| Whirring and turning - Kapiti College and other stuff |
[May. 21st, 2012|11:36 am] |
Yesterday was another Kapiti College session. I went in with low energy, so I was impressed to find energy within the session. Again, it wasn't amazing but it was good and it flowed very well. Dragon Age has been a big success, and the group I ran for is running it for themselves. It was awesome to hear their war stories.
It does mean that I need to find something new though, as they are running the adventures I had planned :) It was also excellent to see Mansions of Madness being run by other people and getting a good response. Unfortunately, as my backup, this means I am now completely adrift.
Kapiti College games are actually very taxing. I normally have a plan for what to run, but it rarely survives more than one session before I gain some new insight that makes me want to change my approach. I am leaning toward running Hunter the Vigil for them next meeting. It will be a test on how they handle some different genres such as horror, without leaping into that pool fully. Not that I think they would have an issue with horror, its just hard to execute in a way that wasn't reminiscient of my early Call of Cthulhu silliness.
If it goes well, I have plenty more Hunter to run. Its a very cool game with loads of support. It also has a good mix of action, horror and investigation in a modern setting with a rule system that is bang on for the players. It it goes very well, I have plans for a Geist game called The Nether. But I suspect that it won't get to that as I think the push toward more horror and personal drama will be unsuitable.
I have considered also Rogue Trader, Exalted, and Trinity. The last might be my next option if Hunter goes well, but not very well. It has a similar mix as Hunter, but with slighty greater PC power and a sci fi setting. The prewritten material is also well suited to the players.
In other news, I have started working on a one off horror convention scenario called Rejectamenta for World of Darkness: Innocents. The base plotting is done and I like it alot. Horror scenarios don't come to me often. Its sort of Stand By Me meets Urban Legends meets Silent Hill. Not sure how or if it will develop but I may post thoughts here as I go along. |
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| Episode Two - Bride and Extreme Prejudice and Zombies |
[May. 18th, 2012|01:50 pm] |
The Reflections took off and headed for Great Forks. After a short time, the craft began shuddering in the air and crashed into the ground from a loss of power. On the way down, the Brotherhood could see a farmstead below infested in shambling armoured figures. On landing the group went about removing the infestation. Adona who mauled in the process.
Going to the house, inside was a family held hostage by an undead figure. This figure has a strange green light burning in his eyes. He didn't seem to care for what was going on, except to announce to Adona that he was the servant of Seven Despairs, an undead lord and Adona's betrothed. At this revelation, and something icky about Seven Despairs owning Adona's real hands, the group ripped the messenger apart.
The Brotherhood was still unable to get the airship to take off, but by talking to the family they discovered that a large Bonestrider had been excavated here and its presence may be causing the loss of energy. The whole situation matched Phoena's dream. After some searching a path was found to some nearby ruins where both the Bonestrider and the rest of the undead horde was found.
It was lead by Wind That Shreds the Fallen, the deathknight that the Brotherhood had reluctantly allied to in the past. He revealed that he was here to obtain some information from some Forest Spirits but was unable to as the dead and death touched could not provide those spirits with the Essence needed to recall the information. After a short negotiation, the Brotherhood began the ritual with the Forest Spirits. |
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| Going over the Edge of the Wild |
[May. 11th, 2012|01:42 pm] |
My Tales from Wilderland for The One Ring starts tomorrow. I am looking forward to it.
The One Ring is one RPG that has been of constant interest to me in the last year. It has been incredibly well received and I have had a very small hand in it. Its light yet interesting mechanically. This has already shown up in some of the PC concepts. The adventures are well written and the setting has a very cool vibe to it.
There's something that stands out about the game already that I can't put my finger on. Something like it feeling more like a story or tale than a RPG. Only actual play will tell. |
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| Random RPG Updates |
[May. 7th, 2012|08:48 am] |
1. Yesterday I played in the second to last session of the longest running RPG I have been in, James Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay game. It looks likely to wrap up in June which will be its 5th year anniversary. Its been a fabulous game, one of the most consistently awesome that I have ever played, and knocked off a few things I wanted to do in RPGs that I never seemed to get around to :) We look likely to start a run of Rogue Trader after that, which should take us at least 3 years if our WFRP run is anything to go by.
2. Tales of Wilderland for The One Ring starts this Saturday. I expect it to take roughly 12 months to do the 8 sessions.
3. Crown of Kings for Advanced Fighting Fantasy is turning up really soon and is getting raves reviews. What better way to celebrate the series 30th anniversary. I definitely want to run it but my current scheduling will likely make it relatively sporadic. As fall backs I could look at Infrno or Kapiti College, given that they have taken up Dragon Age by themselves :)).
4. I am considering a Geist chronicle for Kapiti College. I need to do some more reading and thinking but I am inspired by a core idea I have (throwing in elements of Orpheus and Hunter the Vigil).
5. I need to finish Arnimor DUAL for Confusion. Recent CthulhuTech activity has started to build up my enthusiasm for the project again. On that front, the PbP that I played in 2008 to 2010 called OIS Underground and in which I played one of my tope three PCs has just sparked up again :) |
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| Episode One - New Beginnings |
[May. 4th, 2012|08:55 am] |
The Brotherhood mourned the passing of Cerulean, as well as the other many lost soldiers. However, Cerulean had not died. Instead, he found himself above a twisted landscape of sand and flesh. The wind howled around him and a disembodied voice spoke to him. It wanted him to help reunite itself with a part of its soul. Reluctantly, Cerulean agreed.
Cerulean found himself clawing his way out of the earth, much to the shock of those attending his funeral. When he appeared he carried the box which the Brotherhood had found in Denandsor but could not open.
Shortly after the reunion an airship arrived from the north. A Dragon Blooded loyal to Ledaal Jamak has come to give Alabrae an invite from his sister Aliset to come to Great Forks so they could finally set aside their differences. Alabrae did not want to go, but had no excuse to refuse a Dragon Blood of such power and influence.
The meeting was interrupted by a demonic attack that seemed centred on Cerulean. The assassins were tracked back to a capsule that had burrowed through the ground not far away. Several other tracks lead away from the sight. The Brotherhood set off early to follow, as they seemed to go in the same direction as Great Forks. On the way, they discovered a massing army of demons of a size that was almost unprecedented.
After some heated debate, it was decided that the Brotherhood would not confront the army and would instead travel to Great Forks to seek allies against it. |
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| Shades of Terra - Season 2 |
[May. 3rd, 2012|09:17 am] |
Shades of Terra starts tonight! Woot! I think its session 47 in the medley of Exalted games centred around the Red Sun. Looking forward to getting back into the mindset of Adona. |
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| Kapiti College Developments and Plans |
[May. 2nd, 2012|10:18 am] |
A while back I posted that I had swapped from my plans for Kapiti College from running DC Adventures (Supers!) to Hellas (Greeks in Space!). Due to the impending holiday in Auckland, I realised that I would run out of time to put Hellas together in the way I wanted to deal with certain foreseeable issues.
After a conversation with Sophie on the day before the holiday, I was reminded on the Dragon Age RPG. I have had a difficult past with the RPG. On many levels I should love it (its practically True 20) but due to some mechanical issues and the way it has been handled by GR, I remained only mildly interested. However, I always suspected that it would be a very good RPG for teenagers coming into the hobby. Marcus had run Dragon Age for Kapiti College a year or so ago and reported some good success.
Since Dragon Age RPG first came out, Green Ronin has released some more material patching up some of the setting and mechanical issues. The most important addition was some adventure support. Despite hearing some dire reports of the pre-written adventures, I found that they read pretty well. Certainly good enough to roll it in as a last minute replacement.
The resulting game went well. I don't think it was amazing, though that would have been a big ask given that the group was young and consisted of more than 50% of new RPGers. But the system held up and the adventure proved interesting and varied, without being confusing or overwhelming. It is definitely one of the easiest RPG experiences I have had with this age group proving, I think, my suspicion about the RPG's suitability. It was like an easy D&D session, without the baggage that D&D tends to import.
Anyway, I have two more sessions with the group and I think will stick with Dragon Age RPG, moving on the a Bann Too Many from the GM Screen. That will leave the Quickstart, Blood in Fereldan, the Set 2 adventure and (hopefully this year) Deep Roads free if I want to continue it.
The whole experience reminds me again of how difficult it is pitching games for this age group in this format. They really need to have pregenerated PCs to make it work for them, but there is almost no time to make them (or interest in doing so) or any reliability of getting the same players from session to session. You need just the right combination of elements to make it work. Though I would like to do Hellas, I am not confident that the players would have the required "Greek bravado" to make it work.
I think I would like to try something modern with them. Horror on the Orient Express tempted me, but I think the period would be an issue for many players. I am interested in seeing whether a personal modern RPG with some darkness (but not pure horror) could work. I actually think something like Geist could work but I am conscious of the age of the players. Instead I may try out Hunter the Vigil first. It may lack the personal element but the police investigation structure may be a suitable security blanket for the experiment. |
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| Shades of Terra - Items of Significance |
[May. 1st, 2012|07:59 am] |
The Divine and Inscrutable Path-
A map of creation that was entrusted to Adona by the Scion of house Ledaal, Kebok Omega. The map is completely accurate with all the known locations in creation that have been mapped by the Scarlet Dynasty to date. More importantly it is able to triangulate tangles in the weave, showing the location of events that are of significance in the greater destiny of Creation. At this time, it’s not possible to understand more about what this map is able to show you.
The Bronze Iron and Orichalcum Box-
The nature or significance of this item has yet to be determined. A small box that seems to be clad in the wood of both black and white ash. It’s reinforced by orichalcum and an unknown material, a dark bronzed iron. It is also covered in indecipherable glyphs made of the same materials. There is no obvious opening to the box. It was found in a factory cathedral in Denandsor with the corpse of possessed soldier clutching at it. It discharged a significant amount of energy when Adona attempted to pick it up, fortunately her Jade armour insulated her against the blast. After that, it was able to be recovered with relative ease. It is however, deceptively heavy.
The Scroll of the DWS-03 Divine Ascension-
Recovered in the same room as the box described above, these are blueprints for the construction of one of the most impressive royal warstriders that you’ve ever seen. Existing realm technologies could never replicate what is described in this scroll.
The scroll has the words ‘Calamity Trigger’ scrawled roughly in blood across a part of it (recent), and is covered with a great many annotations about its practical construction. It’s noted that the only forge known to have completed construction of the Warstrider was called the Red Sun. Having studied the plans, it should be understood that part of the difficulty of its construction (as explained in greater detail in the annotations), relies on being able to construct a reality engine and being able to install a component known as the The Twin Souls of the Forsaken and the Ascendant.
Salvage from Denandsor-
A selection of treasures, weapons and tech collected from the time that the Taskforce has spent in Denandsor. Of note are the component parts that relate to the construction of the Divine Ascension.
The Vitriolic Crystal-
This unnatural mineral was found in the well at the Village of Jadebrook. It was recovered by Cerulean and was surmised as being a contributing factor towards the epidemic that had been plaguing the town. Prior to its discovery, a senior representative of the town had heard from some of the villagers that an object matching its description had been sighted streaking across the sky after a massive explosion had been heard and seen coming from the direction of Denandsor. The explosion seemed to coincide with the events that left the first age city exposed. It was a raw form of a magical material that was alien to creation. Cerulean experienced an ominous vision when he picked it up, which he discovered that Adona could relate to because of a strange dream that she experienced before they departed from the realm.
Jackal’s Oricalchum Grand Daiklaive-
Tranquil Crossings had recently been raised by a horde of the walking the dead when the Taskforce had come across it. An ex-legionnaire had taken command of those that survived the attack. Amongst everything else, he explained that a woman had arrived prior to the attack and had sought shelter with them. She was strong, beautiful, but was deeply troubled in the time that they had known her. In the attack against the village she leapt to their defense and was seen in the thick of the battle wielding a large orichalcum sword and decimating her foes as they broke against her. In the aftermath, she was nowhere to be found, only her sword remained.
An Automaton’s Corrupted Core-
As the Taskforce ventured into Denandsor for the first time, amidst the signs of battle, they found a half-wrecked automaton whose every part had been corrupted by some terrible power. It appeared as though the corrupted essence that coursed through its servos and essence pathways had transformed it into a demon. Its armour took on the likeness of a insect’s carapace, with bone-like tusks erupting from its back and arms and leathery wings sprouting from its spine. A terrible maw seemed to open in its mouth and after it was defeated, its core was found to be encased in a fleshy substance. The core itself was intact, but would require a similar interface (such as a warstrider) in order to find out more about this origin of this hideous creation. Given the extent of the corruption, proper analysis has yet to be attempted. |
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| Shades of Terra - Cast List |
[Apr. 29th, 2012|08:53 am] |
This was sent out by NickP
Taskforce Terra
Cathak Raloke- Fire Aspect Dragon Blood
Veteran Warrior and General who came out of retirement to serve as a Talonlord for the Taskforce. Commands the Cathak delegation but ultimately defers to Phoena (somewhat begrudgingly at times). Phoena has however managed to make an impression on the grizzled warrior through her decisive victories and he now has high hopes for her.
Cathak Torana- Air Aspect Dragon Blood
A young, but confident and capable warrior. One of Raloke’s commanding officers. He was commanding a scale of Elite Troops when he was abducted by the infernal forces that had infected Denandsor. He was rescued before he could be indoctrinated by Torrent of Blasted Souls, the infernal who had made herself a part of the MI Core in Denandsor’s central manse and was previously thought to be defeated at the battle of Jadebrook. The full extent of how this torture has affected his character is unknown.
Cynis Zola- Wood Aspected Dragon Blood
A mysterious, aloof rogue and Alabrae’s cousin. He arrived bearing news of Alabrae’s sister, Aliset, and a madness that she is entertaining which has subsequently manifested in an attempt on Alabrae’s life. Zola seems to want to see his Cousin prevail in the coming conflict between these two siblings and has kept a low profile amidst the joint Taskforce. He maintains a fang of competent ‘helpers’ who he has been travelling with.
Ravenous Wrath - Realm Assassin
A former politician turned Assassin, he took a lucrative contract along with a number of other mercenaries to assassinate Alabrae. Cerulean Brook hired the Assassin as personal bodyguard after a brief and fruitless questioning as to the motive behind the attempt. Of note, he’s the only mortal to have not been rendered helpless by the miasmic virus incident in Jadebrook.
Allies and Antagonists
Ledaal Kebok Omegar- Scion of House Ledaal
Principle Ledaal sponsor, in conjunction with the Casis family Household. He entrusted an artifact that is mysteriously connected with the Loom of Fate ‘The Divine and Inscrutable Path’ to Adona.
Cathak Mae- Legendary Armourer and Artificer
Principle Cathak sponsor for the assembly of Taskforce Terra. She provided the means to outfit much of the Taskforce, including warstrider support teams and tech.
V’neef Aliset- Alabrae’s Sister
Aliset is an expert strategist and is the youngest woman from the V’neef household, so is also the most eligible. She spent two years abroad in the deep forests of the far east and of the two siblings, is the family favourite. She has been responsible for putting Alabrae’s reputation into question. She was also supposedly responsible for an attempt on his life prior to the Taskforce’s departure from the Realm.
The Blood Imperator/Sejico- Heroic Mortal
Sejico earned himself a reputation as an anathema slayer in the Scavenger Lands. Through luck, cunning, determination and brashness, he has sustained this reputation living long enough that he has attracted mercenaries and other lost souls to his cause. Seeing the Dragons of Taskforce Terra in action, he defers to their skill and knowledge, relying on them for guidance. He commands a Talon of competent, but unruly fighters. Iron Crow (native of Jadebrook) and Resolve of the Mountain (Sejico’s 2IC) are the only two named followers.
The Wind That Shreds The Fallen- Deathknight
An imposing figure clad in soulsteel armour, tattered robes and bandages. Knowing that the Dragons of the Taskforce would not under normal circumstances assist his kind, he forced them into an uneasy truce by untethering the souls of a number of the living soldiers from the Taskforce and holding them to ransom.
After the Dragons were willing to bargain with him, he explained that he needed their assistance in defeating an approaching army under the command of a rival Deathknight. This Deathknight sought the power of a recently created rift leading to the Underworld. Fallen's intention was to close this rift and by doing so, prevent a large portion of creation from falling into Shadowlands.
He wielded his sorcerous power and provided the mortal soldiers with the conviction to stand against the mighty horde of the damned. Having seen the defeat of this rival Deathknight, he closed the rift and disappeared into the night. Why a Deathknight would wish to stop a part of creation from falling into the shadows is still unknown, as his current allegiance.
Vengeance Who Paints The World Crimson- Deathknight (Deceased)
A Deathknight who openly displayed his allegiance to the Deathlord Eye and Seven Despairs. He commanded an army of horrors bent on claiming the power that this rift promised should his master control it. In contrast to his rival, he was elegant and beautiful, wearing very little to cover his alabaster physique. The strategies employed against the undead horde by the Taskforce were enough to break their ranks and allow the Dragons an opening to strike one final and combined attack to put him down. His intentions beyond the rift were not known.
Torrent of Blasted Souls- Green Sun Princess (Deceased)
While her physical appearance was that of a beautiful young maid, she was first discovered as an entity that inhabited the Material Intelligence of the manse beneath the village of Jadebrook. She was an agent of She Who Lives In Her Name and sought to rid the world of those who would not relinquish their free will. She was also actively searching for an artifact that was held somewhere in Denandsor. She was defeated in a battle atop the manse, but not before she released a sorcerous effect that instantly removed the free will of any mortals caught in it. Once her influence had been removed, the effect of the virus yet remained and it was only through the perseverance of the Dragons that the people of Jadebrook and the many soldiers of Taskforce Terra could be saved.
This was not the end of her however, her soul traversed the Dragon lines and was able to take up residence within the MI of Denandsor. Her corrupting influence turned the city into a Deathtrap as sleeping Automatons were activated and flooded the streets. Cathak Torana was a casualty in this surprise attack and the Dragons mounted a rescue attempt of their comrade in retaliation. Through a series of hard-fought battles, a second and final defeat of the infernal agent was achieved. It came at a loss however, as the ever optimistic Cerulean Brook was blasted out of existence in the opening volley of this climatic encounter.
The Undone
This entity appeared in the craterous ruins that make up the south-western corner of Denandsor. An immaterial entity that was wreathed in shadows, its only distinguishing features being the lurid green tattoos burnt into its arms and a dull green flame that existed in the place of its eyes. He was a remnant of the power that was left in the wake of this explosion, given consciousness by a mortal host that it had consumed. It did not have the ability to leave the physical area that it was brought to life in without additional essence.
Later, it was surmised that a benevolent spirit of Denandsor coupled with the infernal power of The Undone, neutralised the corruption that had infected Denandsor’s MI. It appeared as though Torrent of Blasted Souls was acquainted with the power that brought The Undone into being, but as soon as the automaton carrying these two aspects appeared, it was consumed by the release of energy that purged the MI. |
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| Greeks In SPPPAAACCCCCEEEEEEEEEE |
[Apr. 16th, 2012|12:17 pm] |
Despite enjoying Mutants and Masterminds 3e a lot (mechanically its just a sweet game) I have decided not to run Teen Titans for Kapiti College Gaming Club. I just think it will be a difficult ask and I am not 100% sold that the "setting" is compelling for them. Fortunately, I may run the game at another time with gaming friends, so the work is no great loss.
Instead, I have switched to Hellas. I am new to the RPG but it is pretty much Greek myths set as a space opera. Replace islands with planets, ships with spaceships, put the letters 'on' at the end of the Gods names, etc.
The system is a little crufty (being based on Talislanta's 20 year old system) but simple at its heart which tends to work well. Roll a D20 add Attribute + Skill against a DC. Its a lot like a simplified D20 if you removed the other dice used for damage. The setting is interesting but not bizarre. The adventures for it are straightforward (you must go here on a quest) but flexible allowing for direction without demanding it (no mysteries, dungeon crawls or extensive social intrigue). They have the requisite level of opportunity for spectacular scenes and action.
Overall, it looks like a fun game. Not one I would have pursued on my own bat TBH, but I think it should be a good one for the group. I used to love Greek myths at that age and Star Warsian space opera is a pretty sure thing too. |
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