SF Splurge

With the Infinity RPG lumbering, slightly embarrassed out of a lengthy Kickstarter campaign, there is a prospect that some actual books, digital and physical, will start to emerge over the next couple of months. Modiphius remain in approval quagmire, slowing the progress of the long list of titles, all of which I will be getting into my grubby hands.

I’ve had a quick flick of the core book PDF. There’s a great game in there if I can get my head around the 500+ pages, which don’t include starships, their combat, and only a brief vehicle section. The GM Guide, stuck in ‘Wave 2’ contains this information. One year…

Whilst the enormity of this continues to flounder, I got sucked into the Kickstarter of the oldest and my best RPG: Traveller. Most oft played and much treasured, the Great Rift Kickstarter afforded me an opportunity to properly pick up all the Mongoose publishing 2nd Edition corebooks, along with the advertised campaign. In the end, I couldn’t (decided not to) resist.

The old demons returned, of course. What will I actually run? Will Infinity ever actually get onto the table?  Though now familiar with the 2d20 system, and it plays much better than it looks, the weight, size, and unfamiliarity with the setting means that I have some considerable investment to get a good game going out of it. It feels like a Longcon, or maybe next year’s Stagcon (more on that in a later post). Traveller however, well I just pick up where I left off and start to play.

Though now only able to move with SF possibilities with a gravity assisting suspension belt, I had to have one further ‘wafer thin’ RPG to round off the most recent glut. Sixty Mile Sky is one of those that you won’t have heard of. Small independent publisher putting out his much loved project. I wanted to support, not least because the prospect of a 200 page 6×9 format book put me in mind of the sort of games that, perhaps, I can really get hold of. The monsters that are rumbling out of the mainstream publishing houses are just that.

So, Sixty Mile Sky is:

 Mechanically inspired by games like Dungeon World, Blades in the Dark, and Dungeons & Dragons, Sixty Mile Sky is a d10 based game, where classes are equipped with moves to help guide the story and create dynamic answers to conflicts.

It’s altogether possible that I could just run this Mecha and Mages game. $13 for the PDF as the POD is being shipped from the States and costs $18. Ugh. I don’t really know what I’m getting, despite the preview, so this is a fun one that might just make some convention play.

And since I last posted, I’ve set up another gaming convention, because that is what I do. With a nod to my mate Dom and now also Elaine, the terrible trio will provide a space for gamers to get together and have a really great time. This one is called North Star, and will be for SF RPGs. I have plenty to go at (Coriolis, Fading Suns, 2300AD, FAITH and more) before we account for the ones outlined here that are coming.

The Veil, Impulse Drive, Farflung and Uncharted Worlds all just glower at me balefully. At least one of them will find expression at Revelation.

It’s a glut, but I’m happy with them.

Let’s not talk about the fantasy RPGs also coming my way? That can be another post too.

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Roll20 Shenanigans

I have a tottering RPG game pile. I’m not wanting to compare how prodigious my stack is with yours, but it is safe to say that I now have more games than I have gameplay left in the time allotted to me. Even intense post-retirement gaming would not consume the depth and variety in the library; a library that will continue to grow in the intervening years.

My two main opportunities to get games out from the stack are my Thursday regular face-to-face group and the numerous conventions that I organise and attend. The conventions give me a chance to run out some favourites and experiment with some new ones. My home group has a clutch of excellent GMs who bring their own stack to the table, in rotation. Different games work with different groups and it is safe to say that many of the games I have frothingly described to one or two of the Thursday nighters have been greeted with a sort of slumped ‘meh’; not their thing.

So, rather than leave these enthused lovelies on the shelf, I have needed to find another outlet for gaming. Hangouts has been a staple of the past few years, widening my circle to gaming chums from across the land. Sound has never been that great for us and Google have now closed the API for dice fripperies, so the shine has gone off it.

I’ve put together a Heroic Fantasy game set in Frog God Games’ Northlands Saga setting. All kinds of awesome, with three great players to create some stories with. L’d never have got this past some of the Thursday nighters. I’ve elected to try out Roll20 as the virtual place for us to play in.

Even after our first try out I’m very impressed with the possibilities. I have a free account for now, but will need to subscribe if I’m to stick with it as you quickly use up the free storage limits with the digital fripperies. I’m using maps, handouts and music mostly. I love the music feature, it’s great to use it for those atmospheric moments. The handouts are great and easy to share. I need to get the hang of the dice roller, though you can just click if you don’t need to store or calculate results.

We had some glitches with home technology. One player couldn’t get video working, but sound was fine. Another was running an old 2GB chromebook, which definitely wasn’t up tot he job, so switched to his Mac and all was well. I accidentally pressed the mute button on my headset microphone; oh how pedestrian!

All things considered I’m happy to subscribe and open up a new channel for gaming. Over time I’d like to branch out and speculatively recruit or play in games over the medium.

Smashing.

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UK Games Expo 2017

Here’s a quick roundup of my adventures at UK Games Expo 2017.

Friday

There felt like a long preamble before they allowed us all in at 11:00. A Spoons breakfast with the D101 boys set me up very nicely

Once unleashed there was some excellent shopping to be had and some memorable sights. The hall is big and very full this year, with lots going on. I succumbed to Mythic Rome, SF adventure, two sets of Q Workshop dice and a £5 copy of Gods of the Fall for some epic Cypher fantasy. A great haul that has been sequestered away in the boot of the car, so that I can schmooze without being too laden. I’ve bagged a real ale and sitting in the comfort of the Hilton Lobby amongst a large swathe of terribly nice older people typing away on my Asus Flip.

They only provide free wifi for guests, so connecting via my phone.

Conan 2d20 followed, which is timely as the new edition is being posted out by Modiphius as I type. I’m half expecting there to be a slip through the door when I get back to Sheffield. The game ran very smoothly indeed and plays well despite the slightly disconcerting clunk of the rules.

I ran a game of Symbaroum in the evening, which seemed to go well.

Despite parking in the East car park I lugged over a huge array of bling and banner to provide some visuals. It was to be my undoing later on in the evening as I had a long sodden walk back to car amongst screaming Take That goers as the heavens drown me and my Symbaroum box, banner and game. Trapped in the car park for half an hour watching the cars subside. Wet.

Saturday
I brought in a fellow lodger at my Air BnB this morning. He was to compete in a Star Wars Descent card game championship. It was nice to have some company and we shared some laughs before going our separate ways.
Cypher and the Ninth World always deliver a good game. After being guided to an overflow table I found myself with a nice group of players and we had a good game in the 10: tp 14:00 slot. I really do enjoy the simplicity of Cypher and the Ninth World is full of the unexpected and weird. I must run some more. Bagging a pristine copy of Gods of the Fall for a fiver has increased my chances of doing so and has opened me up to high powered heroic fantasy using the ‘Shift’ power up for the system.
The Adeliane concert in the evening was quite lovely. Strings and piano and a singer, ‘Clarisse‘, provided a break from games but transported me away for a while nevertheless. It was a comparatively early night for a con weekend and as good as Gods of the Fall looked to be, this gaming god was quickly falling asleep.
Sunday
A rapid exit from the comfy AirBnB to get over to the NEC for breakfast and a spot of genteel typing before the halls opened. I’ve really enjoyed exploring the many delights of the voluminous NEC Hall 1 this year. Much treasure. This visit allowed me to meet the Shadows of Esteren team and say thank you for the concert and to pick up a copy of the singer’s CD. I also had a great follow-up chat with the prolific and talented Sarah Newton. We talked of her many projects and the prospect of many exciting books to come. I was intrigued by her research on the way the North was not Anglo Saxon and had linguistic links to where she lives in Normandy. You always learn something when talking to Sarah!
Schmooze in the hall finished with a yomp round with Pete, whose lightning strike on the stalls, put me to shame. I resisted the leather bound Cypher system rulebook, though at £75 it proved easy. Unlike an unpunched copy of SPI’s War of the Ring. I have a copy, so it would have been daft. Ah, but it gave me a warm glow to see it there.
And then off to the riotous conclusion: Julian Hayley’s smutty Penis & Sorcery degeneration, thanks in no ‘small part’ to Remi, Elina and Nick. Prior to play I rushed back to the trade hall to get myself a copy of Crypts and Things from the illustrious Newt of D101. I provided some rules support, but proved unnecessary really as the game descended into Peopolis. The two other players were extremely game for the craziness, so all good 
Great to see so many friends and put some flesh to digital content. Cheers everyone, see you next time.
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Cypher Jorune

I’m in midst preparation for UK Games Expo, which lands next weekend. It’s always a lot of fun getting your games together, not least because, often, I find that I am re-exploring and re-discovering games systems and settings that have languished on my shelves through time and weight of competing numbers. This time around has been no different.

My re-discovery? Numenera.

Numenera is one of my ‘go to’ games for conventions which, given the frequency of conventions and clawing demand from alternatives, means that I get to run the game a couple of times per year at most. Re-reading the game has been a delight, remembering the lightness of system, its ubiquitous potential, the gorgeous art, and the potential for the setting.

Also, by extension I have set off on a winding journey through recent developments of the Cypher System, as ever inspired by Pete Atkinson and Paul Baldowski, who bring the system to conventions with apparently effortless inventiveness. I’m also aware that Pete Griffith has a bubbling Shotgun & Sorcery game available for a future slot, which I’d be really keen to play.

Pete G asked me what setting I would like to see for Cypher and, after some meandering, I realised that it would be Jorune.

I’m certainly not the first to think of this. Fred Lang had been working on just such a conversion. Sadly, Fred has hit sufficient design roadblocks that he has decided to call it a day and is supporting Ian Kaufman’s JoRuneQuest2 development. All good, but confess I’m disappointed that Fred will no longer be doing all the hard work for me! Still, that just mean I have a project on my hands, when I can find the time. Yes, I know, I could Wordplay it, but you know…

I think this could easily start as a light touch conversion that, with some Isho manipulation, would become a Furnace 2017 game. I’d get Cypher out onto the table and the Jorune setting in play. Must find some mini crystals for XP awards!

In my renewed bubbling excitement for Cypher, I’ve been looking at what DrivethruRPG has to offer. I’ve picked up Mortal Fantasy, a nice spin on traditional fantasy, weaving and mixing Cypher for a traditional RPG fantasy spin. It’s mixing and matching with a shed load of ideas. Love it.

I may continue to think that Cyphers are superfluous to the Cypher system, subtle or otherwise, but I think it is a neat system with much to commend it. I’m looking forward to running it in one setting or another.

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Characters for Dramaguhl

I’ve been writing again, which I had hoped would happen whilst I was on holiday this week. I’ve missed getting words down and the move away from the intensity of work has freed me up a little. Mostly I’ve been writing up factions for the Dramaguhl setting for our Wordplay 2.0 book to be released later this year. It really is true that you just need to get started and regularly pick up the keyboard.

My writing partner, the prolific Dr Mitch, has put together some great characters for our joint game at Seven Hills. I’ve wheeled out Page Plus 9X and given them a bit of a polish.

One of our characters for Seven Hills

Here’s a bit of text that i wrote last night on the Order of the Judiciary…

The Order of the Judiciary
The judges of Dramaguhl judiciously maintain their independence from the nobility, guilds and other factions that vie for power in the city. It is vital for their impartial role of deciding the outcome of key legal cases to be independent of all and any factions. As such, many that hold this high office must work very hard to ensure that additional favours, payments or eye watering extortion are carefully shielded from public knowledge.

The Order of the Judiciary dates back to a time when the city grew to a size and complexity that required a new professional class to manage the disputes between citizens on behalf of the anointed rulers. After a rocky early period The Judiciary cemented their power and grew in importance over the centuries until they became, apparently, unassailable, dispensing the full power of encrusted law to defendants of both low and high status. And yet their vulnerabilities are all too evident for those that know, built as they are on the frailty of the human condition. Hemmed in by powerful nobles, vengeful guilds, money, warriors and insidious magic, they tread a fine line to preserve their own power and that of their order.

All that is apart from the Independent Judges. Officially sanctioned by the Order and closely associated with the militia, the independents are complete judge, jury and executioner. When a case endangers the Order, or there is evidence that the machinations of individual judges compromise the higher purpose of law, the Independent Judges are unleashed to dispense sanctioned, and often fatal justice. Many see these judges as a constructed sanction, providing the order with a physical response to intimidation. The Independents themselves are part legal expert and part warrior, operating to an ethical code and a fierce observance of the law; at least as they see it.

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Insomnia #60

Set off excitement

Me and Cam had a great day out at Insomnia 60 yesterday. Much excitement a we set off on our adventure to the NEC. A smooth, Easter Sunday, journey down in the Qashqai, with little traffic, some nice chat and a pleasure to purr along in the new motor. I’d wondered about a train, but Cam was really looking forward to a car journey down with me, so that is what we did.

We arrived in good time and the queuing into the parking areas was not at all bad.

The Queue

Here we are in the queue waiting to get in for the 10:30 opening time. It looks pretty horrendous, but actually we were quickly on our way and swallowed by the huge venue.

Early on we got to play some pre-release Nintendo Switch games. I was surprisingly good at ‘Arms’ which was a boxing dueling game. Mystifying really, as Cam drubs me at anything digital.

To cap the visit off Cam plucked up courage to go to the ‘Meet & Greet’ area to say “hello” to one of his YouTube heroes: 8 Bit Ryan. Cam was really confident and got to have a chat with Ryan, swapping gaming stories. We got some signatures and a nice photo. The guys were real gents and Cam was super chuffed. A great end to a lovely day. The journey home was just as smooth.
Cam with 8 Bit Ryan
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Spreading the Word

Nice that the Revelation gaming convention made Tabletop Gaming magazine this issue. Great to put these events on and also to promote the hobby and the enthusiasm.

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A Storm Eternal

I’m running a game of ‘A Storm Eternal’ at Seven Hills in a couple of weeks. I plan to allow the players to provide the portentous underpinning of our saga. I wrote some playbook introduction text for each of the 5 archetypes, and here they are…

Herald of the Ancients
Seeing the world through the sight of the Ancients, you see into the soul and inflame them to great

Custom decks for ‘when they ‘Resort to the sword

passion. As the Ancients seem to be close when you are present, so you have loyal followers that wonder at the disquieting power that you wield. You will speak of the end of times and your word will carry weight in the council chamber of rulers.

Outlaw Heir
The blood of nobles runs through your veins, and yet fate has dealt a blow to your family and their prosperity. Your hearth and home has fallen and you are fated to wander and, perhaps, return to power. You have much to do to reclaim what is lost and avenge the usurpers.

Slayer
You are held in awe by the people; whispered stories of your exploits against the abominations, the demons and monsters that roam the realm. Your armoury is made up of relics and items of power that you have gained in your quests and pulled from the treasure troves of lost hoards and slain monsters.

War-herald
The ultimate warrior, imbued with the ferocity of the gods, nothing can stand in your way. Your natural charisma draws the very best out of warriors and creates moments when the few can stand and defeat the many. Your warband will stand with you as the storm gathers and the end comes.

Wicker-wise
The power of ancient magic runs through you. The lost rites and ceremonies of the Ancients are known to you, and you bring them to life once again as in the ages of old. From your shrine you reflect on the burden of your gift and the tightening weave of the skeins as the age draws to an end.

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Numenera

I dip in and out of Numenera and have used it frequently as a convention game which it is well suited for. A simple system with some avoidable gotchas that let me narrate and go with the flow as I only had to remember 1-10 ratings of anything I cared to throw in the way. I remember first running the system and feeling liberated. Simple systems work for me and though Cypher has D&D crud in it to entice in a demographic, it remains a fun system to flow things quickly forward (I’d be tempted to Ninth World PbtA it).

Cyphers just about make sense in the original Numenera setting, but are a stretch elsewhere. Some of the
alternative approaches to providing an extra oomph work very well, and better than one shot gonzos. I like the ‘Aspect’ nature of ‘collected inspiration; applied at just the right moment and other playful and ‘subtle’ extensions to the core system. So, taking the apparently integral Cyphers out of the Cypher system and I’m pretty happy with it.

Every time I sat down to consider offering a campaign I started to construct my own 8 epochs, desiring to have the depth that the players could contribute to in play. But instead i found with the supplementary books and especially the third party visions I had compelling situations and settings that drew out very human stories that I could tuck into without needing to obsess about the ‘real’ story of the Nine Worlds. in my Numenera it would be much more about creating a new world to live in that made sense to the characters and the peoples around them than unpicking and understanding the historical context of the Flabgasteronical machinery that litters their path.

But you know? I haven’t run a campaign, and I’m not sure that I will be able to successfully pitch it to my group. The system isn’t felt to be deep enough to some (I can’t really get PbtA or Fate past a couple of them either) and the weird characters in a post apocalyptic science fantasy malaise possibly doesn’t float their boat. I’d like to give it a crack at a LongCon, but for now I’ll be running one at UK Games Expo quite soon.

Actually I’d love Numenera a lot more if they offered Print and complementary PDF as with my other favourites, but that is the subject of another post.

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We Will Move

Time to move. My house has been a great home for just over five years but it is time to head for the next place as Carmel and Megan plan to move in with me, Cam and Erin.

For now, it is the gouging of the house and the cleaning and the decluttering. Behold the mighty Skip of Expiration. Tomorrow I see if my garden can fill it. Tip runs for old and dead electronics and a charity shop drop for some bits and bats. I think I squirrel away everything else in the attic.

House viewings are already uncovering interesting options. We already have a favourite, but they go quickly and bid up. At least that means that I have a good chance of selling mine.

First question as i check the layout is: where do the books go? Where’s the gaming table? Carmel eyes up any available outbuildings…

More on this adventure to come!

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