Tales From The Savage Troll

Happy Dance - I'm Gaming Again

noreply@blogger.com (R K Athey) — Tue, 13 Apr 2021 11:52:00 +0000

It's been a long drought for me since my last game, as far back as October of 2019. Back then, my long-time gaming friends from high school got together at a small Comic Expo near our hometown. We call our rare get-togethers Hawacon. So this would be Hawacon 2019.

I expected to run a Savage Worlds Bureau 13 - Stalking the Night Fantastic game. The beloved 80s RPG was due for a Kickstarter to be fulfilled as a SWADE Setting by game time. Sadly, that fell apart so I created my own game setting utilizing Bureau 13 as inspiration.

The Comic Expo was within Brigandry Games, an ex-Walmart turned Friendly Local Game Store. The convention space was large and we were the only tabletop gamers present. The game became yet another con destination as attendees strolled by and watched for a while. It was a little odd and a lot loud but we had a great game.

We planned to get together again a few months later to finish the scenario but then Covid hit - and kept hitting. So we gave up. I would have switched to an online-only game but we have several Luddites who refuse to join a remote game and a few others that don't have the network bandwidth. There are 12 of us so just scheduling a Hawacon is like wrestling squid.

Once the vaccines rolled out we decided it would be safe to try again but there were a number of us who were still uncomfortable with a face-to-face meeting. MapTool and Google Meet came to our rescue. Hawacon 2021 was on!

Our venue was the Texan Theater, which is an upscale venue in our hometown. It has wifi, big-screen TVs, and catered meals. Overall the best con experience of our gaming careers. Our host is a long-time friend to many of our group and we're very lucky they let us use such a nice place.

We picked up after a year and a half like we'd never stopped gaming in the first place. Three of our members could be present so we cranked up MapTool for visuals and used Google Meet for video conferencing. There were a few technical glitches but overall the system worked.

For the next game, we'll improve the camera system. Last time we depended on a laptop and a cell phone. We'll use a webcam suspended over the table with a mic so the remote folks can hear and a cell phone mounted behind the GM in addition to the original laptop so remote players can see the in-person group from both ends of the table.

MapTool Savage Worlds Adventure Edition (SWADE) Framework

noreply@blogger.com (R K Athey) — Wed, 25 Dec 2019 03:52:00 +0000

Much time has passed since I worked on the Savage Worlds framework for MapTool. I am resurrecting the project for two reasons: RPTools recently announced they were adding HTML5/CSS3 and JavaScript to the MapTool Virtual Tabletop and Pinnacle Entertainment Group released the Savage Worlds Adventure Edition (SWADE).

SWADE has some significant rules changes which call for adjusting the old framework. However, the old framework was developed over the years and had become something of a Frankenstein monster of old and new ways of doing things in MapTool MTScript. I attempted to rewrite it once for Savage Worlds Deluxe Edition (SWD) but abandoned the project due to poor design desitions regarding internationalization which slowed the framework to a crawl.

The other factor was the introduction of HTML5, CSS3, and JavaScript into MapTool MTScript. This adds tremendous capabilities for the character sheet and other frames/dialogs giving me the ability to code dynamic screens. It also will make things much easier to code.

Before beginning the rewrite, I started a design document while I awaited the changes to MapTool. It fairly extensive (45 pages long) and is not yet complete. However, it is complete enough to begin coding. I'll continue updating the document as I reach new design decisions based on lessons learned from the new MapTool implementation.

The new framework will feature two primary Lib tokes: Rules and Setting. With luck, the rules should remain the same between Savage Settings. The Setting tokens will contain setting specific rules, edges, hindrances, stats, vehicles, and HTML themes. The setting token will also hold any internationalization required. Thus you'll have a French Setting token and an English Setting Token for the same ruleset. This bypasses my earlier problems with internationalization.

I've also decided to implement an Avatar system so no matter how many of your PC tokens are scattered across maps they will all interact with a single set of data. The PC tokens thus become very light with a single property naming the data store. Extra tokens work much the same way except the hold temporary data on them so you can summon 12 goblins to a map, they will all start with the same basic data but temporary changes to state, gear, power points, etc. will be kept with the Avatar without update the primary data token.

There are many other changes as well that you'll find in the design document. Feel free to give it a read and let me know what you think in the comments below.

Review: How To Write Adventure Modules That Don’t Suck by Goodman Games

noreply@blogger.com (R K Athey) — Mon, 11 Sep 2017 15:24:00 +0000

Product: How To Write Adventure Modules That Don’t Suck
Publisher: Goodman Games
People: Chris Doyle, Mike Ferguson, Joseph Goodman, Ken Hart, Andrew Hind, Brendan LaSalle, Rick Maffei, Adrian Pommier, and Jeremy Simmons
Price: Printed Edition $29.99, PDF $6.99

Birthed from a series of Gen Con seminars beginning in 2007, How To Write Adventure Modules That Don’t Suck is a series of essays from nine different writers providing an industry view of how to not suck when writing adventures.

According to Joseph Goodman, owner of Goodman Games, the purpose of the book is to "provide tips to improve your adventure-writing skills. We hope you benefit from improved home games and perhaps drive some quality submissions in our direction."

We'll break the review down by essay, trying to give you a feel for the product as a whole. We've included author biographies from the essays as well.

Note that this review is for the PDF version found on DTRPG. The hardback is 100 pages long and much more expensive.

Essay 1 - Things I Look For by Joseph Goodman

Joseph Goodman wrote his first RPG at the age of 10 and has been professionally involved in the industry since the age of 17. He currently owns Goodman Games, where he created the Dungeon Crawl Classics line of adventure module. In his essay, Joseph describes a list of 20 things he looks for in an adventure. While his list specifically targets his Dungeon Crawl line, most can be used for any type of adventure.

The major takeaway from this essay is that good adventure writing is just good writing. Things like strong narrative, good pacing, subplots, plot twists, and memorable encounters could easily be found in an essay on story craft.

Below is the list of things he considers when reviewing submissions to Goodman Games. The essay dives into each of them in some detail. I can remember some home brew campaigns that could have used this treatment.

A sense of the fantastic
Memorable encounters
Hard work on thinking out great encounters
New twist on old classics
Easter eggs
Intelligent treasure
A good villain
Sequel potential
Distinctive levels
Strong narrative
Secret doors
Thought requirements
Good pacing
Group involvement
Twists - preferably at the end
Subplots
New monsters
Start with a bang
Intelligent ecology
Consistent atmosphere

Overall, the essay is well thought out but short. His focus appears to be more on submissions rather than home games. Still, there are multiple points of good advice for anyone.

Essay 2 - From Concept to Outline to Design By Chris Doyle

Chris Doyle has been a professional freelance writer for the RPG industry since 1991. He has been published in several magazines, including Polyhedron, Inquest, and Dungeon. He has worked for West End Games, TSR, Atlas Games, Wizards of the Coast, and more recently with Goodman Games.

This essay gives a straightforward approach to writing adventures with references Goodman Games modules so you can see how the method manifests itself into a finished product. As with the first essay, his suggested strategy maps closely to good story plotting guidelines. The general flow is

Concept - a few lines about adventure.
Plotline - The backstory and general flow of the adventure. A good adventure should be as fun to read as it is to play.
Outline (in order)

List Challenges - list the encounters, traps, puzzles and other challenges encountered on the adventure.
Monster/NPC Stat Generation - do all the stats at once to keep them from interrupting the creative flow later.
Draft Maps - based on the encounters, map the adventure taking into account the ecology needed to support the encounters.

Write - the fun part.
Playtest - vital to making sure the adventure works.

Of course, there's a lot more meat in the essay than included here. The author is highly prescriptive, which is great for a new adventure writer.

Essay 3 - Writing Adventures For Your Audience By Brendan J. LaSalle

Brendan J. LaSalle is a writer, game designer and odd-job man who had the good fortune to discover his true calling in 1977 when he was introduced to AD&D. He is the creator of Xcrawl and the author of several DCC adventures for Goodman Games.

This is one of my favorite essays of the set, partly because Brendan writes it for the homebrew adventure writer rather than the folks who want to turn pro. His admonitions include

Decide what you want to accomplish by gaming.
Decide what you want to avoid in your game.
Choose the elements of your game and play style in order to accomplish those goals.
Run an entertaining game with energy and enthusiasm.
Listen to feedback from your players and tailor the game to maximize everyone’s fun.

While those points are great, I liked the following sections more.

Write for Your Players!
Write for Your Characters!
Surprise the Players

Brendan gives great advice for how to include everyone in the adventure to ensure maximum enjoyment. If you read only one of the essays, read this one.

Essay 4 - Verisimilitude By Adrian Pommier

Adrian has written or co-written several Goodman Games modules, including DCC #51: Castle Whiterock, DCC #55: Isle of the Sea Drake, DCC #61: Citadel of the Corruptor, and some not yet in print. For the last four years, Adrian has also orchestrated the annual Gen Con DCC tournament module from initial concept to managing the writers to running the tournament itself.

Verisimilitude is the believability of a character or story. With adventures, verisimilitude means that things are believable within the context of the setting.

Adrian tells the story of a grand uncle who ran D&D campaigns. One campaign was derailed when he put a giant octopus in a cavern lake. What started as a Moria-like monster rising from dark waters to attack the party turned into a lot of questions around how the octopus arrived, the water salinity needed to sustain it, and arguments about whether the octopus as a critical puzzle to be solved as part of the adventure. The problem was, an octopus in a cavern lake wasn't believable - even in a fantasy setting.

The author's point is that verisimilitude comes from plausibility, following the rules, and asking the "Who, what, how, where, when, and why?” questions around story elements. It also gives advice on when to use Counter-Verisimilitude to provide plot hooks.

Verisimilitude is another of my favorite essays in this work. Read this after reading 3 and 8.

Essay 5 - Villains By Rick Maffei

Rick Maffei has been playing one edition of D&D or another since 1977. He is a charter member of the infamous “Goodman Games East” writers’ contingent.

The essay on villains follows best practices for character development. Rick suggests following the three Ps: past, present, and purpose. Understand the villain's past, what they're doing now, and what drives them.

Other advice includes

Avoiding “Cardboard” Villains
Providing Variety to your Villains
Villains should not be defined by equipment
Avoid Cliché Villains such as

An evil necromancer near a graveyard
A lich in a trap-filled tomb
A vampire living in a castle
An orc chieftain in a humanoid-filled fortress
An assassin guild master (dressed all in black, of course)
A plotting wizard in his tower

Give Villians a Soft Spot
Give the characters a connection to the villain
Advice on Secondary Villains
Advice on Recurring Villains
Play Fair - Let the villain fall if the characters legitimately beat them earlier than expected
Let the Villain Evolve

The essay contained good advice for anyone looking to make memorable villains.

Essay 6 - Puzzles By Mike Ferguson

Mike Ferguson has been a gamer and writer for over twenty years, ever since his first character stumbled across an underground spaceship on an Expedition to the Barrier Peaks. He’s been hooked on gaming ever since. First published in Dragon Magazine in 1999, his writing credits include work for Fantasy Flight Games, Paizo, and a whole bunch of adventures for Goodman Games.

Goodman Games likes the old Gygaxian puzzles found in Tomb of Horrors or White Plume Mountain. This essay gives advice on how to craft those puzzles so the characters enjoy vs. dread them.

His advice falls along the lines of making puzzles an enhancement for an adventure rather than something that must be solved before the adventure can continue. Correct answers can be fluid - if the players come up with a great answer that makes sense, go with it. Finally, play test your riddles on your friends before your players encounter them.

While I'm not a puzzle GM, I still found the essay an interesting read. If you are a puzzle GM, this essay is vital reading.

Essay 7 - Two Crucial Rules By Jeremy Simmons

Jeremy is a crusty old gamer from the early Gygax days, gradually accepting the ways of the young ‘uns. He cut his teeth on Tomb of Horrors, Against and the Giants, Ghost Tower of Inverness, and other such dinosaur classics of the genre. He’s a huge fan of mood, setting, and story; these are what transports the players into the game.

This is a short essay that admonishes authors to remember the Adventure is all about the story. That a story is a lot better when it's not burdened by unneeded weight. It's the same for general writing: don't make your readers read more than necessary so don't make your players play more than needed for a great story.

Essay 8 - RPG Editing & Proofreading Advice: Trust No Word! By Ken Hart

Ken is a pop culture fanatic and freelance RPG editor/writer for Goodman Games. Over the past two decades, He's worked as an editor or writer in a variety of fields (computer tech, entertainment, healthcare). His career highlight: He was legally threatened by Spelling Entertainment over his Melrose Place satirical website, which led to his 15 minutes of fame in TIME magazine in 1997.

There are many paths to becoming a pro. Editing is one of them. This article has some great advice on editing both your own material and the material of others. It's one of the longest essays of the group but also the one with the best information content. After reading Essay 3, jump to this one next.

Essay 9 - Designing Planar Adventures That Don’t Suck By Andrew Hind

Andrew Hind has written several Dungeon Crawl Classics for Goodman Games: DCC #5: Aerie of the Crow God, DCC #45: Malice of the Medusa, and DCC #24: Legend of the Ripper. He has been published by several other RPG companies as well. His most recent work is an article in Kobold Quarterly #9 detailing the Mayan bat god, Camazotz. Beyond the gaming field, he has co-authored several books, including the newly released Niagara: Daredevils, Dangers and Extraordinary Stories (Lone Pine Publishing).

I don't do planar adventures but I do write them so this essay was of interest. It discusses the larger-than-even-fantasy-life adventures and rewards that come from adventures to the planes. I enjoyed the section on making things Weird and Wonderful. It has great ideas if you're adventure takes the players out of the mortal realm.

Conclusion

The work is short, about 26 pages of content, but well worth the read. It's likely a must-read if you have aspirations of publishing with Goodman games. The advice should work with any genre but, again, it's highly tailored to the Dungeon Crawl Classics line. I'm not sure it's worth the $30 asking price for the physical copy but the $6 PDF is a fair price.

Pinnacle Entertainment Seminar 2015

noreply@blogger.com (R K Athey) — Sun, 02 Aug 2015 15:26:00 +0000

Here's the Pinnacle Entertainment Group GenCon session. It's worth 38 minutes of your time.

Star Swords - The Beginning

noreply@blogger.com (R K Athey) — Thu, 12 Feb 2015 23:00:00 +0000

So after a long drought, I'm GMing again. It feels good to be telling stories once more. I'm running the game via MapTool and Skype. We play twice a month.

The setting features aspects of Heinlein's Starship Troopers (swarms of bugs) and Niven's Known Space (warrior kitty cats and forerunners) with some Firefly thrown in for good measure (oppressive centralize government). It also has aspects of Shadowrun, Halo, and Star Frontiers.

In this setting, Earth and other well-established core worlds of the Grand Planetary Federation have become a bureaucratic hell where Social AIs dictate every aspect of citizen's lives. Humans live a pampered, if structured life with cradle-to-grave care. On the core worlds, aliens are looked upon as second-class citizens. Malcontents disappear and are never heard from again.

On the Frontier, life is rougher but freer. There are wars with neighboring races, new planets to explore, and FedCred fortunes to be made and lost in a day. Mercenary guilds are common and provide everything from explorers to law enforcement. The characters begin the adventure in one of these guilds.

Large numbers of alien races live in and around the Frontier but it is dominated by humans. Other races can be played but there will be some built in bigotry when you encounter GPF citizens.

Other governments outside the GPF include:

The Ateraxian Matriarchy – spider-like beings the operate a series of wormhole generators making a sizable income for the matriarch.

The Blorb Syndicate – large slugs with high-tech capabilities. Most other races are either slaves or food sources. They live in a back-stabbing, overly legalistic society. Few visitors leave the Sisternous system without several lawsuits filed against them.

The Kurr Hegemony – muscular apecats with a clan-based society and a large number of slave races. They have a raid or trade mentality depending on the strength of encountered races. Hunting other sentient beings (Sents) is a favored pastime.

The Kzzick Sovereignty – bugs in all shapes forms and sizes. They are humanity's primary threat. Kzzick consider all other races food sources and every planet material for growing the massive colonies.

The Riss Oligarchy – small lizards with a penchant for camouflage. The prey on other races and form the core of many pirate organizations.

The Verlian Union – large bears with clairvoyance. They are merchants with no real colonial ambitions. They revere their elders who they claim can see the future.

The Blorb, Kurr, Riss, and Kzzick are adversarial to the GPF while the Verlians and Atteraxians are allies. Client races of the GPF include Arvins along with the races present in the Science Fiction Companion. Other exist as well.

The game begins with characters applying to a mercenary guild. Guilds employ all sorts but for this game a good mix includes fighters, pilots, medics, explorers, and scientists. A combination of starship and dirtside skills are important.

Non-humans face special challenges in parts of the scenarios. Humans must be either an Oldie or a Frontiersman. Oldies are from the core worlds and don't follow the normal human character creation method receiving a better education (i.e. more skill points) but sacrificing the additional edge.

The game uses the Savage Worlds Deluxe Edition with the Science Fiction Companion. You can find the books at your local game store, on Amazon, or you can order the PDF from DriveThruRPG (cheapest). I've included the links below for Amazon and DriveThruRPG. The setting is best described in World of Grey. I've included that link as well.

On Amazon:

Savage Worlds

Science Fiction Companion

World of Grey

On DriveThruRPG - Note, this will be your cheaper option for the rule sets. They are $10 each.

Savage Worlds

Science Fiction Companion

World of Grey

I'll attempt to write a blog post detailing each came with setting tidbits as well.

All artwork is by Devin Night. You can find his tokens and other artwork at the Immortal Nights website.

Savage September on DriveThruRPG

noreply@blogger.com (R K Athey) — Tue, 30 Sep 2014 13:44:00 +0000

I broke down a bought a couple of items I've been eyeing for a while. I've included the game blurbs below from DriveThruRPG.

Weird Wars 2 - In the horror of war, dark things rise, and World War II is history's greatest conflict. The Japanese stalk the jungles of Southeast Asia. Carriers battle in the South Pacific. Tanks trundle across North Africa. Planes duel over England. The Nazi blitzkrieg conquers most of Europe with a genocidal madman at the controls. Prepare to battle the evil of the Axis powers and the hideous things that rise in their wake. This isn't just war-this is Weird War!

Weird War II contains everything you need to run horrific World War II adventures with the Savage Worlds game system: new powers, Edges, Hindrances, weapons, vehicles for all the major powers, an Adventure Generator, dozens of Savage Tales, new monsters, and an operational-scale Plot Point Campaign that ties it all together.

And . . .

Achtung! Cthulhu - Keepers and Investigators Guide [BUNDLE] - Achtung! Cthulhu is a terrifying World War Two setting, fully compatible with the Call of Cthulhu, Sixth Edition and Savage Worlds roleplaying games. This is the Investigator's Guide, with everything players need to create and run character's in the late 30's and 40's.

Discover the secret history of World War Two: stories of amazing heroism, in which stalwart men and women struggle to overthrow a nightmare alliance of steel and the occult; of frightening inhuman conspiracies from the depths of time; of the unbelievable war machines which are the product of Nazi engineering genius – and how close we all are to a slithering end! The Secret War has begun!

The investigator's guide includes a whole kit-bag stuffed with:

• New occupations, skills, equipment, and backgrounds from across Europe, the British Commonwealth, and the United States

• How you can keep the home fires burning, become part of the Allied war effort, or risk everything by joining the partisans to bring down the Reich from within!

• What life was like serving with the various military forces and on the Home Front

• An array of historical and fictional material to help you create exciting player characters and NPCs

• A background generator, designed to help you find out what dark secrets your past contains…

The Keeper's Guide is a full-blown tome of dark knowledge, including:

• Allied and Nazi forces & intelligence agencies

• New rules and strategies for World War Two combat & survival

• Key characters & vile creatures

• New tomes, secret weapons, artefacts & equipment

• Occult organisations and Mythos-based missions

• Full rules for use with BOTH Call of Cthulhu 6th Edition AND Savage Worlds in one book!

In fact – There’s a whole Shoggoth’s worth of Cthulhu villainy, enough for any Keeper to have his investigators dead, insane or running for their lives in no time! The Keeper’s Guide to the Secret War is the essential Achtung! Cthulhu wartime reference for any Keeper or fan of the Cthulhu Mythos.

Requires the Call of Cthulhu 6th Edition or Savage Worlds Rulebooks to play.

Savage Worlds Freebies, A Kickstarter, and Chupacabra Con

noreply@blogger.com (R K Athey) — Sun, 28 Sep 2014 14:07:00 +0000

We have two free products, a Kickstarter, and a Con to announce.

Visionary Comics produced a new web comic titled What A Man's Got To Do written by Pinnacle Entertainment Group's own Matthew Cutter. The 67 'page' work gives a nice taste of Deadlands for any of you unfamiliar with Pinnacles Weird West setting. You can also find a large number of Deadlands product reviews on this blog.

The second free product is a primer for PEG Inc's newest setting, The Last Parsec which corresponds to the full product's Kickstarter. The primer discusses the foundational aspects of the setting such as travel, communications, races, governments and corporations. Like the comic above, it's only a taste of the setting but would make a good handout for your players.

The Last Parsec was inspired by the Shane Hensley's play of TSR's Star Frontiers. I loved that setting. We played everything they published for it and then some. For more information, check out The Last Parsec design diary PDF.

The Kickstarter for The Last Parsec is well underway. At the time of this writing is is $30,000 over goal with 380 backers. Pinnacle handles Kickstarters in a very smart way but this isn't unusual for PEG. They know their audience well and found a way to fund additional content for their settings before release. I always pick the $35 level which gives the PDFs but I'm tempted to go print with this one.

So, big things are a comin'.

Speaking of which, I'll be at Chupacabra Con running a few sessions including one on Savage Saturday night. Come on out if you can. The guest list includes some Savage heavy hitters:

We look forward to seeing you there.

Ennie Voting Is Open

noreply@blogger.com (R K Athey) — Sun, 20 Jul 2014 20:55:00 +0000

Please take time and go to the Ennie voting site to show your appreciation for your favorite games.

http://www.ennie-awards.com/blog/the-2014-ennies-voting-booth-is-now-live/

TftST choices are:

Best Adventure - The Sense of the Sleight-of-Hand Man (Arc Dream Publishing)
Best Art, Interior -Deadlands Noir (Pinnacle Entertainment Group)
Best Cartography - Deadlands Noir Map: New Orleans & Hexaco (Pinnacle Entertainment Group)
Best Electronic Book - Shaintar: Legends Unleashed (Evil Beagle Games)
Best Family Game - Hobbit Tales from the Green Dragon Inn (Cubicle 7 Entertainment)
Best Free Product - Super Powers Companion Villain Supplement (Pinnacle Entertainment Group) followed by Rocket Age - The Lost City of the Ancients (Cubicle 7 Entertainment)
Best Miniatures Product - Weird Wars Rome Enemies of Rome Figure Flats (Pinnacle Entertainment Group)
Best Setting - Deadlands Noir (Pinnacle Entertainment Group)
Best Supplement - Deadlands Noir Companion (Pinnacle Entertainment Group)
Product of the Year - Deadland Noir
Fan's Favorite - Pinnacle, Triple Ace Games, Cubicle 7

You can check out all the nominees on DriveThruRPG for preview.

Vote early, vote often :)

Nova Praxis for Savage Worlds Kickstarter - 2 days left

noreply@blogger.com (Derek B) — Mon, 09 Jun 2014 06:06:00 +0000

Nova Praxis for Savage Worlds Kickstarter Updated: Last 7 hours
It's funded and only 2 days left for add ons!

by Mike McConnell of Voidstarstudios

Review by Derek Brown, Savage Duck

UPDATE: Nova Praxis has had it's Stretch Goals reset so many more are already achieved ! With 7 hours to go, at $11k+, the following Goals are DONE: the Augmented PDF, GM Screen, Ghosts in Darkness (adventure) Work Hazards (alien/creature book), and Nova Praxis Cards (custom Init Cards that will be released on DriveThruCards). Evolved backers will get all the stretch goals for free!

My Kickstarter addiction comes and goes largely based on Savage Worlds settings offered. Two are ending this week, the first of which I'm writing about now: Nova Praxis. A Savaged Trans-Human SF setting originally released for Fate, Nova Praxis gives us a setting for post-earth post-singularity evolved humanity taken to the stars.

a few more points from Void Star Studios:

…a relatively "hard sci-fi" setting that takes place in the aftermath of a short lived technological singularity.

…an exploration of the tropes of transhuman sci-fi. Mind uploading, resleeving, AI characters, and body augmentation.

…an exploration of the societal impact of a reputation based post-scarcity economy.

…a game in which players play characters who know how to slip between the cracks of civilization and perform the jobs their patrons would rather keep off the books.

... a setting full of conflict. The Houses wage a secret Shadow War against each other, purist and transhuman ideologies erupt in violence, and apostates lash out against the oppression of the Coalition government.

...home to railguns, powered armor, star ships, security drones, bipedal war frames, swarms of nanomachines, kill-sats, and the horrors of accelerated evolution gone wrong.

New Art: Olympus. Received last week to give us some mind candy and get things percolating.

Since the launch we've received an "alpha" edition to begin the crowd sourced approach to editing...and a fun jump into the setting. Nice! In that alpha edition's first paragraph is a link to a preview that, it turns out, is also linked on the main Nova Praxis Kickstarter page but was well hidden as a graphic. Here's a short-cut if you're looking on the main KS page, it's the large "Download a Preview" graphic just above the Stretch Goal section.

Also, Sean Patrick Fannon is involved and helping with this Kickstarter. He talks about it on his May 18th Vlog.

A little preview from the alpha cut:

Apotheosis - The main thing that sets Nova Praxis characters apart from characters from most

other sci-fi fiction is a process called Apotheosis. When it comes to PCs, whether or not you are Apotheosized is a huge deal.

States – Instead of different races, characters exist in different States. They are:

Pure – You are a normal human. Roughly 70% of people are still Pure. You can choose to undergo Apotheosis and become Sleeved or a SIM, but you can never again become Pure.
Sleeved – You were once a normal human, but you decided to undergo Apotheosis. You may now transfer your mind into different artificial bodies called “sleeves”. Sleeves can be biological, or synthetic. You can choose to become a SIM.
SIM – You underwent Apotheosis, but have not sleeved into a new body. You essentially exist as a disembodied AI. You can choose to become Sleeved.

For those of us familiar with the "trans-human" genre, I think getting "Sleeved" will be a blast. I can also see the SIM aspect leading to some wild adventures. If this all sounds interesting to you, jump in. If this is your first trans-human SF setting, it should be a good one.

Lastly, this KS project takes an interesting tack with the "print" edition being thru DrivethruRPG's print on demand. At my level, I'll get a coupon for the book (pdf) but I'll pay an additional $7.50 to $16.50 to get a softcover print edition and then shipping.

Stay Savage!

Virtual Table Top Interview - Savage Worlds Crept In

noreply@blogger.com (R K Athey) — Sun, 09 Mar 2014 14:07:00 +0000

Gaming Ballistic interviewed R. K. Athey (aka The Savage Troll) concerning Virtual Tabletops and MapTool. It was a wide-ranging discussion about communities, products, and Chaos Lord Zack.

Mobile Google Docs for Play-By-Post

noreply@blogger.com (R K Athey) — Sun, 02 Mar 2014 18:25:00 +0000

I posted in a previous article how to use Google Docs (Drive) for a play by post game. For some reason, I expected people to post at their desktop. I was wrong. Almost everyone used a mobile device of some sort.

I'm organizing the game by Acts which contain Scenes which contain Rounds. I do one Drive document per Scene with the Rounds as Headings so I can generate a table of contents for easy navigation on a mobile device. Images use a sub-heading so they show up in the ToC as well. The players 'follow link' to any particular section.

First thing I had to figure out was how to take a screen shot. Don't laugh. I've never had to do this before. On my Note 2, I went to Settings->My Device->Motion and checked 'Palm Swipe to Capture'. To take a screen shot you act like you're going to karate chop your phone on one edge of the screen then swipe the edge of your hand from left to right or right to left. It takes some practice.

I then edit the photo in my favorite image editor, Sketch. It allows me to easily draw arrows and annotate. I can't say enough good things about that simple but powerful tool.

So, first thing I asked them to do is make sure they have Drive, Google+, and GMail.

I had previously shared the Drive document but it wasn't all that obvious to new users how to find that.

The next problem was adding comments. Again, not that obvious to new users of the Drive Mobile App.

The results of this is a Savage Worlds game using MapTool. The maps are small on the screen but Drive allows a pinch motion on the image to expand for exploration.

I'm pleased with the results of using Drive on a mobile device. My only complaint so far is that when pinching the image above you often enter edit mode which covers some screen real estate with the touch keyboard.

Using Google Docs for Play-by-Post

noreply@blogger.com (R K Athey) — Sun, 09 Feb 2014 17:11:00 +0000

Recently I started a new Savage Worlds play-by-post (PbP) game utilizing the Science Fiction Companion. I've attempted this a few times but have run into problems. Basically people don't want to create another account on any of the PbP sites and not everyone is on Google. My solution is to utilize Google Docs (aka Drive) with a link that allows folks to comment.

Comments can be activated one of two ways.

Method 1
1) The first is to select a region of text.

2) Next, right click on that selection to bring up a pop-up menu and select 'Comment'.

3) A box will appear on the right side of the document to let you enter however much text you like.

Method 2
The second method involves using the Google Docs Menu.

Place your cursor in the document you want to discuss. Select 'Insert' from the main menu, then 'Comment'.

The comment box will appear as in step 3.

I'm going to give this a try. Ideally the characters will comment on the section of test. For rounds I'll put in their initiative order then let the comment on the character's name. I'll then 'Resolve' the comments as I continue the narrative inside the doc.

I'll post back here to let you know how it goes.

Savage Worlds Science Fiction Companion and The World of Grey

noreply@blogger.com (R K Athey) — Tue, 28 Jan 2014 03:09:00 +0000

Pinnacle Entertainment Group released the Science Fiction Companion to an eager audience looking for Savage adventures in the far future. It contains new races, Edges and Hindrances, Setting Rules, gear, cyberware, and numerous new races and creature. It also includes rules for players and Game Masters to create their own robots, power armor, vehicles, starships, walkers.

PEG packs a lot into 98 pages making it will worth the PDF price of $14.99. I was curious how well it handled custom settings. I recently released a science fiction novella titled World of Grey and was curious as to how well the ships, characters, gear, and races of that book translated into the new rule set.

Ships

The Green Dawn is a Seminole class Assault Scout that exists somewhere between the Medium and Large ship types presented in the SFC. It but most closely matches the Medium template. I inferred a bit between the two sets of stats.

	Medium	Green Dawn	Large
Size	8	9	10
Acc	45	43	40
TS	600	550	500
Climb	2	2	1
Toughness	25	27	30
Armor	6	6	7
Mods	25	27	30
Crew	5	15	50

I used our Ship Builder spreadsheet from a previous post to generate the Dawn. Here's the result.

Ship Name	Green Dawn
Size	Medium/Large
Acc/TS	43/550
Climb	2
Toughness	27(6)
Mods Remaining	2
Crew	15
Energy Store	200
Cost	$26,540,000.00
Systems	AI, Atmospheric, Deflector Screens, FTL, Hanger, Sensor Suite Galactic, Shields, Targeting System,
Weapons	2XLight Lasers (2X Linked), 2XMedium Lasers (2X Fixed and Linked), Torpedo 1XLauncher with 8xLight (1X Fixed),

The Dawn has the characteristic of Large ships in that it can take a maximum of 2 wounds per attack due to air-tight compartments. It also has a Marauder Drop Shuttle attached to the airlock behind engineering. Its meant to sneak past detection, survive a landing, and provide some direct fire support of the Hellhound squad.

Ship Name	Marauder Drop Shuttle
Size	Small
Acc/TS	50/700
Climb	3
Toughness	20(9)
Mods Remaining	0
Crew	1
Passengers	10
Energy Story	25
Cost	$3,165,000.00
Systems	AMCM, 2xArmor, Atmospheric, Deflector Screens, Passenger Pod, Sensor Suite Planetary, Shields, Stealth,
Weapons	1XLight Lasers (1X Fixed), 1XHeavy Slug Throwers,

Sarge's Hellhounds encounter a Slug ship during the story. Slugs are technologically advanced. I manifested this by giving them 50% more mod spaces on Blasphore's ship.

Ship Name	Blashphor's 'Freighter'
Size	Huge
Acc/TS	35/400
Climb	0
Toughness	35(8)
Mods Remaining	27
Crew	300
Passengers	0
Energy Story	500
Cost	$89,280,000.00
Systems	AMCM, Deflector Screens, FTL, Sensor Suite Galactic, Shields, Tractor Beam,
Weapons	8XLight Lasers (8X Linked), 4XSuper Heavy Lasers (4X Fixed and Linked), Torpedo 2XLauncher with 16xLight 4xHeavy (2X Fixed),

The slug ship used 20 of the mod spaces for this adventure with two superstructures. You'll have to read the story to find out what they were.

So, with a little GM fiat, I was able to represent the ships fairly well using the base rules. The SFC applies a logarithmic curve to ship sizing so getting exactly what I wrote took a bit of fudging.

Characters

Next, I tried to interpret the characters.

Doc is a cyborg who was once a doctor at a colonial hospital. An attack left a third of her body destroyed. I was interested to see how she would translate. Here's how she turned out as a seasoned character.

Doc
Agility	d8	Parry	4
Smarts	d8	Toughness	8(2)
Spirit	d8	Charisma	-2
Strength	d12	Pace	6
Vigor	d8

Hindrances
Mean	Minor	–2 to his Charisma for ill-temper
Quirk	Minor	Flares cybereye during conversation
Vow	Major	To protect the Dawn
Bad Luck	Major	1 less bennie per session

Edges
Cyborg	Doubles Cyber Allowed
Healer	+2 Healing
Ace	+2 Boating, Driving, Piloting - Can make craft soaks

Skills
Driving	d4+2
Fighting	d4
Healing	d8+4
K – Astrogation	d6+2
K – Biology	d6
K – Electronics	d6+2
K – French	d4
Notice	d6+2
Persuasion	d4
Piloting	d10+4
Repair	d4
Shooting	d4
Throwing	d4

Cyber
3xStrength(6), 1xAgility(2), Improved Vision(1), Improved Hearing(1), Trait Bonus -Piloting(1), Healing(1), Piloting(2), Knowledge (Electronics)(1), Knowledge (Astrogation)(1)

Gear
Smart Suit, Laser Pistol, Comlink, Personal Data Device

Races

Arvins are a race of lagomorphs (rabbits) from the planet Arv. They've been conquered a number of times so being taken over by the Federation was nothing new. In fact, they considered a real step up from being conquered by the Kurr, who used them as game animals.

What most races call cowardice, Arvins see has just plain common sense. They are one of the few non-human races that are seen throughout the Federation.

Fleet Footed(+1) - Arvins have a base pace of 8 and a running die of d10
Enhanced Hearing(+1) - +2 to hearing based Notice Checks
Leaper(+1) - Doubles normal jumping ability.
Night Eyes (+1) - ignores penalties for bad lighting
Yellow (-2) - All Fear checks made at -2

Conclusion

I was able to easily convert my fictional universe from World of Grey into Savage Worlds. I was quite impressed by how little work it took. All the concepts seem to flow easily into the the new ruleset.

Science Fiction Companion Ship Builder

noreply@blogger.com (R K Athey) — Sun, 26 Jan 2014 03:35:00 +0000

I created a quick spreadsheet to help you design custom ships for the new Savage Worlds Science Fiction Companion much like the one I did for Space 1889: Red Sands.

It has protection and validation rules in place to keep erroneous data to a minimum. Let me know if you find any bugs. You can find the spreadsheet on drop box.

Thus Far I've enjoyed the Science Fiction Companion a great deal. Hope to have a full review out soon. In the meantime I'm going to give a shot at transferring characters, races, and ships from World of Grey into Savage Worlds.

Savage Worlds Super Powers Companion Released

noreply@blogger.com (R K Athey) — Thu, 23 Jan 2014 02:55:00 +0000

Also released today, the Savage Worlds Super Powers Companion. Pinnacle says this and the Science Fiction Companion were co-developed so the rules can cross from one to the other allowing a SciFi based setting like the Green Lantern Core.

You can find the Super Powers Companion on DriveThruRPG or the Pinnacle web site store.

Review to come after the SciFi Companion.

Savage Worlds Science Fiction Companion Released

noreply@blogger.com (R K Athey) — Thu, 23 Jan 2014 02:47:00 +0000

The anticipation was horrible but the Savage Worlds Science Fiction Companion has finally released. You can find it on DriveThruRPG on on the Pinnacle web site store.

I can't wait to turn my Hellhounds setting into a Savage Setting. Soon Sarge, Angel, Doc, and the rest will by playing their way through a new Savage Setting.

Expect a review soon.

Long Beach Comic & Horror Con 2013 Highlights & Game Ideas

noreply@blogger.com (Derek B) — Fri, 29 Nov 2013 22:38:00 +0000

Long Beach Comic & Horror Con 2013 Highlights & Game Ideas
by Derek Brown

When: Nov. 23rd & 24th

Cost: $25 Sat, $20 Sun or $40 for 2 day adv.

The Long Beach Comic & Horror Con (or LBCC for short) is fairly new to the So. Cal scene but a welcome addition to the schedule of all the Comic themed cons. With a decade under my belt of San Diego Comic Con or Comic-Con International: San Diego as they prefer it to be called now, I have come to enjoy the smaller cons for a variety of reasons.

LBCC is now my November Con for the following reasons:

Excellent Artists Alley - I drove the just under 90 miles as I could walk the relatively large Artists Alley section and enjoy all the art, much of it local. I was on a mission to get some sketches of some of my buddy Keith's (the Savage Troll) characters from his new eBook: World of Grey to use in an app class I'm taking. I knew Tone Rodriguez was going to be there so plans were made (more below).
90 miles. Only 90 miles. Sounds like alot but growing up in Texas gets you used to long drives. Driving here in beautiful Southern California means much of it was along the coast ending in Long Beach right by the water. Also, I had several hours of podcasts to catch up on and the drive went by quickly.
Dr. Who's 50th Anniversary panel with a live broadcast of the "Day of the Doctor" meant I could geek out with a large group of fellow Whovians.
Star Trek TOS These are the Voyages Book & Panel. Originally funded in a Kickstarter, the "These Are The Voyages" books for Year One, Year Two, & Year Three are written but only Year One is published. I got my hands on it and it was signed by all involved. The panel on Sunday featured John D.F. Black and Mary Black and they represent the last living producers from TOS. Interviews by Access Hollywood with Marc Cushman & John D.F. Black are here for your enjoyment. If you wonder if you need this book, watch these and decide! There are 5 interview segments. Enjoy!
Vehicles from the Movies. Batman, Jurassic Park, Ghost Busters, Back to the Future, Knight Rider, etc. The big boy toys all lined up.
Room to move and space to breathe. This is probably the newest thing in my list but it was nice to see a relatively large crowd with space to move and enjoy all the sights!

While there was quite a bit more, you get the idea. Over the years I've been more and more interested in the creative folks that bring the comic arts alive. Since Hollywood has discovered the world of comic books, things have never been the same.

One part of all Comic Con type conventions that takes the top grade in my book is the availability of professional artists in Artist Alley. In this, LBCC really excels. Given the size of the convention space, the Artists Alley took up easily half of the floor space.

On the map to the right, you can see the middle section that looks like rows of tables, outlined in red, that is Artists Alley at LBCC.

Any genre, style, or type can be found there. Also, most will do sketches for a fee. Several years ago I had one do a remarkable sketch of our gaming group's characters that we had played in the early 1980s. Unfortunately, that artist had some issues and disappeared with my money. So now, I only deal with artists that I see often and I never pay in advance.

This lead me to discover the artist that did the pencils for Snake Plissken Chronicles, Tone Rodriguez. Over the years I've stopped by, chatted, and watched him do sketches for folks. I asked how he got involved in the SPC and he shared while he drew. What a great guy! I had him do a sketch of the Savage Troll mascot for fun and it turned out great. This time, I gave him a brief couple of lines of description of five characters from Keith's book to see what he would do. I wanted to use them as thumbnail sketches in a story telling app I'm writing as my final project for an app programming class. And off he went.

You can see the drawing of "Bender" from Futurama behind Tone. He's done quite a bit of work for Bongo Comics on the Simpsons & Futurama lines. He had several people come up and ask him to "Simpsonize" them. He had to share that he couldn't. The Simpons and Futurama likenesses were owned by Bongo, his employers, and he legally can't.

No permission to use these sketches is given!

Sarge comes alive

Tone asked if I wanted to sit behind the table while he drew my sketches. I hopped over and watched him work. He first penciled the characters, then inked them in. Sarge, Doc, Angel, Sparx, & Hotshot came to life before my eyes. This is why I love comic cons. Watching creative folks do what they do, bringing life to characters, and imagining all the adventures. The artists do these sketches for personal use. If you want to publish using the art, you need to approach the art differently and pay for publishing rights to the art. For my class programming project is going to look excellent. Simply a blast. Thanks Tone!

So, Well done LBCC! I look forward to the next one.

And now to gaming...

With Keith's World of Grey eBook and some sketches to fill my mind, it's time to make some game scenarios that we can play out. If you want some very quick gaming satisfaction, you can pick up Matt Jackson's Edge of Space on Drive Thru RPG for $1.

NOTE: World of Grey was Keith's story-telling response to Matt's universe in Edge of Space. Also, my programming class project is a story telling app using a prequel to Keith's WoG! More to follow on that endeavor.

Next Con: Space City Con in Galveston Texas Jan. 3-5! I'll be in Texas visiting family and end the visit with all the family, including the Savage Troll's brood.

New Free Novella - World of Grey

noreply@blogger.com (R K Athey) — Thu, 07 Nov 2013 01:49:00 +0000

Writing is a passion I discovered later in life. To pursue it, I had mountains to climb. I grew up in East Texas where proper spelling and grammar are considered uppity. Gaming was another. This may seem odd but the built-in need to create was mostly satisfied by regular gaming sessions. I didn't 'need' to write.

That changed as my gaming time faded. I needed to create something, anything, that people could enjoy. I've always considered myself a good storyteller. Why wouldn't that work for writing?

Well, there's a world of difference between expressing something orally where your companions and die rolls help shape the story and sitting down to create something new. The problem isn't turning an amusing phrase or developing interesting characters. The problem is in holding the reader's attention for a novel-length production.

So what started as a hobby with some short stories and essays has turned into a time-consuming hobby as I study storycraft in hopes of attracting a reader base. I have another blog devoted to the subject over at rkathey.com and I've release two novellas - The New Moon Murders and World of Grey.

My stories are still very Gamey, meaning you can usually pick the Savage Worlds edges and hindrances within each character. But I think the stories are fun and members of my gaming groups seem to enjoy them. I would ask that you give them a try.

Until December 1st, readers of this blog can download World of Grey from Smashwords.com by navigating to https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/372128 and entering the following coupon code at checkout: RS28M

If you enjoy the novella, please take the time to go to Smashwords, Goodreads, Amazon, or other review sites and share you thoughts. Breaking in as an indie author is difficult. Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance,
R K Athey aka The Savage Troll

The Future of Storytelling Free Online Course

noreply@blogger.com (R K Athey) — Wed, 16 Oct 2013 01:17:00 +0000

This came across the social streams the other day. It's an online course on the future of storytelling. I've decided to enroll to improve my RPG scenarios and writing.

Together with a whole network of media researchers, creators and students we will:
- learn storytelling basics such as antagonist/protagonist relationships, narrative/narrated time, ...
- have a look at exciting current media projects
- analyze how they are designed and executed based on aforementioned basics
- and discuss how (and if) new online tools and formats change the way stories are told and perceived.

The 8-chapter course starts on October 25th, 2013 and ends on December 20th, 2013.

It will offer weekly video material, lessons, interviews and tasks on the following topics (not necessarily in this order):
- storytelling basics
- serial formats (on the TV, web and beyond)
- storytelling in role-playing games
- interactive storytelling in video games
- transmedia storytelling
- alternate-reality gaming
- augmented reality and location-based storytelling
- the role of tools, interfaces and information architectures in current storytelling.

For more information, check out the enrollment link.

I'll see you there.

Five Savage Worlds Titles for $5

noreply@blogger.com (R K Athey) — Fri, 06 Sep 2013 22:32:00 +0000

DriveThruRPG.com announced a sale on five Savage Worlds titles for $5 in the Savage in September Sale. There's something here for everyone.

Weird Wars II

"In the horror of war, dark things rise, and World War II is history's greatest conflict. The Japanese stalk the jungles of Southeast Asia. Carriers battle in the South Pacific. Tanks trundle across North Africa. Planes duel over England. The Nazi blitzkrieg conquers most of Europe with a genocidal madman at the controls. Prepare to battle the evil of the Axis powers and the hideous things that rise in their wake. This isn't just war-this is Weird War!

Weird War II contains everything you need to run horrific World War II adventures with the Savage Worlds game system: new powers, Edges, Hindrances, weapons, vehicles for all the major powers, an Adventure Generator, dozens of Savage Tales, new monsters, and an operational-scale Plot Point Campaign that ties it all together."

Shaintar

"Sean Patrick Fannon’s vision of Epic High Fantasy comes to life for Savage Worlds in this all new iteration brought to you by Evil Beagle Games.

"The heart of any lasting and memorable roleplaying campaign is the setting. Is it vivid? Alluring? Full of mysteries, as well as straight-ahead challenges?

If the answer is “Yes” to all of these, you are in good hands.

SHAINTAR is deep in “good hands” territory.

Just paging through the Players Guide makes you want to play, and it’s genuinely hard to create a boring character using this book; everything works together to make your Hero interesting. And that’s even before you get to the four detailed Major Enemies lurking in Shaintar. Or the rules for alchemy, or the tantalizing glimpses we get of the Black Lantern and Grayson’s Grey Rangers . . .

A winner. Get this book." -- Ed Greenwood, creator of The Forgotten Realms®

Savage Worlds fans will find a lot to love about Shaintar: Legends Arise:

Eleven distinctive Races with many specialized Racial Edges for each.

Over 60 new Edges, including Professional, Combat, and Power Edges.

Expanded options for magic, including Applications for Sorcery, Extended Casting, and more.

New and expanded rules for Alchemists and Artificers, as well as personalized magic items.

Setting rules like All Out Move, the Deep Magic, and Lead from the Front.

Information about the many nations and factions that drive the stories of Shaintar.

A complete Timeline featuring thousands of years of Shaintar's history.

A Denizens section with many dozens of characters and monsters, as well as five new Monstrous Templatesand templates for changing almost any Denizen to any of the eleven Races.

An expanded Weapons, Armor, and Gear list for epic fantasy gaming, as well as a Resource system to replace "counting coins" for wealth management.

Extensive advice about Game Mastering an Epic High Fantasy setting.

Three Legendary Tales, "Countering the Terror," "Red Store Rising," and "Return to Honor, Return to Glory."

Anyone seeking Epic High Fantasy adventure will enjoy this book, as will anyone wishing to add lots of great new material to their Savage games!

This book covers Novice through Veteran Rank gaming. The upcoming Shaintar: Legends Unleashed will cover Heroic and Legendary play."

Interface Zero

"Welcome to the Future!
Didja Bring Your Gun?

Are ya Wired?

Wanna crash a corp Domain?

Interface-Zero, is the first book in the Interface-Zero Cyberpunk Setting by Gun Metal games. IZ brings your Savage Worlds game up to speed with the dark, frenetic world of 2088.

Within the pages of Interface-Zero, you can match wits with ancient triad lodge masters, anarchist hackers and digitalized corporate moguls. Thwart the machinations of the New Chinese Mandarinate, or the Theocratic North American Coalition. Stare down the end of your gauss rifle at or match nano-woven steel with ganglanders, gene-spliced hybrids and borg shock troopers.

Life is fast in 2088. If ya wanna survive, you need to be faster. Don't worry Ami, we got ya covered. Fast Furious and Fun cybernetic rules enable you to create any type of cybernetic implant or bioware modification you can imagine!

Interface Zero hooks you up with everything you need to hack a computer network or derezz an enemy hacker in 2088. But watch out, omae; ghost into the wrong system and you'll get fried faster than your food vat can spit out NUTRIpaste!

Interface Zero is a game without barriers; a setting where you can be artificially intelligent robots, vat-grown simulacrum, transgenic hybrids or just plain old flesh and blood humans. You can jack into the world around you and program it to suit your needs. You can implant cyberware in your body, interface with machines, fly hover craft, golemmechs, jump bikes and even hover tanks and Low Altitude Vehicles complete with the latest weapons and cutting edge VTOL or anti-gravity propulsion systems.

You can assume the roles of shadow operatives who rage against the corporate machine, private detectives cut from a noir-inspired cloth, fearless, larger than life heroes piloting mecha in a futuristic, transhumanist Japan- even survivors gutting it out in a post-apocalyptic wasteland filled with mutant horrors or AI-spawned mechanical nightmares are viable concepts in Interface Zero. Interface Zero is more than just a game setting, it is a toolbox you can use, adding or dropping whichever elements you wish to create the sci-fi game world that you and your friends want to play in."

Suzerain

"Suzerain is an Origins Award Nominee from the Savage Mojo design house (who brought you Shaintar and Gamescapes, and are Origins Award winners for Deadlands Reloaded). This edition of Suzerain is written for the Savage Worlds rule system (SW:EX rulebook required), expanding the core rules in a number of key ways - a new approach to races is just the beginning.

Suzerain takes characters from one world to another or even to another time. History and fantasy, past present and future - they are all your playground now. Gaming groups just became...

...a pantheon in the making.

Inside the covers you'll find:

All the universe background you'll need to run games in any time, any place.
Over 50 new edges, hindrances and powers.
Stats for over 100 new NPCs and monsters to use as allies and adversaries.
A vastly expanded system for characters once they hit Heroic rank, with plenty of emphasis on the Legendary experience, and introducing a whole new rank - Demigod.
30 scenarios including a campaign spanning the three main eras of a character's development - Novice, Heroic and Demigod.

Where most Savage Worlds settings finish their campaigns, Suzerain is just getting started. With Suzerain a Novice character can expect to battle his way up to being a true Hero of the universe, to meet deities, and finally to become a god himself!

Product Contains: A 196 page full color, hi-resolution PDF. It is a large download file and art intensive. Also included for the same price is a print friendly version."

Thrilling Tales

(our review)

"Grab your fedora and your ivory-handled .45s and get ready for the adventure of a lifetime as Thrilling Tales unleashes the pulse-pounding excitement of the pulp magazines and cliffhanger serials of the 1930s and 40s into the Savage Worlds rules system!

This exhaustive guide to the genre features a timeline of the 1930s, information on pulp-era weapons & vehicles, a guide to pulp villains including Nazis, the Thugee and Perils of the Orient, a Random Adventure Generator, and a complete fifteen-chapter Plot Point serial campaign, The Crimson Emperor!

Be sure to also check out The Thrilling Tales Adventure Bundle -- six pulp adventures for Savage Worlds, at 50% OFF the regular price!"

Net Find - Planetary Map Generator

noreply@blogger.com (R K Athey) — Wed, 14 Aug 2013 22:00:00 +0000

The Savage Duck found this the other day. He's aware of my star sector generator project and thought this might be of use. Indeed it might be!

It may also be of use to your gamers, especially with the upcoming Savage Worlds SciFi companion coming soon.

The web site is run by Torben Ægidius Mogensen, an associate professor in Copenhagen. For twenty years he's worked off and on with map projections. I did the same in a previous life though not as thoroughly as Professor Mogensen.

To use the web based generator, simply open the generation console and change the values to your heart's content.

Once satisfied, generate your map. If you ever need to get back to it, simply remember your seed number and other values. It will generate the same map every time. You can see various areas of the map in more detail by adjusting the zoom, center latitude, and center longitude. You can also adjust the grid.

The generator produces BMP format images. You can easily convert them using a product like GIMP, for use in your favorite VTT, like MapTool.

You can also download the code and run it from the command line. See the project page for mote detail.

Space City Con Matt Mercury

noreply@blogger.com (R K Athey) — Mon, 12 Aug 2013 21:00:00 +0000

Saturday and Space City Con started with the Matt Mercury panel and movie preview at 10 a.m. Bill Hughes and his wife Heidi are local Houston film makers who decided to make a family movie that hearkens back to and old style science fiction films of the 60s and 70s. Their catch phrase - The Future the Way It Used to Be - drives everything about their effort.

Matt Lavine is the executive producer and also plays Matt Mercury. His filmography includes playing a body on Star Trek Enterprise. He and Bill share the common vision of films that the entire family can enjoy.

The film is in post production now. Post production takes a year and involves all the after filming special effects and CGI.

Pre-production took a year and involves everything that the actors use, such as physical props, sets, and costumes. Bill and Heidi do a lot of that work themselves. You can see a lot of that work below in the movie poster. Since Bill Hughes, in the giant head below, makes most of these in his garage and driveway, they lead to interesting conversations with the neighbors.

The actual filming of Matt Mercury took five days in the studio at the Art Institute of Houston and two days on location. So that's seven days of acting sandwiched between two years of pre- and post production work.

Below is a 'Making Of' video featuring Bill Hughes.

Remember, support your local Rocket Rangers and your indie film makers.

Space City Con - Jim Butcher's Writing Class

noreply@blogger.com (R K Athey) — Sat, 10 Aug 2013 13:00:00 +0000

Jim Butcher is probably best known for his long-running series The Dresden Files, which has been adapted into both a TV series and a RPG. He's an author that has a story similar to my own except for the part where he found a Big Boy Publisher to buy his books. His About Page at http://www.jim-butcher.com/ is well worth the read as his is live journal page where he dispenses writing advice.

At Space City Con, Jim was kind enough to give two separate two-hour classes for aspiring authors and fans. In the first class, titled "Blowing Things Up...", Jim described how to create a scene. The second class, "...And Making People Care About It," discuss sequels.

I do a thorough writeup on the sessions over on my writing blog, Hard Lessons. Here I'll hit the highlights. Note that the instructions here also pertain to gaming, particularly scene construction.

Storytelling

Storytelling is the act of manipulating people's emotions. The deeper the emotion, the more powerful the story. If you disagree, think of the movies you've enjoyed or the books you've loved. If you're honest, you'll realize the stories that affected you most were the ones you enjoyed the most.

Your characters, or players in the case of gaming, exist to be abused and denied until the climax of the story. Do not go easy on them. Their conflict is what drives the story forward.

Language is the plumbing used to to get your reader or player from one conflict to the next. Use it well and the words will disappear as the reader or player will enter the story. Use it poorly and it becomes a stumbling block. Short words and clipped dialog work best.

Scenes

Scenes are about conflict. They work on stimulus-response. Don't get these out of order.

There are four outcomes to scenes and it is the answer to the character's goal.

Yes - the character gets what they want. BORING
Yes but - the character gets what they want but there are consequences.
No - the character is denied and must set a new goal
No and Furthermore - not only is the character denied but more misery is piled on.

Villains

A good villain thinks they are the hero. Darth Vader believed he was bringing order to the Galaxy. They get more Yeses out of scenes until the climax. A good writer or GM tortures the villains as much as the hero.

Where to Start

Start the story or the game where the first meaningful action occurs that starts the story. As an example, the first Dresden Files book starts with Harry getting a call from Murphy and deciding to take the case. Adventures work much the same way. Start the adventures where the status quo is upset and the characters decided/need to do something.

Space City Con - The Good, The Bad, and The Awesome

noreply@blogger.com (R K Athey) — Thu, 08 Aug 2013 23:26:00 +0000

The Good

The second annual Space City Con was a tremendous success by anyone's standards. They even blew past all expectations of turnout. The lines for registration stretched the length of the central foyer and down the hall to the exhibit area. I was amazed after last years more lightly attended event.

The guests were bigger, the dealer room larger, and the cosplay was truly amazing. Of special note were the 501st Legion - Vader's Fist. They were there enmass and really livened up the con and posed regularly for pics. I had one guy to this for me.

The Klingons were in rare form. Two of the better dressed were funny, making fun of a Jedi with a hair placement fixation. The roamed around in good spirits freely posing and cracking wise with anyone.

The fan clubs were out in full force including Dr. Who, Firefly, Ghostbusters, Legend of the Seekers, and various forms of Star Trek and Star Wars. Some of there props were amazing including a TARDIS and Dalek.

Several local film companies were also present to advertise movies like Matt Mercury - Rocket Ranger and More Than Human. Both production companies turned out in full force with previews of their work. Look for a soon-to-be-published extended post on Matt Mercury.

Three different companies of Live Action Role Players (LARP) were in house to show off their wares. One group held a continual battle at the Hilton across the street while Sovereign Scrolls held night time adventures inside the Marriott host hotel. LARPs are of particular interest to my 10 year old son. For the record, LARP really isn't my thing but my son loves it.

Sovereign Scrolls made him a Paladin but he's not really the Paladin type. He spent his games hanging back waiting for one of the adults players to turn their back, at which time he would run up and slice them from the neck down to their legs. We were there until after midnight.

The other eternity was time spent in the dealers room. It was huge with an astounding variety of vendors.

The Bad

The size brought some headaches and there was a bit of chaos on Friday as the Con's crew struggled to get the things going. They either ran out of programs or the printer delivered them late. I missed one of my must-see events, the Hickman's Brown Bag Lunch.

Granted, most of this was my fault with an assist from Google Maps. Google Maps beta gave us the wrong directions on our printed copy. We punted to Onstar but got there late. Things smoothed out after the first few hours as staff become more familiar with the flow and contents of the con.

The Awesome

Jim Butcher is a prolific writer, RPGer, and video gamer. His first novel, The Dresden Files, was written to prove his professor wrong. He was kind enough to run two writing classes during Space City Con. The first class titled "Blowing Things Up..." complimented the second titled "...And Making People Care About It."

Mr. Butcher is highly entertaining, honest about his personality and abilities, and willing to help others down their path toward authordom. His class was very informative and entertaining. I'll have a series of posts with the class content and how it applies to both writing and gaming coming over the next few weeks. I took sixteen pages of notes. You can find Jim online at jimbutcher.livejournal.com and www.jim-butcher.com.

I'll have a few posts about Mr. Butcher's class in upcoming posts here and elsewhere.

In Summary

Space City Con did an outstanding job despite a much larger crowd than expected. It is a family event that even my non-geek family enjoyed. I would say this will be an annual event for us but it looks like Space City Con is gearing up for a winter festival as well!

Weird Wars Rome - Savage Worlds Kickstarter

noreply@blogger.com (Derek B) — Wed, 31 Jul 2013 00:54:00 +0000

Weird Wars Rome - A new Savage Worlds Kickstarter Launched!
They're at it again! This time it's ancient Rome. Given how much I got out of the Deadland Noir Kickstarter, its a no-brainer and I'm glad to jump in. Pinnacle is, however, taking a different approach this time. They've already done the heavy lifting (writing, art, layout) so the KS is about getting the book printed as well as all the goodies that are unlocked in the stretch goals. They blew past their $6,000 pledge goal the first day.

The main blurb:

Weird Wars Rome is a setting and campaign book for adventures of violence and horror in the ancient world. It includes new rules for Spoils of War, Campaign Interludes, and Legacies that allow characters to pass down their deeds and treasures to future generations of their bloodline.

War Masters will also find our comprehensive Adventure Generator and TWO mini-Plot Point Campaigns.

NOTE: Further down you find out this is the only way you can get the limited edition Hardback.

So far, the total set of offerings, before stretch goals are: PDF Book, Hardbound, Softbound, GM screen, Noctis Germanicus Adventure, double-sided full color map laminated so you can mark on it, and Custom Red Chessex Dice. The digital extras will probably be music, figure flats, one sheets, new monsters, etc. I personally jumped in at the $40 Decanus level. I get the PDF the day the KS ends and the Hardbound by December. I also look forward to all the digital goodies. I almost cheaped-out and went with the $30 level for the PDF & softbound but the Hardbound will only be thru the KS.

Other news:

I still can't wait for the forthcoming SciFi Setting, Solo-Adventures, and all the other Pinnacle Stuff coming this year. They are a busy crew.

Tales From The Savage Troll

Happy Dance - I'm Gaming Again

MapTool Savage Worlds Adventure Edition (SWADE) Framework

Review: How To Write Adventure Modules That Don’t Suck by Goodman Games

Essay 1 - Things I Look For by Joseph Goodman

Essay 2 - From Concept to Outline to Design By Chris Doyle

Essay 3 - Writing Adventures For Your Audience By Brendan J. LaSalle

Essay 4 - Verisimilitude By Adrian Pommier

Essay 5 - Villains By Rick Maffei

Essay 6 - Puzzles By Mike Ferguson

Essay 7 - Two Crucial Rules By Jeremy Simmons

Essay 8 - RPG Editing & Proofreading Advice: Trust No Word! By Ken Hart

Essay 9 - Designing Planar Adventures That Don’t Suck By Andrew Hind

Conclusion

Pinnacle Entertainment Seminar 2015

Star Swords - The Beginning

Savage September on DriveThruRPG

Savage Worlds Freebies, A Kickstarter, and Chupacabra Con

Ennie Voting Is Open

Nova Praxis for Savage Worlds Kickstarter - 2 days left

Virtual Table Top Interview - Savage Worlds Crept In

Mobile Google Docs for Play-By-Post

Using Google Docs for Play-by-Post

Savage Worlds Science Fiction Companion and The World of Grey

Ships

Characters

Races

Conclusion

Science Fiction Companion Ship Builder

Savage Worlds Super Powers Companion Released

Savage Worlds Science Fiction Companion Released

Long Beach Comic & Horror Con 2013 Highlights & Game Ideas

New Free Novella - World of Grey

The Future of Storytelling Free Online Course

Five Savage Worlds Titles for $5

Net Find - Planetary Map Generator

Space City Con Matt Mercury

Space City Con - Jim Butcher's Writing Class

Storytelling

Scenes

Villains

Where to Start

More Reading

Space City Con - The Good, The Bad, and The Awesome

The Good

The Bad

The Awesome

In Summary

Weird Wars Rome - Savage Worlds Kickstarter