Well, GameStorm 18 is past and much fun was had. I was a Batman, a Judge in the world of Dredd, a primitive warrior from Harn who met grotesque and wonderful aliens, and many other things besides. One thing I haven't been before at the convention, however, is a Game Master.
I don't have a lot of GM experience. Mostly D&D 4e, which I never clicked with and fought against for 6 months before introducing a poorly thought out mass battle system that ruined a campaign. It was my first run, and I wanted a lot of things to happen that I didn't actually work to bring about. There was no mystery, few callbacks to players backstories. I was emulating Chris Perkins on the Acquisitions Inc. podcasts, but I didn't have the practice and experience to pull off what he does. My only other GM experience is a some scattered games of Marvel Heroic Roleplaying, Fate Core, D&D Next playtest, and some doomed homebrew experiments.
I've been going to GameStorm for about 3 years now, and I've gotten to know a few people there. I see lots of familiar faces that I usually can't name. But everyone's friendly and I feel welcome when I finally sit down to play a game. I tend to wander the halls too much if I don't have a game scheduled, so I try to over-schedule when I can.
My favorites are to play at cons are RPGs. Many GMs run Savage Worlds games frequently, taking over an entire room on Savage Saturday Night. I love the system, it's just crunchy enough that I don't feel it constraining the story we're all there to tell. I've been reading books, listening to podcasts, and looking at blogs about Savage Worlds a ton lately. I think I can run a good game of it, given some practice and thought into my personal prep requirements.
So this is a resolution on my part. I will get experience running RPGs, specifically Savage Worlds, in one-shot and maybe short campaign style, before next year's GameStorm. And then, armed with that experience, I'll sign up next year to run at least one game of Savage Worlds. I'd like to run run 3 games, as that's the minimum to get free membership the next year, but I'll commit to at least one for now.
Stay tuned for my plans, tools, and experiences in this year long quest.
Showing posts with label RPG. Show all posts
Showing posts with label RPG. Show all posts
Sunday, March 20, 2016
Tuesday, August 13, 2013
Titans intro
Long ago, the goodly races of the world lived among monsters. Dragons swept down from ancient mountaintops, Giants raided villages, and hordes of Orcs laid siege to the Kingdoms of Elves, Dwarves, and Men. It seemed a losing battle - who could triumph against such powerful beings? But triumph we did. Using Magic, Faith, and cold Steel, we drove the monsters back to their holes and destroyed them. Many a hero made their name - or lost their life - driving back the darkness. And when it was done, the Dragons slain and the Dungeons emptied, a new golden age emerged.
Magic that had long been reserved strictly for survival became frivolous. Warriors bred for battle served as soldiers in pointless squabbles. With nothing to fear, the Gods were all but abandoned. One by one, the people forgot the struggle to survive against a harsh world. And for a time, they were comfortable.
But we live again in an Age of Monsters. Immense black portals into the twisting aether belch forth giant indescribable Horrors. Standing taller than any Giant, more powerful than any Dragon, the Horrors are killing machines made of bone and flame and darkness. A wave of destruction was unleashed upon our world. Forests burned and oceans boiled. The last remnants of civilization huddled together in fear of the next attack. The Horrors' slow but catastrophic march could not be halted by any magic, sword, or prayer.
In our desperation, we combined the three. Wizards and Priests of the highest caliber combined their mystical energies into gargantuan frames of stone and iron known as Titans. Large enough to face the oncoming Horrors, Titans were controlled from inside by seasoned warriors. The Titans became our only hope against the unspeakable wave of terror. Our doom is no longer inevitable. Our fate is in the Hands of Titans.
Magic that had long been reserved strictly for survival became frivolous. Warriors bred for battle served as soldiers in pointless squabbles. With nothing to fear, the Gods were all but abandoned. One by one, the people forgot the struggle to survive against a harsh world. And for a time, they were comfortable.
But we live again in an Age of Monsters. Immense black portals into the twisting aether belch forth giant indescribable Horrors. Standing taller than any Giant, more powerful than any Dragon, the Horrors are killing machines made of bone and flame and darkness. A wave of destruction was unleashed upon our world. Forests burned and oceans boiled. The last remnants of civilization huddled together in fear of the next attack. The Horrors' slow but catastrophic march could not be halted by any magic, sword, or prayer.
In our desperation, we combined the three. Wizards and Priests of the highest caliber combined their mystical energies into gargantuan frames of stone and iron known as Titans. Large enough to face the oncoming Horrors, Titans were controlled from inside by seasoned warriors. The Titans became our only hope against the unspeakable wave of terror. Our doom is no longer inevitable. Our fate is in the Hands of Titans.
Friday, July 6, 2012
Speedball!
I'm a big fan of the New Warriors, and my favorite is the masked marvel, Speedball! He's got a lot going on inside that noggin, despite what his teammates might think. I really hated his transformation into Penance, but I've only read half of vol 1, so there might be a transition that I missed. Anyway, here's an early Speedball, from vol. 1 of New Warriors!
SPEEDBALL
Robbie Baldwin
Solo d6 - Buddy d10 - Team d8
Kinetic Wonder, Lighthearted Spaz, Responsibility Deficient
-KINETIC FIELD
Kinetic Blast d8
Bouncing d10
Godlike Durability d12
SFX: Kinetic Absorption - On a successful reaction against a physical attack, convert your opponent's effect die into a Kinetic Field stunt or step up a Kinetic Field power by +1 for your next action. Spend 1 PP to use this stunt if your opponent's action succeeds.
SFX: Versatile - Split a Kinetic Field power into two dice at -1 step or three dice at -2 steps.
SFX: Collateral Damage - Instead of spending 1 PP, add d6 to the doom pool to create a Kinetic Field stunt.
SFX: Can't Touch Me - Spend 1 PP to ignore stress, trauma, or complications from physical attacks as well as gas, vacuum, and pressure.
LIMIT: Uncontrollable - Change any Kinetic Field power into a complication and gain 1 PP. Activate an opportunity or remove the complication to recover the power.
SPECIALTIES: Crime Expert d8
MILESTONES
The Masked Marvel
1 xp when you switch into or out of your secret identity.
3 xp when your personal life interferes with being a super hero, or someone close to you is harmed by your dangerous lifestyle.
10 xp when you reveal your identity to the world or when you give up being a superhero and live full-time in your more mundane life.
New Warrior
1 xp when you give support to another hero.
3 xp when you're given an official place on a team, or confront a team member about your place on the team.
10 xp when you either sacrifice something you hold dear for the benefit of your team or walk away from your team to avoid that sacrifice.
SPEEDBALL
Robbie Baldwin
Solo d6 - Buddy d10 - Team d8
Kinetic Wonder, Lighthearted Spaz, Responsibility Deficient
-KINETIC FIELD
Kinetic Blast d8
Bouncing d10
Godlike Durability d12
SFX: Kinetic Absorption - On a successful reaction against a physical attack, convert your opponent's effect die into a Kinetic Field stunt or step up a Kinetic Field power by +1 for your next action. Spend 1 PP to use this stunt if your opponent's action succeeds.
SFX: Versatile - Split a Kinetic Field power into two dice at -1 step or three dice at -2 steps.
SFX: Collateral Damage - Instead of spending 1 PP, add d6 to the doom pool to create a Kinetic Field stunt.
SFX: Can't Touch Me - Spend 1 PP to ignore stress, trauma, or complications from physical attacks as well as gas, vacuum, and pressure.
LIMIT: Uncontrollable - Change any Kinetic Field power into a complication and gain 1 PP. Activate an opportunity or remove the complication to recover the power.
SPECIALTIES: Crime Expert d8
MILESTONES
The Masked Marvel
1 xp when you switch into or out of your secret identity.
3 xp when your personal life interferes with being a super hero, or someone close to you is harmed by your dangerous lifestyle.
10 xp when you reveal your identity to the world or when you give up being a superhero and live full-time in your more mundane life.
New Warrior
1 xp when you give support to another hero.
3 xp when you're given an official place on a team, or confront a team member about your place on the team.
10 xp when you either sacrifice something you hold dear for the benefit of your team or walk away from your team to avoid that sacrifice.
Thursday, June 28, 2012
Avengers #2
Avengers #2
6-27-12
Other Worlds
Players:
Kevin - Mister Fantastic
Mike - Wolverine
Cameron - The Sentry
Siobhan - Iron Man
Thomas - The Thing
Last session, an unlikely group of heroes just happened to be in the right place to stop a breakout of one SHIELD's four maximum-maximum security supervillain prisons, the Raft. They did their best, but in the confusion, 42 of the villains escaped the island and made their way into the city of New York.
This session starts in Stark Tower, with Maria Hill begrudgingly acknowledging Tony's help. She reluctantly tells him that maybe the world needs the Avengers, and that she can offer SHIELD support if he wants to start the team up again. He shrugs and says okay. Hill then leaves the Avengers' first 'assignment,' files on all forty two escapees, and leaves. A few minutes later, a small explosion happens in the city, and a line of smoke appears in the skyline. Tony suits up and heads out.
At the scene of the explosion, a run down neighborhood in the Bronx, a four-story tenement is on fire. Most of the people have escaped, but there are more on the top floors. Some people are climbing down the Fire Escape, dodging Burning Wreckage. On the street, two supervillains are fighting. It's Armadillo (BR34) and Tiger Shark (BR46), chained together by a nigh-unbreakable Adamantium Chain d12. The two are shoving and swinging each other around, and each of their turns they damage the scene further (unless a hero steps in to try and stop them). There are two scene complications, People Trapped in the Fire d10 and Imminent Collapse d10.
Iron man swoops in and saves the people in the building, zipping through and nabbing every last one in one sweep due to his cybernetic senses. Just then, Logan comes stomping out of a bar across the street, finishing a glass of beer and throwing it behind him. He nearly severs the chain linking the two villains, try and get them to stop. They turn on him and attack, though Armadillo apologizes profusely.
We see that Robert Reynolds, the Sentry, was also in that bar with Logan. He uses his light powers along with mister Fantastic to help prop the building up. Iron Man, fresh from rescue detail, helps to push the building back into the empty lot behind so that the collapse doesn't harm any civilians.
Meanwhile, the Thing is taking an afternoon stroll through the rougher parts of town when he happens upon this scene. He trades slugs with Armadillo for a while, then he and Wolverine pummel the two C-List villains to a pulp. The finishing blow is dealt by the Sentry, who drops from the air like a cannonball onto Armadillo, who's trying to tunnel himself away.
Maria Hill shows up in a white Commercial plumbing Services van and takes the two unconscious supervillains away. She tips the Avengers off to a sighting of Tombstone made by the FBI's organized crime division in the warehouse division and drives off, promising to lock these two up in the Vault.
Upon arriving at the warehouse address, the team spots a gigantic black limousine. It looks big enough for the Thing to ride in! The heroes know something's going down in the warehouse, so Wolverine hops into a nearby boom crane's controls and slams a giant shipping container into the side of the warehouse. A mod of thugs come to the door, and start shooting at our heroes. The Sentry, not wanting to risk bringing about the Void and knowing his fellow heroes will be fine against the thugs, breaks into the limo and sits in the driver's seat, hoping to catch it's occupant by surprise.
The Thing takes the cargo container that wolverine smashed into the wall and throws it at the mob, knocking them all out in one sweep. They then go inside to deal with Tombstone.
Inside, they see Tombstone arguing with Wilson Fisk, the Kingpin. Fisk ordered the leak to the FBI that led the Avengers here, in an effort to rid himself of Tombstone. Kingpin's assistant, who's really Ms. Marvel in disguise, is embarrassed by Tony's flirtations. Kingpin knew of Ms. Marvel's undercover status and has been using her to funnel information back top the FBI and SHIELD. He intends to keep her on as an assistant, even though everythign's out in the open. In the meantime, the Thing grabs Tombstone and prepares to haul him off to jail. But instead of putting up a fight, Tombstone just looks Ben Grimm in the eye and says "Of course they send their pet monster to take me. You're not good enough for anything else, are ya?" As Ben stings from the comment that cuts too close to home, several shadows ominously appear from the back of the warehouse.
To Be Continued...
6-27-12
Other Worlds
Players:
Kevin - Mister Fantastic
Mike - Wolverine
Cameron - The Sentry
Siobhan - Iron Man
Thomas - The Thing
Last session, an unlikely group of heroes just happened to be in the right place to stop a breakout of one SHIELD's four maximum-maximum security supervillain prisons, the Raft. They did their best, but in the confusion, 42 of the villains escaped the island and made their way into the city of New York.
This session starts in Stark Tower, with Maria Hill begrudgingly acknowledging Tony's help. She reluctantly tells him that maybe the world needs the Avengers, and that she can offer SHIELD support if he wants to start the team up again. He shrugs and says okay. Hill then leaves the Avengers' first 'assignment,' files on all forty two escapees, and leaves. A few minutes later, a small explosion happens in the city, and a line of smoke appears in the skyline. Tony suits up and heads out.
At the scene of the explosion, a run down neighborhood in the Bronx, a four-story tenement is on fire. Most of the people have escaped, but there are more on the top floors. Some people are climbing down the Fire Escape, dodging Burning Wreckage. On the street, two supervillains are fighting. It's Armadillo (BR34) and Tiger Shark (BR46), chained together by a nigh-unbreakable Adamantium Chain d12. The two are shoving and swinging each other around, and each of their turns they damage the scene further (unless a hero steps in to try and stop them). There are two scene complications, People Trapped in the Fire d10 and Imminent Collapse d10.
Iron man swoops in and saves the people in the building, zipping through and nabbing every last one in one sweep due to his cybernetic senses. Just then, Logan comes stomping out of a bar across the street, finishing a glass of beer and throwing it behind him. He nearly severs the chain linking the two villains, try and get them to stop. They turn on him and attack, though Armadillo apologizes profusely.
We see that Robert Reynolds, the Sentry, was also in that bar with Logan. He uses his light powers along with mister Fantastic to help prop the building up. Iron Man, fresh from rescue detail, helps to push the building back into the empty lot behind so that the collapse doesn't harm any civilians.
Meanwhile, the Thing is taking an afternoon stroll through the rougher parts of town when he happens upon this scene. He trades slugs with Armadillo for a while, then he and Wolverine pummel the two C-List villains to a pulp. The finishing blow is dealt by the Sentry, who drops from the air like a cannonball onto Armadillo, who's trying to tunnel himself away.
Maria Hill shows up in a white Commercial plumbing Services van and takes the two unconscious supervillains away. She tips the Avengers off to a sighting of Tombstone made by the FBI's organized crime division in the warehouse division and drives off, promising to lock these two up in the Vault.
Upon arriving at the warehouse address, the team spots a gigantic black limousine. It looks big enough for the Thing to ride in! The heroes know something's going down in the warehouse, so Wolverine hops into a nearby boom crane's controls and slams a giant shipping container into the side of the warehouse. A mod of thugs come to the door, and start shooting at our heroes. The Sentry, not wanting to risk bringing about the Void and knowing his fellow heroes will be fine against the thugs, breaks into the limo and sits in the driver's seat, hoping to catch it's occupant by surprise.
The Thing takes the cargo container that wolverine smashed into the wall and throws it at the mob, knocking them all out in one sweep. They then go inside to deal with Tombstone.
Inside, they see Tombstone arguing with Wilson Fisk, the Kingpin. Fisk ordered the leak to the FBI that led the Avengers here, in an effort to rid himself of Tombstone. Kingpin's assistant, who's really Ms. Marvel in disguise, is embarrassed by Tony's flirtations. Kingpin knew of Ms. Marvel's undercover status and has been using her to funnel information back top the FBI and SHIELD. He intends to keep her on as an assistant, even though everythign's out in the open. In the meantime, the Thing grabs Tombstone and prepares to haul him off to jail. But instead of putting up a fight, Tombstone just looks Ben Grimm in the eye and says "Of course they send their pet monster to take me. You're not good enough for anything else, are ya?" As Ben stings from the comment that cuts too close to home, several shadows ominously appear from the back of the warehouse.
To Be Continued...
BR 1.5 - Armadillo and Tiger Shark
After the at least one hero has been contacted and asked to form a new Avengers team, an explosion happens in the Bronx that draws each of the heroes. When they arrive, they find a run-down tenement building, four stories tall, on fire and in danger of collapse. Outside the building are two super-villains, Armadillo and Tiger Shark, duking it out. They're attached at the wrist by a nigh-unbreakable Adamantium Chain d12. The pairs brawl has knocked out a support beam from the building and sparks have ignited the oil tank from the heating system.
Scene Complications:
Trapped Families d8
Imminent Collapse d8
Scene Distinctions
Burning Wreckage
Fire Escape
Fire Truck
Tiger Shark swam to freedom after the Breakout, barely dragging the heavy Armadillo behind. Though they now have their freedom, Armadillo wants to give himself up. He's been on the wrong side of the Avengers before, and doesn't to get into another superhero battle. Tiger Shark thinks Armadillo's a coward, and the two have been inefficiently attempting to knock each other out. During their turns, they will throw each other back or knock each other into support beams or other buildings, stepping up the scene complications or creating new ones. If the chain is broken, Tiger Shark will start a fight with the Avengers and rope Armadillo into it. Armadillo fights reluctantly, only fighting invulnerable heavies like himself and apologizing for every successful attack.
If the two feuding super-villains are questioned, they reveal that it was Electro that broke in to the raft, and that he took someone on the sixth level. Armadillo swears that he never intended for all this to happen and that he was actually trying to bring Tiger Shark back in to SHIELD.
Scene Complications:
Trapped Families d8
Imminent Collapse d8
Scene Distinctions
Burning Wreckage
Fire Escape
Fire Truck
Tiger Shark swam to freedom after the Breakout, barely dragging the heavy Armadillo behind. Though they now have their freedom, Armadillo wants to give himself up. He's been on the wrong side of the Avengers before, and doesn't to get into another superhero battle. Tiger Shark thinks Armadillo's a coward, and the two have been inefficiently attempting to knock each other out. During their turns, they will throw each other back or knock each other into support beams or other buildings, stepping up the scene complications or creating new ones. If the chain is broken, Tiger Shark will start a fight with the Avengers and rope Armadillo into it. Armadillo fights reluctantly, only fighting invulnerable heavies like himself and apologizing for every successful attack.
If the two feuding super-villains are questioned, they reveal that it was Electro that broke in to the raft, and that he took someone on the sixth level. Armadillo swears that he never intended for all this to happen and that he was actually trying to bring Tiger Shark back in to SHIELD.
Saturday, June 23, 2012
BR 1.5 Action Scene - Tombstone
Tombstone (BR47) is
leading a gang of escapees from the Raft, including Razor-Fist (BR45), Jigsaw (BR41), Constrictor (BR36), and Hydro-Man (BR41). Hydro-Man was able to get
the group to shore, where Tombstone offered them safety and work as
enforcers. They've each accepted for their own
reasons, most of which involve money and power over others.
Maria Hill
calls the Avengers during a transition scene. The local FBI office got
an anonymous tip that Tombstone and several other escapees were meeting
in a warehouse along the docks in NYC. If necessary,
she also provides the heroes with a SHIELD-class transport helicopter and an agent to fly it.
When the heroes get to the warehouse, the see a
Large Black Limo out front. The warehouse itself is huge, and the walls are made of sheet metal. Nearby a gigantic
Boom Crane lifts assorted Freight Containers onto nearby
Cargo Ships.
Inside the warehouse, there are stacks of
Wooden Crates. The building is lit by a Wide Skylight and fluorescent lights that hang from the
Metal Scaffolding along the ceiling.
If they sneak about or listen in, they
see Tombstone dealing heatedly with the Kingpin! Tombstone wants to
split off a portion of NYC for himself, a tactic that's worked well for
the two before. Tombstone and Kingpin are rivals
for rulership of the new york underworld, but together they can achieve
so much! Especially with the extra muscle that Tombstone brought with
him from the Raft.
Kingpin refuses, after letting
Tombstone explain his plan and introduce his associates. Tombstone
threatens him but Kingpin still keeps his cool.
"I'll kill you right here, Fisk."
"You'll do no such thing."
"Oh, yeah? Who's gonna stop me?"
"Why, the Avengers, of course. I
imagine they've had enough time to get into position. Are you ready to
return to your island resort, Lincoln?"
If the heroes bust in without listening, they come in on Tombstone threatening Kingpin, with his cronies behind him.
Kingpin is alone, except for his
personal assistant and driver, Carol Danvers (Ms. Marvel, BR82). Carol is working undercover to take
him down, but being played since the Kingpin knows about it. Kingpin called
the anonymous tip in to the FBI, knowing that
it would get escalated to SHIELD and the Avengers. He played Tombstone
for a fool in order to remove him from the underworld game. Long ago,
the two had compatible motives, but Tombstone is still a thug. Wilson
Fisk aspires to greatness, and controlling crime
is merely one method. Tombstones return could ruin Kingpins legitimate
businessman front.
After the heroes defeat Tombstone and his minions, the Kingpin thanks them and then gets in his limo and drives away.
Kingpin datafile by Spatula on the MWP boards, found on the Lost Files of Marvel post on Exploring Infinity.
Kingpin datafile by Spatula on the MWP boards, found on the Lost Files of Marvel post on Exploring Infinity.
Friday, June 22, 2012
BR 1.5 - the Buildup
It's the day after the breakout. It's been a rough night for superheroes and SHIELD agents alike. Headcounts are taken, and 43 prisoners have escaped the Raft. Maria Hill, currently in charge of SHIELD while Nick Fury is missing, confronts some of the heroes who helped contain the breakout. She doesn't know or care what broke up the Avengers last time, but it seems they're needed again. Hill offers to help form a new Avengers team, with SHIELD backing but not control. Whether the answer is yes or no (though she should approach a character who'd most likely answer yes!) Hill leaves a tablet PC with all the data SHIELD has on the escapees. If her approach does not drive that character into action, she orders any SHIELD-affiliated heroes to track down and capture the escapees.
The tablet PC includes data that leads PCs to the different scenes in Act 1.5, though they don't have to go in any particular order. The scenes are: Tombstone in Brooklyn, Graviton in the Natural History Museum, Armadillo and Tiger Shark in the Bronx, Electro in Paris, and the Wrecking Crew in (wherever the Thor scene happens)
Thursday, June 21, 2012
Breakout Act 1.5 milestone
I ran act 1 of the breakout mini-event for my first session of MHR, and we're not really at the point where there's a new team of avengers ready to go to the savage land. I want to build up to it a little more, so I'm working on an in-between act called Roundup. It's all about catching the super-villains who escaped from the Raft while our heroes were busy with Count Nefaria, Carnage, and the rest of Act 1. I'll also call more attention to milestones, as well as offering a new one:
Getting the Band Back Together
1XP when a hero officially joins the new Avengers
3XP when you fight alongside a hero who hasn't joined the Avengers yet, or you fight alongside the Avengers before joining
10XP when the new Avengers face and overcome a threat together, or you walk away from the team before it even forms.
I know a lot of the heroes in breakout have personal milestones regarding the new team and their place on it. This is meant to be a more generic and easy-to-use milestone to get my players in the habit of tracking and pursuing milestones. I originally had it written from the perspective of one hero pulling all the others in, but I wanted it to be accessible to multiple heroes. I don't even know if anyone's going to take it... In my last game almost everyone just took Liberate the Sentry and Round up the Prisoners. Hopefully we can branch out a bit and test the narrative waters.
Roundup will have several scenes with villain datafiles from Breakout including Tombstone, Graviton, Armadillo, and Tiger Shark, as well as fleshing out the hinted at scene in Paris with Electro. The Thor scene with the Wrecker would fit in well here, as would the Hulk scene with the U-Foes. I'll post the original scenes over the next few days, then a play report after the session next Wednesday.
As with all my ideas, suggestions and constructive criticism welcome! If I'm doing something wrong, I want to hear about it beforehand XD
Getting the Band Back Together
1XP when a hero officially joins the new Avengers
3XP when you fight alongside a hero who hasn't joined the Avengers yet, or you fight alongside the Avengers before joining
10XP when the new Avengers face and overcome a threat together, or you walk away from the team before it even forms.
I know a lot of the heroes in breakout have personal milestones regarding the new team and their place on it. This is meant to be a more generic and easy-to-use milestone to get my players in the habit of tracking and pursuing milestones. I originally had it written from the perspective of one hero pulling all the others in, but I wanted it to be accessible to multiple heroes. I don't even know if anyone's going to take it... In my last game almost everyone just took Liberate the Sentry and Round up the Prisoners. Hopefully we can branch out a bit and test the narrative waters.
Roundup will have several scenes with villain datafiles from Breakout including Tombstone, Graviton, Armadillo, and Tiger Shark, as well as fleshing out the hinted at scene in Paris with Electro. The Thor scene with the Wrecker would fit in well here, as would the Hulk scene with the U-Foes. I'll post the original scenes over the next few days, then a play report after the session next Wednesday.
As with all my ideas, suggestions and constructive criticism welcome! If I'm doing something wrong, I want to hear about it beforehand XD
Wednesday, June 13, 2012
Marvel Heroic Roleplaying, Session 1
Just got back from Watcher-ing my first game of marvel Heroic Roleplaying, and it went great! We played the first act of the Breakout scenario, and it was everyone's first time with this game. I had four players - Kevin was Mister Fantastic, Steve was Beast, Mike was Emma Frost, and Brenna was Iron Man. Emma, Beast, and Reed
were at the Raft, eager to find out more about the Sentry who'd
receently returned in their minds, while Tony flew in from a posh bar uptown, with a bit of a buzz and a good start towards his demon in a bottle milestone.
Electro blasted Iron Man to the raft, where Count Nefaria was trying to break down the Reinforced Entry Doors, held by Mister Fantastic. After a couple of tries and being stuck in the elevator shaft, Emma fills his mind with feelings of inadequacy while Iron Man prepares a supersonic bull rush. Reed snaps back from the door just in time for Tony Stark, the Human Torpedo, to deal d12+ physical stress in one hit.
After some bantering with the SHIELD guards, the heroes descend the empty elevator shaft to the bottom level, where the Sentry was supposed to be being held. Here they find a couple of lawyers, Nelson and Murdock, trying to fight something off in the dark. While they're distracted by the arriving heroes, Carnage snatches Murdock up into the ventilation shafts, then drops down.
Carnage can't seem to penetrate Iron man's armor or Beast's defensive tactics, so he tries something desperate - he sends a symbiote spawn up into the ventilation shafts to possess Murdock! The red symbiote swirls around Murdock, trying to contain and enslave him. As her fights it, it forms an opening around his mouth and two small horns, similar to his Daredevil costume! The heroes make quick work of Carnage, and help Murdock fight off the possession. Iron Man blasts the symbiote into oblivion, hopefully ridding the world of Carnage forever.
They then travel over to the Sentry's cell, to find him sitting in isolation with the door wide open. They work hard to convince him of the wonderful things he can do for humanity, that his self-imposed exile hasn't really helped anyone, and that there's always a way to use powers positively. Eventually, they succeed and he joins them, though he still seems a bit reserved.
On their way back, another prisoner hails them. "C'mon, guys! You know me! I's Deadpool! Beast, c'mon, I helped you X-guys out all the time! Lemme out!" All Deadpool did is host a party for an old friend of his, Rocky. "He wasn't the president when we met!" was all he'd say about the matter. When the heroes refused (Iron Man actually put his had up to the tiny opening in the door and blasted Deadpool with his repulsor, Deadpool remembered he still had his personal teleporter. With a shout of "Bamf!" and a little teleporter noise, he was off, back to cause chaos in the world above.
Iron Man locates the backup generator on the next floor up, but the stranded inmates there have broken into a SHIELD weapons locker and armed themselves with pistols and makeshift clubs. Iron Man flies ahead of the mob of crazed inmates to activate the generator. While the heroes are dealing with the mob, Crossbones, recently armed, joins the fray. When Tony gets the generator up and running (Stark Technology, obviously,) the inmates are frightened and stampede over the heroes like a herd of cattle. In the midst of this, Emma devotes her energy to making Crossbones' mind explode. She manages to give him a massive headache, taking him out, but no explosion. The Sentry uses Light Control to cow the remaining inmates.
Just then, a SHIELD squad with a manually-operated elevator platform comes down the shaft. "This is a restricted area," they say. "You'll have to come with us." After a completely undeserved tongue-lashing from SHIELD director Maria Hill, our heroes are left to do what they will, knowing most of the supervillains were contained from the Breakout. The Sentry decides that this world does indeed warrant a try, and offers to join whatever team they were a part of.
Lessons learned:
1. Always add the stress of your opponent to combat rolls! We forgot this so many times, it would have made the enemies way easier to defeat.
2. Use better tactics by the enemies! The scenario was a cakewalk. part of that is I need to break up super-effective teams sometimes, and part is that I need to be ruthless with watcher characters.
Electro blasted Iron Man to the raft, where Count Nefaria was trying to break down the Reinforced Entry Doors, held by Mister Fantastic. After a couple of tries and being stuck in the elevator shaft, Emma fills his mind with feelings of inadequacy while Iron Man prepares a supersonic bull rush. Reed snaps back from the door just in time for Tony Stark, the Human Torpedo, to deal d12+ physical stress in one hit.
After some bantering with the SHIELD guards, the heroes descend the empty elevator shaft to the bottom level, where the Sentry was supposed to be being held. Here they find a couple of lawyers, Nelson and Murdock, trying to fight something off in the dark. While they're distracted by the arriving heroes, Carnage snatches Murdock up into the ventilation shafts, then drops down.
Carnage can't seem to penetrate Iron man's armor or Beast's defensive tactics, so he tries something desperate - he sends a symbiote spawn up into the ventilation shafts to possess Murdock! The red symbiote swirls around Murdock, trying to contain and enslave him. As her fights it, it forms an opening around his mouth and two small horns, similar to his Daredevil costume! The heroes make quick work of Carnage, and help Murdock fight off the possession. Iron Man blasts the symbiote into oblivion, hopefully ridding the world of Carnage forever.
They then travel over to the Sentry's cell, to find him sitting in isolation with the door wide open. They work hard to convince him of the wonderful things he can do for humanity, that his self-imposed exile hasn't really helped anyone, and that there's always a way to use powers positively. Eventually, they succeed and he joins them, though he still seems a bit reserved.
On their way back, another prisoner hails them. "C'mon, guys! You know me! I's Deadpool! Beast, c'mon, I helped you X-guys out all the time! Lemme out!" All Deadpool did is host a party for an old friend of his, Rocky. "He wasn't the president when we met!" was all he'd say about the matter. When the heroes refused (Iron Man actually put his had up to the tiny opening in the door and blasted Deadpool with his repulsor, Deadpool remembered he still had his personal teleporter. With a shout of "Bamf!" and a little teleporter noise, he was off, back to cause chaos in the world above.
Iron Man locates the backup generator on the next floor up, but the stranded inmates there have broken into a SHIELD weapons locker and armed themselves with pistols and makeshift clubs. Iron Man flies ahead of the mob of crazed inmates to activate the generator. While the heroes are dealing with the mob, Crossbones, recently armed, joins the fray. When Tony gets the generator up and running (Stark Technology, obviously,) the inmates are frightened and stampede over the heroes like a herd of cattle. In the midst of this, Emma devotes her energy to making Crossbones' mind explode. She manages to give him a massive headache, taking him out, but no explosion. The Sentry uses Light Control to cow the remaining inmates.
Just then, a SHIELD squad with a manually-operated elevator platform comes down the shaft. "This is a restricted area," they say. "You'll have to come with us." After a completely undeserved tongue-lashing from SHIELD director Maria Hill, our heroes are left to do what they will, knowing most of the supervillains were contained from the Breakout. The Sentry decides that this world does indeed warrant a try, and offers to join whatever team they were a part of.
Lessons learned:
1. Always add the stress of your opponent to combat rolls! We forgot this so many times, it would have made the enemies way easier to defeat.
2. Use better tactics by the enemies! The scenario was a cakewalk. part of that is I need to break up super-effective teams sometimes, and part is that I need to be ruthless with watcher characters.
Saturday, June 2, 2012
Starfire Datafile
Here's the second of my Teen Titans datafiles:
Starfire (Koriand'r)Affiliations:
Solo d6 Buddy d8 Team d10
Distinctions:
Alien Exchange Student
Acts on Instinct
Tamaranean Princess
Power Sets:
Tamaranean Biology
Flight d10
Energy Blasts d10
Superhuman Durability d10
Enhanced Strength d8
Enhanced Stamina d8
SFX: Multipower – Use 2 Tamaranean Biology powers in one dice pool, stepping each down by -1.
SFX: Guardian – Spend 1 PP to take Physical Stress intended for a nearby ally or friend.
SFX: Area Effect – When throwing Energy Blasts, add a d6 and keep an extra effect die for each additional target.
Limit: Powered by Emotion - Shutdown any Tamaranean Biology power to gain 1 PP. Recover by activating an opportunity or during a Transition scene.
Specialties:
Cosmic Expert d8
Psych Expert d8
Milestones:
This Planet is Strange and Wonderful
1 XP when you first remark on earth customs in a scene.
3 XP when your lack of familiarity with Earth culture or technology causes you to take Stress.
10XP When you either find a place in this world or decide you'll always be an outsider among earthlings.
Friendship is Glorious!
1 XP when you first mention friends or friendship in a scene.
3 XP when you help a friend recover stress.
10 XP when your friendship with a member of the team seriously endangers the mission or your teammates, or allows you to triumph against the odds.
Tuesday, May 29, 2012
GM Style
I recently found out about GM merit badges here, and decided to try and pin down my style of running a game. Here goes:
I figure, even if this isn't a completely accurate representation of how I GM, it'll at least give me something to fall back on in dire straits. When I'm completely at a loss, I'll think back to these statements and pick the choice that reinforces them.
- Story - The events in my games will form an interesting story. it's not pre-written, but I try to employ storytelling techniques such as three act structure, foreshadowing, and cliffhangers. Major NPCs will have unique personalities and at least cursory backgrounds.
- Exploration - My games take place in interesting and, for the most part, unexplored, locations. Characters have little idea what they'll find when they journey past the edge of the map, and new discoveries could have far-reaching consequences.
- Mystery - Either by intrigue or legend, the facts are usually hidden from characters in my games. It'll take effort and determination to uncover the truth.
- Mirror - I take ideas from the players and add them to my bag of tricks. You'll never know if you guessed correctly or if I took your idea and made it happen.
- Rule Zero - In my games, the GM is the final word on what works and what doesn't. I try not to mess with the rules willy-nilly, but I like to improvise and hate when the rules get in the way of a fun game for all. My goal is to not break any PC's abilities, however.
- Destined for Greatness - Characters in my games represent exceptional members of society, and are a cut above the common man (or woman). Ability scores will be determined by generous methods, and characters will get opportunities to do great things, if they wish. In return, players are expected to put some effort into their characters.
I figure, even if this isn't a completely accurate representation of how I GM, it'll at least give me something to fall back on in dire straits. When I'm completely at a loss, I'll think back to these statements and pick the choice that reinforces them.
Monday, May 14, 2012
NO MORE HEROES: Brand New World
More than a year has passed since the Avengers
foiled the alien invasion attempt in New York. In that time, many others
have stepped forth to become defenders of humanity - groups like the
Fantastic Four and the X-Men, and individuals
like Daredevil and Spider-Man. Others like Blade and Ghost Rider lurked
in the shadows, mysteries to the world. Together or alone they fought
the evils that plague our world - super powered menaces, mutant
terrorists, murderous gang leaders. We came to rely
on Superheroes to protect us. Until the day they disappeared.
Iron Man was towing a wrecked oil tanker when it
happened. Witnesses saw a strange purple light flash over him and then,
poof! Iron man was gone, the oil tanker sinking to the depths. The same
happened to Spider-Man, all that's left
of him are videos of webs left whipping in the wind. Millions of
eyewitness accounts described the same phenomenon - a purple flash of
light, and then nothing. At the exact same moment, all around the world,
the super powered beings we knew vanished.
That day saw our greatest villains taken the
same way. Magneto was giving a speech from a captured television
station. Victor Von Doom vanished from his castle in Latveria. A
super-villain prison referred to as the Raft was emptied,
as all the inmated disappeared in the same flash of purple light. In an
instant, we were robbed of our greatest hopes and fears.
That was two weeks ago.
The rioting and insanity that
followed the heroes wake is subsiding. Planet Earth is regaining its
senses. But will this brand new world be safer? Will it make more sense?
Or, having lived with gods and monsters among us, is it too
late to go back?
Basically what I'm thinking is that players would create new
street-level heroes who don costumes to fill the void left by the
vanished superheroes. Only heroes who'd shown themselves prior to the
event were taken, so someone who didn't use their powers
in public before the event would still be around. They'd fight normal
crime, which has skyrocketed since the heroes went away, and new
villains who see the same opportunity.
I didn't explicitly state it in the blurb, but this game would be
set in a version of the movieverse where all the Marvel movies happened.
The Avengers and it's prequels plus the FF, X-Men, Spider-Man, Daredevil, Ghost Rider, and Blade movies. Let me know
if there's any I forgot! This way we can tie in to lots of marvel
heroes but the game should be much more accessible. A timeline for the
universe might be a little tough since most of these movies weren't made
with considerations for the others. For that reason,
I figure I won't bother unless it becomes necessary.
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
Briarus - NPC Creation exercise
So I just read an excellent article at http://www.campaignmastery.com/blog/eight-lifeboats/. One of the bits was about coming up with NPCs on the fly. So I decided to come up with a random guy starting with 3d6 in order stats. It's easier to come up with someone interesting if you've got a hole to fill - the random parts might not fit perfectly, and you have to discover why. But I didn't have anything in mind when I created...
Briarus, priest of St Bermain
Str 11
Dex 11
Con 7
Int 11
Wis 12
Cha 9
Briarus has trained all his life at the temple of St. Bermain, Andolan god of agriculture and defense of the home. Briarus dreams of one day becoming a Shepherd, one of the wandering warrior-apostles of St. Bermain, though he knows deep inside he doesn't have what it takes. He's been living in the farming community of Tallos for several years now as part of his training.
He uses his prayers to grant wellness and prosperity to the villagers, though he's never really become part of their lives. At the yearly Harvest Competition, Briarus witnesses young boys lift tree trunks and hurl stones that he couldn't budge. The first year he lived in Tallos, he actually joined the Grand Race. Little did he know that the race had no rules, and he was knocked unconscious in the first leg. Since then, he's waited on the sidelines to apply St. Bermain's blessing of healing on those wounded in the games.
Briarus has a meek and shy personality, with a slightly english accent out of place between the farmers' crude tongues. Though he's had little life experience during his years at the temple, he can often find a bit of wisdom from the teachings of St. Bermain to apply to the situation. He's never without his trusty staff, if only to lean on when the fierce autumn winds rush through the valley.
Briarus' life has recently taken a turn when a beautiful healer named Deidre moved in from a nearby town. She uses herbs and powders to heal the villagers where Briarus must call upon his god. Filled with respect for her craft, Briarus is also driven towards her beauty and generosity. Unknown to him, Deidre sees through Briarus' awkward exterior to a soft-hearted and caring man underneath, and is waiting for him to overcome his nervousness and make the first move.
(If I were to use him as an NPC, I'd totally have Deidre kidnapped so he could go along with the PCs and try to help rescue her. But the more I write about him, the more I want to play him as a PC!)
Briarus, priest of St Bermain
Str 11
Dex 11
Con 7
Int 11
Wis 12
Cha 9
Briarus has trained all his life at the temple of St. Bermain, Andolan god of agriculture and defense of the home. Briarus dreams of one day becoming a Shepherd, one of the wandering warrior-apostles of St. Bermain, though he knows deep inside he doesn't have what it takes. He's been living in the farming community of Tallos for several years now as part of his training.
He uses his prayers to grant wellness and prosperity to the villagers, though he's never really become part of their lives. At the yearly Harvest Competition, Briarus witnesses young boys lift tree trunks and hurl stones that he couldn't budge. The first year he lived in Tallos, he actually joined the Grand Race. Little did he know that the race had no rules, and he was knocked unconscious in the first leg. Since then, he's waited on the sidelines to apply St. Bermain's blessing of healing on those wounded in the games.
Briarus has a meek and shy personality, with a slightly english accent out of place between the farmers' crude tongues. Though he's had little life experience during his years at the temple, he can often find a bit of wisdom from the teachings of St. Bermain to apply to the situation. He's never without his trusty staff, if only to lean on when the fierce autumn winds rush through the valley.
Briarus' life has recently taken a turn when a beautiful healer named Deidre moved in from a nearby town. She uses herbs and powders to heal the villagers where Briarus must call upon his god. Filled with respect for her craft, Briarus is also driven towards her beauty and generosity. Unknown to him, Deidre sees through Briarus' awkward exterior to a soft-hearted and caring man underneath, and is waiting for him to overcome his nervousness and make the first move.
(If I were to use him as an NPC, I'd totally have Deidre kidnapped so he could go along with the PCs and try to help rescue her. But the more I write about him, the more I want to play him as a PC!)
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
Toridoki
ToridokiNo. Encountered 2-12, 10-60
Size: Small
HD: 1 (d6)
Move: 20 ft.
AC: 15
Attacks: Weapon (as weapon), Antler Charge 2d4
Special: Telepathy (Antlered animals only),
Saves: Dex, Int, Cha
Int: Average
Alignment: Neutral Good
Type: Humanoid
Treasure: 1
XP: 10 + 1/hp
Toridoki are short, one-eyed forest dwellers. Their hands and feet are oversized, and they are covered on their heads and backs with a rough coat of chicken feathers.A pair of branching antlers grow out from above their eyebrows. Like a stag's, these antlers grow larger and branch more as a Toridoki ages. unlike deer, however, both male and female Toridoki grow antlers. Different families of Toridoki have antlers that resembled different animals: elk, moose, deer, etc.
Toridoki make their homes in forests, and are fiercely defensive of their territory. They are slow to trust but very loyal. They live in villages of 10-60 Toridoki in treetop huts, carefully constructed to blend into the forest canopy. They farm mushrooms and fruits, as well as construct traps and hunt for small game. Toridoki encountered away from the village will be hunting parties, consisting of 2-12 Toridoki led by a veteran who fights as a 3rd level ranger.
Toridoki fashion weapons from wood and stone, blessing them with nature magic to work as well as steel. They favor spears and maces for battle, and short bows for hunting. They carve armor from wooden plates (scale mail equivalent). They are excellent at setting snares and other woodland traps. For every village there is a spirit shaman who casts as a 3rd level druid and often has a jackalope familiar.
Toridoki have a connection to animals in the forest, and honor any who must serve as food. They boast a special connection to deer, elk, moose, and other antlered animals that verges on telepathy.When in trouble, a Toridoki may call one of these animals to rescue it. In battle, the animal will fight as a Herd Animal (M&T 48). In cases of all-out war, Toridoki ride antlered animals as mounts. Toridoki treat antlered animals as equals, always asking permission to ride them, and mourn them when other hunt them for food.
Saturday, March 3, 2012
The Fortress of Mad King Bitterstone
Long ago, Seamus Bitterstone was a proud and just dwarven king. He was well-loved by his clan, and artisans from across the land came to have their wares displayed in his Hall of Excellence. The Bitterstone fortress was located under a great hill, and boasted a network of mines which tunneled deep into the earth. It was in these mines that King Bitterstone's madness began.
After receiving a beautiful onyx and
ruby statue into the Hall of Excellence, King Bitterstone's
temperament began to change. At first he began wandering the halls,
then demanding to lead the mining expeditions. His clan was joyous at
first – the greatest dwarven kings always led from the front,
whether in battle or mining. But soon the King started claiming the
most precious metals and gemstones for himself, instead for for the
clan as was traditional. Where were some murmurs of dissent, but no
dwarf is short of a lust for wealth.
Then, the King laid claim to all the
crafted works in the Hall of Excellence. This had long been a place
for the crafters to display their works for a time, before selling
them or putting them to work. It was a great honor to be accepted
into the Hall, and guaranteed a craftsman's recognition by his peers.
The King betrayed this reputation and denied all requests to return
his newly acquired treasures. Several mages had created massive
Golems to be displayed, and Bitterstone activated these machines and
set them upon any who attempted to enter the Hall.
Over the years, he grew paranoid and
convinced that everyone was jealous of his wealth. He closed the
fortress to all those outside his clan, though by this point few
wanted to visit. Eventually, he killed or exiled all the members of
his clan as well. With his final breath, it is said, Mad King
Bitterstone collapsed the entrance to his great Fortress, forever
ensuring the sanctity of his treasures.
In time, the Mad King faded from the
memories of the people, and the location of his great fortress was
lost. Many explorers and treasure hunters search the wind-swept hills
and rocky crags to the north, where the fortress is believed to
exist. If one found even a fragment of the hoard gathered by King
Bitterstone, it would make them rich beyond imagination.
(I'm going to be designing The Fortress of Mad King Bitterstone as a low level dungeon for Castles and Crusades, using the Engineering Dungeons book I just got. Stay tuned for the layout and description!)
Monday, February 20, 2012
Three Settings
So, I've designed three general settings for RPG campaigns over the years.
Attariil is an island nation, at peace internally and with the four surrounding islands. We played in a 6 month long 4e campaign there, and I think it was pretty cool. Travel time was very short, due to me not working out distances or having random encounters. I was disappointed at how small it became after letting the PCs traipse all over without regard to the distance. And then I ruined the campaign with the stupid war house rules. But I digress.
Second we have Northreach - a frontier outpost on the northern edge of civilization. Travel to the outpost was only possible through a dangerous canyon that was completely impassable for half the year. The outpost was created to spread the domain of Baron Vedron of Kor, a large city to the south. The PCs who played in that campaign got to explore the Icepeak mountains and fight a young white dragon. That game only lasted a month or two, as I was trying to make peace with 4e but couldn't force myself to keep running encounter after encounter. I made a stable of interesting NPCs for the characters to interact and bond with, but I don't know how successful that ended up being.
Third is the Guardian Forest where lived many tribes of Guardians, people who borrowed power from the earth and defended their forest from invasions. This setting never saw play because I've been tuning it endlessly for the past 10 years. Important and unchanging facts about this setting were the nature-worshiping Guardians, ancestral spirits who walk the forest and share wisdom with the living, and an evil empire ruled by the victim of a psychic menace.
So now I'm thinking each of these three places could be parts of the same game world! Attariil stays in the ocean near the other four kingdoms (mainlanders might call these the Five Kingdom Islands collectively, much to the chagrin of the Attariin people.)
There's lots more work I can do to tie the three setting together, like making the empire from the Guardian Forest the ones that sent the Northreach expedition. (ok, that's about the extent of it.) But I also get a large area of the empire that would be the main area for any campaigns. It'd be feudal and divisive, so that there'd be plenty of chance for war.
Attariil is an island nation, at peace internally and with the four surrounding islands. We played in a 6 month long 4e campaign there, and I think it was pretty cool. Travel time was very short, due to me not working out distances or having random encounters. I was disappointed at how small it became after letting the PCs traipse all over without regard to the distance. And then I ruined the campaign with the stupid war house rules. But I digress.
Second we have Northreach - a frontier outpost on the northern edge of civilization. Travel to the outpost was only possible through a dangerous canyon that was completely impassable for half the year. The outpost was created to spread the domain of Baron Vedron of Kor, a large city to the south. The PCs who played in that campaign got to explore the Icepeak mountains and fight a young white dragon. That game only lasted a month or two, as I was trying to make peace with 4e but couldn't force myself to keep running encounter after encounter. I made a stable of interesting NPCs for the characters to interact and bond with, but I don't know how successful that ended up being.
Third is the Guardian Forest where lived many tribes of Guardians, people who borrowed power from the earth and defended their forest from invasions. This setting never saw play because I've been tuning it endlessly for the past 10 years. Important and unchanging facts about this setting were the nature-worshiping Guardians, ancestral spirits who walk the forest and share wisdom with the living, and an evil empire ruled by the victim of a psychic menace.
So now I'm thinking each of these three places could be parts of the same game world! Attariil stays in the ocean near the other four kingdoms (mainlanders might call these the Five Kingdom Islands collectively, much to the chagrin of the Attariin people.)
There's lots more work I can do to tie the three setting together, like making the empire from the Guardian Forest the ones that sent the Northreach expedition. (ok, that's about the extent of it.) But I also get a large area of the empire that would be the main area for any campaigns. It'd be feudal and divisive, so that there'd be plenty of chance for war.
Thursday, November 3, 2011
Quake 1 RPG intro
You sit in the briefing room at the NORAD complex deep underneath Cheyenne Mountain. Around you are 30 or so members of the Army, Air Force, Navy, and Marines. Decorated veterans all, most with scars and all with a determined set to their faces. You were chosen for this mission because you are the best. But until now, you aren't even sure what the mission is.
A grizzled man bursts into the room, a burned down cigar clenched in his teeth. His hair is close-cropped and white, and his right eye is hidden underneath a massive burn scar. He stomps his way to the front of the room and eyes you all critically. With a grunt, he turns on a projector that displays a grotesque image of mutilated bodies and blood.
"1900 hours yesterday, violent attacks occurred in several cities across the world." The projector clicks to a macabre scene at a fast food restaurant, "Memphis," another image, this one of human bodies clogging a canal, "Amsterdam," The windows of an airplane terminal, splattered with blood and gore "Buenos Aires." Click. An intricate rune painted on a brick wall. "At each location, variations of this symbol are drawn in blood, and strange scorch marks are found on the ground nearby.
"The only surviving witnesses are locked away in nuthouses. They say the attackers arrived in a flash of light, that they had horns and claws and shot venomous thorns and bolts of lightning. It might seem like crap, but our top scientists have been working on the theory that these are invaders from another dimension." The grizzled man waves his arms in a placating gesture. "Now hold on - I know it sounds crazy. But they've worked out a way for us to fight back. I'll let the brains explain it."
A frail looking man with tufts of hair sticking out from behind his ears enters the room and stands in front of the projector. "Thank you, Sergeant. Now, I know alternate dimensions probably sounds crazy to the lot of you. But I tell you there is much merit to the idea. These very attacks seem to prove my theory! But, I get ahead of myself. You all know the difference between two and three dimensions, correct? If not, try covering one eye and looking around. It's hard to tell distance and placement, yes? This is because you're only seeing in two dimensions. To see a third, your eyes gather two different pictures and compare them in your brain. Now, it's been theorized that a fourth dimension, time, also exists. We cannot perceive time except in how we can see its effects. Now, imagine there are 5 or 6 dimensions. Imagine a thousand! What is in them? We have no way to perceive them, no way to interact with them. They could, in fact, house completely different life forms, completely alien to our sensibilities. I hypothesize that there could even be types of matter--"
"OK, Professor, get to the point." The grizzled sergeant grunts from the back of the room.
"Oh, yes. I'm sorry, Sergeant. The point is, that we have found a way to follow these strange beings back to their dimension. Using our own understanding of quantum physics combined with the arcane knowledge represented by these symbols, we've hacked together a device that can send over people and objects to the attackers' dimension. We're calling it a Slipgate."
The Sergeant pushes back from leaning against the wall, and heads back to the front of the room. "That's where our sorry asses come in. We jump in with guns blazing, kill every one of those fuckers, and blow their dimension to bits. Poindexter here's coming with us, to figure a way to send us back. But if you decide to go, know that it's probably a one-way ticket. There's things we can't even imagine out there, and I for one won't rest until they're all dead."
"Yes, well," interrupts the scientist, "We can't rule out an incredible but alien intelligence, perhaps unknowingly causing damage to our dimension. I hope we can try to ask questions first, and shoot second. But the probability of violent greetings are in indeed high, this is the very reason we've asked you all here.'
'You'll be loaded to the teeth, carrying as much ammo and supplies as you can. It seems the slipgate can't transfer anything big, so we don't get tanks or choppers. We'll sweep through the place, taking out as many of the fuckers we can, then Poindexter will set up a slipgate on the other side and we'll head back. You can make gear requests to the quartermaster, he's been ordered to give you whatever you want."
"And one last thing. We tested the damn gate, we sent watermelons and shit over, but we don't knwo what the trip will be like. Could be we all make it over dead, or frozen, or in little pieces. But those thigns made it over here, and we can't just sit around. Now who wants to kick some ass?"
A grizzled man bursts into the room, a burned down cigar clenched in his teeth. His hair is close-cropped and white, and his right eye is hidden underneath a massive burn scar. He stomps his way to the front of the room and eyes you all critically. With a grunt, he turns on a projector that displays a grotesque image of mutilated bodies and blood.
"1900 hours yesterday, violent attacks occurred in several cities across the world." The projector clicks to a macabre scene at a fast food restaurant, "Memphis," another image, this one of human bodies clogging a canal, "Amsterdam," The windows of an airplane terminal, splattered with blood and gore "Buenos Aires." Click. An intricate rune painted on a brick wall. "At each location, variations of this symbol are drawn in blood, and strange scorch marks are found on the ground nearby.
"The only surviving witnesses are locked away in nuthouses. They say the attackers arrived in a flash of light, that they had horns and claws and shot venomous thorns and bolts of lightning. It might seem like crap, but our top scientists have been working on the theory that these are invaders from another dimension." The grizzled man waves his arms in a placating gesture. "Now hold on - I know it sounds crazy. But they've worked out a way for us to fight back. I'll let the brains explain it."
A frail looking man with tufts of hair sticking out from behind his ears enters the room and stands in front of the projector. "Thank you, Sergeant. Now, I know alternate dimensions probably sounds crazy to the lot of you. But I tell you there is much merit to the idea. These very attacks seem to prove my theory! But, I get ahead of myself. You all know the difference between two and three dimensions, correct? If not, try covering one eye and looking around. It's hard to tell distance and placement, yes? This is because you're only seeing in two dimensions. To see a third, your eyes gather two different pictures and compare them in your brain. Now, it's been theorized that a fourth dimension, time, also exists. We cannot perceive time except in how we can see its effects. Now, imagine there are 5 or 6 dimensions. Imagine a thousand! What is in them? We have no way to perceive them, no way to interact with them. They could, in fact, house completely different life forms, completely alien to our sensibilities. I hypothesize that there could even be types of matter--"
"OK, Professor, get to the point." The grizzled sergeant grunts from the back of the room.
"Oh, yes. I'm sorry, Sergeant. The point is, that we have found a way to follow these strange beings back to their dimension. Using our own understanding of quantum physics combined with the arcane knowledge represented by these symbols, we've hacked together a device that can send over people and objects to the attackers' dimension. We're calling it a Slipgate."
The Sergeant pushes back from leaning against the wall, and heads back to the front of the room. "That's where our sorry asses come in. We jump in with guns blazing, kill every one of those fuckers, and blow their dimension to bits. Poindexter here's coming with us, to figure a way to send us back. But if you decide to go, know that it's probably a one-way ticket. There's things we can't even imagine out there, and I for one won't rest until they're all dead."
"Yes, well," interrupts the scientist, "We can't rule out an incredible but alien intelligence, perhaps unknowingly causing damage to our dimension. I hope we can try to ask questions first, and shoot second. But the probability of violent greetings are in indeed high, this is the very reason we've asked you all here.'
'You'll be loaded to the teeth, carrying as much ammo and supplies as you can. It seems the slipgate can't transfer anything big, so we don't get tanks or choppers. We'll sweep through the place, taking out as many of the fuckers we can, then Poindexter will set up a slipgate on the other side and we'll head back. You can make gear requests to the quartermaster, he's been ordered to give you whatever you want."
"And one last thing. We tested the damn gate, we sent watermelons and shit over, but we don't knwo what the trip will be like. Could be we all make it over dead, or frozen, or in little pieces. But those thigns made it over here, and we can't just sit around. Now who wants to kick some ass?"
Monday, June 13, 2011
2) Vampire on the run
After a full night of chasing Alexander Vendarak, a vampire with delusions of grandeur, through plowed fields and orchards, the PCs find a large farmhouse. It's the only shelter in sight, and the first light of dawn is already peeking over the horizon. Vendarak has certainly gone into hiding in the farmhouse, but he certainly also would leave some surprises for his pursuers.
As the PCs enter the house, they see Vendarak standing at the balcony, looking down at them. He snaps his fingers, and many farmers (minions and empowered thralls) scattered around attack the PCs. Vendarak climbs down the staircase during the fight, intent on entering the cellar.
If the PCs let him get into the cellar, he reveals his final bargaining chip - the farmer's daughter, charmed and holding a knife to her own heart.
Enemy Stats:
Human Farmer (charmed by vendarak)
Minion (1 HP)
Light weapons (kitchen knives, chair legs, etc) 2d10 drop lowest
No Armor (AC 8)
-1 Awareness, -1 Cunning, +2 Commitment
Powers
1AP: Awakening trick - charmed farmer pretends to awaken from his enslavement, giving all attack rolls against him -2 this round. Only works once, then mechanical benefit is lost. Put the AP in the bowl fight before you have the farmer turn back and attack >:)
Enthralled Worker
Guard (2HP)
Heavy Weapons (Splitting Mauls and Sledgehammers) 2 damage
Light Armor (AC 10)
+2 Brawn, +1 Commitment, -1 Charm
Powers
1AP: Bull Rush - On successful attack, pushes self and target into adjacent area in addition to damage
2AP: Fledgling Bite - On successful attack, deals only 1 damage but restores 1 HP to enthralled worker
Alexander Vendarak, Vampire Lord
Villain (5 HP)
Light Weapon (Blacksteel Longsword)
Heavy Armor (Blacksteel Breastplate) (AC 12)
+2 Cunning, +2 Charm, -1 Commitment
Powers
2AP: Binding Grasp - grab target in focus step, if still held at step 7, drain 2 HP
3AP: Mesmerize - if target stays in same arena and does not break eye contact, gain control of target during step 7. Break away roll Commitment vs vampire's Charm.
2AP: Sphere of Darkness - Vendarak wears a small ebony charm around his neck. If broken, it emits a 5' radius globe of darkness for 24 hours. The globe can be moved by picking up and moving the necklace's band. If sunlight is directed into the room, Vendarak will smash this globe, provided he realizes in time (his Awareness vs PC's Cunning)
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
1) Arachnid Ambush
It's unnaturally quiet inside, the people sitting at the bar or around tables all seem to be playing at merriment. Cards are held at awkward angles, drinks raised but never emptied, and there are no heated arguments or brawls. Eyes seem to swivel to the PCs but then snap back before they can confirm.
One of the patrons stands up and walks to the PCs with an awkward gait. He demands a specific treasure they have recently acquired, one that he shouldn't know they have. If they refuse, All the bar patrons tear off their human costumes with a sickening rip, revealing jet black chitinous human-sized bodies with eight legs, and faces with eight glowing green eyes and vicious mandibles. They screech in unison and attack the (hopefully) startled characters.
(Adjust the number of spider people to the size and level of the group. I used just one against a first level group of 5 characters, and it got owned big time.)
Spider-People
5 HP, Reach Weapons (long, pointed legs), Light Armor+ (12 AC)
+2 Awareness, +1 Cunning
Abilities:
1AP: Leap up to the Ceiling (open)
1AP: Drop down (move and attack in one round, on the attack step)
2AP: Web Spray: Immobilize all opponents in one arena, unless they make a Cunning save (difficulty 7)
2AP: Poisonous Bite: When making a successful attack, the spider person can pull the target in and bite with their poisonous fangs. The target will take an additional poison damage unless they make a Commitment save (Difficulty 7) at the end of the round.
One Hundred Encounters
So I tried GMing Old School Hack recently, and it kinda fell flat. The players created some really awesome characters, including a dwarf who wore armor made of the bones of her ancestors and a cleric named Red Warrior with armor made of a log. (he could pull himself inside and hide!)
But I was winging it, like I assumed was best for Old School Hack, and I came up with some uninspiring arenas and I think it hurt player creativity. How awesome can you be when a goblin and some gnolls ambush along a straight road? Walk up, hit stuff till it falls down.
Part of my problem is lack of experience with the system, but the other part is just that I couldn't come up with a lot of awesome ideas. I've never really though of encounters as grand, sweeping battles like you see in movies. I've always treated them like the orc in a room with a pie. Adding detail in the moment has always been one of my weak areas.
To that end, I've decided to start a project. I'm going to create one hundred encounters for Old School Hack, complete with monster stat blocks and notes for how they'll act. Each one will have multiple arenas of different types, connected together in interesting ways. I'll probably rely heavily on monster manuals and convert a lot of monsters in the process.
And if I can complete this project, I'll know I can overcome my Gamer ADD and stick with a game for more than like a week. Seriously, that's been an issue with me.
But I was winging it, like I assumed was best for Old School Hack, and I came up with some uninspiring arenas and I think it hurt player creativity. How awesome can you be when a goblin and some gnolls ambush along a straight road? Walk up, hit stuff till it falls down.
Part of my problem is lack of experience with the system, but the other part is just that I couldn't come up with a lot of awesome ideas. I've never really though of encounters as grand, sweeping battles like you see in movies. I've always treated them like the orc in a room with a pie. Adding detail in the moment has always been one of my weak areas.
To that end, I've decided to start a project. I'm going to create one hundred encounters for Old School Hack, complete with monster stat blocks and notes for how they'll act. Each one will have multiple arenas of different types, connected together in interesting ways. I'll probably rely heavily on monster manuals and convert a lot of monsters in the process.
And if I can complete this project, I'll know I can overcome my Gamer ADD and stick with a game for more than like a week. Seriously, that's been an issue with me.
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