New PLOT episode released (Crowdfunding and RPGs), Session Six of Changeling: Lost Vegas

Play on Target Episode Four: Crowdfunding and RPGs

Our fourth episode was released earlier this week (Wednesday, 2/13). In this episode, we discuss crowdfunding and how it ties in now with RPGs. The majority of the episode covers Kickstarter specifically, but other crowdfunding sites (such as indiegogo) are mentioned as well.

The episode covers what exactly crowdfunding is as a concept, advice on how to tell good ones from bad, when to flip the switch on your own Kickstarter if you're thinking about it and more. This is a hot button topic in the gaming world right now and each of our hosts (save myself who, at the time of recording, had literally NO experience with crowdfunding) has his own opinions on the topic.

This is my first turn in the host's chair. I greatly enjoyed it and it made sense that I should be the one tossing out the questions due to my lack of experience on the subject. Overall, this was an excellent episode and if you're thinking of looking into backing (or even starting) your own Kickstarter, I highly recommend giving it a listen.

I should note that this episode was recorded months ago and therefore many of the recent developments with RPGs and Kickstarter had not yet happened (most noticeably the Fate Core blowout from +Fred Hicks and +Evil Hat Productions, though they were mentioned in regards to another project that had done well). We do plan on revisiting this topic somewhere down the road to see how things have evolved since this episode.

Changeling Lost Vegas Session Seven: House of Cards (Redux)

+Lowell Francis ran the seventh session of his Changeling: the Lost campaign this last Monday (yes I skipped a session; I thought the sixth session wasn't recorded for some reason due to players not being there). After the motley members carve out their own little niches in the Hollow, they prepare to go visit Shark-Fingered Princess to take the job from the Autumn Court.

John W. Smith, who has NO schoolboy crush on their Autumn contact, uses his automata-crafting skills to build her a small metal seed that blooms into a rose when activated. Amber decides she needs to be able to get away in a hurry and obtains Morosa's assistance in creating a tear-away skirt for when things grow too hectic for the UFOlogist. 

John pulls a fast one on Morosa and claims shotgun on the ride over to the Autumn Court, which of course is even more binding among the fae. We accept the job from Shark-Fingered Princess and go in search of Grey, the Autumn Courts late Smith. John decides our group should hit the Smith's workshop first. Unfortunately, my Smith becomes distracted on the way in by "broken" traps and repairs them all just as the group heads inside. Within the workshop, little of use is found and the group returns. 

Lowell was the GM. Other players besides myself were: +Shoe Skogen, +Sherri Stewart and +Cat Rambo.

(Fate Core) The Island Session One - Landfall

Session One: Landfall

The players 

Slate - a Golem who killed his master (and King)

Nadawi - an Elf who attempted (but failed) to assassinate her Queen in long-waited revenge for the death of her family

Arvelir Killenddare - a Half-Elf, banished to the Island for attempting to steal the Star of Brannor from his Queen and return it to its rightful owner

Sao the Kaeldraean - a Dark Elf who was captured after assassinating the entire royal family.

The group is in the hold of the ship with other prisoners and witnesses several of them brought up on deck and killed by something (well, they witness the aftermath). After being deposited on the Island with nothing but the clothes on their backs, Sao scares one of the other prisoners into investigating what appears to be a walled town that lies inland a bit. The man does so and soon after the group is met by someone from Harbor, who guides them back.

They meet Harbormaster Terasius Ilik who says that all are welcome in Harbor for a short time to become accustomed to the Island, as long as they contribute. He provides them with transitional food and board under the promise that they will do a task for him. He sends them to investigate word from a scout that a group of Rippers has been seen heading in the general direction of the town.

After finding that Rippers are a faction on the Island made up of people driven mad and turned cannibal, the group cautiously heads out. After facing down a boar nearly the size of a man, they come upon the abandoned camp the scout from Harbor found. They followed the tracks west through the forest and found another encampment with seven of the Rippers in it.

After handily defeating the Rippers, Sao opts to keep one alive to learn some of the ways of the Rippers and questions him, finding that a group of 50-60 are gathering to attack Harbor. They knock the Ripper unconscious and race back to Harbor, informing Terasius that there is an attack party due in a few days. Terasius says he needs to get word to a nearby Repentant encampment and a Pawns encampment to try and get aid. The group opts to be emissaries to the Repentant group and Terasius begins forming another small group to approach the Pawns and request assistance in defending Harbor.

Games Workshop Delusional about Space Marine Trademark

M.C.A. Hogarth is an author who has published several novels in ebook format. She has just had a book pulled (in ebook form anyway) from Amazon thanks to Games Workshop and a ridiculous trademark infrignement claim.

She has written a book called "Spots the Space Marine," and it appears that Games Workshop feels they invented the term and no one else should be able to use it. Never mind the fact that the term "space marine" has been around since the 1930s and has become a science fiction trope, they've been using it in Warhammer 40K since 1987!

I'm not a lawyer. In fact, I'm nowhere close; but this seems completely absurd to me. Why don't they go after elf and dwarf while they're at it? Those words are about as prevalent in the science fiction/fantasy culture as the term space marine is.

Unfortunately, Hogarth doesn't have the resources to take on a gaming giant like Games Workshop.

As she says in here livejournal entry about this (found here):


"To engage a lawyer to defend me from this spurious claim would cost more money than I have, certainly more than the book has ever earned me. Rather than earning money for my family, I’d be taking money from them, when previously my writing income paid for my daughter’s schooling. And I’d have to use the little time I have to write novels to fight a protracted legal battle instead."

Until I read this post, the 40K-themed RPGs on the market have been on my list of games to look into. Regardless of how this situation turns out, I've now crossed them off of that list. For them to have the gall to think they should have exclusive rights to a term that's been around for over 3/4 of a century disgusts me to no ends.

With companies like Evil Hat out there, doing their best to open the doors and make things more public for their fans, I can't imagine a worse move for a gaming company (I know, this isn't game related, but as far as I'm concerned the philosophy still applies) than attacking the very people who make their very existence possible.

I don't generally jump into "politics" like this, but I feel it's one of those situations where everyone who can should help spread the word of what's happening. Games Workshop is throwing their weight around because they think there won't be consequences for it. It's up to us in the geek community to spread the word and show that this isn't the case in order to prevent a precedent being set. So go read her page, spread the word and perhaps we can reach someone who CAN help make a difference for M.C.A. Hogarth.

Dread: Horror Role Playing with Built-in Atmosphere

In my Iron Reviewer entries, I am going to focus on what I consider the key concepts that I apply when

looking at the playability of any RPG. Rules will be talked about, but not rated on any kind of standalone basis. At the end of each section I will include a "TL; DR" summary for those who just want to get the gist of it.

The Idea

Dread is a game that attempt to capture the feeling of the American horror film. From Alien to Friday the 13th, Dread wants to be able to invoke both the creeping fear of a slow reveal as well as the jump in your seat startle when the monster leaps out from behind a door.

The question to ask is “does it succeed”?

Mechanic System:Atmosphere

The first of my key concepts is the one that I consider to quite possibly be the most important. Do the mechanics of the game successfully capture the atmosphere the game is trying to create? Below I will discuss various aspects of the mechanics in relation to the atmosphere of the game.

Mechanics
There is exactly one REAL mechanic in Dread. Everything else is based around the story telling. The mechanic in the game is a Jenga tower. This is where the statement I made in my subject line comes in. Jenga is a game that creates a tension all in its own. The designers felt like combining that tension with a tale of horror would go a long way towards capturing the seat-gripping suspense of a horror film. In my opinion, they succeeded.

In Dread, the GM does nothing mechanically. He merely weaves the tale and guides the players down the dark and depraved path to their ultimate rewards. Basically, when someone wants to perform an action where something is actually risked, the game master will call for a pull from the tower. If the player successfully pulls from the tower without toppling it, she succeeds. If the tower falls over, she fails. If the task is one in which a particular character can accomplish it easily (for example, a situation that requires an action that she has clearly listed on her character sheet that she's capable of), there is no pull required.

Failing in Dread is not good. If you take out the tower while making a pull, your character doesn't just fail at her action. She gets written out of the story entirely. Oftentimes, she dies, but it is possible that the character gets written out by the GM another way.

Players can also choose to make pulls on their own. If you want your character to succeed at something exceptionally, you can choose to pull more than once from the tower. Should you succeed at your pulls, she succeeds above and beyond. You can also choose your own actions to pull for should the desire arise.

The state of the tower also helps the GM to pace the game. If it's early on and there are a lot of pulls, it might be a good time for the GM to decide to slow the action up a bit and build suspense. If there haven't been any pulls for some time, he may decide to get the action going more quickly and cause several pulls in a row.

Character Creation
Character creation in Dread is the only other real "mechanic," and it really isn't even one. There are no statistics, no abilities, and no rolls of the dice. So how does one create a character? Simple. You answer questions.

When a game master creates a story to run in Dread, he will create a questionnaire for each character. Each sheet has different questions on it. At the beginning of the session the GM will hand the sheets out to each of the players and they spend time answering each of the questions.

This process is almost a game in and of itself. Players will try and answer the questions in such a way that they might actually be able to accomplish a task without making a pull. This situation can also pit some of the character against each other.

Most importantly (I feel), creating the characters via questionnaire helps the player grow attached to it. This helps drive the suspense even more as they grow attached to them. Lastly, as there are no numbers of any kinds to worry about, this frees everyone up to focus on personality.

TL; DR Summary - Mechanic System:Atmosphere
The Jenga tower mechanic is meant to create an atmosphere of tension that bleeds into the game itself. As characters "die" when failing at any pull from the tower, it succeeds at raising the stress levels around the table.

Character creation also helps build the atmosphere. In a genre where characters actual abilities often come to not, Dread removes them completely. Characters are created by answering questions. The answers to those questions are the character.

Mechanics:Atmosphere Rating - 5/5

Complexity

Complexity of a system can not only have effect on general playability, but also to how newbie-friendly it is. Because of this, the complexity of a game is the second of my key concepts as it applies to the Basic System, Players and GMs.
Basic System
There is nothing really complex about the base system. If you don't automatically succeed at something, pull from the tower. That's it.

Player
Really the most complex thing for a character in a game of Dread is character creation. I've found that, with characters who like to get into their characters, the creation portion of a session can take some time.

The other part of the game that might come across as more complex to some is how narrative it is. There are no rolls determining success or failure, so the storytelling is all in the description of how a character succeeds or fails.

GM
The job of the GM can go either way when it comes to complexity. If a GM is running a prewritten adventure, there isn't much more to it than keeping things on track and keeping the storytelling interesting.

The hardest part of a GM's job in Dread is probably keeping the pacing up. A GM has to make sure that pulls aren't called for too frequently or two infrequently. He also wants to keep things interesting, include lulls and frantic action in moderation as well. This will also come into play when a GM is designing his own stories.

TL; DR Summary - Complexity
The basic mechanics of Dread are very easy to pick up. There isn't much complexity to "try something risky, pull from the tower." Players do need to put some thought into character creation, so that can take some effort. Lastly, GMs have to work at keeping the pacing appropriate, which is probably the hardest part of being a GM for this game.

Complexity Rating - 5/5

GM Section

I am primarily a GM when I play, so the third of my key concepts is how useful the GM section of a book is for potential GMs. Some are extremely in depth and some are basically useless.

How to Host a Dread Game
This chapter first touches on the basics of running a game of Dread. After that, it moves into what NOT to do (stay away from the tower, don't monopolize the story, etc.). After the don'ts, the chapter moves on to advice on keeping the pacing appropriate to the story and the timing of pulls from the tower. The last part of the chapter talks about how to address potential problems in a game, from players who refuse to perform actions requiring pulls to characters dropping dead early on in a game.

How to Create a Dread Game
This chapter helps a GM understand how a Dread story is built. It discusses how to develop the story and create events not directly related to the plot. It also gives advice on how to keep the characters feeling isolated and in danger and how to put everything together in a game designed to build suspense and danger while still being fun.

The" ________ Game" chapters
The final GM chapters are six chapters devoted to genres. This entire section of the book is broken up into advice on different styles of games. What kind of questionnaires to design for different genres, pulling from the tower, how to weave the story. For those creating their own Dread stories, these chapters are quite the gold mine.

TL; DR Summary - GM Section
There are multiple chapters devoted to running Dread. One is specific to running the game itself and a second is devoted to creating a game in general. The last group of chapters breaks running/designing stories down by genre.

GM Section Rating - 5/5

Included Adventure

The fourth and last key concept for any core book is the sample adventure included. Ideally, this should give GMs an idea of what a general adventure in the system should look like while keeping it easy to reference.

Number of included adventures: 3
Dread introduces three complete stories for a GM to run. Beneath the Full Moon, Beneath a Metal Sky and Beneath the Mask. Each story embodies a different genre of horror.

Beneath the Full Moon
Beneath the Full Moon is a supernatural suspense horror story. A group of students camping in the woods. The guide is mauled and the students are lost, being stalked by something, and the full moon is in the sky.

Beneath a Metal Sky
Beneath a Metal Sky is a science fiction horror story in the styling of Alien or Pitch Black. A salvage crew comes across an abandoned space hulk and investigates, only to find it isn't really abandoned. It's then they discover their own ship is gone and there are noises in the walls.

Beneath the Mask
Teenagers at a camp on a lake. People being murdered in their bunks. The only people present are the campers. Which of them did it? Yes, the last story in the Dread core rulebook is a slasher/mystery story. One of the characters has gone off the deep end and it’s up to the rest to figure out who and why.

Each of the stories presented here in the book give questionnaires to hand out to players. They include side scenes that can help flesh out a plot or keep things interesting. Lastly, each gives advice on specific scenes that should be present in one way or another to keep things running smoothly.

TL; DR Summary - Included Adventure
Dread includes three stories to be run, each in a different genre (Supernatural Suspense, Sci-Fi and Slasher Mystery). Each gives character questionnaires, potential side stories and suggested mandatory scenes to keep the plot moving. The stories do a good job of laying out what a story should look like as well as providing a good jumping off point for new GMs and players alike.

Included Adventure Rating - 5/5

Potential Concerns

This section isn't only devoted to things I don't like about a game, but also potential problems that don't bother me but might also bother others. This section isn't rated as it is even more subjective than the rest of my review.

There are a couple of areas I need to touch on in this review regarding potential concerns. The first is the Jenga tower. Jenga isn't for everyone. The biggest complaint about this game is that the mechanics rely on manual dexterity and not character skill. This is a valid complaint and might turn some people of completely. I know at least one of my players has refused to even try the game for this very reason.

The second area of concern is the narrative storytelling. Dread doesn't leave as much in the players’ hands as some other narrative games, but it still leaves plenty up to the player. If they succeed at a pull, they need to decide what they did to succeed and narrate it. Like other narrative games, if a player is a major simulationist, this game might not be for them.

To finish this review off, I just want to say that this is one of a few new games I've tried in the past year that have helped me to fall in love with a more collaborative and narrative play style. The mechanic of pulling from a Jenga tower is completely unique and very much in line with a tension and suspense created by horror films. In the first game of this I ran (with a group of strangers at a FLGS), in the last scene one player actually dropped to his knees next to the table shaking after making the final pull to escape on a helicopter. THAT is how players should feel during a horror RPG, as far as I'm concerned.

Time Heroes of Fate - Layout Decisions

I'm finding myself extremely indecisive in regards to the design for Time Heroes of Fate. I want to put together a nice all-encompassing document that could be its own thing once the OGL goes into effect. However, I'm finding that I can't decide how to do it together.

My initial thought was to have an introductory chapter that goes into the basics of Fate Core and how it works. From there I'd move into Time Heroes of Fate itself. I'd mix setting and rules and go over everything in relation to Time Heroes.

However, then I started thinking about the fact that I would basically be reiterating the same rules. I'd be going over them in the Introduction to Fate Core and then again in the rulebook proper. On the flip side, wouldn't it be a good idea to give some sort of an introduction to the system itself before diving into the game proper?

Now I'm starting to think that maybe I should just give a synopsized version of the Fate Core rules. Maybe I can use the Introduction to talk about the extreme basics of Fate Core; talk about aspects, the Fudge dice, Stunts, etc. Instead of going into detail like I originally intended, just leave it to the generalities (so don't talk about teamwork, etc) and leave everything else to the Time Heroes of Fate rules.

Still, I can't make up my mind. So this is where I come to the few people who actually read this silly blog. What do you guys think would work for the layout for Time Heroes of Fate? The choices as I see them now are these:

• Full Fate-on in the intro. This will allow people to understand the game and possibly even run it without the Time Heroes setting, though I'd be essentially going over rules twice.
• General Fate overview in the intro. In this case, I'd be going over the basics of fate, but leaving out any of the advanced or in-depth items until getting to the Time Heroes of Fate rulebook proper.
• No rules overview in the intro. In this case I'd just mention Fate in the intro, maybe talk about the Fate dice, then go from there right into Time Heroes of Fate and introduce everything via the rulebook proper.

Of course there may be another option I haven't thought of, so please, chime in with thoughts/suggestions!

The Island -Time Heroes of Fate- Character Creation Steps

I've just now realized that when I was doing the design journal for Time Heroes of Fate I never went into the steps of character creation. As I prepare to do the writeup for the Island's character creation steps, I thought perhaps I would do the same for Time Heroes as well. I'll write up the Time Heroes proces first, then move on to the Island. Character creation for both games will be pretty much identical to that of Fate Core. The only difference will be in Aspect creation, so that's what each area will focus on.

In Time Heroes, characters were pulled from their various times so there isn't much of a likelihood the characters will have met previously to being thrown together by the Great Merlini (or Merlin or the Merlinator). Instead of Phases 1-3 involving the other characters, the phases for Time Heroes will be the following:

Phase One - Last Day of Previous Life: The first phase is a story from the character's life prior to being recruited by the Great Merlini (or Merlin or the Merlinator). The story could be an adventure the character had or just a regular "day in the life of" story. The story should end with their recruitment. Once this has been done the player should choose an aspect that the story illustrates.

Phase Two - First Encounter: This might be a "first adventure" kind of story. This phase revolves around the first encounter the character had with the Time War. The Great Merlini likes to drop his recruits into circumstances where they can show their worth to Time Heroes, Inc. From fighting members of the Roman legion to attempting to go undercover in Al Capone's group, this phase shows the character's first real chance to shine.

Phase Three - Equipment: This last phase is for an item or piece of equipment the character is known for carrying. This would be their signature item. Ghostbusters have proton packs, King Arthur has Excalibur; this aspect should be an item that embodies the character.

The Island is a situation where each of the characters may very well be from completely different dimensions. The first time the characters likely will be meeting is on the prison ship. Of course if it's determined the group has already been on the Island for a while, that might be different. But still, I think these phases will likely better capture the feel of the game.

Phase One - Race: In my last post I talked about Racial Aspects for the Island. Whether a character is Human, Elf, Dwarf, etc., each race has qualities both positive and negative. That is why the first phase is choosing what race the character is going to be.

Phase Two - The Crime: This phase is the story of the crime of which the character was convicted. Whether guilty or not, this story illustrates what the character's involvement in the situation was. The aspect drawn from this could be one that came about because of the crime and conviction, or one that led to it, or even one that showed itself during the crime.

Phase Three - The Belief: Even the most hardened of criminals believes in something. This aspect should paint a picture of something the character believes deep down inside. Granted, it could be something along the lines of "Suckers are Everywhere," but everyone believes in something. This gets down to the very core of a character.

The Island - Playing with Fate - Racial Aspects

Racial Aspects

The group that I'll be doing some play testing with has gotten started on the collaborative character/world creation in the RPGG forums. As this a fantasy setting, one of the things we are working on now is picking out races for the characters. I've opted to use Aspects to cover races.

I am going to list a few of the sample races I'm planning on using. With each one I will be stating sample Invokes as well as Compels. I'll begin each with a brief description of the race. Of course, the Invokes and Compels listed aren't the ONLY choices, just ideas based on the specific racial cultures.

I am still debating using humans as a Racial Aspect. Part of me says go with it, the other says to use them as the baseline; human characters then have that aspect to use for something else.

Dark Elf
Dark elves are a race of elves who live deep underground. Rarely going out in the daylight, they are a tribal race where the basest rule is the rule of deniability. Anything goes in the upper echelons as long as it cannot be traced back. Dark Elves are capable of slipping into shadows and disappearing. Some say they can literally turn themselves invisible.
Invoke Aspect - Invoke this aspect when slipping into shadows, using water magic, moving quickly or to maneuver about/notice things underground more easily.
Compel Aspect - A GM might compel this aspect in situations where the culture of this race is known, or when the light of the sun might affect the character's action, etc.

Golem
Golems are a race of large humanoids, manufactured from fired clay and generally used as servants. Though they are entirely sentient and intelligent, they are viewed almost everywhere as property. They are strong, indefatigable, able to withstand the elements and rarely need to rest. They can be of any size and shape, though generally they are made to appear as 8-9 foot tall humanoids.
Invoke Aspect - This Aspect can be invoked when attempting feats of great strength, when needing to remain awake while others sleep, to remain steadfast when others would move, withstand severe weather/temperatures or when using Earth Magic.
Compel Aspect - The GM might compel this aspect when the character needs to be taken seriously (as opposed to being viewed as an animate object), when the literal interpretation of something might cause complications, when heavy weight may be an issue, etc.

Human

Humans are the most prevalent race in the multiverse. They are found in nearly every (if not all) plane of existence. They are adventurous, innovative, equally warlike and peaceable to their neighbors. Unlike other races, humans are rarely viewed at with suspicion as a race.

Invoke Aspect - This Aspect can be invoked to illustrate a character's ability to not stand out in a crowd, to use the general amicability of humankind, embrace innovation or use Ritual Magic.

Compel Aspect - The GM might compel this aspect when the character is among another race that dislikes the prevalence of humans, when an impetuous move could cause problems for the group, etc.

Dwarf

Dwarves are a hardy race, shorter than humans. They are skilled at smithing and mining. They're generally seen as greedy but are loyal almost to a fault. Able warriors but as a race unaccustomed to mounts, they generally make up infantry in armies.

Invoke Aspect - This Aspect can be invoked when attempting to create well-crafted arms or armor, gauge the worth of jewels, tell direction when underground, strike a mighty blow at an enemy, be trusted with something of import or use Fire Magic.

Compel Aspect - The GM might compel this aspect when the character is drinking, his greed could get the better of him, or someone wants to use a loved one against him.

Elf

Elves are a graceful long-lived race. They are slightly taller than humans on average. On some planes they live in villages built high up in the trees; in others they create magnificent cities surrounded by woodlands; but wherever they live it is almost always in a forest. They are able ranged fighters, quick on their feet and are excel at creating items of great magic. Oftentimes they are haughty, looking down upon the other races. They are less hardy than the other races, though adept at dodging.

Invoke Aspect - This Aspect can be invoked when gracefulness is required, when forging magic items, combating within woodlands, hunting, leaving other standing in awe that allies might move about unnoticed or making use of Air Magic.

Compel Aspect - The GM might compel the aspect when interacting with other races, when taking a harsh attack, when not amongst the familiar surrounding of the forest, etc.

And that's it for now. I have chosen one race for each magic type, initially, though there will likely be more to follow. If I dump humans as an aspect I'll have to at least pick another to hand off Ritual Magic to.