Hey there dear readers.  You have no idea how I miss you.  With my D&D game on hold and seminars prep going all out for the spring semester, I feel I’m loosing touch with the blogsphere. But I’ll be back soon enough.

While I’m writing, please note that I will be DMing at PAX East’s DM Challenge.  It will be a very special edition of one of my favorite Primal/Within adventures.  Last time I heard from it, 4 out of the 6 slots to my table were already taken.  So if you want to meet or play, you may still be able to do so.  Check here for details. All PCs are from PHB3 races and (The same from the PHB3 Gameday I was told).

Man, we’re going to rock so hard that PCs from other tables will lose Healing Surges!  Can’t wait to meet you.

All right, we have a game report to finish.

Flashback cut-scene!

Earlier in the game session, during a lull where most players were away from the table, I pulled Eric (Wrath of Melora, Deva Avenger) and Mike (Vorian, Githzerai Monk) aside and told them a story about their shared time, training at special Monastery.

There they learned of a pact made between the Gith seeking to eradicate the Elemental Chaos influence on the world of Sikarra and Melora’s Eco fanatics who were unable to channel the power of their nature god to avenge this dying world.  The Gith brought a large artifact, a Psi-Crystal so powerful that it could channel power sources throughout a world to a select few. The artifact was mounted on Sirrakas highest mountain range where a fighting monastery was built.

By linking it to Melora’s divine source, weak though it may be, the device inherent psionic source flared to life like a beacon and allowed a small, hand-picked group of Monks and Eco-Avengers  to set forth with no need of clockwork technology to achieve power. Both Wrath and Vorian had seen that artifact many times. They were among the leaders of the chosen ones.

Yet that power was lost a few months ago…

It was now sitting at the top of the corrupted Factory-Mine, on the central control platform.

/end flashback

Mike and Eric LOVE that kind of stuff.  And so do I

Running in a script full of holes.

When I was done describing the area, options weren’t discussed really long.

Mike and Eric (Nearly simultaneously): We’re going up there to recuperate this Crystal pillar!

Party: Wait what?

At that point my game notes were a lot slimmer.  I had a plan to have the agent’s missing arm pop in on a conveyor belt somewhere and have an encounter using Robo Rally tiles where the PCs chased the hand while robotic and undead minions tried to mess with them.

I swear I have full 4e rules for ALL the elements of Robo Rally maps now, I had made most of them for my Winter Encounter contest entry.  You can be sure I’ll use them in another venue soon.

Anyway, instead I went with the flow and had the lead players roll skill checks to navigate the different levels to get to the top.  I figured that as soon as I got a failure, I would introduce a twist that would send the party into my Robo Rally encounter. Turns out they made it to the top platform all right.

And I’m so happy they did… it turns out I had forgotten ALL my Robo Rally Tiles at home!  I only realized it much later in the evening.

So here I was, stuck in an area I didn’t really plan passed a picture in my mind,  with players itching for a fight and near one of the adventure’s major Quest items.  So I opened up all my gaming notes (I use MS-Onebook) and picked monsters here and there that I had selected in other encounters to create a plausible encounter.

Grand Finale on the Balcony!

I ended up with a Bone Golem, 2 Autoclank Knights, 1 Blaspheme Disciple, 2 of those flying Gatling paralyzing dart minions and 2 of those squat Heavy-Clank 2-hits minions. I asked my players to draw a 30′ wide, 100′ or so long control center, complete with consoles, stairwells, 60′ drops and the Psi-pillar.

The fight was VISCOUS! The Knights and Golem did a great job protecting the disciple and shooting minions and all monsters dished out a lot of pain, especially that bone shard exploding dazing golem.  The PCs went through healing surges like a buzz-saw through lime Jell-O. It was great fun!

After a few rounds I finally revealed my nefarious plot.

The Psionic artifact activated and blasted Yan’s Holy Clank, the world’s only Sentient Autoclank

Flashback Two – A meeting of “friends”

In Holy Clank’s background stories resides a dark tale.  Early after achieving sentience at the hands of a bumbly and soon after “crushed by mistake” wizard, Holy Clank scoured the near-desert surface world to meet others like him, living non-squishes like him….

(Rodriguez-like lost reel transition)

… and the Reversed Lich, its soul and conscience forever stuck in its critically damaged Autoclank body, slowly sank in the lava pits of its lair, cursing the wounded Holy-Clank, imploring all Princes of the Abyss to one day grant it revenge.

/end flashback

Back to the finale

The whole rebellion had been a sham all along to get Holy Clank into the factory close enough to the Psi-pillar. Thus,  the Reversed Lich, hidden deep in the factory in its half-melted, severely crippled mechanical body, could transfer its soul into the Warrior-Priest’s pristine body.

So from that moment forward, like Lex Luthor hitting Superman with its Kryptonite Hummer, Clank had to deal with a LOT of threats: The pillar attacking every rounds (helped by the Blaspheme doing some NPC skill challenge), healing his battered buddies and dealing with knights and a golem.

Fortunately, by that time the fight started to be under control and several PCs joined in a skill challenge to deactivate either the Pillar’s attacks on Holy Clank or its influence on all the creatures of the factory.

The last dramatic moments occurred when the Monk destroyed both Autoclank Knights in one attack and then teleported the Bone Golem over the empty space of the Factory floor.  It somehow managed to save itself (literally a saving throw) and hold on the ledge for a few more rounds.  It eventually fell to the ground in a dramatic burst of bones and metal.  As this occurred, the links between the pillars and the Lich were cut and the hundreds of undead and clanks converging on the PCs’ position dispersed or turned off.

Eric: So now how are we going to get this huge piece of crystal out?

Chatty: Gee, I don’t know…  But I have to mention that Wrath says that with his back is to the factory floor, a series of HUGE cranes sitting motionless all over the place.

Eric: (cough) Asshole (cough).

Chatty: So now that the signal that controlled all the undead and clanks is down, you have a bunch of confused blasphemes and several hundred autoclanks with no programming. What’s next?

Yan: I guess we’re done here, the watch won’t be found. Hey where’s the agent?

Chatty: Oh him?  He was a spy, he killed the first agent and got his arm sewed on before your arrival. He ran away with many of the baron’s secrets.

Math: Heh, win some, lose some.

Epilogue

Chatty (to Yan): As you load the pillar unto a crane to bring it back to the first floor, you feel it get curious and excited by your very special nature. In a rush of psychic energy, it instantly connects you to all others like you on the planet, all the Autoclanks that sit quietly without sentience, without a soul.   What do you do?

Holy Clank (Jubilant): Awake my brothers, let the roaming spirits of this world animate you like they did me!

And thus, the Warforged were truly born.

End Credit, next game will occur 5-8 years later.

I love this campaign, can’t wait to play again.

Well, I think this idea can be ported to 4e pretty easily. However, in 3e, feats were a big way in which characters changed. In 4e, some of the emphasis has been taken off feats and put into powers. Plus, the 1-20 vs. 1-30 level spread changes things a bit. Thus to accomodate it, here’s the rules I propose:

• Everything is normal until level 11, AKA the first paragon level. Paragon path is chosen as normal. Then advancement stops. Though you still level up, you do not increase HP, the half-level bonus (it’s always calculated as if level 11), do not gain further class abilities, and so on.
• At every even level, you gain a new feat.
• At every odd level, you upgrade your lowest level power to a higher level version of a level you do not possess, no matter what level that power is. For example, if you have level 1, 3, and 7 Encounter powers, you can upgrade your level 1 to a level 13 encounter power, since it is the same type (encounter) and the next jump is of a level you don’t possess (since you already have a 3 and 7). You can choose the powers of your paragon path in this way.
• Repeat forever.

There’s something that particularly tickles me about this idea, that you gain powers beyond your level. The powers system is pretty modular in this way, not being dependent on a specific ability score or something similar. That way your techniques in battle are getting improved, without ascending bonuses into godhood. Level 11 (or as I like to think of it with this system, “name level”) has a pretty good number of options for characters, and the DM still has plenty of options for monsters. This option might work better for campaigns focused on empire-building then those where you eventually ascend to god-like power. The system isn’t without issues: for instance, PCs will start to cherry-pick paragon paths based solely on what is granted for 11th level instead of what might balance throughout the whole progression, and the XP system might need to change. But I think it’s a good start.

I’m considering this for a Dark Sun game. What do you guys think?

Avast Ye Assassins

The high seas are filled with peril and danger at any given time, but off the island-riddled coast of the tropical south west, the waters are particularly more dangerous than elsewhere in the world. Regardless of the large naval and lawful presence within the area, a nefarious group of assassins has managed to gain control of the seas and surrounding islands. This pirate armada is responsible for the countless sunken wrecks that litter the seas around the numerous coastal islands, and many more deaths. Their unique and shadowy talents are for sale to the highest bidder. Operating without honour, these assassins are known to quickly double cross their contractors for an excessive fee without hesitation. The Crimson Armada is a dire and menacing threat to any that find themselves targeted by these pirate ninjas.

The Crimson Armada

Members of the Crimson Armada walk boldly through the streets of the numerous port cities and towns of the region, proudly displaying the scarlet tattoos that mark them as a member of the assassin coven. Each tattoo that adorns a member of the Crimson Armada has two purposes. Firstly, the amount of tattoos symbolizes achievements that are awarded within the pirates’ society. These accomplishments vary from almost honourable to downright morbid. It has been said that acts of successful treason and mutiny, as well as killing superiors, are classed as high achievements, while acts of bravery, loyalty and sacrifice also gain an assassin an inked marking. The second and more coveted aspect of the tattoos are the powers and abilities that each tattoo grants to the bearer. Each symbol holds a fragment of primeval power from an ancient shadow oni assassin lord. The powers and abilities of each symbol vary widely from instant mastery of martial arts, such as ninjutsu and kendo, to shadow arts, like teleportation and invisibility. With these supernatural abilities the members of Crimson Armada have continuously eluded capture from the watchmen and authority forces of the region only to strike back with deadly precession upon anyone that stands in their way. Now there are very few people left in the area that oppose the chaotic might of the Armada and fewer still who are willing to speak such words aloud.

With their imposing presence within the cities and towns of the coastal region the leaders of the Crimson Armada remain hidden within their fortress home which lies upon the back of a colossal dragon turtle. Using dominating magic, the Armada’s most powerful magicians control the once ferocious turtle as the see fit. The thick moss laden shell holds a menacing blood red solid stone fortress the stands several stories high. The Armada has also carved several caves and dungeons into the turtle’s shell where they house their most treasured items. With enough money anyone or anything can employ the Armada to complete a number of tasks, the pirates specialize in assassination and thievery but will take on any task as long as the money is right. The inherent risk of hiring the nautical assassins is having them double cross you, the agents of the Crimson Armada are given free reign to offer a choice to their targets, for a hefty price victims can reverse the contract placed upon their heads. This choice of immunity can be offered numerous times to the same two parties, with the price ever increasing. This game of back and forth has seen the Armada amass an extremely substantial amount of wealth in the short period of time they have been operating. The freedom that each pirate assassin can offer also extends to their methods, with no two members of the Armada operating in the same manner. Some complete their missions with stealth and speed, whilst others rampage head first through any obstacle within their path.

Foundations

The leaders of the Crimson Armada started life as little more the orphaned thieves who scrounged a living in the darkened and filthy alleys of the capitol city of the coastal region. As the years passed, their distain for the wealthy and fortunate around them grew to scornful hatred. The brother and sister began to covet wealth above all things and made a pact to do whatever was necessary for them to amass a wealth that was the envy of kingdoms and empires. They received their chance the day they stole ancient scrolls from holy monks who were resting in the city whilst on a pilgrimage. At first they meant to sell the parchment for mere gold, but when tracked down and confronted by the monks, a fight ensued. During the scuffle ink rubbed off upon the brother granting him the instant mastery of a martial art, with which he bested the skilled monks. Upon that day five years ago the Crimson Armada was founded, with the single purpose to amass a hoard of wealth the likes the world has never seen.

O’Captain, My Captain

Captain Derdan, controls the Crimson Armada’s countless ships from his immense 1^st rate Ship-of-the-line. Known by its crew as Red Sea, the immense ship has single-handedly dispatched an entire fleet of naval vessels in combat. Whilst Derdan’s sister remains within the Armada’s fortress, he appears as the face of the pirate assassins and has a royal bounty on his head larger than anyone in known history. However any who have sought to claim the bounty have either been recruited into the Armada or have fallen to the twin magical cutlass’ that hang awkwardly from Derdan’s petite frame. His thick black hair hangs to his shoulders, framing a youthful face that is patched in a thin beard that speaks of the captain’s youth. Countless tattoos completely cover the small frame of the captain’s constantly shirtless top half. The power of these tattoos has seen the teen gain abilities and powers that surpass veteran heroes and legendary generals. Many warriors mock his appearance and stature upon first meeting, a mistake that is only made once. Derdan is covered with every single tattoo that he and his sister found upon the scrolls, including the original that rubbed off during the initial fight with the monks. As such his powers and abilities are almost limitless as he verges upon the edge of immortality.

Hidden Sister

Krestaen spends the majority of her time within the fortress of the Crimson Armada. Her once auburn hair, now abyssal black to match her eyes hides a secret tattoo upon her scalp that she tore from the scrolls upon the day she and her brother stole them. This unique tattoo coupled with the others upon the scroll has granted Krestaen powers that equals Derdan, however in place of the martial skills of Derdan, Krestaen has access to limitless shadow and Oni magic. The small, adolescent girl constantly carries two bladed whips that appear ridiculously long and unwieldily even if in a master’s hand. However her abilities with the extended whips are legendary amongst the few people who know her. Krestaen uses her abilities to oversee the operations of the Crimson Armada. The young girl delights in her role as interrogator and torturer for the few prisoners of the Armada, often using dominated sharks to slowly terrify and devour prisoners she has becomes bored with. Whilst Derdan is unaware of his sister’s hidden tattoo, Krestaen covets the ink marking that was smeared almost illegibly upon her brother. Wealth has become meaningless to Krestaen as the demonic voice in her head constantly raves about the joys of destruction and mayhem. A strong will has kept the voices at bay so far, but it is only a matter of time until Krestaen gives in to her morbid urges of destruction.

There Can Be Oni One

In darkened years now forgotten and never recorded in the histories of the world, an immortal shadow oni rampaged across the world. Countless heroes and innocents fell before the unstoppable demon and the world burned crimson with blood and fire as hope disappeared. Known only by the title of Crimson Death, the demon Shinoshi delighted in the perfect world it was sculpting. As a master of all shadow magic and martial arts, no group of heroes could even last mere minutes before the abomination. As chaos flooded the world, a small group of enlightened monks gathered together in an effort to stop the beast. A mighty ritual took place in which the ten monks sacrificed the enlightened energy to weaken the demon, then separating and draining all of Shinoshi’s powers into several scrolls. With their sacrifice and the immortal demon captured, the world returned to normal and Shinoshi was eventually forgotten by everyone, except the monks who guard the evil scrolls on an endless pilgrimage. If all the symbols are to ever be written on a single canvas or the scrolls completely destroyed, then Shinoshi would return once more to the world.

CREATING YOUR CHARACTER

Combatants

The four available combatants each have their own strengths and vulnerabilities.

• FIGHTER: Tough and deadly in hand-to-hand combat, the fighter tends to move slower than other characters and possess limited range attacks. Primary ability: Strength.
• WIZARD: While fairly fragile in melee, the wizard can attack multiple distant opponents with fiery blasts of magic. Primary ability: Intelligence.
• CLERIC: The cleric can be as tough as the fighter in combat and has the best healing, but does less damage than the other characters. Primary ability: Wisdom.
• ROGUE: Agile and fast, the rogue usually attacks first and deals a lot of damage, but can only fight up close and personal, lacking any range attack. Primary ability: Dexterity.

Abilities

All combatants have seven abilities, which affect their characteristics in different ways.

• STRENGTH: Measures physical might, allowing fighters to ignore attacks and increase their force of their strikes, and allowing all characters to wear heavier armor and wield more dangerous weapons.
• DEXTERITY: Measures speed and agility, allowing rogues to dodge attacks and slip through defenses to strike vulnerable targets, and affecting the movement and strike order of all characters.
• CONSTITUTION: Measures physical health, allowing all characters to suffer injuries but still remain in the fight.
• INTELLIGENCE: Measures mental agility, allowing wizards to predict incoming attacks and target the weaknesses of enemies, and allowing all characters to move to the best starting location in the arena.
• WISDOM: Measures self-discipline and empathy, allowing clerics to rely on their gods for protection, for healing of allies, and for smiting of unbelievers. All characters can provide some healing, but clerics excel in the area.
• ARMOR: Measures the protections (mundane and magical) used to guard against attacks. Because of the physical toll exacted by wearing armor, the ARMOR value cannot exceed the STRENGTH value.
• WEAPON: Measures the weapon (mundane and magical) used to attack opponents. Because of the physical toll exacted by wielding a weapon, the WEAPON value cannot exceed the STRENGTH value.

Characteristics

Depending on the combatant and abilities, the characteristics can vary.

• DEFENSE: Measures the difficulty in attacking another combatant. If an ATTACK roll is below the DEFENSE, the attack misses.
• HIT POINTS: Measures total damage a combatant can take before dying.
• ATTACK: Measures effectiveness of attack. If the rolled dice plus bonus equals or exceeds the targets DEFENSE, the attack hits.
• DAMAGE: Measures wounds in hit points delivered on a successful ATTACK.
• RANGE: Measures number of squares (horizontal, vertical, or diagonal) an ATTACK can reach.
• MOVE: Measures number of squares (horizontal, vertical, or diagonal) a combatant can move during a Move Action.
• INITIATIVE: Measures combat order, which is determined at the beginning of every combat round. Combatants with tied INITIATIVE rolls act at the same time.
• HEAL: Measures wounds in hit points that can be removed from any combatant in RANGE on a Heal Action.

Assigning Scores

Distribute 16 points among the abilities listed above. For each kill, you gain 4 points to distribute after the battle ends.

Score | Bonus
—————-
0 | +0
1 | +1
2-3 | +2
4-7 | +3
8-13 | +4
14-21 | +5
22-31 | +6
32-43 | +7
44-57 | +8
58-73 | +9
74+ | +10

Characteristics

FIGHTER

• Defense: 4 + Armor + Strength
• Hit Points: 35 + Constitution
• Attack: 2d8 + Strength
• Damage: d4 + Weapon + Strength
• Range: Weapon – 1 (min 1)
• Move: 1 + Dexterity – Armor (min 1)
• Initiative: d20 + Dexterity
• Heal: Wisdom (Self or Ally within range)

WIZARD

• Defense: 4 + Armor + Intelligence
• Hit Points: 20 + Constitution
• Attack: d10 + Intelligence vs. each target in range
• Damage: d6 + Weapon + Intelligence (divide among hit targets)
• Range: Intelligence + Weapon
• Move: 1 + Dexterity – Armor (min 1)
• Initiative: d20 + Dexterity
• Heal: Wisdom (Self or Ally within range)

CLERIC

• Defense: 4 + Armor + Wisdom
• Hit Points: 30 + Constitution
• Attack: 2d6 + Wisdom
• Damage: d4 + Weapon + Wisdom
• Range: Wisdom + Weapon
• Move: 1 + Dexterity – Armor (min 1)
• Initiative: d20 + Dexterity
• Heal: 1d4 + Wisdom (Self or Ally within range)

ROGUE

• Defense: 4 + Armor + Dexterity
• Hit Points: 25 + Constitution
• Attack: 2d6 + Dexterity
• Damage: Weapon + Dexterity + d8 Sneak
• Range: 1
• Move: 1 + Dexterity – Armor (min 1)
• Initiative: d20 + Dexterity
• Heal: Wisdom (Self or Ally within range)

CREATING THE ARENA

Battles are conducted on a 1″ scale battle map, with the positions of the combatants tracked using miniatures or markers. Because of attack ranges, position is extremely important.

The size of the arena depends on the number of combatants.

• 2 characters: 6 x 6 squares (d# = d6)
• 3 characters: 8 x 8 squares (d# = d8)
• 4 characters: 10 x 10 squares (d# = d10)
• 5 characters: 12 x 12 squares (d# = d12)
• 6+ characters: 20 x 20 squares (d# = d14)

Arena Traps

1. Determine the number of traps inside the arena by rolling the associated d# dice. For example, if you are fighting inside a 6 x 6 arena, roll a d6 for the number of traps.
2. Determine and mark the location of these traps by rolling the associated d# dice for the X-coordinate and the Y-coordinate. For example, if you are fighting inside a 6 x 6 arena, roll a d6 for the X-coordinate and a d6 for the Y-coordinate.

Starting Location

1. To determine the starting location of a character, roll the associated d# dice for the X-coordinate and the Y-coordinate. For example, if you are fighting inside a 6 x 6 arena, roll a d6 for the X-coordinate and a d6 for the Y-coordinate.
2. After determining the starting location for all characters but prior to the first combat round, characters can move up to their INTELLIGENCE modifier

RUNNING THE BATTLE

1. At the beginning of each round, all characters roll INITIATIVE.
2. On a combat turn, a character may use an Attack Action, a Move Action, and a Heal Action in any order.

Attack Action: Roll an ATTACK against a target in range, and if the ATTACK exceeds the target’s DEFENSE, roll DAMAGE. When total DAMAGE exceeds HIT POINTS, the combatant dies.

Move Action: Move your character up to your MOVE value. If you move into or through a trapped square, suffer 10 damage. (NOTE: The Starting Location move CAN trigger these traps).

Heal Action: Apply HEAL value to yourself or an ally within RANGE.

GAME END

When only one side or player is left standing, the game ends.

Character Sheet

Attached is an Excel document that can be used as a character sheet for your arena warrior.

ArenaCombatantCreator

Questions? Comments? Feedback? Please leave them below.

I’m going to start this review off with a simple, embarrasing admission. I’ve recently played Dragon Age and Mass Effect 2. While I thought both games were fantastic, both shared a common, unfortunate trait: an extreme dearth in the nipple department. Through sexy burlap boob-togas or futuristic kennels for galactic sweater-puppies, the love scenes in these games were approximately as spicy as a trip to the Old People Buffet(tm). So it was, after finishing Mass Effect 2, that I found myself looking for another game to play. Heavy Rain had just come out, and I’d been hearing two things about it. One, it was supposed to have an absolutely incredible amount of story and character development in it. Two, I was promised boobs. Lots of boobs. I was sold. Mostly because of the boobs. It’s not like I’ve never seen or do not have occasional access to actual boobs. There is simply a certain happy place that my inner 15 year old goes to when I cause computer generated boobs to appear. Even when they are barely recognizable.

WARNING!
THIS PART CONTAINS MILD PLOT SPOILERS FOR THE FIRST 30 MINUTES OF GAMEPLAY!

Upon purchasing and loading the game into my PS3, my first thought was that it looked rather like Playstation Home. Everything was bright and cheery. The guy I was controlling, Ethan, looked and sounded kind of vapid and mild, and I was doing a lot of useless crap (which was fine, it was the “tutorial” part of the game). That being said, it was kind of relaxing. I had two sons, one of whom had a birthday that day, and I was helping my wife set up for the party and playing with the kids in the backyard. Supposedly he was turning 10, but he seemed quite a bit younger. I can’t remember my dad carrying me on his shoulders and giving me airplane rides when I was 10. (Then again, I was about 150 pounds when I was 10.) That aside, it was sweet and happy. I had a nice job, great kids, and a hot wife who didn’t want to have sex until later because there was way too much stuff to get ready. Life was good, but I did want to get poor Ethan laid.

In the next scene, we’re shopping at the mall, where one of Ethan’s kids promptly runs off. I run around trying to find him, and the experience is real enough to me that I almost have a freaking anxiety attack. I’m suspecting that since this part in the game, something crappy is about to happen. I am right, but I am utterly unprepared for the sheer magnitude of the dump that life is about to take on Ethan. I chase him around in a huge crowd, barely missing him several times until I see him walk outside. I run for the door and emerge from the door only to find him already across the street, which is quite busy. He is so happy to see me that he bolts back across the street toward me, right into the path of a speeding car. I try to save him, but I’m too late. He dies, and I’m in a coma for awhile.

Then it gets even happier!

Fast forward two years. Your beautiful wife has left you, you live in a shitty apartment, and your remaining son is distant and doesn’t really like being around you anymore. To drive home how crappy your life is now, you get to spend the evening with your son while he tries to watch TV to avoid talking to you. You also get to prepare a microwave dinner for him and make him do his homework. All the while, Ethan is sulking and flopping around his house like some kind of moping savant. Sadness is dripping off every surface in the apartment. The potatoes in your son’s crappy microwave dinner have been marinated in it.

Then things get really bad. Yes, really. It gets worse. Your only surviving progeny gets kidnapped by a serial killer. Everybody thinks you did it. Including you. Ethan can pretty much win any thread on FMyLife.com at this point without even trying, and I’d been playing the game less than a half hour. Holy shit.

In short, I came into this wanting to see boobs, and Quantic Dream gave me an advanced parental worst-case scenario simulator. I wanted to go wake up my real-life son and hug him until my arms fell off. At the time, I was seriously wondering if I could make it through the rest of this game. There comes a point for me when something catastrophically bad happens in a game, and I either choose to quit or to single-mindedly play the game until I’ve seen the in-game bastard responsible pay for his crimes. The first time I experienced this was Aerith’s death in FFVII. The second was Nanami’s death in Suikoden II. This was worse than both. And by the gods, I was not about to give up this time. Thus began a week of Very Little Sleep.

I am pleased to say it was worth it.

And Now, The Rest Of The Review (Now With 75% Less Panic Attacks!)

Gameplay in Heavy Rain comes in two flavors: walking around and manipulating objects at your own pace, and QTE action sequences. There’s a little bit of a learning curve, as you use the R2 trigger button to walk, the left stick to look around, and the right to perform actions. When the symbol for a button or motion appears, you do what it says to perform an action of some kind. It gets easier with time, though I can’t say I found it particularly intuitive at any point. The developers seemed to relish making you perform mundane everyday tasks in their interface. I found myself doing everything from making scrambled eggs to changing a baby. It was a little tedious at times, but it did help immerse me in my environment. The action sequences are where this interface really shines, partially because they deliberately don’t make it easy for you. The fight sequences are intense, and (depending on how well you do) can get pretty long – but never boring. There are no health bars here, you just keep going until something happens. If you need to dodge or block, a little icon for what you’re supposed to do appears on the incoming threat (and may be shaking if your character is freaked out), and most of the time it’s moving quickly enough that your brain needs a few extra processing cycles and you’re prone to messing up just from mental overload. I’ve been in martial arts for most of my life, and I was impressed at this game’s ability to capture the feeling of mentally shorting out under attack. Part of it is that there’s no ninja whirlwind kicks or swords or any other fantasy combat going on. It’s about real people, most of which who don’t know anything about fighting, trying to survive an attack. It’s riveting, and the way it’s handled feels much more satisfying than doing a QTE sequence in a game like Shenmue or God of War. One thing I didn’t care for, though, was that occasionally they would put the camera at some awful arbitrary angle for effect. While they may have been trying to do this to simulate your character’s fear and confusion, if I’m two feet away from my goal and you suddenly switch the camera in such a way that I wind up getting lost it pisses me off. Fortunately, this doesn’t happen often.

The story, though it kicks you in the emotional nutsack in the first hour, delivers. There are a few little plot holes here and there, but nothing too serious. You play four characters in this game, and for the most part they are believable. Everybody has flaws, and you’ll frequently find yourself choosing between what’s “right” and what you “have to do”. You’ll see the occasional stereotype pop up, particularly in FBI Agent Jayden’s asshole partner, but it never goes too over the top. Even better, the story can change drastically between playthroughs depending on what you do. It was a lot of fun finishing the game and then talking to my friends who had also finished the game, comparing our experiences – which, I might add, were drastically different. Even in playthroughs where all 4 main characters lived, how things ended up between our stories didn’t even resemble each other. I’m not sure exactly how far you can diverge from the in-game storyline, but given that your characters can die, I would assume pretty far depending on when a particular character bites it. As it was, I found myself playing an entirely different character for the climax of the story than my two friends, and it made sense for how my story progressed.

One minor thing that bothered me about the game was the voice acting, though not in the usual “it sounds like they’re mindlessly reading off cue cards” kind of way. It was like their localization team didn’t bother to consult anyone when they did the English version of the game. Don’t get me wrong, they did a decent job. It’s just that most of the characters had a very noticeable French accent, except for private eye Scott Shelby (played beautifully by Sam Douglas), who spoke like a full-blooded Yankee. I’m not quite sure where the story is supposed to be set. Matter of fact, the setting was fairly vague other than it being in an urban area. Now, I’m not usually one to complain about an accent. I understand that here in America, we are extremely myopic about language, and if you’re going to be here you oughta speak AMERICAN. I’m just impressed people learn a second language, much less the official language of NASCAR. But, I digress. At times during the game, it got to the point where the voice actor knew how to deliver the line emotionally, but it was like they were tripping over the language. The fact that it was delivered well kept my suspension of disbelief in check, but just barely. When a woman looks at you and says “how would you feel if your son’s body was found in a wasteland?”, my first impulse is to ask if there had been a nuclear war I didn’t know about. Then I ask the woman if she needs to go to hospital. It’s a minor thing, but in a game that works best when the player is immersed in the environment, little speed bumps mean a lot. I wish they’d hired all British or American voice actors for the English version, or at least had an American guy around to go “that sounds funny where I come from”. At the very least, make it consistent. I’m curious to know what Scott sounds like in the French version.

The graphics for this game range from decent to completely amazing, mostly depending on the use of lighting. Brightly-lit characters in this game show their flaws, and they look flat. Light them dimly and introduce some smoke or rain, though, and I found myself occasionally forgetting I wasn’t watching real humans. Also, after recounting the bitter fruits of my quest for videogameboobs above, I would be remiss if I did not mention that I eventually did receive my just reward. Playable character Madison Paige offers you at least three opportunities for such things in-game, and they are wonderful as they are a virtual approximation of the assets of British model Jacqui Ainsley. I don’t know who was responsible for Madison’s butt-physics, but I want to make sure this person is nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize.

Heavy Rain Is Well Worth The Emotional Trauma

All said, I think my favorite thing about this game was the level to which it sucked me in when it counted. There were several chase and fight scenes where the game grabbed me by the face and wouldn’t let go. Like, heavy-breathing-and-butt-on-the-edge-of-the-seat engaged in what was going on. it occurred to me that if I was watching an identical sequence in a movie, I’d probably be kind of bored – but this game makes it exciting. The music and the visuals and the pacing were all laser-targeted to make you extremely invested in what might have otherwise been another mediocre copycat QTE gameplay experience. If you’re looking to find a reason to play Heavy Rain, this is it. I’ve never quite experienced its like. I want to again. It has a few rough edges, but they are absolutely not worth passing up playing this game.

James Wyatt: “The githzerai’s evil kin are great villains, and we want to be careful about how often we turn villain races into player character options. Making the drow a playable race spent a lot of that currency, and we don’t want to overdo it.”
Mike Mearls: “While sometimes it’s fun to play against stereotypes, we don’t want every villainous race to go the way of the drow.”

This is an argument that I agreed with originally, but the more I’ve thought about it the more I begin to dislike the argument. When it comes to the core books for a game system, especially with a brand like D&D,  a lot of attention needs to be paid to the racial balance and how that effects the game. The drow are the obvious first choice to fill the iconic “villainous race gone good” conceptual space, but I believe once you get further into a system and provide more abundant choices the concern of overloading a player with too many options for villainous races greatly diminishes.

While the drow may be the iconic D&D villainous race, your average DM running in a custom campaign setting may be just as likely to have a githyanki PC as any other monstrous race. This argument is inspired by the fact that in my current game one of my players (Joshx0rfz) has been playing a githyanki for 14 levels and his choice of that race has added a great deal to my campaign, the world it is played in, and the ongoing plots of the game. For the designers of D&D to say that the drow has taken up certain real estate is meaningless with regards to my game world, and unfortunately as a result anyone playing a githyanki has less options for feats and paragon paths than other races.

Even beyond my own campaign world, I feel that the “bad race gone good” concept can be approached from more directions than how it is handled with the drow and the githyanki are one of the best representations of this. In researching more about the races, githyanki are at least faithful to their own kind whereas the drow will kill their own family in service to lolth and the githyanki have some strong and definitive personality traits that can play really well as an adventurer. Though I had hoped the githyanki would be represented in the PHB3, I can understand limited print space and the restrictions of publishing, however the above argument scares me that Wizards may not be planning to release a full write-up for the githyanki any time soon. That’s why I am going to create my own!

Githyanki

Xenophobic and militaristic, these warrior people are both dedicated and fierce

Use the githyanki racial traits found in the back of the Monster Manual with the following changes:

Skill Bonuses: +2 History, +2 Insight  (added Insight)
Danger Sense: You have a +2 racial bonus to initiative checks.  (added ‘racial’ to the bonus)

It was through bloody uprising that the gith people earned their freedom from their mind flayer overlords, and that spirit of uprising lives on in the githyanki. Despite their common heritage with the githzerai, very few traits still link the two races. After fleeing to the Astral Sea, the githyanki cherish the strength and organization that led their ancestors to freedom and share a collective belief that their kind have truly earned their freedom among the stars. After centuries of militaristic upbringing, many githyanki have become xenophobic and cruel as they sail the currents of the astral sea and set up strongholds between the domains of the gods. While the githzerai contemplate and seek their place in the universe through meditation, the githyanki know their rightful place from birth to be at the top of all things.

Play a githyanki if you want…

• to be a calculating, commanding leader who has strong planar ties
• to have a strong will and natural telekinetic powers
• to be a member of a race that favors the Artificer, Swordmage, and Warlock or slightly favors the Battlemind, Psion, and Wizard

Physical Qualities

Similar in physical appearance to the githzerai, the githyanki are taller than humans and extremely gaunt but muscular. They also share the same angular features, pointed ears, deep set eyes, and flattened noses set high on their faces. Their skin tends toward yellow tones, though the githyanki have skin that shades occasionally into brown or orange. All githyanki have dark patterns of spots on their skin, typically around the eyes and along the shoulders, elbows, and knees. Githyanki typically have long hair, accentuated by braids inlaid with metalwork and gems. Both genders let the majority of the hair flow freely or tie it to stick out in large tufts. Githyanki hair is typically black, but red and brown sometimes occur.

Githyanki clothing reflects their militaristic lifestyle, often as a makeshift combination of cloth and armor adorned with ornate designs and jewelry. They are often seen wearing wrapped or draped cloths with pieces of finely worked metal used as pauldrons and chestplates worn over top, and they take great pride in their metal working particularly of silver and gold. Most githyanki express themselves through designs in their armor, weapons, and wearing piercings or jewelry in their hair.

Githyanki use a unique form of circular rune based writing called tir’su, and they speak deep speech as a result of years of slavery at the hands of mind flayers. Githyanki live about as long as humans.

Playing a Githyanki

Githyanki do not have families, instead they are a part of a military cadre that they belong to from birth. Details and names of parents and siblings are unknown and considered meaningless in comparison to the integrity of a military training unit. Nothing is easily given to a githyanki during the first years of life, as the young must learn to seek out and obtain what they desire by the most efficient means. Often their efforts involve a weapon, one of the most important possessions of a githyanki and the primary instrument in their pursuit of conquest. Most githyanki set out from their citadels and sail across the astral sea, or even the other worlds, searching for treasure and relics to add to their holdings.

Although the githyanki are often cruel and disdainful towards outsiders, their militaristic culture includes a strange sense of honor and duty that results in a rigid mindset focused on the greater good of their race. It is a rare occurrence for githyanki to attack another of their race, and it is equally as rare for a githyanki to stand by or not take action when their people are in danger. The result is a small number of githyanki that have worked with outsiders to eliminate threats to the members of the cadre or to the citadel in which they live. A few accounts have been recorded of githyanki that adventure with groups made up of other races forming unique psychic bonds that allows them to relay commands and messages in the midst of combat with short phrases or gestures, much like the bond a githyanki commander will form with their githyanki subordinates.

A cunning and direct race, their culture is built upon the idea that whatever is taken by force has been earned by merit. To a githyanki any obstacle, no matter how large, is simply a challenge to be overcome through greater intellect and perseverence. While a member of a different race may never be able to earn the respect of a githyanki, a certain level of military or intellectual prowess may earn the trust of a githyanki for a time. Githyanki attack mind flayers on sight and are often most cruel toward their githzerai kin.

All githyanki know that their eventual fate lies at the feet of their lich-queen as she consumes the souls of the most powerful of their race. While most githyanki accept this as their duty and service to the race, some will naturally view it as yet another obstacle to be surmounted. Building a life as an adventurer outside of the astral sea may seem like the best escape from fate, but the servants of the lich-queen cannot be avoided forever.

Githyanki Characteristics: calculating, cruel, disciplined, intolerant, militant, organized, suspicious, terse, vengeful

Male Names: Glathk, Hra’cknir, Ilzin, Klar, Lel, Merzim, Ral, Ru’kal, Sar’yel

Female Names: Alith, Laathik, Mlara, Pari, Rad’na, Uzera, Ythenu

Githyanki Adventurers

Three sample githyanki adventurers are described below.

Lel is a githyanki swordmage who was nearly killed when his cadre was defeated by a group of rrathmal githzerai. Instead of putting him to death, the githzerai trained Lel in their enlightened path and educated him in how to survive a soul rending death at the hands of his lich-queen Vlaakith. After returning home, Lel approached Vlaakith and sacrificed himself to her. He did not die, however, at least not entirely. Using the psychic methods of the githzerai a shred of Lel’s essence was preserved in the husk of his body and for the first time in known history a githyanki escaped the lich-queen’s grasp. Descending from the astral sea to the material world, Lel awoke in an unknown land to a new life of adventure. Combining the training of the githzerai with his githyanki upbringing, Lel took to seeking further enlightenment as an arcane sword-master vowing one day to return and free the rest of his people from their bond of servitude to Vlaakith.

Mlara, a githyanki star pact warlock, narrowly avoided death as her home citadel was ransacked by a group of rogue angels and maruts. Had it not been for her mysterious pact mentor’s warning, she surely would have died with all of her kin. Floating between worlds in the astral sea, Mlara was picked up by a group of adventurers. She had decided that picking her up was their mistake, but quickly changed her mind when she discovered the objective of the rogue angels and maruts. They were part of a cult trying to resurrect the dead god on which the githyanki capital city of Tu’narath rests and the adventurers had been working to stop them. It seemed Mlara would need their help to protect the entire githyanki race.

Glathk is a young githyanki warlord who was on an early mission into the material plane to establish a scouting post. Unfortunately his groups entrance into the material world was noticed by a group of aberrant foulspawn that tagged along and caused havoc amongst their ranks. Glathk later found himself as the only survivor of his cadre, stranded in the material world, and suffering from a strange form of nausea. His headaches quickly grew into strange psychic feedback that only ceased when he wandered into a nearby settlement. Cursed by his exposure to the Far Realm and by his exile from the Astral Sea, Glathk’s only respite from psychic backlash could be found in the presence of intelligent beings of what he considered lesser races. It wasn’t long before the foulspawn exploited the tear between worlds again and assaulted the settlement where Glathk was living. As the meek guards of the town began to falter before the aberrant creatures, Glathk jumped to their aid and organized a glorious defense of the town.  Inspired and motivated by his latent psychic leadership, the town guards exalted Glathk as their savior and champion and the githyanki found a new calling in life as a protector of lesser races. At least until he could remove the curse of the far realm.

–

Please let me know what you think of this write up for the githyanki race, and share any stories you have of them in your own games!

As it is homebrew week here on Critical Hits, I’m going to forego my usual flavour-based rantings in order to share with you my beginners guide to homebrewing. For those of you who are unaware of my RPG portfolio, I’m a mad as a hatter homebrewer. From humble (and undoubtedly parentally annoying) beginnings at the age of eight, I have been building ‘adventure’ games for my family and friends non-stop. My first game system didn’t go down so well as I spent most of my time trying to convince my older brother and parents to spend their weekends sitting at the table to hear me rant on and on about imaginary monsters and villains that they had no concept of. Since then I’ve continued relentlessly in the homebrew department to the point where I am running weekly games for two groups of six players. Below I’m going to share with you some of the basic tips I have picked up over the years.

Fantastic Isn’t Always Funtastic!

This is an easy trap to fall into repeatedly when you start out building homebrew campaigns and RPG systems. Fantastic and clever ideas for rules and campaigns don’t always relate to fun gameplay for your players. Before you devote your time and effort into developing components for your homebrew, run the idea by your players and friends to gauge their excitement for the idea. Then when constructing your homebrew, continue to ask yourself ‘is this fun?’ With the entertainment of your friends and family at the forefront of your creative process it is unlikely that you will end up with a boring or frustrating homebrew.

Complexity Is Thy Enemy

When starting out in the homebrew field, keep things simple for both yourself and the players. Simple rules and mechanics in your system are easy to remember by everyone involved and have less chance of becoming broken or unusable. Simple mechanics also consume less of your valuable time when you are creating them. One of the primary benefits for running a homebrew system should be the ease with which new players can join in on the fun. Unless your name is Chris Perkins or Monte Cook, chances are any new players will be unfamiliar with your system and massive complex rulebooks can be very daunting to newcomers. Three to four rule mechanics should be enough to cover the entire breadth of your gameplay to start off with. Once everyone is comfortable with the system feel free to add more mechanics and complexity if you won’t, just don’t overdo it. A different mechanic for searching, and bartering, and negotiating, and bribing the guards isn’t necessary.

Small Steps

Creating campaign worlds, unique monsters and player races can be a lot of fun, however it is very easy to get caught up in the creation of vast empires or small minute details, causing you to spend way to much time constructing your Homebrew worlds. Don’t be afraid to start of small, a couple of detailed notes for each component of your world should be enough to start playing with. Then as you add details throughout the game or brainstorm during daydreaming sessions, take notes and build upon things as they are needed. Your players don’t need a detailed history that covers every calendar date in history, nor does every city need to have rich characters and culture when you first sit down to play. A benefit of homebrewing is that the world and setting are of your own creation. So whether a detail within the world was crafted over weeks of thought and effort, or is merely an immediate reaction to a player’s in-game question can remain a mystery.

Pride Before The Fall

Homebrew systems are very personal constructs: you spend your time and effort building something for your friends and players to enjoy and when someone gives you feedback, or a player comes up with an idea on how to change something, it can come across as a very personal attack on your beloved homebrew baby. One of the biggest pieces of advice I can give to anyone starting out in the homebrewing department is this: do not let your pride get in the way of the fun. I’ve seen several homebrew games fail and dissolve very quickly, because the DM or creator is unwilling to change anything or accept genuine and constructive feedback. RPGs should be enjoyed because of the input of everyone involved, not just the DM. If a player has an idea on how to better a rule mechanic, try it and see if it works. If a friend comes up with a great idea on the motives of an NPC, work with them and incorporate it into the system. Other perspectives will see problems you can’t or refuse to. Players love to see their NPC’s and creations flourish within your homebrew setting. Being open to change and outside input can only improve the gaming experience for everyone involved.

One final point concerning jealousy between homebrewers. If someone else uses one of your mechanics or unique monsters, don’t tell them they can’t because you built it, therefore you own it. Encourage them and enjoy the fact that other people enjoy you creation enough to use it in their own games. As they say, imitation is the highest form of flattery.

So there you have it, my beginner’s guide to homebrewing. With these simple guides in place you should be entertaining your friends and daydreaming the hours away constructing your next monster race in no time. Don’t forget: happy homebrewers are good homebrewers.

Character Creation

Have your players choose a base class. This will be the delimiting factor that will prevent possible wide-scale/hardcore abuse and keeps certain feats a viable choice (i.e. multiclassing.)

At character creation, and again when a PC levels up, allow them to choose any power from any existing class list without modifying them at all. Naturally, they will still be choosing from a set of powers that likely compliments their existing attributes. But, this deviation from the normal system opens the game up for any array of powers and abilities or the combination thereof. You may just be surprised how it all plays out and the choices your PCs make. It will open up new options and allow for characters to break the normal modes of play that some in the D&D community are not in favor of.

With this system change, you will find that any combination of possible builds will inspire your PCs to create diverse and truly unique characters. Here are some rules that I suggest. As always, mileage may vary:

• Characters must choose 1 At-Will from their base class.
• Starting Hit Points for all characters equals their Constitution score + 12.
• Each character gains an additional 8 Hit Points at each level.
• All feat prerequisites must still be met in order to take a given feat (i.e. Channel Divinity, etc.)

Class Features

One of the cool things about 4e is the neat class features that are associated with each class. You can still keep these features and just keep them attached to the base class the PC chooses. This can represent the propensity of a character to lean towards a specific profession in life and could make for some unique and enjoyable character histories. This will also help balance out additional benefits gained through the multiclassing feats.

In example, with this system you can take your dwarf and choose the base class of a fighter with a warlord at-will. So instead of a straight fighter, you can mix in some leader abilities. There is also nothing stopping you from dropping a barbarian power in there at some point as well. This goes so on and so forth and you will soon see the benefits of this immersive system change.

Try it out, and let me know what you think. It could be a great reprieve from the standard play of 4e. You, as the DM, are encouraged to adjust these simple changes accordingly and they by no means are all-inclusive. Take care and have fun!

For more ideas, come visit me at Loremaster.

Back in the early 80’s, when I was little, computers weren’t as fancy as they are now. It was the era of the c64, the Apple ][, and (in my family’s case) the TRS-80 Color Computer. These computers had, more or less, similar capabilities – both in hardware and in the software available to them. If you wanted games, you could usually find the “official” version and a couple shareware clones. The same went for productivity apps. I can remember several flavors of word processor applications and monthly budget apps (the latter of which was outrageously fun to use at age 7 — imagine allocating 78% of your income on “poop and poop-related expenses”). As the years passed, the keyboards became detachable, and the names on the fronts of our computers changed, one thing remained: you usually had a couple of options if you wanted to do something in particular. Less so in gaming, of course. (I still suffer the occasional flashback fromthe bloody DooM vs. RoTT wars on my BBS.)

How you got a copy of some of this off-brand software has changed a great deal over the years. The major retail chains would carry a lot of the name-brand software. The shareware and freeware was largely available through mail-order, or occasionally you could get a copy at a computer show or on a little rack at the back of a little dimly lit computer shop run by some guy who almost invariably had a Unix Beard. Granted, this wasn’t viewed as a terrible inconvenience back in those days. I mean, the mere act of loading anything from your tape drive or 5 1/4″ floppy took 5 minutes sometimes. This all changed with the BBS. Now, with the advent of the 300 baud modem, you could tie up your phone for forty-eight hours in the privacy of your own home to download a 100k program instead of driving an hour to the closest shop. As modem speeds got faster and BBSes proliferated in the late 80’s and early 90’s, though, the concept of buying a shareware floppy at a shop started to seem silly — you could usually get whatever you wanted in short order because your friendly local SysOp had found it somewhere and posted it for download. When the Internet showed up, suddenly we could get stuff directly from the developer. Ironically, you can walk into a Wal-Mart today and pick up a CD filled with hundreds of (usually 5-year-old) shareware apps, stocked on the same rack as the big-name software. People from all walks of life use computers today, and they have tons of choices and lots of places to get all the software they need. With the advent of the Internets, there’s never been a better time to be a small software developer. No longer do they have to worry about the overhead of sending physical media to their users. They can push automated updates to their software, adding functionality and patching bugs. All they have to do is get their name out there and make sure their software is good enough to keep the people who show up coming back.

That is, unless you’re an iPhone developer.

AARRGGRRGGRGH

For those who haven’t been living under a rock the last several years, iPhone apps are only available through the App Store, Apple’s (literally) one-stop shop for all your iPhone needs. You don’t go to Best Buy to pick up a sweet new game for your iPhone. You can’t. It’s not to say that there is no third-party development for the iPhone. Apple loves touting the fact there are over a hundred thousand apps for the iPhone, especially when competitors show up. But they’ve always been weird and cryptic about what apps can get in and which can’t. And they have, on occasion, let apps in only to take them down later – never giving a reason. Just recently, they decided to arbitrarily cut, en masse, on the order of five thousand “sexy” apps from the App Store. Infuriatingly, some were left, like the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit app and the Playboy app. Today, I read a report that Apple was trying to cut out “cookie-cutter” apps, which best I can tell means simple apps designed to show a single RSS feed for a company or some other simple function. Yes, it’s incredibly vague. That’s why it’s so maddening.

Strangely, it seems like Apple’s new and improved strategy is to go for fewer, better apps now. I don’t think the “sex” ban has anything to do with customer complaints about indecency at all. I think they’re suddenly horrified upon the realization that a large portion of their 100,000 apps utterly suck (as is the way with software) and Apple is basically the equivalent of one of those girls who refuses to admit she farts or poops until one fateful night three years into the relationship when finally the truth is revealed in the form of a startlingly violent F sharp, doing irreparable psychological damage and sparking demands that this incident never be spoken of again. This explains why big name “sexy” apps are staying around and all the little ones with slideshows of bikini pics are disappearing. It also explains why Safari doesn’t suddenly block all pornography. I don’t mind that they want to clean house so people can find great stuff easily. In fact, that would be quite nice. It’s just that there is no other means of getting anything in any other way (aside from jailbreaking your phone, which has its own set of hazards). If Apple had some other means of buying applications for the iPhone aside from the App Store, this wouldn’t even be an issue. They could impose all the weird restrictions they wanted in their store to further whatever company directives they chose, and everything would be just great. People wanting something else would just go to the nice little browser on their phone, and download whatever they wanted. Except, oh yeah, they can’t.

RRAAARRGGGGHHHH

My problem with all this goes far beyond simple inconvenience as a user at not being able to purchase/download whatever programs I want whenever I want them from whomever I want. I am a programmer by trade, and I have been so for a decade. I currently work in-house doing web development, and this doesn’t affect me directly right now, but I have worked freelance to pay the bills before. It does not take a whole lot of effort to see how having an app denied from entry to (or worse, pulled from) the App Store is going to affect a small developer’s bottom line. Back in the early 80’s, one guy might write a game. Today’s game credits can go longer than movie credits, and development cycles can go years. Even for smaller apps with fewer people working on them, it’s still absolutely ridiculous that people can work for months and create a working product only to be given a vague, flat “no” — crushing any hope for income for their hard work. Nobody ever finds out specifically why. I find this an extremely inadequate means of feeding one’s family, and I utterly fail to see why anyone would voluntarily take this kind of risk. I guess the legend of the guy that wrote iShoot is pretty compelling.

I had a couple ideas that I wished Apple might do instead, so as to make the process more fair to developers – but I honestly can’t see them liking anything better than the “sit back and let everybody fight over the right to get into our good graces” plan. Fortunately, there’s some change coming down the pipe in the form of better competitors. Many devices using Android or Windows Phone 7 both have what it takes to match the iPhone’s features – if the apps can be found. I’m not naive enough to think one is going to simply rise up and crush the iPhone. I am, however, hoping they get popular enough to make Apple sweat enough to play nice. I currently want to give Adobe a hug for announcing AIR for Android. This is going to let a lot of developers quickly make a program once, and have it run on several different kinds of devices. I plan to write apps for my Droid just for the explicit purpose of my own personal “up yours” to Apple. The first app will be a “poop and poop-related expenses” tracking program with pictures of Slave Leia in a metal bikini integrated into all parts of the user interface.

Today I’d like to touch on a subject that we’ve never directly asked before, as far as I can remember, and that subject is specifically which RPGs you are gathering around the table to play. Back in October I asked about genres and settings for RPGs, with Fantasy coming out in a massive lead with Sci-fi in second, then Modern and Horror close behind. With that in mind, today I’m asking:

This is really a tough question to get exactly right, so I apologize if your favorite system or current game’s system is not listed. I strongly encourage you to share in the comments so that we can get a clear idea of which games all of you are playing. I also encourage you to vote for any games you’ve played in the last few months even if it’s not still going on at the moment because getting a long running game can be difficult and I’d love to see the variety of games that people are playing!

(Note this game was played 2 weeks ago… I kept no notes, so details will be sketchy)

Being Deadly Cool on a Mound of Corpses (Continued)

As the party schemed, hidden behind a pile of warclank spare parts (i.e clockwork mechas) near the gigantic pile of humanoid corpses, the ghouls and blasphemes continued their Dance Macabre. The ghouls were trying to snatch pieces of relatively fresh “meat” from the pile while the reconstructed undead kept them at bay with beams of  death-laced energies.

While I fully expected my players to charge the pile to recover the dead agent’s body, they totally surprised me instead.  After planning for 10-15 minutes, they came up with the following:

Mike: Vorian (Githzerai Monk) slowly sneak up on the pile by crawling on the corpses, laying near-motionless, creeping slowly to the agent.  Then the rest of the party will be ready to support me if we decide to trigger an ambush. They’ll be hidden just there, behind those tarps.

I must say that this was ballsy and cool.  There were 6 monsters on the pile (all non-minions) and 6 ghouls around it.  I explained the rules of engagement if things went south along with how the Ghouls would likely react (go for corpses or the PCs).   Then I asked Mike to roll a first stealth check, ignoring all opposed check rules that the PHB2 has.  This was pure ‘Mouseguarding it” against an unerrata-ed “moderate” level 14 DC (and much faster to adjudicate).

He aced it.

Chatty: Slowly, inexorably, you creep toward the dead agent as the surrounding undead walk by, sometimes even stepping over you as they move around about their grisly business.  Still, you finally reach your goal unnoticed…

Mike (and others): Yes!

Chatty: Only to find out that the agent’s watch arm has been hacked off! You see no watches lying around.

Mike: No freaking way?!

Chatty (Smiling): Yeah… how ’bout that?  What now?

Mike: I guess my Monk returns back.

Chatty: Play another stealth check.

Mike: I miss…

Chatty (Smiling that evil DM smile players HATE as I went into ‘plot twist’ mode): As you slowly crawl down the pile, one of the blaspheme disciples steps on your hand and looks down, eyes growing wide.  Roll initiative.

Party: Awwwww  man!

Mike won initiative, got a well earned surprise round and pulled another one on me.

Mike: So, there’s a lot of noise here with those Frankensteins fighting and these huge chainsaw clankers right?  I mean there”s a lot of action going on all around us?

Chatty (Warily): Yea…?

Mike: Then I use my power that teleports me and an adjacent enemy to bring us here…

“Here” being right in the middle of the rest of the party, all waiting behind a series of obstacles, within line of sight of the monk… but exactly out of sight of all other monsters.

Suffice it to say that I eventually ruled that the monster was killed, hooligan mob style without the monsters noticing anything.  I would be lying if I said I didn’t resist the idea a little bit (old habits die hard after all), but the Rule of Cool won out.

This is the kind of brilliant play I love having players surprise me with (once I recover).  Yes, I ”lost” a combat scene, but all the elements I prepared for this encounter made it into this scene… except the stats, which I can always recycle.

The Factory of Improvised Scenes

The other PCs were already moving behind the clockwork meat wagons to see if the arm was in it. Being very careful to stay out of sight. They didn’t find it.  A series of rails (I mean, actual rails for the wagons) led into the main factory.  My players decided to follow them…

(Ha! Talk about subversion)

(Also, by some byzantine law of the state of Maryland, I must warn you that the above link leads to the TV Tropes Wiki, you have been warned).

As the players entered the factory, I described how the rails led to another area where the body parts were dumped, sorted and ministered to by those stitched-up sentient undead constructs.  All around the party stood floors over meshed floors covered with automated manufacturing lines stretching over several football fields’ worth of area space and rising several stories high.

(I was basically describing one of those camera shots that go slowly backwards to show just how damn big an area really is)

The southern space was devoted to making blasphemes,  those Frankensteinian humanoids while the northern part was making autoclanks.  Over all, 60-80′ up stood a central command centre, on a mezzanine, where a 9′ tall cupola-like structure of orange-white crystal.

Everywhere, deafening noise, choking smoke, the tear-inducing acrid smell of acid and explosives…

Everywhere, hundreds and hundreds of completed “units” standing to attention, motionless, menacing.

Franky: Whoa… where the hell do you get all those ideas man?

Ya know? There are many reasons that make me love GMing so much. Those exact moments are way up there. 

Cya soon for part 3.

Home Above the Clouds

Just before the frigid north of a large continent lies an immense mountain plateau. The plateau is commonly known as Angel’s Table to those who live below the sheer cliffs that make it all but inaccessible. Atop the cliffs, a scenic landscape of rolling plains and small forests cover the immense majestic plateau. The creatures and tribes of this unique and exotic landscape call it Talmanthian. Below are the details for a unique and unexplored landscape for your party to explore, and possibly discover the ancient treasure and secrets of this remote landscape.

Table of Angels

The immense plains and thick wild copses of trees are mainly untouched by the world below, with flight being the primary method of accessing Angel’s Table. Clouds constantly break and roil around the massive limestone cliffs like a sea of white and grey that hide the plateau from below for most of the year. From above the constant ocean of clouds veils the world below, with many of the nomadic tribes of the sprawling plateau believing the world ends at the sheer cliffs of their homeland. Melted snow and ice from the northern reaches of Talmanthian flow across the land in small creeks and brooks, converging upon a great lake in the south east of Angel’s Table. This lake houses many species of unique fauna that are only found upon the plateau as well as a kingdom of merfolk that live upon the lakebed. Countless nomadic tribes of Humans, Elves and the unique Uqwauy roam endlessly upon Talmanthian, each with their own folklore of the origins of their homeland. At such altitude, trees grow slowly and fruits and grains take many years to come to harvest, thus hunting the animals and birds of the region has become the primary source of food for the tribes of Talmanthian. The scope of the plateau allows the tribes to live in relative peace, rarely clashing over rights to a particular herd of beast, however the harsh landscape means these rare clashes between tribes are often brutal wars that only end with the complete destruction of one tribe. This harsh lifestyle has bred fierce and survivalist warriors within all the species that call Talmanthian home.

Wanderers of the Plains

A species of humanoid-bipedal horses, the Uqwuay roam the endless plains of the plateau in nomadic tribes. With a great respect for the land they live upon and undying loyalty for their family and tribe, the Uqwuay are often ignored by the few adventurers that visit Angel’s Table, as they are believed to be simplistic beasts. In truth, this intelligent race of horse-men has learned to live in harmony with the almost barren terrain of the plateau, and is the most willing to communicate with the few adventurers that encroach upon their isolated homeland. These noble vagrants spend their time following the numerous snowmelts and rivers to stay with the most luscious of the slow growing foliage the covers the plains of Talmanthian. The Uqwuay hold their connection to the land in highest regard and anything that they find to be desecrating their sacred home are viciously and constantly attacked until either repelled or destroyed. These attacks are swift and powerful as the warriors use skirmishing tactics to constantly charge at their enemies with spears and staves, whilst archers and magically imbued Uqwuay attack from a distance. The speed and strength of these noble warriors is rarely matched in the high altitudes of Talmanthian, with very few warriors able to stand against their sweeping tactics. The countless tribes of Uqwuay are filled with powerful warriors and skilled rangers, but positions of respect are held for any Uqwuay that becomes magical connected with nature, especially wardens. The communal society within the tribes ensures that all members are cared for and no single member misses out on food or medicine. Often the Uqwuay will take in and heal injured and sick creatures they find in their travels, including injured humans and elves, who actively hunt these horse-like people.

A Harsh Lifestyle

It is unclear how humans came to live upon the remote cliff tops of Talmanthian, but like the rest of the places of the world they have found a way to adapt to the harsh conditions and thrive. However the survivalist environment and lifestyle has bred savage and vicious clans of humans that attack outsiders and prey on sight. The lack of a stable food source upon Talmanthian has encouraged the human tribes to revert to cannibalism in order to survive. Tribe members that fail to provide through hunts, or prove weak within the ceremonies of fire that each tribe holds, often are sacrificed and feasted upon for the betterment of the tribe. Humans not known to the tribe are immediately killed, unless they can kill their attackers first. Any outsider that kills a tribe member upon the battlefield is offered the prime cut of meat then challenged at the next fire ceremony for a permanent place within the tribe. This vicious and barbaric lifestyle has left no room for the weak and over countless generations of life upon Talmanthian, the humans have evolved beyond their softer counterparts from the world below, making just one Talmanthian a severe challenge for a squadron of veteran warriors. Shamans and mystics control every aspect of the human tribes from their lavishly decorated huts that mark the centrepiece of each human camp. These fire and cloud worshipping mystics delegate everything for their tribes. From mating engagements and hunting parties to cooking and gathering duties. The power to hear the will of the clouds at worlds end and manipulate the life giving flame marks these shamans to their people from a young age. Each child with the gift of Fire and Cloud must engage in the trials of the lake in order to gain the status of shaman. Each child that passes this test is delegated half the tribe and sent away to create their own separate settlement. 

Ghosts in the Trees

Within the copses of gnarled and warped trees the cruel and spiteful Elves of Talmanthian lurk. Banished skyward by their old gods many millennia ago for unspeakable crimes, these malicious creatures have found life upon the harsh and untamed plains enjoyable. The long-lived elves are small in number but their magic and abilities far surpass the creatures and tribes that surround them. A twisted desire to kill and pillage all life is evident in the self etched scars and tattoos that adorn the pale skin of these spiteful creatures. Countless trophies hang from their thin necks and the hilts of their ancient blades. The toughened tribes of Talmanthian have developed methods in which to repel these evil beings when attacked on the plains and learned which forests to keep a distance from, but when these psychotic killers begin to track a target very few things have ever lived to tell the tale. No living creature has ever returned from the forests of Talmanthian since the elves arrival. An ancient pact for power and immortality with a primordial demon from the abyss known as Whethal is the cause of elves banishment and source of the deranged lust and ghostly powers. Within their blood lies a demonic infection that could possess any living elf with the deranged fury and blood lust in the space of minutes. These demonic aspects of Whethal have strived endlessly to reach the surface world again, as the urge to spread their joyous infection burns fervently through their veins.

In A Lake Above the Clouds

The great lake that lies within the southeast of Talmanthian is known by countless names; however, its inhabitants call it Horm. The merfolk city that lies beneath the vast crystal like waters of the lake is unlike any other in the world. Coral spires and pearl buildings cover the immense limestone lakebed. The sun-dappled merfolk that live in these waters have been collecting the worlds information for generations. Within the grand coral spires, endless libraries and vaults house a concise history of the world and of the innumerable kingdoms that have risen and fell throughout the years. Powerful secrets, world ending knowledge and maps to mighty artefacts are all held within a lake above the clouds. Merfolk dug tunnels in the limestone bed lead to subterranean tunnels and rivers that exit out into the worlds oceans, rivers and sewer systems. The merfolk of Horm are masters of illusory and transmuting magic. Masking their pristine city from the prying eyes of any that live above the water with powerful illusions. Their presence within the courts and armies of the world goes unnoticed through their powerful transmuting spells. The ruling council of elder magicians deals with all intruders that either seek out the knowledge of Horm, or stumble upon the location by accident immediately. The only penalty for any crime within Horm, is death.

What Happens On The Plateau…

Scholars and explorers have forgot the isolated plains and secluded woods of Talmanthian. The towering and sheer mountainous cliffs ensure that only the most steadfast and dedicated will ever see the sprawling summit of Angel’s Table, but for those who seek adventure, this isolated location holds many treasures and countless perils. Kings and Wizards have hidden their fortunes and relics of power buried within the soil of the plains and left untouched for countless years and forgotten by all but the faded scrolls of ancient libraries. The Elven aspects of Whethal have begun working fervently to return to the world below in an effort to infect their cousins by capturing and training the dragon broods that soar over the enormous plateau. The fate of countless kingdoms and people in peril could be saved with a single scroll from the endless libraries of Horm. Curious adventurers and wizards have endeavoured to summit the grand peaks of Angel’s Table, only to never return, their fate unknown. Whilst ancient and confusing riddles hint at the monumental mountain imprisoning a forgotten god for reasons not yet deciphered. All these reasons and many more call out to adventurers throughout the world.

Back in early February, I wrote about Three D&D Tips I Learned from Dragon Age. Today we’re going to take a look how the action RPG Mass Effect 2 can make our games better as well.

I will warn that, while I don’t plan on any direct spoilers in this review (omg, I can’t believe they blew up the Citadel!) I might step into the story just a little bit. If you want to be 100% spoiler free (Woo! You sleep with Miranda) you may want to read this when you’ve finished getting most of your crew killed by giant Aardvarks.

Let’s dive right into the tips.

Focus On Your Strengths

Bioware showed they were listening to their audience when they made Mass Effect 2. They got rid of a lot of the fluffy bits we hated like driving around in that horrid moon buggy and focused the game around the two things they did best: meaningful conversation trees and third-person combat.

Whatever game system you choose, play to the strengths of that system. D&D 4th edition has the most refined combat system I’ve seen in a tabletop RPG. While this might turn off a lot of groups, many others love the game for its detailed combat system. Instead of trying to find ways around it or trying to add in a whole lot of other systems, play to D&D’s strength and enjoy the big battles you’re going to have.

This, of course, depends a lot on your desires as the dungeon master and the desires of your players, but, assuming you already play and enjoy 4th Edition, don’t worry too much about what the system lacks. Instead focus on what it does best – combat!

Avoid Tedium

Unfortunately, Bioware replaced the moon buggy with their new planet scanning mechanic, a boring and painful system for gathering up resources. What a snoozer.

Don’t be like Bioware in this area. Don’t add in tedious mechanics, story arcs, or sub-quests for your players. Every aspect of your valuable time at the table should be focused on fun meaningful things. Don’t add in a boring skill challenge just because you feel like one should be there – make it important! Instead of a skill challenge for traveling across the countryside in a pair of ox carts, have a skill challenge to defend the carts from packs of marauding bandits led by your main villain.

In short, don’t add filler to your game. Make every bit of time count towards something fun. If it feels boring to you, cut it out.

Unlike Bioware, we’re lucky enough to be sitting with our players while we’re playing. As a DM, you can see when you’ve lost the attention of your players and the excitement of the game. If this happens, do something! Don’t keep going because you don’t want to stop in the middle. Kill off that boring brute that just won’t die or cut off your skill challenge early when you feel the energy leaving the table.

Change Up Your Combat Environments

Good 4e DMs realize the importance of environmental effects. So does Bioware. All throughout the missions in Mass Effect 2 you’ll encounter a variety of changing environmental effects that offer advantages to you and to your enemies alike. “Shepherd, watch out for those falling exploding boxes!” you might hear or “Don’t cross the green lines or you’ll awaken nasty guys!” These little changes to the environment are what change the missions enough that you don’t feel like you’re doing the same thing again and again.

In 4e, the battle environment you build is as important as the monsters you choose. Put in effects that might challenge your players or give them an advantage against their foes. During the game, reward on-the-spot environmental choices your players might make by using the all-power DMG page 42 damage per level chart.

Build Deep Dialog Trees

Like Dragon Age, Mass Effect 2 has a wonderful, deep, and rich mesh of dialog trees. There are many decisions to be made throughout this game, though the game itself is relatively linear if you think about it. Think about how you can add a similar decision tree to your own game, even if the game itself is relatively linear. What choices can your players make that have real effects and real consequences without derailing your game? Don’t presuppose the answer, make both or all answers viable. As you build each night of adventure ask yourself what choices your PCs will have in front of them.

Handle Loot Differently

Inventory was a mess in the original Mass Effect and they learned this lesson well in developing Mass Effect 2. The limited loot and the upgrade system is a lot more elegant if a little less randomly interesting. Carefully consider your own loot system in your D&D campaign. Some DMs prefer random loot, some prefer to just let players pick what they get, others use a wish-list system. Try a mix of different systems and lean towards the one players seem to enjoy the most. Remember that they won’t necessarily enjoy picking their own gear all the time, a surprise piece here and there can add a lot of excitement and flavor. I tend to lean towards loot templates such as “level 24 or below Sword” or “Level 19 or below Plate or Scale armor” that gives players flexibility but still points towards a specific type of item.

Don’t follow the model of Mass Effect, however, where you simply heap random loot on your players over and over, filling their character sheet with items they will never use and end up selling at 1/5. If you’re going to do this, just give them a lot of cash and let them buy what they want.

Many PCs Per Player

Mass Effect has a wide range of characters available in a large stable ready to fill your three-person squad. Consider this idea in your own campaign or mini-campaign series. Have players build two or three PCs and let them switch them in and out throughout your campaign. Make sure these characters have a basic backstory, perhaps even arrange a night of adventure based on their background story as they do in Mass Effect 2. This also gives you greater flexibility should things turn dark and characters die. Even a total party kill can result in the second run PCs getting a chance for vengeance.

The folks at Bioware sure know their roleplaying games and there’s a lot we can learn from them. Consider your play-through of games like Mass Effect 2 and Dragon Age as cross-training to pick up game design ideas, tips, and tricks. Those above are just the tip of the iceberg. Remember your quote from T.S. Eliot or Picasso or whoever the hell said it:

“Good artists borrow. Great artists steal.“

The most important ingredient…

The most important ingredient in any campaign is a skilled DM who has the time and the energy to carefully design and create his world, and the talent to communicate his setting effectively. The next most important ingredients are willing players who share common goals with the DM. Players interested in hack-and-slash adventures should not be matched a DM interested in careful plot structuring and detailed mystery solving.

Douglas Niles, The Dungeoneer’s Survival Guide, Advanced Dungeons & Dragons,1986

Okay, hold your horses.  Why didn’t I know about that book before? I mean, I bought the Wilderness Survival Guide (X-mas gift I wrapped for myself when I was 15-16) when it came out. I disliked it so much that I threw it away and never used it, disgusted that I would ask my players to roll percentiles EACH DAY for food and shelter.

After discarding the book, I automatically assumed that the DSG would be as bad and I promptly started looking at this new generic RPG by Steve Jackson Games.

This one paragraph from the DSG and the following 2 pages about player types (Adventurers, Problem-Solvers, Roleplayers) would have opened my eyes on many aspects of DMing I had no idea even existed!  I think Robin Laws probably developed upon those in his seminal work “Robin Laws of Good Game Mastering“. Or Robin and Niles had a few beers together back then.

That assessment, which I discovered in the last 5 years is now one of my guiding principle as a DM. Yet, 25 years later, I know that many GMs still scoff at the importance that they need to actually understand and deliver what players actually seek in a RPG. The same goes for players.

What do you think about that? Do you agree and if so to what extent? If not, what constitute your references as being ‘most important” in a RPG game/campaign?

Do you feel that the door that Niles opened in that book was explored further during 2e’s era?  I wasn’t there… I never actually read the 2e DMG, but I know that the game took a heavy Storytelling turn to keep it’s market share with White Wolf games. Did that shut the door to the adventurer and puzzle-solver players?

Let me know in the comments!

On Character Death

Now and then a player will die (sic) through no fault of his own.  He or she will have done everything correctly, taken every reasonable precautions, but still the freakish roll of the dice will kill the character. In the long run you should let such things pass as players will kill more than one opponent with their own freakish rolls at some later time.

Yet you do have the right to arbitrate the situation. You can rule that the player, instead of dying  (again, sic!), is knocked unconscious, loses a limb, is blinded in one eye, or invoke any reasonably severe penalty that takes into account what the monster has done.  It is very demoralizing to the player to lose a cared-for player character when they have played well.

When they have done something stupid or have not taken precautions, then let the dice fall when they may…

Gary Gygax, Dungeon Masters Guide (p. 110),   Advanced Dungeons & Dragons, 1979

Did I ever tell you that I learned reading English with Gygaxian prose?  I mean I was reading Grade 8 “English as a second language” crap back then, but in the school bus on the way home, I was reading the DMG and trying to decipher what a bell curve was, or why it wasn’t okay to let your buddies bully you in playing a dragon character.

Oh man Gary, we so miss you!  I really wish I could have met you earlier in our lives.  I would have loved to kid you gently about killing players instead of PCs. I would also have paid you a few coffees or beer to argue that saying that “you can kill PCs because they kill your monsters” is the lamest argument I have ever heard.  You’d probably have given me a ‘you kids think you know everything” look and sipped your drink quietly.

This densely written paragraph made me smile.  It’s cool to see that even early in the game’s history, Gary expounded that the FUN part of the game had to come ahead of Lady Chance’s wiles.

I can imagine Gary look over his game screen (half-glasses and all) when one of his players missed a saving throw against poison while having taken all the steps to avoid it. As the player’s face falls and the rest of the party prepares for the ceremonial separation of loot, Uncle Gygax likely laughed in a low self-effacing way and went something like.

“Tell you what son, how about that poison coursed through the whole of your leg before that antitoxin you harped me about for hours takes effect.  So instead of dying, you now have a shriveled, gangrened limb, all eaten up by the poison and chronic infection (insert cute made-on-the-spot Gygaxian subsystem to simulate diseased legs) and maybe, if you bug me about anti-poisons again, you may have to cut it off real fast or die. Be more careful where you step next time, you hear?”

Player (relieved to keep his level 4/3 Half-Orc Fighter/Cleric): Right, right! Thanks chief!

I think Gary was way less of a hard-ass than I initially imagined.  I honestly think that he wrote Tombs of Horrors as a “Fine! I’ll make you a damn killer dungeon for the convention so you’ll all leave me alone about it from now on!”

The key difference of his game (AD&D) and hence, his style vs later versions, is that he kept the burden of the rules on his side of the screen.  I think that as long as you didn’t bore him, he was really fair.  Sadly, in the pre-internet era, the “Be fair first, a jackass second” school didn’t always take.

And Gary’s writing style was not the easiest to read. Many new DMs, probably never got to page 110.

So what do you think about Gary’s thoughts on PC death?  I happen to be 100% okay with it… although I would rather inflict severe story penalties/constraints instead of physical… after all, failure needs to be fun, no?

Your turn!

The game uses the PDQ2 system, designed by Chad Underkoffler. This game emphasizes story over mechanics, and the PDQ system is quite conducive to this style of play. Vox extends this ruleset with a Karma mechanic, which creates an economy of dice that move around the table between the players and GM. Karma dice are awarded at the beginning of play for things like bringing snacks or producing outside game materials like artwork or short stories, and during play for things like creative roleplaying and certain game mechanic triggers. Karma dice are spent by the players to roll additional dice to improve a character’s roll (entering The Zone) or to invoke the concept of Synchronicity, spending a certain number of dice to dictate facts about the game world or create and detail NPCs at appropriate moments. Players can also gift dice to other players or may use them to get some information from the GM by experiencing a temporary feeling of Deja Vu.

The book is split into two parts. One is intended for the player (Lux), and the second for the GM (Nox). Strangely, the introductory adventure is in the players’ section. It is a tightly crafted intro to the game’s mechanics and also sets the tone for the ensuing adventures, taking the players through an auspicious meeting with a colorful character in a disabled subway car and later leading them into a tangled web of intrigue involving a mysterious group of people. The game’s designers suggest this adventure can be used in several ways. It might be a real series of events that occurred, or it might be a shared hallucination or dream the PCs shared. Either way, it is intended to set the tone of the game going forward: mysterious, dark, and fraught with peril, all accentuated by the mystery of the voices in their heads and what they mean.

The game includes four separate settings in the GM’s section of the book, which can be used independently or, as the game suggests, can be interwoven into a single frenetic storyline. There is a modern day (or near-future) setting called Oversight; Facility, a futuristic insane asylum style setting; Currents, a 1920’s era setting in Buffalo, NY starring Nikola Tesla; and Victorian England with the Queen usurped and on the run in the streets of London, called Reckoning. In each, the timeline is slightly altered due to the presence of the Vox affliction. Political unrest and upheaval are common themes, as are secret societies. The settings are each quite detailed and prominent characters from each setting are treated with lengthy descriptions.

Vox suffers (or benefits, depending on your view) from a lack of concrete direction. “The Truth”, meaning the true origin, meaning, and goal of the voices, is left up to the GM. Several suggestions are made regarding the truth of matters in the GM section, but less experienced GMs running the game will find it difficult to parse all of these into a cohesive vision of the game world. The game also depends on spontaneity, as the players can use Karma dice to throw a wrench into the GM’s carefully laid plans. This is a game that requires some combination of an experienced, skilled or wildly creative GM to manage successfully. Excellent charts crafted to help the GM make some of these decisions on the spot are included, including a random name and personality type generator, and most of the game’s lists are organized such that you can roll 2d6 to select an option at random.

The PDF is well-constructed, including hyperlinks on the menus and a friendly layout for reading on a mobile device. The game is clearly influenced by a number of films, books, and other roleplaying games, many of which are credited as inspirations. Those that jumped out at me right away were Unknown Armies, Lovecraft, Paranoia, Don’t Rest Your Head, and Illuminati. All in all, Vox is a fascinating and elaborate game that delves into the depths of the human psyche. With the right gaming group and a talented GM, it could be intensely entertaining–however, it might not be the right fit if your group or GM is inexperienced, or if you’re looking for a more hack-and-slash-centric RPG.

Vox is available from DriveThruRPG, and is on sale until March 8th.

Some of my recommendations follow, in case you don’t want to flip through the literally hundred plus pages of discounted product:

• Doctor Who Time & Space Adventures, reviewed here
• Snows of an Early Winter, reviewed here
• Mouse Guard, discussed here and winner of an Origins Award for best RPG
• Shambles, a great game by A Terrible Idea where you play as a zombie (instead of against them)
• Starblazer Adventures. a gigantic science fiction RPG we hope to review soon
• Ptolus, the classic Malhavoc Press title easily adaptable to any version of D&D
• Savage Worlds core book, which was already darn cheap
• Deadlands Reloaded, the weird west setting for SW, which we talked about at DC Game Day
• Amethyst: Hearts of Chaos, which fans of 4th Power are going to want to check out
• Anything from Evil Hat… seriously, it’s all good
• And of course, lots, lots more… literally thousands of products

Check it out and let us know if there’s anything else that’s a “must purchase.”

Full press release below:

March 3^rd, 2010

DriveThruRPG Once Again Celebrates GM’s Day With It’s Biggest Sale Ever!

(Atlanta, GA) – March 4^th has become well known in RPG fan circles as “Game Master’s Day,” or GM’s Day, a day on which all gamers honor and celebrate the folks who take the time to set up and run roleplaying games. As a part of this celebration, dozens of publishers on DriveThruRPG are offering hundreds upon hundreds of products for sale at 25% off.

“There is no bigger or more important sale for us,” said Sean Patrick Fannon, Marketing and Communications Manager for DriveThruRPG. “Not only is this a powerful and important way to celebrate the most important part of any roleplaying game – the GM – it is vital to our publishers, enabling them to boost their revenue at an important time in their development cycles.”

With what is traditionally called “Convention Season” right around the corner, such a sale is a great way for gamers to get their hands on all that has come out so far. They also strongly support their favorite publishers, thus making sure new products can be made, published, and brought to market at the various conventions around the country and around the world.

“We are very proud to serve the health and diversity of this fantastic hobby,” Steve Wieck of DriveThruRPG, shared. “For a long time, there have been many claiming that RPGs are dying out. They must be missing what’s happening at DriveThruRPG. We had over 300 new RPG releases last month from a diverse group of amazing publishers serving enthusiastic customers all over the world. GM’s day is a great way for us to celebrate the hobby we love.”

The GM’s Day Celebration sale runs from the morning of March 3^rd through the morning of March 8^th this year. Fans should log in and delve into the huge list of titles on sale. “While they are at it, “Sean Fannon adds, “we hope customers remember to use the ‘Buying for someone else’ option at check out – after all, this is supposed to be a time to celebrate their GMs!”

DriveThruRPG.com is the world’s largest source of RPG products available for sale. It is an industry leader in modern business and technology developments for the tabletop gaming fan. For more information, contact Sean Patrick Fannon (sean@onebookshelf.com)

This week’s inquisition has more to do with a late article by myself. After snowmageddon and snowpocalypse hit the east coast, I found myself playing a great deal of video games. I had a good bit of down time and so did all my friends. We were all stuck in our respective houses and still wanted to hang out with one another. This isn’t exactly a new thing to me but it did get me a bit nostalgic for the times when my friends and I really could hang out all the time and play games of various types for long stretches of time.

Fortunately (in this case), the internet and increased connectivity has made the world a smaller place. We were able to play games, goof off, and have a good time. My roommates who weren’t accustomed to this sort of thing went a bit stir crazy and couldn’t comprehend why I was fine with being stuck at home for a week. For me it was a great opportunity to catch up with friends and relive some of the old days before we all had jobs and responsibilities. So, after this rather longwinded story, I began to wonder how many people like myself keep a good contingent of friends online.

One of the great things about the internet is that it has provided me the opportunity to meet and interact with people I never thought I’d be able too. For now, I’m going to bask in my nostalgia and ignore the seedy side of it all…

Force Field of Dreams

When I was a little kid, I was into watching baseball with my great-grandpa. My favorite player was Ron Cey, who played for the Cubs. They called him the Penguin because he was short and he kind of waddled, and at the time he had a .300 batting average. I didn’t know what that meant, but I knew it was better than anyone else’s. Ever. As a boy growing up in the midwest, I always had dreams of being a professional athlete, but trying out for baseball a couple of times quickly crushed those dreams. (Apparently, they have special pants that only go to the calf, and you do NOT, in fact, pull your socks up over your jeans. Who knew?)

After that, my desire to have anything to do with sports pretty much vanished. Sure, I’d watch the Super Bowl with my family every year (mostly for the commercials), and I played a little Tecmo Bowl. But, for the most part, it was like I’d decided my place in the world – and sports didn’t fit into that equation. Once I got into my teens, I even started to see athletes in a negative light – mostly due to a bunch of asshole jocks at my high school, their pack mentality, and their willingness to fit me into lockers. My opinion of sports improved somewhat once I got into college, though my interest never returned. I didn’t have anyone bullying me anymore, and had 5 years of martial arts training (which ironically, never really struck me as a ’sport’, since we rarely competed). I could separate assholes from athletes once again. I’d still pass if somebody wanted me to go see a baseball game.

IOC = Intellectual Olympic Control?

When it was an Olympics year, though…. I’d find myself in front of the TV watching stuff I never thought I’d expect. I was excited about the U.S. Basketball “Dream Team” when they first started allowing professional players. Figure skating and gymnastics always fascinated me with their spectacular moves and technical difficulty. This year, I was riveted by curling (and not  because of the unusually high concentration of attractive women in the event, either). The whole damned world gets really excited about swimming. SWIMMING. In a non-Olympic year, if I asked any of my friends to come over and watch swimming with me, I would be met with weird looks, laughter, and possibly masturbatory hand-motions.

I once begrudgingly brought home a used copy of Madden ‘07 so a friend would stop pestering me to play it with him. My wife, upon seeing me take it out of the bag, uttered words that would stick with me forever: “You brought sports into our home??!” This same woman told me she almost cried when the U.S. hockey team tied the game with seconds remaining in their match vs. Canada yesterday. There is clearly some sort of mind control at work here. I wish it would work all the time. I like getting excited about real things of little actual consequence that are happening in realtime, and I especially like doing it in groups. I find it strange, then, that professional sporting events don’t have much appeal to me.

Orcs vs. Humans?

Two years ago at Gen Con, the Indianapolis Colts were playing a game in the nearby stadium. I will never forget seeing all the people with blue jerseys and facepaint glaring at all the nerds and gamers (many of whom were carrying broadswords), who were glaring back. I felt like I was about to watch a riot unfold. Is this what keeps me from watching football? An old tribal hatred? Did my clansmen have the same experiences I did growing up? How the hell do we stop this? (For the record, I would gladly give my life if it meant that nobody would ever receive a swirlie ever again.) And yet, on occasion, I find people like my friend Dave (no not that Dave), who are into sports for nerdy reasons. He thrives on stats, and keeps track of all the players. That is the fun for him. And he’s a big of a geek as I am. He is a mystery to me, and perhaps an example to follow.

I daresay enjoying the Olympics makes me feel more connected to the rest of the world. I suppose the Olympics does work its secret “togetherness” magic on me after all. Somebody call me when the NBA or NFL figures out how to do the same trick.