Sunday, July 24, 2016

Wish in One Hand, Tirade in the Other

DEAR ADVENTURE WRITING MOFOS:


In your modules/expansions/adventures, what I want is:

In the front matters, of variable length and however long it takes for you to get it out, set the scene, some verbose and stylized flavor text, fluff maybe, that I can read this and say: "Daniel wrote this on a Lovecraft tear and it is hilarious".  Include satire. Ineffable wonder is terrific but not if its not gameable... Or if the concept is so high-concept that the game becomes an abstraction of whatthefucks, then maybe tone it down a couple notches but I am not the boss of you

I personally don't go for books-as-art/collectibles. Cleverness and usability, newness of thought in terms of gaming situations, that's key. I don't want it to be ugly, though. If we ought to emulate Z--'s approach in anything it's that he puts a great deal of effort into the things he does, and I admire him for that.  Or at least, it appears he does. It's his livelihood and nobody ought to try to pull it out from underneath him, and I take ownership of my part.  Don't make it like you generated half with some online website and filled in the rest. I can use a website for that myself and they are generally free. I'm paying FOR YOUR BRAINWAVES or maybe I will if you impress me.

In the entries, terseness. Just enough to oomph me. Clarity: I want to be able to know the theme of the area already. Put standout features in bold, treasure easily sussed, traps evident at a glance (or maybe just TRAP and I can cook it up kaboom). Stonehell by Michael Curtis and Gillespie's Barrowmaze are good examples where just enough is given in the general scheme of things. I should be able to look at the entry and in one fell swoop know what is about to happen

Random monsters that make sense somehow and introduce novelty, hilarity and dread and will interact with keyed static encounters. These should provide impetus against standing still and silly-dallying too long. Else, don't include them if you want the tone of your thing to be relaxed and merely exploratory. Shitty randos that are boring and just attack is a waste of ink. Moldvay reaction roll or something similar called for in situations of total ambiguity, BUT these things are wandering around for a good reason, right?  Motive: these skeletons are lugging parcels for the Oppressive Douchebag Necromancer and would love to break up the monotony of post/biology workday and they resent his managerial style is better than "SKELETONS HIT LUCIENNE WITH SWORD FALL DOWN"

I want original monsters from your brain. Homages are okay.  Radiation infused stirges are good, and they puke radiation into you because they are excited. A stirge is not okay to stat out because that's wasted ink.  I'm pretty sure they are hard to hit, flimsy, and drink blood if they hit and latch on. I got that already.  Staying on the ASE-as-example, the little robot dwarf guys who want to use you as parts, those are terrific.  If it was all goblins, I wouldn't even have read the thing.  I'd almost go without stats entirely since you could essentially let me kludge it into my own system. NO STATS!? A hush falls over the crowd and a looming sense of alienation toward the writer and off you guy, Dearie!

Awesome items for foolish players to let their PCs experiment with (I'm going to include experimentation rules in all my games maybe, I need to work out a system where I describe items more thoroughly instead of FUCK I GUESS ITS A LASER GUN). No more magic swords. I've seen every variation of magic sword ever and I get bored by swords and not engorged by swords if you take my meaning

One thing I love to see lately is permanent or long-lasting changes to PCs from items or interactions with the dungeon. Possibly death (there are more fun outcomes than death); possibly rocket-fired batwings. Something that changes a PC from "Eric the Warrior" to "Eric the CHROME SKYVIKING". I've killed, personally, a great number of Warriors and have no remorse, but a well-marbled pig invested with the semblance of a personality gets me upset when my mutant chomps his head off because the personality makes it taste better, you see. Mike Evans' Hubris has a good deal of this in the funnel so that the survivors are going to be unique and weird right at the start. One reason I dig DCC is that it allows me to purposefully encourage, with a minimum of work up front, a large group of memorable PCs that players get invested in.  They ought to maneuver their shitty uninteresting ones into the line of fire, somehow. Many times these days, I think players get disappointed when their 0-levels bite it and it's natural, but if you do it enough you get less attached to individual PCs and more attached to the development of the survivors. Sometimes, you get invested in the pigs and goat-wives and Wargeese which says something to me.

My own policy is there ought to be chock full of hooks for the next thing in the back, and a number of setups for the thing in the front. Possibilities. Maps to other places. Let's do what the Old Ones did and link our own little Multiverses together by way of mutual reference. It's fantasy, and we all do it anyways, why not drop hints about other folks' works in there?  Like a cult from Paul's book?  Include it in your module and people will (without even knowing its happening) like it also, provided your thing makes a good time.

Don't name NPCs. That sucks. More later. THinking about Keep On the Borderlands, here.

Enough loot to make their eyes light up but not enough to break the economy. Or I don't know, your call.

I was in an "anti-table" mode for a while, but I have reconsidered. If it's thematic and provides some chaotropy, then hurrah (like, the reams of possibility in Kabuki Kaiser's stuff, versus ANOTHER LIST OF DOGS TO GROOM)

We're old enough and wise enough, now, to leave the graph paper in our youth. The world is not laid out, mostly, in uniform grids - sensible though it may be. I think Doug pulls this off nicely since his maps are arty and nicely represent scale and relationship without the tedium of 20 foot squares all the damn time.

Less scribbletits for the sake of scribbletitillation since I am somebody's dad and maybe I want to hand my daughter this book-analogue without my conscience nagging at me.  I want her to be able to read it, comprehend it, and not lose SAN when she's 7 or 8. Call me uptight and I know demihuman and semihuman bodies are beautiful and natural etc etc but maybe 

On that note, design some factions that have other motives besides SENSELESS GORE, and make it possible for pacifist approaches to have a possibility of winning the day. I really believe that games are much More Fun when we are all cracking up laughing because of interactions with the world and each other that are not merely rolls to see "DID I HIT AND KILL IT THIS TIME? IS IT KILLING ME?" And that one guy who has not yet, in 2016, learned to roll his attack and damage and Deed dice with one hand together all at once at the same time together for the sake of expediency and clarity and hold on what's that word I'm looking for let me get it from my bag I here it is what was the monster's armor class again?  We should all respectfully model accurate and useful behaviors to people and hope they pick them up without a lecture, since tirades are good Sunday morning IMHO but not at game time; that's for laughing and laughing and maybe pissing your pants laughing from fear and terror and MAN THIS GAME IS TERRIFIC BUT I WISH JOEY WIULD HURRY IT UP BY GOD'S STONY YARBLES

Your mileage may vary of course but if you don't agree with my opinions, you're wrong and stupid, as this one or two guys I see on the Internet are prone to saying, and I will see to it personally that you reform or are ostracized.  (A little satire for you but if you don't get it then count yourself lucky). This is about games, not maybe about selling games (to me it's a non-issue but for some a primary motivator which I think tangled up your approach) or our identity as a tribe and who the biggest dick swinging is but as I said choose for yourself

ON TO ELEVENSIES AND MORE CAFFEINATION THANKS FOR READING MOFOS

Wednesday, July 6, 2016

Retinues and Scavvy Hordes (also Genestealers)

Been effing around in the basement.  Had too much coffee the other day and felt an urge for finality that I now know will never ever come.  I will be painting these little people probably until the time I pass away, in little batches of like 2 or 3 forever.

Here's some progress, if you're interested. My buddy is sending me my old genestealers (maybe 2nd edition?) and my original Scavvie gang that I never painted. I think he is going to keep the delaques and plastic orlocks/goliaths and terrain, but hey.  It's cool.
 
Some of these figs have needed a little zazz on 'em for maybe 10 or 12 years.



Saturday, June 25, 2016

IRON WITHIN : IRON WITHOUT

It is clear that this sector's secessionist tendencies is due to a deeper underlying cause; some perverse machine at work under the surface. Under siege is all that is good and unites the Imperium of Man together, as if an Engine of Ill Will drives the machine unions to work against the Adeptii Arbites and the Astartes Soldier Brethren.


The cause must be investigated further and each face that comes to light will be voxcast.

NOTA BENE: This servant's eye units no longer work effectively and suitable cybernetic replacements are requisitioned from the Union storehouse. Please forward a surgical servitor and 2.5 drams of Kalma, as per the previously agreed terms.  The hands shake and perhaps the next requisition forms will include requests for bionic brush holders and magnification elements

Tuesday, June 14, 2016

Gangs of Metro City: BURNING ROAD

 for +Jarrett Crader and +Claytonian JP  and +Tony Tucker  the rest of you people that make me want to create a new thing or play games or both

I call this genre DANGERBOOBIES;this is an example of Cosplay that doesn't maybe read the fluff
i GET A BIT CUNTY ABOUT OTHER PEOPLES' SUCCESS and also when I'm drunk i'm prone to drink and leave the caps lock on and make wild inadvisable boasts like HEY THIS MOVIE I WATCH WHILE IM WAITING FOR ZAKS NEW BOOK TO ARRIVE IS AWESOME AND IT COULD INSPIRE A GAME. You may have heard about my irritating and time-consuming project to turn my awesome Space Dungeon campaign on G+ into a 2D fighting game or maybe not, fuck it, i'll provide a link so you can catch up... Go ahead.  No seriously, I'll wait.

Ok, all done? I know! It's a great idea to me, also!  This post is only tangentially related, but since it's my blog, fuck it, you'll have to bear with me before you get to CONTENT because INSPIRATION etc etc blah blah

the objections to the character are deep and confusing
So anyway, one of the things about Space Dungeon: IN THE MAZE OF THE CYBERLICH is that it's a 2d fighting game all about poor human schmucks and alien schmucks and robot schmucks against the Terrible Horribly Combo-Laden Powers of Evil with Awesome Hypers and so, like in my RPGs generally it's not about the PCs having a chance of winning I mean come on let's be serious this is totally power tripping, here, but it's like every once in a while your schmuck will win a round or score a terrific combo and you'll feel elated for a second and TAKE THAT MOTHERFUCKER and it's a lot like Call of Cthulhu without all that messy fucking around with Sanity scores.  I get plenty of Insanity at work, thanks, and sometimes I just want to beat some shit up with my body instead of my GOODWILL and POSITIVE ESTEEM

and so when I was lining up the Good Guys roster for this thing, I kept thinking about Cody and Guy and Haggar from Final Fight.  If you do not recall, O Phillistine, then let me remind you of the goodness that was the late 80's/early 90's in which my meagre mind was formed, sack full of quarters and a face like it was on fire and somebody put it out with an ice pick.  Double Dragon, Yie Ar Kung Fu, Karate Champ, Street Fighter, Mortal Kombat.  Yeah, yeah, I know!  No wonder i'm always picking fights.

Henceforth all game maps will be drawn this way by decree
Anyways, the Final Fight guys didn't make it into my heartbreaker SD2d game, since they were too normal.  But a byproduct of the search was that I found out that Final Fight was based on, nay a blatant copy of, Streets of Fire.

Where am I going with this?

Okay, here's the HACK-a-riffic wall of text you assed for


In BURNING ROAD, there are no classes, only Warriors.  Lesser people are there, obviously, but only Warriors come out to play. It's a Neo-Noir shitbag-stomping node-crawl, where you gotta get from this place to rescue that person/do that thing/get back with thugs on your tail. The world is an endless sprawl of wet roads, broken steam pipes, elevated trains, subways, and tenement housing.  Littered in between the fearful citizens' fruit stands, diners, and watch repair shops, there are juke joints and maybe some newspaper offices. Everybody's come back from the war, and it feels like the 50's.  There's pompadours and poodle skirts and it's not like diesel punk, I guess, but maybe if you want, fuck it I don't care.  I guess it begs for lasers and big robots eventually. Everything happens at night but there's no reason why, that's just the way it is, see? Or else there could be aliens, I don't care it's your game.


You get a couple of Moves - these are Mighty Deeds, but you gotta name them up front.  One per level, plus one.  That makes two Moves at level 1.  In all other ways, you're a standard DCC Warrior.  There's small arms and you can choose those as special Lucky snowflake weapons if your group does that, or you can pick a baseball bat, butterfly knife, switchblade, broomhandle mauser.  Something genre appropriate.  For Moves, you get two Deed Dice and pick the best so it's pretty unlikely your Moves won't go off

You spend Luck like normal, but any time you get a breather, you get 1d3 Luck back and 1d6 HP. Any time you get a shot of Whiskey, also, or get romantic with a attractive member of your choice, or have a heart to heart about the past with a pal (even in the midst of combat)


Willem Dafoe and Lee Ving.  Whowouldathunkit.
Any in-game dialog must be somewhat irritable and hostile and passive-aggressive, and use the slang of the 50's which I am not gonna look up for you, doll.  If you don't use it, you lose that next combat's Moves dice, even if you're in the midst of combat, buttface.  That's a Biff Tannen reference.

You can choose to be a Lone Wolf, a Band member, or a Ganger. When I was a drunk last night, there was some benefit to these but I lost it between then and my current state. Lone Wolfs can give away Moves dice or keep them; Band members improve dice chain on actions when with bandmates and coordinated; gangers get Thief Luck dice when with gangers of the same gang and can subtract from other gangs' rolls with those (trying to avoid too many old mechanics but keep same principles). If you're by yourself as a Band Guy or Ganger, go find a chum.  Some Moral Advantage for Lawful, and Intimidation for Chaotic, and Neutral characters can pick
Gimmick gangs.  That's cool.
There's something about colors.  See: Dick Tracy, any modern noir film, Dark City.  Streets of Fire actually has a lot of great examples of what must be gel lights on steam vents and it's beautifully shot and a nightmare of dialog but the writing is pretty spare and straightforward. I'll have to return to colors in scenes, or leave it out, I don't know.  It's formulated in that compartment in my brain that had a lot of bourbon last night.  Red for violence (improved dice for everybody in combat); blue/purple for the same in sneaking; green for fear/terror (reduction in die rolls, little shop of horrors)
neither Joan Jett nor Pat Benatar but somehow both and not as awesome
You only level up when you're travelling, or prepping for the adventure. All the action takes place in a night.  Nodes generated by the narrative;

there;s more, but the world turn monochrome and this headache does not abate and I will have more links for you to consume

Meantime:



+ramonthe3rd  has a fun and simple urban crime rpg thing that I might steal liberally some of the ideas - Fire Elixir, but I can't figure out where I found it, maybe from Reddit or something

Speaking of Reddit, it's a nightmare, but it often has treasure in the deeps, for example in this thread




 





Tuesday, May 31, 2016

Imperial News VOXcast Hive Primus

+++Coded for Sentient/Only;Piety:High+++

Refugees from Sectors SHONDRUAH and DORVASAL continue to move upward into the 2nd tiers and outward to Hives Secundus and Tertius. The stated reason is increased gang warfare activities, which the Arbites are instructed to allow, in the hopes that the villains will slaughter each other and spare the Helmawr and supporting houses the cost of ammunition and personnel. Why do Hive Officials not intervene directly to root out the source of these evils? Do not question, Heretic!, for The Emperor Himself directs the agents of Lord Helmawr...



In other unrelated news, cheap Spook and Spook-like analogs have flooded the markets of all Spires, causing addiction and overdose rates to soar, and production in the local Manufactora to plummet, jeopardizing quota and tithing levels. Shell casings are down 17% and Spook-agonist supplies dwindle. Warp creature incursions are [[[REDACTED]]]. The Conclave of the Sisters of Fiery Mercy Hospitallers have reported that promethium supply levels are running low, and flagellations and pogroms are increased in the 2nd tier fringes as lower-caste workers flee the depths.

In other unrelated news, quotas of applicants for the Black Ships program are surging to record heights! BEWARE THE MUTANT AND ALIEN, AND REPORT ALL PSYKERS TO OFFICIALS

+++end of line+++

(So listening to NPR on the drive into work I actually have to turn it off for a good portion of the drive so as to avoid hearing about this fucking guy Trump. But when I do listen it's about refugees!  Refugees from warfare and gang violence , particularly in Central America where most refugees are provided amnesty and border agents are like MEH WHATEVER TIDE OF HUMAN TRAGEDY and I thought to myself Why don't they just send in troops down there and wipe those gangs the fuck off the maps?

And furthermore it's all about IEDs killing soldiers in Afghanistan and Opiod addiction and overdose and, really, I deal with these problems like at the ground level all day every day and it seems to me that the obvious solutions are only fit for hilarious satirical fictions and just pause to consider the sort of war zone that this country would become if suddenly all production of opioids suddenly ceased... It doesn't need to be a conspiracy - it's just that the negative effects are currently estimated to not yet outweigh the positives, whatever that means

So, let the gangs generate money and resources and then when they get to be a hassle then request a couple of squads of marines to just obliterate whatever an Inquisitor retinue points at, then spray a coat of paint down and let the refugees back in to the vacuum you just made.

Also, Spook! it's fun and every ganger should try it once or 5 times. Maybe some event floods cheap Spook derivatives to the market and everybody tries Psykers powers or limited versions and you can also save it for the inevitable bullish market later when supplies are low.

Please note: all this gaming activity generated by my news stories and work day and maybe a write-up forthcoming. I don't know. I have a lot of gluing and painting to do

P.S. I really loved the Enemies of the Inquisition list from the 4e Witchhunters book.

P.S. The Confrontation rules really put an interesting emphasis on Cherubs

P.S. BONUS LINK

Buy 'The Hounds' - Click Here