Thursday 20 September 2018

Swords and Planet game(s) looking for players!

Did I get your attention? OK, let me be uncharacteristically curt!

Here's a link where we're planning to play Swords and Planet games (on a forum). It even seems like two different ones might start! (A nice surprise for all fans of Barsoom).

https://www.rpgpub.com/threads/interest-check-sword-and-planet-by-traveler-or-other-system.1921/


All players are welcome! (Of course, the GMs would pick who gets in, but they seem entirely open to unfamiliar players).
Hope to see you soon!

Tuesday 4 September 2018

Game: Show me your characters

So, here's a game I decided to suggest on a forum...and then I asked myself, why would I confine it just to a forum?

Find a character generator online (preferably a lifepath generator, but hey, who am I to judge your system preferences)?
Roll up one or more characters.
Write a short story including one or more of them.
Post it on your blog (and link here in the comments) and/or in the thread on that forum.

Ready?
Here's who I rolled (I'm sure nobody's surprised I used Traveller - I used two generators, however, including a generator for MegaTraveller and a CT generator). And here's the story.


"What follows are a series of confidential-level dispatches, published by the Freedom Of Meaningless Information Law.
By: XX [REDACTED] dTon Imperial Navy craft "Starhawk", class [REDACTED], Imperial Year [REDACTED]
"Following previous instructions, we visited the planet [REDACTED] named "New Callisto", previous information showing that Merchant 3rd Officer can be found there after the crash of her ship, assumed to be the only survivor. It is unknown what was her situation since the crash.
Survey from orbit showed TL was inconsistent: TL 2 for personal combat, TL 6 for communication, some transportation equipment and medicine showed traces of TL 10+!
Following the procedure for extraction, Captain Ivan Morris assigned to the retreival operation Scout Trisha Abe 8B79A4 and her superior Scout Darpana Chen E59647, leader of the operation, under the designated protection of Marine Diego Tamm 846973. Operation beginning."

Report by Scout Trisha Abe to Navy Captain Ivan Morris, commander-in-chief of XX [REDACTED] dTon Imperial Navy craft "Starhawk", class [REDACTED], Imperial Year [REDACTED-circa 60 hours later]
"After finding Merchant 3rd Officer Quinn in her quarters, she refused outright to be saved, stating she prefers the primitive society she was found in, quote, "I prefer to be free and honest here and live with a sword in hand, than to coddle every day Imperial aristocrats, paying them bribes to not interfere with what is good for their subjects", unnquote. Scout Trisha Abe noticed that the jewellery observed on the body and head of Merchant 3rd Officer Quinn and the presence of the sword on her hip were consistent with high status among the locals and attempted to communicate the significance of said fact to Scout Darpana Chen. Scout Darpana Chen refused to listen and stated, quote, "I'm not letting you among these savages, you must need personality reassignment, girl", unquote, after which she proceeded to grab Merchant 3rd Officer and use her significant strength advantage as vice-champion of the Scout Corps in powerlifting to drag her along.
Merchant 3rd Officer was offering only passive resistence until a local came to investigate the noise. Upon seeing the grappling between Merchant 3rd officer and Scout Chen, he acted threateningly, and tried to pull a blade hanging on his hip while issuing some kind of challenge. Following procedure, Marine Diego Tamm shot him in the head, which earned him a commendation for good shooting from Scout Chen, leader of the mission.
Upon seeing that, Merchant 3rd Officer Quinn pulled her own sword and proceeded to inflict life-threatening thigh wound on Scout Chen, which almost fell. Marine Tamm tried to shoot her, but his aim was obstructed by the wounded body of Scout Chen. Marine 3rd Officer Quinn then proceeded to disarm him from his rifle, using her sword. Upon him trying to break distance and grasping for his gun, Marine 3rd Officer Quinn followed him and stabbed him in the neck, killing him instantly.
During this time, Scout Abe was unable to put her gun to use due to the proximity in which the bodies were found, and due to being overwhelmed by surprise at the extraction subject assaulting the extraction team.
Upon seeing the wounds of Scout Chen and Marine Tamm, Scout Abe decided to negotiate instead of trying to disable Merchant 3rd Officer Quinn. Merchant 3rd Officer acquisced to the terms of her offer - to call it all a misunderstanding with lethal weapons and that Scout Abe would deliver medical help to all the wounded - but insisted that the local should be healed first.
Scout Abe was only able to pronounce the man dead, but during this time Scout Chen had expired, too, due to bloodloss.
It must be noted that Scout Abe has no special training for close-quarters battle and was, at this time, in legitimate fear for her life. Her participation in the expedition was predicated on her ability to pilot schuttles, which were similar enough to aircraft the locals were using.
Upon seeing the losses inflicted by the sword of Merchant 3rd Officer Quinn, Scout Abe decided to disregard protocol and to retract to the XX [REDACTED] dTon Imperial Navy craft "Starhawk", class [REDACTED] in order to present her report to Captain Ivan Morris.
Captain Ivan Morris accepted the report and decided to abstain from a court martial over Scout Abe. He did, however, officially recommend to the Scout Service to not renew her contract."

Decisions of the council of officers of XX [REDACTED] dTon Imperial Navy craft "Starhawk", class [REDACTED] on the possible forceful extraction and/or punishment of Merchant 3rd officer Sophia Quinn and/or punishment of the locals of [REDACTED], a.k.a. "New Callisto".

"Following the report of Scout Trisha Abe, the following decisions were taken:
1. Merchant 3rd Officer Sophia Quinn is considered to have voluntarily, albeit implicitly, refused to renew her contract with the Merchant Service. Her actions were considered indication enough that no confirmation was required.
2. Merchant 3rd Officer Quinn's insurance policy, requiring that upon her involvement in a crash, "every possible effort" should be made to recover either her person, or her body, is to be considered fulfilled successfully.
3. No other actions on retrieving and/or punishing Merchant 3rd officer Quinn are to be taken. It was decided that such actions are neither warranted nor practical against the locals, either, given that the locals were probably unaware of Merchant 3rd Officer Quinn's insurance and might have considered the extraction attempt an attempted kidnapping.
4. The Council makes formal Captain Morris's recommendation to the Scout Service to not renew Scout Trisha Abe's employment for another term of service."

Scout Service, HR department. Regarding: The recommendation made by the Council of Officers of XX [REDACTED] dTon Imperial Navy craft "Starhawk", class [REDACTED] concerning the employment of Scout Trisha Abe.
"We have received your recommendation. Regretfully, we must regretfully inform you that it was not sent for consideration to the Head of the Department, because Scout Trisha Abe didn't apply for renewing her contract for another term. After serving her second term, on Imperial Year [REDACTED] she took her retirement benefits and booked High passage on Free Trader "Space Maiden", requiring an unusual point of delivery: planet [REDACTED] named "New Callisto". As the planet doesn't have a Class A-D Starport, standard rules regarding former members of the Scout Corps in unaccessible locations apply.
Please accept our considerations!"

Edited for publication: Assistant Manager Ema Naqamurra"




Merchant 3rd Officer Sophia Quinn 863676 Age 26 2 terms Cr41,000 Skills: Bribery-1, Steward-1, Sword-1Service History: Attempted to enlist in Merchants. Enlistment accepted. Commissioned during first term of service as 4th Officer. Promoted to 3rd Officer. Voluntarily reenlisted for second term. Chose not to reenlist after second term.

Scout Trisha Abe 8B79A4 Age 26 2 terms Cr70,000 Skills: Air/Raft-1, Jack-o-T-2, Mechanical-1, Pilot-1
Service History: Attempted to enlist in Scouts. Enlistment accepted. Voluntarily reenlisted for second term. Chose not to reenlist after second term.

Assistant Manager Ema Naqamurra
UPP:7BD697
HomeWorld:
StarPort=B, Size=Small, Atmos=Thin, Hydro=Dry
Population=Med, Law=Moderate, Tech=Early Stellar
Age:
34
Terms:
4
Career:
Bureaucrat
Rank:
Asst. Manager (Rank 3)
Skills:
Handgun-3, Admin-2, Brawling-1, Carousing-1, Grav Vehicle-1, Instruction-1, Liaison-1, Neural Weapons-1, Computer-0, Wheeled Vehicle-0
Cash:
80000 Cr
Pension:
0 Cr/Year
Skills/Experience:
11 / 15
Benefits:
Low Passage, Middle Passage, High Passage
hide detailed history
Rolled UPP = 7BC687
homeworld skill: Computer-0
homeworld skill: Wheeled Vehicle-0

Spoiler: NPCs
† Scout Darpana Chen E59647 Age 38 5 terms Service History: Attempted to enlist in Scouts. Enlistment accepted. Voluntarily reenlisted for second term. Voluntarily reenlisted for third term. Voluntarily reenlisted for fourth term. Voluntarily reenlisted for fifth term. Death in service.


† Marine Diego Tamm 846973 Age 22 1 term Service History: Attempted to enlist in Marines. Enlistment accepted. Death in service.

Thursday 19 July 2018

A Princess Goes Treasure-Hunting With Her Best Friends 4Eva!

So, I think we got another player into RPGs, the youngest in Bulgaria.
She's 6 years old, and she's my daughter.
Unlike many people, her first game isn't D&D, because her mother Refereed (if you think I dislike D&D, you should realize I'm quite moderate in comparison - though as a Referee, Elitza's mother doesn't care all that much about the system).
Actually, the system is a mix based on Zenobia by Paul Elliott. Meaning, Zenobia provides all the rules except character generation.
The character generation is based on a mix of Traveller's skills and attribute system, but generated using the Playbooks and Threat from Beyond the Wall". There's a Blighted place outside of the Village and Castle/Manor.
(She's using Nobleman's Wild Daughter, I'm one of her best friends - the Village Id...I mean, Hero she grew up with. Her aunt is also playing, she's the local witch's apprentice who talks to animals or some other boring magic shit. But at least the witch's apprentice has persuaded a wandering swordsman to show them some tricks with a sword...she's not a complete loss! Plus, she's a friend.
The daughter's character, on the other hand, knows I doubt my worthiness as a hero!
BTW, These Details Were Provided For You By The Awesom Beyond the Wall Playbooks!)

Bottomline: my daughter is playing a Princess, and we're her friends accompanying her on a quest to find a lost treasure! We already passed near a Magic Lake. A Giant Talking Turtle gave us a quest to bring her a chestnut of the tallest tree from a meadow that we're going to encounter after we pass through the forest. In return, the Giant Talking Turtle got us through the lake on her back.
Once there, we made camp, they gathered berries and mushrooms, and we made soup. I mostly kept the fire going (and provided the kindling).
Then we got to sleep, and during my watch, I detected something that was, maybe, approaching us covertly in the bushes. Of course, I imitated going to take a piss, and stabbed it with my trusty spear!
Took the piss right out of a goblin. And got jumped by the other four.
That's when I raised the alarm, while keeping my distance. We killed them in a fight with some lucky dice. Don't think anyone was even hurt.
Any of us, I mean.

On the morning, we heard the calls of a dwarf who had fallen in a ravine. Now, when I say a dwarf, I do mean a dwarven-dwarf, small and short-legged...think "hobbit miner", or "Santa Klaus helper". So keep in mind it couldn't get out alive, but to us, it was a kid's game.
We saved it, of course. It turned out he was looking for a very special stone...not some mere diamond - they were digging those out of their mine - but a whetstone. Those picks ain't sharpenin' themselves, it seems.
It thought it was seeing a natural whetstone, actually, but then tumbled and fell in the ravine.
So, reacting quickly, I traded it my whetstone for a diamond! Hey, Stephan might be a simple village boy, but he knows a good trade when he sees one...
The dwarf also told us that the "meadow" where we could find the chestnut isn't a natural one, but a magical clearing, prairies-sized. The Little Fairies lived there, in the Giant Flowers.
And they've created the Three Giant Eagles to protect their flowers by killing any animals that went to the meadow.
Sick bastards, those fairies.

After giving us that info, the dwarf left. I searched for the whetstone he'd spotted, and after finding it, had earned a diamond for basically nothing. A good deal, I'm telling you!
We made plans, but the current one is to go to the Magical Meadow during the night, and to negotiate passage with the fairies.

Fun fact: the daughter totally refused to start playing until and unless we provided her with a miniature to represent her character!
So she got a paper miniature, because all of us were able to help preparing that (and we've got a printer at home).
Then she demanded we should also have miniatures for our characters.
We took some of her dolls. Which means our Village hero is some kind of bug-man, and the witch's apprentice is some Disney princess I can't identify...
Miniatures are alive with the new generation, it seems! And even Theater of the Mind people like me and her mother bow to the demands of the New Generation.

Thursday 12 July 2018

What do you know...

I actually got a reply to my previous post regarding the political situation in the USA!
Actually, that's two replies. The one I'm going to post I've received via PM on a forum I frequent. Because the poster said he can't post a comment, for some reason...
(I just tried to reply on the other comment, which was hugely amusing. No luck. How do you lock yourself out of commenting on your own blog? Either way, it seems quite likely he was unable to post.
If anyone else encountered the same problem, I'm sorry! Will try to fix it, too, though I'm no expert.)

Still, here's Frank Mueller's reply. I'm quoting with minimal editing (mostly new paragrpahs, which I think were lost during the copy and paste).

"Perhaps not the 1860's, so much as the 1850's, and then the War in Missouri in the '60's

The main war during the ACW, was regional and despite the protestations of some, it was about slavery - and in support of Asen's original thesis, just [like] the current President, Democrats of Lincoln's day didn't even wait for him to attain office to decide that they just knew that he was going to ruin their world, before he'd even had a chance to act.

Today's American division is far less a matter of region, and more of a neighbor vs. neighbor and brother vs. brother divide, the way "Bloody Kansas" was divided in 1854 by the Douglas Kansas-Nebraska Act. I used to live twelve miles from the place where John Brown lead six of his neighbors down to a creek where he decapitated them with a broadsword. 35 miles north was the site where pro-slavery Missourians trapped a group of Free State men in a school house. They blasted them out with a cannon.
Once the War started, Kansans called Jayhawkers would form vast companies of raiders to pillage Missouri homes of Union and Confederate alike, while in Missouri itself, neighbors and relatives alike would murder one another by night and broad daylight alike over politics. Missouri Bushwackers would wear Union uniforms and ride around and shoot any civilian that tried to 'helpful to them Yanks', while the real Unionyroops would march about and punish those who weren't helpful by burning their homes.
No part of America was torn apart like Missouri was, and that's what we're walking into. I see old pictures of the Civil war in Lebanon in the 70's and wonder not if, but when that happens to our cities. Beirut was once a beautiful city. By the mid 80's it looked like some dystopian Sci-Fi end of the world set.
But the really desperate part is, I no longer see a way out. We have become two separate peoples, and contrary to what some would say, diversity is not strength, unity is. Not unity of color, but unity of culture and belief. If we could find a way to separate into our respective people's and just go our own way, civil war might be avoided, but I've yet to see that kind of maturity on either side.
So hunker down my fellow Americans, teach your children good principals and Survival, and pray like your lives depend on it, because they do.

Frank Mueller"

Well, I just got a lesson in American history.
But then this actually supports my original gut feeling. Though I can't say I'm glad to have confirmation.

Tuesday 10 July 2018

The political climate in the USA and the 1930ies

I swear, the next time I see any Internet "expert" comparing the situation in the USA to the 1930ies, I'm just closing the tab!
My friends in the USA: you shouldn't be afraid of comparisons with the 30ies. It's simply not the right comparison.
But you should be worried. And, I don't know, take some kind of measures.
Because the right comparison with a time in American history is with the 1860ies.
Yes, the way I see it, your nation is that divided. I hope you'd prove me wrong, or at least that you'd prove that you've learned better conflict management.

That's all for today.

Sunday 1 July 2018

Do you have "secret shortcuts" for grokking the way to roleplay particular concepts?

Sometimes we, especially as Referees, roleplay people we've got a hard time understanding with our usual logic (whether it's elves in Glorantha, or Fair Folk in Exalted, or inquisitors who are genuinely concerned about their victims...)
So, how do you go about it?

My example is the Fair Folk in Exalted. My secret is that I model them after "dirtie hippie storygamers playing a traditional game and trying to get their schtick to apply".
Yes, the Fair Folk are the guys and gals who pick a genre and try to behave like the heroes and heroines. And expect the game to accommodate them by inserting the tropes.
And are then disappointed when my NPCs seldom do.

What are your secrets?

Monday 25 June 2018

It was a good day, Gaming-wise!

It was a good day...
-Finished my gladiatorial mini/skirmish game. That one might see the light of day...

-Started what should be the final form of my setting (which I actually plan to publish...possibly in Bulgarian and in English).

-Continuing work for a beta-test I'd promised to conduct.

-Found some materials which would make running my Legends of Steel campaign (even) easier.''

And of course, dealt with my regular job. But yeah. Overall, great day for gaming!

So, what's the moral of this story?
Well, I guess everyone can draw his or her own conclusions. But if you want the moral I took from all of it, here it is:

"Thou shall begin your day with NSFW activities as often as possible!"

...

I'm now thinking more tales should come with a practical moral like this. (And of course, the original tales like Red Riding Hood actually did).

Thursday 7 June 2018

Realistic historical healing

When we speak about historical settings,we often point that an infected wound would be the end of a character. Thus, people conclude, PCs that actually fight "need" access to magic healing, or an unrealistic damage system.
For quite some time, I was accepting this opinion and believing that "people in the past were just that tough they survived".
Then I remembered actual historical stories, and it didn't fit, but I wasn't in the mood to use stories as proof.

Last week, a wound on my leg (about 5 cm long and wide, but shallow) got infected. In fairness, everything would get infected with 5 days of neglect...but it was a time of great stress, so I had no time to visit the doctor. You know, like it routinely happens with PCs in games?
I recovered using nothing but herbal remedies, and an unguent my wife prepared from different kinds of food - no, I'm not kidding you - and which drew the pus from the wound. Then the herbal remedies kept it clean and disinfected it enough for it to recover.
I doubt any modern medicine would have done (much) more than that...in fact, it got infected while I was treating it with modern disinfectants!

All the herbal ingredients are easily found where I live (I don't know the names in English of most of the herbs, though I remember my Granny showing me some of them and explaining they are good for burns, or for infected wounds). The unguent can easily be prepared in any agrarian setting.
Another "truism" against historical gaming was put to rest, in my book.

Tuesday 5 June 2018

Reviews (and a solution) of Kuro: Makkura and Kuro: Tensei

A short explanation: I decided to cover Kuro: Makkura (a.k.a. The Not-So-Great Kuro Campaign) and Kuro: Tensei (a.k.a. the "Where's my kewl powerz?" supplement) in a single post. Why?
They're meant to be linked...chronologically, even. You introduce Tensei after you play through Makkura.

OK, first we're going to talk about the presumed Kuro Campaign...a.k.a. What Asen Doesn't Like About Kuro.
Yes, I'm serious. But it's still presumed you'd be using it...no, don't tell me it's not - everything even in the corebook points you in that direction. The adventure in the basic book is part of it, and you basically have to play through Kuro: Makkura to get to Kuro: Tensei!

SPOILERTIME:
The Incident, the Blockade - they're both parts of it. And they're part of the reasons the setting is what it is.
/SPOILERTIME

So...this won't be the usual review. Instead, I'm going to talk a bit about the campaign, and a lot more about how to salvage it.
Yes, it's that bad, speaking from experience. I've run part of it (readers of my blog can remember that this is one of the very few campaigns I've tried to run...and it's also one of the reasons I'm not actively looking for other people's campaigns).

So, what is the campaign.
It begins with the adventure in the corebook (mandatory - you introduce recurring NPC there), and continues. The point is to get increasingly deeper in the occult world of Shin Edo.

SPOILERTIME 2!
So, first the characters are kidnapped by terrorists and save themselves or are saved, not without the help of an AI (or is it an AI?) they meet in the next building - a laboratory - after the terrorists blow up the floor.
Then they chase a murderer who's obviously not merely human.
They try to save missing students and find themselves in a demon's realm.
Then various shenanigans ensue. OK, that part isn't exactly spoiler-worthy. Oh, and more recurring NPCs are introduced!
FWIW: all the 7 adventures are keyed to the days of the week.
And then they have to chase the demons to prevent a great evil from appearing....but they fail (no questions here).
And then they have the option to return to ordinary lives, or become avatars for the kami who were their ancestors, and to fight demons (though not with this exact wording). You know what PCs are going to pick, right?
(The question, though, is asked as "Do you want to live or die?"
/SPOILERTIME 2!

What's bad about the campaign?
It's frigging linear. Like, I've read a short story ("Regret With Math", by Greg Stolze) that was less linear.
And this is supposed to be a game. But you can change nothing.
If I had to guess what the authors were thinking, it would be something like this...
"The players aren't going to read all about the setting (arguably true in some groups). So, the characters have to reach from A to B by clearing middle points C, D, E, and F, and by the kami, they're going to do it! And the players are going to get immersed in the setting in the process! Those baka players just need to pay attention to the scenery as the train is passing!"
Ahem, maybe not quite like this, but it's what I imagine - not what happened.

Now, for those without the game, and for everyone who might think I'm exaggerating: The adventure in the corebook is, like, the worst example of a glorified railroad you can think of. Or, quite possibly, worse than that!
I mean, it is fully linear. You can't, by design, stray in any direction - short of dying deliberately against obviously superior forces (NPCs with assault weapons and power armour, while the characters are unarmed...exactly how stupid do you have to be in order to stay and fight?) It gives you TNs for checks and stats for NPCs that are going to be fighting. And it also gives you an explanation why, if you fail the checks and have the mind to run, you're still going to pass - and the NPCs couldn't chase you!
Though admittedly, there are brighter moments in the campaign...like the Darkness Demon, amusingly enough. At least you could die for something other than bad dice rolls.
Verdict: Kuro is a great game, and well-researched, but the campaign basically makes all its potential unnecessary, except as a combat engine!

What's good about the Makkura campaign? Why is it even worth salvaging?
The campaign is exactly as bad as it seems, while the game and the setting are exactly as great as they seem. But it is a good way to showcase the setting, and to introduce its darker parts, and unknown beliefs - step by step.
So, how to combine it with an actual, you know, game (where, by definition, your decisions should be able to change the outcome)? I have a solution!
Here's what I actually did, and I'd recommend the same to you as well. It's the adventure in the corebook (yes, that same one) that gave me the idea...
Remember, it is fully linear. So, obviously the authors wanted to tell you this as a story. Should I rewrite it with much effort, or should I run a railroad? "No way" to both, I said.
Instead, I allowed them to do exactly what they wanted (and I recommend you doing the same). I told the players the story.
So, listen: the game begins less than a week after the corebook adventure. The PCs meet and introduce each other, but you tell them that they know each other.
At this point, let the players introduce the PCs.
And then tell them the first adventure as a cut-scene: "Three days ago, you met at the bank that was attacked by terrorists and survived together. Worse, some things you found while escaping point to you that you're all related in some ways! At the least, your names are all on a list." (Also refer to the spoileblock).
Then I read them how the adventure was going to go anyway.
(The players, of course, asked: "why aren't we playing through this?" They were assuming they might do something that might change the events, the poor souls...
Me: "Because it's a total railroad and I can't stand to run it, nor do I have the time to re-write it basically from scratch. And when I say this, I mean it doesn't matter what you're going to try and do").
Then you serve them the actual adventure. See the parts with "adventure seeds" (after the adventures in the campaign, titled "Continuing the Day of..." and on p. 183 of the corebook)?
Those are almost as good as the actual campaign is a failure (for me, at least). They give you suggestions, point out what info about the setting they're meant to introduce, what to focus on...
They are even grouped, so you could pick one depending on the party composition!
So, I'd read each adventure in the campaign as a cut-scene (barring maybe 3 of them, but probably less). The rest of them, and that's the majority unless you're willing to do a lot more work than me, you introduce as cut-scenes.
Remember, they're meant to evoke a mood and progress a plot. Let them do it!
Then you use what you've actually got, and run the adventures that are obvious in the adventure seeds!
And you can decide to stop after some of the events - especially if you don't want to get into playing Kuro: Tensei (where the game becomes less of a horror and more of a supernatural technothriller in a dystopian future...like Eric van Lustbader on steroids. I mean, his ninja guy never met the Japanese Emperor...)
Also, the events from Makkura, which are meant to pre-date Tensei, need never happen - unless the group would like that! Just because you're using them as background, doesn't tie you to that turn of events.
You can even play Tensei without the kami returning in such a spectacular fashion...they players have been considered "worthy", and got a kami's attention. Period. Like so much else in the game, it's a mixed blessing...
Or they might decide to continue the same way as before, without the Ki Powers in Tensei. Personally, I'd love that!
And you know best what your group would like.

Tensei
So, maybe you played Makkura, or maybe you're introducing just Tensei. Either way, it's assumed that a kami (a spirit of a Japanese hero) has merged with your character. It's not possession, see - you're their descendent, so it's obviously fine!
But no matter, the point is that mechanically, you're introducing Kewl Powerz. (And narratively, you're now becoming one of the movers and shakers...while in-world, your PC is now indeed apart from the common man - or woman - at the street, and risks forgetting who he or she used to be in the 21st century).
Oh, and you now have the option to play one of the Onimachines. Get the supplement to learn what those are...

One of the options is Musashi Myamoto, BTW. Other options are Abe no Seimei, Himiko, Lady Tomoe, Kusunoki Masahige and Saito Musashibo Benkei. I liked the spread. (And I like even more that Musashi is NOT the Samurai archetype. He's a Duelist, the samurai is Kusunoki Masashige).
They all give you access to different abilities. For example, all the warriors except Benkai give you only the techniques Kekkai and Okuden - while Himiko, the Miko archetype, gives you access to Divination, Kagenie, Kamitsuki, Kekkai, Kichiyose, and Kuji-Kiri.
Kekkai, for example, are "areas of supernatural purity, where the supernatural cannot harm innocents". The PC(s) and your opponent(s) simply disappear, and fight in a place with no bystanders (unless you want to protect those...them dying leads to Taint), but with all the structures that were there. Anyone who dies there, is dead, but that's it. You can blow the Emperor's Castle, but no
They've got different "Sacred Gimmiku", different ways to recover Ki, allow you to use different items and amulets. The only thing they have in common: the closer you get to "your" kami, the less human you become - and the more powerful.
And since I know you want it, here's the list of "powers".
Divination (duh!)
Kekkai (see above)
Kagenie (the ability to create a paper doll that augments someone's abilities)
Kami-Tsuki (summoning kami to control things around you, like the kami of a house, a car, or whatever)
Katatagae (teleportation)
Kuchiyose (summoning protective spirits)
Kuji-In (using 9 magic rituals to augment your abilities, cure ills, become invisible to impure beings, or throw energy attacks)
Kuji-Kiri (using the raw power of Kuji-In - regardless of whether you know Kuji-In itself - to generate a terrible energy attack)
Maboroshi (wounding your opponent with terrifying illusions woven from Ki)
Okuden (create weapons of energy or inject existing ones with Ki to improve them)
Shinobi ("the originus of the occult knowledge of assassins, ninja and hinin spies", this Technique modifies your body, changing it to fight or fool an enemy - and it is enhanced by having Taint).


Even more importantly (meaning, I don't see any reason not to use those rules and information in the game before Tensei), you get an in-depth explanation of Purity and Taint, and ways to remove the latter. In fact, I believe this should have been in the corebook!
There's also a chapter detailing which regions of Japan are more or less tainted and what it means for those visiting it or living there. The Shin Edo (the New Tokyo capital, remember?) is given its own chapter.

There is a list of the different factions of supernatural creatures, and stats for some of the supernatural creatures (but fair warning: without the options in Kuro: Tensei or really damn heavy cybernetics, you're toast against one of the weak ones, like Okami-Otoko, or Ybao-Kuni).

There's two adventures. What was said about Makkura, applies here as well, in spades. Except there are no Adventure Seeds.
That's fine, though. The whole book is one giant adventure seed - especially the parts about Taint!

For obvious reasons, I'm not going to rate Makkura.
Tensei gets the following ratings from me:
Style: 5/5
Mechanics: 5/5
Setting: 5/5
GMing advice: N/A
Adventures: N/A

Monday 4 June 2018

Review of Kuro RPG

First, let me pre-face that by saying that it's one of the few games where I'm sorry that print is currently unavailable. However, PDFs are being sold by Le 7ème Cercle.

You only need the core Kuro PDF to play, and the review only touches upon it (except where necessary). There's also a campaign, Kuro: Makkura...which I'm not going to comment on in this post...and a supplement called Kuro: Tensei which introduces the more high-powered options for character development.
By default, Tensei is meant to be played after you played all of Makkura (you reach the state of being able to use those options at the end of the final adventure). We never got to this point, though, when I was running the campaign (it went on hold due to RL crisis, and then we started another, because games are like planes...lack of momentum leads them to fall all over the place).

OK, let me get to the nitty-gritty.

System
The system is skill-based d6 dicepool where you total all dice, add your skill and beat the TN (and dice explode). Nothing out of the ordinary.
There are twists, three of them in fact: 
1. When you roll a 4, it counts as 0, because Japanese superstitions.
2. Also, the skills are separated into "skill trees", where you can have a Skill Area Close Combat of 3, and a Specialisation of, say, Ashihara-Ryu Karate-do at 9, Melee Weapons 4, and Improvised Weapons 6. If you ever have to resort to wrestling, though, you'd have to do it with your Brawling skill, which you're lacking...so all you get is the 3 from Skill Area.
3. Finally, on some levels of Specialisation, you can add a "gimmiku" (gimmick) to the skill - but never to the Skill Area, even if you raise it to become high enough that it would qualify. It's possible, and very sweet, to have more than one gimmiku  on a single skill (which happens when you hit 11 in the skill, so it'd be bad news for the opposition even without the two gimmikus - after all, you are adding 11 to your result). Oh, and BTW, if you raise the Skill Area after getting a Specialisation, it does nothing for the Specialisations!
The gimmikus are, I believe, a great idea. They result in things like "add 2 more to your roll, on top of your skill", "add 4 to your Result if you succeed" (for example, that's a straight add to combat damage, because you always add your Result), "roll another die" (so, like having a higher attribute for this skill), "re-roll a die, and as a bonus, if you roll a 4, it's a 4, not a 0" (IIRC, this is the only one that you can't pick twice, but I might be wrong), and the like.
There's more gimmikus in the expansion Kuro: Tensei, but those tend to interact with Ki-powered actions, and powering actions with Ki is not an option for starting characters. The characters in Kuro: Tensei are meant to be something you reach later...though of course, they mention you could easily begin with it. I didn't begin this way, and wouldn't really recommend it, though.

Why? Simple. The more power you have, the less you pay attention to the setting (no, don't tell me it's not true - it is). And the characters are going to need some time getting used to it...

As a funny detail, in close combat, you can attack cautiously but holding back and dealing less Damage but upping your defence, and then you roll Reflex for the attack; you can fight normally, and roll Agility, or you can take risks, lowering your defence but dealing more damage, and then you roll the attack with Strength. In practice, this means that big brawlers are easier to hit, but if they ever hit back, beware! OTOH, after they swing, you can beat them to the punch...so the combat can be a lot like in some of the better darker manga out there. (I'm actually thinking about Shamo, here).
Damage is HP, but the hits represent actual damage. Losing many hits at once deals Wounds, which lowers your capabilities and can basically put you out of the fight. Totally unexpected, I know! And of course, you can die from multiple hits, with or without wounds.
(I've houseruled that to go "only hits that deal a Wound can knock you out, unless that takes you below the death threshold - then you must roll every turn to avoid collapsing, and only have limited time, determined by the GM, until you actually expire". Of course, the catch is that it applies to the opponents, too!)

Enough about system, buy it and read it if you want all of it...
Besides, it's the setting where the game really shines! Well, once you move past the "historical" part - you'll see, if you ever read it.
OK, I get it, they needed a justification why Japan was again subjected to nuclear strike (which never reached its soil, though) and then was cut off from the world. But still...seriously?
That's unimportant.
It's the description of the society in 2046 New Tokyo...sorry, Shin Edo, which is the same thing in a different language...that really shines.
Androids replacing humans as servants, bodyguards, drivers, maids...you can guess some other uses, too, and you'd be right.
Government-mandated eugenics, where the nation might be dwindling in numbers, but procreating requires getting a certificate. The rich and powerful, of course, can get replacement bodies in order to live forever...oh, and even dating/marrying outside of your social class is probably out of bounds. It's on your documents now.
Computers tracking you everywhere via constant retinal scans, cameras and sniffer devices (which also track whether you're carrying weapons and/or explosives). Your eyes give your presence to everyone, so that you can be subjected to targetted holo-ads. You thought pop-ups are boring on the net? Try walking around in the better parts of Shin Edo!
If you haven't got it that "alienation from the other insignificant people" is the name of the game, you're not paying attention.
But don't worry, that's only until the supernatural notices you. You don't want that. If it happens, you just want things to return to normal. It's when you realize what Japanese horror is about...assuming the GM is any good, I mean.
As the authors point out, in Hollywood horror, it's about either escaping and returning to a normal life, or killing the monster.
Japanese horror is about setting things back to normal, not necessarily by violence - and let me add that escaping, if at all possible, might mean that you can never lead a normal life again. Pacifying the monster is preferred. And for bloodthirsty players, keep in mind that the Japanese ghosts are often the victims of a crime, not the perpetrator returning to do it again and again like in some Hollywood movies I'm not going to name.

So yes, Japanese horror reflects the saying that "the nail that sticks out gets hammered down". Alienation, cosmic insgnificance, and being noticed is a BAD thing...
Welcome to the shiny neon lights of 2046 Shin Edo! Any blackouts are due purely to the international blockade, and not at all to the incompetence or graft among the bureaucratic elite!
We swear by our ratings that it's true!

Oh, and there's an adventure to get you started. However, it's meant to introduce the campaign in Makkura (literally being an intro to it), and I promised not to touch upon the campaign.


Overall:
Style 5/5 (or 4/5 if you think it's too colorful for the content).
Mechanics 5/5...with Expertise!
Setting 5/5
GMing advice: 3/5 (and that's mostly for the "genre advice")
Adventure: N/A

Wednesday 2 May 2018

Ai Xun, Superhero

Here's the background of my PC in Golden Heroes. (Immortal, Previous Training; Oriental Martial Arts-3, Judo Throw, Flight, Weather Control). If you wonder why I'm playing Golden Heroes: because that's what Dumarest wanted to run on RPGPub!
The game for you, however, is different: read it and find the in-jokes!

Ai Xun (Lover of Meritorios Deeds) was a middle-aged scholar who had already startted on the path of Cultivating his Qi. It was a nice quiet summer of the 9th year of the reign of Emperor Taizong (1238), but worrisome news made him realize that his application of the internal skills for longevity and calmness are incomplete. For what self-respecting scholar could pass the opportunity to apply his cultivation-derived abilities to martial deeds? And what insane scholar would fail to do so, given the number of bandits around?
The Yuan troops were numerous, but some Han claimed it's easier to negotiate with actual bandits...
Be it as it may, Ai Xun seeked a master of the spear and the sabre, and trained at his feet for 6 years, having cast - not by his own choice, some would imply - all connections to the bureaucracy.
After the six years, he bowed one last time, and soon was to become well-known for his martial prowess, wiping gangs of bandits single-handedly.
That is, until he was defeated by an unarmed old Taoist.
As any normal scholar would do, Ai Xun bowed to him and asked him to teach him.
But the man laughed at him, told him he has been squandering his skills by using a weapon. "That's the first step, but you can't become one with the weapon, for it's always in your hand. Once you cast it away, you have to become the weapon. First, it will be in your spirit only; later you will become the weapon, and shall never look back. For this, you have to swear now to never use an weapon again."
Having learned the weapons painstakingly, Ai Xun was shaken. But he couldn't doubt the man's skill, so he swore off. They left the town as teacher and student.
Three weeks later, Ai Xun understood why his teacher was making him write his teachings. Singing immortals came to take away his teacher, and lead him to the Western Paradise.
"If you persist, you could become one of us, too. Remember: I told you how to become the weapon. You'll have to find by yourself how to become the Universe", his teacher said. And Ai Xun watched how with each step he lost decades, until he was an youngster again.
"But what if I can't think of a way?", he called.
"You will die of old age, as a hermit nobody knows, of course!", the teacher shrugged, without looking back. "Who told you the path to perfection is easy? Make sure to give your notes to a simpleton, if you feel you wouldn't make it: maybe one like him could succeed where you'd failed!"
Ai Xun only bowed to his bacj, and applied himself to mastering the teachings.
He extended his life a lot, seeking enlightenment through the time-honoured tradition of dodging fists that would otherwise hit his face, disarming armed opponents, and wrestling with tigers. The way of Kung-Fu is hard, even when the kung-fu is soft!
Be it as it may, he ascended - after being sentenced to death under the name Lan Yu, and the day before the sentence was to be carried out, some say - and went on to the Western Heavens.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lan_Yu_(general)
He became young again, but he wasn't content. For his old teacher met him with a frown.
"Did you learn to fly?"
"I can float through the skies, Teacher!"
"Did you learn to control the weather?"
"I am the wind, and the lightning. But it takes me some time to affect radical changes!"
"Impossible! After so many decades, you're still not getting it?"
"But Teacher, isn't that proof I succeeded?"
"Had you really learned to become the Universe, how could you have restrictions? If you raise your hand, do you need time? No - you think, you do! Go find a simpleton, give him your notes, and never mentioned I've been your teacher!"
Dutifully, Ai Xun obeyed. But then he turned back.
"But teacher...if I'm not worthy, how come I've found myself here?"
"The criteria are rather lax these days! It seems you enjoy the favour of a celestial nymph, who decided to save you. Do as I said!", the old man in young body grumbled...much as his followers, collectively known as the grognards, were going to do centuries later.
Crestfallen, the student obeyed, and found a simpleton who received the teachings. (It is said that later in life, the boy became known as an avatar of Patriarch Huineng... http://www.iep.utm.edu/huineng/)
The unhappy Ai Xun went back to the Western Heavens.

***
The nymph needed a few centuries, but eventually tired of him. Then he was summoned by the Celestial Dragon of the Door, and got a hint that some work needed to be done...an offer no sane scholar would refuse, as the Dragon put it - so Ai Xun accepted. In the company of other young Immortals, who could face them?
However, things were not as good as they seemed. In the company of another Immortal, Bao Zhao, he fought the seductive, mind-boggling powers of Lin Ai Ming.
In the heat of battle, she teleported. Soon after, he spotted her back, and unleashed a terrible "Mantis Strike"!
That's when he learned that Lin Ai Ming was also a mistress of illusions. Looking at Bao Zhao's body in his feet, it was rather obvious!
Needless to say, the Dragon was unhappy. But he roared only once, and said:
"I lost a bet last night, so I'll send you to the lands of the barbarians. You need to build a temple of Buddha in each of thier major cities, and translate this scroll for the temple library. Now go! And bring her head back, unless someone else I sent is faster!"
And thus Ai Xun was chased by Heavens.
However, upon arriving in New York City, things just turned out unexpectedly. Soon, Ai Xun was carrying the name Wind Fist, and fighting crime!

Sunday 8 April 2018

Stunning Beauty Chronicles, part 9 (WHoOG)

And this is going to be the last update for this campaign in a while, combining everything that happened (thus the bullet points format).
For one, I didn't have the time to keep up with the updates. I might never had finished writing it, if it wasn't for someone who PMed me on an RPG forum to ask what happened.
For two, we're looking for a new system for this. Our GM gave up trying to remember what every major NPC can do...and with our style of playing, there are now literally dozens of those around!
Link to the list with all the previous updates of this campaign.



  • We went to visit the Sisters of Bone Kingdom. They turned out to be extremely powerful, and most of them - extremely mad. One of them merely wanted to eat us. Another wanted to seduce...me (my in-game wife said, quote, "fuck, no fuck", unquote - an opposed roll later, the Sister gave up - for now).
  • The sisters are also related to the former Phoenix clan. After we gave them a copy of the manuscropt, they felt well-intentioned enough to inform us that the current Dragon clan isn't THE Dragon clan. Wait, what?... Why, the sorcerer we're after destroyed both the Dragon and the Phoenix clans, which were, back then, basically the same clan (one of them got the female disciples, and the other, the male ones). But he restored the Dragon as a virtuous society...secretly under his command.
  • They wanted the sorcerer dead. They just weren't sure they could deal with him...but we pointed out that he's found a way to bring the Demon Emperor to our world. They got it immediately, but as they say, "we didn't believe anyone powerful enough can be stupid enough". Well, we agreed Da Su Su (whose name we didn't mention) ain't the sharpest knife in the bunch, but it was about saving the world, not her good name as a paragon of mind and forethought. You know, the name that she doesn't even pretend to have? Yeah, that one.
  • They immediately suggested that we kill the mother and the child. We refused to tell them who the mother was, and challenged them to kill us AND find the mother in less time than the sorcerer, AND to be sure to kill the mother without her escaping...they looked well-disposed towards trying. But we offered them a way out, and the death of their enemy. How can a trio of xia refuse - even a non-virtuous, cannibalistic trio like the Witches of Bone Kingdom?
  • Arranging for the transport of well-known cannibals with easily recognisable features, while accounting for their diet, is a hard exercise in logistics. Let's leave it at that, and thank Sunan and Bao for palanquins!
  • After that, we split. Me and my wife went to the Dragons, reasoning they deserve to know.
  • The rest of them went to talk with a former Dragon, now head of her own clan. The Two-Timing Cockerel actually knows her: Lady Plum Blossom of the Purple Cavern Sect! We had a strong argument: had the sorcerer not changed the Dragon clan, she wouldn't have been punished for loving another Dragon member (Master Emerald). It was, according to the Bone Kingdom withches, the custom of the ancient days for disciples of the Dragon and Phoenix to intermarry.
  • Me and the wife arrived at the Dragons' headquarters just in time. After asking to speak in front of the council, we have been asked to wait. Of course, we weren't promised it would actually happen...the Golden Dragons having their doubts regarding the Beautiful People Sect? Who would have thought!
  • However, we didn't expect anything else. The petition was just a way to get a feel for those people! And based on our impressions from the place, we ordered Foxy (who gets regular feeding with us) to follow Bronze Master!
  • Sure enough, Foxy soon found him being a sorcerer, and pinpointed his laboratory.
  • Armed with this knowledge, we went to the Emerald Master, and elaborated all our accusations. He was amazed, to say the least! But at least, he listened, and asked us how we intend to prove it.
  • "Why, don't you want to catch him in the deed of sorcery?", we replied. Golden Dragon members are forbidden, under pain of punishments that can reach "death", to use any sorcery deemed "evil". According to Foxy: the lab "reeked of evil".
  • The Bronze Master didn't make us wait long, and didn't smell the trap...until after we'd sprung it. However, the night before his sentencing, a huge earthquake hit the city that had sprung around the sect's headquarters...the victims were measured in the thousands!
    And, it seems, the Bronze Master had escaped, while we were busy saving people. What a diversion!
  • The remaining Dragons had a lot of soul-searching to do (and some disciples got speeded-up courses). The Emerald Master, however, joined our quest. Was he hoping to gain back the love of Lady Plum Blossom? We suspected that much, but for once, didn't interfere one way or another. "He's a big boy, she's a big girl, let them come to a resolution on their own!"
  • Then we got invited to a villa. There, we were introduced to the Nine Suns Sect's leader. And I found my old teacher, who first introduced me to Kung-Fu...the one I'd thought dead!
  • The man I bowed to and called Sifu also recognised me. It seems he'd thought me dead...and he says I've been the target, not him. Powerful enemies? Definitely, but why would anyone want a budding disciple of kung-fu dead? Either way, I introduced my wife to him, and we promised to get him acquainted to our business: he seemed a bit melancholic, and we had just the right medicine for that.
  • With his help, we managed to persuade the Sect's leader to help us find and kill the sorcerer. Even better, they were keeping in touch with letters...so now, they could just invite him over!
  • The sorcerer came in, in his traditional dress, which obscured his face. Still, it was without doubt a great Kung-fu master, and the sect's leader confirmed that should be him! Thus, we attacked.
  • It was a heavy battle, but we had arranged everything: terrain, numbers, and several sect leaders! We fought like possessed, and suspected that he was possessed. In the end, we prevailed, though many of our side lay down, dead or simply out of combat.
  • And on this note, our last session concluded. At least until we pick a replacement system...though we still intend to continue in the setting!

I committed a Refereeing sin! Seeking a penance?

Namely, I just offered a player to use meta-game currency to introduce a sequence of events!
Everybody had fun, but it still feels wrong, somehow. I mean, most of us are used to adding Hero Points to checks in order to succeed: that's easily represented by extra effort.
But using them for introducing a turn of events that's more favourable to the characters? I've still got issues accepting that.

What actually happened:
Currently running BASH: Legends of Steel, and my party has split, as I find that a normal thing to happen in any S&S game.
Some of the players went to explore the rumours of the Forlorn King of Tyros and Aragos...what the one who decided that doesn't know is, she's going to walk into a heavily modified Death Frost Doom, where instead of thousands of zombies, she risks releasing an immortal necromancer king, modeled after Koshtchei the Immortal.
Another player went to explore the star-crossed love story of two scions of powerful noble families. Her, a scion of the Montevaggios, him, a scion of Kapi branch of the Omurt clan, a.k.a. the Capiomri.
Yes, there is a joke for the players in here, too. She noticed it already, too... but I'm not going to tell you what it is (because I might actually get around to publishing this as an adventure! Yes, complete with the in-jokes.

Anyway. She went thinking about the best approach to exonerate the guy from accusations of a murder, so I switched to the other party. When I switched back, she still hadn't decided anything decisive. So we played an information-gathering scene that didn't result in much new data, either (she didn't push an NPC that would have talked, but was unwilling to offer the info freely).
And then I couldn't switch, because the leader of the other group was making tea in the kitchen, and was unavailable. In my group, making tea is A Big Deal!
So I decided to spare everyone some dithering, and said.
"By the rules, you have exactly a single Hero Die remaining, and we can give you some clues for that. Do you want to do that?"
"Sure! Thank you for reminding me, too! You know that I'd have forgotten to use them, if not for you, right?"

Yes, I knew that. I'm the one who reminded her to use a Hero Point last session. That's why she only had a full Hero Die (by the BASH rules, you get 3 HeroPoints per session, and can bring them from one session to the next, up to 10 - or you can spend them separately as a dice bonus. If she hadn't earned some Hero Points for style and daring, and spent even more in a hard fight, she'd have forgotten to use any, I'm pretty sure. I should know, I've been playing with her for over a decade!
Then again, she was fighting a minotaur all by herself. Which is a suitable endeavour for a S&S character, in my book. Stunts like provoking a surprise attack in order to counter-ambush an assailant are also very much in-genre from my point of view - and this is what she did.

So, she got to witness people leaving after an encounter they'd rather have kept secret. Everybody had fun, and considered it in-genre, as I said.

And yet...I haven't used meta-game currency to give leads or "advantageous circumstances" in years. It just felt wrong!
Not sure I want to do that again any time soon.
And I guess that there went my qualifications as a simulationist sandbox Referee? Ah, well, I'd have to live with being a hidden narrativist!

I wonder what a suitable penance would be?


WARNING: The events happened as they were described, but this post might still contain traces of humour!