Happy New Year everyone! I still have over four hours left here in the States, but I want to copy over a tradition from the PbP site I own/run (GotEXP), where I've posted gaming-related, New Years Resolutions for the past 10 years. Before I jump into it, I want to take a moment and thank every one of you who reads this blog. I've never been a consistent blogger and was surprised I actually kept up with it for three months, when I revived the blog back in June. Work and personal life got the better of me for the last four, yet I still noticed activity here and readers checking out my posts despite my inactivity, so I want to keep at it and thank all of you again for reading.
I hope 2015 brings you all joy, the best of luck, and happy gaming!
Now, let's see what resolutions I put down for 2014 and what I accomplished, before I list my goals for 2015:
New Years Resolutions for 2014 1. Run a game of Dungeon World, where at least one PC reaches level 10 2. Have a PC in Dungeon World reach level 10 3. Run and/or play Inverse World and Pirate World 4. See some of my submissions for Pirate World make it into the book 5. Play Mouse Guard, Torchbearer, and Burning Wheel 6. Play Lady Blackbird 7. Play The Quiet Year 8. Play Fiasco and Durance 9. Play FAE and/or FATE Core 10. Play Star Wars: Edge of the Empire 11. Illustrate a scene from one of the Dungeon World/Planet games I play/run 12. Have my PC become chief of the Orc tribe and make a pact with a hobgoblin
1-2. No and no, I haven't ran or played a DW game where any PC has reached Level 10. I still play DW, though, and I'd love to see that happen! 3. No, Inverse World and Pirate World still haven't happened. I almost ran/played IW, but almost doesn't count, heh. 4. Maybe (pending). For those of you who have been following Pirate World's development, it took a plunge for a little while, but the guys behind the Kickstarter are back on it, and Iain Chantler (James Hawthorne on G+) just announced yesterday that the text is all finished. I'm not sure if my submissions made it into the book or not, but either way, I'm still excited to read it and play it! 5. Yes, yes, and yes (sort of), hehe. I played a one-shot, Mouse Guard game who my friend, +Lloyd Gyan, ran at Jackercon IV (http://youtu.be/OFHWbmuVnv4). Lloyd also ran six sessions of Torchbearer (two APs can be found here), which I played in, though the game sadly fizzled out. We've been trying to get at least one more session in to finish up the adventure, but it hasn't happened yet. Finally, I said, "kind of," to Burning Wheel, because I got to play a scripted battle, though I haven't officially played the game through character creation or even a single session. 6. Yes! Lloyd ran a live, Lady Blackbird game via Hangouts one day when Torchbearer didn't happen. It was fantastic! I even started a Lady Blackbird PbP on GotEXP, but it fizzled out and hasn't seen activity since the beginning of the month. 7. No. I tried to get a game in the past, two weeks, but it didn't happen. +Riley Adamson, over on GotEXP, says he's interested in trying out a PbP version, so hopefully that'll happen in 2015. 8. No and no. :( I did get an awesome, Fiasco shirt though, and I still really want to play it and Durance. 9. Yes and no. I finally got to play FAE this past week! It was a one-shot, space noir run by, you guessed it, Lloyd, and it was awesome! I want to try Fate Core next. I should also add that earlier this year, I played a few sessions of Dresden Files with the old, Fate rules run by +James Savko, though it doesn't really count toward the resolution. 10. No, but Lloyd said he'll run a game for me in the future. All I have to do is make a character. I want to make that happen soon. 11. Yes (sort of). I haven't had time to illustrate full scenes, but I did illustrate some characters (including two space gnomes from the Dungeon Planet PbP I'm running who are standing next to a Dalek). You can check them all out here, [url]mishapolonsky.tumblr.com[/url]. 12. Yes and yes. Huzzah! My Orc Fighter, Nok, did become Chief in a Number Appearing/Dungeon World PbP game on GotEXP, the Hobgoblin Barbarian PC did join Chief Nok's Inner Circle, so I certainly consider that a pact!
All in all, I accomplished 5/12 of my 2014 resolutions. That's not too shabby, considering that last year, I accomplished about 1/13 resolutions for 2013. Though, as an added bonus, GotEXP finally got its own dice roller this year which was part of the 2013 list.
Anyway, here is my list for 2015: A Gamer's New Year Resolutions for 2015 1. Run and/or play a Storium game. 2. Run and/or play a Dungeon World game, where a PC reaches level 10. 3. Run Mouse Guard and/or Torchbearer. 4. Create a character for Burning Wheel and play at least one session. 5. Run another 12-13 episodes (game sessions) for the 2nd season of the Tears of a Machine game I ran this past summer (Tales of the Arx Jericho) and post APs for them here. 6. Create and release a supplement for Tears of a Machine. 7. Create and release an adventure module and/or supplement for Dungeon World and/or Adventures on Dungeon Planet. 8. Finish running the current session of the Dungeon Planet PbP I'm running on GotEXP (226: Story of the Year 3443). 9. Finish running the DW PbP adventure, Sagas of Mahr-En (as in see the PCs complete their quest of imprisoning the Bone Wand of Beshi or die trying). 10. Play at least one of the following games: Inverse World, Pirate World, Apocalypse World (via Hangouts or in person), Ryuutama, Numenera, Lords of Gossamer & Shadow, Scarlet Heroes, any World of Darkness with the updated, God Machine Chronicles rules (especially Demon: the Fallen), Urban Shadows, Monsterhearts, Star Wars: Edge of the Empire, WH40k Dark Heresy, Iron Kingdoms, Serpent’s Tooth, Fate Core, Fiasco, Durance, Lamentations of the Flame Princess, Savage Worlds, D&D 5e, Microscope (to completion), Apocalypse World: Dark Ages (at least a few sessions real-time or further exploration if PbP, since our play tests fizzled out), Wield, The Clay That Woke, and more. 11. Be more active on GotEXP, G+, and the RPG communities than I have been this year. 12. Avoid month-long hiatuses for GotEXP games and/or my blog. Hopefully I can complete at least half of these goals or more!
What are your gaming New Years Resolutions for 2015?
Previously
The CRC facility has only eight minutes left until self-destruction. Meanwhile, the Arx Jericho is still under lockdown, and the Mayzor have landed an assault on the Arx itself.
Dr. Johnson takes Rick, Serena, and Opsie to suit up in their Prophets, while Jason takes point on overwriting the self-destruct sequence. With his teammates supporting him, he's successful, and AK-47 leads them outside toward HQ, where Jason, Sarah, Strudel, Billy, and Joanne suit up to board their SAInts and defend the Arx against the enemy.
While Rick, Serena, and Opsie free Kazuhiro, Laurie, and their other classmates from the cafeteria, Sarah leads the others to free Miguel and Raspberry from the dorms, Bala and Lieke from the simulation building, and Stephanie from the classrooms.
All the while, the Prophet and SAInt pilots fight off a hoard of Locusts: including the usual Soldiers, Brawlers, and Archers, and two, new classes of aerial-based Locusts (Choppers which resemble dragonflies and Bombers which look like giant moths hovering in the sky).
After Rick, Serena, and Opsie secure the cafeteria, they proceed to Dr. Harris's office and take flight to take out one of the Bombers.
Suddenly, the MetaTron exhibits the same static the pilots experienced in New Alamo. Their fears that the Mayzor have hacked in are confirmed, when Commander Yamasuka's voice starts ordering SAInts to target Robbies and military vehicles. What happens next shocks the pilots even more, as Sarah witnesses Strudel draw his shotgun on Joanne, while she prepares to fire off her rocket launcher back at point blank range.
"We can't control this! Help!" Joanne tries to communicate through the MetaTron, amidst the static.
It seems neither of the pilots can control their frenzying SAInts.
"Joanne!" Rick calls out telepathically.
Sarah and Billy rush in to restrain her, while Strudel runs off toward HQ.
Meanwhile, Commander Yamasuka's real voice comes through the network, and she's telling the frenzying SAInts to ignore her previous orders and stand down.
They don't respond.
Finally, Dr. Johnson hails Rick on a private channel.
Tuesday, September 2nd 2031
18:10
"Rick, can you hear me?" Dr. Johnson asks over the MetaTron, despite the static.
"Yeah, I can hear you," Rick replies.
Dr. Johnson asks Rick for a status report on the MetaTron hacking, the frenzying SAInts, and Commander Yamasuka's false orders. He also says the CRC facility is surrounded by Locusts and needs an extraction to get to Operations.
Rick answers his questions truthfully and sends Serena and Opsie to go get him. Serena is hesitant, but Opsie quickly takes advantage of the situation to make herself look good and says, "Come on Serena, I've got a plan!"
Plethora of Problems
The Bombers hovering high above the Arx weapons turrets begin firing their high-powered, particle beams straight down.
Commander Yamasuka coordinates with Commander McGarry of the military who agrees that they need to raise the Arx defensive shields to maximum power, even if that means taking the weapons, Operation's computers, and the MetaTron offline.
While Sarah and Billy continue to restrain Joanne, Rick asks AK-47 for a solution to deal with the hacked SAInts. AK-47 relays the Commanders' plan but is hesitant to shut the MetaTron offline, so Jason, Sarah, Billy, and Serena all chime in to convince her otherwise.
Meanwhile, a group of Choppers fly toward the engines to take them out, and warning sounds blare across the Arx.
Rick flies off after them and calls out to Joanne one last time before the MetaTron goes offline: "Joanne, if you can hear me, hang in there!"
Joanne replies with a sinister laugh, followed by, "Come join me for a Kendo match, Rick!"
All communication throughout the MetaTron halts abruptly, and the frenzied SAInts return to normal, but the Robbies and military continue to fire at them.
Rick grows angry at Joanne's response, as he passes by. Sarah calls out to him directly through her SAInt's speakers and asks him to tell the military to stand down and focus on Locusts.
Sarah and Billy relinquish their hold on Joanne, and Sarah asks her if she's alright.
"Yeah, Sarah, let's kick the Mayzor's ass right now! I'm ready to fight! Let's get em!" Joanne replies over the speakers, and as she asks Sarah what the plan is, a great lightning bolt flashes down from the sky and lands atop a helipad at the center of the Arx.
Terrified faces look up to bear witness to one of the oldest and most powerful Magnas the world has ever known.
Asmodeus: This Magnas is the most feared and despised that has been faced by Preservation Forces. Asmodeus is the largest and most misshapen of its rank. It was one of the original robots launched in the first Mayzor assaults and has been on numerous deployments since then. Asmodeus stands over 280 feet tall and individual limbs have branched and braided together into two huge arms sprouting from the shoulders of a tapering trunk-like body. Clusters of wings lash like thorn tendrils over its bult. Its head is a pyramid of howling beastly faces crowned with a huge broken mask with a contented smile on its lips. The most horrifying feature of Asmodeus are the "corpses" of three SAInts impaled on its body, crucified victims of the Magnas.
- Excerpt from Tears of a Machine, pp. 181
Aerials in the Sky
Jason starts moving toward the bow of the Arx and targets a Bomber above the fore, weapon turret at High Ballistics (HB) range with his EZK-L Particle Beam sniper. It explodes, as groups of Chopper reinforcements come buzzing out of the Wormwood in the central garden. Three of them head for the engines, three head toward Asmodeus, and the last two target the turret closest to Sarah and Jason.
Rick reaches the engines and faces a total of six Choppers at Firearms (FA) range. He fires his Levic Pistol at one of them, and it explodes on the side of the Arx. The remaining five continue to fire at the engines.
With the Choppers at the front in FA range of the SAInt pilots, Jason fires off his Levic Pistol, while Sarah uses her RDav Combat Rifle, or "Giant Killer." The Chopper that Jason hits spirals off course and crashes into the side of the cafeteria building, while Sarah's mark explodes into pieces just before reaching the turret.
On the other side of the Arx, a mixed group of aerial Locusts successfully destroy another weapon turret.
Rick continues to go after the Choppers attacking the engines, but he's inhibited by a flood of ghastly, wailing, young voices begging to be saved. It turns out Asmodeus has found a way to penetrate the SAInt, telepathic network by keeping the pilots of the crucified SAInts alive in torment. Fortunately, most of the SAInt pilots are unaffected due to the disabled MetaTron, but the Prophets' psychic, communication channels are still disrupted. Rick fails to hit the Choppers this time, and they take out the backup generators.
Sarah, Jason, Joanne, and Billy rush back toward the dorms. Before annihilating the rest of the Bombers and Choppers, they want to prevent any more reinforcements from surprising them by eliminating the Wormwood in the garden. Sarah targets it with her Tiamat Multiple Missile System, but the projectiles wipe out the entire garden along with the Wormwood in a great display of fireworks, just as a lightning bolt comes down to beam up whatever scorched remains are left of the spherical capsule.
Most of the SAInt pilots are in awe. Allen is too, as he drops the Twins off at HQ. Inside the hangar, Kazuhiro and Laurie are gearing up for deployment, and back at the dorms, Jason reloads his rifle while running toward the remaining, aerial Locusts to take them down.
By now, Opsie and Serena have brought Dr. Johnson to HQ, and they regroup with Rick. He changes distance to get into Close Quarters (CQ) range of the Choppers and takes out two simultaneously with his dual 'Arc Swords.
Jason snipes down one of the last, two, remaining Bombers with Joanne's help, while Sarah and Billy take out the other one.
After the Bombers are destroyed, the SAInts near HQ inform Operations, and within minutes, the defensive shields go back down and the surviving, weapon turrets are online and operational.
Finally, with Serena and Opsie's help, Rick activates his Prophet's supreme, Vanquish protocol which taps into the Mayzor, telepathic network to seize control of the self-repair, nano-machine systems of the remaining Choppers in order to dismantle them via telepathic command. The last, three Choppers suddenly unravel, and millions of pieces plummet toward the earth.
Now that the engines are safe, the Prophets return to HQ to meet up with the SAInts so that they can take out the remaining Locusts and focus their efforts on Asmodeus.
Last of the Locusts
While the pilots of Alpha and Bravo Company get into their positions, and Jason mans the turret he's been dying to get his SAInt's hands onto, they all take cover from Asmodeus's deadly lasers, while Blue Company wipes out the last, remaining Locusts threatening HQ.
Serena helps Rick engage the two, closest Brawlers at CQ range, and he swoops down to impale them both with his swords.
Next, Laurie helps Rick engage two Soldiers at CQ, and he slices their tails off before destroying them.
Finally, Rick targets the last, remaining Archer with his pistol, but the cries emanating from Asmodeus's crucified SAInts startles him again, but he's able to defeat the Archer with Opsie's help. She, of course, takes credit for the kill and proceeds to showboat, but at least HQ is saved.
As the Robbies and military attack the last Locusts outside the CRC facility, the Prophets and SAInts face off against one, last, enormous threat.
All Hope Seems Lost
"Make a hole!" Rick cries out, as he engages Asmodeus at CQ range with Jason, Sarah, and Billy helping him out. Unfortunately, the Magnas is much too powerful, and even though Rick ends up where he wants, Asmodeus's lasers tear through his SAInt, and he loses Resolve on top of that. Sarah, Jason, and Billy are all injured as well, though Sarah's SAM-L Shield prevents some of her damage.
Jason fires at Asmodeus from his turret but misses. Sarah, Strudel, Joanne, and Billy miss as well, and they all take another round of damage, as lasers shoot through their porcelain bodies and expose their inner structure.
Rick attempts to attack Asmodeus with his double, 'Arc Swords, but even with help from Serena, Opsie, and Laurie, he's unable to land a decent hit. Asmodeus retaliates, and Rick is practically crushed to the ground, as he loses more Resolve.
The pilots scramble to catch their bearings and figure out how they'll take Asmodeus down.
Will they fail? Will they die? If they do, will they take the Magnas down with them?
All hope seems lost for the people of the Arx Jericho, but the pilots can't give up.
They won't give up.
Altogether Now
"Alright guys, follow this in!" Sarah yells through her speakers, as she takes point and fires off her last set of Tiamat missiles in an all-out, coordinated attack against Asmodeus which finally connects.
Jason blasts it with his big ass, turret gun.
Rick flies around it, slashing its limbs and clipping its wings off with his swords.
Joanne screams, "DIE!" as she fires her rocket launcher.
All the other SAInts and Prophets join in the fight and go all out with their respective weapons.
The three SAInts crucified to the Magnas explode. Its wings crumble to dust. Its trunk-like legs and huge, braided arms collapse and tear apart. Its head flies into the air with a contented smile still plastered over its lips, and its body crushes the scorched remains of the garden, as the head and self-destructing core explode simultaneously, and the citizens of the Arx Jericho witness the greatest blast they have ever seen.
Image used without permission.
Source: http://tinyurl.com/q5tqg3t
The air grows silent in the aftermath of the explosion, and the sight of the damaged Arx is quite surreal.
After the pilots return to HQ, the Operation's computers and MetaTron network go online again and a debriefing ensues. The pilots responsible in taking down Asmodeus are awarded special medals, and the pilots of Blue Company and Alpha Company go on to receive higher accolades and become worldwide celebrities in the following months.
The Arx Jericho instantly begins repairing itself, and the Preservation Forces are already discussing future plans with the CRC. The SAInts have preserved humanity once again, but an important lesson has been learned. The people of Earth can not wait around any longer in shelter or hiding, while the Mayzor continue to attack indefinitely.
It's high time for Earth to fight back and go after the Mayzor mother ship, Tartarus.
It's time to unleash Operation: Blue Moon.
Image used without permission. Source unknown.
I take absolutely no credit for this image.
End of Episode 13
End of Season 1
Director Commentary
Phew! Holy moly, what a season!
First off, I apologize that I'm posting this AP incredibly late, but four months is still better than no AP at all! Two, quick notes. First, Blue Company is a term I came up with months after running Episode 13 to describe the special ops company of Prophets which include Rick, Serena, and Opsie. Second, I quoted an except from the Tears of a Machine book and paraphrased several other lines regarding equipment and Asmodeus's cries. All credit for those names and explanations belongs to Russell Collins, author of the book and creator of the game.
As always, here's the actual, YouTube recording of the Hangouts on Air.
NOTE: I now keep all of the APs on my channel unlisted due to my animation/portfolio work that's on there (I still like keeping everything in one channel), so if you cannot view the video, please let me know, and I'll fix it!
When we finished this game back in August, I asked the players if they wanted a second season in the near future, and the unanimous decision was a definite yes. However, we felt we needed a break, so I suggested trying to start the game up again after the New Year. Well, it's been almost five months now, and earlier this month, I brought up the idea of running Season 2. Not only was everyone still on board from the original cast, but two more players have decided to join the party! Tales of the Arx Jericho, Season 2, Episode 01 kicks off in a little less than two weeks. Our first game is scheduled for Sunday, January 4th 2015, while in-game, it'll also be a new year (Sunday, January 4th 2032). Go ahead and look up the date! Pretty cool, right? Here's the link for the G+ Hangouts on Air event for the game, in case you're interested in checking it out. https://plus.google.com/u/0/events/c498vnt8nicb8ea0929dodl5850?authkey=CN3Hh8LywfDxKQ +Robert Ruthven, +Wolfie Fang, and +David Andrews will reprise their roles as Rick Hunter, Sarah Werner, and Jason Reyes respectively. We also have +Lloyd Gyan joining us with Esteban "Spearhead" Knowles of Alpha Company and +Russell Collins (creator of Tears of a Machine) joining us with Martin "Skitz" Oiseleur of Alpha Company as well. It looks like we're shooting for weekly, Sunday games, so if you've been following the story so far, you certainly don't want to miss what's in store for Season 2!
Season 2 Teaser
Four months have passed since the Battle of Jericho, and far too much has happened in so little time. Not only has the Arx Jericho nearly completed its repairs, it's made incredible advancements to its design and infrastructure, enabling it to take flight into space and become the first Arx to exist outside of Earth. The Preservation Forces and the CRC have outfitted all the SAInts and their equipment to operate in zero G and low gravity environments. All citizens aboard the Arx Jericho have received rigorous training to survive and function properly whilst orbiting in space, and the SAInt pilots have received even more, specialized training to undergo a set of missions prepared for them under the classified codename, Operation: Blue Moon. The SAInt Program has expanded to include five, full companies (Alpha, Bravo, Charlie, Delta, and Echo), as well as a special ops team called Blue Company which is now comprised of four, Prophet pilots including: Rick, Serena, Opsie, and Sarah. Their first destination is to the moon in order to secure a base of operations before targeting Tartarus and leading humanity's first, and hopefully only, counter attack against the Mayzor. Meanwhile, many of the pilots' lives have changed dramatically in the past, four months. Opsie, Serena, Rick, Sarah, Jason, Strudel, and Joanne are the most famous, SAInt pilots on Earth. Some of their relationships have changed, while others haven't. Billy retired from the SAInt Program just three weeks short of his 18th birthday and has joined the Preservation Forces under Dr. Johnson's wing. He's being groomed as the new, Junior Head of Security. With all these changes, many questions still remain: • Will Operation: Blue Moon be successful? • How vulnerable will the Arx Jericho be orbiting in space? • Will the Mayzor continue to attack Earth despite the oncoming, counter attack? • Is Rafe Hunter actually a Mayzor General, and what does that mean? • Are there other, Mayzor agents still on Earth, disguised as humans? • Is Dr. Johnson actually friend or foe? • Will Rick and Serena Hunter ever see their captured mother? Will Jason Reyes see his? • Will the new companies get along with the old ones? • Will the rearranged companies be able to thrive and work together as a team? • What new Mayzor and dangers await our heroes? Tune in, as we play to find out! PER SCIENTAM VICTORIA - Through Knowledge, Victory And as always, May the SAInts preserve us.
-.-. .- .--. - .- .. -. .----. ... / .-.. --- --. --..-- / -- --- -. -.. .- -.-- --..-- / .- ..- --. ..- ... - / ..--- ..... - .... / ..--- ----- .---- ....- Translate This past weekend was very eventful, from the Doctor Who season premiere to playing a third DW session and trying out Lady Blackbird for the first time. PbPs are blooming on GotEXP, I got some fun artwork done, and I have some new products that I'm pretty excited for. Time for This Geek's Week!
APs, Hangout Games
Dungeon World Several days ago, I posted the AP for Session 1 of the DW campaign, Into the Desert, that I'm playing in over G+ Hangouts. I also created a pretty cool map with a lot of blanks, as is customary with DW. We met even earlier on Sunday, due to scheduling conflicts, but we still had our usual, three hour session that went really well. Our group spent most of the session fighting rogue, female bandits, posing as followers of Zawa, in a different part of the cave where we fought the giant scorpions. Yaygo immediately ran off and refused to join the fight due to his moral quandaries over invading someone else's home, especially when we promised not to unsheathe our weapons. Elohïr got on his case about it, because we had no choice but to defend ourselves. The rogues attacked us! Elohïr and Lux killed a portion of them and chased the rest out of the cave and into a sandstorm. Elohïr and Lux caved the place in and everyone met back in the bandits' hideout, where Valerius had converted some remaining heretics to see the light of Zawa. The unconscious woman, who Valerius healed last session, came to and displayed strange, magical powers. Objects levitated around her, she tried affecting Valerius with a calming spell, and she then turned invisible and ran off. We found a locked, treasure chest that was trapped, so Valerius had the converted heretics open it. Inside, we found 100 coins and a map with a new landmark, one of the last, living trees in the southland called Spirit Wood. It's cursed with poisonous fungi that drives elves feral and turns them into savage, mindless beasts. Finally, we left the cave to chase down the rogues' leader, Minerva, and the rest of the bandits who we suspected would steal the gold collected from the Harvesters. We braced the sandstorm, reached the Harvesters, and finished the session in a final battle between Yaygo, Elohïr, Lux, and the remaining bandits. Minerva tried to escape, but we called her out to come fight us, and the session ended on a cliffhanger with her about to attack. Overall, it was a great session. The fight scene didn't feel as smooth as our battle with the scorpions, perhaps because there was a bit more confusion in terms of positioning and who was attacking who, but we had some interesting scenes. I felt there were a few, minor hiccups that could have played out better, but that didn't take away from the overall fun of the game. After all, I believe GMs and players learn more with each, new session they play. The AP for last week's session is almost done and will be up soon, and I'll get the one for the third session up as well before the next game. Lady Blackbird The usual, Torchbearer game I play later in the afternoon on Sundays was cancelled again due to one player not being able to make it. It's been three or four weeks since our group played, and I was set on playing anything, so I suggested playing Lady Blackbird instead. I never played the game before, and +Lloyd Gyan loves running it, so we were fortunate enough to have him run it with some of us once again. Immediate reaction - I freaking love this game! I played with +John Evans, from the Torchbearer game, and one other player who had never played Lady Blackbird before, and we had a really great time playing a one shot that lasted almost four hours. We had Naomi Bishop, Kale Arkam, and Snargle, leaving Lady Blackbird and Cyrus Vance as NPCs. Highlights included: a violent escape from the brig; disguising ourselves in Imperial uniforms and bluffing our way through the Hand of Sorrow; distracting officers and knocking out Captain Hollas to rescue Lady Blackbird and Cyrus after hearing morse code and deciphering that they've been recognized; trading a pistol with topaz, gold inlay, and a sapphire laser sight for fuel on Haven in a noir scene, where Snargle also set a dinner date with Janet Heelum, Goblin P.I.; Kale reacquainting with his brother, Tobias the Serpent, in the seedy underground in search of an antidote for Cyrus and Lady Blackbird; Naomi, Lady Blackbird, and Cyrus being captured by Xavier Firefly, Naomi's old slave master, and Naomi unable to punch through him after he spontaneously combusted like the Human Torch; Kale, Snarge, and Tobias finding the pirate king, Uriah Flint to storm Xavier's pit-fighting arena to find their captures friends; and a final stand-off between Xavier and his guards while escaping the arena and getting Uriah Flint to quickly marry Lady Blackbird. The ending was a bit rushed, since some of us ran out of time, but overall, it was an immensely fun game and proved twenty times easier than any PbtA (Play by the Apocalypse) game I've played. The rolling mechanics are similar to Mouse Guard and Torchbearer (roll d6s with 4, 5, and 6 being successful) but still unique in that traits and tags add to the dice pool, and you can add dice from a personal pool that only replenishes after a Refresh scene in between major parts of the game. Total successes are compared to a difficulty score. If you succeed, your action goes as planned. If you fail, you get any dice back that you pulled from your personal pool plus one more and a potential condition. There's no HP to track, and you can't really die in this game, since you can get rid of one condition during a Refresh scene (including the dead condition). Earning XP by hitting Keys is an extremely easy and straightforward process. The GM really doesn't plan anything; they just ask a whole bunch of questions and run with the players' answers while providing obstacles and setting difficulties for actions. Finally, the steam-fantasy setting provides plenty of flexibility. Our game had some high-tech, steampunk flavor, noir scenes, fantasy magic, and a gladiatorial arena reminiscent of Ancient Rome. Even though this was a one-shot, I'm hungry for more and would be down to play this game again in a heartbeat. I'm also fairly confident I can run it after just one session, so I brought it up again on GotEXP. I wanted to run it almost a year ago as a PbP, but nothing came of it. Now that I've played it, I'm bringing it up again. Two players have expressed interest so far, so if you're looking for a Lady Blackbird PbP, look for the Game Creation/Recruitment threads on GotEXP! www.gotexp.com
GotEXP and PbPs
226 SoY 3443 (Adventures on Dungeon Planet) The PCs are preparing for the arrival of Jaxx and his crew. B-T, the beat-boxing roboBard, and Rosalina, the alien Mutant, ran into some Grenba Orko (Emerald Orc) priests of Pu'scha, Herald of Omens, that were possessed by an excommunicated priest of the Arena who's allegedly traveling with Jaxx. Ni'blu, the gnome mechanic, gave Howard, the Engine of Destruction (factory designation Droid Mall Inc. Limited Edition Killbot 4000 Heavy Weaponized Reinforced Self-Repairing Liquidation Droid XLE), more information on a Gobloid in Jaxx's crew equipped with an arachnoid, cybernetic system. Finally, a new player joined the game who'll be playing Lerin, a human Psion. He sees the Grenba Orkos priests as heretics and has been targeting them all around Earth-3. I'm about to introduce Lerin to the game, and we're still waiting on another, PC to join in named Jimbo, the human Earthling. The Caverns of Baal-Harrir (Dungeon World / Number Appearing) Down in the sewers, while en route to the kobolds, an undead husk thing named Trolthep the Immortal asked Nok to give back the dagger that Skitch, the Ratkin Mastermind, stole in exchange for a favor. Chief Nok didn't understand Trolthep and chose to take him out so that Trolthep didn't alert the kobolds they were coming. Nok and Klopp, the Hobgoblin Barbarian, killed Trolthep and the party continued further into the sewers, where they're now on flatter ground and making camp before finally storming the kobolds' lair. Aetheron (Dungeon World) This game is starting to see action again, but we're still on two different scenes. There's a flashback, where everyone is helping ZoR, the Ettin Wizard, take control of a manticore they shrunk down to the size of a dog via a ritual. There's also the present scene, where the party is investigating the basement of a high-end tavern after discovering spider eggs and seeing a premonition (thanks to the Druid), where an NPC hireling in their party is actually a werespider and leading a horde of giant spiders to infest and destroy the floating city. Grim City of Dis (Grim World / Dark Heart of the Dreamer) I'm not involved in this game anymore, but I haven't seen any in-game action since the August hiatus. I'll have to catch myself up with what's happening, and if there's any development this week, I'll write about it next Monday. Sagas of Mahr-En (Dungeon World) I still haven't pulled this game out of it's hiatus, but I'm really going to try this week. Out of the four players, only 2 (maybe 3) are active enough to want to keep going. This game is in the middle of a long quest to imprison a cursed, bone wand beneath a temple dungeon, so that a great, demon god and his progeny don't get their hands on it. It's currently on Session 4. If you want to join in the fun, leave a comment, send me a message on G+, or sign up on GotEXP and check out the Sagas of Mahr-En (SoME) threads. Lady Blackbird / Tears of a Machine / Undying (Game Creation/Recruitment) These games haven't started yet, but their GMs are trying to generate interest and look for players who are interested. I proposed running either Lady Blackbird or Tears of a Machine via PbP if at least three players are interested. Max number for either game is five. If you're interested, comment, send me a message on G+, or sign up on GotEXP visit the Game Creation/Recruitment threads. Also, another player/MC, Dean, is trying to recruit players for Undying, a PbtA vampire hack. Here's the link the thread if you're interested.
Artwork and The Prophet on DriveThruRPG
I didn't get as much artwork done as I wanted to this week, but as I mentioned above, I started working on a pretty cool map for the live, DW game, Into the Desert.
For the DW campaign, Into the Desert
You might not be able to zoom in and see the names, so either check out the AP I posted for Session 1 of the game or click here to see the map directly. Aside from that, remember the cover art commission I did a little while back? The DW playbook, The Prophet, by +Damian Jankowski is finally up on DriveThruRPG, so check it out! It's an awesome playbook that lets your character manipulate fate and use it to your advantage with plenty of room for customization, whether you want to play a psychic detective, a seer, fortune-teller, or more of a prophetic, cult leader. http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/product/134193/Dungeon-World-Playbook--The-Prophet?
"The Prophet" title text not included here.
Finally, I forgot to mention that the ViewScream game I'd scheduled for this past Friday didn't go down again. Unfortunately, two of the players couldn't make it, so I'll try to host another game this week. I did create some cool, custom overlays in Photoshop, though, to upload to the Hangouts using the toolbox. +Robert Ruthven helped me test them out in the Hangout, while we were trying to recruit last minute players. Check it out!
Background filter from an image found on Google.
Text, Bridge bar, and recording dot by me.
Rewards, New Products, and Indiegogo
First off, I received a set of dice compliments of Silver Gryphon Games for their July Creativity Contest, so that was an awesome start to the week. I requested blue dice, and they even threw in an extra d6! If you're reading this, thank you very much!
I also purchased a few products this week thanks to some prize money I won for the Mystical Map Competition in the Library of Gaming Maps G+ community. Of course, the real thanks goes to +Gremlin Legions for holding the contest and being truly awesome! One of the first products I picked up on DriveThruRPG is a mixtape-inspired anthology of short games called Indie Mixtape: Volume 1, where proceeds are going to help several members and game designers of the indie gaming community facing medical problems or challenges that are putting a strain on their resources. I haven't checked the games out yet, but there are some awesome names I recognize in there (including +Gremlin Legions), and it's for a good cause. Some other game designers I recognize (and am excited to see their game) are: +Eric Nieudan, +Jason Morningstar, and +J. Walton. I'm really excited to check out all the games and become familiar with some other designers too. One of the recipients of the proceeds includes +Jackson Tegu, who I mentioned created the short game, Fall of Electricity: the Grunge Era, which you can receive with the album (feature band member and game designer, +Ross Cowman) by preordering it on the band's website: http://fallofelectricity.bandcamp.com/ Other purchases included: Unframed: The Art of Improvisation for Game Masters from Engine Publishing and the Machine Age for Ferguson [BUNDLE] from Machine Age Productions (featuring Amaranthine: Romance, Vendetta, Forever; Farewell to Fear: A Progressive Post-Fantasy RPG Regular; Flatpack: Fix the Future; Maschine Zeit Regular; and Apotheosis Drive X - Fate-Powered Mecha RPG SD MIX Regular). After running Tears of a Machine, I'm especially excited to read Apotheosis Drive X. I know two players from the Tears group who have it, so many we'll end up giving that a try, who knows? Finally, I also purchased a hardcopy of Johnstone Metzger's new Monster Manual for DW, Terrors of the Ancient World, featuring monsters created by Johnstone for his Patreon and illustrations by Nathan Jones. As a Patreon supporter, I got a great discount on the book and only need to pay for printing and shipping. I'm a huge fan of Johnstone's work and I'm doubly excited for this new book. Johnstone is also the author of the pulp, sci-fi spinoff of Dungeon World, Adventures on Dungeon Planet, and he's written a plethora of fascinating adventures for DW. Heck, I was all set to run Knives in the Dark this past Sunday, if our Lady Blackbird game didn't go through! I highly recommend checking out Johnstone's website, Red Box Vancouver's Blog and his other products on DriveThruRPG. OH! There's one last promotion I almost forgot about! +James Raggi and +Rafael Chandler have created a badass-looking adventure for Lamentations of the Flame Princess. It's a 64-page, hardcover adventure called No Salvation for Witches and it's Pay-What-You-Want. That's right. Pay-What-You-Want with shipping cost not included. The Indiegogo campaign has only 10 hours left, so if you're looking for a crazy, R-rated adventure to scare your players with, this might be just what you're looking for! https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/no-salvation-for-witches-a-pay-what-you-want-book/x/8506290
Phew! I had a lot more to write about than I thought I did!
I'd include some thoughts on the new, Doctor Who episode as well, but I might have to save that for another post. In short, I really enjoyed the season premiere and was generally happy with Peter Capaldi's performance as the new Doctor. I'm excited for the second episode this Saturday and may wait until then before posting a review of the season thus far.
Finally, in non-gaming related news, my youngest cat, Trinity, turned a year old a few days ago! I'm not a parent, but as a pet-owner, I see my cats as kind of/sort of like children perpetually stuck between two and three years old. Anyway, I've uploaded a total of 375 pictures of her I've taken over they year, from when she was 2 weeks old to just a few days ago.
Two weeks ago, I was invited to join a new, DW campaign on G+ Hangouts. As with the start of any new DW campaign, we spent a good amount of time coming up with characters, bonds, backstories, and answering questions to help flesh out the setting before diving into the action.
Cast
Elohïr the Elven Fighter
Yaygo the Elven Winter Mage
Valerius the Human Priest of Zawa
Lux the Human Paladin of Zawa
Elohïr is roughly 534 years old. The elves of the land are practically immortal and hardly ever die of old age. 134 years ago, Elohïr was exiled from his hometown, the elven city of Orod Eska, in the Ice Teeth Mountains. He was married to an elvish woman named Falathil, and, unbeknownst to the other adventurers, he was exiled for slaying the man who murdered her in cold blood. More so, he was exiled for the state of mind he was in when committing the crime, despite his reasoning behind it. As such, his signature weapon, a rapier named Windswhisper (short for the full, elvish name which translates to Voice That Winds Whisper When Death Steps Out of the Shadows), glows blue so long as Elohïr feels vengeance in his heart. He worships the Stars and returns to the city, in secret*, every decade. *Side note: I'm not a hundred percent correct on this, so correct me if I'm wrong +Kaillan Reukers.
Yaygo was also exiled from Orod Eska, for reasons unknown to us, and made a new home at the highest peak of the Ice Teeth Mountains, where an eternal winter blankets the rocks in frost and snow. There, he practiced his magic undisturbed and came to embody Winter and her mysteries. One day, he spotted Elohïr returning to Orod Eska and followed him. That's how the elves first met.
Valerius has been on a quest to locate all nine shrines of Zawa, Queen of the Inferno and Goddess of Fire and Passion. He met Elohïr and Yaygo whilst searching for the eighth shrine in the Ice Teeth Mountains. As It turns out, the main mountain was once a volcano in ages past, when the shrine was first built, but it had remained dormant for a long time, as Eternal Winter crept over it.
After meeting the elves, Valerius brought them to the eighth shrine which was guarded by a Wendigo, ice spirit. With Valerius protecting him, Yaygo extracted the spirit to form an ice golem which has travelled with him ever since. Valerius was impressed by Elohïr's strength and vigor during the battle and could sense the simmering passion that enraged the elf. The Priest believes Zawa brought Elohïr into his life and strongly feels Elohïr could be converted to see the true light given his passion. Elohïr believes Valerius couldn't defeat the Wendigo without his help but was satisfied with the Priest's performance and followed him out of pure optimism and respect, like a moth drawn to a flame. To this day, Elohïr pretends it wasn't a big deal, but, in truth, it was. Thus, Elohïr has sworn to protect Valerius.
Lux met all three on a merchant ship traveling across the great ocean to the port town of Zawpho. He was a crazed stowaway who had abandoned his ideals, betrayed his order, and forsake the god he once idolized. An event occurred that scarred him so terribly, that he has no recollection of whom he served or what his life was like before accepting Zawa and pledging his life and sword to serving her.
While it was Valerius that shook Lux from his insanity and converted him into a follower of Zawa, Elohïr was actually the first party member to find Lux in a storage area down on the orlop. Lux, in his mad state, spat in Elohïr's face and tried to attack, but Elohïr held him down and nearly killed him. In the end, Elohïr spared Lux's life and handed him off to Valerius. After calming down and speaking with the Priest, Lux dreamt of Zawa and received a divine message from her to passionately serve her, fight for her, and convert any nonbelievers to see her true light. The divine message manifested itself into a physical mark on his chest. Right over his heart was a scar depicting a circle with nine tails spreading out from it - the sigil of Zawa. The following recollections are told from Lux's point of view.
Prologue
Valerius had visited eight shrines of Zawa and knew the last shrine was located in a vast desert on the other side of the world, a place of eternal summer. Thus, the merchant ship took Elohïr, Yaygo, Lux, and him to the closest port city of Zawpho. There, Yaygo's wintery magic caused a disturbance which provoked a horde of giant, scorpion-men to invade from the south.
This was our party's first adventure prior to the start of the first session, and after we helped defend the city, Valerius found a map off one of the dead scorpion-men which revealed exactly they came from. It was our destination all along, the ninth and last shrine of Zawa. It seemed they had taken it over, but that wouldn't last for long.
Session I
The Outpost We left Zawpho with enough supplies to last us a decent amount of time, and it helped that not all of us needed them. I was fiercely determined to find the last shrine of Zawa and purge it of the scorpoids infesting its halls. I truly believed Zawa blessed me, for I no longer felt hungry, thirsty, or tired for sleep. I also felt a great deal more loquacious with a voice that could transcend any language. All that was required of me was piety and observing the daily, sacrificial rituals which Valerius still had much to teach me about. Nothing was going to stop me. Nothing was going to stop us. We traveled through the night, when the sun star didn't beat down on us quite as harsh, and we soon came upon an outpost occupied by two guards. They introduced themselves as Jedino and Ronven and said we weren't the first ones to recently pass through. Valerius stepped forward to introduce us and asked if they had any supplies for followers of Zawa who were on an important quest, but Jedino suddenly got in Valerius's face and trapped him in a closet! "What is the meaning of this?" I said, "That is a Priest of Zawa, and he has done nothing wrong! In the name of the Queen of the Inferno, I demand you release him immediately!" Jedino apologized and released him right away, but our eyes turned to Ronven who snatched up a crossbow. Yaygo snapped his slightly blue fingers and froze Ronven's arms in a sheen frost. Valerius took the time to investigate, and I, likewise, searched for tracks. I asked Yaygo to help me, but he asked, "At what price?" Although I wanted his help freely, I told him I would quit badgering him about forsaking the Stars to see Zawa's light, and he accepted that as payment. On the other side of the outpost, further south, I found boot tracks belonging to four or five humans. The constant, chilling wind swirling around Yaygo ruined the tracks, and I couldn't glean anymore from them. I immediately regretted asking the Mage for help. Elohïr remained with Ronven. Truth be told, I don't know what the Fighter said to him to make him run. All I could hear was Jedino yelling, "That was a bad idea," and Ronven running toward me and Yaygo. I stuck out my longsword, low to the ground, blunt side facing his knees, and Ronven tripped. Elohïr slew Jedino, and I knew, then and there, that there was something off about them. They must have tried to pull something on Elohïr. I pinned Ronven down with my boot and held my blade to his throat. Elohïr approached and gave me a curious nod. It turns out the guards were just bandits, merely posing. They didn't have many supplies, but Ronven hinted at the fact that they stashed some water away. Valerius wanted to know where, but the bandit wouldn't talk, so I pressed the tip of my sword deeper into his neck. The Priest spoke a divine word to call forth Zawa and have her ignite the passion within me. His hair suddenly burned with an ethereal fire, and the hair underneath my helmet combusted as well. My eyes were lit like flickering flames, and I looked down at Ronven and demanded he tell me where the rest of the water was. He asked me to spare his life, or he wouldn't tell me, so I agreed. "Under the floorboards of the outpost!" he cried out. Valerius went to look and found the water. Elohïr looked at me, but my seething gaze was directed at Ronven. As soon as Valerius confirmed what he'd found, I drove the longsword into the bandit's neck, killing him. Yaygo just stood there, watching. Elohïr gave me another curious nod, although there was a strange, underlying show of respect. Valerius took this opportunity to instruct me on how to properly sacrifice a body for Zawa. He told me to move the body quickly, before the decaying process set in. Meanwhile, he prepared a bonfire, and as we burned Ronven's body, I listened closely to his words and prayed with him. When we finished, I suggested searching Jedino's body, where we found another map of the area. This one, however, had an X marked for gold in a spot that wasn't denoted on the other map we had. Elohïr explained that the bandits posing as guards were with the other group of bandits that had passed, and with a spot marked for gold, we were sure to find them there. Once our supplies were secured, we decided to take a detour and embarked on a perilous journey through the desert. The Harvesters and the Volcanic Cave It's been three days since we left Zawpho. We've mainly traveled at night, for it's a lot safer than enduring the sun star's brutal heat. Valerius helped conserve our rations, while Elohïr took point and brought word of any threats. Fortunately, there were none. Yaygo was our trailblazer, but he set us astray, and it took far longer to reach the marked spot on the map than we'd hoped. It was daytime, when we noticed sand clouds, twenty humans high, swirling over the dunes. They scintillated with tiny, gold particles, and there was a small group of people with giant nets trying to capture the valuable dust. We knew them to be Harvesters. It was a lucrative, but dangerous, profession in the south lands of Eternal Summer. The winds could change momentum at a moment's notice, and breathing in the particles could cut your lungs and lacerate the organs. We weren't too far from a cave we'd just recently made camp in, when we spotted the Harvesters. There were five of them altogether. Two were armed, standing guard, while three held up an enormous net and worked. There seemed to be no sign of the bandits, so we took it upon ourselves to go down and offer up our services to protect them. Valerius candidly approached them, and we followed. "Good day," he said, "We mean you no harm." He proceeded to alert them of bandits in the area. "Hmph, nothing new," one of the armed Harvesters replied, and they mentioned two hooligans had already passed through. Elohïr told them they had been dispatched and sounded smug about it, as though he was taking all the credit. Valerius offered the Harvesters protection from the other bandits in exchange for letting us camp out in their tent, but they refused our offer and said they didn't need protecting. There was another cave nearby, higher up, on a mountain. I suggested we take the high ground and camp out there. It would give us a better vantage spot, and we wouldn't be encroaching on the Harvesters. Valerius and the others agreed. The Harvesters had no problem with us camping nearby. As we left, Elohïr scoffed, "They'd be grateful to have us in their tents." When we reached the cave, we weren't prepared to make camp just yet without first exploring our immediate surroundings. Yaygo found a giant crack and thoroughly inspected it for anything peculiar. He found nesting signs of a burrowing creature, like a scorpion or something similar, and scratches on the rock that were definitely made by scorpions. He also felt cold air coming from inside. Valerius gazed at the texture of the rocks and immediately recognized them to be the same, volcanic stone as the mountain which contained the eighth shrine of Zawa. He drew upon his knowledge and remembered that the volcanic magma condensed into a cooler state, called Blackbond, which then hardened into a stronger material and could be applied to tools, weapons, and armor to strengthen them. We knew the cave wasn't the safest place to camp, but we unanimously decided to slip through the crack and take our chances. Valerius was the only one who slept. Elves do not require sleep; they meditate instead. Since I didn't need to sleep or meditate, I offered to take watch. Prior to their meditation, I overheard the elves talking amongst each other. Elohïr referred to the bandits we met as barbarians and filth. I saw true hatred in his eyes, when he referred to them as, "Pathetic humans," and learned just how deep Elohïr's resentment toward humans stretched. Of course, I didn't know why. I thought perhaps all elves shared the same sentiment, but Yaygo was quick to disagree. He didn't think all humans were filth. That left me wondering about Elohïr's past and Yaygo's. In fact, I realized I still didn't really know much about any of my new companions, but I was eager to learn, for I felt a bond with them that I hadn't felt with anyone in a long time. I couldn't even remember much about my past. My head was clouded with amnesia, and they were the only ones I truly remember meeting. I felt Yaygo's misguided behavior with his wintery magic endangered his very soul, but I made a promise I wouldn't try to convert him. I respected the beliefs of Elohïr, and I felt he was starting to respect me, but I hoped he would one day see the true way of Zawa. Valerius stood by me in battle, and I knew I could trust him completely. He was a brave soul, and there was still much I had to learn from him.
* * *
At some point, Yaygo woke up, and we had a brief, private conversation. He asked me if I could communicate with Zawa which, I confess, caught me off guard. He asked me if Valerius and I were similar in that regard. I told him the truth. I recalled that day on the ship when we all first met. Valerius opened the doors for me, but I stepped through and saw the light. Zawa came and spoke to me in a dream. She left her mark on my chest, which Yaygo had not yet seen, so I showed him. I told the Winter Mage that Zawa spoke to me but that I could not communicate back - not the way Valerius could. I hoped to learn all I could from the Priest so that I could do in service to her. Yaygo listened intently and told me he wanted to help me learn to commune with her. I truly didn't know why the Mage suddenly wanted to help me, but I honestly felt closer to him. I felt I could trust him. I felt I could trust all my companions. Several hours after Yaygo withdrew into his meditation again, my ears perked up, and I heard strange sounds of rattling and cracking all around me. I looked around and immediately noticed the rocks surrounding us were chipping apart and hatching. Tiny, black pincers pushed through, and I quickly realized they weren't rocks. Segmented legs, chelicerae, and heads the size of fists broke through. Two, large eyes and three pairs of smaller eyes scanned every direction, and there were dozens of them. I quickly drew my sword and grabbed my shield before waking Valerius. We knew the cave wasn't the safest place to camp, but we never realized we'd fallen asleep in a nest of giant scorpion eggs until then.
