tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8733285689398442332024-03-24T00:10:32.360-07:00The Mushroom Press Design BlogAll the design discussion and product news for the Mushroom PressJoel T. Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14794521474606595295noreply@blogger.comBlogger131125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-873328568939844233.post-38913004564670587432023-11-16T12:10:00.000-08:002023-11-16T12:10:46.066-08:00The Villain is You, GM<p><span style="font-family: georgia;">Lone Wolf Fists doesn't do something that Exalted does well: I argue, however, that Exalted (and indeed, no game) should ever do this well. </span></p><span id="docs-internal-guid-645bab51-7fff-fead-c548-0ac9bbb7824d"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Despite the "ten minutes to midnight" energy of the many apocalyptic metaplots, Exalted has the feeling of an established, stable setting, with a well defined status quo. Probably because of the volumes of dull, uninteresting text dedicated to writing about it</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivcnWhWUnDrLW4cgVApNBuRQ9C7kbjLuolkCRvD50Cv71rF8twVrit54D18eWRypnX7yPbr2nUnx8ofaXWiY-foM4sluUYxG4RhVQHt3g657V_BqjnnrGd72iVjGang7uwjdl9kvbPoxxRwJ2Sv8EC1bRsrjru-gxd3OXbo3-xmIrJBi8vuZGjmw_pq4DJ/s500/519BM00JR6L.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="385" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivcnWhWUnDrLW4cgVApNBuRQ9C7kbjLuolkCRvD50Cv71rF8twVrit54D18eWRypnX7yPbr2nUnx8ofaXWiY-foM4sluUYxG4RhVQHt3g657V_BqjnnrGd72iVjGang7uwjdl9kvbPoxxRwJ2Sv8EC1bRsrjru-gxd3OXbo3-xmIrJBi8vuZGjmw_pq4DJ/s320/519BM00JR6L.jpg" width="246" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Oh how did an image of this book get here</td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></span></p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">This gives players the experience of being bulls in the China shop of the world. They're not just breaking things, they're breaking old, valuable things</span></span></p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">I think it contributes to the player-versus-gm energy of the entire enterprise</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6ob26ibKDdpceoCdaTHv4UMAMZtxeu46WwwC3ubsW83ZL09Jryk-Iaqm_LETKW3DSKmw6ouleILEbogfQ2aQiFMBEwGNJqkucnJHWa1y-YUWE2vGq4P78Nz_3YBnuDTPoaM_MDzfa_-FN0mcFl20KeuqYB_VVLVXwp74IkDgrnbg4T-28gf9ERMDV0Qkd/s899/gm%20is%20beyond%20the%20gods.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="487" data-original-width="899" height="233" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6ob26ibKDdpceoCdaTHv4UMAMZtxeu46WwwC3ubsW83ZL09Jryk-Iaqm_LETKW3DSKmw6ouleILEbogfQ2aQiFMBEwGNJqkucnJHWa1y-YUWE2vGq4P78Nz_3YBnuDTPoaM_MDzfa_-FN0mcFl20KeuqYB_VVLVXwp74IkDgrnbg4T-28gf9ERMDV0Qkd/w431-h233/gm%20is%20beyond%20the%20gods.PNG" width="431" /></a></div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></span><p></p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">If you're the kind of person who both deigns to run Exalted AND wants to keep their setting books as reference material,<i> you're incentivized to sabotage the player's attempts to change established setting</i></span></span></p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Meanwhile, in what I can only describe as <i>anticipatory </i>design, the powers that players get explicitly outline ways in which the GM cannot fuck with them</span></span></p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Players have (and motherfucker, you better believe *I have*) pointed to the rules when the GM says some version of "no" to one of their hair-brained schemes and stated "that is exactly how this rule works, fuck you”</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibUQBuEl1X2ItvL3op6EYP0dc9VMFVq9xmc_oeUECF843KVWNLJhI7NuH6M9OryUvPFZb8qOH-G1paHZJn3jsA0WcNBhvr28KRjRMlfdSIbYgL1V-gmd0ghKo_0pvfzx6fK6tiqrxvtDuiZsgEHNQ4A5pYJ6gn_007q6amiErBT00RL3j_ZVvFtfz87rZZ/s639/a47faf441decb33a2f118890ea3764ab_original.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="414" data-original-width="639" height="279" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibUQBuEl1X2ItvL3op6EYP0dc9VMFVq9xmc_oeUECF843KVWNLJhI7NuH6M9OryUvPFZb8qOH-G1paHZJn3jsA0WcNBhvr28KRjRMlfdSIbYgL1V-gmd0ghKo_0pvfzx6fK6tiqrxvtDuiZsgEHNQ4A5pYJ6gn_007q6amiErBT00RL3j_ZVvFtfz87rZZ/w432-h279/a47faf441decb33a2f118890ea3764ab_original.jpg" width="432" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nice try bitch, I'm a <i>Solar</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">For example, good ol' husband-seducing demon dance</span></span></p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">"I make a speech and get this whole village, who hate us, to march on that dragon blood blood camp". GM either sets the difficulty, or, more reasonable, scoffs at the notion and says "you can't do that". </span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">You point to the charm:</span></span></p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-25BXFJZnb6TJ_00lJBGpBhyphenhyphenhyphenhyphenkRpNfihtlZTP-ZF7_tuOECxwm8Hk8wX_c-jZEq7m_hGUMfKAaNNkBRg7We56g-j9P6uUIm5ji1bra_cRWEnoW0_SAIVQLR8XgD9ewy7QAA3yQFxHBvKLXJkUX9MexnNxDUCJ83ozJN9go5exK5_lch0o7FdnSx7FsMz/s880/hsdd.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="570" data-original-width="880" height="373" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-25BXFJZnb6TJ_00lJBGpBhyphenhyphenhyphenhyphenkRpNfihtlZTP-ZF7_tuOECxwm8Hk8wX_c-jZEq7m_hGUMfKAaNNkBRg7We56g-j9P6uUIm5ji1bra_cRWEnoW0_SAIVQLR8XgD9ewy7QAA3yQFxHBvKLXJkUX9MexnNxDUCJ83ozJN9go5exK5_lch0o7FdnSx7FsMz/w577-h373/hsdd.PNG" width="577" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: georgia;">Some relevant aspects:</span><i style="font-family: georgia;"> <b>Characters with Mental DV less than the Solar’s successes must spend two Willpower or fall instantly in love either with the Solar or something the Solar represents. </b></i><p></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">(For scale, most mental DVs are between 2-3. A Solar's successes from a typical Performance roll number around <b>Five)</b></span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><i style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></i></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><i style="font-family: georgia; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><b>This love is a form of commitment (see p. 201). Targets can break the commitment naturally but they must spend one Willpower in each scene where they deliberately attempt to shake it off."</b></i></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="white-space-collapse: preserve;">Again, to give you an idea, most mortals have around four Willpower</span></span> <i style="font-family: georgia; white-space-collapse: preserve;">max</i><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="white-space-collapse: preserve;">. And spending a Willpower to resist mental influence is described in the text as extremely unlikely and rare.</span></span></p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">"Motherfucker, how many willpower these shit farmers got? Because they're about to be in love with the idea”</span></span></p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> …</span></span></p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Now, obviously, I didn't want to foster those kind of crossed-incentives. I wanted an attitude of collaboration and mutual respect between players and GM.</span></span></p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">BUT those decisions mean that the extremely fun, punk energy that Exalted can generate is sacrificed. How can you buck an authority enforcing boring bullshit, when the authority is on your side and everything is explosively cool?</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5SGl2r30PqFiIn7X8jqpDyrkni5Rrc2nHa9RSBa8UzZH7DLbTdRYgoxytw4UcxgUkwHvw8PRRZeDFAeuuWqTRVo3s6KMN0TwDZQeEHlYHch6lWkj_S9gTwiSf2o3sojX1GderHqTKr_b3fdLr0ww1kEuDnYTVW7mHl1-T7QRfDBaMZzKWT3MbLVWHPZbY/s830/mister_rogers_dungeon_master.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="663" data-original-width="830" height="331" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5SGl2r30PqFiIn7X8jqpDyrkni5Rrc2nHa9RSBa8UzZH7DLbTdRYgoxytw4UcxgUkwHvw8PRRZeDFAeuuWqTRVo3s6KMN0TwDZQeEHlYHch6lWkj_S9gTwiSf2o3sojX1GderHqTKr_b3fdLr0ww1kEuDnYTVW7mHl1-T7QRfDBaMZzKWT3MbLVWHPZbY/w414-h331/mister_rogers_dungeon_master.jpg" width="414" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pictured: the typical LWF GM (chad)</td></tr></tbody></table><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">I feel like my path forward here is to advise GMs to make their bad guys <i>absolute dickweeds</i></span></span></p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjW20QVZG1XhS4T3zVSMM1S4Nvzdsk1ujKM5gf60HUPsdCUEI35107axI5RdHHUwPs2KyF8Qz2v4cPW1aKSUolqHxeEwXvmg8Jp8Nh4sRR1GCYkJR_WYLmeKewYLdY31MhiOhIIybqK75d9M-WiKkH1cM89eIaVAoIJwPzXZyUeJSb_k-lScS5dNzqMplaA/s961/jagi%20being%20a%20beast%20per%20uze.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="723" data-original-width="961" height="361" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjW20QVZG1XhS4T3zVSMM1S4Nvzdsk1ujKM5gf60HUPsdCUEI35107axI5RdHHUwPs2KyF8Qz2v4cPW1aKSUolqHxeEwXvmg8Jp8Nh4sRR1GCYkJR_WYLmeKewYLdY31MhiOhIIybqK75d9M-WiKkH1cM89eIaVAoIJwPzXZyUeJSb_k-lScS5dNzqMplaA/w479-h361/jagi%20being%20a%20beast%20per%20uze.PNG" width="479" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"I use Jagi-summoning Technique!"</td></tr></tbody></table><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">We need to transfer that punk energy where it always should have been: <i>within the framework of the game itself</i></span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><i><br /></i></span></span></p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><b><i>"In Lone Wolf Fists, the evil NPC is your enemy</i></b></span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><b><i>In Exalted, the evil NPC is sympathetic and secretly right, so the GM is your enemy"</i></b></span></span></p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span><br />Joel T. Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14794521474606595295noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-873328568939844233.post-54202557475507423302023-07-27T11:36:00.000-07:002023-07-27T11:36:22.964-07:00GNS is communist gobbledygook<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><span id="docs-internal-guid-0c69a98a-7fff-98ea-3b27-e96d4824c91a"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Well, I tried really hard to read GNS theory and my impression is that it is pure gibberish. It can’t even describe the bedrock TTRPG experience as anything but “ …(A) halting and incoherent mix of Gamism and Simulationism”. I actually didn’t set out to condemn it, but I sincerely cannot think of a more damning condemnation of a ttrpg theory than that.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Let me illustrate just how wrongheaded the theory is;</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Imagine that you’d never heard of roleplaying games and had no concept of even playing them like games at all. You come up with an idea for an activity, let’s call it “labyrinth explorer”, where you design a huge, elaborate labyrinthine world and its denizens, and your friends all take on the role of explorers creeping through it.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">There aren’t any rules to speak of when you start; just a very fundamental “call and response” style play, where:</span></p><ol style="margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 0; padding-inline-start: 48px;"><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; list-style-type: decimal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-wrap: wrap; vertical-align: baseline;">You describe the surroundings to the players (based on your map and notes of the area)</span></p></li><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; list-style-type: decimal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-wrap: wrap; vertical-align: baseline;">They each tell you what activity they’d like to engage in, and for how long</span></p></li><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; list-style-type: decimal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-wrap: wrap; vertical-align: baseline;">You describe the outcomes of their activities</span></p></li></ol><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">So you have this diceless, mechanicless experience with only a few concrete boundaries:</span></p><ol style="margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 0; padding-inline-start: 48px;"><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; list-style-type: decimal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-wrap: wrap; vertical-align: baseline;">The labyrinth and everything in it is “real”; you, as the narrator, deny yourself the capacity to edit anything you’ve written down during the game. You can edit things prior to play if they haven’t been encountered, but after they’re a part of play, they’re “concrete”</span></p></li><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; list-style-type: decimal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-wrap: wrap; vertical-align: baseline;">The world of the labyrinth operates on generally the same physical and psychological principles as our own; you, as the narrator, and to a lesser extent your players, are all committed to upholding this integrity so that the world can be “explored” as genuinely as possible</span></p></li></ol><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">As you continue to run sessions of labyrinth explorer for your friends, you find the desire for the unexpected creeping in. It feels somewhat arbitrary to say one explorer can succeed at a task while another fails, and there’s no real tension to a violent encounter, since you’re certain of its outcome unless the explorer’s tactics really surprise you.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">So, you introduce a few simple randomizers. Roll a die and get over a target number sort of things, rock simple but satisfying because:</span></p><ol style="margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 0; padding-inline-start: 48px;"><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; list-style-type: decimal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-wrap: wrap; vertical-align: baseline;">They take the outcome of reasonably uncertain but possible actions out of your control, allowing the world to surprise both you and the explorers</span></p></li><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; list-style-type: decimal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-wrap: wrap; vertical-align: baseline;">They create true tension and stakes, despite their simple framework</span></p></li></ol><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">A simple extension of these principles leads you to devise what we would call “wandering monster charts” based on the untrackably complex movements of the denizens of the labyrinth. Now, the time spent performing tasks risks encounters with the roving inhabitants of the labyrinth, adding another exciting and tense element to exploration.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">And so it goes, I’m certain you all see where I’m heading with this. You eventually evolve something very similar to our collectively well-known alliterative hobby, keeping the principles I outlined above intact.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">This is, essentially, the most intuitive and reasonable way to develop a TTRPG, but I’m eyeballing the “simulationist” description on the current GNS page and, well…</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">“</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Controversy: is that third box really there?</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">It has rightly been asked whether Simulationism really exists, given that it consists mainly of Exploration. I suggest that Simulationism exists insofar as the effort and attention to Exploration may over-ride either Gamist or Narrativist priorities.”</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">“Does D&D exist?!” Apparently, that’s a sincere question that was asked by the author of this theory. He was proud enough about this to write it down and make it widely publicly available.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Conclusion: I’m not going to waste any further neurons on GNS theory and I suggest you don’t either. <a href="http://www.indie-rpgs.com/articles/1/">You can read it, in its entirety, at this link if you really want to swallow an ocean of brain poison, but I advise you to spend your time productively instead.</a> The author’s skill at fundamental elements of argument, like definition, is so exasperatingly poor that I can’t even properly describe it. Just, I mean look at this passage, where he flails at, and ultimately totally fails to, define his own re-definiton of “Exploration”:</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">“Exploration and its child, Premise</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The best term for the imagination in action, or perhaps for the attention given the imagined elements, is Exploration.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> Initially, it is an individual concern, although it will move into the social, communicative realm, and the commitment to imagine the listed elements becomes an issue of its own.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">When a person perceives the listed elements together and considers Exploring them, </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">he or she usually has a basic reaction of interest or disinterest, approval or disapproval, or desire to play or lack of such a desire. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Let's assume a positive reaction; when it occurs, whatever prompted it is Premise, in its most basic form. To re-state, Premise is whatever a participant finds among the elements to sustain a continued interest in what might happen in a role-playing session. Premise, once established, instils the desire to keep that imaginative commitment going.”</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/fJpUu8jfk9k" width="320" youtube-src-id="fJpUu8jfk9k"></iframe></div><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span><p></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Notice how, twice, he derails his explanation of exploration into the assumed, imagined psychology of the people involved? I underlined those, if you missed them. Absent from this definition? A FUCKING DEFINITION</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">How someone could see something that fails this spectacularly and grant it even the most merciful of credence totally perplexes me. This fails basic reading comprehension rules, people, it isn’t written by a genius but an idiot who desperately wants to be perceived as smart.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Whatever telephone game passed for knowledge transmission in the early aughties internet has obfuscated the reality of this drivel to the point where EVERYONE and their mothers refers back to it. People: I take back what I said earlier. I urge you to read this, in its entirety, and earnestly compare it to your actual experience playing TTRPGs. It will reveal itself as nonsensical ramblings within minutes.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">My fundamental point: this is so catastrophically incorrect that even taking it seriously enough to correct it is a fundamental error. This is, plainly put, utter nonsense</span></p><br /><br /></span>Joel T. Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14794521474606595295noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-873328568939844233.post-51338856109150749512023-07-06T01:17:00.000-07:002023-07-06T01:17:00.167-07:00Lone Wolf Fists: In HARDBACK POD<p> Get stoked folks, <a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/416442/Tian-Shang-Lone-Wolf-Fists-CORE-RULEBOOK">our hardback print on demand is unleashed, on Drivethrurpg!</a></p><p>Enjoy some glory shots:</p><p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxYP-bCPJAuS9bJQehwcc4XwTT_ysHnYYxMGcw3b5o-jRG-JZ3T1xwRMcrG_otulEHbfYLHUxFX-74GrWBQSbIQnE_NQ-ty0hkgaPP_or5p3QLW-IFRUH3jwWfm70socFY0Dx-Wao78TMWf79N95UChEDMzdzp8E2AmIY5sYIpNlQHzMLti0kum528t1Id/s4080/rn_image_picker_lib_temp_7fea4bc0-9c94-45b4-b022-0df87784cbfd.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4080" data-original-width="3072" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxYP-bCPJAuS9bJQehwcc4XwTT_ysHnYYxMGcw3b5o-jRG-JZ3T1xwRMcrG_otulEHbfYLHUxFX-74GrWBQSbIQnE_NQ-ty0hkgaPP_or5p3QLW-IFRUH3jwWfm70socFY0Dx-Wao78TMWf79N95UChEDMzdzp8E2AmIY5sYIpNlQHzMLti0kum528t1Id/s320/rn_image_picker_lib_temp_7fea4bc0-9c94-45b4-b022-0df87784cbfd.jpg" width="241" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yeah that's Markiplier in the background</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKaebI47gB8elnh7M33BV-KqWnibsLCbI4sFLRoemVfHbm105h3s8AMAMdOYjLivcwFAWtB-YdeosyCigKbgfXB3cyCSvbSs9yvS-SxqCcJ-li5YdAxYSjxRTla9Qtc7mOAZGEKWLWGatgKfiSahON6NsK44c2vlpZ2XQv-4XhbgvRFdH2iksOWaZaqnL9/s4080/rn_image_picker_lib_temp_6657dad7-526f-44d5-8d81-d1da61ce96b3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4080" data-original-width="3072" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKaebI47gB8elnh7M33BV-KqWnibsLCbI4sFLRoemVfHbm105h3s8AMAMdOYjLivcwFAWtB-YdeosyCigKbgfXB3cyCSvbSs9yvS-SxqCcJ-li5YdAxYSjxRTla9Qtc7mOAZGEKWLWGatgKfiSahON6NsK44c2vlpZ2XQv-4XhbgvRFdH2iksOWaZaqnL9/s320/rn_image_picker_lib_temp_6657dad7-526f-44d5-8d81-d1da61ce96b3.jpg" width="241" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">THICC</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxlyd4zX2u6g38fNB8gJEuZNQjKN1vTi4SCbb5llxQ5YB67H1FdEPvrKGWFkDizvrngNKahZA1rzWX4cetb9ec07nRe-32NOkGk6FeefTkEmWyAuTnRV5yk7NboBxlfgkGVjfaVn2UZ8IrEua4cml7hibWUsNexrKE5fG6lLZB6DtW0sXNhUoE-hUbspeb/s4080/rn_image_picker_lib_temp_13e9729c-54a9-4abd-aee2-512265b4841d.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4080" data-original-width="3072" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxlyd4zX2u6g38fNB8gJEuZNQjKN1vTi4SCbb5llxQ5YB67H1FdEPvrKGWFkDizvrngNKahZA1rzWX4cetb9ec07nRe-32NOkGk6FeefTkEmWyAuTnRV5yk7NboBxlfgkGVjfaVn2UZ8IrEua4cml7hibWUsNexrKE5fG6lLZB6DtW0sXNhUoE-hUbspeb/s320/rn_image_picker_lib_temp_13e9729c-54a9-4abd-aee2-512265b4841d.jpg" width="241" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I had to see how the train suplex worked out. God, it's glorious in print</td></tr></tbody></table><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>What's on the horizon? New, updated Blood from God's Eye intro adventure, updated character sheets (editable if I can figure it out!), GM screen (maybe?!) and then...?<p></p><p><br /></p><p>I guess you'll have to stay tuned to find out!<br /><br /></p>Joel T. Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14794521474606595295noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-873328568939844233.post-79315001444929467652023-05-09T02:00:00.006-07:002023-05-09T10:09:46.561-07:00Talking about Games Winning Technique: Prana Pathway InflammationHad ourselves a little contest recently in a cropssover with the Talking About Games channel. He does good stuff, by the way; certainly including his stellar review of Lone Wolf Fists, but he talks about a lot of fine games and gaming philosophy.
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi14VqmyHbGvzZQG5hFzMDMh5lxDfSGul_6BIODGYtVrMZm9nq-GiqWx1PEAbhMvQLN_YEihek1b36Abs2wWet2EjEgw1mJwjCkmW_iMdDkW3trxmSzWq5NZZCwaXc7uOkbVBYj4admthdekCVo7wZoA63Tq1sLsc54nryTECY259XTkgcMgI7qgdB_WQ/s1093/Nude%20or%20not%20I%20dunno..PNG" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="626" data-original-width="1093" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi14VqmyHbGvzZQG5hFzMDMh5lxDfSGul_6BIODGYtVrMZm9nq-GiqWx1PEAbhMvQLN_YEihek1b36Abs2wWet2EjEgw1mJwjCkmW_iMdDkW3trxmSzWq5NZZCwaXc7uOkbVBYj4admthdekCVo7wZoA63Tq1sLsc54nryTECY259XTkgcMgI7qgdB_WQ/s400/Nude%20or%20not%20I%20dunno..PNG" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Honestly thought he reviewed in the nude</td></tr></tbody></table><b>THE CONTEST:</b><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Tsm8RSYO66I" width="320" youtube-src-id="Tsm8RSYO66I"></iframe></div><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><div><b>In words: </b><i>"CONTEST! Write your unique, over the top, super-powered martial arts move in the comments section, with its proper, amazing name! Be creative, it could be anything, from kicks, to punching to grappling, etc., with extreme effects that you would normally only see in anime and manga. Remember that in this TTRPG, you are able to become a God, so there is almost no limit as to what you can do. </i></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div><i>The martial arts move that I like the most, is going to win a Tian Shang Lone Wolf Fists core rulebook in PDF format. The contest ends this Friday the 5th, at 6:00PM CST, and within two or three days, I will announce the winner. If the winner never reclaimes the prize within three days of announcing the winner, another winner will be selected. Good luck!"</i></div><div><br /></div><div>Our winning entry was submitted by our true-blue Ronwise Gamgee! And the text he submitted was as follows:</div><div><br /></div><div><i>"The Prana Pathway Inflammation Technique. With this precise pressure-point strike, you can inflame the pathways of your opponent's open chakras, causing them to constrict and cause a great deal of pain commensurate to the amount of prana the opponent has gathered (kind of like clogging up an artery that is jam-packed with blood cells). This strike deals an additional amount of damage equal to the prana that the opponent has gathered, all while wracking them in terrible pain (similar to that shocking sensation you get when you hold in a sneeze, put persistent). Should the subject willingly disperse their prana, they will alleviate the condition. If the condition is roleplayed, the character suffers intermittent, momentary paralysis every couple of seconds or so. If enacted mechanically, the target temporarily loses access to one focus slot and suffers a 1-die reduction to their Effort pool."</i></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>This is a nifty idea for a Technique; it does lots of stuff! I like the "deals more damage if you have more Prana" thing, especially; there's a neat contradiction there, because the guy you'd like to use it against (the guy with a ton of Prana) is best-equipped to prevent it.</div></div><div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/po77bJk1DdI" width="320" youtube-src-id="po77bJk1DdI"></iframe></div><div><br /></div>It's also <i>incredibly</i> Fist of the North Star, which I mean come on. That's the whole reason I made this game.</div><div><br /></div><div>After mulling it over, I came to the following:</div><div><ol style="text-align: left;"><li>This Technique rests very comfortably at the Expert level. It's flashy and direct, and it works best when its accessible. The lower Kharma and Prana costs put it within range of most characters.</li><li>Its too similar to Five Gateways not to be some kind of derivation. So this is a Technique that escaped the grip of the Five Stars and made its way out into the wider Jianghu.</li><li>This is actually a Technique AND a special Imbalance.</li></ol><div>So that lead me to the following design. Enjoy your Technique Ron!</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><h3 style="text-align: left;"><b>Prana Pathway Inflammation</b></h3><div><b>Expert-Level Technique</b></div><div><br /></div><div><i>A variant of several Five Gateway Techniques, this infamous move somehow escaped the scrutiny of the Five Stars and traveled far beyond their borders. Many upstarts and false claimants to their legacy have trumpeted its mastery, although the true Five Stars would have known its disputed lineage. They would have been impressed, though.</i></div><div><br /></div><div><div><i>Attack</i></div><div><b>Requires</b>: (Arm, Awakened Chakra)</div><div><b>Cost</b>: 12</div><div><b>Rank</b>: 3</div><div><b>Facing</b>: 6-9</div><div><b>Effect</b>: You strike several key pressure points in a blur of rapid fist movements, unleashing a cascade of Pranic malfunction within the enemy's Prana Meridians. filling the</div><div>Prana meridians with destructive vibrations. Rather than damage, this strike creates Aggravation towards a Prana Inflammation Imbalance. If it deals Aggravation to a foe,</div><div>increase the amount by the amount of Prana currently held in the targets Prana Pool.</div><div><b>Skill</b>: Agility</div></div><div><br /></div><div><div><b>Prana Inflammation:</b> Physical Imbalance</div><div><b>Dramatic</b>: Your body seizes and contorts at the worst possible moments in a series of "Prana Hiccups"</div></div><div>The originator of this Imbalance chooses when you're paralyzed or otherwise lose muscular control from these convulsions, which allows them to amend any of your proposed actions ending in clumsy failure once per turn per Rank of the Imbalance.</div><div><br /></div><div>Such descriptions can include attacks hitting nearby targets instead of their intended victim, dropping weapons or other held items, falling down in an uncoordinated mess, and other potentially catastrophic blunders.</div><div><br /></div><div>This Imbalance poisons the well of your Prana; if your Prana Pool is ever reduced to 0, it is immediately cured, no matter its current Rank. This Imbalance can never cause you to die (but it can certainly make your wish you were dead; hiccups of the soul are exponentially more horrible than their mortal equivalent!). For the purposes of reducing your Prana Pool to 0, you may spend Prana for no game-effect (it cascades out of you in a display of pyrotechnics, but otherwise has no effect)</div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ApxL3ursOKI" width="320" youtube-src-id="ApxL3ursOKI"></iframe></div><br /> </div></div>Joel T. Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14794521474606595295noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-873328568939844233.post-13567093754238392262023-05-02T03:15:00.008-07:002023-05-02T03:37:44.420-07:00I don't want to tell or be told stories. I want to play games.<p> Let's start this blog post right, by <a href="https://docseuss.medium.com/lore-is-a-trap-and-will-kill-your-story-if-you-let-it-so-what-can-we-do-about-it-9f84850980e3">linking you to a much more competent blog by a much more capable creator</a>. Read that article and then come on back and read this one, if you've got any time or energy left.</p><p><a href="https://store.steampowered.com/app/1271400/Adios/">And maybe go buy and play Adios.</a></p><p>I don't have a rebuttal to anything the man said or did, but I do have a <i>notion</i> that his masterfully executed article percolated in my brain, and I wished to share it.</p><p><u>I genuinely do not have any interest in telling or playing stories.</u> None. Zip. <i>Zilch</i>. I find the act of fiction writing unsatisfying and I find things like visual novels uninspiring. Mind, I've played a few, but in the ultimate judgment I find my interest in them is where I can actively direct them, change them, how I can monkey with them.... How, in other words, I can play them like a game.</p><p>And hence, this thesis-cum-title: <b>I don't want to tell or be told stories. I want to play games.</b></p><p>Let me immediately back off a little; I do actually love stories. What I'm talking about is, when I go to engage with a game, if I get a story instead, I'm upset. I don't want my game to <i>be</i> a story; I want it to be a game.</p><p>As an intriguing corollary to this, if a story is in fact, a game (or even game-ish!) I adore it. I found this out whenever I started picking at <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ficciones">the mind-puzzles laid out in the fiction of Jorge Borges</a>, by the way, and even earlier in life when I came across <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Choose_Your_Own_Adventure">a collection of choose-your-own adventure books </a>in the local used book store. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MAZE:_Solve_the_World%27s_Most_Challenging_Puzzle">The fantastic conundrum of MAZE also stuck with me</a>, although I'm pretty sure the author of that enigmatic toy was playing dirty.</p><p><b>Notion One: </b><i>I like stories with almost no conflict, but whose toyetic nature allows me to treat them like a game</i></p><p>What sprung first to my mind here was <a href="https://sites.evergreen.edu/politicalshakespeares/wp-content/uploads/sites/226/2015/12/Borges-The-Library-of-Babel.pdf">The Library of Babel </a>by Borges. We'd be hard-pressed to find anything resembling conflict in this story; you might consider the past-tense descriptions of people's struggles "dramatic", but you shouldn't; that's a historical account, there's nothing unknown about it, nothing hanging in the balance. The entire tale is told in past-tense, and the desires of its conveyor aren't really even present in the story, let alone central. It is about as close as a dry, historical account of a totally fictional place could possibly be.</p><p>And I adore it.</p><p>I love the concept that every book that could conceivably ever be written must inevitably exist somewhere within the library, as well as the opposite of that book. By extension, anything which could be conceived and conveyed in English characters must exist, in nearly infinite forms, somewhere in its nigh-limitless (but still tantalizingly finite!) passages. I like that you can, right now, <a href="https://libraryofbabel.info/browse.cgi">read a page from this mind-twistingly titanic library.</a> Go ahead. Perhaps it will tell the legend of you, perfectly justifying and glorifying every facet of you.</p><p>If you followed my instructions and read that fantastic article I linked at the start of this journey, you'll immediately notice the friction between its mentally succulent points and the statements I just made. The Library of Babel is, in effect, not a story in so much as its a brief but dense and enormously interesting lore dump. It barely has characters, has zero plot and about as much drama as a math textbook.</p><p>But the universe it describes is going to live in me forever. I can go back to its strange, nearly-empty-of-all-life hexes whenever I turn my thoughts back to the notion it conveys. And I have already dwelled in there for a long, satisfying time.</p><p>Why do I love this not-story, this dry recounting of a world and a notion that doesn't and cannot exist? I think its because the concept is toyetic; it is something I can play with in my mind, a chewtoy for my imagination. I find its haunting possibilities seeping into my creative works, my games, even my everyday thought processes.</p><p>I don't feel it lacks anything; character drama would get in the way of the toy. Distract from the eerie purity of the idea.</p><p>For a less pure version of this notion, <a href="https://sites.evergreen.edu/politicalshakespeares/wp-content/uploads/sites/226/2015/12/Borges-Tl%C3%B6n-Uqbar-Orbius-Tertius.pdf">Tlön, Uqbar, Orbis Tertius </a>(also by Borges) does actually start with something of a plot, but its ultimately consumed by the ideas (as is the world of the tale, but I'm getting ahead of us). Its a mystery, at first; why does Tlön appear in one encyclopedia, but not another? Is it real, or a fiction of some kind? And our author's self-insert certainly does experience friction and setbacks in trying to satisfying his intellectual curiosity in this matter.</p><p>But the more interesting notion, the superior toy, emerges and devours that scant narrative. And that idea is this; is there a meaningful distinction between Tlön being "real" or "fiction"?</p><p>It sends us into a spiral of embattled Dualism that ultimately makes a mockery of any concept of story and relapses back, like Library, into simply recounting this idea expanding and morphing its setting, distorting its lore around itself like a battleship displacing water to cut across the sea.</p><p>The <i>hrönir</i>, by the way, are one of the most toyetic ideas I've ever encountered. They've found their way, in one form or another, into almost every game I've ever ran.</p><p><b>Notion two: </b><i>If in playing a game, I realize that it is not a game but a story, I feel cheated</i></p><p>The Stanley Parable jumps out as an example here; it goes so far as to make its single game-esque senquence, the "save the baby from X" sequence, an agonizing chore to mock your desire to play a game. A better example is Adios, of course, which is a story told via the medium of a game; it doesn't mock you so much as entirely forgo the notion that you're playing a game.</p><p>I hate that. I hate it like an unskippable cut scene before a boss fight. I hate it like an invisible wall that forces me to do some stupid task before I get to play more of the game I paid for. I hate it more than screen after screen of boring, pointless text that I have to mash X to get through and god help you if you accidently hit it once to much and select "Yeah repeat all that boring bullshit again please, waste my precious fucking time you stupid hooting asshole"</p><p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj1GgS3cbw1kSnkIPMivfPAhGeuynHO4c2tUngw-Od436daU-v89qwPCwbApg-DOzDhdPi8OndZKkn1ABUeNvmXCTzG1hKWYYz2vgIIKbHhqoeLAMIerV-kLcZWpfuiKnm0xmDQfhtM3ceBwTmBteYCOA4rssTYssobAqilLV2CEsAHVDAMpBtPe8Wrsw" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="469" data-original-width="766" height="196" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj1GgS3cbw1kSnkIPMivfPAhGeuynHO4c2tUngw-Od436daU-v89qwPCwbApg-DOzDhdPi8OndZKkn1ABUeNvmXCTzG1hKWYYz2vgIIKbHhqoeLAMIerV-kLcZWpfuiKnm0xmDQfhtM3ceBwTmBteYCOA4rssTYssobAqilLV2CEsAHVDAMpBtPe8Wrsw" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">FUCK YOU</td></tr></tbody></table><br /></p><p>The problem with this notion is that I struggle to tell you, in essence, what is distinct between a game and a story, in the same way I can't tell you what's ontologically distinct between a sandwich and two slices of bread and a slice of ham thrown onto the floor. One is recognizably and intuitively a food, and the other is a mess.</p><p>Its something of a spectrum, I suppose; I don't mind a bit of story in my game. But I can dispense with story entirely and still enjoy a game (checkers, anyone?), and the more story that you put in my game, the more frustrated I become with the experience. </p><p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjRqvaCRcyFAUjjCwciRjOSBe0DVdEs5qTUKdvOhAtEBUqlN2dNbYJnNAARMMpAk9xR4gcZGm3rs3LFfoMBy_PqBpl_mAoIV_fGu41my1WUSm3d8Nqr_VYNwMF3GwVoEa_LjcNZ80SiPGdBjk2zxZfDZYok1i74zwJ_AqLklxidWiq9MZy70GaEPxE_rw" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="826" data-original-width="1106" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjRqvaCRcyFAUjjCwciRjOSBe0DVdEs5qTUKdvOhAtEBUqlN2dNbYJnNAARMMpAk9xR4gcZGm3rs3LFfoMBy_PqBpl_mAoIV_fGu41my1WUSm3d8Nqr_VYNwMF3GwVoEa_LjcNZ80SiPGdBjk2zxZfDZYok1i74zwJ_AqLklxidWiq9MZy70GaEPxE_rw" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is about my limit</td></tr></tbody></table><br />Whenever the story consumes the game, it can fuck right off; its just wearing my beloved game as a skinsuit at that point. Just be a book or a movie or whatever. Stop lying to me.</p><p>I think something of a litmus test is this; can I fuck with the ending? Can I depart from the intended experience while remaining within the bounds of the game (ie; no hacking the code or whatever)? The more you can honestly answer yes, the more I'll enjoy it.</p><p><b>The point:</b> <i>I need to follow this instinct when I run and write games</i></p><p>What's all this building to? That I shouldn't forget this instinct whenever I'm writing or running games.</p><p>One of the powerfully distinguishing factors between a game and a story is that <i>one is allowed to become bored with a game</i>. Stories should rightfully be criticized if they bore us, but a game isn't like that; a game can still be satisfying whenever its boring. </p><p>I can't count the number of times whenever the player choice in one of my home games has resulted in them going somewhere that there is no further content to be mined; the dungeon is empty, there are no more clues at the Whately Mansion, etc. </p><p>The temptation to <i>roll the encounter dice </i>or <i>have something happen there </i>can be overwhelming in these instances. The players have found an actual dead end; or, if I've properly Jaquaysed the map, they're found a closed loop without any fresh content.</p><p>If I were an author, and writing this as a story, I would (and should!) absolutely follow my instinct and put something here. It would be my actual job to do so; if this bit of tedium didn't somehow serve to further the plot, increase the drama, or enhance the mood, and EVEN THEN, it should almost certainly be ruthlessly cut.</p><p>But, whenever I play a game, I sometimes perform this exact kind of behavior. And it does actually waste my time. And I would be furious if the game decided to condescend to me by making my choice to make this mistake impossible. Like if there was a pop-up where some dickhead NPC said "Why don't you continue to the castle" or such, I would <i>despise</i> that. And I would be insulted to the point of quitting the entire experience if it simply teleported me to the fucking castle instead of letting me dick around in peace.</p><p>Yet that's exactly what I'm doing when I force content into these lulls. I'm breaking my own rules to deliver some preconceived outcome to players. Even when that outcome is just "something exciting happens!"</p><p>Same with scenes that "must" happen in a module, either because it's critical to forward momentum or because "it would be the coolest thing that could happen"</p><p>The coolest thing would be your players having real agency over their own destiny.</p><p>Giving myself advice here: Skip the "cool" boss fight, kill your darlings, let them make mistakes and get bored. If you truly must have someone kick down the door with a gun, lean on an encounter chart so you don't know when the door gets kicked down or who's kicking it down.</p><p>Because you'll have more game than story then. And as we've discussed, that's what both you and the players want.</p><p><br /></p>Joel T. Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14794521474606595295noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-873328568939844233.post-53757636642029548042023-04-28T20:25:00.000-07:002023-04-28T20:25:31.238-07:00Going full blog mode: observations from two Discord rants<span face="gg sans, Noto Sans, Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif"><span style="white-space: break-spaces;"><div>One of the brilliant, witty, and no doubt handsome members of the Fistoverse had an observation about Shadowrun to share with the Discord:</div><div><br /></div><div><b><i>"Shadowrun's set up for lots of good stories, but is a real ballache to run"</i></b></div><div> </div><div>And as is typical when a comment catches my eye, I couldn't shut up for a for minutes. I share my bloviation with you all, for what scrapes of insight it possesses:</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>"Speaking as an elfgame maker; it is SUPER hard to get the broth right</div><div><br /></div><div>Like you want everything to be this efficient little clock, but anytime you put two systems near each other they flip out start devouring each other like those Japanese fighting fish</div><div><br /></div><div>God help you if you want to have an elegant core system AND distinguish weapon types AND have tactically meaningful combat. There's a reason most armory style supplements are just walls of minute variations of a handful of weapon types</div><div><br /></div><div>So I feel for the system crafters. It's easy to fuck up and near impossible to get right</div><div><br /></div><div>God DAMMIT that was more fun and elegant than anything I just spent four hours writing"</div><div> </div><div></div><div><br /></div><div>But our insightful and gorgeous Discordian had further observations, which enticed me to continue this particular tyrade:</div><div><b><i><br /></i></b></div><div><b><i>"Main books need to be an evocative treatise on the setting and feel, on top of being a functional technical document</i></b></div><div><b><i><br /></i></b></div><div><b><i>The eternal tragedy of the hobby is that TTRPG's don't make enough money to fund the extended playtesting that most need"</i></b></div><div><br /></div><div> </div><div>To which, I blunderingly replied:</div><div><br /></div><div>"More than that; conceptually, there's a disconnect between what we would expect to be strategically viable in a fantastic universe versus what is ACTUALLY strategically viable in a fantastic universe</div><div><br /></div><div>So you have games like Exalted where what we want, aka anime hero big sword magic blade beam, is markedly less viable than "guy who picked up the crimson bow and can kill you from another dimension"</div><div><br /></div><div>The reality is that, as a designer, you're NEVER certain if a new option ruins the anticipated setting. That's the tactical infinity for you; man cannot stand against the infinite</div><div><br /></div><div>So you have a disconnect between option-hungry players, and designers who only have a small library of options they're more or less certain result in the game as they sold it</div><div><br /></div><div>My solution was to make the setting an inconstant nightmare, so you can't possibly make that worse by discovering where the setting breaks because too late, bitch! Already broken!</div><div><br /></div><div>But you'll note, that IS a copout</div><div><br /></div><div>I can't hope to run a test on every permutations of every idea I have, in every likely circumstance that I could anticipate (which would, at any rate, be only the barest fraction of what it would actually be exposed to in real world play)</div><div><br /></div><div>So designers are left with, at best, a remarkably robust core and the hope that their latest wiggle from the mean isn't one deviation too far</div><div><br /></div><div>That's just the nature of the beast</div><div><br /></div><div>Wow I am in blog mode today what the hell"</div><div><br /></div><div>Blog mode indeed, past Joel. Blog. Mode. Indeed.</div></span></span>Joel T. Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14794521474606595295noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-873328568939844233.post-9143837861697329562023-04-25T17:21:00.002-07:002023-05-10T11:10:15.982-07:00The Long Road to a Fist Game<p> Now that the Lone Wolf Fists hardback is on the near horizon, I finally have a little time to write. God that feels nice.</p><p>Next time? I'm hiring a layout guy. This was a nightmare.</p><p>Today we're gonna talk about the journey to LWF (and Tian Shang in general; we've got starfaring to do soon...)</p><p><b><span style="font-size: large;">The History Of Games I Played</span></b></p><p>Let me give you the truncated timeline of my exposure to Tabletop Roleplaying Games</p><p>Around year 7 of my life, my bestest friend in the world (Matt was his name, awesome kid) introduced me to a few important interests that would define my tastes for the rest of my life:</p><p>1. Sonic the Hedgehog</p><p>2. Spawn comics</p><p>3. Final Fantasy IV (at the time called Final Fantasy 2) on the SNES</p><p>Skip ahead a few years and I'm listening to the Car's "Just What I needed" and I hit on this idea of playing a game where you're in charge of a kingdom, and you like, promote the random peasants into knights and wage wars with them. I am very taken with this notion and its physical manifestation, so I go on a trip to the friendly local nerd joint and get a Citadel Miniature's catalog from the staff.<a href="http://www.solegends.com/citcat1992/index.htm"> One of these bad boys</a> with all the lovely pictures of unpainted metal miniatures. </p><p>I went with the Skaven and picked up an even-then-too-expensive box of Clanrats</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrf1_1X8O0RaJqbtQ-1y5iBzyz7MRybLwj--M2E2smvyT_c9u1ozH7IdyRxWCdaKYoDdIx7irdsedgpTEysKLL2XL_dxbJ6G58Nkhvi4mYrUXfepFKxOdpUYI5R9CnJTpgINdvX5nbw0rr3XS2g-u754OpbQnECNt-h5u36oSKDq-wbYC729LzPnPX_w/s1600/s-l1600.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrf1_1X8O0RaJqbtQ-1y5iBzyz7MRybLwj--M2E2smvyT_c9u1ozH7IdyRxWCdaKYoDdIx7irdsedgpTEysKLL2XL_dxbJ6G58Nkhvi4mYrUXfepFKxOdpUYI5R9CnJTpgINdvX5nbw0rr3XS2g-u754OpbQnECNt-h5u36oSKDq-wbYC729LzPnPX_w/s320/s-l1600.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br />I kept collecting them for years, but rarely got the chance to play. When I did, I roundly lost.<p></p><p>Somewhere in here I also got my hands on the fantastic Final Fantasy 7, and played it nearly to completion before my little brother saved over my game with a rental game and I had to play it over from the beginning. It's cool; the second time, I played it with him, reading him all the dialogue and going on the adventure together proved to be a lot more fun.</p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgn8S1RPZh6t5PS3tXi7cnV-qFp3pOghVXq57Zwyz6p8xptmeymk9a-sGM1uiLCGjARoYsNznxh2z9-0PRfVG-CHQBvsykolGsx2GXVpWJseW3HrC4o2amu6tYCGAEkGK8_H1fUmbOpQV1WS7SH0JWM9hLQhRZa7IFQAWTw7XkRFmw0lwr3wPlL30WfUg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="360" data-original-width="480" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgn8S1RPZh6t5PS3tXi7cnV-qFp3pOghVXq57Zwyz6p8xptmeymk9a-sGM1uiLCGjARoYsNznxh2z9-0PRfVG-CHQBvsykolGsx2GXVpWJseW3HrC4o2amu6tYCGAEkGK8_H1fUmbOpQV1WS7SH0JWM9hLQhRZa7IFQAWTw7XkRFmw0lwr3wPlL30WfUg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pictured: a man less dangerous to my quest than my little brother</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p></p><p>Skip ahead a few more years and I'm in my late teens and doing everything I can to get out and socialize. My dweeby tendencies and social awkwardness gets me somehow invited to a D20 modern game where I play (what else) a katana-and-trenchcoat badass who hunts monsters. I also get invited to a Vampire the Masquerade LARP, where I decided to play as my version of Moebius from Soul Reaver 2.</p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj3uki6iglpkJC5OD3Jx-XSycdovsyVonSYb3b-AINgeUeD7BB8tOcpOKcdPUoAGAkVZfNqE09kni3tQdQ-__bTOqeX-fh4wLEUSGCtBokI8BxzQCQUt-QzNA2QoxnyKXTptcfSOuWPSaoI-cafOMNCU0aT1HkPq7NkXYt8wHd88W6N5OnZ8GxW7_g6_Q" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="243" data-original-width="322" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj3uki6iglpkJC5OD3Jx-XSycdovsyVonSYb3b-AINgeUeD7BB8tOcpOKcdPUoAGAkVZfNqE09kni3tQdQ-__bTOqeX-fh4wLEUSGCtBokI8BxzQCQUt-QzNA2QoxnyKXTptcfSOuWPSaoI-cafOMNCU0aT1HkPq7NkXYt8wHd88W6N5OnZ8GxW7_g6_Q" width="318" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nye he he!</td></tr></tbody></table><br />I pick up a copy of both games whenever I move out on my own a few years later. I only ever ran either game once or twice, because what my friends wanted to play was Dungeons and Dragons 3rd edition.<p></p><p><br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhjFSqaLM8sWxRqe6xWQdo5mNZvfwi_5IImN62xC6BCKHCwpTlmCnvhnZ1Ms4fsVzikm1LosxBAJms4luOVoRJet5qcXhQtzvCy54fAvRtcNXoHFZnrsIaoTXY7v9Jd3c8g9C_X7G9tQPJ9zSiSRFz1SCA6qWajre1ophYHxaIWtsn0bEXm5Y8Sw497SA" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEilVE06SMUbgg9AtrHPSnoY1e7dw1HmuzfPhKhnhvXTEIH3R--Hs_4iuKArt_laRoqOKb4jnsZRVVvQjLcOuSXG1DMnGDTofQWLCCPBwR02Nupj3RPDzdy3moDNeU2s4mA0pwQrpZsL9GgL04ZoiXukdbsWpxyYQnZrKZFG51TeWvyfm-WXlpAUJsRJdw" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><img alt="" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="375" height="384" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEilVE06SMUbgg9AtrHPSnoY1e7dw1HmuzfPhKhnhvXTEIH3R--Hs_4iuKArt_laRoqOKb4jnsZRVVvQjLcOuSXG1DMnGDTofQWLCCPBwR02Nupj3RPDzdy3moDNeU2s4mA0pwQrpZsL9GgL04ZoiXukdbsWpxyYQnZrKZFG51TeWvyfm-WXlpAUJsRJdw=w288-h384" width="288" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">The unholy trinity; if you weren't running d20 in the early aughties, then you would be MADE to run it<br /></span></td></tr></tbody></table></div><br />My early forays consisted of my players making clear anime stand-in characters, then me quickly thinking up a cool cutscene-style scene that would have been right at home in a melodramatic Final Fantasy of the time, and ushering them towards making that scene happen. The primary method of interacting with the game rules was combat.<p></p><p>My love of warhammer led me to become increasingly interested in trying to make the big battles happen within the encounter XP threshold of D&D. I was convinced that the creation of a steady diet of balanced encounters was the GM's <i>entire job</i> (The third edition DMG drove this conclusion home like a railroad spike). </p><p>My love of Final-Fantasy-style cinematic storytelling made me think of campaigns as long stretches of "gameplay" that was occasionally broken up by boxed-text "scenes" that progressed the "plot"(the plot being "what the bad guys were doing that would inevitably unleash a big boss for the players to fight in an epic showdown").</p><p>My love for Vampire-esque approachable player powers made the restrictive, class-based, on-the-rails, linear advancement of D&D feel increasingly like a straightjacket. 3rd edition had a frustrating habit of giving a a prepackaged character (THIS is the kind of fighter you can be!) and making you wait several thousand XP until you got to play them. Build systems were VERY appealing if you already had a character concept you wanted, with the notable drawback that most of them read like math textbooks.</p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhUJU3325YA-_nLZYLxTWYbqYOm2zdDisdoldugBNbO9gvqpWy8nk4Ob_59YAFweUqh88S9PYCqOzG5kVCPtEwjnHUiw5ZyEpISPXUM9wXJwN--aqExrHlfjBNutsWZoplMU0XN3UNdz1O1vD1rUICPNsGydj8l8XXnrq0GkXTIhOyLAB45dFJnEg94Ug" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="386" height="341" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhUJU3325YA-_nLZYLxTWYbqYOm2zdDisdoldugBNbO9gvqpWy8nk4Ob_59YAFweUqh88S9PYCqOzG5kVCPtEwjnHUiw5ZyEpISPXUM9wXJwN--aqExrHlfjBNutsWZoplMU0XN3UNdz1O1vD1rUICPNsGydj8l8XXnrq0GkXTIhOyLAB45dFJnEg94Ug=w263-h341" width="263" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I misquote Steve Jobs: "There's no SEX in this!"</td></tr></tbody></table><br />I didn't have a lot of respect for dungeons at this point in my gaming career. Nor "random" encounters. I didn't see the point in them. I put the stuff in my games that I wanted to be there, and I put it in whenever I felt like it would have the biggest impact. I was a very proactive, editorial style of GM. <p></p><p>In my quest to find a game that fit my style, I stumbled onto what seemed at the time to be the mother load:</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiqzM5t4nZR4Ic5KAiuBlCEewXKvwAAKC1wmHRcDJ1m_PhztJkuuibBJs1oRmMilaBIE2knHGgJAMuesGSb_SChnq3hlYEjRIjZC9VB77lxZgeh3hi7mtFD4Alit9h_FX25i_8OO1oG9N7SEuW_Au9TMWl1TcWEaXkzQj4k80DBPl122J7WYmpS9yrYCg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="388" height="391" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiqzM5t4nZR4Ic5KAiuBlCEewXKvwAAKC1wmHRcDJ1m_PhztJkuuibBJs1oRmMilaBIE2knHGgJAMuesGSb_SChnq3hlYEjRIjZC9VB77lxZgeh3hi7mtFD4Alit9h_FX25i_8OO1oG9N7SEuW_Au9TMWl1TcWEaXkzQj4k80DBPl122J7WYmpS9yrYCg=w303-h391" width="303" /></a></div><p><br /></p><i>On the surface</i>, Exalted had everything:<p></p><p></p><ol style="text-align: left;"><li>It had a player-empowering Build chargen system, which let players make the ludicrous anime protagonists that they actually wanted and allowed me to make the even MORE ludicrous anime villains that I wanted to make</li><li>It had a huge power level that <i>scaled</i>, allowing ridiculous battles against armies and huge monsters as well as over-the-top anime-guy on anime-guy super-duels</li><li>It was lightweight and usable on-the-fly, eschewing the onerous game-prep of 3rd edition in favor of a breezier off-the-cuff style GMing</li><li>Most importantly, IT HAD STYLE. The ART and the WRITING were COOL and made me want to enter creation and kick ass. Selling my friends on this was the easiest sale of my life</li></ol><div>No more tedious lists of painstakingly balanced encounters! No more frustratingly restrictive character classes! No more linear, boring dungeons, nonsensical hexes! Actual real rules for conquering and running empires and fighting armies! Social rules that made talking as powerful or MORE POWERFUL than fighting?! Yowza!</div><div><br /></div><div>The promise of Exalted was, and remains, one of the great promises in all of TTRPGdom. Sucks that it was all a goddamned lie.</div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: large;">The Big Difference between White Wolf and Old School D&D</span></b></div><div><br /></div><div>I was about a year into my first Exalted campaign when I really started to feel the system sag. It was a death of a thousand cuts, but all the minor niggling issues can be summarized very well by the following distinction that every White Wolf game has in common:</div><div><br /></div><div><b>White Wolf Games expect the GM to actively manage outcomes</b></div><div><br /></div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEivt-XVHvkiV34mqzGQR5XVYxLjmtMXonitQibhzQm-wsc_MzG56CVIGjNa1Zi94shDkyTJ__GnEDvQYeztZPsAfVwfypfc2lbFEBcGtCCp8_MNL2sEHG8DPX4MSbwvgeLsmjUAjHA2iUyO7VPs4Lklw-DIDxu-CmmFtPb0OYoev_RnUSHKnV-IIiwu2g" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="770" height="392" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEivt-XVHvkiV34mqzGQR5XVYxLjmtMXonitQibhzQm-wsc_MzG56CVIGjNa1Zi94shDkyTJ__GnEDvQYeztZPsAfVwfypfc2lbFEBcGtCCp8_MNL2sEHG8DPX4MSbwvgeLsmjUAjHA2iUyO7VPs4Lklw-DIDxu-CmmFtPb0OYoev_RnUSHKnV-IIiwu2g=w303-h392" width="303" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Must... Fix... Broken... System!!!</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /></div><div>Which I was already doing, but let me tell you why that is the <i>central failure </i>of TTRPG design. Let me tell you the same way I was told; by learning the Oldest Ways.</div><div><br /></div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgPLP0rOsoVORSn7DuJRVpk9vNJxshrO-QIczgMQ0sdP-msYmYrnc0M5kB0XZRjvaQskdIayJ4y-BfBvebZvyZYHujWEiaAykF8UpXvIvPyBMl-dnE0zmvSe5zqh4IPTtWgrm0E8QOHTgujKDW_q6u4ok-dBsC0C2JG6aSujJhcmGPbohnSI7v39WRH7w" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="393" data-original-width="253" height="418" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgPLP0rOsoVORSn7DuJRVpk9vNJxshrO-QIczgMQ0sdP-msYmYrnc0M5kB0XZRjvaQskdIayJ4y-BfBvebZvyZYHujWEiaAykF8UpXvIvPyBMl-dnE0zmvSe5zqh4IPTtWgrm0E8QOHTgujKDW_q6u4ok-dBsC0C2JG6aSujJhcmGPbohnSI7v39WRH7w=w270-h418" width="270" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Old Testament</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /></div><div>Turns out the third edition of D&D was something of a catastrophe in the culture of TTRPGs. It had effectively taught an entire generation how to roleplay <i>wrong</i>, and nearly all of our troubles with D&D stemmed form 3rd's failures of design.</div><div><br /></div><div>Let's revisit our four points from earlier:</div><div><br /></div><div>1. Chargen. 3rd multiplied and compiled several decades worth of scope creep into the core books and shrugged about how that would either make a compelling setting or like... Why anyone would want to play a Dwarf Wizard. It led with system options, but didn't consider whether the options it presented were compelling.</div><div><br /></div><div>Old D&D was archetypical; the original game had TWO classes, fighting-man and magic-user. And when you really contemplate those two archetypes, they encompass swathes of different characters by folding them into broad approaches to heroics. King Arthur was a lot of thing, but yeah, he was essentially a guy with a sword. So was Conan. So was John Carter, so was Beowulf. "Guy who fights" is possibly THE heroic archetype, which is to say; the detail of HOW and WHY and WHAT YOU LOOKED LIKE was already up to the creator of the character. You totally could look like Cloud and have a big sword, or like Guts and have a big sword, or like Guan Yu and have the Biggest Hittin Stick Ever.</div><div><br /></div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgXUCwRyK4eaGrA47ePha8tbO7bN0ahsZTwWWoQrntDzGn51zGw62s0j3KO6R5n_R4loETv6nt4vgsYNi3sr2DinNnhmuI7qkMtm4E0fWMipDbZImR8vBHJoOCamrjIKOhPMqU9dcuDYvY3GPgv-ViWO_E6MZOFqh_glp6NY2BStvCyRruhRbkggkRCXw" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="598" data-original-width="900" height="332" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgXUCwRyK4eaGrA47ePha8tbO7bN0ahsZTwWWoQrntDzGn51zGw62s0j3KO6R5n_R4loETv6nt4vgsYNi3sr2DinNnhmuI7qkMtm4E0fWMipDbZImR8vBHJoOCamrjIKOhPMqU9dcuDYvY3GPgv-ViWO_E6MZOFqh_glp6NY2BStvCyRruhRbkggkRCXw=w499-h332" width="499" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">For real though, don't step to Guan Yu</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /></div><div> Same with "magic-user" (archetypically speaking, at least; actula D&D magic was pretty clownshoes). Gandalf and Merlin spring to mind, but "sorcerer" is one of those concepts so woven into all human myth that "weak-seeming guy with mysterious and super dangerous powers" can realistically cover everybody from Odin to Orpheus.</div><div><br /></div><div>Now, astute game historians will point out that Thief got added to the cannon VERY quickly, as did the OG cross-class Elf and Hobbits and Dwarves and a host of others like Paladin and Bard, Druid and uh, Gnome Illusionist. So the water got muddy early, but the critical thing was the trend towards archetype coupled with a system whose lightness encouraged hacks for more specificity.</div><div><br /></div><div>2. Scale. I kid you not, old school D&D characters could rise to powers that rivaled greek myth. Scouring battlefields single-handedly was legit a thing that could be done, be it with awesome magic or Achilles-style through sheer asskicking. Since D&D's roots were the Chainmail wargame, mass combat was natural to the system. And as for gigantic monsters; well, what's more gigantic than a dragon? It's even in the name!</div><div><br /></div><div>The remarkable thing was just how dammed simple the scalability was; it was your Hit Die. that was it. The major character resource was "not dying". Which, when you think about, you pair that with "ability to kill the foe more efficiently" (gained either through increased damage and to-hit, or through a growing library of deadly spells) and you have the engine that scales characters from heroes to gods. Why was your fighter a demigod of battle? Because he refused to die with a hundred arrows in him and laid waste to his enemies, duh. Hit dice and THAC0, people; it's an ingenious little engine.</div><div><br /></div><div>Third edition added a lot of bells and bobs to this simple, elegant little engine and obfuscated its genius.</div><div><br /></div><div>3. Lightweight Engine. There's little that's lighter-weight than OG D&D. Clocking in at a whopping 112 pages split over three tiny leaflets, the OG game <i>required</i> you to hack it for it to work. It was hackable by design, approached the way its creators approached it; like a hobby, first and foremost, rather than a game product. Later compilations and revisions would retain this lightweight format for quite some time, with the Basic edition not even cresting 50 pages. It wasn't until Advanced Dungeons and Dragons that we got the heftier hardcovers that would become synonymous with D&D. </div><div><br /></div><div>Critically, the rules-light style would be retained even in the hardbacks all the way through Second edition. With core systems and character classes, monsters, etc. taking up very little pagecount. Although dense with options, tables, monsters, magic and the like, the actual systems were bare-bones, flexible and deeply hackable, keeping D&D's signature "archetype" approach that allowed GMs to craft their own monsters, adversaries, special classes, treasure, etc. for their games.</div><div><br /></div><div>3rd edition replaced this option-heavy, rules-light framework with a nightmare of interconnected subsystems that relied on constant, deep-design tinkering to fir into their "encounter balance" framework of running. I felt like I needed a degree to design a satisfying adventure in 3rd, where in 2nd and before, you just needed imagination and something to draw a map with.</div><div><br /></div><div>4. Style. This was the most woeful and tragic loss. dungeons and Dragon 3rd edition was where style came to die. I'll let its art speak for it.</div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhHiyyb08sjNns00T3UyI7x7XtVrVYj8kUUAPRSf0_LF7pSsx6xm_EDVMHA0j6wyNzKBGqbYH4WCV_e4LUV6ZAGYIYEX7KoLzqLDKS9jb3E09GDv-TV2c7HLVtdHR3hmlZb1X_7UW2-X2705NFnTd5bhr-gCg5Uh2ioBDv--_EOylYYlq5An6YFXeHFcA" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="342" data-original-width="400" height="348" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhHiyyb08sjNns00T3UyI7x7XtVrVYj8kUUAPRSf0_LF7pSsx6xm_EDVMHA0j6wyNzKBGqbYH4WCV_e4LUV6ZAGYIYEX7KoLzqLDKS9jb3E09GDv-TV2c7HLVtdHR3hmlZb1X_7UW2-X2705NFnTd5bhr-gCg5Uh2ioBDv--_EOylYYlq5An6YFXeHFcA=w407-h348" width="407" /></a></div><br /><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEihui-MgVSd6tB6n5fimoJEgm3La2nY6LbMWMqEtsmoEOgmr0U8rUnd_FKIGdUBKNFULwso3sqONJeHCv5xU2v-a91_B_IrPmU1MIqO9-HXiko8tnetymUrGt_tDoAa6oGdLPQ7nk109Rm2vX9omftefevnuCqPQFOJy0a4qR4S4AJ_J9pVMbYIW2yRBA" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="633" data-original-width="398" height="529" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEihui-MgVSd6tB6n5fimoJEgm3La2nY6LbMWMqEtsmoEOgmr0U8rUnd_FKIGdUBKNFULwso3sqONJeHCv5xU2v-a91_B_IrPmU1MIqO9-HXiko8tnetymUrGt_tDoAa6oGdLPQ7nk109Rm2vX9omftefevnuCqPQFOJy0a4qR4S4AJ_J9pVMbYIW2yRBA=w333-h529" width="333" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi5yJnZkuUi4hcbxXmgwBr5Ks4Ds_v22WSMVASGWKeaaSyb3HyCmT4ZOQm19rtX5fZ7fFKNHhcwYxB41CK-IGnzRPbqqtFvyeZx6q3mEpChVcRi5wfHZPvvbPPshRL1doTGi3JlBmbnqshbdDHxDwObTHX9wX__HDWegshJ12ouXHDF1cmDcc1h9FujXw" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="706" data-original-width="515" height="497" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi5yJnZkuUi4hcbxXmgwBr5Ks4Ds_v22WSMVASGWKeaaSyb3HyCmT4ZOQm19rtX5fZ7fFKNHhcwYxB41CK-IGnzRPbqqtFvyeZx6q3mEpChVcRi5wfHZPvvbPPshRL1doTGi3JlBmbnqshbdDHxDwObTHX9wX__HDWegshJ12ouXHDF1cmDcc1h9FujXw=w362-h497" width="362" /></a></div><br />And I'll let the OG D&D art speak for it's editions:</div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi2MW_nJ9s7jzY0wIRtqbiyc7aM-vLFdbkL8lLKcKkahZzohyTHdYpLtzpmfN9A77mbq37eJ4uV9Z_-WlBx7OSCb2nFuQiClHPLnSK0KVnfS4sIMrBV3MmLOpxGpC188vpuToNwq0Woz1xdQIX4jV335Zu02OT5whVrJjN7LdgZ1_BML7iST6DFPePF4A" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi2MW_nJ9s7jzY0wIRtqbiyc7aM-vLFdbkL8lLKcKkahZzohyTHdYpLtzpmfN9A77mbq37eJ4uV9Z_-WlBx7OSCb2nFuQiClHPLnSK0KVnfS4sIMrBV3MmLOpxGpC188vpuToNwq0Woz1xdQIX4jV335Zu02OT5whVrJjN7LdgZ1_BML7iST6DFPePF4A" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEipXEC_2Rnl5kpmYFOBPMubW7cczCiaaZqBfYT--I9UMSD29Rm9XygRWLhCGrpj7RdmVCp6CHZmNjaToxriRDcnyQICj4VOi-1pk_ab17v4G_avggbq_-tnS1e7uJneO64J5R5QrPcdJB9SPYnWDCH0km1DoFjDiwF79RAXjQkESaxGWwMOC0KDMRRo_w" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="304" data-original-width="500" height="319" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEipXEC_2Rnl5kpmYFOBPMubW7cczCiaaZqBfYT--I9UMSD29Rm9XygRWLhCGrpj7RdmVCp6CHZmNjaToxriRDcnyQICj4VOi-1pk_ab17v4G_avggbq_-tnS1e7uJneO64J5R5QrPcdJB9SPYnWDCH0km1DoFjDiwF79RAXjQkESaxGWwMOC0KDMRRo_w=w523-h319" width="523" /></a></div><br /></div><br /><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhVNHn-zfTGdHMU84uh31H6hzMJLH9YszdImzXExxdmK1qB6zyoHSP2n_q4Lr60LzuvUOVnUzBho0AFIjdGtYxRPGdQNC8T4ayNzl4BQwCmBha1YBqdFq9URNYMZo75-grQC7McDdugEBLDydhl3iEgCfxgToDUAx3K8PkEkS7hnjgm_vOOlW39cBd28A" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="508" data-original-width="660" height="391" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhVNHn-zfTGdHMU84uh31H6hzMJLH9YszdImzXExxdmK1qB6zyoHSP2n_q4Lr60LzuvUOVnUzBho0AFIjdGtYxRPGdQNC8T4ayNzl4BQwCmBha1YBqdFq9URNYMZo75-grQC7McDdugEBLDydhl3iEgCfxgToDUAx3K8PkEkS7hnjgm_vOOlW39cBd28A=w509-h391" width="509" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgoFi2SY67g6LKV-7pq1lnOvRI2aOWwawlf-XxWCrBe_uI7Bjr5JLOqucs-p0VazGwcNgEPsLYmlEEZWtV_1UsLxGMvb_jTCJFVzsAd2wuJ7EeEpEZcxkPPlfKCdseIpvRkZOPO_IWqEvv6RI7Q3_mKydM8mWHGFqN_vGdxW9i1xWB0X2GjTnb0t2RGWQ" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="306" data-original-width="500" height="302" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgoFi2SY67g6LKV-7pq1lnOvRI2aOWwawlf-XxWCrBe_uI7Bjr5JLOqucs-p0VazGwcNgEPsLYmlEEZWtV_1UsLxGMvb_jTCJFVzsAd2wuJ7EeEpEZcxkPPlfKCdseIpvRkZOPO_IWqEvv6RI7Q3_mKydM8mWHGFqN_vGdxW9i1xWB0X2GjTnb0t2RGWQ=w493-h302" width="493" /></a></div><br /><br /></div><p></p><p>Yeah I bet you expected the red dragon, didn'tcha? Fuck you, this is the real shit. This art has a soul. Its compelling and makes me want to run the game.<br /><br /></p><p>How you could lay eyes on the unique creative visions of dozens of talented, visionary artists and come away with "You know what WE need? Some brown renfare bullshit with Absolutely The Worst character designs we can come up with!" is a nauseating thought process to attempt to recreate.</p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjbZJPI6b1L740P_R88EYq63sehh-j1_SVk7lqMd6aYa0XGYtlbJ8LhFJMuF8269hIdcPHPdx1ODqvn4X48WkmDGuTR1jAu3z0fShIIxXcI1zyP-TDZ__GG7iDC6GbICpgggy2DpMYai9t5ozuq4HXImf77-jZNuLZBiwQRSxS6V21a0FsQjwO2JLaudg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="424" height="390" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjbZJPI6b1L740P_R88EYq63sehh-j1_SVk7lqMd6aYa0XGYtlbJ8LhFJMuF8269hIdcPHPdx1ODqvn4X48WkmDGuTR1jAu3z0fShIIxXcI1zyP-TDZ__GG7iDC6GbICpgggy2DpMYai9t5ozuq4HXImf77-jZNuLZBiwQRSxS6V21a0FsQjwO2JLaudg=w276-h390" width="276" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">You may have ONE Trampier because you've been good</td></tr></tbody></table><br />So I'd been mislead; turns out, D&D was fucking radical and already did everything I wanted, just not in a way that I had been trained to think about TTRPGs. Turns out balancing encounters was a joke that should just be thrown out the fucking window; hooray! Most characters could be approached archetypically, doing an end-run around the need for a "build" system! Dungeons and Hexes allowed me to program flavor and setting information into the fabric of playing the game if used correctly! Conquering armies and ruling empires was seamlessly integrated from the base conceits of the game! Social Systems were better handled by talking in character than by rolling dice! Yowza; why didn't anyone tell me what D&D ACTUALLY WAS ALL ALONG?!<p></p><p>I started running in the OSR style and it fit me like a glove. In the decade I've been running games this way, <i>I have yet to feel the sag</i>.</p><p>And that is due to the greatest triumph of early D&D, and the essential Triumph of TTRPG design:</p><p><b>D&D expects GMs to manage setup and Players to manage outcomes</b></p><p>What is the difference here? There are a lot of subtle little pieces that add up to the two divergent philosophies, but it boils down to this:</p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>In D&D, the game trusts in its predicted outcomes</li><li>In White Wolf games, the game does NOT trust in its predicted outcomes</li></ul><div>In other words, D&D builds its engines to reliably produce outcomes that it wants. I cannot fathom the reason why, but <i>White Wolf does not do this</i>.</div><div><br /></div><div>I suspect it is because White Wolf designers are largely riding off the genius or Mark Reign Hagen, who <i>did</i> design this way, while they lack that capacity.</div><div><br /></div><div>Let me show you what I mean. Here's the health track from Vampire: The Masquerade. A game in which you are a corpse who is animated by carnivorous magic, whose body is an object, rather than a living vessel for a living soul:</div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgsR95vYZVk_48vV55oYZsXaUDVNoxILnoIbWb13J64UGatCdFt9t3HAOKsnI4aT2U9KMphyD-vcQfl3OrAw4JhbuC4Fldhxbd47sr9V4TAOTBMnPFgDBXfHWh088ToAB_9yDJzGqw0Xwt1n6hFz6OIUP8-x2xKBtDpq8uzm7uCqvLhyicsr8ByKRVEpw" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="182" data-original-width="300" height="194" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgsR95vYZVk_48vV55oYZsXaUDVNoxILnoIbWb13J64UGatCdFt9t3HAOKsnI4aT2U9KMphyD-vcQfl3OrAw4JhbuC4Fldhxbd47sr9V4TAOTBMnPFgDBXfHWh088ToAB_9yDJzGqw0Xwt1n6hFz6OIUP8-x2xKBtDpq8uzm7uCqvLhyicsr8ByKRVEpw" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div>A normal human being's health is about 3 boxes, and the wounds are steeper, as they're crippled by pain and shock. Your "superhuman" endurance is the result of not feeling pain and running your body into the ground like a machine, literally fighting until your bones are pulped or you're burned into ash.</div><div><br /></div><div>Note that slash, versus the x? That's because you have to go through this tract <i>mutliple times</i>, as bullets and knives which would kill a mortal merely puncture your insensate corpse-form. </div><div><br /></div><div>The result is incredible fights where mortals struggle to do meaningful injury to your unfeeling body while you tear apart their bleeding, pain-vulnerable frames with your sick vampire claws.</div><div><br /></div><div>Here's the <i>exact same goddamn thing</i> in Exalted second edition.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4gHxHlk8WxJU4DbON2_CpYzKSqslqtYkJlCCLNsUaNXGKylPeYraPW8XHRHvusg5TUkhXm9wT9RjJHgkQqOEvaUiZCVC_KdxPtIZMtnq3GWsU6zrBkZDP550IOsXMaz35EdxfEzY4WKVhxC9MWZ5qjUgKTTQg6IXbpoInw70VC8Lthk1TwXOYanessQ/s143/ex2%20health.PNG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="128" data-original-width="143" height="246" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4gHxHlk8WxJU4DbON2_CpYzKSqslqtYkJlCCLNsUaNXGKylPeYraPW8XHRHvusg5TUkhXm9wT9RjJHgkQqOEvaUiZCVC_KdxPtIZMtnq3GWsU6zrBkZDP550IOsXMaz35EdxfEzY4WKVhxC9MWZ5qjUgKTTQg6IXbpoInw70VC8Lthk1TwXOYanessQ/w274-h246/ex2%20health.PNG" width="274" /></a></div><p><br /></p>Note that although there are <i>more boxes, y</i>ou actually start with just the 7 (0, -1, -1, -2, -2, -4, Incapacitated) and the rest are marked out until you get a special power that lets you get more. <p></p><p>Here's the thing; you don't really deal with damage the same way a vampire does, because you bleed and when you drop, you bleed out instead of entering the mummy-like state of Torpor. So a sword is just as deadly to you as sunlight is to a vampire; effectively, you have seven hit points, and every hit point after the first reduces your capabilities as you're incapacitated by pain and trauma. Finally, most weapons can do enough damage to you in 1-2 hits to drop you.</p><p>The result of this is a combat system whose numerous rolls and derived rolls serves the same ultimate purpose as a single attack/damage roll in D&D; its a deadly game where fighting is wisely avoided because a single sword swing can kill you.</p><p>But this system doesn't <i>add</i> any new information; its result is a 1hd fighter. It just gets there <i>through </i>a system which was designed with a completely different game in mind!</p><p>The real insult is that you never really get any <i>more</i> hit points! Imagine if your 1hd fighter rolled a magnificent 7 on his d8 at first level, then proceeded to roll 3's until he hit his maximum lifetime total of HP he could EVER HAVE.... And it was 19 hit points.</p><p>Now imagine if damage scaled up quadratically with each level. That's the system-outcome of EX2. EVERY character is a glass cannon with a lifetime ceiling of about 20 hit points.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjl6XDogcpnXwlxQAaiWgmxsYxbaF3Jj5wrnStOMaKPxs_oIYZBln6Qleb7qfgPnVZI4938Lvz4Y-Qkibzrf3zfrRLQQXhfNMvVun7Au--XTQXEctyo5lM-z42tGF6KUG9dz8kohO6l8__oKobz9nZYHFmkV1GfDQlYPtOS3KVL9DVJPvTQSOmwlrr_CQ" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="226" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjl6XDogcpnXwlxQAaiWgmxsYxbaF3Jj5wrnStOMaKPxs_oIYZBln6Qleb7qfgPnVZI4938Lvz4Y-Qkibzrf3zfrRLQQXhfNMvVun7Au--XTQXEctyo5lM-z42tGF6KUG9dz8kohO6l8__oKobz9nZYHFmkV1GfDQlYPtOS3KVL9DVJPvTQSOmwlrr_CQ=w402-h226" width="402" /></a></div><br />EX2 attempts to solve this self-imposed killability nightmare by substituting the game's mana system Essence for your HP. They go about this in quite possibly the dumbest way imaginable; they make you invincible if you use a special defense, aka a "perfect defense".<p></p><p>But because of course that's a terrible idea, they fob off the responsibility of their idiot-design to YOU, the gamemaster! Because you have to judge if </p><p></p><ol style="text-align: left;"><li>The player even CAN use their system-salvaging band-aid defense, due to it needing to posses one of several flaws that forces them to only use it in certain circumstances. I will remind you that players will <i>absolutely die</i> if you do not say "yes" to their use of ANY perfect defense and it will be <i>entirely your fault</i>, according to the game's designers.</li><li>If their overwrought description of their actions was "fun" and "exciting" ENOUGH to qualify for a Stunt, which grants them juuuust enough Essence to pull off their perfect defense "for free" if they get it. Again, if they run out of essence and cannot use their perfect, they <i>will die</i> and it <i>will be solely your fault</i>, according to the game designers.</li></ol><div>Compare this with D&D</div><div><br /></div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiKmTubHrXN9W2BT1oNWc8IKrs9m6lU14SAsikrxehKj5b2jt6gG77YjEG6iz-OKEfuGWL7xLGaHWENZlDJFBKwr5sms1GAn4HzzTkn5_AGg2lPji78xQ42Opw2byUlm95Ctc6zSPdpptr7Y0eujroTC6_JYkSB3fhP-2ue-M_SEGwvMSh-Cx3gB439Gw" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="262" data-original-width="350" height="288" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiKmTubHrXN9W2BT1oNWc8IKrs9m6lU14SAsikrxehKj5b2jt6gG77YjEG6iz-OKEfuGWL7xLGaHWENZlDJFBKwr5sms1GAn4HzzTkn5_AGg2lPji78xQ42Opw2byUlm95Ctc6zSPdpptr7Y0eujroTC6_JYkSB3fhP-2ue-M_SEGwvMSh-Cx3gB439Gw=w384-h288" width="384" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I've got yer Ox-Body Technique RIGHT HERE</td></tr></tbody></table><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>For a first-level character, their Hitpoints are determined by the roll of a single die, often a d4 or d6. The damage output of a dagger is d4, and a sword is d6. In other words, the game has explicitly told you that fights are a coinflip and you should avoid a straight-up battle when you can. This encourages caution in players; they ask for detailed descriptions of their surroundings (which are often dark, monster-filled dungeons). They approach foes carefully, lay traps, think outside the box, spring ambushes, light fires, repurpose dungeon traps, make judicious use of arrows and spells, and otherwise play the game like a tense and dangerous death-simulator.</div><div><br /></div><div>In so doing, they gain <i>player skill. </i>These strategies will continue to serve them well in this campaign and in others, because they work in real life. The advantages of skilled, strategic play are only compounded once they gain and additional d6 hit points... While swords remain static in their damage output.</div><div><br /></div><div>This means that fair fights become more viable as characters advance in power. D&D characters can be more bold and heroic than Exalts, because their margin of error increases as they gain power. <i>The system's outcomes give you what the game advertises.</i></div><p></p><p></p><div>The wedding of player skill and character capability is eloquent and effective. By playing the game, you master the strategy of effective combat while your options for what counts as "effective" broaden.<br /><br /></div><p></p><p>...</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhpReKY4HzwYa_E8oi5gsff4APcFnIo_bf2odNbkaQt195vODYZyWXF_5w4sRQk6vj2j6nRC_8rhWzpLPJDmYJLWhRBA4wrPU9X_Vx84XWt9VlL-rnKzAobipV6mK-T93TvYZUBfORDVvc8g9fbDocQdhCQ-xLXg3ss-YAxCC9rrNTpQJjAu6o7B4NcPQ" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1448" data-original-width="2048" height="372" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhpReKY4HzwYa_E8oi5gsff4APcFnIo_bf2odNbkaQt195vODYZyWXF_5w4sRQk6vj2j6nRC_8rhWzpLPJDmYJLWhRBA4wrPU9X_Vx84XWt9VlL-rnKzAobipV6mK-T93TvYZUBfORDVvc8g9fbDocQdhCQ-xLXg3ss-YAxCC9rrNTpQJjAu6o7B4NcPQ=w526-h372" width="526" /></a></div><br /><br /><p></p><p><b><span style="font-size: large;">The Long Road to Idiot Punch Games</span></b></p><p>Much like my journey to LWF, this entry has taken longer than expected.</p><p>Exalted didn't leave me, even when I left it. I want to be clear on this; for it's failures (which were <i>miserable</i>), its successes were great. It did something that even my newly-discovered OSR simply did not do; it let me play my dumb, overwrought Anime bullshit and it made it rule. </p><p>As much as the combat system was broken, this was true; when you swung around your Buster Sword, the world trembled. When you unleashed your bullshit limit-break Anime magic, something fucking rad happened.</p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgOt7SsIZUrf8fJ6OHWguYZzKYOm1fmjY1gdJkG8i8_LcS_pAIkANRyHaaOQP4LnTU8SLyQghbIHrp-ZM1GVfeiQM6Ver0FziA2wfqMaOjNJxmxv7kBbK3oHRpLljkpU7UCfmnQYJLdaO8Tq06DwFO2prk2ptJMfmo45F9oeYhWXEu_tnHbAsx2tfk3Uw" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="1069" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgOt7SsIZUrf8fJ6OHWguYZzKYOm1fmjY1gdJkG8i8_LcS_pAIkANRyHaaOQP4LnTU8SLyQghbIHrp-ZM1GVfeiQM6Ver0FziA2wfqMaOjNJxmxv7kBbK3oHRpLljkpU7UCfmnQYJLdaO8Tq06DwFO2prk2ptJMfmo45F9oeYhWXEu_tnHbAsx2tfk3Uw=w496-h298" width="496" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I don't <i>want </i>daiklaves in my game, I <i>need them</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br />Getting the feel of Anime right in a ttrpg was a triumph, however imperfect of an execution it was.<p></p><p>D&D did a lot right, but, to misquote Steve Jobs again, <i>it did not have any sex in it. </i>It had plenty of style of its own, but it was the brusque, pulpy style of Conan, not the grimy, surreal horror of Berserk. It had the mythic heroics of Aragorn but not the stylish brazenness of Utena. It had the cursed heroics of Elric but not the mind-bending scale of Vampire Hunter D. It was The Lone Ranger and I wanted Trigun.</p><p><br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1418" data-original-width="1000" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEisbZ2DQx-ODZmh1xplBgVN93wp4dxAyX19HJj5WBxWuMc270sGQIlVDYs6Qy82PagUkzjpQa4AkdOfMk3E9hAgVvgxdA7ilO91_Q5QBW6WJ6dKxiTyyAzL89sVo1uZJfuoCN2RGZCvOpIHw11aaPzXJObyHld5_VWKNiaYePXtwBgSWFLTv9U4vfZg2Q=w225-h320" width="225" /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEisbZ2DQx-ODZmh1xplBgVN93wp4dxAyX19HJj5WBxWuMc270sGQIlVDYs6Qy82PagUkzjpQa4AkdOfMk3E9hAgVvgxdA7ilO91_Q5QBW6WJ6dKxiTyyAzL89sVo1uZJfuoCN2RGZCvOpIHw11aaPzXJObyHld5_VWKNiaYePXtwBgSWFLTv9U4vfZg2Q" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhNHFFxKcjEQAV71E1gAwlTLduiNcWohZLQj9z0oCPIXiGQjwxV_acqac1aI4o8qfCj1K5v17_m4MKHtCCdcrziMoAUIUA99iOeiFWb0S_G92CdD1j2JLogA-7OGMreash5RtI9wk_NcV0GrGClhWgpFW9jHJvhudlY2BH88f-HEGin8wMFd-sddu-Keg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1485" data-original-width="1280" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhNHFFxKcjEQAV71E1gAwlTLduiNcWohZLQj9z0oCPIXiGQjwxV_acqac1aI4o8qfCj1K5v17_m4MKHtCCdcrziMoAUIUA99iOeiFWb0S_G92CdD1j2JLogA-7OGMreash5RtI9wk_NcV0GrGClhWgpFW9jHJvhudlY2BH88f-HEGin8wMFd-sddu-Keg" width="207" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Same guy</td></tr></tbody></table></div><p><br /></p>The road to my game rose form a desire to wed the sexiness of Exalted to the focus on outcomes of older systems like D&D.<p></p><p><b>Old Lessons:</b></p><p></p><ol style="text-align: left;"><li>The system has to give you the outcomes that it promises</li><li>Character survivability must increase at a greater rate than damage output</li><li>Elegant, hackable stand-alone rules are to be favored over interconnected systems</li><li>Generating content (dungeons, hexmaps, characters, monsters, treasure) should be mechanically easy and reward creativity and imagination</li><li>Appeal to archetype while allowing room for GMs and Players to add specifics</li></ol><div><b>New Hotness:</b></div><div><ol style="text-align: left;"><li>Style Matters. The vision of the game is the cornerstone on which the success of the design rests. It has to look the part.</li><li>Feel Matters. Its not enough to get to the outcome you want, it has to feel right getting there. Speed and acrobatics should feel thrilling, punches should impact hard. Concrete should crack when you smash an enemy into a building.</li><li>Solid Things are made up of Lots of Little Pieces. Characters, settings, artifacts, etc. should be made of a collection of smaller bits of design, to encourage modularity and for ease of use. Different mixes of bits will produce different outcomes, which is exactly what we want.</li><li>Social Mechanics are Explicit. Yeah roleplay is great, but have you ever crushed a political opponent's will under the sheer weight of your dice? It rules and we cannot put this genie back in the bottle. Social Rules are a thing now.</li><li>The Cool Things You Can Do Are Specific. You can ignite volcanoes with your fist; it specifically tells you how on page XX. You can lift cars with your mind; here's the power that does that. You can punch a tank shell in midair and it explodes and here are the rules for that. The rules have to articulate how you get to the awesome, over and over again, for as many types of awesome as possible.</li></ol><div><br /></div></div><div><b><span style="font-size: large;">Fist Game, Arise</span></b></div><div><br /></div><div>Lone Wolf Fists should, ideally, do everything listed on those ten points above (and a lot more I don't have the energy to type presently). Does it? Well, why don't we look?</div><div><br /></div><div><b><i>Can I sell this to my friends?</i></b></div><div><br /></div><div>I have yet to fail to sell the premise of this game to anyone. "You're a super-power martial artist in the post apocalypse"</div><p></p><p><b><i>Can I make my game like (insert nearly any anime)?</i></b></p><p>surprisingly, not as much as I'd want. I would have had to even further increase the number of kung-fu techniques in the game (and there are over 200 last count) to really go from Astro Boy to Bleach. I'd say its less in terms of bein universal, and more in terms of your options being seriously cool and very specifically letting you do one of a handful of Anime very well.</p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg_AgNwh-uHh_93Lto4Oa90Xa8dgs-0Y6CsJGFwLLFMDn_lOxm-P0DrMHyB-ANURd0i886IKcKbn35T4GEshQjJ3YpByMPCgD848-MfLAFLiliMddH7Se-4lB-lpwtPJuwg035vVGWPYAobc6j77zPuMmwy5wYt23UHYT8UZ4euJNhqjIc6spR9MQTBwA" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1126" data-original-width="1047" height="312" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg_AgNwh-uHh_93Lto4Oa90Xa8dgs-0Y6CsJGFwLLFMDn_lOxm-P0DrMHyB-ANURd0i886IKcKbn35T4GEshQjJ3YpByMPCgD848-MfLAFLiliMddH7Se-4lB-lpwtPJuwg035vVGWPYAobc6j77zPuMmwy5wYt23UHYT8UZ4euJNhqjIc6spR9MQTBwA=w290-h312" width="290" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Give us the Astro Boy RPG, you cowards!!!</td></tr></tbody></table><br />For example I'm not sure specifically how you'd do Goku; a lot of Kame Senin style is in the Brotherhood of Freaks styles, while your Kaokens and Genki Damas are sprinkled in other styles. But of course, Goku has been gaining new Techniques since he started his career; it seems like he started as a relatively straightforward Strong Hero with the notable ability to turn into a giant ape during the full moon (a power which is NOT present in LWF, but WILL be present in All Above Heaven).<p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjsWqr4jbsTc5AN08_4oVpbuVVEZBwGtZAcixcDkmgNrN5IhWx9FOHTLTJgHMao_JEL2kUN-Sln_lAgzb-U2yK94q6-JiK7kPwBPiSZoq3mgCwYd1fm1gCnzHFuvnFsZQGIvCdOnv-wp-jNz4qZFE7gV_xIY4zsHw-KtZpp1xwBUySnUzYAowPwXKRZEA" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="308" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjsWqr4jbsTc5AN08_4oVpbuVVEZBwGtZAcixcDkmgNrN5IhWx9FOHTLTJgHMao_JEL2kUN-Sln_lAgzb-U2yK94q6-JiK7kPwBPiSZoq3mgCwYd1fm1gCnzHFuvnFsZQGIvCdOnv-wp-jNz4qZFE7gV_xIY4zsHw-KtZpp1xwBUySnUzYAowPwXKRZEA=w411-h308" width="411" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pictured: The future!</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p></p><p>But Kenshiro? Yeah you could do him. He's the archetype that the Five Star Spirits were built around. Likewise, most of Ken's allies and even most of his adversaries can be built with minimal fuss.</p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi-LhbJ6t7Zdzi7Z5E4oKaXCUyuvJDBM-lx0koVEU4GcQzLVvnW7EuJ-F2zJPiSL1yg7cI2crdGldHZChO8AluX6oZi5PF6WgMNGNyPDiN5AxlqQspwbDkuHR2P2gNCVO5oTglIZjWdsmBMPGQJmwhApUG-33eXmk1dVc17qUn-JFW7_1CGpTSfopbyyw" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="369" data-original-width="450" height="302" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi-LhbJ6t7Zdzi7Z5E4oKaXCUyuvJDBM-lx0koVEU4GcQzLVvnW7EuJ-F2zJPiSL1yg7cI2crdGldHZChO8AluX6oZi5PF6WgMNGNyPDiN5AxlqQspwbDkuHR2P2gNCVO5oTglIZjWdsmBMPGQJmwhApUG-33eXmk1dVc17qUn-JFW7_1CGpTSfopbyyw=w368-h302" width="368" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">They put the building-battleship in the poster!</td></tr></tbody></table><br />So, can you build THE EXACT anime character you want? No, not from concept; a lot of Anime characters, especially the best, are built out of their history and are first-in-class heroes which would be best created with scads of XP and with unique powers not appearing in this game.<p></p><p>But could you do<i> almost everything</i> in:</p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Trigun</li><li>Vampire Hunter D</li><li>Fist of the North Star</li><li>Akira</li><li>Princess Mononoke</li><li>Nausicaa</li><li>Castle in the Sky</li><li>Berserk</li><li>Demon City Shinjuku</li><li>Ninja Scroll</li><li>Avatar: The Last Airbender (not an anime, but made The List)</li></ul><p></p><p>I feel like that's a pretty decent swathe of badass stuff to have realized.</p><p><b><i>Does it feel like anime?</i></b></p><p>Yes; <i>It feels awesome to do that stuff. </i>When you fistfight a tank to death with ancient, extinct kung-fu, <i>it feels like you did that. </i>It's not so abstracted that it's just an attack roll and it's HP hits 0. There's enough mechanical realization of the affair that the interaction feels consequential. Also, <i>the interaction is fucking consequential </i>because it's main battle cannon has explicit, detailed rules for demolishing buildings and reducing battalions of troops to chowder. So sweeping that off the battlefield is an actual victory that can turn the tide of battle.</p><p>Floating around with an airbending-style martial art feels and plays very different from the rock-lobbing, stone-cracking earthbender-style kung-fu.</p><p>When your sword sinks into your opponent's flesh and they erupt into a cloud of shrieking, clawing bats, that feels way different than their skin hardening into stone, or them parrying with impossible speed or vanishing ghostlike as your blade hits a stump.</p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxDtPk3KSqTIR4jO-vtMmHCIoxmZ1mnRMq9413kQB5RAfxSdF79GS2cl0lccgZp49O1i_L59Nv0wstvH493IE3-BhhqN_q94zG531671nE_7un2xwTYjsWArSQGazrZhSVXm3bT63E0V1dNkk9jJsIgu2VQ275tTrElktyNWQINvPFOFYxFhzAndB35A/s976/Ouchies.PNG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="646" data-original-width="976" height="247" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxDtPk3KSqTIR4jO-vtMmHCIoxmZ1mnRMq9413kQB5RAfxSdF79GS2cl0lccgZp49O1i_L59Nv0wstvH493IE3-BhhqN_q94zG531671nE_7un2xwTYjsWArSQGazrZhSVXm3bT63E0V1dNkk9jJsIgu2VQ275tTrElktyNWQINvPFOFYxFhzAndB35A/w373-h247/Ouchies.PNG" width="373" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Tink!</i></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p>It's aesthetics and the feel of the rules are synchronized. This thing <i>sings </i>in play.</p><p><i><b>This book is huge! How much boring system crap do I have to learn before I get to the cool?</b></i></p><p>Actually, almost none. One of the biggest points I learned from old school systems is that<i> simpler is better. </i></p><p>Things like the move-and-act action economy and initiative should be immediately familiar if you've played any version of D&D. The pain points, ie the stuff you won't find in D&D, winds up either being fun, intuitive, or both.</p><p><b>Effort AKA Matching Dice:</b> Instead of the d20, you roll a pool of d10s and match like numbers into sets. This is the basis of your actions</p><p><b>Health Levels and Aura:</b> A combo of Health Boxes and Hit Points; a box filled with HP, when its filled with damage, you take a wound called Imbalance. aura is the same thing but doesn't wound you as it fills up; kind've a magic force-field.</p><p><b>Techniques</b>: Your powers, work a little like spells. Do something for a cost in magic go-go juice. Linked to certain limbs or items, you have to keep those limbs/tools working to use the powers.</p><p><b>Chakra, Prana:</b> Yadda yadda magic. Everyone has seven Chakra, which produce Prana, which you spend to make your Techniques work. You can flair up to get access to more Prana, but it attracts attention (dangerous in the post apocalypse!)</p><p><b>Imbalances AKA wounds</b>: When you take enough damage you get an Imbalance, which takes out one of your limbs so that you can't use it to wield weapons, or move, or use Techniques. </p><p>Another thing that's not strictly unique to the game but diverges a bit from oldschool design are the <b>Effect Charts.</b> But these will be immediately familiar to fans of FASERIP, or most modern skill-system games like 3rd edition onward, or even Exalted 2nd edition if you look at the right bits:</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEja8s0KJ3vkhXAHFzhTRo8456DIx_Az9wVVyhpoRzB6BgVtDqRWbqG1OYcyahrJHcCUJP8IVkxW456SMG0Rwynb-QeB2yc4vF5VLmq1q37bb2y-FjY9bWQQMcSbSFkrQdw6vNHDAenSFbxzKnPueAvQIV5DNI1z1zMQA68LOdIHDPXawvF3rS7uab4uFQ" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="568" data-original-width="621" height="333" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEja8s0KJ3vkhXAHFzhTRo8456DIx_Az9wVVyhpoRzB6BgVtDqRWbqG1OYcyahrJHcCUJP8IVkxW456SMG0Rwynb-QeB2yc4vF5VLmq1q37bb2y-FjY9bWQQMcSbSFkrQdw6vNHDAenSFbxzKnPueAvQIV5DNI1z1zMQA68LOdIHDPXawvF3rS7uab4uFQ=w364-h333" width="364" /></a></div><br />All these do is benchmark what you can accomplish with a set of sufficient size. So like, three matching dice are clearly better than two matching dice, and the Power Effect Chart gives you what those dice can do if you're using them for strength, while the Agility Effect Chart gives you what you can use them for in terms of speed and dexterity.<p></p><p>Techniques can be used to boost this use of your Effort, so your kung-fu can allow you access to superhuman feats. This is one of the "intuitive and fun" bits of design; players love looking up how heavy of a thing they can lift, or how powerful of a ghost they can summon. The lists are poppy and neat, and one of the real gems of the game's design.</p><p>All of this is to say; there are a few things to learn, but they're not much heavier than their introduction here. MOST of what the book does is serve as a guide and reference document to answer questions in play, so the initial read is really quite light.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><b><span style="font-size: large;">The End...?</span></b><p></p><p>Lone Wolf Fists was never meant to balloon into as a big a project as it became. Originally it was going to be a svelte 70-page post-apocalypse version of All Above Heaven. Man, I wish I'd known it was going to turn into a 320 page tome All Things Fist.</p><p>But much like this blog entry, which meandered crazily and ate an entire day of my precious spare time, Lone Wolf Fist had to grow to the size it had to be and do what it had to do.</p><p>The wedding of Exalted's newschool sexiness with Old School design sensibilities meant research, it meant lists of options, it meant much more robust testing of the core system (and some overhauls that I wasn't anticipating). It eventually meant a successful Kickstarter (right after a totally failed one). And now?</p><p>Well, its a few years past when it would have been some hot sexiness to release a game like this. In the intervening time, 5th edition came by and swept up the entire gaming scene. Critical Role came and went and came again, to the point they have their own cartoon series that clearly stole a bunch of Avatar's talent.<br /><br /></p><p>People don't really talk about Exalted like they used to; the scene is not thriving. Third edition went in a very different direction from previous editions, and it's clear that although its built-up goodwill was enough to clear early sales hurdles, that its struggling more than its predecessors. </p><p>The new wave of 5e players confuse me as to what they want; this is an actually new generation, approaching the game with sensibilities that are alien to me. They seem to like the idea of the game, and appreciate its revolutionary sentiment, but these people don't have the gamer background that my audience had. They came swept in on the winds of theatre-kid-style shows and remarkably different media consumption habits.</p><p>For better or worse, my unwashed weeabu culture of gaming has changed into this glittery cottagecore version, where everyone is super queer and colorful and saying things like "Vibes" to one another. Also, I guess "queer" isn't a slur now? That shit would get you punched back in my day.</p><p>Does Lone Wolf Fists have a home in all this glam and good vibes? I honestly have no idea. I've been in a cave of dedicated design for the last few years, and I've emerged into a changed world. I thought we'd have a ready audience of hungry Exlated players, still jilted by the story-gamey approach of EX3 and ready to get their fists on something more in line with EX2's sensibilities. I thought we'd have more weebs weebing it up, sperging as one does about all these anime' references and excited for a really good Fist of the North Star game. Nobody cares Fist of the North Star anymore! Apparently My Hero Academia is the new hotness? Jesus I fell off around Bleach, how long was I out? HOW LONG WAS I OOOOUUUUUT</p><p>So, I dedicated a not inconsiderable chunk of my life to a game that totally succeeds in doing wat I set out to do.... And I'm not sure that there's an audience for it anymore</p><p>But, maybe I'm wrong.</p><p>The other option is that my optics have eroded in the last few years. The idiot culture war (which I guess is still raging, but I care even less now than I ever did) did a number of TTRPG players; splitting us into political camps introduced a horrible tribalism to the already elitist and factitious culture of sneering elfgame players. I've been decried as both a communist and a fascist, called a racist, called a chud, called a brainless snowflake, and otherwise had my good name dragged through the mud by every tinpot rpg-pundit who decided political bloviating was more important than, y'know, playing fucking elfgames.</p><p>(Ironically NOT by THE Rpgpundit, who has always been a super swell guy to me)</p><p>Maybe I just need to get better at talking to elfgame players in their elfgame spaces. Well friends, this is my first little handshake to you in a while. Hi. I make punch-games. And also I'm not any of those awful things. I'm not a bio-essentialist (whatever the fuck THAT is), I don't hate gay people. I'm not a communist. I don't like Nazis. I'm certainly not a racist (except against Canadians, but<i> they know what they did</i>).</p><p>I just make games. And maybe you're in the market for one of those. Well my gender-non=specific buddy, have I got a hell of a game for you.</p><p><a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/316011/Lone-Wolf-Fists-Quickstart-Blood-from-Gods-Eye">Maybe grab the free version first</a>, give it a pick-through, maybe try it out. I'm going to upgrade this with the newest design soon, but this will stay the same link and at the same low-low-price of nothing except what you want to shove in my tip jar.</p><p>And if you want the full monty, it's super cheap right now and it'll answer all the prayers that EX3 failed. <a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/416442/Tian-Shang-Lone-Wolf-Fists-CORE-RULEBOOK?src=hottest_filtered">Go ahead; Gamble a Stamp on the sickest game you'll ever run!</a></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgtUO6-GQ7Khzs8tOHJ0d8Kq3ZBgN4JfvmoVE985LGEAWqdce_lonuUKnk_X6tvOkLpId7Bu3Pnt_PAwZks_S2xiwK--k3GtQyk5G5uv_gq2e00mgIZC7UkxlDQlsUfNYcjRCP6H00K6135_LxiaLl3vtu0rPdxtZrCOCSXV_bmYmLfNHAp4AlpdFD-8A" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="429" data-original-width="908" height="285" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgtUO6-GQ7Khzs8tOHJ0d8Kq3ZBgN4JfvmoVE985LGEAWqdce_lonuUKnk_X6tvOkLpId7Bu3Pnt_PAwZks_S2xiwK--k3GtQyk5G5uv_gq2e00mgIZC7UkxlDQlsUfNYcjRCP6H00K6135_LxiaLl3vtu0rPdxtZrCOCSXV_bmYmLfNHAp4AlpdFD-8A=w604-h285" width="604" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Disclaimer: hair on chest may vary</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /><p></p>Joel T. Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14794521474606595295noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-873328568939844233.post-32908590215349672012023-03-03T08:40:00.000-08:002023-03-03T08:40:05.079-08:00Revisiting Dharma, Kharma, Karma, and FASERIP<p><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">I’ve finalized all the way up to the very end of chapter 2, and here I’ve stubbed my toe re-reading the advancement mechanics (or, more familiarly, the “XP rules”) for Lone Wolf Fists. The system is simple enough, but on this rereading I found myself, as I often do as a game designer, plagued with doubt almost to the point of utter despair. </span></p><span id="docs-internal-guid-f94222d6-7fff-1632-afb1-b77410d1f94e"><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This isn’t an uncommon feeling for a tabletop roleplaying game maker, so no need to be concerned; we eat soul-shredding doubt for breakfast (right next to our favorite cereal, depressi-o’s and a tall glass of imposter syndrome: it's all a part of a balanced existential crisis). </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Anyway so I’m sitting there woofing down my depressing breakfast and contemplating the XP rules. It's no secret that my game has stolen liberally from (I mean, “been inspired by”) the Marvel FASERIP system (FASERIP being an acronym of the game’s statline for characters; Fighting, Agility, Strength, Endurance, Reason, Intuition, and Psyche) .That game’s XP rules were inspired and straightforward; let me give you the rundown.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In FASERIP, the dilemma was to differentiate advancement from the traditional “gather loot and kill monsters” incentive system used by the big TTRPG of the time: I don’t remember what its called; Delvegeons&Durgon? Anyway the name isn’t important, the IMPORTANT thing is that it was dealing with characters that fit a comic-book mold of heroics, and loot acquisition didn’t really compel the likes of Spiderman or Professor X. Although they laid out entire trauma wards of henchmen and matched muscle with supremely nasty villains, none of these things could be said to be their core motives.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Dwerrors&Dirtpike characters were assumed to have a certain mercenary, or at least materialist caste in the vein of Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser, Conan or even John Carter of Mars. Vanquishing enemies, acquiring gold and building keeps in the savage chaos-filled borderlands WERE heroics acts for them. They were frontier heroes; their brand of heroism assumed a hostile world that needed to be battled then civilized, and wealth acquisition was critical for every frontier hero from Beowulf to Wyatt Earp. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Marvel characters lived in New York City; their heroism was about protection, not conquest. They were champions of the status quo, only being considered heroes whenever contrasted with bad actors who wanted to do crimes. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This is, by the way, one of the reasons a hero like Spider-Man was so compelling; his material situation never improved, not until he became a professor and married his teen sweetheart anyway. But all his heroics didn’t help that; getting a job and growing up did. Spider Man was a hero despite its personal costs to him, but the world he fought for was one that rewarded him with material comfort, security and even true love. That was a world worth fighting for, a status quo worth upholding, even if the short-term cost of his heroism was personal loss and suffering.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The XP system of FASERIP, called Karma, captured this difference by placing MORALITY, specifically the Marvel-brand comic-book morality, as the criteria for XP acquisition. Characters were expected to prevent crimes, bring criminals to justice, stop wicked conspiracies, save people (even villains!) from injury and death, and uphold their personal and professional obligations. They could also act charitably and make personal commitments, granting villains outstanding opportunities to screw with them.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Importantly, Karma in FASERIP is punitive as well as. Don’t prevent a crime? Karma penalty. Let somebody die? Karma penalty. Get your ass beat in public? KARMA PENALTY.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The system does a wonderful job of putting players in the hotseat of marvel heroes; they’re often torn between conflicting loyalties, or personal and heroic obligations. Just reading the two-page spread of Karma rules and the corresponding chart, you get not only a cheat sheet for nearly limitless binds to squeeze player characters into, but you get something like a social contract, a shared language of heroic troubles and exploits which can be used cooperatively by players and gamemasters to articulate and hammer out the stakes of nearly any comic-book conundrum that the heroes might find themselves in. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Should you chase down Doctor Doom, knowing that if he escapes, he’ll lead a conspiracy to separate all of Wyoming from the United States and make it official Latverian territory? Or should you let him get away and save the bus transporting a team of top-scientists he left dangling off a collapsing bridge? Well, you can look at the Karma Chart and suss out which has the best Karma reward, and contrast that with your strategic understanding of the stakes of each choice, and make your own decision about what puts you in the best position.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">(For the record, the Karma chart puts a lot of emphasis on immediate heroics which save lives over long-term schemes that do more nebulous damage, like conspiracies. This is also ingenious, as it keeps characters “in the moment” and lets the game’s circumstances drift in interesting ways as the villain’s more diffuse and long-term plans are left to wreak havoc)</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">…</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">So Karma in FASERIP accomplished the goal of giving players a default method for advancement; IE getting XP. If you do something heroic or “good” and avoid acting villainous, you get XP. But, it was also smart in that it placed itself in direct opposition to traditional loot-and-conquest methods of advancement.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In Dracons&Dingleberries, your advancement compounded; if you got GP, you got XP, and you could ALSO spend your GP to get mercenaries, followers, castles, magic items, and all sorts of supremely useful stuff for furthering your personal power. In other words, there was a twin reward mechanism for loot acquisition; as you got more money and more political and military power, you ALSO gained more hit points and class abilities, furthering your PERSONAL power.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In FASERIP, however, you often had to SACRIFICE something material to gain personal power. Acts of charity, keeping personal commitments, and placing yourself in danger to help others didn’t help you to gain wealth, property or political clout; in fact, it RISKED those things, sometimes requiring their loss or direct sacrifice, to advance your personal powers.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This simple but ingenious move paid a lot of dividends. It kept heroes closer to their starting status quo, which played more authentically to the comic-books in a way that Iron Man becoming the governor of New York and starting a mercenary army in Stark Tower wouldn’t have. It also kept players focused on acting in-line with the expectations and motives of their characters by making them THINK like those characters. If Timmy the power-gamer wanted a new Ion Repulsor for his War Machine Armor, he had to THINK like James “Rhodey” Rhodes about how he approached things; “Where can I prevent the most crime?” “There’s a collapsing building; who can I save and how can I save them?” “What is Dr. Doom’s scheme with Wyoming, and how can I prevent it?”</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Because players had a method for evaluating any circumstance as a hero would, including its complications and tradeoffs, they naturally approached the world as those heroes do. And this drove fantastically characterful roleplay; first by articulating it, then by rewarding it.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">…</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">That method of placing a player’s natural inclination to seek rewards into a lens that made them interpret the world as their characters would was EXACTLY what I was attempting to steal with my Dharma mechanics.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The DNA of the Dharma rules should be very familiar. They require a player to act in a specific way, often contrary to the purely materialistic method of rational acting. They come in three flavors, each representing a distinct level of commitment;</span></p><ol style="margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 0; padding-inline-start: 48px;"><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; list-style-type: decimal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Burdens, requiring a single action, reward 1 point</span></p></li><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; list-style-type: decimal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Services, requiring about a Scene’s worth of action, rewarding 2</span></p></li><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; list-style-type: decimal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Tasks, which could require a Campaign Arc or more, rewarding 20</span></p></li></ol><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Burdens are usually provided by showing commitment to an underlying philosophy or oath. Clan Dharma provides characters with three, based on the philosophy and methods of the clan, and more are acquired in play as characters commit themselves to various causes.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Services are generally opportunities for heroism that fall into the party’s lap. When they see a situation that they could change for the better (saving someone’s life, or vanquishing some minor marauding evil, negotiating peace between squabbling tribes, etc.) the GM tempts them to get involved by offering them some Kharma (note the “h”) for acting like heroes.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Tasks are long-term goals require a lot more investment. Rebuilding destroyed temples, tracking down and slaying the seven killers of a revered master, finding a new source of water for a dying village, etc. They’re big asks, and they come with a big reward; they’re there to be what a given campaign arc is “about”.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The shape of these creates an interesting incentive system. Players generally hit a lot of “burden triggers” in a session, approaching lots of circumstances through the lens of their philosophy and commitments to rake in a considerable amount of low-value Kharmic rewards. They’re occasionally presented with juicier rewards that tempt them into fights or scenes of intrigue, and these point them towards Tasks which they can invest their time and energy into to get a big end-of-arc payout (just in time to train!).</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Also, because the rewards are set values, and because players will require larger payouts over the same in-game timeframe as they grow more powerful, this angles them to think bigger and more long-term as they advance in power. The slow conquest and building of territory into a thriving civilization re-unifies the goals of personal power with political and militaristic power, as it presents players with large numbers of Tasks to accomplish simultaneously in their climb to power, while double-rewarding them with more territory, loyal followers, and greater wealth.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">So it's brilliant and I’m a genius. Except of course, for the small problem that it doesn’t seem to work.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">…</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Nobody has yet used this system to my knowledge. Not in the way I just outlined it above, at any rate; people are sometimes reminded of their Clan Dharma by a heavily invested GM, and snag a few points of Kharma here and there as a result, or occasionally they’ll complete something that the rules have articulated as a Task and get a juicy payout, but all of that seems… Incidental. An accident of reward arising from the players seeking their goals, not a goal unto itself.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Generally players seem frustrated by this system, rather than inspired. In its core goal of crafting a dialogue between player, GM and designer, I’ve utterly failed; neither players nor GMs (not even myself!) consistently use this tool to communicate to each other and the game’s intended play-state. GMS are generally baffled by how to implement it, forget it, and just focus on making the asskicking happen as much as possible.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Analyzing this failure, there are at least a few issues that seem to be the root.</span></p><br /><ol style="margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 0; padding-inline-start: 48px;"><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; list-style-type: decimal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This is a new and complex system with a lot of moving parts and a lot of unfamiliar requirements for new GMs. Dharma simply gets lost in the mesh of new and complex things that GMs are juggling when they attempt this game.</span></p></li><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; list-style-type: decimal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Players are similarly too busy with the immediacy of kicking the asses in front of them to split their attention to the Dharma mechanics. They’re conditioned to get XP rewards for kicking ass, not for how and why they kick ass.</span></p></li><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; list-style-type: decimal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">There aren’t concrete specifications that players and GMs can reference to form a meaningful dialogue (ie; a Karma Chart). There are guidelines that allow GMs to start the dialogue, but without a list of more specific and detailed actions, they’re left to puzzle out the meat of the conversation on their own.</span></p></li><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; list-style-type: decimal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Dharma rules aren’t brought up again in the GM section to give GMs a method for bringing the raw mechanics into the realm of game processes IE I gave them tools without an instruction manual. And the tools are weird.</span></p></li><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; list-style-type: decimal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The timing and requirements of getting Kharma aren’t clear enough; players are naturally nervous to “ask” for a reward, and doubly so to “demand” one by referencing unfamiliar rules. The current writing is too vague, leaving players unsure of when and how they hit their Kharma triggers.</span></p></li></ol><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">My solution, I think, is going to involve the following elements:</span></p><br /><ol style="margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 0; padding-inline-start: 48px;"><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; list-style-type: decimal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Make a Dharma chart with more tiers of reward and specific entries. This should give players something to look at and plan with, motivating them to engage with it.</span></p></li><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; list-style-type: decimal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Clean up the writing so it's more specific in its timing and requirements. This will make the rules more usable by providing a more disciplined framework for GMs to say “yes” and “no” to player asks, and will facilitate a dialogue between players and GMs that has a core set of standards.</span></p></li><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; list-style-type: decimal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Add a small bit of writing to the GM section articulating methods for using the Dharma tools to drive gameplay. This should tempt GMs to give it a try, at least, which I think will get them thinking of ways in which it can work; that’s a good place for a set of rules to be, doubly so if they’re good rules.</span></p></li></ol><br /><br /></span>Joel T. Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14794521474606595295noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-873328568939844233.post-71971597798536991542022-11-24T07:28:00.000-08:002022-11-24T07:28:31.592-08:00Making a kung-fu style in Lone Wolf Fists PART DUEX<p> </p><p>Development of Lone Wolf Fists has resulted in a complete game available at drivethrurpg in pdf form</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/416442/Tian-Shang-Lone-Wolf-Fists"><img border="0" data-original-height="780" data-original-width="965" height="259" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0le7Y4eR-z3L7jewBsj44eM1ImrcJ1VySX-UxgwrYu_F-tvFAkzB3sUl9vMAmlgBb5HrHrHJGr4W38XZ33y1tuPeka4lqFmloL_dUUdrU1Mp9u3fogef7duDAEY00JJ2erUJkbFdtebreYfx82-CVWvD-2zEOE_23HG0KF5wjz-KRpYw0SCV26-uXuQ/s320/Yeah%20its%20a%20plug.PNG" width="320" /></a></span></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/416442/Tian-Shang-Lone-Wolf-Fists">Yeah it's a plug. But hey; you can play LWF now! So that's somethin'!</a></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p>Now that I'm on the other side of not only making all of the styles I originally envisioned but ALSO co-creating a bunch with backers, I have an even more refined idea of how to make functional styles for the game. So I present you with the emergent step 4:</p><p><b>Step 4: Benchmark</b></p><p>So we've got a lot of skeletal Techniques and inspiration from the proceeding steps, and that leaves us with this need to link THIS style (whichever one we're working on) to the greater body of styles which compose the tactical arena of the game.</p><p>Here's what we've got, and what they're close to in the existing techniques:</p><div><br /></div><div><b>Kai shout:</b> scream big, pushes and scares motherfuckers. Breaks stuff</div><div><b>Benchmark</b>: Most of the element-controllers share similarity with this move. A close analog exists in the Unearthly Gift style's Psychic Shockwave Technique.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b>Invisible energy shield:</b> deflects ranged attacks, energy, environmental effect </div><div><b>Benchmark</b>: Creature of the sands stance makes you categorically immune to a type of energy/elemental attack, so that's the clear benchmark here</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b>Power puke:</b> energy-projectile, no limbs required </div><div><b>Benchmark</b>: Naraka's Fury is my default energy-blast technique, so well use that as the basis of comparison here</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Power stream:</b> Kamehameha if you use 2 hands, but you can do it with 1 hand and risk losing control of it</div><div><b>Benchmark</b>: Turtle-crushing tsunami is the current standard for kamehameha-like</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Boring power thing: </b>Cheap, boosts power, maybe also a grab</div><div><b>Benchmark</b>: Throat-crushing grasp is a good one here. I think there's a few grabs in other styles I'll look at as well</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Swole AF:</b> Boost your Effortless Power, gives you Ferocity, makes you just huge as shit</div><div><b>Benchmark</b>: This one is pretty innovative. There's a soft rule from the techniques that grant Ferocity that every 2 Ferocity is worth roughly 1 Effort, though. So that's useful</div><div><br /></div><div><div><b>Jaw-Breaking Kick</b></div><div><b>Gut-Buster Punch</b></div><div><b>Bone-Ripper Grip</b></div><div><b>Bullet-Catching Finger</b></div></div><div><b>Benchmarks</b>: Almost every style has a "bedrock" of 3-5 one-die attacks, defenses and tricks that fill up their Novice tier of Techniques., I'll use those here, no need to reinvent the wheel unless inspiration strikes</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Fist of God:</b> Just a big motherfuckin' punch</div><div><b>Benchmarks</b>: Most of the "big booms" core around a large single attack and a "fallout" effect that hits a bigger area, and a high-level skill-booster. This is going to follow that general trend. Again, there's really no need to reinvent the wheel here; the raw functionality of that capability is really enough to carry even a very straightforward supreme tech.</div><div><br /></div><div>...</div><div><br /></div><div>Let's take a few examples so I can show you how this process works</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Power Puke</b></div><div><br /></div><div>Let's begin with our benchmark move:</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt06_N11jI2jCHtrNp29gDX5_GYyoxPQAdKfKCdXhuvlp6ld48gPkQ3RkNFFLssnfpe7xH7TfBoJgMtXKQZpblw7SC3MUA9IrDWLAdDfzIGfMwJMGv4ExReNg42ur0pmuzc5LQa8tVKqxdl-Tp-wEglb5dOQotOd2X53lvcfjGDkE1iRX7LKGSog3RNA/s640/Rebi_ra.webp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt06_N11jI2jCHtrNp29gDX5_GYyoxPQAdKfKCdXhuvlp6ld48gPkQ3RkNFFLssnfpe7xH7TfBoJgMtXKQZpblw7SC3MUA9IrDWLAdDfzIGfMwJMGv4ExReNg42ur0pmuzc5LQa8tVKqxdl-Tp-wEglb5dOQotOd2X53lvcfjGDkE1iRX7LKGSog3RNA/s320/Rebi_ra.webp" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div><div><div><b>Naraka’s Fury</b></div><div><b>Attack</b></div><div><b>Requires:</b> (Arm or Weapon, Awakened Hell Chakra)</div><div><b>Cost</b>: 12</div><div><b>Rank</b>: 3</div><div><b>Facing</b>: 6-9</div><div><b>Effect</b>: You unleash a throbbing neon beam of thundering</div><div>evil at the foe. It moves in a straight line, splitting earth and</div><div>stone and destroying anything in its path. It reaches the</div><div>length of a Field, striking any foe in an Area it passes over.</div><div>Enemies struck take an additional 3d10 Physical</div><div>Aggravation as their fragile mortal bodies are dissolved.</div><div><b>Skill</b>: Spirit</div><div><b>Keywords</b>: Energy, Ranged, Unholy</div></div><div><br /></div><div>The first advantage PP is going to have over it's forebear is that it won't require a sword. This tells me that it needs to either be more expensive or weaker. There's also no specific reason for it to be tied to the Hell chakra; so any chakra would probably do, giving it another advantage. It also probably doesn't need to be unholy, so we can omit that.</div><div><br /></div><div>Because I don't like disrupting costs, my default for balancing a tech like this would be to lower it's facings. Bumping it down to 0-3 would remove the default offensive advantage. You could also remove the Skill boost if you're feeling particularly sadistic, which will make it exclusively a combat option.</div><div><br /></div><div>If I wanted an easier balance, I would simply omit the additional Aggravation generated by the original attack, which helps to bring this one into line with it power-wise quite nicely.</div><div><br /></div><div>The issue with all of these changes are that I'm not giving this move a lot of identity. Its balanced, both on paper and in play, and it does grant a distinct tactical option, so that's enough to justify it in my eyes. But I would <b>vastly </b>prefer that it have some unique thing that belongs wholly to it, and here we have to deviate from thinking about the move numerically and begin to think about it creatively.</div><div><br /></div><div>Let's feed ourselves a little inspiration:</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/mCyZMFVDqkU" width="320" youtube-src-id="mCyZMFVDqkU"></iframe></div><br /><div><br /></div><div>Man, I love Broly's big, wavy blast at the end. That's like the ideal one, uncontrolled, destructive, visually impressive. Actually Broly is a great kernel for this style in general:</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/rxRGAPE82LQ" width="320" youtube-src-id="rxRGAPE82LQ"></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>Something that leaps out to me as appealing and distinct when it comes to this mouth-blast is how powerful it is. It's direct and scary and a huge deal if it hits; like some kind of jaw-mounted bazooka. I want to capture that feeling with the design, which means we're going to need to get creative.<div><br /></div><div>Let's pack a lot of "oomph" into the hit, and keep it's low accuracy. That'll help it to feel inelegant and easy to dodge, but heavy and dangerous as well. We're going to zero in on the effect and give it a "mortar" aspect, like so:</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Effect</b>: This fiery blast of raw Prana vomits out from the mouth; clumsy and brutal, it explodes on impact in a thunderous shockwave. Hits one target at (Achieved Rank+1) and explodes, damaging the surrounding Area at (Technique Rank).</div><div><br /></div><div>We'll add Destructive to it's Keywords to really drive home it's impact. That gives us this:</div><div><br /></div><div><div><b>Power Puke</b></div><div><b>Attack</b></div><div><b>Requires:</b> (Any Awakened Chakra)</div><div><b>Cost</b>: 12</div><div><b>Rank</b>: 3</div><div><b>Facing</b>:0-3</div><div><b>Effect</b>: This fiery blast of raw Prana vomits out from the mouth; clumsy and brutal, it explodes on impact in a thunderous shockwave. Hits one target at (Achieved Rank+1) and explodes, damaging the surrounding Area at (Technique Rank).</div><div><b>Skill</b>: N/A</div><div><b>Keywords</b>: Energy, Ranged, Destructive</div><div><br /></div><div>Note that we're keeping an aspect of the first Technique's long-range environment destruction, further increasing their parity and justifying its cost. We've also added something unprecedented with "Technique Rank +1"; this shouldn't be too much of a balance issue, because we're not straying far from the overall effectiveness of our benchmark Technique. Removing the versatility of the skill boost should make up for this (if anything, it probably over-balances it, but I maintain its better to over than under-balance).</div><div><br /></div><div>We'll follow a similar procedure for the remaining skeletal Techniques, and then we've just got to fill in any gaps.</div><div><br /></div><div>...</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Step 5: The Style's Style</b></div><div><br /></div><div> We're back to considering the aesthetic of the style in this step. But, importantly, we're considering it's aesthetic in terms of its unique strategic advantages. In other words, we want the style to look and feel different because it's doing something unique here. We've left ourselves some room for new ideas in the Form, and in a single Novice and Master Technique.</div><div><br /></div><div>That's actually probably enough.</div><div><br /></div><div>I don't think it's wise to go TOO experimental with a style. For the most part, styles should be broadly comparable, because minor difference feel big in play, and because people often choose new Techniques based on aesthetic and not strategic considerations and we don't want to handicap anyone unduly for following this method (nor over-reward anyone for the opposite).</div><div><br /></div><div>Mind you, there is SOME inescapable handicap to ignoring optimization in Technique selection, just as there's an unavoidable (and desirable!) advantage in selecting one's Techniques intelligently. What we want is for the overall power curve not to bow so far in either direction that a meeting between the extremes is a foregone conclusion; otherwise, we sacrifice the emergent circumstance of the fight on the altar of metagaming, and I'll be goddamned if style should not on occasion triumph over substance.</div><div><br /></div><div>I'm meandering, but the point I'm making is at least related to the topic; style. The aesthetic not just in description but in gameplay differentiation. I recommend you keep it a rare spice, but I would require of yourself that you use this spice each time you make a new style. It keeps you from growing stagnant and it gives your new style a justification for its existence that reaches beyond the merely differentiated; it makes it a work of art, YOUR art, and that is the sole reason that you should craft a new style.</div><div><br /></div><div>It also of course makes any linear explanation of this process essentially impossible; I can't describe for you why I draw the inspiration I do from the stuff that gets my gears turning, nor would I ever recommend attempting to replicate it. Each spark is unique, and YOUR sparks are untouchable to me, so I'm not really certain how to tell you how to game-ify them.</div><div><br /></div><div>I can show you a bit, though. Perhaps that will serve where explanation fails.</div><div><br /></div><div>The Form</div><div><br /></div><div>The Form is where you lay down the raw essence of a style; it's thesis, if you will. When I think about this style, I think about big, muscly punching, bestial yelling, power radiating off of flexing muscles; this is all very visual, I get a very "Asura's Wrath" vibe off the entire affair. </div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuIxltx39HvvdyuI-6QoZrNgwrZW-NBMxo9IvAOl2ZcxXrcAJEhCKTViE3Yql03M3GFAZYB_Y8xrf2wMgioBIXqYNPcdod3O4Q0BI5HpJ5BM7f_KKoKCqubVdCVjAyIwwx0TXk8FKXeXakIokTMOQYIMnj0AY730X3Wi9-H8KyEzYhAQTXqcr1iQBA8Q/s300/asuras%20wrath%20pissed.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="168" data-original-width="300" height="168" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuIxltx39HvvdyuI-6QoZrNgwrZW-NBMxo9IvAOl2ZcxXrcAJEhCKTViE3Yql03M3GFAZYB_Y8xrf2wMgioBIXqYNPcdod3O4Q0BI5HpJ5BM7f_KKoKCqubVdCVjAyIwwx0TXk8FKXeXakIokTMOQYIMnj0AY730X3Wi9-H8KyEzYhAQTXqcr1iQBA8Q/s1600/asuras%20wrath%20pissed.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div><div>Which tells me that I want to capture that raw fury that the image above conveys. So something fury-based is on the list. I also want that "I don't care how much I injure myself, as long as I get to kick your ass" element, so something trading health for damage or attacks. I also want the enemy to feel like they're on the receiving end of a raw ass whuppin', so doubling down on attacks and offense at the cost of defense feels in-theme. Here's my fist attempt:</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Form: Wrath Eruption Sutra</b></div><div><b>Flesh-Immolating Drive</b>: Suffer 1d10 damage to add 1d10 damage to an attack that has struck the enemy. Each time you damage the enemy, you may invoke a number of dice up to your Degree. </div><div><b>I Am The Weapon:</b> Facing 8-9, + 1 to an Attack</div><div><b>No Mercy</b>: Suffer 1d10 damage: You may attack an additional time with a 1-die Set. you may use this power as many times as you wish per round, limited only by your own masochism</div><div><br /></div><div>Right away, this form grabs your face and slams it over and over into a cinder block. Whoever takes this is dedicating themselves to the berserk; there are no defensive options, but you get an unrivaled suite of offensive moves. The self-damaging aspect keeps them in check and allows you to take measured risks, without precluding the possibility of total self-burnout to achieve extreme levels of ass-kicking. Finally, the use of dice rather than set numbers keeps it from being discretely calculable (admittedly you can still get a range, but the extremes have you trading health levels for the smallest factions of enemy damage and that's a calculus that will make it resistant to prudent consideration but vulnerable to passionate deployment)</div><div><br /></div><div>Let's keep it rolling. </div><div><br /></div><div>We have a Novice and a Master-level Tech left to populate, and once again I want to get artsy with it. If we additionally had a free Expert-level, I'd recommend finding a uniting theme to add cohesion to the style. But since we've already got our bases covered, I'd rather see this broken set of moves as an opportunity to think of some novel concepts for the style.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>A Brief Note on Keywords</b></div><div><br /></div><div>I'd like to take a second to demystify keywords. If I were going to invent a keyword, I would likely have done it at an earlier step. I find it's best to lead with a concept, THEN make a keyword if it's called for (like there's a repeated mechanical novelty which needs a unified cohesive rule at its center to make it more approachable). Two Techs really isn't enough for a keyword; I would want to have it present at least once per power tier, and ideally more than once. This leads necessarily to a more rules-first style of design, but you'd still have opportunities like these to inject true novelty and I'd recommend taking them. Reference the Unearthly Gift style for some great examples of this; it's a keyword-first style that nevertheless has some of the most creative and unique powers in the game.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>And now back to our regularly scheduled ass kicking</b></div><div><br /></div><div>Looking over our Techniques so far, I notice that a recurrent and cool theme is being too tough to need to defend. It reminds me of one of my favorite fights in DBZ (unsurprisingly); the foregone conclusion beat-down between Frieza and Nail.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/U9y7mZm2xJU" width="320" youtube-src-id="U9y7mZm2xJU"></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Haha, wrecked</div><br /><div>My favorite bit is when Nail chops him in the neck and it just does <i>nothing</i>. Damn man, that is savage. Clearly we need a move that does that, and it needs a name that drives that point home:</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><div><b>Nice Try</b></div><div><b>Defense</b></div><div><b>Requires:</b> (A desire to kill the enemy which outweighs your survival instinct)</div><div><b>Cost</b>: 40</div><div><b>Rank</b>: 5</div><div><b>Facing</b>:0-3</div><div><b>Effect</b>: You don't bother to dodge or block; attacks break on your invulnerable form. While protected by this persistent defense, if your defense exceeds the opponent's attack and you would take no damage form it, you may select any attack from this style and immediately launch an attack with it. This out-of-sequence strike otherwise follows all the normal rules for an attack, requiring a Set and any Cost for the Technique.</div><div><b>Skill</b>: Endurance</div><div><b>Keywords</b>: Sustainable</div></div><div><br /></div><div>This move doesn't have the comprehensive defensive protection of moves like Indestructible Master Meditation, so strictly speaking its an inferior defense option. But the ability to reply to attacks is really powerful, because it's optional and you can select a Technique which hits the enemy where they're weak. It also acts as scrub-repellent, because if some Nail steps to you with his weak-ass chop and you're ready for him, you rip off his arm. I wouldn't consider that a tactically wise decision, but just something doesn't need to be likely for it to be a possibility, and we're not engineering circumstance here, merely opportunity.</div><div><br /></div><div>That leaves our last Novice tech, and it looks like we could use ooooone more "I'm invincible fuck you!" style move to round out that tier. I've got just the thing.</div><div><br /></div><div><div><b>Enough!</b></div><div><b>Defense</b></div><div><b>Requires:</b> (2 limbs)</div><div><b>Cost</b>: 4</div><div><b>Rank</b>: 1</div><div><b>Facing</b>: 0-3</div><div><b>Effect</b>: After you have suffered more than one attack from the same foe during their action, or while engaged in a Grab that you either did not originate or are currently losing, this Technique allows you to take an out-of-sequence attack with any of your Sets which can throw the enemy.</div><div>After the resolution of the triggering attack/state but prior to your opponent's next action, you may activate this Technique and launch the attack. It is "between" the enemy's actions.</div><div>If your counter-strike hits, it counts as a Throw and doesn't require you to be Grabbing the foe.</div><div><b>Skill</b>: Agility</div><div><b>Keywords</b>: Throw</div></div><div><br /></div><div>This one is an unprecedented Technique (pretty sure? I'm tired, I don't want to re-read all of my Techniques again). As a result, I pushed up the cost to keep it out of the hands of early round, low-powered characters. It's low-enough Rank that most defenses should be able to prevent it's "combo breaker" element, but that means tactically that it's used to absorb a potentially dangerous attack anyway, so it's always got a really high utility as a defense. I'd likely not make this Technique at a higher level because it is really powerful and tactically unique</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Wrapping up</b></div><div><br /></div><div>I haven't compiled this style yet, but I don't want to delay releasing this post any longer. The next steps will just be repeating the design techniques from above, mostly benchmarking to reduce my overall workload.</div><div><br /></div><div>Once it's first draft is finished, I find an overall review of the style against a few comparable and incomparable styles is called for. This is to make certain that the trade-offs between Techniques at different levels don't lead to any obvious "no-brainer" tactical moves. If none of those jump out, one last pass to clean up any awkward wording and massage costs will leave me with a finalized style, ready for playtesting.</div><div><br /></div><div>I hope you've enjoyed peaking behind the curtain at how the kung-fu sausage is made. I hope it didn't leave you too terribly scarred.</div><div><br /></div><div>Next time; jerking myself off a bunch about how the final game came together, and giving you a reason to justify buying it if you're on the fence but it's on your radar. Stay tuned.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /></div>Joel T. Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14794521474606595295noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-873328568939844233.post-25523451867054478952022-11-20T10:37:00.000-08:002022-11-20T10:37:15.413-08:00What the hell motivates people in Call of Cthulhu?
So I treated myself to the seventh edition Keeper's Tome for Call of Cthulhu, the legendary OG of horror-mystery TTRPGS. Quick review: there are too many rules for machine guns and I have no idea what the monsters want.
But let's only unpack that second one.
So here's the thing; my girlfriend doesn't like my dungeoncrawls. She's a very story-first, listens-to-podcasts kind of chick, and I don't think it need to be beleaborored that she's much smarter and more responsible than me and I'm quite into her.
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9eTiiCqn1IdROGYTbiu9J5ESRH7PY1brOFCZfX4UVeTJnjDeRcg-WxDUbV1rtyFdAv13V4RmWjSUQk6g3fWPrNtsoifj4w9SsC2zOrdn2hM-BLB263arZly6tLv1csj8VH39V019-WgWeEhAs6-c85SfaLs1vOHLmC0OIMq0Dw0wbuDQ4QhdgVC1_xw/s1377/f4z1rc0bvh531.webp" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="1377" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9eTiiCqn1IdROGYTbiu9J5ESRH7PY1brOFCZfX4UVeTJnjDeRcg-WxDUbV1rtyFdAv13V4RmWjSUQk6g3fWPrNtsoifj4w9SsC2zOrdn2hM-BLB263arZly6tLv1csj8VH39V019-WgWeEhAs6-c85SfaLs1vOHLmC0OIMq0Dw0wbuDQ4QhdgVC1_xw/s320/f4z1rc0bvh531.webp" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pictured: Me</td></tr></tbody></table>
<pictured:me><br />
</pictured:me><div><pictured:me>But I've been on a crusade of ideological purity ever since discovering the glories of old-school, game-first gaming and so it's been a hot and surly minute since I've written anything like a plot for a game. I used to do this shit all the time, to my endless frustration and the chagrin of my players. It feels like regression going back to doing what I already mastered by learning how to hate it.
Unless of course, I do the stupidest thing imaginable and un-learn ALL of my old style and re-build it from the fucking ground up OOPS I DID THAT THANKS JUSTIN
<a href="https://thealexandrian.net/wordpress/1118/roleplaying-games/three-clue-rule">(No but for real everything in my current design-thinking is Justin Alexander's fault, blame him also read his blog)</a> </pictured:me></div><div><pictured:me><br /></pictured:me></div><div><pictured:me> So I made not a plot, but a <i>scenario</i> which the players get to explore and try to solve. And to keep it fresh, it even has a "men with guns break down the door" mechanism embedded in it <a href="http://dndwithpornstars.blogspot.com/2012/02/hunterhunted.html">which I stole from another one of my inspirational designers</a>. </pictured:me></div><div><pictured:me><br /></pictured:me></div><div><pictured:me>The basics is that you have two kinda prongs; </pictured:me></div><div><pictured:me><br /></pictured:me></div><div><pictured:me> 1. The mystery. This is just a brief outline of the actual mystery and <a href="https://thealexandrian.net/wordpress/40978/roleplaying-games/random-gm-tip-using-revelation-lists">revelations</a>, NPCs, places, and other stuff that I will reference in play </pictured:me></div><div><pictured:me><br /></pictured:me></div><div><pictured:me>2. A timeline of the badguys getting what they want in stages that the whole scenario into a pressure-cooker, complete with ways that is telegraphed to the investigators.</pictured:me></div><div><pictured:me><br /></pictured:me></div><div><pictured:me>Where I'm struggling is point 2; but first, let's talk about my Cthulhu plot.
The idea came to me in a dream (after watching a bunch of Twin Peaks); "what if somebody was wanted for their own murder?" Naturally my rational mind clung onto that bit of subconscious flotsam and tried to pin it down into a sensible waking-world explanation (this by the way is an outstanding process for coming up with really cool ideas). </pictured:me></div><div><pictured:me><br /></pictured:me></div><div><pictured:me>So here's my premise; an eccentric scientist (does Lovecraft have another variety?) is snet a mysterious artifact from an even more mysterious benefactor. Using the device and his fathomless brilliance, he creates a clone of himself. Turns out its evil because of fucking course it is, and it makes another clone and escapes from the lab. He pursues, shoots, and kills clone 2, but clone 1 is still on the loose. To muddy the trail, clone 1 creates clone 3 and leaves him naked and amnesiac'd in an alleyway.</pictured:me></div><div><br /><pictured:me><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuAQp3CF6kZTUwKCRldM6Z5BJKAvDYz3iWwz2Thr4AY6VPeEaJlFqBjxM6o9wTGDEckEXekroIEN_ZgK5rkTHcwGm7t3cBbagGRMCZWSc5eZokTKW_1PuZniEjsUqetcQ98SMNQ2woLgg87VSgQcBTYi8lfa6CLCh6vXB9cFTXEb-2gY8cC6pDeAyL4g/s768/twin-peaks-bob-bad-dale.webp" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="432" data-original-width="768" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuAQp3CF6kZTUwKCRldM6Z5BJKAvDYz3iWwz2Thr4AY6VPeEaJlFqBjxM6o9wTGDEckEXekroIEN_ZgK5rkTHcwGm7t3cBbagGRMCZWSc5eZokTKW_1PuZniEjsUqetcQ98SMNQ2woLgg87VSgQcBTYi8lfa6CLCh6vXB9cFTXEb-2gY8cC6pDeAyL4g/s320/twin-peaks-bob-bad-dale.webp" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i style="text-align: left;">Because god knows *this* is way too straightforward</i><span style="text-align: left;"> </span></td></tr></tbody></table> <br /></pictured:me></div><div><pictured:me><br /></pictured:me></div><div><pictured:me>Enter the players, of course. The scientist has been pegged as the killer, but the body is a john doe. During the investigation, one of the revelations is that the john doe of course... Is the scientist. Who at this point they've encountered a minimum of one time (as either him or one of the clones) and possibly several times. The evil clone knows enough mythos magic to pull a Houdini and vanish from custody if caught early, making him a formidable villain. And the original scientist's hands aren't exactly clean either, further muddying the situation and blurring the allies with enemies in a wonderful stroke of noir-ism. </pictured:me></div><div><pictured:me><br /></pictured:me></div><div><pictured:me>Here's my issue; I was original gonna have the mi-go behind this whole thing, since fucking with human physiology is kinda their thing, but... Their entry doesn't really give one much to work with. It says they sometimes reformat favored human servants into brains in jars so they can traverse the gulfs between worlds, which is wonderful, and it says they mine rare metals on earth which is a.... Serviceable, motive, I guess. But I really don't get an otherworldly vibe out of that second motive. It's lame, reducing them to outer-space prospectors is so wretchedly mundane and just. Dull. It's boring. </pictured:me></div><div><pictured:me><br /></pictured:me></div><div><pictured:me> And what does evil clone want, anyway? I originally thought to give him a truncated lifespan like the replicants in blade runner (<i>"I want more life, fucker!"</i>) but that doesn't actually strike me an "evil" motive, really; wanting to not die is pretty relatable, after all. And it also has the problem of being just a smidge too.... Comprehensible? There's simply nothing otherwordly or uncanny about it. "I want some metal!" or "I don't want to die!" are just too human, too tidy to work.</pictured:me></div><div><br /><pictured:me><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwLT9Yo-YsaTodG7jxGGrURjJ6lLCVX3cLqPFi3IK0Ox37qN_g8eaH2iUzBCoJOM5aBimwMk2nHG4E4Y8nnvlN3VJddA7LFdYOK6hw4dVpwkGzvKwBuAdnVEtielZJSbAoXNi9BGiwDwm1XhNdVwmQLEv2bo_mYZnh_t6YE7RHJSylBj5foPGdP87-BA/s1000/tears%20in%20the%20rain.jpeg" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="563" data-original-width="1000" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwLT9Yo-YsaTodG7jxGGrURjJ6lLCVX3cLqPFi3IK0Ox37qN_g8eaH2iUzBCoJOM5aBimwMk2nHG4E4Y8nnvlN3VJddA7LFdYOK6hw4dVpwkGzvKwBuAdnVEtielZJSbAoXNi9BGiwDwm1XhNdVwmQLEv2bo_mYZnh_t6YE7RHJSylBj5foPGdP87-BA/s320/tears%20in%20the%20rain.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i style="text-align: left;">Fuckin'.... Cliche. Get back to me when you're original!</i><span style="text-align: left;"> </span></td></tr></tbody></table> <br /></pictured:me></div><div><pictured:me><br /></pictured:me></div><div><pictured:me> I guess my problem isn't "what motivates these strange beings" its... That I don't want to really know what motivates them. I want their actions to appear to be leading to.... Something. But I want that something to be vast, thematic rather than concrete. I don't want to reduce something as truly otherwordly as the mi-go or a doppelganger to sci-fi bad-guy dreck. </pictured:me></div><div><pictured:me><br /></pictured:me></div><div><pictured:me>I guess that's the line, scifi. In scifi, the fantastic is made mundane, and we grapple with it in literal terms. In a horror mystery, even the mundane is often rendered strange, and our battles are more abstract and psychological. The mi-go of stargate would want to mine metals; I want the mi-go of the mythos to abduct people and do unspeakable things to them for no clear or comprehensible purpose. </pictured:me></div><div><pictured:me><br /></pictured:me></div><div><pictured:me>So, what motivates this doppelganger? Certainly the pasty-clone just thinks he's the original, so he can be kinda comprehensible. But what about the twisted enlightenment of the alter-ego? What's his plan, what doe she want? For that matter, what the hell is motivating the original, what does he want with his newfound powers of self-multiplication? </pictured:me></div><div><pictured:me><br /></pictured:me></div><div><pictured:me> Here's what I think; I think the good doctor and his evil clone both want the same thing; they want to become sorcerers and bend the universe to their whims.
There should be a difference of outlook and method; the original ostensibly wants forbidden power to do good, while his twin wants it to do evil. Original is all about obsessive research, while clone is a sadistic serial killer. But if you strip away the courtesy and social acceptability, you have two men forged from the same raw nerve, who are brilliant and vain and ultimately want a power than people should not have. </pictured:me></div><div><pictured:me><br /></pictured:me></div><div><pictured:me> Fuck yeah, that'll do. Okay, I'm going to go prep a campaign with a nonzero chance of getting me laid.
</pictured:me></div>Joel T. Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14794521474606595295noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-873328568939844233.post-20454677070618794962022-05-19T19:55:00.001-07:002022-05-19T20:47:41.114-07:00Working on the Lores: The Silver Phoenix and Rising Sun City<p><span style="color: white;"> </span></p><p><span style="color: white;">Howdy all! </span></p><p><span style="color: white;">This isn't the follow-up I had initially planned here (life got a bit complicated and I went back to focusing on designing the actual, y'know, game). We'll conclude our discussion on Mystic Martial Arts design another time!</span></p><p><span style="color: white;">BUT MEANWHILE, I want to talk about the FINAL chapter of the game and share with ya'll some wonderfully free content!</span></p><p><span style="color: white;">Lores</span></p><p><span style="color: white;">Ah, the Lores. The Loresheet mechanics from Weapons of the Gods and Legends of the Wulin were universally praised bits of game design, allowing players the opportunity to purchase (with experience points) to dictate their entanglement with different aspects of the setting. They were a neat, novel way to introduce things like yet-unmentioned relationships, allegiances, complicated backstories, and things magic weapons and access to training. They were flexible too, most especially in LotW where you got a special pool of XP just for entangling yourself in the many factions and destinies floating around in the Jianghu.</span></p><p><span style="color: white;">I really couldn't innovate on them myself, and as I designed deeper and became more familiar with the kind of game I was making, I recognized that my approach to character competency and setting entanglement made their existing design redundant. You could, after all, simply walk over to a give faction and start causing trouble if you wanted to get involved with them. You couldn't reach back in time with this method (as Loresheets allowed you to "retcon" things that had not yet been defined), but that wasn't such a terrible loss for eschewing the additional bookkeeping that Loresheets seemed to demand.</span></p><p><span style="color: white;">Couple this design void with my own extreme distaste for meticulously defined settings, and you get my compromise design: Lores. They're more GM-facing, primarily used for creating content that players can then interact with through the medium of play. But they're "soft" in this regard, also offering a smorgasbord of options for players to flesh out and contextualize their characters.</span></p><p><span style="color: white;">Rather than being descriptive bricks of text, they follow the method found in the fantastic Yoon-Suin and present the majority of their flavor and identity through game-usable charts. There is SOME purely descriptive text, but it's brutally minimal so as to present something at once concrete in its identity yet flexible in its details.</span></p><p><span style="color: white;">Below is one I literally just finished writing prior to writing this post. I'm putting it here because the bulk of the chapter is exclusively available to backers and patrons in the living playtest document to which they have access (so they're getting their money's worth. Thanks all!). But I do want to put more of the design out there for the general public's viewing pleasure as we get so razor-close to release!</span></p><p><span style="color: white;"><br /></span></p><p><i><span style="color: white;"><b>Note</b>: The Phoenix do some pretty rotten and clandestine things, but in searching for grist for all the fun political intrigues, I realize that I've inadvertently recreated some recent regrettably stupid real-world headlines. This is, amazingly, a complete coincidence, and is in no way a condemnation for, nor support of, any moronic political talking-point whatsoever. Leave that shit out of my idiot punch game and leave the propaganda to the morally dubious psychics, okay?</span></i></p><p><span style="color: white;">...</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbOXJwC9N_9yaQ9i5Ch_zndX4jDk2J9Xee4z8SMlLpY7ejR4v2m1twy0anEJvOHMChzxFUf4C_uywQ7lzV1LOdA5JFLYL5qBXVg_5Ai34i6h4a_mQAdf1-ExOAlevoGdoXi1S1ZFm3o-CFlKflK8NVcqC99QmwiuB1ZtMjnEr4c2pEcsr5wN2AkmbcsA/s2048/e6JIsB8I.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: white;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1448" data-original-width="2048" height="283" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbOXJwC9N_9yaQ9i5Ch_zndX4jDk2J9Xee4z8SMlLpY7ejR4v2m1twy0anEJvOHMChzxFUf4C_uywQ7lzV1LOdA5JFLYL5qBXVg_5Ai34i6h4a_mQAdf1-ExOAlevoGdoXi1S1ZFm3o-CFlKflK8NVcqC99QmwiuB1ZtMjnEr4c2pEcsr5wN2AkmbcsA/w400-h283/e6JIsB8I.jpeg" width="400" /></span></a></div><span style="color: white;"><br /></span><p><span style="color: white;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="color: white;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">Rising Sun City and Chrome Galaxy Laboratory</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">In the grim final decades of the ancient world, a remarkable event changed the destiny of its greatest nation: Smiling Boy awakened and a city vanished. The cruel rulers of that nation vanished the miraculous disaster into a city-sized laboratory. Years later, their own psychic weapons emerged in the form of frail blue-skinned children to fight in the final wars.</span></span></p><p><b id="docs-internal-guid-8099b855-7fff-37c1-e6dd-1d3b775ec5bf" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: white;"><br /></span></b></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">The ultimate fate of their progenitor is unknown, but those tormented children banded together and annihilated their masters, seizing the capital city for themselves. There, they waited out the burning times and learned the forgotten ways of scholars, gentlemen and scientists, constructing a cabal who sought out their far-flung sibling psychics to induct into their ranks.</span></span></p><p><b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: white;"><br /></span></b></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">The city above remained empty and foreboding for many generations, the primitive tribes outside its borders considering it cursed. The hidden Phoenix, however, realized that they could test their theories of utopian societies with a populated city. Each elder Phoenix drew their own followers on invisible puppet strings, filling the city with hundreds of micronations, cults and guilds. Within a generation, those promising heroes of the upper tribes were being instructed in lost martial arts and inducted into the Phoenix’s ranks.</span></span></p><p><b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: white;"><br /></span></b></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">The Phoenix have cultivated an intense secrecy around themselves in their quest to craft the emerging nations of the post-apocalypse from the shadows. Their signs are everywhere; an open eye, a spiral, a hand with a flowering palm. Few know their meaning, but the Phoenix and their champions know the signs of their benefactors.</span></span></p><p><b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: white;"><br /></span></b></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">The vast megalopolis sprawls above and below, divided into three segments. The sunken city lies below the glittering waves of the ocean and is home to barge-cities, traders and fishermen. The old city bustles with barbarian life; simple and divided into countless eclectic micro-societies by the machinations and experimentation of the Phoenix. Far beneath the surface in hidden tunnels lies the city-spanning Chrome Galaxy Laboratory, secret hyperscience stronghold of the Phoenix.</span></span></p><p><b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: white;"><br /></span></b></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">The prosperity of Rising Sun City and the destruction of the Five Star Spirits has convinced the Phoenix that the time for subtlety is waning. Their dreams and philosophies direct them to overt action and their subjects have begun militarizing without their direct influence, which many regard as a sign. How will the Phoenix shape the emerging world, and can the benefit of their meddling extend past their tiny borders?</span></span></p><p><b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: white;"><br /></span></b></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="color: white;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Region Volatility</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: 5+</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="color: white;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Region Stability:</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> 9+</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">The wild experimentations of the Phoenix and the dangerous psychic residues of the past mean that their territories remain dangerous outside of tightly policed areas. But the Phoenix’s reach is long and their eyes are everywhere, so their agents and heroes are a consistent presence within the city.</span></span></p><p><b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: white;"><br /></span></b></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">Dooms</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="color: white;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Titan</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: Smiling Boy, the True Demiurge</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="color: white;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Disaster</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: The Nightmare Carnival</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="color: white;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Army</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: Yellow Turban Tech-Rebels </span></span></p><p><b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: white;"><br /></span></b></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">Master Encounter List</span></span></p><p><b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: white;"><br /></span></b></p><div align="left" dir="ltr" style="margin-left: 0pt;"><table style="border-collapse: collapse; border: none;"><colgroup><col width="48"></col><col width="644"></col></colgroup><tbody><tr style="height: 0pt;"><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">d10</span></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">Encounter</span></span></p></td></tr><tr style="height: 0pt;"><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">1</span></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="color: white;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Mutant Cannibal:</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> People-eating freaks, what’s not to love?</span></span></p></td></tr><tr style="height: 0pt;"><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">2</span></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="color: white;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Atomic Jiangshi:</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Radiation-poisoned corpses, returned to hideous life by having a single note of a world-ending song lodged in their distended, putrid chakras. Intelligent, but utterly ravenous and ruthless</span></span></p></td></tr><tr style="height: 0pt;"><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">3</span></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="color: white;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Twisted Servitor:</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Cheaply produced genetic servants; big dumb and ugly</span></span></p></td></tr><tr style="height: 0pt;"><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">4</span></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="color: white;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A.I. Ghost: </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">An computer program with an ax to grind and a body of digital matter</span></span></p></td></tr><tr style="height: 0pt;"><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">5</span></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="color: white;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Ancient Robot Servant:</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Weird, bulky, but unfailingly loyal and useful; machines from a less indecorous age</span></span></p></td></tr><tr style="height: 0pt;"><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">6</span></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="color: white;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Ancient War Robot:</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Hulking, death-puking artifact of war</span></span></p></td></tr><tr style="height: 0pt;"><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">7</span></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="color: white;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Failed Experiment:</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Horrible amalgam of man, machine, animal or something wholly and unwholesomely unique. Eat meat, lots of it</span></span></p></td></tr><tr style="height: 0pt;"><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">8</span></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="color: white;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Spirit/ Demon trapped in technological prison: </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Always want free, that would always be the worst possible scenario. Will absolutely make it worth your while</span></span></p></td></tr><tr style="height: 0pt;"><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">9</span></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="color: white;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Psychic Vision/Quest:</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> A vision, dream or other hallucination that roils over your consciousness and won’t leave until it’s dilemma has been resolved</span></span></p></td></tr><tr style="height: 0pt;"><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">10</span></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="color: white;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Ersatz Demiurge:</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> A failed god, horrifying in appearance and power. Look like giant, malformed humans with extraneous bodily growths emerging and roiling across their tortured, near-divine physique. Incalculably powerful psychics.</span></span></p></td></tr></tbody></table></div><p><b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: white;"><br /><br /></span></b></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">Region Terrain</span></span></p><p><b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: white;"><br /></span></b></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">Rising Sun City</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">Half-sunken in the ocean, Rising Sun City is still one of the most impressive megalopolis on the planet. It’s towers are largely empty as its primitive populace prefers their own constructions for homes and businesses; their horse-drawn carts travel its imperishable blacktop highways. The sunken city is home to town-barges and fleets of primitive vessels fills its waters and dive below for treasures from the ancient world.</span></span></p><p><b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: white;"><br /></span></b></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">Chrome Galaxy Laboratory</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">Accessible by secret and heavily-guarded passages, the Chrome Galaxy Laboratory is the Phoenix’s stronghold. An inverted city of glistening metal, powered by eternal Prana engines and operating with a life of its own. It has some variety of sentience, its manifold camera-eyes and pressure-locked doors responding to some edicts from within its miles of printed circuits. Its size, sentience and strangeness keep it from ever becoming familiar, and even the eldest Phoenix regard it as a mysterious and dangerous place.</span></span></p><p><b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: white;"><br /></span></b></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">Tract & Field List (10)</span></span></p><div align="left" dir="ltr" style="margin-left: 0pt;"><table style="border-collapse: collapse; border: none;"><colgroup><col width="44"></col><col width="136"></col><col width="170"></col><col width="170"></col><col width="170"></col></colgroup><tbody><tr style="height: 0pt;"><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">d10</span></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">Tract</span></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">Field 1 </span></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">Field 2</span></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">Field 3</span></span></p></td></tr><tr style="height: 0pt;"><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">1</span></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">Barge-town</span></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">Above-deck fishing village</span></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">Below-deck factory-apartments</span></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">Captain’s steering palace</span></span></p></td></tr><tr style="height: 0pt;"><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">2</span></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">Microsciety Village</span></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">Bustling, primitive town-square</span></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">Half-inhabited ancient building</span></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">Shrine to a totem god</span></span></p></td></tr><tr style="height: 0pt;"><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">3</span></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">Research Outpost</span></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">Watchtowers disguised as derelict ruins</span></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">Barracks of repurposed ancient buildings</span></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">Maximum security laboratory-complex</span></span></p></td></tr><tr style="height: 0pt;"><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">4</span></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">Hyperscience Stronghold</span></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">Blast-door and turret-defended parameter</span></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">Maze of scaffolding, catwalks, and metal corridors filled with wires</span></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">Nerve center of processors, screens and power sources</span></span></p></td></tr><tr style="height: 0pt;"><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">5</span></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">Hazard Zone</span></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">Echoing, empty streets filled with ancient concrete buildings</span></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">Massive arena filled with archaic markings and bleachers</span></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">Site of an ancient urban disaster with fallen buildings and uneven concrete ground</span></span></p></td></tr></tbody></table></div><p><b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: white;"><br /><br /><br /></span></b></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">Society List</span></span></p><div align="left" dir="ltr" style="margin-left: 0pt;"><table style="border-collapse: collapse; border: none;"><colgroup><col width="47"></col><col width="135"></col><col width="142"></col><col width="353"></col></colgroup><tbody><tr style="height: 26.0478515625pt;"><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">d10</span></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">Society Type</span></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">Leader</span></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">Status Quo/ Culture</span></span></p></td></tr><tr style="height: 0pt;"><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">1</span></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">Secret Society</span></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">Master</span></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">Guard the Phoenix’s secrets. Spy for and recruit new worthy members. Expand and deepen their knowledge. Viciously climb the internal pecking order.</span></span></p></td></tr><tr style="height: 0pt;"><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">2</span></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">Mad Science Laboratory</span></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">Chief Scientist</span></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">Expand the borders of human knowledge, no matter the cost. Deepen their personal and team knowledge and competence. Use science to bring their visions and passions into the world.</span></span></p></td></tr><tr style="height: 0pt;"><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">3</span></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">Secret Police</span></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">Commissioner</span></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">Enforce the secret decrees of the Phoenix. Silence and “vanish” enemies of the secret rulers. Spy on and monitor potential enemies within and without their society.</span></span></p></td></tr><tr style="height: 0pt;"><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">4</span></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">Ecstasy Cult</span></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">High Priest</span></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">Pursue the state of religious ecstasy. Offer libation and ceremony before their godhead. Dance and recruit in the streets.</span></span></p></td></tr><tr style="height: 0pt;"><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">5</span></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">Boating Guild Family</span></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">Matriarch/Patriarch</span></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">Practice their humble trade (fishing or a related field). Recite and look for songs and stories. Show difference and obedience towards their elders. Protect the family interests.</span></span></p></td></tr><tr style="height: 0pt;"><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">6</span></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">Psychic Commune</span></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">Seer Council</span></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">Protect their circle of brother and sister psychics. Find new psychics to bring into the fold. Share minds and memories with one another.</span></span></p></td></tr><tr style="height: 0pt;"><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">7</span></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">Traveling Merchants</span></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">Guildmaster</span></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">Seek profit through mostly legitimate means. Bargain, haggle and trade. Enjoy the well-earned fruits of your labor with wine, music and dance.</span></span></p></td></tr><tr style="height: 0pt;"><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">8</span></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">Government Bureau</span></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">Chief Administrator</span></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">Attend to and reinforce their specific function. Perform paperwork and issue licenses appropriately. Collect fees, taxes and tariffs. </span></span></p></td></tr><tr style="height: 0pt;"><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">9</span></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">Ruin Explorers</span></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">Chief Archeologist</span></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">Hunt for lost artifacts, places and knowledge. Discuss and publish their knowledge for the benefit of society. Live lives of adventure and excitement between lectures.</span></span></p></td></tr><tr style="height: 0pt;"><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">10</span></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">Librarian Cult</span></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">Chief Librarian</span></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">Protect the precious knowledge contained within their tomes. Seek and add new books to their library. Deepen their knowledge and understanding as a religious devotion.</span></span></p></td></tr></tbody></table></div><p><b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: white;"><br /><br /></span></b></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">Strengths (d10)</span></span></p><ol style="margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 0; padding-inline-start: 48px;"><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: decimal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="color: white;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Hyperscience Laboratory: </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Counts as sophisticated workshop and database when crafting anything of Magical Technology or lesser complexity.</span></span></p></li><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: decimal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="color: white;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Clean Power Plant: </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Hydroelectric, connected to d5 distant factories which pay for the power it supplies.</span></span></p></li><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: decimal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="color: white;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Hydroponic Gardens: </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Counts as a Rich Consumables Node</span></span></p></li><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: decimal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="color: white;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A.I. Guardian: </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> An A.I.Ghost, programmed to protect the area and its people</span></span></p></li><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: decimal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="color: white;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Sophisticated Infrastructure: </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Rank 4 Market with 10,000 Wealth invested in infrastructure</span></span></p></li><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: decimal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="color: white;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Cabal of Psychics: </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A group of 10 nascent psychics (as Minor Heroes) who lead and defend their society</span></span></p></li><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: decimal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="color: white;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Arceo-Library: </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A source of knowledge from the ancient world; can teach the Art of the Artisan, Courtier, and Sage and acts as a source of blueprints for Space-Age technology. </span></span></p></li><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: decimal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="color: white;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Elite Secret Police Force: </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">150 elite secret police, equipped with modern military-grade weapons, body armor and communication equipment</span></span></p></li><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: decimal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="color: white;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Secret Master Patron: </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A 7th Degree Mystic Martial Artists considers the local area their protectorate and guides its destiny from the shadows</span></span></p></li><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: decimal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="color: white;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Well-patrolled Trade Route: </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Connected to a Market of +1 Rank over the local one and patrolled by 50 well-trained and well-equipped mounted soldiers.</span></span></p></li></ol><p><b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: white;"><br /></span></b></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">Struggles (d10)</span></span></p><ol style="margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 0; padding-inline-start: 48px;"><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: decimal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="color: white;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Deadly Ruins: </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The ruins inhabited by the civilization are violently guarding a pristine natural treasure</span></span></p></li></ol><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="color: white;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">NPCs</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: A conquest-hungry prince/princess. An old but legendary warrior. A young mechanical genius, swept up in the conflict. A malfunctioning mechanical guard, grown gentle by their emergent nature. A properly functioning, malicious A.I. awakened from dormancy. An innocent and important youth, imperiled by one of the factions.</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="color: white;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Hooks</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: The conquering faction invades the area while the party is staying there. The party encounters and recognizes the legendary old mentor, who tells them of the situation and requests their aid. The party recovers a keystone artifact which grants them access to the ruins.</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="color: white;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Things</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: Bodies of innocents, sensely slain in the petty conflict. An unexpected artifact emerging from the ruin’s architecture. An ancient tapestry depicting history or prophecy.</span></span></p><ol start="2" style="margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 0; padding-inline-start: 48px;"><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: decimal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="color: white;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Powers That Be: </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The local leadership has become corrupted by greed and nepotism and their policies are turning society into a nightmare.</span></span></p></li></ol><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="color: white;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">NPCS:</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> An elder statesman, beyond reproach but rotten to the core. A politically indispensable but useless public functionary. A rabble-rouser who coasts on outrage to sway public opinion, but has no actual skills. A clear-headed commissioner who’s reaching their breaking point.</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="color: white;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Hooks:</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> The party is harassed by local authorities enforcing some ridiculous law. The party is caught in a crossfire between militarized police and violent anarchists. As the party gets involved with the society, a military coup breaks out.</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="color: white;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Things:</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> A politician fleeing with a briefcase filled with money. Riots and tactical police crackdowns. Graffiti, crime and poverty.</span></span></p><ol start="3" style="margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 0; padding-inline-start: 48px;"><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: decimal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="color: white;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Doom that Came to Utopia: </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A local population of indolent, spoiled sophisticates is threatened by a terrible new enemy.</span></span></p></li></ol><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="color: white;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">NPCS:</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Utopian leader, soft and urbane but overwhelmed by the crisis. A deadly and ruthless enemy warlord. An innocent youth who desires to be a hero but is just a liability. A frustrated Silver Phoenix struggling to save their society without revealing themselves</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="color: white;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Hooks:</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> The party witnesses the beginning of a slaughter. The party notices the Phoenix failing to fix a desperate situation without being obvious about it. The party is approached by a dying emissary from the utopians who begs the heroes to save them.</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="color: white;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Things:</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> A field of soft, dismembered utopian bodies. Casual, shocking cruelty from the invaders. A long-dormant weapon roaring into horrible life.</span></span></p><ol start="4" style="margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 0; padding-inline-start: 48px;"><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: decimal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="color: white;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Influx of Refugees: </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The local society is overwhelmed under a wave of immigrants from a troubled neighboring civilization.</span></span></p></li></ol><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="color: white;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">NPCS:</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> A leader of the refugees, strict but humanitarian. A sympathetic local leader, struggling to adapt to the situation. A scheming military leader, using local unrest to begin a xenophobic war.</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="color: white;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Hooks:</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> The party is stopped by militarized border patrol when trying to enter the area and violence breaks out. A demonstration devolves into a teargas-filled riot. The military leader attempts to recruit the Party to start their war. </span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="color: white;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Things:</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> An imposing and newly-constructed border wall. Tear gas canisters being fired into a packed crowd. Jingoistic propaganda.</span></span></p><ol start="5" style="margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 0; padding-inline-start: 48px;"><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: decimal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="color: white;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Mutagenic Plague: </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A plague breaks out that leaves its victims warped husks of their former selves.</span></span></p></li></ol><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="color: white;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">NPCS:</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> A brilliant doctor, struggling to find a cure. A panic-stricken local celebrity, making the situation worse. A cult leader who vehemently denies the plague.</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="color: white;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Hooks:</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> A member of the party or a beloved NPC contracts the illness and only the doctor has a hope of finding a cure. A place the party needs to go is locked down due to an outbreak. </span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="color: white;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Things:</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Gas masks and hazmat suits. Yellow caution tape segmenting a place into safe and unsafe zones. A deformed face, glimpsed through a dirty hospital window.</span></span></p><p><b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: white;"><br /></span></b></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">NPC generator</span></span></p><div align="left" dir="ltr" style="margin-left: 0pt;"><table style="border-collapse: collapse; border: none;"><colgroup><col width="99"></col><col width="107"></col><col width="120"></col><col width="121"></col><col width="195"></col></colgroup><tbody><tr style="height: 0pt;"><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">d100</span></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">Male Name</span></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">Female Name</span></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">Quirk</span></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">Motive</span></span></p></td></tr><tr style="height: 0pt;"><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">1-5</span></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">Shōta</span></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">Misaki</span></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">Chain-smokes</span></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">Protecting their child</span></span></p></td></tr><tr style="height: 0pt;"><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">6-10</span></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">Daiki</span></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">Ai</span></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">Wears reflective glasses</span></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">Doing their job</span></span></p></td></tr><tr style="height: 0pt;"><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">11-15</span></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">Hiroto</span></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">Aoi</span></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">Always dressed in business clothes</span></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">Gain fodder for bragging</span></span></p></td></tr><tr style="height: 0pt;"><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">16-20</span></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">Takuya</span></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">Yuina</span></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">Abbreviates words and uses acronyms</span></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">Kicks</span></span></p></td></tr><tr style="height: 0pt;"><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">21-25</span></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">Shō</span></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">Asuka</span></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">Neurotic and nebbish</span></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">Profit</span></span></p></td></tr><tr style="height: 0pt;"><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">26-30</span></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">Ren</span></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">Rin</span></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">Chews gum and blows bubbles</span></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">To get their next fix</span></span></p></td></tr><tr style="height: 0pt;"><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">31-35</span></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">Kenta</span></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">Yua</span></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">Secretly carries a gun</span></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">Free-spirited, going where the wind takes them</span></span></p></td></tr><tr style="height: 0pt;"><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">36-40</span></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">Shun</span></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">Yui</span></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">Has a weird accent</span></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">To gain knowledge of the lost world</span></span></p></td></tr><tr style="height: 0pt;"><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">41-45</span></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">Riku</span></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">Yuzuki</span></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">Swears frequently</span></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">To find their destiny</span></span></p></td></tr><tr style="height: 0pt;"><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">46-50</span></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">Yūma</span></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">Narumi</span></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">Stutters</span></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">Danger and thrills</span></span></p></td></tr><tr style="height: 0pt;"><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">51-55</span></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">Jyouji</span></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">Anna</span></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">Is impeccably groomed</span></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">Upholding the law</span></span></p></td></tr><tr style="height: 0pt;"><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">56-60</span></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">Ken</span></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">Ema</span></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">Stands too close when talking</span></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">Breaking the rules</span></span></p></td></tr><tr style="height: 0pt;"><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">61-65</span></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">Noa</span></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">Nina</span></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">Always muttering under their breath</span></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">Secretly a serial killer</span></span></p></td></tr><tr style="height: 21pt;"><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">66-70</span></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">Niko</span></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">An</span></span></p></td><td rowspan="2" style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">Works as a government official</span></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">To become important</span></span></p></td></tr><tr style="height: 21pt;"><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">71-75</span></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">Yugo</span></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">Naomi</span></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">To gain reward without responsibility</span></span></p></td></tr><tr style="height: 21pt;"><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">76-80</span></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">Asa</span></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">Mei</span></span></p></td><td rowspan="2" style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><span style="color: white;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">Secretly a psychic</span></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">Find an outlet for their pain</span></span></p></td></tr><tr style="height: 21pt;"><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">81-85</span></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">Aran</span></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">Hana</span></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">Find peace</span></span></p></td></tr><tr style="height: 21pt;"><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">86-90</span></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">Dan</span></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">Kairi</span></span></p></td><td rowspan="3" style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">Secret police member</span></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">Serve their distant masters</span></span></p></td></tr><tr style="height: 21pt;"><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">91-95</span></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">Jin</span></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">Mari</span></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">Uncover the Phoenix’s conspiracy</span></span></p></td></tr><tr style="height: 21pt;"><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">96-100</span></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">Reon</span></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">Ami</span></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">Grow their cult of personality</span></span></p></td></tr></tbody></table></div><p><b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: white;"><br /><br /></span></b></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">Archeotech Trinket</span></span></p><div align="left" dir="ltr" style="margin-left: 0pt;"><table style="border-collapse: collapse; border: none;"><colgroup><col width="61"></col><col width="207"></col><col width="196"></col><col width="210"></col></colgroup><tbody><tr style="height: 26.0478515625pt;"><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">d10</span></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">Appearance</span></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">Activated by</span></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">Effect</span></span></p></td></tr><tr style="height: 21pt;"><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">1</span></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">Crystal orb in circuitry</span></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">A secret command word in a dead language</span></span></p></td><td rowspan="2" style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><span style="color: white;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">Filters an person-sized orb of air (of Rank4 or less Hazard) so that it is breathable and pure</span></span></p></td></tr><tr style="height: 21pt;"><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">2</span></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">Large and awkward digital watch</span></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">A hidden switch</span></span></p></td></tr><tr style="height: 21pt;"><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">3</span></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">Glove made of inflexible-looking plastic</span></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">A specific sustained note of sound</span></span></p></td><td rowspan="2" style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><span style="color: white;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">Senses Prana Flare within the same Tract like a compass</span></span></p></td></tr><tr style="height: 21pt;"><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">4</span></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">Metal bracelet bristling with mechanical nodes</span></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">When cooled below freezing</span></span></p></td></tr><tr style="height: 21pt;"><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">5</span></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">Small glittering metal and glass ring</span></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">When heated over water’s boiling point</span></span></p></td><td rowspan="2" style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">Shines a bright light unidirectionally</span></span></p></td></tr><tr style="height: 21pt;"><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">6</span></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">Weird spiral of metal and plastic</span></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">When electrocuted</span></span></p></td></tr><tr style="height: 0pt;"><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">7</span></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">Mirrored disk</span></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">When struck with metal</span></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><span style="color: white;"><br /></span></td></tr><tr style="height: 21pt;"><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">8</span></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">Prismatic amulet with visible circuitry</span></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">When drenched with liquid</span></span></p></td><td rowspan="2" style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">Launches a Ranged, Rank 2 Laser 1/round</span></span></p></td></tr><tr style="height: 21pt;"><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">9</span></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">Crown of artfully shaped green metal</span></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">When a certain image is held in mind by the wielder</span></span></p></td></tr><tr style="height: 0pt;"><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">10</span></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">Smooth metal rod with three inviting buttons</span></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">A complex series of hand and finger movements across its surface</span></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">Emits a loud, directed sound (Rank 4 Hazard or the target must clap both hands over their ears)</span></span></p></td></tr></tbody></table></div><p><b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: white;"><br /><br /></span></b></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">Seeds</span></span></p><p><b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: white;"><br /></span></b></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">Integrating the Silver Phoenix into an Ongoing Campaign</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">The Phoenix have been getting their sticky fingers into the entire martial world over the last decade, and their agents are cropping up everywhere. Infiltration and manipulation is the name of the game. To integrate them into any ongoing campaign outside their borders, create a Secret Plot and reveal that they’ve been there the entire time.</span></span></p><p><b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: white;"><br /></span></b></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">Secret Plots</span></span></p><p></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;"><span style="display: inline-block; position: relative; width: 100px;"></span></span></span></p><p></p><div align="left" dir="ltr" style="margin-left: 0pt;"><table style="border-collapse: collapse; border: none;"><colgroup><col width="61"></col><col width="207"></col><col width="196"></col><col width="210"></col></colgroup><tbody><tr style="height: 26.0478515625pt;"><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">d6</span></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">The Plot</span></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">Current Methods</span></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">Assets</span></span></p></td></tr><tr style="height: 0pt;"><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">1</span></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">Insinuate societal influencers into key organizations</span></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">Mind-control and brainwash existing citizens to use as pawns</span></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">A cultural tour-de-force that bends opinion to their advantage</span></span></p></td></tr><tr style="height: 0pt;"><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">2</span></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">Instal a puppet government</span></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">Use well-placed bribes and threats from the shadows</span></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">A law-maker agent that creates or changes one law per Campaign Arc</span></span></p></td></tr><tr style="height: 0pt;"><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">3</span></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">Eliminate/discredit a troublesome person of interest</span></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">Use hired proxies to hide motive and identity</span></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">A 3rd degree Mystic Martial Artists assassin</span></span></p></td></tr><tr style="height: 0pt;"><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">4</span></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">Use the target society to wage war on an enemy</span></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">Propaganda and false-flag campaigns</span></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">Control of the second-highest Rank Domain Action through a puppet official</span></span></p></td></tr><tr style="height: 0pt;"><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">5</span></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">Weaken the cohesion of the targeted society</span></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">Sabotage and instigating social unrest and riots</span></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">A Platoon of 200 sleeper agents</span></span></p></td></tr><tr style="height: 0pt;"><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">6</span></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">Make certain values mainstream in the culture</span></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">Persuasive literature and well-trained sleeper agents that promote it</span></span></p></td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1pt; border-left: solid #000000 1pt; border-right: solid #000000 1pt; border-top: solid #000000 1pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">A 300-person, flourishing subculture of Populace that shares identical values</span></span></p></td></tr></tbody></table></div><p><span style="color: white;"><br /></span></p><p><br /></p>Joel T. Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14794521474606595295noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-873328568939844233.post-70776318900402402802021-09-05T13:10:00.000-07:002021-09-05T13:10:31.823-07:00Making a Kung-Fu style in Lone Wolf Fists PART 1<p> </p><p>Development on Lone Wolf Fists proceeds apace: just put a bow on the GM chapter this week. For those of you keeping score at home: that gives us the holy trinity of Rules, Character Creation and Process that you need to run campaigns. If you'd like access to those rules and you aren't already, drop me two monthly dollars american and you can start that home game I like to imagine you've been planning these last few years.</p><p><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="https://www.patreon.com/FiveEmperors?fan_landing=true"><img border="0" data-original-height="908" data-original-width="1405" height="259" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGIXmK8e5PMjdVQ1T2McEI_CTs-IBfEuiuJgbn8QuP90sJghz66t9gwQAZ0PeyuK0MssCf4oWTmXcvHV4cLLH0quhOqmXRDETpmToJ7MeUPsbdf66eS3M3ORhyezEH4fogxVWCuUnf6Pbk/w400-h259/p-p-plugmotherfuckers.PNG" width="400" /></a></span></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.patreon.com/FiveEmperors?fan_landing=true">Yeah it's a plug. Don't judge me, this is how I afford art!</a></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p>As the process for making this game evolves, I've found that I'm developing something of a technique for making new Kung-Fu styles. This is exciting for me, because I feel like the lifeblood of this game is going to be an ever-increasing library of styles both official and guerrilla. Up til now I've struggled to hammer down anything that's readily repeatable by others for making styles; some principles have emerged, though, in this latest musing that I think will further demystify style creation.</p><p><b>Step 1: Lead with inspiration</b></p><p>There are three images that got stuck in my brain recently. In no particular order:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz4ZQng4bg_IUqiyxtaptsa4F0hBCji_T7BQf3fXUJsP2P_PvSNIrwtSWACJzrDlq9gEI2HePgY7IyNiOJB0DiUuiVf4-1kblRvFb12Vi4dpApjSZdiRjTVvbMnEcMsIi2VqhAwgasXwD7/s1920/1_HyBNgev8nJFYvRtNEw50hQ.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1920" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz4ZQng4bg_IUqiyxtaptsa4F0hBCji_T7BQf3fXUJsP2P_PvSNIrwtSWACJzrDlq9gEI2HePgY7IyNiOJB0DiUuiVf4-1kblRvFb12Vi4dpApjSZdiRjTVvbMnEcMsIi2VqhAwgasXwD7/s320/1_HyBNgev8nJFYvRtNEw50hQ.png" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZkWDJVn0lM7HipwhoAyNPcujs5A9rXuFd5XRQKSq0yWra7Qh-QbkT2U0V3VGrRkiDWv5oABwz8ju8Qn_n_0pjNmfwuH1q3jM8eDj2E_mrY62KBnYqGmK_x64DZItyvEd-jQ3jLDkAwj1O/s388/3379.hq.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="313" data-original-width="388" height="258" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZkWDJVn0lM7HipwhoAyNPcujs5A9rXuFd5XRQKSq0yWra7Qh-QbkT2U0V3VGrRkiDWv5oABwz8ju8Qn_n_0pjNmfwuH1q3jM8eDj2E_mrY62KBnYqGmK_x64DZItyvEd-jQ3jLDkAwj1O/s320/3379.hq.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfcbIfEE1TJ-EnfjFb6DPHo8ecvJKcHEKUTxgu9jRtT0TUT98ITk_2BC19OppO8l7p5to_xzv_Sh_AoD4-YprvP-eAInflTt7SZDfnDT1iBZYOffK-OfLhukziAvpxs15yMyqsMNO2sNN0/s1136/cool+shield.PNG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="588" data-original-width="1136" height="166" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfcbIfEE1TJ-EnfjFb6DPHo8ecvJKcHEKUTxgu9jRtT0TUT98ITk_2BC19OppO8l7p5to_xzv_Sh_AoD4-YprvP-eAInflTt7SZDfnDT1iBZYOffK-OfLhukziAvpxs15yMyqsMNO2sNN0/s320/cool+shield.PNG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjObmrYXRP6crHp4NJGsxyNfU8ZS3jREaCDB8r16MQGViMXm40fh4jT2spI0qYQ5HihDniT_uzCD5fjIoXpgJRVj650AUNIfH7nwj3jpTJWsi8FqWXz86bQGE9F32F92GFTiy5ozuSOPHyC/s900/Lordh.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="620" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjObmrYXRP6crHp4NJGsxyNfU8ZS3jREaCDB8r16MQGViMXm40fh4jT2spI0qYQ5HihDniT_uzCD5fjIoXpgJRVj650AUNIfH7nwj3jpTJWsi8FqWXz86bQGE9F32F92GFTiy5ozuSOPHyC/s320/Lordh.jpg" width="220" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5kEFYTSTYUGeGDBxaAs1b2cBW0y_5vlV8p1QaZUx_gs8YpAItJm-WWZuex75m_4zfejyHVe0Edbmn0xJVkIM914w6GO1pGZ-TvECLgw7UZ4mg6p2ECV-p4atguenO_NZOTnY9lxIm4KYO/s1000/Palm_Wave_Blaster.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="562" data-original-width="1000" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5kEFYTSTYUGeGDBxaAs1b2cBW0y_5vlV8p1QaZUx_gs8YpAItJm-WWZuex75m_4zfejyHVe0Edbmn0xJVkIM914w6GO1pGZ-TvECLgw7UZ4mg6p2ECV-p4atguenO_NZOTnY9lxIm4KYO/s320/Palm_Wave_Blaster.png" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p>I wasn't, in other words, considering an unfulfilled tactical niche or pondering some high-minded trinket of untapped rules space. I had cool images in my head and I realized the reason they were stuck there was because I hadn't put them in the game yet.</p><p>I think that's a really important philosophical truism of design for this game: it's vision-first, mechanics-after. Its real, real easy to bust this game; just throw the cost/reward equation for a Technique and it's a "one-true-way" and sucks. You have to come to come to the system with good intentions; you have to come to it trying to bring something awesome into it. If you design to break it, it's fucked. </p><p>That was revelatory. To prevent the rules-first design that plagues games like Pathfinder, you just can't start with rules. You've got to start with what a soulless business-type would call a "creative vision" but I'll have no such charity for: you've gotta start with a <i>kickass idea.</i></p><p>In this case, my idea was "Man, wouldn't it be cool for <i>those five things</i> to be in a style?"</p><p><b>Step 2: Write the moves that leap out at you</b></p><p>Continuing with this unintuitive "stream of consciousness" design, I also discovered that you can't look at the grid of necessary Techniques that comprise a style and try to fill in the blanks. That way lies fucking boredom; box-ticking and space-filling and mechanics-first decision making. </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhD5p8TpuIeJw2MaBwqsJdKEMbXLHRsvUJVWA1BNKg9EgTexz4rkt18vBEqvhYL29gMUexNcjxOifzYev3gYd79h3MH6sqPSeC_TzTnjeFyZJYi3rGscQrd6lMBIzufHF5lAerF2SfsZ-Li/s1523/Martial+Arts+Template.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="865" data-original-width="1523" height="365" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhD5p8TpuIeJw2MaBwqsJdKEMbXLHRsvUJVWA1BNKg9EgTexz4rkt18vBEqvhYL29gMUexNcjxOifzYev3gYd79h3MH6sqPSeC_TzTnjeFyZJYi3rGscQrd6lMBIzufHF5lAerF2SfsZ-Li/w640-h365/Martial+Arts+Template.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>This thing, which I just created to tell you to ignore it</i><br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table>Instead, I find that trying to articulate those images into the rules was the better doorway. You can think of them in terms of tiers later; getting the big ideas on paper is the more important thing at this stage.<div><br /></div><div>So like, that kickass invisible shield thing that Goku is doing in image 3 up there; there's actually two ways to articulate that which immediately sprung to mind when I started writing. The first is a kai shout that has a tangible effect; something kinetic like breaking rocks and hurling people away. The second is that incredible image of attacks smashing harmlessly against an unseen bubble or repellant force. From there it was pretty easy to take the tools of Technique and cobble together some brief notes:</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Kai shout:</b> scream big, pushes and scares motherfuckers. Breaks stuff</div><div><b>Invisible energy shield:</b> deflects ranged attacks, energy, environmental effect </div><div><br /></div><div>The scream-beam and lil' V's laser-hand, more specifically a chaotic version that you can "spill" if it fucks up, inspired to the following notes:</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Power puke:</b> energy-projectile, no limbs required (yes I stole this name from Primal Roar, no I am not ashamed)</div><div><b>Power stream:</b> Kamehameha if you use 2 hands, but you can do it with 1 hand and risk losing control of it</div><div><br /></div><div>Muscly Maraxus and the relatively tiny Lord Humongous make me want to make Power the focus of this emerging style. Also, I want a power that gets you swole af:</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Boring power thing: </b>Cheap, boosts power, maybe also a grab</div><div><b>Swole AF:</b> Boost your Effortless Power, gives you Ferocity, makes you just huge as shit</div><div><br /></div><div>Man, we got six whole Technique-seeds there! And there's an implication of more. </div><div><br /></div><div><b>Step 3: Uhhhhhh</b></div><div><br /></div><div>Yeah this step was kind've... Obscure. I just wrote some stuff that felt right for the Supreme and a few Novice Techs. I don't really remember the chemistry for it, so apologies (I was at work: these are literally on a post-it note).</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-1abOx92OOIeMo9FBmKi_cKh1aOdh98LIoQdXHYJ4AcKU-PYtXM_dZUxyaBAXezsklttudFi2Mi0Dea_jUId-1qLnfyiQoXZXUF29eQio_6DhGSYmpti9e5gwN1dRlpm9KeuNHkD4brBK/s816/240758517_1188246608247833_2545528687612997063_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="816" data-original-width="608" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-1abOx92OOIeMo9FBmKi_cKh1aOdh98LIoQdXHYJ4AcKU-PYtXM_dZUxyaBAXezsklttudFi2Mi0Dea_jUId-1qLnfyiQoXZXUF29eQio_6DhGSYmpti9e5gwN1dRlpm9KeuNHkD4brBK/s320/240758517_1188246608247833_2545528687612997063_n.jpg" width="238" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pictured: inspiration?<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div>I THINK.... Maybe, that I was trying to box-tick at this point. Fill up that chart I told you to ignore. And Maybe that's good for this step. Actually, fuck it, do-over:</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Actual Step 3: Okay fill in the boxes, fine</b></div><div><br /></div><div>I knew I made this for a reason<br /><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnVvBkZPCmuNOTBskAUOUTpjnhFmlh_-uT5G05Dq_LDTtgaCrxh6lQXBPArHHX9Layp7azKdUAdjGy5UuKlEvc3Z4cjz7eLVh_a3XsQhb3xucuRQnzaM4XBB6Ve9iZS9VIriP63EMEPiV2/s1523/Martial+Arts+Template.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="865" data-original-width="1523" height="365" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnVvBkZPCmuNOTBskAUOUTpjnhFmlh_-uT5G05Dq_LDTtgaCrxh6lQXBPArHHX9Layp7azKdUAdjGy5UuKlEvc3Z4cjz7eLVh_a3XsQhb3xucuRQnzaM4XBB6Ve9iZS9VIriP63EMEPiV2/w640-h365/Martial+Arts+Template.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I'M BACK, MOTHERFUCKERS</td></tr></tbody></table><br /></div><div>Now you can take that stuff from Step 2 and find a place that feels right for it. The breakdown is kinda like:</div><div><br /></div><div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><b>Forms</b> are tricks and specialties of the non-magic part of the style: IE; crane style would be kicks, drunk monkey would have some rolls or feints.</li><li><b>Novice</b> techs are the signature power moves or a fighting style; Guile's sonic boom, Scorpion's rope-dart-grab, Ryu's hadoken. Flashy but quick and easy to pull off, they're staples of the style.</li><li><b>Expert </b>Techniques are special power moves, the "Hissatsu waza", the fucking Kamehameha waves and special-beam-mistranslation-cannons and such that feel awesome to pull off and horrifying to defend against.</li><li><b>Master </b>level are those unfair "boss only" bullshit moves that are way too powerful for puny, pathetic PCs to get their grubby mitts on. Tessai's stone-skin technique, Goku's Kioken, or literally anything that cheesy bitch Amakusa throws at you in the first Samurai Shodown.</li></ul><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/f0ziSZM2T8Q" width="320" youtube-src-id="f0ziSZM2T8Q"></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Fuck you fuck you fuck you ffffffFFFFUCK YOUUUUU</i></div><br /><div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><b>Supreme </b>Techniques are less kung-fu and more nuclear missile. They don't so much end fights as they end civilizations. Alternatively, they make you into some kind of god. The Spirit bomb/Genki Dhama, Genma's ludicrous immortality, that last comsic breath that wiped out NeoTokyo in Akira, that kind of shit.</li></ul><div>So in this step, you can compare what you've written down to those categories and fill in the boxes. It's also a good time to put some character into the less flashy but more functional parts of the style; throwing a punch or kick can feel a lot different depending on how you characterize it, and even small changes at the small scale make the moves feel really distinct.</div></div></div><div><br /></div><div>So for the big boom, I think a punch that levels mountains works:</div><div><b>Fist of God:</b> Just a big motherfuckin' punch</div><div><br /></div><div>And some of the Novice-levels should be savage:</div><div><b>Jaw-Breaking Kick</b></div><div><b>Gut-Buster Punch</b></div><div><b>Bone-Ripper Grip</b></div><div><b>Bullet-Catching Finger</b></div><div>(Names are enough for right now; the full Techniques won't be much more complex than all the others)</div><div><br /></div><div>Then we can arrange these space-fillers with those more characterful moves, and we wind up with something sexy like this:</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggV7Qz6rE9ZNVUueU1sXOan5Y5F9dynKducoBO8JvCINHIVrK7o_a8hvUWVc6d-BM-9ddiEnyIQiDitUgwOjY7UL2Rw5vnhbciJhkSxtoEkScJuyjV1WgHbe9Ska2smWRZ1eZzgProlj3Q/s1523/Chaos+Style+1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="865" data-original-width="1523" height="364" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggV7Qz6rE9ZNVUueU1sXOan5Y5F9dynKducoBO8JvCINHIVrK7o_a8hvUWVc6d-BM-9ddiEnyIQiDitUgwOjY7UL2Rw5vnhbciJhkSxtoEkScJuyjV1WgHbe9Ska2smWRZ1eZzgProlj3Q/w640-h364/Chaos+Style+1.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Look at this sexy beast</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div>Now THAT has the makings of a proper LWF style!</div><div><br /></div><div><b>NEXT TIME</b></div><div><br /></div><div>I'm gonna cut this short, because the next bit is both work-intensive and design-intensive. I'm also gonna discuss where I run into the majority of issues with taking a style from inspiration to reality, so it will take a bit of writing to do some justice. Until then, excelsior!<br /><div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQfie0HxAIr2PxapJq7wka8gMvgZs_4Syk5xIgmQIwmenO9luNM1_SDhua9VoimVBizk4kMoGFpCANOZpDZSVqsCzdWe2t7DKcI2YPhtqGRXCK1Y-LLa_Lr-d9-1utmbSgJ2lv4SNMTRVh/s600/4ddb349345a6377085d8eb6a2ccd9d2d165d31fa2637ed58dc1c4c2bcb12ee46.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="478" data-original-width="600" height="319" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQfie0HxAIr2PxapJq7wka8gMvgZs_4Syk5xIgmQIwmenO9luNM1_SDhua9VoimVBizk4kMoGFpCANOZpDZSVqsCzdWe2t7DKcI2YPhtqGRXCK1Y-LLa_Lr-d9-1utmbSgJ2lv4SNMTRVh/w400-h319/4ddb349345a6377085d8eb6a2ccd9d2d165d31fa2637ed58dc1c4c2bcb12ee46.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p></div></div>Joel T. Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14794521474606595295noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-873328568939844233.post-6056982177452615802020-12-30T15:44:00.005-08:002021-09-02T20:41:51.429-07:00The need for LoresheetsBefore I begin: <a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/lonewolffists/tian-shang-lone-wolf-fists-0">Kickstarter! Woo!</a><a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/lonewolffists/tian-shang-lone-wolf-fists-0"></a><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/lonewolffists/tian-shang-lone-wolf-fists-0"></a><a href="https://ksr-ugc.imgix.net/assets/031/626/220/abb11658a74c9f6964d554673b538834_original.jpg?ixlib=rb-2.1.0&crop=faces&w=1024&h=576&fit=crop&v=1606951697&auto=format&frame=1&q=92&s=f0b75ae1d2326b4a6fc3ec9a5bb98474" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="800" src="https://ksr-ugc.imgix.net/assets/031/626/220/abb11658a74c9f6964d554673b538834_original.jpg?ixlib=rb-2.1.0&crop=faces&w=1024&h=576&fit=crop&v=1606951697&auto=format&frame=1&q=92&s=f0b75ae1d2326b4a6fc3ec9a5bb98474" width="320" /></a></div>
As of the time of this post, we've blown through our funding goal by nearly double AND there's still a week to grab your copy of the game. <a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/lonewolffists/tian-shang-lone-wolf-fists-0">Get to, you fantastic mutants! </a><div><br /></div><div> So okay, I wanted to talk about <b>Loresheets </b>today. I've made a lot of fans of Legends of the Wulin nervous with my cavalier and sometimes dismissive attitude towards them. I think there's this notion that I don't "get" them or that I don't care about them and I want to address that. </div><div><br /></div><div>Because the people that love loresheets do so for a reason, and I feel like they deserve to have their concerns answered. </div><div><br /></div><div><b>The state of roleplaying games during the design of Legends of the Wulin</b> </div><div><br /></div><div>So Legends is a surprisingly old game. I ordered my copy before I became a father, a small lifetime ago. In the early 2010's, tabletop roleplaying games were largely defined by the 3rd-edition era of D&D gamemasters and the style of game mastery that they either adopted, or the burgeoning movement against that style that embraced a radical, authorial style player-agency, what came to be known as storygaming. </div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/c_fill,f_auto,fl_progressive,g_center,h_675,pg_1,q_80,w_1200/ff7unmkblsl42y7aaty3.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="800" height="180" src="https://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/c_fill,f_auto,fl_progressive,g_center,h_675,pg_1,q_80,w_1200/ff7unmkblsl42y7aaty3.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pic.... Unrelated?</td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>It's important to understand that the one shaped the other; storygame conceits were an answer to a shabby, frustrating style of Game Mastery that emerged from the 3rd-edition era of design, a style I'll call "Scripted" style. </div><div><br /></div><div> <b>Scripted Style GMing</b> </div><div><br /></div><div>Scripted style works thus: You, as the GM, prep a short script of events for your players to follow. Typically locations involved in the script are detailed, as well as any adversaries or NPCs. </div><div><br /></div><div>Importantly, the ending of this script assumes that the characters succeed and the game session(s) end, allowing the next script of the game to be prepped between arcs. </div><div><br /></div><div>Long-time fans of the blog will doubtless note how much this diverges from the<a href="https://www.runagame.net/2014/03/the-hex-crawl.html"> more prep-intensive "crawl" style of gaming that I advocate</a>, and have also been thoroughly inundated by my invective to <a href="https://thealexandrian.net/wordpress/4147/roleplaying-games/dont-prep-plots">prep situations, not plots</a>, so you have a strong counterpoint of comparison that throws both the benefits and weaknesses of this style into sharp relief. </div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://geekandsundry.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/glibness.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="200" data-original-width="546" src="http://geekandsundry.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/glibness.png" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This doesn't have anything to do with the article. I just hate D&D 3rd ed's bluff mechanic</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><br /></div><div>However, its important to note, that a massive volume of literature in this era of gaming assumed that this was the <i>only </i>or at least <i>default </i>style of how roleplaying games were run, and that the majority of GMs did this exact thing. This assumption was not only reinforced, but propagated by modules and GM advice assuming and teaching this as the "way it's done"<br /></div><div><br /></div><div>A ton of gaming culture for ttrpgs is bedrocked in the assumptions of the Scripted Style, even to the point of defining players as "good" or "bad" based on how well they follow the script (i.e.: "behave"). Or how skilled a GM is when they make the structure of this script invisible to players, so as to make an imaginary agency for them and let them feel (but never be) empowered to make their own decisions with consequences for the game.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b>Problems with the scripted style</b></div><div><br /></div><div>Many, many irritating issues arise when you run a game in this style. Players going off-script is a huge problem, as GMs in this style lack the tools to create a wider world, so exploration is an enemy to the nature of this prep style. Events as well must be adhered to, so player death and greater-than-predicted-success both effectively ruin this fragile causality, requiring either the abandonment of all prep from the GM or "cat-herding" the outcomes back within the original script's purview somehow. Even unexpected events, such as "random encounters", essentially upset the fundamental pacing of the game's cadence and so are undesirable, as they introduce "noise" to the game's rhythm.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://i.pinimg.com/originals/06/20/a4/0620a44446ef72f93c207f83bf0dfa70.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="564" data-original-width="750" height="301" src="https://i.pinimg.com/originals/06/20/a4/0620a44446ef72f93c207f83bf0dfa70.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div><div>Bizarrely, the elements that fought must fiercely against this style of GMing are fundamental to the older D&D style Crawl experience, to the point where most gamers were utterly baffled by their inclusion. What's the point of a "random encounter" in a script? It seems like a non-scripted, potentially disruptive fight scene barging into an otherwise carefully tailored experience. Why were HP totals so low, monsters so deadly, saves a do-or-die affair? Player death was undesirable; they're supposed to WIN at the end of the script, dammit! What's with all the artificiality of hexes and underground dungeons; aren't the walls of the script, and the techniques for getting players back on-track, wall enough?</div><div><br /></div><div><b>A Storyteller System for a Scripted Style</b></div><div><br /></div><div>A style of games that was an early contemporary of this movement was White Wolf's Storytelling system, a much more accommodating system for the style. </div><div><br /></div><div>Storyteller had simpler, non-level stats, allowing characters to assume a more specific (but importantly, simplistically defined) shape. It had a big, rich, believable above-ground setting, based in the familiar modern world (so you didn't need an arcane knowledge of pre-industrial society to freestyle when your players went off-script). It had big power players that could scare your players into following your scripts. </div><div><br /></div><div>And vitally, it was socially-focused, not goal-focused: you never got the treasure and leveled up. You simply dug yourself deeper into the font of future scripts by getting closer to the seat of power in your monster society.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.riotamot.com/vampire/comic/201.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="792" data-original-width="560" height="400" src="http://www.riotamot.com/vampire/comic/201.jpg" width="283" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div><div>Where D&D's structure chaffed at Scripted style, Storyteller thrived.</div><div><br /></div><div>But the way in which it thrived is important to note here. Players were bullied in ST systems; the monsters and leaders of the factions were unfairly, impossibly difficult to vanquish. Travel in sunlight was a death-sentence to vampires, social interaction with the human world impossible for Werewolves, etc. You were chained into a small box of easily-controlled places and scripts and annihilated or steeply punished for deviating, losing life, limb, sanity or soul if you pushed too hard against the Script's boundaries.</div><div><br /></div><div>And worse, if you DID manage to succeed, despite those obstacles? The game was over. If you beat the Wyrm, you had nothing further to do as a Werewolf. If you Diablerized the Prince of the city, then what? The game literally devolved into ennui; there was simply no drama if you weren't the victim, or the doomed hero. It simply did not know what to do with success.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Storygames for Story Scripts</b></div><div><br /></div><div>The counter-movement to these systems and their failings posited a radical solution to the problem of restrictive, de-protagonizing, and frustrating scripts: what if the players, as well as the GM, got to edit the script?</div><div><br /></div><div>The Storygame movement was born out of this radical idea. Games began to get Meta, with players being offered limited resources that they could use to change the player-GM power dynamic. Not merely changing the things their character did, but the circumstances within the game world itself. They were now co-authors, and the game was a script which everyone suddenly had the power to edit.</div><div><br /></div><div>An important aspect of this is that this movement was attempting to answer a problem <i>introduced by the adoption of a script in the first place</i>. The restrictions and frustrations of being funneled, herded and vetoed in favor of a pre-written set of events and outcome produced a paradigm in which any power less than authorial control was a joke. </div><div><br /></div><div>The techniques used by Script-GMs undermined the agency of any player actions, to the point that only forcing co-control over the meta-level script had any real power to grant agency to players.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>A Renaissance of Crawls</b></div><div><br /></div><div>The frustrating element of this for me, as a GM that never uses this style, is that it is both highly effective in it's goals, and utterly redundant in any other circumstance. Reason being, we've had another movement take place in the wake of the Storygame revolution that taught us the value of the original style of GMing; namely the Arnesian, Gygaxian style of "Playing to find out what happens" or, more contemporarily, the 'Crawl style.</div><div><br /></div><div>And although I COULD go on about how 'Crawl style solves the issues of Scripted style.... Like, completely, I'd rather remind you all that Egoraptor already did that for me. </div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/XOC3vixnj_0" width="320" youtube-src-id="XOC3vixnj_0"></iframe></div><br /><div>Basically it's this: If, in the Ocarina of Time, the PROBLEM with the script is that it invades the gameplay and forces you into situations and outcomes that both run counter to the logic of the game world AND remove your freedom to choose how and when you access the game's content, the SOLUTION could reasonably be:</div><div><br /></div><div><b>(A) For Storygame style: </b>Allow the player a "Mario-Maker-Esque" level of control over the programming of the game, so that they can co-craft the experience they want to play</div><div><br /></div><div>OR it could reasonably be:</div><div><br /></div><div><b>(B) For the 'Crawl style:</b> Just toss the damned script and let players do what they want.</div><div><br /></div><div>And although BOTH are valid and fun solutions to the problem, for the majority of players, the more desirable and elegant solution is B.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Loresheets and what they were trying to do</b></div><div><br /></div><div>So let's come back, finally, to Loresheets</div><div><br /></div><div>What did they do? Why was that desirable?</div><div><br /></div><div>The exact function of a Loresheet was thus: There was some setting material, stories and area, character and situation descriptions, which were real and true elements of the setting of Legends of the Wulin. They had costs associated with different elements, which could be paid in XP by the players to "make it relevant" to the game.</div><div><br /></div><div>In other words, they were an appeal to player agency via a co-opting and seizure of GM game-narrative authority. They were answering the issue of "wanting something cool in the setting to be important in the game" by giving players a minor GM role in introducing it and ensuring it's ongoing inclusion in the framework of an assumed game-script.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdkZaCTZJzdqcDIQVRT-Pbep3CiIM28nZqwJ17A0IeWha1pVvrkflCKq1BJ1u9ehqP7wvGMxLHhXDdrDnixash16KFxIc_cxhSZt5CVs33QX8iZ6j1-0lRvJCHgsBPfcgryQhwruKkvLS3/s512/med.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="512" data-original-width="365" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdkZaCTZJzdqcDIQVRT-Pbep3CiIM28nZqwJ17A0IeWha1pVvrkflCKq1BJ1u9ehqP7wvGMxLHhXDdrDnixash16KFxIc_cxhSZt5CVs33QX8iZ6j1-0lRvJCHgsBPfcgryQhwruKkvLS3/w285-h400/med.jpg" width="285" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>What happens to the need for this player-ability, for this expenditure of XP to make a game element script-relevant, when we simply omit the script? What we're left with is an alternative, meta-resource approach to getting an in-game element; a secondary, undesirable venue, when you as a player have the capacity, guaranteed from your avatar-strength, to simply go to where that element is and interact with it?</div><div><br /></div><div>It is, in other words, essentially vestigial. Players access the setting content by... Well, playing the game. You don't need to edit the script; there isn't one to edit. There's just content, and the obstacles to that content can be overcome within the framework of a player's in-game capabilities.</div><div><br /></div><div>Okay, so... What do we do with Loresheets, then? How can we keep this beloved piece of game design in the game, when half of it's function, the unique and innovative half, is redundant to the point of pointlessness?</div><div><br /></div><div><b>The core use of Loresheet: Functional Fluff</b></div><div><br /></div><div>When we return to the need being fulfilled by Loresheets, we find that abandoning Scripted style doesn't completely answer the problem they're trying to solve. Although we're giving players agency by allowing them to pursue game-relevancy by in-game means, we've not got any meaningful setting in which they can do that.</div><div><br /></div><div>Writing setting will solve part of that problem, but consider the issue of players going "off-script" when you have a robust setting; we still don't fundamentally know, as GMs, what to do to translate the prose of that setting ("fluff" as it's known) into interactable game-elements. We have no translator between instruction manual and game level. Functionally, the knowledge that there's a dungeon somewhere, even a really cool one, does not give us the blueprint of that dungeon nor instruct us in the techniques of dungeoncrawling.</div><div><br /></div><div>Now the processes of the game gives GMs the tools they need to run a robust setting, so we have two parts of the solution within the framework of the rules. But, we're still missing that essential bridge which translates setting into those explorable game-elements.</div><div><br /></div><div>So there's still a functional element of Loresheets that needs to be served; giving players the tools to interact with a setting doesn't give GM the tools they need to create it.</div><div><br /></div><div>How do we do that?</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Another Trip to a Purple Land</b></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://noisms-games.squarespace.com/creations/yoon-suin-the-purple-land">I've spoken about the subtle and majestic genius of Yoon-Suin before</a>, so I won't retread that ground here. But I will demonstrate how Yoon-Suin gives us the techniques we need to translate fluff-into-crunch in a meaningful way, thereby giving us the final puzzle piece of translating the function of Loresheets into this game's conceits.</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://talestoastound.files.wordpress.com/2016/07/screen-shot-2016-07-24-at-6-46-48-am.png?w=584" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="439" data-original-width="584" height="301" src="https://talestoastound.files.wordpress.com/2016/07/screen-shot-2016-07-24-at-6-46-48-am.png?w=584" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is what genius looks like</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><br /></div><div>The only remaining bridge is that between the writing of the the setting material descriptively, and the creation of game-content that can be interacted with via the game's mechanics and processes. Yoon-Suin's author understands that bridge intimately and masterfully crafts a guidebook not merely for constructing a single, ideal bridge, but for constructing a process by which an enormous volume of ideal bridges can be made.</div><div><br /></div><div>The charts pictured above create 480 unique sets of circumstances, but these are mere building-blocks which invite further refinement and specificity. However, each of these myriad circumstances still falls within the purview of what is permissible and expected from the setting material we're given. We know there are cockroach farmers, we know they have rivalries, and we understand that friction can exist between them and other castes of society, such as Archivists. </div><div><br /></div><div>This blossoming of structured, but unpredictable content from such simple and usable lists represents a machine by which the true elements of a setting's broader reality can be made manifest uniquely within the circumstances of a game. They are setting detail engines, solving the issue both of translation and of expedient generation of unexpected (but reasonably present) content.</div><div><br /></div><div>We can now prepare a social circle, complete with conflict and rivalry, before play begins and we do so in a way that reflects the setting we've read and functions to reinforce it's reality to the players. But additionally, we can generate another social circle of equal setting-appropriateness and complexity with such efficiency that doing so while running the game is possible. This ensures that the setting remains fresh, explorable and vibrant both to the players and to ourselves. Their exploration of Yoon-Suin's society becomes ours in a true sense.</div><div><br /></div><div>The most impressive genius of this is way in which that vibrancy, the sheer imaginative energy of the setting can be encoded into the sets of elements that comprise the lists. Contrast, for example, the bustling and socially exotic urban environment that the Yellow City charts evoke with the foreboding, eerie and hostile environment made from the Mountains of the Moon charts. In both cases the population of the charts themselves is a sort of programming for the at-the-table play.</div><div><br /></div><div>Good, evocative charts that create the places, people, and situations suggested in the setting material. That's it; that's the way.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3480B2KC-NNcAj8wcbnOk-QIOC0XD2s9T9PAT795zbtkwpm58nwJJg4752EN_Tu67Cpu7PfufKH2Rwm7wVA02mh8xekO9Xjjq3aE7miTrw5z0vtJHRqTkIO4grQz1YV6eacwJOs3x02am/s2040/134655033_717673455595842_5462793148331225132_n.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2040" data-original-width="1520" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3480B2KC-NNcAj8wcbnOk-QIOC0XD2s9T9PAT795zbtkwpm58nwJJg4752EN_Tu67Cpu7PfufKH2Rwm7wVA02mh8xekO9Xjjq3aE7miTrw5z0vtJHRqTkIO4grQz1YV6eacwJOs3x02am/s320/134655033_717673455595842_5462793148331225132_n.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdV9KaZQdj87Qeet9bzUOqC8xNbWoNm3fUo0x7JD1DE3adYUedsnLVrtRsj9pzTDeqx1wthsKbKp6rZ2fpWqSiiH842bdd3pSzy62eKstNv5BRRx8-LB3kkHm0h8nHJmlzBMYR3X2bjgLY/s2040/134042746_825405418016112_3921759018977832191_n.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2040" data-original-width="1520" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdV9KaZQdj87Qeet9bzUOqC8xNbWoNm3fUo0x7JD1DE3adYUedsnLVrtRsj9pzTDeqx1wthsKbKp6rZ2fpWqSiiH842bdd3pSzy62eKstNv5BRRx8-LB3kkHm0h8nHJmlzBMYR3X2bjgLY/s320/134042746_825405418016112_3921759018977832191_n.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgAgfd15KRekKtidvIur-r-GZBKx9M8KGDJMI1jeP11E1nEQ5Qfk4dbvSISBnetrEmCkeiqy-z1snyGv9yUuY_L7gtcsywCKRIGNhtVm9XkteeioTrDD59UvYPEynhVAOWfiqPW07eZbwi/s2040/134387951_118290993445842_7984808364067158364_n.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2040" data-original-width="1520" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgAgfd15KRekKtidvIur-r-GZBKx9M8KGDJMI1jeP11E1nEQ5Qfk4dbvSISBnetrEmCkeiqy-z1snyGv9yUuY_L7gtcsywCKRIGNhtVm9XkteeioTrDD59UvYPEynhVAOWfiqPW07eZbwi/s320/134387951_118290993445842_7984808364067158364_n.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimre1Ke44XLsEZP0XCqaOlfZttWGQG5VPAwgJwcaW-ZZij9wI8WhPKpuki1mnoHM1ajWNFFH616vD-5LN15QLNJMdJqXPZMZrYWXC4FyAN2k15oPlhMo2WYnXd1R9B1CvKklwgZyHNyG9M/s2040/134397935_1051756771955218_7250651041462293758_n.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2040" data-original-width="1520" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimre1Ke44XLsEZP0XCqaOlfZttWGQG5VPAwgJwcaW-ZZij9wI8WhPKpuki1mnoHM1ajWNFFH616vD-5LN15QLNJMdJqXPZMZrYWXC4FyAN2k15oPlhMo2WYnXd1R9B1CvKklwgZyHNyG9M/s320/134397935_1051756771955218_7250651041462293758_n.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghvYRkWH-rLcHKJ7dnTm_a7bDmjVd4JvduVokkefAaffbVlwP5HhPIavFzI4tUttDoYGzsN8xGOCjqYhMzxPuIqBwFSLeFn6E4Xm6ltcQyCE67Oq3qkRD9h8v1p7kYpgEjq6KL4QabkMx0/s2040/134939949_1650971188447271_990482890791210151_n.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2040" data-original-width="1520" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghvYRkWH-rLcHKJ7dnTm_a7bDmjVd4JvduVokkefAaffbVlwP5HhPIavFzI4tUttDoYGzsN8xGOCjqYhMzxPuIqBwFSLeFn6E4Xm6ltcQyCE67Oq3qkRD9h8v1p7kYpgEjq6KL4QabkMx0/s320/134939949_1650971188447271_990482890791210151_n.jpg" /></a></div><div></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_-1zSaIbSA4GK0_DKLVqEkBKIStR8sPvUi8ILMJquA8fBpg3nlqunHyFKWuqJtBjY78pvXlBBrn7qnPg6RXwQ1RUm-nxmCEeNMzpVhqtyoBfomaYNy9IXN0vi2jV9-tNWnv5QITmXXzmy/s2040/134939945_387241625915385_6160590611424295942_n.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1530" data-original-width="2040" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_-1zSaIbSA4GK0_DKLVqEkBKIStR8sPvUi8ILMJquA8fBpg3nlqunHyFKWuqJtBjY78pvXlBBrn7qnPg6RXwQ1RUm-nxmCEeNMzpVhqtyoBfomaYNy9IXN0vi2jV9-tNWnv5QITmXXzmy/s320/134939945_387241625915385_6160590611424295942_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><br /><div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></div>Joel T. Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14794521474606595295noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-873328568939844233.post-75692538895254585722020-11-08T13:26:00.002-08:002020-11-08T13:26:43.857-08:00Updates, playtest, and the Kickstarter Round 2<p>Quick post today, updates on the game and other stuff that is happening.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLi1RvcJa8rNbhX2sD8EhBQdudNtPg2YxgIjhuii-IY6c-YeztXyCO2_PZB7iD6ZnPjCedLLk2BHM0LK7wBpz9eGUe-7W3bU91pqM10wTtoZGAB3kfl9AGSwZHNQ9XxNmRsYz5mcxYnHCL/s2048/3+page+sequential+commish+page+1+done.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1467" data-original-width="2048" height="301" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLi1RvcJa8rNbhX2sD8EhBQdudNtPg2YxgIjhuii-IY6c-YeztXyCO2_PZB7iD6ZnPjCedLLk2BHM0LK7wBpz9eGUe-7W3bU91pqM10wTtoZGAB3kfl9AGSwZHNQ9XxNmRsYz5mcxYnHCL/w421-h301/3+page+sequential+commish+page+1+done.jpg" width="421" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Who does Hiro give that flower to? Become a Patron and find out!<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p>First! I've been working on some minor tweaks and updates, streamlining and cleaning up the rules. This is a bit more extensive than the original scope of the tech-edit I'd planned, but as I'm a completely idiot, I am thoroughly playtesting all of these changes as soon as I write them. They're also being made available to patrons, who can click on our shiny patreon button up there and get both those updates and some sexy new art from our rockstar Kazuki Shinta.</p><p>Second: We're proceeding at a great pace. The writing had a big leap forward this week, and I'm plowing forward with the remaining content and process rules today. Once those are done, we can finally get to the meaty fun parts of the system, the kung-fu supermoves and other associated badassery.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAa-CvkKlGh4P96VtoYsczNZOkiB4fWjmjrpHeMDTrZDvQQj4TMAoPVQmJSpZcZvnsqDgiLu5rQBvkGvkTUCVyqFSUvW8W933SEdRm-m6ZVVLaOHVBsOp8pnWE_1L_BEbDcLWnlZAlEGol/s2048/Silver+Phoenix+VS+Emerald+Kiring+wip+done+%25281%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1448" data-original-width="2048" height="344" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAa-CvkKlGh4P96VtoYsczNZOkiB4fWjmjrpHeMDTrZDvQQj4TMAoPVQmJSpZcZvnsqDgiLu5rQBvkGvkTUCVyqFSUvW8W933SEdRm-m6ZVVLaOHVBsOp8pnWE_1L_BEbDcLWnlZAlEGol/w487-h344/Silver+Phoenix+VS+Emerald+Kiring+wip+done+%25281%2529.jpg" width="487" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">An accurate depiction of the writing process<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div>Third, I'd like to have the second kickstarter campaign, Round Two, launch in December. Right in time for a very merry Fistmas to all. I've got some groundwork to lay for that, but it starts here, with this declaration. Spread the word; we're delayed, not dead.</div><div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNEQHNlpeDDQmoi5Uske7eRR56IrIPkb9E5aT6-hc93eNblop77TjX0LVc4_DpNbclJjdlroqTloJDJHqWhbLb5kHoQjPOn1euZlQAvMbW7uJmUe8OpFkEQDHAn89AjtAXFfip32QukMS6/s2048/five+star+spirit2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1446" height="423" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNEQHNlpeDDQmoi5Uske7eRR56IrIPkb9E5aT6-hc93eNblop77TjX0LVc4_DpNbclJjdlroqTloJDJHqWhbLb5kHoQjPOn1euZlQAvMbW7uJmUe8OpFkEQDHAn89AjtAXFfip32QukMS6/w299-h423/five+star+spirit2.jpg" width="299" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">HO HO MOTHERFUCKER<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p>Below is a three-hit combo, my writeup of my late-night Denny's-based playtest session and my thoughts on it. This first appeared on our Discord, the Fistoverse. Part one are my musing on the current design and rewrites, part two is a video I recorded this morning after a few hour's sleep post-session, and part three is the written session recap.</p><p>This playtest was based on Blood from God's Eye, the Quickstart Adventure<a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/316011/Lone-Wolf-Fists-Quickstart-Blood-from-Gods-Eye"> which you can download for free</a> (or money if you want to see more art sooner rather than later) and follow along with. </p><p><b>PART ONE: HOLD YOUR FISTS UNTIL AFTER THE ROLEPLAY</b></p><p><i>"So! First: It went well. Actually so well that I was surprised</i></p><p><i>The lone combat (which happened two hours into the session, wowee) was a gigantic setpiece with tanks, armies, and six Degree 1+ heroes</i></p><p><i>Lasted about two rounds, but they were big and explosive with a ton of action</i></p><p><i>Takeaways:</i></p><p><i>1) I have no idea what I was thinking with the new Prana calculations. What, FIVE in the pools? What?</i></p><p><i>So that needs to get fixed</i></p><p><i>2) Effortless doesn't work as a core for action. BUT, it works well as the passive defense and the basis for unrolled actions. So that's nice</i></p><p><i>3) All or nearly all of the way processes and content are being designed works like a motherfucker in play. This pacing was solid</i></p><p><i>4) I need to probably divide the way Imbalances work; it's fine to have the GM doing rulings and adjudications for player actions (basically expanding their interpretation and veto powers) but it doesn't work for NPCs under their direct control. I should probably just have a set of guidelines for roleplaying and describing injured characters that GMs have to adhere to, because if those are available to players, then you effectively flip that adjudication role and the player is given limited veto over GM descriptions. That feels like a more functional paradigm, will have to work on it</i></p><p><i>5) Argh failure spiral. Bad guys might never be tough enough to survive an asswhuppin' in round 1 by a table of capable players</i></p><p><i>And THAT problem might actually be unavoidable so long as NPCs and PCs use the same rules to advance</i></p><p><i>We'll see if my fixes to mid and high-level Techniques, which gives them expanded free functionality against groups, can turd the tide there and make bosses tough enough to feel right</i></p><p><i>I also might make it more explicit in the rules that followers can absorb attacks for you, so they can be used to pad out the health of bosses</i></p><p><i>Even though that feels kind of lame, like Frieze never hid behind his minions. Motherfucker was just a solid wall of asskickin'</i></p><p><i>"Punch THIS you dirty monkey!"~My hero, the genocidal bishonen alien</i></p><p><i>Anyway, the players were incredibly engage and had a fantastic time. They basically begged me to run again, and now man I want to because I want the boss battle with Flesh Eating Sage."</i></p><p><b>PART TWO: PUNCH-DRUNK LOVE</b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/2l9VBeqDO9s" width="320" youtube-src-id="2l9VBeqDO9s"></iframe></div><br /><p><b>PART THREE: WHY PUNCH ONE TANK WHEN YOU CAN PUNCH TEN</b></p><p><i>"Okay so the session itself</i></p><p><i>I took it from where the last playtest left off, which actually makes this a record third consecutive game in a playtest for me</i></p><p><i>Which is good, because I need to see how the game holds up as it acquires rulings and has to deal with it's own history</i></p><p><i>Spiteful Prince, our Silver Phoenix, was recovering in Last Hope Fort, having been wounded by Oily Manyu and brought there by Hiro and the surviving Golden Lion soldier from the tank battle at the Battle Zone</i></p><p><i>Anyway, they were soon joined by Seven Sorrows Raven (player reprising her from an earlier playtest, actually) who was seeking out Hiro (a friend in that game) to help her get revenge on Flesh Eating Sage</i></p><p><i>Finally, Cave Buffalo, newcomer to the group, came down from the Brotherhood stronghold to ensure that package they're carrying gets delivered to Bao.</i></p><p><i>Quick sidenote: That player was a dream player for me. Constantly working within the fiction, thinking tactically, roleplaying consistently, just jumped feet first into the game and was a fucking blast the whole time. Every one of my players was radical but that guy, whom I have never roleplayed with before, was just a joy and it was such a blessing to just, luck into a dude like that</i></p><p><i>So, here's the interesting thing about this session</i></p><p><i>Next guy to show up, with his army, is Luckless Chuan</i></p><p><i>And he DEMANDS the package from the party, citing the desperation of his circumstance and the huge consequences if Flesh Eating Sage takes his goldmine (and no joke, they are DIRE)</i></p><p><i>And... They talked it out. Like not one punch is thrown</i></p><p><i>Almost pure roleplay, players are engaged, trying to find compromises, figuring out the tactical situation, trying to come up with plans</i></p><p><i>It was beautiful. And unexpected, my players are usually such hilarious murderhobos</i></p><p><i>So they investigate the fort, since Buffalo uses his water-charming mantra to sense the presence of old, stagnate water in the pipes around the ancient fort, and he finds a water main leading WAY downward and they figure they can get into his stomping grounds that if they follow it down</i></p><p><i>They are CORRECT; they actually wind up in tunnels that connect them eventually to the resting place of the ORIGINAL Two-Souls Bao</i></p><p><i>So they encounter her out of sequence, which I found delightful, and skip the whole "Haha the quest was a TRAP!" twist and they actually NEVER meet the evil clone Bao</i></p><p><i>Man, Bao got their respect though. She's really high-degree and she just tears through their stealth attempts like tissue paper</i></p><p><i>Not that she does anything but invite them to her hobo-dinner because like, she's cool if they kill her. She just refuses to die without dignity and calls them out like "Look if you're gonna kill me, just do it. Otherwise it's supper time"</i></p><p><i>Anyway, they crack open the box, find the note from Hiro's deceased master, and actually get Bao to agree to return with them to Last Hope to defend the Lions against the Vipers. She Refuses the blade, saying it should be in the hands of a worthy hero (as she still considers herself a failure). Hiro winds up with it, since it was his master that sent the blade.</i></p><p><i>Anyway, they return to the fort, make plans, aaaaand then the tanks start rolling in</i></p><p><i>A runner arrives and tells them that the Viper's tank armada is on the move through the Battlezone, en route to Luckless Chuan's outpost</i></p><p><i>Shit gets real quick; they unearth some AT weaponry under Last Hope, but it's ancient and not necessarily safe. I rule that they get 1 shot per rocket (10 total) and they've got a 20% of being duds, with a 10% of catastrophic misfire</i></p><p><i>They make an actually great plan to hide the newly-arrived Brotherhood of Freaks reserve troopers under the marsh with the missiles, cover them in a thick mist summoned by Seven Sorrow's weather control, and ambush the tanks before they can besiege the mining operation and starve them out and/or demolish everything</i></p><p><i>Unlucky for them, BOTH Oily Manyu AND Yeman the Elephant-Eater are on those tanks, and Manyu's epic R6 Senses action discovers their hidden forces. He orders his line of five tanks to entrench and shell the area, while Yemen's brigade of 6 Blitzkriegs around</i></p><p><i>Roll Initiative</i></p><p><i>Thankfully, Buffalo bids high, grabs initiative and manages to snake out 7 hits with zero misfires (curses!), disabling the back line of tanks and wrecking Yeman's lead charger. Yeman leaps out and Buffalo personally engages the madman, they trade blows and Buffalo's Riptide Defense shield saves him from a near-certain decapitation</i></p><p><i>Manyu however, eager for a rematch, spots Spiteful Prince hovering above the battlefield and sends both a Glint of Hellish Steel and Summoned Hellish Armament (poisoned chalcedony shadow needle) his way, breaking through his defenses and sending Prince crashing into the mud</i></p><p><i>No tanks were thrown in the making of this conflict</i></p><p><i>ALTHOUGH, the previous battle had one punched to death by, who else, Hiro, who had snuck inside it's bombed-out husk and points the main cannon at Manyu's tank, cratering it and sending Manyu face-first into the dirt (and breaking just, so many of his bones and internal organs)</i></p><p><i>Hiro THEN proceeds to pop out of said tank like a DAISY, calls out Yeman (who's ass they had previous beaten in that fight) and punches him into a bloody pulp, finishing him via decapitation with his shiny new god weapon</i></p><p><i>The Prince, not to be outdone, summons a psychic shockwave that crushes the tank crews into a pulp Tetsuo-style, and in the next round, Manyu's attempt to escape is cut short by a Prana-devouring beam from Heaven's Tear and his LIFE is cut short by a fusillade of bullets form the machinegun-armed Brotherhood warfighters</i></p><p><i>Battle over, no enemy survivors"</i><br /><br /></p></div>Joel T. Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14794521474606595295noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-873328568939844233.post-42108481801699295822020-10-21T10:57:00.030-07:002020-10-21T11:07:18.014-07:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.scienceabc.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/cobwebs.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="534" data-original-width="800" height="345" src="https://www.scienceabc.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/cobwebs.jpg" width="518" /></a></div><p> Lots of cobwebs around here</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://i1.wp.com/www.bestmaids.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/cobwebs.jpg?ssl=1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="178" data-original-width="250" height="389" src="https://i1.wp.com/www.bestmaids.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/cobwebs.jpg?ssl=1" width="546" /></a></div><p>Loooots of cobwebs.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn%3AANd9GcTR6ifIVLJy-QTwUfCYGItI8b_G01T8P7amNw&usqp=CAU" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="194" data-original-width="259" height="370" src="https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn%3AANd9GcTR6ifIVLJy-QTwUfCYGItI8b_G01T8P7amNw&usqp=CAU" width="495" /></a></div><p>But hey.... It's Halloween. Cobwebs are appropriate.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://diy.sndimg.com/content/dam/images/diy/fullset/2014/7/23/0/CI-Manvi-Drona_Halloween-Spider-Web-Wall-Decor_v.jpg.rend.hgtvcom.616.822.suffix/1420701275331.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="600" height="692" src="https://diy.sndimg.com/content/dam/images/diy/fullset/2014/7/23/0/CI-Manvi-Drona_Halloween-Spider-Web-Wall-Decor_v.jpg.rend.hgtvcom.616.822.suffix/1420701275331.jpeg" width="519" /></a></div><p><b>We're talking about Gnolls today. </b>Or, as I like to call them, Hyena-men.</p><p>I mean, which sounds scarier? Gnoll:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CoSlos_WgAADsM8.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="492" data-original-width="534" src="https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CoSlos_WgAADsM8.jpg" /></a></div><p>Hyena-man:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/dndlulz/images/c/ce/Gnoll5e.png/revision/latest?cb=20190421042617" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="724" height="592" src="https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/dndlulz/images/c/ce/Gnoll5e.png/revision/latest?cb=20190421042617" width="535" /></a></div><p>You get the picture.</p><p>I always found packs of Hyenas to be eerie. That might be a consequence of so much footage of them being shot at night. There's something very "cryptid" about those eyes reflecting the spotlight.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn%3AANd9GcSPZhNycAHqGPkSEtD_L5fUuj0xDy38w2X4TQ&usqp=CAU" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="184" data-original-width="274" height="307" src="https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn%3AANd9GcSPZhNycAHqGPkSEtD_L5fUuj0xDy38w2X4TQ&usqp=CAU" width="457" /></a></div><br /> There's also something about their nature as pack animals (and scavengers) that robs them of the dignity that animals like Tigers have. Something about their hunched backs and shaggy pelts, like walking vultures. They've got an uncomfortable facial similarity to dogs, too; something too close to the familiar but dangerous because of its distance from civility. The animal equivalent to a stranger glimpsed by the light of a streetlamp in a bad part of town.<p></p><p>So Hyenas themselves are a wonderful blend of savage and eerie. But Gnolls? Eh, they kinda fall flat with me. Their officially-licensed, sterilized, brand-specific versions are always limp. <a href="https://pathfinderwiki.com/wiki/Gnoll">Pathfinder Gnolls are</a>... Just another version of <a href="https://pathfinderwiki.com/wiki/Orc">Pathfinder Orcs</a>, basically. Their entry is functional and punctual, like it's in an interview for stooge monster. </p><p>The current D&D Gnolls <a href="https://comicbook.com/gaming/news/dungeons-dragons-gnolls-fiends/">seem to be under review to determine if they were secretly a racist caricature all along</a> and I'll leave that to those whose needs are served by it. As for me, I only care about the fun parts of D&D Gnolls.</p><div>So let's talk about what rules about them. In Bullet-point form, the superior format:<br /><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Origins involve combining an already scary animal with a demon-god's rampage</li><li>Offer no redeeming value, only rapacious and bloodthirsty, so there's 0 moral compunction about fighting and killing them</li><li>No half-gnolls, no weird in-game ghettos, just straight-up invasive monster killin' fun. Good for the whole family</li><li>Reproduce by cursing their foe's bodies; when a hyena eats them, they become a Gnoll</li></ul><div>I basically love everything about that. But I say we take it a step further, And I'm gonna do that by fleshing out the psychology of the Gnolls. Or, rather, <i>hollowing it out.</i></div><div><br /></div><div>Let me introduce another Hasbro-property that I adore, good ol' Scragnoth:</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://c1.scryfall.com/file/scryfall-cards/large/front/3/5/352c45b0-a20a-427c-8f2e-f461983ce968.jpg?1562774474" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="574" height="562" src="https://c1.scryfall.com/file/scryfall-cards/large/front/3/5/352c45b0-a20a-427c-8f2e-f461983ce968.jpg?1562774474" width="404" /></a></div><br /><div>I pulled this guy from a Tempest booster pack when I was a teenager (this one is some kind of reprint I guess? It doesn't matter. Magic is crack) and I loved that flavor text: "Only counter-intelligence" hmm? I liked thinking about that; what kind of being had retorts, but no point? They'd have complaint with no critique, reaction with no thought. They could mock and imitate, but would have no capacity to create.</div><div><br /></div><div>Man, how weird would THAT kind of being be, amirite?</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsbkZr45Iv_Tv3M4NoaOeyHrsf6XedslkuqrtMwEbPS8RooTgfMR7Pv-WM-cyIz9twTWdvTqT64_CwZXRhkGdPJPlYqKvTBLKvG2wGYQvCrgY-G1rA6zTuMsO42xaYMe4XOvtexfoOVaaA/s1273/Capture.PNG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="766" data-original-width="1273" height="325" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsbkZr45Iv_Tv3M4NoaOeyHrsf6XedslkuqrtMwEbPS8RooTgfMR7Pv-WM-cyIz9twTWdvTqT64_CwZXRhkGdPJPlYqKvTBLKvG2wGYQvCrgY-G1rA6zTuMsO42xaYMe4XOvtexfoOVaaA/w540-h325/Capture.PNG" width="540" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pictured: a totally unrelated message board</td></tr></tbody></table><div><br />Our entire culture became Gnolls at some point, but for a little bit, the pack was confined to cramped and squalid places on the internet. Places where there were dozens or hundreds of stock meme-responses to any question, any statement, any kind of original content. Places that catered to a culture of clannish anti-thought, where the assumptions of how things were became the laws of how they must be. Where hot-takes were more valued than genuine engagement. Where an appeal to conventional wisdom was more valid than actual observation, experiment, or innovation.</div><div><br /></div><div>A place without intelligence; only counter-intelligence.</div><div><br /></div><div>Such are my Gnolls. Not just scavengers of mortal things, but <a href="https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/holes/"><i>ontological </i>scavengers. </a>Beings for which originality isn't just a sin, it's literally incomprehensible. They don't need social sanctions to deal with rabble-rousers who dare to shift away form the group-think; they don't even have group "think", their very minds are mirrors, pure reaction. A social survival instinct but never, ever any thought.</div><div><br /></div><div>And then of course, you have that most famous hyena trait: their laughter.</div><div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/T5gyi_fHL_c" width="320" youtube-src-id="T5gyi_fHL_c"></iframe></div></div><div><br /></div><div>Laughter and mockery have a tandem, defensive social function: they degrade an idea. Divorced from thought, they function in the same way, like antibodies; they recognize an invader, absorb it, change it into something that is no longer a threat. </div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/JnlULOjUhSQ" width="320" youtube-src-id="JnlULOjUhSQ"></iframe></div><br /><div>Scavenged armor, scavenged weapons, scavenged voices. These Gnolls don't have speech, they steal the voices of their victims, communicating solely in the dying words of prey followed by vicious, empty laughter. they're heard before they're seen</div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://i1.wp.com/nerdarchy.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/BSD.jpg?resize=369%2C467&ssl=1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="467" data-original-width="369" src="https://i1.wp.com/nerdarchy.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/BSD.jpg?resize=369%2C467&ssl=1" /></a></div><b><u><div style="text-align: left;"><b><u><br /></u></b></div><br /></u></b></div><div style="text-align: left;">If Gnolls are encountered as wandering monsters, after determining encounter distance and surprise, roll on the following chart to determine what the party hears as the Gnolls approach. The voices are from previous victims, and sound exactly like these unfortunates in their last moments.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><u>What do they hear? (d12)</u></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><ol><li style="text-align: left;">"I thought I heard something..."</li><li style="text-align: left;">"My baby! My baby!"</li><li style="text-align: left;">"Let go of me!"</li><li style="text-align: left;">"Please don't!" Followed by a cry of pain</li><li style="text-align: left;">Inarticulate shrieking</li><li style="text-align: left;">"Die monster!"</li><li style="text-align: left;"> Begging in a foreign language; sobs</li><li style="text-align: left;">"Help! Somebody help!"</li><li style="text-align: left;">"Let go of him!"</li><li style="text-align: left;"> A warcry that abruptly cuts off into a gurgle</li><li style="text-align: left;">I don't want to die I don't want to die I don't want to die"</li><li style="text-align: left;">Weeping, then a cry of pain</li></ol><div style="text-align: left;">On a d6 roll of 5+, this will be followed by the mindless laughter of the entire pack.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Every round the Gnolls continue to fight, roll again on this chart as they babble and laugh through the battle.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Memetic Instince</b>: Gnoll packs absorb the voices of those they hear. If the players say anything in-character, one of the Gnolls present will say the same thing, in their voice on their action. this will elicit the laughter of the rest of the pack.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Replace one of the results from the above chart with the stolen quote.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://cdnb.artstation.com/p/assets/images/images/001/212/395/large/anastasia-konkina-gnoll-4.jpg?1442307986" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="326" data-original-width="800" height="211" src="https://cdnb.artstation.com/p/assets/images/images/001/212/395/large/anastasia-konkina-gnoll-4.jpg?1442307986" width="516" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sculpt by Anastasia Konkina, Based on a concept by Ilya Komarowski</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div style="text-align: left;">Gnolls are commonly manipulated by powerful, evil creatures such as mindlfayers and liches, as they eventually become a reflection of their environment. A sufficiently cunning dark lord can engineer the Gnoll's parasitic culture to serve their ends.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Commonly, such packs have Hyena Diplomats that are able to speak and communicate (after a fashion) via a Helm of Comprehend Languages soldered to their skulls. Hyena Diplomats have an additional hit die, wear scavenged robes and aristocratic clothing, and tend toward the twitchy and socially obscene. They still interject inappropriate laughter into conversation and treat any original thoughts, social mores or ethics as a hilarious and slightly pitiable joke. Their weapons are invariable concealed, poisoned, and only brandished when the Diplomat sees no further use for their latest mark.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div></div><p></p></div>Joel T. Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14794521474606595295noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-873328568939844233.post-36895347418831162372020-03-17T11:14:00.001-07:002020-03-17T11:14:45.749-07:00I don't like 5th edition but that doesn't mean it isn't good<br />
I have a confession to make: I both don't like and admire 5th edition.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Prance! Prance against the giants!</td></tr>
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I'm not in tune with the cultural zeitgeist this time around, I guess. Although I like the first season of Stranger Things well enough, and that Rocks and Marty is a pretty funny cartoon. I have trouble deciphering what the fuck is going on with a lot of this stuff:<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I guess this guy's pretty normal, though</td></tr>
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<br />
Here's some stuff I don't like:<br />
<br />
1. The players get stupid, stupid powerful, but the game keeps treating them like they're normal people. Like "Oh I'm going to go to the market and haggle cheese prices then cut a Basilisk in half later". Nobody recognizes the demigods wandering around and it bothers me. It's tonally incongruent.<br />
<br />
2. There's no advice for running a game in the DMG. <a href="https://thealexandrian.net/gamemastery-101">I had to get all my functional game-running advice from the Alexandrian</a>; none of the subjects brought up in any of those actually useful articles is even hinted at in the $50 guide to mastering dungeons. I basically paid the price of entry to get my favorite mechanic from the D&D next playtest back, which was the skill die. It feels a lot better than the flat bonus. Fight me.<br />
<br />
3. They use a bell curve on encounter charts! Why would you do that?!<br />
<br />
4. Actually, they just stuff needlessly complex math into everything for no reason. The single-die systems for things like HD and encounter charts weren't just "stupid and simple", they were <i>elegant</i> and more functional than what you've replaced them with!<br />
<br />
5. Why does everything have so many hit points? Is it because everything does piles more dice of damage for no reason? This smacks of solving a problem you yourself introduced by introducing yet more problems.<br />
<br />
6. Is there any actual benefit to monsters having types? Ooo, you mean I get to know whether a Basilisk is a <i>dragon-type</i> or a <i>magical beast</i>? And I get to finally have official, cannon confirmation that a Brain Beast, a four-limbed giant brain monster, is an <i>aberration</i>? <i>No fucking joke?</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
7. Paladins can be Atheists now? Who are they supposed to be appealing to, again?<br />
<br />
8. Infinite ammo magic guns for all wizards forever. I once had a warlock treat his eldritch blast like a nail-gun on auto-fire strapped to his hand.<br />
<br />
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<br />
In defense of that last one, having a single one-time-use spell is pretty weak and always has been. I feel like, maybe reduce the die type of damage a step or something? Like make "I ran out of spells" still suck. Or maybe you've got to pass some kind of spell-casting roll to suck your magic well all the way dry.<br />
<br />
...<br />
<br />
I do admire 5th though.<br />
<br />
It's so much simpler than 3rd, which is the edition I started in, and better-organized than any edition prior to that. You can kinda jump in with an idea and very rapidly cobble it into a perfectly functional and fun character; that's an impressive achievement.<br />
<br />
I like that the game acknowledges that playing a role (you know, roleplaying) is fun. I get sick of the "it need social rules!" crowd sometimes and it's great to just level my finger at 5th and go "SEE?! TALKING LIKE A GNOME IS FUN ON ITS OWN"<br />
<br />
I like that backgrounds are little packages of stuff you get. Like the criminal gets to break the law, that's fun.<br />
<br />
I like the magic items quite a lot. It's clear they put some thought into limiting them so they're magical tools and not components of CCG-esque gonzo schemes.<br />
<br />
I like that some monsters get to be extra most special monsters and have extra actions they can take to fuck with the players. It makes them hard to metagame and it's just a really neat idea.<br />
<br />
Mostly though, I like how gosh-darn simple and friendly the whole thing is. It sacrifices a bit in terms of cohesiveness, and it certainly occludes it's inner workings needlessly from enterprising GMs (the better to sell you supplements, my dear) but as far as being something you can use right out of the tin: it's as delectable as pineapple spam.<br />
<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Behold, Ambrosia</td></tr>
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<br />
What's the takeaway here? How does this tie back to Tian Shang?<br />
<br />
The takeaway is this: don't get too technical. You'll slam the door on too many of your fans. Not because they're dummies, mind you, but because, they're trying to use your game to have fun. Stereo instructions aren't fun; they suck. The clarity of instructions are great, but not if they're so painful to read that people don't bring them to the table.<br />
<br />
Latest draft of LWF is scaling back on the technical elaboration considerably and it's a much stronger product for it. While writing it, I came to appreciate this aspect of 5th edition, so I thought I'd blog about it.<br />
<br />
What? Sometimes they're only little revelations.<br />
<br />
<br />Joel T. Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14794521474606595295noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-873328568939844233.post-8942715775178621342019-12-31T20:44:00.000-08:002019-12-31T20:44:12.855-08:00Trash setting<br />
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<br />
Well of course it's <i>trash</i>: It's the <i>Apocalypse</i>, smartass ;-)<br />
<br />
But what's in a setting, anyway? What distinguishes your Yoon Suins from your Creations from your Greyhawks from your Dark Suns from your All Under Heavens?<br />
<br />
I've gone on-record about how the simple length and game-mechanic-relevance of a setting's presentation distinguishes a playable setting from bad prose. But we're digging deeper than presentation here. What makes a setting one you <i>want to play </i>versus one you <i>don't</i>?<br />
<br />
I've been giving this considerable thought as I create playtest areas for the game. which, by the way, tease time:<br />
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<br />
Yeah I haven't gotten those typed up but they're comin', folks <3!<br />
<br />
But I've found the settings that excite me as a player and GM aren't just cool places with interesting stuff and cool creatures/societies: they're places where some kind of intrigue is going down.<br />
<br />
Which makes sense: every great fictional setting that I've ever encountered is ultimately just a backdrop to a well-constructed, character-driven plot. Castle Amber is a fantastic setting, but it's empty without the war for the throne going on. Gotham is a brooding gothic megacity sure, but it's impact is in its relationship to Batman and his fantastic rogues gallery.<br />
<br />
Namek is the perfect example of this. Because it kinda sucks as a setting, but some of the most memorable stuff in DBZ took place there.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">LAAAAME</td></tr>
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The genocide of the Namekians tugs at our heart strings; we're thrilled by the tense game of cat-and-mouse the characters play with godlike Frieza and his terrifying henchmen, we're fascinated by the growing power of Vegeta, interested in his relationship with the rest of the DBZ crew, excited and saddened by Nail's futile heroics.<br />
<br />
Cool shit is transpiring like a motherfucker in THAT trash setting.<br />
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Megadungeons share this feature in common with beloved settings in that <i>things are happening there</i>. The distinct topography of different areas, coupled with the mixing effect of encounter charts, allows a fascinating and living co-mingling of the game-elements. sometimes you encounter that werewolf roaming the ghostly halls, sometimes he's out of his designated room and you get a chance to wait in ambush. But there's a deeper layer to this that distinguished great dungeons from good ones: relationships.<br />
<br />
Because the great megadungeon describes the relationship the werewolf has with the witches coven in the haunted reliquary, that he's feuding with the gorgon in the sickly garden, and that he's the loyal pet of the chief vampire in the throneroom.<br />
<br />
So the context of encountering the werewolf serves the function of informing players about the living setting. It turns it from monsters keyed to room and randomly remixed to a living, vital area with a history and characters and intrigue.<br />
<br />
That's the spark that LWF's setting has been missing. That vital layer of relationships, interwoven plots, mutually incompatible plans, hostilities, rivalries, unrequited loves... The human element isn't there. It needs to be.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>The Method</b></span><br />
<br />
An excellent discovery, but how to implement it? As usual, in lieu of pioneering my own innovation, I'm just going to steal from somebody talented. In this case David McGrogan and his gem of a book, Yoon Suin: The Purple Land.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.lulu.com/us/en/shop/david-mcgrogan/yoon-suin/paperback/product-22880912.html">Buy it, you hacks!</a></td></tr>
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Yoon-Suin has an elegant little system for establishing a setting that is the opposite of trash. It works generally like so:<br />
<br />
1. You choose a broad chunk of the setting (a Domain, in LWF terms)<br />
2. Flip to that area of the book and roll/choose one of the broader areas within that chunk (roughly equivalent to a Tract)<br />
3. Roll for what the terrain is and contains (including some history and adventure hooks, possibly treasures)<br />
4. Roll up what intrigues and problems the inhabitants are experiencing (This often hooks them into neighboring or otherwise connected places and peoples)<br />
<br />
It's very fast, but it provides not only the cool places, creatures and peoples of the setting, but vitally, their relationships and intrigues with one another.<br />
<br />
I've already stolen so much from Yoon Suin that I'm not shy about going back to the well: in this case, I'm going to dip out that all-important layer of Intrigues and plunk it wholesale into my Content creation rules.<br />
<br />
In this way, you'll now generate:<br />
1. Stable Content, in the form of terrain, inhabitants, and features<br />
2. Dynamic Content, in the form of events that can transpire (similar to keying content to hexes in D&D)<br />
3. A relationship web, including hooks into both of the content types above<br />
4. Volatile Content, which is the equivalent of Encounter Charts and derived from all the above<br />
<br />
Now to type up my notes for that Domain I've been working on up there. Stay tuned, True Believers!Joel T. Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14794521474606595295noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-873328568939844233.post-10224564676182660192019-11-12T09:46:00.001-08:002019-11-12T09:46:31.729-08:00Playtest thoughts and other things that are happening right nowMan, never try to write an RPG mid-semester. You'd think I'd have learned that lesson watching poor John Mørke practically kill himself on EX3 but no, I just gotta time everything like a complete idiot.<br />
<br />
Playtests so far:<br />
<br />
1. My primary in-house, consisting of 3 sessions total. Set in the Demon City fighting the nascent dark prince Rebi Ra, the party has yet to make contact with him directly.<br />
Thus far:<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>Biker gangs have been punched down in bloody-knuckled combat</li>
<li>A meat stall owner was spared a grizzly demise</li>
<li>A miniboss fallen Golden Lion was put down after a thorough emotional flensing from the party's pet demon</li>
<li>The rooftop garden slaves were freed</li>
<li>The party was forced to retreat from the fire-demon guarding the approach to Ra's palace after it summoned a Rank 6 wall of wraithly fire to keep them at bay. Also, they were thoroughly burned by it's ghost meteors.</li>
</ul>
<div>
2. My secondary live playtest, which <a href="https://mega.nz/#!Q51FxYyD!K4x_-LSWRW8puac1QhYlx2zAubLulUhjaKDguoFXgTE">you can listen to in all its glory right here. </a></div>
<div>
Stuff that happened:</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Our heroes combined their efforts to leap over the moat leading into the Demon City</li>
<li>Some evil cultists were Akira-exploded with a gory use of psychic powers</li>
<li>A kung-fu rivalry sprang up between the party and an invisible psychic prince</li>
</ul>
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3. My tertiary one-off playtest, which also encompassed character generation.</div>
</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>The only cool thing of note was a kung-fu battle where yet more unfortunate bikers met a fiery end at the hands of Fire God's Breath. </li>
<li>Are Radioactive Scorpions a draw for female players? Seems to be the case!</li>
</ul>
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Additional stuff:</div>
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A series of videos about solo play are also in existence! Perhaps you'll find them entertaining, perhaps informative! In any event, here they are! </div>
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There's a fourth one too, but the audio is missing so. I'll skip that one!</div>
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SO! What have we learned from all this? What's going into the next (and final!) draft?</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I've got a few things from the starting-level playtest:</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Character build options are a bit lacking. I mean, past the design intent; I need to finish character equipment options. Some options are a little cloudy (like which Gupt Kala/ Skill Masteries are available to Ronin, for example). Some tightening is called for.</li>
<li>Movement needs to be split into speed and maneuverability. There's clearly a divide there in the mechanics, but it's not adequately defined or supported.</li>
<li>Fields are too big, but zones would be too small. More thoughts on this directly.</li>
<li>Movement and traveling are still too fast.</li>
<li>There's some cloudiness between attacks, sustained actions, and hazards (what counts as what?).</li>
<li>The action economy has a lot of central corner-cases, like how many 1-die actions you can take. This is kind of inevitable, but annoying.</li>
<li>You need more Prana. There, I said it.</li>
<li>The content rules for how to prep still aren't as table-friendly as I'd like. There's too much asked per field; you just can't go from imagination to content as smoothly as I'd like.</li>
<li>The crafting and resource rules need some examples. Really, everything does, but these more than the rest because they dangle without support from the rest of the gameplay (Why am I making people mine iron ore again?).</li>
<li>I need to limit how high non-magic Emotional Imbalances can go Rank-wise; they don't have the same defense infrastructure as typical wounds, making them an easy way to get debilitating imbalances against a foe.</li>
</ul>
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All that and some general tightening of things like the encounter rules and scene transitions would really make the stuff I've tested sing.</div>
</div>
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<br /></div>
<div>
There's more to do than what I've been able to cover (god I'm so busy, then I got sick...). For example, I need to know how mid and higher degree characters interact, both with the environment and in terms of single battles and ongoing campaign play (such as linked battles, wars, shadow wars, etc.)</div>
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<br /></div>
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I guess this means I'll need to do some higher-degree testing in the near future: I don't want to overhaul anything really significantly until I see how the higher-level stuff feels in play.</div>
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<br /></div>
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Other notes:</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>The Gupt Kala need another pass. Maybe add some more Imbalance-based stuff, certainly add more terraforming stuff. I meant to put it in there but uh. Didn't.</li>
<li>There's a lot of little errors that an editor would have caught in the current text. I should give it a pass just to face-lift it. Ditto with outdated references (like to the Elephant Board, which doesn't exist since I changed Content) and double ditto for the layout, which is an eyesore.</li>
<li>Also need to change the font. Times is pretty hard on the eyes for extended reading.</li>
<li>The art's also pixelated, although I imagine I won't be able to fix that until I do the proper layout since my program for it came free with my computer (not a mark of high quality).</li>
<li>Even absent additional playtesting, I can tell the higher-level Techniques are going to need the logic of their costing and their place in the game examined more closely. As it stands it looks VERY likely that you'll not be able to access them without charging up significantly, which doesn't reflect their actual utility.</li>
</ul>
</div>
<br />
All this stuff is a bit dull, eh? Well, welcome to playtesting! It is a bit marginal and edit-y; that's the point! But I DO have some more exiting stuff to talk about!<br />
<br />
For example, Lore are getting finished! And they're shaping up to be very ease, intuitive and modular bits of setting design. They've got lots of places to fit into the rules, what with Stable/ volatile/Dynamic Content and the Web of Masters and Dharmas and such, not to mention the resources, manufacturing and crafting systems. Lores are turning into a comprehensive "chunk of the wuxia setting" style resource, complete with intrigues and scheming masters and places to fight and reasons to war and character motivations and all the trimmings! Which is pretty exciting!<br />
<br />
Another fun thing: Magic item examples are in the works. Right now they're largely refinements of things that exist within Techniques (has anyone noticed I changed the name of these to the Yuddhukhala? No? I like that better). But there's an additional layer I'm working in: magic items allow you to take magical things you find in the setting and turn them into sustained advantages. For example, if you happen across one of those "cures any ailment but only blooms once every century" style flowers, you could use it as an ingredient in a "cure-any-ailment-every-time-you-use-this" style magic item!<br />
<br />
Doesn't stop there, though! As I work up content examples, I'm realizing that individual places and magical architecture features are extensions of this principle. Maybe there's an all-curing sauna that incorporated that flower in it's design, or a demon chained into a room where it has to answer riddles or grant wishes.<br />
<br />
This is a great place for imagination to seep into the game; I need to do another, cleaner and more platested draft of the content preparation rules to bring that element to the forefront and give GMs confidence in doing it.<br />
<br />
<br />
NEW KUNG FU<br />
<br />
Yeah I'm gonna be making seven-ish more styles. Why? Few reasons:<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>Both of the precursor games have about that many styles, so it's a tradition</li>
<li>Most of the games in this genre have about that many individual powers total</li>
<li>I want to further clarify the design method of creating your own styles for nascent GMs and this is best done through considerable amounts of example</li>
<li>It makes me happy</li>
</ul>
<div>
What I'd ideally like to do is seven additional styles (one per clan) which are "full" with 10 Techniques apiece. Additionally, I'd like to do some "broken styles" with only the lower bounds of Techniques which can be encountered as fun easter eggs while exploring the wastes (like maybe there's some fallen clan that whip out an unknown style on you, or a lone master with a bunch of secret forgotten moves, or maybe the remains of the style are written in hieroglyphs on a forgotten temple wall).</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I did some rabble-rousing and asked for style ideas. Here are some of my favorite candidates for inspiration/development:</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>A style where you gain the strength and characteristics (both real and mythical) of the woolly mammoth</li>
<li>A style based on Edgeless Blade from Thunderbolt Fantasy</li>
<li>A style that serves as a descended of Fox Spirit Song from Legends of the Wulin</li>
<li>A style internalizing the playstyle of classic "Suicide Black" decks from Magic:The Gathering</li>
</ul>
<div>
Clearly I need at least 3 more, but that's a solid start. Feel free to toss some ideas at me on our Discord and I'll absolutely <strike>steal them without paying you</strike> Listen!</div>
</div>
<div>
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<div>
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<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
YOU SAID SOMETHING ABOUT NEW FIELD RULES?</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Oh yeah, I forgot I typed that.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Playtesting has revealed a design gap between my intention and the at-the-table experience: Fields are too vast for the kind of movement nuance the game has been designed for: there's a missing gulf between exploring an area and strategically moving within one.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
So I need something smaller than Fields, but I'm having an issue because creating sub-fields defeats the purpose of making them that big in the first place. Let me demonstrate their development.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Here's the King's Road:</div>
<div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6f0O0G4rkld_9STKykcnGjujG3euWpDTn5MRqvXpMV-XS8yfiGNtkVnzH7WAqzLZRewTHByCB08R6ci___VTNnwDsuCDGP8AJzjzB-pmYF3zYeC0HzL2W9eXbgFnh5CkbFFffV_RNC1XX/s1600/kings-road-map.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="840" data-original-width="1200" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6f0O0G4rkld_9STKykcnGjujG3euWpDTn5MRqvXpMV-XS8yfiGNtkVnzH7WAqzLZRewTHByCB08R6ci___VTNnwDsuCDGP8AJzjzB-pmYF3zYeC0HzL2W9eXbgFnh5CkbFFffV_RNC1XX/s320/kings-road-map.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<div>
If you were to place tokens representing the character's position onto this map, they'd fit neatly into the squares. You'd track movement as taking a number of squares. This is familiar to most of us; it's what 3.5 D&D and Pathfinder use as their movement system. It's high-fidelity and gives every participant an exact measure of the tactical positions of every participant in a combat at any given moment in time.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
It's extremely cumbersome to use this model though for a few reasons:</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>you need tokens representing every participant, which makes big crowds nearly impossible to model. </li>
<li>It's also self-defeatingly static; characters don't actually move, then stop, then wait for their opponents to move, then stop, before moving again. They're constantly moving in a way that the "freeze frame" of this model doesn't adequately model. </li>
<li>They kill imaginative description: why should I describe my guy moving and darting around, doing cool backflips and generally Jackie-Chaning their way across obstacles and terrain when you can SEE that your little token is just, doing a normal "move across the squares" move?</li>
<li>It punishes players for interacting with the interesting terrain: those bushes, ocks, all the remotely interesting stuff to interact with? Movement penalty, ranged attack penalty, attack of opportunity to approach a foe bunkered in it... It's all negative or, even worse, positive if you're doing the least interesting thing (which is squatting on it). This leads to tactically staid battles where behaving dynamically is punished and turtling and conservative movement is king (note that the vast majority of this "battlemap" is a ROAD or featureless FIELD).</li>
<li>You need to onerously map every five square feet of an otherwise unremarkable landscape to allow any encounter to take place. The best-case scenario for this rings the death knell for any non-scripted fights, while the WORST case requires you to map entire cities in five-foot-square grids.</li>
</ul>
<div>
Basically it's a lot of work to use the squares model for ultimately uninteresting combats. I mean, just look at this monstrosity: it's legit a road in a field, but every painstaking inch has been placed on this (necessary?) map, so that all the tiny, niggling details of strategic movement which so much of Pathfinder's class system balance depends on can manifest and function. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
That's some<i> agonizing </i>over-design there, and it encourages a GMing model where you only have a fight if it's part of an "adventure path", rather than something that organically arises from the workings of the world. In other words, it's antithesis to the kind of game I'm trying to make here.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Clearly, I needed a different model.</div>
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Legends of the Wulin was a good place to start, obviously; so, I did. They used Zones from Fate, which are certainly better but still have drawbacks. Let me show you an example:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVEuEMjSZGFcl47LO3KdIsad8TQXf2ZLXQ9cKonXn-H2UmY8zK1-bVmVeK2_QjuywI7DeUY_pZ_w9tF3xX_x_rLde5hR2uHm3acsETZ6Z1edA0qR92M_8lsRv49Gkin_Kxe0fn2ndLoU3L/s1600/image.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="301" data-original-width="393" height="245" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVEuEMjSZGFcl47LO3KdIsad8TQXf2ZLXQ9cKonXn-H2UmY8zK1-bVmVeK2_QjuywI7DeUY_pZ_w9tF3xX_x_rLde5hR2uHm3acsETZ6Z1edA0qR92M_8lsRv49Gkin_Kxe0fn2ndLoU3L/s320/image.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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<div>
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<div>
The organic, uneven lines here are a lot closer to the kind of battle-mapping is appropriate for spontaneous combats. You could sketch a hexagonal "wheat field" in seconds and surround it with irregular zones representing copses of trees, or houses, or adjoining fields. That comes with some hefty advantages:</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>You can define an area not by it's exact dimensions, but by it's tactical significance: the Hayloft Zone's precise size is less important than it being Above the Barn Zone and having the characteristic of being Full of Flammable Hay</li>
<li>As mentioned, you can sketch this out on a napkin in a manner of seconds, so spontaneous and emergent combat is preserved</li>
<li>It still allows both tracking of position and of tactical interaction based on positioning, but without the time-and-resource consuming fidelity demanded by the square grid</li>
<li>Movement within and between a Zone can be described dynamically and have a real game impact; in this case, the lack of clear boundaries and the presence of "fuzzy" edges defining them gives players a crack to wriggle through for tactically influential descriptions.</li>
</ul>
<div>
A better fit, certainly. But not a <i>perfect </i>one:</div>
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>The lack of standardized boundaries is a recipe for tactical frustration; why can my spear reach into and through the houses, road and tree in that fat Zone in the middle, but <i>fail to reach across the well</i> in that tiny one in the dead center of the map? You have to <i>torture</i> logic to justify this kind of space-bending.</li>
<li>Describing a method for creating these organic areas is incredibly difficult; why are some Zones big enough to contain entire houses, while others are rooms within those houses, even different parts of the same room? Where do you draw the line between the apartment and the balcony? </li>
<li>Worse, what about characters moving along the Z axis? Is the <i>Side</i> of a structure it's <i>own Zone</i>?</li>
<li>Abstracting the movement within a Zone has problems too; what's the mechanical distinction between a fast and slow character if they're both moving within the same Zone? The fidelity of the square grid allows a marginal advantage to accrue to the speedier character, but the abstraction of Zones erases this small but significant difference.</li>
<li>Positioning is also problematic; what's the mechanic difference between holing up within that house or standing in the open street in that fat Zone in the middle there? Clearly there need to be more lines, but again, where? Does it cost 0 movement to enter the house there, but 1 to move through the line that <i>bisects</i> the house in the adjoining zone? Why?</li>
</ul>
<div>
Although you <i>may</i> be able to individually resolve each one of these things, they each require their own, uniquely crafted logic to sustain the veracity of this model's internal reality; <i>the second you forget one of these rulings, the model won't provide the answer any more</i>. That's a big cognitive load, big enough to shoot the utility of this model right in the foot each time I tested it.</div>
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Enter the current model: Fields.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Fields are the current rule's attempt to find it's own battlefield space that solves the problems of the previous models.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>They're big enough that they allow the kind of descriptive movement freedom that the genre requires; they also don't distinguish a Z axis, leaving that up to the relative positioning of characters in the Tactical Infinity</li>
<li>The abstraction of their separating lines aligns with both a descriptive and strategic difference: when city becomes wilderness, or when swamp becomes forest. This is top solve the "abstract boundaries" problem mentioned earlier: their boundaries <i>contain</i> the logic-answer as to why their imagined game-distance exists ("Your sword can't reach all the way from the neighboring building to to grassy field, you haven't left the building yet!")</li>
<li>Although unclear (missing, currently?) in the text, the advantage of occupying a piece of terrain is a modifier to actions: -1 Rank to you foe's attacks (effectively +1 Rank to your defense) if you've got a sizable advantage and -2 Ranks if you've got an overwhelming one (difference between the being in the high ground and being on the other edge of a concrete wall)</li>
<li>They're easy to prep and allow for any number of spontaneous combats to manifest in them due to their ease of use</li>
</ul>
<div>
You might I kind of threw my hands up at the whole "abstract but strategically sophisticated" angle; I leaned towards abstract because, at their core, these are places where you describe awesome thing happening. Lots of the tactical nuance of the game isn't so much in the moment-to-moment freeze-frames of characters caught in a specified XYZ coordinate, but in the interplay of Effort Pools, Prana and Technique loadout. The freedom of description was simply much more important than whatever imagined advantage I could grasp from refining movement and positioning with any deeper specificity.</div>
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
At least, that was the idea.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
The truth is my reach was exceeding my grasp here: modeling the complex 3-dimensional movement of characters WAS tactically important to gameplay in much deeper detail than this level of abstraction permitted. I just didn't know where to draw those lines that:</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Allowed ease of prep and mapping, so both imagination and spontaneity were encouraged</li>
<li>Satisfactorily charted the positioning of characters in a complex 3-dimensional world (so that the nuance of speed and positing was preserved)</li>
<li>Upheld the tactical reality of that world without bogging down the system in undesirable minutia, so players and GMs could intuitively use positioning and movement based tactics to enhance play and fully engage the existing rules</li>
</ul>
<div>
That's a tall order for a set of rules. It also wasn't immediately clear which parts of the movement rules to work on to even begin solving any of that; should I work on the Effect Chart for Agility first? Should I put more development into Fields? How? Where? Where was I drawing the lines for Fields? How do you move between them, within them? What even <i>is </i>"moving within a Field", like what does that do?</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
It was a lot to think about. And it was a cognitive load on top of school and the rest of the bloody system. So yeah, I tossed my hands up and moved on. It was... <i>Functional,</i> if imperfect. Hell, that's more than a lot of games and enough to playtest.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
So I defend my laziness in this case, while admitting that yeah, I did back away here.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
And I followed through and playtested it. Sure enough, the Fields need more. Here's my current thinking.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
1. Fields are largely functional as bigger "areas" that represent unique tactical "situations", terrain-wise. A tangle of twisting back-alleys and a bustling city square are defined cleanly both descriptively and in the tactical movement situation that they present to characters. In this regard, they're a triumph on the purely strategic level. No change needed there.</div>
<div>
2. However, they fail to take to mechanically account for positioning, utilization of terrain for advantage, or the vertical axis.</div>
<div>
3. Further, areas within the Field need enough definition that moving between them is necessary mechanically, not merely descriptively (although yes, you should be able to do both: there needs to be BLEED). Moving from the market stalls to the open area between them, leaping from that to the park area and splashing into the fountain there needs to be an exercise in <i>boundaries </i>that are <i>crossed </i>in mechanical and descriptive terms.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
So I think, as part of the creation of a Field as Stable Content, I'm going to require the list of the Field's composite Zones. Let's take a gander at what THAT might look like by giving you an example of a Field from my Demon City playtest:</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>CURRENT FIELD: Aqrabuamelu's Territory</b><br />
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>Description:</b> Blood-streaked banners festoon the looming grey buildings here. They depict the crescent-claw of the scorpion. Blood-red lanterns, the stink of burning flesh and heavy incense invade the streets like a bright red tumor while the screams of human sacrifice echo across the concrete labyrinth. Occasionally, an inhuman voice will boom out, demanding tribute.<br />
<b>Terrain:</b> Body-choked streets and 12-story buildings with macabre decorations.<br />
<b>Elements</b>: Piles of bodies, burning censors, "x" crosses with human sacrifices writhing on them.<br />
Inhabitants: Gasmask-wearing cultists of Aqrabuamelu (100 fanatics), sacrificial slaves (150 victims), Aqrabuamelu the Scorpion-demon and self-styled god.<br />
<b>Secrets</b>: An entry to the subway leads underground<br />
<br />
Pretty lovely, eh? What I've found though is that I'm not getting either the exploration I typically enjoy from dungeons nor the tactical decision-making that the described terrain implies. People aren't really spider-manning across buildings or anything neat, beyond a very superficial level. It's also not entirely clear where things are in relation to one another; I have yet to have the Scorpion Demon actually show up, despite being ostensibly "here".<br />
<br />
What I'm thinking is that I can subdivide the broader Terrain description into Zones to solve these problems. My thinking is, I can capture the function of a map without requiring one to be modeled in complex 3-dimensional space (which would also be a nightmare to try to track in play)<br />
<br />
Zones would work like this:<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>They would be separated by their Z-axis into tiers, one on top of (or below!) the other. </li>
<li>Each tier would have it's own list of elements and terrain, with mechanics implied through it's description (by reference to the scene-actions and Effect Charts). </li>
<li>The specific layout of the elements in a given tier would be descriptive, rather than mapped, with the default that all segments are "adjacent". </li>
<li>Moving from one Element/Terrain to an adjacent one is free, but additional moves require Agility actions. </li>
<li>Ditto with moving between Zones. </li>
</ul>
</div>
<div>
<b>FIELD UPGRADED WITH ZONES</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>Add the following to the bottom of the above Field</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>Zones</b><br />
Ground: Bodies tied to crosses (various states of living), piles of hollow sacrifices, burning dumpsters, outlying streets, central podium with sacrificial altar<br />
1st-7th tier: Blood and body-filled office building floors<br />
8th-11 tier: Partially intact office building floors, broken windows lead to wires and hangings that link the outside in a spiderweb of steel and filth<br />
12 tier: Rooftops<br />
<br />
Look at how much more area is implied by the addition of a few simple Zones. They're more relationship-based than mapped, but there's a clear implication that, for example, you can't see the central podium (where I'll set Aqrabuamelu and his priests) from the outlying streets (where players will enter the Field). However, you probably <i>can</i> see the central podium form high enough in the buildings, even tightrope-walk above it for some Batman-esque shenanigans.<br />
<br />
This isn't done; I need to run through the logic and see if there's more harm than good done by requiring the additional work, if this makes combat movement too muddy and unintuitive to track, what other parts of the rules need tweaking to make the change work (and decide if it's just way easier to do something else instead) etc. etc.<br />
<br />
But I offer it to you, gentle readers, for your edification and enjoyment. If you've got some feedback, <a href="http://dhzwhw4/">Come on over to our Discord </a>where I happily read all of it and reply as often as I can. Until then, True Believers!<br />
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Joel T. Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14794521474606595295noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-873328568939844233.post-21447739829137923592019-09-02T18:36:00.002-07:002019-09-02T18:36:15.017-07:00Lone Wolf Fists open playtest<br />
Finally! Got this beast written to my satisfaction. And it only took an entire year longer than I thought it would! Yay!<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/244258/Tian-Shang-Lone-Wolf-Fists-Playtest-edition"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1237" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_EHCE2qdtBCNQeLIMDF2UetOYuFvKG-T47XLek2ZWYr_wD92peEhDiHz-M4Up-lU94_HFxxiKjMjHt-IWeOYaiULWJ0Iaykpz4CEgKMsug3O4VYXwJvcc_bwTv7207nJvnKzGsOLnWxNW/s400/page01.jpg" width="308" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/244258/Tian-Shang-Lone-Wolf-Fists-Playtest-edition">Also still fiddling with the cover. Go! Get it!</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Here's some ways you can thank me for making this awesome game:<br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/244258/Tian-Shang-Lone-Wolf-Fists-Playtest-edition">Go and download it it for free!</a> This helps my Dtrpg numbers and makes me happy!<br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/244258/Tian-Shang-Lone-Wolf-Fists-Playtest-edition">Go and download it and pay literally any amount of money above that! </a>This will be used to continue adding art and other fun stuff.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.patreon.com/FiveEmperors">Become a patron and get access to a ton of additional content I'll be writing for the playtest and the final game!</a> What will that content be? Places! Monsters! NPCs! New Kung-fu! Vehicles! Magic items! Disasters! Encounter lists! Mutations! And all sorts of other goodies that will eventually grace the full game.<br />
<br />
Tell your friends about this game! This spreads my precious word of mouth and that's super important for running a kickstarter!<br />
<br />
Run a playtest with your friends! You can do it privately or publicly; both help! Especially if you provide your feedback on our<a href="http://zrf38su/"> Discord server, the Fistoverse!</a><br />
<br />
Make posts about it on gaming forums! I'll probably show up and answer questions and it'll be a great chance to let folks know about the game!<br />
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Do all that social media stuff the kiddies do nowadays! Like <a href="https://twitter.com/AzraeleDelmorte">twoot</a>, or go to <a href="https://www.facebook.com/FiveEmperors/">facesbook </a>and make a... Group? Chat? I'm a confused old man!<br />
<br />
Ah man, I'm so excited. Thanks for the ride everybody; let's push this a bit further so we can get a physical book in existence.<br />
<br />
<br />Joel T. Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14794521474606595295noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-873328568939844233.post-33325102565539221732019-08-06T18:26:00.001-07:002020-05-19T15:16:59.723-07:00The social arts (No I still haven't finished re-writing Heart! Bug off!)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhJ9ydT9rQD9IyQH9BbqG3U1gDj5uQiW5J3jyHWUkV7htgYDi_I1fESkKdWZ8XUqc1LBeoaf4Xwfo80gWLfqiv8KtAwUfZaukXry-Eol00s5hj5RAw_an3VqSEoF2gsJc1TKGJvaXgMsIc/s1600/pcwvn.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="360" data-original-width="330" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhJ9ydT9rQD9IyQH9BbqG3U1gDj5uQiW5J3jyHWUkV7htgYDi_I1fESkKdWZ8XUqc1LBeoaf4Xwfo80gWLfqiv8KtAwUfZaukXry-Eol00s5hj5RAw_an3VqSEoF2gsJc1TKGJvaXgMsIc/s400/pcwvn.png" width="366" /></a></div>
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<br />
<br />
Full disclosure: the Courtier's Arts were my favorite secret art. They had some strong contenders too; the prophecy-creating Scholar arts were conceptually brilliant (they did more for Sidereals at my table than hundreds of awkwardly-written charms ever did) and the Priest's arts essentially encapsulated all of the most gonzo stuff I love from stuff like Inuyasha and A Chinese Ghost Story.<br />
<br />
Still, nothing truly compares to twisting somebody's heart inside out with your words. My favorite characters are always slimy social bastards. Take this beautiful monster for example:<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://storiesbywilliams.files.wordpress.com/2012/06/craig-mulligan-baron_arena.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="512" data-original-width="427" height="320" src="https://storiesbywilliams.files.wordpress.com/2012/06/craig-mulligan-baron_arena.jpg" width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image beautifully crafted by Craig Mulligan, by the way</td></tr>
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My Dune homies certainly recognize Harkonnen #1 the late, great reincarnate Baron Vladmir Harkonnen. A character so morbidly and deliberately obese that he cna barely move, much less defend himself in a galaxy filled with posthuman super martial artists who can see the future.<br />
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Yet, he's one of the most dangerous villains in the Duniverse. Hell, he's so dangerous that he effectively threatens one of the most powerful beings in the galaxy long after his death (at her hands, none the less!). The hell how is that sassy cow capable of being that deadly?!<br />
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He's smooth as iced milk is how. He's cunning and treacherous, and he knows how to leverage the darkest parts of the human heart to his inescapable advantage. He's a social manipulator <i>par excellence</i>; he can bend your desires into needs and ensure that he's holding the purse strings to your loyalty. His armor is reputation, his weapon is grace, and he coats in in the poison of your most shameful desires.<br />
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There's a lot to detest about him (read for yourself; Dune enriches the soul), but I love his insidiousness, his never-ending and self-justifying systems of intimidation, manipulation and cruelty that feed his invincible vanity.<br />
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Really, he's just the<i> best bastard</i>.<br />
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But, there's not really a good foil for him in Dune. His self-serving evil is countered by an equally self-serving practical literalism, misguided but sincere zealotry, and a futile and unproven appeal to the nobility of the human spirit. Not exactly a philosophical rebuke, it's all held up as essentially identical. At least, on the immortal and cosmic scale at which the characters of Dune operate.<br />
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But Legends had <i>solid</i> foils for their philosophical evils; at least, on paper. Every good virtue was balanced by an evil one; there was at least a well-set-up battleground for battling characters to test the rightness of their chosen virtues against their rivals.<br />
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The problem with Legends, as always, was that it was <i>perfectly balanced</i>; this is really the same problem spun in a different way. Our minds and hearts recoil from the uncanny valley of moral ambivalence that's implied both by Legend's stalemate and Dune's hyper-zoomed-out minimizing of the entire moral struggle. Our issues are too immediate, too hot in our blood to be answered in such a tepid way; especially at a table filled with intrigue, heroes, villains!<br />
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We want our good and evil to be immediate! We want consequences! Wicked villains! Justice-thirsty heroes! Glory! Righteousness! HONOOOORRRRR<br />
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Legends actually did a great job of this with the courtier Arts; you could totally adhere to good or evil philosophies, and your adherence to and spreading of them had in-game results.<br />
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My efforts were a bit mixed; I already made it so that anyone could be a social bastard by causing this game's analog to Passions, so I put the ability to be a philosopher sage and redeem people socially in the Gupt Kala.<br />
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This actually mirrors my personal relationship with emotions and philosophy; I've always been haunted by painful emotions, but it took a ton of sincere work and effort to learn about philosophies that gave me the tools to live an ethical life.<br />
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It also incidentally makes the art of healing with social interaction feel <i>lost</i> in the apocalypse, which makes characters that learn in rare and skilled; sort of psychologists of the fallen world, healing the broken hearts and minds of its people.<br />
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But don't get me wrong; they can also send them <i>straight to hell </i>with magically-reinforced contract law. Check it out:<br />
<br /><div>...</div><div><br /></div><div>Art of the Sage</div><div>Skill: Heart</div><div>Taught by: Golden Lions, Silver Phoenix, Five Star Spirits</div><div><br /></div><div>Sadhana: The Seven Wisdoms</div><div>The devious manipulators of society can sow discord easily; a poisoned word in the right ear can twist the heart, filling it with anger, sadness, or obsession. But the sage learns a nobler path; the way of discipline, philosophy, and proper action. The Seven Wisdoms are destinies of proper thought and deed, doctrines echoing with the noblest aspects of the universe. </div><div>These philosophical outlooks are created like Imbalances: however, rather than punishing characters and driving them into mad fits of passion, they inspire and reward them for noble and high-minded actions.</div><div>That is assuming of course that you’re working on a tight time scale (an Action scene) and that your target is unwilling to listen to your teachings. For willing recipients in Real-Time scenes, you need to spend only a single action to create the positive Imbalance. In Montage scenes, you may so empower any number of recipients to the zenith of your ability.</div><div>The most potent Imbalance that can be created depends on your Mastery level, according to the following scale:</div><div>Initiates: 2</div><div>Artists: 4 </div><div>Masters: 6</div><div>Grandmasters: 8</div><div><br /></div><div>After it is created, any of these passions may be Inflamed by a Heart action from anyone, just like a normal Imbalance. However, only a practitioner of this Sadhana of sufficient mastery may “break the cap” and increase it beyond these limitations. </div><div><br /></div><div>The Seven Wisdoms</div><div>Earth Wisdom: Stoicism</div><div>Earth teaches this lesson: you can endure. Those taught the wisdom of the stoic withstand the hurts of body, heart and soul unbent. They stand where others fall, unchanged at their core no matter the agonies they suffer. When a Stoic chooses to act in accordance with a Dharma in the face of pain, danger or other hardship, they may claim their bonus.</div><div><br /></div><div>Fire Wisdom: Joy</div><div>Fire teaches this lesson: joy can live in your heart. Those taught the wisdom of the joyful keep an undying zeal alive within them. When they act in accordance with a Dharma by sharing the joy of life with another, or defending that joy, they may claim their bonus.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Water Wisdom: Tranquility</div><div>Water teaches this lesson: all things seek balance. Those taught the wisdom of tranquility become islands of calm in a chaotic world. When they seek to fulfil a Dharma in the face of chaos, panic, terror, danger, or any other emotionally turbulent force, or when they defend natural or societal tranquility from violent disruption, they may claim their bonus.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Air Wisdom: Detachment</div><div>Air teaches this lesson: nothing is permanent. Those taught the wisdom of detachment comprehend that even the universe must one day return to nothingness. Not nihilism, but rather a recognition of the temporary and fluctuating nature of reality; a conscious rejection of the illusion of ownership and permanence. Their untroubled minds allow them to claim their bonus when they must make a significant sacrifice to fulfill a Dharma.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Wood Wisdom: Growth</div><div>Wood teaches this lesson: that which lives must grow. Those taught the wisdom of growth understand this vital direction; they seize, encourage and cherish growth and the natural blossoming of life. When those following the natural way seek to fulfill a Dharma by protecting, encouraging or experiencing growth may claim their bonus. Note; cancer grows as naturally as a flower: encouraging the growth of a wicked philosophy fulfils the requirements of this advantage.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Metal Wisdom: Logic</div><div>Metal teaches this lesson: with thought and effort, you can comprehend this world. Logicians seek to understand their world through careful thought, experiment and deductive reasoning. When logicians seek to fulfill a Dharma by approaching a problem which thwarted them with a new strategy, they may claim their bonus.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Cosmic Wisdom: Enlightenment</div><div>The Cosmos teaches this wisdom: truth exists in impenetrable mystery, necessarily beyond the knowable and known. Students of this recursive and elusive wisdom achieve harmony in the absence of mind, what the ancients called Divine Emptiness. When an adherent seeks to fulfill a Dharma by enlightening an enemy of its true meaning and purpose, they may claim this bonus. </div><div><br /></div><div>Mudra: Mandate of Fire and Stars</div><div>Treaties are the laws that bind societies; how much more so when sanctified with the implacable will of Heaven and backed up by the cruelty of Hell? The Shadow Arts Master ratifies the agreements of nations, codifying their rules of engagement, drawing their lines of battle, and ensuring their conjoined loyalty with the all-destroying blade of the gods dangling precariously above.</div><div><br /></div><div>This Mudra allows the creation of Divinely Sanctioned Treaties; these agreements are backed not by arms and threat, but by the deep and vengeful sorcery of the cosmos. Those that dare break their sworn word face the wrath of Heaven and all the furious reprisal of Hell.</div><div><br /></div><div>This Gupt Kala expands the Heart skill, allowing the creation of divinely-reinforced agreements between parties. These magical contracts are constructed thusly:</div><div><br /></div><div> Two or more parties agree to be bound by a sworn covenant. Anything might be agreed to, but there must be some tangible benefit for all parties involved; the divine withholds its blessing from an agreement which lacks some token peppercorn of consideration for all involved.</div><div>All parties further agree to be punished under a sanction should they violate their agreement. The degree of the Sanction determines the difficulty of the required Heart action to bind the treaty (1 Step= Rank 2, 2 Steps= Rank 4, 3 Steps= Rank 6, and 4 Steps= Rank 8)</div><div>Any caveats which allow exceptions to this are clearly laid out and agreed to as well</div><div>Finally, in the witnessing of the Shadow Artists, all parties formally swear to the covenant</div><div><br /></div><div>To successfully bind the treaty together, the Artist must use a Heart action of appropriate Rank. Greater levels of mastery allow ever more terrifying sanctions with powerful enough action.</div><div><br /></div><div>When used to sanctify agreements between individuals, this Mudra may be used in a single Real-Time action. To bind larger Populaces together, it requires a Montage action and representatives who Heaven and Hell recognize as speakers for those bound by the covenant.</div><div><br /></div><div>Covenants last as long as specified in the agreement. If an expiration is not agreed upon, then it lasts for either the lifetime of all parties and their inheritors, or until dissolved by mutual agreement; whichever comes first (usually the death one).</div><div><br /></div><div>The classic covenants</div><div>Over the long cycles of history, some covenants have emerged countless times as useful and predictable agreements between societies.</div><div><br /></div><div>Trade Agreement: The parties involved agree on terms of trade between their societies. This might involve tariffs for importing foreign goods, or allow only certain items to be traded, or certain people to traffic in certain goods. It might restrict certain varieties of trade, or place minimums or upper limits on certain types of goods.</div><div><br /></div><div>Alliance: A formal declaration of comradery and cooperation between societies, especially useful in times of war and other strife. May require allied parties to join forces in the wars of any ally, mutual defense for a shared border, or merely monetary support of one another’s war efforts.</div><div><br /></div><div>Non-Aggression Pact: A less cumbersome agreement than an alliance, this covenant formalizes a lasting peace between its signers. Although lacking the reward of a full alliance, this agreement has been skillfully maneuvered into effective wartime defenses as nations select foes and non-aggressors to cover their flanks. It is also a classic first step on the road to trade agreements and alliance, so makes an effective “gateway” treaty.</div><div><br /></div><div>Honor Duel: Sometimes wars last so long and claim so many lives that everyone involved gets completely sick of the entire affair; still, honor must be served. In these cases, a formal covenant outlining the rules for duels of honor is extremely helpful to create some token bloodshed in service of a greater peace.</div><div><br /></div><div>Letters of Marque: Civil society sometimes has need of skillful scoundrels to selective break their own rules. In these fringe cases, it’s best to be legally clear about what these ne’er-do-wells are officially allowed to get away with. These covenants codify selective wicked deeds that their bearer may perform under the full blessing of the law. This protects the sanctioned wrongdoer from the consequences of their own actions and legal reprisal.</div><div><br /></div><div>Sanctions</div><div>Destiny itself upholds the covenants of the Shadow Artist; those who break their sworn vow must face the furious wrath of the heavens and vengeful universe for their trespass. Less skillful artists negotiate for direct and temporary punishment, while the legendary grandmasters call down curses to ruin civilizations that dare dishonor their treaties.</div><div><br /></div><div>Sanctions are Dynamic Content which is unleashed if a covenant is broken. The more powerful the Shadow Artist, the more steps are added to the content. An Initiate only has one, while a Grandmaster has all four steps.</div><div><br /></div><div>The Catalyst for these is all the covenant itself. If there’s some dimension of the agreement that allows those breaking it to squeeze out of punishment (such as a Caveat, p.XX) then this can remove the Catalyst and cease the sanction. </div><div><br /></div><div>When a covenant is created, the master chooses the depth of the Sanction, up to the limits of their capabilities. For example, they might create less onerous treaties with lighter sanctions, if they wish.</div><div><br /></div><div>Plague Sanction</div><div>A wasting sickness seizes all those who trespassed against the covenant. The graveyard of the world is still choked with the bones of those claimed by this horrifying covenant. Weaker levels of this sanction effectively create weaker illnesses; the higher echelons, adding as they do ever more horrible symptoms, </div><div><br /></div><div>Montage Dynamic Content</div><div>Initiates (Step 1): The oathbreakers come down with fever, sweats, and a hacking phlegm-filled cough. This is a Rank 1 Sickness Imbalance. It’s dramatic penalty is identical to a chest wound, as character double over in hacking fits due to any strenuous activity. Characters that come into contact with a plaguebearer suffer this and all other stages of the cursed illness unless they succeed on a Rank 2 Endurance roll to fend it off.</div><div>Artists (Step 2): The fever breaks, and the plaguebearers devolve into shuddering chills. This a Rank 2 Sickness Imbalance. It’s powerful to kill between 1-10% of a Populace that contracts it after one Montage scene (roll a d10). It’s dramatic Penalty is akin to having both legs broken; the character’s cold chills and shaking make grace and speed impossible.</div><div>Masters (Step 3): The chill takes it’s next form; hideous boils, vomiting, diarrhea, and thick, yellow sweat. This kills and additional 1-10% after the conclusion of a second scene (roll another d10, adding to the first’s body count). Characters this sick have a Rank 3 Deadly Sickness Imbalance; if they take the dramatic penalty and roleplay the horrific symptoms above, they gain 1d10 Aggravation.</div><div>Grandmasters (Step 4): Those few unlucky survivors begin to rot; their flesh deepens into the color of a bruise and their flesh necrotizes. Their tongues swell with pus, and their eyes bleed out of their skulls. Only 1-10% of an affected Populace will survive this horrific malady. Characters with this plague have a Rank 4 Deadly Sickness Imbalance; its Dramatic Penalty is a complete shutdown of both arms and legs, and comes with 1d10 Aggravation for trying to act at all.</div><div><br /></div><div>Famine Sanction</div><div>The material wealth, typically food but really any possessions, of the oathbreakers crumbles away, putrifies, rusts, or otherwise gradually becomes worthless. Much of the wealth of the ancient world melted away due to this merciless sanction. Weaker levels of this sanction impoverish or starve those who dare to break their word, while the higher levels turns all the world’s wealth into their foe; taunting them but offering no comfort, no sustenance, no shelter, and no aid.</div><div><br /></div><div>Montage Dynamic Content</div><div>Initiates (Step 1): What could be chalked up to bad luck causes 25% of a Poulace’s Productivity to become worthless (locusts swarm wheat fields, cave-in bury precious ores, machines go awry and delay production, etc.). Each affected character additionally loses a random 25% of their least valuable material possessions due to accident, carelessness, and annoying misfortune. </div><div>Artists (Step 2): Clear and unambiguous misfortune causes the loss of the next quarter of the Populace’s productivity (up to 50% now). Characters lose the next 25% of their material possessions, sparing their most cherished and powerful but otherwise ruining whatever else they claim as their own.</div><div>Masters (Step 3): Horrific, clearly magical misfortune destroys the lion’s share of a Populace’s Productivity (an additional 25%, for a total of 75%!). Character’s lose 75% of their worldly wealth and possessions, even cherished, irreplaceable and powerful items.</div><div>Grandmasters (Step 4): Heaven withholds even the barest mote of fortune from the doomed Populace that advance to this stage: the entirety of their wealth and worldly good (even food!) is annihilated in a cursed disaster, leaving them to starve. Characters are similarly impoverished. Furthermore, any who dare offer them aid are quickly stripped of their wealth and food as well, suffering the curse along with the unfortunate character!</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Mischief Sanction</div><div>Bad luck, misfortune and a generally miserable fate befall those unfortunate word-breakers that defy this sanction’s covenant. This ranges from annoying and only modestly dangerous to full-blown cursed with an inescapable fate. </div><div><br /></div><div>Montage Dynamic Content</div><div>Initiates (Step 1): Troublesome and irritating coincidences, misfortunes, and a general souring of luck plagues a Populace under this sanction. Although not enough to do more than annoy them, their Status Quo changes to reflect their bad temper and poor fortune, and NPCs will comment on their bad luck. For characters, they must roll twice for any Volatile Content, accepting the result of the GM’s choice.</div><div>Artists (Step 2): Incredible and dangerous bad luck befalls a Populace at this level; this counts as a Minor Hardship, and NPCs will be desperately praying, practicing taboos, or otherwise indulging in any superstition to assuage their horrible turn of luck. Characters labor under the burden of a Rank 1 Bad Luck Spiritual Imbalance. It’s Dramatic penalty requires the full engagement of either a hand, foot or sense in the practice of a weird ritual taboo to ward off their misfortune.</div><div>Masters (Step 3): Legendary misfortune plagues a Populace at this level, counting as a Significant Hardship. The people cry out to the gods for mercy and are desperate for a cure to their woes. Characters must content with a disastrous Rank 3 Bad Luck Imbalance, Further, They must roll for Volatile Content no matter what they’re doing at the start of every scene.</div><div>Grandmasters (Step 4): Doom befalls the luckless Populace that suffer under this sanction; this counts as a Major Hardship. NPCs you meet are wrecks, bemoaning their cruel fate. Characters endure a crippling Rank 5 Bad Luck Imbalance, in addition to the increased Volatile Content above.</div><div><br /></div><div>Monstrous Sanction</div><div>The World of Ashes and Ghosts once was known by another name, when it belonged to the merciful and creative hands of humankind; in this fallen age, it is gripped instead by the claws of crueler masters. This sanction steers the destinies of ever deadlier monsters towards those foolish enough to go back on their oaths.</div><div><br /></div><div>Montage Dynamic Content</div><div>Initiates (Step 1): Vermin plague the oathbreakers. Populaces have their food stores eaten and spoiled, losing 1d10% of their food: this might cause a Hardship if there’s not enough food remaining to feed everyone. Characters have a terrain-appropriate swarm of vermin arrive as Volatile Content to trouble them.</div><div>Artists (Step 2): Opportunistic beastmen, mutants and other dangerous creatures are drawn to the oathbreakers. Select an appropriate local Populace of monstrous humanoids to prey upon a Populace; they become keyed to the area and the Status Quo changes to reflect their parasitic nature. For characters, this monster Populace hounds them, sending Groups alongside any Volatile Content encountered to opportunistically attack them.</div><div>Masters (Step 3): A powerful monster (Effort 7+) arises from the deep, dark places of the world to wreak havoc. Populaces endure a Significant Hardship as it lairs in their territory, permanently changing the Status Quo as it uses them as a food or slave supply. Characters must deal with the creature as though it were Volatile Content.</div><div>Grandmasters (Step 4): A monstrous demigod (Effort 12+) is summoned to rain horrors on the oathbreakers. A Populace endures a Major hardship and, should they survive, must live under the bootheel of the creature (either as it’s favored food supply or as a conquered people). Characters must vanquish the beast as though it’s Volatile Content; if they fail to kill it but otherwise drive it off, it will heal and trouble them again at every opportunity.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Caveats</div><div>As they say: rules are meant to be broken. In the case of caveats, they can at least be bent. A caveat is a specific, intentional exception to following a covenant. Although a player is always free to plead their case to the GM, the existence of caveats helps strengthen a Player’s ability to break their word and worm out of the consequences. </div><div><br /></div><div>The classic caveats</div><div>Over the long stretch of history, a few classic caveats have emerged.</div><div><br /></div><div>Trial by Duel: A trespass against the covenant must be ratified by a public accusation. The accused may absolve themselves against wrongdoing by challenging the accuser to a duel to the death and winning. This caveat is favored by the Gold Lions and other martial brotherhoods, since it encourages justice through martial excellence.</div><div><br /></div><div>Caste Immunity: Certain societal castes are simply not bound by the covenant; such is the privilege of power. This caveat is favored by the Silver Phoenix and other royal-minded clans, as it solidifies their power and keeps their subjects in their place.</div><div><br /></div><div>Knife in the Darkness: If the trespass has no witnesses, the covenant ignores it. This is a favorite among the Shadow Vipers and other groups of assassins, as it encourages the sharpening of killing skills and subtlety by rewarding it with freedom from consequences.</div><div><br /></div><div>Ritual Exception: If certain circumstances are met, the covenant selectively does not apply. For example, a covenant against killing might be waived against those that betray their clan. The Emerald Kirin and other ritualistic clans favor this caveat, as it ensconces the rules of society within the framework of religion. </div>
Joel T. Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14794521474606595295noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-873328568939844233.post-27787752553310555822019-08-05T11:50:00.009-07:002020-05-19T15:22:25.784-07:00Committing to things is hard! Gupt Kala, I summon thee!<span style="background-color: white;"><div><br /></div><div>I baked my very first cherry pie today</div><div><br /></div><div>Took it on easy mode; I did not hand-make the crust, I just bought it from a store. Also, I just got canned cherries; Fresh seemed like they'd be too tart? Maybe not; I don't know much about cherries.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEYyb-_teQ5O8WDnTZPL2mc2xVU_kUYlFv2LsKlIDv3v1fQG0KmHVLTlaDFqBiR5_AyggdNAj1MlJngtd_2IfxUi7IMIWT4dtKI86oUBRRwD2XFmiseH23Xd8xImiZZpvEHILKA3owkZzt/s1600/67817663_2340093716206771_28877199729754112_n.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><font color="#000000" style="background-color: white;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1024" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEYyb-_teQ5O8WDnTZPL2mc2xVU_kUYlFv2LsKlIDv3v1fQG0KmHVLTlaDFqBiR5_AyggdNAj1MlJngtd_2IfxUi7IMIWT4dtKI86oUBRRwD2XFmiseH23Xd8xImiZZpvEHILKA3owkZzt/s320/67817663_2340093716206771_28877199729754112_n.jpg" width="320" /></font></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white;">Look at that; I pied</span></td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><br /><br />I also watched Tank Girl on amazon. Not bad.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white;">Gonna check out that comic next. Looks like it rules<br /></span><br /></td></tr></tbody></table>
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<br /><br /><div>Anyway. I gathered you here today to talk about the game! Specifically, that I want to get the Lone Wolf Fists playtest Done already!</div><div><br /></div><div>It's been kicking my ass a little. So I decided to jump around in my trademark fashion and work on the Gupt Kala.</div><div><br /></div><div>The Secret Arts</div><div><br /></div><div>There were these things in Legends of the Wulin called the Secret Arts. I've talked about them before; they were basically ways of manipulating all the status effects characters tended to drag around with them due to whacking out their Chi with irresponsible training or being passionate, violent assholes that got injured and fell in love and hate constantly.</div><div><br /></div><div>There were five:</div><div>Warrior's art - Your strategy and combat philosophy</div><div>Doctor's art - Your traditional acupuncture/magic medicine to change your Chi wuxia doctor. Classic.</div><div>Priest's art - Blessings, curses, and other magic woo that came out of strong emotions</div><div>Courtier's art - The assholes who were causing and manipulating said emotions and</div><div>Scholar's art - Somewhere between Sherlock Holmes and the Sidereals from Exalted, you made predictions and they wouldn't so much come true as just hang around and make trouble for everybody</div><div><br /></div><div>Some of these were way, way better in play than others; there's a reasonably famous example of a courtier in one of Arik's games hanging on the sidelines of a duel and just talking while stealth-unleashing these punishing Courtier's Arts and this sad sack who effectively couldn't fight back. That's not even the most heinous thing courtiers did; I loved them devious assholes.</div><div><br /></div><div>The Ups and Downs</div><div><br /></div><div>Weapons of the Gods relegated the secret arts to an appendix; Legends had the balls to put them center-stage. You didn't have HP in that game, you got dice put on you that got rolled if you were hit hard enough; any sets would turn into Chi Conditions.</div><div><br /></div><div>There were some benefits to doing it this way; it was a cool system, making it central meant it got more play. On the other hand, it was just complex enough that it tended to slow things down, so that was a pretty big drawback.</div><div><br /></div><div>Chi conditions manifested in an uneven way too; like, I once had a player burn the palms of somebody's hands, so they had to drop their weapon, which had this cascade effect where they couldn't use their external style anymore. So it was a choice between two different numbers of penalties: that's not really a choice, you choose the small one.</div><div><br /></div><div>There were some rough patches in the writing, proofreading, playtesting and editing. Like, read back through any of my stuff; it's decent, but a hot mess in dire need of a solid proofread and re-write. Imagine if I had a deadline and that stuff was printed in your hardback. You can see why the editor got frustrated with how that book was released.</div><div><br /></div><div>Since the chi condition stuff was so central to how the secret arts worked, that system being equal parts chore and mess had the knock-on effect of obscuring some of those problems I talked about with the secret arts. And there were a ton of cool, unique ideas in that section; so much that it would've been extremely hard to playtest all of them prior to release.</div><div><br /></div><div>The Bottom Line</div><div><br /></div><div>The end result of all this was a glorious hot mess of a game that's beloved to this day. So much so that I spent my last weekend before semester writing over three thousand words trying to create my own system for Lone Wolf Fists based on that design.</div><div><br /></div><div>I've got 1.5 written: my take on the warrior's arts, and half my take on the courtier's arts.</div><div><br /></div><div>Since you fine people decided to show up and read, I post the first here for your perusal.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>....</div><div><br /></div><div>Gupt Kala</div><div>Secretive sibling of the mystical martial arts, the shadow arts or Gupt Kala are a subtle discipline. Strategic, comprehensive, and attentive, they offer their students new ways of perceiving the world. Some are mystical traditions, some are schools of deep philosophical thought, but all offer versatility and power beyond simple martial excellence.</div><div><br /></div><div>Learning Gupt Kala</div><div>Each school of thought and discipline in the Gupt Kala are known as Arts: Art of the General, Art of the Seer, Art of the Diplomat, etc. They are learned as encompassing arts, rather than as single Techniques: those that master the Novice level of the Art of the Sorcerer will have a comprehensive suite of powers and charms at their disposal, rather than a single powerful special move.</div><div>Because of their holistic nature, they tend to permeate more widely than the mystical martial arts: no single clan lays claim to a given Art. They’re more widespread: a Shadow Viper organ-reader might clash with a Brotherhood of Freaks tortoiseshell-cracker over a mighty prediction of the martial world’s fate.</div><div>Characters of any faction may begin the game with an Initiate-level Gupt Kala from their Clan’s list; all clans offer more than one. Achieving greater power in the arts requires learning a higher Discipline from a teacher or manual, similar to Techniques.</div><div>Initiates are novices of the secrets; they have mysterious and unexpected abilities, but their powers are subtle and weak</div><div>Artists are established and skilled experts; their command of the arts grants them a library of deadly and unanticipated tricks</div><div>Masters are recognized powers of the secret ways; their powers are unknowable and dreaded</div><div>Grandmasters are the secret lords of the mystical world; living gods of inconceivable magic might</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Costs of Mastery</div><div><br /></div><div>As with Techniques, you need a master or manual to teach you the shadow arts. If you find one which has the type and discipline level of Gupt Kala you wish to master, then you must spend a Montage scene training and spend Kharma equal to the Cost of Mastery.</div><div>Initiate: 20</div><div>Artist: 40</div><div>Master: 80</div><div>Grandmaster: 160</div><div>Although the levels are similar in power and cost to Techniques, they operate very differently.</div><div><br /></div><div>Powers of the Gupt Kala</div><div>Like Techniques, the Gupt Kala are special disciplines characters may use to gain a tactical advantage. However, they’re more subtle and comprehensive than Techniques, offering a tactical toolkit of useful abilities.</div><div>Every Art is centered in a single skill: generally Heart, Intellect or Spirit. By infusing their knowledge and mastery of the skill with Prana, characters can push their abilities with the skill to beyond human levels.</div><div>This functions identically to using a Technique: the Cost and Rank depends on the Discipline level achieved, although they’re considered to have any Facing the player wishes:</div><div>Initiate: Rank 1/ Cost 6</div><div>Artist: Rank 2/ Cost 13</div><div>Master: Rank 3/ Cost 22 / Achieve up to Rank 7 effects</div><div>Grandmaster: Rank 4/ Cost 34 / Achieve up to Rank 8 effects</div><div><br /></div><div>In addition to this gross display of power, Gupt Kala offer a wealth of unique tricks and powers to their adherents. These take the form of mystical spell-like powers called Sadhana, and ritualistic investments of magic force called Mudra.</div><div><br /></div><div>Sādhanā</div><div>Sadhana are the quick works of magic practiced and perfected by a Shadow Artist to round out their tactical capabilities. They function similarly to Imbalances, Techniques, and other powers that function on the truncated timeframes of an Action Scene. </div><div><br /></div><div>Here are some example Sadhana that many Gupt Kala offer:</div><div><br /></div><div>Advantageous Imbalances: Like typical Imbalances, a player chooses whether their character will adhere to the Dramatic restrictions during a round or action. However, if they do, they are granted additional Effort Dice to roll during your turn. The number of bonus Effort are equal to your Discipline level (Initiative 1, Arist 2, Master 3, Grandmaster 4). While adhering to the Dramatic restrictions, the GM has final veto over any proposed action if they feel it violates the spirit of the restriction.</div><div>Mystical Manipulation: Like Techniques, these special moves cause no physical harm. Rather, they build aggravation towards an Imbalance. The kinds of Imbalance that the artist may create are detailed within the Art. These function exactly as Techniques, with Facings, Rank and Effects. These can be defended against just as other attacks.</div><div>Elemental Awareness: The Six Earthly Elements underlie all reality: Metal, Earth, Wood, Air, Fire and Water. Beyond these are the Divine Elements of Heaven and Hell. Secret Artists learn to move, think and act in accord with these all-permeating principles of the cosmos, granting them powerful insights and unique advantages.</div><div><br /></div><div>Mudra</div><div>Mudra are the rituals and long-scale works of deep sorcery mastered by the Shadow Artist to establish and consolidate their magical powers in the world. They function as long-term projects, environmental interaction, puzzle solving, resource acquisition, and other actions appropriate to the delicate, longer timescales of Real-Time or Montage Scenes.</div><div>Here is a selection of Mudra offered by some Gupt Kala:</div><div>Magical Summoning: Adherents to the laws of the cosmos can call on strange and powerful allies. They can call up demons, call down small gods, or draw forth elemental beasts from the earth’s stygian depths. The length of alliance and reliability of the ally vary, but the general power level of the summoned being is determined by the Discipline level of the artist.</div><div>Environmental Conversion: Holy places are sanctified to heaven; haunted locals cursed by Hell. Sanctuaries of the natural world are consecrated in the green touch of the old earth. A Shadow Artist can infuse an area with magical energy and thereby bring ancient magical laws to bear on the reality of the place. The specific alteration to reality are detailed within the Gupt Kal, while the area converted is reliant on the artist's Discipline Level: Initiates can convert one Field, Artists a Tract, Masters an entire Domain, while Grandmasters can convert a whole Region.</div><div>Spiritual Covenants: Gupt Kala allows mortals to bind and control the immortal forces of the world. Whether these be demons demanding wickedness, djinni wish-granting, or services to the small gods, the weird spirits of the universe grant powerful favors to those with the mystical skill to bind them.</div><div><br /></div><div>....</div><div><br /></div><div>QUICK BREAK</div><div><br /></div><div>Hey I know you're probably all chompin' at the bit to check out some examples; that's rad, I was eager to write 'em too. I just wanted to squeeze in some stuff about why this take at the warrior's art rules and what I was tryin' to do here.</div><div><br /></div><div>Okay so, the warrior's arts in LotW worked thus:</div><div>1. You choose a tactical approach based on one of the five elements</div><div>2. You did that and got a bonus</div><div>3. If you saw somebody else doing that, you could fuck with them and take away their bonus</div><div><br /></div><div>There was a touch more nuance than that, but that's the bones of it. This made the warrior's chi condition bonuses way easier to get, and gave them a new tactical approach to nullifying it that other warriors had the best chance of exploiting.</div><div><br /></div><div>Which is actually pretty great! In theory.</div><div><br /></div><div>In practice, warrior's simplicity and self-focus made them really vulnerable among the secret artists; without investing in social or magical defenses, they could get rocked pretty hard and didn't have the fine manipulation to manage bad chi conditions or cure themselves.</div><div><br /></div><div>They also merely strengthened a very obvious and universally used combat approach, rather than getting a more flexible and unexpected tactical approach. All the other artists got tricks, the warrior merely grew their beatin' stick to max size.</div><div><br /></div><div>This effectively meant that they were "half" secret-artists; they could boost themselves up, but could only sabotage other warriors.... And only sometimes.</div><div><br /></div><div>LotW also didn't have super-well developed strategic gameplay; leading armies and other badass warrior things didn't have the mechanical muscle to manifest at a table in a satisfactory way. This further injured the appeal of the warrior's secret arts; there just wasn't a war system for them!</div><div><br /></div><div>But hey, guess who's got two thumbs and just wrote a war system for LWF?</div></span>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white;">What.... No ME you idiot!</span></td></tr>
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<div><div><span style="background-color: white;">This post needed more Tank Girl.</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;">Anyway war rules in the post apocalypse. Also, I wanted all my favorite mass combats from Avatar the Last Airbender to be things in this game. So they are.</span></div></div>
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<div><div><span style="background-color: white;">Aww yeah. that's the spice.</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;">The tactical approach idea was gold, so I kept that as the bedrock of the Gupt Kala. But you can also train your post-apocalyptic legions into benders while you're at it.</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;">What's the worst secret art NOW, fool?!</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;">....</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;">Art of the General</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;">Taught by: Emerald Kirin, Golden Lions, Radioactive Scorpions, Five Star Spirits</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;">Sadhana: The Fourteen Strategies</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;">Laid down by the warring elements shortly after the dawn of time, the ancient laws of warfare have governed the molding of reality ever since. Generals learn to see the influence of elemental balance and imbalance in everything. These things being plain, they can adopt a strategy of boon or bane against the prevailing element, whether in the war-torn terrain or the heart of their foe.</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;">Adopting one of the classical strategies is a Sadhana. It manifests as either a Harmonious or Discordant Imbalance, aligned with or opposing a particular element. In this way, there are a total of fourteen strategies, from Harmonious Earth to Discordant Cosmos.</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;">Harmonious (Element) Strategy</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;">Absorbing the tactical nuances of your surroundings, you bring yourself into strategic alignment with a combat strategy forged in the cradle of existence. This functions as an Advantageous Imbalance: the specific actions dictated by the strategy are outlined in the element list below. For your tactical superiority, you gain a bonus Effort die commensurate with your mastery level as indicated below:</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;">Initiate: 1</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;">Artist: 2</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;">Master: 3</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;">Grandmaster:4</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;">Discordant (Element) Strategy</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;">Every strategy has a weakness; masters of the Art of the General recognize the strategic nuance of the foe’s battle plan, even when they are blind to it. By adopting one of the Elemental Strategies, they rob the foe of their assumed advantages and leave them defenseless in the face of their superior skill.</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;">Against an opposing (Element) Strategy, foes benefiting from advantageous terrain have their benefits reduced against your actions. If this penalty is severe enough, then you gain a bonus to the Rank of a single action against them so long as they otherwise claim the advantage during their turn. For example, if they benefit from increased defense against your allies by taking cover under a concrete rampart, then you may claim an Earth Strategy bonus against them this turn.</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;">The Elements oppose one another like so:</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;">Wood opposes Earth (roots break through dirt)1</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;">Earth opposes Water (mud drinks the river)</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;">Water opposes Fire (rain drowns the wildfire)</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;">Fire opposes Metal (heat softens steel)</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;">Metal opposes Cosmos (iron tames the lightning)</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;">Cosmos opposes Air (the heavens direct the gale)</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;">Air opposes Wood (the tornado uproots the tree)</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;">The Ranks of penalty faced by our foes depend on your mastery level, as indicated below: Initiate: 1</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;">Artist: 2</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;">Master: 3</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;">Grandmaster: 4</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;">Elemental Strategies</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;">Earth: Taking advantage of the literal battle ground, you adopt a defensive position. You must act reserved; offense is only possible from a position of defense, such as archery from a rampart or a spear poking through a concrete bunker. You may adopt a smothering, encompassing strategy based on earthwork traps, landslides, avalanches, falling rocks, or similar strikes.</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;">Water: In a fluid environment, the dominant strategy is reactive. You must go with the flow of your surroundings, attentively waiting for the opportunity to act. You are purely responsive; you may attack when attacked, act when acted upon. You can initiate strikes, but only if being carried along by the surrounding environment in the form of a current, strong wind, or surprisingly an explosive force.</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;">Fire: Fire does not wait; it acts. You must be as fire; relentless, destructive, and overwhelming. You must adopt an all-out offense, attacking or attempting to destroy parts of your environment. Defense is possible, but only until you have the opportunity to use all of your available resources to attack. You cannot hold back or show mercy, but may choose to cripple rather than kill a foe.</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;">Air: You are as the air; unpredictable, powerful, and elusive. You adopt an evasive, unpredictable strategy, meeting offense with evasion rather than defense. You might strike from concealment, or use a secret advantage to surprise and confound your foe. Highly unusual and unlikely strategies are encouraged by this approach. You cannot remain still, either to press a sustained offense or defend an entrenched position; air is not patient enough for such activities. </span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;">Wood: You are as inevitable as the root, as supple as the leaf. You move purposefully, slowly gaining and consolidating control of the battlefield. A favorite strategy of chain-fighters, grapplers and those who control and overpower their foes, it allows for powerful (if straightforward) offense and defense. You may not use surprise or speed, but must act predictably and gradually to overpower the foe. The greatest restriction of this approach is its reliance on the root; your feet must stay firmly on the ground and your stance must be strong to benefit from this approach.</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;">Metal: Metal bends and cuts, striking precisely from a specified angle with precision and focusing its force for full impact. You must be like metal; precise, focused, and specific. Your strategy need not be predictable, but must be tightly focused. Although you remain both flexible and tough on the defense, surprise and redirection can blunt your cutting offense. A blade cannot cut from it’s flat side; a foe which directs your offence nullifies it.</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;">Cosmos: Magic is powerful, but relies on its mystery as its true strength; so to, does your strategy. You adopt an unusual strategy, relying on surprise and mystery to overwhelm the foe. Your approach is as bound by predictability as the unbending laws of magic; a foe that sees through the mysterious element of your strategy can utterly unravel it’s advantage.</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;">Mudra: The 7 Tactical Approaches</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;">The art of the general is the art of war itself. It is an encompassing art; war is waged over many terrains, it permeates all space and time. The laws of conflict are the laws of the universe. Masters of these arts learn the secret sorceries of this truth; they train their armies to conquer in the endless theatres of war.</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;">The Seven Approaches are part magic, part martial; the master’s ritual is somewhere between training and meditation, forging the soldier’s minds, bodies and souls according to one of the seven ancient strategies. </span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;">This training occurs during a Montage scene. The listed Rank of Action must be achieved with a Spirit action for the training to be successful. If it is, the Army/Group acquires a new Tactic. Note that multiple Tactics may be taught with sufficient additional Spirit Actions of appropriate Rank.</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;">The Rank required and Tactics taught are: </span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;">Initiate: 2</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;">Artist: 4</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;">Master: 6</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;">Grandmaster: 8</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;">Tactics of the 7 Approaches</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;">Earth: Tactic of the Siege</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;">The Tactical Approach of Earth concerns its training with the art of siege warfare. It’s adherents become experts at defense, able to weather enemy raids and artillery bombardments as though ensconced in the invincible belly of the world.</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;">Impervious Mountain Strategy</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;">Cost: </span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;">Novice: 6</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;">Expert: 13</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;">Master: 21</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;">Ultimate: 34</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;">Rank: </span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;">Novice: 0</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;">Expert: 1</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;">Master: 2</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;">Ultimate: 3</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;">Facing: Any</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;">Effect: The defense positioning, phalanx drills and shield-wall strategy empowered by this maneuver are without peer. In addition to defending against an assault, this defense creates a (total defense -1 Rank) defensive fortification that houses the army against future attacks. </span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;">Keywords: Defensive, Counterattack</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;">Water: Tactic of Naval Warfare</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;">The Tactical Approach of Water trains captains and sailors to master the art of naval warfare. Marine assaults, ship-to-ship melee, even the bizarre warfare of submersible craft are all empowered by this comprehensive aquatic training.</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;">Captain of the Tsunami Approach</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;">Cost: </span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;">Novice: 6</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;">Expert: 13</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;">Master: 21</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;">Ultimate: 34</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;">Rank: </span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;">Novice: 1</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;">Expert: 2</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;">Master: 3</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;">Ultimate: 4</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;">Facing: Any</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;">Effect: Empowers only attacks from ships; this includes amphibious assaults, boarding actions, broadsides, even coastal bombardments. Additionally, defends against any such actions, or against any attacks targeting a sea vessel.</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;">Finally, may be used by an entire army to cross a body of water; their swimming fortified by it’s elemental magic. This is the only way in which it empowers Endurance.</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;">If used for defense, the Army can command the seas to harden into defenses structures made of ice; this ice is mundane and will melt at sufficient temperature. This structure provides defense equal to (defense roll -2 Rank)</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;">Keywords:</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;">Effect: ...</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;">Keywords: Versatile</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;">Skill: Endurance</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;">Fire: Tactic of the Scorched Earth</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;">The Tactic of Fire is as destructive and viciously effective as a surging wildfire; defenses are smashed, cover burned, buildings razed and the earth salted. Devastating and short-sighted, this tactic is more often used as a threat against intractable foes due to it’s hideously destructive nature. If only the architects of the Apocalypse had been so frugal...</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;">Slashing Wildfire Offense</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;">Cost: </span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;">Novice: 6</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;">Expert: 13</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;">Master: 21</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;">Ultimate: 34</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;">Rank: </span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;">Novice: 1</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;">Expert: 2</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;">Master: 3</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;">Ultimate: 4</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;">Facing: Any</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;">Effect: Defensive positions used to defend against this Tactic are permanently reduced by 1 Rank as they’re scorched, cut and broken.</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;">In addition, this Tactic creates a Bonfire Disaster attached to the target Field. It is beyond the control of the army that created it; it is much easier to start a fire than to control it.</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;">Keywords: Elemental, Destructive, Offensive</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;">Air: Tactical of Aerial Warfare</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;">The Air Tactical Approach teaches mastery of the skies; it emphasizes ranged warfare, superior positioning, and unusual strategies such as the use of hang-gliders to gain height advantage over earthbound foes. It opens the vertical as a strategic consideration, granting an impressive advantage over less maneuverable foes.</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;">Peregrin Sky Mastery</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;">Cost: </span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;">Novice: 6</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;">Expert: 13</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;">Master: 21</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;">Ultimate: 34</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;">Rank: </span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;">Novice: 1</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;">Expert: 2</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;">Master: 3</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;">Ultimate: 4</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;">Facing: Any</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;">Effect: Through basic lightfoot training, this powerful Tactic allows an army to soar over their foe’s heads or leap up to intercept flying foes. It allows the Army to launch Attacks as though Ranged and above the defenders, meaning they can only be struck back if the foe has weaponry that can return fire. Additionally, it allows attacks against aerial foes even when the Army is otherwise unequipped to fight back. </span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;">Finally, it allows the Army to take Agility actions as a character.</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;">Keywords: Offensive</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;">Skill: Agility</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;">Wood: Tactic of Guerrilla Warfare</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;">The Tactic of Wood trains its adherents in the brutal art of guerrilla warfare. A darling of revolutionaries, beleaguered defenders and impoverished soldiers, the ruthless and efficient strategies taught by this tactic are a nightmare to face.</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;">Jungle’s Hungering Teeth</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;">Cost: </span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;">Novice: 6</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;">Expert: 13</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;">Master: 21</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;">Ultimate: 34</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;">Rank: </span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;">Novice: 1</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;">Expert: 2</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;">Master: 3</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;">Ultimate: 4</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;">Facing: Any</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;">Effect: Uniquely, the Army may take a Senses action to hide themselves so long as they’re in dense terrain (it need not be natural terrain: dense urban ruins or rotted factory depths work as well as dark jungles). </span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;">Opposing Armies who take damage from this Tactic take an additional 1d10 from disease and exposure. Additionally, they lose 1 Loyalty at the end of this scene from the demoralizing psychological warfare.</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;">Keywords: Versatile, Stealth</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;">Skill: Senses</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;">Metal: Tactic of Mounted Warfare</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;">The Tactical approach of Metal concerns itself with mounted combat; from the thundering charge of ancient cavalry to the earth-quaking onslaught of tank legions. It is the tactic of the lancer, the blitzkrieg, the penetrating flank that rolls up a battle line and crushes the foe beneath hoof, wheel or tread.</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;">Iron Horse General</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;">Cost: </span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;">Novice: 6</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;">Expert: 13</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;">Master: 21</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;">Ultimate: 34</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;">Rank: </span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;">Novice: 1</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;">Expert: 2</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;">Master: 3</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;">Ultimate: 4</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;">Facing: Any</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;">Effect: Mounted armies using this powerful Tactic simultaneously create both an Attack and Agility Action. Empowers only attacks and Agility actions from mounted Armies: this might be horses, tanks, even motorcycles might be launched between rooftops.</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;">Keywords: Offense</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;">Skill: Agility</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;">Cosmos: Tactic of Mystical Warfare</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;">The Cosmic Tactic empowers soldiers with rituals and meditation techniques allowing them to cross between the mortal and spirit planes. Such mystic-soldiers are a powerful police force against wayward gods, a potent defense against marauding demons and an outstanding strongarm to knuckle rebellious spirits into submission.</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;">Ghost-Fighting Fists</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;">Cost: </span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;">Novice: 6</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;">Expert: 13</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;">Master: 21</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;">Ultimate: 34</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;">Rank: </span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;">Novice: 1</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;">Expert: 2</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;">Master: 3</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;">Ultimate: 4</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;">Facing: Any</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;">Effect: Allows it’s practitioners to both strike immaterial spirits and defend against purely mystical attacks. Further, it empowers them to interact with the spirit realm as long as acting ritualistically and in concert together.</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;">Keywords: Versatile</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;">Skill: Spirit</span></div></div><div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
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Joel T. Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14794521474606595295noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-873328568939844233.post-85828645263385850062019-08-02T18:41:00.000-07:002019-08-02T18:41:03.949-07:00Hea- no, wait.... Content? Again?<br />Bear with me on this one: I promise I was trying to work on the Heart rules.<br />
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Here's what happened: Heart is pretty much what it needs to be. So much so, as a matter of fact, that it made me realize that I needed to re-design more of my previous writing in order to be <i>as good</i> as Heart.<br />
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I'll get around to it: I need to fix up the Populaces it can influence at once and a few other minor things. Really though, it's almost exactly what it needs to be; it even works with the new scene rules just fine. Very pleased.<br />
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Also, mildly drunk.<br />
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Because what I did <i>instead</i> was to re-write the Content rules. Since I'm apparently crazy.<br />
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No but I had logic behind this: I didn't have rules for the Norms/Customs/etc. that Heart referenced. I had Populaces, but no real way to bring them into the game like I could with Monsters or NPCs. It hit me; why not just make them act like entries in the Monster Manual?<br />
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And from there I spiraled deliriously out of control into a full-blown re-write of the Content rules.<br />
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...<br />
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Ultimately, the first go at Content didn't work. I couldn't figure out how to use my own rules in play. You've got to count that as a failure, right? Like that just won't do.<br />
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But what I did was, I ran a few sessions of D&D to cool off and get my head back in the game. Think of it like a sanity check (a business sanity check, not a Call of Cthulhu sanity check although, they have a lot in common).<br />
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Anyway. I realized that, at a foundational level, I knew how to make dungeons: I knew how to run them, how to map them, key them, how to build encounter lists for them. I could actually explore the worlds I made in D&D in a way that I couldn't in LWF.<br />
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The new run at the content rules is an attempt to translate that knowledge, that ease of creation and use, into my game. I'm super excited about this take on them, I think I really got the mix right in two ways:<br />
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1) Game Masters can now confidently build explorable areas, monsters, populaces, and NPCs and run them at the table with ease<br />
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2) You can use pre-existing dungeons in my game now<br />
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So I can finally, finally, run the <i>outstanding</i> <a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/250688/House-of-Paper-Shadows">House of Paper Shadows </a>in Lone Wolf Fists. My life rules now.<br /><br />These bad boys make creating content for your table much friendlier. Take a gander.<br /><br />....<br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: 700; white-space: pre-wrap;">Creating Content</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">As the Game Master, your head is doubtless filled with radical ideas about the kung-fu post-apocalypse. It might be intimidating to figure out how to translate all of those cool thoughts into this game: that’s what this section is for. Here, we’re going to teach you how this game approaches Content; that is, the persons, places, things, and events that fill your world and allow you players to explore the ruins of your own personal vision of the World of Ashes and Ghosts.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: 700; white-space: pre-wrap;">Another brief look at playing the game</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Imagine this: you’ve got your players gathered around your table. They’ve got their characters made, sheets and dice at the ready. They’re all looking at you expectantly: it’s time to start the game!</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">But, how do you do that?!</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This is a moment of panic if you don’t have a plan. If you’re a complete rookie, you might not know anything about what’s expected of you. Even if you’re an RPG veteran, you might not know what </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">this</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> game expects from you.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Thankfully, since you’ve read the example of play, you have a pretty decent notion of what you’re going to be doing in either case: You’re going to describe what the characters are doing, recap any recent events, tell them where they are and what they notice, and start asking players what they want to do. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">That’s the basics of how you run everything</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: you describe what the character’s senses and intuition tell them, you describe the actions of NPCs, you ask players what they do, and use the rules and your best judgment to resolve the outcome of their actions.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Content is what you’re going to use to inform those descriptions: it’s the places, the people, the terrain, the dangers, the monsters, the events, even the weather of the game’s world. There are three varieties:</span><br /><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Stable Content</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: The places, populations, inhabitants, etc. of the world. “What’s there”</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Dynamic Content</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: The plots, intrigues, plans, catastrophes, and goings-on of the world. “What’s happening”</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Volatile Content</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: The movement, habits, coincidences, fate, and unplanned chaos that mixes up 1 and 2 above in new, unpredictable and interesting ways.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: 700; white-space: pre-wrap;">Stable Content: Locations, Populaces, Monsters and NPCs</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Stable Content is stuff that tends to stay the same or return to the same state after a while. A building is “stable” in that, when players visit it again, it will still be a building. A village is similarly “stable”; even though new things will be happening, the general tone and type of activities (scavenging for food, watchmen at their posts, children sharpening primitive tools etc.) will not change. This section teaches you how to craft such consistent things that players might visit time and again.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">When you begin to create Stable Content, it’s best to start from the ground up. Literally, I mean: you should design a location for the characters to explore and interact with.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The smallest building block of places is a </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Field</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. Fields don’t map to a specific amount of ground or space, nor do they have easily quantifiable dimensions; they’re closer to “your immediate surroundings”, a nebulous but nonetheless comprehensible concept of “here” in your mind. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">They’re made this way on purpose: you want to have enough breathing room in the finer details and dimensions to allow for awesome kung-fu action descriptions, without getting bogged down in the minutiae of an area’s measurements. Think of them as having “fuzzy edges” that allow you some descriptive elbow-room when the kung-fu lightning bolts start flying.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">If the players ask you a question about the size, scope etc. of a Field, use your best judgment, based on your conception of the Shared Mindspace, in conjunction with your notes, to adjudicate an answer. The “how big” of a Field is determined by your answering of these questions.</span><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: 700; white-space: pre-wrap;">Elements of a Field</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fields are a bit mushy on the edges, but are otherwise very real to the characters: “Downtown” isn’t very easy to draw a border around, but it still exists in your mind as a place you can visit. So it is with Fields.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fields are composed of the following Elements:</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Description</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Elements</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Inhabitants</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Terrain</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Secrets</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Rooms</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Let’s examine each in turn.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: 700; white-space: pre-wrap;">Description</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">What do characters see when they enter a Field? What’s there? What do they hear, smell? The description tells you: it’s the broad strokes of what a Field is and what’s in it. Ideally it should be a very brief and punchy entry: “A desolate patch of irradiated wastes, haunted by mutant coyotes” is enough to tell you what it is and what’s there, as well as fire your imagination and fuel your description at the table.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: 700; white-space: pre-wrap;">Elements</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Everything you describe as “being there” is a part of your game’s Shared Imagined Space; it can be interacted with, broken, used as a battering ram, etc. You might think of this as “applying rules to the game’s imaginary world” on an ad-hoc basis. To contrast, Elements are specific features of a Field that you’ve given rules </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">beforehand</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. These might be in terms of specific game mechanics (“A Boulder requiring a Rank 4 Power action to lift”) or descriptive (“A mystical statue that answers any single question truthfully, once per lifetime”). Only the most noteworthy and interesting features should be included in this entry: otherwise, it’ll quickly get cluttered.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: 700; white-space: pre-wrap;">Inhabitants</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Who lives in this Field? Are their desperate haunters of the wastes here, scavenging for survival? A slumbering Arquabamalu, hungry to mete out vengeance on those that dare disturb it’s rest? A pack of mutant rats? Whatever: if it inhabits the Field, it’s mentioned here. Generally this is a very simple “what’s here and what it does” entry: “A pack of mutant rats lairs here” or “A terrifying Scorpion Demon slumbers here fitfully”. Note that, because this is a living description, the entry describes the creature’s</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Status Quo</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: that is, the activities that they return to most frequently, rather than what they’re doing “now”. This is to allow you some flexibility in describing them: a group of barbarians might generally be in camp sharpening their weapons, but if the characters sneak in after dark, they’re more likely asleep. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: 700; white-space: pre-wrap;">Terrain</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">This is a game of kung-fu action in the post apocalypse: characters are going to fight over any ground you put under them. This entry describes that ground, including any notable dangers, obstacles, or other features.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: 700; white-space: pre-wrap;">Secrets</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Not everything present in an area is evident on a casual inspection; hidden dangers await the unwary and secret treasures reward the bold explorer. This entry is an extension of the Description, listing things hidden to casual inspection of an area. Anchors for Dynamic Content (described later) are also listed here.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: 700; white-space: pre-wrap;">Rooms</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">However you slice it, Fields are pretty big. They’re also “outdoors”; they describe locations, patches of ground, neighborhoods, etc. Sometimes you’re inside though, or sometimes players go indoors within a Field; like, are those abandoned apartment buildings </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">really</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> abandoned? Rooms are just that; they’re the individual rooms in the larger Field. They’re made just like Fields; they have Description, Inhabitants, etc. They’re just smaller and located within the Field. If a Field has a sufficient density of Rooms, it’s designed like a Tract (p.XX) which is to say, a place of enough detail that it’s explored the same way as a much larger area.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">...</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fields aren’t on their own; they tend to cluster together in geographically linked groups. We call these groups </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Tracts</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. Bigger than Fields, Tracts are still “a place” but are broader; if a Field is a block, a Tract is a neighborhood. </span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Within a Tract, neighboring Fields bleed together somewhat; their inhabitants move between them, events in one influence neighbors, and the general character of the entire place is codependent and intermingled.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: 700; white-space: pre-wrap;">Elements of a Tract</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">When you begin to create your own content for this game, you’ll want to begin by thinking on the scale of Tracts. This is because a single game session’s needs are ideally met by the character’s exploits within a single Tract; it is a place the characters explore, the populaces they influence, the monsters and villains they battle, the treasures they uncover. Everything you need for a satisfying session of Lone Wolf Fists should be contained within a Tract.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Tracts are composed of the following elements:</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Area Map</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Field Key</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Terrain Type</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Encounter List</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Notes</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Let’s examine each in turn.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: 700; white-space: pre-wrap;">Area Map</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">This is a graphical representation of the layout of the Fields which comprise the Tract, along with its borders and points of egress between them. It looks something like this:</span><br /><br /><img height="423" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/qAwJyVBZ9WH10C9iOvDWDT0SGeuRyK38gT1yFjFisO7VCcIy9vP90LKwEvl_N4q6Dbt9rmMfj8qkO69YgoH5RrDo3pQlh8Qgz5xI1TM8NKaG7HLpGMQ_9sGc6fLNdYgHxz6vPUD8" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; white-space: pre-wrap;" width="624" /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Note the numbering: this allows you to look up the specifics of each field in the Key, described later.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">The map is important because it reveals to you, the GM, how the different Fields are arranged in the game’s world. For example, looking at the above map, you can tell that areas 5 and 3 border area 4; characters would have to pass through 3 if they wanted to get to area 2. This provides a way players to interact with your world by genuinely exploring it: places are solidly “there”, and the spatial relationship between them is constant and unchanging (barring some earth-shattering kung-fu!). It also means that players cannot simply “teleport” to where they want to go; they must play out the clambering over intervening places, making them an ongoing tactical consideration.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: 700; white-space: pre-wrap;">Key</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Key is simply the numbered list of all the Fields within your Tract. The full entry for each Field is present under it’s entry. This allows you to quickly reference the details of each place the players enter as they explore the Tract (this is detailed under the exploration rules p.XX).</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: 700; white-space: pre-wrap;">Terrain Type</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">The predominant terrain in the area. Deserts, ruins, shanty towns, toxic mires, primordial jungles, poisoned oceans, and cursed cities are all common varieties. Determines what sort of creatures, phenomena and weather are present in the area by providing a Terrain Encounter Chart (p.XX)</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: 700; white-space: pre-wrap;">Encounter List</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">The population of a Tract, comprised of mortals, monsters, even weird environmental phenomena, don’t stand still; they move and blend and fight in unexpected ways. Fully covered later in Volatile Content, this important facet of Tracts allows these interesting and unpredictable movements of content to manifest in your game.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: 700; white-space: pre-wrap;">Notes</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Any important information about the Tract is described here. This might include its local politics, history (ancient or modern), noteable secrets, it’s owner, notable inhabitants, destinies, curses or blessings, strange weather, etc. Whatever is listed here generally applies to all of the Fields in the Tract and helps define them as a single “place” in the minds of the players.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">...</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Of course, you’ll ideally play more than a single session of Lone Wolf Fists; a single Tract isn’t going to cover an entire campaign’s worth of adventure and intrigue! You’re also most likely brimming over with ideas for Tracts; before you know it, you’ll have a dozen or more prepared. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">When Tracts are clustered in the same area, they are grouped together as a </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Domain</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">; if a Field is a block and a Tract is a neighborhood, a Domain is an entire city. A single Domain contains enough linked Tracts to supply your table with entire campaign arcs, even entire campaign’s worth of play sessions. Within it, boroughs and towns lean against one another, their populations forming an interlinking web of plots, intrigues, conspiracies, alliances, rivalries, and all manner of weird organic relationships.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: 700; white-space: pre-wrap;">Elements of a Domain</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">A Domain should be the focus of your preparation for your fledgling campaign. A single Tract is great for your first session, but to really give the players a solid area to explore, you’ll want variety and complexity: what better way to get it than to simply create more than one tract together?</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Domains, composed of multiple connected Tracts, are ecosystems of adventure and intrigue. Players might retreat from their initial adventure and find themselves embroiled in another. Perhaps they’ll get an early taste for conquest if they trounce the first Tract: a bordering one with a powerful warlord could provide a fantastic continuation of this adventure as their blitzkrieg envelops the entire Domain in a war!</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Domains are composed of the following elements:</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Overview</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Domain Map</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Tract Key</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Notable NPC Headquarters</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Tract Encounter Key</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Resource Output Tally</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Let’s examine each in turn</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: 700; white-space: pre-wrap;">Overview</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">This entry sums up what the Domain is “about”. Part history, part conflict thesis, the entire reason that you’d want to adventure here is spelled out in a few punchy sentences for easy in-game reference.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: 700; white-space: pre-wrap;">Domain Map</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Similar to Tracts, Domains have an eagle’s-eye view of their entire area and its constituent parts.</span><br /><img height="375" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/ndJOtbOpk1KgCr_5HIDni33Aa5ZJI7Bt-kCRiWAFw9ZnKTeB_-33FmF1d_u6d3D3Zh5CP4IXbKXc4PFvli2jWBvHQ74KDXl-S6rVj1i-7QWR_6kNh1Ri0_XGtO1MW6_EKhgEDr-T" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; white-space: pre-wrap;" width="624" /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Each of the keyed areas here is an entire Tract. This serves the same function as a Tract’s map, establishing and maintaining the spatial relationship between the constituent Tracts.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: 700; white-space: pre-wrap;">Tract Key</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">A list of the component Tracts. Each entry references it’s Tract’s full entry, which is detailed above.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: 700; white-space: pre-wrap;">Notable NPC Headquarters</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">A brief list of all the major players and their place in the Domain. This comes in handy when determining the events that transpire in the Domain during Montages, as well as what the fallout of certain activities might be (for example, if the player’s invade a warlords territory, he is likely to retaliate against them!).</span><br /><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: 700; white-space: pre-wrap;">Tract Encounter Key</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">A list of all theTracts in the Domain. Useful when characters travel fast or far, this entry blends the disparate denizens of a Domain in interesting ways as players adventure through it. Fully described under Volatile Content (p.XX).</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: 700; white-space: pre-wrap;">Resource Output Tally</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">A brief list of all the Resource Nodes, where they’re located, what Resources they produce (and how much), and who currently controls them. This is incredibly useful because it quickly communicates to you who has control of the food, wealth and weapons of the Domain!</span><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Now that you know where the action takes place, you’ll want to know who (and what) lives there. This information is also considered Stable Content but, unlike the landscapes listed above, it is much more fluid and changeable. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Populations </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">are the mortal humans which inhabit the world (they are also known by the archaic name Ningen in the fallen World of Ashes and Ghosts). Huddled together in primitive sietches and clans, they rely on one another to eke out their miserable existence in the devil-haunted graveyard of the world.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Populations are composed of the following elements:</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Description</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Status Quo</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Number and Archetype</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Loyalty/ Morale</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Statistics and Equipment</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Group</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fashions, Norms, Traditions</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Sanctions</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Castes and notable NPCs</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Let’s examine each in turn</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: 700; white-space: pre-wrap;">Description</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">A small blurb describing the population. “ A starving tribe of spear-wielding scavengers” or “A musclebound band of wasteland barbarians, smeared in warpaint and blood”; you don’t need much to give you an idea of who they are and what they’re all about. Keep it punchy.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: 700; white-space: pre-wrap;">Status Quo</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">The general state of affairs that the Population maintains. This is what they’re doing when players first encounter them. Similar to Description above, this only needs a brief entry to give you an idea of what they’re doing. “The tribesfolk scavenge the irradiated wastes for food” or “The barbarians torment captive, participate in bloodsports, and binge-drink moonshine distilled in radiators between raids”</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Status Quo is a very important spice to get right. It’s not the static “t-pose” that lifeless pre-play NPCs revert to when not interacting with players; it’s what a small society does without the player’s involvement. It’s the lives of the world; a description of what these people would be doing without heroes messing with their lives. It’s not static, it’s stable; this is an important distinction to keep in your mind. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Populations will generally return to their Status Quo unless massively disrupted (ie; unless they;re conquered, brainwashed, killed or otherwise have their whole way of life disrupted). This means players might encounter a Populace, leave, and come back to them and effectively encounter the same situation. This makes sense; very few people change a city by visiting it; it’ll be effectively “the same city” when they return.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: 700; white-space: pre-wrap;">Number and Archetype</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Number is simply the total number of people in the Population. Archetype is one of the six varieties of Scavenger, Farmer, Harvester, Builder, Acolyte or Soldier which describes what the people do and where their competencies lie.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Scavengers</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> have no resources, not even food. They have a high mortality rate, living like desperate animals in the world’s graveyard.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Farmers </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">have a plot of arable land or other means of producing a food crop, or hunt from a renewing population of game animals. They are healthier and live better lives than Scavengers, but are vulnerable to conquest if not protected.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Harvesters </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">have a non-food resource they’re extracting from the environment, like oil, coal, or gold. They trade this resource for their needs, like food and protection. They are proud and comparatively affluent, but powerfully reliant on their labor for their prosperity.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Builders </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">manufacture the raw materials from harvests into more sophisticated final products. They are considerably more affluent than the lower castes, but rely on a sophisticated infrastructure of machinery and factories to support their lives.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Acolytes </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">are monks, cloistered away from the ravages of the world. They create no physical goods, but trade in secrets, knowledge, and mystical rites for their wealth. Because of their rarified and potent knowledge and capabilities, they tend to be materially very wealthy, even if they technically eschew material indulgence and leisure.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Soldiers </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">are fighters, warriors, and other warfighters that earn their living in blood. They either prey on less warlike people, or protect them from other raiders for their wealth.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: 700; white-space: pre-wrap;">Loyalty/Morale</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fully described elsewhere (p.XX), this trait measures the Populace’s belief in and loyalty to their leadership. If it’s low, they tend toward rebelliousness and opportunism; if high, they’re more disciplined and obedient.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: 700; white-space: pre-wrap;">Statistic and Equipment</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">The game mechanics of a typical member of the Populace, listed in terms of Effort, Focus, Health, etc. Also includes the gear that an example member of the population would possess. </span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Examples:</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; white-space: pre-wrap;">Wasteland Scavenger</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Effort </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">1</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Health </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">1 box (-d10 damage from deprivation, might result in encountering a recently starved corpse)</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Gear </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Tattered clothing, a piece of rusted metal used as a knife, a hand-carved trinket coated in filth</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; white-space: pre-wrap;">Mutant Barbarian</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Effort </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">2</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Health </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">1</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Gear </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Repurposed scraps of armor (2), Chainsaw refitted into swords, axes and polearms (As Heavy weapon)</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Note </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">fights in a berserk rage, never retreating and always pursuing foes that flee</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: 700; white-space: pre-wrap;">Group</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Going alone is dangerous in the World of Ashes and Ghosts. This entry describes the typical group encountered by players; for example, mutant barbarians might be encountered in a “Warband of 10, supported by a rocket-wielding ordnance mutant and a leader with Effort 3 and Health 2”. This is useful if players start attacking the Populace, as it tells you how they organize their defenses and what resources are at their disposal. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Note that most members of a Population will be self-sufficient to just survive the harsh conditions of their fallen world. If fully mobilized, divide the total Population Number as evenly into Groups as you can; any remaining members of the Populace are defenseless members; children, the elderly, the infirm, etc.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: 700; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fashions, Norms and Traditions</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">These three entries describe the current beliefs, social mores and laws of the Population. Each of these has its own entry, with room for three sentences describing them. Most primitive or isolated Populations will have a single “slot” in each category, while more sophisticated, urbane and established societies will have more. When a new Fashion, Norm or Tradition is introduced, it removes an older one if there’s not an available slot for it.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fashions </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">are the current trends and popular subjects of debate and modes of thought the Population is experiencing. They inform and color your description of the Populace and act as a conversational jumping-off point when interacting with characters.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Norms </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">are the ways the Population behaves: are they courteous to strangers, hostile? Do they make contracts or rely on their word as their bond? What are their greetings, their goodbyes? Not every cultural nuance is outlined here, only the ones that invite social sanction if violated. For instance, breaking your word is a great recipe for making enemies in most cultures!</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Traditions </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">are the laws of a Population. They enforce, prohibit or demand certain kinds of behavior. Violating the edicts of a Tradition invokes a Sanction (see below).</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: 700; white-space: pre-wrap;">Sanctions</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">When the laws of a Population are violated, the ways they respond are detailed under this entry. Sometimes simple and brutal (mutilation, execution, trial by combat) sometimes esoteric or bizarre (being coated in honey and hurled into a mutant insect nest, branding, summary judgment by a local spirit), they are as varied and weird as real-world law (which is to say, this is an outstanding place to show off just how unusual the World of Ashes and Ghosts can be!).</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Note that, the Population may lack the power to enforce their Sanctions against the mighty Lone Wolf Fists; this is fine, but their society demands they try to.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: 700; white-space: pre-wrap;">Castes and Notable NPCS</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Societies often have positions of influence and leadership that are served by a traditional Caste; the most-capable of a generation inhabits each of these roles. The name and duties of any extant Castes are listed here, along with their current title holders.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Additionally, any notable NPCs (either in important or raw power) are listed here.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Before we move on to shaking up all this stability, one final word on inhabitants: they’re not just humans. Monsters, Spirits, Demons, Ghosts, etc. can all be keyed into places. The rules for these fantastic and terrifying beings are detailed elsewhere (p.XX)</span><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: 700; white-space: pre-wrap;">Dynamic Content: The World in Motion</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Sometimes that ol’ Status quo gets royally shaken up; all it takes is a mutagenic cloud rolling over a peaceful village to alter it forever. The Lone Wolf Fists tend to rock the stability of places and people they visit; what do you do with “stable” buildings when they blow up? Or “stable” villages that devolve into flesh-eating mutants?</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">That’s where Dynamic Content comes into play.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: 700; white-space: pre-wrap;">Changing things</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Any Content can become dynamic; it should all start in it’s Status Quo, but when something big happens (disasters, construction, frenzied zeitgeist, etc.) they </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">begin to change</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. This change is tracked with two simple additions to their elements:</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Catalyst</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: The cause of the change.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Stages</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: The number and type of Scene over which these changes take place. Includes sequentially numbered descriptions of each stage of the change.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Let’s examine each in turn.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: 700; white-space: pre-wrap;">Catalyst</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Something has to knock a piece of Content out of it’s Status Quo and get it changing. For landscape, this might be a powerful destructive force (okay it’s really likely to be that) but also maybe a construction project, building it up from ruins back to habitability. For Populaces, this might be a new leader rising up and forging them into an invincible fighting force (or press-ganging them into cannon fodder, whatever). </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Sometimes the Catalyst must be constantly present to affect the change: if builders stop working, construction halts. If a fire stops burning, any remaining structures are spared it’s ravages. Other times the Catalyst merely sets events into motion; punching the top of a mountain with the force of a scud missile starts the avalanche, but after that momentum takes over.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">In whatever case, the Catalyst is listed here, with a brief description of how it’s causing the change.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: 700; white-space: pre-wrap;">Stages</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Change doesn’t happen all at once; even a volcanic eruption happens in stages (granted that first one is a doozy). The number of Scenes over which the change takes place are listed here, along with the type of Scene (Action, Real-Time, Montage) the change occurs in.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">What does it mean for change to take place over a type of Scene? Let’s unpack that a bit</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Action Scenes </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">are explosions. They’re disasters, they’re something that happens fast and has bad consequences. You’ve got to move fast and think on your feet to survive being at ground zero of one of these babies.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Real-Time</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> scenes are weather; they’re crowds panicking, poison gas clouds rolling over a city. They’re acid rain, typhoons, roiling toxic sandstorms. They stick around and define a big chunk of time; you leap away from an explosion, but you’ve got to </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">endure</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> a sandstorm.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Montages </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">are slow but permanent changes; construction, erosion, magical transformations. They’re big and ponderous and obvious, making them paradoxically vulnerable and inevitable, like a dinosaur with a big, exposed neck.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">The specific number of scenes determines the relative speed of the event unfolding.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">1-3:</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Quick; these are the fastest of this class, closer to happening in a faster scene (or lightning quick in the case of Action Scenes)</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">3-4:</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Average; these events set the bar for their speed category. </span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">5-10:</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Slow; these are the snails of their category, bordering into the next slowest type of scene (or </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">agonizingly </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">ponderous in the case of Montage Scenes)</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">What is happening during each step of the event? These entries describe the change in both descriptive terms and mechanical ones. Each Stage lists the following:</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">The number of Scenes or Turns it lasts</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">What is happening during this Stage</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Mechanics that the Stage brings with it</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">For example, a collapsing building might have the following stages:</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; white-space: pre-wrap;">Collapsing Building (Action)</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Stage 1:</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> The entire structure sways and groans ominously; all Agility actions require +1 Rank to resolve as the floor tilt crazily. Lasts 1d5 Rounds</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Stage 2:</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> 1d10 random rooms implode during this stage (Rank 5 crushing to all occupants). Glass explodes and sprays in all directions (Rank 2 cloud of cutting shards). Lasts 1 round</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Stage 3:</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> the entire building collapses, floor by floor, into rubble. 2d10 floors, starting with the bottom and continuing upward, totally collapse per turn until the building is completely demolished (Rank 5 crushing to all occupants). Lasts as described.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Stage 4</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: A cloud of concrete dust billows out from the ruins, causing a lingering choking and blinding hazard to everyone in this Field. Lasts for 1d10 rounds until the dust settles.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Let’s take a look at a few more examples</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: 700; white-space: pre-wrap;">Action Scene: Spreading fire</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Catalyst</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: A Fire Hazard. Heats up surrounding terrain until it combusts.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Stage 1: </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Terrain immediately surrounding the Hazard begins to heat up, becoming a Rank 1 Burning Hazard if touched. This Hazard increases by 1 Rank every round until it equals the Catalyst’s Rank or until it reaches a Rank sufficient for the material to combust. If it combusts, move on to Stage 2.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Stage 2: </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The terrain combusts. Air and gases explode as a one-time (Catalyst’s Rank +1) Hazard (only this round). Water and liquids evaporate into non-combustible gasses, creating a lingering obscuring and choking effect (Catalyst's Rank -1) (1d10 rounds). Wood bursts into flame, creating new Fire Hazards (degrades and burns over 2d10 rounds). Stone melts into magma and Metal into liquid and flows into its surroundings (3d10 rounds).</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Stage 3</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: Neighboring terrain to the newly combusted material begins to heat up as Stage 1. This affects all terrain at (the current scale of the Hazard +1). So, if a single element is burning, it spreads to the encompassing Room or equivalent material, then to the Field, then onto neighboring fields, then the entire Tract, then neighboring Tracts, etc. This stage lasts as long as the previous stage, running concurrently.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Stage 4</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: The material begins to cool as the heat bakes off into the surroundings. Air rushes in to the void left by combusted gases. Wood turns to ash. Stone and Metal begin to re-solidify and take on the shape they most recently held as liquids. Water and other liquids form into clouds and scatter to nearby areas, forming into smaller liquid elements (1d5 per Rank lost per round). Rank of Hazard reduces by 1 per round until totally dissipated.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: 700; white-space: pre-wrap;">Real-Time Scene: Atomic sandstorm</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Catalyst: </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Weather pattern; there is an Eye to this storm that maintains it for its duration. It can be disrupted with a sufficiently powerful crosswind or other disruption (Rank 7+)</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Stage 1</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: Ominous winds prevail as the storm bears down; it’s gigantic, a wall of roiling sand and multicolored lightning that blots out the sky and is visible for miles. Creeps closer for 1d10 Turns.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Stage 2:</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> High-energy winds and sand particles whip the characters as they enter it’s curtain of tempestuous matter. Rank 2 blinding effect. Lasts 1 round of turns.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Stage 3</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: The characters are engulfed in the storm. Roll a d10 to determine what happens to them this round:</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">1-3: Buffeted by high winds (Rank 4 push Effect, as throw)</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">4-8: Disoriented by chaotic innards of the storm (Rank 4, blinding and deafening effect)</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">9-10: Struck by bolt of static lightning (Rank 5 electrocution attack)</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Lasts for 10 turns, or the length of 1 Action Scene. After this, the storm disperses.</span><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: 700; white-space: pre-wrap;">Montage: Wasting plague</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Catalyst:</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Patient Zero; the first carrier to manifest this illness as a mutation of some otherwise non-deadly disease. They pass it on to a host Population; it doesn’t matter if they stick around, the damage is done once the sickness begins to spread.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Stage 1</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: Silent carriers, the Population is highly contagious but shows no outward symptoms of the illness. Coming into close contact with a member of the Populace spreads the disease to a character unless they fend off the infection with a Rank 3 Endurance action. Lasts 1 scene.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Stage 2:</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Contagion bursts forth in revolting form. Whenever a member of the Populace is encountered, roll a d10 prior to describing them; if you roll 3+, they are obviously infected and miserable or dying. This counts as a Major Hardship. Lasts 2 scenes.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Stage 3: </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The pestilence mutates and moves on, or the survivor’s immune systems evolve to fight it off. The area inhabited by the sick Population becomes infested with a horde of vermin appropriate to the area that gather to feast on the dead. This stage concludes after 1 scene, but the new vermin are a permanent addition to the area unless exterminated.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: 700; white-space: pre-wrap;">Volatile Content: mixing things until they explode</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">The predictable changes created by the other types of content are not sufficient to model an entire world, even an imaginary one. Of course, actually tracking all of the complex schemes, movements and the frustrating and unending intervention of cosmic destiny is far too much work to offload onto our beleaguered Game Masters (you’ve got enough to worry about already!). Still, the messy, chaotic interactions of the world demand to be included. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Enter Volatile Content.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Volatile Content seeks to model this churning mishmash of interaction and chaos and keep your game’s world fresh, dynamic and unpredictable.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: 700; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Process</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Some actions or activities invite trouble; they do this by calling for a Volatile Content check. Here’s how you do that:</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Pause the action</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Roll a single d10 against the Trouble of the party’s current location. Roll against the Tract unless in a Montage scene or unless the players are moving across more than a single Tract this action; in these cases, roll against the Domain’s Trouble</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">If the check succeed in summoning Volatile Content, roll on the appropriate Encounter Category Chart. This selects one of the four Encounter Charts for an area</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Roll one final time on that encounter Chart to determine what shows up</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Introduce the Content into the scene</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">There is another, much simpler way to call up Volatile Content: pause the action as before, then spend some of the party’s accumulated Zui equal to the Content’s Zui Cost. The Content enters the scene in exactly the same way. Note that you can do this at any time, not just when Volatile Content is triggered!</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: 700; white-space: pre-wrap;">Building Blocks of Volatile Content</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Volatile Content has two major components:</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Encounter Lists, which randomly introduce elements of the game’s world to the game itself</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Zui consequences, which models the inevitable comeuppance that befalls characters who dare to cheat fate!</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Let’s examine each in turn.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: 700; white-space: pre-wrap;">Encounter Lists</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Encounter Lists simulate the movements of the creatures, people, weather, and legends of an area. Every Tract has an Encounter List; it is composed of 6 parts:</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Level of Barbary</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Trouble</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Encounter Category Chart</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">4 Encounter Charts (Terrain Encounters, Keyed Creatures, Keyed Populations, Named NPCs)</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Master Encounter Lists, possessed by Domains, possess an additional element:</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Tract Encounter Key</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Let’s examine each of these elements in turn.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: 700; white-space: pre-wrap;">Level of Barbary</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">The world’s graveyard is a wild and untamed place; mankind has fallen from the world’s throne, and the reigns of the wastes are warred over by monsters, demons and the strongest and most vicious of humanity. To represent Mankind’s desperate struggle to regain the lost and cherished treasure of civilization, the Level of Barbary is employed. This is represented by a simple 3-point scale:</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Savage </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">lands are ruled by monsters, or are utterly ruined and inhospitable</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Conflicted </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">lands have no lord; Monsters and men war over them, with no clear master</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Civilized </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">lands are ruled by humankind; this is not to imply they are </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">good</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, but they have leadership and laws and so are part of humanity’s triumph, even if otherwise cesspools of reprehensible vice</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Level of Barbary determines the Trouble rating. Additionally, each Level has its own unique Encounter Category Chart. The Level of Barbary can change due to the events of the game.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: 700; white-space: pre-wrap;">Trouble</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">This element represents the likelihood of danger finding the characters while in an area. Any time something triggers a check for Volatile Content, roll a d10: if it is equal to or above the area’s Trouble rating, then trouble finds the unlucky characters!</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Savage Lands have Trouble 3+</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Conflicted Lands have Trouble 5+</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Civilized Lands have Trouble 8+</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: 700; white-space: pre-wrap;">Encounter Category Chart</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Untamed lands are more dangerous than those mastered by humankind; wanderers are more likely to encounter monsters, demons and worse than potential allies or fellow heroes. Conversely, as places become more tamed, wanderers are likely to encounter groups of questing humans, or powerful characters patrolling their lands.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">To simulate these trends, the Encounter Category Charts are used to determine which of the four Encounter Lists produce Volatile Content. Each Level of Barary has its own list, below:</span><br /><br /><img height="209" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/Vay_koxwyvSWFgsq-MJGYKuVLvmUeFw2nQO6WHN-hKVXMyQmMEDsBZEtAPPFGM_6MtKwKQpqKVVo84rjnBL47QzKCH47XTj0_nWFcEa3U3DIn_uZdGm2Bd3JmRG1b088HmeJIhU0" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; white-space: pre-wrap;" width="624" /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">To determine which Encounter list to use, roll a d10 and consult the chart; the number on the die will correspond to one of the 4 categories.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: 700; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Four Encounter Charts</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">The things encountered in a place come from that place; either they are inhabitants of the wilderness, or their lair is nearby. In untamed lands, wastelands and monster-haunted wilderness, monsters and creatures of the land are more common and encounters are savage and deadly affairs. In civilized lands, mortal humans and heroes are more commonly encountered, and these meetings might be neutral or even benevolent; challenges tend to be social in nature, rather than purely physical.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Each of these four categories of encounter (Terrain, Creatures, Populaces, NPCs) has its own Encounter Chart in an area. They are constructed very simply: for each type of content (Empty Tracts, Keyed Populaces, Keyed Monsters, and Keyed NPCs) follow these steps to construct the Tract’s Encounter Charts.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Divide 100 as evenly as possibly by the number of Fields where the type of Content is Keyed. For example, if there are four Fields with Populaces keyed, divide 100 by 4 to get 25</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Key the chart with each portion going equally to each entry. For example, for the 4 Populaces, each would have a 25% chance of being encountered (1-25 Population A, 26-50 Population B, 51-75 Population C, and 76-100 Population D). The lowest entries should be the “weakest”, with higher numbers “stronger” in sequence, “strongest” on top.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Any non-equal remainder should be smaller than the other entries. This is assigned to the most powerful entry, making it a comparatively rare encounter.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">To roll on these charts, roll a d100 rather than a d10 (this is done by rolling 2d10, counting the leftmost as the “tens” column and the rightmost as the “ones”; treat a result of “00” as 100).</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">This takes care of Tract Encounter Charts, but what if the characters are exploring a larger area? Real-Time and Action scenes are generally localized enough that Tract Encounter Lists are sufficient, but characters acting in Montage scenes or those traveling at incredible speed might find Volatile Content from anywhere within their entire Domain!</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">There is one final element of Volatile Content necessary to blend an area’s Content on this scale; the </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Tract Encounter Key</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">.</span><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: 700; white-space: pre-wrap;">Tract Encounter Key</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">To make the Key, follow the procedure for creating an Encounter Chart, above, but distribute the 100 equally among the Domain’s Tracts. If there is a “remainder”, it should go to the Tract which houses the most powerful single NPC.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Domain’s Level of Barbary is Savage if most of its Tracts are Savage, Civilized if mostly Civilized, and Conflicted in any other case. This sets its Trouble.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">To use the Tract Encounter Key:</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Any time the characters move across more than one Tract in a Domain, roll the Domain’s Trouble</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">If Trouble is encountered, roll d100 on the Tract Encounter Key. This determines the Tract in which the Content originates</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">From here, follow the Volatile Content procedure normally for that Tract</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">If characters move beyond the threshold of a single Domain, then decide which Domain should generate the Volatile Content freely. They’ve invited significant danger with that kind of reckless travel!</span><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">There is another way to invoke Volatile Content; the character’s own bad kharma, or Zui, might draw down a misfortunate encounter with the denizens of an area whenever it tickles Fate’s fancy to do so. We call these deliberate and necessary misfortunes Zui Consequences</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: 700; white-space: pre-wrap;">Zui Consequences</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fully described in the Destiny section (p.XX), Zui is additionally a dimension of Volatile Content (albeit one you choose rather than roll randomly!).</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: 700; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Zui Consequence list</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Below every Encounter list there is another: rather than being keyed, each entry has a cost in brackets. This is your game’s Zui Consequence List: the troubles of destiny, chosen by the players, to plague them when they fight the edicts of their chosen fates.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Unlike other Volatile Content, you may interrupt any action and introduce these disasters into a scene. Simply pick up Zui from the player’s character’s equal to the listed cost in Brackets and introduce the Content as normal.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">As players accept Kharmic burdens for their characters in the form of Dharmas, your Zui Consequence list grows. Each Dharma comes with it’s own Zui Consequences, which add to your list for as long as the Dharma benefits the players (usually for the entire campaign, unless something utterly destroys it). Players will tend to fatten the list considerably over the course of your campaign, giving you myriad options for troubling them if they accumulate Zui!</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">However, you may also summon </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">any</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> available Volatile Content for a Zui cost. This is because lands, peoples, even monsters each have their own destinies; Zui may choose to entangle the heroes in these struggles in lieu of acting in a more predictable fashion. Such is fate! </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: 700; white-space: pre-wrap;">Assigning Zui Costs to Volatile Content</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Populaces, Monsters, Hazards and NPCs may all be assigned a cost in Zui to summon them. This obeys the following metrics:</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Power </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">of the Content</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Threat </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Level to the characters</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Let’s examine these.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Content’s </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Power </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">is calculated as follows:</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">For Populaces/ Monsters</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">+1 Zui cost per</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">2 Effort (minimum 1 cost) (Each Effort comes with 1 Health Box)</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Focus Slot</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Open Chakra (comes with 1 Slumbering Chakra, max 7 total Chakra)</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Per unique power, Rank 1</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Greater unique powers are +1 Zui per Rank</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">For NPCs</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">2 Zui </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">times </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Degree of Mastery (2 Zui for Degree 1, 4 Zui for Degree 2, etc.)</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">For Hazards</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">1 Zui per Rank of Hazard</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Contents </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Threat </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">determines its initial danger or hostility to the characters</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Is it a mere inconvenience? Content that isn’t harmful or hostile to characters might be closer to an opportunity than a threat. This follows the cost listed above.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Is it potentially dangerous, but possibly an opportunity? </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Multiply the cost by two </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">to account for the risk.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Is it exclusively a dangerous threat to the players? </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Multiply the cost by three</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> to account for it’s purely deadly nature!</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Place the calculated cost in brackets next to every entry on your Encounter Charts and viola’: you have a full suite of Zui options with which to bedevil the heroes!</span><br />
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Joel T. Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14794521474606595295noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-873328568939844233.post-4609668993953995392019-07-15T21:28:00.000-07:002019-07-15T21:29:58.714-07:00Being tough is cool and shut up<br />
<b>Why being tough rules</b><br />
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Let me share with you the genesis of my love for tough characters.<br />
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<i>(Follow the link to youtube, it's worth it)</i><br />
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The relevant bit is at timecode 5:47, when Igoo the stone ape wades into the bubbling caldera of lava to retrieve the firebird egg. 7-year-old me, eating a microwave hotdog and binging cartoons in my X-men underwear, watched that and it was etched onto my memory from that day forth. Tough characters are fucking radical.<br />
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Later on, I started playing RPGs and one of them was this one:<br />
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My first game didn't get past the bid for stats: reason being, the GM made the mistake of reading us this entry from <i>that game's </i>Endurance attribute:<br />
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<i>"Where normal mortals tire after a few minutes of fierce</i><br />
<i>combat, Amberites can keep fighting, fencing, or partying for</i><br />
<i>days on end. In addition, Amberite Endurance includes the</i><br />
<i>ability to heal all wounds rapidly, even to the extent of</i><br />
<i>(eventually) regenerating lost limbs and organs. In a fight of</i><br />
<i>any kind, whether Warfare, Strength, or Psyche, the character</i><br />
<i>with the greatest Endurance always has a chance of holding</i><br />
<i>out longer than an opponent with lesser Endurance, and</i><br />
<i>winning by default. In addition, anyone with less than Amber</i><br />
<i>level Endurance will not be able to walk the Pattern unassisted.</i><br />
<i>Endurance is the only Attribute that comes into play in</i><br />
<i>every situation, involving either physical combat or the use of</i><br />
<i>arcane powers.</i><br />
<i>Corwin, the main character of the Chronicles, is Amber's</i><br />
<i>champion in Endurance. Why? Mostly because he could just</i><br />
<i>keep going, in spite of the wear and tear of his adventures. In</i><br />
<i>addition, Corwin regenerated his eyes, after they were burned</i><br />
<i>from his head, far faster than any other Amberite expected.</i><br />
<i>Why Bid on Endurance? Frankly, you need it for</i><br />
<i>everything. And, even if you are somewhat inferior in some</i><br />
<i>battle, a higher rank in Endurance, combined with a little</i><br />
<i>patience, virtually guarantees victory. Endurance is the</i><br />
<i>ultimate Amber tie-breaker. "</i><br />
<br />
We all bid all of our points to win that stat.<br />
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<b>The problem of being tough</b><br />
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Which isn't to saying being a tough dude makes you immediately cool. Behold this chump:<br />
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That there is (sigh) "Moondog Greenberg", the tough hero archetype from d20 modern. Note that he sucks. That's because, unlike the previous evocative entries, he was sold like this:<br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>"Levels in this class represent improvement in physical fitness, health and stamina"</i><br />
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WOW JESUS I CAN HAVE FITNESS AND HEALTH. SIGN ME THE FUCK UP.<br />
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The issue is one of passive versus active attributes: the sell is what he <i>is</i> or what he <i>gets</i>; he <i>is</i> a tough, physically fit and healthy guy. He <i>gets </i>more HP per level.<br />
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The feats of Endurance above, however, are <i>active</i>: they show or describe what you <i>do</i>, what being a tough guy <i>allows you to accomplish</i>. Corwin isn't a "healthy guy", he's a guy that <i>doesn't die when gutted with a sword</i>: that's an order of magnitude more impressive. Igoo doesn't have a "higher CON mod" than other apes: he has <i>stone skin </i>and can take a bath in <i>hot lava</i>.<br />
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The perception of toughness as a static commodity plagued its reputation in RPGs for years. But people gravitated toward the tough characters, despite this assumed "flaw"; what gives? The bottom line is, being able to merely function in certain environments is a super power all on it's own. Sure, it's thrilling to watch Superman battle Doomsday in the streets of Metropolis, but how much cooler is it when they're punching one another in an active volcano?!<br />
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(Man, a lot of these involve lava, huh?)<br />
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<i><span style="font-size: 18pt; font-weight: 700; white-space: pre-wrap;">Action</span><br /><span style="font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Action scenes find the heroes of this game in all manner of hideous predicaments; they’re set on fire, plunged into acid, stabbed with poisoned needles, exposed to flesh-eating bacteria, buried in rubble, drowned, electrocuted, and frozen among a universe of other blood-curdling dangers. They survive these trials by flexing their indomitable will to survive, expressed by Endurance actions.</span></i><br />
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<i><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-weight: 700; white-space: pre-wrap;">Surviving Hazards and Poison</span><br /><span style="font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">The dangers posed to body, heart and soul in conflict are well-described under the Combat mechanics (p.XX), but what of other dangers? </span><br /><span style="font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">The aforementioned fire, crushing, drowning, acid etc. are all expressed in this game by Hazards. These are passive or active elements of the scenery that just happen to be able to kill you if you touch them.</span><br /><span style="font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Poisons, such as snake venom, deadly plant toxins, and dangerous chemical injections are similar to Hazards but mechanically distinct. They’re typically carried like equipment, rather than being part of the surroundings.</span><br /><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Hazards, </span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">described in their own section (p.XX), are endured by taking an Endurance action equal to or higher than their Rating: lower-Ranked actions result in damage equal to the difference. This action must be taken immediately during contact with the Hazard or it deals its full damage.</span><br /><span style="font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">If a character remains in a Hazard for longer than one action, it must be resisted every round of sustained contact. They may instead continue to withstand it with a prolonged Endurance action. They might, for example, wade through a simmering caldera of magma over several turns of deliberate trudging by turning their initial Endurance action to survive contact into a Sustained action by storing it in a Focus slot.</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Inimical environments, such as the crushing depths of the ocean or the airless reaches of outer space, kill a character </span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">within the span of a single round </span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">unless an Endurance action of Rank sufficient to survive in such a hostile place is taken. The Endurance Effect Chart should be the GM’s guide to what Rank is necessary to survive and function in such deadly climates. This action may also be sustained, allowing characters to do battle in all manner of deadly environments.</span><br /><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-weight: 700; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-weight: 700; white-space: pre-wrap;">Poison</span><br /><span style="font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Only rat bastards use poisons to kill their rivals; even in this scorched and fallen age, it is universally regarded as a treacherous, cowardly tool, used only by putrid lowlives and honorless scum. You may want to bookmark this section; your players will reference it a lot.</span><br /><span style="font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Poisons are composed of four elements: Doses, Vector, Virulence, and Effect.</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Poisons are equipment, like weapons, rations and other tools. They are measured in </span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Doses</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, which are the smallest quantities that can be administered to achieve their deadly effects. </span><br /><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">To use them, they must be administered. A Poison’s </span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Vector </span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">describes how a character must contact it to be in any danger. For example, an </span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">ingested </span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Poison would be harmless is smeared onto a club, while a </span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">touch </span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">poison would not. A given dose might be coated on a weapon, cooked into food, or thrown like a grenade onto an unsuspecting foe; the exact administration is an exercise in the Tactical Infinity.</span><br /><span style="font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Possible Vectors include, but are not limited to:</span></i><br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>Touch</i></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>Ingestion</i></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>Inhalation</i></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>Injury</i></span></li>
</ul>
<i><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Virulence </span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">is how difficult it is to resist the Poison. Characters exposed to it’s Vector may take an Endurance action equal to or greater than it’s Virulence to resist the Poison. This is similar to defending against an attack; reduce the Virulence by your result, with any positive number translating to Aggravation.</span><br /><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A Poison’s </span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Effect </span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">describes the injuries it inflicts on a poisoned character. Generally, Poisons create Imbalances: their Mechanical and Dramatic Penalties are described here. If the Virulence is not completely resisted, then the resulting Aggravation builds towards this Imbalance.</span><br /><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-weight: 700; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-weight: 700; white-space: pre-wrap;">Weapons and Poison</span><br /><span style="font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">A weapon may be coated with a single dose of Poison. If a foe fails to completely defend against an attack by this weapon (in other words, if it damages them) then they are struck with the Poison. This means, in addition to being damaged, they must contend with the full Virulence of the Poison with an Endurance action or receive Aggravation towards the Poison’s Imbalance in addition to the damage they take from the attack. Ouch!</span><br /><span style="font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">You can see why people hate this tactic. Also, why it remains so popular amongst bastards.</span><br /><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Coating a weapon in Poison is only ever good for a single dose; generally, it is done carefully, in Real-Time or slower scenes, to prevent the incredibly likely outcome of accidental poisoning oneself. Although </span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>sucidally </b></span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">stupid to do in the frantic melee of an Action scene, it may none the less be accomplished with a Rank 3+ Agility action and a roll to see if you Poison yourself. Roll 1d10 and if your result is 1, congratulations dumbass: resist the Virulence of your Poison with an Endurance roll, and your dose of Poison is wasted on you. </span></i><br />
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The Poison rules are <i>comically</i> overdue, so... Here they are! They are probably exactly what you expected, no surprises. I kept the social more against their use because, it's fun to have rules and to break them. Also, note the subtle addition of verbage from the budding equipment rules and the reference to the Tactical Infinity, reinforcing the method by which this game is played.</div>
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You're again seeing some work-in form playtest feedback here, and you'll see a bit more in the next section. The intention of the rules to allow you to function in inimical environments was <i>not</i> clear to test groups, so I put that feature center-stage and repeated the ability to do so three times in the text (here, the Effect Chart, and in the next section). </div>
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<i><span style="font-size: 18pt; font-weight: 700; white-space: pre-wrap;">Real-time</span><br /><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The skill of resilience and toughness allows characters to </span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Withstand </span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">hardships from painful, dangerous and deadly environments in Real-Time scenes. It retains its useful power of </span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Surviving </span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">poisons and disease, as well.</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Some environments are so inimical to health (highly radioactive, underwater, etc) that simply being in them exposes a character to environmental Hazard (p.XX). Thankfully, </span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Withstanding </span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">these dangers is simple; taking an Endurance action reduces the damage of the hazard by your result. A negative or zero result prevents all danger. If your action is below the Hazard’s Rating, you lose 1 Health Box per Rank of difference. For every Rank of damage taken, you also develop an elemental-themed Imbalance, or suffer from an additional malady such as mutation, depending on the nature of the Hazard.</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Just as in Action scenes, the Endurance action to withstand the dangers of a Hazard is taken on first contact; failure to act results in the unmitigated damage of the Hazard! Your Endurance action may be sustained; this grants you immunity to all Hazards whose Rating is less than your action. Sustaining such an act of resilience is a great way to show off the invincibility of your character, as you stroll calmly through raging infernos or do battle while wading in radioactive sludge.</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Surviving </span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">deadly poisons requires you to take an Endurance action against the Virulence of an administered poison. As with resisting hazards, a negative or zero result totally nullifies the poison. Otherwise, you must contend with the Poison’s Effect. See the full rules for Poison for details (p.XX)</span><br /><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-weight: 700; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-weight: 700; white-space: pre-wrap;">Disease</span><br /><span style="font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Diseases ravage the already dying World of Ashes and Ghosts; maggots squirming in a dying man’s bones.</span><br /><span style="font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Diseases are composed of a few elements: Vector, Effect, Contagion, Virulence, and Cure.</span><br /><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Vectors </span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">for disease include, but are not limited to:</span></i><br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>Physical contact</i></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>Airborn (breathing near carrier)</i></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>Bite</i></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>Bodily Fluid</i></span></li>
</ul>
<i><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A disease’s </span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Effect </span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">describes how its symptoms manifest. Generally, this works like an Imbalance, leaving characters a choice between limiting their action descriptions or suffering from a statistical penalty. </span><br /><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Diseases are living things that spread to new hosts. The transmissibility of a Disease is measured by its </span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Contagion</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">.</span><br /><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Contagion is rated between 1-9. Upon contact with a Disease’s Vector, roll a d10: if your roll is equal to or under the Contagion, your character contacts the disease and is a carrier. Even if successfully resisted with an Endurance action, </span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">a character remains a carrier of the illness and may spread it to others</span><br /><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A disease’s </span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Virulence </span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">is the initial Rank of this Imbalance: characters may reduce this with an Endurance action upon initial contraction. Because they are living things, at the end of every Real-Time or longer scene, if a character has not been cured of their disease, increase it’s Aggravation by 1d10.</span><br /><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The only way to cleanse themselves of the illness is to be cured through scientific or mystical means. This may be done through two broad means; the Disease’s </span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Cure</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, or the cleansing effect of a character's </span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Immune System</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">.</span><br /><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A disease’s Cure is just that; it’s the medicine that totally cleanses the body of the malady. Not every Disease has a Cure, but every Disease </span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">can</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> be cured; it’s a matter of discovery or inventing a suitable remedy. When the Cure is well-known, or already discovered, it is listed under this entry. </span><br /><span style="font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Once administered, the Cure immediately nullifies the transmissibility of the Disease and suppresses all symptoms after a single action. At the end of the scene, it works the Disease completely out of the patient’s body and they are cured.</span><br /><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The </span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Immune System</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> acts similarly, but is more sporadic and less reliable than a Cure. At the end of every Real-Time scene, roll against Contagion again; if the result is ever under the Disease’s Contagion, your immune system fends it off permanently and you are no longer a carrier. </span><br /><span style="font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Some awful diseases cannot be overcome in this way: they plague you until you die, or they are cured.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-weight: 700; white-space: pre-wrap;">Sustaining Actions </span><br /><span style="font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">All actions sustained during a scene are typically released when that scene ends. Endurance actions are an exception to this: they can remain longer, as exhibited on the Effect Chart. </span><br /><span style="font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Additionally, a sustained Endurance action may be “dedicated” to prolonging any other sustained action. This requires one Focus slot for the original action, and one for the prolonging Endurance action.</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This allows character to cross the “scene barrier” with their actions intact; for example, a long-term use of Power towards a construction project taking place in a Montage scene might become a sustained lifting action, carrying a gigantic piece of construction equipment in a Real-Time or Action scene. </span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></i></div>
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<span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">I put the Disease rules here as they effect characters; I need to write about how they ravage populations as well, but all in due time. Plagues should absolutely be something characters have to deal with.</span></div>
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<span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Note the repetition on how Endurance allows you to function in dangerous environments; there's some subtleties that might not be apparent that I included in the writing, such as the timing of when Endurance actions are taken, and the fact that the <i>same action</i> can then be sustained to prolong your immunity to a Hazard. Little shades of rule interaction like that really aid consistent rulings and make the function of a character's capabilities more clear to players.</span></div>
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<span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><i><span style="font-size: 18pt; font-weight: 700; white-space: pre-wrap;">Montage</span><br /><span style="font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Another skill that might leave players scratching their head, Endurance is a passive, resistant trait that doesn’t lend itself well to long-term strategic moves. Or… Does it? After all, it’s the skill of sheer work output, as well as the one which enables survival in inimical (and therefore inaccessible) environments. Cunning players can put these traits to work in spectacular fashion.</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-weight: 700; white-space: pre-wrap;">Work Output</span><br /><span style="font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">The sheer stubborn resilience of tough characters can make them produce godlike outputs of grunt work. This translates directly into the work output of a Populace of ever-larger sizes, allowing single characters to work the shifts of many, thereby reaping an enormous personal reward. Reference the Work Output Chart below to translate Endurance actions by Rank into its equivalent number of laborers.</span><br /><span style="font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Note that, although a single character’s output remains reasonably small, a work team of several characters capable of multiplying their output makes for incredibly impressive results. Good luck wrangling a small army of djinni or other supernatural beings to mine gold for you, but if you pull it off it’ll be spectacular!</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-weight: 700; white-space: pre-wrap;">Work Output Chart</span><br /><span style="font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">1- A single laborer</span><br /><span style="font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">2- 3 laborers</span><br /><span style="font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">3- 5 laborers</span><br /><span style="font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">4- A work team of 10</span><br /><span style="font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">5- A 25 worker team</span><br /><span style="font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">6- 50-strong workforce</span><br /><span style="font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">7- A small army of 100 workers</span><br /><span style="font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">8- A massive workforce of 250</span><br /><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-weight: 700; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-weight: 700; white-space: pre-wrap;">Inimical Environments</span><br /><span style="font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Characters may need to travel through, hide in, or build fortress inside of deadly and inhospitable environments. When they undertake these most awesome of feats during the long and otherwise docile timeframe of a Montage scene, it requires an Endurance action of appropriate Rank to withstand the lethal circumstances while they accomplish their tasks.</span><br /><span style="font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Although it offers the same information as the Endurance Effect Chart, to give you a brief and concise refresher, here’s a truncated Environmental Danger Chart:</span><br /><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-weight: 700; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-weight: 700; white-space: pre-wrap;">Environmental Danger Chart</span><br /><span style="font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">1- Dangerous temperatures (hot enough for heatstroke or cold enough for frostbite)</span><br /><span style="font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">2- Deadly temperatures (so hot that heatstroke occurs in minutes, so cold that frostbite can result from exposure to wind)</span><br /><span style="font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">3- Poisonous gases, wildfire-inducing heat, underwater, lake-freezing cold</span><br /><span style="font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">4- Burning landscapes, ocean floor, high radioactivity</span><br /><span style="font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">5- Caustic gas, radioactive waste, acid lakes </span><br /><span style="font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">6- Molten lava, zero-pressure atmosphere, near-absolute zero cold</span><br /><span style="font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">7- Molten steel, the fiery veins of the planet, spiritual corruption</span><br /><span style="font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">8- Nuclear reactor, a place cursed by the Void</span><br /><span style="font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Surviving in such inhospitable places allows characters to travel through them, hide within them, construct and destroy structures inside them and otherwise access the full functionality of their capabilities within their boundaries during a Montage scene. If a sufficient Rank of Endurance is not achieved, then entering these places is suicide and they may not be traveled through, entered or any action taken within them.</span></i><br />
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...<br />
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There's a story in the Weapons of the Gods game which contains a man being tied to a rock and submerged under a lake for decades; within the context of the game, that feat is impossible. I aimed to change that with my design, hence the Inimical Environments rule above.<br />
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Also, I don't actually remember when I first equated Endurance actions to work output, but I love the idea. It's gonna come up, once players start to latch onto Nodes and the late game, so I wanted to have a ready answer to the question of "how many laborers am I worth?" in character terms (plenty, dingus). I also adore the idea of press-ganging a bunch of Oni into an assembly line built in the acid-drowned ruins of an ancient factory, so I threw in a line about doing that so people's cogs are turning in that direction.</div>
Joel T. Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14794521474606595295noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-873328568939844233.post-83177616727886378912019-06-24T17:50:00.001-07:002019-06-24T19:27:52.879-07:00One gravitates to Evangelion during dark times<br />
Watched this earlier today, got so inspired I thought I'd make two blog posts before turning in.<br />
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Standout quote: "Limitation is a core part of any creative project"<br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 18pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Agility</span></div>
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<span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">The speed at which characters can move, and the grace with which they overcome obstacles that impede their exploration, is the key staggering mechanism to your game's content. Consider D&D: you can't get far in the wilderness at early levels. It's just too damn dangerous; wandering monsters that severely outclass you make travel risky, and this risk isn't weighed against a comparable reward, because *wandering* monsters are *outside* of their lairs, and hence do not grant treasure when slain.</span></div>
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<span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">As you gain wealth and competence (and these are linked skillfully by the GP=XP mechanism), you not only gain the ability to overcome, survive or escape the danger of wandering monsters, but you gain access to faster modes of transportation, broadening the range that you can travel safely and swiftly.</span></div>
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This means that a handful of hexes filled with content can be a year's worth of campaigning if you start the game at level 1. All this is because of the difficulty of travel; if the players began with magic carpets and rings of invisibility, they'd range to the limit of your map within the first session because the obstacles of getting lost, attacked by monsters, starving, or other hindrances to their movement like mountains, oceans or swamps would be below their capabilities.</div>
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Hence my problems with content pacing in LWF; the Effect chart has "fly at mach 1" within the grasp of any starting character.</div>
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It *needs* to be there: after all, this game aspires to the likes of Dragonball Z and Avatar: the last airbender. If you can hurl a battleship to the moon, you can certainly zip around like Aang or Goku could do from episode 1 of their respective shows.</div>
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But, there's more to it than that. You don't need to dig deep to realize that these show's dynamics are fundamentally altered by the freedom of movement enjoyed by the characters.</div>
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Take DBZ, which grew out of Dragonball, which grew out of Journey to the west: the Chinese equivalent to the Odyssey. An epic defined by having a very onerous time getting anywhere. Comparing Dragonball to Z, we find that the world of Dragonball is *denser*: Goku and Bulma travel by land, and they're constantly encountering colorful characters, landscapes and situations. DBZ, while technically sharing a world, is emptier; both Earth and Namek are voids of interchangeable wasteland battlefields, nearly abandoned save by the occasional doomed news crew or cookie-cutter Namekian village.</div>
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The ease with which character breeze past, over or through the challenges of the previous series is played for laughs; it's become a joke to them because of the scale they're operating at. The content centers on those things which cannot be ignored; the overpowering presence of the Saiyans, or Freeza, or the Androids or Cell or Buu, These things hunt down the characters and wreak havoc unless dealt with; a far cry from the chance meetings and discoveries of the travel-based Dragonball.</div>
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Even the ancient authors realized they'd written themselves into a corner with the Handsome Monkey King; directly before his Odyssey, he leaps from five elements peak to the edge of the world and back in the blink of an eye. Then he has to walk at normal, human speed all the way to India. </div>
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Wukong is brought down to human scale by his mission; he can't just leap to India, grab the texts, and leap back. It doesn't work that way; his journey forces him to behave as a considerably less capable character, and the narrative is richer for it. Think about it; he effortlessly leaped over his entire life story before living it. Which was the more satisfying journey?<br />
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Let's get real though; players don't give a crap about that zen BS. They can jump over a continent and be DAMNED if they don't get to PLAY with their new TOY.<br />
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And that's fair; why give the players a power if you don't intend them to use it?</div>
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<span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">But therein lies the challenge for us as game designers; we're left with climbing that peak. How do you allow Sun Wukong his world-leaping jump, but still make his journey to the west something the player must or wishes to do?</span></div>
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<span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">How indeed?</span></div>
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<span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">The Scenes</span></b></span></div>
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<span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">The guiding logic of the redesign again works in my favor here; by cleanly dividing the capabilities of players between the timeframes of scene mechanics, I distinguish a sprint from a run from a journey. I define movement in terms of the length of time taken to move, and the application of a single acrobatic act from the sustained grace of parkour or the incredible agility of the Sherpa*.</span><br />
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<span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">*(As an aside, I recently got dinged by one of my more progressive friends for using the term "Sherpa". If you're a member of a Himalayan mountaineering tribe and feel this use to be insulting or an act of cultural appropriation, give me a jingle and I'll replace it with a less offensive term. If you don't care, also tell me that because I'd love to rub that in her face)</span></span><br />
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<span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">I powerfully de-escalated the distances that could be blazed over within Action Scenes, but that went hand-in-hand with defining what I'm going to call the "content-space" of a given area <i>because </i><b style="font-style: italic;">you. can't. stop. me. </b>Also it feels like it gets the idea across.</span><br />
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<span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">So I'm gonna explain it in D&D terms again, because that's how I think about it:</span><br />
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<span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">D&D has the ROOM as the basic node of content: we all know what this is. Kick in the door, you enter a new room. Rooms have a key and a little space on the map of your dungeon; they have <i>character</i>, in that there's something written in their key. "3 orcs guard a chest full of 20 GP" is, in essence, the fundamental character of that room. Some rooms are better than others, clearly. Compare my orc chest room with this fiendish masterpiece:</span><br />
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<a href="https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/indianajones/images/d/d0/Temple_of_doom_sacrifice.png/revision/latest?cb=20180909200347" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="340" data-original-width="800" height="272" src="https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/indianajones/images/d/d0/Temple_of_doom_sacrifice.png/revision/latest?cb=20180909200347" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Now that's a room with <i>character</i>. But it's still a </span><i style="white-space: pre-wrap;">room</i><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">: it's defined within it's walls. The stuff on the key is </span><i style="white-space: pre-wrap;">there</i><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">, a discrete and distinguishable different piece of content from adjacent rooms. It is our most basic node of content.</span><br />
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<span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">I took this logic and broke down it's walls, but kept it's distinguishing elements and created the <i>Field</i> or <i>Battlefield</i> depending on what mood I'm in. By taking this same idea of a discrete <i>place</i> with more-or-less defined boundaries of "no longer that place", you get a dungeon room you can put <i>outside</i> and this is a critical chunk missing for me in almost every game ever made.</span><br />
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<span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">So, our single entry, our content node, is a Field. </span><br />
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<span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">A collection of joined rooms is a </span><i style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Dungeon </i><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">in D&D terms. Dungeons are thematically cohesive; they are whole, complete places, more than just the rooms and connections between them but also their location, inhabitants, treasure, even history.</span><br />
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<span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">So if collections of rooms are dungeons, collections of Fields are <i>Tracts</i>: recognizable geographic areas of conjoined Fields sharing spacial relationship, theme, location, history, inhabitants (in the form of encounter lists and keyed inhabitants, identical to our dungeon) and the unifying sense of <i>place</i> inherent in rooms to their larger dungeon.</span><br />
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<span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">And just like that, we now have a familiar, recognizable and comprehensible structure which allows us to make an above-ground, unenclosed area with the same ease with which we make a firewalled dungeon.</span><br />
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<span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">We also now have a means of translating the movement of characters into a recognizable pacing mechanism; that of walls and doors, traps and obstacles. Cunning D&D players traverse such things, but need special permission (lockpicks, battering rams, makeshift bridges, rope) and risk danger or detection when moving between rooms. So to, do we place surrounding dangers; fortified buildings, rushing rivers of toxic filth, barbed wire, minefields, the concrete and steel innards of a shattered urbanscape, etc. Players similarly overcome them with either acrobatics or ingenuity.</span><br />
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<span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">What happens when we adjoin two or more dungeons to one another? We craft the epic, multi-tiered play space of a Megadungeon; shifting between it's enormous layers changes the character and danger level of what we encounter. So to, do I group together Tracts into the overarching above-world megadungeons of Domains.</span><br />
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<span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Suicide Heaven, haunted demon-city of the Shadow Vipers, is one such open-air megadungeon, as is the glistening half-drowned demi-utopia of the Silver Phoenix and the savage cradle of primordial jungle inhabited by the ferocious Emerald Kirin. These aren't just "places you go", they're entire campaign arcs, possible whole campaigns worth of adventure, challenge, danger, and treasure. Wars could rage within their boundaries and still be unencountered by the players.
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<span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">D&D gets bigger, though, than megadungeons; because even the most colossal of these is well-contained within a single hex on the map of your world. So to, do I define Regions; these are those neighboring places, vast expanses between cities, towns, forests and dungeons where the entire character of the game alters. </span><br />
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<span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">And now we have three broad cataegories of action in regards to movement: getting stuck in ("not moving"), choosing a new place in which to get stuck in ("traveling") and getting side-tracked, delayed or thwarted in your attempts to choose a new place ("dealing with an encounter/obstacle")</span><br />
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<span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Additionally, we have a better grasp of what the prep for a given place will require of us as GMs. If you're going to embark on a year-long campaign, you should probably prep a Domain's worth of content (one "megadungeon"). If you just need an evening's entertainment, a small but densely populated Tract should get you through (a "five-room Dungeon" will suffice).</span><br />
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<span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">That also gives me a compass for what the movement rules should allow. Check it out.</span><br />
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<i><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 16pt; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Action</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 16pt; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The skill of coordination, reflexes and speed allows characters to </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Traverse</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> difficult and dangerous terrain, allowing new interactions with the environment. It also grants them a burst of </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Speed</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, allowing them to dash across vast distances in a single moment.</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">For </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Traversing </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">challenging terrain, Reference the Agility Effect Chart to determine whether a given movement action possesses enough reflexes and grace to move over a given obstacle or terrain, or pull off a method of movement (such as spider-climbing or rope-walking) that allows a novel form of movement unavailable to less dexterous characters.</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">For bursts of </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Speed</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, reference the Dynamic Movement Chart for Real-Time scenes below.</span></i></div>
<b id="docs-internal-guid-8f9f84ec-7fff-9f3d-cfc3-030b4dd1bf9e" style="font-weight: normal;"><i><br /></i></b>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 16pt; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>Dynamic movement</i></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>Moving vertically and jumping large distances is part and parcel of the kung-fu heroes in this game. When characters need to push themselves to incredible levels of mobility with an Agility action, consult this chart to see how far they go.</i></span></div>
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<i><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">0-Normal human movement and agility.</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> You can jump 3’ (1 meter) vertically or twice that horizontally without significant effort. You move fast and far enough to maneuver </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">within</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> or a</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">cross</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> a single Field during your turn. You begin your next turn in any adjacent Field.</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">1-Superior human athletics.</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> With significant effort, you can leap 6’ (2 meters) vertically or four times that length horizontally. This allows you to bound over significant obstacles. You’re fast enough to move </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">through</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> a Field and </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">into</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> an adjacent one during your turn; you can split your other actions between things in either Field.</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">2-Olympian effort.</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Your exceptional prowess allows you to leap 12’ (4 meters) vertically or 18’ (6 meters) horizontally. This is enough to scale buildings in a few bounds. You can move through </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">two</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Fields and maneuver within a third with this incredible speed.</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">3-Beyond-human athletics</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. Achieving this rank, you can leap several stories in a bound. This allows you to cleanly traverse most obstacles at a whim. You can move through </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">three</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Fields and maneuver within the </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">fourth</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> with this speed. Alternatively, you may maneuver </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">within</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> or a</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">cross</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> a single Tract during your turn. You begin your next turn in any adjacent Tract.</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">4-Superhuman movement.</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> This rank lets you leaps tall buildings in a single bound. You can move through </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">four </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fields and maneuver within the </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">fifth </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">with this speed. Alternatively, you can move </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">through </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">a Tract, emerging in an adjacent one, splitting your turn’s actions between them as you desire.</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">5-Titanic stride.</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> This speed allows a character to streak across </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Seven </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fields in a single instant. Alternatively, you can move across</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> two </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Tracts and maneuver in a </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">third.</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">6-Small god’s motion.</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> With this divine flight, you may traverse </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">three</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Tracts and maneuver within the </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">fourth</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. Alternatively, you may maneuver </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">within</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> or a</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">cross</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> a single Domain during your turn. You begin your next turn in any adjacent Domain.</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">7-Herculean heft.</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Four </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Tracts may be traversed with this blinding burst of speed, moving freely through the fifth. Alternatively, you may burn across </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">one </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Domain and enter a </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">second </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">with this bullet-quick flight, splitting your turn between them.</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">8-Deific bound.</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> You sear across </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">seven </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">tracts in a display of godlike alacrity. This is alternatively fast enough to cross </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">two </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Domains and enter a </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">third</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">.</span></i></div>
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<span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Note the design on Rank 6; this is the ceiling for characters lacking movement-extending magic, so acts as a good predictor of what a party (rather than a single vulnerable starting character) can do in terms of free movement choices. Barring extraordinary circumstance, it acts like a D&D spell which grants you instantaneous transportation into a neighboring Megadungon that shares walls with your current one.
This is still a *lot* of power and freedom in the hands of a starting party; but it's significantly easier for a fledgling GM to turn to a different content-section of the book and simply start running the new area. It's also a significant drain on a new character's resources; a Rank 6 action isn't tenable until the later stages of combat, or alternatively leaves a character stranded in a new area and totally depleted of Prana; effectively trading a more reliable combat strategy for a desperate retreat. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 18pt; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>Real-Time</i></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>Dodging</i></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>The most basic of all uses for speed and coordination; getting the hell out of the way. A sister to the Endurance mechanics, dodging allows you to avoid incoming dangers rather than shrug them off. Reference the Agility Effect Chart to get an idea of how speedy a danger you can avoid with your wits and reflexes.</i></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>Some areas can only be safely traversed by sustaining a Dodge action as you move through them. The Rank of this action is derived from the Agility Effect Chart. Characters finding themselves within such an area and unable to dodge suffer its consequences (such as being cut apart by dancing lasers or a hail of broken glass). </i></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>These dangers might manifest as an attack, a Hazard, or some more esoteric thing (failing to dodge a storm of flying prayer strips might result in a curse, for example).</i></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>Flee and pursuit</i></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>How does one escape a sufficiently dedicated foe? Certainly you wouldn’t flee a fight you’re winning; if you’re running, you’ve already realized that you’re at a disadvantage. But if your foe has the advantage, how can you hope to escape?</i></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>Simple; you make pursuit harder for them than fleeing is for you.</i></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>Characters who opt to flee during their turn move as per the Dynamic Movement Chart. Additionally, they leave behind a either a trail of hastily created traps as they knock over the terrain behind them, or a twisting, confusing pattern of escape that makes them difficult to track.</i></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>Because of these tactics, fleeing characters may leave behind difficult terrain equal to (their Agility action to flee -1 Rank) or they may hide themselves, which grants them (Agility action to flee -1 Rank Senses) as a sustained hiding action.</i></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>Acrobatics and parkour</i></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>Some areas cannot be moved through freely; either because the ground is slick or unstable, or because there’s no ground at all (in the case of balancing acts on power lines or defying gravity by fistfighting on the side of a speeding train).</i></span></div>
<span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><i><span id="docs-internal-guid-0e40480a-7fff-216d-73b2-3b37419e94a8"></span></i></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>In such cases, a sustained agility action of appropriate Rank must be used to allow the character the ability to move and maneuver normally on the terrain. Consult the Agility Effect chart to determine the fantastic gravity-defying feats required for such challenging footwork.</i></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><br /></span>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="white-space: pre;">You're seeing some playtest feedback here. We had a scene occur where a player entered an area
that required constant dodging from danger. The ad-hoc rule that was used to simulate that (a sustained
Agility action) was more formally adopted within the text, since it gave an outstanding guideline.
There's also a wrinkle added by myself; I got tired of running away being a non-option in Legends of</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="white-space: pre;">the Wulin, so I made an explicit rule encouraging it. It also leads to flee and pursuit being a
re-contextualizing of a continuing combat, which is fun.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 16px; white-space: pre;">.....</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><span style="font-size: large;"><i>Montage</i></span></b></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>Considering the blazing speed and mindblowing acrobatics with which character might move in this game, one naturally asks: “What’s left for Montage scenes?”</i></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>Recall that the essence of the Agility skill is movement, and the essence of Montage scenes is sustained or repeated use of a skill. Considering these two together, we’re left with that most fundamental of long-term movements, travel.</i></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>Travel</i></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>The World of Ashes and Ghosts is vast. So vast that even the ancients, before their disastrous fall, spread uncountable leagues of glass and concrete tunnels below the world to connect it’s disparate cities and lonesome temples. Now, the poisonous stretches of wasteland act as barrier in their distance alone, keeping the scattered clutches of humanity separated by their impassable length.</i></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>When embarking on a journey, the Rank of Agility required to successfully reach one’s destination is judged by two factors: The Distance of the journey, and the difficulty of traversy the intervening Terrain. Consult the Journey chart below to determine the Rank required: simply add the Distance attempted to the most difficult Terrain encountered en route.</i></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>Journey Chart</i></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>Distance</i></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>0- Fields</i></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>1- Tracts</i></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>2- Domains</i></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>3- Regions</i></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>Terrain</i></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>0- Smooth and level terrain (roads) </i></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>1- Bumpy and broken terrain (unworked earth, hardpack)</i></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>2- Resistant, slick, or sticky terrain (marsh, mud, loose sand)</i></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>3- Dangerous, shattered or dense terrain (cliffs, jungles, broken lands)</i></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>4- Precarious or deadly terrain (mountainsides, minefields, quicksand) </i></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>5+ - Barriers or impassable terrain (fortress walls, chasms, oceans) </i></span></div>
<b id="docs-internal-guid-5415b0c0-7fff-8aaa-6def-a3ab29c24696" style="font-weight: normal;"><i><br /></i></b>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>How far do you go?</i></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>Note that when you travel, there’s not a number of areas traversed; simply a category. This is because of the nature of travel; namely, how boring it is. That’s why we’re skipping over it with Montage scenes! </i></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>That’s the purpose of travel rules; to get through the tiresome scenes of walking while nothing happens as painlessly as possible. However, this also means that travel, by definition, ends when something interesting starts happening.</i></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>This is a two-edged sword: one the one edge, you want to go as far as you can during your precious Montage. On the other, “interesting things happen” is the entire reason you’re playing the game.</i></span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>So, while traveling, after you move into each new area (Tract or Domain or whatever), roll for Orthogonal Content in that area. If the roll results in an encounter, it interrupts the Montage as normal and you have to resolve the scene before you can return to traveling. Of course, you can choose to stop traveling and get involved in whatever adventure is promised by the new content, but that’s your call.</i></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">.....</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">I think I'm going to adopt that "roll an encounter when you cross a boundary" rule </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">to the faster travel of Action scenes too. It seems a bit inconsistent as it's written. Good note.</span></div>
Joel T. Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14794521474606595295noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-873328568939844233.post-80372914619987741932019-06-24T10:56:00.007-07:002023-04-13T10:52:46.899-07:00Christ life is a kick in the balls. Here's some montage scene rules.<br />
Whew. That was a bit of a disaster, huh?<br />
<br />
No I'm not dead. I mean, life is trying it's god-damndest to kill me, but I seem to be weathering it without too much more than delays and deep, agonizing depression.<br />
<br />
Apologies for the delays; let me give you guys the 10-4.<br />
<br />
So, I started this project:<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>Married</li>
<li>A stay-at-home dad</li>
<li>Between college courses in summer</li>
</ul>
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<br />
I'm none of that now. My full-time course load had to get exchanged over this summer (the summer I planned to dedicate to finishing the writing on Lone Wolf Fists) for a full-time, start-you-at-5-in-the-morning job. I'm on week 4 of said job, so I still haven't either fully adjusted or gotten a full paycheck. I'm gettin there, no need for a pledge drive or anything; I'm just not adjusted to this yet.<br />
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Yeah I got divorced. I don't want to talk about it. But since then, I've been battling some major depression so it's. Uh. Put a crimp in my productivity.</div>
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There's been a lot of upsets, both in the realities of my life and in the way I have to live it. It's been... Pretty rough, not gonna lie. I even put my patreon on a 1-month hiatus and refunded everybody a little while back, when that wound was still brand-new.</div>
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But, I am writing this goddamn game. I really don't care how much sense it makes anymore, economically speaking. It's gettin' writ, dammit.</div>
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Some other shit that happened, just so you know I got to pay all my bad kharma at once:</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>My cat got bitten by some wild-ass animal and the vet bill was over a month's rent</li>
<li>Month-long UTI with no funds to see a doc</li>
<li>Stiffed $500 on my loans with no explanation, throwing my finances into panic mode</li>
</ul>
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It's just been a series of nut punches that I'm only now really staggering back from.<br />
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But I've been writing. Because back when my playtest group (of which my now ex-wife was a star contributor) ran LWF, I realized that the scene rules were the golden key to making this game function. They needed to get fixed, so fix them I've been.</div>
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Let's talk about that.</div>
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<b>HOW I RUN RPGs</b></div>
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I've been gaming for a while. The best sessions and campaigns I run all proceed in a similar fashion. </div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7NSz4xTyDhvfUR9C3FVxkbJbyhRosnY1DHv0YjyxAtF93sp6DY8F7UE4srgA4HG21_vY_zvMie2nJo9pt9u7J39VT9ab-bWGznC-G574_F9cGqetg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="401" data-original-width="800" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7NSz4xTyDhvfUR9C3FVxkbJbyhRosnY1DHv0YjyxAtF93sp6DY8F7UE4srgA4HG21_vY_zvMie2nJo9pt9u7J39VT9ab-bWGznC-G574_F9cGqetg" width="640" /></a></div>
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It's not complex. Actually, I strongly suspect we all do this ultimately:</div>
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<ol>
<li>I talk with the players until a general consensus of "what we were doing last time" emerges. On the rare occasion that I wrote it down or remember, we just start there. (If it's a very first session, I'll just tell them what they were up to before the adventure began and start them a little ways into it. For best results, they're up to their waists in trouble)</li>
<li>I set the scene. "Here's where you are, here's why, here's what you see: now, what do you do?"</li>
<li>The players start tellin' me what they do. Generally they've got a "most active to least active" kind of pecking order that naturally emerges; if not, I'll have some catch on fire or something. The clatter of random encounter dice behind my screen prods most players out of indecision.</li>
<li>Every time somebody does something, we resolve it by either just description ("You do that; this happens") or we engage the mechanics ("You want to do that? Roll these dice and let's see").<a href="http://dndwithpornstars.blogspot.com/2009/10/why-i-love-simple-initiative.html"> Zak Smith once waxed a bit poetic about how important rolling dice is</a>; I agree with him on this point.</li>
<li>We go along until a fight breaks out, or something starts burning, or until someone does something stupid, or until a monster/murderer of some variety shows up. Then we resolve that disaster. Usually, this is where a game's combat engine revs up and it lives or dies for me. Most RPGs have rules exclusively here; those can work. I like a little more meat on the bones, but if a game is just punch mechanics and "you can do what a person can do"? Still basically works for my style.</li>
<li>When everything is plundered/dead in an area (or the players just want a change of scenery) they go somewhere else. This is basically "It takes this long and you see this, mark off rations" interspersed with wandering monster rolls until they're ambushed or come across something they want to dig into.</li>
<li>The players occasionally encounter people who say things to them without murder being involved. I make a note of it, and they become the supporting cast of the game.</li>
<li>We go on like that until the players have become powerful enough to buy themselves some downtime to build castles and such. Then, we look up those rules and a lot of writing ensues.</li>
<li>Repeat until the game world is utterly conquered by my unstoppable dragon-taming powergaming murder hobo demigods. With occasional pauses to laugh at the dismal fate of characters that get eaten/turned to stone/ gutted in a dark alley.</li>
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<b>WHAT GAMES THEREFORE NEED</b></div>
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When I'm writing Lone Wolf Fists, if I can't run it that way, it's essentially a failure. This realization (brought about by actually playing the game I'm writing) was a clarifying moment for me, because it means I only need a few things for the game to work:</div>
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<ol>
<li>Enough grist for the world and for what the characters are in it. In D&D, you've got some kind of pulp fantasy/scifi world and freebooters/treasure hunters lookin' to get rich by diggin' up that coin. In my game, you've got a ruined hellworld and kung-fu heroes chasing their destinies. Check.</li>
<li>Good combat and death/injury/healing mechanics (which include ways to not die/get injured). This covers man VS man, man VS environment, and man VS monster. In addition, the badass Imbalance mechanics give you some man VS god and man VS society, with some man VS self thrown in for good measure. Now I got lots of ways to torment and prob my poor heroes, and they got ways to flip that off and keep rockin'. Check.</li>
<li>Advancement mechanisms. Again, D&D got gold; you get it, you get two rewards: you get more powerful with XP, and you get rich you decadent pig. My game has the start of that; I got resource nodes and Kharma, kung-fu and magic stuff, but it's underdeveloped. Need to build this up more, clarify it. It's important because this is what you point players toward: "This is what you want and why you want it"</li>
<li>World-interaction mechanics. How to break and build stuff. How fast stuff is. How to not burn to death in volcanoes, stuff like that.</li>
<li>Stuff to kill players; monsters, villains, sicknesses, robots, catastrophes, etc. etc. Working on it. This doubles as the whole reason I game, basically. "Kung-fu guy punches giant monster" is the thesis of everything I'm seeking to accomplish here.</li>
<li>Travel mechanics that function, at their root, to get players to the next cool thing.</li>
<li>Some charts filled with stuff for GMs to pull from. NPC names, monsters, hazards, landscapes, situations, treasure, traps, stuff like that.</li>
<li>Something to discharge all that wealth and power on. Castles of scrap and Bartertowns and cults of personality, kung-fu brother and sisterhoods, mystical blades to forge and deep magic to weave. Sorely lacking that stuff.</li>
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That's at. I figure, I have that stuff, my game functions on a basic level. I can run games, I can prep stuff. <a href="https://thealexandrian.net/wordpress/15203/roleplaying-games/game-structures-part-11-complete-game-structures">That's the building blocks of a game for me.</a></div>
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That stuff isn't comprehensive. Obviously there was more to a masterpiece like Legends of the Wulin, but it was also missing some vitals parts of the above; so it was more "incomplete" in that regard. A LOT of modern RPGs fail for me on several of those fronts; I wind up inserting workable chunks from other games into them, sometimes it's an awkward fix. My theoretical ideal is a game that has all that stuff functioning when I pick it up, so I can get going right away.</div>
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Anyway. Bringing this back to the playtest: there came patches where I needed travel mechanics and they weren't functioning. There came points where the players had time on their hands, and I didn't have an idea of the upward reach of their power. There came really kickass ideas from players which I fumbled to manifest mechanically (well okay, I ad-hocced it since I wrote this game, but I don't expect someone picking it up to be able to do that out of the box with zero guidelines).</div>
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So the new paradigm got made and the three kinds of scenes had their roles clarified a lot. Travel and Downtime have a clear "slot" now in Montages. The time taken to do stuff got nailed into the mechanics of scenes, which made pacing less messy and tighter (You're not just "rolling forever until you get the best set" in slow scenes, now, and you can't do certain things in slower scenes anymore).</div>
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And with all that came the responsibility of defining how your actions (ie, your skills, the spine of this game) work in those different kind of scenes.</div>
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I'm writing those right now. And we're gonna talk about 'em.</div>
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...</div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Power</span></b></div>
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What's the strong guy up to in the different kinds of scenes?</div>
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In action scenes, he's clearly supposed to be the dude throwing dump trucks at people. Maybe he can grab you and crush you like a beer can, or throw you through a mountain. He's got a big fuckoff hammer certainly, better for skull-smashing. </div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i>Action</i></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>Heavy Weapons</i></span></div>
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<span id="docs-internal-guid-3e9a5049-7fff-10ce-b69e-4e58ce213316"><i><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Heavy objects may be lifted and used as crude weapons. Such colossal objects </span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">deal d10 additional Damage per Rank of Power required to lift them,</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> but only if they successfully strike a foe</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> The dice are rolled and added to damage from the attack. For example, successfully smashing a foe with a polar bear (Rank 3 to lift) would grant +3d10 Damage!</span></i></span></div>
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<span id="docs-internal-guid-3e9a5049-7fff-10ce-b69e-4e58ce213316"><i><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">For objects requiring Rank 5+ to lift, this damage increases by </span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">an additional flat +10 per</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Rank after 4. So a Rank 5 object (like a train car) deals 10+4d10 additional damage when it hit (Ouch!)</span></i></span></div>
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<span id="docs-internal-guid-3e9a5049-7fff-10ce-b69e-4e58ce213316"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>Generally, such improvised weapons are smashed on impact or dropped onto the foe at the attack’s conclusion. If the Power Action used to wield the weapon is Sustained however, then the object may continue to be used as a massive weapon.</i></span></span></div>
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<span id="docs-internal-guid-3e9a5049-7fff-10ce-b69e-4e58ce213316"><i><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Note that the Attack with the weapon must be made with a </span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">different</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> action; you cannot use the same action for more than one purpose.</span></i></span></div>
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<span id="docs-internal-guid-3e9a5049-7fff-10ce-b69e-4e58ce213316"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>Throwing</i></span></span></div>
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<span id="docs-internal-guid-3e9a5049-7fff-10ce-b69e-4e58ce213316"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>When you attack a foe, you may use a Power action to hurl them into nearby scenery (or launch them to the horizon). </i></span></span></div>
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<span id="docs-internal-guid-3e9a5049-7fff-10ce-b69e-4e58ce213316"><i><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">After</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> you declare your attack but </span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">before</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> they declare a defense, spend a Power action to enhance the attack. This doesn’t change the Rank of the attack, it’s damage or any other characteristic: it just charges your strike with a powerful kinetic energy.</span></i></span></div>
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<span id="docs-internal-guid-3e9a5049-7fff-10ce-b69e-4e58ce213316"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>If the foe manages to successfully defend against the attack, the extra empowering is wasted. If they do not, they go flying!. </i></span></span></div>
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<span id="docs-internal-guid-3e9a5049-7fff-10ce-b69e-4e58ce213316"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>Grabbed foes may be subject to throwing without defense.</i></span></span></div>
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<span id="docs-internal-guid-3e9a5049-7fff-10ce-b69e-4e58ce213316"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>If aimed at an Element, the structure takes damage as though it were attacked at a Rank equal to the Rank of the Power action. If aimed at the horizon, the character travels a distance equal to an equivalent Agility action to move.</i></span></span></div>
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<span id="docs-internal-guid-3e9a5049-7fff-10ce-b69e-4e58ce213316"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>When the character impacts, they take an additional 1d10 damage per Rank of power action used to launch them.</i></span></span></div>
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<span id="docs-internal-guid-3e9a5049-7fff-10ce-b69e-4e58ce213316"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>Lifted objects may be hurled as projectiles. The maximum distance thrown is 1 range category per Rank of Power over what is required to lift them, with a minimum of 1 adjacent battlefield. </i></span></span></div>
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<span id="docs-internal-guid-3e9a5049-7fff-10ce-b69e-4e58ce213316"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>For example, If you hefted a battleship with a godlike Rank 8 action, you could throw it into a nearby foe. If you instead picked up a car single-handed, you could hurl it across the continent.</i></span></span></div>
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<span id="docs-internal-guid-3e9a5049-7fff-10ce-b69e-4e58ce213316"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>Causing Havoc</i></span></span></div>
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<span id="docs-internal-guid-3e9a5049-7fff-10ce-b69e-4e58ce213316"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>Power may be used to break the environment.</i></span></span></div>
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<span id="docs-internal-guid-3e9a5049-7fff-10ce-b69e-4e58ce213316"><i><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The action is directed to the </span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Integrity </span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">of the feature you’re breaking. This serves as a sort of defense: reduce the Rank of your action by the feature’s rating. Apply any remainder as Damage against the feature.</span></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>Unlike living beings, who manifest Imbalances as their Health boxes are filled in, features simply wrack up punishment until they break. For every Health Box filled in, you can break up to a person-sized chunk out of the feature.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>If a feature’s health ever becomes 0, it is totally demolished.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>Note the contrast between this action and the environmental shaping available in slower scenes: this method is significantly less effective due to it’s unfocused nature and briefer timescale.</i></span></div>
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Okay, rad. So what does he do in those slower scenes? How can freakish, superhuman strength be used by a player during my game's equivalent to a dungeoncrawl?</div>
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I bet they break stuff.</div>
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<a href="https://projectfandom.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/One-Punch-Man-S1E6-One-Punch-Man-Destruction-e1471844659853.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="365" data-original-width="650" height="223" src="https://projectfandom.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/One-Punch-Man-S1E6-One-Punch-Man-Destruction-e1471844659853.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 16pt; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>Real-Time</i></span></div>
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<i><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The skill of physical might grants characters the power to shape, move and destroy elements of the environment in Real-Time scenes: this is known generally as </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Demolition</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. Keep in mind that characters may take any action available in an Action scene in addition to these more focused and deliberate ones available in Real-Time scenes.</span></i></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 16pt; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>Demolition</i></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>Shaping or Breaking the environment</i></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>Power can be used to bend, warp, and otherwise re-shape materials into more useful forms. The harder the material, the more strength is required to shape it. Alternatively, you can use it to break things. Because sometimes it’s just more expedient to kick through a concrete wall.</i></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>When players use Power to reshape or break the environment, consult the Power Effect Chart to determine how hard of a material they can shape/destroy.</i></span></div>
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<i><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Shaping </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">the environment involves bending and moving materials into a shape chosen by the player. So long as a player’s action is of sufficient rank, it takes and retains the shape of their choosing. It also retains its integrity, making this an ideal way to create favorable defensive terrain. Some materials or shapes are too fragile to be molded in this way without shattering or otherwise collapsing; the GM will determine when this is the case and inform the player prior to their action.</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Breaking</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> the environment is easier; the character demolishes up to a person-sized chunk of the targeted material. Most Elements are effectively destroyed, while terrain tends to have holes torn into it by this action. The specific manifestation is determined by the GM. </span></i></div>
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<i><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A Person-sized amount of material is affected by a single action.</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> This represents a character focusing their strength into their hands (or striking appendage) and exerting enormous, focused force.</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Larger volumes </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">of material may be shaped or destroyed at once:</span></i><br />
<i style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></i>
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<li><i style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> If the Power action exceeds the Rank necessary to destroy the material by 1, then a Big amount of material is affected. This is sufficient to topple a wide brick wall with a single shove.</i></li>
<li><i style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">If the power action exceed its requirement by 2, a Room-sized amount of material is destroyed at once. A blow of this force carries the kinetic impact of a wrecking ball!</i></li>
<li><i style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">If it exceeds the necessary Rank by 3, than a Field is affected. This is sufficient to collapse a concrete bunker into a pile of rubble, or punch a street so hard it crumbles into the sewers below.</i></li>
<li><i style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">If it exceeds by 4+ Ranks, then the kinetic impact is sufficient to cause a Tract-sized Disaster. See p.(XX) for full details on how this might manifest.</i></li>
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That allows for some strategic use of raw strength, but what about the more removed, tactical play of Montages? What does it mean to apply raw power for days or weeks at a stretch?</div>
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Well, that'd be like using a bulldozer, basically. Those do all kinds of cool things.</div>
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And now you do, to. With your bare hands.<br />
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<a href="https://wallup.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/14/36439-Neon_Genesis_Evangelion-EVA_Unit_02-boat-city-anime-ship-destruction-cityscape-robot-sunlight-water-748x421.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="421" data-original-width="748" height="225" src="https://wallup.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/14/36439-Neon_Genesis_Evangelion-EVA_Unit_02-boat-city-anime-ship-destruction-cityscape-robot-sunlight-water-748x421.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 18pt; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>Montage</i></span></div>
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<span id="docs-internal-guid-025fbcfc-7fff-ba15-4bb6-d7b02b29383d"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>What does it mean to sustain a given output of raw physical strength? Lifting a bulldozer over your head for weeks at a time is impressive but doesn't accomplish much. A better question is; what use can that same output of raw physical power be put to in that big patch of time? </i></span></span></div>
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<span id="docs-internal-guid-025fbcfc-7fff-ba15-4bb6-d7b02b29383d"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>In the World of Ashes and Ghosts, two answers spring out: heavy construction, or heavy destruction.</i></span></span></div>
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<span id="docs-internal-guid-025fbcfc-7fff-ba15-4bb6-d7b02b29383d"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>Construction and destruction</i></span></span></div>
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<span id="docs-internal-guid-025fbcfc-7fff-ba15-4bb6-d7b02b29383d"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>Using their own bodies as earthmovers, cranes and wrecking balls, characters may alter the landscape of their world, creating new areas by building them or breaking down old ones into more useful terrain.</i></span></span></div>
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<span id="docs-internal-guid-025fbcfc-7fff-ba15-4bb6-d7b02b29383d"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>The Rank of your Power action determines two elements of the change: it’s scale, and the difficulty of the material involved. When you propose a project, add the Rank necessary for it’s Scale to the Rank necessary for the type of material it’s most primarily composed of (in the case where this material is uncertain, the GM will decide based on their judgment). The resulting number is the Rank of Power action required to complete the project during this Montage.</i></span></span></div>
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<span id="docs-internal-guid-025fbcfc-7fff-ba15-4bb6-d7b02b29383d"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>Construction and Destruction Chart</i></span></span></div>
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<span id="docs-internal-guid-025fbcfc-7fff-ba15-4bb6-d7b02b29383d"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>Scale</i></span></span><br />
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<span id="docs-internal-guid-025fbcfc-7fff-ba15-4bb6-d7b02b29383d"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>0-Big</i></span></span><br />
<i style="font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">1- Room</i><br />
<i style="font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">2- Field</i><br />
<i style="font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">3- Tract</i><br />
<i style="font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">4- Domain </i></div>
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<span id="docs-internal-guid-025fbcfc-7fff-ba15-4bb6-d7b02b29383d"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>Material</i></span></span></div>
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<span id="docs-internal-guid-025fbcfc-7fff-ba15-4bb6-d7b02b29383d"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>0- Detritus and scrap; sheets of aluminum, splintered wood planks, unshaped clay, etc.</i></span></span></div>
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<span id="docs-internal-guid-025fbcfc-7fff-ba15-4bb6-d7b02b29383d"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>1- Wood; pylons, planks, tiles, boards, beams and similar durable, pliable material</i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>2- Stone; pillars, bricks, concrete, and other incredibly heavy, sturdy materials</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>3- Metal; I-beams, arches, iron siding, and other ductile, resilient construction material</i></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">4- Mystical material; Prana-infused jade, holy Auric gold, Kafua-tech obsidian stamped with runes, and other wholly magical and nigh-unbreakable substance</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>Referencing the above chart, we conclude that an average inhabitant of the World of Ashes and Ghosts can, given days or weeks of effort, cobble together a small shelter (Rank 1 scale, room-sized) out of scrounged materials (Rank 0 Material, detritus and scrap) with dedicated effort ( Scale 1 + Material 0 = Rank 1 Power action). This seems reasonable.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>Smaller structures of more durable materials are possible even for weaker characters; human beings have been building sophisticated structures with raw materials and primitive tools for a long time, after all.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>It’s in the construction of large, sturdy structures that truly incredible power becomes necessary; the gods are known to fashion fabulous magical strongholds out of gold, jade and other exotic and magical materials. lesser mortals can only hope to achieve such deific feats of construction that same way we do by banding together, utilizing heavy equipment and the insight of brilliant minds. </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>Destroying the landscape follows similar logic, just reversed: the more powerful the actions, the harder of a material they can tear down, and the more of it they can effect at once. This reality is already a function of the Power skill, simply extrapolated over a longer timeframe.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>Building Materials</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>Having the raw power to create structures isn’t enough of course; you need to have the materials necessary to complete construction as well!</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>The units of a building resource (Scrap, Wood, Stone, Metal, or Magical Objects, respectively) required to construct a structure of a given size are as follows:</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>Big: 10 </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>Room: 25</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>Field: 100</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>Tract: 1000</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>Domain: 10,000</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>The enormous amount of resources necessary to complete epic-scale projects is one of the greatest limiting factors to new construction in the post-apocalypse.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>Of course, destroying a feature of the environment naturally generates the same amount of raw (if damaged) material, which means that a mountainside can be demolished and later reshaped into an impressive skull-shaped fortress by a sufficiently burly character… So long as they have the Power.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>The World Reshaped</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>What is the actual game effect of all this muscly bravura?</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>In either case of construction or destruction, the player redefines an area on the world map. This definition uses the same rules for area-building followed by GMs, but is limited by the scale of their action and available resources.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>Construction projects might make shelter for a weary populace, dojos for followers in need of training, fortresses and walls to shelter a burgeoning civilization, or similar straightforward projects with ease.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>Destruction might be used for such creative endeavors as leveling difficult-to-traverse terrain, making them open for easier travel. Or the alternative, easily-traveled areas might be ruined by sufficient destruction, making them dangerous to traverse. Hostile areas might be clear-cut or strip-mined down to pave the way for inhabitants, or a fertile land in enemy clutches might be razed and made useless.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>The GM should use very limited veto power in cases of player-directed setting construction; the eye should be to uphold the general integrity of the Shared Mindspace, not to quash player creativity. A good yardstick for this is considering the most far-out, gonzo areas the GM has already put in the setting and honestly evaluating whether the player’s proposed alterations stretch credibility or playability in light of that madly creative element. </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>If the answer to both is no, then the change should be recorded with the other map entries. Congratulate your player on changing some small part of the world.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>Constructing Nodes</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>Resource Nodes can be crafted by industrious characters. Harvestable Nodes, such as tillable farmland created by digging up fallow earth or minable veins of coal or metal punched out of the side of a mountain, are created with pure Power actions. Factories and similar industry Nodes require considerable planning, which is covered under Intellect actions later. </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>To create the Node, first discuss with your GM whether the Shared Mindspace allows for the logic of the Node to function. Clearly you wouldn’t be able to punch a coal mine out of the ocean, but you might instead ram a huge steel pipe into the seabed and create a primitive oil rig.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>Next, determine with them whether Limit or Deposit is more appropriate for the Node. Renewable Nodes, like farmland, are best represented with Limit (they have harvests) while Deposit is more appropriate for things like oil and metal deposits.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>For Deposits, the Scale of the project determines how much potential Units can be unearthed: </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>Big: d10 Units</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>Room: 5d10 Units</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>Field: d100 Units</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>Tract: d1000 Units</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>Domain: d10,000 Units</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>(To roll d100s or higher, simply roll the dice one at a time; the first is the “ones” column, with each subsequent d10 assigned to a higher column (10’s column, 100’s column, etc.). Read 10’s and 0’s as 0, as usual.)</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>Note that these Units must still be harvested by a hard-working Population; the Power action merely makes them available to these laborers.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>For Limit, the hardness of the material broken determines the richness of the bounty beneath:</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>Scrap/Dirt: 1</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>Wood: 2</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>Stone: 3</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>Metal: 4</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>Mystical Materials: 5</i></span></div>
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Now note while you're reading this the places where the allowance of actions bleeds (or does not) between scenes; you can smash stuff in bite-sized chunks during Action scenes, dealing with it like an attack. To contrast, you smash stuff based on category in Real-Time scenes, and on a scalar in Montages. The scale of the same-ranked action re-contextualizes depending on the time frame experienced by players.</div>
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<u>This insight is the driving logic behind the construction of the new scene rules. </u></div>
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This is getting a little long and we've covered a lot of ground. I'm going to put a pin in this before we examine some of the more complex skills and the consequences of looking at them through this lens.</div>
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Joel T. Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14794521474606595295noreply@blogger.com0