Heroic Fantasy 2nd Edition

Posted on December 20, 2022 by First Age

I have finished a first draft of Heroic Fantasy 2nd Edition, my High Fantasy Black Hack with many twiddles and doo dahs. Although recognisably the same game, it also has changes throughout for this new take. The dice ladder is now frequently used throughout for incrementing damage, starting on a weapon type base, and for recovery dice. More classes and kin with abilities and spells. I’ve also re-thought multi-attacks as characters go through the levels and dependant on Class.

I have the text being reviewed by a colaborator and an artist considering the 6×9 cover wrap. It’ll go into layout sometime in the New Year, giving me a chance to properly use Publisher 2.0.    

Of course, what I really need to do is give this light and fast play fantasy game some quick and real playtesting! I think a 4th Level action blast would stretch the system a little and see how the game plays out. The core rules are based on the familiar six stats with d20 rolls less than them to succeed, so it is all going to work, but I would like to see how the different classes feel in play and ensure that everyone feels relevant and useful in a range of situations.

To facilitate this, I have created a Playrole character sheet. It is quite a complete sheet, so that the full character can be wholly represented on Playrole. It will also be interesting to see how a complete character sheet works for the players.

So, next up is to put a scenario together and gather a crew. I think this should be fun and I’m excited to see how the game plays and to see where there are some improvements. 

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Infinity 2d20 – ‘Cost of Greed’ Setup

Posted on December 7, 2022 by First Age

We are about to embark on a short run of Infinity 2d20 on Role VTT. I’m like a moth to the crunchy flame of this game, conscious of about 40% of the rules that infinitely expand to every corner of the ALEPH Maya-sphere. Still, that 40% is a functioning core that we can get on with and enjoy.

Role with Infinity ready to go

I’m running the ‘Cost of Greed’ mini campaign, which should give a really good taste of the Human Sphere and the post scarcity, Maya connected, factional, setting. There’s a lot going on and the player characters will be right in the centre of it.

Character generation should start to shape who O12, the centrist and unifying government agency, have to add to their roster. They are busy and need agents right now. They’ll take anyone…

Online character generator

Maybe we will have some recorded elements on YouTube to show some of the mechanics in actual play? I hover over that on the FAE Channel:

Meanwhile, I have the actual planned campaigns to run, but that’s for another post and, by the look of it, another year! 

 

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Dragonbane Beta PDF

Posted on December 1, 2022 by First Age

I am really pleased to see that Free League, in amongst all their other commitments, have managed to get the Beta PDF of their Dragonbane RPG out to Backers slightly ahead of time. I have pre-burbled about this game which, for all its simplicity, may well capture a large chunk of my gaming from now on. The game is already scheduled in for our family Christmas slot, and it will feature at conventions and an online campaign in 2023. With Coriolis also slated next year, and Trudvang Chronicles, it is looking to be a Swedish bonanza.

The Beta is close to the finished game, which will be rounded out with a range of great single session adventures and supplementary accoutrements in the final relaease in Augusr 2023. At 112 neatly laid out pages, this game is a light and breezy romp of a high fantasy, blending the simplicity of Basic Roleplay with the engaging flourishes of Free League mechanics, we have a rocking core of a game in which to play out many an adventure.

There are expansions and slight ammendments to the Quickstart, that now fully bring the game to life, whilst remaining the cute game we were intially introduced to. So, we have a d20 roll equal to or less than your skill to succeed, with ‘Boons’ and Banes (advantage and disadvantage) serving as the only nmodifiers. A very short skill list and familiar Attributes give you an easy to manage range of areas to engage with the world. Both Kin and Professions provide defining, signature, Abilities that lift the character into interesting niches. Further Heroic Abilities, gained after increasing number of sessions of play, further empower the characters. I like that you get your first one as a reward after your first session.

We have a traditional based fantasy RPG, with low HPs, armour absorbs, random rolled weapon and spell

damage. Characters can be constructed or rolled randomly and quickly. They are fragile and will drop on two(is) undefended hits. Weeble like, they also get back up again quite quickly, with either a few CON based death saves or a helpful heal, or even getting motivatingly shouted at. Scars are collected as trophies and on to the next adventure.

A move and just the one action economy, with some Heroic Abilities opening up further actions. A card based initiative that, once dealt, can then be swapped to provide tactical options in the round. Adverseries are either PC alike in terms of abilities or are full blown ‘Monsters’ with a ‘Ferocity’ rating of number of actions, bristeling hit points and a random rolled attack, each of which say something about the monster itself.

Hit Points are familiar, and Willpower Points are used to power magic and the special abilities. Short and Long Rests (Stretch, 15 minutes, and Shift, 6 hours) recover a good random chunk or all of them, respectively. Recharge, crack on.

Three magic schools are presented that cover the basics with a basic but nicely curated selection of spells. Spells are rated in a number of ascending ranks, with some prerequisites as the ranks rise. Each spell also has three levels of power, with increased effects as more Willpower points are blown. As with each area of the game, you can see where the modular supplements will fit. More magic schools and more spells to follow I think. More Heroic Abilities, more Kin, more…

Monsters! Well, we get the stalwarts, who doubtless petitioned strongly to be squeezed into the roster so that they could be an early part of the game. Dragons, of course, along with orcish footsoldiers, wiley goblins, skeles, spiders and some more. Yes, there will be a metric ton of more, doubtless also sprinkled in the adventures that have already been promised.

The game is certainly beginner friendly and good bouncy fun. Everything is setup for quick play, with mechanical effects lightly applied through player choices. For those who want to say that that is where the game’s utility starts and ends, I say ‘phooey’. Yes the framework is light and highly extensible, but there is plenty here for a rich and lengthy campaign, playing at full action tilt. You aren’t going to get the depth of options that are found in the modern D&Ds, if anything this game is a callback to the more Basic editions and, of course, the originating Magic World of olde. I find myself wanting this fresh, deceptively simple approach. I can also see Swedish hardcore wanting to keep their current Drakar och Demoner game if that’s where you are coming from.

I’m excited by the reminiscent joyful brevity of the game, enriched by the Free League focus that has honed it into a mechanically modern feeling experience. The process of finding the campaign world in which to set it has already begun. All the high fantasy ones out there would accommodate this lovely game just fine.

Let’s play!

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Game Planning 2023 – Captain’s Log Supplemental #2

Posted on November 23, 2022 by First Age

It looks as though I will have an opportunity to sneak in a little Infinity 2d20 for a few slots before the year is out. This wasn’t part of the plan, but we are looking to mix it up a bit with alternating fortnightly play, and I thought a nice contrast to Pathfinder 2e would be some space operatic factional cyberpunk. There might be some space in the game for ‘new’ players to mix in with the Thursday nighters.

Infinity is at the very crunchiest end of the 2d20 spectrum, an early incarnation of the system before they lightened it up with newer entrants such as Homeworld (another I’d like to get to the table). The game has had seven years of continuous books, squeezing the setting juices for a deep and conflict laden future that has an Altered Carbon edge to its pervasive AR, alien infiltrating, fragmented core. There’s a lot to take in! 

In fact its depths and the jagged edges of the crunchy system have always slightly unnerved me. The game might be a tingler, but I’m going to say a wary one. I have only ever run it at North Star convention for one shot play. Why do I do this to myself? Get a crunchy system and inflict it on innocent convention friends in the tightest of session formats? Honestly… And yet, to a sufficient extent, I have bossed the system into compliance and delivered some fun games with it. 

Online PC generator. Click image to explore…

Sometimes it is worth just going for it, and not worrying too much about the details. I have at least three printed camopaigns of material already, so diving in with some of that is the way to go. It further helps that Infinity has a lot of online support. The online character builder takes a lot of the complexity away whilst providing a guided journey through the lovely lifepath system A character is probably ab out 20 minutes away, with an exported PDF character sheet as a usable momento.

I’m one of those that enjoys the prep side as a sub game within the game. Online play has given me lots to play with as I use VTTs to deliver the game. If I’m going to put in the effort to create the resources for a game then I certainly want to see them used! Conan was a recent example wheer I put in a lot of effort with ahnd acrved assets on Foundry, only for the game to struggle with attendance. I need to get that played at some point. Infinity could be similar, and retired or no, I need to be careful to balance the effort on game prep and the value to the game itself.
Unlike Conan, Infinity has no support in Foundry. My default is then to look at Role VTT, a free, intuitive,  and ‘people first’ VTT, with point and click tools for you to create your own game sheets and share them. With some head scratching I have managed to create a small PC sheet on Foundry for the similarly unsupported Trudvang Chronicles, and hope to run the game on there in 2023. As it happens, I had already created a couple of Infinity sheets on Role, so it seemed like the best place to run it. 

The beginnings of the Infinity 2d20 Setup on Role VTT 
The lack of an integrated system on Role lightens the prep time. PCs and NPCs are mostly recorded off Role itself, with dice rolls and consumable resources initiated and recorded on the character sheet. More Role developments are incoming soon for the dice roller, which I’m hoping will include custom dice, useful for 2d20 games. Modiphius are already partnering with Role as a supported VTT where their content can be purchased and played. Dune, Fallout, Homeworld and Star Trek have received offical support, though I’m not expecting Infinity to get anything at this late stage in its published life cycle. I don’t really need anything anyway, though having someone else create maps, images and tokens would be sweet!  

Role also makes it super easy to publish a streamed game, with OBS doing the heavy lifting. Your OBS scene pretty much just has to have a Window Capture’ of the Role session browser tab, with some sound configured. Anything else is trimmings. I’m not a stream watcher (Glass Cannon Network are an exception and are awesome), or a stream content producer. I had a bit of a go, and was technically proved, but overall didn’t really work out. I’d like to showcase both Role and Infinity, so maybe, just maybe, I’ll find a group who would be happy to give that a go.

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Role VTT Update

Posted on November 21, 2022 by First Age

 I kind of appreciate that D&D4e is perhaps not the ideal game for Role VTT right now, particularly as I happen to play it tactically with a lot of map and tokens. We’ve been playing this game  on Role for just shy of two years, so have seen in a lot of the changes. Most of the updates have had limited impact on our play experience, so I’m looking forward to see where the tactical map side goes in this ‘theatre of the mind’ friendly VTT.

D&D4e Stonefang Pass Battle with my group

Overall, Role has supported our game really well. After quite a bit of effort I gave up on representing the full characters using my developed sheets, with PC development happening off Role but with shared dice rolls used and shared in the VTT. I think a more condensed display, pop out, and some other features might have kept everything in Role. Instead we make use of a few lighter supporting sheets to support initiative and dice rolls. With some glitches here and there, it has been great to have a stable video conference connection throughout our play over the two years. 

I’m looking forward to running more games in Role and to see how the platform develops throughout 2023. Homeworld 2d20 has ready assets on Role and other lighter games Two of my longer form games for 2023 will use Foundry VTT to squeeze some juice out of my hosting subscriptions that I have with Forge and Livekit on the Tavern. Coriolis has a good system on Foundry and premium assets ready to go. Trudvang could happen on either VTT as there is no system on Foundry. As it happens, I have created a small support sheet on Foundry, which will do most of the dice rolling, and manages the ‘Open Roll’ exploding, which Role does not. 

So, a thank you to Role for being there and supporting the biggest game of my life. Foundry will also feature as the gaming plans continue for 2023.

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Short Review – Ships of the Human Sphere – Infinity 2d20

Posted on November 19, 2022 by First Age

The Ships of the Human Sphere is a 190+ page book and shipyard of military and civilian ships of the Infinity Universe. The format runs through the different size classes of vessel from the huge Class 5 behemoths to light auxiliaries and fighters. (There’s a Class 9 in there, but I’m not telling you what it is…). Each ship has some descriptive flavour text and a stat block, with adventure seeds laced throughout in sidebars. You don’t get any floorplans, or an image of every ship, but lots of ready to use information to plug into your game.

The Human Sphere also delivers us the alien ships of the Combined Army, ready cut for some terrifying deep space engagements. On which topic, the book is much more than a catalogue, providing rich chapters to take combat to a fleet level, with ‘Conquering the Stars’ and ‘Interstellar Engagements’. Some material is a repeat from faction and Gamesmater Guide books, so a little redundancy if you have a wide range of the material already. I’m OK with this, as we get a lot of what we need under the cover of this book, useful anyway, but also not presupposing ownership of other titles.

The Factions get some individual space to note their approach to ships and how they are operated, with the Nomads given some more room as is right. Some of this may be copied from the Faction books as above, but I like that this is in here.

There’s a touch of the gearhead in the ‘Options and Upgrades’ chapter as you get out your hyper spanner and start bolting on optional components onto the standard designs, changing their capabilities and potential on the way. (This is a copy of the Gamesmaster Guide). Build your Q Ship now!

We also drop to the character level with ‘Extraplanetary Gear’, a catalogue of spacefarer equipment kitting out your vac Suit with mods, helpful rescue drones, drugs, armour, shielding, corsair favoured heavy pistols, smart lungs and goodness knows what else.

This book has come a little later in the Infinity production cycle, which probably tells you something about how essential it is. Although you probably already have what you need to represent the system capable and wormhole travelling ships of the infinity game, the information within is really useful, coalescing into a handy title, lots of new sections, and a shipyard of designs to throw out there, all of which you can quickly mod to make your own.

I’m glad I have this book, which is what i think of all the titles from the Infniity line. It’s easy for me though, as I am a 2015 ‘give me all books’ backer, so they just flow to me in a grand procession, every bit as impressive as the giant Circulars that carry so many ships through the Worm Holes. For the Infinity completist, but well worth it, especially if you are spending some Momentum out in the cold of space.

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Game Planning 2023 – Captain’s Log Supplemental #1

Posted on November 13, 2022 by First Age

With the release of the final part to the Coriolis Mercy of the Icons campaign, I am throwing this into my GMing mix for 2023. I started to run Coriolis with a group of close gaming buddies on Roll20, which in and of itself really dates it! (2019?)

The game floundered, despite the strength of the material. It feels like unfinished business, possibly that the sensible GM might just leave well alone. I want to make amends, as I feel the flounder must be due to my GMing, and I’d really like to guide the experience of the full cycle of this three act space opera epic.

I have been in awe of my mate Dom’s documentation for his 5e Curse of Strahd campaign. As we have rogressed he has provided sumptuous information and full session write-ups. Could I emulate? I may try.

Running this will also give me an opportunity to get some proper use out of Foundry VTT (on ), for which I am paying a regular sum for Forge Hosting and the managed LiveKit instance for solid AV. Foundry have the core rule book as premium content, providing:

  • 462 Items (armor, gear, talents, weapons, injuries, ship features, ship modules, ship problems, etc)
  • 126 Journal entries (full core rules and some example scenarios)
  • 67 Actors (Beasts, djinni, NPCs, ships)
  • 36 Rollable tables (critical injuries, failure tables, encounters, faction names, mission and system generators, travel events etc)
  • 10 Scenes (maps, locations, and player handouts)
  • Coriolis soundtrack playlist (7 tracks)

That’s an eye-watering array of assets to be used with the Coriolis character sheet system on Foundry. The first of the three campaign books is also available pre-loaded with lots of campaign assets, so I would get off to a flyer in terms of content. I have asked Free League if they plan to add the other two books into Foundry too. If not, well, I have some scraping and preparing to do. That’s OK.

I plan to restart from the beginning and just run through it. My original players would be welcome to sign up, though memories may jog at the first block of sessions.

This will be a major commitment. If the cadance was weekly I would give a first estimate of 50-60 sessions. I think I might be up for it.

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Trudvang @ Grogmeet

Posted on November 13, 2022 by First Age

I had a great time at Grogmeet22, a convention that I managed to do in a day, thanks to the central Manchester location and foregoing some of the other shenanigans that made for a yet fuller weekend experience. It has long been on my list to attend and was everything I could have hoped for. A short time with the tribe, good company and good games, with some top chat and socialising in the evening.

Matthew Broome’s medieval mystery took me back to my play of Ars Magica 2nd Edition, a game that I enjoyed so much back in the distant past. I was fortunate to play in such a strong group, where we gelled and laughed and bounced off each others characters from Magi to Companion to Grog throughout. The blended play, across three power levels of characters, was seamless, in good part to Matthew’s GMing, and we all had spotlight time to make our mark on the outcome. A fine game, and has had me scurrying to the big and over-stuffed store cupboard, to see if I can find my copy of the game. I fear it may have left my tenure. 

Trudvang at Grogmeet

I was very glad to get Trudvang Chronicles to the table once again, perhaps slaying some demons as to how complex or difficult it is to play. My only real concession was to Body Point recovery, as I wanted the characters to continue despite their wounds. Troll mauls will do that to you.

Although the game is playable RAW, I might be tempted to restrict the skill list at the Discipline level. With specialities in play there are so many skills that there are yawning gaps and a sense that you really have to specialise to get any good at something. Maybe that’s OK, maybe I didn’t build the characters especially optimally?
Still, Trudvang remains on my ‘must play more’ list for 2023.

Trains were running on time, which helped, and the walk from Manchester Picadilly to Fan Boy 3 was no more than a laden eight minutes. A lift back provided by Tom, a fellow Grog from Sheffield, added a pleasant and timely return with added game chat!

I often worry about my introverted self, solidified a little by pandemic, and how I come across. I can tend to be a hoverer and a listener, rather than a charismatic deliverer, and wouldn’t want to be thought of as aloof or distant. I’m there, in my own way. The lovely time I had socialising with such tremendous folk has persuaded me to practice more!

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Returning to Trudvang Chronicles

Posted on November 7, 2022 by First Age

 I’ve run Trudvang Chronicles at a couple of conventions now, which doesn’t yet make me especially accomplished with the system, but perhaps has given me enough to understand its quirks. The intricacies of the ‘combat capacity’ system really needs to have a short campaign in which the flexible choices have room to breathe for the players. Although not too difficult, the combat system  is quirky and complex enough that it’s probably a bit much for a one off.

I’m looking forward to running it again at Grogmeet, where I hope that my growing familiarity with the system will incrementally make the session run that bit smoother.

The Player Characters

 

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Ravenstor Holiday

Posted on October 30, 2022 by First Age

For just a few nights I managed to get away with my three grown up kids, disappearing into the nearby Peaks to Ravenstor YHA for some chill, game playing and hiking. It is rare that we all get together for any significant stretch of time, so this was quite a treat!

Here are some pictures that tell our story. We also played a great game of Mysterium on our third night, where our ghostly victim, Erin, expertly guided us boys to the right murderer.

Day 1 to Tideswell and exploring the kitchen

Day 2 – a walk along the Monsal Trail out to Hassop and back. Refreshments! 

Day 2 Eve – a riotous game of Dragonbane. Awesome!

Day 3 – Earl Sterndale to Park House Hill and Chrome Hill. I loved the challenge. Cam bought a book! 

Day 4 – Wetton and Thor’s Cave. Goblins!

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