RPGee-Whiz

Horror—Ways to Make Your Adventures More Terrifying

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The following was a portion of the RPG based on our original comic, Skeleton Crew, that’s currently on the back-burner. In the meantime, I thought I’d share this section you on how to make your adventures a little more terrifying.

Unknown Threat

It’s easy to think of a dozen different types of monsters out there (ghouls, ghosts, vampires, etc.), but you have to remember—tales of monsters existed centuries before monsters had any names. It is common for gamers to label creatures into neat little categories—but to name something is to understand it, and the root of suspense comes from NOT knowing. When writing a creepy adventure, it might pay off to create a horror of your own. You might hint at the name through a local legend, but leave only vague stories as to what it could really be. In terms of skills and aspects, it might resemble other monsters, but the players will no idea how strange or tough the creature they are facing is. Or, make them think they know what it is, until you decide to switch it up on them—have them encounter a normal vampire, only to have his head sprout crab legs and walk off of his shoulders.

Naming Your Monsters (English and American)

Personally, I think folksy or childish sounding names often have the creepiest feel—better still if they have onomatopoeia in them. For example, why not the Tailypo, the Snickercatch, the Moggytom, the Nibblegnaw, the Cindergrim? Author Neil Gaiman wrote an amazing short ghost story called “Click Clack the Rattlebag”…little is known about the “Click Clack” monster, except it drinks the victim’s insides, leaving only a clattering “Rattlebag” of skin and bones. Brrr!

Nursery rhymes work great in there, too. Think of nonsense/old words like “eeny” and “winkum”, find a good meter, and add in some vaguely creepy stuff to the verse.

Ragged-Man

Ten little fingers, nine little toes
Ragged Man comes, and the Ragged Man goes
Eight little fingers, little toes seven
Keeps you from hell and he keeps you from heaven
Six little fingers, little toes five
Ragged Man steals you, a bit at a time.
Four little fingers, three little hairs
Ragged Man’s coming, up up the stairs
Two little eyes, and one little thumb
Nothing can help you, the Ragged Man’s come!

Naming Your Monster (Bilingual Version)

Of course, the above works best with English speaking threats—for exotic creatures, go with exotic names. Look up local monsters, and mash them around—the Indian Vyala becomes a Vylkara. Or, use an internet translator, and keep translating random dark words until you have a name that sounds neat. For example, Babelfish.com says “death forest” in German translates into “Tod-Wald”… not a bad creature name for 3 seconds of research.

Creating Monsters—Letting the Players Do the Work

There’s no reason that you can’t force your players to do the hard work for you. Don’t have a name for them? Let the characters come up with a nickname all their own—this helps if you give the creature a very distinct appearance—Example: , spiders for hands, three red eyes, etc. You probably won’t need to ask them—by the second time they see them, the characters will probably start tossing names around themselves as they communicate. Likewise, if they have a Mythos-heavy character in the group, he or she might declare that he or she has heard some of the legends concerning the creature, and come up with a neat new aspect to include in the origin story. An example of this shows up in the movie The World’s End, which features the heroes desperately trying to name the eerie villains—they use “the blanks” as a placeholder while the argue over the perfect name. Only then do they realize that “the Blanks” IS the perfect name for them!

Apparent Danger

Many of your adventures, humorous or horrifying, might start off the same way. However, once secondary characters start dropping dead or your group uncovers mass graves, the mood will change quite quickly. You have to get the players into the frame of mind that their characters are in legitimate danger—someone or something is here, just out of sight, and is fully capable of picking them off one by one. A few NPCs can be sacrificed to get this mood across—likewise, if the NPC Ranger Bob was the only with knowledge of the mountain (and with keys to the truck), your safe one-hour drive just became a 6 hour game of survival in the dark woods. Also, don’t be afraid to ignore dice and stats and tease the group with an impossible threat—maybe they can’t hurt the Moggytom during its first encounter, but learning its secret will allow them to physically hurt it. A helpless group will be more likely to fear the threat. If your group is a little virtuous, leave them a living NPC alive that they have to escort out—his vulnerability becomes THEIR vulnerability.

Get Gruesome

Not advised for queasy groups, but rather than just having NPCs disappear, have them be found again—in a barely recognizable state. Give them bloody scenes, slashed corpses, and guts galore. If you want to make it dark and still confusing, maybe the only way to know the number of victims is, (to quote the They Might Be Giants song), to “count the arms, the legs and heads, and then divide by five.” The primary function of such gruesomeness is to make the characters realize that danger can befall themselves (or the few remaining NPCs under their protection.) Secondly, any patterns might lead your characters to the origin of the monster—if all the victims are impaled with ancient railroad spikes, maybe researching into the old, abandoned railroad line will reveal a horrible tragedy left unavenged. Thirdly, if you like a bit of mystery, maybe you can hide the real threat amongst the victims—at first, it seems that all five of the grad students were liquefied in the dorm room, but close analysis shows that only four died in that mess. Was the killer hiding amongst you the whole time?

For further

Evil = Intelligence

All great monsters, but especially werewolves, focus on the idea that a normal human can be turned into a beast. Underneath our suits and ties, each of us has a hungry animal, waiting to lose control. This is a common trend, and will (and probably should) show up during your campaign. However, nowadays, we occasionally see traditional monsters as civil and intelligent—our zombies eat pizza, our vampires read the paper and only drink animal blood, etc. However, if you want to add a creepy twist, introduce a former-human-turned-monster that’s in control and yet still a man-eater—a civil, reasoning monster that does unspeakable things. For example, Jonathan Coulton wrote the song, “Re: Your Brains,” about a group of humans barricaded in a mall. One of the attacking zombies (and the singer of the song) is a former coworker turned brain-eater, trying to convince them to surrender. On the surface, it’s hilarious—a zombie is throwing around business buzz-words like “FYI” and “table it for now.” When you analyze it, though, it features a zombie that remembers his previous life, can empathize with the survivors, but still feels NO REMORSE for trying to bash their skulls open and devour them. That’s all kinds of sick.

Ticking Clock

A convention of suspense that easily carries over into horror. Make the heroes race a proverbial clock—if they fail to do something by a certain time, something horrendous will happen. This is common enough in most stories already, but the way to make it clearer still to the group is to have an actual escalation—a bogey that feeds in the darkness is creepy. Why not have the rain start coming in, along with clouds that darken the moon? Worse still, the city blocks are suffering blackouts, one after the other, getting closer and closer still…This can also be done with aspects—maybe they are each given a negative aspect representing a strange mental influence, such as On Edge, and when you get really close to the climax, replace it with more and more sinister aspects, such as Violent Rage, or Murderous Instincts—suddenly, they are not their own masters, and they have only a short time before their humanity is lost!

Further Reading

One last recommendation: for further reading, I recommend Steven King’s “Three Categories of Terror“.

That’s it for now… Until next time, Game On!

-Dave Seidman-Joria

Channel A – Fan RPG

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Hello, Tangerine! It’s been a while! One of my favorite card games for the last few years has been Channel A, the anime pitch game. If you don’t know it, it starts off similar to Apples to Apples: the judge sets two cards for the genre, and each player picks up to five cards for the title.

However, where it deviates is what comes next: players then have to pitch a new anime series using that title. They give a quick 10-30 second pitch about the characters, the plot, the twists, the toys; anything to put their story ahead.

I’ve talked with Ewen about how it might be the fun basis for an RPG; imagine, using these cards to create an RPG setting in minutes. Or, better still, why not a whole multiverse of connected anime settings??

Header for Channel A, featuring a Chibi sorceress, a catgirl, and a space ranger.

CHANNEL A – Fan RPG

RPG adaptation by Dave Seidman-Joria
Based on the Card Game by Ewen Cluney – For sale at Evil Hat’s website!

Note: This is a fan creation, and is in no way affiliated with or authorized by Evil Hat. Not for sale.

EDIT: I completely forgot that you can also buy Channel A for Roll20; which is a PERFECT way to segway from game to RPG!

SET-UP

The players should play 2 quick games of Channel; After determining the winning Pitch in round one, set aside the winning title, genre, and all other cards used that round. Play a second game; afterwards, set these cards aside too. All these cards (including unused cards in hand) are called the BOARD.

Players decide amongst themselves which of the two winning pitches they want to use as the foundation for their RPG game and which player is going to be the GM. If there is a tie, the GM gets the tiebreaker vote. The basic pitch should serve as a basis for the story, with players creating new characters to populate it. The winning title cards used in the winning pitch become the TITLE, while the genre cards become the GENRE.

BUILDING CHARACTERS

Each player has 6 character points, which they can distribute between 3 to 5 different stats.

The stats you can use are chosen from:

  • Any number of cards from in the title (Ex. If the title is “Fullmetal Honey Panic Heroes,” skills you can access are Fullmetal, Honey, Panic, and Heroes.)
  • Up to ONE cards from the GENRE (ex. If the Genre is Boys Love and Military, you could pick Boys Love OR Military but not both.
  • Up to ONE leftover card from anywhere on the BOARD (including cards from the other game). Players are discouraged from using the same leftover card another player is using

Exceptions and Clarifications

  • Limits: No single stat can start higher than 3
  • Players aren’t required to spend all their points at set-up; they may save points to create skills mid-game.
  • The GM may allow players to pick a 2nd leftover card for the basic of a stats; this is recommended for titles with fewer than 4 words (or if a player just has a really fun idea that fits the setting); it is also recommended Genre-shift campaigns (see below).
  • If a title card is particularly vague, the GM may require a player specify what it means to THEIR character in some way. (Ex. 2 players pick the title card “Z”; one player picks it to mean “Zebra” because she has zebra DNA, and the other player has it stand for “Zephyr” for having wind magic.)

Sample Build

The Genre was Sports & Steampunk

The Winning title was “Infinite Witches Fury Ring.”

The story is about witches using their magic to power mech suits to fight in colossal wrestling matches.

Two player characters are Genna and Moxie

Genna

Witches+3
Steampunk+2
Queen (Leftover)+1

Moxie

Sports+2
Fury+2
Sailor (Leftover)+1
Infinite*+1

*When asked to explain “Infinite,” Moxie’s player explains that Moxie never gives up; not in sports, life, or anything.

ACTIONS

Actions use a simplified version of the Forged in the Dark system. When you take an action, roll 1d6 for each point of the stat, and pick the highest result.

6 – Full Success – You gain what you attempted (multiple 6s grant additional boost)

4-5 – Partial Success – You gain part of what you want, or succeed at a cost.

1-3 – Bad Outcome – You fail, or succeed at an extreme cost.

If your skill is 0, you roll two dice, and a pick the lower.

The GM may decide that doing something particularly easy or difficult will change the number of dice you roll (increasing or decreasing)

Opposed Action

If you are opposed, the GM also rolls one or more dice for their action, to represent the opposition. The higher roll gets the result marked above; the lower roll is treated as “bad outcome.” If tied, any side that rolled doubles breaks ties. If no tie breaker, treat as partial success for both.

Actions – Alternative

Don’t like the Blades Approach? Why not make use Fate Core, and roll 4dF? Or, simply roll a single 1d6 and add the skill as a bonus?

Campaigns

If running multiple games in the same setting, after each successful adventure, a player may increase one of their stats by +1 (provided it doesn’t go above 3). If they have less than five skills, they can also get +1 in a new stat.

Genre-Spanning Campaign

Channel A RPG is best set up as a dimension spanning; after every story or every session, the characters are sent to another world.

Concept –
>Guardians of the Multiverse, keeping different worlds safe.

>Dimensional sliders, unable to return home.

>Video gamers, reincarnated into an Isekai video game

Alt Set-up – A genre-spanning campaign, PCs should set at least TWO stats using leftover cards from the board.

Shifting Worlds – When it is time to shift to a new world, the players should pick two new genre cards. Then, instead of creating a brand new title from scratch, players should draw new cards, and create a new title that uses both cards in their hand and one or Title card from the last world (think of a it like Texas Hold-Em, with a communal pot of title cards the player should use as a basis).

Shifting points – When going to the new world, each player may shift up to 2 Title skills from the old Title to new title. 

Shifting Genre skills are a little harder – once they move to a new world, any character with a genre skill rolls 1d6:

1-2 – Lost – You lost the skill, and have nothing to replace it at this time. Instead, keep track of how many points you lost; when you go through an epiphany (see below), you get a new skill with that many stat points.

3-4 – Stubborn – Defying all genres, you seem to have kept the genre skill from the LAST world into this one. This means, you might be a Militaristic genius in a maid café world! When you go through an epiphany, you have the option of changing to a new skill.

5-6 Flexible – You have a choice: Immediately shift your skill to a new genre card for this setting, or pick a new discarded title card to serve as a new skill.

Epiphany – PCs gain an epiphany when they undergo something that makes them reassess themselves or their settings. Common influences might include: failing on an important roll and suffering the consequences; remembering what’s important to; being backed into a corner. You can also tie-in genre appropriate tropes for the epiphany: ex. Falling in love for a romance; meeting being beaten in the first-half of a sports anime; combining into a giant megazord in a mech anime.

Advancement and Shifting – If a story is completed, PCs shift worlds and skills, and THEN gain +1 skill point for advancing. This will let them reprioritize their focus, or gain new skills.

Sample Shift

The setting has shifted from Sports & Steampunk “Infinite Witches Fury Ring.”

New setting: Post Apocalyptic Spy-Thriller.

The final match was interpreted by a demonic entity that the was only defeated with teamwork. However, the banish it to the Netherworld resulted in a second portal opening, sending Genna and transferred to a new world.

The setting: a scored world where the last remaining nations are scrambling to find the last remaining plot of fertile land; known only in rumors as Midori. The name has shifted to, “Witches Ring 2nd Stage Midori.”

Two player characters are Genna and Moxie try to quickly acclimate to their new desolate, high-tech world.

Genna’s stats WERE:

Witches+3
Steampunk+2
Queen (Leftover)+1

However, “Steampunk” genre no longer applies here. She rolls a 1; she has trouble adapting, and is stuck with 2 points that she can’t use until she has an epiphany. She also gains +1 point advanced from the last session. She decides to gain a new skill: she picks the card Comic, to show that Genna’s wit is and charisma is getting sharper.

Witches+3
Queen (Leftover)+2
Comic (Leftover)+1
? ? ?+2

Moxie’s stats were

Sports+2
Fury+2
Sailor (Leftover)+1
Infinite*+1

She rolled on the genre ability Sports and got “Stubborn” – she keeps the skill Sports, despite the shift. She chooses to move the Infinite +1 to Ring +1, to show that Moxie’s quickly adapting to being in a close-knit spy ring. She adds +1 to Fury, bringing it to +3

Fury+3
Sports+2
Sailor (Leftover)+1
Ring+1

LAST VARIATION – THE GATHERING

As an alternative to having your characters travel from world to world, why not skip straight to the mash-up?

Set-Up: Each player draws two genre cards and a title that serves as the foundation for their own character. Then, the GM creates one extra world that all of these characters are pulled into. Is it a celestial nexus with a cosmic threat or a tournament of the gods? Do they break the fourth wall and appear in the real world?
It might seem strange that the humble student /doujinshi artist is teaming up with a cyborg monster hunter and a fanservice-plagued sentai hero, but they will no doubt find a way to combine their talents and save the day!

That’s all for this post. All of us at Tangent Artists wish you a Happy Thanksgiving, and game on!

-Dave Seidman-Joria

Quantum Ogre Theory

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This week I learned about an interesting tool / cheat used by games masters: The Quantum Ogre. We’re going to briefly talk about what it is, how you can use it and/or avoid it. And of course, we thought we’d end the article with rules for including an actual reality-bending quantum ogre monster for your players to fight (because why not?)

WHAT IS THE QUANTUM OGRE?

The quantum ogre is a term for an obstacle (generally of light-medium difficulty) that the GM plans ahead-of-time and throws in the players’ path, whichever way they go.

Example: 

GM: Before you stands a crossroads. The path on the left leads down into the valley, directly towards the castle. The path on right slopes upwards to the craggy peak that snake behind the castle keep.

Player: Man, this is tough… I think we go down into the valley.

GM: You come across an ogre!

Player: What would have happened if we went to the right? Another ogre?

GM: Uh, Maaaaaybe…

*GM notes: encounter 1 – definitely an ogre*

WHY DO GMS USE THIS TRICK?

The reasons are simple enough: 

Players like to have choices (or fail that, the illusion of choice)

  • Writing an entire adventure is demanding enough for a GM; asking them to write an adventure where there are 2+ outcomes for each decision, i.e. prepping twice the material that will actually be used… is ridiculous.
  • It makes it easier to work in essentially plot points, thus typing combat with story (ex. The quantum ogre also carries a quantum letter that needs to fall into the players’ hands.)
  • It works

DOWNSIDES OF THE QUANTUM OGRE

Resorting to this trick may make your players feel like they don’t REALLY have free choice; they are essentially on a railroad with only 2 results: a pre-written destination, or their deaths. 

Personally, I don’t mind a little railroading or quantum trickery when dealing with a one-shot, or if the players decide to deviate way off track and I’m improvising. However, when in comes to campaigns, there might be better ways to make the players feel like there are options.

HOW DO WE AVOID THE OGRE CLICHE?

Trick 1:

Whenever the party is about to embark on a big adventure, the GM should ask lots of probing questions about what the players want to accomplish, and what’s their ideal situation; next, break down this ideal scenario into smaller items This will give you several dials you can play with, and inspiration for obstacles. 

Keep in mind the old Project Management Triangle: GOOD, CHEAP, FAST: you can only PICK TWO.

Description: triangle, with the corners labeled “cost,” “time,” “product (scope / quality)”

In other words, you can produce something Good & cheap (but slowly); OR good and fast (but at high cost); OR cheap and fast (but poor quality).

Similarly, if a GM can get 2-4 priorities from the players, the GM can offer choices; each scenarios offers some of those qualities, but not all.

Example: 

Players: We want to approach the castle.

GM: Okay, how do you approach? What do you ideally want to happen and not happen on the way there?

Player: Well, we want to get there without signaling our approach; we want to avoid fights; and we want to get there before nightfall (while the vampire lord is still asleep).

GM: Okay! Before you is a fork in the road. The lower path leads into the valley that stretches before the castle. The path on the right leads up into the craggy hills.

What the players don’t know is that:

  • The path to the left will get them there quickly and without fight, (but they will be noticed, giving enemies inside enough time to get their good armor on)
  • The path to the right will get them to the castle before night and without raising the alarm, (but they they can’t avoid the fight with the ogre ).
  • This also opens up an optional 3rd option, to utilize any spellcasters or rogues: maybe there’s a secret path through the sea caves filled with magical locks*; if the PCs don’t role perfectly, they are stuck opening them slowly over many hours. Thus, they get their stealthily and without fight, (but not before sunset).

*Note: While it’s fun to tease the PLAYERS with an occasional riddle, this is not always required; besides, that is rewarding the players for being smart; sometimes it’s important to let the characters be smart (or dumb) on their own. An obstacle can be as simple as saying, “There’s a magical door in front of you, asking for the correct password. Roll Arcana”; Based on the roll, tell them how many minutes or hours it takes them to research and provide the right word. If you want to make it more dramatic, you can add a penalty for each botched attempt, like a sinking ceiling or a magical attack, but this is not required.

Trick 2 – Don’t Plan an Encounter, Plan a Difficulty

This works mostly for story-games like Fate, but when prepping your adventure, don’t plan a minor battle as “a conflict with a guard with Superb +5 in Fight”; rather, think of it as “An obstacle with a difficulty value of Superb +5.” 

Example: 

GM: You approach the city walls. 

*The GM wants to give the players a mild obstacle, but nothing too impossible; if they have a Great +4 to a skill, they set the difficulty of the first obstacle of this session a little higher, namely Superb +5.*

GM: Do you approach by the city gate, or scale the walls?

*If they go through the front, they will will encounter an ogre sergeant who’s not easily persuaded or beaten; roughly Superb +5 to defend against approach, give or take +1/-1.

Similarly, if they decide to scale the walls, they will find that doing so safely and quietly is very hard; again, difficulty Superb +5.*

Player: Actually, you said that a river ran through the city; I want to go underwater, and try to infiltrate that way.

The GM didn’t think of this; good thing they didn’t spend a lot of time fleshing out that Sergeant! The GM tells them there’s a grate blocking access to the city via the river; It’s possible to squeeze through or pry it open, but the difficulty is (you guessed it) Superb +5!

With non-fate RPGs, this can also be done, but easier when thinking of Challenge Ratings. 

  • The players want to go through the gate? They have to fight a ogre sergeant with CR 2.
  • They want to swim through the river? They are attack by four crocodiles (which add up to CR 2). 
  • Want to open a secret door? If they fail, the infiltrator is hit with a booby trap attack (that happens to be the same as two javelin attacks from a CR2 ogre.)

That’s it for the lofty game theory discussions: here are the rules for a Quantum Ogre (first for D&D 5e, then for Fate Core and Fate Accelerated)

Quantum Ogre

The quantum ogre, or as it’s sometimes called, the Schrödinogre*, is a rare creature born amidst a temporal storm. As such, it naturally shimmers and projects duplicate versions of it, allowing you to peek into alternate timelines to see where the being could have potentially gone. Thus, it’s hard to be sure which of the fractal ogres is the real one unless you observe it closely, or until it brings a heavy club down on your head.

*Credit where it’s due, my wife came up with “Schrödinogre.” She insisted I credit her so people** don’t forget that.

**Mostly Me.

D&D 5e Rules

Large giant, neutral evil
Armor Class 12 (Hide Armor)
Hit Points 90 (10d10 + 35)
Speed 40 ft.
STR
21 (+5)
DEX
9 (-1)
CON
18 (+4)
INT
6 (-2)
WIS
10 (+0)
CHA
8 (-1)
Senses Darkvision 60 ft., Passive Perception 8
Languages Common, Giant
Challenge 4 (1,100 XP)		Natural Mirage.Quantum Ogres always appear in pairs, at least to the untrained eye. Once per day, whenever you encounter a quantum ogre, it is accompanied by an illusionary double; treat it as if the ogre had cast the illusion spell Project Image, without requiring a spell slot, action or spell components. It can be dispelled or sensed just the spell normally allows.
Avoidance. If the Quantum Ogre is subjected to an effect that allows it to make a saving throw to take only half damage, it instead takes no damage if it succeeds on the saving throw, and only half damage if it fails.
Displacement. The Quantum Ogre projects a magical illusion that makes it appear to be standing near its actual location, causing attack rolls against it to have disadvantage. If it is hit by an attack, this trait is disrupted until the end of its next turn. This trait is also disrupted while the Quantum Beast is incapacitated or has a speed of 0.

Actions

Multiattack. The Quantum Ogre makes two attacks with either javelin or greatclub.

Greatclub. Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 14 (2d8 + 5) bludgeoning damage.

Javelin. Melee or Ranged Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 5 ft. or range 30/120 ft., one target. Hit: 12 (2d6 + 5) piercing damage.

FATE CORE RULES

Quantum Ogre

High Concept: A reality shifting brute

Aspects: Craven Bully; Hard to pin down; Hits like a Bull; Shadow Double* (see stunt)

Fantastic 6+ – Physique
Superb 5+ Fight – Stealthy
Great 4+ Notice, Intimidation, Will

Stunts: 

Natural Mirage. Quantum Ogres always appear in pairs, at least to the untrained eye. Treat it is if there is a second ogre, which can only interact in non-physical ways (ex. Intimidate, Notice); once a character successfully attacks the ogre’s double, you may compel the Shadow Ogre aspect to have the attack automatically fail (however, the player gains a fate point). Alternatively, you may have the attacking player make a successful Notice roll, to overcome a Difficulty of 5; if they succeed, they may forgo the fate point and take an alternative action this turn instead. Either way, the double is revealed to all characters nearby, and it can take no actions except moving around.

Avoidance. If the Quantum Ogre is subjected to an effect that allows it to avoid harm. It has armor +1 (ignoring the first stress from each attack).

Displacement. The Quantum Ogre projects a magical illusion that makes it appear to be standing near its actual location, causing attacks to falter. When defending against any fight, shoot, or magical attack, the Ogre may defend with the Stealth skill and gains +2 to the result. It may not use this stunt if it was already hit by an attack this round, or has an aspect that hinders it’s abilities (ex. Chained to the floor; blinded by sand.)

Bitter Rage. Once per round, if an Ogre attempts an attack against one character and was not successful, the GM may pay a Fate point to have the Ogre take an additional attack action against another character.

FATE ACCELERATED

Quantum Ogre

High Concept: A reality shifting brute

Aspects: Craven Bully; Hard to pin down; Hits like a Bull; Shadow Double* (see stunt)

Superb 5+ Forceful
Great 4+ Sneaky
Good +3 – Quick, Careful

Stunts: 

Natural Mirage. Quantum Ogres always appear in pairs, at least to the untrained eye. Treat it is if there is a second ogre, which can only interact in non-physical ways (ex. Intimidate, Notice); once a character successfully attacks the ogre’s double, you may compel the Shadow Ogre aspect to have the attack automatically fail (however, the player gains a fate point). Alternatively, you may have the attacking player make a successful Notice roll, to overcome a Difficulty of 5; if they succeed, they may forgo the fate point and take an alternative action this turn instead. Either way, the double is revealed to all characters nearby, and it can take no actions except moving around.

Avoidance. If the Quantum Ogre is subjected to an effect that allows it to avoid harm. It has armor +1 (ignoring the first stress from each attack).

Displacement. The Quantum Ogre projects a magical illusion that makes it appear to be standing near its actual location, causing attacks to falter. When defending against any fight, shoot, or magical attack, the Ogre gains +2 to defending with Sneaky. It may not use this stunt if it was already hit by an attack this round, or has an aspect that hinders it’s abilities (ex. Chained to the floor; blinded by sand.)

Bitter Rage. Once per round, if an Ogre attempts an attack against one character and was not successful, the GM may pay a Fate point to have the Ogre take an additional attack action against another character.

That’s it for today. If you like the D&D version, you can also find it at DNDBeyond and add it to your campaign. As always, please share, subscribe, and game on!

-Dave Seidman Joria, Tangent Artists

WHISPERS IN THE DOORSTEP OF THE MOUNTAIN OF MADNESS – A Dark Comedy MicroRPG

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WHISPERS IN THE DOORSTEP OF THE MOUNTAIN OF MADNESS

A Cosmic Horror Dark Comedy Micro RPG for 3-11 players

By Dave Seidman Joria

~~~~~~~~

RPGs are funny; even though players know they are playing fictional characters, and thus are not at risk themselves, they will still act cautiously. There is a strange paradox of embodying adventurous characters who live dangerous lives, yet they still want to shelter them and be cautious.

So I had a strange idea: what if player death wasn’t something to be avoided, but embraced.

Thus, I’ve made a MicroRPG using a new, untested system:

The Inevitable Doom System

Material

1d6s, paper, writing utensils. (The setting below also requires lots of slips of paper).

Characters

The players should collectively create a team of 5-10 playable characters. A small group of players (2-4) are encouraged to create 2 or 3 pcs each, while a large group of players (6-10) will only create one character each.

Each player creates a character with a name (don’t get too attached; they’ll be dead soon enough). They get to pick one stat to specialize in; this is the Specialty.

Examples: Mind, Body, Soul, Gut; Quick, Clever, Forceful, Flashy, Careful

Also, pick a Personality Flaw: ex. Vain; Too Curious; Never Back Down from a Fight

Equipment: Each player has two packs:

A basic pack, with generic things.

A specialty pack: filled with any special items related to their specialty.

Players don’t need to declare their items beforehand; they just naturally have them unless they are used up or lost.

Play

The game consists of multiple Encounters; each encounter includes some obstacle or threat facing the team. At each Encounter, the GM will ask: What does your character do?

Each player will pick at least one of their characters that they control. They will decide how they react, and share it; this may be said aloud, or written down and then said aloud, depending on the scenario (see below).

The GM decides the order of actions (use common sense) and asks the player to roll a specific number of one-sided dice (d6s).

  • If the action matches their specialty, they roll 1d6.
  • If the action does not match their specialty, they roll 2d6.
  • If the action is particularly dangerous (ex. Jumping off a cliff; Punching an Elder God), the GM may ask them to roll 3 or more d6.

Results:

  • No 6s: If a roll consists only of dice with the values 1-5 (no 6s), the character survives. Depending on how they roll (low good, high bad) or the difficulty of the action, the GM can decide if they succeed effortlessly, or at some cost (ex. Costs include: they use up their rations; they lose all specialty items; they’re injured; they trigger a random encounter).
  • At least one 6 is rolled: If the character rolls at least one natural 6, the character meets their Inevitable Doom.

If more than one character rolls a 6 in the same encounter, the PC that rolled highest dies. In case of a tie, they both die! Horribly. Or suffer something worse than death (let the player pick).

The player is encouraged to come up how the character dies; if a cause of death is not clear, the GM is encouraged to help. (If a good reason isn’t obvious, see “Stupid Deaths” below).

Sidebar – The “Me First” Rule! – If another player INSISTS their character die instead (as it fits they story better), they can volunteer to die instead.

If there’s at least one surviving member of the party, they managed to overcome or sidestep the obstacle of the Encounter and move on to the next Encounter.

Continue going through all encounters until all characters are dead. Bonus: Players pick the favorite death (not including their own).

Sidebar – Spread the Love – In some scenarios, a player with no surviving PCs may have nothing to do. If so, players with 2+ characters are encouraged to share their survivors. (This is not the case in the following scenario, where players without characters are still involved as Whispers).

SCENARIO – WHISPERS IN THE DOORSTEP OF THE MOUNTAIN OF MADNESS

The following scenario is half “man-vs-nature” struggle in the Antarctic, and half cosmic horror. It’s also a parody of Lovecraft (with hopefully none of the racism).

Material – 1d6s, slips of paper (or 1/2 or index cards)

Pre-game

Pass around the random question chart.

Each player rolls, picks that question, and writes a brief (1-2 word) answer.

  1. What’s a word that makes you squeamish?
  2. Name an animal whose name starts with the same letter as your last name?
  3. What’s the dirtiest word you would say in front of your grandmother?
  4. What did you eat for lunch?
  5. What is your favorite color?
  6. What’s something you feared as a child?

The GM keeps these slips and sets them aside, these the Back-up Suggestions.

Plot

Decades ago, a strange pyramid was reported in the Antarctic, hidden inside a mountainous crater. A team went to find it, and never came back. It was assumed to be an optical illusion and a fool’s errand.

But now, the year is 1980. New reports of the pyramid are circulating, captured by spy planes and fuzzy satellite pictures. It could be a natural phenomenon. It could be the breakthrough of the century. It could be your doom.

You are the team sent to find out if the pyramid is real. Oh, and by the end of the game, every one of you will die.

Character Creation

Players will create characters as above. Suggested Specialties for this scenario:

STANDARD EXTRA
Science! Wilderness
Action! Cowardice
Occult Greed
Heart Handiness

A basic pack: generic items for surviving the Antarctic: rations, flashlight, rope, radios, etc.

A specialty pack: filled with any special items related to their specialty (ex. Science has instruments and satellite phone; Action has a rifle and dynamite; Occult has dowsing rods and wards; Heart has med kits and pictures of family, etc.).

Play

1st Encounter

Sidebar – For suggestions on the Scenario, see the Suggested Encounters Table

During the first encounter, the GM will ask players to react to the Encounter. However, the players will write their reactions on slips of paper; these are called “Reaction Slips.” After everyone is done writing, the players reveal what they wrote and roll.

After the end of the first encounter, the GM collects all Reaction Slips to the side, but does NOT discard them.

2nd Encounter

Starting with the 2nd encounter, the teammates start hearing unearthly voices in their head.
The GM will describe the 2nd encounter as they did the 1st. The players will write their responses and keep them hidden.

The GM, however, will also submit a suggestion slip; this is called a Whisper. A Whisper can come from a discarded Reaction Slip, from a Backup Slip, or from the GM themselves.

The GM then picks a random player; they give that player the slip. The player shuffles their Reaction with the Whisper, picks one at random, and follows the action on it. If it is the Whisper, the PC must attempt to do the substituted action, rolling like normal. Once a “Whisper” has been used by a player, discard it completely.

If the PC’s action did not kill the PC but did not clear the obstacle, the GM may ask that the PC complete their original intended action, rolling as normal. Alternatively, the GM may just decide that the obstacle is cleared (ex. Another pc might have resolved it during their action).

Using the Backup Slips: A GM may give a Backup slip as a whisper. These are vaguer than normal; when these are revealed, the PC treats it as a dangerous threat, rolling 3d6. Using the slip as inspiration, the player and GM should work together describing the dangerous, compulsive action the PC took (if they survived), or the bizarre threat that killed them (if they died).

Ex. The PC reveals a Whisper Backup Slip that says “Red.”

If they live:

  • The player may decide that their character became enraged and ran off on their own.

If they died:

  • They might explain how they exploded (at some badly cooked shoggoth?)
  • They hallucinate the color red, causing them to walk into a chasm
  • They get crushed from a falling red Chevy Corvette (nothing’s too weird for this game.)

3rd + Encounters

The GM continues with the adventure. They may give out an increasing number of Whisper slips (i.e. 2, 3, 4) with each encounter until at least 1 player is dead. The GM should do their best to give out whispers evenly, avoiding hitting the same person multiple times in a row.

Special Scenario Rules – Voices from the Dead

When a player dies, they are not out of the game; just like the GM, they are now passing Whisper slips on to the players. They can do one of the following:

  1. Pass out a used Reaction Slip. (This can be a slip that was written by any PC; if it is from their dead character, it is quite flavorful).
  2. Roll a D6: on a roll of 1-3, they write a harmful action, inspired by the dark forces of the mountain. On 4-6, they write a helpful action (at least, what their dead character would think of as “a good action”)

The GM and dead players should distribute the slips as evenly as possible between the living players.

Suggested Encounters

The following are inspired by Lovecraft’s Mountains of Madness; however, do not be afraid to stray all you want.

  1. Lost in the Artic snowstorm – Your transport breaks down partway to the mountain.
  2. Climbing the mountain – Scaling the frozen icy mountain to the peak.
  3. Opening the Cyclopean Door – Before you stands a massive door, too large to be made by humans. It is covered in eldritch language. How do you open it? SHOULD you open it?
  4. Albino Cave Penguins – You encounter giant, flesh eating Albino Cave Penguins, with electric tentacles.
  5. Falling Stalactites – Your encounter with the penguins has loosened the ceiling, and you must run to avoid being impaled by falling icicles.
  6. Cave In – There’s a cave in, and the way before you and behind are blocked by rock and ice.
  7. Don’t Wake the Sleeping Elder Thing – You find a lair of sleeping elder beings, which looks like frilled cucumbers.
  8. Shoggoth Attack – A giant, indestructible Shoggoth, the slug-like rebel servant of the Elder Things
  9. Mental Barrage – You come to the realization that humans were crafted by Elder Ones to serve as a food stock for their Shoggoth workers. Everything you know is a lie!
  10. Albino Cave Penguin Cult – Turns out the Cave Penguins were secretly cultists all along! They are not happy you interrupted their summoning.
  11. Elder God Awakens Returns – An Old One has returned, risen from the frozen wastes! (Pick one: might be Yog-Sothoh, or Cthulhu; maybe both, and they’re having a slap fight. If any PCs aren’t dead by now, have them roll a fist full of d6s).

Random Encounters (To Throw in when Flavorful)

  • The Group is Split – How will you find each other?
  • Dark, Cold and Hunger – You have lost your rations and are starting to grow hungry and cold
  • Sudden but Inevitable Betrayal – One of you is Secretly a Mi-Go, come to collect your brains.
  • Lost Something Vital – You lose something vital to the mission (ex. A key, a map, your satellite phone to signal the rescue team). How will you recover it?
  • Injured – Someone’s leg is badly hurt. Can you save them?

 

Stupid Deaths

Need a Stupid Death that can be used anywhere? Here are a few:

  • Alien Possession – Your mind and body functions are taken over by a Yith. Sadly, the Yith doesn’t realize that you need to breath, and you suffocate to death.
  • Ghouls – A pit opens beneath your feet, and you fall into a cavern of ravenous ghouls. (I hate when that happens).
  • Existential Crisis – You suddenly remembered that you don’t exist. You instantly cease to be.
  • Glowing Rock from Out of Space – You are crushed by colorful meteor that happened to land on your exact location. You are dead (or, worse still, become mutated into a half-dead monstrosity that serves as the next Encounter).
  • Finally Caught You – The grizzly, ghoulish hound that has been tracking you for years finally catches up with you, tracking you all the way to Antarctica. It tears you apart in seconds. Guess you shouldn’t have stolen that Jade Amulet from that grave all those years ago!
  • Light Reading – You pull out your “Necronomicon – Pocket Edition” and read a few pages before your mind dissolves.
  • Grizzly End – By some strange compulsion, you pick a fight with a polar bear. You lose badly. How the polar bear wound up at the SOUTH pole shall remain a mystery.

Got a chance to try it out? Any feedback? Please let us know. Until then, Game on!

-Dave Seidman Joria

DOMESTIC SERVANT – D&D Roguish Archetype

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Hello, gamers! Today we thought we’d try something new: a class archetype for 5e Dungeons & Dragons!

(Fate fans, fear not: I still plan to write plenty of stuff for Fate, but it’s nice to try out new stuff every once in a while).

Story: While talking to a friend,  Kara Dennison, writer for CruncyRoll (follow her on twitter @RubyCosmos), I was thinking about how Japanese RPG games (JRPGs) and Western RPGs differ. For example, in many JPRGs like Fire Emblem, players learn one skill at base level (ex. white magic using Cleric, a fighter, a rogue), and then merge the two together to form a 2nd level multi-class level (ex. cleric + fighter = paladin). Many of these, like the paladin, have equivalents in Western RPGs too; except for the Maid / Butler.

In JRPG games, the Maid or Butler combines the roles of rogue/assassin (ambushing, ignoring defenses) with the roles of a healer. It occurred to me: why not have a similar role in Dungeons and Dragons?

So, after consulting with D&D savvy friends of mine, we give you the first draft of a Rogue (with a touch of Paladin) archetype, the Domestic Servant!

*Warning* It has not be playtested at this time.

DOMESTIC SERVANT

333px-Dante_Gabriel_Rossetti_-_The_Bower_GardenA wizened human nursemaid, who watches her adult charge like a mother bear. A tiefling butler who carries out his master’s wishes with much alacrity and little morals. A nimble halfling gardener whose courage far surpasses his size.

You have chosen the path of the domestic servant, a loyal attendant who is bound to another person by oath; they hold this oath sacred and few things else. Your mission is twofold: to heal your master when they are injured, and to eliminate anyone who would seek them harm.

How did you fall into this lot? Perhaps you were a street urchin given employment and a second-chance by a rich benefactor. Maybe you were an assassin or spy in your youth, and settled into the serving life as you “retired.” Maybe you’re a devoted bodyguard who acts the part of a domestic servant so others will underestimate you.

OATH OF THE DOMESTIC SERVANT

  1. Safety – You will keep your master safe no matter what.
  2. Obedience – You will get the results your master needs. If possible, you will achieve those ends in using the means your master prefers.
  3. Humility – You will not upstage your master; they are the focus, not you. It is best to speak when spoken to and be seen only when your master needs you to be seen.
  4. Hospitality – You will offer hospitality to those who do not have it. Should they accept, nothing is more important than the safety of a guest, except the safety of your master.

Note to DMs: At this current time, we don’t have any rules for a Domestic Servant that breaks any of the oaths. However, as a means of positive reinforcement, we encourage DMs to freely reward Domestic Servants with inspiration when they act in the spirit of these oaths (even if it’s detrimental to themselves or their party.)

DIFFERENT TYPES OF SERVANTS

There are many types of Domestic Servants that your rogue can be, depending on which era you are evoking and the role of your master. These include but are not limited to:

Butler, maid, valet, handmaid or handmaiden, squire, lady-in-waiting, bodyguard, manservant, cook, governess, nurse, nanny, batman, orderly, chamberlain, secretary, gardener, tutor, coachman, steward.

Note: We did not include “slave,” “bondservant,” or “indentured servant” because a. OWNING ANOTHER PERSON IS WRONG, and b. If the domestic servant is allowed to leave at any time without legal repercussions, it makes their decision to stay that much more meaningful.

Domestic Servant Features

Rogue Level Feature
3rd Master’s Bond, Servant’s Life, Spellcasting
9th Saving Instinct
13th Wine and Dine
17th Raise their Spirits

MASTER’S BOND

At level 3, you may pick another character to be your master (or mistress, or similar title). We recommend another PC in party, but it can be an NPC that is frequently with the party to.

Whenever you use a spell with spell slot 1 or an item to heal the master, they heal an additional 1 wound. If use a spell slot of 2 or higher, they instead regain extra wounds equal to the spell slot used.

You may only change your master:

  1. When your rogue goes to another level.
  2. Should the master die and be past the point of resurrection.

SERVANT’S LIFE

At level 3, you know the secret language used by servants “below stairs”; the ability “thieves cant” is extended to also include servants, allowing you to slow communicate in a way non-servants don’t understand.

Also, your rogue gains proficiency of your choice of the following: Calligrapher’s Supplies OR Cook’s Utensils.

Spellcasting

When you reach 3rd level, you gain the ability to cast spells. See Spells Rules for the general rules of spellcasting and the Spells Listing for the paladin spell list.

Cantrips

You learn three cantrips chosen from the following list: Guidance, Light, Mending, Message, Prestidigitation, Spare the Dying, Resistance. You learn another cantrip of your choice from this list at 10th level.

Spell Slots

The Domestic Servant Spellcasting table shows how many spell slots you have to cast your paladin spells of 1st level and higher. To cast one of these spells, you must expend a slot of the spell’s level or higher. You regain all expended spell slots when you finish a long rest.

For example, if you know the 1st-level spell searing smite and have a 1st-level and a 2nd-level spell slot available, you can cast searing smite using either slot.

Spells Known of 1st-Level and Higher

You know three 1st-level paladin spells of your choice, two of which you must choose from the enchantment and illusion spells on the paladin spell list.

The Spells Known column of the Domestic Servant Spellcasting table shows when you learn more paladin spells of 1st level or higher. Each of these spells must be a spell of your choice, and must be of a level for which you have spell slots. For instance, when you reach 7th level in this class, you can learn one new spell of 1st or 2nd level.

Whenever you gain a level in this class, you can replace one of the paladin spells you know with another spell of your choice from the paladin spell list. The new spell must be of a level for which you have spell slots, and it must be an enchantment or illusion spell, unless you’re replacing the spell you gained at 8th, 14th, or 20th level.

Spellcasting Ability

Charisma is your spellcasting ability for your paladin spells, since you learn your spells through your passion and conviction. You use your Charisma whenever a spell refers to your spellcasting ability. In addition, you use your Charisma modifier when setting the saving throw DC for a paladin spell you cast and when making an attack roll with one.

Spell save DC = 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Charisma modifier

Spell attack modifier = your proficiency bonus + your Charisma modifier

DOMESTIC SERVANT SPELLCASTING

      Spells Slots per Spell Level    
Rogue Level Cantrips Known Spells Known 1st 2nd 3rd 4th
3rd 3 2 2      
4th 3 3 3      
5th 3 3 3      
6th 3 3 3      
7th 3 4 4 2    
8th 3 4 4 2    
9th 3 4 4 2    
10th 4 5 4 3    
11th 4 6 4 3    
12th 4 6 4 3    
13th 4 6 4 3 2  
14th 4 7 4 3 2  
15th 4 7 4 3 2  
16th 4 7 4 3 3  
17th 4 7 4 3 3 1
18th 4 7 4 3 3 1
19th 4 8 4 3 3 1
20th 4 9 4 3 3 1

 

OATH OF THE DOMESTIC SERVANT SPELLS

At certain levels, your Domestic Servant will gain access to the following oath of the domestic servant spells. Once you gain access to an oath spell, you always have it prepared. Oath spells don’t count against the number of spells you can prepare each day. If you gain an oath spell that doesn’t appear on the paladin spell list, the spell is nonetheless a paladin spell for you.

Domestic Level Spells
3rd Cure Wounds
9th Pick One: Warding Bond or Find Steed
13th Pick one: Leomund’s Tiny Hut or Create Food & Water
17th Raise Dead

 

SAVING INSTINCT

Starting at 9th level, when you use Evasion to dodge out of area effect, you may attempt to save another character within 10”. You must choose to use this ability before either of you have rolled to save; if the target agrees, this single roll is made for both of you, and the target does not get to roll to save. Depending on how you roll, either one or both of you may avoid damage, or either or both of you may suffer worse.

TABLE

  SAVING NON-MASTER SAVING MASTER
If you succeed Dexterity save Both take no damage Both take no damage
If you fail Dexterity save Both take full damage You take full damage, the master takes half damage

 

WINE AND DINE

Starting at Level 13, whenever your rogue provides a character with food, drink, shelter or comfort (ex. a bonfire in the cold) to a character, all members of your party gain advantage on any Persuasion (Charisma) checks against that character for the next hour.

RAISE THEIR SPIRITS

Starting at level 17th, when you use the spell Raise Dead, you do not have to use spell components (it is assumed your rogue stole them at some point in the past). In addition, if the character raised is your master, every time the resurrected master finishes a long rest, the penalty is reduced by 2 with each rest (instead of 1) assuming the Domestic Servant is there to help with the recuperation process.

Have any thoughts? Have you tried it out? Let us know!

Until next time, Tangent Artists and Dave Joria says, GAME ON!

Fate Hack – Locked Approaches

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Hello! Dave here from Tangent Artist Tabletop. I’m taking a brief break from the world tour to explore a mechanic introduced in Save Game (see our review of it here). Specifically, I wanted to go over the mechanic of Locked Actions.

To explain: in Fate Core, there are 4 actions

  • Overcome – Remove aspects and handle small threats
  • Create an Advantage  – Create a free aspect (without spending a fate point) with one or more free invokes; OR add invokes to an existing aspect.
  • Attack – Used in conflicts to Deal stress / attempt to take an opponent out
  • Defend – Used to defend against create-an-advantage or attack.

In the Fate Core, each skill in the default list can do at least 2 actions (Overcome and Create an advantage), while some can do 3-4 actions (adding attack and/or defend).

However, with the setting Save Game, the author Rob Wieland made it so that every skill has only 2 actions. Save Game has 11 skills. But, I wondered: how many unique 2-action skills could there be?

The answer is 6. Which, as coincidence would have it, is same number of approaches in Fate Accelerated. So, here’s an experimental version: FAE-Locked!

FAE LOCKED

Each of the following approaches has access to the following actions:

Clever

  • Overcome – Unlock locks; devise clever ways to bypass obstacles; trick minor NPCs.
  • Create an Advantage – Create tools; confuse enemies; prep plans; bolster allies.
  • Locked – Attack, Defend

Forceful

  • Overcome – Break obstacles; power through weaknesses; bully or subdue minor NPCs.
  •  Attack – Deal mental or physical stress with direct attacks to the target.
  • Locked – Create an advantage, Defend.

Careful

  • Overcome – Detangle dangerous situations; disarm bombs; remove complications.
  • Defend – Carefully stay out of range of attacks and entanglements.
  • Locked – Create an Advantage, Attack.

Flashy

  • Create an Advantage – craft flashy stories and distractions; bolster allies; create dazzling tools and plans.
  • Attack – Overwhelm the opponent with attacks and displays.
  • Locked – Overcome, Defend

Sneaky

  • Create an Advantage – Sow rumors, create disguises, position self tactically.
  • Defend – Use denial, obfuscation, and stealth to avoid detection and harm.
  • Locked – Overcome, Attack

Quick

  • Attack – Quickly shoot, strike, or insult without pause or analysis.
  • Defend – Instinctively dodge attacks and attempts to hinder you.
  • Locked – Overcome, Create an Advantage.

Exceptions: In some cases, it might be good the bend the rules; for example, during a Challenge, it makes sense to use any appropriate approach to overcome.

But, I’m sure you’re objecting, “But what if I want to attack with my Rogue using Sneaky?”

Fear not! Just like Save Game, we encourage players to create stunts that unlock an action for one of those approaches. We recommend phrasing the stunt in such a way to give the player almost-endless access to the Stunt, with a few rare exceptions (to keep things interesting).

Here are some examples:

Flashy – Unshakable Ego – Unlocks Overcome – You can use Flashy to overcome mental and social aspects (ex. Despair, fatigue, pain, bad reputation), or to overcome minor opponents in a non-violent way.

Forceful – Shiny Inspiration – Unlocks Create-an-Advantage – You can use Forceful to create an advantage, provided you have a bladed weapon near at hand.

Careful – Defense is A Good Offense – Unlocks Attack – You can careful to Attack, provided you are attacking an opponent who has attacked (or threatened to attack) you or someone else.

Clever – Elemental Wall – Unlocks Defend – Your elemental abilities allow you to throw up magical walls of ice and water. You can use Clever to defend against attacks and corporeal advantages; may not be used if the location has an aspect signifying that there’s no water nearby (ex. “Desert”; “Parched Land”; Sealed Bank Vault”)

Best of all, you can use this to create Reinforcement Stunts for players – phrased in such a way that new players are reminded of the right way to use an approach (and potentially cut down on Fate Debates).

Quick – Be Nimble – Unlocks Overcome – You can use Quick to make overcome actions, provided it deals with you moving or reacting quickly (ex. Nimbly jumping a fence; wriggling out of hold).

Careful – Plan Ahead – Unlocks Create Advantage – You can use Careful to create advantages, provided you are not rushed or distracted (ex. Not multitasking).

Sneaky – Surprise Attack – Unlocks Attack – You can use Sneaky to make physical and mental Attacks, provided the target is not expecting the attack (ex. You’re hidden; target is distracted; flanking the enemy).

That’s all we have for this post. Next time, we’ll be continuing on the Fate World Tour!

 

FATE WORLD TOUR – REVIEW OF “WORLDS ON FIRE” PT. 2

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Hello! Dave Joria of Tangent Artists here with the fourth stop on the Fate World Tour.

Part 1 – Worlds Take Flight
Part 2 – Worlds Rise Up
Part 3 – Worlds on Fire I

Today, we’re talking going over the second half of “Fate Worlds: World on Fire.” 

KRIEGSZEPPLIN VALKYRIE

Author: Clark Valentine.

Editor: Amanda Valentine.

Artist: Rich Longmore

Elevator Pitch: World War I Flying Aces vs Robots.

Genres & Themes: Pulp; Action; Adventure; Romanticized Warfare; Alt-History / Speculative Fiction; Teamwork; Celebrity; Steampunk; Sci-Fi.

Summary: [“Kriegszepplin Valkyrie” features] a mini-campaign set in a World War One that isn’t quite like you read about in the history books. You play the multinational barnstormers and daring fighter pilots of the era, crewing the biggest airship that ever flew, as you take on the forces of a mad scientist and his army of galvanic automatons. It’s one part pulp, one part Battlestar Galactica, and100% high-flying zeppelin-and-biplanes action, from Evil Hat’s own Clark Valentine.

Mechanics – Sub-System: Fate Core Skill Lists

Mechanics – General:

Aerial Victories – A competitive “mini-game” in which PCs jockey for fame, based on how many planes they shot done (or claim they did).

Dogfighting – A mechanic for conflicts. In a nutshell, damage is capped at 1 stress per attack unless players have an advantage.

Wingman – Each PC pilot comes with an NPC Wingman/person (or persons), who aid in combat.

Relationship Cards – Each PC is tied to another PC through a relationship aspect. Clark has them written on cards.

Bot Villains that Learn – The heroes are opposed by robotic flying minions. They start off easy, but if a squadron leader is present, they will learn the skills and/or stunts the players use.

Planes – The system for PCs to start with a plane. In addition to 3 free stunts, each PC starts with 5 Refresh. However, they are required to buy a plane (most of which cost 1-4 Refresh, depending on how many bonuses it comes with).

Reaction:

First off, this was the first time I connected that the author (Clark Valentine) also wrote the brand new Sci-Fi aerial Fate world, “Tachyon Squadron”; Someday, I’ll review that too, and I’ll be itching to see what can be ported from one setting to the other.

Second, as Clark himself mentions, this could easily be a campaign for Spirit of the Century – as Spirit used Fate 2.0, this means Valkyrie might arguably be the first published “Spirit” campaign with Core rules.

Tangent: Speaking of which, I’m super excited at Shadow of the Century coming out. I plan to review that too, but my instinct is to do Spirit, Strange Tales, and Shadow all in a row, just so I can compare them.

Dogfighting – This reminds me a bit of the Swashbuckling rule from the Fate Toolkit. Personally, I’d test to see if they can be merged.

Ex. Whoever first creates an aspect on an opponent gains the Upper-hand. Only by overcoming this aspect does the current owner lose the upper hand, allowing the opponent to try and win it back. (This avoids the scenario where each side “has the advantage” on each other, which seems counter-intuitive to the story.)

Consumables – This is not a mechanic, but merely something Clark built into the game to force conflict; he made sure to remind the GM that the Zeppelin requires frequent refueling. This forces a group to avoid being too reactionary and is a great source of interaction during a campaign.

Relationship Cards – I have no major reaction, except I’m impressed Clark came up with NINE! That’s fantastic! I will steal them like the alarms are turned off. I also like how Clark gives great GM advice on how to drive minor wedges between the PCs, generally through the use of reporter NPCs and leading questions.

Encounters – As another resource, I’m really impressed by that Clark made NPC tables for encounters. On average, they appear to be a LOT bigger and tougher than my average game session (which could explain why my players beat most of my conflicts better easily – might need to up my game).

Planes – A simple system, really; it lets players differentiate their pilots and their planes from each other. Do they want a skilled pilot, a superior craft, or a balance of the two? I can easily see a similar hack for Mech suits as well.

Hacks – Nothing too major comes to mind, but a few thoughts (beyond the obvious SotC games mentioned above):

>Love and War – As a tweak, which if the zeppelin was not primarily a mobile battle station, but on a diplomatic mission? Merge it with “Romance in the Air” to feature high society ambassadors flirting with the ace pilots sworn to protect them.

>Space Zeppelins – Merge with Sail Full of Stars and enjoy steam/diesel punk aerial battles – in space! (Finally, I got to work into this week’s blog SOMEHOW).

>Mad science and heroes from history sound like a great basis for an Atomic Robo campaign / adventure.

Burn Shift

Author: Sarah J. Newton.
Editor: Matthew Bowman.
Artist: Jennifer Rodgers

Elevator Pitch: Post-apocalyptic Mad Max, except mutants can be good too. OR
How I learned to stop worrying and the love the bomb-related mutations.

Genres & Themes: Action; Adventure; Sci-Fi; Post-Apocolyptic; Survival; Transhumanism; Community; Peace vs. War; Anarchy vs. Civilization.

Summary: From the Mindjammer mind of Sarah J. Newton, a post-apocalyptic vision of the future! The Age of Space is gone, blasted to atoms in a devastation which buckled continents and boiled seas. Now the sky flickers with many-colored lightning and roiling clouds, and the air is heavy with poison. Twisted by strange energies from forms already geneered beyond natural adaptation, the remnants of posthumanity struggle to survive in the ruins of a once-glorious civilization. But for every one who succumbs to the curse of the Wounded Earth, another thrives with the Burn Shift — the new power which gives survivors an edge in this harsh and nightmarish world. Where most post-apocalyptic RPGs stop, Burn Shift starts: it’s not about wallowing in the devastation, but about pushing through it, reforming and rebuilding communities, going beyond… Whatever the future will be, it won’t be like the past.

Mechanics – Sub-System: Fate Core

Mechanics – General:

Genotype – Genotypes are basically “race” templates for quick character construction. Each come with a frame work for granting bonuses and penalties.

Burn Shifts – The name-same for the game, and after the term for a useful mutation brought about by radiation. Mutant characters can start with these, while any flesh-and-blood PC can gain them during a campaign if they suffer a severe consequence from radiation. (The book includes rules for transitioning from “wound” to “superpower.”)

Communities – Rules for representing large communities as they work with and against each other, and the PCs. These can be controlled by the GM and, to my surprise, by the players too (yeah home-team advantage). They use the same Fate Core skills as players, but they use them in a different way. Communities use the Scale rules (demonstrated in the Fate Toolkit, and reprinted here).

Equipment – A list of equipment items and extras that PCs can buy and acquire (many of them cost aspects, skills, and/or stunt slots.)

Reaction: The first things to jump out at you in the book are the stunts/extras. These powers and items are the most hackable part of the game and would port well into any superhero or fantasy game. They are so eye-catching, that it’s easy to forget what I consider the most revolutionary part of the game: the Communities.

Communities – Not only did Netwon design the communities to work at “tribe vs. tribe,” but it works on multiple scales (even asymmetric ones). Examples: Rival city-states in Eagle Eyes? A colony rebelling against its parent nation in a Sail Full of Stars? Rival gangs in Behind the Walls or The Secrets of Cats?

Tangent: Now I want to merge those last two, and have two clowders of cats warring behind prison walls.

Equipment – I missed this when I started this review, but caught it upon rereading; some of the items don’t provide a bonus, but rather a flat stat. This makes them great for NPCS. Want some Armored NPCs? The assault armor gives them stats of Good (+4) Fight, Fair (+2) Athletics, Weapon:2 and Armor: 2; just slap on an aspect or two and maybe a low Willpower, and your NPC is set!

Hacks: I already mentioned in Umdaar book itself how you can use Burn Shift as a late-campaign hack (although, you’d have to convert from Fate Core.)  Other options:

> Lots of Dystopian worlds / medium to copy: Tank Girl, Mad Max, Water World; I am Legend / Omega Man.

>Scrap the dystopian aspects, but use the Burn Shift adaptations to make a group of mutated heroes in modern day (ex. Doom Patrol; Toxic Avenger.)

>Hack for a Fall Out setting. (Extra option: Add video game elements from Save Game to have PCs be literally stuck in a game of Fall Out.)

>Personally, I think it’d be a handy foundation for a Nausicaa campaign. Alternatively, add some fun Nausicaa elements into your Burn Shift setting to take it a step away from Mad Max. Some of my favorite Nausicaa elements: Unstoppable mutant bugs; poisonous forests; no metal, only porcelain.

Wild Blue

Author:  Brian Engard.
Editor: John Adamus
Artist: Molly Ostertag.

Elevator Pitch: Superheroes in a fantasy Wild West.

Genres & Themes: Western; Superhero; Fantasy; Survival; Action / Adventure; Colonization vs. Preservation; Duty

Summary: From Bulldogs! co-author Brian Engard comes this setting of six-guns and superpowers, monsters and outlaws and keeping the peace on the frontier. It’s a dangerous world out there, but opportunities abound in the Blue Lands for those willing to help themselves. You’re one of the Queen’s Wardens, a newly inducted recruit into the land’s most elite law-enforcement team, a team made up entirely of Powers, people born with unique capabilities beyond those of the common folk. You’re a superhero, a law-bringer, a Warden. But all power comes with a cost, and being a hero is never without danger.

Mechanics – Sub-System: Fate Core

Mechanics – General:

Gear – A way of handling equipment. Players gain two simple aspects, each of which grants them a single strong resource (ex. A horse), or a collection of items lumped into a single bundle aspect (ex. A crafting kit; a camping kit).

Gift – A superpower (at start, only 1 each); these include a strength and a cost.  When appropriate, a strength can be used to automatically overcome mundane/nameless obstacles, as well as having a mechanical boost as well. A cost can be unrelated restriction on you at all times (ex. Can never tell a lie), or a strong limitation on the power itself (ex. Can only fly when rays of the sun touch you).  A gift is also an extra, which can be invoked and compelled. During campaigns, a gift can slowly be refined as your powers grow (ex. A stronger ability, but stronger cost). The book has lots of great examples!

Reaction:

If you had asked me a week ago which Fate subsystem Wild Blue used, I would have said “Fate Accelerated”;  upon rereading, I was surprised to realize that it used the Fate Core skills. I’m not sure WHY I thought it was FAE; possibly because a. the sentence structure used for gifts is similar to the same structure as Stunts in FAE, or b. the Wild Blue’s artist, Molly Ostertag, has an expressive and pleasing style not dissimilar to Claudia Cangini’s style (artist featured in the Fate Accelerated book).

That being said, the single-power format of Wild Blue WOULD lend it very well to FAE. I can easily imagine porting it over: the perfect, simple system for a younger audience, or a convention one-shot. The only flaw I see is that with only 6 approaches, it would be recommended that each PC pick a UNIQUE approach to link to their gift; if you have 3 bruisers with Forceful gifts, and 2 with Clever, it’s going to get a bit redundant very quickly. (This is where fill-in-the-blank pre-constructed characters are great).

The only concern I have with the setting is the same concern that comes with every Western: the role of the Native. In Wild Blue, the players take on the human colonizers to this magical land (in a way that parallels European society’s colonization of the American West), while the fairy-like Folk are a clear metaphor for Native Americans. Because one Folk group are antagonistic, on the surface, this can easily be seen as reinforcing the Eurocentric narrative of “Colonists good, natives evil.”

However, reading deeply into the setting will reveal the seeds of moral complexity in the piece.  So, to be clear: by all means, PLAY THIS SETTING, but I recommend either a. thinking long and hard about what stereotypes your campaign is reinforcing or subverting, or b. make your nastiest antagonists human (ex. The Sky Pirates, or an evil organization of your own creation).  The third option is c. have your players play as non-lethal, impartial mediators between the Folk and the humans, a la Princess Mononoke (which is possible, but requires the perfect group of players).

Hacks

A few ideas:

>Flip the script: PCs are young Folk, trying to prevent their parents from starting a war with the encroaching Blue Lands. Your only hope: win the trust of the noble (if not misguided) Wardens.

>If you want to keep the Wild West, but avoid casting the natives as villains, why not add a third faction: INVADING ALIENS. Splice in some of the Fate setting “Knights of Invasion” and you get a setting not unlike the movie “Cowboys and Aliens.” Maybe the Wardens can convince the Humans and the Folk to join against a common intergalactic enemy?

>While speaking of the Wild West, I wonder if this setting would work at all with Blood on the Trail (I haven’t read that one yet). Superheroes vs. Vampires in the Old West? Yes, please.

>There is a lot of overlap, thematically, with Frontier Spirit; I can easily see using the latter to put Wild Blue in space, or having Frontier Spirit ported to a fantasy Old West.

>The Gift / Cost formula adds a great flaw to any superhero setting, including Atomic Robo or Venture City.

> Similarly, the Gift/Cost set up would make Wild Blue a great foundation for a fate hack of the anime/manga series “One Piece.”. Each devil fruit power could simply be, “I get {this power), but I can’t swim.”

That’s it for this post. I was tempted to go on to “Fate World V2: Worlds in Shadow,” but I’m putting them one on the shelf for a little. Why?

Because there are so many AMAZING Fate Settings on clearance sale at the Evil Hat store at a fraction of the normal price.

*Cough* IncludingWorldsRiseUpwithMyGame *cough* 

The next few blogs will be showcasing some of these great games, and why you should grab a hard copy before they’re gone FOREVER.

Until next time, readers, Game On!

-Dave Joria

Fate World Tour – Review of “Worlds On Fire” Pt. 1

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Hello! Dave Joria of Tangent Artists here with the third stop on the Fate World Tour.

Part 1 – Worlds Take Flight
Part 2 – Worlds Rise Up

Today, we’re talking going over the first half of “Fate Worlds: World on Fire.” 
I was going to try to tackle it all in a single blog post, but Worlds on Fire… is more than I can handle!*
*(Alright, 2003 called, they said they DON’T want their Sarah McLachlan jokes back; they weren’t funny even then)

On with the review!

Tower of the Serpents

Author: Brennan Taylor. Art: Kurt Komoda

Elevator Pitch: A Conan-style dungeon crawl through a Wizards Tower.

Genres & Themes: Action / Adventure / Fantasy / Swords & Sorcery / Intrigue / Pulp

Summary: …At the very center of this vile pit stands a tower, the Tower of the Serpents. Older than the Palace, older than the city, it is made of an unknown material, white and hard as steel. The tower’s single spire rises nearly as high as the Palace walls, twin entwining serpents carved curling up the tower’s sides. A sorcerer lives there, they say, and this rumor seems likely true. The tower has a garden around it that grows despite the lack of sun, and strange lights shine from the upper rooms at night. No one is ever seen entering or leaving the place, and the single gate in the garden wall never opens. Darksiders say that on moonless nights you can hear the loathsome flutter of unholy wings from the top of the tower, and perhaps it is by this conveyance that the sorcerer comes and goes. They also say the tower holds a treasure of incalculable value.

Mechanics – Sub-System: Fate Core

Mechanics – General: None

Reaction: I’m going to start with the harsh, honest truth and work my way to the positive: From a purely mechanical, fate-hacker perspective, Tower of Serpents doesn’t introduce anything new. It’s no wonder that it was the first one adventure released with the Fate Core rulebook; I could easily see this as being packaged INSIDE the rulebook without it seeming incongruous. (Personally, “Tower of the Serpents” always felt like an ideal adventure for the Hearts of Steel campaign that shows up in the examples in the Core book – time to see Landon, Cynere, and Zird the Arcane in action!)
Now, is it still a good setting? Absolutely! “Tower of the Serpents” shines as:

  • A fun pre-made step-by-step classic dungeon – It’s got adventure, treasure, a gorilla… what’s not to love?
  • An amazing resource for inexperienced GMs on how to run any kind of game – Taylor provides great suggestions in all sorts of areas, including how to keep action moving, responding to players’ deviations, how to introduce conflict through the various factions, etc.
  • A useful template for experienced GMs who are inexperienced with Fate – If a friend of mine was an experienced D&D GM and said, “I want to port my setting for Fate, how would I do it?” I would give him this adventure as a sample.

As I mentioned, there are no mechanics to port over, but I could easily see a GM introduce this into any adventure they are currently running. Including:
Knights of Invasion; Dresden Files (Would need to update the town); Secret of Cats; Camelot Trigger (Add in Tech); Nest (with fewer factions); Strange Tales of the Century
With More Hacking the Skill List – Masters of Umdaar; Aether Sea; Fate Freeport Companion. (If you have more, let me know!)

White Picket Witches

Author: Filamena Young. Artist: Kel McDonald

Elevator Pitch: You are the leads (and the showrunners) on a program that’s part Charmed, part Witches of Eastwick, with a dash of Desperate Housewives

Genres & Themes: Supernatural / Urban Fantasy / Drama / Romance / Mystery / Television / Family

Summary: Small towns are cauldrons full of family secrets. In Salem, those cauldrons bubble over. Inspired by paranormal cozies like Practical Magic and the Witches of Eastwick, White Picket Witches give the players magic and charms to deal with small town pressures… and sometimes, the forces of evil. It’s about accepting the past, fitting in, or breaking out. It emphasizes friendships, brother/sisterhood, community, and a touch of romance. Designed by Filamena Young of Machine Age Productions, who has worked with Margaret Weis Productions, White Wolf, and many others.

Mechanics – Sub-System: Unique List, called Assets

Mechanics – General: Geez, so many. Where to start:

Place of Power – This is an important location, that holds both magical power (a leyline crosspoint) as well as a place where players can interact (ex. a hospital; a courthouse; a library). Players take turns creating the Places of Power, rather than the GM. Places of power also have their own sub-rules, including:

  • Leitmotif – Instead of labeling the place of power with a simple “high concept” aspect, the location has a general “mood,” described as “what music would play in the background when the camera cuts to the location.” (As a music theatre major, I appreciate the musical reference). Once per scene, players can invoke it for free. Players can also pay one fate point to temporarily change the leitmotif (this is generally done to help other players, even if they’re not directly participating in the scene).
  • Face-Off – Drama in “White Picket Witches” is handled in a unique kind of scene called a “Face-Off”; this is a variant on a conflict with a few small changes. Unlike a Conflict, in which one character takes an action (with the target rolling to defend), and then the second character taking an action (with the target rolling to defend), in a face-off, each character rolls only once; for example, if two players attempt to attack each other, the both roll to attack, and the loser takes stress equal to the difference. It’s a wee bit more complicated than that (ex. Having only two sides; extra stress boxes based on people involved), but that’s the basic structure.
  • Place of Power Assets – Places of Power have skills/assets, just like players. During a Face-Off, after the players have each taken a turn, the GM takes a turn as the Place of Power, exerting influence, pressure, or creating complications for the players. This represents both forces inside the fiction (ex. magical energies, NPCs), as well as outside influence from the show-runners who are adding drama to the TV show (which is fantastic).

PC-linked Antagonists – At player creation, each player creates an NPC to serve as an antagonist (which is not necessarily a villain; it can be a rival or foil). During scenes, the antagonists are played by any players who aren’t in the scene.

Scene Structure – Young lays out the scene structure very simply: A. Players and GM decide what scenarios they want to create, and their objectives. B. Players pick a Place of Power. C. Start a scene, and continue until a Face-Off starts.

Flashbacks – A special type of compel, invoked during a Face-Off. If a player can thematically justify it, they can compel an opponent’s aspect and one of the opponent’s skills/assets, including a time the aspect of their personality “got in the way.” They develop a quick flashback scene explaining what happened, and whether the opponent has grown from the experience or is still dealing with it.

Being Taken & Concessions – If one side takes out their opponent in a Face-off, their victory is written in a sentence aspect. If the loser concedes, they get to alter one word of the sentence. For examples, see the Reaction below.

Reaction

The first time I read White Picket Witches, I really liked it. Upon re-reading, it’s now in my top-five Fate settings. There are so many original mechanics, formats, and ideas that it’s hard to grasp that it’s only 34 pages long.

Face-off Reaction: I love the Face-off scene type; it’s a fantastic way to handle player vs. player interaction in a way that is faster and more dynamic than a normal conflict. I am reminded that I have a similar mechanic in Uranium Chef, which is also meant to emulate the stars of a TV show battling with each other; it’s even called a Face-off (whether this is pure coincidence, or whether “White Picket Witches” worked its way into my subconscious I’ll never know.) In “Uranium Chef” Face-offs, the conflict is boiled down to a SINGLE roll, rather than a full scene. I could easily see one being used in lieu of the other, i.e. using single-roll Minor Face-offs in White Picket Witches, and using long-form Face-off scenes in Uranium Chef.

Warning: If you’re running a White Picket Witches game, make sure the players are creating stunts that grant them a bonus to Defense rolls, or helps them get a higher turn order; as Face-Offs replace conflicts, stunts like these would be next to useless.

The only flaw with the Face-off mechanics as written is that there’s a small gap regarding creating advantages; it mentions to do with obstacles once they are created, but not how to create them. Normally, if you were in a conflict with person A, and wanted to create an advantage on person B (say, convincing a bystander to get involved), you would roll against the difficulty of Person B (or, if target b is an inanimate obstacle, against a set difficulty). While not stated, my guess is that you’d still roll against the opponent (to represent the fact that you’re still ducking and weaving physical or verbal jabs from Person A, all the while).

Example 1: Alex and Jenna are fighting in a Face-Off. Alex wants to punch Jenna. Jenna wants to place a hex on the floor. They both roll, the higher succeeds. If Alex wins, she deals stress equal to the difference. If Jenna wins, the aspect is placed.

Example 2 – Alternate: Alternatively, you could pick a normal difficulty, just to discern how many invokes they get if they succeed. Imagine the GM settings “placing a hex on the floor” at passive Difficulty Fair +2. Alex attacks, and scores a Great +4. If Jenna rolls Great or Less, no aspects are created (as she did not succeed against Alex). If Jenna rolls a Superb +5 or higher, she counts as creating an aspect with succeeding with style (rolling +3 higher than the obstacle).

Antagonists Reaction: Unlike most TTRPGS, in which all of the “party” is in the same scene in any given time, the story structure of WPW works best when splitting the party. This would normally lead to a few players interacting with the GM, while the others players grow bored. However, the Antagonist system provides players with a chance to create additional characters. The fact that Antagonists are played by dormant players (not the GM) means that some players can still be involved, while still providing ways for the remaining people (GMs & others players) to still have some influence (through action as the Place of Power or changing the Leitmotif).

Scene Structure Reaction: In writing books, I’ve heard it advised, “cut to the action.” Don’t want useless scenes on minor things, such as grocery shopping or brushing teeth, unless it does something to further the story. All Fate Core scenes are based on skipping straight to the drama, but the scene structure of WHW helps put that even more to the foreground. (I might have to borrow it for a LARP I’ve been working on).

Conceding Sentences Reaction – A great way to handle concessions, that I think would work in any Fate Setting. However, I would offer a small addition: the change to the sentence cannot be a 100% reversal of the original sentence.

Ex. Alex wins the scene and wants to beat it Jenna’s head that, “Jenna will not go into the Haunted manor.” As Jenna concedes, she can alter one word of the sentence.

Bad Example: Jenna’s changed sentence can’t be, “Jenna will DEFINITELY go into the Haunted manor,” as this merely reverses the original.

Good Example: Jenna changes the sentence to, “Jenna will not go into the Haunted manor ALONE.” (Thus, Alex partially succeeded in teaching Jenna that she’s too weak to go in alone, but not enough to diminish her determination.)

Hacking WHW – As I mentioned before, I think a lot of WHW could be used with Uranium Chef, and vice-verse. Similarly, the same principals can be used to add drama/soap-opera elements (both in-fiction and meta) to any setting. Imagine second season of the period British program “Romance in the Air,” or “The Real House-wives of Burn-Shift Postapocalyptic Earth.”

FIGHT FIRE

Author: Jason Morningstar. Artist: Leonard Balsera

Elevator Pitch: Real drama of fire fighters.

Genres & Themes: Realism; Action; Drama; Sacrifice; Crime; Medical

Summary: Fight Fire expands Fate Core’s handling of objective hazards, answering the common question “the warehouse has the On Fire aspect… now what?” Not only is this answered — literally — but it is enhanced and expanded in the form of a mini supplement that tackles both the day-to-day operations of urban firefighters (using tactics cribbed directly from the FDNY) and their lives off the clock. Raised in a firefighting family, Fiasco author Jason Morningstar takes Fate Core in a direction that tempers hard-researched realism with drama and danger

Mechanics – Sub-System: Unique Skill List

Mechanics – General:

Unique Skills – A very trimmed down Skill list, using primarily practical skills specific to fire fighting. A clever twist is that the fire npcs (see below) have their own unique skill list. It’s a bit of a rock-paper-scissors game, in that certain fire skills can only be overcome or defended against by specific skills.

Consequences – Do not automatically go away. Even when are recovered, they become aspects.

On Fire – A special aspect. When rolling to overcome it, if the character fails, they take stress equal to the difference. (This is useful for all RPGS, as it’s only a matter of time before a player asks, “Can I set it on fire?”)

Fire as NPCS – A great example of the Fate principal, “Everything can be done as a character.” Fire is represented as three types of NPCS, and a fourth for Smoke.

Vent for Life / Fire – A mechanic for dealing with fires; players get the chance of venting for life (flooding area with oxygen to help victims) or venting for fire (removing oxygen to suppress fire). Even if you succeed in one way, it mechanically hurts the other.

Reaction:

I will go out and say that realistic drama like this is not my particular cup of tea (I tend to prefer escapism and/or comedy to tragedy). However, if you were interested in such a thing, I can’t imagine a better way to handle it.

Vent for Life / Fire Reaction – As I’ve expressed before, Fate is a relatively forgiving system; if a player wants to succeed at something, they will likely make it happen. I think the “venting” system is a great way to mechanically include into systems, in that it forces the player to make a choice; even they succeed at one thing, they will fail in the other. I can easily see this in a medical or ER drama; a surgical incision may help the patient in one way, while risking their life in another.

The one minor concern I had for the setting is that “Smoke” is both the name of a skill that Fire NPCs have as well as the name for a type of NPC. To clarify, I recommend referring to the latter as “Smoke Clouds.”

Hacks – I definitely think there is lot of hack potential for Fight Fire. If you wanted to add cop drama, you can add in roles for Fire Marshalls (who investigate Arson) or Fire Police (which handle light fires, as well as can make arrests or assist in rescue efforts).

If you wanted to run the setting in a lighter, lower stakes setting, I’d recommend using it as the foundation for a paranormal exterminator setting. It would not be hard to reimagine the fire NPCs as nameless ghosts and lesser demons, lurking behind the walls, waiting to envelope the old mansion and pull it into the void.

That’s it for now. Will have the second half with you soon!

Until then, Game On!

-Dave Joria

Fate World Tour – Review of “Worlds Take Flight”

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I’ve been writing games in Fate for a while; I’ve had two published by Evil Hat, and have at least more in the works that will eventually be published under Tangent Artists (Dungeon Tours, Ltd., Skeleton Crew RPG). However, I’m officially announcing that I’ve started work on a yet untitled Masters of Umdaar sequel. Will it be for sale, or just a fan project? Published by Evil Hat or by Tangent Artists? A full setting or just a jumbled mess? All good questions, and I don’t have an answer as of yet.

However, it hit me, that I before I dig too deep into expanding this world, I should do some research first. It’s been three years since Umdaar 1 came out, and Fate “technology” has no doubt advanced considerably since then. What breakthroughs and hacks have emerged that I never would have dreamed of?

So, today, I start an epic adventure: To review every single Evil Hat “Fate World & Adventure.”* **

Clarification this will include every Fate World that comes free with backing the original Fate Core kickstarter, plus comes with backing the Fate Patreon. Afterwards, I might take a tangent to review paid Evil Hat projects (Atomic Robo, Strange Tales,) and maybe some third party (ex. Fate Codex), but no guarantees at this point.

**Full disclosure: Evil Hat has hired me on a contract basis twice. I am not currently working for them at this time, but if they offered, I’d definitely say yes.

What this Review Is NOT: If you’re expecting me to use my sparkling wit to sarcastically tear into the fate worlds, you’ll be sadly disappointed. I’m going to keep things positive, because:

  1. I know how hard it is to write one of these things, and
  2. Just because a world may not be my cup of tea, doesn’t mean it’s not someone else’s.

What this Review Is: This is be a quick, cursory look at each the settings; I’m afraid I don’t have time for a page-by-page analysis. I’ll be focusing on:

  • The Pitch – A sentence providing what the setting feels like; this will be using pop-culture comparisons to provide a short-hand.
  • The Genres – What literary and cultural settings and themes the world taps into. (Expect a lot to include “…in space!”)
  • The Summary – This is a longer description, taken straight from the book or the Drive-Thru RPG. (It won’t be my original words but will save you the time to look them up yourself.)
  • The Mechanics – Subsystem: Which variant of Fate does it most closely mimic (ex. Core skills, Fate Accelerated, Skill-less).
  • Mechanics – General: What are significant rule additions, tools, and tweaks not found in the Core book.
  • Reaction – This part is purely opinion. It will be mostly based on speculation, as most of these settings I have no experience playing. Will also focus on possible variants, and ways to hack the mechanics with other settings.

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WORLDS TAKE FLIGHT

Rather than go in chronological order, I thought I’d go with convenience; since “Worlds Take Flight” is one of the few Fate hard copies I own, making it easier to read on my work lunch breaks, I thought I’d start there.

 

The Three Rocketeers

Author: PK Sullivan; Artist: Alex Innocenti

Elevator Pitch: Swashbuckling Musketeers… in space!

Genres & Themes: Historical / Adventure / Sci-Fi / Intrigue / Drama

Summary: Journey through the Holy Roman Stellar Empire and the worlds of Britannica Solaria in this Fate World of Adventure by PK Sullivan! The Queen’s enemies may have disbanded the Rocketeers, but duty cannot be set aside so easily.

A deadly cabal of nobles and clergy threaten to usurp Her Majesty Queen Marie-Hélène’s throne and hand Gallia over to Pope Regulus IV, and the Rocketeers now work from the shadows to protect the queen from threats both foreign and domestic. Foreign spies and papal agents lurk in every shadow as the trap draws ever closer.

A laser-sharp blade and even sharper wits will serve you well as interstellar powers play the game of puppets and shadows. The fate of the crown is in your hands.

Mechanics –  Sub-System: Skill-Less

Mechanics – General: Compound Stunts (Swordplay) – This is an interesting concept; instead of making players create 3 or so stunts, Sullivan has the players create one double-sized Sword-play stunt, which is composed of four micro-stunts (about +1 bonus each, for roughly +4 bonus total). He has a whole list of different micro-stunts which you can mix-and-match, kind of like a tapas menu.

Conspiracy – This is very neat concept that I will have to investigate more thoroughly in the future. Rather than creating a villain first and the objective later, the Conspiracy model does it in reverse; what is the objective, and who are the agents carrying it out. Sullivan also introduces rules for unraveling the mystery a bit at a time.

Reaction:

Skills – I must give PK Sullivan points for guts, I think he was the first Fate World to rewrite the system without skills or approaches. I’m not itching to make a skill-less setting myself anytime soon, but I can say- it does require the players to start with a large amount of fate points. If you have group with a lot of larping experience, I’d look at this book for tips on making your system skill-less. The only downside is it does make it harder to port other fate mechanics from other worlds INTO Three Rocketeers after you’ve started the campaign.

The swordplay stunt system is great for quick character creation; if I wear to create my own character, I would enjoy making my own micro-stunts, but I think a short list would be perfect for first time players, or for conventions. I also see how the composite micro-stunts would work well for other settings (perhaps for creating inventions?)

Of all three, the conspiracies have me the most excited; I’ll keep it in mind the next time I craft villains. The one thing that I would can as a disadvantage is that the Conspiracies use skills when the players don’t. On the one hand, this seems a little out of play. On the other hand, this makes it even easier to hack it into an existing campaign!

The one thing I’d add, were I to run this setting, is the Swashbuckling Duel rules from the Fate Toolkit. To me, these rules best represent the slow build of tension in a cinematic sword fight; amongst armor-less, sabre-wielding duelists, the first successful hit is often the last! (I suspect this system can be a little time consuming, so I’d save it for named NPCS).

Frontier Spirit

Author: Nick Pilon; Artist: Steen

Elevator Pitch: Princess Mononoke meets Ghostbusters… in space!

Genres & Themes: Frontier / Adventure / Sci-Fi / Fantasy / Spiritualist / Environmental / Exploration

Summary: Despite its long history, the Commonwealth has only civilized a fraction of the galaxy. Life on an undeveloped colony world is hard. The problems are never-ending: pirate raids, corporate claim-jumpers, outlaw settlers, unpredictable weather…and an alien spirit world unused to coexisting with sentient creatures.

Natural disasters, storms, subsistence, and even basic survival are all much harder when the world really is out to get you. Can your colony survive? 

Mechanics – Sub-System: Fate Core Skills

Mechanics – General:

Portfolio – A way for creating NPC antagonists that are intrinsically tied to the impending issues.

Facets – The idea of creating a powerful, “final form” of a spirit, and then 2 or more smaller “facet” versions of the character that appear earlier in the story.

Reaction: From a setting standpoint, I am impressed by how Pilon introduced a setting that clearly sets up the tension between the industrial settlers and the native spirits; in many settings, this would done in black and white, with the humans being bad and the spirits being good. However, like Miyazaki’s “Spirited Away,” Pilon makes it a little more ambiguous, letting the gaming group work out for themselves which side is wrong, if anyone at all. I can also see facets as great way to create multi-leveled villains that are beaten more than once (ex. a video game boss for Save Game; a DBZ style villain with multiple forms).

Sail Full of Stars

Author: Don Bisdorf; Artist: Elisa Cella

Elevator Pitch: Pirates and Navy Battles… in Space!

Genres & Themes: Sci-Fi / Fantasy / Steampunk / Alternative History / Age of Exploration / Swashbuckling / Political / Naval

Summary: In the year 1850, three empires struggle for control of the solar system: The Ottomans, whose vast Earthly empire may soon become obsolete; the Chinese, who pioneered the construction of rheoships; and the French, the new masters of alchemy. Wherever patrols are weak, pirates menace the shipping lanes. Sailors whisper rumors of dragons swimming through the black void. Fools and madmen push the boundaries of alchemy, heedless of the consequences.

Track down pirates, brave the stars, and mount shipboard battles in this Fate World of Adventure by Don Bisdorf.

Mechanics – Sub-System: Fate Core Skills

Mechanics – General: The book features some of the best rules for detailed ship aspects I’ve seen. Similarly, it includes rules for crews, including combat.

Reaction: Compared to many Fate Worlds, this one is a little on the “crunchy” side; it might be ideal entry point for classic gamers who are used to more complicated systems like D&D or wargames. I am eager to try out the crew rules, which would work for supporting NPCS in any setting.  If you’re not interested in the historical setting, you can easily port it to another world (for example: if you want to port “Aether Sea,” but with Fate Core.)

Gods & Monsters

Author: Chris Longhurst; Artist: Manuel Castañón

Elevator Pitch: Campbell’s Mythology meets Lycanthropes (NOT in Space!)

Genres & Themes: Mythology / Fantasy

Summary: The world is young and majestic, and humans eke out a living and dream of civilization.

But you are not like them: you are a god. A primal creature, your soul a blazing font of power, your body an expression of your nature. The more extreme your behavior the greater the power you can wield—but it is easy to become lost in a single facet of your existence and cross the line from god to monster.

Perform mythic acts, skirmish with rival pantheons, and walk the line between power and control in this Fate World of Adventure by Chris Longhurst.

Mechanics – Sub-System: Fate Accelerated

Mechanics – General: While I had previously thought of Fate Approaches as opposites, Chris Longhurst came up with something I never dreamt of: putting them on sliding scales. He also came up with the idea of having your power and approaches grow (which can sometimes be a bad thing, turning you into a monster!) There is also the godly power mechanic, which involves stashing power in stations to avoid overload.

Reaction:

Fate is a really forgiving system, allowing players to succeed in ways that stricter systems would not allow. “Gods & Monsters” just doubles-down on this, giving players literally godlike characters.

This can make it a very difficult game for GMs to run. I suspect that they are two ways around this:

  1. Think of them less like “gods” and more like demi-gods; they are weaker, lesser gods that fight, adventure and fight monsters, much like your typical adventure team.
  2. Focus on the difficult decisions; you can do X, or do Y, but not both.

Longhurst cleverly built the second into the geas and power of the characters; they can grow stronger and stay true to their god’s nature (but at the risk of growing monstrous), or you can have they show free will, go against their nature, and grow weaker (but further from the edge).

Were I to run a game (and I desperately want to), I’d focus on the etiological, “just-so” stories. Rather than assume that the mortal world is complete, I would take a popular “just-so” story and reverse engineer it.

For example:

GM: The mortals are cold all of the time, and are always tripping in the dark, hour after hour. They ask for your help.

Players would eventually come to realize that, in this world, there is no sun. This sets them on tasks to make the sun (gathering dangerous materials to get it), as well as finding a balancing act that doesn’t involve mortals overheating or frying.

Guide the ending to resolve towards a permanent feature of this world, although it might not be the one you anticipated when you started the story. They could go a completely different route and find a solution without the sun, such as, “…And that’s why we have volcanos,” or “…And that’s why the first humans died out, and why we have ice people instead.”

Lastly, I wanted to give a shout out to the artist, Manuel Castañón, as the art in Gods and Monsters is absolutely stunning. All four artists in this book did a great job, but Manuel’s art is inspiring.

EDIT: I nearly forgot! On an earlier blog, I gave my house rules for mashing up “Gods and Monsters” and “Masters of Umdaar,” where players get to be the lost Demiurge. Here it is again, “Gods and Masters.”

 

That’s it for this entry. Next up will be “Fate: Worlds Rise Up!”

Until then, game on!

Game Chef 2018 Finalist Entry – Cardenio

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It’s another catch-up entry. This time, I’m going to focus on my entry for Game Chef 2018, “Cardenio.” I was delighted to see that it made it to the finals. I’m going to repost it here in its entirety, but this time it’ll have director’s commentary.

First, what is Game Chef? (No connection to Uranium Chef)

cropped-game-chef-header-1

From their website:

History – Game Chef is an annual design competition for “analog” (non-electronic) games, challenging participants to write a playable draft of an original game in just over one week, based on a theme and a set of “ingredients.”

This was this year’s theme:

2018 Theme: Lost Stories

People have been telling stories for as long as our species has been around, but the vast majority were not recorded, and have been lost to us. For example, Aeschylus’s play Psychostasia (Weighing of the Souls) was popular when it was performed in the fifth century BCE. But today, only three words (blunt, speedwalking, and sheepskin) remain. Games are a major source of lost stories today. A single game may generate thousands of stories as it is played by different groups. But the adventures of the characters at the table usually disappear as they happen unless the players make a special effort to record their session.

This year, we ask you to think about the concept of lost stories as you design your game. Why are some stories lost, and others are not? How are we affected when stories are lost? Might losing certain stories be a good thing? What would happen if we recovered a story we had thought was lost?

2018 Ingredients: blunt, speedwalking, sheepskin, weigh

And now, the entry:

 

CARDENIO –

by Dave Seidman-Joria

DJ: If the name looks slightly different, it’s because I recently got married.

A game of choosing sides for 4-12 players

Premise – Players will be crafting a Shakespeare-inspired play one scene at a time. In any given scene, one player will be restricted in what answers they provide.

Backstory – Of all the plays Shakespeare wrote, only 37 have survived. However, scholars are delighted by the recent discovery of a chest containing the script to Shakespeare’s 38th play:  the missing work Cardenio. 

DJ: This is actually based on a real story: there was a lost play called Cardenio, which at least one publisher attributed to being co-written by John Fletcher and William Shakespeare. Scholars have no idea what the plot is, but a. Cardenio is the name of a character in Don Quixote, b. Fletcher liked stealing plots from Cervantes, and c. Shakespeare liked stealing plots from… well, everyone… it could have been the TALE OF DON QUIXOTE RETOLD WITH SHAKESPEARE’S WIT. To find out more, read the Wikipedia page. Also, to read a fictional account of what it might have included, Jasper Fforde included some snippets in his novel, “Lost in a Good Book” (I can’t recommend the series enough.)

However, it is not a complete script; the chest contains only a selected number of “sides” (i.e. the lines for a specific character). The surviving sides were written for the notoriously picky actor Devin Twinshire, who insisted that all his sides be written on durable sheepskin parchment (while all the other sides, written on paper, have since crumbled). Devin was a versatile actor; he seemed to have played a number of characters in multiple different scenes, and thus we have the lines for at least one character per scene.

DJ: Devin is fictional. I don’t know for a fake if sheepskin/vellum is more durable than paper, more of a sneaky way to include the “sheepskin” ingredient. However, in the days before mimeographs, to save time, the production time would give actor papers that had only their own lines and cues. So, the idea that only ONE actor’s part would survive is not unheard of. This was also an anti-theft tactic, as copyright laws were law or nonexistent at the time. Case in point, the Quarto 1 edition of Hamlet is a paraphrased mess, likely pirated with the help of the actor playing Marcellus (as his lines are the only accurate ones in the piece!)

MATERIALS

  •         Notecards
  •         Paper
  •         Writing utensils
  •         Safe, Blunt Weapons (ex. foam swords)
  •         Costumes / Props / Hats
  •         An area of free space (designated as “the stage”)

THE SET-UP

Before starting the game, prepare the document that one of the actors will be reading from; this is called the Sheepskin. To create this, do the following:

Make a set of cards with, the following:

  •         3 x “Yes, and…”
  •         1 x “Nay, because…”  
  •         1x “I propose…”
  •         1 x “Let me be blunt…”

DJ: In improv fashion, you want to have more “Yes” than “no”; if you had equal number of yes and nos, the action would constantly be one step forward, one back.  “I propose” gives the Sheepskin holder a chance to act instead of merely react. “Let me be Blunt” is a vague one that gives the performer more flexibility, but also leads easily into a revelation, an insult, or the closing of a scene, any of which can make the action move along.

On a sheet of paper, write 1 on the first line, 2 on the second line, and so on, until you reach 19.  

Shuffle the 6 cards, and reveal the top card, and write what it says on the first line. (Ex. If the first card you draw says, “Nay because…”, write “Nay because…” on line 1 of the sheet.)

Continue drawing the six cards and writing out the lines until the stack of cards is depleted (which should be after line 6). Next, shuffle the cards, and continue drawing and transcribing (writing lines 7-12). Shuffle again after line 12, transcribe 13-18.

On line 19, and write the stage direction “[Speedwalking],” and add the phrase, “Make haste, for…”

As an example, here is a premade script.

  1. I Propose…
  2. Yes, and …
  3. Yes, and …
  4. Let me be blunt …
  5. Nay, because…
  6. Yes, and…
  7. Let me be blunt …
  8. I Propose…
  9. Nay, because…
  10. Yes, and…
  11. Yes, and…
  12. Yes, and…
  13. Yes, and…
  14. Nay, because…
  15. Let me be blunt …
  16. I Propose…
  17. Yes, and…
  18. Yes, and…
  19. [Speedwalking] Make haste, for…

DJ: If you only have note cards and no long sheets of paper, I theorize you could do it with only 6 notecards Personally, I would want it to be a bit more organic; once you’re in the flow of the story, you don’t want to shuffle cards around. Also, it’s easier to gauge when the scene is over, and to pace yourself.

Lastly, create a small set of scene cards. These consist of a Beginning Scene card, an Final Scene card, and any number of middle scene cards.

Beginning Scene: In which someone complains about a problem.

Final Scene: In which someone is married or someone dies.

We encourage players to create their own middle scene cards, even so far as penciling their own 3 seconds before a scene. Here are some suggestions:

  •         In which a bond is formed / bond is broken.
  •         In which a new problem is introduced / old problem escalates.
  •         In which a plan is created.
  •         In which an existing plan is executed or people try to thwart a plan.
  •         In which a lie is told.
  •         In which 2+ people fight over something they both want.

On a separate sheet, have players collaborate on a cast of 5-10 characters (at least one per player, with a few spare). Each character consists of a Name and a few words of description (ex. attitude, status, connection to another character). Here is a premade sheet:

  •         Cardenio –  Mercurial son of a noble
  •         Hossberry – Cardenio’s greedy servant
  •         Lucinda – Innocent and beloved maiden
  •         Don Fernando – Young Duke and rival for Lucinda’s affection
  •         Theodora – Don Fernando’s pragmatic ex-fiancée
  •         Don Xavier – A senile but virtuous old knight
  •         Sadwell – Don Xavier’s lazy peasant squire
  •         Signor Claudius – Cardenio’s loving but ambitious father
  •         Servant / Messenger – Any number of servants, messengers, and various nameless helpers.

DJ: Cardenio, Lucinda, Don Fernando, and Theodora are all straight out of Don Quixote, along with their mixed up love triangle. Don Xavier and Sadwell are my nods to Quixote and Sancho, albeit with their names changes (as Willy Shakes would likely do). Hossberry and Claudius are new characters, based on stock characters Shakespeare used a lot.

(If players want, they can create name tags for each character as they switch in and out – a notecard and a binder clip is often all you need. Alternatively, assign a specific costume piece, like a character or a scarf to each character.)

GAME PLAY

Gameplay is taken one scene at a time. A scene consists of one two or more players each picking a character and acting in that scene as that character. In any given scene, one of the players uses the Sheepskin (we recommend that Cardenio carry it in the first scene). This player is called the sheepskin-holder.

Using the Sheepskin: Players who are not holding the sheepskin may act and talk like normal, acting out the scene as their character without restrictions. (They are not required to speak in full Shakespearen verse, but the occasionally “thee” and “thy” does spice things up.)

The sheepskin-holder will act the scene with them, but is restricted in what they say; each of their lines* must start with the same words as the corresponding line on the page.

[*Note: For the sake of this game, a “line” consists of a sentence of any length, and any immediately following sentences. A line ends when the speaker pauses for a period of a few seconds, or another player says something.]

  •         Ex. If the first line on the sheepskin is, “1. I Propose…,” the player must start their first spoken sentence with, “I propose,” and continue on with the sentence. After they  are done talking, the sheepskin-holder moves their finger to the next number on the sheet; it says, “2. Yes, and ….” The next time the sheepskin-holder speaks a line, they must start by saying, “Yes, and…”

It is important that the sheep-skinner holder doesn’t just say “Yes, and” and stop abruptly. They are required to continue the line to best of their ability. This happens in several ways, depending on the line.

  •         “Yes, And” –  If the line starts with, “Yes, and…” they must add something new, such as a new idea or an escalation of the current idea.

Ex. Player 1: The duke is the worst.

Cardenio: Yes, and… we should rise up against him!

Player 1: Woah! Are you mad?

Cardenio: Yes, and… will be intentionally drive myself madder still, so that the duke will be afraid to face me!

  •         “Nay, because…” – The character will reveal why they are against a notion. (Although, it is best if the player can include in their line a condition which, if met, they would agree to.)

Ex. Player 1: Are you going to propose to Lucinda?

Cardenio: Nay, because… there is no way she would agree to marry such a man as I, without any fortune.

Player 1: Hmm. What if I told you there was a fast way to make you rich?

  •          “I propose…” – The sheepskin-holder must do their best to introduce a new idea. (Or in the case of a romantic scene, they might literally propose to another character!)
  •         “Let me be blunt…” – The sheepskin-holder’s character must reveal their true feelings. This may, of course, risk of offending another character (this is actually recommended, as hurt feelings lead to interesting scenes!)

ENDING A SCENE

The scene continues until the sheepskin-holder reaches the last line on his sheet, #19.

  •         19. “Make haste, for…” –  At this line, they explain where people are going, why they must hastily leave (speedwalking), and what they will attempt to do between the scenes.

Ex. “Make haste, for … we have only hours before the wedding starts, and we must prepare our disguises!”

Starting the next scene:

The players will then return to the stage and present another scene. The sheepskin is handed off to someone else.

  •         No player should have the sheepskin two scenes in a row.
  •         No character will have the sheepskin two scenes in a row. (I.e. if players are switching characters).
  •         The player either starts again on Line 1, or picks a random line between 1 and 4 to start with.

Other rules to keep in mind when starting the new scene:

  •         If some players sat out during the first scene, make sure to trade out as many players as possible.
  •          Be sure to switch out or add a new character from one scene to the next.
  •         It is recommended to have only 2-4 characters in a scene at time (unless you are presenting the Final Scene, or players are representing a mass of people, like an angry mob or a pirate crew).

Additional Rules:

Improv Rules Apply – Improv Theatre rule applies, particularly:

  •         Once a fact is established, it is true; other players cannot deny it or instantly remove it (Ex. If a character declares another character is sick with the vapors, the other character truly has the vapors.)
  •         Players should work together to further a cooperative story, rather than focus on their own ideas argue or “waffle” over story directions. (The only one allowed to say “no” to ideas is the sheepskin holder, who is sometimes required to by the script!)
  •         And most importantly, RESPECT SAFETY AND CONSENT – Even if you are in character, respect other players before grabbing or touching them. Even when fighting with blunt, foam weapons, be careful of people’s faces. If any player calls to stop, all players should immediately stop.

Q1. Can the sheepskin-holder skip lines?
A1. No,* they must read through each line. If it makes no sense (i.e. they argue to something, and then disagree, and then agree again), then it is best to play it off as indecision, or via asides (see below).

Q2. Can the sheepskin-holder telegraph what their next line is?
A2. No!* It’s more fun if the scene partners have no clue what the sheepskin-holder’s next response will be.

*The Exception – The only times that sheepskin-holder can skip lines or telegraph lines is with the LAST line in the scene, i.e. “19. Make haste, for…”

  •         Skipping – if the sheepskin-holder feels like the scene is over (i.e. something interesting has happened that furthers the story, and there’s a lag in the conversation), they can skip to last line, “19. Make haste, for…”, bringing the scene to an early close.
  •         Telegraphing – if the sheepskin-holder has reached the end of the sheet, but the scene is still continuing, they can give the other players a sign to wrap up the scene. The sheepskin-holder should give the other players about a minute to finish their thoughts and wrap up any loose ends before providing the, “Make haste, for…” line, officially closing the scene.

Switching Characters – Players are allowed to switch characters out in-between scenes (and even during them, sometimes). However, we recommend that once a player portrays a character in a scene, no other players can portray that character for the rest of the scene (without that player’s insistence).

Sarcasm – The Sheepskin-holder has to agree with every line in the sheepskin. It is possible that a player may want to use sarcasm, (i.e. saying, “yes, and…” but in such a way that they really MEAN “no.”) This is definitely allowed, but we encourage players not to rely on this too heavily; part of the fun is going with the crazy script, rather than undermining it. A good way to regulate this is the “Sassy Friend” rule below.

  •         The Sassy Friend rule – if a character ends up using sarcasm a LOT in a scene (ex. for at least a third or a half of their lines), allow them to officially add the description “Sarcastic” to the character’s description. (Ex. “Lucinda – Innocent and beloved AND SARCASTIC maiden”). This allows the character to use sarcasm without any restriction. However, the number of players/characters who are allowed to be “Sarcastic” is limited; this can be capped at one Sarcastic character per player, or 2-3 Sarcastic characters total. Once the cap is reached, no other characters can use sarcasm at all.

Note: Only the sheepskin-holder is cautioned against using sarcasm. The other players may use as much as they want.

Asides – The sheepskin dictates what the character openly agrees to during the scene; however, it doesn’t always dictate what the character is actually thinking. We recommend that the holder of the Sheepskin be encouraged to speak to the audience, providing thoughts that the other characters cannot hear; this is called in theatre and “aside.” In an aside, a character can explain their true feelings, and explain away any discrepancies in the character’s objectives and the dialogue.

  •         Ex. The duke Don Fernando proposes to Cardenio that they murder Cardenio’s father (and Cardenio loves his father dearly). Cardenio notices his next line is “Yes, and ___”, which the actor feels doesn’t make sense. Before Cardenio reads off the next scripted “yes” and offers to go along with the plan, Cardenio says in an aside to the audience, “I’ll play along with them for now, until I know more of their plot.” Players can also give asides AFTER a line, to justify retroactively.
  •         Note: Any player may give asides, not just the sheepskin-holder.

Combat and Death – Characters can die in the middle of the play (that’s what the blunt weapons are for!) However, the following rules apply:

  •         All fights must begin with a declaration, such as, “Have at thee,” or a similar call to action. The challenger must give the challenged player ample time to obtain and draw a weapon. Any character who attacks another without such a challenge (Ex. stabs someone in the back) can still emerge victorious, but their character will be brandished a coward and a treacherous knave by all other characters.
  •         Players should talk while fighting with foam weapons. Combat is over once of the players mutually decide which should be injured; this is normally signaled by a player intentionally leaving themselves open to an attack for an extended period, or “piercing” themselves on their opponent’s blade.
  •         If players disagree over which character should die in a fight, have them play rock-paper-scissors to decide who lives and who dies. If a fight goes on for more than a minute, any player (not just those fighting), can proclaim, “Finish it,” forcing the players to move to rock-paper-scissors.
  •         Players can kill each by other means (such as poison), but they must declare they have poisoned an item in an aside BEFORE someone consumes it. Players can only consume a poisoned item with their consent (NO FORCE FEEDING).
  •         Multiple characters may die in a single scene. However, each PLAYER may only initiate one death per scene (except for the Final scene). Similarly, we recommend capping the total number of deaths to a total of X, where X is the number of players, at least until the Final scene. (This does not include nameless servants, who can die by the droves).
  •         If a character is poisoned or mortally wounded, they are not required to stop talking; they can talk, just like any healthy character, until the end of the scene or until they choose to die, whichever comes first.
  •         If a player has one of their character’s die (outside of the Final scene), they may create a new character. Before starting the next scene, take a small break to give time for the player to create a new character; they have first dibs on playing it. Alternatively, the player may have their character come back as an incorporeal ghost, and can choose which characters can and cannot hear the apparition!

The Final Scene 

Once enough scenes have been played out (generally between 4-10), the players should agree whether or not to begin the Final scene. Once the majority of players are in consensus, it begins.

A few reminders and a few new rules:

  •         All players should be included to be in the scene – however, we recommend only 3-5 players start the scene. After the first few minutes, the rest of the players will trickle in a few at a time.
  •         By the end of the Final scene, a character will be married or a character will die (maybe one of each!) However, no one may be killed or married until all players have had a chance to come into the scene.
  •         If the sheepskin-holder reaches line 19, they still cry, “Make Haste!”; however, if it doesn’t make sense for the scene to end, or not all players have been included in the scene yet, the scene is not over and no one permanently exits. Instead:

o   The current sheepskin-holder explains in character why time is short; all characters must pick up the pace and go faster.

o   The sheepskin-holder then gives the sheepskin to another player.

  •         Players may also exchange the sheepskin any number of times during the scene; they are not required to reach the last line but must read at least one line before giving it to another person. When handing off the script, the old holder may take no more than 3 seconds to show the next player where they left off in the script. If the new player cannot find the exact spot within 3 seconds, the new player must pick a new spot at random. (This discourages halting the scene to a stop after every switch).

Epilogue

After the game is over, each player should record one line that they remember from the game on a notecard; do not provide any context. The game owner should keep these lines with the rules as a memento (perhaps to add to a future Sheepskin).

 

There you have it, “Cardenio” is all of its glory! I have yet to playtest it, but I look forward to trying it soon. When I do, I’ll try to document it thoroughly and share it here.

Have you tried any Shakespeare or Improv inspired games? Let us know!