roseembolism | Entries tagged with rpg

Actual Play: Golden Sky Stories, The Little Shrine in the Forest

So, after meeting the bear god, and making outraguous promises to right everything, we go to the final scene.

After a nap, in the afternoon we meet with Emi to tell her what we've found. This requires some of us deciding to wear human bodies- or rather how much like humans we want to look. Note that in the Change table, the cost to change to human is based on the time of day, and the amount of change. Most of the henge choose Full Human (4 for full human, 4 for daytime) costing 8 points. I decide that nobody is going to notice a tail under a sailor fuku (4 for day, 2 for tail). Bird chooses obvious flight capable wings, for 4 points, because well, the bird has no caution. This shouldn't bother the humans, right? After filling her in on the situation, a surprisingly calm Emi says that maybe her grandma might know something about old shrines. So we troop up to the cottage where we meet Emi's surprisingly sharp grandmother, who after a bit of a pause seems to see through our clever disguises. Fortunately she doesn't seem at all bothered. A variety of more or less inappropriate salutations occur, except for me, who says Ohayo Gozaimasue obasama- which earns me a narrow look.This aside, Grandma offers us tea and cookies, Pixel loves the cookies, which I very much approve of. "Yes. Go ahead and eat. Eat LOTS of cookies." For some reason Amasa has a bout of hysteria, screaming at Pixel that he shouldn't eat the cookies. A puzzled Pixel eats the cookies anyway.

( Oh yeah, and then there's the god stuff to take care of. )

There IS an epilogue. Mako has no interest in helping the others fix some stupid greenhouse and disappears on her own business. However, a couple days later, when Emi leaves the house in the morning, Mako is at her porch, waiting. "What are you dong here?" "Not like I care or anything- this place was on my way! And you need to hurry, you'll be late for school!"

So yesterday we had a picnic called on account of rabbit, an upset human girl, mysterious desecration of strawberry fields, and lots of amusing bickering.

*Part 3: In the Greenhouse*

So, big crashing in greenhouse. Tomo, Suzune and Pixel flew ahead, while I sensibly took my time. When I arrived at the greenhouse, There was a huge, tear in the plastic wall, and inside, an indistinct shape making a major mess among the plants and shelves and stuff. It was huge, black and glowing with two arms and I knew immediately what is was.

( "See. I told you. Mammoth." )

Next: the ancient force of nature! Oh yeah, there's also a god.

*Actual Play: Golden Sky Stories, The Little Shrine in the Forest*

Part 2: The First Scene

Last time, we wen't through character creation, which was very much a group effort.Now, we find a mystery, bicker a lot, and make new contacts.

*SO, THE STORY*

It started off with me, Mako hanging out at the fox's shrine, because sometimes fish or fried tofu were left as offerings, and I was totally going to get them first. But it was a nice evening in late March, so we ended up at a picnic, in a field near a strawberry patch. Bunker the Tanuki thoughtfully provided shrimp from a dumpster, and I helpfully brought some breaded fried shrimp that some chef in a restaurant had left out on a counter. Well, he obviously didn't want it, did he? We smelled a wonderful odor of strawberries, so with Bunker leading, we- make that THEY rushed to the field, and I for some reason found my path going the same way. The gorging on strawberries was interrupted by a rabbit that pleaded with us to stop and therearenomorenostrawberriesleftforusandwecan'teatthestrawberriesreallyfastpanictalk. Eventually we got the rabbit spirit, named Amasa (aka "Sweetness") to introduce herself, and got a slightly less confusing rendition of a problem of strawberries disappearing and humans and someone was eating the strawberry fields and blablahblah. Bunker, thinking Amasa was hungry, offered some shrimp that had stuck to her coat- rabbits don't like shrimp.

( And that's when the human appeared! )

Next: The THING in the Greenhouse!

Mako, the utterly most important character of the other night's Golden Sky Stories. Just ask her. Drawn by the GM, the day after the game. Her visual concept is not "cute sexy catgirl in sailor fuku", more like "Why's that girl in the 50 year-old schoolgirl outfit staring at me? Didn't some horror movie start this way?"

Mako in game was completely, utterly deadpan. Whether it was suggesting they sell the Fox's shrine to raise money, or urging her bird friend to eat more, she was completely expressionless. Despite being selfish and standoffish, she has a good heart. Maybe. Not that she cares or anything.

The fish she is carrying was carelessly left in a display tank in a restaurant- obviously the didn't want it if they were just going to be leaving it there. There might be a girl at the local school who forgot her lunch today, and will come back to class to find a perfectly delectable meal wriggling and flopping on her desk. Not that she's Mako's friend or anything, she was just passing by. And a cat will do what she wants.

Current Mood: accomplished

Golden Sky Stories: Actual Play, "The Little Shrine in the Forest"

"Not that I care or whatever, but this is the story about me, the most important character in the story, and how I, OK, with the help of some other animal spirits, saved the world- make that a town- OK, a strawberry patch. And made a young girl's life better. Not that that's important to me you see. Because I'm a cat. And I just do what I want, just because." Mako, the black cat

This last weekend, at a small "Not going to Pacificon or Celesticon" NonCon, A one-off game of Golden Sky Stories happened, with five players who had never played GSS before, and a GM who had hadn't run a game in years.. This is the story of what happened, as related by Mako. The Most Important Character in the Game.

Golden Sky Stories is a game rather different from other role playing games. Rather than wandering dungeons, slaying monsters or the like, the players take the role f minor animal spirits who help the people in a small rural town in Japan. They help with minor crises, that are still quite important to the people involved. This is best described as a slice-of-life supernatural story, in the vein of Japanese anime such as Natsumi's Book of Friends, Totoro, Kamichu, Pon Poko, and Gingitsune. The emphasis is not on violence, but on solving minor problems in a heartwarming fashion.

( Part 1: Character Creation )

Next: the first Scene! Rivalries will be enacted! Shrimp and strawberries will be eaten! Rocks will be thrown!

Currently watching a game designer do a complete meltdown on Google+. AutoGoodwinating, self martyrdom, deleting all his old posts. It's fascinating to watch.

This was originally intended to be a Metafilter post, but since Metafilter won't take posts about current kickstarter projects, I'm posting it here.

The Fantastic Adventures in Tabletop Entertainment (FATE) system has produced notable games ranging from the pulp themed Spirit of the Century, to the hard science fiction Diaspora, to the adaptation of the urban Fantasy series Dresdin Files, to the high fantasy Legends of Anglierre. However, there's never been a basic, official version of the system. Until now. A kickstarter has been launched to fund a FATE core system, and as of this writing, it has exceeded it's goals by some 70,000.dollars. So it's looking like by March, there'll be a hardcopy of the FATE core rules. One of the nice things about the kickstarter is that any contribution gets immediate access to a PDF rough draft of the rules.

Other official FATE products include the space opera Starblazer Adventures and Sci-fi Bulldogs. Unofficial FATE products include:Tri-Fold FATE, a simple version of FATE designed to fit in three pages. Tri-Fold Fantasy, An version of Tri-Fold FATE designed for fantasy games, Aspect only Tri-Fold: and Compact Fate, an expanded version of Tri-Fold FATE. There's also Strands of FATE, a variant version of FATE desgned for adventures ranging from street-level to superpowered heroics.

Current Mood: pensive

A recent article on declining poverty rates in Africa referenced over on James Nicoll's livejournal made me think of the old SF rpg Trinity. It's common in Science Fiction to either assume that it will always be a hellhole, or that it will depend on the largesse of the West. The Aeon/Trinity setting was unusual in that Africa was developing into a world power, with wealth and influence to match. And this oddly enough seems to match developing reality far more than the more pessimistic views, including current reporting.

Also in the Trinity setting, the USA had degraded into a paranoid, corporate-fascist authoritarian state.

Hmm.

*Checks my copy of the game*

Nope, it's set in 2120, not 2020. Ah well, there's a limit as to how accurate one can be.

In which bad grammar leads to my worst character concept, ever.

As a test of the PDQ system, a poster on rpg.net presented us with a challenge: create a character based on one of a list of concepts he gave us. Well, I looked at the list, and though most of them didn't appeal to me, one caught my eye:

4) a 1920's cthulhu detective

OK, I'll bite. In my own way.

Great Cthulhu, Private Detective.

Great Old One (People) Master (+6): Surviving distant eons, intimidating lesser beings, flying through space when the stars are right, sleeping underwater, etc..

Nonterrestrial Matter (Faculty) Expert (+4): Size and shape change, turning insubstantial when hit by a boat, etc..

Invader of Dreams Good (+2): invading dreams, dream telepathy, causing insanity, etc..

Sorcerer (Magic) Expert (+4): Dark dangerous magic, just as in Jaws of the Six Serpents.

Flatfoot (Profession) Expert (+4): Snooping, shadowing, shaking down mooks, walking down those mean streets, etc..

Squid of Honor (Driver) Good (+2): Down these mean streets a Great Old One must go who is not himself mean, who is neither tarnished nor afraid. The detective must be a complete Great Old One and a common Great Old One and yet an unusual Great Old One. He must be, to use a rather weathered phrase, a Great Old One of honor.

Can Give as Good as He Gets Good (+2): Every detective needs to be able to take the occasional love tap to the back of the skull, or punch out a thug.

Trusty Service Revolver Good (+2): Because all dicks need to have one.

Marge, the Secretary (Companion) Good (+2): Again, a mainstay for an effective private eye.

Weakness: Heavy Sleeper (-2). It's tough getting out of bed first thing in the eon

I have to admit I really like the Prose Descriptive Qualities system: it's simple, modular, has a unified conflict resolution system, and much like it's ancestor Over the Edge, you can describe pretty much anything in it. So, I'll be talking more about how I ca use it later.

Current Mood: sleepy

In retrospect, the Under the Green Moon game last Saturday went pretty well, considering that a) I changed my mind about the scenario four days before the game, b) I lost a day to a computer virus and c) it was a party and there were a ton of distractions. It seems that people. Had fun, and the Heroquest system worked well, even though I forgot the rule book. I also didn't follow the recommended rules for increasing or decreasing difficulties according to the time in the game, and the final battle looked nothing like the rules in the book for extended contests. Oh well The only thing I regret is that the ending/denoument was rushed so that no proper explanation could be given. An epilogue needs to be written.

I did get some feedback from RacerxMachina, to the effect that I need to give myself more time to write the game, and that it would benefit from the sort of sandbox setting and player investment that comes from an extended campaign. Also, to get that investment, I need to write more. To all of which I agree completely. I myself was concerned about the game being linear- part of which comes from being a convention game.

She had another comment that took me by surprise, but which in retrospect makes sense: the UTGM games have been too focused on the past. It's been all about dealing with ancient wonders and threats, which overshadows the current age. Where, she wondered, were the new discoveries of the current cultures? What was going on in politics, art, and the like? They can't all be obsessed with the past, can they?

That's a valid concern. I confess I've been emphasizing "applied archaeology" both to emphasize some of the differences of the setting (being our far-future Earth), and because dealing with ancient artifacts, whether in a fetch and retrieve quest or a free-for-all McGuffin chase makes for a simple, obvious convention game. But she has a point- there is a lot that should be depicted as going on in the setting that has nothing to do with the past.

So my next project will be to do a list of some of the current events in the setting. That, and I need to get a map posted one of these days.

So does anyone have any additional comments, either on the game last Saturday, or in general?

Post from mobile portal m.livejournal.com

Current Mood: excited

The Risus game on Friday went surprisingly well, given how rusty I am as a GM. Honestly though, I shouldn't be surprised as I have as best a group of players as anyone could hope for. Of course now I face the problem that I have seven people wanting to play, and I seriously think I can only handle fgive players at the max. Maybe I should break the game into two nights a month?

I spent time into the small hours of the morning, writing up notes that I really can't show to the players without heavy editing, so here's some some random notes:

Joint character creation went fairly smoothly. Expanding the cliche set of Risus to encompass something more like the aspects of FATE went fairly smoothly, and the system is simple enough that character creation went fairly quickly.

In the game I mostly did simple difficulty tests- I could have had more challenges, to help people get used to the system. The final challenge between the sea monster and the players I had some trouble with, as it was initially too powerful, and even with the team-up rules I had to fudge and give bonus dice to the team leader for the people assisting. Well, I didn't HAVE to do that, but it was late, and people were eager to have it be over with.

I really should have suggested that people use inappropriate cliches, and possibly pumped their cliches.

For that matter, I think I also need to define more closely what people's cliche's are capable of. Getting short one-sentence descriptions of what the cliche is capable of should help.

On the other hand, I was thrilled by how a lot of the players really got into describing what they're characters were doing. That sort of enthusiasm is a balm to this old GM's 's withered heart.

For that matter, I really shouldn't be surprised when players do things I didn't expect them to do. It did stretch part of the game beyond what I thought it would dtake, and approached one of the problems from a completely different angle, but it's going to be interesting to see how they run with things.

How ARE they going to get rid of the sea monster before morning?

Overall verdict: success! Now I just have to prep for the next one!

Current Mood: calm

It must be too early in the morning. When I heard the Italian RPG Eoris mentioned, I didn't think "Final Fantasy style game", I thought maybe it was a game about depressed, or rather "have perspective on life" stuffed donkeys.

But of course not. Games today are all about the Final Dungeon this, or Dragons Fantasy that. It's only natural the donkey would get passed over in all the rush. So, I think I'll just go back to my breakfast of thistles.

...Pretty art though.

Current Mood: anxious

So, let's look at our schedule to set a time for the game. We have had at least one person say they can't stay late during the week, so it looks to me like a weekend may be the best time. This weekend is completely taken up, and the weekend after next is the day of the convention, so it looks like the best time would be Sunday, the 23rd.

That is, the Sunday after this Sunday, the 23rd.

If anyone wants in, right now we have tons of room. Likewise, if anyone has questions or comments, please let me know.

Now, I have a LOT to do.

Current Mood: busy

Here is a bit of background: the characters will all be citizens of the Young Empire, novice members of the Chamber of Unseen Diplomacy of the Ministry of External Affairs...in other words, they're spies. They are members of minor impoverished houses or commoner families, sent into the bureaucracy where merit may provide them with advancement. Unfortunately they are in a department where their deeds may never be acknowledged...if they're successful.

The assignment is actually fairly simple: The Greenwater province has recently broken away from the Old Empire, and it's status is unsettled; major portions of it are strongly resisting being integrated into the Young Empire, and there's been a continuous drain of men and material into the area. The ancient living enclave of Green Pyramid is ostensibly independent and neutral, but diplomatic relations have been severed with the Young Empire due to sympathy with the rebels. A representative of an influential house has approached you with a simple mission: a minor historical artifact was left behind by one of the official diplomats in the rush to evacuate. Now he wants you to go retrieve it from the old ambassador's quarters. The name of a contact has been given to you, all you have to do is go pick it up. And it will be an adventure to go see the fabulous coral and greenery enclave.

Permissible races:
Daemon: beautiful, graceful and equally adept in politics and magic, they dominate the Empire.
Feralin: strong, tough, and with animalistic features and sharp senses, they tend to be channeled into the military.
Veridian: green skinned and white haired, they are tough and very adaptable; one of the most common races.
Old Human: respected as much for their ancient past as their mental flexibility, they are a fading race.
Racca: Uplifted raccoons, are small, dexterous, and have a reputation as troublemakers.
Fliers: Short and highly distinctive with their arms turned into large wings, they can actually fly.
Orgrim: Large, very strong and tough, with calcinous plates in ther skin, they have a reputation for brutishness and stupidity that is not all that deserved.

Possible backgrounds:
Impoverished nobility
Ambitious merchant clan
Outsider's who's made it inside
Fostered into the bureaucracy
Civil service family
Spy for another faction

Jobs: can be combined as needed
Junior Diplomat (must have at least one of these)
intrusion expert
combat/bodyguard
magic specialist
Historian/cultural affairs specialist
Others: pilot/navigator, athlete, survival expert, etc.

System elements: mainly for academic interest at this point.

3rd or 4th level

The primary roles for True20 are:
Warrior: specialist in combat
Expert: specialist in skills
Adept: specialist in magic.

They can also be easily combined as needed.

True20 uses a damage save system instead of hit points: even the most expert warrior can be badly hurt if he's not wearing armor, and his opponent gets a good strike in. More details on character sheetsw.

Current Mood: hopeful

Congratulate me- I am on the schedule to run a game using the Under the Green Moon setting at Pacificon.

The game will be in the Sunday 11:30 slot, one I picked so that I'll have time to attend the evening LARPS I'm interested in. It's listed as running 7 hours, but I doubt it will go that long. Here is the proposal:

PR-400 Under the Green Moon: Box of Dreams, Box of Nightmares

by Eric Tolle, True20- minor variations, 7 hrs, 6 players, Game, Some gaming, Character and/or Armies Supplied

Under the Green Moon is a sword and sorcery setting set 30,000 years in Earth’s future. Over the eons, multiple waves of civilization have risen and vanished; leaving behind only ruins, and new breeds of humanity. Now, new empires are beginning their rise, and looking for any advantage over their rivals. In the independent enclave of Canyon Dust, an artifact of incalculable value has been found; a working Miracle Box from the ancient Great Builders. As multiple empires send agents to claim the Box and its unknown power for their own, tensions rise and old wrongs are brought to the fore. Will the Box be the spark that ignites a war? Or will it be the genesis of something even more horrific?

And that's it. Hope to see people I know there!

Current Mood: nervous

Well, I'm making a commitment to running a game. I'm applying fr a game slot at Pacificon for a game set in the Under the Green Moon world at Pacificon. I'm right now looking at a Sunday Afternoon slot, before the LARPS start. On the one hand I have my personal demon saying that I can't possibly do this welll at this stage n development, but on the other, I know I just really need a deadline to buckle down and work.

More details will be following, so watch this space!

Current Mood: contemplative

While looking for something else, I stumbled upon an article Gary Gygax did for a fantasy magazine, talking about his love for the works of Jack Vance, and the influences "The Dying Earth" series had on his game design work. This is a nice insight into the thought processes of a game designer.

It says a lot about early D&D, that Gary says admiringly that the trait that both thieves and mages need to survive in The Dying Earth is cunning, not boldness. Honestly, based on the Gygax written D&D adventures I've read, this cunning element on the part of players is really the most influential element that Gygax took from jack Vance, for all that the magic system is called Vancian. And this is why his adventures are called overly lethal by players used to just rushing in and killing anything that moves.

By implication, there's also a nice bit of advice for any game designer in this article. For influences, find something that is exciting on both an ntellectual and emotional level. Don't copy it directly, but let that excitement guide your writing.

Current Mood: lethargic

It's common for gamers, especially male gamers to be unclear on exactly what the combination of a given height and weight really looks like; how often have you seen a 5'8" 130 lb. woman described as "petite" in a character description? Standard height/weight charts don't really give an idea of what people of a given height and weight look like.

Enter the Photographic Height/Weight Chart, which uses pictures of real people in its categories. While it's far from perfect, it should be useful for someone who has an idea of what their character looks like, and from there they can figure out the weight.

Current Mood: drunk

After months of careful analysis and playtesting of D&D 4th edition, I have come to this conclusion about the game:

Eladrin are Dr. Strange.
Elves are the Goddamn Batman.

And that is all.

Now back to your regular Livejournal experience.

Current Mood: amused

While searching some old Usenet threads, I found this post I remembered from the from the old days, which gave an example of a game where the GM absolutely would not let the characters off the leash. It's stuck in my mind as a textbook definition of a railroaded game.

Courtesy of Michael Richter and rec.games.frp.misc: No winning, no detours, no escape, not even through death.

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roseembolism

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Page Summary

Actual Play: Golden Sky Stories, the Little Shrine in the Woods Part 4
Actual Play: Golden Sky Stories, the Little Shrine in the Woods Part 3
Actual Play: Golden Sky Stories, the Little Shrine in the Woods Part2
Golden Sky Stories: Mako and Lunch
Actual Play, Golden Sky Stories: The Little Shirne in the Forest
Oh wow.
The FATE rpg kickstarter
Trinity: such prescience, in a game no less!
(no subject)
Some comments on last Saturday's game
(no subject)
Not a review of Eoris, the RPG.
UTGM Pre-con game: when we are running it
UTGM pre-convention game: Background
Under the Green Moon at Pacificon: Box of Dreams, Box of Nightmares
Under the Green Moon at Pacificon.
Gygax on Vance
Game Tools: a different sort of height/weight chart.
The final word on D&D 4th edition:
(Gaming) the very definition of a railroaded game

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Erratica Reduex

Meanderings by a born dilettante

Entries tagged with rpg

Actual Play: Golden Sky Stories, the Little Shrine in the Woods Part 4

Actual Play: Golden Sky Stories, the Little Shrine in the Woods Part 3

Actual Play: Golden Sky Stories, the Little Shrine in the Woods Part2

Golden Sky Stories: Mako and Lunch

Actual Play, Golden Sky Stories: The Little Shirne in the Forest

Oh wow.

The FATE rpg kickstarter

Trinity: such prescience, in a game no less!

(no subject)

Some comments on last Saturday's game

(no subject)

Not a review of Eoris, the RPG.

UTGM Pre-con game: when we are running it

UTGM pre-convention game: Background

Under the Green Moon at Pacificon: Box of Dreams, Box of Nightmares

Under the Green Moon at Pacificon.

Gygax on Vance

Game Tools: a different sort of height/weight chart.

The final word on D&D 4th edition:

(Gaming) the very definition of a railroaded game