The Dice of Life

Gaming with Google Shared Spaces

2011-01-21T06:00:00.003-05:00

It wasn't that long ago that the RPG blogging community was going crazy for gaming in Google Wave. I even wrote an article, Gaming with Google Wave, that included suggestions for best practices. Since then, Google had announced that it will be ending its support for Google Wave at the end of 2010 which has been extended through 2011. Several existing products, including Google Docs, have incorporated some of Wave's features such as real-time collaborative editing and messaging. Now, a team of former Google Wave developers are using their 20% time to bring us a new Google Labs product, Google Shared Spaces, which allows users to still be able to use all of those fantastic gadgets developed for Google Wave! Here are some of the key details about Shared Spaces.

Considerations

Before I continue, there are a couple of things to keep in mind about Google Shared Spaces. Some obvious things missing, some of which the team has acknowledged is under development, include a notification for new chat messages posted, changes to a gadget, or changes to a shared space in general.

Keep in mind, too, that these gadgets were designed specifically for Wave and will need some adjustments for Shared Spaces. Some gadgets depended on Wave's user experience which isn't entirely duplicated here. The Shared Spaces team is reaching out to developers to update their gadgets for use in Shared Spaces.

My biggest concern is in regards to whether or not developers will bother updating their existing gadgets or developing new ones. I can imagine some developers refusing to spend time on these gadgets, feeling slighted by the demise of Google Wave and wondering why they should invest any more effort in yet another project that has a risk of sharing Wave's fate. Regardless, I'm excited to see these gadgets available outside of Wave. It was one of the main features I was going to miss about Google Wave.

Accessing Shared Spaces

Google Shared Spaces offers several options for using what used to be Wave gadgets. Before you go any further, you'll need to log into Shared Spaces using OpenID. Unlike most Google products that require a Google Account specifically, Shared Spaces allows you to use either Google, Twitter, or Yahoo! as your OpenID log in.

Once you've logged in, you can browse for the gadget you want to use and simply click "Create a space" to create your unique instance of the gadget.

Within each shared space, you'll see a chat too and options for inviting others to use the gadget. Once others have accessed the gadget, they'll appear in the list of participants. Unfortunately, you can't control who can gain access to your shared space with a shared URL, but the Shared Spaces team is working on that.

Embedding Gadgets

What's really cool about Shared Spaces is the ability to embed a gadget into a web page, including Google Sites or an iGoogle Gadget. This allows you to build a campaign site in Google Sites, for example, and include gadgets for specific functions.

Updating Gadgets

There's obviously a lot of potential here with using the gadgets in Google Shared Spaces to facilitate RPG play, but it really depends heavily on the developer community. If you know a developer who created a Google Wave gadget you loved, ask him or her to submit the gadget to Shared Spaces and update it to work well within the Shared Spaces UI. For gadgets that are already available, post your request via a comment on the gadget's page. The Google Shared Spaces team is monitoring those comments and reaching out to developers for this very purpose.

For example, I posted a query about Bones not functioning properly outside of the Wave user interface as it was designed to have one instance per blip. Googler Pamela Fox replied in agreement and contacted the developer who then left a comment soliciting some ideas for changes. He appreciated the conversation that followed and planned to provide an update after the holidays.

Google Chrome Extension

That's right. There's a Shared Spaces Google Chrome extension. It provides quick access to existing gadgets as well as your list of Shared Spaces that you've either created or in which you've participated.

Fast Iterations

The Shared Spaces team is moving fast with their work on Shared Spaces. I see updates from Google almost daily via the official Google Shared Spaces Google Group. If you're interested in keeping up with these improvements or have any questions you hope they can answer, I strongly recommend joining the Google Group. On a related note, they also have an official bug report/feature request page.

So what are you waiting for? Go give Shared Spaces a spin!

Update: I forgot to mention one of my favorite gadgets, Cards! It's perfect for managing initiative in a Savage Worlds game!

A Market for Rules-Light Games?

2010-08-10T10:55:00.004-04:00

The Rule of Rules-Light(er) on RPBlog II is a well-thought reflection of what most of us here at The Dice of Life have been struggling with. We want structure in our RPGs, but we have little room in our lives for complex rules.

So here are a few questions I have:

What do you look for in a game that defines it as rules-light for you?
As gamers get older, do you think there's a growing market for rules-light or rules-simple games to replace the traditionally more complex games?
What are some of the traditional 'sacred cows' in an RPG that you're willing to part with if it means playing a traditional RPG that requires a lower cost of investment of time, energy and money?

in reference to:

"Gamer Dads, Moms, and older, busy professionals still want structure, but they want fast gameplay and easier rules, too. Is there still a market for the complex? Of course, but I think the trend towards rules-light is going to continue and gain momentum. It doesn't have to be hand-wavy freeform, but a streamlined, fast-play set of rules is much in demand, I think."
- RPG Blog II: Lessons From Gen Con: The Rule of Rules-Light(er) (view on Google Sidewiki)

Update: I've gathered some responses from across various venues.

Antonio Reyes posted via a comment on Google Buzz:

I look for a game that I can run after reading the book only once. I doesn't have to be a slim book, but the rules ( skills, task resolution, combat, ect) should be covered in less than a 100 pages. Preferably a unified mechanic should govern all aspects of the game, that way you don't have to constantly check the book to make sure you made the right call.

I think that's the allure of the resurgence of the retro-clone.

I'm willing to part ways with Dungeons and Dragons and Pathfinder.

I think now-a-days I'm sticking with the games that I already know or very simple and engaging games. I'm really excited about Call of Cthulhu (BRP), Savage Worlds, FATE, and Tunnels and Trolls. I like them because they are simple and flexible both in terms of rules and ideas.

Gnome Stew's Kurt "Telas" Schneider chimed in with his thoughts on Google Buzz as well.

Can my wife learn it before she gives up? (D&D no, Savage Worlds yes)

Absolutely. Look at the retro-D&D movement...

Race & class. Granular spell and weapon stats. Charts. Lack of supplemental books.

Our very own Brennen had replied with a lengthy response on his own blog, The Everlasting Game Hunters: Ruminations on Rules-light Games.

And Peter Mancini, friend of The Dice of Life, simply commented on Google Buzz, "Decent [sic] by FFG is about as rules light as I'll get."

Thanks to all who replied. Anyone else who has some thoughts should feel free to share them here.

Review: Q-Workshop STRIKE and Classic Elven, Celtic 3D, and Forest Dice

2010-08-02T13:30:00.005-04:00

Q-Workshop announced today new changes in its manufacturing, design, and pricing of its dice sets. To celebrate these recent changes, Q-Workshop sent sets of their new Classic Elven, Forest, and Celtic 3D dice for review.

To start with, here's a bullet list of the changes copied from the Q-Workshop web site and their humorous promotional YouTube video.

NEW CHEAP CLASSIC RPG DICE SETS

NEW PREMIUM 3D DICE

NEW DELUXE METAL DICE

NEW BOX PACKAGING

NEW LOWER PRICES FOR OLDER MODELS

That last point has me really curious and excited. If this is true, I'm hoping we'll see a lower price on the Call of Cthulhu set which I've been wanting for a long while for use with my Savage Worlds Wild Die in a Realms of Cthulhu game!

Classic Elven Dice

The Classic Elven Dice, which cost only $4.95, are the new baseline dice available from Q-Workshop. They are a low-cost alternative to plain dice from competing manufacturers. The set I recieved are translucent with red and blue ink. The blue ink is actually a backing to the red ink that is painted into the etchings on the surface.

The translucent color is a bit smoky, concealing just enough of the blue ink to keep it from making the dice hard to read. The blue ink also provides a contrast to the red surface ink so as not to create more visual noise when reading the die.

Forest Dice

The new Forest Dice, priced at $16, offer a rich, complex design that evokes a feeling that these dice were created by wood elves or Oalian himself. They are also among the first sets of dice to feature Q-Workshop's new packaging.

When I first set eyes on these dice, I hated them. They seemed too busy, and too difficult to read. I couldn't help but ask, "When will Q-Workshop learn?", but then I actually used them, which changed my mind entirely.

While they might seem busy to the eye, they are actually not difficult to read at all when you actually use them. It didn't take any longer than usual to actually read any result on a die roll. Oddly, I kept trying to convince myself that the design was too busy to read the result, but I honestly couldn't complain about any such difficulty.

Celtic 3D Dice

Anyone who has followed Q-Workshop for sometime might already be aware of their Celtic Dice, but the Celtic 3D Dice are completely different. These dice, which have a $16 price tag, use Q-Workshop's reversed etching process and feature a much more complex yet clean design. Of the three sets sent, these are by far my favorite. They look great and are easy to read.

Conclusion

With these recent changes and new designs, it seems Q-Workshop is responding to customer demands for lower prices and better visibility. I can honestly say that they are heading in the right direction with their efforts. The only thing that might seem cumbersome about these dice is recognizing the font used for the digits (e.g. - the 2 on the Classic Elven Dice), but that's a very small hurdle that's easily overcome after you've actually used the dice at least once. If you haven't already, I strongly suggest taking a look at the Picasa Web Albums for each set of dice above. The images have high resolutions and really bring out the details in the designs; some I didn't even notice until I looked at the photos on my screen!

Update: Q-Workshop recently uploaded a new YouTube video titled "Making of Q-workshop STRIKE movie" giving a behind the scenes look at the fun they had making the video above.

NewbieDM Hits the Nail on the Head

2010-05-11T09:11:00.002-04:00

This article strikes a chord with me, and I think will resonate well with other readers of The Dice of Life. It's not easy being a gamer and also a parent and spouse with a full-time job, and he makes a strong point that is important for all players and GMs to remember: "...parenting doesn't stop for [gaming], nor does it happen in a vacuum..."

in reference to:

"That’s fine, I get it, parenting doesn’t stop for D&D, nor does it happen in a vacuum, so I have little choice but to stop the game for a bit and go help."
- Warstories: Worst. Playing Environment. Ever. « www. Newbie DM .com (view on Google Sidewiki)

Game Geeks Reviews The Day After Ragnarok

2010-04-22T15:47:00.004-04:00

I spotted this over on the Savage Blogger, and it immediately caught my eye. One of the guys in my gaming group has been raving about The Day After Ragnarok for Savage Worlds, and it has since been on my radar. I haven't picked it up only because of my recently even further limited budget. Luckily, this video includes a coupon code for a 20% discount at DriveThruRPG.com!

Game Geeks Reviews DAR!: "Kurt Wiegel at Game Geeks gives his ringing endorsement of my favorite Savage Setting:"

Hellfrost Core Books Now on DriveThruRPG.com

2010-04-15T12:48:00.005-04:00

For those of you who prefer to buy your PDF RPG products from DriveThruRPG.com/RPGNow.com, the complete set of Hellfrost core books is now available from those stores. At the time the Hellfrost reviews were originally written and posted, PDF versions were not yet available, but since then, Triple Ace Games has begun selling them.

Kovalic Sums It Up Again in Dork Tower

2010-04-12T15:45:00.003-04:00

Some rules-light games for time-crunched gamers can get a little too rules-light.

John Kovalic noted on Twitter:

"BTW today's Dork Tower... was thanks to @pramas giving me a copy of the wonderful Dragon Age RPG"

Review: The Zombie Combat Manual by Roger Ma

2010-04-11T06:00:00.001-04:00

Being a fan of Max Brooks' The Zombie Survival Guide: Complete Protection from the Living Dead, The Zombie Survival Guide Deck: Complete Protection from the Living Dead and World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War, I had to buy a copy of Roger Ma's The Zombie Combat Manual: A Guide to Fighting the Living Dead. I was a little worried that this book was going to be a ripoff of Brooks' work, especially given the artwork and style of the book's cover. After reading the book, however, I can honestly tell you that I was very pleased and even impressed with Ma's book.

The Zombie Combat Manual is not a mere retreading of Max Brooks' The Zombie Survival Guide. This book takes one small aspect of Brooks' book and delves deeply and broadly into it.

The Zombie Combat Manual not only discusses various weapons to use in lieu of a firearm; it also acts as a training manual for anyone in any physical condition, featuring physical assessments and exercise programs.

Of course it has the obligatory chapter on offensive and defensive equipment, which is seemingly exhaustive, but it also touches on a topic that Brooks omits, which is carrying and protecting children. Imagine being a parent of a newborn or toddler and having to not only survive but protect them as well. Being a father, I could appreciate this section greatly.

Additionally, there's an entire chapter on combat strategies and techniques for fighting the undead. With this chapter, Ma practically creates a new form of martial art with step-by-step illustrations showing how to position, maneuver, and strike with various weapons in various situations of melee combat with a zombie.

If you're a fan of Max Brooks' interviews in World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War, then you'll enjoy the interviews in this book as well. In fact, one could almost plant these same stories into the World War Z setting.

Overall, Lovers of Max Brooks' work, as I am, should not look at this book as a competing product, but instead should see Ma's contribution as a complementary product. The content of this book will only better prepare you in the event that you find yourself having to engage in melee combat with a zombie despite all of the tips and strategies followed from Zombie Survival Guide.

Mutants & Masterminds and Freedom City: $10 each!

2010-04-04T17:57:00.003-04:00

There's a bit of a celebration among some RPG publishers about the GoodReader -Tablet Edition app on Apple's iPad supporting RPG PDFs entirely. As a result, Green Ronin announced on Twitter that it is dropping the prices of two of their PDFs.

Twitter / GreenRoninPub: Need some PDFs to try out ...: "Need some PDFs to try out on that iPad? Mutants & Masterminds and Freedom City are now only $9.99 on RPGNow. "

While you're there, pick up a copy of Reality Blurs' Powers & Perils #1: Orwell Industries for M&M. ;)

Cortex System Role Playing Game Now Only $10!

2010-03-31T23:36:00.002-04:00

In response to recent concerns expressed by RPG fans regarding the price of the Cortex core rule book, Margaret Weis Productions has lowered the price from $29.99 to $9.99! This seems to be a direct comparison to Savage Worlds: Explorer's Edition, which is usually a point of reference when gamers talk about entry price for a core RPG system.

I've been pretty committed to Savage Worlds, but recent blog post from Ron Blessing have piqued my curiosity about Cortex. At $10, it's hard to ignore, especially if you're on a tight budget.

in reference to: Cortex System Role Playing Game - Margaret Weis Productions | DriveThruRPG.com (view on Google Sidewiki)

xkcd: Exercise

2010-03-17T21:54:00.001-04:00

More of us should think like this.

Hellfrost Review, Part IV: Gazetteer

2010-03-03T06:00:00.007-05:00

Previously, I presented an overview of the Hellfrost product line and support as well as reviews of the Player's Guide and the Bestiary. In this review, I'll cover the third of the core Hellfrost books, Hellfrost: Gazetteer.

Before I continue with this review, however, I want to put out several disclaimers:

As with the Hellfrost: Bestiary book, this book was provided by Triple Ace Games for review purposes.
Despite my joining the Reality Blurs team as New Media Manager, I still maintain my integrity as a reviewer.
For perspective, I will be drawing comparisons between Hellfrost: Gazetteer and Living Greyhawk Gazetteer and/or the D&D Gazetteer.
I am writing this review as someone who was diagnosed with Adult ADD. (I'll explain this in a little bit.)

Now, on with the review.

To start with, this book is very dense, and I mean dense! In order to reduce page count and keep the cover prices down, Triple Ace Games decided to use a smaller font size in the Hellfrost books than what is typically used in their other products or in most Savage Worlds setting supplements. With that in mind, imagine how a book that is mostly descriptions of regions, settlements, and organizations might read for someone with ADD. By no means does that make the product a bad one, but it does change my approach to how I read such a product.

To be fair, I had the same difficulty with the Living Greyhawk Gazetteer, which is by far an even denser book. To overcome that mental block, I don't attempt to read such books cover-to-cover; instead, I read the introduction sections, pull out the map, look at interesting places, and look them up in the book. From their I follow references as I come across them. This method works perfectly with the Hellfrost Gazetteer thanks to its clear table of contents and easy-to-read index. I'll say it again, INDEX!

Introduction

The Introduction is a short 4 pages that covers two major things: Types of Settlements and Reading the Stat Block. Both of these sections are important because it helps to give an understanding of how to create your own settlements as well as interpret those presented in the book.

One thing this book makes clear in its introduction is that the information presented is not exhaustive, meaning this is not a complete list of every settlement, structure, or locale in Rassilon. Instead, the book acts as a starting point and a toolkit for you to expand upon. The openness of the map and the geography conveyed really let you make the world your own, and that's not just lip service.

One sidebar, titled 'How Big is Rassilon', is included in this section, and it conveys just how large Rassilon is by comparing it to real world distances. According to this sidebar, Rassilon is about as large as the United States of America. That's a great mental impression to have when you're trying to figure out distances on the map.

Map

Speaking of the map, I was a bit disappointed to not see a pullout map in this book. That's something that both the 32-page D&D Gazetteer and the 192-page Living Greyhawk Gazetteer had. Instead we get a two-page spread bound across the final page of the book and the back interior cover. Not the best solution, but it's a bit of a moot point considering Triple Ace Games has a PDF map available as a free download.

Lands of Rassilon

This section of the book is the largest spanning from page 7 to page 119 and includes geographic regions and nations. There is a lot of rich detail in this section that can fuel your imagination for many campaigns and adventures. Each main entry includes subsections, specifically a background, descriptions of its government and military (if applicable), the geography of the area including notable locales, major locales within the region, and current events.

This information is presented much more clearly and elegantly than in the Living Greyhawk Gazetteer. The subsections are broken up more discretely with headers and are fairly concise. My only complaint was that while the beginning of the main entry has a percentage breakdown of racial demographics, the settlement entries within it do not. I prefer to know just what percentage of a particular race might reside in a village or town. Still, that's a minor quibble and is in no way any sort of considerable flaw.

Evil Organizations

I thought it was a great idea to include such a section, but I didn't quite understand why it was only 'evil organizations' rather than organizations in general. Still, it's a great collection of adversarial groups upon which the GM can build a campaign or adventure.

I won't detail every organization, but I will say that one of my favorites is the Cult of the Bear God. Anyone who has seen The 13th Warrior will immediately recognize the reference even down to the phrase the description of claws that can tear a plank to kindling.

Conclusion

This book is fantastic in every sense of the word. The world of Rassilon really comes alive with this book well beyond stats, spells, Edges, etc. presented in the Player's Guide and the Bestiary. For GM's, the book is an endless source of inspiration and ideas to make Hellfrost your own. For players, it's a doorway to the world in which your character was born and raised.

Just like the D&D and Living Greyhawk Gazetteer, Hellfrost: Gazetteer also stands on its own as a setting book that could be used with any version of any game system, but it can also be used as a jump point for a homebrew Savage setting or incorporated into an existing setting.

Next: I know I had promised reviews of some adventures as well as some of the freebies, but due to my new role as Reality Blurs' New Media Manager, my time has become even more limited. As such, I'm forced to drop the adventure reviews from this series, but a review of several of the freebies shouldn't be too hard to manage. On the other hand, the freebies are free, so you can simply download them, read them, and see what you think for yourself. Still there are quite a few and having someone do it for you is always valuable. If you'd like me to review some of what I think are the better Hellfrost freebies available, drop a comment below. In fact, I'll take nominations for specific downloads to review.

Kristian Joins Reality Blurs as New Media Manager

2010-03-02T17:32:00.006-05:00

You heard right! Read all about it on Reality Blurs' web site.

What does this mean for The Dice of Life? Well, after some serious consideration, I've decided to put the blog on hiatus. Truthfully, we've all suddenly become extremely busy in our lives, and I've been struggling to keep the blog moving along.

Don't unsubscribe from TDoL, though. I still intend to finish the Hellfrost review series, and I'll be dropping in little bits and pieces of useful info here and there whenever I can.

I've also created a Facebook page for The Dice of Life as part of my long-term desire to create a community based on the blog's mission. I invite anyone interested to visit the page and contribute. I included a Discussions section for anyone and everyone to participate and share their own useful tips, tricks, and resources for time-crunched gamers.

In the meantime, Brennen, R.K. Athey, and m.s. jackson have been posting in their own forums about some of the games we've discussed in our various articles. I highly recommend subscribing to their blogs.

Hellfrost Review, Part III: Bestiary

2010-02-15T00:00:00.008-05:00

Triple Ace Games was generous enough to provide a review copy of the Hellfrost Bestiary, and as mentioned in both Part I and Part II, the Bestiary is a great standalone product as well as an integral part of the Hellfrost setting. Have no doubts, this product is chock full of new, interesting creatures and handy stat blocks for more familiar ones as well as some additional content you might not expect from a Bestiary.

In my review of the Player's Guide, I had stated that the Bestiary isn't needed, but after really looking at what the Bestiary contains, I'm reconsidering that notion. There are several reference to the Bestiary for the purpose of relics and creatures, and having the Bestiary adds much to the setting with its unique monsters and sample stat blocks for the archetypes presented in the Player's Guide.

Art

For many including myself, the artwork of a bestiary or monster manual can make or break such a book. The cover can set the tone of the reader's experience, and the illustrations for each entry can capture a GM's imagination and inspire him. The Hellfrost Bestiary succeeds with its cover, but in truth, the illustrations within the book are lacking not in quality, but in quantity. This is really the only negative aspect of this book (ignoring minor typos, which don't usually bother me anyway).

The cover has the same attractive matt and glossy finish as the Player's Guide. The interior illustrations are a mix of full-color and [seemingly] penciled illustrations. The illustrations certainly invoke one's imagination, but not every creature has an illustration associated with it. This is a problem for me. I'm a visually oriented person. I'm probably spoiled to D&D products in which every monster entry and sample NPC has an illustration. This is a key feature for me. When I flip through a bestiary or monster manual, I look for things that catch my attention, things that look interesting and inspire me to include them in my game. For the entries that have illustrations, my attention is definitely drawn. I get a quick impression of what that creature is about. Otherwise, I find myself overlooking entries. (For the purpose of this review, I made sure I was thorough and at least glanced through each entry if not read it in detail.)

On one hand, a lot of the monsters are pretty common to most settings, especially fantasy settings, but the Bestiary still provides a number of monsters and races that are unique to Hellfrost, some even having unique names. For example, the Hrossval -- a breed of beastmen -- are described as "gray-skinned humanoids with immense layers of fat, beady black eyes, and short, dull tusks." This description creates more questions than it answers. Exactly how fat are they? What is their average weight? Are females just as obese? Do their tusks protrude from the bottom of their mouths like an orc's tusks or from the top like a walrus'? An illustration would help greatly.

Another disappointment is a lack of illustrations of the races that were presented in the Player's Guide. Despite being republished in the Bestiary, we still have no illustrations of how hearth elves dress or what a frostborn engro looks like for example.

Encounters

This brief section gives instructions on how to use an action deck (i.e. - a standard poker deck) to determine if an encounter occurs while the party is out exploring. It's pretty straight forward and even includes results for a drawn joker (two monsters instead of one). While random encounters with monsters is not entirely new given that it was presented in the Fantasy Bestiary Toolkit and Fantasy Companion as a sidebar, the inclusion of hazards as a possible random encounter is (see below).

Monsters

The variety of entries throughout the Bestiary vary greatly. The book presents some familiar monsters such as griffins, dragons, centaurs, ogres, and orcs as well as a collection of some new creatures beyond the standard fantasy tropes. In some instances, we get multiple versions of such monsters. Below are two examples using some of the more traditional monsters found in fantasy settings.

Dragons come in six varieties: forest, Hellfrost, marsh, storm, sun, and undead. Each breed of dragon also has tables for creating a dragon of that type at different ages, specifically hatchling, juvenile, adult, old, and ancient. (Those of you coming from a 3e background might find the presentation of dragons very familiar and comfortable.)

Orcs, including snow orcs, too, have a variety of samples listed in its entry to help GMs who would like a variety of different roles for members of an orc war band without doing all the work to write them up. We get three Wild Card orcs -- a chieftain, a priest, and a drummer (my favorite) -- and ten extras including warrior, elite warrior, apothecary, berserk, engineer, ogre-herd, rider (uses dire wolves as mounts), runner (messengers), runt, and scout. The section on orcs also includes a sidebar that discusses orc tribal traits that can be applied to an orc and includes nine sample tribes (GMs are encouraged to create their own tribes and traits).

I mentioned the deities' heralds in the review of the Player's Guide, which refers to the Bestiary for the stats, and the Bestiary did not disappoint. We have twenty-four heralds presented in this book under an entry titled "Herald of the Gods" that takes up ten pages with stat blocks for these heralds.

NPCs

These entries are excellent time savers. Want to include a skald in your next encounter? The Bestiary includes a typical skald and an experienced skald. Need a heahwisard? There's an experienced heahwisard (Wild Card), a novice heahwisard, a duelist, and a master duelist (Wild Card).

Hazards

Even More Hazards: If you're interested in even more environmental and situational hazards for your Hellfrost encounters, I highly recommend Triple Ace Games' Perilous Places & Serious Situations.

This is actually a really cool entry with eighteen environmental and weather hazards. This list includes rules for avalanches, blizzards, cold snaps, crevasses, fogs, freezing rain, heavy snowfall, Hellfrost windws, icebergs, ice flows, icicle rain, leech snow, magestorm, quicksand, razor ice (or razorice), sea blizzards, sluch ice, and warm spells (whew!). So, if you want to add some variety to your encounters, you've got a few options available.

Treasure

Heading back toward the beginning of the book, we're presented with a basic table for calculating the value of the treasure found after defeating a monster or NPC. Each monster stat block includes a line entry for Treasure. The values range from meager to treasure trove. The gs (gold scields) value associated with each treasure category is merely a number the represent the total value of the items in the creature's possession, not actual coins.

Those familiar with the Fantasy Bestiary Toolkit or the Fantasy Companion might recognize this table. What this table doesn't include is Relics or a percentage chance of a magic item being included in the treasure. The reason for this is because relics in Hellfrost are extremely rare and highly coveted.

Relics

Speaking of Relics, the back of the book includes a section on how to create custom relics. The advice is pretty sound and keeps to the "Fast! Furious! Fun!!!" principles of Savage Worlds. You won't find overly complicated pricing tables and creation rules. Instead, you'll find three short tables and explanations of how to apply the results.

Conclusion

Despite the lack of illustrations for each creature and the presence of some ambiguous descriptions, the Hellfrost Bestiary is a mine waiting to be picked for its gems. There's a lot of unforgettable encounters and monsters in this book to keep your players on their toes.

Next: Hellfrost Gazetteer!

Hellfrost Review, Part II: Player's Guide

2010-02-03T06:00:00.011-05:00

In Part I of this review series, I gave a bit of an overview of Hellfrost as a product line supported by Triple Ace Games. In this article specifically, I'm covering the Hellfrost Player's Guide which I had purchased for use in an online campaign. The Player's Guide is really the meat of the setting as it contains the core rules, character options, religion, and other crucial information necessary to run a Savage Worlds game in the Hellfrost campaign setting. Below are highlights of what the book brings to your Savage Worlds fantasy game as well as a breakdown of the strengths (and some weaknesses) of this impressive product.

A Misleading Title

To start with, the title of "Player's Guide" is actually a bit of a misrepresentation of the purpose this book serves. In the normal Savage Worlds convention, a player's guide is typically a version of the core setting book with all the GM secrets stripped out, and it's usually a bit cheaper than the main setting book (see Slipstream and Necessary Evil as examples). The Hellfrost Player's Guide is actually a complete core setting book that includes all the information needed by GMs and players wanting to use this setting. If you're familiar with the D&D v3.5 Eberron Campaign Setting, it's a lot like that; it's cover even has the beautiful glossy/matte combination that the Eberron Campaign Setting had. (Who doesn't appreciate a beautiful cover to an RPG product?)

Introduction to the World

The book gives a breakdown of the history and current affairs of the world in a larger sense. If you are looking for detailed information on a specific region or organization, you'll have to refer to the Gazetteer unfortunately. That's where the dependency on the other books begins to creep in.

You get a bit more information about the history than what's presented in the preview PDF, specifically the Blizzard War that took place five hundred years before the start of the campaign. The book also presents a brief summary of the races and cultures as well as how magic and religion are applied to the setting. The detailed rules come later though.

Map

Speaking of the world, I was slightly disappointed that the Player's Guide didn't include a map. Fortunately, Triple Ace Games provides a PDF map on the Hellfrost web page. This really isn't a sticking point for me in any way as I'm a huge advocate of online resources, but someone not plugged into the online community as much might not know to find the map online; the book makes no reference to such a map.

The PDF map is a relatively small size (11" x 17") for such a detailed continent. In fact, m.s. jackson and I both agree that the map is way too difficult to read well. I was able to print and laminate the map for less than $5 at Office Depot, but I at least would enjoy the option to have a higher resolution map available for reference on my computer.

Update: Triple Ace Games coincidentally announced today the availability of a 17" x 30" premium quality map printed on canvas and available exclusively from their online store.

Hellfrost Rassilon - Road Wardens Edition

Hellfrost fans rejoice! Chart your course over the frozen lands of Rassilon on this beautifully rendered map.

The special collectors map is printed with eco-solvent permanent inks on archival quality canvas, then coated with a professional grade acrylic varnish for added protection, this map will enhance your Hellfrost campaign for years to come!

Interestingly enough, m.s. jackson has produced a redesigned map of the lower-left quarter of the map at a higher resolution and heavily inspired by Rob Lazaretti's Forgotten Realms map. The other forum members are begging him to finish the map, but he's extremely limited on free time.

Races

This was one of the areas that resonated with my love for Greyhawk. The races include six cultures of humans (Greyhawk had five), the halfling-like engro (or engros if plural), the frost dwarf, frostborn, and two elf races, hearth and taiga. The most important thing lacking in this section was a lack of illustrations to accompany the descriptions of the races and their cultures.

Engros: Engros are similar to D&D 3e's nomadic halflings who are distrusted and regard as thieves and troublemakers. There's a bit of a tartan-like tradition in that each tribe has its own pattern associated with it. These patterns aren't defines, which allows the players and GMs to create any custom design they'd like if they care enough.

Frost Dwarves: Frost dwarves are really the only type of dwarf in Rassilon so I'm not sure why they would culturally or socially be referred to as anything other than dwarves in this setting. In any case, they are a clannish race that dwells deep in the mountains far to the north above the snowline. Recently, however, they've been migrating southward as the cold expands from the north. Frost dwarves are masters of using coldfire, a new energy type presented in Hellfrost, which is described as a fire that generates intense cold instead of heat. Frost dwarves are also familiar with rune magic and understand how to wield such power.

Frostborn: Frostborn are essentially an anomaly race. They are not an evolved race nor are they specific to any particular race. They are actually a byproduct of some unknown magical affliction that affects all races. Essentially, it's sort of like a template for the other races, that grants an innate form of hrimwisardry (cold magic) while retaining the physical traits of the base race. A frostborn engro, for example, would still have the small trait. It's unclear whether or not some traits of the base race are physical or cultural and whether the latter should apply. Returning to the example of the engro, should a frostborn engro also have the sneaky trait? It's not a physical trait, but why couldn't a frostborn engro still live oprating outside the law as described in the racial Edges and Hindrances for an engro?

Playing a frostborn comes with a price. Cold magic is feared by commoners, who believe that hrimwisardry is practiced only by those who wish to exploit this encroaching winter covering the continent.

Hearth and Taiga Elves: The taiga and hearth elves are actually both from the same hereditary line, specifically that of the hearth elves. There was some point in the past when some of the elves argued that all forests should be homes to the elves, including those that near the frozen regions. There was an amicable split, and thus the taiga elves came into being. Essentially, taiga elves are frost elves.

Another nice trope carried over from more familiar fantasy is that there is still a bit of rivalry and politics between the elves and the dwarves and between the elves and humans as well. As the elves have had to move southward into human lands, the humans have regarded any loss of their remaining resources as a serious threat, creating tension between the two.

Humans: Speaking of humans, I think this is where the races really become interesting. There are six cultures, each very different from the others. The Anari are the more urban humans who dwell in towns and cities. The Finnar are a nomadic people who live in the colder climates and have a good rapport with the taiga elves. The Saxa are clannish and live in farmsteads and villages with some towns as part of royal territories and a culture based on oaths of loyalty and principals of hospitality (recall King Hrothgar's land in The 13th Warrior or Edoras in The Lord of the Rings). Finally, there are the Tuomi, a dwindling culture of proud warriors who use bloodshed to settle disputes rather than diplomacy.

Glory

This is a new trait that's introduced in the character creation section of the book but elaborated upon in its own chapter. Essentially, Glory is a system by which you acquire fame, followers, or immortality through song. When you reach a multiple of 20 Glory, you get to spend it on a benefit listed in the chapter. These benefits really add a lot to your character's story with respect to the enjoyment of the game and the development of the campaign story and setting. It gives some additional depth for you to roleplay your character while also extending the lore of the world as you and your friends continue to develop your campaign.

Magic: 'Fast! Furious! Fun!' Turned up to 11!

Magic is handled a little differently in Hellfrost, and I think it's a system I'd actually adopt for other settings as well. In a nutshell, there are no power points to track... EVER! Instead, the conventional backlash affect for Arcane Background (Magic) was replaced by an effect known as "the Siphoning" which has the potential for permanent effects such as losing a die in your arcane skill or even permanent loss of the Arcane Background (Magic) Edge. Lesser effects are more common, such as not being able to use magic for a period of time ranging from rounds to hours to days coupled with various durations of fatigue.

The benefit of this is that you can cast or augment your magic as much as you'd like. You can also sustain magic indefinitely until you dismiss it or can no longer concentrate on it. If you felt like taking risks, you could keep casting and dropping maintainable spells until you ace, but you run the risk of suffering from the Siphoning.

Another interesting effect is the Hellfrost's weakening effect on fire magic. This effect impacts both magic and miracles. The climate in which the character is currently in applies penalties ranging from -1 to -6 depending on the temperature of the environment.

The one odd thing in the Magic chapter is the mentioning of the effects of lunar tidal flows. It's a one line reference that doesn't seem to be connected to anything. After searching Triple Ace Games' forums, I found this thread in which Wiggy explains that the rules were cut for simplicity.

Hedge Magic

Hedge magic is a nice addition to the fantasy setting genre in Savage Worlds. Hedge Magic is actually not magic at all and it does not require an Arcane Background Edge. Instead, Hedge Magic is a Professional Edge that allows anyone to use roots, leaves, and herbs for special purposes. The Player's Guide provides a list of example purposes for an herbal remedy, but it's by no means exhaustive. In fact, Triple Ace Games provides a freebie of additional Hedge Magic remedies. While hedge magic might seem like low-hanging fruit, it can take a number of hours to perform (depending on the desired bonus), and the materials can also be difficult to procure (also depending on the desired bonus).

New Options for Arcane Background (Magic)

The Hellfrost incorporates a handful of new arcane types for those with Arcane Background (Magic). Those of you familiar with the Fantasy Worldbuilder Toolkit might recognize one or two of these as evolved or finely tuned versions. The list includes hrimwisards (frost wizards), skalds (lore-keeping bards who master song magic), heahwisards (noble high wizards born into the Magocracy and use staves), rune mages (frost dwarves who draw upon magic of runes etched into objects including their own skin), druids (engro, elves, and frost dwarves who draw power from the natural energy of the plants, animals, and earth) and elementalists (those who draw their powers from the elemental realms of fire, earth, air, or water).

Spell Lists

With the different versions of magic available, the Player's Guide is kind enough to provide spell lists for each form of arcane magic, including sublists for each element for elementalism. These spell lists include spells from the core rulebook as well as the new spells available in Hellfrost. The twenty-four deities presented in the Religion chapter also include their own spell lists, making it easy for characters invoking miracles to see what's available to them.

Religion

As mentioned above, Hellfrost has a pantheon comprised of twenty-four deities. These deities encompass all aspects of the various cultures across Rassilon. The entries include important game mechanics such as the deity's herald (used by the summon herald power; herald stat blocks are presented in the Bestiary), the duties and sins, signature power (a free power automatically usable by a cleric of the deity regardless of its requirements), a list of powers available to a follower of the deity who has the Arcane Background (Miracles) Edge, and trappings for those powers. There is supposedly a "special" entry in the stat block that covers special notes regarding character generation, but I didn't see any such entries in the chapter.

In general, I love this pantheon and the rich stories behind the deities and their roles in the world. To be clear, the deities have made a compact to not interfere with the mortal world directly. However, they can influence their followers to engage with the followers of other deities. This is one thing I strongly appreciate, especially in contrast to settings like Forgotten Realms or Greyhawk in which the deities are walking around the mortal plane. It's also a halfway point between Eberron's take on the deities being absent from the world but existent only through the faith of their followers and Greyhawk's approach of gods walking the Oerth.

Cosmology

I can't mention the material plane without explaining the rest of the cosmology of the world. The great thing is that there's really only three other cosmic realms, keeping even the cosmology simple for GMs and players.

Scaetha's Hall: where the dead await judgement. Those who are deemed to have lived up to their patron deities' tenets are placed into the care of the deities' heralds and led to their afterlife.

The Hall of Echoing Screams: where those who followed no patron deity are sent; it serves as a venue for heralds to bid upon unclaimed souls. Most souls end up as demonic soldiers.

The Abyss: a place of chaos and misery. Its inhabitants are demons, demon lords, and tormented souls.

The only confusing aspect about the cosmology is how the tormented souls in the Abyss come to be if souls of loyal followers are redeemed by their respective deity and those unclaimed but won in the Hall of Echoing Screams are made into soldiers.

Update: Wiggy clarified the scenario of the Abyss with a rather horrifying answer. In many cases, some demon lords and deities will deliberately cast a soul into the Abyss. Often, these souls are followers who did not follow their duties according to the deity's desire. According to Wiggy, "If you're evil but not evil enough, even the demon lords won't do you the favor of making you a demonic soldier." In many other cases, the souls were won in bids by demon lords who want to keep the souls from other deities or demon lords and simply dump them into the Abyss for eternal torment.

Life in Rassilon

Life in Rassilon is a complete chapter unto itself, and it describes what living on this continent is like. The topics range from marriage and funerary customs to trade and travel, from language and education to the calendar and festivals. There are even sidebars giving the breakdown of seasons, schedule of lunar phases (a possible reference to the removed lunar effects on magic?), and a brief timeline history of the world.

The only thing I felt was lacking was some sort of visual calendar. Reading the description of the calendar is acceptable to an extent, but I'm a pretty visual so that could be a personal preference rather than a real issue.

Conclusion

I love the Hellfrost Player's Guide. It presents a truly fantastic setting for Savage Worlds. True, it can feel somewhat lacking without the Bestiary in particular or the Gazetteer for those who are completists and must know every detail of the world. Overall, this book makes it very obvious that Hellfrost as a setting is a labor of love.

Next: Hellfrost Bestiary!

Hellfrost Review, Part I: Introduction

2010-01-25T06:00:00.009-05:00

If you're a long time fan of Savage Worlds or just starting to learn the system, and your looking for an epic fantasy setting, you might want to take a look at Triple Ace Games' Hellfrost campaign setting for Savage Worlds.

This article is the first part of a series of articles reviewing the Hellfrost campaign setting as a whole. The subsequent articles will be reviews of the Player's Guide (PDF/print), the Bestiary (PDF/print), the Gazetteer (PDF/print), one or two of the PDF adventures available for purchase, and a few select free downloads from the bottom of the Hellfrost web page.

For a quick rundown of what the setting is about, I highly recommend reading the Hellfrost description from Triple Ace Games' Hellfrost page and the PDF preview. In general, Hellfrost is a rich, viking-inspired, fantasy setting with dark and grim tones. The land of Rassilon is plagued by an endless winter that continues to descend from the north, and all manner of evil forces threaten the peoples of Rassilon. The encroaching cold weather has been worsening over time, with the usually warmer climates turning into temperate climates, and formerly temperate climates are becoming frozen tundras. The creatures inhabiting the northern, frozen regions have descended southward.

Early Impressions

I first heard about Hellfrost via the Hellfrost Announcement podcast episode of The Game's the Thing. In it, the Triple Aces themselves offer insight into the design and development of Hellfrost and what makes the setting unique. After listening to that podcast, I became intrigued. Months later, a friend of TDoL was running a Hellfrost campaign via MapTool. I took the plunge and purchased a copy of the Hellfrost Player's Guide. I read more and more of the setting and immediately began to feel the same sentiment for it as I did for Greyhawk. Hellfrost presents a gritty setting and unique cultures, including various human cultures.

When I first read the preview and subsequently the Player's Guide, I immediately felt the same sense of wonder as I did when I first began exploring the World of Greyhawk as a setting. The Rassilon felt like a vast region of culture, magic, and adventure just waiting to be harvested. much like Greyhawk is. As a setting, it carried the same feel as Greyhawk, too, meaning one of conventional fantasy flavor rather than a fantasy setting with a weird twist such as Dark Sun, Eberron, or even Sundered Skies. If you're looking for a setting with that old school fantasy flavor, then Hellfrost is it.

Presentation and Product Support

The approach Triple Ace Games takes with presenting Hellfrost as a product is a bit different than the convention usually taken with Savage Worlds settings. Rather than publish a full version of the setting with GM info and a separate player's guide as the only two books for a setting, Triple Ace Games decided to publish three books instead: The Player's Guide, Bestiary, and Gazetter. Originally these three books were to be published one after another during spring and summer of last year, but publishing delays pushed the Bestiary and Gazetteer to this past December. To some early enthusiasts, this was somewhat frustrating as the Player's Guide references the Bestiary. Additionally, some GMs were hesitant to fully dive into the setting without the Bestiary and Gazetteer to give them stats for Hellfrost's exotic fauna and locations specifically.

The three core books, however, were designed to be mostly independent of the others, and Triple Ace Games' support via PDF adventures and free downloads has filled the gaps for GMs who wanted something to give them a taste of adventures in Hellfrost. The Player's Guide is essentially what you need to play the game. While it makes a lot of references to the Bestiary, these references didn't hinder the enjoyment and utility of the Player's Guide itself. All of the setting's unique game mechanics are included in this book as well as a complete pantheon, a world history timeline, and descriptions of daily life in Rassilon, the continent on which the setting takes place. The Bestiary is designed to primarily supports the setting but can also be used by GMs who are looking for monsters to steal for use in other settings. The Gazetteer has an approach similar to the 3e D&D Gazeteer and Living Greyhawk Gazetteer with stats and descriptions of nations and locales across Rassilon and almost no game mechanics presented within it. Wiggy has also stated on the Hellfrost forums that the Hellfrost Gazetteer can be used with any role-playing game. A GM could simply take Rassilon and drop the continent into his own setting.

Pros and Cons

Hellfrost as a product line is a pretty solid and safe investment. Initially, the entry cost can seem a bit steep with the Player's Guide costing $29.99 and the Bestiary and Gazetteer costing $34.99 each. A player will need to buy a copy of the Player's Guide, which is pretty expensive as player's guides go, but the $19.99 PDF could be a more affordable option. A GM might be compelled to purchase all three books, but it's definitely not necessary as illustrated above. At the very least, a time-crunched GM gains the benefit of having a plethora of adversaries and locations to create his custom adventures. If the GM sticks to just the Player's Guide, there are plenty of affordable PDF adventures for Hellfrost to torture... uh, entertain his players.

Next: Hellfrost: Player's Guide

The Batman Writer's Guide: A Useful Tool for GMs

2010-01-15T09:00:00.003-05:00

I stumbled upon the Batman Writer's Guide after seeing it on Berin Kinsman's Uncle Bear Blog, and having been a fan of the show, I figured it might be interesting to read through the document. Wow, I am glad I did. This document, called a "writer's bible" by the authors, has amazing insight into what the people behind the series wanted and demanded of the writers of the show. While it is over a hundred pages long, it is a quick read due to the numerous pieces of artwork from the show, the heavy formatting that keeps each page to a few paragraphs, and nearly the entire second half is all art from the series, which creates an excellent visual reference for the series and really captures the feel.

Now, you may ask why I thought this would be good for our blog. I initially had second thoughts as well. Following my read through, it suddenly came to me that this is the sort of "guidebook," or bible, a GM should have. Most of us probably do something similar for our campaigns, but this document lays it out clearly and cleverly in a way that I feel many GMs could really learn from and would certainly make our games better. Here are a few highlights:

The short passage early on about the structure of each episode alone is well worth the read, and it showcases how many of our own games could be improved to increase player enthusiasm for campaigns. The small details on pacing, and the use of cliffhangers should help remind GMs about keeping player involvement and interest at a maximum.
The cast overviews are excellent, and I fully believe a player could run these characters using just the data provided in these short write-ups. Each character is detailed to express their motivations, connection to Batman, and really their purpose for actually being on the show (if only all of our NPCs were this well written up). I think this is probably one of the best things about this document. It stresses the keys that make up each character and does not dwell on stats as so many GMs will do when creating characters.
The main villain write-ups are excellent examples for all of us to follow. They are detailed enough that you know who they are, why they do what they do, and what they want to accomplish. These should be the model for our villains that we try to emulate in our games. Your players will appreciate strong and well thought out villains like these.
The short list of quick episode synopses is a great way to prepare your campaign. They are not connected from episode to episode here, but in your own campaign you should connect them. Doing a plan like this for your campaign would help provide focus and drive to the campaign and the short synopses here are just enough to work for a GM.

Jason Morningstar's Fiasco Available for Preorder

2009-12-28T06:00:00.001-05:00

If our interview with Jason Morningstar interested you, particularly the discussion about Fiasco, you might be pleased to know that Fiasco is now available as a Print+PDF pre-order bundle at Indie Press Revolution. Pre-order the book for $20 and get a free PDF download now!

Buried Tales of Pinebox, Texas on Sale

2009-12-09T13:53:00.000-05:00

Buried Tales of Pinebox, Texas -- an anthology of horror stories based on 12 to Midnight's Pinebox adventures for Savage Worlds -- is on sale for $4.49 (regular price is $11.99). That's a pretty cheap price for an anthology of good horror stories (and ideas for your next Savage Worlds horror game).

Authors include:

Jason L Blair
Preston P. DuBose
Trey Gorden
Derek Gunn
Jess Hartley
Shane Lacy Hensley
Charles Rice
Monica Valentinelli
David Wellington
Ed Wetterman
J.D. Wiker
Filamena Young

Waving with Google Groups

2009-12-08T23:15:00.002-05:00

According to this official Google Wave blog entry, Google Wave is now officially supporting Google Groups and the permissions associated with each of your individual Google Groups. It's a pretty simple setup. Conveniently, if you already have the Google Group email address among your contacts in Gmail or your Google Account, they'll automatically appear in your contacts in Wave, too.

Google Photos Blog: Picasa 3.6 Now with Collaborative Albums

2009-12-08T17:12:00.003-05:00

In Gaming with Picasa Web Albums, I mentioned a tip about using the Picasa desktop software to synchronize albums. I also mentioned the option to collaborate with albums. One thing I omitted was that Picasa 3.5 didn't properly support it. Well now Picasa 3.6 does. Read on to learn more.

Google Photos Blog: Picasa 3.6: Now with collaborative albums

"In August, 2009, we released collaborative albums for Picasa Web Albums, making it possible for multiple people to add pictures to the same album. Since the easiest way to upload to Picasa Web Albums is using the Picasa software, we're happy to announce that in Picasa 3.6 you can upload photos and videos directly to friends' collaborative albums. Just select your photos, click the 'Upload' button, and select 'Contribute to a friend's album.' Type the name of your friend and Picasa will show you the albums to which you have permission to contribute."

Review: Steampunk Dice Set and Savage Worlds Wild Die from Q-Workshop

2009-12-07T06:00:00.012-05:00

Recently, I was given the opportunity to review a set of Steampunk dice sent to me by Q-Workshop, a dice company based in Poland that is well-known for their eccentric and beautifully designed dice and dice sets such as their Runic dice or more recent Call of Cthulhu dice.

When Q-Workshop reached out for reviews of their dice, I desperately wanted to get my hands on the new Wild Die from the Deadlands set, too. I wasn't interested in reviewing the entire set as it had already been discussed and viewed on Pinnacle's forums, but I really wanted to get a good look at the design of that Wild Die. When I asked about possibly obtaining one, Q-Workshop was more than happy to provide one for this review.

Steampunk Dice Design

The Steampunk dice set, designed by Shannon Couture, is actually a winning design of Q-Workshop's 2008 Dice Design Contest. One look at these polyhedrals and you can see why. The design is a clean and elegant one with enough style to set them apart from more plain looking dice sets.

The different dice have different designs that invoke the steampunk genre. The d20, d4, and d8 have a clockworks design featuring screws in the corners of each number and gears surrounding the numbers. The d10s feature a steampipe design surrounding each face. The d6 and d12 have a mix of both.

While I have found Q-Workshop dice to have enticing designs in the past, I never really felt they were clear enough to read quickly when at the game table. I've often preferred the more basic dice designs from competing dice manufacturers. In fact, my most commonly used dice set is a Chessex set with black on ivory. To be fair, though, the more recent Q-Workshop sets have been much cleaner in their designs, leaving the numbers uncrowded with clear fonts to distinguish the digits and identify them with a quick glance. They've even made sure to mark the 6 and 9 with a pip at the base to distinguish the two.

Savage Worlds Wild Die

This die is another example of a clean, eye-catching design. Each face is a hand of cards fanned with the face value on the topmost card. The cool thing is that each face is a winning hand of some type.

1: 10, Jack, Queen, and a pair of 9s
2: 9, a pair of 10s, and a pair of Jacks
3: 10, Jack, and 3 Queens
4: a pair of Jacks and 3 Queens
5: 3 Kings and 2 Queens
6: 10, Jack, Queen, King, Ace

The 6 is a bit different as it has the infamous Smiling Jack icon rather than a 6 on the topmost card. As any Savage Worlds player knows, a 6 on a Wild Die aces (hence the Ace on the face), meaning you get to reroll it and add to the total value, with each successive 6 continuously adding to the value. If you're familiar with Q-workshop's designs, you'll quickly realize that this approach to each face having a different design is somewhat unique. Most of their dice have the same general pattern on each face with only the value differing. They've taken great care to specifically alter each face on the Wild Die with a higher-ranked hand to correspond with the higher valued face.

My first thought when I saw the photograph on the Pinnacle forums was how great it would be to create custom dice sets for Savage Worlds settings using the designs already available from Q-Workshop.

Runic + Wild Die: RunePunk or Hellfrost
Cthulhu + Wild Die: Realms of Cthulhu
Steampunk + Wild Die: RunePunk or Clockworks
Celtic + Wild Die: Hellfrost

You get the idea. I only hope that Q-Workshop decides to sell the Wild Die individually because it really makes a nice addition to one's dice bag, especially if you're a Savage Worlds player or GM.

Bonus Promotional Die

Those of you with keen observations will notice two d6s in the little bag in the embedded slideshow. Q-Workshop was not only kind enough to throw in the Wild Die, they also sent a promotional d6 advertising the designs of their other dice sets. Each face on this d6 features a different design from among the Celtic, Elven, Runic, Steampunk and Dwarven dice sets. Dwarven dice sets? Wait a minute. Where did that come from. Oh, yeah! Shannon also won the aforementioned contest with a Dwarven dice design.

Conclusion

As I mentioned above, I used to have opposition to Q-Workshop's dice designs because I felt their intricate designs made the dice difficult to read. I even had my eyes set on a set of their Dragon dice for my Eberron campaign (the design looked similar to the O-dragon in the 3e Eberron logo, and I always liked the dragon-themed lore of Eberron). The price was a bit of a sticking point for me as well (approx. $18-20 USD), but now that I have these in my hand and can see them up close, I would confidently say that these are worth the money. I think they also make a great gift to give to a steampunk-loving GM as a token of appreciation. So, if you're looking for ideas for a holiday gift or next year's GM's Day (March 4th), you should consider picking up a set of these dice, perhaps splitting the price with your gaming group. Hopefully, the Wild Die will be sold individually as well so that you can buy a batch for your gaming group, too.

If you'd like to purchase these dice, you can find them on Q-Workshop's web store, Paizo.com, or Amazon.com.

Interview with Jason Morningstar, Designer of Fiasco

2009-12-04T06:01:00.002-05:00

Jason Morningstar is best known for his games The Shab-al-Hiri Roach and Grey Ranks, a role-playing game about the 1944 Warsaw Uprising, which shared the 2008 Diana Jones Award with Wolfgang Bauer.

He is almost finished with a new game, Fiasco, which aims to recreate the kind of fiction we are accustomed to seeing in the films of Joel and Ethan Coen. This fiction can be described, to quote Jason out of context, as gut-punching-emo-indie-narrativist-misery tourism.

Fiasco is for mature gamers who enjoy playing through bleak and sometimes bloody scenarios. It is also no-prep and GM-less, which is great for a harried GM who has a screaming infant to help care for (cough, cough).

Brennen Reece: What's Fiasco's elevator pitch?

Jason Morningstar: Fiasco is a game about powerful ambition and poor impulse control.

You engineer and play out stupid, disastrous situations, usually at the intersection of greed, fear, and lust. It's like making your own Coen brothers movie, in about the same amount of time it'd take to watch one.

BR: I'm guessing the fiction is more in line with Barton Fink or Blood Simple than The Hudsucker Proxy or Raising Arizona.

JM: Blood Simple is the ultimate model, perfect in every aspect. But a Raising Arizona feel isn't uncommon--the tone depends a lot on how you set up your game and how you like to play.

BR: Will you be including a filmography in the text?

JM: Yes! I list 54 inspirational films, arranged in categories. So, you've got your note perfect fiascoes like Burn After Reading. Historical goatscrews like Bad Day at Black Rock. Less-lethal clusterf***'s like Bad Santa. Ugly bloodbaths like The Way of the Gun. International s***storms like City of God. And crimes that do not pay, like Jackie Brown. Basically movies that span many genres but cling to the core element of human ambition and failure.

BR: Wow. I love so many of those movies. I'm very happy to see Bad Day at Black Rock on the list.

What inspired you to write Fiasco?

JM: Originally it was a game called Hat Creek in which you built a western town from scratch and then played in it. I'd forgotten that! Pretty soon the relationships you made as part of building the town became way more interesting to me, and I realized that focusing on relationships rather than characters was the game's killer app. Then I realized the fixed setting wasn't necessary, and that the initial "engineering" could set up a really fun situation, with enough freedom for it to be fresh every time. Finally, the "criminal failure" sub-genre really clicked, and I began devouring films and seeing the same relationship framework again and again. So, a series of happy accidents as the project evolved, coupled with my current interest in providing useful constraints to the fiction--in this case sort of guided oracles implying powerful situations in a cool way and die-handling that paces play, as well as randomizes and guides authorship.

BR: What's your creative process like?

JM: I'm usually inspired by some media, history, or something, and simultaneously there are interesting constraints I've seen in other games, or bits that work especially well, and I want to find ways to incorporate those, or sometimes there are specific problems or lessons learned that I want to address. Usually, I work on a bunch of things at once, and the individual projects thrive or die on their own merit, in their own time. Some percolate back up later, some get scavenged. Like I wrote this very weird game called Elmer Sapp that never quite worked and never saw the light of day, but I love it, and now the Elmer Sapp DNA is in two other projects I am also loving. And to refer back to the previous question, one of these project just jumped out at me after reading about a very unusual historical incident, and the other came from an arbitrary constraint in a game design contest.

BR: Where are you now with the design process? When will you be releasing Fiasco?

JM: Fiasco has had some problems in the layout stage because I want it to be really perfect, and it hasn't been. The rules are locked. Layout is ongoing. It won't be long.

BR: Now that the rules are finalized, are you working on any other game designs?

JM: Yes! I tend to have three or four games in process at any one time. I'm participating in Nathan Paoletta's "Two games, One Title" challenge, and Ashok Desai and I are writing different versions of The Plant, which is fun. I'm working on a pair of card-based games: Cowboys with Big Hearts and Carolina Death Crawl. The former is a sort of mythic, death-of-the-west fantasy about dying cowboys going on one last ride, and getting juiced up with patent medicine to keep it together. The latter is a southern gothic sort of thing based on actual historical events--Potter's Raid, in July of 1863, where a bunch of dudes, including locals sympathetic to the Union, rode into the Tar river valley and burned down four towns. Being familiar with North Carolina cultural values, I was struck by the notion of local boys riding as scouts for the Union army. These games are super focused and small. Further out is Medical Hospital, the Medical Game of Medical Melodrama, which I adore but isn't firing on all cylinders yet.

BR: How do you go about marketing your games?

JM: Up until now I've been very haphazard about it. I sent out a few review copies, I encouraged play reports, I flacked them at conventions. Now I'm re-assessing, trying to set clear goals, and being more deliberate with my efforts to market my games.

BR: What advice do you have for would-be game designers such as myself?

JM: All the tools are very accessible if you want to jump into small press publishing. There's a big community of people willing to help you. As far as the actual design goes, I'd advise you to not pay too much attention to what other people are saying and doing. I, for example, am very much rooted in a world view and play style that is going to color my advice, and I can't really help that. I think the most practical advice I can give is to get involved, which you are, Brennen, practice reciprocity, help others, support your friends, and be a positive and helpful person. This is how you get commenters, play testers, collaborators, and friends. By commenting, playtesting, collaborating, and being a friend. Also, don't spend money you can't afford to lose.

BR: Tell me about your family and professional life. How does that relate to gaming? Where are the overlaps? What about conflicts?

JM: I've been married for seven years to my wife, Autumn, and she's extremely rad. By her choice there is a firewall where gaming is concerned--she wants no part of it herself--but she recognizes what a positive thing it is for me and encourages me at every turn. I arranged our gaming schedule to overlap with the night she works late, so it doesn't cut into family time too much. I'm in two weekly groups, and the other includes my brother, so I see him a lot and that's always fun. Last week his character got thrown in a well and drowned, good times. Honestly, Autumn is so supportive there are no conflicts--I'm sensitive to her needs and encourage her lunatic hobbies just like she encourages mine. As far as Bully Pulpit Games goes, her mandate was "you cannot lose money," and that hasn't been an issue, happily.

BR: What you just said about your brother, about his character drowning, really emphasizes a play style difference from how most people (that I know, anyway) approach role-playing games. I'm a pretty masochistic player, and I'm okay with bad rolls since they make interesting fiction. For a lot of the people I play with, a night of bad rolls can ruin the game.

JM: That's cool, good luck to them. Most of the people I play with regularly are fine with their character getting hosed, if it makes for a more interesting, fun, or challenging session. I'm pretty aggressive about putting my guy in bad situations because it acts as a catalyst for action and conflict, which I enjoy. There's so little time, let's go! It's just a play style that privileges the fiction over the character a bit and I recognize that it isn't everyone's cup of tea. It isn't even my cup of tea always--I was recently in a game where I grew to really care about my guy, and then it was "hell no!" when people started pushing on him.

In the example above, my brother Scott was in a big conflict during his spotlight episode (we're playing Primetime Adventures), and another player's intention was "throw Rodrigo in the sacrificial well." That guy won, Scott lost, we all cheered. We made it clear that Rodrigo can--and probably should--come back next week for the final episode, either in person or as a ghost or whatever. But we were all happy he lost, because in the context of the season's narrative arc, it made sense and was very satisfying.

BR: What's your favorite game that has come out in the past year?

JM: Montsegur 1244, hands down.

Beautiful and tight. Very influential to me and eye-opening. Frederik says he was inspired by some of my stuff to a degree, so we're on the same wavelength regarding game play and thematic content, but he took it much, much farther and coupled it with a Danish sensibility that I really like. A great game.

BR: I've been meaning to pick that up, but I keep getting distracted by the huge number of games that are coming out.

The whole "indie/storygames" movement is starting to pick up steam and a lot of folks who usually play games like Savage Worlds or D&D are starting to get interested in them.

Do you have any advice where they should start to make the transition easier? Any must-play games?

JM: First of all, I know a ton of people who love D&D and Savage Worlds and also play Hero's Banner and [Primetime Adventures]. It isn't either/or. That said, one game that I feel retains a nice balance between new ideas and a more traditional feel is The Shadow of Yesterday, which sort of puts the lie to the notion that player characters need to be balanced for everybody to have a good time. It's also strongly player-focused and a GM can't plan too much, which is fun. Ultimately you should try games that look cool to you, and don't over-think it. Conventions are a great place to get a feel for many different games and styles of play with little investment or risk.

BR: What's this Trail of Cthulhu scenario you're writing?

JM: It's called The Black Drop.

BR: Is it a purist Lovecraftian adventure, pulp, or something else?

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JM: More pulpy but a mix, actually. It could be played either way. The setup is that you are going to the Kerguelen archipelago (49°15′S 69°35′E) for various reasons, and there's some seriously bad things happening there that you inevitably get involved in. There are Nazis and monsters. It's stuffed with real history. There's a passage in Foucault 's Pendulum where Eco talks about how if you look closely at something, it gets weirder and weirder--he explains the occult significance of an ice cream cart--and that was my case with the Kerguelen islands. A lot of deeply strange stuff has gone down there. On top of that, the whole adventure is designed to force difficult ethical choices on you, and at a certain point you must decide whether aligning yourself with evil is ever justified, and what you are willing to sacrifice to stop an even greater evil.

BR: Your games tend to make players make difficult ethical choices. Is this an intentional aesthetic, or just something that happens?

JM: I really like that in my gaming, so it ends up in my games some. It's almost a cliche, really. "Tough choices," shorthand for gut-punching-emo-indie-narrativist-misery tourism.

BR: I personally dig that in the fiction I consume, so I'm attracted to it in my gaming as well. For me, that even trickles into more traditional gaming. Why did you decide to write a scenario for Trail of Cthulhu instead of a new game?

JM: It seemed like the perfect vehicle for my idea, which was predicated on this weird, fascinating history of the Kerguelens. The adventure just touches on it, and you get a little sense of it through historical document handouts and so forth, but it is an awesomely strange place. I'd been researching it aimlessly, and Graham Walmsley encouraged me.

BR: To write it up for Trail of Cthulhu.

JM: Right. It turns out Trail of Cthulhu is a pretty hard game to write for! The format is very specific and takes a lot of thought to get right.

BR: What stage of development is it in now?

JM: Almost done. I'm running it at MACE, a regional con, next weekend. I need to tighten it up, write up the example PCs, incorporate play-test feedback, then it is out the door for some external play testing.

BR: Are you a Lovecraft fan?

JM: Not really. I like weird horror and pulp, though.

BR: Thanks for talking with me, Jason. I'm really looking forward to seeing some new games from you.

Interview: Sean Preston on Realms of Cthulhu

2009-11-24T06:00:00.005-05:00

There's been a long stretch of excitement ever since Reality Blurs first announced Realms of Cthulhu for Savage Worlds, and now the wait is over. There have been a few reviews of this new product (Unclebear.com and Gnome Stew), and the forums at Reality Blurs and Pinnacle Entertainment have been buzzing with discussions about the setting and how it works with the system. Reality Blurs President Sean Preston takes some time to answer a few personal questions and fill us in on some of his ideas and perspectives on the design, development, and play of this new Savage Worlds setting based on H.P. Lovecraft's Cthulhu mythos. I tried to ask the questions I thought might be stirring in the maddened minds of those who are still undecided about this product. Read on to see what Sean has to say.

First, let's start with some introductory questions. How were you introduced to role-playing games, and what games have you played since then?

My older brothers brought home the original D&D game way back when, and I was fascinated from the beginning, and played whenever they would let me. As I got a bit older, we had a family hobby shop, Viking Hobbies, which specialized in roleplaying games and all sorts of board and miniature games. I've played and been exposed to all sorts of RPGs -- D&D (all flavors); Stormbringer; Call of Cthulhu; Runequest; Traveler; Man, Myth, & Magic; Powers & Perils; Bunnies & Burrows... I should probably stop now. I even recall one put out by SPI that was so complicated that your stats were calculated based upon your home world and had adjusted columns depending upon the gravity of the current planet you were exploring...

What is your favorite gaming memory?

There are a number that stand out, both personally and professionally, but let's go with one that's particularly humorous. I had a buddy running a terrific Stormbringer campaign, and we had just looted a body. We were playing anti-heroes to the hilt, and this was back in the day when guys used to roll to see who got treasure picks first. Well, we both wanted these fine, emerald gloves that had powers quite similar to the Green Lantern's ring, but we'll come back to that in a moment. He rolled a 99 and was looking particularly smug, then I picked up the dice and rolled ‘00'. You must remember, the power of double ‘0' was particularly mystical in those days, so I got first pick. My friend was playing a vicious, treacherous Pan Tangian swordsman, and decided to keep the gloves anyway as he had been wearing them. To that end, he created a green horse, and began to ride away. He forgot that my own character, a Melnibonean swordsman with some bound air elementals, could match pace, and I came upon him with my deadly, demon-bound spear to finish him off. Did I mention this was a high-powered campaign? As I caught up with him, he thought he'd finish me off, and used the gloves to create an emerald sword in his hands? The GM asked if he was sure, and smiling, my friend grinned at me, began warming up his dice, and said, "Yes." My friend forgot, for that moment, that the gloves could manifest only one thing at a time, and while he got the sword, his horse disappeared beneath him, and he tumbled through the air, to land before me. As a Melnibonean, I showed him the traditional mercy that one grants a friend, and killed him swiftly, tucking the gloves in my belt. I never really wanted them, you see; I just didn't trust him with them...

As adult gamers, we don't have the disposable income or free time as we had when we were younger, but there are ways to continue maintaining some semblance of a gaming lifestyle. How do you manage your time between your personal life, work, and gaming? What practices and tips can you offer our readers?

I can appreciate where you're coming from on this, as I've been in various places and spaces in my life where gaming had to give a bit in lieu of other concerns. I count myself lucky to be involved in the industry and immersing myself in the work daily. Sometimes, I immerse myself too much, such as with pending projects and deadlines, but the thing is to take time out for relaxation. My buddies had other demands on their times, but earlier this year, I connected with some other gamers, and we've got a regular, solid game group together. The past few years, however, my gaming consisted primarily of playtesting and con games. They offer different experiences than regular play.

My advice to gamers is to reach out to a group in your area and make connections. I know many forums offer venues to find other like-minded gamers, and I've had personal success getting permission from the local hobby stores in calling out for new gamers by putting out flyers and what-have-you. Once you have a group, you need to set a regular schedule and channels of communication -- a Yahoo! group or mailing list lets everyone know who is available and when. Finally, you need to try to keep the group going regularly, even if it's you and one other guy. You can play board games, talk about gaming, or do some one-on-one roleplaying, but you keep the pattern alive and maintain your commitment. People can feel your passion and work it out as well. Finally, be realistic. I used to game nearly every day, back in the day. Now, I shoot for once a week, but am happy with at least once every other week.

Chaosium's Basic Roleplaying (BRP) system is the tradition for Call of Cthulhu (CoC) games. What's the benefit of bringing a Cthulhu RPG to Savage Worlds via Realms of Cthulhu (RoC)? Is there anything new that RoC brings to the game table?

Realms of Cthulhu offers the versatility of varying play styles that enable the Keeper and his group to easily tailor the game specifically to their group. This was something that I wanted to do from the outset rather than just take a purely pulp perspective. People have responded very well to this. Through simple tweaks, the feel of the game or even a given scenario changes dramatically.

I love Call of Cthulhu and, while writing this, it was paramount we captured the Lovecraftian feel. Our audience seems to agree. Anything new? Well, we have some nifty generators for Mythos tales, creatures, books, and magic. RoC introduces a brand new sanity system and really opens up the inclusion of the Mythos to any of the existing settings already out there for Savage Worlds. We also have a nice section on supporting cast members. Rather than specific people by name, we have a hefty number of characters that easily fill the role of the supporting cast, be they allies or adversaries.

While this core book cleaves closely to traditional tropes, it is because we needed to establish a solid foundation before expanding outwards. I'm very familiar with Charleston, South Carolina, and our support material is going to focus primarily on expanding out the boundaries of the Mythos. The robust conversion tables we offer showing how to convert between RoC and CoC will have the pleasant benefit of making these new works of interest to all Keepers.

One consideration I had in the design of the game is something I had heard from gamers over the years -- the issue of death and insanity in Call of Cthulhu. Let's face it. The game can be lethal, and you invariably will go mad. That's part of the appeal. Right? Certainly. However, it puts off a segment of players that actually want to develop a character over a period of time without the immediate worries of an early grave. To that end, the play styles help in designing a campaign and setting the level of expectation for a group.

Is RoC a viable entry point for those new to Cthulhu RPGs, or should one start with Chaosium's BRP version? In other words, does one need familiarity with Chaosium's CoC to play RoC, or does RoC adhere well to the themes in CoC?

RoC is a great entry point for those new to the Mythos. We offer a solid framework for player and Keeper alike, and the skill set is easily translatable. A segment of our playtesters had no previous experience with CoC, was instantly hooked, and ran out and got a lot of the adventures offered by Chaosium. This we took as beneficial to everybody. RoC cleaves closely to the themes found in traditional Mythos works, as well as Call of Cthulhu. We walked a fine line between innovation and tradition. For example, while Call of Cthulhu has Harvey Walters as its traditional archetype, we have Amanda Locke. We want to offer new materials for the long time Cthulhu fan, as well as those just coming to the party, so we have such things as the obligatory dysfunctional family found in Drake Manor.

As Shane Hensley reiterated in his interview with us, Savage Worlds was designed for the adult gamer who has a job, a spouse or partner, kids, etc. How might RoC facilitate a limited gaming lifestyle? Is it better suited for such an audience than BRP? Does it still follow the ‘Fast! Furious! Fun!' philosophy of Savage Worlds?

RoC is designed to integrate seamlessly into Savage Worlds, so for those already familiar with Savage Worlds, there is the slightest of learning curves with how terror and magic function. The creatures are very detailed, but since a traditional Mythos scenario is nothing like a dungeon crawl, it's not cumbersome for the Keeper. We follow the philosophy of Savage Worlds by having a madness track analogous to the damage track, and with only a handful of Edges and Hindrances. Defining Interests, something developed first for Iron Dynasty, and first debuting in Ravaged Earth, are used here to help the player round out their investigator with a few more details.

Is it better suited for such an audience than BRP? That's so difficult to say. BRP is a solid system and I've enjoyed it immensely over the years, and it's not cumbersome at all. It's different. It's kind of like asking is Cribbage superior to Pinochle? It depends on who is playing. I've played some games in the past, such as Rolemaster or Chivalry & Sorcery, that under the right GM and with the right people, flowed more smoothly than some of the simpler game systems on the market.

Several of the options in RoC allow for a more action based game and can easily scratch that pulpy itch some of the folks are looking for, while still maintaining that dark edge. I have a great time playing it, and I hope everyone else does too.

CoC is known to have various types of playstyles. Savage Worlds is typically associated with pulp action gaming despite its ability to accomodate other styles of play. What does the content in RoC present in terms of the tone or style of play using Savage Worlds?

We offer four play styles: Heroic Horror, Slippery Slope, Dangerous Action, and Dark Spiral. This is on a sliding scale from pulpy to gritty. Our preferred in house style is Slippery Slope as it combines the fusion of what we deem the best elements of both: the cinematic action of Savage Worlds, and the mind-shattering dangers of the Mythos. While the mechanics are succinctly presented, we go on to give a lot of consideration to the type of game a given group wants to play in, and insight on how to build a campaign around a certain style. Mechanics only go so far. To that end, I've shared a lot of the personal knowledge and experience I've gleaned in running games over the years in helping the Keeper shape their game, and how to clearly define expectations.

In essence, we give you a Cthulhu toolkit that lets the Keeper run the game as he sees fit, be it high-flying, over-the-top action, or to what I call traditional Lovecraftian, the Dark Spiral, which keeps with the Mythos stories that are, I daresay, a bit more mind numbingly sanguine than the traditional CoC game.

We've heard about the pulp vs gritty options present in the game, but only about the gritty damage rules and new sanity rules. What other changes to traditional Savage Worlds have you incorporated into the game.

I might have hit on these before, but Defining Interests is one of the bigger changes that we've instituted. Those familiar with Ravaged Earth will already be familiar with these. Our fan base has really liked that particular tweak, and it's something we'll be instituting in our other settings as we move forward. The introduction of the Sanity system is one of the bigger changes, and that cascades throughout everything. Magic is given a solid treatment, and we have a handful of new Edges and Hindrances, but Savage Worlds has such a robust rules set that all we needed to do was concentrate on those elements that defined the Mythos to us.

Some Cthulhu fans struggle with the idea of a character running up and punching/shooting/saying witty quips as the Old Ones get trounced in pulpy fights. Some fans feel that one of the core tenants of Cthulhu is the idea that we are mere humans against an insurmountable evil. Do you see the pulpy Cthulhu as a change to the core mythos, or a growth of it?

Really? I never saw the separation between Cthulhu and pulp. Lovecraft wrote pulp fiction and that's where he and his contemporaries had an outlet for their outré ideas. It was within pulp that Cthulhu was born. I talk about the varying style of player and there is room for all of us. Some of us even enjoy variety.

Realms of Cthulhu is a roleplaying game of cosmic horror. So be it. We are not deviating so radically from anything that has been done before. The main difference is the rules set we provide more easily facilitates such play. Chaosium has done a lot of adventures and campaign books, and the one that most readily leaps to mind as a pulp campaign is Masks of Nyarlathotep. Tell me, I'm wrong. The only danger in that campaign is the brutality of the combat system in BRP. It doesn't readily support the style of play that Masks begs for. That's not a knock on the system. BRP models damage as the "you really don't want to get in a fight" sense that encourages caution and forethought. Something really ahead of the curve when it was first released.

Savage Worlds allows for some rough and tumble action right out of the gate. The name suggests that though. Doesn't it? The combat system of Savage Worlds allows physicalities to not dominate play time, and thus can encourage more melees. Remember, even in a pulpy context, do most folks really want to punch a deep one in the face? When we designed the creatures and sample investigators, we've stressed taking a more realistic approach to character design. Focus on building your investigator rather than just building a combat monster.

I have a paragraph on the first page of the player's section entitled "Wherein Lies Hope?" that sums up the goal for the investigators. They are good guys fending off the evil. I drafted this early on, and tried to adhere to that as the project moved forward. Yes. Things are bad, but inaction is often worse than action, terrible and dangerous though those actions may be.

Do you plan to develop additional products for this as a line, or is this a one shot product?

We already have a number of things in the works. Nearest and dearest to my heart is Echo of Dead Leaves, a plot point campaign book that will also provide detailed information on Charleston, SC circa 1927. I'm neck deep in this, and we've got a number of top flight writers involved in working on our Mythos Tales series. We're also sorting out details for a screen, as well as a few other surprises.

Reality Blurs has a close relationship with 12 to Midnight. You've even mentioned in past interviews how some products from both companies are somewhat interconnected such as Agents of Oblivion (AoO) and Pinebox/East Texas University (ETU). Do you have similar collaborative plans for RoC as well?

Not at present. As a licensed product line, we have to maintain more rigorous controls than we might with some of our other lines.

Switching gears a bit, tell us about some upcoming products for your other lines such as Ravaged Earth and AoO.

Clockwork Dragons is a new RunePunk adventure I've penned. We also will be releasing the figure flats for RunePunk, as well as the PDF of DarkSummer Nights very shortly. Agents of Oblivion is going through updates and edits, and Case Files are in development for it. More Relics & Rumors and new adventures will be rolled out for Ravaged Earth, along with the plot point campaign. However, we don't want to give too much away yet. For now, I'd like to sign off with a huge thank you to everyone for their support of Reality Blurs and our latest release, Realms of Cthulhu!

Commentary: Adventures are not Written in Stone

2009-11-19T09:18:00.003-05:00

Kurt "Telas" Schneider's article "A Game is a Work in Progress" was a pretty solid one, focusing on the unnecessarily running or creating adventures as perfect formulas based on the rules and instead focusing on making the game work.

However, this one particular paragraph really resonated with me, and I thought it was sound enough advice to repeat it.

"Repeat after me: A game is a work in progress.

Adventures are not written in stone. Nothing about them is “canon” until it is revealed at the table. Until that time, GMs are free to make the necessary changes to get the adventure to work for their group.

Remember that your adventure is going to be run by you, not by some zero-imagination computer program, and not by some pimply-faced volunteer greenhorn GM who couldn’t pour piss out of a boot if the instructions were printed on the heel. Why perfect and re-write the adventure, when you know full well that your players are going to trash your best-laid plans, and you’ll be improvising after the first hour?"
- A Game is a Work in Progress (view on Google Sidewiki)

It's not like we have the spare time to write perfected works of art for a game of make-beleive anyway.