The Bastard's Blog

Monday, 19 January 2009

This Empire Earth: Character Generation
Topic: RPGs

The first session of my Savage Worlds homebrew setting, This Empire Earth, is just two weeks away. Five of my six players have confirmed their attendance. I've been busy getting things ready for it taking in to consideration what my players had mentioned in our Sandbox Brainstorming Sessions. It wasn't until James sent me a note a week or so ago asking about character generation that I had really considered making character creation part of game night.

Rolling-up characters can be a long process. So normally, I manage that stuff in email. Yet I'm going for a different feel for This Empire Earth. I'd like for the characters to come into the game with integrated backstories and in keeping with the Savage Worlds system, the game will be both fast and furious. Even a bit pulpy.

Pulp?

Y'know, Spirit of the Century has a TERRIFFIC character generation process designed to link characters to each other... Hrmm...

In the grand tradition of stealing only from the best, here's how character generation will roll on game night*:

STAGE ALPHA - Players generate character concepts. A few 'types' are encouraged

1. At least one player needs ground vehicle skills

2. Two players need atmospheric piloting skills

3. It is recommended that one player have electronic/technical skills

STAGE BETA - The players develop their characters' background addressing their years prior to entering the Ranger Corps.

STAGE GAMMA - There is a great tradition of western, pulp novels. As the players will be playing Rangers in the final frontier, SOTC's novel approach to character generation is awfully organic. STAGE GAMMA, then, involves the character's first pulp novel, starring him or her! Each player comes up with a title for the novel starring his character, in a fashion reminiscent of the pulps. The general pattern is:

Character Name (vs./in.../and) Adventurous Thing!

An example might be Sgt Skullison and the ManCake Massacre!

Then, each player writes up a brief story to go with his title. The story doesn't need to have a lot of detail - in fact, it should be no more detailed than the blurb on the back of the paperback.

Player Rules...

1. Write down the title and back cover blurb (a couple sentences at most) for your character's pulp novel. Don't nail down all of the details of it yet (you'll find out why below).

2. Write down two skills or attributes or combination thereof that are in some way tied into the events of the novel.

STAGE DELTA - At the beginning of STAGE DELTA, the book titles are logged on individual index cards. The GM shuffles the stack and hands them out. If a player gets his own novel, he should trade index cards with the person to his right until everyone has a title that isn't theirs. The title of the book a player is now holding is a book that his character had a supporting role in. For each index card, the involved players - the player whose book it is, and the player who has just received that book's index card - should discuss the story, and add one or two sentences to the description of the novel to reflect the supporting character's role.

Player Rules

1. Add a sentence or two to the description of the pulp novel you're supporting cast in.
2. Write down two skills or attributes or combination thereof that are in some way tied into the events of the novel.

STAGE EPSILON - EPSILON is identical to DELTA, with the sole caveat that no character can costar in the same book twice.

Player Rules

1. Add a sentence or two to the description of the pulp novel you're supporting cast in.
2. Write down two skills or attributes or combination thereof that are in some way tied into the events of the novel.

STAGE ZETA - In this final stage of character creation, the players roll up their characters according to Savage Worlds system mechanics with a few nuances. Skills or attributes used (and logged) in the "novels" receive bonuses.

The guys at the Bear Swarm podcast did a whole episode this week on developing backstory for the group. Really, I think Fate/Spirit of the Century have a great mechanic for it. Thus, stolen.

I'm thinking this will take two or three hours, still leaving enough time for a brief forray into the game. Enough to whet appetities, eh?

Can't wait for game night.

Aron Head
www.EvilBastard.net
Twitter + AronHead

P.S. Big announcement this week... stay tuned...

(*) Stolen liberally from Fate 3.0

Posted by Aron Head at 4:02 PM CST

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Thursday, 11 December 2008

Sandbox Brainstorming: Rangering in The Frontier Batallion
Topic: RPGs

Wow. I've kinda taken some time off since Thanksgiving. Okeydoke... well, back at it. Where were we? Oh yes, my This Empire Earth sandbox brainstorming session!

Earlier in the sesion, I framed the evening's discussion and led the boys through the overall setting and spent a lot of time detailing the races of the Empire. They even created a brand new race! After that, we plunged headlong into the what they'd like out of the first several games.

At the conclusion of James' game in October, I briefly ran down a little of the setting and explained different types of games we might play in it. All in attendance were unanimous in their desire to play Rangers on the Empire's distant frontier.

The Rangers of the Frontier Batallion have much in common with the Texas Rangers of Earth's nineteenth century. They are over worked and under paid. There is no formal training program. Very few supplies are made available to the Rangers, thus they are accustomed to foraging in order to meet their needs. You got your own gear? You can work in the Batallion. As such, individuals of varied backgrounds with as many different motivations comprise the ranks of the Rangers.

And, oh yes, Rangers are cool. That aspect all agreed on.

The guys held that Rangers, while perhaps individually morally ambiguous, as an institution they are held in high regard. Rangers have a mystique about them. They've a reputation for dealing hard law. They're fearless, running to the danger. Children want to be Rangers when they grow up.

With their role as Rangers clearly defined, I directed them to consider the types of adventures they'd enjoy playing.

"You want to do cool things," I said. "Tell me about them."

Giant Monsters! The first thing recommended was 'giant monsters' which drew a full chorus of agreement. Of course, this may just be because we had been playing with my recently acquired Godzilla figure.

Rangers, they directed, should be responsible for responding to disasters, riots, and outlaws (brigandage?). They also liked the idea of rescue missions. Further, the guys wanted a recurring villain. Someone to be hunted down. Perhaps for crimes, but also for personal revenge.

One last thing, the players wanted cool rides.

I'm working on that.

Brainstorming the sanbox was a great success. My players are awesome. They totally brought it. They gave me lots to work with. I think we're going to have a tremendous amount of fun playing in the Empire. I

'll be running the first session in January for m'boys. After that, I plan to also run it at V3 in February and at Fear the Con 2 in March.

Details to follow.

Aron Head
www.EvilBastard.net
Twitter + AronHead

Original artwork provided by Jake Ekiss who draws one mean-ass Devil Dinosaur!

Posted by Aron Head at 5:10 PM CST

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Tuesday, 25 November 2008

Sandbox Brainstorming: Player Character Races
Topic: RPGs

Starting wide and working more narrow at Saturday night's sandbox brainstorming session for my Savage Worlds SF setting, This Empire Earth, we discussed the Terran Empire itself and then moved on to player character races. Designing the game, I wanted the players to have a wide variety of choices, enough to please almost any taste. I had already developed a lot.

I presented what I had so far:

Ambriidans
Androids/Robots
Bigozians
Uplifted Chimpanzees*
Duarn
Oenerans*

Gary at once expressed interest in playing an android. That tickled me as I designed the artificial intelligence "race" with Gary in mind.

Rodger loved the idea of playing a hard-boiled talking chimp who's hella smooth with the ladies.

Of course there are humans. The Empire is lousy with them. Can't swing a dead farzipple without hitting one.

Imperial humanity comes in many flavors:

Genetically engineered;
Bionically enhanced;
Cybernetically modified;
Mutated;
Psionic; and
Just plain old normal.

Despite all these choices offered, I felt something missing. So I threw it out to guys. What else?

"Can I play something with four arms?" Rodger asked.

"Sure," I said.

He nodded, pleased. Then, "Wait. Are those other two arms vestigial?"

I didn't respond.

"I knew it, dick!"

Seriously, though. A four armed dude could be an alien, a mutant or a product of genetic engineering or bionics.

Other suggestions...

James offered, "Something big. Really big. Bigger than the Bigozians. Like an ogre or something."

Protoplasm was suggested and living energy, too.

"Are these things you want to play?" I asked.

"No" was the consensus, but they did say they'd make nice non-player character races.

And then it happened...

The guys created a badass-effin'-cool player character race. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the Empusans...

The Empusans are a race of insects resembling large Portuguese Praying Mantis'. Very large. Like ten feet large.

The Empusans are an old race, their history ranging back more than a hundred millenia. By contrast, they are incredibly short-lived living for only ten to fifteen years before succumbing to old age.

They have no interest in pursuing longevity science as the humans have, yet they are a race of scientists. Their technology is centuries beyond what other Imperial cultures have developed. Their science, their technology is overwhelming.

More than one historian has observed that it is indeed fortunate that Empusa science has never been interested in tactical applications. It is difficult to imagine how even the mighty Imperial fleet could have withstood a war machine powered by Empusan design.

The Empusae are a peaceful people. They are not pacifists by any stretch or cowards, they simply see no point in warfare. It has been many thousands of years since war was waged on the Empusan homeworld.

In those days, the Empusae fought amongst themselves, against other genetic lines. They were bloody wars and did not stop until one line remained. Since then, they have known peace.

One shouldn't confuse their disinclination to combat as cowardice or weakness. The Empusa will fight when provided no other choice. It would just rather be doing something else.

They are meticulous record keepers, their written histories date back to the early days of the race.

In a room full of aliens, the Empusan is invariably the smartest one in attendance. As such, they tend to insufferable smugness. These damned bugs are hard to like. It doesn't help that their insectile nature is instinctually disconcerting to almost all of the other Imperial races.

The Ambriidans alone are immune to the Empusan's "creep factor."

An unsettling trait of the Empusans is there fondness for the consumption of brains Among their own, it is traditional to eat the brains of family members at their death. In doing so, memories and experiences are transferred from the deceased to the diner.

This practice also works with non-Empusans, but to a lesser extent. For instance, the brain of an alien must be consumed within moments of death - otherwise the knowledge will be lost. Also, the knowledge that is absorbed from non-Empusans is rarely complete. Often, only a few pieces of information are extracted and they are not always pertinent to the situation.

It is not unheard of for the personality of the consumed brain to temporarily overtake the Empusan.

The Imperial Navy is rumored to utilize Empusan interrogators from time-to-time.

"Anything else?" I asked, furiously jotting down the guys' thoughts.

That's it, they said.

"Is this a race you want to play?" I asked.

"Yeah," Rodger was the first to answer, "I'm gonna play one of these guys instead of the monkey."

I haven't had an opportunity to right up the stats for the Empusa. I'll do that in the next few days. Pretty cool, though, right?

This was 100% group think with very little input from me. I am amazed at what they came up with. I now feel like my PC races are complete. Or at least complete enough for now. I'm sure we'll come up with other stuff as we go along.

Badass, I must say.

Aron Head
www.EvilBastard.net
Twitter + AronHead

* I have not posted details on Uplifted Chimpanzees or Oenerans, yet. Soon, my friends. Soon.

Empusa artwork provided by Rodger.

Posted by Aron Head at 10:50 PM CST

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Sandbox Brainstorming: Considering the Empire
Topic: RPGs

At Saturday night's brainstorming session for the sandbox SF setting I've been working on, This Empire Earth, we started wide and worked our way down to more narrow items. The first thing we discussed was the empire itself. I described the setting as I have envisioned it up to now.

The Terran Empire is an overwhelmingly powerful presence in the galaxy. For more than five hundred years it has subjugated the weak, conquered its peers, and subverted the mighty to its own ends such that today none stand as equals to the awesome puissance of the Terrans.

"Terran" no longer means "human." Those who many would call "alien" call themselves Terran. Terran citizenship is a cherished prize in the Empire. In fact, the great success of the Empire is its willingness to absorb the cultures of not only its allies, but also the conquered.

The Empire is ever changing.

In its core worlds, the empire is civilized, wealthy and technologically advanced. There is almost nothing that is beyond the reach of a wealthy citizen dwelling within the heart of Terran space. Even virtual ageless immortality is within the grasp of those with sufficient resources.

The question then, Josh was the first to ask, where's the conflict?

Imagine the width and breadth of the Roman Empire at the height of its glory. Despite its laws and arts, its military prowess and standing in the world, Rome was beseiged by internal political conflicts both dark and deadly amongst the noble houses. Enemies from without tested mighty Rome's borders and its conquered peoples were one riot away from rebellion.

The Terran Empire is not dissimilar.

Just like the open seas of the ancient days of Rome, the enormous spaces between the core worlds, the colonies, and the border worlds are frequented by slave traders and pirates. The Imperial Navy can't be everywhere, after all.

Along the border or on the frontier, conflict is present as well.

One major border is shared with The Eparchy of Iker, a theocracy built on a foundation of cultural purity. The Eparchy was founded by human pilgrims fleeing humanity's continued "corruption" by alien cultures more than four hundred years ago. The Eparchy has grown to a prosperous nation in its own right, fiercely protecting its borders, yet freely sending "missionaries" into the Empire.

The Empire has declared Ikerianism as an outlaw political organization. Those found to be practicing their faith are arrested and, if when found guilty, put to death for treason.

Ikerianism is not a religion, according to the Empire, it is sedition.

The Empire is ridiculously wealthy, but that wealth usually flows back to the core worlds. The frontier is generally poor in cash and operating on early generations of current technology. The further you move out, the less "Imperial" the culture. People move to the frontier for opportunity, for liberty, to get away from their past.

When I described the setting, two things in particular snagged the players' attention:

Noble houses; and
Frontier opportunities.

The prospect of playing members of warring noble houses (ala the Dune novels) got some imaginations running. I described great houses and minor houses, once great houses now in decline, great houses at the edge of a fall, minor houses on the rise... There's a lot there to play with.

The guys agreed earlier on that they'd like the first session to be set on the frontier, the players assuming the roles of Rangers. Like those Texans of the 1880s, these Rangers are the law of the frontier. More on this later.

The guys asked a lot of great questions about the empire assisting both myself and them to visualize the universe we're creating. While this was the one area where the boys didn't have a lot of new ideas for the setting, their inquiries were infinitiely valuable to me. There's a real benefit, I think, in just talking about the setting without the pressure of having to also squeeze in four hours of gaming. Verbalizing things for them was a great exercise for me. The leisurely stroll through the game world allowed me to show off what I've been building and gave them a chance to kick its tires.

Tomorrow, we'll talk about the badass player character race they created for the game.

Seriously.

It's freakin' cool.

Aron Head
www.EvilBastard.net
Twitter + AronHead

Original artwork provided by Jake Ekiss.

Posted by Aron Head at 6:08 AM CST

Updated: Tuesday, 25 November 2008 6:08 AM CST

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Monday, 24 November 2008

Sandbox Brainstorming: Cook the meat, Mother Bitch!
Topic: RPGs

For some time now, I have been working on a homebrew sci-fi setting utilizing the Savage Worlds RPG system. The setting is called This Empire Earth (TEE). I've got more than 35 pages in setting description and lots more I have swirling around in my head. Despite having a rather robust document, it seemed incomplete. I've had some worries about the game in that I'm putting a metric assload of work into it and really have no idea whether or not the players will buy-in. I mean, I think they will... but you never know.

So, I really want the first game night to go particularly well.

Nearing our scheduled November game, I realized that I didn't have enough yet to run the first game. But I also knew that if we didn't get together this weekend, it'd be after New Years' before we'd have another chance to get together.

Then it hit me. Sandbox! I should totally run it as a sandbox game. Traditional role playing games are designed by the game master with zero input from the players in regards to story and game world. The player's creative opportunities are presented in the design of their character and in the manner in which they direct the character to interact with the GM's designed world. I'm an old school gamer and have never been part of a sandbox game before. In fact, I've only recently had my mind changed on the value of such an activity.

This time last year? I'd have turned my nose up at the notion as too free-form and loosey-goosey. Get outta here with your long hair, rock-n-roll music, and reefer! God-cursed hippie gamers...

I'm a total control freak. Even my Predictive Index frequently mentions that I am most comfortable in situations where I can predict and control outcomes and will work to ensure that my environment affords those opportunities.

Sharing the creation of the setting has always been off-limits for me. But that damned Lucias Meyer from the Podge Cast and his KtNG sandbox game have changed my mind.

Clearly, those guys are having a big time.

So, I announced to the boys that in lieu of a game Saturday night, we'd be getting sandy! We started off with a meat burning, each of the fellas brought whatever meat they wanted to sling on the grill while I provided a large supply of my Regionally Acclaimed Santa Fe Mashed potatoes, salad, and my sugar-free chocolate cream pie that you'd never believe is sugar free.

Once the boys arrived, the cry went out: "Cook the meat, Mother Bitch!"

Salad. Really, what was I thinking?

Like myself, Gary and Rodger have never participated in a sandbox game before. Josh and James have in their other gaming group. After dinner, I described what I wanted to accomplish.

There are three areas that I felt could really benefit from their attention:

The overall setting itself and the opportunities it presents;
Player character races; and
The first game.

"Wait a minute," Gary interrupted, "We'll be doing your job!"

"Exactly!" I bobbed my head. And we got started...

I would characterize it as an unqualified success. The guys gave me tons of ideas - and frankly blew me away with their idea for a player character race. Seriously badass. They gave me tons of insight into the kind of game they want to play.

At the end of the night, I had my buy-in.

I am have been excited about the setting I'm writing for awhile.

Now I'm freakin' giddy.

Gary really grooved to the opportunity to play an android or robot...

From left to right: Josh,James, Gary, and me.

Ohhhhhh yeahhhhhhh...

We pulled more than three pages of notes from the brainstorming session. Getting fresh eyes on the setting was terrific. Seriously, this sandbox thang is the bomb-diggity. I will do this again.

I will be posting the specifics from the brainstorming session throughout the week.

Aron Head
www.EvilBastard.net
Twitter + AronHead

Original artwork provided by Jake Ekiss.

Posted by Aron Head at 6:18 AM CST

Updated: Monday, 24 November 2008 6:17 AM CST

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Thursday, 20 November 2008

Fond Memories of Torture & Amputation
Topic: RPGs

I've been running role playing games through email, or play-by-e-mail (pbem), for almost twenty years. I started back in the days before the interwebs. We played on FidoNet back ithen, a network of bulletin board systems tossing mail via packets across the world at a blinding 9600 bps.

Those FidoNet days were a long time ago, but I've been gaming with three of those players ever since and LOTS of others...

There's a lot of PBEM on the web. Our group manages things a little different than the other stuff I've seen. A lot of PBEM is really just free-form writing. Each participant writes an open-ended segment to the story and then the next participant picks up where the other guy left off.

Our PBEM runs very much like a traditional table-top role playing session where each player is responsible for their own character's actions, but the game master runs the NPCs and determines action outcomes. We're all kind of purists (read: snobs) in that regard.

My current PBEM has been running for eight years and has seen some of the best character gaming by players I have ever been part of. When my players are rocking, they rock it hard.

Deb, one of my players, blogged about one particular scene the other day. It was a rather intense, brutal bit of story telling that worked largely due to how invested Deb was (is) in her character. When I set the scene up, I wasn't sure how it would turn out. That's how I usually prep most of my scenarios.

I make sure there's at least one way out for the player to discover and then let them bang at the problem. Sometimes they make it...

Other times, not so much.

Always gotta' have danger for the players.

Check out Deb's blog on the subject. It's got a nice flavor for what we do in the game.

I'm looking for a player or two. Let me know if you're interested.

Aron Head
www.EvilBastard.net
Twitter + AronHead

Posted by Aron Head at 6:23 AM CST

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Sunday, 5 October 2008

Saturday Night's Game: Savage Spelljammer
Now Playing: Celldweller's Birthright
Topic: RPGs

Last night, my buddy James ran me and the boys through his Savage Spelljammer game. That is, the Spelljammer second edition Advanced Dungeons & Dragons setting with the Savage Worlds rules applied to it. Spelljammer is a twenty-year old setting that essentially boils down to starfaring tallships with ogres, orcs, elves, etc. Savage Worlds, on the other hand, is a fairly recent addition to the world of roleplaying games having come onto the scene five or so years ago with a game system designed to provide "fast and furious" action.

James' game was awfully cool. Sadly, I can't talk much about it. He will be running last night's scenario at 2009's Fear The Con in Missouri. I promised not to ruin the fun of future gamers.

So instead of giving you a game recap, I will talk a bit about my character and make a few non-spoilerish observations.

I played a Saurian noble, which is to say a lizard-man prince. When generating the character, I wanted to build a strong fighter, fierce in battle. I designed him to be the kind of guy you wanted to fight along side, but who was maybe a little scary. To that end, I took the bloodthirsty hindrance. He doesn't take prisoners. I also gave him the loyal hindrance. My character was loyal to his crew (though sometimes they must be consumed), his emperor, and his tribe. Everybody else gets the pointy end of the sword.

One additional hindrance I took was the annoying habit of humming. Humming a lot. All the time. When busy or slow, in relaxation or in combat, my lizard-man was humming.

It earned me a bennie. The first of two I got for the evening.

My character, named Klaronsaur, was dumb as a stump having the lowest smarts score you can have in Savage Worlds absent a lobotomy (d4). This became a significant concern for the others when James announced that my character would be ship's captain.

But if I've learned anything in this life, it's that you don't have to be the one who knows things. You just have to have scape goats... er... staff (or in this case a crew) who know things. Playing dumb comes easy to me. The other players cringed a lot through the game as Klaronsaur initiated first contact with two previously unknown alien races.

"We come in peace," My character might announce as we approach a foreign national's vessel. "Fire!"

It was a lot of fun.

I assisted Rodger with his character. He doesn't have much experience with RPGs. He played Skink (or as I often referred to him, "My Skink"). Skink was really everything that my character was not. He was smart and sneaky, wirey and agile. Our fighting maneuver placed Skink right behind Klaronsaur's massive form, using the lizard-man as a shield while Skink fired his pistol.

James used miniatures and a battle map. It has been fifteen years or more since I've played with minis. I forgot how much fun that is.

I am presently resisting the urge to buy minis. Shiney!

The Wife prepared two items for the gamers: Suzanne's World Famous Pesto Chees Spread (cream cheese, pine nuts and pesto topped with a red pepper ancho chile jam) and Suzanne's World Famous Chocoloate Cake. The chocolate cake earned me my second bennie of the evening.

Gary describes the aeronautical challenges of piloting a flying tall ship (he's working on his pilot's license, y'know?).

Playing with little men.

And more.

James (left) and Josh (right) consider the map. Josh played a Naga, half-man/half-snake.

Aaron ran an elf character who, though loyal to Klaronsaur, was fairly confident that he'd have to kick the lizard-man's ass shortly after the mission was over and they were all off-duty.

Silly old elf.

How best to kill the PCs... hrmmm..?

Rodger (left) rolls, firing his flintlock pistol, wishing that he wouldn't be spending the next two rounds reloading the damned thing!

I'm usually the game master for the games in which I am involved, so I don't get to play as a player character very often. I always appreciate the opportunity to be a PC. Especially last night. James turned that mother out.

I had a whole lot of fun.

If you're going to Fear The Con in 2009, you must sign up for James' Savage Spelljammer. It was somethin' else.

...and of course, no game night is complete until Gary falls asleep.

Aron Head
www.EvilBastard.net

Posted by Aron Head at 5:13 PM CDT

Updated: Sunday, 5 October 2008 5:16 PM CDT

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Friday, 16 May 2008

This Empire Earth: The Next Two Hundred Years
Topic: RPGs

Work continues on my SF setting. The game I'll be running in my new universe is tentatively set in the year 2707, nearly seven hundred years into the future. I say "tentatively" because I suspect I will find that I don't need such a wide expanse of time to develop my the universe in which I'll run my game. I may only need 400 years. We'll see.

I've been crafting the timeline and have the next two hundred years pretty well documented in my notes.

Here for you future history students is an outline of the milestone events for the next two centuries.

2021 - Life on Mars is discovered
2057 - Mars colony established
2068 - Martians massacre Terran colonists
2075 - Last known Martian killed
2115 - Chimpanzee "Noble" recites the final soliloquy from Shakespeare's Richard II on the evening news.
2116 - The Victorious Dominion Fellowship declares that genetically manipulated, sentient creatures such as chimps and apes have no souls and their creation is a sin against God and Nature
2118 - Medical breakthroughs in genetics, pharmaceuticals, and cybernetics dramatically increase human longevity. It is not unusual for humans to live to their 160^th year. The services providing this longevity are prohibitively expensive to all but the most wealthy.
2120 - Jonah Iker, renowned for his teachings on cultural purity, is canonized as Saint by the Victorious Dominion Fellowship
2128 - First successful jump drive tested
2129 - The UN Taskforce on Artificial Intelligence validates the findings of its Sub-Committee on Robotics. Certain robots and androids have developed free will.
2130 - Mankind's first official encounter with the Bigozians
2131 - Longevity Tax becomes law. All humans over age 110 residing within the central empire or the provinces are taxed at 50% of income. Colonial citizens are excluded from the Longevity Tax. Also called the "Geezer Tax."
2133 - Meet the Duarn!
2135 - Freewill AI unrestricted by dominator chip is banned from human space.
2183 - Birth of the Empire
2185 - A cultural renaissance sweeps the inner systems much to the chagrin of such religious orders as the Victorious Dominion Fellowship.
2196 - Ambriidan first contact
2199 - Due primarily to Duarn and Bigozian lobbying with ample support from certain human factions, the Longevity Tax is repealed. The argument supporting the repeal is that humanity can no longer be the measure by which life is measured in the increasingly diverse Empire. Still, the Geezer Tax did what no other government initiative had been able to do. It incentivized the private sector to fully commit to space exploration bringing about the largest, fifty year expansion period in imperial history.
2199 - The Geezer Tax is ammended to apply solely to artificial lifeforms designated to have freewill. The tax is applied to AI on the date the lifeform declares freewill. Consequently, robots and androids with freewill flee the central systems and the Imperial provinces to the colonies and beyond where they can live independent of Imperial restrictions.
2200 - The Victorious Dominion Fellowship's Fleet of Pilgrims flees the Empire in search of the Promised Land

More to come!

Aron Head
www.EvilBastard.net

Posted by Aron Head at 11:01 PM CDT

Updated: Friday, 16 May 2008 11:09 PM CDT

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Tuesday, 13 May 2008

Big News at Paizo - Monte Cook Signs on to Pathfinder
Topic: RPGs

This is huge.

In a recent press release, Paizo, the former publisher of Dragon Magazine, announced that Monte Cook has joined their Pathfinder team.

Paizo Publishing®, LLC today announced that Monte Cook, the co-creator of 3rd Edition Dungeons & Dragons and author of the 3.5 PHB and DMG as well as the Ptolus^TM campaign setting and the recent Book of Experimental Might^TM, has joined the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game team as a Rules Consultant.
"This is going to be a lot of fun," said Monte Cook. "Pathfinder is a fresh spin on a rules system that I love and the guys at Paizo are great to work with. They produce nothing but the highest quality products."
"Monte Cook is a legend of third edition and of the Open Gaming movement," said Paizo's Publisher, Erik Mona. "He's also a great DM, and has the best mind for mechanics I've ever seen. To have one of the original third edition designers helping us with the Pathfinder RPG is like a dream come true. With Monte's involvement, I am certain that the future of the edition he helped to create will be very long and very fruitful."
"I am really excited to be working with Monte on this project," said Paizo's Lead Designer, Jason Bulmahn. "His advice has been a great help to the Pathfinder RPG. When it comes to rules design and knowledge of the 3.5 system, there is absolutely no one better."

Monte Cook is well known in both inside DnD and out. Monte Cook's World of Darkness is fan-freakin'-tastic! He is expert at flipping established concepts on their heads and delivering fresh, new interpretations. I have to tell you, it has been a long time since I have been excited about sword and sorcery games like Dungeons and Dragons. The guys at Paizo have me jazzed about Pathfinder.

The addition of Monte Cook to their team has moved me from curiousity concerning the upcoming Pathfinder RPG to definitely purchasing the Pathfinder RPG.

Monte Cook will also be contributing an introduction to the final Pathfinder Roleplaying Game hardcover, scheduled for an August 2009 release.

Aron Head
www.EvilBastard.net

Posted by Aron Head at 7:52 AM CDT

Updated: Tuesday, 13 May 2008 7:51 AM CDT

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Sunday, 11 May 2008

AFMBE: After Game Action Report - Last Night in Calhoun
Topic: RPGs

Last night I ran chapter three of my zombie apocalypse role playing setting, "...And a Little Child Shall Eat Them" using the All Flesh Must Be Eaten game system with a few twists borrowed from Savage Worlds. In the first session, the players were caught up in the outbreak. The crisis started with children of all ages vomiting up gobs of black ooze as the little darlings transform to feral, horrifically fast and strong monsters with a curious taste for "the sweet, warm screaming flesh of man." If bitten by one of the feral children, or Growlers, and the victim is fortunate enough to survive the encounter, he can expect to succumb to an infection that will render him a zombie as well. This type of zombie is a shambling, slow moving, stupid sort called a Moaner. At the end of the first session, the players escaped the Calhoun town square.

In the second session, the players picked up two new player characters and Jim Adler, the Texas Hammer. The survivors navigated traffic jams, blew up a hospital, and found themselves at last on the calm waters of Calhoun's Lake Ramsey after losing one of their number to the zombie infection.

The Players and Their Characters:

Peter Badger - High school history teacher played by Rodger, who is in fact a high school history teacher.
Prof. Blaise Pettigrew - College physics professor played by Gary, who is not in fact a colleg physics professor though he's played one in radio drama.
Jaques Washington - Chef and owner of Washington's, the four-star restaurant on Calhoun's Lake Ramsey. Played by Josh.
Gary Ventura - An out of work DJ, Ventura formerly worked at KEVL Evil Radio!, the premiere Rock station in Calhoun county. That is, until last week when they underwent a format change and became easy listening (spin that Perry Como!). Given that Gary hates easy listening, he tendered his resignation (by flipping off his new boss and storming out.) He took a couple days off at home and then went camping. He's been camping out near the lake since then. Played by James.

Last night's game started where we left off last time. The survivors had ventured out to the center of the lake to catch their breath, get some rest. As dawn broke across the water, the warning tone of the Emergency Alert System blared over the radio:

"This is a message of the Emergency Alert System. In accordance with Executive Order 12656, a national emergency has been declared and a state of Martial Law exists. All food, fuel and energy resources are under the control of Federal authorities. A national curfew of 4:00 pm has been assessed. Violators will be shot. Looters will be shot. Stay in your homes. Avoid contact with strangers. Remain alert for further instructions. This has been a message of the Emergency Alert System..."

Paddling toward their boat in a canoe, the survivors were joined by former local DJ Gary Ventura. Ventura had been camping in the woods when the zombie apocalypse started. Since then, he's been paddling for a clear shore with no luck. Moaners had lined the shores.

Despite the EAS warning, the players decided to seek out provisions. Thus they set about looting a lake house chosen for its pier-style dock and absence of zombies. This scene didn't roll the way I thought it would. I thought for sure that the guys would get bogged down in the lake house, that they'd make a loud entry thereby attracting all those darling children.

But they surprised me, choosing a quiet entry from the roof. Inside, I described a bloody scene where some terrible feast had been consumed. Evidence available suggested that a Growler entered through the round, stained glass window over there front door. Blood and viscera scarred the living room.

"There are bits and pieces of flesh and mismatched body parts littered about," I said, "But not enough to assemble an entire, complete person."

"Should one be so inclined," Josh added.

In the carnage I had anticipated, I planned on splitting the party. You see, Aaron (aka Sgt Fielder) and Jamie (aka Sean) were unable to attend the session. Thus, I figured I'd have them disappear...

But the scene didn't roll out that way and the party stayed together.

Back on the boat with zombies - both Growlers and Moaners - on their heals, the party escaped with additional provisions including a two-meter handheld radio. They were able to pick up some additional news...

"...Ardmore's a complete loss. There's been no communication out of there since yesterday!"
"...We were caravanning... eight cars and trucks along with a Greyhound bus... those, those... children came out of nowhere ... more than a dozen of them...they hit the bus! They flipped it over! A Greyhound bus! Flipped over by babies! They tore everyone inside apart!"
"...Ardmore was declared a quarantine zone."
"A CDC field team is in Calhoun..."
"...Dallas has been declared a quarantine zone..."
"They're bombing the quarantine zones!"

On the shores of the lake, the throngs of Moaners grew larger. Growlers were occasionally seen and while the Moaners might wander and disappear into the water, the precious babies clearly did not care for the wet.

The following morning the players awakened to another EAS message:

"This is a message of the Emergency Alert System. Effective at 4:01 pm today local time, the city of Calhoun will be designated a quarantine zone subject to sterilization protocols. Evacuation procedures for the city of Calhoun have begun. Proceed at once to The Rockin' M Ranch located north of County Road 49 on Cattleman's Drive. The final evacuation transport will depart at 4:00 pm local time. This has been a message of the Emergency Alert System."

With quarantine zones being bombed, the survivors were in immediate agreement that they needed to make haste to the evacuation site. The problem then was the number of zombies on the shore line. Much discussion followed.

Can we in grand summer blockbuster fashion ram the boat at top speed onto the shore?
Do we really need to leave the lake? Fire bombing won't hurt us here, right? Surely they're not nuking the quarantine zones...?
We're about eight miles away from the ranch. We'll need a car. It'd be closer to hit one of the lake houses on the north side of the lake... but we can't see the cars from the water.
Or we could hit the public access boat ramps at the south end of the lake. It's further from the ranch, but we'd have a better choice of vehicles... something like a Hummer...

The boys decided to go the route of the public boat ramp. To draw off the zombies, they set the boat on a slow course close, but parallel to the shoreline. To attract attention, they cranked up the radios and sound systems while rigging the horn to continuously blare. The survivors then loaded onto the canoe and paddled away to land as the larger boat puttered away drawing the attention of the undead.

Only one of the characters had any experience in a canoe, Gary Ventura. The rest were all amateurs. More than midway to the shore, several were flipped into the water: Sgt Fielder, Sean, and Jim Adler.

All three were attacked by zombies lurking beneath the waves. Jim Adler, beset by two Moaners, disappeared under the dark waves of Lake Calhoun not to be seen again.

Sean evaded the creatures and rushed up onto the beach where he sat, waiting for the others.

Remember, Sgt Fielder and Sean's players were not present. I was running their characters as non-player characters. Sean is autistic, but has the ability to enter a savant trance enabling him to perform highly complex actions. Regrettably, I couldn't get him a successful roll allowing him to enter said trance.

Sgt Fielder was a having a devil of a time dealing with his aquatic assailant.

I have to admit being terribly surprised that the other players rendered aid. Really, it would have been easy for them to land the boat and get the hell away. Their diversionary tactic had worked brilliantly. The Moaners and Growlers on the shore were distracted by the other boat. It made sense for them to leave their mates.

But these guys turned back to help, much to my amazement.

It wound up being a rather dramatic scene. In fact, one of the moaners landed a successful bite onto Sgt Fielder. Had Josh not reminded me that Fielder was wearing body armor (aquired in session two), our sharp-shooting marine would have caught him some zombification. As it was, the kevlar replled the zombie's bite and Fielder avoided infection.

And of course, he was lucky that he fell from the boat in a fairly shallow area. Otherwise, he'd have sunk like a stone!

Fielder hurled the biting, legless zombie away from him just as the rest of the survivors noted that a pack of Growlers had spotted them. The precious, darling children raced towards them. The survivors splashed their way to shore, sprinting for the parking lot. Gone were any plans for some kind of sports utility vehicle. All they wanted at that moment was any kind of locomotion that could get them away.

Hitting the beach, Sgt Fielder hauled Sean to his feet by the collar, dragging him along.

Gary Ventura reached a Volvo station wagon. The door was open, and with his mad mechanic skills successfully hot-wired the car (GM's Note: it is a well established fact that all auto mechanics can hot-wire a car. In fact, most auto mechanics get their start in the trade as car thieves. That's why most people feel robbed after visiting the auto shop. Additionally, due to their early years of crime, many mechanics have prison in their background. Which explains the sense of violation one generally feels at the auto-shop. Sad, but true).

Ventura, Mr. Badger, Chef Jacques, and Professor Pettigrew all made it into the car. Sean wasn't so lucky. He fell to a couple of the Growlers. Try as I might, I couldn't roll successfully to get him into that savant trance.

Sean will be missed.

Gaming at my house, I use a cigar box in which I roll my dice and I provide another such box for the player's table. Last night, my cigar box was regularly referred to as "The Death Box."

Sgt Fielder again had problems, rasslin with some Growlers. Again, the survivors paused their escape to help their chum, but not without some dissention.

"Leave him!" Mr. Badger urged.

Professor Pettigrew boiled out of the car, firing on the zombies.

"Dammit!" Badger growled, following suit to assist.

Car door open, Chef Jacques fired on a few before being attacked himself, a Growler chomping down on his tender, supple flesh. With a cry of both alarm and horror, the Chef threw himself and the zombie out of the car just as a Growler landed on the hood of the Volvo smashing its hand through the windshield clawing for Ventura.

He narrowly escaped the wee one.

Fielder, Pettigrew, and Badger dispatch the Growlers on their side of the car. Two of them hustled back into the car while Fielder charged after Chef Jacques, firing on the creature atop him.

BLAM!

He pasted the annoying biter.

The marine hauled the Chef up, legs churning the way back to the Volvo as the Moaner horde approached...

"Open the trunk!" He cried, "Open the trunk!!!"

Fielder dumped the Chef into the back and climbed in after him while laying down covering fire to aid in their retreat, Growlers and Moaners close behind.

Ventura at the wheel, they sped out of the parking lot.

Navigating the roads leading up to the evacuation site, they encountered much of the same problem as they did in the earlier session. Burned out and wrecked cars littering the streets serving as an obstacle course. The way riddled with barriers and their vehicle not the most maneuverable, it was slow going.

Along the way, they came upon a van bearing magnetic signs identifying it a CDC vehicle. Of course the Centers for Disease Control have a way to address the zombie infestation. Right?

The boys stopped to check it out.

The van had been attacked. A bloody, broken driver's side window was evident. Gobbets of flesh remained in the seat. Otherwise the van was vacant of passengers (undead or otherwise), though it was full of equipment, samples, and serum.

The boys resolved that something here might be valuable. They took the van and abandoned the Volvo.

Motoring on, they passed subdivisions consumed in flames.

Moaners and growlers pursued them, but they were able to stay ahead of the monsters. As they approached a group of survivors moving quickly on foot, the boys realized they will have led the zombies right to them. There were eleven pedestrians.

"We shouldn't stop," Badger urged. "Just keep going."

The group's decision was to the contrary.

Four additional passengers could be accommodated in the van. But no more.

The Chef, shoulder wound bandaged, and the DJ decided to run over to the neighborhood ablaze and grab another car to meet the demands of their transportation needs.

Zombies fell on the party, reducing their number and thereby the size requirement of whatever additional car they would boost.

Putting his mechanic skills to work, Ventura hot-wired a Toyota Celica. He, Jacques and their new guest all hopped in and fell in behind the CDC van.

Arriving at the Rockin' M Ranch, the evacuation site, they found a compound well-defended by Texas National Guard troops. The grounds leading to the ranch were littered with the bodies of slaughtered Moaners and a few Growlers. Sentry posts were stationed all about the ranch's game fence.

Heavy lift transport helicopters were positioned about the acreage with lines of people boarding.

The survivors, all but Jacques, were directed to the helicopter lines.

To Jacques, one of the Guardsmen said: "Sir, we need to get that bite taken care of. Get him to the medical tents!"

He was escorted by a soldier and medic to a tent where his wound was treated and provided with an IV.

The other survivors were all lifted into the air.

Jacques looked about observing a curious lack of medical personnel... or any personnel for that matter.

And that's when the bombs fell, consuming Calhoun, the ranch, and Chef Jacques.

I'm pleased with the way this resolved, though sorry that two of my original players couldn't make the game. These three chapters set the stage for the larger story I want to tell. And there are actual survivors to carry forward intp session #4.

Everyone had a good time.

From all three of these sessions, we lost three player characters to the zombie hordes: The Doctor (played by James in session #2), Sean (Jamie's character and NPC'd by me in session #3), and the Chef (played by Josh in session #2 and #3). Rest in peace, boys.

I'm already making notes for the next chapter in the zombie apocalypse, but I don't believe I'll be running it for the next session. Nope, I'm really wanting to run my SF setting, THIS EMPIRE EARTH. I think that'll be the next thing I run.

Of course, James is also talking about running something. He wants to run... wait. I'll let him tell that secret. He's working up something for the next Fear The Con that he wants to try out on us. Can't. Wait.

I've got some personal business I'm taking care of, so we're taking off the month of June. We should be back at it in July.

Aron Head
www.EvilBastard.net

Posted by Aron Head at 9:47 PM CDT

Updated: Monday, 12 May 2008 8:57 AM CDT

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