If I were a gaming company with a stylish and rather well written Fantasy RPG I would be putting full steam ahead! The "stars are right" IMHO for many games to get spotlighted that would never have had the chance to do so.
There still is the void out there for many in gaming that is not filled by the Old School Renaissance and is not filled by Modern Fantasy Gaming. Many are out there and want to play but either can't find a group with their style or rules they like.
The Old School Renaissance still holds onto their "preferences" of what drives New School Gamers away. Race Classes, Race/Class Restrictions, or to sum it up not getting to play what you want to play. Some Grognards say tough! Suck it up and like it but many times as I have tried to run an old school game people that have never played Old School before are mystified and then appalled by the restrictions. They simply don't even give it a chance. My biggest killer is Elves that cannot be Rangers. I had both of my daughters about to play 3d6 in order and they just as they read through it said "Dad this game and those other games suck. You can't be what you want to be in those old games." Yes I know I know I could house rule it but why stick to these old outworn restrictions? My largely ignored RPG addresses these problems while staying old school simple but this is about people trying to make it in the RPG business world not my hobbyist approach.
The New School Gaming is somewhat doing fine but it is currently waning. Oh it is alive and well in it's current form but it is no longer in it's heyday like it was in the 80s and the 80s didn't even have the internet and all the conventions crazes that this modern world has.
You see tabletop gaming is at a very unique place at this time and I will get to that.
The D20 system came out in the early 2000s and reinvigorated the dying gaming industry. The 90s did have it's heyday as Vampire did make it's huge mark on the gaming world but by the end of the 90s it was dying as waves and peaks of popularity of things do. Many D&D gamers kept chugging along even though TSR was doing an Atari type glut failure. I must admit I quit playing D&D because of 2nd Edition as I found it really sterile and somewhat boring until the huge glut of Forgotten Realms stiff cam out and other people were running it. We gathered a group and played for years until people being assholes destroyed the group as well as people moving away, divorces, gossip. It's amazing how someone can be an admitted asshole then get their feeling hurt when people start calling him an asshole.
We all know the amazing story of WotC buying D&D and Hasbro acquiring it. They then got it back in order and came out with the 3rd edition. I have to say I had not been so excited about an edition or an RPG like that in a long time. I was blown away by all the detail. You could so many things with a character! Sadly that was replaced by questions on the game design that has plagued modern games for the most part ever since. TOO much damn detail which means too much work for the DM as everyone else sucked as DMs or was too lazy to run the game.
Well 3.5 put a band aid on it a few years after I bought a shit ton of books again and although I tried to resist I found the 3.5 books on Amazon for half price shipped and then I bought another 3.5 library. We played for many years until we gathered a quite large gaming group. Oh then once again the group grew and shrunk. We had gained a particularly brilliant rules lawyer that actually was so brilliant (if not "too brilliant") who actually memorized every rulebook in the 3.5 library. Without ever cheating he tweaked his characters into gods unlike anyone I had ever seen. Like I said he never cheated and used the rules to break the game and did he ever show how completely broken the 3.5 D&D game was. Well there was one alternate DM who did give too much gold when he was running but the Rules Lawyer never mentioned that rules break. I could put a challenge for his character but the rest of the party would die. He ended up killing the party a few months before the release of 4th Edition. He fireballed a villain amongst his own party who he well knew had a necklace of Fireballs and blew up the entire party. Of course he saves and too no damage though the combination of feats and magic items. He tried to say he made a mistake but he just knew the rules too well. Anyway the adventure was a save the world type adventure and he allowed the world to go into a cataclysm!
With my world destroyed and all of my group disliking and really pissed at the the rules lawyer things looked grim. The 3.5 rules had been shown so very broken or at least breakable by a rules lawyer. The rest of my players were story gamers for the most part.
The release of 4th edition things were really going well. The rules lawyer HATED 4th edition because despite all it's faults rules lawyers have a hell of a time breaking the game. He left after a bit of time and my table grew under the 4th edition. A bit of stupid drama and the table shook but the 4th edition game went on for at least a few years. During that time and since 3.5 I had been yearning to play some of the old school stuff. Unfortunately my group outright refused my request save for two game of Swords and Wizardry most of the players would only play 4th.
I kept telling them I needed variations in my games but no one would budge.
The 4th edition games began to slightly bore me and some of the players just did not get or like the rules and left and my wife is a story gamer and on medication and some of the players and DMs were rude when she did not get the rules. Battles that lasted four hours? Tables full of cards as in so many that we almost had no room for maps. The lies and deceit of WotC and their "Online Tool". The Essentials or 4.5 D&D. I began to get sick of 4th edition and one day I just wrote everyone and said not playing 4th for an undetermined time. They were appalled and I was cold. I never said they had to stop playing but the group died out.
I got a Pathfinder game started up using my Labyrinth Lord dungeon. It converted very well with far more options than LL/AEC and I must say Pathfinder is 3.5 perfected and is perfect in every way but it was too much damn work and some of the players were careful (if not boring) players and others story (if not foolish) gamers and there was snippy rude comments that pissed off the story players. When I stated I had no time to prep (as I was working out of town five days a week) the game and finally was going to convert it to Labyrinth Lord/Advance Edition Companion for ease of prep time and I had already written it in LL/AEC already, the players got pissed and threw a fit. The only were going to play Pathfinder. I guess they don't know rule #1 so I said fuck I won't game at all.
I looked round online and find there are many like me gameless. I will play Pathfinder again but life has not given me gaming groups that play on weekends. I have looked for Old Schoolers but they are far and few between and play on weekdays.
So here is how I see it. Pathfinder is successful because 4th Edition D&D did not do very well and is currently NOT doing very well and this time WotC is actually listening to the fan base this time concerning D&D Next. No matter what the reason there was a 4th edition is because of the flaws of 3.5 and after awhile Pathfinder will suffer the same fate when D&D Next comes out IF it is what they claim "a damn good game". The problem is they are FAR from coming out with D&D Next so this leaves an interesting gaming void that IF games like Numenera and The 13th Age do it right MIGHT be able to find a place in gaming BEFORE D&D Next comes out.
You see there are some apparently kick ass games coming out right now. Some have already came out and are chugging along like Dungeon Crawl Classics, Adventurer Conquer, King, Swords and Wizardry Complete, and others.
IF you take this little time in this void you will do well. People are kind of wary of it all and are looking for a gaming fix.
OR am I wrong? How do you see it? What say you?
Thursday, September 6, 2012
Tuesday, September 4, 2012
Cruelty and Gothic Tales (A remake of based on Wuthering Heights roleplay By Philippe Tromeur)
Cruelty and Gothic Tales
By Eldrad Wolfsbane
Set in a Victorian World somewhere in time on The Misty Continent. There are five giant cities of the Misty Continent and these are their Gothic tales.
Based on Wuthering Heights roleplay By Philippe Tromeur
Introduction
This is a game of Gothic Tales. Victorian novels like Wuthering Heights are the inspiration.
Disclaimer
In all the rules, the male gender (he, his, etc.) will be used for our examples. This of course implies the game is not suited for the feeble minds of our ladies.
This work deals with such themes as murder, suicide, cruelty, despair, liaisons, and sexual desires for the sole purpose of entertainment.
Persona Creation
Throw two 10-sided dice and add 39 to obtain your amount of Rage/Calm.
Throw two 10-sided dice and add 39 to obtain your amount of Despair/Happiness.
Throw two 10-sdied dice and add 39 to obtain your amount of Scandal/Standing.
Throw one 10-sided die and add 15 to obtain your Youth/Oldness. Unless some special Problem, this is exactly your Age.
Problems
Throw one 10-sided die. This is how many Problems you have.
Determine each Problem by throwing 1d100 and referencing to the Problem Table. If you roll twice the same problem, you should either double the effect, or roll another problem. You may refuse a problem ; each time you do that, you must roll 2 problems in its stead.
Other Details
Choose a Name, such as Archibold, Radcliffe, Reginald, or whatever you can think of.
Choose clothing according to background.
Each player starts out with 1-100 x $5000 if Aristocratic.
If not Aristocratic you have $1-100 and are looking for money.
There are 2-20 manors in each country area and thousands in each city.
Each Manor has 3-30 rooms. Each manor cost $1000 per room per month in the city and $100 x 1d10 (depending on how far out) a month in the country. If you don't pay rent roll Scandal/Standing. If Scandal you get kicked out and if Standing you get credit. A fumble means the house is destroyed by disaster. Houses cost twenty times their monthly rent and can be a part of wealth. Family members can combine their money and create even bigger manors but will have each persons problems giving and taking away from the situation. The poor are paid for by the rich or they stay out in the barn.
Now you are done and may start playing.
Problem Table
01 You are a drug addict (1 hour a day)
02 You are honest
03 You are in love with someone from your family (Mother, Brother ...) 10
04 You are a sex addict (once a day)
05 You smoke (12 hours a day)
06 You gamble (2 hours a day)
07 You play the bagpipes (1 hour a day)
08 You sing (1 hour a day)
09 You play the piano (1 hour a day)
11 You are a poet (4 hours a day)
12 You read too much (8 hours a day)
13 You dress improperly
14 You are poor
15 You are unhealthy (double your Oldness but not your Age)
16 You are old (double your Oldness, with your Age)
17 You are naive
18 You are a bad guy
19 You are a of some strange foreign relegion
20 You are a catholic
21 You are a foreigner of low social status
22 You are a of a Wandering People and have no country
23 You are obsessed by the occult
24 You are ugly
25 You have a bad sight
26 You are small
27 You are bald
28 You are thin
29 You are fat
30 You are illiterate
31 You are mute
32 You are hemophiliac (triple your Oldness only when Wounded)
33 You are deaf
34 You are an albino (without a big sword) 40
35 You are a bastard of a noble
36 You are a bastard of a prince
37 You are a bastard of the king
38 You are a bully
39 You are a child and you must throw one 10-sided die and add 5 to obtain your Youth/Oldness.
40 You are a complete fake as you dressed in fancy clothing when the guest returned
41 You are a courtesan
42 You are a devil worshiper
43 You are a dwarf
44 You are a fairy
45 You are a foreign spy
46 You are a foreigner from an unknown land
47 You are a gentleman/lady thief
48 You are a giant
49 You are a hermaphrodite
50 You are a hunchback
51 You are a lawyer
52 You are a loan shark
53 You are a martial artist
54 You are a medium and can see and speak top the dead just not very clear
55 You are a pirate and have a pirate ship
56 You are a priest
57 You are a rapist
58 You are a simpleton
59 You are a spy
60 You are a vampire and all it's strength and weaknesses and you get one additional Rage/Calm roll in combat and double your money
61 You are a vampire hunter and everyone is suspect 88
62 You are a veteran of a terrible war
63 You are a war hero
64 You are a werewolf
65 You are an alcoholic (5 pints a day)
66 You are an exorcist
67 You are an homosexual
68 You are an invalid
69 You are an opium addict
70 You are blind
71 You are deformed
72 You are devil possessed
73 You are formal noble turned servant 60
74 You are gifted with visions and dreams of the future.
75 You are incredible beautiful/hansom
76 You are of a political view that favors the owners of business and the elites'
77 You are of a political view that has everyone equal and the state owns and shares everything
78 You are of noble blood but not noble heir
79 You are sadistic
80 You are without a family
81 You belong to a heretical sect or religion
82 You cry very easily
83 You do fortune telling
84 You gamble (2 hours a day) and owe $1-100 x $1-100 to loan sharks
85 You have a delicate stomach (roll Oldness after each meal not to vomit or have diarrhea)
86 You have a good twin
87 You have an evil twin
88 You have complete amnesia
89 You have escaped from the asylum
90 You have syphilis
91 You have terrible nightmares where you wake up screaming Roll all attributes for various effect (Game Master's choice)
92 You look just like a recent murder victim
93 You own a train line 94
94 You were a war criminal and have just returned from prison
95 You were injured in combat and are a eunuch because of it
96 Your business deals have failed and you owe $1-10 Million
97 Your family died in a terrible accident and some blame you for it
98 Your family is rumored to participate in vile things such as incest, cannibalism, and devil worship
99 Your family needs to die in a terrible accident as they are horrible people
00 Your family suffers from a horrible curse
Basic Rule
You hay two ways to Check a Quality. Roll above. Roll below.
If the roll equals your Quality, it's a Fumble. A romantic Fumble should make one's life a real pain ...
Rage/Calm Checks
A violent action requires the Persona should roll below his Rage/Calm
To refrain from reacting too violently, a Persona should roll above his Rage/Calm
Despair/Happiness Checks
To make an important decision the Persona should roll above his Despair/Happiness
To be sincere, a Persona should roll below his Despair/Happiness
Scandal/Standing
Each week you roll Scandal/Standing. If it is Scandal then you loose 1-1000 x $1000. If Standing you gain 1-10 x $5000. A fumble is all money lost. This is not to mention the cost of parties and other expenses.
Youth/Oldness Checks
To test his wisdom, one should roll below his Youth/Oldness
To test his physical well-being, one should Surpass his Youth/Oldness
Duel
Both would roll below their Rage/Calm.
Should one succeed and the other fail, the latter gets a Wound (see below)
Should both succeed, both lose 1 Rage point and the duel keeps on, if both would agree.
Should both fail, they stop the duel and become friends, or something like that. They would not fight again for 1d10 days.
Whatever the other's result, a Fumble shall give you a Wound.
If both Fumble, both are Wounded
Murder
The murderer should roll below his Rage/Calm twice.
Two successes mean a perfect Murder
One success and a failure mean only a Wound
Two Failures mean you couldn't do such an horrible act. Lose 1 Rage/Calm, gain 1 Despair/Happiness
One Fumble means you killed someone else, but not your intended victim. Lose 1d10 Rage/Calm, gain 1d10 Despair/Happiness.
Two Fumbles mean you killed the wrongest person (your true love if possible). Lose 1d10 Rage/Calm, gain 1d10 Despair/Happiness.
Wound
A Wounded Persona should roll above his Youth/Oldness. The die roll is modified by the kind of weapon.
punch d100 + 20 2 meter fall
knife, stick d100 + 10 5 meter fall
sword, pistol d100 10 meter fall
rifle d100 - 10 20 meter fall
cannon d100 - 20 50 meter fall
A failure means the Persona is Dying
A fumble means Death, after the death speech, of course.
Dying
A dying Persona must try to roll above his Oldness every night.
Two successive successful nights bring you back to life.
Two successive failures kill you.
The roll is modified by the conditions.
battlefield d100 - 15
at home, in bed d100
hospital d100 + 15
Suicide
Once Despair/Happiness reaches 90 or above, the Persona must Murder himself.
If he fails, he loses 1d10 Rage.
Mania
If Despair/Happiness reaches 10 or below, the Persona is happy and spends the days doing useless but funny things.
After that, he gains back 1d10 Despair/Happiness.
Madness
If Rage/Calm ever reaches 90 or above, the Persona must try a very risky task.
After that, he loses d10 Rage/Calm.
Zen
If Rage/Calm ever drops to 10 or below, the Persona loses all energy and must spend the day reading, meditating, dreaming...
After that, he gains 1d10 Rage/Calm.
Ghost
If a persona dies before the end of a Tragedy, he might become a Ghost, 2d10 minutes of gameplay later. A Ghost may act on the physical world by rolling below his Rage/Calm and losing d10 points of Rage/Calm after that. He may appear and speak to one other character by rolling below his Despair/Happiness and losing d10 points of Despair/Happiness after that. Ghosts can fly slowly, but can't go through solid objects. They disappear when their Rage/Calm or Despair/Happiness reaches 10 or below, or at the end of the Tragedy. They never gain Rage/Calm or Despair/Happiness.
Emotional Shocks
During a Tragedy (an 'adventure'), the persona will go up and down Rage/Calm and Despair/Happiness scales.
A strong shock (death of a friend ...) will make you gain / lose 2d10 points in Rage/Calm or Despair/Happiness.
An important event (love success / failure, death of someone ...) make you gain / lose 1d10 points
Some events / situations may make you gain / lose 1 point (good / bad weather, small success / failure).
Aging
Every Christmas, the Persona must roll above his Oldness ; a failure means he shall be Dying d10 x d10 days later.
A Fumble means a heart attack (death).
Once a year the Persona has 20% to gain a new Problem. Re-roll if not feasible.
Rewards / Evolution
Should some persona survive a novel (a gaming session), give one of them the possibility to lose a Problem.
If a persona's Rage/Calm or Despair/Happiness is greater than 55, they lose 1d10 points.
If a persona's Rage/Calm or Despair/Happiness is less than 45, they gain 1d10 points.
Add 1d10 to your Youth/Oldness (1d10 years pass) at the end of each story with a scene of reflection.
Story Ideas
Attending a funeral then the reading of the will
On a holiday in the country with many grand balls and intrigue
In the city during the party holiday season
In the country during a great storm
On a train heading to or from the country
You are in a carriage to or from the city
In the city during war
Escaping to the country from war
Plague in the city!
Foreign spies in the midst
The Misty Continent
The Five Great Cities
Par Rees – The great old and ancient city were the people are similar to the French. They are always having wars and revolutions.
Lon Dun – The island of the kings very much like the English right of the coast. They are sometimes at war and mostly have noble houses fighting each other in their dreary moorland island.
Vin Ace – The Mountain Country of gingerbread houses and mountain top manors and castles. They have many wars with the Bear Lindens.
Bear Lin – The land of wolves and bears with large dark forest and remote manors far out in the wilderness.
Roam – The holy city of the holy church. There are many battles between the church and the heretics but unlike in ages past it is mostly political scandals and sabotage of businesses. The manors are the escapes from the turmoil.
Every city has thousands of country areas that are 1-10 days away. The farther the cheaper with the prices going from $1000 a room to a mere $100 a room. The average price is $500 at five days away from the city.
By Eldrad Wolfsbane
Set in a Victorian World somewhere in time on The Misty Continent. There are five giant cities of the Misty Continent and these are their Gothic tales.
Based on Wuthering Heights roleplay By Philippe Tromeur
Introduction
This is a game of Gothic Tales. Victorian novels like Wuthering Heights are the inspiration.
Disclaimer
In all the rules, the male gender (he, his, etc.) will be used for our examples. This of course implies the game is not suited for the feeble minds of our ladies.
This work deals with such themes as murder, suicide, cruelty, despair, liaisons, and sexual desires for the sole purpose of entertainment.
Persona Creation
Throw two 10-sided dice and add 39 to obtain your amount of Rage/Calm.
Throw two 10-sided dice and add 39 to obtain your amount of Despair/Happiness.
Throw two 10-sdied dice and add 39 to obtain your amount of Scandal/Standing.
Throw one 10-sided die and add 15 to obtain your Youth/Oldness. Unless some special Problem, this is exactly your Age.
Problems
Throw one 10-sided die. This is how many Problems you have.
Determine each Problem by throwing 1d100 and referencing to the Problem Table. If you roll twice the same problem, you should either double the effect, or roll another problem. You may refuse a problem ; each time you do that, you must roll 2 problems in its stead.
Other Details
Choose a Name, such as Archibold, Radcliffe, Reginald, or whatever you can think of.
Choose clothing according to background.
Each player starts out with 1-100 x $5000 if Aristocratic.
If not Aristocratic you have $1-100 and are looking for money.
There are 2-20 manors in each country area and thousands in each city.
Each Manor has 3-30 rooms. Each manor cost $1000 per room per month in the city and $100 x 1d10 (depending on how far out) a month in the country. If you don't pay rent roll Scandal/Standing. If Scandal you get kicked out and if Standing you get credit. A fumble means the house is destroyed by disaster. Houses cost twenty times their monthly rent and can be a part of wealth. Family members can combine their money and create even bigger manors but will have each persons problems giving and taking away from the situation. The poor are paid for by the rich or they stay out in the barn.
Now you are done and may start playing.
Problem Table
01 You are a drug addict (1 hour a day)
02 You are honest
03 You are in love with someone from your family (Mother, Brother ...) 10
04 You are a sex addict (once a day)
05 You smoke (12 hours a day)
06 You gamble (2 hours a day)
07 You play the bagpipes (1 hour a day)
08 You sing (1 hour a day)
09 You play the piano (1 hour a day)
11 You are a poet (4 hours a day)
12 You read too much (8 hours a day)
13 You dress improperly
14 You are poor
15 You are unhealthy (double your Oldness but not your Age)
16 You are old (double your Oldness, with your Age)
17 You are naive
18 You are a bad guy
19 You are a of some strange foreign relegion
20 You are a catholic
21 You are a foreigner of low social status
22 You are a of a Wandering People and have no country
23 You are obsessed by the occult
24 You are ugly
25 You have a bad sight
26 You are small
27 You are bald
28 You are thin
29 You are fat
30 You are illiterate
31 You are mute
32 You are hemophiliac (triple your Oldness only when Wounded)
33 You are deaf
34 You are an albino (without a big sword) 40
35 You are a bastard of a noble
36 You are a bastard of a prince
37 You are a bastard of the king
38 You are a bully
39 You are a child and you must throw one 10-sided die and add 5 to obtain your Youth/Oldness.
40 You are a complete fake as you dressed in fancy clothing when the guest returned
41 You are a courtesan
42 You are a devil worshiper
43 You are a dwarf
44 You are a fairy
45 You are a foreign spy
46 You are a foreigner from an unknown land
47 You are a gentleman/lady thief
48 You are a giant
49 You are a hermaphrodite
50 You are a hunchback
51 You are a lawyer
52 You are a loan shark
53 You are a martial artist
54 You are a medium and can see and speak top the dead just not very clear
55 You are a pirate and have a pirate ship
56 You are a priest
57 You are a rapist
58 You are a simpleton
59 You are a spy
60 You are a vampire and all it's strength and weaknesses and you get one additional Rage/Calm roll in combat and double your money
61 You are a vampire hunter and everyone is suspect 88
62 You are a veteran of a terrible war
63 You are a war hero
64 You are a werewolf
65 You are an alcoholic (5 pints a day)
66 You are an exorcist
67 You are an homosexual
68 You are an invalid
69 You are an opium addict
70 You are blind
71 You are deformed
72 You are devil possessed
73 You are formal noble turned servant 60
74 You are gifted with visions and dreams of the future.
75 You are incredible beautiful/hansom
76 You are of a political view that favors the owners of business and the elites'
77 You are of a political view that has everyone equal and the state owns and shares everything
78 You are of noble blood but not noble heir
79 You are sadistic
80 You are without a family
81 You belong to a heretical sect or religion
82 You cry very easily
83 You do fortune telling
84 You gamble (2 hours a day) and owe $1-100 x $1-100 to loan sharks
85 You have a delicate stomach (roll Oldness after each meal not to vomit or have diarrhea)
86 You have a good twin
87 You have an evil twin
88 You have complete amnesia
89 You have escaped from the asylum
90 You have syphilis
91 You have terrible nightmares where you wake up screaming Roll all attributes for various effect (Game Master's choice)
92 You look just like a recent murder victim
93 You own a train line 94
94 You were a war criminal and have just returned from prison
95 You were injured in combat and are a eunuch because of it
96 Your business deals have failed and you owe $1-10 Million
97 Your family died in a terrible accident and some blame you for it
98 Your family is rumored to participate in vile things such as incest, cannibalism, and devil worship
99 Your family needs to die in a terrible accident as they are horrible people
00 Your family suffers from a horrible curse
Basic Rule
You hay two ways to Check a Quality. Roll above. Roll below.
If the roll equals your Quality, it's a Fumble. A romantic Fumble should make one's life a real pain ...
Rage/Calm Checks
A violent action requires the Persona should roll below his Rage/Calm
To refrain from reacting too violently, a Persona should roll above his Rage/Calm
Despair/Happiness Checks
To make an important decision the Persona should roll above his Despair/Happiness
To be sincere, a Persona should roll below his Despair/Happiness
Scandal/Standing
Each week you roll Scandal/Standing. If it is Scandal then you loose 1-1000 x $1000. If Standing you gain 1-10 x $5000. A fumble is all money lost. This is not to mention the cost of parties and other expenses.
Youth/Oldness Checks
To test his wisdom, one should roll below his Youth/Oldness
To test his physical well-being, one should Surpass his Youth/Oldness
Duel
Both would roll below their Rage/Calm.
Should one succeed and the other fail, the latter gets a Wound (see below)
Should both succeed, both lose 1 Rage point and the duel keeps on, if both would agree.
Should both fail, they stop the duel and become friends, or something like that. They would not fight again for 1d10 days.
Whatever the other's result, a Fumble shall give you a Wound.
If both Fumble, both are Wounded
Murder
The murderer should roll below his Rage/Calm twice.
Two successes mean a perfect Murder
One success and a failure mean only a Wound
Two Failures mean you couldn't do such an horrible act. Lose 1 Rage/Calm, gain 1 Despair/Happiness
One Fumble means you killed someone else, but not your intended victim. Lose 1d10 Rage/Calm, gain 1d10 Despair/Happiness.
Two Fumbles mean you killed the wrongest person (your true love if possible). Lose 1d10 Rage/Calm, gain 1d10 Despair/Happiness.
Wound
A Wounded Persona should roll above his Youth/Oldness. The die roll is modified by the kind of weapon.
punch d100 + 20 2 meter fall
knife, stick d100 + 10 5 meter fall
sword, pistol d100 10 meter fall
rifle d100 - 10 20 meter fall
cannon d100 - 20 50 meter fall
A failure means the Persona is Dying
A fumble means Death, after the death speech, of course.
Dying
A dying Persona must try to roll above his Oldness every night.
Two successive successful nights bring you back to life.
Two successive failures kill you.
The roll is modified by the conditions.
battlefield d100 - 15
at home, in bed d100
hospital d100 + 15
Suicide
Once Despair/Happiness reaches 90 or above, the Persona must Murder himself.
If he fails, he loses 1d10 Rage.
Mania
If Despair/Happiness reaches 10 or below, the Persona is happy and spends the days doing useless but funny things.
After that, he gains back 1d10 Despair/Happiness.
Madness
If Rage/Calm ever reaches 90 or above, the Persona must try a very risky task.
After that, he loses d10 Rage/Calm.
Zen
If Rage/Calm ever drops to 10 or below, the Persona loses all energy and must spend the day reading, meditating, dreaming...
After that, he gains 1d10 Rage/Calm.
Ghost
If a persona dies before the end of a Tragedy, he might become a Ghost, 2d10 minutes of gameplay later. A Ghost may act on the physical world by rolling below his Rage/Calm and losing d10 points of Rage/Calm after that. He may appear and speak to one other character by rolling below his Despair/Happiness and losing d10 points of Despair/Happiness after that. Ghosts can fly slowly, but can't go through solid objects. They disappear when their Rage/Calm or Despair/Happiness reaches 10 or below, or at the end of the Tragedy. They never gain Rage/Calm or Despair/Happiness.
Emotional Shocks
During a Tragedy (an 'adventure'), the persona will go up and down Rage/Calm and Despair/Happiness scales.
A strong shock (death of a friend ...) will make you gain / lose 2d10 points in Rage/Calm or Despair/Happiness.
An important event (love success / failure, death of someone ...) make you gain / lose 1d10 points
Some events / situations may make you gain / lose 1 point (good / bad weather, small success / failure).
Aging
Every Christmas, the Persona must roll above his Oldness ; a failure means he shall be Dying d10 x d10 days later.
A Fumble means a heart attack (death).
Once a year the Persona has 20% to gain a new Problem. Re-roll if not feasible.
Rewards / Evolution
Should some persona survive a novel (a gaming session), give one of them the possibility to lose a Problem.
If a persona's Rage/Calm or Despair/Happiness is greater than 55, they lose 1d10 points.
If a persona's Rage/Calm or Despair/Happiness is less than 45, they gain 1d10 points.
Add 1d10 to your Youth/Oldness (1d10 years pass) at the end of each story with a scene of reflection.
Story Ideas
Attending a funeral then the reading of the will
On a holiday in the country with many grand balls and intrigue
In the city during the party holiday season
In the country during a great storm
On a train heading to or from the country
You are in a carriage to or from the city
In the city during war
Escaping to the country from war
Plague in the city!
Foreign spies in the midst
The Misty Continent
The Five Great Cities
Par Rees – The great old and ancient city were the people are similar to the French. They are always having wars and revolutions.
Lon Dun – The island of the kings very much like the English right of the coast. They are sometimes at war and mostly have noble houses fighting each other in their dreary moorland island.
Vin Ace – The Mountain Country of gingerbread houses and mountain top manors and castles. They have many wars with the Bear Lindens.
Bear Lin – The land of wolves and bears with large dark forest and remote manors far out in the wilderness.
Roam – The holy city of the holy church. There are many battles between the church and the heretics but unlike in ages past it is mostly political scandals and sabotage of businesses. The manors are the escapes from the turmoil.
Every city has thousands of country areas that are 1-10 days away. The farther the cheaper with the prices going from $1000 a room to a mere $100 a room. The average price is $500 at five days away from the city.
Monday, September 3, 2012
Back to the Dungeon RPG Feedback
Well what do you think those whom have read it?
Have you played it yet?
Has your barbarian rolled a 20 and slung every goblin ten feet back?
Has you assassin rolled a 20 and sprayed blood on the victims companions causing them to run in fear?
Has your fighter rolled a 20 and done TRIPLE Damage?
Players Guide
https://docs.google.com/open?id=0BzYaSvmA-OpURmN5SVJsTDRNcms
Book Of Spells
https://docs.google.com/open?id=0BzYaSvmA-OpUVUNob2ZVcW1YWjg
Book of Encounters
https://docs.google.com/open?id=0BzYaSvmA-OpUZFVkUzZ5OEdfbFU
INCOMPLETE GM's Guide
https://docs.google.com/open?id=0BzYaSvmA-OpUNVA4NjM3VExKZkk
Give me feedback....
Have you played it yet?
Has your barbarian rolled a 20 and slung every goblin ten feet back?
Has you assassin rolled a 20 and sprayed blood on the victims companions causing them to run in fear?
Has your fighter rolled a 20 and done TRIPLE Damage?
Players Guide
https://docs.google.com/open?id=0BzYaSvmA-OpURmN5SVJsTDRNcms
Book Of Spells
https://docs.google.com/open?id=0BzYaSvmA-OpUVUNob2ZVcW1YWjg
Book of Encounters
https://docs.google.com/open?id=0BzYaSvmA-OpUZFVkUzZ5OEdfbFU
INCOMPLETE GM's Guide
https://docs.google.com/open?id=0BzYaSvmA-OpUNVA4NjM3VExKZkk
Give me feedback....
Saturday, September 1, 2012
NOVEL RPG: Hero's Mag News Update.
Hero's Mag: LATEST NEWS (from my comic book world)...
Well there were a few people saved from disaster from Hurricane Isaac by the Southern Knights out of their Houston base. A huge Cartel strike force was also thwarted as well that showed up in Louisiana to try and take out the Southern Knights.
Since the third plane hit the Protectors Base in York back on 911 the city is in a complete downfall with a death rate of 30,000 just this year alone. Not only is New York a criminal war zone it is beginning to spread all over the North East. The is a spike is organized and Supers crime in Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Detroit, and Boston. Is there anyone going to save us? Save our country?
Several explosions rocked the south as the Cartel keeps up it's pressure on the Southern Knights. Quite a few refineries, police stations, and minor Supers hangouts were bombed in New Orleans, Houston, Little Rock, Dallas, and Atlanta. Over 1500 dead and 3000 injured. Other smaller Cartel related events happened but have not been connected as of yet. Are the Southern Knights going to do something? What relevance are they in this modern world if they can't even stop the Cartel?
The Republican Nation Convention is still recovering from the delegate debacle when some Ron Paul supporters and delegates who were also supers got out of control and destroyed most of the convention center. The GOP Supers team The Right Wing came in and put a thrashing on those wackos and looser and put them in their place. Mitt Romney was quickly nominated at a secret location even though the delegates were not there as many were injured by the disturbance. There are no other details as the supers in question have been put into a detention facility. Good job Right Wings!
Israel and the Obama administration are keeping up on talks of military intervention in Iran. There are crack teams of Supers in the Military read to go and are in various Governmental Training Facilities. This is going to be a really interesting war as Russia and China have both stated they will defend Iran and have moved the military and various Supers teams into the region.
The Billionaire and adventure Goldbar is doing big stock sell off and buying up precious metals. In fact many of the mega rich are selling stocks and buying up precious metals at this time. When asked what is going on Goldbar only responded whit this statement "If you can't see this baby is about to collapse and burn then you deserve what is going to happen to you. This country is toast and to let yet another cat out of the bag all my governmental contacts and mega business contacts are all making bunkers in preparation for something real bad. Let me tell you get prepped because something bad is coming!" All I can say is it looks like Goldbar has relapsed back into Drug abuse again.
THIS IS THE LATEST NEWS STAY TUNED FOR MORE!
Well there were a few people saved from disaster from Hurricane Isaac by the Southern Knights out of their Houston base. A huge Cartel strike force was also thwarted as well that showed up in Louisiana to try and take out the Southern Knights.
Since the third plane hit the Protectors Base in York back on 911 the city is in a complete downfall with a death rate of 30,000 just this year alone. Not only is New York a criminal war zone it is beginning to spread all over the North East. The is a spike is organized and Supers crime in Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Detroit, and Boston. Is there anyone going to save us? Save our country?
Several explosions rocked the south as the Cartel keeps up it's pressure on the Southern Knights. Quite a few refineries, police stations, and minor Supers hangouts were bombed in New Orleans, Houston, Little Rock, Dallas, and Atlanta. Over 1500 dead and 3000 injured. Other smaller Cartel related events happened but have not been connected as of yet. Are the Southern Knights going to do something? What relevance are they in this modern world if they can't even stop the Cartel?
The Republican Nation Convention is still recovering from the delegate debacle when some Ron Paul supporters and delegates who were also supers got out of control and destroyed most of the convention center. The GOP Supers team The Right Wing came in and put a thrashing on those wackos and looser and put them in their place. Mitt Romney was quickly nominated at a secret location even though the delegates were not there as many were injured by the disturbance. There are no other details as the supers in question have been put into a detention facility. Good job Right Wings!
Israel and the Obama administration are keeping up on talks of military intervention in Iran. There are crack teams of Supers in the Military read to go and are in various Governmental Training Facilities. This is going to be a really interesting war as Russia and China have both stated they will defend Iran and have moved the military and various Supers teams into the region.
The Billionaire and adventure Goldbar is doing big stock sell off and buying up precious metals. In fact many of the mega rich are selling stocks and buying up precious metals at this time. When asked what is going on Goldbar only responded whit this statement "If you can't see this baby is about to collapse and burn then you deserve what is going to happen to you. This country is toast and to let yet another cat out of the bag all my governmental contacts and mega business contacts are all making bunkers in preparation for something real bad. Let me tell you get prepped because something bad is coming!" All I can say is it looks like Goldbar has relapsed back into Drug abuse again.
THIS IS THE LATEST NEWS STAY TUNED FOR MORE!
Friday, August 31, 2012
HMMM? What if you mixed Basic D&D with 4th Edition D&D?
What if you mixed Basic D&D with 4th Edition D&D?
Like only the powers simplified and no feats or very few feats or simple added class features.
The monsters would be simplified as well. Definitely LOWER hit points.
Kinda like the did in Heroes of Neverwinter on Facebook.
May be fun?
Damn the Gamer ADD is kicking in again!
Like only the powers simplified and no feats or very few feats or simple added class features.
The monsters would be simplified as well. Definitely LOWER hit points.
Kinda like the did in Heroes of Neverwinter on Facebook.
May be fun?
Damn the Gamer ADD is kicking in again!
Wednesday, August 29, 2012
Who will control the destiny of D&D Next?
Who will control the destiny of D&D Next?
Well I would have to say when D&D Next was announced I could give a flying fudge what the hell they did. BUT! They changed my mind when I heard their Gen Con seminar.
It seems that Mike wants the game to go back to story. I like what they want to do with the Forgotten Realms. It just looks kick ass. The last play test release was very simple yet impressive.
Is it going to be the munchkin players who over inflate the rules and think HEY that is good stuff! Every character is a 10 page novel. OR are the Old Schoolers going to come en mass and put their opinions onto how and what this game will turn into?
So far the game is keeping a steady course of simpleness reminiscent of Basic with a small twist of 3rd edition.
The opinions are stacking up quickly by many who want the game to go in more complicated directions.
Unneeded complicated directions. They know not what they do.
SO what are you bloggers going to do? Or dare I say this is what you need to do.
First take a look at the play test packets. See what I am talking about. Like or dislike give you opinion. Let them know.
Let WotC know.
They have all but admitted their mistakes. Help form this game that we all love or at least the simple core of the game into something cool.
The renaissance has become a revolution and much of the revolution was influenced by the OSR kid not yourself.
SO who is with me?
What say you?!?
Well I would have to say when D&D Next was announced I could give a flying fudge what the hell they did. BUT! They changed my mind when I heard their Gen Con seminar.
It seems that Mike wants the game to go back to story. I like what they want to do with the Forgotten Realms. It just looks kick ass. The last play test release was very simple yet impressive.
Is it going to be the munchkin players who over inflate the rules and think HEY that is good stuff! Every character is a 10 page novel. OR are the Old Schoolers going to come en mass and put their opinions onto how and what this game will turn into?
So far the game is keeping a steady course of simpleness reminiscent of Basic with a small twist of 3rd edition.
The opinions are stacking up quickly by many who want the game to go in more complicated directions.
Unneeded complicated directions. They know not what they do.
SO what are you bloggers going to do? Or dare I say this is what you need to do.
First take a look at the play test packets. See what I am talking about. Like or dislike give you opinion. Let them know.
Let WotC know.
They have all but admitted their mistakes. Help form this game that we all love or at least the simple core of the game into something cool.
The renaissance has become a revolution and much of the revolution was influenced by the OSR kid not yourself.
SO who is with me?
What say you?!?
Friday, August 24, 2012
So is the OSR kinda DEAD? I keep hearing the QUESTION! Is D&D Next the answer for everybody?
SO I have actually read over the D&D Next Playtest rules and I have to say the voices screaming out in the wilderness of the OSR either have been heard or D&D has organically returned to it's roots kinda.
D&D Next looks like it's going to be a really cool game so far. I would say a tiny bit more complicated than 2nd edition AD&D but it will flow slightly quicker. I have printed out the latest playtest material and I am going to whip up a few characters.
Like it's mostly failed predecessor it does have that get you playing real quick that 4th edition had. Lots of premade equipment list and such for a class or backgrounds.
It is kinda a combination of all the editions past but it seems to have it's heart in basic and 3rd edition mixed kinda.
The best part of it all is according to Mike Mearles the game is going to be about STORY! If that is the focus then it is going to kick ass. If it is only sales then they will fail!
You roll your D20 attributes all six of them 4d6 take away the lowest and then place them. Thank god that is back. Point buys make such dumbass characters.
Pick your race! Damn they did some really good write ups on the races. I get that funny feeling in my gut I got 33 years ago when I started playing.
Pick your class. Just four opps I mean six classes.
Pick a background (optional) Your character could have a background, a story
that describes where he or she came from, his or her original occupation, and the character’s place in the D&D world. Okay I like this alot. It makes people role play and think of story.
Pick a Specialty (optional) Just as your class tells you what you can do, your specialty tells you how you do it. A specialty further defines your character’s preferred combat tactics and investigative methods, arising from particular studies, inherent talents, or focused training.
The one thing about D&D Next is it is expandable with more sourcebooks to come but if they are careful it won't break this version of the game like 3rd edition and somewhat 4th edition.
Over all it looks easy to run and easy to play but not as easy as my RPG but as usual I have really bad timing and so far very few people are looking at my game.
The next thing with Next is the Forgotten Realms. Dammit if they ain't got me wanting to go out and buy the novels right now. The default setting will be Forgotten Realms after "the Sundering".
Some say FR is generic and boring but I think they are just mad their setting did not get published. I have never ran FR BUT I have played it and after reading many of the novels it became a real world to me.
As I get older I loose the urge (and the time) to sit back and create huge settings and worlds.
The best thing is they claim that they are going to open the adventures to the players and let them be important in the FR world actually shaping the setting. That is cool.
What am I talking about?
Watch the damn Gen Con video. Man that Ed Greenwood is cool. I bet he is a damn kickass DM.
This almost makes me want to put on my writer's hat and start writing a FR story. Hell I might just do an outline as I don't know what the hell the Sundering is.
D&D Next looks like it's going to be a really cool game so far. I would say a tiny bit more complicated than 2nd edition AD&D but it will flow slightly quicker. I have printed out the latest playtest material and I am going to whip up a few characters.
Like it's mostly failed predecessor it does have that get you playing real quick that 4th edition had. Lots of premade equipment list and such for a class or backgrounds.
It is kinda a combination of all the editions past but it seems to have it's heart in basic and 3rd edition mixed kinda.
The best part of it all is according to Mike Mearles the game is going to be about STORY! If that is the focus then it is going to kick ass. If it is only sales then they will fail!
You roll your D20 attributes all six of them 4d6 take away the lowest and then place them. Thank god that is back. Point buys make such dumbass characters.
Pick your race! Damn they did some really good write ups on the races. I get that funny feeling in my gut I got 33 years ago when I started playing.
Pick your class. Just four opps I mean six classes.
Pick a background (optional) Your character could have a background, a story
that describes where he or she came from, his or her original occupation, and the character’s place in the D&D world. Okay I like this alot. It makes people role play and think of story.
Pick a Specialty (optional) Just as your class tells you what you can do, your specialty tells you how you do it. A specialty further defines your character’s preferred combat tactics and investigative methods, arising from particular studies, inherent talents, or focused training.
The one thing about D&D Next is it is expandable with more sourcebooks to come but if they are careful it won't break this version of the game like 3rd edition and somewhat 4th edition.
Over all it looks easy to run and easy to play but not as easy as my RPG but as usual I have really bad timing and so far very few people are looking at my game.
The next thing with Next is the Forgotten Realms. Dammit if they ain't got me wanting to go out and buy the novels right now. The default setting will be Forgotten Realms after "the Sundering".
Some say FR is generic and boring but I think they are just mad their setting did not get published. I have never ran FR BUT I have played it and after reading many of the novels it became a real world to me.
As I get older I loose the urge (and the time) to sit back and create huge settings and worlds.
The best thing is they claim that they are going to open the adventures to the players and let them be important in the FR world actually shaping the setting. That is cool.
What am I talking about?
Watch the damn Gen Con video. Man that Ed Greenwood is cool. I bet he is a damn kickass DM.
This almost makes me want to put on my writer's hat and start writing a FR story. Hell I might just do an outline as I don't know what the hell the Sundering is.
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