Interview: Runehammer Games

 

I have had the great opportunity to correspond with the owner of Runehammer Games on various topics and I was honored to be able to set up this interview. I am excited about this because it is the first interview on this blog and I hope it will not be the last. 

Runehammer Games is the producer of the Index Card RPG, Viking Death Squad, Alfheim novels, podcasts, and all kinds of other gaming goodness. 

Without further ado, we shall begin...

 

Me: Go ahead and introduce yourself.

Mr. Hank: My name is Brandish Gilhelm / Hankerin Ferinale. I'm the creator of Runehammer. I do artwork, writing, game design and more to manifest all of Runehammer's role playing goodies.

Me: How and when did you get first into gaming?

 

Mr. Hank: It was 1987 or so. I had Rifts and Turtles in Time by Paladium. We started hacking those together, discovered GURPS, and created  our first true homebrew called LIVING WEAPON. In a few years, we found out about D&D and Fantasy Hero. I had a legendary GM in high school named Dave who showed me the true wonders the hobby could include. Never looked back!

Me: What are some of your favorite early gaming memories?

 

Mr. Hank: Ha! Too many! I had a character named Jack Van Danicker. He had a goats hoof hilt on his sword that slowly turned him into a goat. In his final phase, almost losing all human thoughts, he was disintegrated trying to defend his allies from our final foe: an evil wizard collecting souls in an enormous gem. It was epic.

 

 

Me: What inspired you to start designing the Index Card RPG?

 

Mr. Hank: As GM year after year after year, I lived and died by index cards. It's just how I did everything, even terrain. With a sharpie and cards I could do anything. I had a group in about 2011 who wanted to try something new, so I homebrewed a system that really celebrated the cards. While at conventions for work I would make all these fun sharpie cards and it just clicked.

Me: Can you explain your initial design process?

 

Mr. Hank: For me it all starts with being a  fan. I get psyched about something and latch on like a dog with a bone. I 'see' into whatever it may be, thinking 'man, this could go all kinds of places!' then I just struggle to jot down as many ideas as I can. Then I start cleaning it up, writing it properly, and talking with friends about the core ideas. 90% of things I try get tossed. When ideas just flow, though, and my little cabal is feeling the flow... I can finish given time. So, in short: total chaos lol.

Me: What was/is your goal for Index Card RPG?

 

Mr. Hank: I wanted to make a meaningful contribution to this hobby. Something that faced the challenges of a for-real weekly GM head on. I wanted to stand up, rock solid, for all the GMs out there adrift in the options and the myths and the bad advice. I also just wanted to share my methods with everyone as a fan of the hobby in general. I've been a game design professional for years and years, so I also wanted to break free of employment and be independent!

 

Overview of the Index Card RPG Master Edition 

Me: What is your favorite aspect of Index Card RPG?

 

Mr. Hank: Probably the friendly voice of it. There is a weird vein in some RPG products that sort of 'talk down' to the reader. I don't like that at all. The voice in ICRPG just feels like hanging out, being honest. I'm proud of that.

 

Q&A about the Index Card RPG book 

 

Index Card RPG Live Play 

Me: The Index Card RPG has recently been released in a new Master Edition, what are the changes between 2nd edition and the new Master Edition?

 

Mr. Hank: Heheh this one. There are numerous forum threads and long comment chains about this. Basically it aggregates and revises the 3 main books that comprised 2e. Lots of new art, cleaner layouts, a few classes swapped out or revamped. Basically just processing the 'playtest' of over 10,000 readers worldwide.

Me: Speaking of the Master Edition, it is being distributed by Modiphius. How did that partnership come about?

 

Mr. Hank: Ha! Crazy. This guy Chris just hits me up. Mind you, I get dozens and dozens of messages every day. "Hey ICRPG is super dope, you do commissions?" "YEah sure," "Oh also, if you ever want to get into retail, hit me back." So we get to talking, turns out is teh FOUNDER of Modiphius just directly talking to me, offering a huge publishing and distro partnership. "Let's do it."

Me: You also have another game being distributed by Modiphius called Viking Death Squad. Can you tell me about this game?

 

Mr. Hank: It's various materials speak well for it, youtube reviews and such are coming up now too. It started as an idea to make a one-shot from a Black Sabbath song back in 2017. Undead vikings take on Lucifer, huge iron coffins fall from space.. normal stuff.

 

Me: What is the system that powers the Viking Death Squad? How does it play out?

 

Mr. Hank: It's a D6 dice pool jam, roll-over mechanics and 'hit' type mechanics similar to a hybrid of WEG STAR WARS and SHADOWRUN 2e. It uses 6D6, has no HP, just armor. It plays very very fast and terribly deadly, but with a lot of fun heavy metal tones.

 

Overview of Viking Death Squad 

 

Mr. Hank's expanded talk on Viking Death Squad 

 

Creative process in designing a Viking Death Squad adventure 

Me: Outside of your own games, what is your favorite RPG? Why?

 

Mr. Hank: Oh wow... brutal question. Probably D&D2e or Fantasy Hero. Maybe GURPS Conan. Hell, Ars Magica was awesome too. Then there's Torchbearer... what was the question? lol

Me: What are some of your favorite genres to play in?

 

Mr. Hank: Everything but post apoc or modern. I don't feel like modern settings provide any escape. Fantasy is supreme.

Me: Who do you enjoy working with in the industry? 

 

Mr. Hank: All the unknowns. I like it underground, and I only play with friends. I'm a big authenticity guy, so keeping it close is key.

Me: Do you have any favorite dice? If so, what are they?

 

Mr. Hank: Chessex yellows, Hand mades by @monomakes and the Norse Foundry stuff.

Me: What advice can you give about people working on their own games? 

 

Mr. Hank: Just do it, be yourself, work harder than anyone you know, let your freak flag fly to the max, and work on D&D stuff in public. Best way to meet like minded weirdos. If you're the smartest guy in the room, find a new room.

Me: What advice would you give for new Game Master's picking up Index Card RPG for the first time? New Players? 

 

Mr. Hank: Let go of linear progression in all ways. Hell, let go of everything... take ICRPG for what it is, not as a derivative of something else.

 

Me: How has the pandemic affected your gaming style?

 

Mr. Hank: Too much online play! Online is key for distant homies, but not all the time. Shoo pandemic! SHOO!

Me: Are you working on anything new? If so, what?

 

Mr. Hank: I am currently building a book called HARD SUIT.. a crazy world for ICRPG. I'm always doing other doo-dads, like a piece called MANIFESTO... it's a fun 'how to think' opus for deep-minded GMs. Ask me next week, I might say something else lol

Me: What is one of your best gaming experiences? 

 

Mr. Hank: Oh man. College Tiamat battle, my recent OSE campaign, watching the old Scotty videos, drawing people's characters while we play...

 

Me: If someone would like to work with Runehammer games or use your system in their own creation, what is the processes for both?

 

Mr. Hank: Email me. Every case is different and I work closely with all kinds of folks.

Me: Is there anything else you would like to share?

 

Mr. Hank: The best path, imho, to great RPG hobby life is being an honorable, kind, generous, energetic, attentive friend. If you can do that, the rest just happens!

 

Well that is the end of the interview, though there is so many more topics we could discuss and endless details we can go into. I cannot recommend enough getting your hands on Index Card RPG or Viking Death Squad. Index Card RPG has changed the way I look at roleplaying games, the design of them, and playing them for the better. 

 

Below are all the important links: 

 

• Runehammer Website 
• Forums 
• Patreon 
• Index Card RPG Master Edition
• Viking Death Squad 
• Drivethrurpg Store 
• Youtube Channel 
• Instagram @hankerin_ferinale
  

Review: Tiny Cthulhu

 

 "We live on a placid island of ignorance in the midst of black seas of infinity, and it was not meant that we should voyage far." - H.P. Lovecraft

I have been a long time fan of the Mythos and investigative/mystery focused gaming. I have played many different Cthulhu based games but most of them tend to be overly complicated for my tastes. I am really excited to dive into Tiny Cthulhu. It recently had a very successful kickstarter campaign.

Disclaimer: I was given a PDF copy for review purposes. 

Before I dig into it, Tiny Cthulhu has done something that I have not seen in a Mythos game before. At the beginning of the book before you get into the game proper there is a disclaimer that discusses the failings of Lovecraft. These failings include how he was racist and how there is explicit and racist overtones in some of his writing. Alan Bahr goes on to explain that they do not support that ideology and none of those tones will be found in Tiny Cthulhu. A part of me thinks this is unneeded but I also understand it is a shield against those people that would cry foul. 

Presentation: Tiny Cthulhu has a full color hardback cover with 177 pages of single column black and white interior. The interior pages have some clean shading around the edges to give it a stained look. The art matches the theme of the Mythos and is done in black and white. Before you even get into character creation or things like that the book gives you the entire run down of how to play, how combat works, corruption, rest, healing, saves, and so forth. All of the Tiny games do this and I think it makes it easier understand the rest of the book. This is because you already have reference. After this you get the various chapters relating to investigator creation and then the GM section that talks about the Mythos, best practices, rules for more of a Noir or pulpy game, innovations, bestiary, cults, etc. Tiny Cthulhu has an organized table of contents and comes chalk full of micro settings, to be exact there are ten of them. It is really a clean laid out book that is easy to navigate. 

Character Creation: The creation of the investigator follows these steps:

1. Choose your Archetype: The choices are Investigator, Dilletante, Explorer, Mystic, Spiritualist, Inventor, Soldier, Veteran, and Writer. The archetypes determine starting hit points, corruption thresholds, and starting bonus traits. 

2.Select Traits: Choose three traits from a list of 44. These include Acrobat, Alchemist, Armor Master, Barfighter, Beastspeaker, Berserker, Blacksmith, Brawler, Charismatic, Cleave, Dark-Fighter, Defender, Diehard, Drunken Master, Dungeoneer, Educated, Eidetic Memory, Familiar, Fleet of Foot, Healer, Insightful, Inured, Lucky, Marksman, Martial Artist, Nimble Fingers, Opportunist, Perceptive, Quartermaster, Quick Shot, Resolute, Shield Bearer, Shrink, Sneaky, Sound Mind, Tome Reader, Sorcerer, Strong, Survivalist, Tough, Tracker, Trapmaster, Vigilant, and Wealthy.

3.Select a Weapon group to be proficient with: These include Light Melee, Heavy Melee, Light Ranged, and Heavy Melee. 

4.Select a Family Trade: There is not list for family trades but it is the jobs you were exposed to growing up or it can even be used as what you did before you become a Investigator. 

5.Record your Driving Belief: All Investigators have a driving belief that is recorded on their character sheet. This is a very important point about the character. It could be something simple like, "I can always talk my way out anything." 

6. Final Touches: You also get an investigators kit and $50 bucks in your pocket. 

Characters are not defined by classes or anything of the sort. The archetypes provide a worldview and some starting flavor. Then the traits (and the rest of the role play sections) help flesh out your character. 

Resolution: This resolves around making tests the require a 2d6 roll and the test is successful if any of the dice come up a 5 or 6. Some magic, traits, and gaming fiction can give the player advantage to the roll which means 3d6 are rolled. Certain situations can also lead to disadvantage on the roll which means 1d6 is rolled. In a situation where advantage and disadvantage happens at the same the disadvantage mechanics prevail unless magic or some type of powerful alchemy is involved (then the advantage mechanics win because MAGIC!). Tests can be considered normal tests, an obstacle test, or a save test. The resolution is the same but the story that triggers the test is different.

Resolution: Like most Tiny Games, the rules are light but it is still important to mention some of the mechanics. These also include corruption which is Tiny Cthulhu's from of Sanity or Insanity?

• Corruption: Corruption Saves are a special situational save that results from the degrading of the psyche in dealing with the Mythos, other unknowns, and even magic. Each archetype has a Corruption rating and on a failed save, they lose 1d6 days as madness takes over their mind. It is up to the Referee to decide what happens in those six days and how it can effect the rest of the world or party. This madness can be forgone by spending a corruption point. When all corruption points are gone, the character has lost their mind and mist be committed to a mental hospital. There are ways to recover Corruption points from rest to treatment. There are guidelines for imposing corruption tests but are split into mundane and the supernatural. Mundane things like fining a corpse are only tested for once (so subsequent corpses don;t trigger an additional save) but seeing a great old one will always trigger a save. There is a handle table to reference and the only way to gain advantage on a corruption test is with a trait.
  
• Traits: These give the character some type of boon such as advantage in certain situations, a new skill set, or even some background ability such as being Wealthy. They are bought on a 1 for 1 system and have no tiers. Traits also have a movie quote attached to he description which gives them a lot of flavor and for those familiar with other Tiny d6 games, a lot of these traits can be found in the other games.
• Combat: Combat is broken down to the following steps:

1.  Initiative: Each participant rolls 2d6 and adds them together. The turn order becomes highest to lowest. If there is a tie between an enemy and a super the super always goes first. If there is a tie between supers, the players re-roll until the tie is broken to see who goes first on the original initiative. 
2. Actions: Each character has two two actions during their initiative turn. These are usually made up of being able to move and attack. Though a character can move twice or attack twice. There are also two special actions the character can do. The first one is Focus that changes the success rate for the next attack to 4, 5, or 6 (the focus action remains in effect until the character attacks or the combat ends). The second special action is Evade which allows allows the character to passively dodge incoming attacks. Until the beginning of your next turn, you can test 1d6 when successfully hit by an enemy - if the test is successful the attack is dodged. 
3. Resolving Damage: Each successful attack deals a 1 point of damage unless modified by magic or trait, story circumstances, or if the character is using a heavy weapon (which deals a base of 2 damage but can only be used to attack with once per round).  
4. Death: When a character reaches zero hit points that are knocked unconscious and are going to perish without help. At the beginning of a combat round you can only test to stabilize yourself. If you pass, you regain consciousness with 1 hp. If you fail, you got one more attempt next round at disadvantage. A failure on the second attempt results in the characters demise. Healing medicine and other ways could also save your character as assistance from another character making a check on their turn could stabilize as well.
   
5. Option Rule - Range Bands: There is an optional rule that includes the use of range bands which are (and the actions that can be taken to and for each range band) Close (Light Melee, Heavy Melee, Magic), Near (Heavy Melee, Ranged, Magic), and Far (Ranged, Magic). Close roughly translates as within 5ft, Near roughly translates as 10-15ft, and Far is everything else. During combat the enemies remain stationary and the heroes move around them most of the time. It takes a move action to shift between each range band. 

• Experience/Advancement: Tiny Cthulhu provides two different options for advancement. The first advancement is the minimalist advancement and characters gain a new trait every 3 sessions but cannot have more then 7 traits. If a trait would be gained after a character has the maximum of 7, the player can switch out a non archetype trait for new one. The second advancement track is where the GM passes out about 1-4 experience points a session and these experience points be spent to permanently increase the characters HP Capacity by 1 (6xp), a new proficient or mastered weapon (8xp), or a new trait (10xp).
• Everything Else: Well, all other actions that could trigger a test are resolved by role playing and said role playing could cause advantage or disadvantage (or some traits may cause advantage).

Final Thoughts: The tiny d6 system does the Mythos great justice. I have been at many a Cthulhu game table where we got stuck looking up rules or slogging through sanity searing situations, combat, or clue finding. I think these iteration of the Mythos goes a long way in keeping the players immersed in the story. 

There is threw things I really like about the Tiny Cthulhu. The first that characters are not deeply tied to their archetypes like a general class system. You can have a Mystic that is good with a sword or a soldier that has picked up some magic and so forth. The second thing is the corruption mechanics. Instead of it being a mechanical slog or a quick way to lose your character in a single session it enforces the genre in a positive way. Instead of taking away player agency it gives them a choice and there is some built in buffers so you do not have to make roll for each body you find or whatever cult antics you come across. I also like how finding treatment and some of the other methods of regaining the Corruption threshold can become a side quest and a good opportunity for roleplay that does not directly involve the Mythos. Another great aspect regarding Corruption is magic as just knowing magic permanently breaks some of your sanity and your total corruption threshold is reduced on an permanent manner. Knowledge can be a dangerous thing. Speaking of magic, the Healing trait is stated that it is due to medical knowledge and not necessary magic. The last thing I really like are micro settings. That provide some many different ideas then the standard issue 1920s vibe. My two favorite ones are Under a Blood Red Sky (where basically a 1800s western town gets mysterious transported into an alternate world with Mythos horrors and the characters are part of that town. The other setting is Arkham High - a little Goonies vibe with Mythos. Each micro setting has setting information, hooks, and a whats really going on explanation. 

Now, with that being said, I do wish there would have been more setting specific traits, GM advice for running the Mythos, and more information regarding all of the great older ones.  I am hoping some of this information we will see in a supplement down the road. 

You can find Tiny Cthulhu at the following places:

• Drivethrurpg
• Gallant Knight Games 

Join the conversation:

• Patreon 
• Twitter
• Facebook 
• Blog
• Youtube Channel with Live Plays, etc. 
• Twitch
•  
  

 

The Continual Evolution of S&B

So, recently I have been really thinking about Sword and Backpack due to my discovery of a gaming club I discovered on campus. I have been revisiting all my research notes about how Arneson and the other Twin City Gamers' played and been brainstorming on how to make Sword and Backpack more accessible to first time players or to people who have only played other more complicated/non-narrative focus games. 

Reading through my notes, my first task was clear. I needed to change the single dice mechanic. I followed my research and decided on 2d6. Another bonus of this, is people can raid their board games for dice. During this part of my rewrite, I had a very difficult choice to make things opposed rolls like MAR Barker's Perfected or to use target numbers. I went back and forth between these two options for a long time and I finally decided on target numbers. This is because target numbers give a little more structure and makes it easier for storytellers to bump up the difficulty to show how dangerous a threat is or how difficult a task is (all without the need for additional math!).

My next task to resolve was to make sure to include just enough structure so new Storytellers have consistency for rulings for task resolutions, combat, etc. This was already done in my Breakfast club edition so it was just a matter of converting everything over to the new 2d6 resolution mechanic. 

So, after I finished the above revisions, I wanted to look at my use of Wounds or Hits. I decided rather quickly that I needed to reduce the starting hits for the adventurers (which I did). I also realized that I needed to change the terminology of wounds or hits because those words bring combat to mind and the wounds that result from such actions. I am renaming wounds/hits to Stamina. The idea of Stamina as it is a catch all for the adventurers entire well being - mental, physical, and emotional. If the fiction dictates, Stamina can be lost through fear, exhaustion, and other factors. A storyteller in theory could also give Stamina to extended tasks, very complicated situations, and even social situations like a court room. I think using Stamina really opens up many unique possibilities. 

I have been sitting on these revisions for a few weeks and been carefully rereading them and making sure I did not miss anything. While doing this, I started to listen to a live play podcast and in doing is so, a lot of inspiration hit me for Sword and Backpack and just about any other OSR style game I play or run. With this new found inspiration, I went back to the forge. I really wanted to include some of the old school soul in additional to all of the narrative goodness that is already there. I decided to add a forth job, the Cleric. This goes a long way to adding that old school flavor. 

I then toyed around with the idea of an appendix that included my rulings from my own table. To be honest, I actually added this section and sent it to some people to get their opinions. Though, after some feedback and more thought on the matter I decided to remove this section as it changed the vibe of the document and Sword and Backpack. 

I am also using the manual from Kung Fu Hustle as inspiration for the cover!

 

HAWT: Character Sheet Reveal!

 

It is a funny thing, but something I always look at and judge in all role-playing games is the character sheet. I want a character sheet to be functional, clean, intuitive, and well organized. It does not have to be fancy or have a lot of art as long as it has what I have already listed. Now, if a character sheet can be functional and posses that artistic edge, well that is the best for both worlds. 

That best of both worlds is something I worked hard for when I was designing the character sheet for Have Axe, Will Travel. I am really proud of how the character sheet turned out. 

For those of you that are following at home, I am sure you are wondering about the progress on the rest of the game. Well, there has been some hiccups with layout and I am working hard trying to make sure I have included all of my ideas as well as to double check for typos. 

I am looking forward to when it will be officially in layout.

Lost Love for the D20

 

So, over the years I have been falling out of love with d20 based systems. I know have stated this before, but these days I prefer rules light games. Though lately, what love I had left for d20 based games is waning more and more. 

It could be that I has gaming heavily in the 3.x era where every idea, genre, and game had a d20 version and all of the of new games used a version of the d20 system. 

But maybe it is part of the swingy-ness (it lacks any type of curve - I call it the Chaos die) of the d20 but I think the majority of my current frustrations are because the d20 is usually attached to rules heavy systems. Rules heavy systems tend to have a lot of baggage. 

My frustrations have become apparent during my current DnD 5e game I am playing in. Do not get my wrong, I am having a lot of fun with the story, the people I am playing with (I think there is about 145 years of gaming experience between us). all of the characters (including mine) and their interactions. It is the system that gets in the way of immersion and full enjoyment.There are still pauses to look up various rules and sometimes there is decision lock as some of the smallest decisions can get very technical. 

The final part of my frustrations is that as far as DnD has come from AD&D/3.x to what it is now it has fallen short. Using the same mechanics for skills does not create very skilled characters and there are a lot of classes that o not have uses (or effective uses) for bonus actions compared to other classes - the action economy is in shambles.  

Now with this being said, I have found some creative iterations of using a d20 for resolution. Some of these iterations include using the roll under method (what a lot of people did back in the 70s and 80s), the d20 + bonus die for skill, and advantage/disadvantage (though this is just a clever way to stop obscene bonuses or penalties and not a system in itself).

This more of a rant then anything, but I have been noticing (except for very rare instances these day) that no matter how much I am interested in a game I tend to avoid it if it uses any type of d20 systems. 

Motley Crew: Session 2 and 3

 Session 2

Then party continues down the corridor as Tonic, using his dark vision scouts ahead. Tonic starts to round a corner but hears voices coming from the next open area and returns to the rest of the party to inform them of the situation. Theran decides to send his familiar, a weasel to further investigate the situation and finds four people. 

Tonic tells the rest of the party he will start the ambush and for everyone to follow his lead. Tonic slinks around the corner and unleashes his arrows as the man holding the spear screams in agony. A female with a bloody shield charges Tonic, wildly swinging her mace but misses. The rest of party charges in and takes up defensive positions. 

Theran quickly fires a bolt of fire but misses as Tonic catches a solid blow from his opponents mace which sends him staggering back. The battle ensues but the God Bane seems to be empowering his people and the party appears to be in dire straights and almost deadly blows start land with startling consistency. In a fit of rage, Uthar screams and swings his greatsword with all of his might that results in cutting the female opponent in half. Before the two halves of the body hits the floor Theran motions to a torch which flies off of the wall and collides with the last two remaining opponents that explode in a shower of sparks dropping them. 

In the wake of the blood lust, the party realizes that the three guards were interrogating a prisoner chained up to the back wall in the shadows. As Gabriel goes to free the prisoner, two armored fists fly off am armored statue and misses Gabriel's head by an hair. Tonic is quick to react and connects with an arrow to one of the fists in midair as Gabriel grabs the other one and tries to put it on but fails to do so. During this effort the other fist rings Gabriels bell as Tonic skewers it with an arrow, pinning it to wall and both fists stop moving. After confirming that the fists are not a threat, they party frees the prisoner and quickly learns that he is a noble and was being held for political reasons. He promises that of he is seen to safety he will make sure everyone gets an award. Merrick decides to lead him back to the bathhouse so he can be returned to safety with a degree of certainty. 

As merrick and the noble person heads back to the bathhouse, one of the guards moans and rolls over and bravely exclaims that we have all just signed our death certificate. Gabriel and Tonic picks up the guard, and chains him up where the prisoner was. After a few rounds of questioning, no information is given and Uthar finally has enough. Uthar walks over to the chained up guard, sticks the point of his dagger in the guards nose, and cuts a new slit in it. The guard grunts in pain but says, "I am still not telling you anything. You have no idea who my boss is". Theran grins maniacally and exclaims, "wrong answer" as he pulls down the guards pants and lines up a golf shot. The guard quickly changers his toon and explains how many people should be down here and how his boss is in a hidden room behind the torture chamber. The guard continues to sing like a canary and uses his limited hand movements to point to what door they need to take and the various direction they need to head in to find the torture chamber and the hidden door beyond that chamber. Just as Tonic walks over and paths the guard on the head, Merrick returns, sees the situation, and throws up his hands and says, "I do not even want to know. Can we get going?"

The party continues their journey following the guards instructions as the finally make it out of the wetness of the sewer and onto drier paths. They come across a corridor with multiple doors and the party starts investigating the doors and opening them one by one. Tonic opens one of the doors only to find himself face to face with multiple zombies and before Tonic can react, the zombies start to shamble forward. Tonic yells for help as he takes a few steps back narrowly missing becoming a snack. Tonic is able to drop back and fire an arrow but notices that is does not seem very effective and slings his bow so he can draw his short sword. The rest of the party rushes to the area as more zombies continue to spill out of the room. The corridor becomes a melody of steel rending undead flesh as Merrick, Theran, Uthar, Gabriel, and Tonic dance around the swarm of zombies - felling them one by one. Uthar dispatches the last zombie with an annoyed grunt as he removes the zombies head with a swing of his greatsword. Uthar movesa forward to inspect the room they were locked in and finds nothing of note. It appears it was just zombie storage? 

Theran goes for the next door and cautiously cracks it open just enough to pick in. The room appears to be empty except for a sarcophagus in the far end of the room. Theran and Merrick cautiously enter the room as the rest of the party stands guard outside of the room. As they reach the sarcophagus they find it empty except for gel like liquid filling a 1/4 of it. Theran decides to reach into the liquid and discovers that it has a false bottom. Theran then finds a mummy and casts a spell to detect if any magic is present and he gets a feeling there is something magical. Merrick helps Theran pull the mummy out of the sarcophagus respectfully and then Theran discovers a leather pouch that has a pair of gemstone eyes. Theran pockets the entire pouch and Merrick returns the mummy to its resting place. 

The party finds nothing else of note in the remaining rooms and continues on their journey. They eventually find themselves in the torture chamber as they notice two people chained up on to one of the walls. Tonic walks over for a closer inspection as he is about to exclaim they are both dead he notices that the female Tiefling is breathing and quickly frees her as he cradles her to the ground. Tonic gives her some water and she seems to regain some of her energy and wakes up. The party learns from the Tiefling that the leadership of the cult has always been members of the the royal family. The party decides to take the tiefling with them and learns that her name is Amber. Theran gives Amber a dagger so she has the ability to defend herself. 

Tonic scouts ahead through the far door in the chamber and runs right into a guard. Tonic quickly snaps off an arrow but the guard yells Intruders and retreats down the hallway. The rest of the party hearing this, charges in as multiple guards rush in to stop them. Uthar drops one of the guards as Gabriel and Tonic drop another couple with their arrows and bolts. The remaining two guards retreat into the next room and close the door. Merrick without wasting any time, charges through the door, splintering it, and pushes the remaining two guards further into the room. Uthar joins Merrick in the room and they both make short work of the guards. The party then explores each of the remaining doors. The first door was a now empty barracks where the guards were living. 

As the party opens the second door, they are hit with the unmistakable stench of blood and they notice there is a sarcophagus in the center of the room that is over flowing with blood. As they cautiously search the room, Gabriel finds an old lady, in rags, heavily breathing behind the Sarcophagus. The old lady acts really sweet but she gives Gabriel the creeps as something just feels off. Theran goes to retrieve Amber from her hiding place and she states that she has never seen the old lady before. Gabriel's bad vibes feelign intensifies and shoves Theran out of the way as an intense wave of murderous intent washed over him and the old lady stabs Gabriel. 

Tonic sees this interaction and quickly fires of ann arrow that connects squarely with the old ladies hip as the old lady stabs Theran which drops him. Merrick senses the evil and charges in with his polearm and smites the old lady with extreme prejudice as Merrick's strike erupts in glowing golden light. The holy strike breaks the old ladies illusion and she is revealed to be a beautiful young woman. The battle continues but their opponent is tougher then she looks and leaves the various party members gasping for air and hoping for a miracle. After suffering another holy blow from Merrick, the lady tries to escape but Uthar takes her lack on concentration and cuts her down.

As the party is left to catch their breath and wonder what in the nine hells just happened, Tonic secretly picks up the ladies dagger and slips it into one of his sheaths. 

Session 3

Disclaimer: I was not present for Session 3, so here is the best I could do with the notes I got from the other players. 

After regrouping from the attack of the old lady, the party is able to locate the hidden door the leader is hiding behind and they charge in with a hope of surprise. Though, the leader was ready but by himself. They leader of the cult fought fiercely but eventually was no match for the numbers of the party. 

As the leader took his last breath, the party decides it is time to head topside and prepare their report to the Capt. When the excited the bath house, they were ambushed by a group of people wearing all black and silver dragon masks. During the onslaught, one of the members dragon mask got knocked off revealing a beautiful women that Uthar instantly falls in love with. Uthar's pleas for her and the dragon masked assailants to stop their assault go unheard as Uthar is forced to cut his love down, with tears in his eyes. 

The few remaining dragon masked attackers flee at the sight of the dawn. 

Risus Changes Hands

 

I stumbled across this information by accident but it floored me. S. John Ross, the creator of Risus: The Anything RPG has sold it to Dave LeCompte of Big Dice Games.

I did not see any announcements or discussions about it in the usual places and it seems to have happened rather quietly. This information came up during a conversation about how Kort'thalis Publishing has acquired the rights to Encounter Critical from S. John Ross.  

The first hyperlink is the press release from S. John Ross's blog dated 06/07/2021. It was put up for sale on 05/28/2021.

Regardless of the reasons for passing the torch (as there is not much outside of speculation), I do have high hopes for the future of Risus in the hands of Dave and Big Dice Games. Dave has been really responsive and the focus as laid out in the press release is going to be fulfilling the Kickstarter obligations that was funded in 2012. The last update on the KS page was in 2015. 

Outside of the kickstarter obligation (which is first and foremost), there are a few other points:

•  Risus will remain free!
• Open call for stick figure artists.
  
• Open call for freelance work to write 10 page adventures and approx. 64 page world books. 
• The International Order of Risus will remain intact and continue to move forward. 
• More stuff to come after the KS fulfillment. 

I have been thinking about this a lot since I found out about it and honestly and I am really excited about this change. I think it is going to bring great things to Risus and the related community. One of the most unique things about Risus is it is really a community and that community has been continuously creating content  and going on Risus powered adventures. Now, it looks like Risus is going to a renewed focus and support from Dave and Big Dice Games. 

I cannot wait for what the future holds for Risus. 

If you are interested in freelance opportunities, please feel free to email dave at risusrpg dot com. 

Update 08/18/2021

So, this post has generated some better insight on the situation and I was given a link to a blog post that gives a better explanation on S. John Ross's state of mind and reasoning why he put Risus up for sale. Basically, outside of his health and financial issues, it seems to come down to the ye olde argument regarding high trust vs. low trust games and how S. John Ross thinks there is no room for his low trust style and games in today's gaming community. I think he is wrong, as the revitalization of DIY style of gaming, OSR, FKR, and other such movements show a swing in the other direction. The above link has screenshots from S. John Ross's twitter account and the like. It is an interesting read and provides powerful insight. 

 

Min-Maxing and Efficiency

 

Before I even get started, I am a big proponent of defining terms. When someone brings up the concept of min-maxing or accuses someone of min-maxing there is a certain archetype in that persons mind. This archetype is usually of someone that only cares about stats on the character sheet, combat, how to bring the most cheese to the table (by cheese I mean min-maxing everything to the limit of the rules), and is not really interested in roleplaying. 

With that being said, there are systems that make min-maxing easier and others harder. Then there are some systems that having a well rounded character is the sweet spot due to the genre, mechanics, style, etc. Though, this discussion commonly comes up in Dungeons and Dragons and all other d20 (especially 2nd edition to 3.x) derived games. 

There is also something called efficiency and efficiency is something that is in important in these d20 derived games. To define terms again, by efficiency I mean someone who understands the system, is able to create a character they want and what they want their character to be good at, and enjoys the roleplaying aspect of the game. This is because if your character does not have one or two focuses (usually two is the max before efficiency starts to drop due to MAD and other factors. Commonly these focuses are split between combat/social/exploration) it will tend to be alright in a lot of areas but not really good in anything. This can make things really frustrating for the player when the dice start to hit the table as Lady Luck is a fickle mistress. I am speaking from personal experience and what I have seen at the table.

What really grinds my gears is when people accuse efficient players as min-maxing. I personally find this rude and it makes me feel like the person doing the accusing really does not understand the mechanical implications of the game. Maybe this comes from jealously when other characters are more effective at various aspects and they have to rely on high d20 rolls which are manipulated by Lady Luck. It also comes from frustration as lack of successes on the average.

If a player is struggling with the mechanical aspects of the game they should ask for help from an efficient player. 

If a player is going to accuse another player of something, they should be using the right terms. 

HAWT: Art Preview

 

By amazing luck I have found a great artist and I have had the honor of working with said artist for sometime. He has done some character sketches for me in the past but now is working on the art for Have Axe, Will Travel as we speak. 

I love his style and it fits perfectly with the soul of my game that I am trying to capture. Without further ado, here is a sneak peek...

Fine, a second peak....

Alright, I will be nice. One final peek behind the curtain...

Honestly, I cannot say enough good things about the artist. I love his art, he is easy to work with, and communicates very well. I am beyond excited on another round of art coming in. If you need work done, you can find him at Inked Gas.

As for the rest of the game? The core text is edited and I am sending out the adventure to be edited that will be included in the core book. It is a matter of putting the pieces together, finishing up some contract work, and jumping through the hoops of formatting. I do not have a date yet but I will let everyone know when I am comfortable giving out soft timelines. 

Thank you all for the support.

Antediluvian Rumors

Due to the varies canon changes throughout the editions (in addition to there being lot of rumors and very few hard facts in the meta plot) it can be hard to keep track of what happened to what Antediluvian, who are the clan founders in Vampire the Masquerade. I have taken the time and tried to track down where and what the Antediluvians are doing in the modern nights. 

I have used the Vampire: The Masquerade 20th Anniversary Edition timeline changes, information from Beckett's Jyhad Diary, and the information presented in Vampire 5th Edition. 

 

What They are Doing or Where They Are

§

• Banu Haqim: The last anyone saw of Haqim was in 121 CE at the British Isles where he was engaged in philosophical conversations with Mithras. Since then, attempts to find him has failed. It is rumored that he is in torpor in the Azerbaijan/Iran/Turkmenistan though some believe he is awake but remains hidden.

• Cappadocian: Cappadocius was diablierized by Augustus Giovanni in 1444 CE.
  

• Brujah: Brujah was diablierized by Troile in the second city.

• Ministry: After a brief awakening in 33 AD, Sutekh disappeared from view and has not been seen since (but left vague prophecies about his return). Despite this, a Ventrue named Nasch came upon a cult known as the Coil of Lion allegedly harbored Sutekh’s body in the 14th century. Nasch then drank from Sutekh’s body which sent Nasch into torpor for a century.

• Gangrel: Ennoia has drifted in and out of torpor since the fall of Enoch. It is unknown whether she is awake or not in the modern nights.

• Giovanni: Augustus Giovanni was staked (and put on ice somewhere) or possible diablerized during the Family Reunion where Clan Giovanni, Cappadocian's, and the other related bloodlines came together and overthrew the reigning leadership of the last 500 years. This new ideal is due to the threat of the Second Inquisition and the Promise of 1528 coming to an end in 2028. This creates a new consolidated clan of death, the Hecata. 

• Lasombra: Physically slain and allegedly diablerized by Gratiano de Veronese at the start of the Anarch revolt.

• Malkavian: Malkav is thought to be in torpor somewhere in Jerusalem where it is thought that his madness has caused the constant state of chaos in that area. It has also been theorized that all Malkavians may or may not have drunk him causing their “cobweb” mental connection with all other members.

• Nosferatu: Absimillard was last recorded to have retreated to the far ends of the Earth after his scarring and creation of the Nicktuku. Absimillard was disappointed in his children for creating embracing others and created the Nicktuku to hunt them. Modern Nosferatu's stem from one of his original childes.
  

• Ravnos: Zapathasura awoke insane with the pain from the death of his children at the hands of the Kuei-jin. This event caused the Week of Nightmares and ended with Zapathasura being destroyed by concentrated sunlight (from satellites) after surviving spiritual nukes and destroying three Bodhisattvas.

• Saulot: Tricked Tremere into diablierizing him in which he took over Tremere’s body in 1133 CE. Last rumors place him at Hunedoara Castle pretending to be a servant.

• Toreador: Arikel is currently thought to be awake and residing in Greece.

• Tremere: The soul of Tremere resides in the body of his childe Goratrix (while Goratrix soul is confined in a mirror) since 1133 CE. Goratrix is trying to lead those Tremere that followed him to rebuild the pyramid after the destruction of the Chantry in Vienna by the hands of the Second Inquisition.

• Troile: Troile descended into the Earth in the arms of Moloch to hide from the Romans where they salted the earth and performed a ritual to trap them there. Though, in recent nights, there is evidence that they have been moved and reside under the Castle Vysehrad.
  

• Tzimisce: Was allegedly diablierized by Lugoj at the start of the Anarch Revolt but it was discovered that the Eldest faked his own diablerie and eventually when into torpor. In the modern nights, the Eldest body was brought to New York where he awakened, shed his giant flesh crafted body, and is now on the search for his siblings to find answers.

• Ventrue: The clan Ventrue claim that their founder Veddartha was ambushed and killed by Brujah on the outskirts of the Second City.

Interesting Rumors of the Night

• Arula: There is four beings who lay in torpor in Enoch, who may or may not be members of the Third Generation. Their names are Al-Mahri, Loz, Nergal, and Ninmug.   

LAST UPDATED 11/08/2023

Review: Cha'alt: Fuchsia Malaise

This is the big follow up release of Cha'alt and just like the original, production values are very high and there were only 1,000 released of  the deluxe physical copies. Cha'alt Malaise continues with the themes of the gonzo fantasy/science fiction/Heavy Metal/Gamma World with a dash of Cthulhu on a Dune world but goes a step further and advances the timeline from the original events of Cha'alt by eighteen months. This is going to be a review with a different structure as Cha'alt Fuchsia Malaise is a beast of its own.

For a disclaimer, I was given a pdf/physical copy of this book for review purposes. 

Presentation: Between the hardback slip covered book you get 230 pages of full color printed on paper stock that reminds me of one of those coffee table art books. All of the art and maps that is included takes up an entire page or two page spread with purple-ish alien language and symbols and generously placed in the book to keep the theme going. It is type set in two columns with some tables taking up a full page. This is all typeset against a parchment style background which does not make it hard to read. Though, it would be hell on your printers. 

Essentials: This section deals with the basics. It includes information on the races of Cha'alt and gives you all kinds of useful tables. The tables lean towards referee utility but this is some great tables for players and all of the tables have plenty of inspiration. There is the usual fair such as morale, alignment, NPCs, Loyalty, Hirelings, and reaction but others such as disguise, enamored, social hierarchy, death is not the end, Cha'alt names, dehydration, how to use this NPC, backgrounds, and many others. These tables are set up on d6s, d8s, d12s, d20s, and even a d100. These tables do not always follow traditional thinking and some of them are setting specific. I think one of my favorite aspects in this book is one that is a list of suggestions.

This list is Murder-Hobo regrets. It is basically used when a player does something murder hobo like, etc. The list has basically repentance on in the ranges from saying a prayer for the fallen, notifying their next of kin, killing one of their enemies, etc. 

City of A'agrybah: The next sections details the Golden City. It goes into detail about its history, politics, a day in the life,  noble houses, places of interest, a d100 table for unlikely events, plot seeds to go to the city/be inside the city, and a few other pieces of information. The section provides enough information to help the GM build the city but it is not overwhelming.

Encounters: In this section, there is a few encounter tables, Fuchsia Putrescence, traveling at night, the meteorite, clown worms, sub ways, galactic tyrants, and some sorcery. 

Scenarios: This section offers three different scenarios/adventures. The first one is Fuchsia Flesh Pit, which is an experiment of a wizard that is recently deceased. The girl that beckons the party came to this flesh pit looking for the other half of the glove she stole from the wizard, but she had to realize that it's dangerous to go alone: there are tentacles, mutant clams, evil cultists, a whispering elder monstrosity, and other gonzo stuff within the organic pit. She tries to persuade the party into coming down and helping her out, after which she would try to betray them and leave with the treasure. 

Tower of Vromka-ad, is the home of the dead wizard that created the flesh pit. Since Vromka'ad's death the servants have taken over, and are now busy bickering among themselves. There are twelve color coded rooms which could be reached by touching the corresponding orb in the entrance. Each room as its one focus point but there is not much else of note in the rooms. There are not a lot of servants and most of them are not worth messing with. There also is not a lot of treasure except for the room with the three warriors and some magic items. This easily ties into the Flesh Pits as a second location. 

Tomb of Va'an, Zayne: Va'an Zayne was a sorcerer and writer, whose tomb is mentioned a lot in the rumors tables. This tomb offers a good deal of interactivity combined with a bunch of unique NPCs. There is a writers circle right at the entrance, energy beings taunting cultists, a statue that can summon demon, etc. Another cool aspect is that the tomb is tied to Cha'alt's metaplot in a couple of ways. These type of details are always nice and some of my favorite. The place was raided by Tha'anos recently and there are revelations about the true nature of the Old Ones and the planet's future.

Elysium:  This describes a floating station in the sky that was built by aliens. It starts off talking about the different aliens, factions, security systems, personnel, and politics. Then the section opens up into a room by room description and there are 56 of them. There is a lot going in this station and a lot of NPCs have their own agendas. There are also connections that that party can discover about the over arching meta plot which are Easter eggs on crack. Elysium is a pretty opened ended location set up as a very large dungeon and the party can pick up various plot points, blow up the whole thing, set up shop, and so on.

S'kbah Pilgrimage: This is an event on Cha'alt due to a series of unfortunate events. This effects the setting of Cha'alt and the players can interaction with it or not but interacting with it is the only sure way to affect the course of events. This provides numerous locations with moving parts.

Appendixes: This section includes the complete rules of Crimson Dragon Slayer D20 Revised, Cha'Alt Ascended, and Old School Renaissance like a Fucking Boss. The very pieces of crunch that exist around Cha'alt: Fuchsia Malaise are designed to sue with Crimson Dragon Slayer Revised. 

Final Thoughts: I think the art and layout is great on top of Fuchsia Malaise offering a ton of setting information to Cha'alt. It really expands on the world and advances the world (various plot points) by eighteen months. It does this advancement well and it does not feel heavy handed.

I was really hoping that the City of A'agrybah (this section was the part I was looking forward to the most) was going to get the same treatment as the Black Pyramid did in the original Cha'alt release but it did not. I really wanted to see a city location within Cha'alt to get the mega dungeon treatment with locations, NPCs, adventure hooks, countless reasons to keep returning to the city, and enough intrigue where the campaign would never need to leave that location. Having a city set up this way with all of the weirdness, gonzoness, and flavor that Cha'alt has to offer would have really sent this release over the top. Regardless of this, we do still get a solid foundation with various locations, some tables, notable NPCs, notable royal houses, and a few other story aspects. I just think it fell short of its potential. 

The S'kbah Pilgrimage is an interesting event that spans a good chunk of Cha'alt with plenty of story seeds and ways the party could interact with it. It also gives a good amount of setting information. This could be set up where the players could interact with it at various points of its progression which I think is a very clever idea. Though, the chain of events feels rushed and I think this could have been expanded upon as it is part of the meta plot.

I feel like the author set up Elysium to be the apex of this release for its "mega dungeon". At 56 rooms it does accomplish this in size and scope but I am glad it does not have the mega dungeon feel. Elysium feels more like a neutral location that has its own plot points and moving parts. It almost feels like the party is takes a trip to Alpha Blue but it is has nothing to do with Alpha Blue - I am just talking about the open ended feel of the location. This whole section is written with hints of the sense of humor found in the works of Terry Pratchett and Douglas Adams. I personally appreciate this but your mileage may very.

This release adds a lot of the original Cha'alt release and it was a lot of fun to read cover to the cover.

You can find it here;

• Drivethrurpg
• Physical Copies (only 1,000 made) 
• Cha'Alt Ascended
• OSR Like a Fucking Boss 
• Crimson Dragon Slayer D20 Revised