Countdown to Earthdawn Appreciation Day (14 days) Wind Crusader circles 5-8

 STILL IN WORK, check back in a little while


I received some cool art entries today, paintings of an Elf, Ork and T'Skrang. Pretty cool, I will be posting EVERYTHING on June 14th!!

Anyway; continuing the Countdown by circles 5-8 of the Wind Crusader Discipline.

At the Journeyman Level is where the game is the most fun, Gaining Thread Weaving at 4th circle, characters start getting  access to thread items, legendary items, and the game really begins to pick up the pace. This is at the same time as the characters begin to be a real force in the world. 

Journeyman
Talent Options: Bane Strike, Cobra Strike, Leadership, Momentum Attack, Research, Second Attack, Temper Self, Tiger Spring


Fifth circle: 
Resist Corruption: When targeted by the Corrupt Karma Horror power, the horror must score at least an excellent result to prevent the character from using karma on the horror, and an Extraordinary result to prevent the use of any karma. This ability also affects other karma effect abilities of the horror, requiring an excellent result to work.

Discipline Talent: Tactics

Sixth Circle:
Karma: The adept may spend 1 karma point on Strength-only tests.

Discipline Talent: Lionheart

Seventh Circle: 
Karma: The adept may spend 1 karma on any damage tests versus a horror or horror construct.

Discipline Talent: Downstrike

Eighth Circle:
Defense: The Adept adds +1 to his physical defense.

Discipline Talent: Crushing Blow

Next up will be Warden Circles.

Malifaux 2nd Edition Beta test is up

http://t.co/0sYxmBp7Dg

Looking through the rules now, still looks like Malifaux...my fears are assuaged. Still reading through it now.

M2E tomorrow

I'm very excited about the Malifuax 2nd edition beta testign rules being released on Friday, (no specific time yet). However, I can't WAIT to see what the rules will encompass.

Decided that I want my own Vicky army, especially after reading about Vanessa, Treasure hunter. However I don't want the normal box set with Taelor, Bishop and such, so I'm just going to grab the alt Vickys, a Vanessa and Ronin, then I'll throw Hans in there as well as Sue.

(Note I had wanted to make Earthdawn posts daily leading up to Earthdawn appreciation Day, but my schedule isn't cooperating.... So HOPEFULLY the rest of the Weekend I can get the Rest of the Wind Crusader written, then next week I'll focus on Bloodlorne, a very vampire-like Horror. Then I'll have a week to re-vamp the Earthdawn Merit and Flaw system. 

Countdown to Earthdawn Appreciation Day (17 days)

Wind Crusader
The Wind Crusader is a discipline derived from other disciplines, Txoro of the Questors of Haven, and Questor of Thystonius, developed this discipline based upon the three disciplines he learned from his companions, Warrior, Sky Raider, and Horror Stalker. The Wind Crusader doesn't stalk horrors, he is called upon to assist in the destruction of horrors. The Wind Crusader always uses the largest weapon they can wield effectively.

Important Attributes: Strength, Willpower
Karma Ritual: To perform this ritual, first the Wind Crusader begins by cleaning his weapons. After cleaning his weapons, he begins a half hour ritual of of leaping and striking, climbing higher, leaping higher, leaping and striking. Switching weapons, playacting a fight with a horror, fighting through injury after injury, and losing weapons until down to their bare hands.
Artisan Skills: Leatherworking, Warpainting


Initiate
Talent Options: Air Dance, Climbing, Missile Weapons, Parry, Thrown Weapons, unarmed combat

First Circle: Acrobatic Strike, Air Sailing, Fire Blood, Melee Weapons, Karma Ritual, Steel Thought

Novice
Talent Options: Air Sailing, Bear Mark, Durability (8/6), Heartening Laugh, Swift Kick, Tiger spring, Wind Catcher, Wound Balance

Second circle: 
Defense: The adept adds +1 to his spell Mystic Defense
Discipline Talent: Great leap

Third Circle:
Discipline Talent: Abate Curse

Fourth Circle: 
Karma: The Adept may spend karma on any Willpower-only Tests
Discipline Talent: Thread Weaving [Crusader Weaving]

more to come tomorrow in the countdown.

[edit: changed Spell Defense to Mystic Defense....was tired when I typed this up.]

Happy Memorial Day to all.

As a veteran I decided I needed the break from the blog as well.

I spent some time working on the IZ rules (not really a break, but not worrying about the blog for a couple days was nice).

I primed a bunch of my new Judge Dredd miniatures and even got started on base coating some of the SovBloc units.. I grilled all 3 days.

I picked up Sue for Malifaux and painted him up!!! Sean picked up Lazarus and Ian got the Blessed of Winter. They both painted them up. Get all prepped for running under the new rules for beta testing in a few days!!

Anyway, back to it starting tomorrow!!

Countdown to Earthdawn Appreciation Day (21 days)

I shall regale my tale of the first encounter my kids remember from Earthdawn, which they talk about to this day. 

So I was running the starter adventure for 3e for them, and we're at the cadaver men. Sean is playing an archer, and of course wounds a cadaver man...never a good idea...worse when there's only two players. So the Cadaver man rushes up and slam Sean's archer's head into a tree, repeatedly...due to an excellent success, of course.

Ian earlier in the adventure got an excellent success on an attack versus a wolf, skewering the thing's brain with his dwarf sword.

They lived...barely,. but they still remembers that adventure. Memories of amazing encounters is why we play these games. I don't get to play as often as I'd like, but when I can provide great memories of fun times, it's all worth the time and money invested in running these games.

Countdown to Earthdawn Appreciation Day (22 days)

My next countdown to Earthdawn Appreciation Day 2013. Now 22 days remain until the day.

New Legendary Item:

Windsplitter
Maximum Threads: 2
Legend Point Cost: Warden                                                          Spell Defense: 17


This extremely heavy polearm appears to be made of pitted black iron, crude swirling patterns appear to be beaten into the blocky head of the weapon . T'xoro was a t'skrang Wind Crusader, an anomaly who blended several disciplines into a new discipline. He and his companions defeated many horrors in the days before Kaer Lo'gaal was closed.

T'xoro never made it into a kaer for the t'skrang hibernation. T'xoro was mortally wounded protecting his companions while they fled into the kaer as it was being sealed, T'xoro severed one of Bloodlorne's arms and drove it off, T'xoro lay bleeding on his weapon, his lifeblood being soaked into it as the last of his blood left him.

With no thread woven to the weapon, it has the following profile:
Polearm Damage Step:7, Min Str: 17, Size: 5, Weight 13.

Thread Rank 1
Key Knowledge: Learn the name of Windsplitter
Effect: Minimum Strength drops to 14, weight drops to 12, and damage step is now 10.

Thread Rank 2
Effect: damage step is now 12

Thread Rank 3
Key Knowledge: Learn that T'xoro crafted Windsplitter as a thread weapon in the camp outside Kaer Lo'gall.
Effect: Windsplitter changes appearance to that of a beautifully crafted weapon of black iron, with intricately carved swirling air symbols, elemental air courses along the grooves of the carvings. The haft feels like black iron, but has the look of polished black wood. By taking a point of strain, you can now make a melee attack as a ranged attack with a range of 20 and damage step 6.

Thread Rank 4 
Effect:  +1 Physical Defense, ranged damage increases to step 9.


Thread Rank 5
Key Knowledge: Learn the name of T'xoro's companions and that they were known as the Hand of Lo'gall.
Effect:  +1 Social Defense


Thread Rank 6
Key Knowledge: Learn the name of the first horror killed by Windsplitter.
Effect:   Windsplitter gains a pool of 5 Karma, which may be used in combat versus horrors, or on any skill being utilized while combating a horror.


Thread Rank 7
Effect:  Windsplitter will cause a wound on any horror with only a good result. Damage step is now 14.

 
Thread Rank 8
Deed: Prove your Worth by leaping 30 feet from airship to airship during combat, and striking the killing blow on a Major Horror. Gain first circle in the following disciplines: Warrior, Sky Raider, Weapon Smith, and Horror Stalker.
Effect: Gain T'xoro as a Ghost Tutor. He will then begin to teach the character the Wind Crusader discipline.

Thread Rank 9
Effect:  +2 Physical Defense, gain +3 on Great Leap checks. 


Thread Rank 10
Deed: Kill Bloodlorne and let Windsplitter soak in the blood.
Effect: Against horrors windsplitter automatically causes at least 1 wound on every successful attack.

 This is a first draft, and would need playtesting, editing, etc.Feedback welcome. This is designed after one of my characters from a game in the late 90s. He had just created his own discipline when we stopped playing, so this is where I had envisioned going. Though my GM didn't allow legendary item creation from thread items. He did however have some crazy rules on Weaponsmithing and bloodmagic, in addition to letting us spend as many karma points on appropriate tests as we wanted. This Windsplitter was pretty powerful, but not a true Legendary item.

In the following days I will detail out Bloodlorne, and the Wind Crusader discipline. 

Utilizing Aspects in Earthdawn (Countdown to Earthdawn Appreciation Day 23 Days)

As we get closer to Earthdawn Appreciation Day, I'm going to make some Earthdawn articles, some might be as simple as a monster, flora, fauna, etc. Today's article is on using FATE like aspects in Earthdawn.

Now if you're Familiar with Earthdawn, you're familiar with Karma Points. Karma points are typically bought with legend points. Legend points of course fuel advancement.

I'm also a huge fan of FATE and its aspect system.

Utilizing the two systems can create a more robust game that:
1. Doesn't detract from the advancement of the player's characters.
2. Makes the use of karma points more natural, so it doesn't feel like a tax.
3. Enhances role-playing and storytelling.

The most obvious 'Aspect' in Earthdawn is an Adept's Discipline. Of course utilizing karma points via the Discipline aspect is going to be to power Discipline talents. However the gamemaster should be able to compel you to follow the teachings of your discipline with a compel. Races are a major aspects as well. Each race having it's own outlook on life. Read that extra fluff in the various books, it will give you all the information you need to know about playing a T'skrang Swordmaster. Gamemasters utilizing this system should be intimately familiar with the fluff.

In Earthdawn you typically choose a Hidden and a Surface trait. If you make these Karmic Aspects, they begin to mean something on your character sheet. However, make them MORE robust. Instead of 'sensitive' for your hidden trait make it something like 'Sensitive to pain in animals' or 'pitifully sensitive'. Adding at least one adjective or adverb brings the trait to life. The same with surface traits, but more so. Instead of 'insensitive' try 'uncaring unfeeling bastard'. The gamemaster should easily be able to reward karma points by compelling traits. These traits will give the players an extra way to use karma, by invoking traits.

Invoking and Compels. Compels become very important in a game where the Karma points fuel your powers, because the characters will need those karma points.

The effect of karma spent will be per the normal mechanics for Earthdawn, providing the standard step 4/d6 extra die.

Here's where it gets REALLY good. Remember that horror mark the player gained...well that becomes an aspect as well. A purely negative aspect, which the gamemaster can compel. It makes painful to be marked, and gives a good reason why there are artisan tests to look for taint. Why do good people do bad things when they have been marked by a horror? Because they were compelled to do so.

Corrupted Karma may be used to further the goals of the horror as well. If can also be removed on a 1 for 1 basis by burning pure karma.

Play with it, try it out, or don't these are just the musings of mine.It needs some additonal work to be more polished, but these are just ideas for now. Enjoy.

The Light From Below Map

Below Clearspring, lies a danger long forgotten.

This map does belong to me, I give permission to use it for non-commercial purposes with attribution, per CCNA.  Enjoy

DCC RPG World Tour stop at Gam3rCon May 18th, 2013

So I'll be breaking out the Light from Below once more, Probably one of the last times before I move these characters to become the iconics for the 1st level adventure.

Help shape the town of  Clearspring and make an impact of the world....come on down and get your death on....errr...game on.



Gam3rCon Gam3Day at the Tenth Avenue Theater.

Designing for RPGs - Accepting Decisions

If you're going to do freelance for RPGs, you need to be able to do several things, be creative, hit deadlines, and probably most importantly, Accept the decisions of those in charge; no matter what your feelings are in the matter. You might think your ideas are the best ideas EVER, but the person employing you, or the developer, might have different ideas. You need put your personal ego aside and accept the decision. If you can't work for others, you won't get more work. If you CAN'T accept them, then you need to be working for yourself. 

Earthdawn Merits & Flaws update

So for Earthdawn Appreciation Day I will be updating a set of merits and flaws that I created for ED1 over a decade ago. Then I was basing it loosely on Old World of Darkness and 7th Seas plus a bit of L5R. Then, I didn't have a point buy system in place for 3rd edition, now I do, So working the merits and flaws into that system will work perfectly.

Now originally I did it to make characters different from each other. With the 3rd edition, characters aren't all the same, as they have a little leeway, but more background can never hurt.

I will be installing a 'trait' system as well, similar to Pathfinder's system, 1 pt very minor modifiers.

Modifiers will be innate bonuses to specific attribute-based skill checks.

I had been wanting to redo these rules, one night when I was chatting with James Sutton, it came up even. So this give me the  perfect excuse to do so.

Stay tuned for Earthdawn Appreciation Day (tell your friends!!!)...now back to work on Golems.

Designing for RPGs - Cutting the Mecha Rules down to size (Interface Zero 2.0)

So it looks like we're cutting down the mecha rules down to a more manageable size. Which is good setting wise, as I came up with GolemMart, Malmart's Golemmech customizing garage. Of course, just like real stores, you're not going to have a lot of choices. More like some swapping out and adding on, in minor amounts.

So for example if you hae a scout power armor, you can add a couple points of armor, here, up the strength, add some extra sensors, and maybe add a flight system to it. But not a free reign build your mech from scratch system...for now. Looks Like we're going to possibly add that to MalMart later.

The good thing about coming up with a full ruleset now is the mecha created for the Core rulebook will be created with the exact same rules for all the future mecha as well. Just with more flexibility later. And of course many, many more options.

So back to GolemMart's Garage.

Earthdawn Appreciation Day June 14th, 2013 (Official Launch)

On June 14th we will be celebrating one of the best Role-Playing Games to ever be produced (In my opinion). How can you participate? By creating some new and fun content for Earthdawn and posting it to your blog, G+ or by emailing your submission to me at epicrpgblog@gmail.com on June 14th. Reply to this post to add your blog to the blogroll of participants. The Swords & Wizardry Appreciation Day had over 100 blogs participating, I'd be happy with that many.

FASA Games, Inc has put up some prize support,
via Drivethru RPG with 100% discount vouchers. (requires valid email address)
First prize = choice of any 4 Earthdawn PDFs
Second prize = choice of any 2 Earthdawn PDFs
Third prize = choice of any 1 Earthdawn PDFs
product from the current or back-catalogs
I will have the Following Earthdawn alumni as Guest Judges, Steven Black, Andrew Ragland, and Hank Woon.

Create new original content for Earthdawn (Including Savage Worlds and Pathfinder editions). This can include, but is not limited to:
Thread Items
Adventures
Artwork

Card Games
Charts & Tables

Cities
Equipment

Horrors

Maps 

Monsters
Mundane Flora and Fauna

Namegivers
New Disciplines 

New Sections of the Map (South Africa, Antarctica, Atlantis, Lemuria, Mu, Australia, North/South America, Greenland...The Moon, Mars?)

New Settings (Using Earthdawn Rules in a new setting)
New Talents
NPCs 

System Conversions (Earthdawn Setting in different ruleset.)

I'm setting the date to June 14th, 2013. Entries should be done by midnight on the 14th, so we can use the cool new material for the Free RPG Day!!!

NOTE! All content submitted for Earthdawn Appreciation Day remains your intellectual property, I will lay no claim to your IP nor responsibility for any copyright infringement you commit. If I am informed that your entry infringes on someone else IP, the entry will be disqualified and the Link removed. No Challenge is created to the Earthdawn Intellectual properties, all IP remains the property of their respective copyright holders. All rules subject to change.

If you wish to release your work under CCNA, add a rider to your work stating that it is released under Creative Commons.

If you wish to participate, put a link to your blog in the comments of this post, I will create a separate blogroll  specifically for EAD2013. Multiple entries will be allowed, however remember, that more is not always better, entries should be really impressive, a single well written article will beat out multiple poorly written articles. Note also, that only 1 prize will be awarded per person, so even if you enter 5 amazing pieces, you can still only win 1 prize. Though the community will love it, and the Judges will see it as well. 
  

 (I'm still looking for additional sponsors as well, so if you'd like your name attached to this fun project, something as little as a $5 gift certificate prize would be a welcome addition. Contact me at the email address above.)

EDIT: If you're going to participate and just send your entry in, PLEASE still let me know so I can keep track of how many people are participating. It may help in getting additional sponsors.

Earthdawn Appreciation Day Banner (In work)

So here's the working banner, any suggestions? This one's kind of large, I'll end up making smaller ones for you to post.

Earthdawn Appreciation Day - My personal contribution

In addition to my other writing I'm doing, as part of the Earthdawn Appreciation Day, I'm going to update my old Merits/Flaws system I did for Earthdawn to 3rd edition. (I would do it for Revised, but I don't own revised).

APPRECIATION DAY - June 14th

From the first time I played Earthdawn I loved it, I was already tired of 2nd edition AD&D, and Earthdawn was just so different, it instantly changed the way I thought about Role-Playing Games, yes it had levels, but it also had the little addictive increases.

Legend Points instead of Experience
Legendary Thread Items instead of tossing away the old sword for the shiny new sword. It increased with you, it required your own power to make it better, and you had to perform deeds!! AMAZING.
The Magic system was just so different from the Vancian fire and forget system. Weaving threads and utilizing skills to cast.
The step system is easy to use once you know what you're doing. And exploding dice make it so much better.

More as we get closer.

1st Annual Earthdawn Appreciation Day June 14th

So as a LONG time Earthdawn fan. I have decided to Create an Earthdawn Appreciation Day like the Swords & Wizardry  Appreciation Day put on my Tenkar's Tavern and Dorkland blogs.

APPRECIATION DAY - June 14th

Create new original content for Earthdawn. This can include, but is not limited to:
Thread Items
Adventures
Horrors
Cities
Monsters
Namegivers
Tables
Charts
Maps
NPCs
New Sections of the Map (South Africa, Antarctica, Atlantis, Lemuria, Mu, Australia, North/South America, Greenland...The Moon, Mars?)
New Disciplines
New Talents
Equipment

Savage Worlds and Pathfinder Versions are acceptable as well.


Prizes (edited)
FASA Games via Drivethru RPG with 100% discount vouchers. (requires valid email address)

First prize = choice of any 4 Earthdawn PDFs
Second prize = choice of any 2 Earthdawn PDFs
Third prize = choice of any 1 Earthdawn PDFs
product from the current or back-catalogs

Judges
Myself
Steven Black
Andrew Ragland
Hank Woon (Cathay Sourcebooks, and work on RedBrick's 3rd edition of Earthdawn!)
awaiting information on additional guest judges

I'm setting the date to June 14th, 2013. Entries should be done by Midnight on the 14th, so we can use the cool new material for the Free RPG Day!!!


NOTE! All content submitted for Earthdawn Appreciation Day remains your intellectual property, I will lay no claim to your IP nor responsibility for any copyright infringement you commit. If I am informed that your entry Infringes on someone else IP, the entry will be disqualified and the Link removed. No Challenge is created to the Earthdawn Intellectual properties, all IP remains the property of their respective copyright holders.

If you wish to release your work in CCNA, add a rider to your work stating that it is released under Creative Commons.

Machinations of the Space Princess

If you haven't checked this out yet, you have to. Based upon the Lamentations of the Space Princess, but HEAVILY modified. This is amongst the OSR based systems, but HEAVILY modified.

Go to Post-Mordem Studios download the Rough playtest (version 2).

Warning, Mature Language included. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!!!

Earthdawn Appreciation day...

Based Upon the overwhelming popularity of the Swords & Wizardry Appreciation Day on Tenkar's Tavern I was wondering if I might run an Earthdawn Appreciation day.

I'm wondering what the level of interest might be...

Well this is the most liked post I've had so I think I will go ahead and see if I can get some prizes, and see about getting some cool guest judges.

Dungeon World links

Huh,

So I haven't been able to play Dungeon world yet, I know Mike Olson was running it at Gamex 2 years ago, but I didn't get to play in it. (it was full).

But this post by Jeremy Friesen has given me a lot to look at.

And then there's the original XML site that has the creative commons originals on it.

As Soon as I have time I'll be checking them out.

Finalizing Design Rules for IZ2.0 Golemechs (Savage Worlds)

So quick post as I have lots of work to do. I decided to use a generic approach to designing the Vehicular weapons for IZ2.0 as the weapons were going to fill lots of roles, from Turrets, to Hand-held Mech weapons, to vehicles to body mounted mech weapons. Which means there are far too many combinations to actually list each of them with name and full description like the character equipment. Well I could but we don't have THAT many pages. So just a quick preview of what's to come.

So here's an excerpt:

20mm Single	30/60/120	1	20			3,500
20mm Burst	30/60/120	3	60			5,000
20mm Auto	30/60/120	5	100			6,000
20mm AP				2d10+1	6
20mm HE				2d8+1	4
20mm HP				3d6	0
25mm Single	30/60/120	1	15			5,000
25mm Burst	30/60/120	3	45			7,500
25mm Auto	30/60/120	5	75			6,000
25mm AP				3d6	6
25mm HE				3d8	4
25mm HP					0

(Yes, the damages for the rounds is still being tweaks, so ignore those.)
 Hand-Held Weapon Bodies

As personal weapon come in many forms, from pistols to sub-machine guns to miniguns, Hand-held ‘mech weapon systems resemble those same systems. However the generic nature of creating vehicular weapons means adding some flavor to the generic systems.  

Pistol Body

The Pistol Body for a weapon is often used for hand held sidearms. Ammo: Standard ammo Clip. Uses Base Ranges.  Gains Double Tap Trait.

SMG Body

Somewhere between a pistol and a rifle; an SMG Body will usually be added to a RoF 3 or RoF 5 weapon system. It will utilize the base range for the weapon. Ammo: Triple capacity Clip. Gains 3RB and Auto Traits.

Rifle Body

Assault Rifle, Battle Rifle, Hunting Rifle; these bodies are the most versatile, Double Base Range. Typically mounts Clips or Drum for ammunition with double Ammo capacity. Gains 3RB and Auto Traits.

Sniper Body

An extremely long barreled weapon designed for long distance attacks. The weapon will always be fitted to a RoF 1 system.  Triple Range. Ammo: half capacity clip. +2 to aimed shots.  Gains Snapfire Trait.

Rapid-Fire Cannon Body

A multi-barrel system, always mounted to RoF 3 or 5 systems. Ammo: Fed from internal ammo supply (Typically hip or torso mounted.) Ammo Capacity x10. Double Range.  Gains Auto Trait. 

Trials and Tribulations of RPG Design

     I absolutely love designing for role-playing games. I have always been someone who toys with the rules of a game; never content to play Rules as Written. I have always scoured every game I own, and every system I've played to come up with different rule interpretations. Sometimes they do not work, other times they work brilliantly.

     I remember I was attempting to implement a weapon speed system based upon the Everquest d20 rules into the Eberron game I was running; tweaked with a time mechanic, so as you acted your next action was based upon the speed change of the weapon speed of your weapon. It worked, it made the game more dynamic with the back and forth and the timing. However tracking the changing initiative was a pain. So while the system worked and it brought a more realistic feel to the combat; the additional headache of tracking time and the extra math wasn't very fun and we dropped the system within two sessions. I did converse with my players about it, and we decided to drop it.

      A Rule EVERYONE loved and that worked very well, was the modified critical damage dice. When you confirmed a critical, that meant you automatically did your normal maximum damage, then rolled the additional damage, because there's nothing worse as a player than confirming a crit, and doing minimal damage.

      When I started looking at the Golemmech design rules for IZ2.0, I noticed that the rules were very cumbersome, with a large amount of math. So I immediately went to work identifying what was slow and changing it. It will be much easier to design a mech. Anyway, back to work on the Golemmech rules.

The best thing about working on RPG stuff, is that I absolutely love it, this is my passion.

Free Comic Book day!!! (Updated)

Don't forget to head to your local participating Comic shop to get your FREE COMIC BOOKS!!!

freecomicbookday.com

we're off!!!

We're Back, we went to Comickaze, San Diego Games & Comics and finally our local CS, Invincible Ink.

This was our First trip to Comickaze, and let me say, we were impressed by that store. They were celebrating May the 4th and FCBD at the same time. The 501st was out, Krayt Clan, plus at least one Mandalorian. Ecto 1 appeared to be looking for some Ghosts to Bust, even Nick Fury made an appearance.

At Comickaze we also picked up the FCBD Exclusive IRON MAN HeroClix figure for our food donation.

SD Games & Comics was out of everything...as they didn't have a limit of 4 or 5 titles.

Between the 3 stores we came away with a pretty good haul.

Ecto - 1

R2-D2 showed up

Comickaze

Comickaze

Krayt Clan

AT-AT Driver,  Mando, and Krayt Clan

Marvel Heroic Roleplay

So I got my MHR in the mail, swicked cool, and while I'm sad it's gone, I'm pretty happy I was able to grab the Basic book.

I know that one day I will be running a Strikeforce Morituri game utilizing it. Strikeforce Morituri would be a great Convention one-off game....read below to find out why. I know that the original comic has been combined into a graphic novel series in several volumes recently, I will pick them up eventually.

After the insanity that is my current writing life (I did some golemmech design once I got home from the store today for example. Quite a lot actually. Though the rest of the weekend needs to be used to 'verify the current GMechs can be built with the new rules.) I will be posting what direction the SM: San Diego Connections. (Characters will be natives who weren't in SD when it was taken out by the Horde...Named after locations in SD!!!)

From the Wiki article: 

     The premise is that aliens have invaded Earth and nearly succeeded in conquering it and stripping it of its resources. A scientist discovers a process which can provide humans with superhuman powers, effectively creating a group of defending superheroes. However, the process would also ensure that the empowered humans would die within a year of being empowered. The series thus focused on the heroism of the main characters in fighting the invaders, while living with the knowledge that their fates were sealed regardless of whether or not they prevailed.

     The title comes from the Latin phrase "Ave Imperator, morituri te salutant" ("Hail Caesar, those who are about to die salute you"), asalute that according to popular legend (although not academically agreed) was uttered by Roman gladiators before battle in the arena. The subtitle of the comic was "We who are about to die".

     In 2069, an alien race called "the Horde" arrived in Earth's solar system (it was later revealed that the actual name of the race was the 'Va-Shaak'). Although they were technologically advanced far beyond humanity at that time, they were extremely savage. Examples of this savagery include the retaliatory slaughter of human slaves (this was shown after the victory of the Black Watch), the nuclear destruction of San Diego (also in response to the Black Watch's assassination of the Earth Commander of the Horde Forces), and the decapitation of children (especially by literally ripping their heads off) in order to establish dominance over newly captured human slaves (one particularly brutal terror-tactic favored by the Horde early in the war was to capture large numbers of humans in order to take them just outside the Earth's atmosphere and then eject them from the ships, allowing them to burn up in re-entry so watchers on the ground could see the streaks representing their burning forms. This tactic became known to humans as 'a Highdive').^[1]

     It was later discovered that they had stolen their technology from a kindly alien race that visited their planet who were attempting to rescue the Horde species. The Horde had caused severe environmental damage to their planet due to excessive pollution which laid much of the world an uninhabitable wasteland. After pulling the Horde back from the brink of extinction the aliens planned to leave the Horde planet in peace once their rescue mission was accomplished. Before they could leave, however, the alien pacifists were ruthlessly and mercilessly attacked and slaughtered by the Horde. The Horde stole the aliens' ships and advanced technology for themselves and set out into space to establish their savage and war-like empire.^[2] The Horde traveled the galaxy in order to steal resources, food, and technologies, since they had no knowledge of how to fix the ships they used. They viewed the Earth and other such planets as a resource to be plundered and discarded once all resources have been used up. If the Horde had wanted to completely conquer mankind, then they could have easily done so. Instead, they satisfied themselves with brutal raids that left the Earth functioning, but reeling under their vicious onslaught. The Padeia Institute, which governed the entire planet at the time, began to organize Earth defenses against these attacks. 

     Humankind's best hope was discovered in 2072, when Dr. Kimmo Tuolema perfected the Morituri Process. This was a two-step process that allowed people with a specific type of genetic structure to have a new metabolism overlayed on top of their original one, granting them enhanced physical attributes. The second phase of the process would allow for unique superhuman powers. However, there were three mitigating factors inherent in the use of the Morituri Process:

• The process was compatible with very few persons; the estimate was that fewer than 5% of all humans had a compatible physiology for metahuman conversion through the Morituri Process.

• The optimal age for subjects for the Morituri Process was between 18 and 21; older subjects who underwent the process would suffer a significantly reduced lifespan than expected from optimal subjects (measurable in weeks).

• The nature of the energy-based metabolism was such that, within one standard year, the human body would reject it. The rejection of the Morituri metabolism by the human body is 100% fatal. In most cases, the subject's death was indicated by massive upsurges in the subject's power and ability levels.

     The first group of test subjects, later known as "the Black Watch", were volunteer soldiers. Of the five members, two died before seeing active service during a power activation exercise in a specialized testing area known as 'Biowar Facility Alpha' (nicknamed 'The Garden'). The remaining three had their first field test in Cape Town, South Africa, taking on Horde forces there; though they were successful in battle, none of them survived (one was killed in battle, another succumbed to the Morituri Effect as they were escaping, and the last was killed with a Hordian nuclear device moments afterward). Commander of the program, Beth Luis Nion, had also secretly undergone the Morituri Process, after starting an affair with a member of the Black Watch, although she kept her powers a secret. Tuolema later deduced that the older the subject, the quicker their system would reject the process - it was at this point that Dr. Tuolema realized recipients between 18 and 21 were the optimal choice regarding maximized life expectancy. 

Numenera Pre-order

Numenera Pre-order



So Numenera is now available for pre-order. This is a kickstarter that I was unable to afford but went huge!!!!

So now it's available for pre-order...

I think I'll have to pre-order!

EnWorld's 7-day RPG Contest

When EnWorld got rights to your work just for entering, I was seriously opposed to entering, but I decided, Hey I can write a FAST kid's RPG. It looks like it's going to be 4 pages, so if I DON'T win, which I don't expect it to win really as it should be one of the most simple systems EVER. Introduction to Role-playing for really young kids, I will post the entire rules on the blog for everyone to see, actually I'll probably post it as a free game on DriveThru as well.

http://www.enworld.org/forum/showthread.php?336477-It-s-The-EN-World-7-Day-RPG-Contest!-1000-Prize!

Can you write an RPG in 7 days?

If so, here's a chance to win $1000! By next week!

I'm holding a competition this week. Entries must be posted by midnight my time next Sunday (the 5th of May; I'm in the UK, so that's BST). All you have to do is write a roleplaying game. Or dig one up you wrote twenty years ago. It can be short - I've seen 24 hour RPG contests before, and games under 20 pages. If it works, it doesn't need to have hundreds of pages.

Your game can be of any length. It can be any subject or genre. The only restriction is that it be an RPG.

I do, however, reserve the right to reject (and delete) an entry which I deem innappropriate - which basically means one which is racist, sexist, obscene, etc. (That doesn't mean that you can't have racism or sexism in a maturely handled implied setting - as long as you don't appear to be saying that's a good thing). The same goes for anything which infringes on someone else's intellectual property, or any other reason at my discretion.

You enter your game - preferably as a PDF, but you can use any file format you like; it's being voted on, so the more inaccesible your file format, the fewer votes you'll get - and the RPG community spends a week voting on them. The winner gets $1000, which I will send by Paypal immediately the week's up.

The catch? I (as in EN World) get to own and [try to] sell your game if you win (if I don't publish it, I'll simply return it to you). That's how I - hopefully - make my $1000 back. Please, please - if your work is precious to you, has sentimental value, is the product of years of development, is a mark of your genius and is worth much more, or is too good for a competition like this, don't enter it. Same goes if you have any reservations, compunctions, disagreements and general dislikes about this competition. It's utterly, utterly, utterly voluntary and it's supposed to be fun. But if you feel like writing an RPG over the next 7 days (or have one you've written that you'd like folks to see), this is a fun way to do that. Plus, hey, maybe $1000! I may well also approach some of those who didn't win with an eye to publishing their game, but no promises!

How To Enter

You enter by attaching a document as a reply to this thread. Be sure to describe it in the post - give folks a reason to download it and check it out! It can be whatever format you choose, and the production values can be as great or as little as you choose. If you want to attach an unformated .txt file, that's fine. If you want to enter a PDF with artwork and layout, that's fine too. We'll let the public decide! Production values, content, length - there's a whole slew of things the public might base their votes on.

NOTE: This thread can be viewed in two ways. If you're viewing it via EN World's article/news section, you won't be able to see the files attached by contestants. However, if you click though to the forum thread version of this article (or if you're already reading the forum thread version) you'll be able to see them just fine. Same goes for the attachment controls for your entry - click through to the forum thread version and you should see them.

I will delete any posts in this thread which aren't entries. I don't want to make the voters have to work for your entries. Feel free to introduce yourself or your entry in the post to which your entry is attached.

You might have to click "Go Advanced" to see the attachment controls in the thread.

Questions? Head to the Meta Forum and ask them there. Questions in this thread will be deleted, to keep it down to just entries. Like I said, we don't want to make the voters have to work.

Rules

By attaching your document to this thread, you agree to the following.

1. By attaching your document to this thread, you are entering the contest.
2. If you win the contest, you will receive $1000 by PayPal and ownership of your entry will transfer to me. I will acknowledge and credit you as the author of it if I publish it.
3. If you do not win the contest, you retain ownership of your work, but I may approach you about publishing it (possibly in a compilation).
4. The winner of the competition is the person with the most votes at the end of the following week. Voting will take place in a poll here on EN World from 6-12 May. Anyone found encouraging people to vote multiple times will be disqualified. You are, however, welcome - and encouraged - to campaign as much as you want and encourage people to vote as long as you don't encourage anyone to cheat. One person, one vote.
5. The winner will be the person with the most votes. That person will receive $1000 immediately upon closure of the voting. This will happen by PayPal. Make sure you have a valid PayPal account; this is the only way payment will be made. Delays due to this are not my fault - I'll be ready with my finger on the send button
6. You indemnify me against third party legal action! If I get sued because of something you did (you defamed someone, or you stole someone else's work, or what-have-you) you agree to indemnify against that. Basically, make sure you submit your own work - familiarise yourself with copyright and trademark laws, and don't defame anybody.
7. You warrant that your submission is your own work.
8. If you don't win, you agree not to publish your entry anywhere else for a period of three months (until August 1st, 2013).

FAQ

These aren't rules, they're just common questions I've gotten.

OGL? GSL? Yes, that's fine. You may use the Open Gaming License or the Game System License. Or, indeed, any other license. But please make sure you understand (and correctly use) any license you use in your submission. That said, those licenses are clear, easily available (hey I just linked to them for you!), and perfectly understandable. There should be no difficulty there.

Will you definitely publish it if I win? No, I won't *definitely* publish your entry. I have no idea what sort of entries I'm going to get, how many, or of what quality. So your entry might get published, or it might not. Heck, the winning (most popular) one might not be published - one of the other entries might be more suitable. Right now, all I'm doing is covering myself and ensuring I have the option. What I will say is that if I decide I definitely don't want to publish it, I won't just hang on to it for no good reason - I'll give it back. For now I'm just excited to see what entries I get and who wins the $1000!

What should I enter? This competition isn't really designed for your 350+ page manuscript that you've been working on for 10 years. That's not to say that you can't enter that, but a decade-long labour of love is going to be worth more to you than a chance to win $1000. What this is designed for is something you put together this week, in a few hours or so, as a bit of fun. It's like those 24-hour RPG contests you see from time to time, but a lot less frantic. It's supposed to be fun, and a little bit exciting.

Will you alter or expand my entry? I don't know! That totally depends on the entry. If you win, and if I think it needs some extra work before publishing, I will approach you first about paying you to do that work. If you can't or don't want to do that, then I'll look elsewhere. I expect at the very least it'll need to be illustrated and/or formatted.

Quick reminder - I keep moving posts and questions from this thread to the Meta forum. Please keep this thread clear of everything except entries so that folks can browse them easily! You are more than welcome to ask questions etc. in the Meta forum!

NEWS! Malifaux Second Edition Beta Test

 OK!!! Interesting news, there had been some talk I heard at Kingdom Con about 2nd edition, now here's the announcement.  The Public Beta test begins May 31st, just in time for Summer play with the boys, so we'll get to play quite a lot.

From the Wyrd Miniatures Page

You may have heard the rumors ... and now we’re excited to announce that Malifaux 2nd Edition (M2E) is coming! 

Malifaux 2nd Edition will be pre-released August 15 (during Gen Con 2013) with a general release by October. In the mean time we plan to tease you with new art, new models, new characters, and the ... Public Beta for Malifaux 2E.

---

Malifaux 2nd Edition

Malifaux 2nd edition is coming! If you want to be one of the first to play it and provide input, we’ll be having a public Beta for your shuffling pleasure. (More details on the Beta below.)
What are some of the features of 2nd edition to look forward to?

• Streamlined, Updated Ruleset.
  Clarified rules interactions and Model Actions.
• Upgrade Your Models / Customize Your Crew.
  That’s right, keep your favorite model fresh and competitive for years to come.
• New Masters.
  From the current Henchmen getting promoted, to fresh faces like Tara, the Herald of Obliteration!
• Gremlins a Faction?
  You bet!
• Easier to Read Card Format.
  Every model updated to a new, easier to read format. No more searching through the books. The cards are standard sized as well, making them easy to sleeve for dry erasing.
• Story Moves Forward.
  Find out what happens to your favorite characters, see the new alliances formed, and discover new Tyrants!
• FAQ.
  For those of you who never got enough of the rules-love, we’ll be moving to an FAQ system updated on a set schedule! No more searching the forums for rulings.

We’ll keep you updated with more details over the next few months.

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Public Beta Information

• What

  Play Malifaux with your friends! See the new rules online as soon as they’re available. This will be your chance to give feedback.

• Who

  Anyone! No previous Malifaux experience required.

• When

  Starting May 31

• How

  Watch the new Public Beta section in our forums. Access the rules, ask questions, give feedback, and interact with other Malifaux enthusiasts.

  Public Beta Forum