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Serialized
Jan. 1st, 2025 10:03 amOver on my gaming blog, I'm doing the Character Creation Challenge for 2025. Let's see how long my motivation lasts.
Recapitulation
Apr. 22nd, 2024 06:35 amI'm getting ready to restart my not-entirely-pure-Twilight: 2000 campaign after a months-long hiatus. To reorient my players (and maybe myself as well), there's a summary of events thus far over on the other blog.
(As always, the full index of campaign posts is available too.)
(As always, the full index of campaign posts is available too.)
Redirection
Oct. 15th, 2023 07:48 amIrregular (but more frequent than here) gaming-related blogging is happening at https://libellus.de-fenestra.com/.
I hope to get back to Five Parsecs From Home soon. I paused progress on it this week to dig into the combat rules for the 4th edition of Twilight: 2000. My first impression is that this is both much faster and much more lethal than previous editions, though it has some idiosyncrasies that I'll probably house-rule.
I generated a party of six PCs with the life path rules (which are a separate issue begging for a better character creation system). I selected the most combat-capable three of those and put them up against three stock marauder NPCs with AKMs. At the start of the fight, the marauders were looting an abandoned farm when they spotted the PCs coming and tried to set up for an ambush. The PCs were just starting after escaping from Kalisz and hoping to acquire a vehicle; the marauders' HMMWV provided an appealing option.
The marauders' plan was to take the PCs under fire as they entered the open space between the two main houses. However, the opposed Recon check did not go in the ambushers' favor and combat played out without ambush effects.
( Read more... )
I generated a party of six PCs with the life path rules (which are a separate issue begging for a better character creation system). I selected the most combat-capable three of those and put them up against three stock marauder NPCs with AKMs. At the start of the fight, the marauders were looting an abandoned farm when they spotted the PCs coming and tried to set up for an ambush. The PCs were just starting after escaping from Kalisz and hoping to acquire a vehicle; the marauders' HMMWV provided an appealing option.
The marauders' plan was to take the PCs under fire as they entered the open space between the two main houses. However, the opposed Recon check did not go in the ambushers' favor and combat played out without ambush effects.
( Read more... )
VotO #7: Campaign Turn 3
Feb. 8th, 2022 07:11 pmHaving done some ballistic investigation work, the crew of the Obfuscator greets the new day with renewed vigor (and a renewed armory). What shenanigans await them on Streron 41C today?
( Read more... )
( Read more... )
VotO #6: Post-Battle 2
Feb. 6th, 2022 10:29 amThe defeated mercenary tells what he knows, but it isn't much. He was hired for the hit via an anonymous comm call. Flash smirks, holding up the data crystal. "I'll bet I can dig something out of this," she purrs.
[quest progress: +1 quest rumor, next quest mission remains on this world]
( Read more... )
[quest progress: +1 quest rumor, next quest mission remains on this world]
( Read more... )
VotO #5: Battle 2
Feb. 6th, 2022 09:31 amSome legwork gets a line on the location where the murderer is hiding. He's allegedly holed up alone in a disused cargo handling facility. Six to one odds should be easy, but he is reported to have a colony rifle, so it'll pay to be cautious...
( Read more... )
( Read more... )
VotO #4: Campaign Turn 2
Feb. 6th, 2022 07:35 amA hive swarm invasion of Hunnistea IV is imminent. The crew of the Obfuscator has a little advance warning, but not much, and a maintenance accident has left them with a ship of questionable reliability. They need to get off-world before things go completely bug-hunt. Crane thumbprints the fuel invoice [-5 credits] and begins snapping out orders...
( Read more... )
( Read more... )
VotO #003: Post-Battle 1
Feb. 5th, 2022 09:37 pmThe team rushes to Beech's side. After a quick examination, it's clear that the cuts look worse than they are. her equipment harness deflected the worst of the attack, and the homemade dazzle grenade is not looking very reliable.
Hearing a call for help from inside a nearby cargo container, the team advances carefully. Otter hotwires the lock and the doors swing open to reveal a shipyard worker who's been hiding here for four days, subsisting on things best not dwelt upon. Legs stands guard over him while the rest of the team checks the area. The search turns up a machine pistol, still clutched in its previous owner's severed hand, and the briefcase full of Cerian spice that Beech heard rumors of.
Feeling unreasonably fortunate, the crew escorts the laborer to safety and heads off to the meet with their patron. The MHI representative is stunned to hear what they faced - the evidence confirms fears of an imminent alien invasion! He hands over their payment without further questions, then turns and heads for his vehicle, pulling out his pocket communicator as he goes.
The crew looks at one another. "I think we need more shotguns," Legs observes.
( Read more... )
Hearing a call for help from inside a nearby cargo container, the team advances carefully. Otter hotwires the lock and the doors swing open to reveal a shipyard worker who's been hiding here for four days, subsisting on things best not dwelt upon. Legs stands guard over him while the rest of the team checks the area. The search turns up a machine pistol, still clutched in its previous owner's severed hand, and the briefcase full of Cerian spice that Beech heard rumors of.
Feeling unreasonably fortunate, the crew escorts the laborer to safety and heads off to the meet with their patron. The MHI representative is stunned to hear what they faced - the evidence confirms fears of an imminent alien invasion! He hands over their payment without further questions, then turns and heads for his vehicle, pulling out his pocket communicator as he goes.
The crew looks at one another. "I think we need more shotguns," Legs observes.
( Read more... )
VotO #002: Battle 1
Feb. 5th, 2022 07:13 pmThe reason for MHI's urgency and pay rate becomes clear once the briefing comes through. One of the company's building slips has an infestation of an unknown form of alien life. The critters are roughly human-sized, fast, aggressive, and tough. Corporate security is refusing to go in due to a clause in its union contract, so the company needs outside contractors - and fast, before the hive spreads to the neighboring drydocks.
( Read more... )
( Read more... )
VotO #001: Campaign Turn 1
Feb. 5th, 2022 06:13 pmWe begin with the crew on Hunnistea IV. Hun-IV has a thriving shipyard industry thanks to the population's [technical knowledge], but to deter industrial espionage, the shipwright syndicates have convinced the planetary government to put [travel restrictions] in place. Thankfully, this regulatory overreach doesn't extend to the job market, so our band of freelancers can seek employment.
The Obfuscator has been dirtside for a few weeks and the crew has pulled a couple of small jobs that have yielded some contacts. Legs took care of one of the aforementioned industrial espionage issues for McGowan Heavy Industries, yielding a [corporate patron]. The investigative fallout from this led Crane to help out the local cops, giving him a [local government patron] on the force. Meanwhile, Flash was out drinking and making friends, including another [local government patron] in the form of a records clerk.
( Read more... )
The Obfuscator has been dirtside for a few weeks and the crew has pulled a couple of small jobs that have yielded some contacts. Legs took care of one of the aforementioned industrial espionage issues for McGowan Heavy Industries, yielding a [corporate patron]. The investigative fallout from this led Crane to help out the local cops, giving him a [local government patron] on the force. Meanwhile, Flash was out drinking and making friends, including another [local government patron] in the form of a records clerk.
( Read more... )
VotO #000a: The Ship and The Campaign
Feb. 5th, 2022 05:30 pmThe Obfuscator is a Bartuk Systems Constellation light freighter. She's an [unreliable merchant cruiser] requiring constant attention. Her major systems are in tune but the amount of work required to keep them in that condition means the little stuff tends to slide. Faulty seals on Beech's hydroponic systems keep the humidity a touch too high and make half the compartments smell like salad, the hull fittings creak and grind alarmingly under high thrust or when hitting atmo, there's a persistent echo in the 1MC... that sort of thing. It's always something new. Fortunately, Ice scored a two-for-one deal on espresso machines on the last planetfall, so at least there's a spare for the most critical life support equipment.
[the ship has Hull 30 and the crew is 24 credits in debt on her]
[ship's stores include one dose of booster pills and one med-patch]
[other startup stuff here: the crew starts with 7 story points, 20 credits, 1 quest rumor, and 3 patrons]
[I'm going to run my first campaign in easy mode, so I'm setting my victory condition to Play 20 campaign turns... if I stay interested that long, that's a good sign]
[the ship has Hull 30 and the crew is 24 credits in debt on her]
[ship's stores include one dose of booster pills and one med-patch]
[other startup stuff here: the crew starts with 7 story points, 20 credits, 1 quest rumor, and 3 patrons]
[I'm going to run my first campaign in easy mode, so I'm setting my victory condition to Play 20 campaign turns... if I stay interested that long, that's a good sign]
VotO #000: Meeting the Crew
Feb. 5th, 2022 04:20 pmI recently picked up a copy of Five Parsecs From Home. In lieu of any in-person gaming (or doing productive work on any of my other projects), I'm going to start chronicling my crew's shenanigans here. Let's see how long this entertains me.
( Read more... )
( Read more... )
Melanoplus
Aug. 15th, 2021 12:29 pmPrompted by Friday's birding walk in McFarland Park, in which we spotted and identified our first grasshopper sparrow:
The sparrow grasshopper's name derives from its mottled brown-tan coloration and prodigious size - typically 14-18cm long at full growth. Genetic analysis reveals it to be an Awakened subspecies of the differential grasshopper (Melanoplus differentialis). It is believed to reach this size through consumption of Awakened plant life, which is its preferred (but not exclusive) diet. Its size makes it a target for predators that do not normally eat grasshoppers, including domestic cats and dogs, several species of raptor, and hoop snakes.
The sparrow grasshopper is generally harmless to humans. However, when startled, it takes flight briefly, and swarms along highways have been responsible for several major traffic accidents as they have obscured drivers' vision and confused vehicular sensors. As a dual-natured creature, the sparrow grasshopper has an astral presence, and swarms are vivid on the astral plane.
(Previous: ghost plum, spider peacock, floating ghost carrot.)
The sparrow grasshopper's name derives from its mottled brown-tan coloration and prodigious size - typically 14-18cm long at full growth. Genetic analysis reveals it to be an Awakened subspecies of the differential grasshopper (Melanoplus differentialis). It is believed to reach this size through consumption of Awakened plant life, which is its preferred (but not exclusive) diet. Its size makes it a target for predators that do not normally eat grasshoppers, including domestic cats and dogs, several species of raptor, and hoop snakes.
The sparrow grasshopper is generally harmless to humans. However, when startled, it takes flight briefly, and swarms along highways have been responsible for several major traffic accidents as they have obscured drivers' vision and confused vehicular sensors. As a dual-natured creature, the sparrow grasshopper has an astral presence, and swarms are vivid on the astral plane.
(Previous: ghost plum, spider peacock, floating ghost carrot.)
Decomposition
Jan. 26th, 2020 09:38 amNo shit, there I was... this was in spring '98 or '99, I think. I was running a LARP at a small local convention in deep rural southwest Kentucky. There I was, minding my own business at the registration and logistics desk, when a pack of my prospective players staggered into the room in what was either a Fleshcrafted gamer-centipede mass or a consensual close-order formation of mutual support for upright locomotion. It was just past three in the afternoon and I could smell the liquor and questionable decisions from across the room.
"Heeeeey," one slurred, fumbling in his pin-festooned leather vest for what I hoped was not a weapon. "I heard yer runnin' a Vamfire game."
Trepidatiously, I responded in the affirmative.
"Awesome." He located the object of his search and withdrew, to my rmingled relief and slowly-rising dread, a small wad of paper. As he unfolded it like some non-Euclidean eldritch origami horror, I recognized it as a character sheet. It appeared to have been used as a placemat for last night's pizza and this morning's coffee, and under the layers of organic debris, the owner's pen had left no dot behind. "I wanna bring in my home chara... chiro... character. I call 'im 'Roadkill.' He's a Samedi wererabbit Abomination."
"Heeeeey," one slurred, fumbling in his pin-festooned leather vest for what I hoped was not a weapon. "I heard yer runnin' a Vamfire game."
Trepidatiously, I responded in the affirmative.
"Awesome." He located the object of his search and withdrew, to my rmingled relief and slowly-rising dread, a small wad of paper. As he unfolded it like some non-Euclidean eldritch origami horror, I recognized it as a character sheet. It appeared to have been used as a placemat for last night's pizza and this morning's coffee, and under the layers of organic debris, the owner's pen had left no dot behind. "I wanna bring in my home chara... chiro... character. I call 'im 'Roadkill.' He's a Samedi wererabbit Abomination."
The Kickstarter campaign for the Trinity Continuum reboot went live today.
This game line - and especially Aeon (née Trinity), its 2120s-era science fiction setting - has always had a special place in my heart. I was an intern at the Wolf when it was in initial design. It came out after I'd gone back to school to try to be an English major, with the vague intent of one day being a writer. I picked up the core book's first printing at a game store in Dayton over Halloween weekend of '97 - if memory serves, a few days before it was officially supposed to be on shelves.
I've been a gamer since 1986, when I got started with Car Wars and Ogre. Tabletop RPGs? Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles around '87 or '88, I think. I've played a damn lot of games. My current collection is 35 linear shelf-feet of gaming books (and a few boxed sets) and that's after a lot of winnowing and the occasional unreturned loan.
In all that time, Aeon has consistently been on the impossible-to-rank-numerically short list of my favorite RPGs, and the all-time setting in which I'd most want to be a PC.
So I've been having an emotionally complex reaction all day, seeing those Kickstarter funding numbers scrolling up and up on the return of the game I love so much, and that I'm fortunate enough to have written for in both editions.
Damn.
This game line - and especially Aeon (née Trinity), its 2120s-era science fiction setting - has always had a special place in my heart. I was an intern at the Wolf when it was in initial design. It came out after I'd gone back to school to try to be an English major, with the vague intent of one day being a writer. I picked up the core book's first printing at a game store in Dayton over Halloween weekend of '97 - if memory serves, a few days before it was officially supposed to be on shelves.
I've been a gamer since 1986, when I got started with Car Wars and Ogre. Tabletop RPGs? Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles around '87 or '88, I think. I've played a damn lot of games. My current collection is 35 linear shelf-feet of gaming books (and a few boxed sets) and that's after a lot of winnowing and the occasional unreturned loan.
In all that time, Aeon has consistently been on the impossible-to-rank-numerically short list of my favorite RPGs, and the all-time setting in which I'd most want to be a PC.
So I've been having an emotionally complex reaction all day, seeing those Kickstarter funding numbers scrolling up and up on the return of the game I love so much, and that I'm fortunate enough to have written for in both editions.
Damn.
Bad week. Not gonna talk about it here and now.
More important topic. Gnomes. What the fuck?
D&D gnomes, specifically. Why are they necessary? What role do they serve? What is supposed to be their unique schtick? 'cause as far as I can tell, they're basically comic relief for people who don't think halflings go far enough out on the "wacky jolly small people" axis.
Now, I have seen halflings played straight, and played downright unnerving (looking at you, Kulik). But that's rare in my experience. Gnomes... seem to have taken too many cues from their counterparts in World of Warcraft, what with the slapstick pranks and anime hair and woo-woo anachronistic tinkering. (Not being an old-school D&D player, I am uncertain if they were like that before WoW came on the scene.)
More important topic. Gnomes. What the fuck?
D&D gnomes, specifically. Why are they necessary? What role do they serve? What is supposed to be their unique schtick? 'cause as far as I can tell, they're basically comic relief for people who don't think halflings go far enough out on the "wacky jolly small people" axis.
Now, I have seen halflings played straight, and played downright unnerving (looking at you, Kulik). But that's rare in my experience. Gnomes... seem to have taken too many cues from their counterparts in World of Warcraft, what with the slapstick pranks and anime hair and woo-woo anachronistic tinkering. (Not being an old-school D&D player, I am uncertain if they were like that before WoW came on the scene.)
Retrospective
Sep. 3rd, 2017 09:20 pmThere's a thread running on /r/rpg about how the gaming hobby has evolved over the last couple of decades. It does my cold, shriveled little heart good to see some people posting there who've been gaming for 40 years. Lots of interesting discussion, and very little venom or cries of the hobby's ruin because of Trend X.
It's got me thinking about why it's been so damned hard, these last few years, to get any sort of sustained campaign going. Adulting is hard, and I have very few tribe members left in the same city as myself, and the various online platforms do not quite offer the same experience as gathering around the table. But the hardest part seems to be the scheduling.
Someone else, in another Reddit thread, remarked that for adult gamers, getting the sustained commitment to a weekly or biweekly game has to include a social contract which stresses each individual player's commitment to the team. It's like a sports season - you gotta show up if you want to win, and the rest of the team is counting on you to be there for your role in the shared recreation. I can dig it.
And I'm feeling somewhat retro right now. Not necessarily in an OSR way - I generally like modern game design trends. But I want my next face-to-face campaign to be analog. Core books on the table, hardcopy character sheets and GM notes, physical dice, and no electronic devices allowed out. I want to see if it cuts down the distractions and ADD.
It's got me thinking about why it's been so damned hard, these last few years, to get any sort of sustained campaign going. Adulting is hard, and I have very few tribe members left in the same city as myself, and the various online platforms do not quite offer the same experience as gathering around the table. But the hardest part seems to be the scheduling.
Someone else, in another Reddit thread, remarked that for adult gamers, getting the sustained commitment to a weekly or biweekly game has to include a social contract which stresses each individual player's commitment to the team. It's like a sports season - you gotta show up if you want to win, and the rest of the team is counting on you to be there for your role in the shared recreation. I can dig it.
And I'm feeling somewhat retro right now. Not necessarily in an OSR way - I generally like modern game design trends. But I want my next face-to-face campaign to be analog. Core books on the table, hardcopy character sheets and GM notes, physical dice, and no electronic devices allowed out. I want to see if it cuts down the distractions and ADD.
A few years ago, I poked at the online port of Magic: The Gathering as a possible mechanism for recapturing that particular part of my misspent youth. It was a good enough investment of time and money but I dropped it because no one else I knew was playing it.
I'm still on the email list, though. Yesterday, I got a customer survey. And they made the mistake of offering a text box for ( comments. )
I'm still on the email list, though. Yesterday, I got a customer survey. And they made the mistake of offering a text box for ( comments. )
