GMprov – Part 1

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GMprov – Spontaneous Dialogue – Part 1: Eavesdropping

I only have a few years experience with GMing, so there’s little I can  offer in that field that others haven’t said before. However, I do have experience as an Improvisational Performer, and I’ve found the two have a lot of overlap.

Today, I’m going to focus on dialogue, specifically on the noble art of eavesdropping.

GETTING A CLUE

Inevitably, in any given adventure, the players will need to find out information. They might get this from a written clue, or from going zomb take off zigJack-Bauer on some captive, but sometimes they’ll just eavesdrop on a conversation already in progress. The first thing you need to figure out is:

What information needs to come across?

If these are allusions to a major villain that won’t show up for 5-6 adventures, be as vague as you want. However, if the essential information is simply “Players need to get a key or they’re stuck here,” subtlety can result in PCs sitting around in a cell until they’re rescued by divine intervention or they starve.

Recent Example: In the adventure I mentioned last week, a group of Ghost Pirates raided the city for gold, jewels, and anything else shiny (including hubcaps). Our heroes successfully discovered the evil Captain Blackstache’s weakness. Now, the goal was to steer them back to his ship for an epic showdown.  To guide the way, I had a spectral rowboat float over their heads. *I* knew it was heading back to the ship (so all they’d have to do is follow it,) but the vampire of the group volunteered to scurry to the bottom of the boat and listen on what they’re talking about.

In this case, the essential information I had to convey was “We’re going back to the ship, where Blackstache is waiting!” Now, I could just have a character say, “Hurry up, back to the ship, where Blackstache is waiting,” but that wouldn’t have been any fun, especially for a zany series like Skeleton Crew. What other ways are there?

  1. Slip of the Tongue – Rather than stating the info it outright, slip it into a longer sentence or a paragraph. If it’s a minor part of a natural sounding dialogue, it will seem less forced.

So what should you talk about? Ask a man to give a minute-long speech, he’ll likely fail. Ask him to share what irks him, he’ll go on for ten minutes. Which leads us to…

  1. Rant and Rave – People love to complain. If you want to get a character talking, give him something to complain out.

To continue with the Ghostly Rowboat, I wanted to convey the essential “back to the ship,” but I wanted to slip it into a rant. So, to make the rant realistic, I grabbed a random piratey name, Anais (I recommend stashing a few names before any adventure. Personally, I love the Writer’s Digest Character Naming Sourcebook). Thus, the ranting went a little like this:

“Man, that Anais thinks he’s such hot stuff. I saw that shiny set of spoons first, and he ripped it right out of my hands. You saw it, didn’t you? I bet you, by the time we get back to the ship, he’s already there, waiving them spoons under Blackstache’s nose. ‘Ooooooh, look at me, I’m such a good pirate.’. And he’s going to get first dibs on the loot, and he’s going to have that smug expression on his boney little face the whole time. What a jerk.”

This feels REAL because the character’s goal is not to relay information—however, he gives the same useful information across, as well as a whole bunch of useless stuff. Also, with an angry rant like the above, I could carry on until Wizards puts out D&D 6th Edition.

(As an added bonus, it sets up a great minor character for the pirate character. In the same adventure, Blackstache barked an order to the nearest NPC, which I declared was Anais. When a PC sent him flying off the ship into the water, a nearby pirate muttered, “Y’know, I never liked that guy. What a jerk…”)

Don’t be afraid to use your own real pet peeves as inspiration. Sure, it might be hard to work your pro/anti “Phantom Menace” rant into a medieval fantasy world, but most problems are timeless: coworkers, relationships, traffic, bad food / service. Given a reshaping, you can even make technological rants work for any age.

Grok: And then  Warlord call for Grok.. only Warlord call Grok’ IT Guy,’ ‘cuz Warlord no know Grok’s name. Grok is “It Guy” cuz Grok fix the Its.  Warlord say, ‘Catapult no work. Kicked it with boot, still no work.’ Grok say, ‘Haz Warlord kicked catapault again? Re-boot?’ And Grok re-boot catapult, and it work. And does Warlord thank Grok? No! Warlord glare at Grok, like it Grok’s fault it no work in first place. Grok no built stupid catapault, Grok only fix stupid catapult. Grok say long time go to Warlord, ‘Warlord need buy new catapults.’ Did Warlord listen to Grok? No! No one listen to Grok.

  1. Teaching Moment – The rant is great when you have only a small bit of information, but what if you got a lot to explain? Answer: Nature abhors a vacuum. Or, in other words, knowledge must gracefully goes from those who know to those who don’t know. If both people know the info, why would they spend valuable time speaking it aloud?

Note: Author Dan Brown is notorious for breaking this rule. He’ll have Prof Langdon racing against the clock, running for his life- only to spend 20 pages explaining something to an expert who’s ALSO AN EXPERT IN THE SAME SUBJECT.

However, if a PC eavesdrops on one NPC who knows and one who doesn’t know, they might be lucky enough to overhear an info dump. Here’s a sample that only slightly steals from a certain Monty Python movie (Bad Yorkshire / Cockney accents optional).

Mean voice: Okay, you stay here and make sure he doesn’t leave.

Gruff voice: Right. Will do. Um…

Mean: Yes?

Gruff: Who is “he”?

Mean: Him. In there. The prince. The one locked up.

Gruff: Oh right. Yes of course. Ummm…. Which prince?

Mean: Of Freedonia. The one the emperor kidnapped. To hold as hostage, so the Freedonian Queen will agree to the trade agreement. Is anyone of this getting through to you?

Gruff: Oh, yes sir, of course sir. Only… um, could you repeat that again sir?

Mean: Starting with what?

Gruff: Just everything after the uh… time you opened your mouth…

Gruff: [Exasperated Cry!]

  1. Magic Lampshade – If you don’t have the time or the confidence, simply break one of the golden rules above, and have another NPC call yourself out it.

Pirate Bosun: Row harder! We got to get back to the ship!
Lackey: What are you telling me for?! I know that already!
Pirate: Quite yer yapping!

OR

Pirate Bosun: We’ve got the prize!
Lackey: Quiet you idiot! If you keep yelling it out like that, someone most overhear and find out that we got the prize.
Pirate: Oh, right.

FINAL TOUCHES

Here are a few other tips to make your overheard conversations pop:

  1. Stuck in the Middle – It’s rare that an eavesdropper hears the beginning of a conversation. One of my favorite lines from the Simpsons is Bart saying, as someone else rushes through, “So I says to Mabels, I says ‘Mabels…’” I don’t know WHY it cracks me up, but between the New Yorker improper grammar and the idea that Bart knows someone named “Mabel,” but it’s a wonderful non-sequitor that feels real. If I have the forethought, it’s sometimes fun to start with the punchline of a joke, hinting at a strange story. Here’s a fun one:

“And then I said, ‘but Madame, that’s NOT my broadsword!’ Get it? Get it??”

<shameless plug> If you want more Punchlines, you can find more in our “Handbook for Saucy Bards,” available in the Tangent Tidbits Store </shameless plug>

  1. Asymmetric Games – All conversations need two or more people. However, trying to play two different characters at the same time can be tricky, especially if you love silly voices. However, it doesn’t have to be an EQUAL conversation. One can do all of the explaining and ranting, and the other person can just answer in “y-ups,” grunts, Hodors, or, depending on the species, “gronks.” One of my favorite episodes of the anime Cowboy Bebop is Episode #2, Stray Dog Strut. It involves a pair of minor scientists, one of which is lamenting who deep in trouble they are (with a heaping side dish of exposition.) His lackey, for 90% of the episode, only responds with a nasal “Seems that way.” It’s the perfect example of how a non-committal sycophant can turn an everyday expression into a catchphrase.
  2. The Purloined Letter – If you’re weaving a mystery, you will have to drop some hints along the way. One of the best ways to hide the info is in plain sight, i.e., in the middle of a wide info dump. For example, if the PCs overheard a butler saying,

Jeeves: Make sure you near the back door around 7 to answer it, the shop man is coming by with a delivery, and make sure he has every item: 4 jars of varnish, 2 cans of lye, 1 roll of butcher’s paper. And make sure you count this time before you sign!”

Roger: Do I have to wait down there? I here funny noises sometimes, when it gets dark.

Jeeves: That’s just the boiler room. Now move it!

When the players hear it, the first thing they might notice is poor Roger’s complaint about the noises. However, it’s only later that they realize the true info hidden— when they learn that lye was the poison used to kill Great Aunt Tabitha. Did Roger miscount, or did someone sneak off with a jar of lye when Roger was distracted?

NEXT WEEK: Intentions and Bargaining!

Inktober Day 20

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SC Preview: Padre Vinnie Sargento. Terrible priest, great exorcist.

mmarier's avatarMonica Marier Author

Here’s today’s Inktober offering. My dad always used to do the Fr. Guido Sarducci voice and routines for me and my brothers when I was younger. My brother Dave and were joking recently that he’d make a great character in a supernnatural campaign so we made a tribute character for him: Padre Vinnie Sargento. Mmm. Vintage cheese.

10_20 The Padre by Monica Marier

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Inktober Day 19

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Another SC RPG character preview: the ghostly silent movie star, Chucky Crumb!

mmarier's avatarMonica Marier Author

Hope everyone had a fun weekend! I was busybusybusy, but I had a great time hanging out with family.

10_19 Chucky Crumb by Monica Marier

Today’s another illustration for the Skeleton Crew RPG. This one is the ghost of a silent film star comedian. I was inspired to draw on my favorite actors like, Buster Keaton, Harold Lloyd, Charlie Chaplin, and there’s a bit of Groucho Marx thrown in there for good measure. In the end he looks a bit like one of those Red Skelton sad clown paintings, but I tried to emphasize the soulful tortured eyes that all the silent comedians had.

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Inktober twofer

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Monica Marier gives us two inked previews of SC RPG characters, undead noble Headless Hob and the wight Caomh Culainn

mmarier's avatarMonica Marier Author

I missed yesterday’s post due to force majeur so today I’m posting a two-fer. These are both character illustrations for the upcoming Skeleton Crew RPG book character creation section for ready-to-plays. The first is a Jacobean scardey-cat called “Headless Hob.” I approached him as sort of a “Canterville Ghost” meets Scooby Doo villain and he came out looking darling. The next is rougher and more visceral. It’s supposed to be an ancient Celtic warrior wight. I was inspired by the traitor ghosts in Return of the King. I think it would read a lot better with a black background or some other finessing. In retrospect this was a hard one to do with just ink. Anyway. More tomorrow. Bye!

10_1710_18

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Open the Gates! – Open Ended Adventures & Skeleton Crew

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In the GM scheme of things, I’m relatively new. I’ve created several adventures for Skeleton Crew and my other games, and heard positive feedback. However, they would definitely fall under the “on the rails” category. In the case of the Masters of Umdaar game, the characters were literally in a single hallway, without a single side branch they could veer down. Of course, that was a 2-hour demo game, but Sophie Lagace’s blog inspired me: could I create a really short adventure that wasn’t on the rails? If New Manchester, the SC city, was so such a great setting, why not show it off some?

SPOILER WARNING:  If you’re signed up for the Skeleton Crew game this Saturday at Victory Comics at 12pm in Fairfax, VA, this contains a few spoilers. If you’re in the Northern Virginia area and you’re not signed up, WHY NOT?! Post here to reserve a spot!

maria eyes serious

THE EXPOSITION: BLACKSTACHE’S REVENGE!

When I started writing the adventure, the following quote was bouncing around in my head:

“I will get Peter Quince to write a ballad of this dream: it shall be called Bottom’s Dream, because it hath no bottom;” – Nick Bottom, in A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

That was my goal: to create an adventure with a strong start, but no predetermined “bottom.”  Here’s the premise I used for the story, based on a comic idea cowritten by Monica Marier.

The story begins in Oldetown New Manchester, next to the old Town Hall, which is now a historically protected building. It is the local holiday Name Day, and the streets are filled with tourists, small-fry politicians, vendors, and street performers.  The smell of funnel cake permeates the evening air.

Mayor Mayer reaches the podium and gives an unenthusiastic speech, which includes the following exposition:

The city of New Manchester is celebrating Name Day because, on this day in 1689, a group of ragtag villagers and tradesmen defeated an invasion by vicious pirates. Until then, the community had been nameless waypoint between other settlements, but after their victory, they christened the area New Manchester.

As Mayor Mayer is wrapping up, storm clouds blanket the sky, and a glowing rowboat descends from the sky, landing on the steps. Enter Blackstache, a skeletal pirate of glowing green light, dust, and hate (with a surprisingly well kept mustache.)

“These be nuttin’ but lies! I know, for I was there- Captain Blackstache! (Not Blackbeard, that poser came later.) Me and me mates weren’t invaders… this was OUR home! It was our place of refuge, and them traders wouldn’t have been nuttin’ if it weren’t for us. This town ‘ad a name- it was Pirateton! And in the name of the Skull Dogs, the Sea Vultures, and meself, I claim it Pirateton once more!” [Insert Arrs and other piratey language here.]

From his rowboat, several other skeletal pirates (these looking a little more solid) join Blackstache’s side. Together, they grab Mayor Mayer, and make their way through the crowd to the street. Overhead, a dozen more spectral rowboats glide overhead, heading inland under a canopy of darkness.

THE FIRST BLOW

The heroes will hopefully get involved at this point (the precon character Zomboy has the aspect “Superhero in his own mind,” which can definitely be compelled for this purpose.) If the players don’t give a reason, maybe the skeleton henchmen start robbing the crowd members, including your heroes. In my Roll20 Game, the person playing the little girl Peek-a-boo demanded Blackstache give her his awesome tricorn hat.

As soon as a conflict occurs, I want to establish the following things:

  • The Crew is divided into two gangs of pirates, the Skull Dogs and the Sea Vultures- for the sake of the session, I had the Skull Dogs be the melee fighters, and Sea Vultures be the long range marksmen. They CAN suffer stress from mental and physical attacks. (If Caomh Culainn is in the party, he’s the only one who can Intimidate them, or it’s +2 harder for everyone else). If beaten, they can be questioned.
  • During the first scene, Blackstache is invulnerable to all physical and mental attacks. All physical attacks go straight through him, and because he’s invincible, he laughs off any intimidation attempts. I go more in depth about Invulnerabilities in the Skeleton Crew rpg rulebook, but in a nutshell, it’s a Compel- the first player to discover a physical or mental immunity gains a Fate point at the end of the scene. Any attempts to capture him will ultimately fail. More on that later.
  • Blackstache’s objective in the first scene is to kidnap the Mayor- it IS possible for him to fail, meaning the player do have a way of winning the Conflict. If the Mayor is rescued and is not recaptured in the next turn or two, Blackstache will give a conditional defeat; automatically escaping without his prize. If the players don’t rescue her in a few turns, he’ll leave with her. After he leaves, any crew still around will continue fighting until they are defeated or concede.
  • Blackstache and his crew are greedy to the Nth degree, but not very well organized, and a bit on the dump side. It’s pretty clear that they hadn’t really planned this whole thing in depth. If questioned about their demands, they’ll start with “take what is ours!” and then waffle a bit if you ask for specifics.

Making them Care: At this point, hopefully the party is eager to twart Blackstache. If not, you’ll have to make them interested. Some options:

  • Have a skeleton crew mate hint about gold on the ship.
  • Have the mayor (or, she’s abducted, the deputy mayor) pay you.
  • Have the pirate rampage take out the city’s power and cell towers (thus, disrupting all TV watching.)
  • Have the skeletons kidnap a love interest or family member of the party. (Stupid boyfriend, always getting kidnapped!)

Beating Blackstache

So, to repeat what is established above, the players cannot beat Blackstache as they are at the beginning of the adventure?

Q. How do they break through Blackstache’s invulnerability

A. Anyway they come up with.

Really, any scheme they concoct can potentially work. For a comedy/adventure game like this, no scheme is too stupid, so long as it requires a little effort. That’s the goal: an adventure that can go anywhere the players want. In a more complex system, this might be a bit harder, but luckily Fate is loose enough that it can be done on the fly.

Of course, to be safe, I have a few things preplanned:

  • Weapon / Invention: If they want to build an invention, I would use the “Building Invention” rules, as they appear in the SC book (it’s essentially a variation on the Challenge rules). This makes the players struggle as they scrounge the city for essential parts, even as the pirate gangs create chaos around them.
  • Ritual: Using the same rules as Invention, but with a magical twist.
  • Book Run: If they want more info, they can swing by the library, where they’ll find the condescending Librarian Dezi Dewey.  She greets them on the steps, and tells them the essential book they need, “Journal of Goody Goodwife,” is a blue book in the Reference section (no, you’re NOT allowed to check it out!) Upon entering the library, you find the place ablaze, as some lesser skeleton pirates are wrecking havoc. Getting the book can be run as a Challenge or a Contest. For results, see “Useful Info” below.
  • Achilles Heel: maybe Blackstache has a secret weakness, such as a magical talisman that gives him invulnerability. Maybe it’s closer to a horcrux, such as a part of him that is stashed somewhere else, like his heart in a music box, or his soul in a hourglass. This is a good plan b if the party is adamant in charging after Blackstache (who’s residing on the ship) before learning how to hurt him. No doubt his weak spot would be kept near him for safekeeping, probably in his cabin.
  • Séance: If your members try to gather information from the dead (in their lair or in the Oldetown cemetery) they’ll be able to talk to actual colonial residents. Using the info from them (or even bringing the spirits along), and leverage, shame or even scare Blackstache for good.

What info can you find? There are several options:

  • Blackstache had united two warring pirate factions based out of Pirateton, the Skulldogs and the Sea Vultures (who were bitter rivals.) It is possible to wedge them apart.
  • Blackstache was honest that the pirates were the founders of Piraton, but he neglected to mention that the mob that drove them off consisted of their fed-up wives and lovers. The very name of these old flames wills them with shame and fear. If you can resurrect or impersonate them, expect them to run for the hills (perhaps after a Mental Conflict?)
  • Blackstache’s real name, Bartleby Briganmeyers. Names have power, and potentially, the name is all you need to cause him to quake. This can be used in a binding ritual, or be added on top of an attack spell. If there’s no spell caster in the party, maybe just mentioning the name will break the shield. Of course, you can always start a social conflict and shame “Bartleby” with just how ridiculous his name is.
  • Burial Site – this one is not information I would OFFER, as I imagine Blackstache as dying out at sea. However, if players insist on finding his burial spot, your sources will reveal that his corpse wound up on a small island off the coast. As any Supernatural fan knows, you can always salt n’ burn the body.

What else did I prepare?

  • Blackstache’s stats.
  • Several levels of skeletal henchmen. Taken strait from the SC RPG rulebook, plus a few pirate aspects:
Skeletons are puppets of dried bone, controlled by a necromancer from the outside. They have no memory or emotion, and no connection to person they used to be- they are practically robots with a grim skeletal smile.
Skeleton Aspects –Undead – Skeletons are undead, and as such, might have weaknesses to holy magic, silver, and other magical purities.; No Pain; Rattling Bones.
Commonly Level: Average (+1)
Stunts: Brainless – Skeletons are immune to normal mental attacks. They may not actively resist any mental Aspect placed on them (ex. attempts to lure them to a better spot, attempts to distract them.)
Autonomous Parts – It is possible for a skeleton’s body part to keep moving, even after it has been severed from the rest of the body.
Wight Stuff (Good +3 Only) – Skeletons of Good +3 or higher are considered Wights. They lose the Brainless stunt. However, they grant +1 to any Attacks they make with Fight (but not defending.)
Alternative: You may have the skeletons be resurrected marksmen (musket men, pirates, crossbowman.) If so, replace all Fight skills with Shoot.
AVERAGE (+1)
Physique   +1, Fight +1
Stress: No stress boxes—a one shift hit is enough to take them out.		 FAIR (+2)
Physique   +2; Fight  +2
Intimidate   +1; Wilderness +1
Stress: One stress box—a two shift hit is enough to take them out.		 GOOD (+3)
Aspect:  Undying Rage
Physique   +3; Fight  +3
Intimidate   +2; Will +2, Wilderness +2
Notice +1, Athletics +1
Stress: Two stress boxes—a three shift hit is enough to take them out.
  •  Some useful locations, like Hubris University, Bell & Cat Magic & Book Shop.
  • Phone a friend: If the players are lost or failing to come up with an idea, I was prepared to have an NPC call them up and guide them to a conclusion, such as Ol’ Man Jenkins, the Caretaker at the Library and/or Graveyard; or Prof Ephipany at BIFZAP Research labs.
  • Had a list of funny colonial names:
    Bartleby Briganmeyers
    Goody Goodwife
    Upton Ecclaire
    Charity Miser
    Amias Cork
    Primrose Hedge
    Jotham Lazarus
    Winston Ermergaurd
  • Because this was a Roll20 game, I had a few maps handy, like an Oldetown cobbled street, a modern city street, a library (with flame tokens), a pirate ship (inside and out), a graveyard, etc. Roll20 isn’t perfect, but it’s darn handy (I could write a whole blog on it, and probably will.

My first test with it was a huge success. It ran about 3.5 hours, but at least 30 minutes of that was figuring out how Roll20 worked.

What are your thoughts? Share your awesome stories.

If you haven’t already, sign up for the Skeleton Crew Beta test, and receive a FREE copy when we release.

Bite-Sized Game Events!

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Melodramatic much?

Melodramatic much?

Skeleton Crew RPG Game Events!

Later this month, we’ll be releasing the Skeleton Crew RPG (sign up early here). In honor of that, we’re hosting a slew of free day events.  Here at our 3 current games, (although we’ll probably try to squeak one more in).

Sun, Oct 5 @ 12-3pm – Game On! Comics – 310 Dominion Rd NE, Vienna, VA 22180

Sat, Oct 11 @ 6-10PM – Online Game, hosted through Roll20 & Google Hangouts

Sat, Oct 18 @ 12-3pm – Victory Comics – 586 S Washington St Falls Church, VA

In the meantime, here’s another sneak peek at the rulebook. This week: Vampires!

Vampire Bloodlines

Thousands of years ago, the original vampire curse mutated into several different strains.  These different strains, called Bloodlines, are the foundation for all of the great vampire families. While dozens of unknown strains still exist, here are some of the more prominent houses:

Drakfiul – The House of the Dragon – The Drakfiul can claim the lineage of Dracula himself. They are the “old money” of vampire world, picking new initiates with care.
Strengths: Strong, fast, near impossible to kill (without beheading AND staking).
Weaknesses: Weak in daylight; garlic, entering houses; require grave soil; stakes (esp. holly, oak)
Origin: Eastern Europe, approximately Romania.

Aurelium – House of the Golden God. Centuries ago, the Aurelium recruited new members through religion- now, they prefer to through teen gangs and new age yoga groups. High ranking Aureliums will often travel from city to city, setting up covens like franchises. They are typically rich, but would be considered “new money”- all flash, no class.
Strengths: Reach full strength shortly after being turned; fast; persuasive
Weaknesses: Killed by sunlight and stakes; cannot use powers without turning ugly
Origin: Ancient Greece

DeBuffed – If you couldn’t tell, Aureliums are inspired by the Buffy-verse- these guys make great low level henchman.  Perfect for GMs that love throwing in conflicts all throughout an adventure.

orlon eye red

Orlok – The House of Secrets – Orlok vampires are not sparkly and seductive- over time, an Orlok deforms into a bald, bat-like monster.  Unlike most vampires, they can go years without feasting- when they do feast, they can wipe out a village in a month, like a plague. Orloks are often live alone or in pairs- preferring the company of animals over humans.
Strengths: Transformations; potent magic; slippery; animal mastery.
Weaknesses: Die in sunlight; not very physical.
Origin: Unknown (Possibly Europe)

Jiangshi – The House of Life. They are the hopping vampires of China. Rigor mortis causes the joints to stiffen, so the vampire must hop instead of walk. A Jiangshi bypasses the need for blood, preferring to suck out the victim’s life force directly. Jiangshi share a lot in common with zombies, in that they are smell of rot and are covered in fungus. Jiangshi do not mingle with mortals, but will work in close families, recruiting new human members from their extended human bloodline.
Strengths: Strength; resilience; life draining
Weaknesses: Sunlight; fire; stiff; repelled by mirrors; peach tree wood; passages from the I Ching
Origin: China

Fifillet – The Fifillet are too loosely knit and new to form a “house”- it is unclear if they are actually sired like other bloodlines, or if they are reanimated “naturally,” due to certain conditions, such as being buried in unhallowed ground. Most of the Fifillet act as incubi and succubi, feeding on lovers- however, some are known to feast on children. A few Fifillet are mischievous pranksters, taking on the form of the Will o’ the Wisp to divert travelers; others seek vengeance, or have malicious intentions.
Strengths: Unknown
Weaknesses: Unknown
Origin: Louisiana

Strix – House of the Owl – The Strix are fierce vampires with animal-like tendencies- they are wild hunters, preferring active prey rather than sleeping.  While they drink blood, they are also known to eat or tear out the victim’s organs. Luckily, reformed Strix are quite happy drinking animal blood, rather than human. In monstrous form, they bear the claws and wings of owls, and have a second set of teeth behind the first.
Strengths: Fast; fliers; savage attackers; sixth sense (for death)
Weaknesses: Feeding-frenzy; decapitation; weakness to sickles
Origin: Unknown (Possibly Greece)

Talamaur – House of Shadows – The Talamaur are skilled mediums, able to enslave ghosts to do their bidding. Their bodies are normal looking and relatively weak, but they are capable of casting astral projections- these ghostly forms cannot be killed, but “wounding” s projection will bear marks against the Talamaur caster, revealing his nature.
Strengths: Hiding; sixth sense; necromancy; astral projection
Weaknesses: Smoke; fire; sunlight
Origin: South Pacific

Sasabonsam – House of the Bat – An elder Sasabonsam is more bat than human, with powerful wings and shriveled arms. Each Sasabonsam prefers to live alone, but he’ll create a retinue of ogre-like thralls, called Asanbosam, to form his network of bodyguards and spies.
Strengths: Iron-strong teeth & claws; surprise; mighty wings (Sasabonsam); beefy (Asanbosam)
Weakness: weak arms (Sasabonsam); deformed feet
Origin: Western Africa

Lamia – House of the Seven Gates – The Lamia are perhaps the oldest vampire house still standing, dating back to the Babylonian priestesses of Ishtar. They are a matriarchal society- while a few rare males are admitted into the rank, they are deemed unworthy to hold any political power. The Lamia are associated with the snake, and take on reptilian features when aggravate; they must also shed their skin every few months.
Strengths: Speed; seduction; ancient knowledge; transformation
Weaknesses: not fliers; emotionally unstable; decapitation

Kukudhi – A Kukudhi is the ultimate stage for a vampire- it has feed well for enough centuries that it is no longer vulnerable to light and no longer needs to sleep. It will also reach its peak in strength and power, and may hide a massive monster under its normal sized frame. It can still be killed if it is staked and beheaded, and in its large form, is particularly vulnerable to hamstringing.

Skeleton Crew – No Campaign, No Camp-gain

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Before the Beta test version of the Skeleton Crew RPG is unleashed upon the world, I thought I’d share some notes from the Alpha testing. What follows is a brief recap of the 1st test campaign, and a more in-depth look at the first session of the 2nd campaign.

If it sounds like fun to you, sign up for the free beta test here: 
https://tatabletop.com/skeleton-crew-playtest-sign-up-sheet/

THE PRE- CAP

In the beginning

Skeleton Crew didn’t start as a game… it started as a comic, written by my sister, Monica Marier, with art also by Monica (she’s talented in a plethora of fields… it’s kind of annoying.)  Some features, such as Zomboy the lovable zombie, the toddler medium Peek-a-boo, and the city of New Manchester, were borrowed from a superhero story I was writing; and while the capes are gone, the same over-the-top, anything-can-happen mentality persists.  Minotaurs? Sure. Alien invaders? You betcha. Vampire chimpanzees? Check out issue #4.

It’s that same flexibility that inspired us to turn Skeleton Crew into an rpg- a world this weird could hold hundreds of strange adventures, with any mix of hero types. Shortly into its genesis, we became aware of FATE, and the wonderful, malleable system it offered. Since we were writers before we were gamers, the story-driven FATE system seemed a perfect match (aaaaand the fact that it’s free to publish under OGL didn’t hurt none neither.) We modded the skills, built us a framework, and gave it a go.

 RPG – Early Days – You want WHO to GM?!?

The first draft was done, and it was time to give it a whirl. Unfortunately, no one in our group really had spent as much time with FATE or the rulebook as myself (the head writer.) Which means that the GMing for the first half-dozen games fell to me- someone who never GMed before in his life. Heck, I’d never played a decently run rpg game until a few years ago.  I ran a few one-shot games and tweaked things accordingly. It was time for a real campaign.

Our first in-house test group consisted of five good friends, who played the following strange characters:

  • A soft-spoken mad scientist
  • A melodramatic teen emotional-vampire
  • An elf cleric, fresh from the Feyrealms
  • A kleptomaniac human lab-rat who was literally falling apart
  • A cyborg cop

Just like the Fate Core book suggests, we established world issues and problems, which set the stage for a nasty new street drug called “Roar,” which is turning the users into mutated monsters. All sources lead to Merrick Industries, and their shady lead developer, Dr. Socrates Madonna. During the last adventure, the group followed the clues to a rival street gang selling their own knock-off version of the drug, called “Gronk,” which transformed its’ users into Chupacabras.  We never finished the campaign, sadly, but I learned a lot from my plucky players.

My slightly adapted skill list seemed to work fine. We also found the default Fate Core campaign start-up to be an excellent for creating the facts of the world. Based from those facts, we could also derive the mood of the piece; but sadly, it didn’t quite gel with the genre, resulting in a piece that was grittier and darker than I had anticipated. Also, most of the player characters had great personal missions, but had no unified goal in mind, with an insurmountable range of experience; this made the Phase Trio Creation system seemed forced, and it was a bother trying to find an antagonist that seemed to fit the personal mission of each PC.  (We have some tweaks to address this, but more on that later.)

Any further one-shot test games seemed to go well, with positive feedback from co-writers and strangers alike. However, whenever a hiccup occurred, I couldn’t tell: was it a flaw in my adaptation, or a gaff from a rookie Gamemaster?  Even when we played around with other Fate & FAE game settings, it was always left to me to run the show.

THE NEW CAMPAIGN

Which is why I’m super psyched about tonight’s game. For a change, the game will be run by Steve. It’ll be his first time with FATE, but he’s been GMing for a long time, and he is a blast to play with.  He’s as smooth as a Kung Fu Swan – if there’s any effort behind his kickassery, it’s hidden below the water, where you can’t see it.  It’s very reassuring, which frees us up to try all sorts of shenanigans. In our old 4th edition D&D game, our rookie players would unknowingly break all sorts of rpg no-no’s- Steve was too polite and too open-minded to say no, and would roll with it like a champ. (How could WE know you’re not supposed to torch the bandit-filled mansion from the outside?)

This game also gives me my first chance to play a PC in a Fate game. (More on that later.)

 The Team – this is one of unique features in the Skeleton Crew game. When playing Skeleton Crew, you don’t need to pin down the genre, as it’s already loosely defined- supernatural + comedy + horror + adventure.  However, there are hundreds of different variations within that, and in our test campaign, we found it far too easy to slip into a subgenre that the players weren’t anticipating or wouldn’t welcome.

Before creating your characters, the group agrees on a Team Concept – this is the motivation and role of the team.  Some examples we include in the SC rulebook are “Monster Slayers,” “Paranormal Investigators,” “Freaks on the Run,” and so on.  Having no idea what Steve had in mind, we went with one of the most versatile team concepts, “Mercenaries for Hire.”  It doesn’t matter what it is, if you pay us, we’ll do it.

Next, I poured over the Skeleton Crew character types, looking for inspiration.

 MORTAL STATES & PROFESSIONS

A large chunk of the SC RPG book is composed of the Mortal State & Professions sections.  If this was a fantasy hack/slash, those would be the Race & Class section.

Mortal State – The living / unliving condition of the person. There’s boring humans, of course, but also lots of undead & inhuman options: zombies, ghosts, fey, frankensteinian constructs, and so on.  Unlike Dresden Files* RPG, playing one of these monsters doesn’t come with a grocery list of issues or existential drama- a zombie can be just a normal guy, except a little smellier and harder to kill.

Professions – The occupations of people- as you’d expect, there’s researchers, slayers, mystics, mediums, mad scientists, etc.  These are mostly to spice up any human characters, but there’s nothing to stop an undead person from being whatever profession they want too.

BTW, if you want to play around with generating your own random Mortal State + Profession, visit here: http://www.generatorland.com/usergenerator.aspx?id=7562

MY CHARACTER

While a creative** guy like me would have fun inventing a brand new character that’s not in the book, I thought it best to test one of the mortal states or professions that had been absent from our test games. I decided to go with the Mystic- the character able to see the past, present and future through their psychic powers.

Why a Mystic?: Because unlike a slashing slayer, the Mystic can do something in Fate that he can’t easily do in other game formats: he can help shape the story. A mystic works best when you have a genius GM- someone who can give you extremely vague hints of what’s to come; or, as an alternative, lets the PLAYER come up with the future vagaries, which will be folded into the narrative.

When I came up with the mystic, the inspiration for the vague predicting power came from the X-Files episode, in which a psychic asked about the location of a body. He tells them of a “fat, white, Nazi stormtrooper.” Later, at the murder site, Mulder & Scully see a propane tank that, if you kind of squint at it, looks like a fat, white, Nazi stormtrooper.  The predication: a hint that’s completely useless and random in the present, but will help confirm something in the future.

So, here’s my guy:

ZULTANO, THE ALL SEEING
Zultano is a man of mystery… and by “mystery,” we mean “bald faced lies.” He frequently spills out stories of his past, all of which are contradictory. The only facts you that seem to stick is that he spent many years in a circus (as a fortune-teller, knife thrower, and many other odd jobs,) that he’s had a fortune-telling booth (possibly out of his van,) and that he is occasionally hired by police as a consultant. His accent is of vaguely Eastern European origin, but like the rest of him, it could be complete fantasy. He is capable of receiving actual visions of the future, but he “cries wolf” with so many fake predictions, it’s hard to actually believe him.

High Aspect: Real Mystic, Fake Gypsy
Trouble: Compulsive liar
Appearance: Slick, Greasy Carney (smells like cabbage)
Personality: Life of de Party
Origin: In my (indistinct) foreign land…
Motivation: Gold & Glory (hold the God)
Tools: Hodge-Podge Tarot Deck***, & Lots of silver knives (I get cheep!)
Teammate Connection:  TBD

Skills
+4 – Sixth Sense
+3 Deception, Burglary
+2 Shooting, Athletics, Notice
+1 Fighting, Empathy, Rapport, Will

Stunts

Pre-ja Vu – Once per scene, may use Sixth Sense to attempt to see the future. The future comes in an extremely vague, dreamlike manner – a blurry image, a snippet of a dialogue, a general emotion, etc. This prediction may be created by the GM, or the GM may let you create it. A successfully created future aspect has a free invoke on it.  If or when a future scene includes something close to your prophesy, you may invoke the aspect to help you get an edge on events (ex. dodge an attack, to predict a character’s response.)  You cannot have more than three successful prophecies per session.

I See All – Gain +2 to Deception when using Create an Advantage to convince someone of a fake prophecies relating to him or her.

Silver Throwing Knives – When using your silver knives, you get +1 to Shooting and Fighting when Attacking Vampires, Werewolves, and any other undead weak to silver.

Other People’s Moneys – You have tons of wallets that you’ve stolen earlier. You may use Burglary instead of Resources when spending cash & credit.

Physical Stress: 2
Mental Stress: 3
Refresh: 2

Team Part II – Next was the Team Dynamic, which is the general attitude of the teammates towards each other- friendly? familial? This would appear as an aspect, such as the Unfriendly dynamic aspect, “If We Get Chased, I’m Tripping You.”   We went with “Tossed Together,” meaning our group starts a little jumbled and untrusting.  Each person has been in the company for a little, but have done most of their work solo, working with one or two others at most.

I introduced the game to Zultano, and ran my Psychic ability past GM Steve (with a mystic, it’s good form to run it by the GM first.)  Here are the other members of our motley crew:

  • Luke Temple – A LARPer possessed by the ghost of a warrior mage. He wears a cheap Partay City ren faire outfit, and is armed with foam weapons, which carry with them ancient magic for smiting the undead. Everyone thinks he’s crazy, as he screams and yells at ghosts his friends can’t see.
  • Donal Sidhean – A fairling (half human, half fairy) pest exterminator. He seems to have some connection to the pied piper of Hamelin, but what it is exactly is unclear.
  • Andrew Fletcher – Dhampir (half human, half vampire) that’s a vampire slayer, without the emo attitude. He’s a working class Liverpoolian thug with a crossbow and a smile.

– A massive Clockwork Golem – with a chain gun.

Our first session ran a bit long, so before we left for the night, we brainstormed some local Urban Legends.

Urban Legends – These are another new Skeleton Crew feature, intended to pepper the town with strange rumors that may be idle gossip, the gospel truth, or something in between.  Our group came up with:

  • Off-putting Observatory –Witnesses by the New Manchester Observatory (probably teens making out) report sightings of a strange, tall figure hiding the shadowy woods. Observers claimed that it resembled the internet character “Slenderman.”
  • Load of Croc – New Manchester Civil Engineers have witnessed squid-crocodile hybrids  – henceforth known as “sqrocs” – breeding in the sewers below the Dockland area.
  • Star Power – Members of the local sci-fi club at Hubris University stand by their theory that the Kardashian family members are secretly Kardassians from Star Trek (or a similar species of alien that inspired the Star Trek creators.)
  • Xenoarcheology – Hubris U was stirred as a promising young adjunct professor published a paper declaring that aliens influenced ancient civilization, and that they are secretly walking among us. The Heads of the Archaeology Department were quick to rebuke it, citing substantial evidence indicating that all alien life forms on Earth went extinct long before humans ever evolved.
  • Bi-Weekly Globe – A tabloid article, titled “I Married a Sparkly Vampire.” The new vampire groom supposedly has skin that shines like diamonds, drinks deer blood, smells like maple syrup, and looks like Robert Patterson. The editors claimed that Robert Patterson himself was unavailable for comment.

*Note: Not a dig against Jim Butcher, Evil Hat, or anyone else attached with the awesome Dresden Files RPG. All of us here love the Dresden Files books and the RPG. However, some days you want high stakes and pathos, while other days you want a light farce. Like they said in the musical A Funny Thing Happened on My Way to the Forum, “Tragedy tomorrow, comedy tonight!”

**Creative, adj.  also see “scatter-brained.” “Pompous.” “Self important.”

*** Hodge-Podge Tarot Deck – I found a random object generator, which I roll whenever making a fake prediction. “Oh, the 5 of Spoons… that’s very bad. Only way to stay self is to be very generous vith your money.”

Feedback to Back – Part 2

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It’s been Nearly a month after GenCon, but I am determined to finish my synopsis of the play testing. So, I’ll skip to the good parts.

Dungeon Tours – So far, at most of my games, the average age of players was 20ish, and the gamers were pretty green. Even before I started my game of Dungeon Tours, a caper / construction game set in a Fantasy-Adventure world, I could tell this would be different. The average age around the table was older than me, and some had probably GMed before I even knew what an rpg WAS. When picking characters, they opted out of picking the silver-tongued Bard (though I reminded them it was a game about running cons.) One gentlemen in particular, sighting opposite of me, worried me the most. Pre-game time, I barely got a NAME out of him.
The second the game started, I realized that my fears were unfounded. The stern-faced individual (we’ll call him the Rogue, after his character), immediately livened up, and took gentle charge of the operation. The party immediately jumped into it, and quickly founded a loathe/hate relationship with the drunken noble serving as sucker client. The built a piratical adventure, featuring everything from fake musical puzzles, real graverobbing, fake trapdoors (that they might have forgotten to make “fake,”) and using a cannon as a tactic in contract negotiations.

dungeon map

No doubt, the star of the show was the taxidermied bear-boar composite fake monster, who was named “The Jeff.” I asked for an illustration, and they did not disappoint.

the jeff

  Feedback: Most of the feedback, it seemed, could be handled by GMing it better, it appears. I had forgotten one of my own rules, and as such, the board was littered with free invokes, making the game far too easy. The players, all of whom were new to Fate, were unsure of where my new rules started and where the old rules began. In the future, I’ll try to distinguish, “you’re testing THIS” before set-up.
Masters of Umdaar – for those who don’t know, this was a game I’d been working on since last spring or so. We signed up for GenCon, including 2 sessions, and then, to make a long story short, Umdaar was picked up by EvilHat as a supplement in the Fate Adventures and Worlds Patreon.

Premise: Masters of Umdaar is a pulp sci-fantasy, in the strain of John Carter of Mars, He-Man, Krull, Flash Gordon, and other corny but thrilling adventures. The game features a lot of random elements, including a random generator to create the adversarial race. This chart was originally a d6 chart, but I took the trouble converting it to 4dF chart. It was spick, it was span…

…it was on the laptop, back in the hotel. Dag. So, I took my buddy & GMing-guru’s advice, and I had them pick random animals out of a bag- I had brought with me an extensive collection of plastic toy dinosaurs, fantasy army-men, and other toys that I had purchased at Toys R Us and the Dollar Tree. One session had them facing off against a Mutoats (four-armed, mutant goatmen), the next group against the sneaky Centauripedes (insectoids that were Humanoids from the waste up, and centipedes from the waist down.) The final arena also featured such random threats as Megarats, cyborg Rozebras, and Lazerwolves (with robotic lazers on their tails, of course.) To keep the game under 2 hours, I had them on the rails for the whole adventure, (heck, the tunnel didn’t even have any forks), but they both tackled it in completely different ways. I never noticed how well Fate Core & FAE lends itself to cinematic adventures: If a player wants to overturn a fiery basin, climb a random chain, or swashbuckle from the ceiling, Fate makes it fast and easy.
Feedback: All seemed very positive. I’d love to test out a game without the “rails” given the chance.

SKELETON CREW – This was our last game of GenCon. After this game, we’ve got a 10 hour trek home, before I start a brand new job the next morning. I love GMing, but we’re all ready to go home. During set-up, Vince Salzillo, head of Double Exposure, comes over and says, “I’ve got some great guests lined up for you.” We don’t doubt that he’s got a good group, but I just nod, smile, and thank him. It would seem that the Vince-man does not exaggerate.

The event starts up, and Vince starts the game selection process. It’s on the far end of the hall, so us playtesters only hear every third word. Suddenly, I hear him drop my name, and he points in my direction. He asks me to wave, but being the goofball I am, I start waiving both arms, a la one of those fan-blown figures outside of a car lot. He then announces to the room who will be joining the game: Rob Donague and Fred Hicks of Evil Hat. I drop to the floor (only half of it acting.) Let us be brief and say that my thoughts were no longer on going home.

The group testing at the table was probably the perfect mix you could hope for for a playtest: two people (a couple) that had played rpgs, but never Fate; a young gentleman who had played it a litter (who was also a super-helpful aide for Double-Exposure, taking a much earned break); and two pros (Fred & Rob, who kinda invented the system.)  I introduced the system basics, and passed around the character sheets. The couple picked Peek-a-boo and Weston Peese respectively (and she even spoke in a little pre-schooler’s voice), and the aide took on the geeky hero-in his own mind Zomboy. Fred asked for a simple character (it’d been a long con,) and took on the role of Caomh Culainn, the Wight Berserker, while Rob gave the Mad Scientist Doc Turnell lots of life and even more melodramatic volume.

What was tested?: Our tweaks to the Fate Core system aren’t too elaborate, especially in a simple pick-up game. Our skill mode didn’t seem to cause too much confusion (one exception, noted later), and players seemed to really enjoy the “Round 0” effect, which lets players set up the conflict before punches are thrown.  Steve and I were both really pleased by the Team Spirit teamwork system, which we had only conceived of the night before. Previously, players had interpersonal aspects and a team concept- but that was the first time we had merged it onto a Team-Character Sheet. Rob and the Aide picked the interpersonal aspect of “Former Enemies,” which meant the Rob would constantly bellyache how the Doc (in his more megalomaniacal days), had been thwarted by the idiotic Zomboy… to which the aide would play Zomboy as a dumber and dumber still (it was a vicious cycle).  We had hoped to test “The Final Round,” but with a 2 hour playtest, we had to concede the fight before I would have liked.

Feedback – Rob had a question with one of the skills (Engineering) which I later got a chance to clear up… hopefully the full rulebook explains it better than I can. Everyone seemed to really enjoy the dry-erase Fate Game Aids. Learning from Dungeon Tours, I tried to make very clear from the beginning what they were being tested on, and several players seemed interested enough to sign up as playtesters.

Speaking of which, guinea pigs players are now allowed to sign up for the Skeleton Crew RPG beta test. Submit a form, and receive a FREE copy of the BETA test next month!

https://tatabletop.com/skeleton-crew-playtest-sign-up-sheet/

Skeleton Crew Beta Events

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sc open beta events

To help promote the Skeleton Crew Open Beta, We’re going to be hosting a handful of games in October.  They’ll be coming at you in two different ways:

Local – At one or more local Northern Virginia hobby stores.

Online – Through one or another online gaming site / program.

Details and dates to come, but if you have any preferences for online game sites, or would like to see us at your local game store, leave a comment, and we’ll look into it like Shylock Fox. Stay tuned!

Skeleton Crew Beta Test – GET OUT OF THE KITCHEN!

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It’s official: this October, we’re releasing the Beta Test for the Skeleton Crew RPG! If you’re an interested in being a playtester, watch this spot- very soon, we’ll give you information on how you can sign up.

sc rpg beta ad

In the meantime, here’s sneak preview of one of the Pre-generated character :

Enchanter – Jynx Goldie, Muffinmancer

Jynx is an Enchanter, who focuses on creating potions, charms, and artifacts on the spot.

Jynx is a natural at aleuromancy- or as Jynx’s teammates dub it, a muffinmancer.  Jynx’s baked goods used have strange effects on its consumers, changing their moods or energy. After years of practice, Jynx’s treats now have an effect even if they’re not eaten- breaking open a devil’s food cake can release demonic energy, while the gingersnaps actually snap.  Jynx always preps dozens of treats before every mission, but also brings a battery-operated EZ-Cook Oven into the fray, just in case.

High Concept (Permission): Young Bread-based Crafter Mage

Example Trouble Aspects –All Bark, Little Bite; Barely in Control;

Example Normal Aspects for your Sorcerer: Eccentric Genius; Here’s One I Made Earlier (Somewhere); Doing It On the Fly; Don’t Bother Me, Magicking!; Perfectionist; Handy Work Bench

 

Enchanter Skill Set (Intrinsic Magic)

  • Great (+4) skill –   Fabricate
  • Good (+3) skills –  Shooting (Magic Muffins), Rapport
  • Fair (+2) skills –   Mythos, Resources, Sixth Sense
  • Average (+1) skills – Notice, Investigate, Athletics, Will

Enchanter Stunts-

Weaponized Magic – Flour Power Spell – Once per scene, you may summon a spectral fist of flour, and may use Fabricate as if it were Fight, to deal a close range Attack. Alternatively, you may use this once to defend against a Fight attack.

Specialized Magic – Tantalizing Aroma – You gain +2 Rapport to Overcome rolls when convincing weak willed individuals (aka mobs and lesser NPCs) to eat one of your baked items, if you have an item handy.

Derived Magic – Enchant Grain – You may use Fabricate to Create an Advantage to attempt to quickly make a baked good with a magical aspect attached to it, or place an aspect on an existing baked good. This aspect can be a property belonging to the food (ex. Luminescent Crescent; Exploding Nut Muffin), or a property that is passed on to anyone who eats it (Love-Potion Lemon Square; Naan Bread of Nausea). You can also use this to bake useful items and tools, like rock-hard battle baguettes or a sturdy pumpernickel ladder. Likewise, you may spend a Fate Point or a muffin-based invoke to already have a baked good with that aspect all ready to go.

Stress: Physical: 2                           Mental: 3                             Refresh: 3
Permission to copy for personal use!