Last week, my Apocalypse World players ventured into the horrid black tunnels beneath the city, searching for a medical imager. Setting tone and making things difficult in a system that doesn't require a lot of rolls can be tricky, and skipping over some intervening exploration can be key (exactly like watching a TV series).
In my game, I had a cannibal group chasing after people, and one member of the party got separated while trying to keep pursuit off of the others. I talked to that player quietly off to one side, and then they stayed at the table while the other players had some harrowing and nailbiting encounters, concerned that the other PC had just died. I'd done some research, and someone on Reddit had suggested a custom move, that let the PCs roll to explore once they were out of danger. One rolled well, and found some kind of artifact, while the other rolled a miss, which called down extra trouble. this let me introduce some familiar elements they'd been hearing up on the surface for a few weeks- the high-pitched sound of a mechanical saw, and an unven number of glowing red eyes in the dark. They absolutely fled, all thoughts of trying to fight one of the Things completely gone from their minds. They did manage to find what seems to be a clone of their old friend, who definitely remembers them, but is missing all of their scars, and has some different mannerisms. At this point, this was the first time one of them has even seen one of the Things, and they have not got any clue what the statistics for this creature are. Having them run in utter terror was an absolute success for me as a Game Master, and I look forward to the next time they have to venture into the tunnels, and actually have to deal with one of the Things. Also posted on Game Masters Stash on 23 July 2020. One of the games I'm GMing at the moment is Apocalypse World, a very atmospheric game of life after the end of the world. As it's very different to the standard D&D-style game, I thought it might be useful to document some of my learnings, because a lot of it can be applicable to GMing any kind of game.
We started by discussing how we wanted the setting to be, establishing some guidelines ("no zombies", for instance) and spitballing some character ideas from the established playbooks - which are similar to 'classes', but function a little differently. We decided to set the game in the ruins of the near-ish future, so most technology and architecture would be familiar, but there would still be some whiz-bang proper science fiction stuff in it. We didn't want to just rip off Fallout, so we also decided that everything wasn't just tin shacks in the ruins- things were starting to recover. So we decided there were some thriving communities, starting to reclaim the world and make things better again. We've also set our game in what's left of Sydney, Australia. As a gaming group of former Sydneysiders, it's a place we're familiar enough with to make it familiar, but not so much that we'll be arguing about what's down a particular street or not. Once we'd worked out our setting, characters were the next step. Since each playbook gives you some options as to what kind of possessions or contacts you have, it was important to work out what kind of assets players would have access to, and what kind of threats would endanger them. We ended up with a mobile trader who owns a great big beast of a vehicle, hardy and able to cross the wastes. and with contacts in lots of locations; a medic who has established a clinic with some NPC staff helping them out; and a weird youngster making their home in the crater that used to be a mad-science university and scavenging for high-value tech. This meant I didn't have any characters who were tough fighter-types, and were mostly linked to specific locations, so although I can certainly have some beefy boys try to beat up my PCs, it's not what they're interested in, and I probably want to have some challenges which do line up with what they do, and where they're based. I'll be trying to keep things updated as the weeks pass, so keep an eye out next Thursday for the next update! Also posted on Game Masters Stash on 16 July 2020. +++ REPORT REDACTED UNDER VERMILION SECURITY +++
+++ NOT FOR PUBLIC RELEASE +++ "The Santabomination" incident occurred in northern Siberia approximately twelve months ago. We were able to neutralize the creature at substantial cost in manpower and materiel, as well as fourteen square miles of forest which is completely uninhabitable now. Security closed in pretty quickly, and we thought we had everything locked down... but somehow, some footage got out to CNN, and now we're blown. We've investigated all the troops who survived, but no-one has any security breaches recorded. Our suspicion is that it may have been one of the civilians we missed. We're on edge this year though. No-one's sure if we should expect another one. We have a dedicated base built up, with heavy weapon emplacements and three regiments patrolling the lockdown zone with surveillance equipment and air support. We can't even describe that thing properly. Samples have shown that it was carbon-based, and it definitely ate, we saw that. As for where it came from, we still have no idea. +++ REPORT ENDS +++ How you can use the Santabomination in your game: - A mysterious monster that turns up only on specific dates (a sacred day from an ancient and forgotten calendar, perhaps) can threaten an area with terrible danger, but may allow wily adventurers to prepare for their next emergence. - Such a creature might also carry some kind of treasure, whether material prizes or something more valuable but less ordinary, like ambergris. This could give rise to a tradition of hunters trying to kill the beast in order to seize the riches it carries. - Perhaps the beast is created by an evil sorcerer who dwells in the mountains at the northern pole, having enslaved a race of elves. He transforms a handful at a time into his abominations and sends them forth to ravage the lands that yet defy him. Also posted on Game Masters Stash on 19 December 2019. Hellgates open portals between realities, to dangerous and unpredictable places. To a fantasy game, it's just another source of monsters and XP. For a modern setting, however, though, they can wreak absolute havoc- collapsing multistorey buildings, unleashing monsters upon an unsuspecting populace, and hurling supernatural threats at a world totally unprepared to deal with it.
Also posted on Game Masters Stash on 5 September 2019. When you call out to the void in the dark of night, begging it to answer your desperate prayers, sometimes it answers...
A feat for Bloodlines & Black Magic, for NPCs who become damned eternally by the patron who will sponsor them. Chanel the Loathsome Beast [Feat] Those who gain this feat lose their free will, and act only as a mouthpiece for powers vaster than they could comprehend. Requirements: Must not be able to Pierce the Veil, or have any supernatural powers, and must implore the universe for aid, heedless of who answers. Benefit: A Goetic Spirit of some kind, known as the 'Patron' becomes "anchored" to the person who gains this feat, known as the 'Host'. The Patron becomes undetectable by most magical effects (detecting only as the Host), and grants the Host any supernatural resistances or immunities they have, including damage reduction, energy resistances, and spell resistance, if applicable. The Patron gains total control over the Host as if permanently Dominated, and is able to use any magical abilities they possess through the Hosts's body, as well as accessing the Host's memories and skills., as required. If viewed with True Seeing or a similar effect, the Patron may be viewed spectrally, hanging above the Host and pulsing. This idea is something I've touched on before, but is usable for fantasy and modern games as well- using the ruins of what we know and love to set a story. Maps of modern cities are quite easy to get, and a Lonely Planet guide will tell you what points of interest to look out for. With a working knowledge of a city, you can turn it into a post-apocalypse paradise for your own use.
Key points to play up here are the ruined beauty of something that used to be grand- whether you're living in the cyclopean ruins of some abandoned Dwarven city towering overhead, or the tatters of elegant Elven architecture swinging lightly in the breeze, sparkles of frustrated magic buzzing back and forth, or the glass and concrete edificies that held thousands, now multi-level gang hideouts and half-collapsed deathtraps. It's an idea you can use to quickly build districts, and people know what kind of things they might find in a mall, an office building, or a hardware store. You can let your players do some work for you, without even knowing it. "Hey, we need some construction stuff- that hardware store back on 17th will have some, won't they?" "Sure it would!" Orland Estates (A CR 7+ encounter for Bloodlines & Black Magic)
"You've heard of Orland Estates, right? That creepy Stepford suburgatory full of bottle-blonde soccer moms and investment bankers named Steve? Like, seriously... there are like six of them all named Steve. Creepy as hell, especially if you're not expected by the Homeowners' Association. They all, like... watch you as you drive past." It's true, Orland Estates is a creepy, manicured-lawn, regulation-model-cars, approved-paint-shades-only outer suburb. The spraytanned Lorna Jane-clad joggers and golfing-vest grilling dads watch in almost eerie silence as outsiders come through. They know the names of their delivery drivers. Their identically-blond children play with baseballs and gloves in the designated park area. Indeed, several of them are all named Steve, and wear matching earpiece headsets. For all of their creepy weirdness, though, they have jobs, they have interests, they have country club memberships and Frequent Flyer Miles. They're able to discuss news, current events, the local PTA, their favourite fairtrade organic blend at the local coffee house, and the best blend of Pilseners. But if anyone threatens them, the Steves and Steffis carefully bring people inside, and quietly, efficiently, tidily, murder whatever threatens them. You see, the suburb is inabited by no less than a dozen Doppelgangers, experienced in working together as a team, misdirection, and protecting their small, insular community. In any social situation, between their abilities to alter self and detect thoughts, and their willingness to share information between themselves, they are near-unstoppable. They're smart, organized, and absolutely ruthless in protecting their clutch. And they will straight-up ruin you. The Fresh Grave of Goodheart Gardens (a CR 5 encounter for Bloodlines & Black Magic)
"There's a grave in that cemetery, Goodheart Gardens, that's always fresh. I hear they've even cemented it over, but it's always just turned earth in the morning, with some flowers on top. But here's the weird bit... it's always got fresh flowers. Every single day." The Fresh Grave of Goodheart Gardens is a place of wierdness, one that's got a small Atlas Obscura entry and mentions on a local ghost tour pamphlet for disinterested hipsters. But the ghost tours don't even scrape the barrel of what's going on, and why Goodheart Gardens is visited by an assortment of oddballs and powerful people at the witching hour. The Gardens belong to a free spirit which has refused to pass on, a servant of the people who has moved on to looking after the dead. Those buried here are looked after, and at rest- like, properly at rest. They're looked after, and no-one dares bother them because of Poppa Daydream. Y'see, if you turn up at just the right time of night, you can meet Poppa Daydream, a huge, friendly, aged Hippie, wearing a tie-dyed t-shirt and bandanna, as well as faded denim shorts. He's happy to share a joint and a tall tale, and some words of advice about whatever personal issues someone has. Those who spend any amount of time with him get an overwhelming sense of just how good a guy he is- he cares, incredibly deeply, about social issues and injustice, about making an active difference in the life of everyone he touches. And now he's dead, he's got some other folks to take care of, too. If you'll promise to lay flowers for someone, say a little prayer and wish 'em well, he'll do you a solid and talk to the dead for you- bring you some closure, tell you some secrets, something you need. He watches carefully to see who people pick- just the closest grave, or someone meaningful, a kid, an old person, and he judges what people are doing. In life, Poppa Daydream was a 5th-level Spiritualist. Now he's dead, he's gained the Prana Ghost and Undead Lord templates, although he can't interact much with anything physical any more. He can speak with the dead of Goodheart Gardens, and he can ask pretty much anything of them that people need to know. He'll pass some of that on, as well as some tips- how to fix your car, or your love life, how to say sorry to your mom, or move on from that guy, or how to shake that cigarette habit (that's a nasty one, he says ruefully, and hard to kick). How you can use the Fresh Grave of Goodheart Gardens in your game: - Sometimes you need to find something out from someone who isn't alive any more. A contact might pass on some advice on how to find Poppa Daydream, and what to bring to get his help. - A Player Character who's down in the dumps for some reason might go looking for trouble in a graveyard, and find help from a very unlooked-for place. The Helldumpster (CR 9+ encounter for Bloodlines & Black Magic)
"Dude, you're gonna think I'm stupid, but have you heard of... the Helldumpster?" "The H-E-double-hockey-sticks DUMPSTER? What are you on about?" "No seriously, I saw it, it was, like, a big dumpster with "666" marked on it, and it's... like... hungry." "What are you even... is that why we're taking the long route 'round behind the Chinese restaurant?" "It's.... I'm so sorry... it's... it's hungry..." "Dude, what are you taAAAAAUGGHH" <gurgle, followed by chewing noises> -Taped conversation known as Exhibit 3, Trial 428.2019, The State vs. Harvey The Helldumpster is a curiosity, perhaps a creature from one of the Goetic Realms, possibly a throwback to a harsher time, possibly something forged by one of the Archons themselves, no-one entirely knows. What is known is that this dumpster is hungry, and if you see it, you need to bring it food- like, a body. Dead, or alive, it doesn't particularly care. Or it'll find you, somehow. The Helldumpster is some kind of urban legend, something a little unbelievable even in the Secret World. An eternally insatiable trash bin that follows people around, and demands to be fed? Who could possibly believe that that's a thing, now? The Helldumpster is a unique 21-Hit Die Mimic with some of the benefits of the Gluttonous and Implacable Stalker templates. Those who gaze upon it can feel its hunger within their mind, and its desire to be fed... and the threat to return for them if they don't follow through. It travels from city to city and place to place, preferring places with heavy population density. It picks different victims of opportunity, but favours those who could bring it good-quality food, tasty and munchable stuff. Those who flee or refuse to bring food often find the Helldumpster just (literally) around the corner- it's inescapable, and often lurches after them violently. Running away into public spaces might spare them, for a time. But the Helldumpster will return for them eventually. It pays to know people in low places- they know all sorts of things that aren't available through just a regular Gather Information check.
When one of your Player Characters tries to get in touch with one of their back-alley contacts, you can use some of the following to flesh out who they know, and why. d8 - Who 1 - Black-market fence. Someone who buys and sells goods without asking questions where it came from. 2 - Prostitute. Someone working in the sex trade. 3 - Paper shuffler. Someone who helps with false identities and disguises. 4 - Spy. An official spy who works for another nation, likely with a "real job" like Tailor, Tinker, or Soldier. 5 - Corrupt official. Someone in a position of power, who'll take a bribe to look the other way. 6 - Street thief. Someone who knows the ins and outs of what's going on, on the streets. 7 - Corrupt Guard. Someone whose job it is to police this kind of thing, and won't, for the right price. 8 - Crime boss. Someone in charge of making things happen, and keeping it all quiet. d8 - How 1 - You met them on a job a while ago. 2 - They owe you a favour for something you did a while back. 3 - You owe them a favour for something they did a while back. 4 - You've been referred to them by another acquaintance. 5 - You owe them money. Like, a lot of money. 6 - You're old friends from before being 'in the life'. 7 - They live nearby you, and they're your local acquaintance. 8 - They introduced themselves to you one day, for no apparent reason. Also posted on Game Masters Stash on 13 July 2019. Decorating the shoreline, down a little from the university and in the kind of district you'll find arty coffee shops that serve them in three separate shot glasses, are a pair of tower buildings- aesthetically pleasing, unbranded, and filled with office spaces. They're known locally as the 'Cherkhan Towers', after the Indian-based development company which owns them, and each runs to 59 storeys high, with 7 levels of extensive underground parking. The upper 15 storeys, as well as the capping penthouses on both buildings, are still inhabited by Cherkhan Holdings, and run an enormous, world-wide stock trading business, making fine gains in the market.
The mysterious owner, Mamun Cherkhan, is a reclusive figure, rarely seen without a dozen bodyguards. He is a well-built, handsome figure in his early fifities, always wearing an impeccable suit worth more than most cars, a neatly-cut mustache and beard, and a confident and disarming smile. If a Western movie were made about him, they'd cast George Clooney. He is a mover and shaker, sponsoring community organizations, especially those to do with his native West Bengal, a proud disability advocate, and is well-known in the halls of power. Those who have the chance to observe him closely notice a disfigurement about his hands and he often transfers his cane to his left hand to awkwardly shake hands with new people he meets. He seems to be able to do no wrong in business, and often anticipates exactly what another is about to say, or offer. He is known for shrewd and impresive investments. Cherkhan's personal office takes up an entire room, glass on every side, and is filled with ancient relics- a suit of seventeenth-century Mughal period armour, a stand of tarnished but still keenly sharp kukri blades, paintings worth millions, hand-woven deep-pile rugs with intricate details. He is clearly a man who enjoys his level of prestige and power, and wants others to feel his presence. Cherkhan is also a villainous Rakshasa, an immortal and evil tiger-spirit, and has devoured no less than three of his own employees, and two poor individuals who happened to share an empty elevator with him, over the past five years, in addition to countless others who have crossed his path in a quiet alley or darkened street. He knows no bounds in his depravity, and exalts in employing others to clean up his villainy, thriving on their uncomfortability and guilt. He is truly a villain par excellence, and knows enough of the Secret World to avoid crossing the edicts of the Archons, too far. How you can use Mamun Cherkhan in your game: - As a CR 10 creature, Cherkhan makes an ideal BBEG-level villain for an O7 game- scheming, politically powerful, legally near-untouchable, and able to threaten high-level characters on his own. He can instigate a lot of plots without having to be personally involved, and as a creature with innate magical talents as well as an interest in the material world Should you wish for an NPC to be your campaign's villain without making them some sort of eldritch abomination, he'd do very nicely. - If you want to make your game a little morally compromising, having one or more of your PCs employed by Cherkhan Holdings makes a good way to bring them together- investigating a competitor, concealing some horror, or researching ancient secrets and seizing them before Cherkhan's rivals can reach them. As they come to realize more about the Secret World, they could start to realize something very uncomfortable about their employer. - Alternately, your players could have crossed paths with the wily Mamum Cherkhan in their backgrounds, uniting them against the mighty Tiger of West Bengal. Reaching a point where they could even confront him personally will be a quest worthy of legend, and likely to end in their unmarked graves. The Faded House is one of those creepy houses everyone has in their neighbourhood somewhere- that one where that guy killed his wife, that one where someone totally saw a dead guy through the window, that one that's been empty for years, and yet somehow the town council haven't gotten around to condemning it. Animals won't even go near the place, no matter how much you drag 'em. And everyone knows that means a place is evil!
And yet... And yet you feel like you should explore it. You feel drawn to this place. Even crossing that picket fence seems to feel a chill on your skin, no matter how many layers you wear. Colours bleach to almost black and white, and your breathing comes just a little faster, with a lump in your throat. Something doesn't want you here, and you've entered the Invisible World, out of step with mundane reality. Those who can Pierce the Veil can sense that the Faded House and its grounds have a strong supernatural aura, concentrated in the windows or whatever parts of the inside of the house can be glimpsed. They can also sense a strong feeling that the House itself is somehow aware of them, as well. While piercing the veil, normal colours and scents can be seen, but they fade again swiftly if someone stops concentrating. The House itself varies in layout- use whatever haunted house layout you can get your hands on. It doesn't always match up to the external dimensions of the building, either. The inside is always dim, and any light sources brought in are unreliable, dimmed, or even unable to function at all. The curtains are nearly always drawn, and the furnishings seem very old - dusty velvet-upholstered lounges, bentwood antique dining chairs, and ancient and heavy oaken doors. The inside of the house seems to drink up sound, leaving each room curiously isolated and heightening the sense of aloneness. The worst feeling seems to come from the attic, or the basement, or the secret room behind the wardrobe in the master room, or that dark stain on the floorboards in front of the fireplace in the ballroom. Piercing the Veil inside the house leads to an immediate sense of overwhelming gloom and a dread attention drawn to the observer, a feeling of lurking and immediately impending doom. Those who continue to concentrate draw the attention of animated shadows that seem to crawl across the floor, defying any natural light direction, and swarm the character (1d4+2 Lesser Shadows). Certain things within the house will give clues as to the identity of the house's owner- the diary of an angry stockbroker who just snapped one day, letters from a hateful dowager determined to choke the joy from her ungrateful descendants, hallucinations of a young mother who shook her little daughter just a shade too hard one day. Interacting with each of these hints is likely to conjure up resentful spirits - a Shadow and a number of Lesser Shadows, which will enact their rage on any creatures nearby. Finding the clues within the Faded House leads to grim understanding of what the master did, and why, then inexorably leads back to the place which has been found- the odd stain, the secret room, the attic staircase or basement door, and finally to the master of the house itself, an embittered spirit sustaining itself on hate and murdered victims, drained of all life energy. This is a Greater Shadow, which first calls up flickering lesser shadows to wear down its foes before descending upon them, to savour their last moments itself. Canny player characters might try to pull aside the curtains and weaken the creature with bright sunlight, reducing its Strength damage to 1d4 points per attack. This reduces its lethality, but still makes it a dangerous foe. With the master of the house's final death, the object anchoring it can be recovered and burnt- the stockbroker's account folder, the dowager's prized jewel necklace, the mother's baby blanket. This fire quickly spreads, even if the object is taken out into the grounds, and the house seems to shudder and spit fire from each of its orifices, quickly collapsing into a smoldering ruin. How you can use this in your game: - Much like one of Voldemort's Horcruxes, a powerful Goetic Spirit (or maybe even an archon, but don't say it too loudly) is strengthening its power by causing a Faded House to come into being. It has manipulated events like dominoes to force a situation, meddling until someone snapped. Breaking this anchor will slow the spirit's plans... hopefully. - A foe or informant has fled into the Faded House to try to hide out from your player characters, desperate to evade them. Can your players find the target before the master devours their soul, and the knowledge they hold, forever? - The Faded House may also play a part in a player character's origin, with the supernatural events that opened their third eye having been caused by surviving the events within. Returning to confront the spirits within could wrap their story up, making it a personal arc rather than as part of the game's overall story arc. Since time immemorial, since people had sticks and mud probably, we have designed stuff. And a big part of that is thinking about where we want to spend our time, and how to lay that out better, or more efficiently, or with a bigger gaming room.
Today's post is about player strongholds. If it hasn't already been obvious, I'm a big believer in player agency and player investment (or buy-in, if you prefer that term)- letting players tell you, the Game Master, what is it they want to do, how they want to do it, and then you 'refereeing' the results. You might throw them a few curveballs, but letting them have agency in what their characters do in the made-up little world you're designing means they care about the world you're designing together, and about their characters' positions within that world. Whether they want to draw up a map of their party's favourite bar, and mark out which booth they always have booked, or their shared spaceship, or have a map of the town they live in so that they know where they can go to defend it when Orcs attack, or if they go to the trouble of sketching out a full-blown castle or bunker with defenses, they're doing stuff that means they're interested in what you're doing together. So encourage them! When they design a stronghold, threaten it! Let the defences they design get used, let the enemies they trusted betray them, let the secret chambers be useful when they're attacked. Enemies that just sweep past everything they're doing takes them out of the game, and tells them that it's not worth being invested, because you can just ignore the rules. How you can use player strongholds in your game: - When the players meet in their bar, ask them where it is. Ask them what it's like and what's on the menu, and what kind of terrible minstrel is playing in the corner. Get them to invest early in the game world, and make sure to keep it up! If you can, get someone to sketch a quick map (maybe while you look up stats for whatever they're about to get in a fist-fight with). - Encourage them to nest! When they want to renovate that old wizard's tower ruin, cool! You've got a base that stuff can happen to, instead of keeping them roaming across the countryside like cursed wanderers from Kung Fu. It'll mean a lot more when Old Mayor Perkins asks them to help with the Manticore in the mountains because it's been carrying off Farmer Joe's sheep, if they know Farmer Joe owes them some cash and he won't be able to deliver, or someone is chatting up his son. When Bugbears start raiding your town, that's a lot different to just "some random town 1d6+2 days away". - You're training your players to design maps and stock them with traps and guards. When you need a holiday from GMing, they're already halfway there! Also posted on Game Masters Stash on 22 March 2019. Wearing bling has historic and even modern reasons for being worn. So why don’t you often see players wearing it?
Wearing jewelry makes your wealth portable- no more bringing a wheelbarrow or wagon to transport all your money on a long journey, just turn it into expensive jewelry, and then redeem it for cash at the other end when you need to pay people (or literally hack it up and pay people with chunks of it). A commoner wearing rags and dirt isn’t likely to be ransomed (for what, their fleas?), but a noble high-class warrior wearing jewels can literally ransom themselves (why make an ongoing enemy by killing someone’s brother/sister/child/parent, when you can peacefully take their money and gear, and send them home poor but alive? This way, there are no hard feelings!). In modern times, this is allegedly the reason that pimps would wear blingy gold necklaces- any money they carried would be confiscated on arrest, but they could hand off a necklace to an associate to be pawned for bail money. Jewelry also isn’t usually as traceable as money in a bank account, which makes it quite handy for underworld figures. Having jewelry as part of your wardrobe also distinguishes you as someone who can afford to literally wear their money. People who think similarly are more likely to talk to you, make deals with you, and regard you well. This applies equally to nobles, merchants, and (perhaps surprisingly) mercenaries. Medieval mercenaries were often paid on the battlefield, or allowed to loot a city they had taken (leading to the term “to sack a place”), and so would often wear portions of very rich clothing, looted jewelry, and so on, to mark their success and effectiveness. In game terms, allowing player characters who dress in clothing other than “travelers’ gear” or “adventurers’ clothing” should gain a small bonus to interaction checks from their outfits, perhaps +1 to +5 depending on the tailoring, wardrobe co-ordination, fabulousness, appropriateness to the occasion, and cleanliness (filthy nobles’ silk garb that’s been dragged through a sewer will *definitely* not look as impressive!). (Originally posted on game Masters Stash on 21 February 2019) It’s a staple of many “HFY” stories that humans can pack-bond with anything, from wild animals, to Roombas, to a volleyball, to a robot marooned to die on an alien planet. They often advocate or even take extreme actions to recover or repair such objects, baffling other creatures.
While it seems to be partly a learned behavior, from hearing childrens’ stories about animate objects which cannot be animate (trees, socks, or children’s toys are common), part of it seems to be innate to humanity. It’s a triumph of humanity’s spirit over uncomforting logic. Let’s gamify that! Humanic Empathy is an ability gained by humans and those who are mostly-humans (half-Orcs, half-Elves, and similar races, but probably not Tieflings and Aasimar, unless they were raised thinking they were human) . When a character pack-bonds to a thing, identifying it as something valued and given personality characteristics which they wouldn’t normally have, their Humanic Empathy is activated. The object must be given a name, even if that’s “Spellbook McBookFace”. The human then gains a +1 determination bonus on saving throws against any effect which would force them to harm or otherwise abandon the object or creature. In addition, if the human is in touch contact with the thing for the majority of a long rest, they heal an additional 1 hit point during the rest. However, if the object is lost, damaged, or destroyed, the human gains no benefit from the next long rest immediately following. Why humans cannot easily extend this empathy to fellow intelligent creatures is unknown, and studied by many sages. (Originally posted on Game Masters Stash on 15 February 2019) (Everyone knows the story about Santa Claus, right? Big fat man with presents comin’ down the chimney, givin’ out presents? ‘Course they do. That’s all their minds can handle. The reality, unfortunately, is much darker. By attending this information session, you’re already being elevated to Sigma-Eta-3 level security clearance. So enter the room, agent, and let’s face some unpleasant realities. The entity known as “Santa Claus” is an posthuman of unknown origin. We know he was born in Turkey in around the 3rd century AD, and was a bishop in the city of Myra. He is known to have gone on a pilgrimage to Egypt as a teenager, and that’s when he encountered the entity. Somehow they merged, and since then, he’s been unkillable. He’s known to have localized mind control and reality alteration abilities, and what he wants with children, we don’t know, but we know he vanishes them and erases their existence. We believe the advertising campaign back in the 20s is some kind of PR thing he organized that makes it easier for him, which is why we’ve been trying the “Happy Holidays” operation for the last twentyish years. Last year, we lost fourteen agents across he globe. This year, it’s your turn. We’ve identified specific children who match his preferences. You’ve each got a target to protect, so make sure to read those dossiers and memorize your kids. If you fail, you might be the only one who remembers they were ever there at all. Now, let’s get a move on. It’s the night before Christmas, and not a creature’s peeping. We want to keep it that way. (Originally posted on Game Masters Stash on 24 December 2018) Categories All Hustle, a BBC tv show, succeeded and potentially tied in with the US tv show Leverage, is about con artists. Although there is some action (more so in Leverage), it’s about charm, intelligence, and the art of the con. It’s slick, sexy, and fun... and can unsurprisingly make for a great game or campaign. After all, not everyone want to be crazy and head into abandoned tombs full of undead and golems, or deal with murderous warlords with their weapons. But when everyone's playing a non-combat character, how do you make that fun? Well, it means opponents who resort to combat at truly dangerous, rather than run-of-the-mill. You want to make the danger in being discovered as a liar, or losing ground on your deal, not just hit points. You also need players to “buy into” the world, and giving them limited narrative of “stuff they prepared earlier” can be a lot of enjoyment for everybody, as long as you’re all on the same page. Letting people pull off the robbery of the century from a brutal warlord coming into the city to make an arms deal might be even more fun than just killing them and taking their treasure! You want to involve intrigue, various layers of scheming villains, and double-crosses. For a brilliant example, Scott Lynch’s Gentlemen Bastard sequence is well worth a read! (Originally posted on Game Masters Stash on 9 August 2018) Categories All |
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