tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16461630543276087652024-03-13T06:43:06.945-04:00Tankards & BroadswordsJack Badelairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10932441028544500024noreply@blogger.comBlogger234125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1646163054327608765.post-47460319627495086242020-05-30T13:55:00.001-04:002020-05-30T13:59:15.241-04:00The Map for my Current DnD CampaignSo maybe two months ago, when we all realized that lockdown wasn't just going to last a couple of weeks, a number of us agreed to try playing a Dungeons and Dragons game over Zoom with myself as the DM and a party of five PCs. I didn't really have anything readily on hand, but I had recently bought the 5E adventure compilation, <i>Tales From the Yawning Portal</i>, which has a bunch of adventures. <i>The Sunless Citadel</i> is the first adventure in the book, a 5E rebuild of a 3rd edition adventure, and it is designed to take 4-6 characters from 1st to 3rd level. Works for me!<br />
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We jumped in right away with no idea really of the world around us. I can discuss the adventure another time (and you can do a search for the adventure to find a million walkthroughs and reviews), but while it was going on, I decided to cobble together a campaign setting that was fairly limited in scope, but provided a bunch of different adventuring opportunities. In the past, I'd either drawn out my campaign maps by hand, in Google Draw (really, it works!) or I'd used Campaign Cartographer, which is a great program, but the learning curve, at least for me, is somewhat steep. As I just didn't have the energy for re-learning the program and spending endless hours carefully crafting the map, I poked around the internet a little and found a web-based program called Inkarnate (<a href="https://inkarnate.com/" target="_blank">click here to see</a>). There's a limited-options free plan and a paid yearly plan with a lot more content, so I just went for the paid plan, as it wasn't that expensive.<br />
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Inkarnate isn't perfect, but for my needs, it's good enough. Lots of good map pieces to drop all over, and the learning curve isn't much at all. I figured out everything there was to figure out in an hour or so of fiddling around, and then got down to business. Here is the map I put together with maybe 6-7 hours of work, and about a third of that was me micro-managing the positions of hills and trees and such so it looked cleaner.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Click on the image, then right-click on it again and select "View Image" for a larger version.</td></tr>
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One of my favorite campaign settings of all time is <i>Thunder Rift</i>, a limited-scope setting for the Basic Dungeons and Dragons game, circa 1992-ish. It was designed to be a drop-in setting you could either place into an existing campaign world like Mystara, or a region of your own homebrew setting. It had three towns and various regions the PCs could explore, a nice little isolated sandbox setting that was small enough for people to focus on without an entire book's worth of background material, but large enough that you could have many, many sessions of gameplay and not have to leave the valley.<br />
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So, that was the vibe I was going for in building the Canton of Lanark map. The scope of the map is such that a character could probably walk the King's Road from one end to the other in a week, so many of these locations are only a day or two away from some kind of safe haven, but enough things are there which might not necessarily be threats, just "places for adventure". I figure there's enough territory here to get players up into the 10-11 level range, before they'd just be so powerful that there's nothing in the region so big they couldn't walk over it. But I think that's fine - I rarely ever think of a DnD game going so long that I need to worry about double-digit campaign levels!<br />
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That's it for today, folks. I really like Inkarnate and for the price and what it offers, I'm happy with what I got. I want to play around with some of the other features for other maps, and if I do, I'll post them here. If I adjust / recycle this map for something else, I'll rename Oakhurst and the Sunless Citadel area, but other than that, nothing on that map is proprietary to DnD or any other property.Jack Badelairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10932441028544500024noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1646163054327608765.post-71451807390868440012020-05-18T16:16:00.001-04:002020-05-18T16:16:53.991-04:00Still Working on this Role-Playing Game Because I am an IdiotThe title pretty much sums it up. Don't have much to add here, but with the whole COVID-19 thing I've found myself at home a whole lot more, started a D&D 5E Zoom campaign for a few friends, started working on a short novella based around old-school fantasy gaming tropes, and that kind of dragged me back towards pecking away at the Tankards & Broadswords RPG. <br /><br />Because Google docs make me happy I haven't lost any of my older material, and I began re-writing some of the material I last worked on in 2013 (!!!). I think I found a better mechanic for bonuses and penalties because I was never really happy with what I'd decided on before. Also brutally streamlining weapon types down to Light, Medium, and Heavy. Same thing with armors. I've cut out almost any form of money mechanics in the game because I've decided that coin-counting is to me antithetical to adventure gameplay. <br /><br />I also want to focus a lot on what I am loosely referring to as "Tavern Play", which is pretty much how to turn hanging out in Ye Olde Tavern from that boring part in the beginning of the game where you meet the mysterious wizard, into an actual interesting play space where your characters might enjoy hanging out while drinking, flirting, gaming, brawling, gossiping, and in general living the good life.<br />
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Fundamentally, I feel like this game isn't so much for me to do a dance and proclaim that I'm now an "indie game designer" so much as it is a platform for me to write my personal gaming manifesto. Pretty sure there isn't much of a market for that, but we'll see. The whole thing is going to be free whenever I get around to putting it someplace because it already beggars belief that I get paid for my fiction writing. I can't imagine anyone <i>paying</i> for my game-related work.<br /><br />So, we'll see. I'll post more as time goes on.<br />
<br />Jack Badelairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10932441028544500024noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1646163054327608765.post-44741859122565067712019-09-05T15:16:00.000-04:002019-09-05T15:16:14.596-04:00Wargaming Wednesday: The Pure Insanity of Warhammer 40,000NOTE: Cross-posting this from my Post Modern Pulps Blog, going to post one of these a day until I get caught up, and then I'm going to cross-post Wargaming Wednesdays every week. <br />
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I'm dedicating Wednesdays to wargaming and role-playing games. Although in recent years I haven't been able to get in much (or really any) of either tabletop wargaming or pen-and-paper RPG playing, I still count both among my hobbies and interests.<br />
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Today I just wanted to highlight the wargame I am most invested in on an emotional level - Games Workshop's Warhammer 40,000. For those who don't know what it is - I'll do this REAL QUICK - a bunch of British tabletop miniatures folks had a set of wargaming rules called Warhammer. It had armies of Elves and Dwarfs and guys with swords and pikes, and orcs and goblins, even skeletons and ghouls and "chaos" warriors and monsters. Basically every fantasy trope you can think of circa 1985 or so, thrown into a blender. Warhammer became super popular, and as it grew, they decided to do a version of the game as a sci-fi skirmish game, which they decided to call "Warhammer 40,000".<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Just Another Day in the 41st Millennium</td></tr>
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The universe of Warhammer 40,000 has changed somewhat in the 30+ years since its inception, but, well, I'll just cut and paste in the quote that appears at the beginning of most of their products:<br />
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i><span class="asscaps">It is the 41st Millennium. For more than a hundred centuries <a class="twikilink" href="https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/TheEmperor" title="/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/TheEmperor">The Emperor</a>
has sat immobile on the Golden Throne of Earth. He is the Master of
Mankind by the will of the gods, and master of a million worlds by the
might of his inexhaustible armies. He is a rotting carcass writhing
invisibly with power from the Dark Age of Technology. He is the Carrion
Lord of the Imperium for whom <a class="twikilink" href="https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/HumanSacrifice" title="/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/HumanSacrifice">a thousand souls are sacrificed every day</a>, so that he may never truly die. <br /><br />Yet
even in his deathless state, the Emperor continues his eternal
vigilance. Mighty battlefleets cross the daemon-infested miasma of the
Warp, the only route between distant stars, their way lit by the
Astronomican, the psychic manifestation of the Emperor's will. Vast
armies give battle in his name on uncounted worlds. Greatest amongst his
soldiers are the Adeptus Astartes, the <a class="twikilink" href="https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/SpaceMarine" title="/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/SpaceMarine">Space Marines</a>, bio-engineered super-warriors. Their comrades in arms are legion: the <a class="twikilink" href="https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/RedShirtArmy" title="/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/RedShirtArmy">Imperial Guard</a> and countless planetary defence forces, the ever vigilant <a class="twikilink" href="https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/StateSec" title="/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/StateSec">Inquisition</a> and the tech-priests of the <a class="twikilink" href="https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/MachineWorship" title="/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/MachineWorship">Adeptus Mechanicus</a>
to name only a few. But for all their multitudes, they are barely
enough to hold off the ever-present threat from aliens, heretics,
mutants - and <a class="twikilink" href="https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/EldritchAbomination" title="/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/EldritchAbomination">worse.</a> <br /><br /><a class="twikilink" href="https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/CrapsackWorld" title="/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/CrapsackWorld">To be a man in such times is to be</a> <a class="twikilink" href="https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/AMillionIsAStatistic" title="/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/AMillionIsAStatistic">one amongst untold billions</a>. It is to live in <a class="twikilink" href="https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/Dystopia" title="/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/Dystopia">the cruelest and most bloody regime imaginable</a>. <a class="twikilink" href="https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/WelcomeToHell" title="/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/WelcomeToHell">These are the tales of those times.</a> <a class="twikilink" href="https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/LostTechnology" title="/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/LostTechnology">Forget the power of technology and science, for so much has been forgotten, never to be re-learned.</a> Forget the promise of progress and understanding, for in the <a class="twikilink" href="https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/DarkerAndEdgier" title="/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/DarkerAndEdgier">grim dark</a> future <a class="twikilink" href="https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/ArcWords" title="/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/ArcWords">there is only war</a>. There is <a class="twikilink" href="https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/HopelessWar" title="/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/HopelessWar">no peace amongst the stars</a>, only an eternity of carnage and slaughter, and <a class="twikilink" href="https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/GodIsEvil" title="/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/GodIsEvil">the laughter of thirsting gods.</a></span></i></blockquote>
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Yeah, it's like that. This is the kind of science fiction wargame you dream up when you're a young British nerd who subsists on a diet of heavy metal, Michael Moorcock, Tolkien, the punk aesthetic, European political chaos, Dungeons & Dragons, Star Wars, the Alien franchise, Hammer horror films, and a thick, heady dose of Generation X nihilism. The "good guys" in the Warhammer 40K universe are the Imperium of Man, but you quickly realize that in 40K, "good" just means not quite as demonically horrifying as the "bad guys", but still pretty goddamn awful. The Space Marines, genetically modified super-humans in a suit of nigh-invulnerable power armor, might be call "the Emperor's finest", but they're also know as "The Angels of Death", and they'd stomp your skull into paste as soon as look at you if they thought you were a threat.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">'Ello Guv'ner!</td></tr>
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Even the Imperial Guard, the "good little guys" who were just your normal humans in basic body armor and carrying basic guns - somewhat analogous to regular army guys of today, just with sci-fi trappings - are often portrayed as psychotically violent and xenophobic, or just plain insane. Many of them come from "death worlds" where everything there tries to kill you, and it's basically Rambo with a plasma rifle and a chainsaw sword.<br />
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Some of my favorite parts of 40K are when things get delightfully subversive. There are nuns in 40K, but they are sociopathic religious zealots running around in black powered armor with all-white hair (white head covering, black outfit, like a nun's habit), blazing away with guns and flamethrowers, slaying heretics and the "impure". The Space Marine chaplain isn't a kindly older man giving you spiritual guidance...well okay he is, but he's also an eight foot-tall crazed murder machine in coal-black armor with a skull-shaped helmet, smashing people to pieces in the name of the Emperor and driving on the troops with his "inspiring presence". Yeah, it's like that. Even the Librarian is a force to be reckoned with, as "Librarians" are actually Space Marines with psychic powers, who can blow your body apart with their minds, set tanks on fire, and cause all sorts of supernatural havoc.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yes, this is one of the Good Guys.</td></tr>
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If anything, my biggest criticism of 40K in recent years is that they seem to be toning down the darker, more punk-rock elements of 40K in favor of something a little more family-friendly. There are still demons and mutants and heretics, but the Good Guys are a little more Good and the Bad Guys are a little more Bad. While 40K has always bee appealing to teenagers, I think Games Workshop knows that they need to aim for a younger audience, in order to get brand loyalty at an earlier age *and* tap into the "toy money" of the parents, rather than 30- or 40-somethings who have discretionary income, but who can also say "$35 for a single model an inch and a half tall? Ehhh...".<br />
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And that's my other big complaint - the cost. New model kits and new pricing structures mean that a playable, "competitive" army can set you back $400 or more if you buy everything at store prices. Sure, hobbies can be expensive, but the nature of wargaming is such that you feel the need to buy the newest, coolest stuff, as the rules and the "meta" changes to give different armies an advantage.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Glorious Old-School '90s Boxed Set Artwork!</td></tr>
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But despite these problems, I really like the universe of Warhammer 40,000. It's cruel and violent and cynical and bloody as hell - in fact, it reminds me of that other British dystopian setting, JUDGE DREDD, in a lot of ways - but back in its earlier times, 40K didn't take itself as seriously as it does now, and I think the new, more serious 40K has lost a little something because of that.<br />
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Now, pardon me while I go burn some heretics - I mean, search on eBay for an out of production miniature...<br />
<br />Jack Badelairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10932441028544500024noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1646163054327608765.post-63176128671226825262015-08-25T13:45:00.002-04:002019-07-15T09:02:00.811-04:00Thoughts on My First Fifth Edition DnD Campaign<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Last night I wrapped the twelfth session of my summer-long Fifth Edition Dungeons & Dragons campaign. Since one of the players goes back to working nights during the school year, and the rest of us have fairly busy weekend schedules, this game is going to go from almost-weekly to probably one weekend day every six to eight weeks, if it doesn't peter out entirely. Sad, but I'm glad we got in twelve sessions in about fourteen weeks, and I was able to take a four-player party from first to fifth level.<br />
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With the regular sessions of the campaign behind me, I wanted to compile some thoughts, in no particular order.<br />
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<ul>
<li>5E is my favorite edition/flavor of D&D thus far. It has now beaten out Castles & Crusades as my favorite "flavor" of D&D, mostly due to the flexibility and depth of the character options, and the very loose, yet well-structured way in which pretty much everything is handled (more on the system below). This edition was easy to pick up for old hands and new players alike (one player had essentially never played a pen-and-paper role-playing game before, while another last played 8+ years ago in college). All seemed to enjoy the system, and had no major complaints as to how the mechanics operated.</li>
<li>We had four players who took their characters up through fourth level (the end of the twelfth session saw enough XP to get the party to 5th). The party consisted of a Half-Elven Rogue who took the Assassin path, a Half-Elven Wild Magic Sorcerer, a Human Paladin who took the Oath of Vengeance, and a Human Monk who took Way of the Empty Hand. Upon reaching fourth level and ending one adventure arc, the Monk's player switched characters and began playing a Human Warlock with a pact to a Great Old One. The mix of magic and muscle served us very well, especially in the last four sessions where we had two spell-casters and two melee experts (the Paladin mostly used her limited spell-casting ability to power various "Smites" in melee).</li>
<li>I'm glad 5th edition seems to largely set aside the need for multi-classing by allowing variant class paths that enable the use of magic, and has enough race/class combos that you can create a wide blend of magic and non-magical abilities. IIRC, the Barbarian class is the only one that does not have some option or path for casting spells, which makes sense based on the class concept. Everyone else has some way of getting spells if they want.</li>
<li>I like the power level of Cantrips in this edition. While the Old-Schoolers might balk at a Magic-User that has unlimited access to a few minor magical abilities, I think it does a good job of letting a spell-caster continue to cast minor spells which still have an effect in the game once their big bombs have all been used. And really, a spell like <i>Light</i> or <i>Fire Bolt</i> isn't breaking the magical bank here. There are probably players who'll find ways of "breaking" cantrips, but so far, I am happy with how they work.</li>
<li>I think the decisions made to eliminate a lot of circumstantial modifiers in favor of Advantage and Disadvantage was the right one. I was leery of the idea at first, but after playing for several months, I found it to be pretty straightforward, and it helped eliminate a lot of that "modifier math" that bogs things down right when you want them moving fast and loose. And, I appreciate that such thinking was really applied system wide, keeping the number of "plusses / minuses" to a minimum. From the way skills work to the mechanics of two-weapon fighting, the mechanics become more of a very fast yes/no logic tree, rather than multiple modifiers all stacking on top of one another to arrive at a modifier that might change by +/-1 every round of a combat.</li>
<li>I liked how the first two character levels are priced very cheaply, XP-wise. Some DMs might not like it, but I think it lets you put the brakes on throwing first-level characters into the meat grinder too quickly, allowing you to pit them against some very low-powered creatures, of which there are plenty of options. And, if you *do* toss them in the deep end fast, the survivors earn the reward of fast leveling. The biggest complaint I've always heard of D&D is that PCs spend way too much time in the minor leagues, and campaigns end too often before "the good stuff". I think the leveling curve right now works to address this better. I'll note that while it took 12 sessions to get to 5th level for my party, our after-work games were pretty short, maybe only 2 1/2 hours a session, and didn't always have a "big battle", so if those sessions had been longer and more involved, I could easily see the PCs at 6th or 7th at this point.</li>
<li>I really appreciated the current system's focus on character - the discussion of and variety of races and sub-races, the many and varied classes, as well as the background options available, and even the "trinket roll" made upon character creation. Every player rolled up a unique trinket, and a couple of them took those trinkets and incorporated them into their backgrounds pretty deeply. For example, the Paladin got a small cage with a dead sprite inside it, and built her Oath of Vengeance around a story which came out of this item. Yes, veteran or more creative players don't necessarily need such things written into the rules, but for more novice players (like we had), it was a great springboard for character development.</li>
<li>Also, in general, I was impressed with the quality of the three core rule books, both in terms of production values as well as content. I think they were really well done, especially in comparison to the 4th edition books, which I'm not all that impressed with, at least content-wise. I also like that WotC is taking their time and not spamming us with "splat books" every month. There's already <b>forty years</b> of material out there, and it's better to put out small numbers of great quality resources than flood the market with garbage "option" books. If we want all those things, there's always...THE INTERNET!</li>
</ul>
In conclusion, this was a fun campaign, and I hope to keep gaming with this group, at least on an irregular basis. One of my players is already prepping to run her debut campaign as a DM with another group of our friends, so I'm eager to try out the rules from the other side of the DM's screen. Also, there's a lot of good compare-and-contrast with the 4th edition campaign I'm currently playing in, which I hope to write about in the not-too-distant future. Jack Badelairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10932441028544500024noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1646163054327608765.post-69046343325973179182015-08-11T15:17:00.003-04:002015-08-11T15:17:47.759-04:00My RPG Publishing Malaise<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ZqTFInWAuiY/Tzp8fXs8IvI/AAAAAAAAAkE/PBxhrraG3ec/s1600/covertest2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ZqTFInWAuiY/Tzp8fXs8IvI/AAAAAAAAAkE/PBxhrraG3ec/s320/covertest2.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
Thinking back, I have been pondering the notion of "homebrew" role-playing game systems since I started gaming around 1993. I don't remember the specifics, but I do remember getting the "Amazing Engine" universal RPG system from TSR around that time, and it was my first real exposure to what you might consider a "generic" role-playing game system, one that kept a stable core but could be adapted to meet the needs of most any genre.<br />
<br />
Later on in college during the mid- to late '90s, I would often pick up interesting one-off RPGs at the local gaming store and read through them, pondering their mechanics and feeling the beginnings of an interest in designing my own game. In fact, around 1999-2000 I did begin serious work on my own simple gaming engine, one I called SCORE (Suitable for Creating the Optimum Role-playing Experience). There were a couple of early versions that used a 2d10 bell-curve, one of which I used to run a 1920s-era horror game that went for a few sessions until I decided to switch setting gears, and baited the party into a TPK (Total Player Kill - I wiped out the entire party).<br />
<br />
Eventually this crime against humanity was forgiven, and I ran a couple of fantasy campaigns with a new incarnation of SCORE, one that used a Rolemaster-esque d100 + rating system. Those games actually went quite well, and we had a lot of fun playing right up to around the end of 2002. I still have most of my notes for those games, along with character sheets, and I still think the system works, at least for a game written at the turn of the century. It's not the sort of system I'd use more than a decade later, but I think it worked well enough.<br />
<br />
Soon after that game came and went by the wayside, I decided to work on a game with a very strong "Sword & Sorcery" bent, originally named "Legends of Blood and Iron". This game had a lot of good heart, and a lot of flavor to it, but I think mechanically it was a bit of a mess. The world-building portion of the game, and the discussion of what made up a proper S&S campaign, it still I think relevant, and perhaps one day I will dig a few gems out of the work. This was also around the time I found and devoured Ron Edwards' <i>Sorcerer and Sword</i>, a supplement for his <i>Sorcerer</i> RPG. I have no love for the core product, but his supplement is, in my mind, the single best treatise on "Sword & Sorcery" role-playing games I've ever seen.<br />
<br />
Over the many intervening years, I have tinkered with a myriad of RPG designs and concepts. I've run a few one-shots here and there to test one mechanic or another, but nothing done with enough time and substance to form any true window into whether or not a specific whole rules set "works" or doesn't work - in short, nor real formal playtesting beyond one or two sessions. I've probably achieved "80%" finished on whatever it is the Tankards & Broadswords RPG might one day be, but that last twenty percent is a real bitch.<br />
<br />
The more I think about it, the more I wonder about this RPG publishing malaise. For several years now, the urge to design a game and run a campaign was supplanted by my writing career, which - lets be honest - pays far better than I would ever imagine an RPG might pay. On the other hand, after spending so much cumulative time working towards the nebulous goal of releasing my own RPG - a goal that is easier to achieve than ever, thanks to all the print-on-demand and self-publishing options out there right now - I find it somewhat vexing that I can't approach the goal of writing and publishing an RPG with the same assertiveness that I can approach writing a novel or short story. If I can write a book that gets read by multiple thousands of complete strangers, why can't I write a RPG that might wind up in the hands of - let's be realistic - a few dozen?<br />
<br />
Maybe it is because while the majority of readers are just that - readers - who zip through a book once and basically give it a thumbs up or a thumbs down, I find that many - if not most - RPG players are constant rules tinkerers, and obsess over almost any aspect of a game. Only a small handful of readers are ever going to pick over any one of my novels to the degree that MOST gamers would pick over a game. So, I feel, the inevitable level of scrutiny - as well as their natural inclination to say "well, if *I* designed this game, I think XYZ should have been ABC..." - keeps me from pulling the trigger.<br />
<br />
I don't know. As I type this, I ponder the writing of a small, specific RPG premise. I think that would be the best way to start. From there, if the idea was interesting and well-received, maybe it'd give me more confidence to tackle a larger, more interesting project. It would be a shame to never have a formal sharing of all this idea fodder, but at the same time, there's a right way and a wrong way to do all that, so I need to pick and choose my battlefield carefully, so to speak.Jack Badelairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10932441028544500024noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1646163054327608765.post-33716694468153844592015-07-05T21:59:00.001-04:002015-07-07T12:59:07.095-04:00My First Game of BOLT ACTION WW2 Miniatures WargamingOver two years ago (wow!) I picked up the BOLT ACTION core rules book, several Army Books, and a small force of British Commandos (naturally - new readers, look to the left of this article...). <a href="http://postmodernpulps.blogspot.com/2013/04/game-review-bolt-action-ww2-miniatures.html" target="_blank">I reviewed the game in the abstract over on the Post Modern Pulp Blog</a>, but I figured an actual game report was best suited to this blog (I'll put a "Hey, take a look" post up over on PMP pointing back here as well).<br />
<br />
This past Friday, <a href="http://wfarcadia.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">my friend and fellow author Dan Eldredge</a> and I got together to play out a game of Bolt Action for the first time. Neither of us has had the time to fully paint our armies, and we agreed to not do a full battle report (the shame of a formal bat-rep containing unpainted miniatures would be too much for Dan to bear...), but we had the day to get together and enough miniatures to fight a good-sized battle, so we brought together everything that was assembled and decided to just have a go at it and try out as many of the units and rules as possible.<br />
<br />
In short, I fielded a mixed force of British Army and Commando forces, with a bunch of weapons teams, a Daimler armored car, and a Sherman tank. Dan fielded a platoon of Panzergrenadiers in half-tracks, along with several weapon teams, a squad of veteran late-war grenadiers carrying StG 44 assault rifles, and a Tiger tank (yikes!). We played an "Envelopment" scenario, where the attacker (Germans) tries to break through the defender's (British) lines. This seemed well suited to our units, since none of my infantry had transports and I had a ton of weapons teams (mortars, AT rifle, Vickers machine gun, etc.), while Dan had mechanized infantry and a powerful tank. <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;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-rZdW2q_8_KQ/VZnQErU_V0I/AAAAAAAACRM/7r9uoSI0vN8/s1600/IMG_20150703_134229.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-rZdW2q_8_KQ/VZnQErU_V0I/AAAAAAAACRM/7r9uoSI0vN8/s320/IMG_20150703_134229.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">British on the near side of the board, Germans on the far side</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
One immediate difference we noticed between Bolt Action and Warhammer 40K (which we've both played a lot over the years) was the effects of pinning and morale. The more a unit takes fire from enemies, the more they are "pinned", and a pinned unit has to take a morale test in order to do...well...almost anything. A unit can get pinned into utter uselessness without taking a single casualty, a situation in stark comparison to 40K, where many armies have very high morale and many units are Fearless or Stubborn or otherwise ignore various morale situations. The mission began with a bombardment of my lines, and although I only suffered one casualty, many of my units suffered pinning and a couple even broke and ran! This caused me quite a bit of trouble early on, as a number of my units couldn't get into the fight for the first couple of turns (thankfully I had a lot of units, so I wasn't completely hampered in this regard).<br />
<br />
Dan's Panzergrenadiers made a bold thrust into the center of my lines, determined to punch through my regular infantry and split my forces. My poor infantry section stood their ground for a short while, before weight of fire from several squads of Germans, as well as their support weapons, caused the unit to suffer too many casualties and eventually break and get wiped out. In Bolt Action, if you lose half a unit's models in a turn, and they fail a morale test, the unit is destroyed. This definitely keeps the tempo of a battle going and prevents tiny remnant units running around ineffectually.<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;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-gbM_a_N5JTA/VZnRfOv2EmI/AAAAAAAACRY/mNOm-FoNfZo/s1600/IMG_20150703_153311227.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-gbM_a_N5JTA/VZnRfOv2EmI/AAAAAAAACRY/mNOm-FoNfZo/s320/IMG_20150703_153311227.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Poor Bloody Infantry, about a turn away from being wiped from the board. Note the Tiger in the distance...</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Once Dan's infantry had punched a hole in my lines, he also managed to immobilize my Sherman with a single shot from his Tiger. I quickly found myself staring into a lot of enemy gun barrels, and decided some audaciousness was in order. So, I turned to my Commandos and sent them into the teeth of the enemy, bayonets and daggers gleaming, Sten guns blazing away. In Bolt Action, an assault is dangerous - the enemy gets to react by firing on the charging unit if they start far enough away - but there is no draw, just victory or death for the attacker. Thankfully for me, Commandos are "Tough Fighters" and excel at the assault, and so I wiped out one of Dan's squads in a flurry of bullets, blades, and bayonets.<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;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YF4LTRFb4Dg/VZnT9fbxBxI/AAAAAAAACRk/E3qLsqcx80g/s1600/IMG_20150703_165442536.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YF4LTRFb4Dg/VZnT9fbxBxI/AAAAAAAACRk/E3qLsqcx80g/s320/IMG_20150703_165442536.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">An empty shell crater is all that's left of the Panzergrenadier squad, while their mates to the right look away in horror...</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
At this point, Dan's officer jumps into the half-track and opens fire on my Commandos with its machine gun, and the other infantry squad also opens fire, as does the advancing Tiger tank. Seeing my center forced open yet again, my Forward Artillery Officer calls down a barrage of artillery fire on the German squad (see the white die with the bulls-eye in the photo above). Unfortunately, the blast radius of the barrage is HUGE, and over the next two rounds, a number of units - both friend and foe - are pinned or damaged, and my poor medic and his stretcher-bearer (the bare metal models in the top-right of the above photo) are killed by a heavy howitzer shell!<br />
<br />
Determined to press on, Dan drives his Tiger tank through the bombardment zone and tries to get off of my size of the board, since his infantry are so pinned by the bombardment that they're refusing to embark on their transport. With my Sherman immobilized and out of line-of-sight, and my armored car on the other side of the board (he's been sniping at a German MMG unit and the veteran Grenadiers all game), all I've got to deal with the tiger is my lone PIAT anti-tank gunner, who lost his loader and broke and ran in the opening bombardment. He's finally collected himself and lost his pinning penalties, and he moves forward, finally getting within good range for a shot at the Tiger's flank.<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;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-O6LVc-oGZvQ/VZnVwU97QgI/AAAAAAAACRw/J8JqTpsE--c/s1600/IMG_20150703_173737.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-O6LVc-oGZvQ/VZnVwU97QgI/AAAAAAAACRw/J8JqTpsE--c/s320/IMG_20150703_173737.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Steady hands now, lad! Make it count!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
He misses with his first shot due to moving and firing and long range, but the second shot hits. I roll a "5" for damage, enough to cause a penetrating hit, and I get another "5" on the damage table, knocking out the Tiger. With only one infantry squad left, Dan makes a roll to see if the heavily-pinned unit will board its Hanomag half-track, and it fails. At this point, Dan concedes defeat, since he really can't get anyone off my side of the board in the next turn (this was the end of turn 5).<br />
<br />
Overall, we both had a lot of fun. The rules move fast once you get the hang of them, and while the game isn't exactingly realistic, there are enough elements that make sense to give it a feeling of completeness and logic. The effects of pinning especially can be very frustrating, but it makes sense that your men aren't just blithely going about their business as shells explode and bullets snap all around them. You also need to make sure you're using your officers' Morale bonuses to their best effect, something I think neither of us paid much attention to during the game.<br />
<br />
I'm not sure when we'll have another chance to play, but we're both looking forward to another battle, this time with the game mechanics more firmly understood and a better idea of how the game itself plays out. When we do, I'll be sure to post another report.<br />
<br />
Until next time, Cheers! <br />
<br />
<br />Jack Badelairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10932441028544500024noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1646163054327608765.post-67106441781911739372015-05-19T11:05:00.005-04:002015-05-19T11:07:03.164-04:00Tankards and Broadswords Awakens!<br />
So...yeah! It's been a couple of years since I posted, but I'm resurrecting this blog because of a number of developments in the Fantasy / Gaming front going on over here. Many thanks to those of you who've kept me in your feed - comments here are always welcome!<br />
<br />
<a href="http://amzn.com/B00HNY0H9U" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="http://amzn.com/B00HNY0H9U " border="0" height="200" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-uYfG5y-16dQ/VVtLbiwFMtI/AAAAAAAACJs/sLkh8SwT3k0/s200/SnF_Cover.jpg" width="126" /></a>In January of last year, I published a Swords & Sorcery novella, <i>Spiders and Flies</i>. It was largely written back in 2001 as an homage to pulpy S&S fantasy fiction a la Robert E. Howard and the like, set in a world I had created as a campaign setting for my SCORE homebrew RPG system. So far, sales have been slow, but I get a nibble now and then, and reviews have been overall very positive, which is quite nice.<br />
<br />
The story follows four adventurers as they trek into a nearby desert wasteland in order to plunder the abandoned temple of a mostly-forgotten spider god. As you might guess, things don't go as smoothly as the treasure-hunters anticipated! There's a lot of adventure and bloody violence, and it is a short, quick read of about 20,000 words, enough to entertain you for about a hour's reading pleasure. It is available on Amazon as either an ebook or a paperback.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://amzn.com/B00L1V2ID4" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="http://amzn.com/B00L1V2ID4 " border="0" height="200" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6LEKBJixTZw/VVtOLoOeNnI/AAAAAAAACJ4/90PMSKegnYw/s200/tgm.jpg" width="135" /></a>My friend and fellow author Dan Eldredge has published his second novel, <i>The Grand Masquerade</i>. <a href="http://tankardsandbroadswords.blogspot.com/2012/12/book-review-pirates-of-alnari-by-dan.html" target="_blank">This is the sequel to his debut work, <i>The Pirates of Alnari</i>, which I posted about two years ago</a>.<br />
<br />
If you like brutal, very realistic high-medieval combat, diabolical political intrigue, massive land and sea battles, and plenty of adventure, these books are a must-read. If you combined the coolest aspects of the Game of Thrones books and Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey and Maturin novels, you'd get this series. <br />
<br />
<i>The Grand Masquerade</i> (as well as <i>The Pirates of Alnari</i>) is available in ebook and paperback formats from Amazon. Click on the cover photo to go to the book's Amazon page.<br />
<br />
In addition, I've put out two more COMMANDO novels since this blog was active - <i>Operation Cannibal</i> and <i>Operation Dervish</i>. Both are available on Amazon in ebook and paperback formats, and you can find them by clicking on the links provided to the left of this post. There's also my Western novella, <i>Renegade's Revenge</i>, and my '70s era men's adventure novel, <i>San Francisco Slaughter</i>. Both of these are also available on Amazon in ebook and print versions.<br />
<br />
Beyond my writing, I've started gaming again. I'm running a 5th Edition Dungeon's & Dragons campaign, and I'm playing in a 4th Edition campaign. All I have to say is, WOW - the differences are enough to give you mental whiplash! More on this to come in more followup posts.Jack Badelairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10932441028544500024noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1646163054327608765.post-41448782745827591792013-02-14T08:32:00.000-05:002015-05-19T10:59:08.153-04:00FREE TODAY: The Pirates of Alnari by Dan Eldredge<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://amzn.com/B00ACD1N1A" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="_blank"><img alt="Click the Cover to See on Amazon" border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-eCR4xTp5NwQ/VVtPaY6264I/AAAAAAAACKE/62OTzdrOMyg/s1600/PoA.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Click the Cover to See on Amazon</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
My good friend Dan Eldredge's debut novel is free today on Amazon. If you dig pirates, swordfighting, intrigue, sex and violence, this book is definitely worth your time. Allow me to copy the book's product description from Amazon:<br />
<i> Martyn and Arycke are two young nobles forced into hiding after
experiencing an act of unspeakable violence. They buy passage on the
Isalian frigate Selene, but after a bloody battle against two pirate
vessels, Martyn and Arycke find themselves shipwrecked castaways along
with a beautiful young woman, her ever-watchful grandfather, and the
rest of the Selene's crew.</i> <i><br />Unfortunately for the survivors,
they now find themselves stranded within reach of the pirate city of
Alnari. In short order, Martyn and Arycke find themselves fighting for
their lives, not only against marauding bands of savage pirates, but
mutinous elements within the Selene's own crew.<br /><br />The shipwrecked
survivors are dragged into a maelstrom of vengeance and intrigue, as
rival pirate lords maneuver against each other for dominance over
Alnari. Martyn, Arycke, and the rest of the Selene's crew will need
every ounce of courage, cunning, and strength they possess if they hope
to escape alive...<br /><br />The Pirates of Alnari is a gritty fantasy
adventure story filled with bloody naval battles and vicious sword
fights, combining the cutthroat political intrigue of George R.R.
Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire with the dashing nautical adventures of
Patrick O’Brian.</i><br />
<br />Jack Badelairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10932441028544500024noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1646163054327608765.post-46254163278888361622013-01-03T09:00:00.000-05:002013-01-03T09:00:00.426-05:00NANOK Gets a New Cover!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-sAkbX10MbjM/UOSuW-tLkHI/AAAAAAAABE8/w5yMXtVG_Is/s1600/cover1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-sAkbX10MbjM/UOSuW-tLkHI/AAAAAAAABE8/w5yMXtVG_Is/s400/cover1.jpg" width="250" /></a></div>
Ander Plana, the artist responsible for the excellent new cover gracing <i>Operation Arrowhead</i> has now provided me with a cover for my pastiche Swords & Sorcery short story, <i>NANOK and the Tower of Sorrows</i>.<br />
<br />
Although
it was a ton of fun to write, and I think it's a great read for fans of
Sword & Sorcery-style fantasy fiction, NANOK hasn't been
selling very well, so I decided to make the investment and get a new
cover. I think Ander's creation is pretty damn awesome - true to the
classic pulp fantasy cover feel, but with a more modern styling. I think
he also does a good job of making the cover unique while tying it in to
the general layout seen in my Commando covers.<br />
<br />
If you have a chance, <a href="http://anderpeich.deviantart.com/" target="_blank">head over to DeviantArt.com and check out Ander's work</a> - some great stuff (and I'm not just saying that because my commissioned works are there.<br />
<br />
<br />Jack Badelairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10932441028544500024noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1646163054327608765.post-34259035275536890792012-12-17T10:35:00.000-05:002012-12-17T10:35:09.244-05:00Movie Review: The Hobbit - An Unexpected Journey (2012)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Uv_yOsa2X3M/UM87c0X8dbI/AAAAAAAABEQ/3Rc5IVN7awY/s1600/hobbit.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Uv_yOsa2X3M/UM87c0X8dbI/AAAAAAAABEQ/3Rc5IVN7awY/s200/hobbit.jpg" width="135" /></a></div>
I went to see this movie with six other people, ranging from die-hard
Tolkien fans to those who were tagging along mostly just to see a movie
with their friends. At the end of this three-hour adventure, the
impressions were unanimously positive, and I can't help but agree.<br />
<br />
This movie is very clearly - far more clearly than the book, if you ask
me - a prequel to the Lord of the Rings films. A lot of the added
material, much of it events that are implied or could have easily
happened off-stage in the original story, sets up the relationships
between such powerful players as Saruman, Gandalf, Elrond, Galadriel,
and even the goofy but nevertheless very wise Radagast. This is the
prelude to war, even though the war doesn't come about for another sixty
years, and you can see the cunning of Gandalf as he moves his chess
pieces onto the board and begins to carefully position them for the
battle to come.<br />
<br />
I had been wondering before seeing the film how they were going to take a
book that was shorter than any of the three LotR novels, and expand it
out into three whole movies. I think ultimately they did a serviceable
job, although it is clear in some areas that things were done for the
sake of making a good show of the story, rather than sticking to the
narrative. One good example of this is the battle between the storm
giants. I think this was an okay sequence, but at the same time, it
could have been skipped or just reduced to "this storm is too much for
us, we need to find shelter!". The storm giants are mentioned in passing
in the book, but that's it. For the most part, I think that's going to
be what we see in the next two films - things mentioned in passing or
just touched upon in the book are going to be expanded into their own
complete scenes, and we'll have to judge for ourselves whether this is
just Peter Jackson playing around in Middle-Earth, or if it ultimately
adds to the story in a meaningful way.<br />
<br />
One aspect of the film that did actually bother me was the reliance on
CG for the orcs and goblins. In the first three films, while there was
some CG enhancement and sequences (the huge fights, the Moria goblins
spider-climbing along the caverns, etc.), When seen up close and
personal it was clear they were extras in costume. In this film, there
might have been a bare handful of costumed and made-up extras, but the
vast majority of bad guys are either wholly digital, or motion-captured
like Gollum. I think it took a little something away from the spirit of
the film, but such is the reality of making movies in the 21st century.<br />
<br />
Regardless of a few quibbles I have about such things, I think this was
an impressive movie, and if the next two films can maintain the standard
set by <i>An Unexpected Journey</i>, I think this trilogy will stand tall next to their older siblings.
Jack Badelairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10932441028544500024noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1646163054327608765.post-47524750901007890262012-12-03T09:56:00.000-05:002015-05-19T11:10:30.292-04:00Book Review: The Pirates of Alnari by Dan Eldredge<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://amzn.com/B00ACD1N1A" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="_blank"><img alt="Click the Cover to See on Amazon" border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-QF_BN0cV24I/VVtSKQO2MEI/AAAAAAAACKQ/RbgF8QelpQ8/s1600/PoA.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Click the Cover to See on Amazon</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
Please pardon the forthcoming preface, but I think it's important to set this review in the proper context... <br />
<br />
The
indie publishing explosion over the last few years has given a lot of
people the opportunity to dust off their "desk drawer novels". You know,
that book you wrote back when you were in grad school, typed on your
girlfriends Mac in the wee hours of the morning? As soon as you got a
real job, you left your dreams of becoming a writer behind, figuring
there's no way you had the time or connections to break into the world
of big time publishing. But it's still there, a printout sitting in your
desk drawer, a little battered and faded, but every so often, you take
it out, thumb through it, and wonder about what it might have been like
to be a "Novelist".<br />
<br />
Well, thanks to new technologies
such as tablets, ebook readers, print-on-demand services, and so forth,
becoming a published author is well within the reach of anyone who has
the time and energy to tackle the process. Of course "The Process" is a
600-pound Sumo wrestler, and he's pretty unforgiving. Those folks who
just re-type that desk drawer novel and throw it up on Amazon expecting
to reap the royalties from thousands of ebook sales are in for a rude
awakening. Even the people who follow all the advice and recommendations
they see online given by dozens of successful indie authors may well
find themselves staring at the "brown bar of shame" - the colored
indicator in Amazon's Kindle Direct Publishing report page that shows no
sales for the month.<br />
<br />
Years ago, a college friend of
mine mentioned to me that he'd written a few fantasy novels, and asked
if I'd wanted to read them. at the time (probably back in the early
90's) he'd farmed the manuscripts out to the usual Sci-Fi / Fantasy
houses, and hadn't had any luck. I gave them a read, and although they
were the works of an amateur author, I still found them fun and
enjoyable stories. But as time went on and we both grew older, not only
did I give up my own notions of becoming an author, but so did my
friend. These became his "desk drawer novels".<br />
<br />
Flash
forward more than a decade. After helping me as a beta reader, editor,
and endless source of support and counsel regarding my own books, my
friend Dan decided to take the best of his old novels, strip it down to
its barest elements, and re-write the entire book from soup to nuts.
This process took more than a year, and after the draft was written
there was the editing, beta reading, discussions of plot and character,
so on and so forth. "The Process" is a real bear under the best of
circumstances, but Dan's a busy guy, with a full time job and two young
kids who keep him on his toes 24/7, so taking the journey from desk
drawer novel to a completely rewritten manuscript ready for publishing
was especially daunting.<br />
<br />
At the end of it all, however, the result is a damn fine book.<br />
<br />
<i>The Pirates of Alnari</i>
is a "hard fantasy" novel, meaning it is set in a different world, but
there is no magic, no elves, no demons or wizards, dungeons <i>or</i>
dragons. You could consider it an alternate reality or an Earth that
never was. The setting is roughly analogous to 15th-16th century Europe,
although there are elements that feel more 18th or early 19th century.
Regardless, the level of detail and realism is such that you are quickly
pulled into the setting, and any notion that this is a "fantasy" world
falls by the wayside.<br />
<br />
The story revolves around two
young noblemen, Martyn and Arycke. The book begins with them having just
participated in something horrible and violent, but the details are
left hidden to the reader - this is important, because the mystery of
what happened will be slowly revealed throughout the book. Needless to
say, there is more than one side to the story. The two young men feel
that they need to flee the country, and so travel to the nearest port
city and book passage on the first ship that'll get them away. Their
ship is the <i>Selene</i>, an Isalian navy frigate willing to take on a
few passengers during her voyage. Martyn and Arycke have never taken a
sea voyage before, and the experience is new and exciting - even more
so, when a beautiful young woman is brought on board as another
passenger, along with her ever-watchful grandfather. Arycke, who has an
ever-roving eye, immediately begins pursuing the young woman, much to
Martyn's annoyance.<br />
<br />
The sea voyage quickly turns deadly serious, however, when the ship encounters a pirate vessel. Being a Navy frigate, it is the <i>Selene</i>'s
duty to deal with pirates wherever they are found. But the battle
against the pirates turns into a much more brutal affair than first
expected, and the <i>Selene</i> is badly damaged. The ship is eventually
lost on a reef during a storm, and the survivors - about a hundred of
the ship's crew and the passengers - are stranded along a foreign coast.<br />
<br />
Unfortunately for the survivors, the coast they're now inhabiting is claimed by pirates. <i>A whole city of pirates</i>.<br />
<br />
I
don't want to give away any more of the plot. However, what progresses
from this point on is a whirlwind of battles and intrigue, murder and
revenge, plot and counter-plot. Characters have multiple agendas and not
everyone is as they seem. The survivors of the shipwreck must struggle
to avoid capture or death at the hands of different pirate factions, as
well as the threat of mutiny among their own number. The pirates
constantly maneuver against each other for dominance over Alnari, using
any means - violence, sex, money, political influence - at their
disposal.<br />
<br />
The author holds the works of George R. R. Martin, especially his <i>Song of Ice and Fire</i>
series, in high regard, and its influence on the book is evident by
both the complex relationships among the characters, and the stark
brutality of the combat sequences. The author is well-versed in
swordsmanship and medieval combat, and this comes through in the many
swordfights throughout the book. Limbs are sheared away, heads roll,
guts spill, and blood is drawn by the bucketful. Not only are the
battles violent and well-scripted, but it is clear from early on that no
character is safe from the author's killing stroke.<br />
<br />
Also
evident is the author's knowledge of the Age of Sail. There are many
details regarding ship navigation and operation, as well as the day to
day lives of those aboard ships, and the organization of sailing navies
and their military exploits. Although the setting is analogous to the
1400s and early 1500s, the maritime aspects of the book seem to carry
the influence of master maritime novelist Patrick O'Brian, whose
Napoleonic naval adventures are second to none. Fans of O'Brian's Aubrey
and Maturin novels will feel right at home in this book, despite the
otherworldly setting.<br />
<br />
Overall, <i>The Pirates of Alnari</i>
is a strong, exciting adventure and displays the author's skill as a
storyteller. While this is Dan Eldredge's first published novel, I know
we'll see more works from him in the years to come, and I look forward
to reading them.<br />
<br />
Currently <i>The Pirates of Alnari</i> is only available on Amazon as an ebook, but the paperback should be available in early 2013.Jack Badelairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10932441028544500024noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1646163054327608765.post-35342037866584841042012-07-26T13:51:00.002-04:002012-07-26T13:51:25.002-04:00Awesome New Review for NANOK!I really wish Amazon had a feature for authors that allowed you to be alerted when a new review was posted of your works, because this one's a few days old. However, I just have to share with you <a href="http://www.amazon.com/review/RKGPENIX7QKVJ/ref=cm_cr_rdp_perm" target="_blank">the following review</a> for <b>NANOK and the Tower of Sorrows</b>:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
One more sip of Michael Moorcock's too-absinthe-for-its-own-good Elric
threatens to make you ill? Mix one part Marvel's old B&W Savage
Sword of Conan with one part trash-talking Schwarzenegger action flick,
add a splash of Lloyd Alexander's The Chronicles of Prydian and two
splashes Sergio Aragones' Groo, shake violently to the consistency of
frothy blood, and the resulting refreshing cocktail is Nanok and the
Tower of Sorrows. Will there be a chaser Mr. Badelaire? </blockquote>
Mr. Molesworth, there will indeed be a followup to NatToS. I know the broad-brushstrokes version of the plot, I just don't know when it will be written. Once I get COMMANDO: Operation Arrowhead out the door, I want to write a sequel to Rivalry, then perhaps the Nanok sequel, before I work on the next novel.Jack Badelairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10932441028544500024noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1646163054327608765.post-79367765045940673342012-06-15T21:03:00.002-04:002012-06-15T21:04:30.932-04:00My Vigilante Revenge Thriller "Killer Instincts" is Now Available<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-B7thc4dnCgo/T9vbSlbFLPI/AAAAAAAAApE/saQYg3tclAY/s1600/KI_Cover_Revised.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-B7thc4dnCgo/T9vbSlbFLPI/AAAAAAAAApE/saQYg3tclAY/s200/KI_Cover_Revised.jpg" width="137" /></a></div>
After a two-year gestation, my vigilante revenge novel <i>Killer Instincts</i>
has gone live on Amazon via Kindle Direct Publishing. If you're
interested in checking it out, click on the link in the left-hand
sidebar.<br />
<br />
For the majority of you who've never heard or seen me talk about it...<br />
<br />
<i>Killer Instincts</i> is the story of William Lynch, an upper-middle
class college junior, whose parents and teenage sister are killed in a
mob hit while he's in Paris during spring break in March of 2001.
William's father is a hotshot DA in Boston, attempting to prosecute
Pauly Paggiano, the son of a minor-league crime boss, for the rape and
murder of a young college girl. In order to deliver a savage message to
the eyewitnesses in the case - the only real evidence the prosecution
has - the Paggianos kill William's family and burn their Providence home
to the ground.<br />
<br />
William is informed of the tragedy by his estranged uncle Jamie Lynch, a
Vietnam veteran and former SOG Green Beret. Jamie leads a reclusive
existence in Maine, where he owns a log cabin on the shore of Moosehead
Lake and works in a sporting goods shop. William has only met his uncle a
handful of times over the years; both of William's parents were against
Jamie having much contact with their son, worried that Jamie - whose
views on war and violence can be disturbing - would somehow "corrupt"
their son into a warmonger. Jamie was a soldier who thrived in combat,
and after the war he spent a number of years participating in activities
that can only be described as morally ambiguous... <br />
<br />
Now, Jamie is the only family William has left. Meeting for the first
time in years, Jamie reveals to William the reasons behind his family's
slaughter; the court case against Pauly Paggiano, how the eyewitnesses
have all withdrawn their testimonies or otherwise backed out of the
case, and how the case against Pauly has been thrown out. Faced with the
enormity of what has happened to him, William realizes that at 21, any
hope he has for a normal life has been erased by this terrible act.
Feeling he doesn't have anything to lose, since his future has been so
horribly ruined, William decides he's going to find a way to avenge his
family and destroy the Paggianos. He begs Jamie to join with him in his
crusade, but Jamie refuses, declaring that he can't go back to that way
of life after decades of maintaining a civilized existence. Seeing his
nephew is committed to this idea with or without his help, Jamie
begrudgingly admits that, although he's not going to help William, he
knows someone who can.<br />
<br />
Jamie introduces his nephew to Richard, a mysterious, eccentric Texan
who made his living for decades as a professional mercenary. Although
he's now retired from taking active assignments, Richard has a network
of contacts and resources he'd be willing to provide to William, for a
price. After some consideration, William decides that he wouldn't feel
right contracting the Paggiano's destruction; he wants to keep the
revenge personal. So, for a hundred thousand dollars (plus expenses),
Richard agrees to mentor William through an intense, month-long training
and indoctrination regimen out in the Texas desert.<br />
<br />
What takes place next is the mental and physical transformation of a
peaceful, white-collar college student into a bloody-minded vigilante
killer. And then the fun <i>really</i> begins...Jack Badelairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10932441028544500024noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1646163054327608765.post-60204726555308543102012-04-06T09:37:00.000-04:002012-04-06T09:37:42.987-04:00The Badassitude of Guin Saga<iframe align="left" frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=postmodepulp-20&o=1&p=8&l=bpl&asins=B0079K4XW0&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="height: 245px; padding-right: 5px; padding-top: 5px; width: 120px;"></iframe>Since this weekend is the Anime Boston convention here in my fair city, I thought today's post would be appropriate. I'm not a <i>huge</i> fan of Anime in general, but there are a number of titles I really enjoy. People who say they "don't like Anime" always perplex me, because Anime is such a vast, wildly heterogeneous mix of visual and storytelling styles, that to declare you don't like "Anime" is pretty much like saying "I don't like Hollywood movies". If you're going to say that, you need to realize that your statement encompasses a <i>massive</i> body of work.<br />
<br />
Anyhow, one of the series I've recently gotten into is <i>Guin Saga</i>. Originally a series of 130 "light novels" (a Japanese equivalent to Young Adult / Pulp Fiction paperbacks, quick, simple, easy reads), a portion of the Saga has been made into an Anime series. The main protagonist, a warrior named Guin, awakes in a mysterious forest to discover that he has the head of a leopard and an almost complete case of amnesia. Pretty whacked out, eh? Guin finds and rescues Remus and Rinda, twins and the heirs to the kingdom of Parros, a nation that had just been invaded and conquered by the rival kingdom of Mongaul. Remus and Rinda are hunted by the armies of Mongaul, and Guin becomes their guardian. The story then unfolds as Guin searches for why he has the head of a leopard and why he can't remember anything, while he protects the twins against the Mongauli hunting them down.<br />
<br />
This sounds...kind of bizarre. But if you substituted "Conan" for "Guin", you'd have a sense of the sort of Swords & Sorcery badassery that goes on in Guin. It is not your <i>Dragonball Z</i> -esque fantasy anime series by any means. Considering the novel series was begun in the late 1970's, it carries with it a very vintage, Heroic Fantasy feel that those with more traditional sensibilities may approve of.<br />
<br />
I found the opening trailer on YouTube:<br />
<br />
<div align="center"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/AdCJaWI4xFQ" width="560"></iframe></div><br />
For a taste of the story itself, this is where Guin meets and rescues the twins. Guin's strength is somewhat over-exaggerated in this fight; later battles aren't shown in such over-the-top insanity, but I think this was done to emphasize just how powerful a warrior Guin is compared to the "average" man.<br />
<br />
<div align="center"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/LcLdE_qozaM" width="560"></iframe></div><br />
Those of you who have Netflix can find and watch the entirety of Guin Saga there. Otherwise, you can buy the DVDs off of Amazon or probably any other major DVD/Anime retailer.<br />
<br />
The first few "light novels" in the Guin Saga <a href="http://amzn.com/1932234810" target="_blank">are now available in English</a>. I hope to pick one up sometime soon and give it a read.Jack Badelairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10932441028544500024noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1646163054327608765.post-9997203219619852442012-03-20T09:49:00.000-04:002012-03-20T09:49:01.430-04:00Gardner F. Fox - My Favorite D&D AuthorOver at <a href="http://grognardia.blogspot.com/2012/03/pulp-fantasy-library-shadow-of-demon.html" target="_blank">Grognardia yesterday</a> James discusses the Fox short story that appeared in the first issue of Dragon magazine. <i>Shadow of a Demon</i> was a fun, simple, straightforward Sword & Sorcery adventure and I think for many it set the tone of what heroic fantasy D&D gaming should be.<br />
<br />
While Appendix N points out many D&D influences, for me, Gardner F. Fox's Kyrik and Kothar novels stand at the top of the list. Although Fox is clearly writing as a pastiche to Robert E. Howard, and as much as I love Howard's writing, it is too...serious? For D&D gaming in my book. On the other hand, Fox's stories always have a touch of the wink and a nod needed in order to translate better to the tabletop. They are lighter fare, to be sure, but I feel that they have a certain "fun" quality to them that represents better the light banter, in-jokes, and other tomfoolery that takes place at the average D&D gaming table.<br />
<br />
This is one of the major reasons why, when I wrote <a href="http://amzn.com/B007H2LAA8" target="_blank">NANOK and the Tower of Sorrows</a>, I was channeling Fox much more than Howard or any other pulp fantasy author. I wanted NANOK to be fun, to illicit a laugh or three, and I picture readers who "get" the humor of the story reading it with a smile on their face the entire time. As much as I enjoy reading Howard's works, I don't know if I would really consider them "fun" in a humorous sense; the man channeled a little too much of himself into the stories for that to be possible.<br />
<br />
If you haven't ever read Fox's Kothar or Kyrik novels, give them a chance. You can find 'em on Amazon for a few bucks, and as they certainly aren't publishing them anymore, it's only going to get harder as time goes on. Sadly, these would be perfect fodder for someone's e-reader, but I doubt anyone even knows where the publishing rights for these stories are anymore, never mind who'd be willing to put them through the eBook conversion process.<br />
<br />
Because they were a while ago, here are links to all of my Kothar reviews:<br />
<br />
<a href="http://tankardsandbroadswords.blogspot.com/2009/09/revisiting-kothar-barbarian-swordsman.html" target="_blank">Revisiting Kothar, Barbarian Swordsman</a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://tankardsandbroadswords.blogspot.com/2009/09/review-kothar-barbarian-swordsman.html" target="_blank">Review of Kothar, Barbarian Swordsman</a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://tankardsandbroadswords.blogspot.com/2009/10/review-kothar-and-demon-queen.html" target="_blank">Kothar and the Demon Queen</a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://tankardsandbroadswords.blogspot.com/2009/09/review-kothar-of-magic-sword.html" target="_blank">Kothar and the Magic Sword</a>Jack Badelairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10932441028544500024noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1646163054327608765.post-2322515369593280802012-03-12T11:08:00.002-04:002012-03-12T11:08:53.873-04:00John Carter Sucked, or Why Hollywood Thinks too Hard<iframe align="left" frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=postmodepulp-20&o=1&p=8&l=bpl&asins=1466493283&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="height: 245px; padding-right: 5px; padding-top: 5px; width: 120px;"></iframe>Warning, there are some spoilers ahead. Of course, if you actually care about this, you probably want to know what they are, so you can avoid this film and watch it on Netflix a year from now.<br />
<br />
I saw John Carter on Sunday. I had high-ish hopes. I knew the plot was changed from the original Princess of Mars, but I also have an understanding of the differences between print and film and why certain changes have to be made. Unfortunately, many changes were made for No Reason At All. And this is what annoys me, folks. Hollywood buys up these classic stories, stories that have stood the test of time for generations and spawn whole genres, and then Hollywood screws with them because they fear the original idea "won't test well" or some nonsense.<br />
<br />
This is the same major issue I had with this summer's Conan the Barbarian remake/reboot/whatever. REH wrote plenty of great material on Conan, and you could have even adapted some Kull material, or a blend of material from some of his other stories. But no. Despite eighty years of success and generations of loyal fans, we throw any vestige of a Howardian story out the window in favor of something completely fabricated by a committee of people only vaguely aware of Howard's works. What you're left with is something that has little to do with Howard's Conan and more to do with, I dunno, a Hercules & Xena remake. This isn't to say Milius' Conan stuck any closer to a Howardian plot, but hey, how about that Orchestral score by Basil Poledouris? Badass.<br />
<br />
While John Carter in theory keeps a little closer to ERB's original story, the changes that are made make it, if anything, even more frustrating to watch. Rather than just throw out the entire plot and come up with something completely different, the moviemakers decided to shuffle a deck of plot points and, seemingly at random, throw them out in favor of new or altered ideas. Here is where the spoilers come along, folks. You've been warned.<br />
<br />
First, the need for a magical techno-amulet gizmo to send Carter to Mars was stupid. In the book, its a creepy cave, with a strange property that sends him to Mars. Why? Who knows? Who cares? That it is some sort of mystical place, shunned by the Indians, is good enough for me. But no, we have to create some kind of McGuffin in the form of this teleportation amulet, which becomes this laborious plot point throughout the movie. Who has it? How does it work? How do we get ahold of it again? Precious minutes wasted.<br />
<br />
Which, if I can digress, is my major problem with all these changes. If you want to change something and have a good reason, fine. But to A) change something for no good reason and B) have the change take up precious minutes of film that could be filled with more awesomeness, I get angry. There are a lot of cool adventuresome moments in A Princess of Mars that could have been put in / left in the film, but aren't, and instead, we have long, boring explanations as to how the "telegraph machine" works, or the Thern's aeons-long plan / habit of destroying world after world. Long, boring explanations that just add needless plot hooks that need to get sealed up later on in the film, wasting even more precious time.<br />
<br />
Guess what folks! There's only one plot hook you need. John Carter, Chivalrous Southern Gentleman and Celebrated Fighting Cavalry Officer, meets Beautiful, Defiant, Spirited, Intelligent Dejah Thoris and falls in love with her, and she reciprocates that love. Carter then battles anyone and anything that gets between him and Dejah because, you know, that whole LOVE thing. This is a formula that has worked time and time again in classic Hollywood films for generations, and yet, for some reason, we throw it out. The only thing that motivates Carter is a need to get back home, and his relationship with Dejah Thoris is, through 90% of the film, more one of annoyed quips and banter than actual fondness. Perhaps Hollywood didn't think the actors or the script could pull off a believable love story? Guess what - GET NEW TALENT. Superman fell in love with Lois Lane, right? Spider-man loves Mary Jane, so on and so forth.<br />
<br />
Instead, we have to introduce, out of the blue, some plot element about Carter's long-dead wife and child, which prevents him from loving Dejah, or admitting he's got feelings for her. Instead he fights for her and with her in order to find out the secret of going back home, and yet, at the end of the film, he THROWS THAT AWAY because he decides Barsoom is home to him. This all cycles back around to the techno-widget at the beginning of the film which showed him the mechanism by which he traveled to Barsoom in the first place. If we had just left it as a mystical cave with strange powers, the plot would have been streamlined considerably.<br />
<br />
Which brings me to my next major beef - the Therns. Yes, they exist in the second book, and yes, you could have had them as an element in the movie without ruining things. But instead of the leaders of a religion that hides the lie of Issus' godhood and the secret of the River Iss, they become a needlessly hyperbolic race of galactic dicks who travel through the cosmos screwing over one planet at a time, and GUESS WHAT? When they are done with Mars, EARTH IS NEXT! BUM BUM BUMMM!<br />
<br />
Why? Why was this necessary? Why does John Carter have to get involved in all these complicated plots and sub plots and twists and turns? The original story has more than enough adventure and derring do and enough political sophistication between the Tharks and the Zodangans and the Heliumites. There doesn't need to be Yet Another Player In The Game to confuse the issue, but not only do we introduce one, we have to waste more Precious Screentime in long, drawn-out explanations of the Thern's master scheme.<br />
<br />
Stupid, stupid, stupid.<br />
<br />
A Princess of Mars has been around for almost a hundred years, and it's probably been in print every year since it was published, and probably will continue to be until the written word dies out. The John Carter stories inspired a whole subgenre of science fiction and fantasy, the "Sword & Planet" genre, and if they aren't he best example of that genre (which I think they are), they are pretty damn close, and certainly the most epic of the Sword and Planet stories. Like Howard's Conan, if such stories can remain popular and stand the test of time for generation after generation and spawn whole genres of fiction, why Hollywood needs to go in there and screw with things is beyond me. Yes, sometimes changes need to be made. Making the Green Men only a foot or two taller than Carter, rather than 12-15 feet tall, made sense for the purpose of making a film. Trimming down or finding another way to handle a lot of the explanation scenes that take place in the first third or so of A Princess of Mars was probably necessary, although you could debate the way they did it.<br />
<br />
But there was nothing at all wrong with the basic plot of the novel, and not only was it changed for no good reason that I could see, the changes that were made not only made the story more complex and confusing, the changes wasted time because they needed to be explained. Without the amulet, there was no need for them to travel down the River Iss, there was no need to waste all that screentime with the magical map of the solar system, there was no need to involve the Therns, there was no need for the pretty stupid "bait" ending to the film. You probably could have harvested back a good 40+ minutes of the movie (oh, yes, the beginning of the film with the Cavalry and the Indians, also needlessly complicated), which could have been used to show more ass-kicking adventure. Instead, everything felt so rushed, so briefly touched upon, that even the more kick-ass moments were rushed past because there was another plot element we had to get through.<br />
<br />
So at the end of the day, we're left with a movie that does a half-assed job of not really adapting one of the founding works of interplanetary adventure science fiction. The movie will fail at the box office, and no one will touch the idea again for who knows how long, since Disney will have taken such a stinking dump on the whole idea.<br />
<br />
Way to go, Disney. Way to go.Jack Badelairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10932441028544500024noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1646163054327608765.post-49347993347495704822012-03-09T10:13:00.001-05:002012-03-09T10:14:53.285-05:00Tankards and Broadswords RPG: Playtest Session 2Last night's game was supposed to have a third player, but he wasn't able to attend, instead, I quickly whipped up an NPC Captain of the Blue Tower Guards, a warrior named Alcarn. One goal of the game is to make sure creating an NPC is quick and painless; I use the "monster" format for these sorts of NPCs. Attack, Defense, Reflexes, Athletics, Detection, and Stealth for skills, plus Peril checks, Health, Damage, and Armor rating. It's 12 quick values, no skill focuses, no Statuses. Mail armor, battle axe, two daggers, and a shield. Maybe not QUITE as fast as throwing together a B/X D&D henchman, but pretty darn close.<br />
<br />
In case you didn't see the first session post, <a href="http://tankardsandbroadswords.blogspot.com/2012/02/tankards-and-broadswords-rpg-playtest.html" target="_blank">here it is</a>. <br />
<br />
The PCs have been asked by the Blue Tower to go into the edge of the Cthonian Wood and investigate an abandoned wizard's tower that has been located. The Tower of Arion was well outside the wood before the Cataclysm struck and sent a ravaging storm of magical destruction across the land. Now, the Cthonian Wood is much, much larger and its border has swallowed up many now-forgotten towers and villages. The PCs are going to set out on a "fact finding mission" to the rumored location of the tower and see if it is worth sending a larger expedition. Alcarn will accompany them as a representative of the Blue Tower. The PCs are offered any form of basic gear they wish. Marikh takes some mail armor and a shield, while Jayne grabs up a crossbow, a warhammer, grapple and rope, and a deluxe healer's kit. The party are given horses as well as food, torches, and so forth.<br />
<br />
The party rides for one of the many roadside forts located between population centers. Think something along the lines of a frontier stockade; a tall wooden palisade with an elevated walk, a bunkhouse, stable, well, and a fire pit. There's a heavy timber gate that can be barred as well. When the PCs get there, no one is occupying the fort, so they settle down for the night. Watches are set, and near the end of the second watch, Marikh makes a solid Detection roll and notices that a lot of the night sounds have died away, and that the horses are beginning to act nervous. Jayne's cat (while enjoying the hospitality of the Blue Tower, Jayne used her Beastmaster spells to acquire an Animal Ally in the form of a stray cat) tells her it smells like "bad meat" out beyond the stockade. With everyone awake, Marikh and Alcarn take to the battlements, while Jayne remains in the center of the stockade with her crossbow ready.<br />
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Hunkered down behind the palisade, Marikh suddenly finds himself face-to-face with a ghoulish creature that'd silently scaled the outside of the wooden wall. It swipes for his face with its taloned hand, but Marikh fends it off with the hilt of his sword, then proceeds to bisect its head with his first stroke.<br />
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What followed was a fairly brief battle against half a dozen more of these ghoulish Flesh Hunters. Some quick observations about the combat:<br />
<ol><li>Wearing armor made a huge difference. Marikh and Alcarn were both wearing mail, and while they took some damage apiece, it would have been far worse without the damage absorbing abilities of the armor. Rolling 1d + Balance for damage, several of the Flesh Hunter's successful attacks were completely ineffective damage-wise thanks to the mail armor worn by these two characters.</li>
<li>Combat maneuvers made things a lot more interesting. Faced with two opponents several times, Marikh used "Web of Death" to attack both at the same time. He also suffered a Charge Attack from one of the Hunters, and whiffed his Athletics check badly; the resulting huge bonus for the Hunter allowed it to deliver Marikh's only real wound of the fight.</li>
<li>You have to really pay attention to Initiative. Because every attack is an attack roll vs. a defense roll, it is easy to forget who actually attacked in a round and who only defended. I found writing down everyone's order of operations, then checking off their number when they acted was a helpful visual aid.</li>
<li>The Healing Skill works almost too well. A good healer with a deluxe healer's kit tests against a BP of 7, and a starting character with Medicine of 3, +1 for First aid, +1 for the deluxe kit, essentially can't fail a healing check. When I make my post-playtest changes, I may remove the extra 1d from healing and just make points recovered equal to the Balance of the roll.</li>
</ol>After the stockade battle, the players make their way to the Verdant Keep, where they spend the night enjoying the hospitality of the forest-wardens stationed there. The PCs are told the Hunters have been emerging from the Bone Wastes in larger numbers lately, possibly the work of the Red Wizard's Tower. They are also cautioned to leave their horses at the Keep before going into the Cthonian Wood; the forest is just too dense and the mounts would spook too easily.<br />
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The next day the PCs set out and make it to the edge of the Wood by late afternoon. Wisely deciding to stay the night outside the border of the forest, the night is uneventful except for a few "movement sounds" from the forest. Entering the Wood the next morning, the PCs find it pretty rough going (poor Athletics checks) and take more time than they should getting through the thick undergrowth. What's more, they get lost (poor navigational Survival checks) and turned around, and don't find Arion's tower until mid afternoon. The tower is about sixty feet in diameter and about that high, made of dark stone and windowless as far as can be discerned. The whole tower is covered in thick ivy, vines, moss, and other vegetation. The doors are opened a bit, and no movement can be seen or heard.<br />
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The PCs decide to move inside. Within, they make out a semi-circular room about thirty feet deep and close to twenty feet tall. Flanking the doorway there are a pair of statues depicting a well-dressed man and woman, but the statues are overgrown, cracked, and broken. The room itself is filled with vegetation and plant growth, almost to an unnatural degree; both corners of the room are completely overrun with vines and what seems to be small stunted trees growing right out of the stone floor. Marikh goes to investigate the overgrowth to the left of the door, when the plants seem to rustle and some noises are discerned. He backs off, only to hear the same from the right, and soon, five Winged Apes burst out of the two locations. The battle is short but fierce, leaving the PCs triumphant with only a couple of minor wounds. Marikh did try a Feint maneuver and his opponent failed miserably to detect it; the resulting attack bonus let Marikh kill the creature with ease.<br />
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The evening was getting late so we called the game at this point. Plenty more of exploring to be done, so next time we'll begin to get into the heart of the tower. Playtest-wise, so far so good...Jack Badelairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10932441028544500024noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1646163054327608765.post-66066048743323135792012-03-07T11:36:00.000-05:002012-03-07T11:36:52.396-05:00Neverwinter Nights: D&D 3E Done Right<iframe align="left" frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=postmodepulp-20&o=1&p=8&l=bpl&asins=B000B8K7RC&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="height: 245px; padding-right: 5px; padding-top: 5px; width: 120px;"></iframe>So after writing my Sword & Sorcery short, I started jonesing for some kind of video game hack-and-slash action. I had played Neverwinter Nights Diamond Edition a few years ago, but didn't get all that far in it. I decided to get back on the wagon and play again. I of course created "Nanok the Barbarian" and gave him a Weapon Focus in Greatsword (like you do). I put the game on Easy because smacking the crap out of AI goons is just that much more fun, and I began to loot and pillage to my heart's content.<br />
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For those not in the know, Neverwinter Nights is a video game that came out a while back that uses the D&D 3.0 rules to run everything. It is actually explicitly 3.0, not 3.5, so certain things might seem a little odd if 3.5 was your 3E of choice. I'm not a huge computer game person, but I do like the occasional FPS or RPG-style computer game (Deus Ex is one of my favorite CRPGs of all time). When I do play a game like this, I am one of those people who gets really "crunchy" with my character - what weapon do I take, tweaking stats, skills, etc.. I'm not a WoW or other MMO type player, so don't get that far into it, but I do like the ability to "fiddle" with my character like that.<br />
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One of the more pervasive criticisms, I felt, of D&D 3.X was that there was far too much crunch - people wanted more customizability, but not THAT much more. With class and race abilities and mods, skills, feats, various types of bonuses, and so forth, if you weren't more of a hardcore "crunchy gamer", and just someone who wanted to build a character to beat up orcs, you were faced with something of a choice-explosion. What's worse is that, if you weren't at least semi-intelligent as to how you created your character, you could really do yourself a disservice and make choices that definitely dropped you down the backward slope of the power curve.<br />
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Now, I'm not going to go on a tirade about how this is why older editions were better or why 3E sucks. I actually enjoyed a lot of my 3E gaming, but I can see arguments for and against. It was a "modernization" of the D&D mechanics, which I didn't have a problem with, but I think it just got over engineered; Castles & Crusades, in my mind, is a much better approach and still makes the game a lot more "modern" (unified core mechanic, so on and so forth).<br />
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But for a CRPG, D&D 3.0 is great. It provides the computer with a very tightly-woven, crunchy, almost-every-situation-covered rules framework, something that a lot of CRPGs were already going for at the time and the player based love it (see Deus Ex...). Also, because of the way a computer can offer up (or hide) information to the user, a lof of that "choice-explosion" goes away. When it's time to pick a feat, it only shows you feats that you can actually take. When you pick up a weapon in the game, you're told immediately whether you can use it or not. You can see all your relevant modifiers worked into the final bonuses or penalties without doing the math yourself. <br />
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At the end of the day, 3.0 might have been passed by these days, but I still think that generation of D&D rules were perfect as transition fodder for moving people back and forth from video games to RPGs and so on, because the rules could work in both media quite well, and one reinforced the other. I'm curious (because I don't know) if there have been any video games based around 4E rules - my guess is no, but if someone can say for certain, I'd appreciate it.Jack Badelairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10932441028544500024noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1646163054327608765.post-16047313676224685862012-03-05T09:21:00.001-05:002012-03-05T09:25:37.294-05:00On Sale Now: NANOK And the Tower of Sorrows<iframe align="left" frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=postmodepulp-20&o=1&p=8&l=bpl&asins=B007H2LAA8&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="height: 245px; padding-right: 5px; padding-top: 5px; width: 120px;"></iframe>The short story is now Live and available for purchase or Kindle Lending Library borrowing. <br />
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I uploaded the story to Amazon's Kindle Direct Publishing site around 9:30 last night, and it went live sometime in the early hours of the morning; I received the e-mail notification from Amazon around 4 AM. When I logged in to confirm the book was "live" it appears some kind soul from the UK needed a bit of badass barbarian face-hacking adventure on their Monday morning commute. So, first sale goes to the UK, mere hours after the story went Live and before I even knew it was available. Let's hope this is a good omen!Jack Badelairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10932441028544500024noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1646163054327608765.post-87602653424842011542012-03-02T09:15:00.002-05:002012-03-02T09:17:50.459-05:00Coming Soon: NANOK and the Tower of Sorrows<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/--dEDaJLg_n8/T1DVyE0w-DI/AAAAAAAAAlU/LmFwhaFGBJw/s1600/tos_cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/--dEDaJLg_n8/T1DVyE0w-DI/AAAAAAAAAlU/LmFwhaFGBJw/s320/tos_cover.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><i>Nanok, wandering swordsman of the Iron Wastes, makes a deal with the Wizard King Midar to steal the mighty Sunsword from the Tower of Sorrows, lair of the dreaded sorcerer, Draaa'kon the Bleak.</i><br />
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<i>Pursued by Draaa'kon and his horde of cauldron-born mutant henchmen, Nanok discovers stealing the enchanted sword is just the beginning. Though victorious against Draaa'kon's bloodthirsty minions, Nanok is blasted senseless by sorcery and sent tumbling from a high ocean cliff.</i><br />
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<i>Washed ashore in a distant cove, Nanok is aided by a mysterious wilderness warrior who has his own reasons for seeing Draaa'kon defeated. Swearing vengeance against his enemy, Nanok returns once more to the Tower of Sorrows, determined to lay waste to everyone and everything within.</i><br />
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<i>Battling fearsome troll-kin, brutal guardsmen, and a monstrous horror conjured through the darkest of magics, Nanok must learn the powerful secret of the Sunsword if he is going to have any hope of emerging victorious from the Tower of Sorrows...</i><br />
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<b>NANOK And the Tower of Sorrows</b> is a pastiche fantasy adventure short story written as a humorous, light-hearted homage to many of the Sword & Sorcery creations from the 60's and 70's: The Kyrik and Kothar novels of Gardner F. Fox, the Thongor stories of Lin Carter, John Jake's Brak the Barbarian, Karl Edward Wagner's Kane adventures, and much more.<br />
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Blend in a healthy mix of cheesy barbarian movies from the 80's, <i>Dungeons & Dragons</i>-esque fantasy tropes, inspiration from heavy metal album covers, Frank Frazetta paintings, comic books, wargames, gratuitously violent adult cartoons, and a pigpile of other influences. What you get is a story that'll have you laughing out loud one minute and fist-pumping the air in victory the next.<br />
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NANOK should be available early next week on Amazon as a Kindle eBook. Stay tuned, and I'll post an announcement once the story is available for purchase.Jack Badelairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10932441028544500024noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1646163054327608765.post-87761265112703258522012-03-01T09:00:00.001-05:002012-03-01T09:00:18.680-05:00Book Review: The New Death by James Hutchings<iframe align="left" frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=postmodepulp-20&o=1&p=8&l=bpl&asins=B005Q8Q8DY&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="height: 245px; padding-right: 5px; padding-top: 5px; width: 120px;"></iframe>I read this book in bits and pieces over the course of a week. There's a great mix of prose and poetry in here, and while the tone shifts from piece to piece, I think everything is well-written and certainly entertaining.<br />
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A lot of the material here carries with it a very "mythological" feel. Those readers who are into Fantasy RPGs like D&D would find a lot of inspiration here. I don't necessarily mean ripping it verbatim from this book, but rather see how the author has crafted each tale to speak to a certain aspect of the mythology and go from there. The stories involving the various divine aspects (Love, Death, Fame, etc.) work especially well for this.<br />
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A fair number of the stories in here are satirical in nature, and while I'm not much of a satire fan, these pieces are still quite good and entertaining. Some of them are also "modern mythology" and may appeal to those who like Pratchett, Gaiman, and other, similar writers.<br />
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All told, this is a quick-reading book with a little bit of everything. Whether you like Weird fiction, fantasy, satire, comedy, poetry, or prose, The New Death has something for you.Jack Badelairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10932441028544500024noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1646163054327608765.post-87233158441906434462012-02-29T10:05:00.001-05:002012-02-29T14:43:11.948-05:00NANOK is Coming...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-HMsF5stayeY/T049tFXyKTI/AAAAAAAAAk8/kWX-bKs9ZJo/s1600/nanok_test.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-HMsF5stayeY/T049tFXyKTI/AAAAAAAAAk8/kWX-bKs9ZJo/s320/nanok_test.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><i>"This barbarian, this man of the Iron Wastes, was known only as Nanok. Rumored to have been raised by wolves, Nanok thrived and grew among the giant, rusted bones and shattered crystal tears of a long-forgotten empire. Now, Nanok lived the life of a wanderer and sell-sword, reaver and pirate, thief and gladiator. A drinker of ale, a lover of women, and a slayer of men...usually - but not always - in that order."</i>Jack Badelairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10932441028544500024noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1646163054327608765.post-24463768467020308622012-02-21T09:52:00.001-05:002012-02-21T12:36:51.378-05:00Boskone 49: A Few Sci-Fi Convention ObservationsI attended the Saturday and Sunday sessions of Boskone 49 this past weekend. For those of you who don't know, <a href="http://www.nesfa.org/boskone/" target="_blank">Boskone</a> is a literary-focused (but less so over the years) science-fiction convention held here in Boston (or the greater Boston area, depending). It's a pretty old convention, seeing as this is the 49th year - no idea if this is the oldest, but I'm guessing it's "pretty damn old". Overall it was a very good experience. I hadn't been to a Boskone in ages, and it was nice to attend again. Below, a few random observations:<br />
<ul><li><a href="http://whatever.scalzi.com/" target="_blank">John Scalzi</a> was the Guest of Honor. I attended several of his panels, and was relieved to see that he didn't come of as a giant dick, since I've liked what books of his I've read. He seems like a genuinely nice guy, albeit a pretty hardcore nerd, but if that's the least of his sins I think he can be forgiven as he is a darn good writer and really "gets" the post-post modern age of science fiction fandom we're all living in these days. Case in point; his newest novel is titled "Red Shirts". Would have attended the author signing but unfortunately he had to return home earlier than predicted. Oh, and all of you who knew he had to leave right after the reading, but rushed him and asked for autographs anyway? <i>Shame.</i></li>
<li>I attended the panel on "geeks in the media". The panel focused on The Big Bang Theory, a show I don't watch and have no intention of watching. There was a lot of good discussion, but what constantly annoyed me was the self-generated dichotomy between "geeks" and "mundanes". In my mind, anyone who uses those terms to describe the difference between themselves and others who don't share their same interests deserves whatever social abuse they might suffer. Just as you don't have to be a "geek" to be an engineer, IT professional, or a scientist, you don't have to be a "geek" to read a comic book, watch Star Wars movies, or appreciate Tolkien. The notion that there is some magical, arbitrary "tipping point", the balance of which automatically brands you as a "geek" and puts you into a separate social category, is evidence alone that one of the few true hallmarks of Geekdom is being a social nincompoop.</li>
<li>The "World of Robocop" panel discussing if advances in technology are stripping away our personal freedoms and security was a pretty interesting discussion. Working in the field of academic communication studies, it is amazing to see how willingly people give the world their entire lives, but then complain that they fear the government is watching them. Look folks, the government's just watching your Facebook, Foursquare, GetGlue, Pinterest, Twitter, Blogger, and Google Plus feeds. Stay Calm and Carry On, Citizen.</li>
<li>The Art Gallery had a little memorial area for the writers and artists of note who died in 2011. I was shocked to see <a href="http://www.wix.com/darrellksweet/darrellksweet" target="_blank">Darrell K. Sweet</a> had died - he's the guy who (most famously, I think) did all the Robert Jordan book covers (I think he was one of Tor's heaviest hitters). That <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeffrey_Catherine_Jones" target="_blank">Jeff Jones</a> had died was a little shocking as well, especially since minutes before I had picked up a couple of old 70's paperbacks with his artwork gracing the covers. I think some people thought of Jones as the Poor Man's Frazetta, but Jones' artwork had a grittier, more primal nature that, for me, stood on its own legs without any help from other artists.</li>
<li>The panels on <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H._Beam_Piper" target="_blank">H. Beam Piper</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Vance" target="_blank">Jack Vance</a> were both very interesting. I had heard of Piper maybe once before, but never read any of his books - I'll have to change that fact one of these days. The Vance panel was also very good but sadly under-attended. I've read Vance's four Dying Earth books, but nothing else; again, something that I need to change. I was amused that the youngest of the three panelists (Author David Wellington, see the first comment below) noted how one of the reasons Vance will continue to be read is that Dungeons & Dragons uses "Vancian Magic" and heavily influenced Gygax's view of D&D. Apparently the panelist hadn't played D&D in a long, long time... (EDIT: David apparently plays D&D, but he's a B/X player. Kudos to you, David, for keeping the torch alive! Too bad we couldn't talk gaming a little more at the panel).</li>
<li>I had a short but pleasant conversation with a group of female writers at the <a href="http://broaduniverse.org/" target="_blank">Broad Universe</a> huckster's table. I overheard them talking about Amazon and Smashwords' self publishing venues, and talked a little about the differences between Kindle Direct Publishing and Amazon Select, how to generate your own .mobi files, and so on. Science Fiction and Fantasy are two venues where amateur writing has had an extraordinarily strong presence for a long while, and I think the Indie Pub revolution going on right now is going to have a very positive impact on the SF&F world. There were a couple of panels on e-books and publishing, but unfortunately I didn't get to attend them; I imagine in years to come these will grow in number and popularity.</li>
<li>The lecture on "How to Teach Your Dog Quantum Physics" was great. <a href="http://dogphysics.com/" target="_blank">Chad Orzel</a> was an amazing speaker, clearly able to articulate some very complex subjects in an approachable and entertaining manner. A really good dialogue was achieved between Orzel and the audience, and Boskone made a big mistake putting this in the smallest hall available - it was packed to the gills five minutes before the lecture started, and people were literally crammed onto the floor to listen to the lecturer. You could have used a space twice as big and still filled every seat. An excellent way to end the convention.</li>
</ul>So, that's it. I was going to launch into a soapboxing on some negative comments, but I think for the sake of keeping this a positive experience, I'll let it go. Attending this year's Boskone was a great opportunity to dig deep into some interesting Literary Sci-Fi territory, and I think next year - the Big Five-Oh - will be a must-do.Jack Badelairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10932441028544500024noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1646163054327608765.post-34242151729027862182012-02-17T12:38:00.000-05:002012-02-17T12:38:06.180-05:00Tankards and Broadswords RPG: Playtest Session 1So last night I ran my first playtest of the TnB rules. It went well, better than I expected actually. I'll provide a brief rundown of what happened and a few observations at the conclusion.<br />
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There were only two players in last night's playtest, Scott and Grace. Both had been exposed to the rules before through casual discussion and a few much older tidbits, but this was the first time either had put pen to paper. <br />
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Scott settled on a Fighter archetype, putting 4 ranks in Melee with a Focus on Longsword. He also took a Defense of 3 with a focus on Armed Parry and a Reflexes of 3 with a focus on Melee Combat. His Carousing of 3 had a Focus on Drinking, and Persuasion 3 with a Focus on Diplomacy. In his Scholar skills his only real standout was a Research of 2. There were other skill ranks scattered here and there but those were the really notable skills. Interestingly, he gave his character 3 ranks in Resist, 2 in Endure, and 1 in Avoid, meaning he'd be quite resistant to mental attacks. Finally, he put a single point in Wealth and two points in Infamy, giving his character a bit of a bad(ass) reputation. Overall, Marikh of No Place in Particular was a young disenfranchised minor nobleman who was skilled with a blade and the ways of a noble's court.<br />
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Grace went the opposite route. She settled on a Scholar, and put 3 ranks apiece in Healing (First Aid), Arcana (Magic), Linguistics (Magic) and Research (Magic). She also took 3 ranks in Carousing, also with a Focus in Drinking, and two ranks apiece in Stealth and Thievery, and in terms of combat, put two ranks apiece into Defense, Ranged, and Reflexes. Once the skills were squared away, she distributed her Peril ranks evenly across all three options, then put all of her Status ranks into Wealth, giving her a max of 3. All her freebie Character Tokens went into a Magic skill of 3, and she picked up three Magic Books: Healer (which became her Magic skill Focus), Beastmaster, and Infiltrator. In essence, her character is a Magical Healer/Thief, an interesting combo that complimented Scott's character quite well.<br />
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At the beginning of the game, I asked both players to make Intermission Rolls. This is a random roll that provides the character with some boon or danger at the beginning of an adventure, carried on from their time in between "episodes". In a lot of heroic fantasy, the story begins <i>in medias res</i>, with the character fleeing from some danger, or flush with victory from some event off camera that provides a hook into what is about to happen. Since I had almost no idea of where I wanted the characters to go or do for their first adventure, I decided to leave the decision in the hands of the dice gods.<br />
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And the Dice Gods delivered, big time. Both characters rolled 2d and got results of 9: Pauper. This means the character starts the game with <i>no</i> starting currency and gets nothing from their Wealth stat. Normally, at the start of every adventure, the character only begins with Signature Items; these are weapons or other pieces of equipment that the character has bought at character creation which are effectively part of the character - think Xena's chakram, or Elric's Black Sword. Every other piece of gear is up to the whims of fortune as to whether the character will have it or not; the player rolls 2d6 and adds their Wealth rating; the result are the number of Treasure Tokens they have to spend on armor, weapons, and so forth.<br />
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Well, Pauper prevents you from doing that - you've got your Signature Items, and nothing else. For Marikh, that was a longsword; for Jayne, that was just her spellbooks. With their Carousing Focuses in Drinking, we decided the perfect way for them both to start the game would be to wake up bleary-eyed and penniless, sitting in a tavern at the crack of dawn. They had agreed to start in Urgh, a very "Lawful-Neutral" city-state where there is a fine, tax, fee, bylaw, etc. for everything. I related to the players that Urgh had such things as vagrancy fees, unemployment fees, and so forth, so it wasn't a good town to get caught in while penniless; the fighting pits, slave labor camps, or some other unpleasantness would be their fate.<br />
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So the PCs decided to make a break for it. Outside the tavern, they ducked into an alleyway and stepped over a drunk; Jayne picked the drunk's pocket and found a coin. They discovered the wooden manhole cover to the sewer, and Jayne used her Book of the Infiltrator to cast "Lockwork", popping the lock. Both of them scrounged to find tools; Marikh fashioned a torch from a broken crate and straw, while Jayne got herself a makeshift club. Down into the sewers they went, and after a couple of Survival rolls, aligned their bearings well enough to head for the outflow grate by the docks.<br />
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Down into the sewers, eh? Doesn't sound like a particularly safe place to wander. After splashing around for a while, neither PC noticed a large, predatory shape gliding through the sewer waters towards them. With full surprise, a massive sewer alligator leaped from the water and latched onto Jayne's leg, hurting her badly. Marikh jumped to her aid, plunging his sword into the creature's back, and causing it to turn on him, biting and inflicting an even more savage wound. Jayne tried to cast a healing spell on Marikh, but the spell fizzles. The Alligator strikes again but misses, and this time both Jayne and Marikh make contact; Jayne beats on it with her club, while Marikh hacks its head off with his sword. Jayne takes a few rounds to heal them both, and they continue on to the sewer grate, and escape the city of Urgh.<br />
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The two characters make their way north along the shoreline, determined to seek the Blue Wizard's Tower and offer their services for employment. During the day they both find sufficient food and water, and even discover a body washed up on shore, wearing a dagger and carrying a purse with two coins. At nightfall, unable to find a good shelter, they decide to build a campfire on the beach and stay there the night before heading inland. <br />
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In the middle of the first watch, Marikh hears the "flapping of leathery wings" in the air around the camp, and wakes Jayne. Fears that it might be a larger creature are dispelled, and assuming they are bats, Jayne uses a Beastmaster spell, Beast Speech, to try and talk to them. However, all they get are hisses and cackles from the air. Deciding to make a break for it, they move away from the fire and head inland, only to be immediately pounced on and attacked by a pair of winged apes. Jayne is badly mauled by one, but Marikh quickly kills his opponent, and after Jayne drubs hers with her club, Merikh slices it in half. Further spellcasting brings Jayne back to full health.<br />
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Come the morning the two journey inland, and encounter no more troubles along the way. Eventually they reach a mile-wide clearing and see, in the center, the thousand-foot high, hourglass-shaped blue crystal tower of the Blue Wizards. Concerned that just walking to the tower might be ill advised, the duo make their way around the clearing to a watchtower at the point where the road to the tower enters the clearing. Approaching, they are hailed by a half-dozen guards, each bearing a long sword, shield, and mail hauberk, and wearing the blue surcoat of their masters. The duo introduce themselves, and Scott decides that Marikh will attempt to use his Infamy as an "in". He rolls very well, and the guards have heard that "He's that guy, who did that thing, to that other guy, and the blood never came clean from the walls...". The Sergeant-at-Arms decides to put Marikh to a little "test" and engages in a little swordplay; Marikh parries with laughable ease and knocks the Sergeant into the dust with the flat of his blade. Credentials confirmed...<br />
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To conclude the evening, the chagrined Sergeant orders to of his men to escort the duo to the Tower, where they are given a change of clothes, allowed to clean up, are fed and watered, and provided any comforts they need. An hour later, they are escorted to an audience with Herik, Wizard of the Fourth Circle, who welcomes them as guests and offers the two of them accommodations for the day, and an audience with his superior the next day. A servant was assigned to handle their needs, and they were dismissed. <br />
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This is where we ended the session.<br />
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A few observations...<br />
<ol><li>The Intermission Roll couldn't have worked better. I designed them to be a possible jumping-off point for adventures, and in this case, that's exactly what it provided. I came to the table with almost no idea of what the adventure was going to be, but the Pauper result for both characters gave us exactly what we needed; an impetus for action. Perhaps it wouldn't happen every adventure, but the players liked the idea that it we were able to weave the result into their Carousing skills, which made everyone happy.</li>
<li>Combat, while ill-equipped, can be very dangerous. Only Marikh had a real weapon, Jayne had no offensive spells, and neither character was wearing armor. The result was that in both fights, against opponents who weren't terribly powerful, one or both of the characters got mauled. Typically it was because the attacker got a really good attack roll <i>and</i> the defender rolled terribly, giving the attacker a very high Balance for the attack, which gave the damage roll a massive bonus. Having no armor to soak some of that damage hurt...a lot.</li>
<li>Being able to give very generic skills much narrower skill Focuses helped make the skill feel more specialized. Marikh wasn't just a good Melee fighter, he was a <i>swordsman</i>. Likewise, focusing all of Jayne's Scholar skills towards magic, and her Magic skill towards Healer, kept a lot of flavor in the mix.</li>
<li>I need to draft up some form of encounter rules. I was just rolling 2d6 and if it was a really high roll, "something happened". Having a 2d roll that went from "nothing", to "friendly", "neutral" and "dangerous" would help this.</li>
<li>There was little problem with leaving most skills open to a broad interpretation. Survival becomes crucial for any cross-country travel, useful for scrounging, navigating, finding food, water, and shelter - you name it. And we were clearly able to differentiate between Survival and Naturalism; one was living off the land, the other was an academic understanding of the land, flora, and fauna.</li>
<li>Aside from being dangerous, combat moved smoothly. We would have to see how larger fights work out; perhaps having a Reflexes roll just once at the start of the fight would result in a lot less bookkeeping.</li>
<li>One of the players was a little disappointed when told how long it takes to progress skills after character creation, but as the characters can start off with up to 4 ranks in a skill - "Veteran" status - the need to advance more quickly isn't, in my mind, much of an issue. We'll see how that attitude fares later on in the gameplay.</li>
</ol>Overall, I think things went well, and the players really enjoyed the session. We may play again in ~2 weeks; once we do, I'll have another report.Jack Badelairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10932441028544500024noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1646163054327608765.post-66270519971982536532012-02-16T09:00:00.010-05:002015-05-19T11:21:01.105-04:00New Campaign Map Made in Google DocsI'm a big fan of Google Docs - I use it for pretty much everything I do that isn't work related. The ability to keep everything online where I can get to it from anywhere is a huge advantage for me, and especially the ability to share and collaborate with other people.<br />
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In preparation for my Tankards and Broadswords RPG playtesting tonight, I worked on a campaign map yesterday, and decided to make it in Google Docs' Drawing feature. I've used this feature before to make UML diagrams and other drawings for coursework and personal use, but I've never tried it before as a map-making tool; I've always used Campaign Cartographer instead.<br />
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While CC is an excellent program, and what you can make with it is light years agead of what Google Docs provides, I still think the results were...okay. Maybe a little too bright and technicolor for some people, but it will suffice for some friendly, casual high-adventure gaming:<br />
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<a href="https://docs.google.com/drawings/pub?id=15-7s_Pw5CgXoM2jsj_zgVoFyxMyym5YJkLowAcIZtLg&w=960&h=720" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="316" src="https://docs.google.com/drawings/pub?id=15-7s_Pw5CgXoM2jsj_zgVoFyxMyym5YJkLowAcIZtLg&w=960&h=720" width="640" /></a></div>
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Google Docs has a "publish to web" feature, that generates a .png file from your most recent saved work, so any time you modify your work, the new version is what people see. For those people having trouble viewing the .png in their browser, here's a static JPG:<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-BfKwMUwJ9B4/Tz1HOK2de9I/AAAAAAAAAkk/t-EAatTPWu4/s1600/TheKnownLandsMap.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-BfKwMUwJ9B4/Tz1HOK2de9I/AAAAAAAAAkk/t-EAatTPWu4/s400/TheKnownLandsMap.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Anyhow, I'm happy enough with the results. One of the nice things about the Google Docs Drawings is that you can very easily expand the canvas out; handy for those games where your PC start with the "local area" map and then as time goes on, you pull back the zoom, so to speak, and add more and more to the surrounding areas.Jack Badelairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10932441028544500024noreply@blogger.com2