tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-75547023979047829382024-03-13T15:51:24.437+11:00Rocket-Propelled GameWe make games fly.TheLoneAmigohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00984096812960996717noreply@blogger.comBlogger157125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7554702397904782938.post-68535121139415174222023-08-04T17:43:00.005+10:002023-08-04T17:43:55.158+10:00Campaign Framework: Playing The Cops<p><i>Content warning: This post discusses playing as agents of a police force. In many countries around the world, police forces are primarily oppressive institutions dedicated to enforcing an authoritarian status quo.</i></p><p>Police and detectives are enormously common in media, but RPGs seem far more likely to lean into criminal activities and anti-social adventurers than to depict the players as police officers. </p><p>This isn't a question of morality, but one of practicality. RPGs are at their best when they let players choose their own approach to situations and solutions to problems, rather than railroading them towards obvious goals and single solutions.</p><p>A police game lends itself towards railroading - PC are either fighting criminals or solving mysteries. The former lends itself towards one simple solutions - applying force to eliminate or detain criminals. The latter relies on the GM's ability to deliver clues effectively, and the player's ability to piece those clues together. Moreover, police officers are typically part of a strict hierarchy, where they're expected to follow orders rather than make their own decisions.</p><p>I've had some success running games with an alternate framework: the police taskforce.</p><h3 style="text-align: left;">The Taskforce Game</h3><p style="text-align: left;">There are four elements to this framework: the <b>mandate</b>,<b> </b>the <b>case board</b>, <b>operations </b>and <b>entanglements</b>.</p><p style="text-align: left;">In this framework, the PCs are members of a taskforce with a broad <b>mandate</b> to approach an issue in a specific region, city, or neighbourhood. They don't answer to the local cops - who are likely corrupt and part of the problem. Their superiors are distant, and they have wide-ranging authority to interpret their mandate and take action as they see fit. This approach places PCs in opposition to the local status quo, rather than as agents enforcing it.</p><p style="text-align: left;">The PCs will also have a <b>case board</b>. This serves as the combined campaign map and progress chart. Key figures are listed on the board, with low-level operators at the bottom at Tier 1 and ringleaders or powerful figures at the top on Tier 3. The question for the PCs in this game is not who committed the crime, but how they will take down the ringleaders to fulfil their mandate and stop their plans.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgz3vc05cGzx25b4R9Sk4SBnR6j7DnI4nG2z8-Q64F--CZRI_Iws384JANg7zFUlTbj3SgDIVjpgFZX9MuytoyBjibDI2FvdQf8WUgQ0Vj1ZjlpjYTLeLoNE2FA31D369ipJmSSarCo93uNQZxCbQt6Y9sRG-Bnwoq3Uul4Na39HNK20qfcKeJMYJGnPYO8" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="697" data-original-width="1243" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgz3vc05cGzx25b4R9Sk4SBnR6j7DnI4nG2z8-Q64F--CZRI_Iws384JANg7zFUlTbj3SgDIVjpgFZX9MuytoyBjibDI2FvdQf8WUgQ0Vj1ZjlpjYTLeLoNE2FA31D369ipJmSSarCo93uNQZxCbQt6Y9sRG-Bnwoq3Uul4Na39HNK20qfcKeJMYJGnPYO8" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Opening case board</td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: left;">While the PCs have badges, they don't have unlimited legal authority. They cannot simply arrest the ringleader and have them jailed for life - they need to build a case against them using their case board. The legal process is simplified for the purposes of the game. Tier 1 figures only need a single witness piece of evidence linking them to a crime, while Tier 3 figures need three pieces of evidence before they can be sent to prison.</p><p style="text-align: left;">The PCs will have to undertake <b>operations </b>to build the case. They pick a target figure from the caseboard, and choose an approach: either trying to flip a witness against them, or gather some sort of evidence linking the target to a crime. These operations form the basic unit of play - an operation can take a whole session, or be as simple as resolving a single room in a dungeon.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Of course, the PCs do not exist in a vaccuum. After (or even during) each operation, the PCs will suffer <b>entanglements </b>- actions and reactions from other factions or their superiors that they are forced to deal with. These can be randomly rolled, determined by a clock or an accumulating heat mechanism, determined by NPC decision making, or some combination of the three.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhc6X8UwSNLDlEVB4BvascaK1zA9WWNtQ7k_N4d4fKfFcgkr3BZLqMHUsaqVb9QdE5einLrRuBhDXeVTrqXACEPu8QScCzuRNNfIXltip7jMHJcg5hczVWOnAU0NCX0yxrc5UWkNoSpS6EJQ3Xok0Gm4UbHEKcpSH12GYOuo4hV6tMeiYo70ALpyna427_t" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="690" data-original-width="1238" height="178" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhc6X8UwSNLDlEVB4BvascaK1zA9WWNtQ7k_N4d4fKfFcgkr3BZLqMHUsaqVb9QdE5einLrRuBhDXeVTrqXACEPu8QScCzuRNNfIXltip7jMHJcg5hczVWOnAU0NCX0yxrc5UWkNoSpS6EJQ3Xok0Gm4UbHEKcpSH12GYOuo4hV6tMeiYo70ALpyna427_t" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Finished case board</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><h3>Rulesets and Procedures</h3><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><p style="text-align: left;">The game illustrated above was run in a Forged in the Dark system - but there's no reason the same approach couldn't be used for an OSR game, an Apocalypse game, or even a 5e game run by a particularly masochistic GM. </p><p style="text-align: left;">The important thing is to incorporate procedures of play that facilitate the above elements. For the Forged in the Dark game set in Dogtown, we used the following procedures:</p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><b>Engagement rolls </b>to cut directly to the action when undertaking operations</li><li><b>Heat accumulation </b>to determine the level of friction caused by the agents in operations.</li><li><b>Entanglement rolls </b>influenced by the Heat system to determine what would occur after operations.</li></ul><p style="text-align: left;">The full rules deck is available <a href="https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1IZmG8QcJlaQOgt0_hhaY3Iix2w6Q9G04sfMZ-Rg903E/edit?usp=sharing ">here</a>.</p><div style="text-align: left;">This approach is directly inspired by the Flames Without Shadow supplement for Blades in the Dark written by John Harper, Andrew Gills, and Sean Nittner, and available <a href="https://bladesinthedark.com/blades-supplements">here</a>.</div></div>TheLoneAmigohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00984096812960996717noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7554702397904782938.post-70785265187905662852023-03-05T08:26:00.000+11:002024-01-04T16:11:36.928+11:00The Four-Fold King<br />
The men of the Frostlands are no friends of giants, and have often warred with them. But they have always respected certain traditions. Certain prophecies. They have always held the life of the Giants' Jarl inviolate, until he has an heir.<div>
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Sadly, the adventurers either did not know of, or did not heed, the ancient tradition, and stumbling upon the latest young Jarl fishing in the wilderness, slew him for his crown. When they returned to town, they were not greeted with the adulation they expected, for the men of the Frostlands knew what would happen next...<br />
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High in the mountains, the Cairn of the Fourfold King crumbled, its occupant freed once more, to claim the crown that now falls to his undead hands. Lord of giants by birth, draugr by death, trolls by might and dragons by skill, he will raise an army the likes of which the world has not seen in many ages, and march on the lands of men...</div>Jarrahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16367493507081661713noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7554702397904782938.post-10013105679532789102021-05-28T14:27:00.000+10:002024-01-04T16:11:36.436+11:00World of Dungeons - Life PathsRoll 3d6 for stats in order.<br />
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When you are born, roll +nothing. On a 10+, you are born Noble. On a 7-9, choose: born peasant, born merchant, born barbarian. On a miss, you're a peasant.<br />
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When you are born to a noble house, roll +CHA. On a hit, you can start a career at age 20+1d4, and start adventuring with 100 extra silver pieces. On a 7-9, also choose 1: you have a jealous rival, you are betrothed to a difficult spouse, you're fat (-1 to DEX). On a miss, you're thrown out of your family in disgrace and start a career at age 14+1d6.<br />
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When you are born a peasant, roll +CON. On a hit, you survive your childhood and can start a career at age 14+1d4. On a 10+, you also start with one extra Hit Dice because of your peasant toughness. On a 7-9, you still suffer from some disease that ravaged you in childhood, take -1 to any stat. On a miss, you die in childhood, roll up a new character.<br /><br />When you are born to a merchant family, roll +INT. On a hit, you can start a career at age 16+1d6, and you gain a +1 on your roll to enter your chosen career. On a 10+, you also start adventuring with 100 extra silver pieces. On a miss, your family falls into destitute poverty, and you start adventuring with a major debt to a noble house.<br />
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When you are born into a barbarian tribe, roll +STR. On a hit, you pass the trials of adulthood and can start a career at age 16+1d6. On a 10+, you also prove yourself to the spirits and receive a <b>Spirit Guide</b>. On a miss, you are thrown out of your tribe and marked as an exile forever, start a career at age 14+1d4 and take -1 to any one stat from the scars of your failure.<br />
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<b>WIZARD</b><br />
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When you seek out a mentor and try to learn the ways of magic, roll +INT. On a hit, you are brought into the mysteries of the magical world and start as an apprentice mage and gain Guild Membership. On a 10+, you also choose: you have a particularly <b>Wise Mentor</b>, you have a particular talent for <b>Second Sight</b>, or you gain a <b>Familiar</b>. On a miss, your attempts to toy with forces you don't understand unleash a torrent of magical energy, roll on the magical mishaps table and then roll for a random career.<br />
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Apprentice Mage<br />
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When you spend a term as an apprentice mage, roll +INT. On a hit, you learn one basic wizard move - <b>Cantrips</b>, <b>Second Sight</b>, <b>Alchemy</b>, or <b>Rituals</b>. On a 10+, you can also choose: gain a <b>Familiar</b>, gain +1 INT (max +3), advance to journeyman wizard next term (as long as you have the <b>Rituals</b> move). On a miss, you learn nothing and suffer a magical mishap.<br />
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Journeyman Mage<br />
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When you spend a term as a journeyman mage, roll +INT. On a hit, you learn one advanced wizard move - <b>Evocation</b>, <b>Transmutation</b>, or <b>Conjuration -</b> or up to two basic wizard moves. On a 10+, you can choose also to advance to master mage next term. On a 7-9, choose one: gain a powerful rival, suffer a magical mishap, or lose your Guild Membership. On a miss, you die in a particularly unfortunate spell backfire.<br />
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Master Mage<br />
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When you spend a term as a master mage, roll +INT. On a hit, you learn one master wizard move - <b>Elemental Mastery, Divination, </b>or<b> Necromancy - </b>or up to two basic or advanced wizard moves. On a 7-9, choose one: suffer a magical mishap, gain a Planar Power as an enemy. On a miss, you die - if you have the Necromancy move, you can choose to become a <b>Lich</b> and continue advancing without threat of death.<br />
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<b>GLADIATOR</b><br />
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When you <b>seek your fortune in the arena, </b>roll +STR. On a hit, you become a gladiator.<br />
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<br />TheLoneAmigohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00984096812960996717noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7554702397904782938.post-56236721120161367862018-10-16T12:05:00.000+11:002024-01-04T16:11:36.819+11:00The Cantor System<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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In the calendar of the lost Earth, it is the thirty-second century. Six hundred years have passed since the psychic Scream destroyed the Terran Mandate.</div>
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Near the trailing edge of human space, the Cantor system is dragging itself out of six centuries of Silence. The techno-anarchist collectives of San Borea have ascended from the surface of their icy moon, reclaimed the secrets of the metadimensional spike drive, and are rapidly expanding their grasp across nearby systems. New<span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline; font-family: inherit;"> Zion, in contrast, is a undeveloped desert world, riven by ethnic and religious strife. Asteroid mines, deep-space research stations, and gas-collection platforms dot the remainder of the system.</span></div>
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It is in the depths of this febrile environment that the Moondancer Collective seeks to make their fortune as troubleshooters and conflict resolution agents.</div>
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TheLoneAmigohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00984096812960996717noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7554702397904782938.post-83836156082761934662015-12-10T22:14:00.001+11:002024-01-04T16:11:37.150+11:00[Horus Supremacy] Corsair Princes<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<b>Malthus Black </b></div>
TheLoneAmigohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00984096812960996717noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7554702397904782938.post-55000737970638249202015-12-07T23:54:00.004+11:002015-12-07T23:58:16.753+11:00The Horus Supremacy<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-family: inherit;">It is the 41st Millenium. For ten thousand years, the Emperor has led his grear war-fleets from the Silver Throne of Luna. He is the master of mankind by the will of the sword and the storm, and master of a million worlds by the might of his indestructible armies. He is a deathless vampire, writhing visibly with the untold powers of the Red Age of Sorcery. He is the Wolf Khan of the Experium, for whom ten thousand souls are impaled every day, so that he may continue to ride out against the enemies of man.</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: inherit;">Yet even in his deathless state, the Emperor's vigilance fades. Mighty battlefleets struggle through the demon-infested sargasso of the Immaterium, the only route between the bleeding stars, their way lit only by the baleful light of the Unblinking Eye. Vast armies battle in His name on uncounted worlds. Greatest amongst his scions are the Adeptus Cicatrix, the Scarred Marines, chaos-warped super-warriors. Their servitors and sometime foes include the Principalitans and their cults and armies, the inescapable Guild of Shadows, and the Tech-Sorcerers of the Arean Cult, to name but a few. But for all their multitudes, they can rarely hold together against the ever-present threat from aliens, traitors and marauders - or worse.</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: inherit;">To be a man in such times is to be one amongst untold billions. It is to live in the midst of the cruelest and bloodiest war imaginable. These are the tales of those times. Forget the power of technology and science, for so much has been forgotten, never to be re-learned. Forget the promise of progress and understanding, for in the grim dark future there is only war. There is no peace amongst the stars, only an eternity of carnage and slaughter, and the laughter of thirsting gods.<br /><br />Horus prevails.</span></i></div>
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TheLoneAmigohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00984096812960996717noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7554702397904782938.post-80404681202942176392015-12-07T22:51:00.001+11:002024-01-04T16:11:37.114+11:00<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">being the unspeakably true & yet now forgotten tales of the</span></b></div>
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<span style="color: #660000; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><b>UNBOUND</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">or, those who bested the firmament of the heavens</span></div>
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TheLoneAmigohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00984096812960996717noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7554702397904782938.post-22345186560333429632015-01-04T23:48:00.000+11:002024-01-04T16:11:36.533+11:00[Time Opera] Her Majesty Queen Victoria, Empress of OtherwhenThe discovery of Cavorite in 1855 sparked a wave of innovation across the world. With the miraculous gravity-defying properties of the mineral, it seemed that the last barriers separating Man from the Heavens had been struck down by Science. Aerostats and cavorite trains linked the far-flung corners of the globe.<br />
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There was still one last frontier to be struck through... the cruel mistress of Time. And in 1872, James Clark Maxwell did just that when he discovered the chronological ether...</div>
TheLoneAmigohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00984096812960996717noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7554702397904782938.post-69702743393969686442015-01-04T23:44:00.003+11:002015-01-04T23:47:51.550+11:00Planarch Effect<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b>Planarch Effect</b><i><b> </b></i>is a campaign setting I have dreamed of for some time. Drawing together <i>Planescape</i> with <i>Mass Effect</i>, along with a host of other influences, it has lately become the default world for my thoughts and feelings around <i>Dungeon World</i>.<br />
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<u><b>Cosmology</b></u><br />
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The <b>Great Wheel</b> is the whirling mass of the many planes, consisting of worlds beyond counting, each suspended within its own crystalline sphere. Every plane has its own character - from hyperboreal ice planes, locked in the eternal grasp of an endless winter, to the bizarre spinning and colliding cubes of Acheron, home-plane of the Urukai.<br />
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Crystalline spheres are all that protect a plane from the roiling dream-currents of the <b>Astral Sea</b>, the void between worlds, where words can wound and thoughts can kill. Traveling between planes unguided is a dangerous art, practiced only by a few foolish mages known as <b>planarchs</b> who pilot their <b>spelljammers</b> between the worlds. Most choose instead to travel on more limited <b>gatejammers</b>, which utilise the ancient <b>dragon-gate network </b>that links the many planes together in an immense web of worlds.<br />
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The nexus of the dragon-gate network is the <b>Spire</b>, an impossibly tall tower-city perched on the edge of the whirling elemental vortex known as the <b>Mouth of Pain</b>. As the centre of the dragon-gate network, it serves as a gathering place and seat of government for the interplanar civilization known as the <b>Sigillium</b>.<br />
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<u><b>The Sigillium</b></u><br />
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Established in the aftermath of the <b>Draconic Crusade</b>, the <b>Sigil Council</b> is, in theory, the ruling body of much the<b> </b>Great Wheel.<b> </b>The <b>Sigil </b>is the universal term for the sign that binds the Sigillium together<b> - </b>three small circles arranged equally around a larger circle. In one symbol, it represents a compact made millenia ago by the three Council Races - the Eldarin, the Myrmidons, and the Urukai - to preserve balance in the universe after the fall of Dragon-kind.<br />
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Worlds that accept the Sigil are granted the protection of the Council Races, at the cost of buying into an arcane and ancient series of laws, trade restrictions, and commandments that the Sigil Council has established over the centuries. To enforce these laws and the balance of peace across the Great Wheel, the Sigil Council<b> </b>appoints <b>Wardens of the Sigil, </b>elite agents entrusted with extraordinary authority to take any action necessary to preserve balance in the name of the Sigil. Wardens are generally considered to be above any law or sanction beyond that of the Sigil Council themselves.<br />
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Most races within the Sigillium have no representation on the Sigil Council themselves. An arcane system of <b>patronage </b>governs the interrelationship between races within the Sigillium - races that have not developed planejamming arts themselves must serve as clients to one of the Council Races. Humans of the world of <b>Urtha</b>, the first race since the Council Races to have developed planejamming arts without the intervention of others, serve as a challenge to the whole structure of the Sigillium as it stands today.<br />
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<u><b>Locales of Note</b></u><br />
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The <b>Mechanus Veil</b> is a blanket across the edge of the Sigillium where the dragon-gate network has been disrupted by the actions of <b>modrons</b>, ancient machine-beings of unknown origin that once marched across the stars and were only pushed back by the combined efforts of the Council Races. There are rumours that they have grown in activity<br />
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<b>Arrathoom </b>is a desert plane near Urtha, peopled by insectoid nomads known as the <b>Tharkeen</b>. In the distant past, it was a lush and pleasant world, but the Dragon-empire defiled it with horrific magical experiments. Now, it is a priceless source of the magical residue known as<b> irradium</b>, an addictive substance which can empower its users with incredible supernatural powers.<br />
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The Urukai home plane of <b>Acheron </b>is not a single world - within its sphere, a thousand thousand spinning cubes of metal and iron clash endlessly in the eternal dusk. Within Acheron itself, the Sigil is partially broken - even as they present a united front to the rest of the Sigillium, the five Great Hordes of the Urukai war amongst themselves for honor and a chance to win glory in the next life.<br />
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Resting<b> </b>within a lake of fire on the hell-plane of <b>Ignos</b>, the <b>City of Brass </b>is the greatest city in the Great Wheel beyond the reach of the Sigillium. You will not find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy anywhere in the universe. Within its brass walls, slave-traders, pirates, necromancers, raiders and criminals of every description come to meet and trade under the watchful eye of <b>Al-Jabbar</b>, the Efreeti lord of the city.TheLoneAmigohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00984096812960996717noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7554702397904782938.post-31512923144419542182015-01-04T22:20:00.000+11:002024-01-04T16:11:36.608+11:00WaldorfTheme: Rivalry<br />
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Mood: bustlin'<br />
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Littleheim: dwarven quarter<br />
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Imperial Opera House:<br />
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The University of Waldorf: archeology!<br />
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<br />TheLoneAmigohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00984096812960996717noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7554702397904782938.post-28524078983194442082014-11-26T21:49:00.001+11:002024-01-04T16:11:36.569+11:00Merchants of VenusTheLoneAmigohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00984096812960996717noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7554702397904782938.post-746332489064392952012-09-07T11:10:00.002+10:002012-09-07T11:10:13.443+10:00Jonathan Walton's Guide To Writing AW Hacks<span style="background-color: white;">Jonathan Walton wrote <a href="http://story-games.com/forums/discussion/17161/introducing-a-new-aw-hack#Item_24">here</a>:</span><div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i style="background-color: white;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">If you are designing a game with a GM-like role...</span><br style="line-height: 18px;" /><br style="line-height: 18px;" /><span style="line-height: 18px;">1. Start with AW, but with no PC moves. Just the MC stuff.</span><br style="line-height: 18px;" /><br style="line-height: 18px;" /><span style="line-height: 18px;">2. Alter MC Agendas/Principles/AlwaysSays/MCMoves to reflect the style of play you have in mind.</span><br style="line-height: 18px;" /><br style="line-height: 18px;" /><span style="line-height: 18px;">3. Recognise that this is a completely functional game. Consider playing it. Maybe the game is done now.</span><br style="line-height: 18px;" /><br style="line-height: 18px;" /><span style="line-height: 18px;">4. Distill categories of player actions into principled freeform moves ("when you do x, it turns out like y"), no dice and no mechanics, just descriptions ("when you inflict violence, it's messy, complicated, and unproductive").</span><br style="line-height: 18px;" /><br style="line-height: 18px;" /><span style="line-height: 18px;">5. Recognise that this is a completely functional game. Consider playing it. Maybe the game is done now.</span><br style="line-height: 18px;" /><br style="line-height: 18px;" /><span style="line-height: 18px;">6. Begin turning principled freeform moves into other types of moves if the moves are not fully satisfying. Probably only do this a few moves at a time so that you can...</span><br style="line-height: 18px;" /><br style="line-height: 18px;" /><span style="line-height: 18px;">7. Test the moves in small batches by continuing to actually play the game. Sometimes one new move may render previously "finished" moves to be less perfect. Game design is hard. But the simpler and fewer your moves are (and the better thought-out they are) the easier it is to avoid these kinds of upsets. Sometimes it's necessary to shake the foundation, though. Or replace an established move with a principled freeform move and start over.</span><br style="line-height: 18px;" /><br style="line-height: 18px;" /><span style="line-height: 18px;">8. Eventually you can declare the game "done" or stop working on it. But your players and fans will probably continue the above process without you, either way.</span><br style="line-height: 18px;" /><br style="line-height: 18px;" /><span style="line-height: 18px;">Notice that </span><b style="line-height: 18px;">at no point in the design process is the game not completely playable</b><span style="line-height: 18px;">. This is critical. My advice: keep releasing playable drafts so other folks can enjoy your game while you continue to work on it. </span><br style="line-height: 18px;" /><br style="line-height: 18px;" /><span style="line-height: 18px;">Also: </span><b style="line-height: 18px;">you now have no excuse not to be playing your game</b><span style="line-height: 18px;">, if that's what you really want to be doing (and, really, why else design a game?). "It's not done yet" doesn't cut it anymore. If you don't like some things and can't think of anything better yet, just replace those portions with principled freeform moves until you get a new brainwave.</span></i></span>
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TheLoneAmigohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00984096812960996717noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7554702397904782938.post-58499620402204239202012-08-20T00:12:00.001+10:002024-01-04T16:11:36.855+11:00Healing PotionsThere's a reason why not every man and his dog uses these things. Besides the fact that the ingredients are rather expensive, they're <i>magic</i>, and most folks know just how dangerous swallowing something magical can be. It will heal what ails you, but at what cost?<br />
<br />
Roll 2d6+number of potions drank in the last (day? week?).<br />
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<br />
you heal now, but in a few days you take [damage]<br />
lose control of a limb. Is it inactive, or does it do things you don't want it to.<br />
become intoxicated or start hallucinating.<br />
weird mutations. They'll go away, but not before they inconvenience you.<br />
Blinded for a while<br />
Excruciating pain - you go down to 1 hp for [a little while]. Afterwards, you go back to whatever you were on before, plus the healing.<br />
Vomit frogs or slugs<br />
You're perfectly healthy. You're also a mouse.<br />
Comatose. Your mind is opened to the howling void while you're under, too.<br />
Gain a debility.<br />
Vomit liquid fire. It can't hurt you, but is quite capable of harming your friends and destroying your possessions.<br />
You're fine... except you occasionally turn to stone for a few seconds. This is very random and inconvenient.<br />
<br />
<br />
Or maybe it's a +CON roll?<br />
7-9 has some vaguely unpleasant side effect. A miss means the GM gets to make a move. It's probably not even related to the drinking - the universe doesn't like you cheating.<br />
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<br />Jarrahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16367493507081661713noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7554702397904782938.post-67691650250908366462012-08-07T22:51:00.000+10:002012-08-07T23:30:38.532+10:00[Dungeon World] Martial Arts Styles, Part 2<br />
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<h3>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Black Swan Style</span></h3>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="line-height: 20px;">Emphasizing the unexpected movement and putting your opponent off-balance, this secretive school was developed by members of the Black Swan Triad. Using the techniques of this school will instantly mark you as someone with deep and close ties to the Jade City's youngest criminal organisation.</span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19.03333282470703px;"><b>Basic Techniques:</b></span></span></span><br />
<ul style="background-color: white; list-style-image: initial; list-style-position: initial; margin: 0.5em 0px; padding: 0px 2.5em;">
<li style="border: none; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><span style="line-height: 19.016666412353516px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i style="font-size: 15px;">Swooping Hawk Strike: </i><span style="font-size: 15px;">Suddenly move across a distance and attack an enemy before they </span>expect it.</span></span></li>
</ul>
<ul style="background-color: white; list-style-image: initial; list-style-position: initial; margin: 0.5em 0px; padding: 0px 2.5em;">
<li style="border: none; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><span style="line-height: 19.016666412353516px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Solo Swan Sweep: </i>Trip your foe, either putting them on the floor or off-balance.</span></span></li>
</ul>
<ul style="background-color: white; list-style-image: initial; list-style-position: initial; margin: 0.5em 0px; padding: 0px 2.5em;">
<li style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 19.016666412353516px;"><i>Unbalanced Equilibrium Stance: </i>When an enemy attacks you, redirect their attack against something else.</span></span></li>
</ul>
<span style="line-height: 19px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Preferred Weapons:</b> Butterfly knives, chains.</span></span><br />
<span style="line-height: 19px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Weakness: </b>Unpredictability</span></span><span style="line-height: 19px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span><br />
<span style="line-height: 19px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<h3>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Falling Leaf Style</span></h3>
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;">The Falling Leaf school is one of the less common martial arts </span></span><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;">practised</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;"> on Chennai. Once popular in the old Empire of the Many Heavens, it has lost traction over the centuries as its practitioners have died off or associated themselves with unsuccessful regimes. Built on the principles of balance and subtlety, it is not an easy style to learn, but those who master it can still be highly effective in battle.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19.03333282470703px;"><b>Basic Techniques:</b></span></span></span><br />
<ul style="line-height: 20px; list-style-image: initial; list-style-position: initial; margin: 0.5em 0px; padding: 0px 2.5em;">
<li style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><span style="line-height: 19.016666412353516px;"><i>Subtle Breeze Movement: </i>Defy gravity for a few moments.</span></li>
</ul>
<ul style="line-height: 20px; list-style-image: initial; list-style-position: initial; margin: 0.5em 0px; padding: 0px 2.5em;">
<li style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><span style="line-height: 19.016666412353516px;"><i>Gentle Inertia Tap: </i>Knock an enemy off-balance and force them into a position where you have the advantage.</span></li>
</ul>
<ul style="line-height: 20px; list-style-image: initial; list-style-position: initial; margin: 0.5em 0px; padding: 0px 2.5em;">
<li style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><span style="line-height: 19.016666412353516px;"><i>Balanced Awareness Technique: </i>Avoid being surprised and instead act before your opponent.</span></li>
</ul>
<span style="line-height: 19px;"><b>Preferred Weapons:</b> Staves, swords.</span><br />
<span style="line-height: 19px;"><b>Weakness: </b>Lack of fortitude</span><br />
<span style="line-height: 19px;"><br /></span>
<h3>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Flying Horse Style</span></h3>
<span style="font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal;">The ghazi-warriors of Shatranji are masters of the martial sphere, and have developed several different schools of combat. Flying Horse Style emphasizes the bravery of the charge, the sheer courage it takes for someone to throw themselves into battle and risk death for their beliefs.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19.03333282470703px;"><b>Basic Techniques:</b></span></span></span><br />
<ul style="font-size: medium; font-weight: normal; list-style-image: initial; list-style-position: initial; margin: 0.5em 0px; padding: 0px 2.5em;">
<li style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><span style="line-height: 19.016666412353516px;"><i>Headstrong Stallion Charge: </i>Leap at an opponent, ignoring any obstacles, and strike them with terrible force.</span></li>
</ul>
<ul style="font-size: medium; font-weight: normal; list-style-image: initial; list-style-position: initial; margin: 0.5em 0px; padding: 0px 2.5em;">
<li style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><span style="line-height: 19.016666412353516px;"><i>Implacable Courage Spirit: </i>Ignore fear, terror, or a supernatural assault on your mind.</span></li>
</ul>
<ul style="font-size: medium; font-weight: normal; list-style-image: initial; list-style-position: initial; margin: 0.5em 0px; padding: 0px 2.5em;">
<li style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><span style="line-height: 19.016666412353516px;"><i>Terrifying Hooves of Destruction: </i>Make an attack against your opponent that is particularly terrifying or awe-inspiring - lesser foes may flee in terror.</span></li>
</ul>
<span style="line-height: 19px;"><b>Preferred Weapons:</b> Spears, maces.</span><br />
<span style="line-height: 19px;"><b>Weakness: </b>Unsubtle</span><span style="line-height: 19px;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="line-height: 19px;"><br /></span>
<h3>
Shifting Crab Style</h3>
<span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;">Another technique wielded by the warriors of Shatranji, this school emphasizes being where your opponent is not and moving around their defenses, rather than attempting to strike them head-on.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19.03333282470703px;"><b>Basic Techniques:</b></span></span></span><br />
<ul style="line-height: 20px; list-style-image: initial; list-style-position: initial; margin: 0.5em 0px; padding: 0px 2.5em;">
<li style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><span style="line-height: 19.016666412353516px;"><i>Devious Sideways Step: </i>Suddenly move to where your opponent would not expect you to be.</span></li>
</ul>
<ul style="line-height: 20px; list-style-image: initial; list-style-position: initial; margin: 0.5em 0px; padding: 0px 2.5em;">
<li style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><span style="line-height: 19.016666412353516px;"><i>Penetrating Pincer Attack: </i>When you have an advantageous position, strike at your foe's weak points and inflict terrible damage.</span></li>
</ul>
<ul style="line-height: 20px; list-style-image: initial; list-style-position: initial; margin: 0.5em 0px; padding: 0px 2.5em;">
<li style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><span style="line-height: 19.016666412353516px;"><i>Unorthodox Motion Defence: </i>Avoid an attack or danger by moving in a surprising way. </span></li>
</ul>
<span style="line-height: 19px;"><b>Preferred Weapons:</b> Nunchaku, fans, claws.</span><br />
<span style="line-height: 19px;"><b>Weakness: </b>Arrogance</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 15px;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="line-height: 20px;"><br /></span></span></span></span></div>TheLoneAmigohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00984096812960996717noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7554702397904782938.post-58127404549468532892012-08-06T19:27:00.003+10:002012-08-07T21:53:31.690+10:00[Dungeon World] Martial Arts Styles, Part 1<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://avatarthelastairbenderonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/Sifu_Tenzin_2_by_KazuTaka51.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://avatarthelastairbenderonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/Sifu_Tenzin_2_by_KazuTaka51.jpg" width="295" /></a></div>
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The <a href="http://rocketpropelledgame.blogspot.com.au/2012/07/dungeon-world-kung-fu-moves.html">kung-fu moves</a> I wrote about earlier have become central to my Daojin City Blues campaign. Each of the major mortal planes known to the denizens of Daojin City, including its home plane of Chennai, has been established to have a dominant martial arts style.<br />
<h2>
Dominant Styles</h2>
<h3>
Jade Mountain Style</h3>
Perhaps the most well-known style in Daojin City, th<span style="font-family: inherit;">e school of the Jade Mountain Style was established during the Empire of the Many Heavens. <span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19.03333282470703px;">Its practitioners learn to hold their ground against any foe, and to bolster their strength as if they were a great mountain, stern and implacable.</span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19.03333282470703px;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19.03333282470703px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19.03333282470703px;"><b>Basic Techniques:</b></span></span><br />
<ul>
<li><span style="line-height: 19.016666412353516px;"><i>Jade Armour Spirit: </i>Ignore any damage from one attack.</span></li>
<li><span style="line-height: 19.016666412353516px;"><i>Pillar of Might Stance: </i>Resist any forced movement or push attack.</span></li>
<li><span style="line-height: 19.016666412353516px;"><i>Bolder-Crushing Blow: </i>Deliver an unstoppable blow.</span></li>
</ul>
<div>
<span style="line-height: 19px;"><b>Preferred Weapons:</b> Swords, shields, spears.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="line-height: 19px;"><b>Weakness: </b>Inflexibility</span><br />
<span style="line-height: 19px;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<h3>
Flowing Water Style</h3>
This style was devised on the paradise plane of Bakuyeo, and it fits the relaxed denizens of that plane well. Techniques focus on being like the water, on avoiding blows rather than resisting them, and on using an enemy's own momentum and energy against them.<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19.03333282470703px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19.03333282470703px;"><b>Basic Techniques:</b></span></span><br />
<ul>
<li><span style="line-height: 19.016666412353516px;"><i>Rippling Wave Escape: </i>Move swiftly out of the path of danger.</span></li>
<li><i><span style="line-height: 19.016666412353516px;">Divergent Stream </span><span style="line-height: 19px;">Defence</span><span style="line-height: 19.016666412353516px;">: </span></i><span style="line-height: 19.016666412353516px;">Redirect one foe's attack into another opponent.</span></li>
<li><span style="line-height: 19.016666412353516px;"><i>Flow Reversal Technique: </i>Use an enemy's momentum against them.</span></li>
</ul>
<div>
<span style="line-height: 19px;"><b>Preferred Weapons:</b> Nunchaku, whips, nets.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="line-height: 19px;"><b>Weakness: </b>Softness</span><br />
<span style="line-height: 19px;"><br /></span>
<h3 style="line-height: normal;">
Deadly Blossom Style</h3>
The Peach Kingdom of Kimoko values peace and order over all other concerns, and thus the dominant style of its poet-knights emphasizes ending battles before they even begin. Practitioners of the Deadly Blossom Style learn techniques that will allow them to strike quickly and return to peaceful existence as swiftly as possible.<br />
<div style="line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19.03333282470703px;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19.03333282470703px;"><b>Basic Techniques:</b></span></span></div>
<ul style="line-height: normal;">
<li><span style="line-height: 19.016666412353516px;"><i>Uncanny Scent of Danger: </i>Avoid being surprised.</span></li>
<li><i><span style="line-height: 19.016666412353516px;">Sudden Blossoming of Blood: </span></i><span style="line-height: 19.016666412353516px;">Strike an unsuspecting foe for double damage.</span></li>
<li><span style="line-height: 19.016666412353516px;"><i>Instantaneous Strike of Cessation: </i>Draw your weapon, strike, and return it to its scabbard before anyone knows you've attacked.</span></li>
</ul>
<div style="line-height: normal;">
<span style="line-height: 19px;"><b>Preferred Weapons:</b> Swords, knives, fans.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal;">
<span style="line-height: 19px;"><b>Weakness: </b>Lack of endurance</span><br />
<span style="line-height: 19px;"><br /></span>
<h3 style="line-height: normal;">
<span style="line-height: 19px;">Celestial Fist Style</span></h3>
<div style="line-height: normal;">
<span style="line-height: 19px;">The Godhead monks of Tianguo learn that the first enemies of the holy are the corrupt spirits and demons that fester just beneath the material plane, lurking and hoping to pervert the pious at every moment. Every element of the Celestial Fist Style is designed to defeat such opponents, who laugh at the laws of creation and defy mortal means.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal;">
<span style="line-height: 19px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19.03333282470703px;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal;">
<span style="line-height: 19px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19.03333282470703px;"><b>Basic Techniques:</b></span></span></span></div>
<ul style="line-height: normal;">
<li><span style="line-height: 19px;"><span style="line-height: 19.016666412353516px;"><i>God-Blooded Fist: </i>Smite an unholy foe for double damage.</span></span></li>
<li><span style="line-height: 19px;"><i><span style="line-height: 19.016666412353516px;">Inescapable Blow Technique: </span></i><span style="line-height: 19.016666412353516px;">Strike any enemy, even the incorporeal or spiritual.</span></span></li>
<li><span style="line-height: 19px;"><span style="line-height: 19.016666412353516px;"><i>Glorious Leap of Faith: </i>Defy gravity for a few moments, the better to fight foes that do the same themselves.</span></span></li>
</ul>
<div style="line-height: normal;">
<span style="line-height: 19px;"><span style="line-height: 19px;"><b>Preferred Weapons:</b> Fists only.</span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal;">
<span style="line-height: 19px;"><span style="line-height: 19px;"><b>Weakness: </b>Arrogance</span></span><br />
<span style="line-height: 19px;"><span style="line-height: 19px;"></span></span><br />
<h3 style="line-height: normal;">
<span style="line-height: 19px;"><span style="line-height: 19px;">Moving Fortress Style</span></span></h3>
<div style="line-height: normal;">
<span style="line-height: 19px;"><span style="line-height: 19px;">Ghazi warriors of the Seven Witch-Queens of Shatranji have been known to use many martial styles, but dominant amongst them is the Moving Fortress Style. Like the chromatic moving castles of the Witch-Queens, the Moving Fortress Style emphasizes maintaining a strong defence while shattering your foes' own defences.</span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal;">
<span style="line-height: 19px;"><span style="line-height: 19px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19.03333282470703px;"><br /></span></span></span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal;">
<span style="line-height: 19px;"><span style="line-height: 19px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19.03333282470703px;"><b>Basic Techniques:</b></span></span></span></span></div>
<ul style="line-height: normal;">
<li><span style="line-height: 19px;"><span style="line-height: 19px;"><span style="line-height: 19.016666412353516px;"><i>Shield-Breaking Strike: </i>Destroy an enemy's armour or shield.</span></span></span></li>
<li><span style="line-height: 19px;"><span style="line-height: 19px;"><span style="line-height: 19.016666412353516px;"><i>Inevitable Castle Motion: </i>Push forwards, driving your foes backwards.</span></span></span></li>
<li><span style="line-height: 19px;"><span style="line-height: 19px;"><span style="line-height: 19.016666412353516px;"><i>Unyielding Rukh Defence: </i>Ignore an enemy's attack.</span></span></span></li>
</ul>
<div style="line-height: normal;">
<span style="line-height: 19px;"><span style="line-height: 19px;"><span style="line-height: 19px;"><b>Preferred Weapons:</b> Maces, hammers.</span></span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal;">
<span style="line-height: 19px;"><span style="line-height: 19px;"><span style="line-height: 19px;"><b>Weakness: </b>Rigidity </span></span></span><br />
<span style="line-height: 19px;"><span style="line-height: 19px;"><span style="line-height: 19px;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
</div>
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<div>
<h3 style="line-height: normal;">
<span style="line-height: 19px;">Shadow Dancer Style</span></h3>
<span style="line-height: 19px;">The travelling performers of Transantiago often come under threat from the many dangers of the Shrouded Land, from the agents of the inhuman Barons to bandits and monstrous creatures of the deep woods. Their own martial arts emphasize deception and movement, avoiding an enemy's attack and striking only from a position of total superiority.</span><br />
<span style="line-height: 19px;"><br /></span>
<div style="line-height: normal;">
<span style="line-height: 19px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19.03333282470703px;"><b>Basic Techniques:</b></span></span></span></div>
<ul style="line-height: normal;">
<li><span style="line-height: 19px;"><span style="line-height: 19.016666412353516px;"><i>Shrouding Shadow Step: </i>Vanish quickly into the shadows.</span></span></li>
<li><span style="line-height: 19px;"><span style="line-height: 19.016666412353516px;"><i>Instant Insight Impact: </i>Strike without warning at your foe's weakest point, dealing terrible damage.</span></span></li>
<li><span style="line-height: 19px;"><span style="line-height: 19.016666412353516px;"><i>Death Defying Dance: </i>Dance out of the path of danger.</span></span></li>
</ul>
<div style="line-height: normal;">
<span style="line-height: 19px;"><b>Preferred Weapons:</b> Daggers, staves.</span></div>
<div>
<div style="line-height: normal;">
<span style="line-height: 19px;"><b>Weakness: </b>Fragility</span></div>
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<h3 style="line-height: normal;">
<span style="line-height: 19px;">Burning Sands Style</span></h3>
<span style="line-height: 19px;">Harsh and unyielding, the desert sands of Haemyin do not admit those who are not willing to fight to survive. The sandslingers of the Shifting Sands are notorious for their willingness to go to any end to win a fight, regardless of honour or fairness.</span><br />
<div style="line-height: normal;">
<span style="line-height: 19px;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal;">
<span style="line-height: 19px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19.03333282470703px;"><b>Basic Techniques:</b></span></span></span></div>
<ul style="line-height: normal;">
<li><span style="line-height: 19px;"><span style="line-height: 19.016666412353516px;"><i>Burning Hand Strike: </i>Deliver a burning wound to a foe, igniting their own chi as a source of pain.</span></span></li>
<li><span style="line-height: 19px;"><span style="line-height: 19.016666412353516px;"><i>Sand-Slinging Gesture: </i>Blind your foe for a few moments.</span></span></li>
<li><span style="line-height: 19px;"><span style="line-height: 19.016666412353516px;"><i>Blurring Sand Shift: </i>Move instantly from one place to another.</span></span></li>
</ul>
<div style="line-height: normal;">
<span style="line-height: 19px;"><b>Preferred Weapons:</b> Spears, knives, scimitars.</span></div>
<div>
<div style="line-height: normal;">
<span style="line-height: 19px;"><b>Weakness: </b>Overcommitment</span></div>
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<h3 style="line-height: normal;">
<span style="line-height: 19px;">Drunken Monkey Style</span></h3>
<span style="line-height: 19px;">A school of martial arts developed by the brewmaster monks of Konguo, Drunken Monkey Style revels in the chaos of the world. Masters of the school are never obvious martial artists, most likely to be found dishevelled and drunk in the nearest watering hole. The style emphasizes tricks and chaotic movement to confuse one's opponent, and its advanced techniques are easiest to perform when you've had one too many.</span><br />
<div style="line-height: normal;">
<span style="line-height: 19px;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal;">
<span style="line-height: 19px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19.03333282470703px;"><b>Basic Techniques:</b></span></span></span></div>
<ul>
<li style="line-height: normal;"><span style="line-height: 19px;"><span style="line-height: 19.016666412353516px;"><i>Harmless Humility Stance: </i>Appear harmless and blend into the background.</span></span></li>
<li><i><span style="line-height: 19px;">Irresistibly Irritating</span><span style="line-height: 19.016666412353516px;"> Insult: </span></i><span style="line-height: 19.016666412353516px;">Taunt an enemy, tricking them into moving into a disadvantageous position.</span></li>
<li style="line-height: normal;"><span style="line-height: 19px;"><span style="line-height: 19.016666412353516px;"><i>Divide And Conquer Defence: </i>Trick one foe into attacking another.</span></span></li>
</ul>
<div style="line-height: normal;">
<span style="line-height: 19px;"><b>Preferred Weapons:</b> Improvised weaponry, barrels.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal;">
<span style="line-height: 19px;"><b>Weakness: </b>Incautious</span></div>
</div>
</div>
</div>TheLoneAmigohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00984096812960996717noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7554702397904782938.post-82192062338540542262012-08-06T18:10:00.005+10:002012-08-08T00:22:04.555+10:00[Daojin City Blues] The Vanity of Yao Lin, Part 1<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; line-height: 16.883333206176758px; word-spacing: 2px;">We opened with the gang of four making their way to the Long Sing Casino, the city's most decadent pleasure barge and a wholly incorporated operation of the Black Swan Triad. </span><b style="color: #666666; line-height: 16.883333206176758px; word-spacing: 2px;">Sanjeev</b><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; line-height: 16.883333206176758px; word-spacing: 2px;">, using his contacts in the underground fight scene, had heard of an opportunity for a big job with the Green Spider, one of the Black Swans' up-and-coming operators. The PCs, all being flat broke, leapt at the opportunity.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br style="color: #666666; line-height: 16.883333206176758px; word-spacing: 2px;" /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; line-height: 16.883333206176758px; word-spacing: 2px;">At the casino, </span><b style="color: #666666; line-height: 16.883333206176758px; word-spacing: 2px;">Xiao Hu</b><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; line-height: 16.883333206176758px; word-spacing: 2px;"> used his </span><i style="color: #666666; line-height: 16.883333206176758px; word-spacing: 2px;">Spirit Tongue</i><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; line-height: 16.883333206176758px; word-spacing: 2px;"> move to make contact with the spirits of greed and jade that swarmed over the gaming floor like mosquitos. He learned the true name of the mightiest spirit, Leng Su, a bloated spirit-caterpillar who tempted him with the promise of wealth at the Mijatsu tables - a temptation that the impetuous Little Tiger was ill-equipped to resist. Only the wisdom and quick action of </span><b style="color: #666666; line-height: 16.883333206176758px; word-spacing: 2px;">Nobunaga</b><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; line-height: 16.883333206176758px; word-spacing: 2px;"> was able to drag him away from the tables before he landed himself in trouble.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br style="color: #666666; line-height: 16.883333206176758px; word-spacing: 2px;" /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; line-height: 16.883333206176758px; word-spacing: 2px;">In the private rooms, </span><b style="color: #666666; line-height: 16.883333206176758px; word-spacing: 2px;">Sanjeev</b><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; line-height: 16.883333206176758px; word-spacing: 2px;"> and </span><b style="color: #666666; line-height: 16.883333206176758px; word-spacing: 2px;">Li Feng</b><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; line-height: 16.883333206176758px; word-spacing: 2px;"> negotiated with the Green Spider, an elegant woman who had clearly mastered a martial-arts style unknown to them. The job on offer was a complicated one - stealing an idea. Yao Lin, a powerful archmage who commanded the secret of giving life to Porcelain Men, had vanished several weeks ago, leaving his secluded estate and factory open to a raid. The Black Swan would pay handsomely to learn the secret of the golem master's art. After a brief </span><i style="color: #666666; line-height: 16.883333206176758px; word-spacing: 2px;">Parley</i><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; line-height: 16.883333206176758px; word-spacing: 2px;">, a price was arranged that was suitable to both sides, with a small payment of jade upfront and the rest on delivery of the secret.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br style="color: #666666; line-height: 16.883333206176758px; word-spacing: 2px;" /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; line-height: 16.883333206176758px; word-spacing: 2px;">Deciding there was no time to waste, the group hastened immediately toward Yao Lin's tower, whose flag fluttered above the city's wealthy Temple District. </span><b style="color: #666666; line-height: 16.883333206176758px; word-spacing: 2px;">Xiao Hu</b><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; line-height: 16.883333206176758px; word-spacing: 2px;">, as a child of the tough streets of the Jade City, took point as they scurried through the darkening night. Unfortunately, he blew his </span><i style="color: #666666; line-height: 16.883333206176758px; word-spacing: 2px;">Perilous Journey</i><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; line-height: 16.883333206176758px; word-spacing: 2px;"> roll and led them straight into the rioting strikers of the Dragonside railworks, just as the city magistrates prepared to attack the unionists with alchemical weapons. Only quick action by </span><b style="color: #666666; line-height: 16.883333206176758px; word-spacing: 2px;">Sanjeev</b><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; line-height: 16.883333206176758px; word-spacing: 2px;"> saved them from a night in the Halls of Justice, leading the group down an alleyway and away from the blossoming clouds of pain-smoke.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br style="color: #666666; line-height: 16.883333206176758px; word-spacing: 2px;" /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; line-height: 16.883333206176758px; word-spacing: 2px;">They finally made it to the Temple District, gasping and panting, avoiding patrols of magistrates and house guards, only to find their way blocked by the high fences of Prosperity Garden, the city's largest park, strictly off-limits to those who did not hold property in the Temple District. Just as the would-be thieves prepared to climb the fence, </span><b style="color: #666666; line-height: 16.883333206176758px; word-spacing: 2px;">Nobunaga</b><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; line-height: 16.883333206176758px; word-spacing: 2px;"> used his </span><i style="color: #666666; line-height: 16.883333206176758px; word-spacing: 2px;">Magnetic Detection Goggles</i><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; line-height: 16.883333206176758px; word-spacing: 2px;"> to scan the fence for wards. A powerful anbaric field surged through the fence's iron pillars, with enough voltage to fry any foolish enough to touch the fence. Clearly, an alternate route was preferable - which </span><b style="color: #666666; line-height: 16.883333206176758px; word-spacing: 2px;">Xiao Hu</b><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; line-height: 16.883333206176758px; word-spacing: 2px;"> was quick to identify. The fence surrounded the park on all sides save on the side of the cliff overlooking the Jade Ward, where a picturesque waterfall from Prosperity Garden tumbled down to join the Jin River. By climbing the cliff, they could bypass the anbaric ward and much of the park's security.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br style="color: #666666; line-height: 16.883333206176758px; word-spacing: 2px;" /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; line-height: 16.883333206176758px; word-spacing: 2px;">Unfortunately, it wasn't as easy as that. Though </span><b style="color: #666666; line-height: 16.883333206176758px; word-spacing: 2px;">Sanjeev</b><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; line-height: 16.883333206176758px; word-spacing: 2px;"> was able to climb the cliff with ease, followed quickly by </span><b style="color: #666666; line-height: 16.883333206176758px; word-spacing: 2px;">Nobunaga</b><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; line-height: 16.883333206176758px; word-spacing: 2px;"> and </span><b style="color: #666666; line-height: 16.883333206176758px; word-spacing: 2px;">Xiao Hu</b><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; line-height: 16.883333206176758px; word-spacing: 2px;">, the ranger </span><b style="color: #666666; line-height: 16.883333206176758px; word-spacing: 2px;">Li Feng</b><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; line-height: 16.883333206176758px; word-spacing: 2px;">'s endurance and strength failed him, nearly sending him plunging to his death. He was saved only by </span><b style="color: #666666; line-height: 16.883333206176758px; word-spacing: 2px;">Sanjeev</b><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; line-height: 16.883333206176758px; word-spacing: 2px;">'s determination not to let him fall. The Shatranji warrior was dragged over rocks as he clung to </span><b style="color: #666666; line-height: 16.883333206176758px; word-spacing: 2px;">Li Feng</b><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; line-height: 16.883333206176758px; word-spacing: 2px;">'s rope, suffering brutal wounds before he was able to anchor himself and haul </span><b style="color: #666666; line-height: 16.883333206176758px; word-spacing: 2px;">Li Feng</b><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; line-height: 16.883333206176758px; word-spacing: 2px;"> to the clifftop. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br style="color: #666666; line-height: 16.883333206176758px; word-spacing: 2px;" /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; line-height: 16.883333206176758px; word-spacing: 2px;">As the two lay gasping and bleeding, </span><b style="color: #666666; line-height: 16.883333206176758px; word-spacing: 2px;">Xiao Hu</b><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; line-height: 16.883333206176758px; word-spacing: 2px;"> attempted to channel his </span><i style="color: #666666; line-height: 16.883333206176758px; word-spacing: 2px;">Chi Healing</i><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; line-height: 16.883333206176758px; word-spacing: 2px;"> powers in order to aid his allies - but his youthful inexperience led him to disaster. Overcharging had drawn energy from the surrounding water spirits, driving them into a zealous rage. They summoned their servants - crocodilian beasts that lurked within the park's gentle streams and reflecting pools - and set them upon the trespassers. Though the adventurers were able to demonstrate their mastery of the martial arts and quickly dispatch the beasts and the spirits, they did not escape unharmed - no member of the party escaped the battle without a nasty scratch or two.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br style="color: #666666; line-height: 16.883333206176758px; word-spacing: 2px;" /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; line-height: 16.883333206176758px; word-spacing: 2px;">After making their way through a topiary labyrinth and a brief scuffle with the park's guards, the adventurers came to the foot of the cliff below Yao Lin's estate. No entrance was obvious, until </span><b style="color: #666666; line-height: 16.883333206176758px; word-spacing: 2px;">Li Feng</b><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; line-height: 16.883333206176758px; word-spacing: 2px;"> discovered a secret entrance through the cliff-face into a room with a pillar of water flowing upwards. Seeing no alternative, </span><b style="color: #666666; line-height: 16.883333206176758px; word-spacing: 2px;">Sanjeev</b><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; line-height: 16.883333206176758px; word-spacing: 2px;"> stripped off his armour and flung himself into the pillar, swimming up into a fountain that lay in the courtyard of Yao Lin's estate - only to be confronted by a horde of heavily-armed porcelain warriors.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br style="color: #666666; line-height: 16.883333206176758px; word-spacing: 2px;" /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; line-height: 16.883333206176758px; word-spacing: 2px;">The other three quickly followed, but it seemed there was no winning this battle. The warrior's mighty spear and the artificer's Etheric Emitter Glove dispatched several porcelain men, but they continued to advance implacably on the group. Finally, </span><b style="color: #666666; line-height: 16.883333206176758px; word-spacing: 2px;">Sanjeev</b><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; line-height: 16.883333206176758px; word-spacing: 2px;"> cried out to the others to flee into the tower, as he threw himself against the porcelain army in a sacrificial last stand.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br style="color: #666666; line-height: 16.883333206176758px; word-spacing: 2px;" /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: inherit; line-height: 16.883333206176758px; word-spacing: 2px;">-----</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br style="color: #666666; line-height: 16.883333206176758px; word-spacing: 2px;" /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: inherit; line-height: 16.883333206176758px; word-spacing: 2px;">We ended the session there - Sanjeev's player wouldn't be able to make it to any further sessions, so it seemed appropriate for him to sacrifice himself heroically against the porcelain horde - unfortunately, because he'd just gained a level, along with Nobunaga and Xiao Hu. Stay tuned for session two and the climactic resolution...</span>TheLoneAmigohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00984096812960996717noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7554702397904782938.post-40025449868242167762012-08-06T18:09:00.001+10:002012-08-06T18:09:19.659+10:00[Dungeon World] Daojin City Blues - Introduction<span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: 'Comic Sans', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; line-height: 16.883333206176758px; word-spacing: 2px;">So, despite having followed its development from the earliest stages, it's taken me quite a while to actually get around to running Dungeon World game. One of the problems is that my mind constantly sails in nine different directions at once: one moment I'm desperate to run a Farscape-inspired space opera, the next a gritty Marxist interpretation of Planescape. Since I've spent the last year or so indoctrinating a new circle of gamers into the world of role-playing games, I've confined myself to running a relatively traditional game using Old School Hack, set in a reasonably traditional D&D campaign setting that a friend and I have been running games in for years (</span><a href="http://rocketpropelledgame.blogspot.com.au/search/label/The%20Coin" style="color: black; font-family: 'Comic Sans', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small; line-height: 16.883333206176758px; text-decoration: none; word-spacing: 2px;" target="_blank">The Coin</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: 'Comic Sans', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; line-height: 16.883333206176758px; word-spacing: 2px;">).</span><br style="color: #666666; font-family: 'Comic Sans', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small; line-height: 16.883333206176758px; word-spacing: 2px;" /><br style="color: #666666; font-family: 'Comic Sans', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small; line-height: 16.883333206176758px; word-spacing: 2px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: 'Comic Sans', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; line-height: 16.883333206176758px; word-spacing: 2px;">But this new campaign was going to be different. I've indoctrinated the new crew now; now I have the opportunity to move beyond the fun but rather staid elves and dragons of the Coin into the less traditional realms - but I still couldn't decide what that was going to be. </span><a href="http://rocketpropelledgame.blogspot.com.au/2012/06/marx-monsters-burning-city.html" style="color: black; font-family: 'Comic Sans', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small; line-height: 16.883333206176758px; text-decoration: none; word-spacing: 2px;" target="_blank">Marxist urban steampunk fantasy</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: 'Comic Sans', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; line-height: 16.883333206176758px; word-spacing: 2px;"> built on the bones of China Mieville? Surrealist philosophical plane-jumping adventures in Sigil or </span><a href="http://www.story-games.com/forums/discussion/15778/dungeon-world-planarch-codex-a-mini-supplement/p1" style="color: black; font-family: 'Comic Sans', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small; line-height: 16.883333206176758px; text-decoration: none; word-spacing: 2px;" target="_blank">Dis</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: 'Comic Sans', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; line-height: 16.883333206176758px; word-spacing: 2px;">? Or some sort of epic wuxia fantasy inspired by Avatar and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon?</span><br style="color: #666666; font-family: 'Comic Sans', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small; line-height: 16.883333206176758px; word-spacing: 2px;" /><br style="color: #666666; font-family: 'Comic Sans', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small; line-height: 16.883333206176758px; word-spacing: 2px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: 'Comic Sans', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; line-height: 16.883333206176758px; word-spacing: 2px;">After watching Legend of Korra, the answer became clear to me: </span><i style="color: #666666; font-family: 'Comic Sans', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small; line-height: 16.883333206176758px; word-spacing: 2px;">I was going to do all of them at once</i><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: 'Comic Sans', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; line-height: 16.883333206176758px; word-spacing: 2px;">.</span><br style="color: #666666; font-family: 'Comic Sans', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small; line-height: 16.883333206176758px; word-spacing: 2px;" /><br style="color: #666666; font-family: 'Comic Sans', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small; line-height: 16.883333206176758px; word-spacing: 2px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: 'Comic Sans', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; line-height: 16.883333206176758px; word-spacing: 2px;">Here's the pitch I sold this game to my players with: </span><br style="color: #666666; font-family: 'Comic Sans', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small; line-height: 16.883333206176758px; word-spacing: 2px;" /><br style="color: #666666; font-family: 'Comic Sans', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small; line-height: 16.883333206176758px; word-spacing: 2px;" /><i style="color: #666666; font-family: 'Comic Sans', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small; line-height: 16.883333206176758px; word-spacing: 2px;">Daojin City.<br /><br />Most people just call it <b>the</b> City, and it deserves the definitive article. There's no place quite like it, lying as it does in the interstices between the many worlds, towers stretching into the infinite unknown, canals crowded with gondoliers. Its portals and trade consortia services a thousand empires, its streets echo with the sound of a hundred tongues.<br /><br />But it's a rough place if you haven't got two jade pieces to rub together. You came here to make it big, to show the universe what you're made of - but with the City squeezed from above by the plutocrats and sorcerers of the Jade Council, and from below by the mobsters of the many triads and tongs, there's not a lot of room for an honest adventurer to make a yuan.<br /><br />A dishonest adventurer, on the other hand...</i><br style="color: #666666; font-family: 'Comic Sans', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small; line-height: 16.883333206176758px; word-spacing: 2px;" /><br style="color: #666666; font-family: 'Comic Sans', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small; line-height: 16.883333206176758px; word-spacing: 2px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: 'Comic Sans', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; line-height: 16.883333206176758px; word-spacing: 2px;">------</span><br style="color: #666666; font-family: 'Comic Sans', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small; line-height: 16.883333206176758px; word-spacing: 2px;" /><br style="color: #666666; font-family: 'Comic Sans', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small; line-height: 16.883333206176758px; word-spacing: 2px;" /><b style="color: #666666; font-family: 'Comic Sans', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small; line-height: 16.883333206176758px; word-spacing: 2px;">HOUSE RULES</b><br style="color: #666666; font-family: 'Comic Sans', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small; line-height: 16.883333206176758px; word-spacing: 2px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: 'Comic Sans', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; line-height: 16.883333206176758px; word-spacing: 2px;">The DW basics are great, but they needed a fair amount of tweaking to fit in my urban kung-fu steampunk fantasy. </span><br style="color: #666666; font-family: 'Comic Sans', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small; line-height: 16.883333206176758px; word-spacing: 2px;" /><br style="color: #666666; font-family: 'Comic Sans', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small; line-height: 16.883333206176758px; word-spacing: 2px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: 'Comic Sans', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; line-height: 16.883333206176758px; word-spacing: 2px;">Firstly, I ditched alignment and replaced it with elemental temperaments, which are essentially the same mechanically. Although the implementation of alignments in DW is one of the best I've seen, it really doesn't sit well in a revolutionary steampunk noir game.</span><br style="color: #666666; font-family: 'Comic Sans', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small; line-height: 16.883333206176758px; word-spacing: 2px;" /><br style="color: #666666; font-family: 'Comic Sans', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small; line-height: 16.883333206176758px; word-spacing: 2px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: 'Comic Sans', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; line-height: 16.883333206176758px; word-spacing: 2px;">Secondly, I ditched the concept of separate playable races: although the weird and varied races and crossbreeds of Planescape appealed to me, it's easy to overwhelm a setting with too many interpolating forces. Plus, I was already planning to have a varied array of cultural backgrounds to delineate characters - no need for those cultural backgrounds to be defined by biological facts. So humans and monsters.</span><br style="color: #666666; font-family: 'Comic Sans', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small; line-height: 16.883333206176758px; word-spacing: 2px;" /><br style="color: #666666; font-family: 'Comic Sans', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small; line-height: 16.883333206176758px; word-spacing: 2px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: 'Comic Sans', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; line-height: 16.883333206176758px; word-spacing: 2px;">Thirdly, I came up with the idea of each character having knowledge of a </span><a href="http://rocketpropelledgame.blogspot.com.au/2012/07/dungeon-world-kung-fu-moves.html" style="color: black; font-family: 'Comic Sans', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small; line-height: 16.883333206176758px; text-decoration: none; word-spacing: 2px;" target="_blank">martial arts style</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: 'Comic Sans', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; line-height: 16.883333206176758px; word-spacing: 2px;">. This mechanically replaces race moves, but mainly serves to enshrine the Avatar-like tone. Each character, even the slender wizard, is already a skilled martial artist. </span><br style="color: #666666; font-family: 'Comic Sans', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small; line-height: 16.883333206176758px; word-spacing: 2px;" /><br style="color: #666666; font-family: 'Comic Sans', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small; line-height: 16.883333206176758px; word-spacing: 2px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: 'Comic Sans', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; line-height: 16.883333206176758px; word-spacing: 2px;">Finally, I messed with the classes to have them better fit my interpretation of the world. I removed Clerics, used Nathan Orlando Wilson's </span><a href="http://apocalypse-world.com/forums/index.php?topic=2324.0" style="color: black; font-family: 'Comic Sans', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small; line-height: 16.883333206176758px; text-decoration: none; word-spacing: 2px;" target="_blank">freeform Wizard rewrite</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: 'Comic Sans', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; line-height: 16.883333206176758px; word-spacing: 2px;">, and added an </span><a href="http://apocalypse-world.com/forums/index.php?topic=3056.0" style="color: black; font-family: 'Comic Sans', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small; line-height: 16.883333206176758px; text-decoration: none; word-spacing: 2px;" target="_blank">Artificer</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: 'Comic Sans', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; line-height: 16.883333206176758px; word-spacing: 2px;"> and a </span><a href="http://apocalypse-world.com/forums/index.php?topic=3056.0" style="color: black; font-family: 'Comic Sans', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small; line-height: 16.883333206176758px; text-decoration: none; word-spacing: 2px;" target="_blank">Mystic</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: 'Comic Sans', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; line-height: 16.883333206176758px; word-spacing: 2px;">as character options.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: 'Comic Sans', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; line-height: 16.883333206176758px; word-spacing: 2px;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: 'Comic Sans', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; line-height: 16.883333206176758px; word-spacing: 2px;">------</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: 'Comic Sans', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; line-height: 16.883333206176758px; word-spacing: 2px;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: 'Comic Sans', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; line-height: 16.883333206176758px; word-spacing: 2px;">I opened the game with the premise that the PCs were broke adventurers on the periphery of Daojin City's criminal underworld, whose various schemes to get rich quick in the City of Jade had all fallen through. The four players who showed up brought this rogues' gallery to life:</span><br />
<br style="color: #666666; font-family: 'Comic Sans', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small; line-height: 16.883333206176758px; word-spacing: 2px;" /><ul style="color: #666666; font-family: 'Comic Sans', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small; line-height: 16.883333206176758px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; word-spacing: 2px;">
<li><b>Nobunaga</b> the air-aspected Artifcer, a man consumed by his curiosity and desire for knowledge. An exiled noble from Kumiko, the Peach Kingdom, he is skilled in the <i>Deadly Blossom Style</i> developed by the poet-knights of the Peach King, which focuses on ending battles decisively and quickly, almost before they begin.</li>
<li><b>Sanjeev</b> the fire-aspected Warrior, hailing from Shatranji, the Many-Coloured Raj. A fierce warrior and master of the <i>Moving Fortress Style</i>, he once served as a personal bodyguard to one of the Witch-Queens of Shatranji, but was banished from her presence for unknown reasons.</li>
<li><b>Xiao Hu</b> ("Little Tiger") the air-aspected Mystic, a thirteen-year-old street urchin whose mystic powers were awakened when his older brother was slain by a member of the One Hand Triad. He had devoted himself to learning <i>Jade Mountain Style</i>, a style once practiced by the monks whose abbeys pre-dated Daojin City.</li>
<li><b>Li Fang</b> the fire-aspected Ranger, who hailed from a broken town in the deserts of Haemyin, the Shifting Sands. Once a prosperous centre of trade, its fortunes vanished when the Celestial & Jade Railway bypassed the town, and when its oasis dried up. Li Fang, who is a practised artist of the <i>Burning Sand Style</i>, suspects that the two events are closely related.</li>
</ul>TheLoneAmigohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00984096812960996717noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7554702397904782938.post-80394350540482619762012-07-29T12:26:00.004+10:002024-01-04T16:11:37.078+11:00[To Coin a World] Dwarf Ancestor GodsAs mentioned before, dwarves consider gods beneath their worship. What kind of dwarf are you if you have to ask some glowy extradimensional git for blessings. You make your own blessings, dammit.<br />
<br />
Of course, the dwarves <i>do</i> worship <i>something</i> - every dwarf religiously recalls the exploits of his famous ancestors, and above them all, the First Seven, those considered to be mutual ancestors by all dwarfkind.<br />
<br />
Explorer<br />
Miner<br />
Crafter<br />
Namer<br />
Brewer<br />
Singer<br />
Defender<br />
<br />
<br />
and hopes one day to do something impressive enough to be recalled in turn by his distant descendants, allowing them to pass on to the halls of honor and carouse with them for all eternity.<br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span><br />
<br />Jarrahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16367493507081661713noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7554702397904782938.post-60939072674888019272012-07-22T15:50:00.001+10:002024-01-04T16:11:36.889+11:00[To Coin A World] Name Lists, Part 1<h4>
Grand Reman League</h4>
<div>
Male:</div>
<div>
<ol>
<li>Croban</li>
<li>Jarrison</li>
<li>Sarl</li>
<li>Gervis</li>
<li><span style="background-color: lime;">Bronn</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: lime;">Rendar</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: lime;">Otto</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: lime;">Armitage</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: lime;">Albert</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: lime;">Alfonse</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: lime;">Alonzo</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: lime;">Alfred</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: lime;">Archibald</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: lime;">Baldemar</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: lime;">Baldric</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: lime;">Balthazar</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: lime;">Jargholt</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: lime;">Broderick</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: lime;">Bruno</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: lime;">Edric</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: lime;">Edwin</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: lime;">Errol</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: lime;">Garrin</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: lime;">Godfrey</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: lime;">Griswald</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: lime;">Harvey</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: lime;">Hendrick</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: lime;">Hugh</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: lime;">Johan</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: lime;">Lance</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: lime;">Leonardo</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: lime;">Maximillian</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: lime;">Milo</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: lime;">Orlando</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: lime;">Raynard</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: lime;">Redmond</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: lime;">Rickward</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: lime;">Roddrick</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: lime;">Stanley</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: lime;">Ingleforth</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: lime;">Terell</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: lime;">Tibalt</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: lime;">Valdemar</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: lime;">Wendel</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: lime;">Woldrick</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: lime;">Marius</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: lime;">Trilby</span></li>
</ol>
<div>
<div>
Female:</div>
<div>
<ol>
<li><span style="background-color: white;">Ellisa</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white;">Orianna</span></li>
<li>Danyse</li>
<li>Issa</li>
<li>Bronwynn</li>
<li>Cassandre</li>
<li><span style="background-color: lime;">Molly</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: lime;">Amanda</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: lime;">Rosetta</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: lime;">Katarina</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: lime;">Enigma</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: lime;">Harmony</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: lime;">Lillian</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: lime;">Ada</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: lime;">Agatha</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: lime;">Alison</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: lime;">Bernadette</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: lime;">Bethany</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: lime;">Brenna</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: lime;">Carolina</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: lime;">Edda</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: lime;">Elizabeth</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: lime;">Emmaline</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: lime;">Evony</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: lime;">Heidi</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: lime;">Isolda</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: lime;">Katharina</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: lime;">Clara</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: lime;">Nadetta</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: lime;">Petronilla</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: lime;">Zelinda</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: lime;">Adria</span></li>
</ol>
<div>
<b>Hublands</b></div>
<div>
<b><br /></b></div>
<div>
Male:</div>
<div>
<ol>
<li><span style="background-color: lime;">Eric</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: lime;">Jorn</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: lime;">Strom</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: lime;">Hamish</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: lime;">Angus</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: lime;">Alric</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: lime;">Stoic</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: lime;">Rob</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: lime;">Ruffric</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: lime;">Panic</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: lime;"><br /></span></li>
</ol>
</div>
<div>
<b><br /></b></div>
<div>
Female:</div>
<ol>
<li><span style="background-color: lime;">Elfrida</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: lime;">Gerda</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: lime;">Helga</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: lime;">Hilda</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: lime;">Selda</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: lime;">Vala</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: lime;">Lexie</span></li>
</ol>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<h4>
<b>Languille</b></h4>
<div>
<span style="background-color: white;">Male:</span><br />
<br />
<ol>
<li><span style="background-color: white;">Croban</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white;">Jarrison</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white;">Sarl</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white;">Gervis</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: lime;">Théophile Larocque</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: lime;">Romain Fournier</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: lime;">Parfait Bonnin</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: lime;">Armand Labrousse</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: lime;">Ambroise Coutard</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: lime;">Louis Thibodeau</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: lime;">Claude Defraine</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: lime;">Paulin Pelletier</span></li>
</ol>
Female:<br />
<ol>
<li><span style="background-color: lime;">Genevieve</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: lime;">Giselle</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: lime;">Maddalene</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: lime;">Clarice Lecanu</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: lime;">Petronelle Frassin</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: lime;">Marie-Bernadette Quentin</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: lime;">Marie-Sabine Doucet</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: lime;">Henriette Solange Jouvin</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: lime;">Claudine Poincaré</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: lime;">Jocelin Jacquemin</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: lime;">Alexandrine Aceline Jantot</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: lime;">Babette Chabert</span></li>
</ol>
</div>
<h4>
<b>Aratha</b></h4>
<div>
Male:</div>
<div>
<ol>
<li>Cassim</li>
<li>Dawud</li>
<li>Assan</li>
<li>Tahir</li>
<li>Uthman</li>
<li>Ibrahan</li>
<li>Khalid</li>
<li>Rasheel</li>
<li>Hazid</li>
<li>Ismail</li>
<li>Baqar</li>
<li>Shabban</li>
<li><span style="background-color: lime;">Ahkmed</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: lime;">Fazeem</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: lime;">Yazid</span></li>
</ol>
</div>TheLoneAmigohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00984096812960996717noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7554702397904782938.post-68252315330792479782012-07-18T18:38:00.003+10:002012-07-18T18:54:02.758+10:00Burn the Dark Lord!So, our heroes face a Dark Lord, an evil and vile sorcerer (usually. Why are so many bad guys magic users?)... Cool. A bit cliche, but cliche for a reason - evil and vile sorcerers are excellent villains to face. They've got class.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-cQ6YgVJS9C4/UAZ2fT0IC8I/AAAAAAAAAMw/SKcXlJiHrdY/s1600/maleficent__yeah_cuz_i_heard_of_the_movie_by_nebezial-d54x5bj.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="256" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-cQ6YgVJS9C4/UAZ2fT0IC8I/AAAAAAAAAMw/SKcXlJiHrdY/s400/maleficent__yeah_cuz_i_heard_of_the_movie_by_nebezial-d54x5bj.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>And by class, I mean a hat with horns on it. </i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
But say you're in a bit of a rush. Well, allow me to present a set of tables for creating a dastardly magic user quickly.<br />
<br />
First, he or she needs a <b>name</b> - there are various random generators out there, but none I personally particularly like. I'm sure you can work out something. Maybe name him after a disease? I've always loved "Anthrax" as an evil name.<br />
<br />
Now, assuming that your villain is a wizard (a pretty safe assumption), then they'll need <b>spells</b>. I heartily recommend <a href="http://dndwithpornstars.blogspot.com.au/2011/11/battle-oracle-mechanic-easy-npc-wizard.html">Zak's method of quick spell selection</a> (the battle oracle in the same post is kinda neat too, especially if the PCs consult an oracle before facing the dark lord).<br />
<br />
<b>What other dastardly tricks can the dark lord do?</b> One of <a href="http://joeskythedungeonbrawler.wordpress.com/2010/02/14/a-table-for-the-bad-guys/">these, mostly likely.</a> (WARNING, annoying use of bad punctuation and CAPS LOCK. Probably for irony purposes or something).<br />
<br />
As an optional third step, <b>what's stopping the PCs from just killing the dark lord?</b> Roll a d20. First 12 results are off this table <a href="http://jrients.blogspot.com.au/2012/06/why-cant-you-kill-villain-normal-way.html">here</a>, the remainder are below (subtract 12 from result). If you don't like any of these, just do your darndest to make sure they stay out of the PCs' combat reach until a suitably dramatic moment.<br />
<ol>
<li><span style="background-color: white;">Lich. Hey, it's a classic. Can't be killed unless you find the little box holding his soul. </span></li>
<li>Annoyingly complex lich - soul split into several bits, each stored in different objects in different places. Can only die when they've ALL been destroyed.</li>
<li>Dead man switch - if the bad guy is killed, then something even worse gets to use his dead body as a portal to access the world.</li>
<li>Soul-bound siblings - somebody the PCs like is actually the twin of this guy, and if one dies, so does the other. </li>
<li>Minor God - like Thor or Loki from the Avengers, not entirely immortal, but <i>really damned tough. </i>In D&D terms, probably has several times the HP of the entire party put together, and recovers very quickly.</li>
<li>Baldur-dash - made deals with the spirits/gods of every inanimate material, bar one type of tree (Holly? Oak? Palm-trees?). Can only be hurt by weapons made out of that kind of tree. </li>
<li>I Think I'm a Clone Now - is actually one of several duplicate copies, all equally skilled. If you kill one, another will arise from the shadows to take over his schemes. </li>
<li>Was never born in the first place - how he exists in defiance of the laws of causality is a mystery, but he can't actually be killed until targeted with a <i>reincarnate</i> spell. </li>
</ol>
<br />
So... <b>what's the evil plot? </b>Roll a d30, or pick.<br />
Obviously, these are all cribbed from movies, books, or games, and still need some fleshing out. Try not to assuming that the PCs will do anything in particular, just make sure they're in the Villain's path.<br />
<ol>
<li>He has kidnapped the princess and transformed her into a swan (or other beast), and will only lift the curse if she agrees to marry him, giving him legitimate claim to the crown.</li>
<li>Plans to sacrifice a prophetically-picked virgin on the night of the eclipse, after which he will be able to transform into a dragon. </li>
<li>Has captured the prince and replaced him with a polymorphed lacky. Now living the high-life at the grace of the strangely-acting "prince". Must regularly get blood samples from the prince to maintain the spell. </li>
<li>Has sent vile minions (orcs are traditional) to retrieve the artifact forged by an even greater and more evil sorcerer in the depths of time. If she gets it, it will greatly magnify his arcane powers. </li>
<li>Leads army of vile minions (again, probably orcs. Undead are good for this as well, though) on devastating rampage through the kingdom for shits and giggles.</li>
<li>Seeks to kill the boy whom prophecy says will kill him, so that he can concentrate on world domination scheme without worry.</li>
<li>His immortality is actually the result of a power possessed by a girl he has had imprisoned for many years. She just escaped, and now he desperately wants her back. </li>
<li>Trying to get samples/plans of the powers of all the most mighty threats in the world (that alchemist's strength potion, that thief's invisibility enchantment, that inventor's submersible), so he can replicate them for himself.</li>
<li>As #8 above, but actually just wants the powers to sell to the highest bidder.</li>
<li>Has been sealed away in a prison deep underground for millenia... and still is. However, has managed to reach out and recruit minions to free him. They've nearly dug through to him, and when they do free him, he's going to be VERY hard to stop. </li>
<li>Is the subject of an unpleasant curse which prevents him from enjoying food, drink, or the pleasures of intimate company. Breaking the curse requires spilling the blood of the governor's son on a hidden island. </li>
<li>Already has VAST arcane power, and uses it willy-nilly. Unfortunately, this is more than local reality can stand, and if she keeps it up, the universe is going to fall apart. </li>
<li>Is releasing a plague to cripple every other magic-user on the planet, so that he will be unopposed. </li>
<li>Has built a moving fortress that can level whole cities that don't wish to bow to him. Now chasing the princess who managed to get her hands on the designs showing the fortress's one weak spot. </li>
<li>Loathes new music, and has ruled that only certain specific tunes may be played in her domain. Has awful taste in music. </li>
<li>Seeks to open a portal to another realm, to allow an extradimensional army access to the world. Once they've pillaged what they want, they will let him rule the remains, or so he believes. </li>
<li>He has outfitted her army with weapons of frightening power, all in turn powered by a great artifact left behind by the gods, and intends to burn the cities of the world to the ground if not stopped. </li>
<li>Seeks to eat the heart of a star given human form to renew his youth and power. </li>
<li>Wants the other two parts of the crown that, when re-formed, will let her command an army of unkillable clockwork golems. </li>
<li>Has stolen the Book of Peace that protects the great city from constant terrible weather and bad luck. Probably, again, for shits and giggles.</li>
<li>Is having a mighty monument built in his honor, out of pure vanity, using slave labor. </li>
<li>Seeks the key to unlock the gate that will allow his overly-tentacled patron access to the world. Actually summoned the key many years ago, but lost track of it since. </li>
<li>When the stars align, will unleash titans to battle and defeat the gods so that she can take their place. The mortal world probably won't survive being a godly battlefield. </li>
<li>Trying to hunt down the Orb of Ultimate Knowledge, a device allowing access to every bit of information that will ever be known to mortal kind, if the user has the willpower to command it. She kidnaps the descendants of those who hid the orb, intending to use ancestral memories to find it. </li>
<li>Is propagating monsters of a particular type (some kind of contagious undead?) so that when they're killed by the heroes, she can collect the energy they release when they are destroyed. With enough energy, will be able to get her soul back. Doesn't really care how many people die along the way. </li>
<li>Previously a member of an order of monster-hunters, she got sick of the order making compromises, and decided to join the monsters, leading them to hunt down the order, and anybody else nearby. </li>
<li>He leads a cult of fanatically loyal followers on a mission to activate a series of ancient weapon emplacements. While he's told them that activating the weapons will pave the way to heaven, he hasn't told them that it will do so by killing everything on the planet. </li>
<li><span style="background-color: white;">She is ruler of an area due to monopoly on something that the local populace needs - food, water, air. But now somebody knows where the thing that will break that monopoly is hidden, and she's going to try to capture them before they can reveal all. </span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white;">He is trying to capture the oracle who can lead him to the rune-bound iron cauldron that can raise an army of unstoppable undead. </span></li>
<li>She seeks the sacrificial victims and ancient tome required to resurrect her dead lover. Plans on doing a little romantic civilization-toppling when she has him back. </li>
</ol>
<div>
<b>Visual details</b> - roll two or three times. For conflicting results either re-roll, or work out some way that the Dark Lord is BOTH, such as having a combat form, or concealing her appearance with illusions. </div>
<div>
<ol>
<li>Bald</li>
<li>Intricately styled hair</li>
<li>Has only one eye</li>
<li>Rubbish beard</li>
<li>Young and handsome looking</li>
<li>Terrible teeth</li>
<li>Very fat</li>
<li>Quite old, but still handsome-looking</li>
<li>No nose</li>
<li>Peculiar skin tone - pasty white, ashen grey, etc. </li>
<li>Large nose</li>
<li>Horned helmet</li>
<li>Black armour</li>
<li>Very tall and well muscled</li>
<li>Gaunt</li>
<li>Impeccably well-dressed</li>
<li>Significant portions of body replaced with golem components (clockwork? Stone? wood?).</li>
<li>Actually exudes smoke or fire. </li>
<li>Really severe makeup. </li>
<li>Tall, even by evil villain standards. </li>
</ol>
<div>
<br /></div>
</div>
<div>
There you have it, some terribly haphazard tables for making bad guys. I realize they're unlikely to be overly useful to anybody, but writing them was fun and interesting. </div>Jarrahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16367493507081661713noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7554702397904782938.post-65222049892160696442012-07-16T10:59:00.003+10:002012-07-16T10:59:28.752+10:00[Dungeon World] Kung-Fu Moves<br />
I'm looking at running a Dungeon World game soon that's inspired in equal parts by Avatar, Planescape, and Perdido Street Station. My instinct is to remove the idea of non-human races from the setting - or at least the idea of mechanically differentiated races - but that leaves a hole in the game where the current race moves are.<br />
<br />
Inspired by some retro-clone I came across a while ago, and have completely forgotten, my solution is to give everyone "kung-fu" moves instead. The idea is that any adventurer in this setting will know at least the basics of one martial art, even the least physically inclined wizard. Essentially, it gives everyone access to a few "spells" they can use to impact the fiction automatically, without rolling - but as a strictly limited resource.<br />
<br />
I'm also looking for a better name than "kung-fu moves".<br />
<br />
---<br />
<br />
When you <b><i>spend time practising your forms and meditating</i></b>, roll +WIS. On a 10+, hold 3-breath. On a 7-9, hold 2-breath. On a 6-, hold 1-breath, but the DM holds 1 over you to inflict your school’s weakness at some point. Spend your breath to use your kung-fu moves.<br />
<br />
When you <b><i>spend time practising with a kung-fu master</i></b>, you can add another kung-fu move to your list.<br />
<br />
When you <b><i>create a character</i></b>, choose which style of kung-fu that your character has trained in:<br />
<br />
<b>Drunken Monkey</b><br />
<br />
<ul>
<li><span style="background-color: white;">Appear totally harmless.</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white;">Taunt an enemy into moving into an advantageous position.</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white;">Trick someone into attacking an ally.</span></li>
</ul>
<br />
Weakness: Incautious<br />
<br />
<b>Flowing Water</b><br />
<br />
<ul>
<li><span style="background-color: white;">Redirect an enemy’s attack into another foe.</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white;">Move swiftly out of the path of danger.</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white;">Use an enemy’s momentum against them.</span></li>
</ul>
<br />
Weakness: Softness<br />
<br />
<b>Immovable Mountain</b><br />
<br />
<ul>
<li><span style="background-color: white;">Shrug off the damage from a single attack.</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white;">Resist being pushed or forced to move.</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white;">Deliver an unstoppable blow.</span></li>
</ul>
<br />
Weakness: Inflexibility<br />
<br />
<b>Celestial Fist</b><br />
<br />
<ul>
<li><span style="background-color: white;">Smite an unholy opponent with your fists.</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white;">Strike an incorporeal or invulnerable being.</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white;">Fly free from gravity for a few moments.</span></li>
</ul>
<br />
Weakness: Arrogance.<br />
<br />
<b>Shadow Dancer</b><br />
<br />
<ul>
<li><span style="background-color: white;">Hide in plain sight.</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white;">Strike without warning.</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white;">Move swiftly out of the path of danger.</span></li>
</ul>
<br />
Weakness: Fragility<br />TheLoneAmigohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00984096812960996717noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7554702397904782938.post-77508412598047712532012-07-12T14:14:00.001+10:002024-01-04T16:11:36.963+11:00SarlonaTheLoneAmigohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00984096812960996717noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7554702397904782938.post-49248367924364600042012-07-07T02:27:00.000+10:002024-01-04T16:11:36.698+11:00Peculiar vegetation of the CoinThe malus cerebris lignum, or evil skull tree, is a form of magical vegetation commonly found in areas of higher than average background magic, particularly those with popular connotations of malevolence or danger. The tree's taxonomy is quite variable, as it commonly copies the traits of the trees around it, but it always retains its most distinctive feature - gaping holes in its trunk reminiscent of a skull. The propagation of the tree is quite popular with forest-dwellers who do not wish to be disturbed by the easily-spooked peasantry.<br />
<br />
Dire cabbages - wizard-bred cabbages of extreme size, which do not require extra resources to grow, as compared to the normal type. Occasionally mobile and carnivorous. These last two factors are why they're not as commonly grown as they might otherwise be.Jarrahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16367493507081661713noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7554702397904782938.post-59322547372729374792012-07-05T21:10:00.001+10:002012-07-05T21:10:27.417+10:00[To Coin a World] Underworld Portal<i>"Well, obviously, travelling to the underworlds, the myriad lands of the dead, is very easy. Grab a knife, pick a vital organ, insert, and you're there. Travelling there in such as way that you can travel back again, that's a bit harder.</i><br />
<i><br /></i><br />
<i>I do know of a spell that will let you do that, open a portal to the beyond. While the spell itself is not that hard, barely more difficult than a good old </i>fireball<i> incantation, it does have some... challenges associated with it. For starters, the spell won't work anywhere on this world. Thankfully, you can get around that by sailing to the very edge of the Coin, casting the spell so that the portal appears off the edge. Best to make sure you're going at a fair clip when you do it though. You don't want to come up short and fall into open space. </i><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><i><br /></i></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><i>Oh, and if you think sailing a ship off the very edge of the world is difficult, just wait till you try coming back..."</i></span>Jarrahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16367493507081661713noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7554702397904782938.post-19188121141160170742012-07-03T16:53:00.002+10:002012-07-03T16:53:20.165+10:00The Seclusium of Orphone & Other Mad AdventuresIn what is sure to go down as the crazed work of a mad genius, Jim Raggi over at Lamentations of the Flame Princess has started up <a href="http://lotfp.blogspot.com.au/2012/07/campaigns-are-live.html">19 separate crowdfunding campaigns</a> for adventures from myriad writers across the planar spheres. Amongst the list of writers are brilliant voices like <a href="http://www.indiegogo.com/LotFPRients">Jeff Rients</a>, <a href="http://www.indiegogo.com/LotFPCrawford">Kevin Crawford</a>, and <a href="http://www.indiegogo.com/LotFPKreider">Anna Kreider</a>. I hope all the adventures fund; I know a few of them will be taking money out of my wallet.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://media.wizards.com/images/magic/daily/boab/boab129_sanctum.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://media.wizards.com/images/magic/daily/boab/boab129_sanctum.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />
The first adventure to catch my eye was the work of <a href="http://lumpley.com/">Vincent Baker</a>, designer of my favourite game in the universe, <a href="http://apocalypse-world.com/">Apocalypse World</a>: <i><a href="http://www.indiegogo.com/LotFPBaker">The Seclusium of Orphone</a></i>. Here's the opening pitch:<br /><br />
<i>The Seclusium of Orphone of the Three Visions, in which are perils and treasure both material and obscure, made vulnerable to incursion by her imprisonment in the subrealm Paume</i><br />
<i><br /></i><br />
<i>Orphone of the Three Visions is a wizardess of restless and fitful ambition, so often seen in city market and bazaar, paced always by her velvet half-human servant and bodyguard Ioma. For decades she has kept her seclusium unassailable upon an island of three concentric gardens in the Cove of Bar's Toll, working her magics, pursuing her grandizement and mastery, forbidding all to come. Now she has ventured into the subrealm Paume, for reasons of curiosity, provocation or entrapment, and has neither returned nor left any remnant impulse of her will. Even loyal Ioma has departed for other employment.</i><br />
<i><br /></i><br />
<i>So her seclusium stands, not vacant, but vulnerable. The wise have not yet approached it, but cast greedy and speculative looks. Who will be the first to venture an incursion? What will they find within?</i><br />
<i><br /></i><br />
<i>The Seclusium of Orphone of the Three Visions: a system for creating an original wizard's seclusium to fit into your own game's world, campaign and level, inspired by the iconic work of Jack Vance, with notes on tone and technique, including Orphone's Seclusium itself as a complete and playable example.</i><br />
<i><br /></i><br />
And here's Vincent's initial notes on the Seclusium:<br /><br />
<div style="font-style: italic;">
Later scholars will identify seven phases in the cycle of development and decline of a wizard's seclusium. It is the fifth phase, the "vulnerable," that interests us here.</div>
<div style="font-style: italic;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-style: italic;">
Even in its "vulnerable" phase, a wizard's seclusium consists of:</div>
<div style="font-style: italic;">
- The physical structure of its seclusium proper;</div>
<div style="font-style: italic;">
- The quasi-real footprint of its magical existence;</div>
<div style="font-style: italic;">
- Its grounds, gardens, and picturesque vistas;</div>
<div style="font-style: italic;">
- Outbuildings for various purposes, both obvious and obscure;</div>
<div style="font-style: italic;">
- Passways, checkpoints, and baffles to entry, like walls, gates, paths, and vestibules;</div>
<div style="font-style: italic;">
- A position in the countryside and landscape, both physical and customary.</div>
<div style="font-style: italic;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-style: italic;">
In its "vulnerable" phase, a wizard's seclusium nevertheless has:</div>
<div style="font-style: italic;">
- A wizard, but he or she is in some form absent;</div>
<div style="font-style: italic;">
- Guardians, but they are no longer intent;</div>
<div style="font-style: italic;">
- Portals to other wizards' seclusia;</div>
<div style="font-style: italic;">
- Portals to alternate spaces or other modes of being;</div>
<div style="font-style: italic;">
- Portals to other places of wizardly significance;</div>
<div style="font-style: italic;">
- Long term guests or prisoners of the wizard, whose needs have now gone unattended;</div>
<div style="font-style: italic;">
- Evidence or remains of previous treasure-seekers and interlopers;</div>
<div style="font-style: italic;">
- Remains of the wizard's endeavors, including dangerous failures and promising experiments;</div>
<div style="font-style: italic;">
- The wizard's trappings and treasures.</div>
<div style="font-style: italic;">
- Under some circumstances, remnants of the wizard him- or herself, embodied or dis-.</div>
<div style="font-style: italic;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-style: italic;">
In its "vulnerable" phase, a wizard's seclusium has the attention of:</div>
<div style="font-style: italic;">
- Rival wizards hoping for spoils;</div>
<div style="font-style: italic;">
- Friendly and allied wizards, concerned for their fellow's wellbeing;</div>
<div style="font-style: italic;">
- Local kings, lords, churches, and scholars;</div>
<div style="font-style: italic;">
- Treasure seekers;</div>
<div style="font-style: italic;">
- Otherworldly entities.</div>
<div style="font-style: italic;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-style: italic;">
When a wizard's seclusium is in its "vulnerable" phase, it shows as:</div>
<div style="font-style: italic;">
- Long inaction with an air of finality;</div>
<div style="font-style: italic;">
- Magically communicated calls for help or attention from its guests and prisoners;</div>
<div style="font-style: italic;">
- The departure of its notable guardians or servants;</div>
<div style="font-style: italic;">
- Unheeded communications, and neglected associations and obligations;</div>
<div style="font-style: italic;">
- Successful incursions.</div>
<div style="font-style: italic;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-style: italic;">
Tone:</div>
<div style="font-style: italic;">
- The grotesque: horrific, comedic, pathetic, fantastic;</div>
<div style="font-style: italic;">
- Relativism, self-justification, delicacy, understatement, putting the best light on a bad deal;</div>
<div style="font-style: italic;">
- There are no status quos. There are catastrophes that unfold at different rates;</div>
<div style="font-style: italic;">
- Play to find out what happens.</div>
<div style="font-style: italic;">
<br /></div>
Pretty much everything Mr. Baker sets to paper is like imaginary cocaine to me, so he's already got my money. I can't wait for this to be on my table.<br />
<br />TheLoneAmigohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00984096812960996717noreply@blogger.com0