Savage Bloggers Network

The Shrine of Simplicity: An Approach to Game Design

2012-02-27T21:54:42Z

There are a lot of ways to approach game and adventure design. I’m going to share my standard approach with you today. You’ll find it simple which thematically reinforces said approach, because it’s all about keeping things simple.

Now, you might immediately say I’m co-opting the KISS (Keep it simple, stupid) philosophy, but that is not entirely true. A lot of times the simplest and most elegant things require a huge amount of work. What we as designers and developers should do is make certain the information is two-fold:

1. Make certain the information is distilled down into a comprehensive form.

2. Present said information in a palatable way.

This is not saying designing and developing is easy. On the contrary, some of the things which people regard as intuitively obvious or oh, so simple can often be chalked up to good design and extensive playtesting. While anyone might have the surface idea of creating an analogous damage track for mental damage as well as physical, there is a lot more to what goes on under the surface. High concept is often easy. It’s the execution which can be a real bear. This is also why our projects have taken quite awhile. We poke and prod and work out the bugs, so you don’t have to. Naturally, development becomes more rapid for us as we expand our library of assets and learn principles which can readily (if not easily) be transferred from one system to another. ¹

The second part is the presentation of said information. A lot of my comrades and cohorts in the industry subscribe to lavish presentation. And, I’ll admit, said elements can add a lot to a game. However, starting in 201o, I made bold plans for the company to move towards something which better suited my sensibilities and, as it turned out, a lot of yours as well. Why? For me, what it comes down to is game play. I’ve said this before. Content is king. By stripping away a lot of the embellishments, we are better able to bring attention to the rules, which aren’t just thrown on the page. Some folks think simple is easy and simple can be easy. Elegant requires a lot more work. The page breaks, the call outs, the kerning, the spacing, and all these other things become more important, if anything, when one has little embellishments, and are not as art heavy. It’s like three platters resting on a long table adorned with a white tablecloth bear more presentation weight individually than the same table overladen with a cornucopia of goodies. Attention to detail is important when well placed.

By the same token, certain details ultimately don’t matter. If I bend a rule at a convention game (in the name of fun) or if I use the shorthand in a back story of your character being in the IRA and not the Provisional IRA (which, according to Wiki also uses the same initials). The odds are it’s not going to make a difference to anyone if it’s just a bit of info to round out your character other than merely saying you’re an Irish Demolitions Expert. I mention this as a well-intentioned fan sent out an email “correcting” me on this particular matter. He was concerned for me that it was coming out as such in a published form when I had stated I would probably update and rerelease these characters (as they had originally dropped in Starfall Jungle). The thing is, only one person, a UK native, Simon Lucas, pointed out these particulars to me ages ago and the adventure, which sold quite well, I might add, never generated a single email or cry of outrage.

I’m merely using this as an example. It’s up to each designer to decide where the line is and how far is too far and how not far enough is just a nice way of saying we’ve come up short.

I’ll give you one further anecdote. When I researched gun laws in Charleston in the 1920s, it wasn’t a lot of fun. I don’t mind doing research, but the business side of me was arguing with the academic side of me about investment and returns or, in other words, did this information even matter? In complete honesty, it does. Sure, it’s a made up game of fighting Mythos monsters at the end of the day, but if you can’t approach your subject matter with an appropriate amount of respect and gravitas, you’re setting yourself up for failure before you write one word. In the end, my days of research and phone calls was distilled down to a handful of paragraphs which lends a certain realism to your game when you play. This attention to detail ensures you are playing in Charleston in this period, not some other city in some other time. Anchors are important. They keep us from drifting. If you carry too many anchors, you’ll sink before you even leave harbor. Chew on that a bit. Simple can be complex. It just has to be refined and broken down for easy consumption. ²

I strive to ensure we keep to our mission statement and am happy to know our design approach and our philosophy appeals to a lot of you. I’ll add, I’ve received far more personal emails and comments by folks who really appreciate our design aesthetic than I ever did when we were going for a more traditional look and feel. It all depends on what you’re wanting to put in and what you’re wanting to get out of your good works.

Until next time, I bid you, dear reader, adieu!

For example, if you can skin a rabbit, odds are you can skin another furred creature of some sort. ↩
Perhaps a post for another day. ↩

Missive 21: South American Excursion

2012-02-27T18:34:26Z

Welcome back Directors. This mission takes place while in the background Dante Russo is manipulating things from behind the scenes to gain control of Valente’s team. He has arranged a hearing to investigate Valente’s actions and her mission plan of not informing him of an assassination attempt on one of his major assets. Nora is nervous about this, but manages to keep up a strong demeanor, and only tells any of the agents of it if they make Notice rolls to discover that she is not herself lately.

But…missions continue. The next mission for our team of intrepid agents is an Assassination mission. So I generate a Target, Location, Plot Type, Complication, Ally, and a Main Enemy.

The Target is a Corrupted Ally. Remember this is someone who was once an asset, but is now changed by magic, demonic entity, alien technology, or some other evil and has extra abilities or powers.

The Location is an Urban Center and the proximity is Global. Good, get the team out of its normal environs. Somewhere in South America.

The Plot Type is a Pursuit. The agents must track down the villain at all costs.

The Complication is an Escalation, so the villain is striking back against the team.

The Ally is an Author, and the Main Enemy to be overcome is a Legendary Agent! Wow, okay, this guy is also the Target. He has his own team of cultists in play as well which is the Escalation.

So, the target is a Tainted Legendary Agent who has his own followers working for him. I’m going to make him a Native of Brazil and his name is Jaco Paje. He broke with Oblivion three years ago, and has only recently been found hiding in Parintins, Brazil. He is attending the Boi Bumba Festival in Parintins, Brazil. (http://www.boibumba.com/index.htm) He is there to invoke the true soul of the beast. This year it is the Cobra Grande, which is actually a demonic entity. The Shamanism normally manifested during this festival will be magnified by his own rituals, and the results will be terrifying and may cause the deaths of thousands. Paje plans to gain control of the entity to support his own rise to power

So let’s generate our big bad guy. Now to add the Corruption. Jaco receives 2 extra Hindrances, 5 extra Edges, 3 Minor Taints, and 2 Major Taints. I generate Mean and Overconfident for the Hindrances. Hard to Kill, Wheelman, Sponge, Level Headed, and Filthy Rich for the Edges. I roll Hardy, Immunity to Fire, and Razor Claws for Minor Taints. I generate Dark Pet and Maximize Strength d12.

Jaco Paje (WC)

Attributes: Agility d10, Smarts d6, Spirit d8, Strength d12, Vigor d10

Skills: Boating d4, Climbing d4, Driving d6, Fighting d8, Healing d4, Intimidation d4, Investigation d4, Knowledge (Divine) d8, Notice d6, Persuasion d4, Repair d4, Shooting d10, Stealth d8, Streetwise d6, Tradecraft d12

Charisma: 0; Pace: 6; Parry: 10; Toughness: 9/10 (1/2)

Hindrances: Mean, Overconfident

Edges: Ace, Arcane Training: Sacred, Brawny, Combat Reflexes, Deadly, Fast Strike, Filthy Rich, Hard to Kill, Improved Block, Improved Dodge, Jack of All Trades, Level Headed, Marksman, Quick, Silent Kill, Sponge, Unarmed Combat (Advanced), Wheelman

Minor Taints: Hardy, Immune to Fire, Razor Claws Str+d4

Major Taints: Dark Pet, Maximize Strength d12

Powers: Burrow, Puppet

Rituals: Ritual of Summoning Cobra Grande

Languages: Portuguese, English, Spanish, Italian

Gear & Equipment: 9mm pistol, 2 clips of ammo

Dark Pet: Lancehead snake three feet long named Vermelho Barba (Red Beard) due to it’s rare rustic coloring.

Vermelho Barba- WC

Attributes: Agility d8, Smarts d4, Spirit d6, Strength d4, Vigor d4

Skills: Fighting d8, Notice d12

Pace: 6; Parry: 6; Toughness: 2

Natural Tools: Bite (Str)

Special Abilities:

Fleet-Footed: Pace is +2 and can run at d10.

Intelligent Linked Creature: Vermelho may communicate telepathically with Jaco Paje up to 60 yards distance and has limited intelligence (not animal).

Poison: Anyone bitten must make aVigor roll -2. With success the bite swells and becomes numb causing character to be Exhausted until healed. If failed, the victim is Incapacitated and must make a second Vigor roll or die.

Spit Attack: Str x2 distance. 2d6 damage contact poison.

Stretchy: Can squeeze through spaces ¼ of size at ½ Pace.

To protect Paje he has gathered six cultists who are sworn to serve him even unto death. They are convinced of his powers and believe he is a reborn Shaman of ancient Native American lore.

The cultists are basically Native American hunters and have the following statistics:

Attributes: Agility d6, Smarts d6, Spirit d6, Strength d6, Vigor d6

Skills: Fighting d6, Notice d6, Shooting d6, Stealth d6, Survival d8, Tracking d8 Charisma: –2; Pace: 6; Parry: 5; Toughness: 5

Hindrances: Outsider

Edges: Woodsman

Languages: Portuguese, Native American, English, Spanish

Gear & Equipment: First aid kit, fishing line, hooks, rifle, survival knife

The Ally author is a lady named Holly Straps, an American working for Time magazine. She is a minor Oblivion asset and was the one that stumbled onto Paje in Parintines while preparing a story on the ancient festival. The team is to meet with her and she shares that Paje owns a private stilted mansion overlooking the Amazon River, north east of the city. She knows that he has a cult-like following, but does not know of his plans to summon the cobra grande demonic entity during the festival.

The team may attack him directly in his home, or follow him into the city where there is a huge gathering in a local stadium for the reenactment of the killing of the ox and the resurrection ceremony. It is here that Paje joins the celebration as the honored guest and priest, but the ceremony he leads is real and if completed, the demon rises through the stadium floor and begins devouring festival attendees. The demon is huge, and should be difficult to kill, though it does answer to Paje, at least for now. Can the team kill him? This could be tough. I recommend sending Nora with the team on this one, though she lets them do the planning. She considers herself backup if things go badly. The intel they receive on Paje is that he served the agency for over twenty years, but disappeared three years before. Many feared he had been killed or captured by Pandora, but the truth was that he was seeking personal power and had become consumed by it. The demonic snake pet is unknown to the intel, though when they meet with Holly, she describes the snake that he always has with him. The cultists provide security for Paje and there are always two on security detail at his home, which is raised forty feet from the jungle floor due to seasonal flooding of the Amazon.

Sounds fun! Send in those After Action Reports and tell me what you think of Roma Bellica. Want me to continue or go in a different direction?

Till next time,

Beware any Festivals! Music, Dancing, and Magic are always a deadly combination.

The Plight of the Working Class

2012-02-27T14:05:13Z

Hello, everyone! Just a quick update that work continues full steam on the Streets of Bedlam corebook. I don’t have a lot to show just yet, which is why the site has been quiet, but Shawn and I still hard at work and things are looking good for an April release. As we get closer, I’ll have some layout previews up and some more artwork to put online. Next month is going to be exciting, as we reveal the cover and more details on Five-Story Drop and the episodes slated for release the rest of the year—including a slew of episodes influenced by backers of the project! As far as the soundtrack, composer Ed Lima is working his magic and I hope to have some samples and the release date nailed down in the coming weeks.

So, exciting times ahead and more will be revealed in time. Thank you for your patience and support!

Savage Worlds: Olympian Breed Pre-Gens Review and some Greek Paper Figures

2012-02-27T14:33:00Z

Savage Worlds Olympian Breed Pre-Gens Review ...and some Greek Paper Figures

Pre-Gen Characters for play or reference
by Palewolf Publishing

Price: FREE
Pages: 5

Uses/Requires:
1. Savage Worlds Deluxe Edition
2. Savage Worlds Super powers Companion
3. Savage Worlds Fantasy Companion
4. Olympian Breed - Setting Primer & Character Creation Guide
5. Olympian Breed: Act One

See my previous review of #4 above.

Slowly the pieces of the Olympian Breed setting are coming out. On my first review of their setting I mentioned the necessity of Pregens for getting started. I'm sure this was in the works and am glad it's out. This review is a few weeks late but visit Palewolf's web site, specifically their blog post on Ancient Greek History for some great resources to help push the development of a fully realized game. I'm a visually inspired person so, if you're like me, the trailer for the upcoming Wrath of the Titans should help get your creative juices going.

I needed one more thing to get the gaming going: figures. Being the visual guy that I am, printing out some paper figures really helped bring life to my ideas. Arion Games has some paper figures for $3. I recommend the GREEKS (ARG027) set to start. It gave me 28mm Hercules, Hoplite, Amazon, Man, Princess, Woman, Hero, Philosopher, General, Soldiers, and...coolest of cool: a Minotaur, Pegasus, and Hydra. All in both tri-fold and (my favorite) A-frame. They aren't the flat cartoon type figures I enjoy but detailed 3d poser-type figures. Very nicely done! Now I have a good starting set to get some OB butt kicking adventures before Wrath of the Titans comes out.

If you want an example of some more of their figures, you can go to their blog entry here.

Just for a little extra visual , I printed out the free Lord Zsezse Works: Lost Map #10 desert map from this week's Drive Thru RPG newsletter and put my Greek paper figures on. A Minotaur pursuing Hercules and a Greek Hoplite. Fifteen minutes work and I've got a game board and figures. Now that's my idea of a time-crunched gamer getting into a new setting fast. The actual full map set is here.

Until next time...keep it savage!

PS: Thanks Vikki Felde for visiting our blog. We look forward to your up and coming additions to the world of Olympian Breed.

Savage Worlds Fantasy Companion Loot Generator

2012-02-27T03:26:00Z

Here's a little something I cooked up to work on my JavaScript and teach myself jQuery.

I'm working on a better designed version of this to be hosted elsewhere, including a mobile version, both of which will make use of CSS3 and some basic HTML5.

Action Decks and Bennies

2012-02-27T02:31:00Z

This has been my current Benny Box that I use for my Savage Worlds games. (I bought the box and the self-adhesive felt at Michael's.) While it's great for general Savage Worlds use, I sometimes like to switch out the Action Deck with themed playing cards (e.g., my zombie apocalypse deck for Life After Death, Bicycle's Dragon Back sets for Eberron or other fantasy, plastic Cartamundi Ace decks for pulp, etc.)

What I haven't had much luck with is finding appropriate bennies for some of these settings. For my Eberron game, I was thinking of something like plastic crystal pieces as dragonshards. For zombies, I was thinking of hunting down some empty shell casings.

In any case, I'm open to suggestions for bennies for my Savage Eberron game and for Life After Death. Drop a line if you have any recommendations.

Savage Worlds: Random Hindrance generator

2012-02-26T20:01:24Z

This tool is meant for inspiration in character creation, both pc's and npc's. You easily choose the 'safe' options' unless you are presented suggestions, which may get your imagination running and give birth to a refreshingly different character. So if you want inspiration for a new character

Roleplaying

savage worlds
game
characters
Character flaws

Shadows of Keron Episode 6: Death of a Tyrant, Part 4

2012-02-26T13:33:23Z

Many adventures ago, the party acquired a magic item called the Stone of Recall. When activated, this teleports everyone touching it to the last nominated “respawn point”. I’ve had great fun with this; by the time things are bad enough to use it, the heroes have generally split up, and whoever uses it has to leave some friends behind.

While wandering around the desert, the party completely forgot they had it (not that it would have worked, for reasons they have yet to determine), and when they did remember it, almost immediately remembered they had last set it to the lair of the Big Bad. Then they forgot it again while holed up in their erstwhile patron’s house, and fought the waves of minions he sent against them.

This session, they remembered it again, and used it to teleport a strike team to the Big Bad’s lair with the dual aims of killing him and rescuing their former patron, who has the Attractive edge (hey, this is pulp).

As usual when running a published adventure, I shall say little to minimise the risk of spoilers. The highlights, however, were:

The strike team teleporting right into the middle of minions in platoon strength, from which they escaped through adroit use of area effect powers and setting fire to the location.
Fun using the Puppet power to turn the PCs against each other, and Lower Trait to drop the party tank’s Fighting skill to Keystone Cops levels.
Garstrewt continuing to pound Nessime with a crowbar even after the Puppet wore off.
The kidnapped patron regaining consciousness to the feeling of Garstrewt rubbing her all over with olive oil, ostensibly to make it easier to slip her free from her bonds.

NO POWER POINTS

This was the second playtest session for this option, and we’ve decided to keep it and allow those who took Power Points as an advance to swap it out for something else. The main impacts of the option continue to be:

PCs with Arcane Backgrounds using a wider range of powers (notably buffs) and using powers more often.
Spellcasters burning through bennies slightly faster, mostly to avoid being Shaken or Wounded by failing arcane skill rolls.
No need to track Power Points.

BEAST & BARBARIANS – REFLECTIONS

While B&B recommends only one PC in the party should have an Arcane Background, the previously established group has three. I suspect this is making things easier for them, I’ll have to look to beefing up the opposition.

Sean's Piratical Appendix N

2012-02-26T17:19:00Z

Black Vulmea, over at Really Bad Eggs, smartly encouraged the use of a campaign-specific Appendix N to inform the players about the intended tone of a campaign. Therefore, I present my Appendix N for my "Pirates of the Spanish Main" campaign:

Film:
"Brotherhood of the Wolf"
"Captain Blood"
"Le Chevalier D'Eon" (available on Netflix!)
"Pirates of the Caribbean" film series (especially "Curse of the Black Pearl" and "On Stranger Tides")
"Solomon Kane"

Literature:
Black Vulmea's Vengeance by Robert E. Howard (1976 Berkley paperback containing REH's pirate tales)
Captain Blood: His Odyssey by Raphael Sabatini
On Stranger Tides by Tim Powers
Pirate Latitudes by Michael Crichton
The Savage Tales of Solomon Kane by Robert E. Howard

Lots of monsters, not a little magic, tons of swordplay, and plenty of piracy.

Deadlands Reloaded: Don't Drink the Water for Fantasy Grounds

2012-02-25T20:48:04Z

Publisher: SmiteWorks

Deadlands Reloaded: Don't Drink the Water

Adventure for the Fantasy Grounds virtual tabletop

Howdy Marshal! It’s time for a little fun south o’ the Border. We’re going to take your posse on a quick jaunt into ol’ Mexico where they get to dodge the Foreign Legion, aid some revolutionaries, and put a few wayward dead folks back into Boot Hill where they belong! So saddle up and throw on your poncho, but don’t drink the water! Don't Drink the Water is rough-ridin' Savage Tale for the award-winning Deadlands RPG. (a full conversion of the 22 page, full color Deadlands Adventure)

Requires: A Fantasy Grounds full or ultimate license, the Savage Worlds v3 Ruleset and the Deadlands Reloaded extension (included in the Fantasy Grounds Marshall's guide) and Player's Handbook module for FG

Fantasy Grounds II Conversion: Ben Turner

The Savage Worlds Ruleset (Fantasy Grounds II Conversion) by SmiteWorks USA, LLC, (C) 2012, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. The Savage Worlds Ruleset format, programming code, and presentation is copyrighted by SmiteWorks USA, LLC and Pinnacle Entertainment Group. Redistribution by print or by file is strictly prohibited.

Price: $7.99

Happy Jacks RPG Podcast Season 07 Episode 07

2012-02-25T19:02:55Z

Season 07 Episode 07

Your hosts: Stu, Stork, CADave and Tyler

Tension in combat without periodically killing PCs?

Post Orccon 2012 debrief.

Evolved Humans Preview

2012-02-25T09:45:47Z

Hello World, I am typing away but sadly due to work could not get as much writing done as I would like. I have spent some time on creating the evolved humans and would love some feedback on them. Below you will find three of the planned seven. What do you like about them? What [...]

Friday in Summation

2012-02-25T04:11:08Z

In a minimalistic fashion, I return to you to give you the down low on what’s up for me today. More sleep. More gaming. More thinking. More recharging. I slept way later than usual and then dove back onto the console (which is where, incidentally, I often come up with some of my better idea seeds) and got in some more Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning ¹

I could totally get off on a rant between the diminishing returns between realism and fun, but, hey, why break this streak of tiny posts? I’ll definitely be chewing on this over the weekend and return Monday to share my ruminations on this particular topic.

Until next time, I bid you, dear reader, adieu!

Which, incidentally, I really dig. ↩

Trying to Flesh Out Characters from both sides of the Screen

2012-02-24T21:52:00Z

GMs and players both like to have a group of realistic, well-thought-out characters. For a lot of people, all the numbers on the character sheet are pretty much meaningless next to the person they've created and the stories that person will be involved in. Some folks, of course, are all about the stats and the kicking of the most ass, but for most, the sweet spot is somewhere in between. Like many GMs, I want to encourage my players to flesh out their characters. Their doing so gives me hooks for stories that revolve around the players, can give the group cohesion, and creates an emotional attachment between player and character.

I GM games a lot more than I get to play in them, so when I do play, I still sorta have my GM hat on. It's just cocked to the side. I try to create meaningful characters, but to have it actually work, the ideas behind them have to be communicated to the GM, and also a bit to the other players. I'm trying to come up with things that will help the people on both sides of the screen, to help players play the characters they want, and to help GMs incorporate player ideas into their games. Most importantly, these ideas need to be easy to use. No "Character Backstory" essays, no exhaustive lists of questions.

I suppose the best way to illustrate this is to just post the thinking points, and dig into them as we go.

Aspirations - What does your character want for himself? What do you as the player want for him?
These two things can be different. My buddy Matt ran a World of Darkness game in which we all played graduate students at some ivy league university. I decided my character was a neo-pagan who really, REALLY wanted to be a sorcerer or wizard or something. Matt nodded and said, "Okay, so like maybe he could start out as like a Hedge Mage and maybe Awaken later on?"
"No, he really has no power, and will probably never get any. He can learn a lot of occult knowledge, but he doesn't have the spark, and I'm okay if he never does."
I can be a dick to my own characters.

Spotlight Scenes - Describe a possible scene in the game in which your character would play a critical role.
Obviously the player shouldn't get too specific, but I think a lot of us have heroic scenes in our minds when we create characters, and everyone wins if we can actually have those scenes. As another example, Luc is soon to begin a Weird War 2 game, and I'm hoping for two scenes: The first is a rousing "St. Crispin's Day" style speech that my character can deliver to a bunch of Résistance fighters before a major battle. The second is a speedboat chase on the Seine, right through Paris, my character manning the wheel while my wife's character opens up on our Nazi pursuers with his assault rifle.

Inter-Character Relations - Describe a positive relationship or interaction you have with another Player-Character. Describe a negative one. Consider a few others you might have outside the group.
I like to have the party be a group that already exists, rather than, "You all meet in a tavern." This point sort of pushes a little harder for specifics than I like in the beginning of a campaign, but it at least makes the players think about the other members of the group. The interactions don't have to be anything profound. Perhaps Stuart the Strong really likes going down to the gambling hall and playing dice with Errol the Quick, except when Errol drinks too much, cheats, and starts a fight.
What's important is that the characters already have a place in the world.

These are rough ideas at the moment. I'm always open for critiques and verbal abuse (and other sorts of abuse, but we should work that out ahead of time). Contribute your thoughts! This also goes for those of you who aren't gamers, but are following this because, "Oh, Conor started a blog! How cute, let's all give him some support!" Just think of it as collaborating on a novel. That will never be read.

The Thunderer–Savaged

2012-02-24T12:39:00Z

I wanted to see how a Legends-style cult would work in Savage Worlds, so I decided to have a crack at converting the Cult of the Thunderer from the core rulebook. Setting aside the description of the cult and its aims, I read the descriptions of various skills and powers in both rulebooks, picked ones that had similar effects and assumed that skills applied to Wild Cards, so the probabilities of success should allow for a Wild Die. I also assumed that each point of POW dedicated represented a power learned. I wound up with this:

POWERS AVAILABLE

Any cult can teach common magic, whose effects are mimicked by the Savage Worlds powers Beast Friend, Bolt, Boost/Lower Trait, Burst, Confusion, Deflection, Detect/Conceal Arcana, Dispel, Elemental Manipulation, Environmental Protection, Healing, Light/Obscure, Quickness, Slow, Slumber, Smite, and Telekinesis.

In addition, this cult can teach members with Arcane Background (Miracles) the following powers: Armour, Blast, Succor.

CULT SKILLS

The cult offers training in the following: Climbing, Faith, Fighting, Knowledge (Religion), Notice. (That tells me that it favours Agility, Smarts, and Spirit in its members.)

RANKS

Lay Members: Anyone who supports cult warriors and worships at cult shrines can be a lay member.

Initiates: To become an initiate requires d4 in each of the cult skills. I decided to waive the requirement for one power, because the appropriate Arcane Background for a cult is Miracles, and that gives you at least two. I might waive the requirement for Faith d4 as well, since an initiate might not have Arcane Background, without which Faith is pointless.

Acolytes: To be recognised as an acolyte, the cult member must have killed an enemy of the tribe, have Arcane Background (Miracles), and know at least three powers. Novice PCs would probably qualify for acolyte status early on, as they could start with all the powers and skills they need, and would only need to kill a foe – sounds like the first adventure.

Priests: To become a priest, the cult member must have d8 or better in each cult skill, Arcane Background (Miracles) and at least five powers. That would need somewhere in the region of 9 advances, so a PC priest would most likely be of Veteran rank.

High Priests: These must have d12 in all cult skills, Arcane Background (Miracles), and at least seven powers. That needs about another 12 advances from priest, so PC high priests are likely to be well into Legendary rank.

This has promise, I think; I like the idea of the PCs being part of a larger organisation, and I’ve seen cults work well in the past.

Germs!

2012-02-24T19:59:46Z

Already! After only a couple of weeks of real comics! Man!

I’ve been infested with germs ever since Tuesday night, and it’s impaired my ability to draw a comic. I’m feeling better, and assuming my DJ gig tonight doesn’t cause me to relapse and feel shitty again, I’ll be spending all weekend drawing stuff. So expect a new page either Saturday evening or Sunday earlyish. And then the next update should still be Tuesday or Wednesday next week.

As always, your best bet is to add the RSS feed.

See you soon!

Episode 09: It’s Not a Competition (God I Love You)

2012-02-24T15:39:20Z

From the gaming floor of Genghis Con XXXIII, the staff of the Grill were joined by con guests Clint Black and Sean Preston, DGA folks Leif Olson, Bill Stilson, Linda Tschappat, and Linda Weygant, Rocky Mountain Savages Chris “Savage Mommy” Fuchs and Lee Langston, Ed Doolittle, and others. Wow that’s a heck of a list!

The discussion was about Savage Saturday Night and all the other Savage goodness at the con. Suffice it to say if you didn’t make it to Genghis Con this year, you ought to try next year! And if that’s too long to wait, check out Tacticon 2012 over Labor Day weekend!

Agents of Oblivion Session III

2012-02-24T12:38:03Z

GM: Evil Mike, Cruel Silver Tongued Devil
Samuel Smythe (Steve): Occult Branch, Polish National, The Healer
Baltasar Magnusson (Owen): Operations Branch, Swedish, The Lindquist/Forger
Cyrus Lowenstein (Ben): Operations Branch, American, The Ladies
Man Nick Harmon (Mike): Occult Branch, American, Combat Psychic

Before it gets to be next week, I should say something about this week’s Agents of Oblivion game. At the end of the last game, Agent Lowenstein had just critically failed a roll to adjust the court date for the guy we were trying to break free from prison. It wouldn’t be good for anyone if he were still there during the next full moon. To Agent Lowenstein it seemed that everything went without a hitch and the new court date was reset to two days hence.

We got a couple of hotel rooms and settled in for some much needed sleep, at least Agent Harmon and Agent Smythe did. Agent Magnusson had drawn the short straw and was rooming with Agent Lowenstein. That was strike one. Then Magnusson got a call from our boss, Mr. Myster. That was strike two. Apparently Mr. Myster had some <heated> questions about where we were and what we were doing. Keep in mind that just about everything we were doing was either against Oblivion rules or against orders given to us. Agent Magnusson smoothed it over though and our boss hung up requesting a complete status report within the hour. Agent Lowenstein got to work. Keeping mostly to the truth and focusing on our quest to rid our headquarters of the magical nexus nearby, Lowenstein got the job done. He of course left out our more heinous breaches of protocol, such a making a pack with the devil, the vampire lord Aleksander Nowak.

Moments after the report was sent, the doors of both rooms burst open and in poured men in full assault gear. Agents Lowenstein and Magnusson put up a valiant effort. Both were wounded. The sleeping beauties in the next room woke up to someone trying to zip tie them. We (Agent Harmon and Agent Smythe) fought back the best we could, but we were severely outnumbered and out gunned. The goons in the gear put bags over our heads and took us away in a black, unmarked delivery vehicle. License plate: URSCRWD.

We were taken from the vehicle and placed in a room somewhere. After determining that we were alone, we freed ourselves using Agent Harmon’s hidden knife. A neat trick seeing how Agent Harmon was still in his skivvies. Nonetheless, we were free and began to work on a plan to get out of the room we were being held in. The guard must have heard something so he opened the door to check on us. We couldn’t all get our hoods on fast enough so we tried to subdue him. That wasn’t going to well when we stopped for the night. Agent Smythe had just tried to raise his own Fighting skill through the use of his sacred arts. He critically failed.

What fate awaits our <snicker> brave heroes? Only Evil mike knows for sure.

Chaos Steve

Back to Reality

2012-02-23T23:02:50Z

Today, I played some catch up via the iPad. I answered letters. I reviewed project statuses. I slept. Yes. I slept. The last week was busy. However, after snoozing, I got in some time playing Kingdoms of Amalur, watched some Law & Order, and some Supernatural. Tomorrow, I’ll set foot in my office and check for traps.

Until next time, I bid you, dear reader, adieu!

Faith & Demons: The Rising Preview #1

2012-02-23T15:24:58Z

To coincide with the upcoming release of the Faith & Demons: The Rising core setting guide, a plot point setting for Savage Worlds, I’m doing weekly previews of the content. today is a look at Character Types from the Introduction chapter.

Character Types

Faith & Demons: The Rising allows for a wide variety of character types for both PCs and NPCs. These character types could be created from the Edges and Hindrances found within the Savage Worlds core rulebook or from the Edges found within this book and subsequent sourcebooks.

Cataphract: Cataphracts are the trained militants of the Byzantine Empire. They are heavily armed and armored and ride on armored mounts. They are the heavy cavalry of the Byzantine army; skilled, disciplined and quite devastating.

Druid: Druids utilize nature and the elements to power their spells. They are often found with their bestial friends and harness one of the four elements to smite their foes.

Lord: Lords are the powerful nobles found across the lands. Some are of royal birth, while others have been granted land and power in return for service.

Monk: Monks thrive on knowledge and learning. They are the most literate persons across the land and are frequently found with scrolls or tomes in-hand. They strive to acquire new knowledge.

Necromancer: Necromancers harness the power of the occult and use the undead for their own means. These spellcasters wander the land wreaking havoc everywhere they go.

Priest: Priests devote their lives to their god who in turn blesses them with powers of faith. Most help those in need while others are consumed by the powers of darkness. Some turn straight to deeds of evil.

Runemage: Runemages are masters of the ancient Runic alphabet and know how to harness its power. They draw their sacred runes upon their weapons to enhance their strength.

Shaman: Shamans communicate with the spirit world to power their spells. They can speak to angels and wandering souls to locate the true power within the spirit realm.

Samurai: Samurai are the military class of Japan. They are highly skilled, elite warriors and commit their vows to the Bushido code.

Thegn: Thegns are the elite warriors of the Anglo-Saxon tribes and part of a chieftain’s personal troops. They are well-trained and skilled and often form war bands acting as a powerful military force.

Viking: Vikings are the warriors of the Nordic lands who have sworn loyalty to their lord. They are professional fighters and are called upon during both war and peace to aid their lord.