Pick a game that plays to the themes players enjoy
Bad ways- Bait and switch
Literally Assaulting your Players with the Books
Stat Blocks
Zendead-
Scaviolous the Prophet
Scaviolous is a priest of an order known to the people of the town as The Golden Pyramid. He travels throughout town helping people and working to heal the sick. He also runs help groups for those that feel the need to help contribute to the cause in a monetary fashion.
He pushes people to be better versions of themselves all the time. But behind closed doors his true nature and drive comes out.
Scaviolous is actually a priest of a long dead god that rests in the dark places of the universe. He is trying to bring about immortality on a planetary scale. He has had a few hiccups along the way. For he must first kill the person and then work to bring them back from the beyond.
Joules- Nothing this week guys sorry.
Guard-a-Manger-
Boxcar’s Dice of DOOM
Brightly colored costumed supervillains showed up and proliferated from the 1950s on. Boxcar was one of the better known ones. As a Gambling Highroller, Boxcar seemed to be able to manipulate luck in his favor over and over and over and over. Eventually his luck ran out when fighting the Atomic Avenger, but his dice lived on.
Every so often, you see a new costumed villain, or maybe a hero, pick them up. They are a link to the costumed past, after all. The problem with the good luck that follows these dice is that the bad luck also follows. Nothing fancy, nothing spectacular, but a stubbed toe at the wrong time can be the downfall of any costumed adventurer. Sometimes, the dice seem to have a mind of their own and pull, figuratively, the wielder towards more and more risky behavior.
Boxcar’s dice have a few secrets that have maintained throughout the decades. These cubes are actually receptacles of otherwordly power. Magic is real, you see, no matter what the Government tells you. These cubes contain a bit of Magic, of Truth, that were sheared off the greater angelic powers of the universe. It was a millennia ago that Boxcar’s ancestors first found how to trap that power inside a runic representation, and passed down the knowledge from generation to generation.
The Dice of DOOM want to return to the synchronous song of the universe, and every time it gets close, that ward weakens. Who will be holding the dice when the power finally is released … and what happens to them?
Lexicon
Ague noun \ ˈā-(ˌ)gyü \
Definition of ague 1 :a fever marked by fits of chills, fever, and sweating that recur at regular intervals 2 :a fit of shivering
Origin and Etymology of Ague Middle English, from Anglo-French ague, from Medieval Latin (febris) acuta, literally, sharp fever, from Latin, feminine of acutus sharp
Stats rolled this time were 16, 15, 11, 10, 16, and 9. This looks like a classic Dungeons and Dragons Fighter stat line, but instead we are going to use the optional rules from Gazetteer 10 – The Orcs of Thar to make a Humanoid character. The Orcs of Thar presents a fully formed culture of different humanoids as well as optional rules to play as humanoids in the company of other adventurers and an option where in a purely humanoid game, they revert to the Creature Catalog statistics.
As an Orc, Roark has his stat line adjusted with a Strength bonus and a Dexterity penalty. For his general skills, he picks up Endurance, Tracking, Firebuilding, Brawling, and Swimming. Brawling allows him to get into big and nasty brawls without killing people in the Inn by knocking them out which could also be used to great effect in a massive melee. These skills would seem to be the sort that an Orc in the service of Thar would have and provide great utility for the party.
His weapon specializations are the Two-Handed Bastard Sword, Spear, Battle Axe, and Barefist Striking. He has managed to advance both the Battle Axe and Two Handed Sword to Expert levels. Obviously, Khaa Roark does not do well with missile weapon attacks, but his breadth of melee weapons give him a lot of options tactically.
As far as languages, aside from his Tribal Orc tongue and Chaotic Alignment language, Common Tharian and Thyatian are pretty obvious choices,.
Optional D &D Rules Notes
Weapon Specialization Specifics
While it isn’t clear in the Gazetteer 10, since Roark is a fighting type and not a caster, I started him with the 4 Weapon Specialization choices just like a Fighter. The shorter lifespan of a humanoid compels me not to give them the Demihuman basic proficiency with all available weapons.
Battle Axe – Skilled
The damage from the Battle Axe is now 1d8+2 and Roark has the ability to Delay opponents when struck with the Battle Axe, causing them to automatically lose initiative. Offensively, he gains a +2 to hit bonus against Missile wielders or monsters but only a +1 against hand held weapon using opponents. Additionally, he has a -2 AC bonus against the first two attacks made by Missile wielders or monsters each round
Two Handed Bastard Sword – Skilled
The damage from the Bastard Sword used two-handed is now 1d8+3 and Roark can roll to deflect the first attack against him in a round. He has a +2 bonus to hit against hand held weapon wielding foes, but only a +1 when used against missile weapon wielding or monstrous opponents.
Barefist Striking – Skilled
With the optional Striking rules, every character is presumed to have Basic level of Barefist Striking so additional levels can be bought based on training, like being a Thyatian Gladiator. Roark does 1d3 damage from his punching with a +2 bonus against hand held weapon using opponents but only a +1 against missile weapon or monstrous opponents. What’s more, he can stun or knockout his opponent with a successful strike. If his victim must then roll under their Constitution score on a d20 or be stunned. This means -4 penalties on savings throws, to armor class, being unable to concentrate to cast spells et cetera. Additionally, if not higher hit dice, he must make a saving throw versus death ray at (+4-STR Bonus of Attacker) or be knocked out for 1d20 – Constitution Score rounds. When you couple this with Roark’s brawling skill, he can clear a rowdy tavern pretty quickly.
Orc Specifics
Roark’s Strength was increased by one and his Dexterity reduced by one as an ork.
On the Optional Random Legacy Table, Roark has ended up with an Allergy to Elven Poetry. Yes, this is in the book. Go buy Gazetteer 10 if you don’t believe me.
To determine effective Charisma of a humanoid for humans and Demihmans, take the humanoid Charisma and divide it by three. Then subtract that from 9. Roark has an effective “human” charisma of 6 versus his 9 for other humanoids.
Character Notes
Khaa Roark, Destructor of Orcus Rex, Son of Loark, was not always so well known. He was a simple private or Khaa conscripted into the armies of Thar himself. Orcus Rex was growing indeed, and had shown a decent if not exceptional potential as an Orc warrior for the tribe. Then things went sideways when adventurers … cursed ‘adventurers’ … from Darokin were guarding a caravan his tribe was sent to raid.
Strangely, Roark woke up after the fight to find himself caged rather than in the afterlife and being taken to Thyatis, the City not just the Empire. He found himself an attraction, and in time, a slave destined for the gladiatorial pits. He picked up enough of the language to begin to understand what was happening, and was trained to fight with his meaty hands as well as the weapons he brought.
He had settled in to resenting these humans and demihumans, to plot for his time to break free of his chains, when one of them surprised him. He found himself dragged out of the training cells and into the sun having been sold to a strange sea-faring man named Allyn and his magic-using associate, Hatim, who reminded Roark of the Ogres of Ogremoore. Torn between taking his chance to run and his chance to exact some form of revenge, Roark was stunned when he was told he could walk free. As he began to turn to leave, Allyn said that if he stayed, he’s be paid with new weapons, armor, and a share of treasure from exploits. Far from home, rather hungry, and good bit desirous of these new shiny weapons he’d grown accustomed to, Roark stuck around.
Roark has found an oddly humanoid like way that Allyn rushes into a fight with his companions and has earned some measure of trust. So much trust, Roark learned to swim just in case he has to ever pull his erstwhile Captain from the briny deep. While things were rough in the beginning with Balia, as she was a dwarf first and Karameikan second, there is a more than grudging respect between the two of them now. In fact, several towns and villages have banned the Callie’s Song because of the brawls Roark and Balia instigated when passing through. Khaa Roark enjoyed fighting the desert nomads and the excitement from the great war travelling with this crew. Who knows, perhaps Roark has a new clan, a new tribe out here. And, for a dwarf, Balia isn’t bad looking.
Episode 37: How to Mechanically Enable Horror Games
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As we’ve been discussing, Horror as a theme can be played in a wide variety of genres. Accordingly, some of the more interesting questions are how to enable a horror game across different genres or systems. Both narrative and mechanical systems can be used for horror, but the way they achieve that goal is different. Some of those games include:
Earthdawn – FASA’s fantasy setting is inextricably linked to horror. One of the main themes revolves around The Horrors that torment humanity and that could not be fully defeated but only waited out. Earthdawn explores these influences and story providing unique powers to Horrors and their spawn as well as an asymmetric stat line making the Named Horrors fearsome indeed. We especially want to recommend the blog post from Earthdawn Line Developer Josh Harrison who addresses a lot of the issues we’ve been discussing.
Beyond the Supernatural – A Palladium Games book that began before RIFTS took over the Palladium universe. Beyond the Supernatural was very clearly aimed at being a horror game in the late 80s and enabled that with the usual panache of a Palladium Game. Players find their character limited in trying to learn things outside their “class” and the monsters or horror opposition includes abilities and qualities that most PCs will never see.
Rifts – Palladium’s entry into the blend of magic and sci-fi in the early 90s was in the form of RIFTS. In a lot of ways, RIFTS was the game of this type in the 90s that was most influenced by horror. The post-apocalyptic setting and the use of MegaDamage created a real danger for a wide variety of characters. The unpredictable nature of magic and the Rifts themselves created horror openings and the original cover included a Splugorth Slaver with the grotesquerie and challenge to humanity it entails.
Original World of Darkness – The OWOD is built entirely upon personal horror in different ways that we’ve been describing. The fate of a vampire struggling to retain his or her humanity and the despair of a Wraith who is fighting a never-winning battle against his own literal shadowself are the fodder for horror. The system is straightforward at its core, and the simple Attribute + Skill dice pool with a static target number is a style of system widely used still.
HERO System – Okay, stay with me here, the HERO system is the most flexible system that there is. It is a system of mechanics that lets you tell the kinds of stories you want so it can be used for horror, but you have to be aware of what limitations there will be. Because you can design powers, creatures, and the setting with the utmost flexibility, you can create the kind of horror you find anywhere, but you have to make sure that characters are limited in what they start with. By balancing the players limited resources against a potentially unlimited wealth of the antagonist, you can really effectuate horror games in HERO system.
Kult – The setting enables a horror setting – it is a creation of horror by it’s very nature.
Dread – Using a Jenga Tower instead of dice. It’s the tower of terror
Stat Blocks
Zendead-
The Bumbles
Have you heard of the Bumbles? No, well sit back and try to not think about how even now they could be invading. As I fill you in on them.
The bumbles as they are called hail from a distant star system. They are small, small enough to get into your body through any hole that is natural. While this is not unusual the things that happen once they get in, now that is unusual. Once in they wait until you enter a sleep cycle. Then they get to work. The next day things seem off you are a little clumsy you have a “butterfingers” day. THen the next you trip or fall a few times. Then things just continue to get worse. The drop things followed by slowly decreasing your overall movement. The whole time the bumbles have been weaving tendrils of some organic material similar to carbon fiber tubes. Anchoring it to points on the skeleton and shortening the lengths. As your movements decrease they start to reproduce at an accelerated rate. Continuing to grow fibers that slow your movement faster. Once you stop then the colony goes into overdrive till they erupt from you and float along to the next hapless victim of The Bumbles.
Joules- Earth’s Invisible Defenders
“Sometimes I think the surest sign that intelligent life exists elsewhere in the universe is that none of it has tried to contact us” – Calvin
The drake equation tells that that there should be many other civilizations out there in the universe. The Fermi paradox brings up lack of evidence of extraterrestrial life. Why haven’t aliens visited earth? The theories are infinite. But the truth is much simpler. Aliens are terrified of earth’s defenders, so they give it a wide berth. But it’s not the humans that terrify extra terrestrials. Why would aliens be worried about impulsive and violent hairless apes with delusions of grandeur? There is a race on earth that is rumored to exist on a higher plane of intelligence. Rumors of their strange thought processes, intelligence and technology terrify any extraterrestrial who has heard the tales. And as such their technology has never been analyzed or reverse engineered.
While they’re not immortal, they are incredibly durable. They can survive temperatures of over 300 degrees fahrenheit, extreme dehydration, the vacuum of space (-272 degrees centigrade), and even deadly ionizing radiation. It is said that after humans trigger the nuclear holocaust these creatures will still be around and taking bets on the cockroaches.
But why are the humans completely unaware of the potential of these creatures? Scientific protocol of course. Interfering with an ongoing experiment would skew the results. And the Tardigrades have spent thousands of years observing us.
Guard-a-Manger
The Continental Express Pocketwatch It is alluringly simple; a reminder of times gone past. The railroad watch on the dresser can barely be heard in the stillness of the night. The open face design with it’s stark black numerals on a white field mark it as a remnant of the railroad era. Slightly burnished, with a patina that comes from age, the pocket watch has a place in your heart. This beautiful piece of history evokes a warm and nostalgic glow from everyone who sees it. The Continental Express, though, is a mystery. The engraving on the back of the watch shows it is from 1895 and the railway, The Continental Express. Try as you might, you can’t find a history of this railroad or even what route it took. How you came to find it in your possession … well, you don’t quite recall.
In between the ticking of the seconds, the pocketwatch waits for you to wind it yet again. While keeping time is what it does best, the crack on its face betrays a history you haven’t figure out quite yet. You can’t shake the feeling that this pocket watch is something more than just a watch. All you can do, though, is wait.
This waiting drags on you, drains you, pulls your mind back to the watch. What is it that the old conductor did with this watch? What secrets does it hold? The watch is just that – a watch. What it does, though, on the second inset face, is track when the doors open. Doors to somewhere else. Doors something can come through. Doors you haven’t seen opening.
What will the next winding of the watch bring and will you even notice before it’s too late.
Lexicon
Jabber verb jab·ber \ ˈja-bər \
Definition of jabber jabbered; jabbering play \ˈja-b(ə-)riŋ\
intransitive verb :to talk rapidly, indistinctly, or unintelligibly
transitive verb :to speak rapidly or indistinctly
First Known Use: 15th century
Origin and Etymology of jabber Middle English jaberen, of imitative origin
Welcome back to Card Catalog, where we share characters from different settings and systems for you to use or adapt as you see fit. This series is for Dungeons & Dragons(™), more particularly “Basic” Dungeons & Dragons(™) in the Mystara(™) setting. “Basic” is the outgrowth and evolution of the original Dungeons & Dragons(™) existing alongside Advanced Dungeons & Dragons(™) for years into the mid-1990s. The “Basic” system actually had some intricate and exceptional Optional Rules that could be used in the Rules Cyclopedia and in the expansions that breathed life into the Known World aka Mystara(™). Optional Rules that are used will be highlighted in each entry as well as a brief explanation and if you find yourself enthralled with Mystara(™), Drive Thru RPG has the PDF reissues available now!
System Notes
Many facets of “Basic” are unusual to modern gaming design and are worth noting ahead of time.
First, Demihumans are classes – if you play a Dwarf, Elf, or Halfling that is your class and how many levels you can gain is limited compared to the human maximum of 36.
Second, statistic generation is done by rolling 3d6 in order – Strength; Intelligence; Wisdom; Dexterity; Constitution; and Charisma. You can choose to lower one of the first 4 by 2 points to raise another statistic by 1 but you can’t drop a statistic below 9.
Third, multiclassing does not exist. The Rules Cyclopedia has Fighters, Clerics, Magic-Users, Thieves, Dwarves, Elves, Halflings, and the optional Mystic and Druid. Okay, it exists in some of the optional rules and expansions, but generally as classes that blend aspects of two classes as opposed to more recent Dungeons & Dragons editions. For example, the Forrester class found in the Dawn of the Empires Boxed Set allows humans to be a fighter/magic-user combination like an Elf.
Fourth, it takes different amounts of experience to advance levels for different classes. I have applied a total of 50,000XP for each character, and they are not all the same level. I also provided them with a smattering of magical items that I thought were appropriate instead of random rolls from the loot charts.
Optional Rules
These are optional rules in the Cyclopedia that I am using when making these characters, and they deserve a little bit of discussion first.
General Skills
The use of General Skills is an optional rule that we will be using to flesh out the characters here. The basic mechanic matches a skill to one of your attributes and you roll a d20 trying to get under that number. If you sink additional ranks into a skill, you roll against your attribute plus any additional ranks.
The four starting general skills are in addition to your starting languages. You receive a bonus number of skills based on your Intelligence just like your languages. Characters gain additional skills as they advance in levels.
Weapon Specialization
The “Basic” Dungeons and Dragons succinct but exceptionally detailed system of weapon specialization is also being used for these characters. Each weapon listed in the Cyclopedia has a different advancement table as the level of specialization increases reflecting the different weapons’ traits and abilities.
Fighters begin with 4 weapon specialization slots while other human characters begin with two and Demihumans have basic specialization in all weapons they can use. Starting characters must spread the weapon specializations to different weapons at 1st level while being able to advance them as more are gained at higher levels.
The Callie’s Song
In the wake of the Great War between Thyatis and Alphatia, Mystara is in a state of flux. The great and magical Alphatian Empire has been destroyed as an entire continent sank beneath the waves. The Thyatian Empire, strained as it is from this war is not ready to capitalize on being the only superpower left. The Heldannic Knights are a power in the north while Glantri seems poised to expand it’s influence. The Callie’s Song sails the seas in this time of chaos looking for adventure, treasure, and lucrative trade goods.
Allyn Deritarum – Fighter and Merchant-Prince of the Minrothad Guilds
Allyn is the captain of the Callie’s Song and serves as the de facto leader of the adventuring party. He is a Fighter by original class, but a skilled member of Guilder Corser from the Minrothad Guilds where he has at a young age become a Merchant-Prince. His risk-taking ventures have earned him a good deal of wealth, but he can sometimes leap far too quickly before he has looked. Gazetteer 9 – The Minrothad Guilds
Khaa Roark – Former Thyatian Slave captured from Thar’s Hordes
Khaa Roark, formerly of the Horde of King Thar of Orcus Rex, Ruler of the Broken Lands, is an Orc that has been pulled kicking and screaming, well punching and slashing, out of his original home. Khaa Roark was captured instead of killed when a raiding party he was on attacked the wrong caravan. He was building a name for himself after having been sold into Thyatian slavery as a gladiator before Allyn decided to “buy” him and set him free. Now, Khaa Roark does his best to fit into this new horde of what once would be his enemies. Gazetteer 10 – The Orcs of Thar
Balia Kilaim– A Karameikos Dwarf on the run from the Black Eagle Barony
Dwarves are a proud part of the Grand Duchy … I mean, Kingdom of Karameikos. Not everyone sees it that way, though. Baron Von Hendriks of the Black Eagle Barony made no friends with his almost caricature of a villain including a hot headed and spunky dwarf named Balia while he nearly worked her father to death. Refusing to let the Black Eagle Barony run roughshod over her clan, and especially wanting to wipe that smirk off Bargle’s face, she managed to embarrass the Baron and Bargle before running off and falling in with Allyn, Hastin, and Khaa Roark. It’s been interesting, and she didn’t like Khaa Roark for quite a while, but the more ale they quaff and bar brawls they start together, the more they are almost inseparable.
Sharvon – Aspiring Darokinian Merchant and Negotiator
Sharvon, a Thief by class, is an aspiring Merchant from Darokin. While the Minrothad Guilds are the greatest sea traders, it is the Republic of Darokin whose caravans blanket the continent. Sharvon found Allyn trying to make his way across land, instead of sea, and saw a chance for riches to elevate his status in Darokin. He has since become an integral part of the trade Allyn does and a useful negotiator and sneak. Gazetteer 11 – The Republic of Darokin
Bors– Darokinian Cleric of Korotiku, the Trickster Immortal of Thought
An odd pairing to be sure, a third-born son of a Darokin Keeper ended up on the Pearl Islands and was called by Korotoku to add some enlightenment to the world by helping people not take themselves too seriously. While Bors doesn’t talk about his parents or family much, he talks trade, life, and what it means to live with Sharvon almost incessantly as they debate the future of their beloved Republic. When Allyn brought his motley crew through Darokin as a Porter, Bors saw his chance to see more of the world and poke at the power structure a little more. Gazetteer 11- The Republic of Darokin; Dawn of the Empires and Dawn of the Empires Boxed Set
Hatim– A Magic-User from the far off land of Sind, Gateway to the West
Hatim was born into the Jadugerya caste of the Sind. He showed promise in the traditional calling of the magic-user and was on his way to advance in Sindi society as tradition often dictated. The chance encounter with the iconoclastic foreigner, Allyn, changed how he saw the world and he set off with some blessings from his family to explore the rest of the world. Now, as his family has been branded traitors by the new rulers of Sind in the pocket of the Master of Hule, Hatim looks for ways to serve his countrymen even from afar. The Princess Ark Boxed Set; Dragon Magazine – The Voyage of the Princess Ark
Our first roll for stats netted us 15, 16, 8, 12, 12, 10. This stat line really lends itself to either a Fighter or a Magic-User, but with 50,000XP also lets us make the Captain of the SHIP as a Merchant-Prince of the Minrothad Guilds. The special rules used here will come from the Gazetteer 9 – The Minrothad Guilds.
As a Minrothad sailor, and a member of Guild Corser, the trading ventures are going to be important for Allyn so the initial skills we are looking at are Appraisal, Bargaining +1, Navigation, and Ship Sailing. As he leveled up and was trying to become a Merchant-Prince, his new skill is Merchant-Prince Magic as required by that class. His trading background has him learn Sindi and Thyatian as additional languages past his Minrothad Patois and Neutral Alignment languages to begin. Similarly, coming from the Minrothad Guilds, he chooses his Weapon Specializations as Short Sword, Trident, Light Crossbow, and Net to start eventually training to Expert level in the Short Sword.
Optional D &D Rules Notes
Weapon Specializations
As a fighter, Allyn, started with 4 Weapon Specializations and has sunk the advancement levels into his short sword to become an Expert.
Short Sword – Expert
The Short Sword’s damage in 1d6+4 now and Allyn has additional abilities against opponents who are wielding Hand Held Weapons against him. Specifically, he gains an additional +4 to hit, and receives a -2 Armor Class bonus against the first two attacks from Hand Held Melee weapons in a combat round. He only has an additional +2 against missile weapon wielding or monster opponents though. He can roll to deflect the two missile or melee weapon attacks against him in a round by making a save against death rays and can attempt to disarm his opponents with a +2 Penalty to resisting the roll. Finally, Allyn can throw the short sword as a missile weapon but using his Strength bonus to hit with a medium range of 10 and a long range of 20.
Net – Basic
Normally, I wouldn’t add much about a basic level proficiency since it is just using the stats from the book, but the net’s ability to Entangle is worth a mention. If entangled, a victim can neither move nor cast spells. To escape, the victim must make a roll against death ray.
Merchant-Prince Class
The Merchant Prince Class is a special class available to certain members of the Minrothad Guilds. The class does not offer additional hit points, or skills, but lets its member access the special water magic developed by the Sea Elves as part of the Minrothad history. The Merchant-Prince Spell List includes numerous spells that are designed to enhance their abilities on the seas and in command of ship from controlling weather to preserving the food stores needed for long voyages. Effectively, you get to double class into a spellcaster without all of the benefits. The way the Experience Points break down, Allyn was able to pick up a few classes of Merchant-Prince without falling too far behind in class advancement compared to others.
Spell Book
1st Level
Read Magic
Warp Wood
Light
Tar
2nd Level
Web
Nightwatch
Purify Food & Water
Character Notes
Having been elevated to Merchant-Prince far earlier than most, Allyn still has much to prove and only has a schooner to his name. While growing his reputation and wealth, Allyn is still pulled into the politics of the Guilds but his motley crew has been a boon to his trading ventures. As Mystara reels from Alphatia’s sinking, Allyn hopes to expand his influence in the Minrothad and has his eye on a trading ship capable of carrying even more cargo.
It wasn’t that long ago that Allyn was just a journeyman on a trading venture for the Guilds starting out in his career. Sadly, a powerful storm sunk the ship he was travelling on not far from the coast of Sind. The silver lining of this cloud was that he had the opportunity to bargain his way back East to get home. Allyn has never been accused of having common sense and took a big gamble when he bought trade goods from Sind in the form of oddly dyed silks with his last few gold. The profit from selling these to Karameikos nobles was almost as important as meeting Hatim who was trying to find a way out of Sind.
The two of them made their way back to The Minrothad Guild islands and further adventuring ensued. Along the way, Allyn bought an Ork gladiator out of Thyatian slavery much to the chagrin of Balia who joined up in Karameikos on the run from the Black Eagle Barony and Bargle’s long and vengeful memory. When Allyn’s shrewd business sense (and lack of common sense) had him try to make an overland trading route for some highly desirable precious wood this motley crew added Sharvon and Bors while passing through the Republic of Darokin.
The six adventurers had their merchant plans interrupted when the Thyatian-Alphatian Great War broke out in AC 1005. During the war, Minrothad was studiously neutral as the superpowers of the continent fought with sword and sorcery but Allyn didn’t let the chance for profit slip by. Returning to and from Sind while the war raged, they barely stayed one step ahead of the Master of Hule’s effective coup. These actions and the wealth realized left little choice but to allow him to study as a Merchant-Prince.
The Callie’s Song
An able schooner from the Minrothad Guild, the Callie’s Song is captained by Allyn and his adventuring party with a few dozen hirelings to keep things ship-shape. Emblazoned with the emblem of Guild Corser on the maroon sails and decorated with a flashy style, as befits the Minrothad way, the Callie’s Song has been making high value and risky ventures for several years enriching the Minrothad Guilds, Guild Corser, and Allyn. It also serves as the primary method of transport for Allyn and his friends when they are off to seek adventures, but he will leave the ship to his crew to return it home if the cargo is ready but they are not. Allyn named this ship after his Mother and has proven to be far more capable than many thought he would be when he was elevated to Merchant-Prince far in advance of anyone’s expectations.
The last character to add to Balance Sheet is designed suing the oft-lamented Life Paths in Run Faster. I wanted to do something different than the Sum to Ten or standard Priority System and Life Paths were a good compromise. While the original concept here was to make an infiltration specialist, it instead turned out to cover infiltration as well as some good combat skills to give Po’Pay quality backup.
The Life Paths chosen were – Tir Tairngire Origin; Fugitive Childhood; Magical Education Youth; Tir Military Tour of Duty (Ghosts); and Corporate Career (Company Man). Once this was done, I had a chance to fine tune the rest of the character. If you have not used the Life Paths before, they will give you a heaping load of skills often broader and sometimes higher than other methods of generation but the trade off is in the potential for lower attributes. You buy the attributes with the karma left after purchasing the Life Paths.
I only got this Adept’s magic to a 5 while I was trying to balance the rest of the stat line to justify his history. When I started looking at his skills, I needed to add a few like Gymnastics and upgrade his Sneaking to a 6. I squeaked by with only 80,000 Nuyen by being a adept for the last few things needed and had the hardest part to deal with.
When multiple life paths give you a negative quality, at the end, you stage them up or if you can’t anymore, find something equivalent to replace them. Multiple SINs meant trying to find a way to swap out those SINs below Corporate Level for Negative Qualities that would still allow Rinelletish to function.
Character Notes
Rinelletish is the newest member of Balance Sheet. He is an elf who has thrown off the yoke of the Tir, following his parents example. The problem is that Rinnelletish is a vindictive and prideful elf many in the shadows refuse to trust or work with. A lot of his former colleagues have ended up dead or captured by the Corps while Rinnelletish seems to slip out of danger each time leaving many suspicious of this well trained and equipped elf adept from the Tir.
As he tells his history, Rinelletish grew up on the run with his parents. His parents were members of the Rinnelle te’Kesrae, or Rebels of the Spire, engaging in armed and sometimes violent rebellion against Tir Tairngire. Blamed for the deaths of many as the ringleaders of a cell of this rebellion, his parents fled, moving often, spending time with different Neo-Anarchist communes and safehouse around the Tir, Seattle, and the northern CalFree state.
One day, that came to an end as he and his parents were finally captured by Paladins of the new Tir loyal to the Telestrians and dragged back where his parents would face their punishment for the crimes against the Elven Nation. As he was brought back, though, one of the Paladins saw a spark of the Talent in him and he was sent to a school where it could be nurtured, and his loyalties tested. His natural Talent as an adept led to his Tour of Duty with the Tir Peacekeepers, though he says he washed out of Ghost training when they tried to push him to that service.
Telestrian Industries has sponsored his re-entry into the Tir, and they reasserted their SIN to have him work diligently for the Tir’s leading Corporate citizen until he finally managed to escape into the Shadows of Cara’Sir and make his way to Seattle. He moves around often, and seemingly distrusts everyone but he has proven to be an asset to Balance Sheet ever since he was referred by a Fixer contact.
What he isn’t telling anyone is that the rumors are true – he is a corporate plant in the Shadowrunning community. Telestrian Industries has his parents kept barely alive with their criminal SINs over his head. Every job he does for Telestrian, every runner he sets up, is one step closer to getting them free. Or so he has been told.
Rintelletish Form Key – R&G = Run & Gun; RF = Run Faster; DT = Data Trails; CF = Chrome Flesh; CA = Cutting Aces; R5 = Rigger 5.0; HT = Hard Targets
Episode 36: Horror - How Far is Too Far? / What Do I Get Out of Horror?
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Limits and dangers of Games? A lot of this goes first to knowing your players and them trusting you. Horror in ways other themes don’t requires that trust and that connection. To the extent that horror, as we talked about before, is about confronting certain terror in the world or in yourself, there are times it can be too intense. What is too far? A lot depends on what your players want to get out of a Horror game. Joules has been stressing the exploration of fears and ideas that are rooted in our childhoods and what that can tell us about ourselves. The existential and cthonic horrors provide a chance to look at humankinds place in the universe and potential insignificance. What are you looking for when you play a horror themed game?
Stat Blocks
Zendead-
The Seneschal of Carrion
The Seneschal is the governor to the Lord of Flies, Master of the Carrion Pits. Few know the name or purpose of this power behind the throne. Some scholars say he is a puppet of the Lord but for once they may be so far from the truth. Seeing him is not something many sane people ever want to do. While a few have seen him not in his robes of office each has had a different description. As well each time the same person saw him he appeared different. One underlying fact is that his form has been from a single giant maggot to a colony of them to various other creatures known to consume carrion.
Is this creature the voice of a demon lord or is he the demon lord with the proxy sitting in the open as the target of ridicule and violence. At times things look one way and at others the look like they are the opposite. To what end does this creature and its master have for others is anyone’s guess. But as with most things of a demonic nature it isn’t good.
Joules- Valkyries Lullaby
Breathe. You’re safe. The fight is done.
Lay down your sword. The demons are gone.
At least for the night.
Rest your head
Dream of the stars and the moon
And of love and life and glory
Till the day when the war is finally over
And I will come to take you home.
-Translation of the Notes of the Last Skald
The Valkyrie’s lullaby is heard only by the greatest of warriors. The strong and the true. The Honourable and valiant. The Valkyries know that one day they will one day bring them home. But they know that the warriors life is full of struggle and strife. So they try to offer comfort however they can. So in dreams, the Valkyries sing to them. Offering them a moment of respite and peace.
The warriors have told tales of the Valkyrie’s lullaby. Shared bits and pieces of what they remember. Skalds take what they’re given and try to re-create the lullaby as best they can. Chanting them while the healers practice their craft. Intoning them before a battle. Singing them during funeral rites. Honouring those who gave all.
And sometimes when the Skalds have finished, an ethereal echo can still heard, hanging in the air. A silky and steady female voice. “Welcome home.”
Guard-a-Manger-
The Grand Masquerade
There is a party that is fabulous. A party you’ve only heard about. A Party that can’t possibly be real. The finest food. The finest drink. The most amazing clothes. The dream of all the scene. Even Tommy Tommy doesn’t know much more about it than the rumors and whispers.
You have resigned yourself to The Grand Masquerade being just a rumor, and then the invitation arrives. Smelling faintly of lilac, the embossed invitation guarantees your entry to the next Grand Masquerade to be held in a fortnight. So you prepare yourself and find the finest clothes and hasten to the entry to The Grand Masquerade …. Down a country road just outside the city, and off the beaten path, quite literally.
The smell of the forest grass, the shine of the mushrooms peaking through the ground, and the quite hoot of the owl all lead you to the Grand Masquerade as you hear a faint musical tone drawing you closer. The Masquerade is full of people, dressed to the nines, talking, dancing, flirting, and making merry. The champagne glistens in the flutes and those canapes are amazing. It is so wonderful, that you know something must be wrong but quickly put that thought out of your mind.
A quarter to midnight, you whip your head around as you think you see something flitting by you. You don’t see anything but realize the shadows are growing longer. You look around and realize that you don’t know anyone who is here and that the clothes everyone else is wearing seems to be … brighter. You mind reels but it isn’t until the clock strikes midnight that it all comes together.
You hear the glass you were carrying shatter as it hits the floor. Looking around, you begin to realize where you are. The ears are long and your hosts eyes almond. Your stomach begins to turn as you look around at the Unseelie Court of the Fae … having followed their music, drunk their wine, and eaten their food.
“Welcome to your new home, mortal. We have many years ahead of us to see what use you are.”
Lexicon
Lapidary noun lap·i·dary \ ˈla-pə-ˌder-ē \
Definition of lapidary plural lapidaries 1 :a cutter, polisher, or engraver of precious stones usually other than diamonds 2 :the art of cutting gems
First Known Use of lapidary 14th century
Origin and Etymology of lapidary Latin lapidarius of stone, from lapid-, lapis stone
First things first – if you are an optimizing player who ekes out every last drop of effectiveness, you should skip this character sheet. Making a technomancer has some interesting challenges, but when you have a dwarf in your head already for the character, it gets even more complicated. With the minimum priority of “C” for metatype, things get thrown out of balance quickly. I also wanted to make a former otaku who became a technomancer, and that means at the minimum a datajack dropping the characters Resonance. Once I accepted that the character wouldn’t be nearly as good at what they do as, say, Po’Pay, it started to get easier. In trying to balance out Phoenix, I ended up using Sum to ten with “B” – Resonance; “C” – Attributes; “C” – Skills; “C” – Metatype; and “D” – Resources.
I designed Pheonix more for the roleplaying opportunities when I went this route. I covered the basics of being a Technomancer and she isn’t completely useless, but with a Resonance of 3, there are some real limits. To give her at least a small chance to shoot something, she got a cyberarm since I had nearly a point of essence that wasn’t doing anything after the datajack and crammed in some agility modifiers and some sensors. To round out the character, including a really low attribute and get the remaining nuyen I wanted, I took some potentially dangerous Negative Qualities, especially Curiosity Killed the Cat for such a low Resonance character.
Phoenix won’t set a game on fire, but as part of Balance Sheet, she is an interesting part of the team and full of roleplaying potential.
Character Notes
Phoenix is a female dwarven Technomancer who has been running with Balance Sheet pretty much since their first run. Her secrets, however, are her own. She hasn’t shared with the rest of them that before Crash 2.0, she was an Otaku – a child of the Matrix that didn’t need a deck. The thing is, Phoenix was already facing the fading, when Otaku would begin to lose their connection to the matrix as they aged, when Crash 2.0 happened and was left in a coma for weeks afterwards. Her original identity was gone, wiped out in that catastrophic system failure, but she slipped out before they managed to tag her with a criminal SIN. The benefits of near societal breakdown is that some paperwork gets lost. Her ruined arm replaced with chrome, her connection to the Matrix and the Resonance cut off, Phoenix found herself truly alone.
She quietly managed to keep herself fed as the new Wireless Matrix started to come online around her, feeling dejected and rejected by the Resonance as she pained for warm embrace of the Matrix again. Then it happened. She woke up to seeing and hearing the wireless noise around her! It had come back! Her gift had returned! Sadly, Anna realized that this gift wasn’t nearly as strong in her connection to the Resonance as it used to be. She sought out the sprites in this new Matrix, hunted for the Resonance to come back to her. In this quest, she found Preesh and Po’Pay and has been running with them ever since.
Anna doesn’t tell them that she isn’t as strong as she lets on. She also tries to hide the near panic she feels in Matrix deadzones, being reminded of the quiet and stillness that so disturbed her after Crash 2.0. She has been compensating by slotting BTLs into her old datajack, and trying to find the same Resonance she once knew. While doing this, she has found a new joy.
Anna and Phoenix seem to get lost in conversation time and again. Their different backgrounds and different abilities mean that the conversations seem to be about the nature of reality and the Sixth World, though it seems at times that their spirits and sprites are just using them as a cut outs to talk to each other.
One more secret she has been keeping – something in the Resonance has started talking to her again. Promises of restoring her connection and diving deeper into the electronic reality she craves are made. She is seeking this voice in her head out, but she doesn’t know if it is Resonance or Dissonance. Frankly, she doesn’t care.
Phoenix Form Key – R&G = Run & Gun; RF = Run Faster; DT = Data Trails; CF = Chrome Flesh; CA = Cutting Aces; R5 = Rigger 5.0; HT = Hard Targets
Joules is an expert in maintaining the mood and tone at a table through the non-game components – what do you at the table to keep the tone and mood in the game?
Shift expectations – create a mismatch between the event and the perception
E.g. – Clowns (It) ; Trope of the quiet neebish guy is actually the diabolic killer;
Stat Blocks
Zendead- MIne to come once I am back from vacation.
Joules- The Well of Desperation
So many fairy stories tell of magical wells that grants wishes, hide incredible treasure, or reveal great secrets. Ah, if the world only knew the truth. All of these stories stem from one well. The Well of Desperation. A devil’s bargain if there ever was one.
The well can indeed provide the seeker with amazing fortune, grant their heart’s desire, or reveal the secrets of the universe. But things come at a price. You see, the well knows all. Knowledge cosmic and knowledge intimite. So if it must give up its secrets then you must as well. And the choice isn’t up to you. Oh no. The Well knows that which you have tried to hide. It knows your blackest thoughts and craven actions. The beating heart in the floor boards. Hands stained with blood. Back alley deals and secret affairs. It knows them all.
So if you demand that the well tells its secrets, the well will be sure that the world knows yours as well. It’s a truly terrible price, Your hidden shame will be known to all. On the tip of the tongue and the front of the mind of all who you meet.
The prudent path? Don’t take the deal. Keep your secrets. For they are worth more than any reward the universe can offer. Silence is golden, is it not?
Guard-a-Manger-
Tommy Tommy
Tommy Tommy is a fixture at the bars and taverns. You’ve seen him a dozen times easily just hanging out on his own or with a few friends. He’s got a classic style and always seems to have perfect hair. His deep blue eyes seem to stand out even from across the room giving him a distinctive appearance. It’s kind of frustrating.
You don’t know what it is that he does during the day – he won’t talk about his job. His focus is on you and your life with those blue eyes boring into your soul. It’s always good to see Tommy. He keeps the jokes going, listens with a practiced ear, and buys a round probably a little more often than he has to. He has his fingers of the pulse of the “scene” and can point you in the direction of the next big band, restaurant, or bar.
Except you don’t remember actually seeing Tommy ever eat a meal or actually take that shot he bought. Tommy isn’t human. He doesn’t eat or drink like we do. He’s managed to blend into the fabric of the city without anyone ever digging into his past, or lack thereof. As the night goes on, and you get tired, Tommy seems to keep perking up like a second, third, or even fourth wind comes his way. What does Tommy eat? Is he a vampire? Does he leech your psychic energy? Or maybe just a regular old alien needing some odd foodstuffs … one way or another you are going to find out when unexplained fires and accidents begin to plague the city. What does Tommy know and why is he suddenly looking over his shoulder every night?
I enjoy making characters that are “off type” at times, and Anna is no exception. Making a Troll Shaman is certainly not the most “optimal” allocation of points, but Anna had already taken root in my head. Some things are easy to determine when you have this image – magic was going to be a high priority and money wasn’t a very important thing. I used standard character generation with “A” – Magic; “B” – Metatype; “C” – Attributes; “D” – Skills; and “E” – Resources.
Summoning was going to be a priority here because Anna talks to his spirits a lot and Summoning took the front in the regular skill selection. As a magical support character, the sorcery and counterspelling skills were next. Because I wanted to use the Snake mentor spirit, I made sure that Arcana was also given a good chunk of skills. Spells were given a broad range of general support and utility while this is a Shaman who does do some binding to fully leverage the use of spirits.
Because I was making an indigent street shaman, certain things came quickly after that like the Spirit Affinity and Uneducated Quality. With a small amount of skills to throw around, Anna came together pretty quickly A few bound spirits, the knowledge skills, and contacts, and he was ready for play.
Anna Character Notes
Anna is a surprisingly upbeat and curious troll from the streets of Seattle. He spends his time wandering around the barrens, collecting reagents, and pleasantly conversing with spirits. This is how he met Balance Sheet. Anna isn’t the first magical support member of Balance Sheet, and they stumbled across his favorite corner of the barrens on a run that was going sideways. Curious as to what he could learn, he lent a hand since their Mage had just gotten an up close and personal experience with an assault cannon round.
It turns out Anna didn’t even have a name. A SINless kid, Preesh thinks is about 15 or 16, Anna had managed to not be enough of a problem to any corporation or the U.C.A.S. to get a SIN. As a small troll, Anna found himself talking to a snake that he never realized others didn’t see. He would ask questions, so many that the snake took him as one of his own and Anna had his Awakening.
Never needing a name, and never needing a SIN, he did what he did on the streets of the barrens. He was a quiet but friendly presence who would trade his spellcasting skills for food to whoever came around his corner. His gleeful and toothy smile belied the scars years of malnutrition had left on his frail trollish frame, swaddled in a beat up armored jacket. It’s his cheerful demeanor that had Preesh give him the nickname “Anna” from some old flat-trid in the 20th Century. Po’Pay even chipped in for a fake SIN and a pistol, but honestly Anna couldn’t hit the broadside of warehouse if he tried.
Anna and Phoenix seem to get lost in conversation time and again. Their different backgrounds and different abilities mean that the conversations seem to be about the nature of reality and the Sixth World, though it seems at times that their spirits and sprites are just using them as a cut outs to talk to each other. Anna keeps asking Po’Pay questions, more than anyone else, and Po’Pay lets him without the short temper you would expect. It’s anybody’s guess why Po’Pay is so protective and accepting of Anna and why a street shaman troll shines so brightly in the astral … maybe he met up with Balance Sheet for a greater purpose.
