Heavy is the Crown: Session 1

 

One of my old friends and I finally were able to get some online gaming together after I moved years ago. I was excited about this due to it is always amazing to spend time with my friend but also the guy is an amazing GM and he was going to run something in the OSR/NSR camp of games. The game that was settled on was Outcast Silver Raiders. This is a game that I have been interested in since its release and a game that my friend bought me for my 40th birthday. So, the stars aligned with scheduling and the game chosen was fated. The game as it stands after Session is being run just for me, so GM and one Player.

I created a rogue named Riley who has scrapped by with a meager living by some wits, sticky fingers, and unsavory work in Cleardor. 

Without further ado...the story...

Riley started his morning with some watered-down oats at one of his favorite taverns before he was rudely interrupted by members of the Baron Garolf's personal guard and was roughly escorted to be seen by the Baron. Riley grumbles about not being able to finish breakfast the whole time. Once in front of the Baron, the Baron rants to Riley about how Riley's father died owing a great debt to the Baron and now, the chickens are coming home roost. Riley was given a choice to complete a task for the Baron or to die in shackles like Riley's father. Well, how could Riley refuse such an offer? The Baron continues without missing a breath of describing how Riley is tasked to steal The Crown of Carnut - a pagan artifact that is located in Utroat Castle. The Baron makes sure to drive the point home of how the Baron and Lord Dynaver will deny any involvement in this task if any confrontation happens. Riley's question about the crown is brushed off with statements of "I do not know" and "It is my own business why I want it." 

After the meeting, Riley is escorted to the quarter master and is given some basic gear (and a couple coins) before being introduced to Boffin, a mercenary from one of the Free Companies who has been paid up8 for a couple of months and is tasked of assisting Riley in his task. As they leave the Baron's domain and enter the city proper, Riley is disheartened to learn that Boffin is more of a "yes man" and doesn't have much to say in the way of opinions of plans. Riley understands that the journey is going to be long and has no idea what they are going to do when they get to the castle, so Riley decides it will be prudent to look for some work before leaving the city and heading toward their destination. Given the options, Riley sought out the Church for safer work, but the clergy only offered room and board for some cleaning, being hungry Riley and Boffin took up the offer and went about the tasked chores. During one of these tasks, Riley and Boffin heard a commotion outside of the church and when Riley pokes his head out of the doors, he sees a massive brawl between Baron Garolf's men and the Order of the Wbite Hawk (as the Baron's company has risen in political power and now rival the Order of the White Hawk's hold on Cleardor and the area in general) but who do you call when the cops are fighting the cops? Eventually commanding officers from both sides appeared and were able to reestablish a semblance of order. Both Riley and Boffin ate and slept well under the roof of the Church that night. 

 

The next morning Riley relented to the fact that they need to earn some actual coin if they are going to have a chance to pull this whole crown heist off and Riley is determined to avoid prison at all costs, especially for something that has nothing to do with himself. Riley and Boffin quickly find themselves at the command post of the Order of the White Hawk and are tasked with wall duty for a couple of shifts to earn a gold coin each. They are given some ratty Order of the White Hawk Tabards that probably have never been washed and sent on their way with instructions of who to report to and when. Riley and Boffin's first shift on the wall pass without incident but during thier second shift Riley spies a merchant's cart with a rather large cage in the back covered poorly with a tarp. The wind catches the edge of the tarp and exposes an otherworldly creature that as four wings, six eyes, fangs, and blue skin. Riley quickly sounds the alarm via one of the bell stations and a rather grumpy Sgt. confronts Riley and as Riley is pointing and trying to erxplain the situation the wind catches the tarp again and the Sgt. is able to see the creature in the cage. The Sgt. lets out a stream of foul language and tells Riley to get down there and stop all foot traffic as the Baron's men control the gates and it will take some high ranking officers to get the gate closed. Sgt. finally explains I am going to get the Capt. 

Riley and Boffin find themselves at the gate and with the assistance of other members of the Order of the White Hawk and somehow one of the gate guards swindles Riley into closing the 40 ft or so of where the cart was stopped to talk to the person driving the cart and keep the cart from entering the city. As Riley approached he noticed that the creature in the cafe could speak but it sounded like a chorus of voices in a language that he has never heard before, the person driven the gate had a club and every time the creature would start to talk (maybe that is what it was trying to do) or move about the cage the driver would smack the cage with said club, and the creature was beat up. There was what Riley could only assume to be bruising, cuts, and patches of missing feathers on the wings. The driver speaks up and introduces himself as Edmund and goes on to detail about how Edmund caught this thing in his garden and figures he could sell it to some rich person that has more money than sense (Edmund tried multiple times to try to bribe Riley with a finders reward if Riley new of someone willing to buy the thing). Riley entertained the conversation and did his best to calm Edmund every time Edmund would start to complain about waiting for so long. Seeing how this thing was being treated by what Riley could only assume was the village idiot, made Riley start to feel sorry for the creature. Before Rilet could think too much on his newfound humanity, one of the Captains of the Order of the White Hawk shows up, barked some orders, and rides up to the cart with the cage. After some exclamations, Edmund was able to con the convince the captain of earning a finder's fee and Edmund along with the strange, caged creature, was led into the city. Thankfully for Riley and Boffin, the rest of their watch is uneventful, and they sleep of their excitement in the barracks. 

 

In the morning Riley and Boffin collect their paycheck and decide it is probably time to start heading north and they decide to make some coin along the way by signing up to guard one of the grain caravans that are headed to Merish Landing. During time it took to track down this work in the city, Riley and Boffin heard countless rumors about how a strange creature escaped from a cage during the night and how people heard strange chorus like music. Eventually the goods are loaded into the Cart and along with two merchants and five other people pulling guard duty, everyone sets out.

The road is long, dusty, and generally uneventful until sometime after night fall when the caravan passes a church with rooms for rent to weary travelers and the people milling about speak about hearing beautiful chorus music recently. Riley and Boffin exchange glances but don't say a word and the caravan does not stop. Eventually they pass a small poorly built cottage set back from the road and the horses start acting spooked moments before the smell of sulfur and brimstone become almost overpowering. As the merchants are trying to keep the horses under control the cottage explodes in a blast a fire as a 9 foot tall that can only be described as demon (horns, barbed tail, red skin, and so on) comes lumbering out of the inferno. Speaking in a voice that is too loud inside of Rileys head as the demon swats one of the other guards away for simply being too close, Riley hears, 

 

"Where is Raz?" 

 

Riley quickly stumbles out the story about Edmund and the caged winged creature (Boffin was quick to add in his two cents whenever he could and agree with Riley's story). At the end of the story, Riley made the mistake of calling Raz the demons friend and the demon yelled in every ones mind:

 

"Do you think I would associate myself with a member of the angelic host?" 

 

The demon then lashes towards Riley with its barbed tail and Riley was able to move out of the way  moments before impact. The demon then appears to pause and take a deep breath before speaking in their minds once more...

 

"Due to the information you and your servant provided, I will let you live." 

 

The demons does not waste anytime massacring the rest of the caravan, smashing the cart, and even tearing apart the horses for good measure before vanishing in a burst of smoke and sparks. 

 

After several moments pass of Riley and Boffin being stunned and basically in disbelief they mumble and decide that now more then ever they decide to get paid and locate the merchants bodies and relieve the dead of their coin. After the gruesome process is done, Riley and Boffin are covered in blood and decide to get off of the road to hopefully find some water to wash up and a safe place to rest for the night. After what feels like several hours of travel, they come across some ruins of a church with signs that people stop there rather frequently. As Riley and Boffin start to head towards the ruins, the sound of hoof beats, and horses catch their attention which they locate a group of four Northern Knights. Riley attempts to wave them down and yell how they are survivors of a horrible massacre but the movement causes the new found coin to jingle loud of enough for Knights to hear it echo off of the trees. One of the Knights starts to move forward and states:

 

"There were no survivors of the massacre, boy."  

 

As soon as the Knight finishes that sentence the knight kicks his horse into a charge. Riley is able to get off two quick arrows (both of them hitting their mark) as Boffin steps up with his sword to engage as the knight. Boffin is able to swing low and injure the horse enough so the horse panics and falls into a somersault, pinning a very pissed off knight underneath the horse's now dead body. Riley and Boffin quickly take the chance and run off deeper into the wild where the trees get thicker to take away the advantage of the knights horses. There was a lot of shouting behind them and they guessed one of the knights took chase. Riley and Boffin end up trying to find a place to hide and fall into an old stream bank underneath some roots of a tree where the remain for the rest of the night. 

 

__________________

PLAYER NOTES:  Holy cows! This was a completely insane first session. I did not expect this level of crazy interactions and encounters as well as the procedures the GM was using to align and to create a story. Outside of the main "fetch quest" we have political intrigue and strife with the Baron and the Order of the White Hawk, the village idiot Edmund who somehow captured an angelic being (abused the hell out of it) and took it to the main city to try to sell it (rumor as it that the angelic creature escaped), someone in an old roadside cottage happened to summon a demon who is looking for said  angelic creature, and now there is a severely injured knight of the north with friends that instead of Riley and Boffin wasting time to finish the knight off - they decided to run and hide. That is not going to come back and bite the characters in the butt at all, not at all. 

 

The who interaction with the caged angelic creature and Edmund was interesting and I have no idea how the Captain became convinced to escort that cart in. Also, I got extremely lucky as the Demon missed my character with the attack from its tail and the combat interaction with the knight was even more bonkers. Both of my rolls hit their mark which pissed of the knight and the knight rode right passed Boffin to attack my character. This allowed Boffin a regular attack on the horse and an attack of opportunity as the knight rode past - that attack of opportunity critted! Which caused the horse top topple over, break its neck, and pin the knight. Though, this only happened because when the knight first started to charge my character instructed Boffin to aim for the horse (I am glad I just finished watching A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms!). 

 

On another really cool note - the gold looted from the merchants (even after being split between my character and my retainer) was enough to level up which is going to be huge help as I was extremely worried with the 6 hp on my character sheet. The GM also said that Boffin started out as a retainer but because the coin was split, the GM is going to make Boffin a fully fledged NPC character. This will once again, help in the future. I am also hoping we can find one more player at least. 

 

But ya, just blown away about how this first session went and it is currently living rent free in my head.  

Review: Black Powder and Brimstone

 

It is not secret that the age of sail era is one of my favorite times to game in. I am always on a look out for games in that era. One of the best campaigns I have ever been was a Clockwork & Cthulhu game. Black Powder and Brimstone is one of the new games in this era and it is based off of Mork Borg core mechanics.

Disclaimer: I was provided a copy for the purpose of review.

Presentation: The book clocks in at a 191 pages that includes mostly full color art with some black and white images, end pages, a index at the front of the book, the rules, the world, characters, a GM section, and a bestiary. The art style reminds me of Darkest Dungeon and Hellboy and the art as an intended tone for the game. The book is organized in a conventional manner as it starts with setting/location information first and moves to these sections in order: rules and playing the game, characters (making a character, etc). It is a good call to see the setting information presented first as it helps create the mindset before people dive into character creation. 

Character Creation: Character creation follows these steps:

1. Pick a character archetype if you wish. Character archetypes and their subclasses fall under Mercenary Deserter (Rifleman, Greatswordsman, Grenadier), Bounty Hunter (Pistolier, Master Trapper, Beats Hunter), Witch (Woods Witch, Herbalist, Hexen), Opportunist (Adventurer, Sneak Thief, Silver-Tongued Trickster), and Practitioner (Vow of War, Vow of Healing, Vow of Sustenance). The archetypes provide alternate methods of attribute calculation, toughness formulas, and starting coin. The subclasses provide some background information and special abilities. 

2. Roll your stats: There are four stats Strength (strike, lift, haul, grapple), Agility (dodge, balance, swim, climb), Presence (perceive, aim, persuade, use magic), and Toughness (resist, withstand, health). These are determined by rolling 3d6 and comparing the total to a table. The total has a corresponding bonus that ranges from -3 through +3. The total is ignored and only the bonuses are recorded. The different archetypes will provide alternate methods of rolling to determine some of the stats and health bonuses. If a player chooses not to use an archetype and a related subclass or the GM does not allow them then two of the stats can be determined by rolling 4d6 and dropping the lowest. 

3. Determine health by rolling a die (size determined by archetype or none) and then adding Toughness bonus.  

4. Pick a weapon or spells you can wield or afford. 

5. Name your character

6. Go forth 

There is some starting equipment that everyone starts with and some advice that states, "Do not trouble yourself with backstory, for your adventures at the beginning are your true backstory." Instead, ask yourself these questions;

• What does your character want?
• How are they going to get what they want?
• How are their flaws going to get in their way?
• How will they overcome these challenges?

In addition, there are some optional tables for character traits and a table that relates to how you know another character from a previous exploit. 

Resolution: I cannot believe I did not mention this before, but Black Powder and Brimstone is a Mork Borg hack. The core resolution mechanic revolves around tests where the GM sets a Difficulty Rating (DR) and the player rolls a d20 and adds (or subtracts) the stat/ability modifier. If the total meets or beats the DR, then the action is a success. Non-player characters do not use abilities, they just roll a d20 vs. the DR. Difficulty Ratings generally range from 6-18 where 12 is the average for most rolls. There are some other caveats that may affect the core resolution mechanic or provide something additional:

• Position and Impact: These situations do not add or subtract from the DR, but set the stakes in more if a story manner of the desired action/situation. 
• Negotiations: Set the initial standing of the NPC which affects the outcome of Positions and Impacts. 

As always, combat follows its own structure.

• Initiative: Whatever side (players or enemies) initiates combat is the side that goes first. Players roll d6 + Agility and enemies roll a flat d6 to determine round order.
• Rounds: Combat is divided up into rounds and during a round, a player may attack and move in a round. This is in addition to making a free action with is a non-combat action (dropping an item, shouting, or putting an item in a pocket). A potion can be drunk as a free action, but the character cannot be engaged in melee. 
• Movement and Distance: Distance is measured in range bands that consist of close quarters (within 5ft), near range (within 20 ft), and long range (beyond 20 ft). Characters can move 20 feet a round but can move 40 feet if they forgo their attack. Characters may still complete a free action during a double move. 
• Making an Attack:  Melee combat is determined by d20 + Strength vs DR12. Ranges combat is determined by d20 + Presence, Magic use is determined by d20 + Presence, and Defense rolls are solved by de20 + Agility vs. DR12. 
• Reckless Attack/Called Shot: -2 to hit, but double damage on success. 
• Throwing: Near is the maximum throwing distance. Throwing a weapon is DR14 to hit. Throwing a grenade/potion is DR10. 
• When Enemies Attack: When enemies attack, they do not roll with stats but instead the player or players react by rolling their defense to avoid the attack. 
• Armor: Armor reduces damage 

That is it for the standard combat, but there is a page that is titled "Advanced Combat" that has some additional rules or procedures for stealth, morale, fire, cover, attacks of opportunity, disengagement, prone, grappling or stunning, height advantage, mounted combat, and some chase rules. These are able to be added ad hoc if the GM chooses to do so. 

When a character is reduced to 0 or lower hit points make a Toughness check vs. DR12 and if the roll is successful, roll on the broken table. If the Toughness check fails, then the character is dead. 

Black Powder and Brimstone has a meta currency called Devil's Luck. All characters receive 3 at dawn and cannot have more than 3. One Devil's Luck can be spent to Reduce the DR on a roll by 2 before rolling. Players can also choose to activate a Dark Power to: 

• Deal maximum damage
• Neutralize a crit or fumble
• Re-roll any roll, yours or someone else's
• Ignore all damage dealt

Using a Dark Power risks mutation as it is required to roll a d6 after the use of a Dark Power and if a 1 is the result, roll a d20 on a mutation table. 

There are also procedures and rules for:

• Devils Bargain (a chance to return from the dead, but at what cost?)
• Crits and Fumbles
• Leveling up
• Feats
• Creating a Free Company
• Weapons (each one as a damage die and special ability) 
• Armor reduces damage
• Magic (characters that can use magic) start the day with Presence + d4 to determine how many spells that can be cast in day. The same spell can be cast multiple times and new spells are learn from elusive books of power. Casting a spell requires d 20 + Presence roll vs. DR 12. If it is successful, the spell is cast and subtract a spell usage. On a failure, the character becomes dizzy for 1d6 rounds and if another spell is attempting during this time, it fails in the worst way possible. Spells can only be cast by Witches, but potions and their effects can be used by any or who are offered them. It is important to remember; magic is dangerous and condemned by the general public as a whole in the setting. If magic is used in front of the wrong people, lots of trouble can be had. 
• Potions
• Travel
• Hunting
• GM Section
• Bestiary
• Notable NPCs 
• Sample Adventure 

Final Thoughts: Black Powder and Brimstone does an amazing job of capturing the "weird" age of sail setting that includes oppressive religious organizations, ongoing wars, monsters, exploration, disease, mutations, magic, devils, angels, and the list goes on. This is reinforced by the art, character archetypes/subclasses, mutation rules, devils' luck, bestiary, and the detailed write ups with the major NPCs.  All this is done while keeping whatever mechanics are involved streamlined and related to the core resolution mechanic. 

The book opens up with the setting information that consists of a quick overview of the realm, a map that has 24 keyed locations, and descriptions of some of the locations. Also included is information regarding the factions, the emperor, the different major religions, and information about the war. This all supports and increased the setting, flavor, and general vibe. Though, with that being said I do wish there was some more setting information and that each keyed location on the map had their own descriptions. This would go a long way to continue to reinforce the setting and provide more tools that the GM would have access to. 

So, another thing I do not generally nitpick is editing but this book has a lot of errors throughout the book, on a couple of spreads there were 12+ errors, and at times in can make comprehension difficult. I think this is one of those books that could have benefited greatly from an editor and I surprised there was not one.  

All in all, this is an amazing entry into the supernatural or "weird" age of settings that covers all of the bases. In addition, it runs using the Mork Borg system which tends to provide a smooth and functional mechanic framework that is no complicated. 

You can find Black Powder and Brimstone here: 

• Free League Publishing
• Drivethrurpg 
• Amazon
• The Completed Kickstarter 
  

 

 

 

Legacies of Exera: Session 21

 

We return to the Firetop Crusaders continuing their exploration of the mines and the natural (maybe) connected cave system known as the tendril. After sometime the party comes across a small room of the side that possesses a glowing golden statue holding a rather large ruby it its claws. The party still weary from their last dance with traps almost decides to leave the room be but Gareth then using his telekinesis to lift the ruby up and float it over the where the party is standing. As the ruby gets closer to Enama, the light of from Enama’s belt winks out and Gareth stops the movement to help problem solve the situation. It was decided that it may be the rubies fault, so Gareth then floats the ruby away and the light form Enama’s belt turns back on. It was quickly deducted that the ruby must have some type of way to negate magic and Gareth ends up burying  the ruby in hopes that it can be retrieved on the way back - if the party passes this way again. 

The exploration continues and it is not long before the party ends up at the bottom of the staircase that opens up into a large room that is covered with floor to ceiling spiderwebs. As the party continues forward with caution, Shadowgrumble grumbles once again and warns A’anri that there are giant spider like creatures hiding in the adjacent hallway and the party prepares for an ambush. The spider creatures charge out of hiding and end up grappling Harl and A’anri in an attempt to drag them out of the room. Claren is able to act quickly and literally disarm the spidery appendages holding on Harl and A’anri. It does not take long before the party is able to regain the upper hand and turn the spider creatures into a mess of spindly limbs and goo. 

With some mine bits and claw marks, the party makes it to the other end of the room and into the far hallway. The party quickly finds themselves at the entrance of  another room that is covered in spiderwebs and Helestina states very matter of factly she is not being anybodies lunch as she raises her hands and catches the thick webs on fire which quickly cause the entire room to burst into flames as loud screams meet the parties ears which place everyone on a greater edge. As the flames die down and the party explores the area, they find numerous charred dwarf bodies and it is surmised that these deurgar overheard the commotion from earlier and decided to attempt an ambush of their own. Harl kicks one of the charred bodies over as he asks if anyone has had dwarf jerky before and Gareth responds with an applauded look. Harl laughs and waves everyone forward. 

After some time, the party finds themselves in area that has a spiral staircase leading down as well as what appears to be a hallway off into the distance. Before the party even has a chance to discuss a plan of action there are loud commands shouted out in the dwarves language and Gareth shouts back in turn. This conversation goes on for sometime before screams and sounds of battle erupt from down the hallway. The party rushes into the find a group of duergar being attacked by zombies and the party helps dispatch the zombies, fighting alongside then duergar before Harl turns his spear on the closest duergar as he chants an prayer about impure souls. The other duergar instantly recognize the obvious betrayal and attack the party which only ends in their swift demise. 

After the end of the the final duergar, there was some heated discussion and accusations about Harl’s actions but Harl stood there with his arms folded and repeated, their souls were impure and they would turn on us as soon as they realized we killed their fellows. It took sometime for Gareth and Claren to calm down but eventually, everyone resided to the thought process of it was a decision, maybe not the best one but what is done is done. 

The party soon finds themselves heading down the spiral staircase 

Review: Epoch

 

I am sure that Genndy Tartakovsky's Primal altered my brain chemistry and since then I have had stone age and that era adjacent on my mind. My love for Michael Crichton's Jurassic Park, Land Before Time, and reading The Land That Time Forgot by Edgar Rice Burroughs when I was too young notwithstanding. 

Olde House Rules claims inspiration from the legends of stop motion animation Ray Harryhausen (probably One Million Years B.C. being up at the top of the list) and Willis H. O'brien as well as the Aurora Prehistoric Scene Model Kits. This is in addition to the comics Tor and Turok, Son of Stone. 

Disclaimer: I was gifted a PDF copy of Epoch with no expectations. In addition, Olde House Rules and I have collaborated on various projects.  

 

Presentation: The PDF clocks in at 42 pages which includes the cover, legal pages, table of contents, and dedication. Epoch is presented in an old school type writer style of font with numerous full page black and white wood cut art pieces. The game opens up with an "official" letter from an archeologist to another colleague that talks about enclosed/collected material proving that history got a lot of things wrong and humans existed along side the dinosaurs and so on. Then the game pages follows and you start with an introduction on what is role playing and explanations on dice before getting into the game proper. 

 

 Character Creation: Character creation is straight forward and follows these steps:

1. Choose a Clan/Tribe from the two options. The BONE CHILDREN (homo neanderthalensis) are short stocky and have dense bone structures which provides them strength above and beyond normal means. The other Clan/Tribe The STONE PEOPLE (homo sapiens) are physically modern
   humans that lack the might of their counterparts but posses a unique relationship with luck that allows them to succeed automatically at times. 
2. Roll 3d6 in order to determine SKILL scores (and their modifiers) for the following: Animism, Crafting, Gathering, Hunting, Knowledge, and Stalking. Skill scores can range from 3-18 and the Skill modifiers range from -3 to +3. Players can then swap two skill of their choice. There is also a section that discusses different options if a player rolls badly...
3. Any character with a 9+ in Animism may choose to become a Shaman... 
4. Choose a Skill to Specialize in. 
5.  Start with 10 Hit Points.
6. Record Tribal Language (Bone or Stone) and the common trade language. Characters with high knowledge are able to speak all three languages.
7. Players receive 5 Barter points to equip their character at the beginning of the game. Barter points represent general trade goods or artifacts. For game purposes, characters may wear clothing and
   carry a single weapon of their choice, plus 10 additional artifacts provided these are small enough to fit in a sack or sling over one shoulder. 

Resolution: Resolution follows a strait forward system of rolling 2d6 + Skill Modifier vs. a Target Number to accomplish most tasks. The target numbers are split in sections of Easy, Moderate, Tough, and Formidable with a number range for each section. The bottom of the total range starts at 5 and ends at 13+.  If a character has a specialty in said skill, the player rolls 3d6 and adds all dice together to determine the total vs. the target number. 

Combat uses the same basic resolution but when combat happens, the game switches to rounds and follows this formula:

1. Determine Initiate by placing all combatants in order of their speed (which is determined by the type of furs/armor of the beast) that ranges from 0 (the fastest) to 3 (the slowest). If participants are tired on a tier, the adversaries go first unless the Player Characters have a clear advantage. 
2. Characters act in the established initiative order and attacks are made using the standard resolution rules vs. defense (which is determined by type of beast or furs worn). 
3. If an attack is successful, damage is rolled based on beast size or weapons used (1d6-3d6). The total on the damage roll is subtracted from the opponents HP table.
4. When HP reaches zero. death is the result.

There are some other subsystems that are important to note:

• An optional system for medicinal herbs
• Rest/recovery 
• Advancement 
• Environmental Hazards 
• Bone Tribe/Clan Strength is narrative based
• Stone Clan/Tribe possess an action pool that let them automatically succeed due to their natural adaptability and tenacity 
• Item Breakage 
• Rules on Rations (food and water)
• A full bestiary where each creature may have a hides and meat rating to determine food and raw supplies that can be farmed from the creature

Oh ya, how could I forgot Shamans? If a character has an Animism score of 9+ (as previous mentioned) the player may choose to be a Shaman. Shamans follow a different advancement table, acquire the power of a totem instantly, and have the ability to cast spells at level 2. 

When a Shaman reach level 2, they acquire a couple of spell points that are used to cast spells. The cost of the spell varies by strength and each spell as its own effect, duration, and range. There is a list of 10 thematic spells that match the setting. 

Final Thoughts: Epoch - A Game of Stone and Spell walks a line between the realms of ancient and modern game theory. You can see the influences from the original three brown books and other games from Olde House Rules offerings with new innovations. It is also important to note that it should be read in its entirety due to the flow and to make sure things are not missed. 

One of the things that I found pretty cool is that instead of just using the default six attributes, Olde House Rules turned them into skills and in doing so evoked a simpler yet very theatrical world that matches the flavor of the setting. 

Epoch captures the vibe of the "Stone Age" with prehistoric trappings perfectly and you can also see Olde House Rules inspirational sources shine through the writing. Reading through it sparks inspiration for the implied setting and it can lead to endless adventures. 

The game is toted as a survival game which is reinforced by the need to eat and drink at predetermined intervals or suffer consequences (this makes foraging and supplies important), basic but no nonsense encumbrance rules, large creatures are dangerous (require a plan and numbers to tackle successfully or characters are going to get chomped up!), and an initial idea that the group of characters acts as a hunting party. This creates a wild and deadly (while not overtly deadly) universe where survival comes first and adventures come second. 

Finally, the game is presented in way that the Referee can choose to run it without any weirdness/supernatural or decide to crank the weirdness/supernatural up to 11 (and everything in-between).

With that being said, I would have loved to see more setting information and hex/world map. Though, that is because I just love the era (setting, idea, etc) and I want more. 

You can find Epoch and other information here:

• Drivethrurpg 
• Character Sheet 
• Olde House Rules Website  
• The first Supplement by Etheral Games: Red Ochre & Ruins 

 

Legacies of Exera: Session 20

 

After licking their minor wounds, the party trudges on through the maze of tunnels running afoul of various traps that ended up spilling into a large cavern and the party pauses trying to figure out how to move forward while avoiding more traps. Gareth ends up sending his conjured pets forward the apparently trigger the remaining traps. In one of the trapped areas, the platinum is found along with a strange holy symbol that depicts a broken arrow. After further careful exploration the party discovers a ledge at the end of the large cavern that drops down into an even larger cavern that extends in multiple directions into the darkness. 

As the party repels down into the area and start to discuss how they are going to carefully find a way out of this area, a large purple dragon comes stalking out of the darkness which triggers some choice words from Harl, Gareth, and A’anri. Taking the initiative, Helestina uses her magic to increase the size of both Claren and Enama as they charge to meet the dragon head on to keep it form advancing any further. Between dealing with the large characters the dragon is able to duck behind an alcove using its breath weapon before it ducks back around the corner which greatly reduced the efficiently of the other characters ranged tactics. Soon enough, the dragon realizes it is going to lose this battle and transforms into what appears to be a Drow to try to escape down one of the far tunnels but Gareth does not miss a beat and teleports both Claren and Harl into the tunnel right behind the escaping Drow where the Drow was cut down.

As the party regroups and shakes off the surprise of fighting either a dragon the shapeshifter into a Drow or a Drow that shapeshifted into a dragon. Though, as the corpse of the Drow did not return to dragon form, it was decided the latter was the case. The party did not have much more time to discuss the philosophy of the situation as three dwarves appeared on the ledge of an outcropping in Snow Flurry uniforms demanding that the part needs to return to the city as the Snow Flurries are taking over the mission. After some back and forth, Gareth gets a deep sense of darkness emanating from the supposed Snow Flurries moments before negotiations break down and the dwarves fire arrows at the party. Gareth is able to quickly teleport the three imposters high into the air and each imposter met their end with a sickening splat on the cavern ground, afterwards they reverted to larger squashed spiders.

_______

PLAYER NOTES: The Rogue player dropped out and I have to say, dealing with traps and other situations where a Rogue would be helpful made this session interesting. Despite our best efforts, a series of traps were triggered and conjured pets had to be sacrificed for the greater good. Then after we think we have a moment of reprieve, a dragon rises out of the darkness to try to eat everyone - even though at the time we did not know it wasn’t a real dragon per say, we still all had some choice Geralt quotes around the table. Then there was the imposter Snow Flurries situation. At first I was excited as it was pretty convincing that the King or the officers of the mine decided to send reinforcements. The roleplaying back and forth was nice but then Gareth sensed darkness in them and all bets were off. I have not puzzled out yet of the duergar and the Drow are working together, if something else is going on, or if it is some underdark shenanigans. We will see - there are some clues but I think the answer is tired into the history of the fallen dwarvem kingdom that Sirabolter was built on top off. 

Review: Streamlined Superheroes

It is no secret that I have been a longtime fan of superheroes and have been a reader of comics since I was little. It was common sight to find me running around with a Batman action figure in one hand and a tattered comic book in the other hand. This love of superheroes eventually transferred over to my enjoyment of tabletop gaming and I have had some great experiences with Aberrant and other systems. Though, supers is one of the genres where the games are commonly complicated and stuffed full of rules. This has led me to search for supers games that are rules light but cover some of the important aspects of the genre. This has led to discovering Supercrew (which is an unknown game that deserves more recognition), leaning on  Triumphant, and writing Onedice Supers. 

I came across Streamlined Superheroes by John Fredericks when I should have been in bed and was mindlessly scrolling through youtube. 

Presentation: The PDF clocks in at a total of 17 pages that include the cover, an introduction page, an introduction adventure, a character sheet, and a rules summary. It is presented in a standard two column format with a font of something adjacent to Comic Sans. It is organized as overview/character creation/rules format.  

There is some full color art that ranges from 1/4 page to 3/4 page coverage. The art is a mix of public domain art and I believe some art that the author drew himself. The mix of the art brings a feel of the old school newspaper style four color comics from the 70s/90s as well as keeping the DIY vibe alive.

Character Creation: This section starts out with this paragraph to get you in the mood, "What kind of hero will you be? You might want to play your favorite comic book or movie hero, or one of your own creations. They’ll need a superhero name, and a “real-life/alter ego” name as well. A page of blank character cards is at the very end of this book, or just grab an index card and write down what you need." Then the section breaks down the various steps of getting your character down on paper that follows:

1. Place four predetermined values in the attributes of Strength, Dexterity, Intelligence, and Charisma.
2. Choose a combination of four powers and skills/professions. There is some suggestions given about how it is common for characters to have three powers and one skill but this is not a hard rule and these choices vastly depend on character concept. Each of these four are called "Effects" and each is assigned an effect die out of a d12, d10, d8, and d6. A list of powers and skills are provided to assist the discerning player. 
3. Choosing a weakness is optional and characters can only have one. A weakness provides a negative effect that can be exploited to hinder the hero or represent items that can be broken/stolen/disarmed. A weakness provides an additional d6 effect option. 
4. Characters have a starting Hit Point rating of 20. 

Resolution: The core resolution is a simple two step process. The first step is to determine success by rolling 1d20 + Attribute vs a target number of 10+. If the roll is successful, then an effect dice is rolled to determined the amount of success. The effect is chosen by the player to determine how the hero is attempting to overcome an obstacle or solve the problem. The result on the effect dice subtracts from the Hit Points of the opponent or the Hurdle Points of a Stressful Situation (like disarming a device, etc.) There are some subsystems that affect the above core resolution or alter it:

• If there not a creative way a character can use an effect in a given situation, the effect die is a d4 that represents general skill/common sense/etc
• In a non-combat situation, an effect roll of 6+ is considered an exceptional success
• Advantage/Disadvantage is used instead of modifiers by rolling 2d20 and choosing the highest or lowest
• Group Checks
• Opposed Checks
• Assist Rolls
• Called Shots
• Ensnaring 
• Retreat
• Reaching Zero Hit Points

Combat utilizes the same core resolution but adds in a initiative system that provides three options. The first option is a narrative approach where an hero acts, then an opponent, then an hero, and so on until everyone involved in combat has acted and a new round starts. The order is chosen by whoever wants to go and whatever opponent the game master wants to use. The second option is acting in descending dexterity order where ties act simultaneously. The third and final option is to use side based initiative with a d6 (1-3 opponents go first, 4-6 heroes go first). Regardless of which method is chosen, initiative stays the same for the entirety of the combat.

• In true four color fashion, supers done die. When reduces to zero HP they are just knocked out until the next scene when all of the action is over. HP is full recovered when they become active again
• Vehicles are treated has an effect die, having their own

There is also advice for designing opponents that range from henchmen all the way up to major opponents, determining how to scale stressful situations and how to allocate Hurdle Points to those situations, and setting a timer for those stressful situations. 

Finally, there are rules for advancement. When the characters advance is determined by pure GM fiat and allows an increase of an attribute (to a maximum of 8) and to increase an effect die by one step (to a maximum of d12). 

 

Final Thoughts: Streamlined Superheroes lives up to its name and they mechanics do not get in the way of any four color action. What I enjoy about this game is that (like the other games I have mentioned earlier) is it encourages players (and by extension) the GM to become creative with effects and how to use them to handle situations in unconventional ways. The various sub systems all play off of or utilize the core resolution mechanic without adding any additional crunch outside of remembering how to do a group roll or an assist. The entire game does what it sets out to do to capture the four color comic vibe in an easy to play package. It was also refreshing to see that powers are considered to be "always" on or always usable and does not require a roll unless it is a combat situation, being used in a stressful situation, or chance of failure would be interesting. By extension, this same logic is applied to skills as well but skills are generally not meant to be singularly specific skills like woodworking (though they can be and some of the example characters have a more specific skill). They are more meant to cover professions or possible a cliche. So, instead of listing woodworking as an effect, a more appropriate effect would be carpenter or something similar.  

 

The game also provides examples for heroes, villains, stressful situations, and combat. 

 

I also enjoyed (and I found it a unique take that I have not seen before) how armor/toughness/rock skin/etc is handled. You basically have the maximum effect due to the supers HP but that effect cannot be used for anything else. 

 

Though, with that being said there are a few caveats and things that I would have liked to see or clarifications needed:

• More examples
• Explanations in some areas are vague (reading the rule summary helps), especially when it comes to Ensnaring. How I understand that specific circumstance may be different that what was intended but how I read is that Ensnaring Effects break the normal combat sequence in that instead of rolling an attack "to hit" the opponent makes a save to avoid the situation, and if the opponent fails then they are stuck and allows a test to break out every round. The HP of the bond is equal to the maximum result of the effect die (12/10/8/6). 
•  Examples of social situations 
• As a DIY guy myself and as someone who cannot afford an editor for their own work, I never begrudge anyone int he industry for typos or formatting errors. Though, there is some.  
• More of the authors Art!

You can find the game and other resources here:

• Drivethrurpg 
• Sharp Mountain Games Youtube Channel
• Review by Solospelunking Table Talk 
• A four part solo play by Magehammer's Game Table  
• A Quick Look by Tabletop Wanderer 

 

SoA: Development Log 5

 

The Appendix N found in the Advanced Dungeons and Dragon's Manual is famous and has even been expanded in later editions. As I am working on Secrets of Arn, I decided to include my own Appendix N to share with everyone where my inspirations have come. In my Appendix N, I have included a healthy list of movies, books, documentaries, Manga, and non-fiction selections. A handful of books from my last appear on the original Appendix N but there is also a lot of book that do not appear on the list that I highly recommend. Of course, there were no movies, manga, or non-fiction on the original list so that is going to be new for everyone. 

Without further ado, my Appendix N...

 

Film

•  Sorceress, 1982
•  Conan the Barbarian, 1982
•  The Last Unicorn, 1982
•  Sword and the Sorcerer 1982
•  The Last Unicorn, 1982
•  Krull, 1983
•  Fire and Ice, 1983
•  The Beastmaster, 1983
•  Deathstalker, 1983
•  The Flight of Dragons, 1984
•  Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind, 1984
•  LadyHawke, 1985
•  Legend, 1985
•  Masters of the Universe, 1987
•  The Princess Bride, 1987
•  Willow, 1988
•  Dragon Slayer, 1992
•  Dragon Heart, 1996
•  Princess Mononoke, 1997
•  13^th Warrior, 1999
•  Spirited Away, 2001
•  Howl’s Moving Castle, 2004
•  Genndy T.’s Primal, 2019

 

Books

•  The Barsoom (Martian) Series by Edgar Rice Burroughs, 1912-1914
•  The Land that Time Forgot by Edgar Rice Burroughs, 1918
•  The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien, 1937 (1st Edition Text)
•  Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis, 1950-1956
•  Lord of the Rings Trilogy by J.R.R. Tolkien, 1954-1955
•  The Dying Earth by Jack Vance, 1950
•  Conan the Barbarian by Robert E. Howard, 1950-1954
•  Stealer of Souls by Michael Moorcock, 1963
•  The Chronicles of Prydain by Lloyd Alexander, 1964-1968
•  Stormbringer by Michael Moorcock, 1965
• Dune by Frank Herbert, 1965
•  Eye of the Overworld by Jack Vance, 1966
•  Earthsea Cycle by Ursula K. Le Guin, 1968-2001
•  Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser Series by Fritz Leiber, 1970-1988
•  The Chronicles of Amber by Roger Zelazny, 1970-1991
•  The Riverworld Series by Philip Jose Farmer, 1971-1983
•  Eaters of the Dead by Michael Crichton, 1976
•  Dragonlance Chronicles by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman, 1984-1985
•  The Black Company by Glen Cook, 1984
•  The Riftwar Saga by Raymond E. Feist, 1982-1986
•  Redwall Series by Brian Jacques, 1986-2001
•  Dragon Prince Series by Melanie Rawn, 1988-1990
•  Wizard’s First Rule by Terry Goodkind, 1994
•  The Farseer Trilogy by Robin Hobbs, 1995-1997
•  Game of Thrones Series by George R. R. Martin, 1996-Present
•  Kushiel’s Dart by Jacqueline Carey, 2001
•  The Blade Itself by Joe Abercombie, 2006
•  The Night Angel Trilogy by Brent Weeks, 2008-2009
•  The Magician Series by Lev Grossman, 2009-2014
•  H.P. Lovecraft: The Complete Fiction, 2011
•  Broken Empire Trilogy by Mark Lawrence, 2011-2013
•  Between Two Fires by Christopher Buehlman, 2012
•  Spiderlight by Adrian Tchaikovsky, 2016
•  The Library at Mount Char by Scott Hawkins, 2016
•  The Court of Broken Knives by Anna Smith Spark, 2017
•  Aching God by Mike Shel, 2018
•  The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang, 2019
•  The Blacktongue Thief by Christopher Buehlman, 2021
•  The Hollows Places by T. Kingfisher, 2022

  Documentaries

• James Cameron’s Story of Science Fiction, 2018
•  Secrets of Blackmoor, 2019
•  The Dreams in Gary’s Basement, 2023
•  Adventure Never Ends: A Tabletop Saga, 2023

 

Manga

•  Record of Lodoss War, 1986-1989
•  Berserk, 2003-2022
•  Delicious in Dungeon, 2014-Present

 

 Non-Fiction

• Sly Flourish’s The Lazy Dungeon Master by Michael E. Shea, 2016
•  Life in a Medieval Village by Gies, 2016
•  Life in a Medieval Castle by Gies, 2016
•  The Ultimate RPG Game Master’s World Building Guide by James D’Amato, 2021
•  Tony Bath’s Ancient Wargaming, 2021
•  Slaying the Dragon by Ben Riggs, 2022
•  The Elusive Shift by Jon Peterson, 2022
•  The Ultimate RPG Backstory Guide: Expanded Genres Edition by James D’Amato, 2022
•  The Game Master’s Guide of Proactive Roleplaying by Jonah & Triston Fishel, 2023
•  Playing at the World 2e by Jon Peterson, 2024

If I am being honest about this list, I would say start with the nonfiction.