Skyrim and the horizon

On Saturday Dylan at Digital Orc wrote that he hasn't been playing video games much lately, and compared movies, roleplaying and novels as media, while Stuart Lloyd wrote about an old ST game called Mystic Well, a simple example of a digital dungeon crawl.

Coincidentally, on the same day I also watched some videos of a player running through stretches of Skyrim with a good knowledge of the earlier Elder Scrolls games. He had a thoughtful approach to the morality of the sides in what's still a very modern insurrection, and took the time to edit and polish the series in line with the general tone of the game.

Skyrim seems to encourage this kind of thinking. In Mystic Well historical terms, it feels like a Lure of the Temptress meets a Frontier: Elite 2 for depth and scope, with few easy answers. Although Jim joins the Empire out of pragmatism - and an odd lack of dialogue options - he's not entirely happy, and hopes there could one day be a return of religious tolerance, but presumably doesn't expect so subtle an approach will be accommodated.

But when he's there as the leader of the uprising is executed, an incautious comment by another character suggests there is hope, as if the designers did think it all through. The game seems happy for a player to take no side, and an armistice can be negotiated too.

This and the overall complexity, from politics through terrain, weather and encounters to picking flowers and even tasting bees, makes me think any options missing in the game might be not so much limits of thought or technology, just space for a future instalment.

Where am I going with this? As in Skyrim, it may be near incidental, but there is a point.

Appendix OSR (2)

I've been reading The Secret History of Star Wars on a now mysterious Marcia Lucas and thinking.

Thinking it's another good text for that reading list.

Thinking we may think we create, and do, but not so much as we might like to think we do. We can hold worlds in our heads (with art or miniatures to help maybe, and numbers etc.), but mostly these are variations on this world even when they're not.

And how well do we actually know this one..? Or each other's version? Do we even know our own?

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Grand passion, rage and fear

James S strikes again with another thoughtful contribution to a past post, this time the GW-IP-Chaos post with a sublime summary of the state of fantasy and science fiction.

He also has a new post in the Unseen Influences series, going beyond 40K into D&D.

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Nor the battle to the strong (2)

Back before 40K was officially cinematic again, I had a discussion with Big Jim - who's just posted the latest update to Killzone, for sixth edition - on the subject of a kind of automatic GM to get more unusual events into games without needing an extra person.

I posted the first three cards for a deck to do this, but for wargaming in general rather than just 40K, possibly also tactical roleplaying. The idea is that the cards interact with and modify various game elements, to set up chains of events. With the first trio - Spill, Spark and Plume - flammability could be added to the table and elements set smoking.

Below are four more - Flaw, Gust, Lapse and Agent - adding new interactions involving smoke, as well as disorientation and the possibility a unit can be seen as compromised.

A general approach to using them is given in the original post. Now there are more, it's worth mentioning the deck can be modified to suggest certain situations, by removing cards or using multiples. For example, more Gusts or Sparks could suggest a storm.

40K OSR? (20)

It's been a while since the last fuller 40K OSR? post, even if the list of Epic-related links came close. Maybe it's the summer, or maybe sixth?

But what is an OSR anyway? A good question.

If you think you might be a part of it, feel free to use Colonel Kane's logo, here to the right. If you do, consider giving him credit and putting Tales from the Maelstrom in your blogroll. They have 1, 2 reports up since last time and more minis.

So here we go, with some fine fusion this time...

• Relic at Lead Space is mixing Rogue Trader - that's first edition 40K - with the Lovecraftian skirmish game Strange Aeons and playing at 15mm scale with classic factions: a genestealer cult and Squats. And he's using 6mm Epic models to play skirmish games, with some good-looking marines here.

• Von is getting into Epic and has some first impressions at GAME OVER...

• ... and something could be up because two other bloggers recently posted about starting too, MANGAMAX here at 2000 AD and Closet Gamer here...

• ... and Zac posted a report from an Epic tournament with a lot of pictures, and a little further back also played another game using second edition.
  

• FrDave at Blood of Prokopius has gone from the idea of using Rogue Trader - the RPG this time - to explore Christianity in M41, to planning a campaign set around Black Reach using Stars Without Number and D&D categories for 40K factions - with some abhumans up already - onto detailing Black Reach, with 1, 2, 3 posts up so far on mapping a hive like a megadungeon.

• James S at Warp Signal has even more examples of custom background.
  

• Dallas at Fawcett Avenue Conscripts has been posting on RT-era minis and fought the Battle at the Farm in a campaign for 40K's 25th, in 1, 2, 3 posts.

• Dave Bone gives examples of campaigns mixing systems at The Wargate.

• Oddleg reported on a final campaign game that used their Space-Munda system and has some thoughts on count-as Chaos marines and guard.

• Griffit is building a set of characters for In the Emperor's Name, with stats.

• The M42 Project is still building an alternative to 40K - updated goals here.

• At Confessions... dwez has 1, 2 marker sets for sixth, and possibly beyond.

• Thor at Creative Twilight has been updating the entries in the mission set.

• At Warpstone Flux jabberjabber posted fortification power source rules.

• Virtual Stranger at The Grim Cheapness... builds a thunderbolt in card...

• ... and Loken highlighted a scratchbuilt blasta bomma at Apocalypse 40K.

• Rictus at Recalcitrant Daze is all but scratchbuilding an Ork kopta karrier.

• Mordian has been very busy, but to pick a few highlights, he converted and painted his own version of Angron, painted up a knight errant and finished even more of his adeptus mechanicus, and is now building a leviathan.

• Warhammer in Progress has some excellent plague marine conversions.

• Mike at Santa Cruz Warhammer is converting up a traitor guard force.

• Ron at From the Warp looks at souping up kit rhinos and builds the turret and the sponsons of the original predator, but in the style of the FW version, and has the start of a heresy-era jetbike and death korps-inspired unit.

• TheAmbit has a marine command squad on jetbikes of a different pattern and converted a Cruorian war beast for Dark Heresy, with the intro here.

• Master Bryss just posted the first part of his revised creature creation rules.

• Carjacked Seraphim posted some rules for a very familiar-looking 'Catachan firebreather', examples of counts-as land speeders in the style of the RT grav-attack vehicle and some pics of the original land raider instructions.

• demi_morgana has some great scavvies and got their bunker into a zine.

• Lasgunpacker used an odd mix of parts to get Neo-Soviet power armour.

• Adeptus-B posted a good-looking Dark Heresy report at Zorcon's Word.

• Mercer at Imperius Dominatus has some ideas for enhancing Planetstrike.

• Fritz posted on experiments with a multiplayer approach to Space Hulk and some musings on Dark Heresy and the current state of D&D and 40K.

• LuckyNo.5 shows some inspiration - it's dark, and could even be horrifying.

• Josh Graboff at The Signe of the Frothing Mug offers up some thoughts on violence in gaming and 40K, also looking at the nature of space marines.

• Hungry Ghosts reminds us of the comment on the Squats that made a 40K myth, has a Ratling and Squat size comparison, completes the series on Squats in Epic and shows another bold conversion, a rust monster biker...

• ... and with chariots back and Chaos big again, there's more inspiration for mounted character conversions in this set of tables at The Dungeon Dozen.

• Finally, Big Jim at Galaxy in Flames reports the Killzone update is close...

I can't possibly have got more than a fraction of it with the length of time involved, so as ever, feel free to leave links to anything else you think should be in, even your own work.

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On finboards

For the Rogue Space players I've gone back and added stats for a finboard to the Trippy post, in case anyone wants a guide. The good news is the vehicle construction rules do the job, even for something built like a surfboard with thrusters. Here it is to save a click.

                                                                                                                              

 Finboard, powered    C -  H -  A -  S -  E  100% [2]   skims: 25' powered or 2 x rider move 

                                                                                                                              

Rogue Space downloads - Rogue Space news

Hereticwerks - Swords & Stitchery - Mik's Minis - TheFairlyUnkempt - Sam Z's Blog 'o Doom - Roll for Treasure - P'sE

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Rogues' gallery - the Orəq

Here's the next faction in the series, what I hope is a fresh approach to a familiar fantasy creature.

I've called them the Orəq, with the 'ə' pronounced roughly 'uh' to load the word with more meanings, like the 'ʒ' in Citiʒant. Like the Trippies they're written up for Rogue Space so should be easy enough to adapt to other rulesets.

So who are these, erm, Orəq then?

The biopoietic homunculars known as the Orəq are born deep in the earth on a number of worlds and have a shifting colouration believed to be an oracular quantum expression.

And what's that got to do with us?

At the GM's discretion, the Orəq may be taken as starting characters and/or be NPCs.

Starting characters: Origin, nature and lifestyle mean around 50% of the Orəq have the Warrior Archetype, and all have a further +1 Acquiring and -1 Repairing plus the Psionic power Clairvoyance, in addition to any powers usually permitted. The Orəq are sensitive to the presence of each other and their creators over short distances in space and time.

NPC groups: A group may include 2D6-1 Orəq drawn from 1D3 spawning cohorts, likely from the same homeworld; 1D3 members of the group will be battling for the role of seer.

Homuncular: At the GM's discretion, Orəq may be of any human clade, gaining clade-specific stats, modifiers, features, rules and options not in conflict with any for the Orəq.

Oracolouration: Once per short cycle, or following a major personal event, there is a 1 in 6 chance that an Orəq's colouration changes by a degree. The GM sets the incoming colouration, but the Player defines in general terms the significance of a first appearance of each colouration for the in-game future - the GM must then cause some interpretation of this definition to occur. Oracular accuracy falls further with distance from homeworld.

Technologies: The Orəq use relatively primitive equipment, but learn rapidly and borrow readily. All Orəq carry a variety of dusts, shaped stones and naturally occurring detritus and a means to utilise these as distractions or weaponry, as per the profile given below.

                                                                                                                              

Blowpipe, sling etc.   S    LOL* or alternatively Target at -1 to Tests next round    Silent

                                                                                                                              
* A Rating of LOL is one lower than S, and does Damage of 1D6-1.

But what are they doing here..?

The GM may want to roll below for each starting character or NPC group, who is/are:

1. ... emerging from a subterranean spawning complex, or an equivalent location.
2. ... trading, or otherwise offering skills, services or technology, likely borrowed.
3. ... acting as a mercenary element, possibly part of a precognitive strike force.
4. ... drawn by or pursuing an intuition, thought or vision, perhaps unconsciously.
5. ... gathering with a vast horde, likely preparing for or conducting spiritual war.
6. ... seeking others of their kind or a creator, or attempting to induce spawning.

Feedback is always welcome. If you haven't got a copy yet, Rogue Transmissions #2 is out, and Hereticwerks have been posting more of their own great Rogue Space material.

Rogue Space downloads - Rogue Space news

Hereticwerks - Swords & Stitchery - Mik's Minis - TheFairlyUnkempt - Sam Z's Blog 'o Doom - Roll for Treasure - P'sE

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Ceramic monitor commune

A while ago I rolled up a term on the unpublished Worldboat table. It turned out I didn't need it then so here it is now: ceramic monitor commune. I'm interested in any weird ideas for what it might be.

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Gödellian Rhapsody

There's a reasonable popular-scientific sketch here on a 'grand theory of everything'. It's easy to follow and even uses metaphor from gaming and mapping. More importantly, it takes into account the limits of human structure and the problem of defining 'everything'.

Personally, I'd argue it doesn't go far enough - too little looking sideways for a start - and falls down on what life or a deity might be, in more hylozoic senses for example. If these are the best minds we have, good as they are, it may be time for more of us to help out.

For most of that, plus The Glass Bead Game, music, Dawkins, themes in the sly-fi and his work in opposing the cull, you might be interested in the views of this astrophysicist.

If you're wondering about that title, it's a reference to Gödel's incompleteness theorems.

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Trickster, Trapper, Sniper, Spy

This idea was prompted by a comment Sidney Roundwood left and a post at Gothridge Manor.

It's an alternative, live-action game to play at an event, for when gamers are posting photos of themselves in advance to help in meeting up and plan to take more when they're there to post later, as often happens. It also lets some protect their real-world identity if they want to or need to. I'll call them all posters.

It's simple. Everyone carries a camera and the idea is to take a clear photo of as many other posters as possible; other individuals in shot are considered innocent victims and reduce counts at an agreed ratio. Posters protecting their identity are a special case - they play the sniper end of the spectrum and can have other posters in the frame only.

Queues for entry and planned meet-ups are 'safe havens'. Zoom is allowed as it raises risk of blur, but cropping not. The pics are posted after the event and numbers totalled, and popular opinion decides quality if there's doubt, with all but the sharpest discarded.

It could add a real frisson to the event, more of the tension of actual struggle. It's funny more gaming events don't arrange overarching games, or weave them into the structure, maybe using ambient random or similar methods. With so many gamers in one place...
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Ambient random

Here's a quote that jumped out recently, from a text I linked to at the panspermia post.

Cosmology in the oldest lands radiated from the priestly classes, where, charged with religious power, the priests and magi who were able to understand the patterns politicized space to a great extent, often deciding public policy using one or another astrological method.

It got my attention for a different reason than you might expect. Not for the changing role of space agencies or the secret space missions or the contenders, or the recent big SF on the silver screen, even if all of these seem to make space a source of power now too.

Using dice or maybe a deck to produce so-called random numbers is, when you think about it, a bit weird. Why such artificial, physically complex systems? And building on the interview with Loquacious, when there's so much deep intricacy out there, they're a real sledgehammer. And impractical: they help to limit tabletop games to the tabletop, even without miniatures or other components, and maybe mean ever more components.

And why play so many games indoors, or sitting down, or in a fixed location? Moderate physical activity is healthy, oxygen too, and sunlight. In rules-light games in which the dice or cards are the big hindrance, why not ditch them and look for another system?

Table - OSRs

This is a revised version of the table I posted at The Other Side, for terms that could be making up the acronym OSR. I'll be linking back to it whenever a definition might help.

Roll 1D30 per letter. For example, 5, 4 and 15 give the usual Old School Renaissance.

Deep thought Friday

With a recent reminder of the Apollo programme and the clear contrast with Curiosity, it's natural there's been a lot of talk about how things stand.

So when we say a given entity was ahead of its time, could we in fact be a) recognising that we ourselves are behind our own time, b) admitting that we've allowed ourselves to become trapped in a future the given entity helped create, and/or c) accepting the entity as a creator and in doing so exonerating ourselves of failure to do better?

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Dust-offs & Debunking

In the first part of what looks like being a long and intriguing series, Rob Kuntz at Lord of the Green Dragons has this to say about the rather fashionable - maybe advantageous? - efforts to reconstruct 'correct' approaches to early RPGs:

The more you vest in "this must be the way it is done, because Rob, or Dave, or Hargrave, or EGG the Magnificent," did it that way, you have reached the dead end of creative and spontaneous thought and action, the very essence of the original game as composed for creative individuals.

But that's just, like, his opinion. Right? If you need help with a get-out, it could be the understanding that what the creators of D&D gave us wasn't an RPG, but a wargame.

If you want an OD&D primer, Von is doing an overview at HoP, with 1, 2, 3 parts so far.

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Rogues' gallery - Trippies

After sending Trey my seeds yesterday I emailed Fenway5 my material for Rogue Transmissions #2, a fuller version of the lost and found item list.

Now that's done, I'll be finishing up and posting rules for a few general factions. They're also aimed at Rogue Space, but should be easy enough to convert to other systems and settings. First up are the transhuman Trippies.

So who are these Trippies then?

Humans of the clade known as the Trippies are squat, strong and bioengineered with a prehensile third leg grown from the lower back, an adaptation to dynamic atmospheres.

And what's that got to do with us?

At the GM's discretion, Trippies may be taken as starting characters and/or be NPCs.

Starting characters: Origin, nature and lifestyle mean around 50% of Trippies have the Technician Archetype, and all have a further +1 Hit Point. The many challenges and the clade rejection mean initial Empathy is -1D3. The GM may allow a finboard or skytrike.

NPC groups: A group may include 1D6 Trippies of up to 1D2 generations; all but 1D3-1 will have a finboard and there will be skytrikes with seating or anchors for all but 1D2-1.

The third leg: A third leg may be used to a) hold or manipulate as if a hand or b) move 50% faster than an average bipedal human. It may be used simultaneously to reroll one die per attack in melee against humanoids, to represent surprise kicks, trips, switches and bracing. If a third leg is badly injured, initial instability modifies all Attributes by -1.

Technologies: Trippies make extensive use of various advanced human technologies, notably anti-gravitics. In many colonies, Trippies are adept riders of tripedal finboards, these often towed by skytrikes; the largest skytrikes mate with interstellar driveframes.

                                                                                                                              

 Finboard, powered*    C -  H -  A -  S -  E  100% [2]  skims: 25' powered or 2 x rider move

                                                                                                                              

 Skytrike, suborbital, random pattern*

 C      16.6%    [1]   Canopod (seating for 1D3 Trippies: 1 rider + 0-2 passengers)

 H      16.6%    [1]   up to 3 Rating points of payload, 1D3+3 finboard line anchor points

 A      16.6%    [1]   C: 1  H: 1  S: 1

 S        50%     [3]   125'

 E        100%     6

                                                                                                                              

* Uses the vehicle construction rules in Rogue Transmissions #1.

But what are they doing here..?

The GM may want to roll below for each starting character or NPC group, who is/are:

1. ... trading, or otherwise seeking or offering skills, services or technology.
2. ... fleeing a threat, prejudice, a discrimination of some form, or far worse.
3. ... asserting a claim, attempting to right a wrong or continuing a vendetta.
4. ... seeking a suitably hazardous landscape to explore, exploit or colonise.
5. ... experimenting, releasing untapped potential or raising consciousness.
6. ... studying, self-engineering or otherwise adapting to this particular site.

As ever, feedback is welcome, but better yet tweak what's here or run with it. If you don't know Rogue Space, my original review is here and the links below lead to more material.

Rogue Space downloads - Rogue Space news

RS@Hereticwerks - @Swords & Stitchery - @Mik's Minis - @TheFairlyUnkempt - @the Expanse

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Giving fighters a once-over

Following last week's post on adapting Vancian magic, here's a general response to the recent discussion on fighters in early D&D, especially customisation. It's an even simpler suggestion.

In the course of character creation anyone playing a fighter can give a summary of a few words on the character's philosophy, specific school, fighting style, preferred techniques etc.

Before each attack, and consistent with this summary, the player can very briefly state how exactly the fighter makes the attack, what one additional effect the fighter aims to achieve etc.

For example, a fighter whose master emphasises positioning may declare a strike is also intended to turn the foe, or pressure an individual back, or draw one opponent off.

If the attack succeeds by a margin of a quarter the range of the die or more (e.g. 2 if a D6, 5 if a D20, or 25 if a D100), the usual result and the stated effect are applied. If the attack fails by this margin instead, the DM / GM may apply a relevant adverse effect.

You can tinker with effect power, and make it higher if you already use a similar system without a margin. It might be decided a given effect needs a further check of some kind.

This gives a player explicit scope for customisation and creative input in general combat, and there's automatic improvement as character skill rises. It could be used as a more overt mechanical basis for related interactions like shaming, angering or persuasion.

It could work in wargaming too, even without a referee if the players agree effects first.
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Deep thought Friday

This time I'll just direct you to two discussions.

One is SinSynn's considered post On Violence in Gaming at House of Paincakes, which is still picking up thoughtful responses two days later.

The other is Dark nights apprising here at the Expanse, which stayed oddly quiet once it was posted despite solid traffic - until James S took up the gauntlet earlier today and made things a lot more epistemological and DtF in the process.

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Getting here

Some of the stranger search terms people and/or bots have used to visit the Expanse...