0) cannot be tested. If a zeroed trait is needed, the character falls to the whim of the GM unless another trait can be justified. Players are e
ncouraged to be very creative about bringing in remaining traits.

The GM should not feel guilty about spending harm. Re-rolls are very powerful and they are the only way for the GM to gain harm. In this way, players actually choose the mission's difficulty by determining how much harm the GM can use.

Harm may be added to a test at any time, but some times are better than others. The GM may deem a test 'secretly harmful' by first describing resistance as 4 (difficult digital lock), then raising it to 5 (harmful countermeasures) just as the player rolls. Harm can be added after a failed test (the angry informant draws a gun). Harm can even increase resistance after a successfully tied roll, thus creating a failure (The barbed wire was electrified too!). Spending harm after a player begins narrating, however, is a dick move. Any GM resorting to it should immediately pass these rules to someone more fun.

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Next up, Pacing!

Secret Allegiances = Intrigue

2009-09-03T22:03:00.000-07:00

intrigue (plural intrigues)

A complicated or clandestine plot intended to effect some purpose by conspiracy; stratagem.

Mountain Witch uses dark Fates. I'll be using loyalty cards. After each character is made, the GM will deal them an loyalty card. This will determine whether the character is working to complete the mission or disrupt it.

Loyalty cards will reveal one of two results:

Loyalist

Complete the mission. Protect the Null. Root out any Traitors.

Traitor

Sabotage the mission. Destroy the Null. Root out any Loyalists.

The bread and butter of The Company is espionage, be it political, corporate or something else entirely. Every player character has been assigned to carrier team as either the courier or its security entourage. Unfortunately, much of this 'security force' is secretly working against the mission objective. These traitors sabotage missions for their own idealism as often as they simply accepted an offer from a higher bidder.

Even the Null draws a loyalty card. Disloyal couriers may pass their 'secured' information to competitors, revolutionaries, or mundane information brokers. Until the time comes for their secret delivery, however, they are still forced to keep up appearances until they can root out the loyal members of the team.

Suspicion

Suspicion exists to encourage intrigue by rewarding a character's suspicious actions. Since Player vs. Player conflict can not happen until the climax (more on this later), players spend the early part of the game narrating suspicious behavior to cloud loyalties as much as possible. Ideally, there will be no way to predict a characters loyalty until the big finale.

Character Creation

2009-09-03T13:36:00.000-07:00

Traits

There are four traits in Dead Running.

Intelligence - Reasoning, problem solving, hacking, and other mental feats.

Strength - Running, lifting, punching, and all other physical challenges.

Charisma - Lying, persuading, conning, and other social tests.

Insight - Skimming, pursuing, diving, and all other psychic abilities.

Traits begin at a certain die type, but players receive a number of raises to increase them. Each raise increases the die rolled for that trait.

Psychics

Psychics (everyone but the Null) begin with each trait at a d6. Psychics receive 4 raises that may be spent to increase their traits, limit 2 raises per trait.

Psychics also choose a talent, the way their Insight can be used:

Skimmers - Eaves Drop on multiple minds, bodyguards and security.

Pursuers - Trace a web of connected thoughts, interrogators and psychologists.

Divers - Plunge for a single buried thought, spies and assassins.

Scavengers - Devour dead minds to gain knowledge, detectives and mercs.

Nulls

At least one player must play a Null. If there are no volunteers, this can be decided randomly. Null characters, lacking Insight, have only 3 traits that begin as follows:

Intelligence d4, Strength d8, Charisma d6

*The mind never fully recovers from brain death though the body becomes unusually resistant to pain. Higher level creativity and ingenuity is lost, but a dulled body can be pushed beyond its former limits.*

Nulls receive only 3 raises to increase their traits, limit 2 raises per trait.

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At this time, I'm not planning to include any sort of bonus dice from equipment or the like. It'll be a pretty simple system though there will be an allowance for a 'trust point' style bonus as soon as I work it out.

Psychics It Is!

2009-09-03T01:04:00.000-07:00

Had a really good talk with some gamer buddies today. They helped confirm some strange ideas and provided a few awesome ones of their own.

Seabirds = Psychics

The diet of seabirds leads to a concrete metaphor for telepaths. After the event, everyone developed the ability to read minds. The world has likewise changed in several big ways.

Skimmers - "Gulls"

Skimmers can 'listen in' on the surface thoughts (current intentions) of anyone in the vicinity. They can't dig too deep but they are usually the first to know what will happen next.

Pursuers - "Loons"

Pursuer work only begins at surface thoughts. A good pursuer can follow a large number of connected thoughts, learning a great amount of information, before losing the connection.

Divers - "Pelicans"

Divers get in and get out like a bolt of lightning. Not settling for the flotsam at the surface, they shoot for a specific thought before the subject can muster much resistance.

Scavengers - "Petrels"

Even the weakest mind provides too much resistance for a Scavenger. They are quite proficient at sifting through the thoughts of the dead, however, even the dead that still walk. No one's sure if scavengers really consume the dead brain tissue, or if they perpetuate the myth to add to their own legend.

Nulls - "Zombies"

Brain death used to be a one-way street, until Sombien hit hospitals. After full recovery from a vegetative state, the only side-effect of the drug is the total loss of any psychic ability and the total inability to be read by anyone but a scavenger.

In a world of mind readers, nulls become secure couriers. As long as they can avoid hostile scavengers, the information they carry is safe and secure. Of course, things are never that easy.

A Sea of Thoughts?

2009-09-02T00:31:00.000-07:00

Jungian symbolism holds the ocean as a pretty classic symbol for the human mind. Perhaps our 'seabirds' are then psychics that spend their time digging through the minds of others. Some simply dip in for whatever thoughts float at the surface while others plunge quickly to catch slippery thoughts before they're hidden.

Would this be a game of psychic detectives? Telepathic criminals? Enforcers for the Man seeking to root out terrorists or revolutionaries desperately trying to hide their thoughts from the establishment?

These situations are certainly rife with Intrigue. Is there a dice mechanic that could actually feign mind-reading...?

The Dog Days Concept

2009-09-01T00:59:00.000-07:00

Dog Days was an idea I had for a series of themed games centering around various historical gambling games as the core mechanic. The idea came from a post on Story Games about Cho-Han, a dice game popular with the Yakuza and samurai of Japan.

Roleplaying games almost always include a randomization mechanic like dice or cards. This mechanic introduces chance into the tactics or story of the game. Playing most rpgs can be boiled down to gambling (via the randomization mechanic) with your character's stats or the player's narration rights. If so many rpgs involve 'gambling' anyway, why not base them around authentic gambling games to introduce a touch of theme, history, and realism? It works so well with Dust Devils...

Dog Days was to be a grand project involving many different settings using many different historical games as their base. Cho-Han would be used to tell samurai tales, Poker could tell gunslinger stories, and so on.

With Game Chef this year pushing me towards creating a nautical game, I'm considering the plausibility of Liar's Dice as a core mechanic. Being a bluffing game, it may be a fun way to introduce intrigue whether in the fiction or at the actual table. If I don't stick with pirates as a concept, I'll have to shelve this idea for later...

Early Ideas

2009-08-31T23:59:00.001-07:00

In the tradition of those that have already begun, I'll comment on the ingredients and medals of this year's contest.

Theme: INTRIGUE

The only thing this brings to mind right now is the Vampire rpg and LARPS. I dislike both of them so as much as I want to stay true to theme, this may be the first thing I toss out.

Ingredients: FLEUR-DE-LIS, DIVIDERS, SEABIRD, and STAR

Skimming the wiki page on fleur-de-lis brought nothing to mind, but it could possibly be the symbol for a faction within the game.

Dividers were used in cartography and navigation. My game could involve exploration as a theme or maybe there's an exploratory faction opposite the fleur-de-lis group.

The wiki on seabirds was fascinating with the description of diet and feeding especially catching my eye. Seems seabirds fall into 4 broad categories of feeding. Surface Feeders dip their heads to catch krill and other food at the ocean's surface. Pursuit Divers (like penguins) swim after food that's up to 70m down! Plunge Divers catch faster prey by dropping from up to 20m above the water's surface. Kleptoparasites are avian pirates, stealing the hard won food of other birds.

My first thought was sci-fi or steampunk style airships 'mining' the skies by diving to different depths. Then the Kleptoparasites immediately made me think pirates. Haven't we done the pirate thing to death already though?

The star ingredient didn't strike me near as hard as seabirds. Weird, right? The symbol for a 3rd faction maybe? Star's have a natural place with the navigation dividers from above. Why does it feel like I'm the only one getting a strong nautical vibe from these ingredients? I never considered making a sailing game, but maybe this is a sign.

Other Medals

There's a host of other medals I could qualify for, but only a few really stood out. Brevity means the rules will need to fit on 4 pages, Zombies means the protagonists would have to be zombies, Cerberus dictates the game must be for 3 players, etc. I'm definitely aiming for Brevity and that's the only one I'm shooting for at this point.

Maybe the seabirds are classes of ships where some are built for skimming, some for diving, etc. Maybe intrigue comes from plotting against the ship's captain. Maybe there aren't ships at all, but the diving is into a more symbolic or supernatural medium like the mind (Lacuna), hyperspace (Hellas), the underworld, or the like.

Tagging in for Game Chef 2009

2009-08-31T23:35:00.000-07:00

This is my official tag in for Game Chef. The ingredients look good and are bringing some pretty bizarre concepts to mind. Hopefully something cool comes out of it!

Resistance Chart
	Obstacles		Opponents
2	Easy	2	Novice
3	Normal	3	Average
4	Difficult	4	Skilled
+1	Hurried	+1	Group
+1	Harmful	+1	Harmful