Surprising myself, or just buying what I haven't got yet?

Okay, I just made an unexpected observation about myself.
Most of my latest purchases have been either OSR games (DCC, Scarlet Heroes) or narrativist games (Fate-based, but also High Valour and Beast Hunter. And Circle of Hands, if that counts). And I'm considering more OSR games, mainly the Red Tide setting and ACKS (and if Kiero comes to develop his historical setting for ACKS, this one as well).
If it wasn't for Esteren's KS, Tékumel's KS and Savage Worlds of Solomon Kane, I wouldn't have purchased a proper* simulationist game for over a month!

*Proper here means "meant to be simulationist". I find many so-called story-games to have better simulation than some so-called sim games. But they're not meant as such, and that's another topic.

Fates Worse Than Death: A post-PCs setting (I gave up on counting the sessions)

The PCs have left their mark on 2080 Manhattan, so I felt like giving you an idea.
... now it's not just Bleeders and Night Shift looking for Colin. FBI is looking for Colin, too. And Interpol. And NSA. And everyone and their dog, too.

It's all on the news now, thanks to a Night Walker who has been taken to meet Colin, and social media. Call the Math Addicts what you want, but they can calculate how to spread news optimally.

So, after the different PCs captured several Collins, the existence of Colin has been proven. Needless to say, that doesn't make Colin too happy.
The Colin-Eater is there as well. And he has revealed one of his copies.
The Hunt For Colin has begun! Estimated victims in the first 3 days: 18. Expected victims over the next 10 days: 180. Estimated number of Colins killed in the Hunt: 1-3 (yes, between 1 and 3). Colin is much better at not attracting attention than most Crazies are. And addicts disappear for days, then reappear and behave weird. Several unfaithful husbands have been clubbed to death, poisoned, strangled, or set on fire (the latter by a pyromaniac wife) as well.

Directly concerning the party, the Freak PC is currently making an appointment for a date with a Sexologist chick. Problem is, said Sexologist is a recently turned Colin.
So the question is, can Freak sex influence Colin to not kill someone? The Freak PC doesn't go on dates that don't end in bed, so applying it seems likely. Not even Colin's Willpower stands a chance.

The effects, however, might differ.

Back to the wider picture, the war on the drug lords has started.
The Night Shift captured one of the drug kings. Only trouble is, they were too good at it - when they cut off his retreat to a helicopter, the pilot waiting for him asked for instructions. He was a mole for the drug lords.
The drug lords therefore instructed him to enforce the Plan B. Plan B involved killing everyone in the compound with napalm bombs.
Estimated Night Shift losses: 72% of the strike team, which consisted of roughly 50 people. Estimated losses among the Humankalorie back-up (they have joined forces with Night Shift and the Wave-Riders against the Drug Lords in an uneasy alliance): over 80%.
The Hungry got into a fight with the Skin Borgs. They're suspecting them to have become Drug Lords' catpaws (and they're right, although most Skin Borgs didn't actually know about it).

The Congress is debating National Anti-Colin Act. A certain Reverend has applied for registration and for receiving religious grants as a persecuted religion.

Chaos reigns supreme! In other words, the PCs have left their mark on the setting.

Hopefully what emerges will be better, but entropy makes that unlikely.

What do John Rain and Marc Macyoung talk about when meeting up? Roleplaying, obviously!

I'm just reading "Campfire tales from Hell" and it's a great book.
There have been more than a few surprises. One of them is an explanation of Lichtenauer's style of fencing - which I'm practising. (OK, that and some Bulgarian stuff you wouldn't find on the Net...yet).

The other is a story where the fictional assassin John Rain meets up with the fully real Marc "Animal" Macyoung who wasn't nicknamed "Animal" for being smart, nice and on the right side of the law. And they discuss "tricks of the trade". 
So, what do John Rain and Marc Macyoung talk about when meeting up? Roleplaying, obviously!
No, I'm not kidding. I suppose +Marc MacYoung might flip out if he learned that what he is talking about is actually "D&D" but, there it is.
The two of them are talking about "pretending to be someone they're not (in order to avoid notice, no less) to the point of being, feeling and acting like that someone". They mention acting, and admit it's not a good analogy, but they're lacking vocabulary for it.
Thing is...roleplayers have had this vocabulary ever since the hobby existed, or shortly after that. Because guys, the thing you're talking about?
It's called "immersion", and many of us practice it for fun.
Well, to most roleplayers (those not in the army or LEOs - although there is a surprising number of those in such a hobby with zero physical activity) it's the other way around. They tend to pretend being someone that's used to violence. (John Rain and Marc Macyoung were talking about being "a civilian", which is the inverse). But the process?
Yeah, it's the same thing.

Well, except the GM (Game Master, in case this post is read by someone who doesn't know what roleplaying games are) doesn't kill you, assault you or send you in prison if you don't immerse well. The greatest danger you might face is losing experience points...

Still.  Makes you wonder whether Marc Macyoung has ever tried roleplaying. And if he did, one wonders, would he favour a deeply immersive style? (I admit it, reading his site, it seems he might have a general knowledge of the idea - his explanations about fighting against a knife made me smile and think "death spiral". For those not into RPG terms, some RPG rules - not D&D, of course - work exactly like that).
I'm pretty sure this guy should never be allowed in a game without social mechanics - or he would be running circles around the GM and solving any problems by social manoeuvring alone.

Questions, questions... OK, I admit it. This post is just my musings, and not really likely to lead to any substantial insights.

GURPS 4e character creation in 10 minutes or less! Possible? See below.

I met again the bugbear of "slow chargen in GURPS" today. So I decided to share my method that results in at least semi-optimised GURPS characters, all in under 10 minutes.
The best part is, I developed it in order to introduce newbies to GURPS 4e and let them make their own characters. It worked.


So:
Pick your ads and disads first. If you have an idea of what you want them to be, it's fast.
Pick all the skills you want, without levels yet.
Group them by attributes. Divide points between them roughly per the number of skills, or decide which kind of skills are more important for the character concept.
Count the skills for each attributes. If your archetype calls for more skills based on Strength, Dex or IQ, or exactly the same number, than the cost of raising it by 1 point, the choice is easier - pick all the skills at 1 point, dump the rest at the attribute. If they're less than that, but over 50% of the points to raise the attribute, take them each at 2 points. (So, if you need 8 skills based on ST, take them each on 2 points, because 1 point is mandatory, and 1 point/skill more gives you a 1-level increase). After that, only increase the attribute.
If the skills are less than that, you can take them at 4 points each, then raise the attribute.
Only if the (total number of skills)*4 is less than the cost of raising an attribute (say, only 4 skills on IQ), raise them and leave the attribute at basic!

Is that realistic? Well, guys, if you spend so much time practising skill sets that depend on a given quality, it's likely this quality is going to improve as well. A strong person is much more likely to learn to do strength-related jobs just by being shown the basics. And yes, this results in characters that are roughly at similar level in their skills, but that's what the XP during the campaign is for.
OTOH, with this method you can start playing almost immediately. Which is what some people are complaining about. So, use it!

Exalted of the Wulin: my LotW hack for the Exalted

The big, dirty secret is that I've actually written a lot of Exalted conversions. Here is one people actually wanted to see on RPG.net.


Exalted of the Wulin
All Exalted splats are created using a Loresheet. For an example, let me show you Solars.
All techniques and Secret Arts can be used out of combat. If they do, you don't recover spent Chi until next scene. If a combat starts this scene, tough luck for you!
In a combat, the Exalted mobilise all their powers, but out of it, they're not as focused. They were created to be living weapons, the martial artists that can topple the Primordials - and they excelled in this.
It's governance afterwards where they turned out to suck mightily...

Castes are renamed: Dawn is Warrior (duh!). Eclipse is Courtier. Zenith is Priest. Twilight is Predictionist. And of course, Night is Doctor. Yeah, doctor - who else would be better at sneaking and poisoning, not to mention using nerve strikes? There's a reason why Ebon Shadow relies heavily on that.
Anima banners give you away, unless you're a Night that pays 2 Chi at the start of every round. Zeniths can use 1 Chi per a zombie to send their souls to reincarnation. For 1 Chi, Dawns can deal 1 more Ripple to crowds and Lesser Legends. And Eclipses can create a free Major Passion Hypoactivity, based on Predictionism, which states you get -10 on everything until (atonement condition set by the GM) happens, if you break a Vow.
The difficulty to remove it is 150! So, basically, ain't going to happen, barring extraordinarily circumstances.

The Great Curse is gone! What PC needs mechanical incentives to act like an obsessed demigod in a world of cutout figures? (Yeah, I'm joking, but not much).
Well, almost: designate an Orthodox Virtue. Each time you get a Deed in its Selfish counterpart, apply the limit breaks that corresponds most closely!

All PCs starting as Celestials get a free 15 pts of Entanglement, as per the rules, and a 10 points extra that they can only use on this Loresheet. They have to buy it (well, only the Solars, of course).

Solaroid Exaltation (5 pts)
0: You get a free +20 to all Skill rolls related to your Caste, as well as to combat*. This counts as a Loresheet bonus, so it stacks with everything.
5: Status: Lawgivers (with spirits that recognise it, mostly).
-5: Enemy of the Immaculate order, the Bronze Faction and pretty much everyone in the setting.
5 Flaw: You can have the Hunted by the Wyld Hunt disadvantage! It can be free if it's your first or second disadvantage.

2: Lunar ally: you've found your Lunar Mate! What can he or she tell you about yourself?
2: Technique: the Lunar can teach you the Eight-limbed demon god technique, allowing you to use your Unarmed with Paired.
-2: Your Lunar Mate is suspicious of Solars, knowing the stories of what has happened in the First Age. Apply a +5 bonus to their attempts to resist your suggestions.
-3: ...and he or she knows them first-hand. Apply a +10 Bonus to their attempts. And they're at least 1 Rank above you, more likely 2 Ranks. Did you hurt them way back when? That's determined by whoever purchased you this Deed.

3: Gold Faction allies: they will provide you with training!
3 Technique: Palm knows no distance - combine Unarmed and Ranged.
-2: They will also instil into you a respect for them. Get a Paired Passion/Inspiration condition: You get a +5 when following the advice of Viziers, but a -5 when acting against it.

5: Achievement: You have attracted the attention of a Deathlord, who wants you as an ally - maybe even as a non-Abyssal ally.
Alternatively, you could have them chasing you in order to make you an Abyssal, but that would be a Disadvantage.

10: Achievement: You have learned to master your Essence! Add 1 point of Enlightened Chi.

*Non-Solaroid Celestials would get a +15, DBs would get a +10, and Spirit-Blooded and heroic mortals would get a +5 to the same.


...And so on, and so forth. I can write this Loresheet until it becomes longer than some systems, but that's not the point. I'm sure individual Wulin Sages can and will add to it!

FWTD: Nathan Trenchard's journal

JOURNAL ENTRY 2

About ten days passed since my last journal entry. I left the hospital as soon as I could. My injury was grave, but not life threatening and I am sure that there is someone out there who needs medical attention more than me. I would probably get a scar from this.

After I went to my hotel, I decided to give a public inspirational speech to the citizens of Manhattan. Such events always had a positive outcome back home. I donned my battle armor, to look more confident and impressive and went outside. I found a modest elevated object and started my heartfelt speech. It turned out good in my opinion – but the reaction from the crowd was half-hearted, at the best. Only a few people stopped by to listen and I think they amused themselves at my expense. There was even some poor misguided soul, who gave me a flyer about something called “The Church of Collin”. Very downtrodden… and disgusting. Well, I tried my best. Next time I’ll think of something more productive. But I haven’t given up on the whole idea.

The next day I went to the hospital, bearing flowers and some presents for Michaela. After all, it was my fault that I did not protect her. She beamed at the sight of my material expression of apology.

“Oh, thank you, these are really nice, especially the oranges. I like oranges!”, she chirped.

“No problem”, I said. “I wanted to apologize for my failure in standing by your side in that Collin encounter. May your soul be whole soon and your inner harmony be restored in its entirety.”

Michaela looked puzzled. It seemed that my verbal apology should have been withheld. Again, I did not understand. What was wrong with my day-to-day speech that it made people balk with blank stares at me?

After going to Michaela, I went back to the hotel. To my surprise, someone was already in my room, though the lock was intact. The stranger was standing by the window, faintly illuminated by the weak light that was coming from the dirty glass. He was tall and wore an expensive black suit.

“I was waiting for you”, he said in neutral tone.

“You were? I did not know I had an appointment. Excuse me, then, for making You wait”, I replied politely. “Please, have a seat.”

He thanked stiffly and sat at the edge of a rickety chair. I asked him what brings him here.

“Our agreement”, he said in the same smooth monotone. “You have agreed, sometime ago in the near past, to find a particular person. I am here to remind you about this.”

My mind raced. Near past? Could it be something with connected to my recent memory loss? I had to know more.

“When did I we made this agreement?”

“About three weeks ago.”

I was right. It was connected to my mysterious blank spot. But, at the same time, I had made a promise. And a promise cannot be broken. I had first to fulfill my duty.

“Ok, I will uphold my end of the agreement. Who is this person that You need found?”

“A woman. Goes by the name Natasha. She may have other aliases and has been elusive for quite some time.”

“And why do You need her found?”

The suit smiled wryly.

“This is out of the discussion”, he replied in dry tone. “Our reasons are our own. What matters is that you fulfill your end of the deal.”

“Alright. Until when I have to find this Antoinette?”

“Oh, no rush. She will be hard to catch. When is not of prime concern. The important part is to be done.” The suit rose and started to leave.

“Wait. How will I contact You to report my progress?”, I asked.

“No need. I’ll keep in touch instead.” And with that, he left.

I remained alone with my thoughts. Hm, the plot thickens. But still, one must be in peace with himself in order to be in harmony with the Universe. This Antoinette issue can wait. I said my evening prayers, had some quick meal and then went to my shift.

When I finally went back to work, commander Leila already was responding to a maximum priority distress signal. There has been a shootout in the city. All Night Shifts were on high alert. The situation had to be contained quickly, or the National Guard would have to interfere. No wonder everyone was jumpy. I personally was resolved as always and said a few prayers before leaving HQ.

We went to the site of the accident. We found one dead person on the rooftop of some building. Asian, by the looks of him, probably Chinese. Beside him lay a heavy antimaterial Barret sniper rifle. The body was brutally beaten and maimed. What was odd is that the dead Asian looked like a hired killer, not a victim. After a brief inquiry, we found out that his intended target was been in a diner across the street, but there were no windows. So, not only a heavy sniper to penetrate the wall, but probably some X-ray imaging also. A high-profile assassination then. Only, the assassin was the one to lay dead afterwards.

One of the clients of the diner was also dead. A woman, quite attractive and comparatively young. She and her sister had been sitting at the table, were the assassin had aimed. After careful questioning the sister explained that there were a man sitting with them, also Chinese. He had been laying his head on the lap of the victim, when the first shot had penetrated the wall. According to the witness report, he then had jumped with lightning speed and stormed out of the restaurant. Presumably, he was our only suspect for the killing of the shooter. Which seemed quite the feat if it had been actually achieved.

We photographed the scene, took data for the forensics team and called HQ that the situation was under control. After that, having still enough time on shift, our unit conducted regular patrolling for the rest of the night.

When we returned to HQ, I used the police database to run a search about Antoinette. Big surprise here – she indeed had multiple aliases, one of which was Natasha. So, Natasha and Antoinette were the one and same person. She was wanted from the FBI, NYPD and private corporations, for several serious crimes and illegal activities, including drug trafficking and black market dealing of biotech. Pretty long record. So, three weeks ago I had agreed on finding one dangerous criminal and had no memory of it. How Natasha was connected to me? And better yet, what have I gotten myself into? Does it have something with my mysterious arrival in Manhattan?

Better to find out.

Tianxia/FATE Core: First session

So, we played our first session (face-to-face, despite the link later talking about PbP). It's more "Chinese Hercules" and less "Hero", but it's definitely fun.
However, since I've posted an Actual Play already, it seems redundant to do it again. So, here's the link to the Big Purple!


http://forum.rpg.net/showthread.php?708364-FATE-Core-Tianxia-Warring-Schools

And here's a draft of the character I'm playing. WARNING, the rest of the characters aren't from our group, and this isn't about our game! I just posted a character for review (one of his Aspects is different now, though (Got rid of the "searching my sister" aspect and picked a Tai Lung got me once"Aspect).
http://forum.rpg.net/showthread.php?707815-FATE-Tianxia-Characters-from-my-PbP&p=17344651#post17344651
Seems like I've mistaken a rule interpretation, but it didn't matter. I've only used Forest techniques in the session, and not all of them!