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[Roleplaying Games] Schrodinger's NPC

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Posts

  • VanguardVanguard But now the dream is over. And the insect is awake.Registered User, __BANNED USERS regular
    Got an email from Exalted Funeral that The Ultraviolet Grasslands was back in stock so I snapped up that hardcover as fast as I could

    Good thing, because it's instantly sold out again

    What's The Ultraviolet Grasslands, you ask?

    UVG_KS_Cover_2000x.png?v=1589556606
    The Ultraviolet Grasslands and the Black City is a tabletop role-playing game book, half setting, half adventure, and half epic trip; inspired by psychedelic heavy metal, the Dying Earth genre, and classic Oregon Trail games. It leads a group of ‘heroes’ into the depths of a vast and mythic steppe filled with the detritus of time and space and fuzzy riffs.

    The UVG is the work of the designer, artist, and writer Luka Rejec and was made possible through the generous support of hundreds of discerning fans at the Stratometaship patreon. Luka's previous work includes illustrating Chris Kutalik's acid fantasy Misty Isles of the Eld, co-writing What Ho Frog Demons with the Hydra Coöperative, and writing, art, and design on the already-sold-out adventure of witch-hunting: Witchburner.

    https://www.exaltedfuneral.com/collections/enies-nominated/products/the-ultraviolet-grasslands

  • DelduwathDelduwath Registered User regular
    Holy shit.

  • DelduwathDelduwath Registered User regular
  • VanguardVanguard But now the dream is over. And the insect is awake.Registered User, __BANNED USERS regular
    Dancing With Bullets Under a Neon Sun: A Light Cyberpunk RPG
    An arthouse cyberpunk game in the style of the Old School Revival featuring art by Dirk Detweiler Leichty, and based on The Black Hack

    I backed this yesterday

  • Mostlyjoe13Mostlyjoe13 Evil, Evil, Jump for joy! Registered User regular
    I was going to get the pdf, but dang. Preordered.

    PSN ID - Mostlyjoe Steam ID -TheNotoriusRNG
  • XagarXagar Registered User regular
    I got to do my healing episode, where they knocked out two minor antagonists and the player got her kidnapped character back after 8 months! The player decided the personality trait of the mind ghost she wanted to take on would be a bit of a temper, or impatience with people that irritate her.

  • AthenorAthenor Battle Hardened Optimist The Skies of HiigaraRegistered User regular
    Hey, if anyone in here is interested, the Genesys dice app is free today/tomorrow for Free RPG day. Usually it's $4.99, which is frankly a ripoff for a dice rolling app that they've released a couple times already. So take advantage of that as you can. :)

    He/Him | "A boat is always safest in the harbor, but that’s not why we build boats." | "If you run, you gain one. If you move forward, you gain two." - Suletta Mercury, G-Witch
  • DarkPrimusDarkPrimus Registered User regular
    edited July 2020
    Athenor wrote: »
    Hey, if anyone in here is interested, the Genesys dice app is free today/tomorrow for Free RPG day. Usually it's $4.99, which is frankly a ripoff for a dice rolling app that they've released a couple times already. So take advantage of that as you can. :)

    This is cool but the generic Genesys dice can't be used for Force powers or L5R, right?

    EDIT: Looks like the app does have generic polyhedral dice as well, so theoretically you could roll dice and consult a chart...

    DarkPrimus on
  • AthenorAthenor Battle Hardened Optimist The Skies of HiigaraRegistered User regular
    DarkPrimus wrote: »
    Athenor wrote: »
    Hey, if anyone in here is interested, the Genesys dice app is free today/tomorrow for Free RPG day. Usually it's $4.99, which is frankly a ripoff for a dice rolling app that they've released a couple times already. So take advantage of that as you can. :)

    This is cool but the generic Genesys dice can't be used for Force powers or L5R, right?

    EDIT: Looks like the app does have generic polyhedral dice as well, so theoretically you could roll dice and consult a chart...

    All the FFG dice apps have generic dice.

    L5R has its own dice app.

    Genesys doesn't have the force die that Star Wars dice does.


    I would give ANYTHING for FFG to just release a unified dice app that supports ALL their games. I am okay with their philosophy of custom dice, because they do it from a standpoint of making the results clear and easy to read from across a table. But needing 3 different apps, and not having that cover Mansions of Madness or other games that use custom dice... is frankly insulting.

    He/Him | "A boat is always safest in the harbor, but that’s not why we build boats." | "If you run, you gain one. If you move forward, you gain two." - Suletta Mercury, G-Witch
  • Mostlyjoe13Mostlyjoe13 Evil, Evil, Jump for joy! Registered User regular
    Still waiting for my copy of Lancer to show up. Soon. (tm)

    PSN ID - Mostlyjoe Steam ID -TheNotoriusRNG
  • WACriminalWACriminal Dying Is Easy, Young Man Living Is HarderRegistered User regular
    So Wyrmwood is launching a Kickstarter tomorrow for their new modular gaming table. Not linking to it because of forum Kickstarter rules, but I think it's worth mentioning because I'm looking for reviews/advice. Basics of what they're offering:

    - Recessed surface for maps, boards, etc. Includes a high-quality felt mat, additional mats available for $15.
    - Sizes are Lilliput, Coffee, Small, Medium, Large. However (and this is important) ALL sizes can be easily upgraded to larger sizes in the future, using upgrade kits. Multiple wood options. Smallest table with cheapest wood starts at $300.
    - Attachable accessories like cup holders, dice racks, and shelves all utilize rare earth magnetic strips that run around both the interior and the exterior of the table's rim, so you can have them overhang the play surface or face out into the room.
    - Also available: plexiglass sheet to cover physical maps, or inset TV screen for digital maps and such.

    It honestly looks like something I might bite on, since I can sink a little money into it now and gradually upgrade it over the next several years. But I wanted to ask, does anybody here have personal experience with any Wyrmwood products? I've seen good reviews and I know they have a general reputation for high quality, but I want to make sure I'm not getting conned here.

  • webguy20webguy20 I spend too much time on the Internet Registered User regular
    WACriminal wrote: »
    So Wyrmwood is launching a Kickstarter tomorrow for their new modular gaming table. Not linking to it because of forum Kickstarter rules, but I think it's worth mentioning because I'm looking for reviews/advice. Basics of what they're offering:

    - Recessed surface for maps, boards, etc. Includes a high-quality felt mat, additional mats available for $15.
    - Sizes are Lilliput, Coffee, Small, Medium, Large. However (and this is important) ALL sizes can be easily upgraded to larger sizes in the future, using upgrade kits. Multiple wood options. Smallest table with cheapest wood starts at $300.
    - Attachable accessories like cup holders, dice racks, and shelves all utilize rare earth magnetic strips that run around both the interior and the exterior of the table's rim, so you can have them overhang the play surface or face out into the room.
    - Also available: plexiglass sheet to cover physical maps, or inset TV screen for digital maps and such.

    It honestly looks like something I might bite on, since I can sink a little money into it now and gradually upgrade it over the next several years. But I wanted to ask, does anybody here have personal experience with any Wyrmwood products? I've seen good reviews and I know they have a general reputation for high quality, but I want to make sure I'm not getting conned here.

    Wyrmwood is a staple on and off kickstarter. This is their biggest endeavor yet but i wouldn't worry about the technical aspects of the design and production.

    The biggest issues is if they are super successful and the timeline to fulfill all rewards. It is a lot more work to produce a table than dice vaults and towers and stuff.

    Steam ID: Webguy20
    Origin ID: Discgolfer27
    Untappd ID: Discgolfer1981
  • NipsNips He/Him Luxuriating in existential crisis.Registered User regular
    Looking it over, the most important thing I see is that Wyrmwood already makes at least one actual piece of furniture. This demonstrates that they've at least got an existing manufacturing pipeline to produce goods of this size, and/or are familiar with setting up such a pipeline.

    The scale that this KS looks to be operating at seems big in terms of variability, but a lot of the design options are already expressed in WW's existing table option. This is encouraging because it means that they're not operating from a position of inexperience with the options they're offering.

    JXUBxMxP0QndjQUEnTwTxOkfKmx8kWNvuc-FUtbSz_23_DAhGKe7W9spFKLXAtkpTBqM8Dt6kQrv-rS69Hi3FheL3fays2xTeVUvWR7g5UyLHnFA0frGk1BC12GYdOSRn9lbaJB-uH0htiLPJMrc9cSRsIgk5Dx7jg9K8rJVfG43lkeAWxTgcolNscW9KO2UZjKT8GMbYAFgFvu2TaMoLH8LBA5p2pm6VNYRsQK3QGjCsze1TOv2yIbCazmDwCHmjiQxNDf6LHP35msyiXo3CxuWs9Y8DQvJjvj10kWaspRNlWHKjS5w9Y0KLuIkhQKOxgaDziG290v4zBmTi-i7OfDz-foqIqKzC9wTbn9i_uU87GRitmrNAJdzRRsaTW5VQu_XX_5gCN8XCoNyu5RWWVGTsjJuyezz1_NpFa903Uj2TnFqnL1wJ-RZiFAAd2Bdut-G1pdQtdQihsq2dx_BjtmtGC3KZRyylO1t2c12dhfb0rStq4v8pg46ciOcdtT_1qm85IgUmGd7AmgLxCFPb0xnxWZvr26G-oXSqrQdjKA1zNIInSowiHcbUO2O8S5LRJVR6vQiEg0fbGXw4vqJYEn917tnzHMh8r0xom8BLKMvoFDelk6wbEeNq8w8Eyu2ouGjEMIvvJcb2az2AKQ1uE_7gdatfKG2QdvfdSBRSc35MQ=w498-h80-no
  • webguy20webguy20 I spend too much time on the Internet Registered User regular
    Just got my physical copy of Pathfinder Second Edition Core Rulebook from the bag of holding deal last month. This is a beefy book! It's easily over an inch thick. I'll have to pilfer it for ideas soon.

    Steam ID: Webguy20
    Origin ID: Discgolfer27
    Untappd ID: Discgolfer1981
  • WACriminalWACriminal Dying Is Easy, Young Man Living Is HarderRegistered User regular
    I did end up pledging for a Wyrmwood table. Unfortunately, shit was so wild when they launched, I ended up in the "November 2021" wave. They're currently approaching $5 million...their highest stretch goal was unlocked at $3 million. :lol:

  • webguy20webguy20 I spend too much time on the Internet Registered User regular
    WACriminal wrote: »
    I did end up pledging for a Wyrmwood table. Unfortunately, shit was so wild when they launched, I ended up in the "November 2021" wave. They're currently approaching $5 million...their highest stretch goal was unlocked at $3 million. :lol:

    If you don't mind me asking, which one did you get?

    Steam ID: Webguy20
    Origin ID: Discgolfer27
    Untappd ID: Discgolfer1981
  • WACriminalWACriminal Dying Is Easy, Young Man Living Is HarderRegistered User regular
    webguy20 wrote: »
    WACriminal wrote: »
    I did end up pledging for a Wyrmwood table. Unfortunately, shit was so wild when they launched, I ended up in the "November 2021" wave. They're currently approaching $5 million...their highest stretch goal was unlocked at $3 million. :lol:

    If you don't mind me asking, which one did you get?

    Getting the medium in espresso maple, probably with a player desk and a few cup holders.

    Next priority will be the screen inset, probably, but I don't have the funds to do all of it at once this month.

  • Super NamicchiSuper Namicchi Orange County, CARegistered User regular
    can’t speak for wyrmwoods table but i have a dice vault and a dice tray and they are absolutely gorgeous

    i see no reason to doubt their tables are probably worth every penny

  • CheeselikerCheeseliker Registered User regular
    We've got room for 1-2 more players in the Knights Flying Crown Beamsaber game if anyone's interested. Just finished our first mission and working on Downtime. It's FITD with Mechs and missions. Going with the Lore from the book.

  • Endless_SerpentsEndless_Serpents Registered User regular
    @Cheeseliker
    I might be able to do like... your next mission. Like a month’s worth of PbP. Do you still have an opening?



    Right now I’m trying to come up with a forum game where the participants cast votes on a wrestling league to bend the odds in favour of whatever wrestler they prefer.

    I’m gonna call it Absolute Wrestling Eternal (AWE).

    There’s not much to it, very low effort on those that wanna get involved. You don’t even have to cast a vote on every match or in-game event to keep playing. You could even turn up once. I’m not sure when I’ll have all the rules finalised mind you.

    It’ll be more of a silly social event than a roleplaying game. Sound intriguing?

  • Endless_SerpentsEndless_Serpents Registered User regular
    edited September 2020
    czufvpsmkwkc.jpeg

    I’ll be going ahead with this tomorrow if I think there’s enough interest!

    The Rules of A.W.E
    This is a collaboration between me (the narrator) and you (the audience). I’ll come up with matches and unique events, and your votes will shape the fates of the outlandish wrestlers in the Absolute Wrestling Eternal league.

    When two or more wrestlers are set to face off in a match, first all participants will vote on who they want to win. Next I’ll roll two six-sided dice for each wrestler using the forum’s inbuilt dice roller to determine the results. Two predetermined attributes will be added for each wrestler’s roll to further bend the odds. Highest result wins. Each match will come with caveats, additional rulings and consequences, for the winners and losers.

    Events will be a straight vote from the audience. An event can be anything from “Who should give an interview?” to “Should the sarcophagus be opened?”. Whatever earns the most votes determines what happens next.

    Petitions will likewise be based on votes. Petitions are more open ended. Every once in a while the Board will take on your ideas for the future of A.W.E. Throw out some ideas, be they for the game’s underlying rules, match types, world’s lore and so on. I’ll choose three ideas and the highest voted idea is carried forward.

    Everyone gets 1 vote per match, event and petition. No one has more influence than another, whether you turn up every match or just the one time.

    The last thing is the audience spotlight. Simply put, I might just ask one of you to decide something minor, or even give your fallible opinion on something just to provoke a bit of debate.

    If you ever want to doodle something, write a bit of dialog or make up some ‘deep lore’, or just discuss A.W.E, you just can. No extra points for it, so just do it if you wish.

    How involved you get is up to you.

    ——————————————————————

    Timeline

    I’m going to post something—a match, event or petition time—every day. If a match of great significance for the future of A.W.E comes into play I will wait an extra day to get the most votes available. I’ll try to post a new update at 1630GMT, which should be morning to lunch time for a lot of people on the forum.

    Once every wrestler in the roster has fought in at least one match, it will be time for the Absolute Tournament Eternal! The tournament will decide once and for all who is the greatest wrestler of all time!

    Anyone who was a notable fan of the triumphant wrestler is undeniably superior to other fans, and will receive an imaginary novelty t-shirt.

    ——————————————————————

    The Roster
    Below you can take a look at the muscular menagerie of A.W.E combatants. This being the first season there’s not yet a ton of information regarding each one, but over time we’ll come to know them, and they’ll grow and change with each victory and loss. Choose to become fanatically devoted to a wrestler despite knowing nothing about them right now, or wait to see what becomes of the roster as the league gets into full swing.

    At the moment each wrestler has four attributes. As events and petition ideas solidify, they will no doubt become more complex.

    Deva Majestic
    2 Strength
    1 Technique
    0 Agility
    3 Resilience

    Rainbow Ranger
    1 Strength
    2 Technique
    3 Agility
    0 Resilience

    El Gato Loco
    0 Strength
    2 Technique
    3 Agility
    1 Resilience

    Al Natural
    3 Strength
    1 Technique
    2 Agility
    0 Resilience

    High Flying Death-Mask
    1 Strength
    2 Technique
    3 Agility
    0 Resilience

    Sheriff Justine Law
    1 Strength
    2 Technique
    0 Agility
    3 Resilience

    Bazooka van Glock
    3 Strength
    0 Technique
    1 Agility
    2 Resilience

    Blood Sugar
    1 Strength
    0 Technique
    3 Agility
    2 Resilience

    Magician Fist
    -2 Strength
    0 Technique
    5 Agility
    0 Resilience

    Universula Prime
    3 Strength
    -3 Technique
    1 Agility
    3 Resilience

    Jumbo Miyamoto
    2 Strength
    0 Technique
    0 Agility
    4 Resilience

    Abyss-Woman
    0 Strength
    4 Technique
    2 Agility
    0 Resilience

    La Calavera
    1 Strength
    2 Technique
    1 Agility
    2 Resilience

    Ghengis Charm
    2 Strength
    1 Technique
    1 Agility
    2 Resilience

    Buster Titanium
    1 Strength
    2 Technique
    2 Agility
    1 Resilience

    Prince Eastifa
    0 Strength
    4 Technique
    -1 Agility
    -1 Resilience

    Spike Slam-Dunk
    2 Strength
    2 Technique
    2 Agility
    -3 Resilience

    Benediction “The Fort” Truth
    1 Strength
    1 Technique
    0 Agility
    -1 Resilience

    Cleopatra Revenge
    2 Strength
    3 Technique
    0 Agility
    1 Resilience

    Diamond Jules
    2 Strength
    4 Technique
    0 Agility
    0 Resilience

    Endless_Serpents on
  • ReynoldsReynolds Gone Fishin'Registered User regular
    Wrestling related games always get my attention. And @Dex Dynamo because I bet he'd be interested.

    uyvfOQy.png
  • ZomroZomro Registered User regular
    My RP group is playing a wrestling inspired Genesys campaign right now. We're part of a federation that does staged gladiatorial matches for entertainment. I'm a minotaur who goes by Deathseeker, which is actually his title in his clan (it's a whole thing), my brother is a human martial artist who goes by Laughing Fist, my friend is an ex-adventurer with a pet bear who goes by Beast Master and another friend is playing twin halflings, a rogue and a mage, who go by Smoke and Mirror. The last player is a gnomish alchemist who has not had any matches yet, but is being set up as some kind of faction leader for some of the heel fighters (pretending to be giving them performance enhancing potions).

    It's a lot of fun.

  • CheeselikerCheeseliker Registered User regular
    @Cheeseliker
    I might be able to do like... your next mission. Like a month’s worth of PbP. Do you still have an opening?



    That depends, we are moving pretty slow right now, so probably won't work out. I'm also pretty busy with school just starting up so I don't know that I have the time to roll you up a new character anyways, I feel like we'd be just getting started before you had to leave. Let me know if you free up more time down the road.

  • CheeselikerCheeseliker Registered User regular
    That reminds me of Blaseball, sounds cool!

  • Endless_SerpentsEndless_Serpents Registered User regular
    That suits me honestly. Finish this game with who you’ve got now.

    ...What do you mean it sounds like the premier internet splort? I have never heard of this Blaseball and it’s not the main inspiration.

  • CheeselikerCheeseliker Registered User regular
    I just mean because fans/audience can vote to affect the narrative, mostly.

  • Endless_SerpentsEndless_Serpents Registered User regular
    No, like. You’re right, it’s 100% that.

  • ZomroZomro Registered User regular
    My best friend and Genesys GM asked me if I wanted to play in another game with a couple of friends of ours who haven't really done tabletop RP. I agreed because 1) I'll take any excuse to RP and 2) getting to experience new players get into RP is a rare pleasure that I enjoy immensely.

    The party is a con artist / stage magician, a cat person tinkerer and an on the run assassin posing as a traveling healer. Had a lot of comedy in the game itself, including the tinkerer's 'dove gun' that became more of a dove spray gun when he rolled a despair on the roll (poor, poor doves). New players enjoyed themselves, which makes me very happy.

  • webguy20webguy20 I spend too much time on the Internet Registered User regular
    Genesys is a great system to get new players into. They don't have expectations about the weird dice, they aren't locked into the combat focused mechanics of D&D, and RP doesn't seem any weirder than anything else in playing a new game.

    Steam ID: Webguy20
    Origin ID: Discgolfer27
    Untappd ID: Discgolfer1981
  • DarkPrimusDarkPrimus Registered User regular
    webguy20 wrote: »
    Genesys is a great system to get new players into. They don't have expectations about the weird dice, they aren't locked into the combat focused mechanics of D&D, and RP doesn't seem any weirder than anything else in playing a new game.

    It also is not a binary pass/fail system and the system encourages players to suggest why certain outcomes happen, as actions they take and the environment are literally represented by certain dice.

  • webguy20webguy20 I spend too much time on the Internet Registered User regular
    edited October 2020
    DarkPrimus wrote: »
    webguy20 wrote: »
    Genesys is a great system to get new players into. They don't have expectations about the weird dice, they aren't locked into the combat focused mechanics of D&D, and RP doesn't seem any weirder than anything else in playing a new game.

    It also is not a binary pass/fail system and the system encourages players to suggest why certain outcomes happen, as actions they take and the environment are literally represented by certain dice.

    Yea being able to succeed badly and fail well are huge benefits to the system. Also, as a GM burning a story point always makes the players pay attention, because now they know I'm taking this particular action very seriously. Also watching the players vacillate on using them, knowing I'll get access to more if they do, but they REALLY want to succeed! Or they want to change the narrative to fit how they see the story. Its great.

    webguy20 on
    Steam ID: Webguy20
    Origin ID: Discgolfer27
    Untappd ID: Discgolfer1981
  • ZomroZomro Registered User regular
    I forgot to mention in my previous post, that session had me utter what will probably be in my top 5 list of favorite things I've said in an RP session:

    'I check the wall for a pulse'

    Things got... Lovecraftian, to say the least.

  • XagarXagar Registered User regular
    the last time i touched a wall playing d&d it had a pulse then rocks fell and everybody died (before the time loop kicked in again)

  • cj iwakuracj iwakura The Rhythm Regent Bears The Name FreedomRegistered User regular
    I've been thinking about doing something with Geist again(very, very underrated setting), though I'm trying to think of a hook... gives me a break from Vampire and/or Mage attempts, lol.
    (Changeling is another possibility, but I'm not really that well versed in the game.)

    wVEsyIc.png
  • KadokenKadoken Giving Ends to my Friends and it Feels Stupendous Registered User regular
    Ever been in the middle of world-building (as in, building a literal world) and then realizing you have to scrap or change a ton of your material and go back to the drawing board after like... a year of investment?

  • admanbadmanb unionize your workplace Seattle, WARegistered User regular
    Kadoken wrote: »
    Ever been in the middle of world-building (as in, building a literal world) and then realizing you have to scrap or change a ton of your material and go back to the drawing board after like... a year of investment?

    Damn. What happened?

  • KadokenKadoken Giving Ends to my Friends and it Feels Stupendous Registered User regular
    edited October 2020
    admanb wrote: »
    Kadoken wrote: »
    Ever been in the middle of world-building (as in, building a literal world) and then realizing you have to scrap or change a ton of your material and go back to the drawing board after like... a year of investment?

    Damn. What happened?

    I was unsatisfied with how the world I was making was turning out in terms of how I or other people would be able to use it for an RPG. I would say that basically, my world was... too nice? Too nice and agreeable to be fun or intuitive to put RPG adventures in. Like I compared it to other game settings with a million avenues you can take when making an adventure with something like DnD (Faerun, I'm thinking of specifically) or even something like Warhammer Fantasy (where you walk ten steps in any direction and you have the setup and makings of doing RPG stuff). I did not want my world to be grimdark like Warhammer Fantasy where there's a sense of no hope, but I do want it to be a place where it makes sense to do stuff in that would be immersive and entertaining if you get me and that only happens when there's something to struggle against.

    I had a couple of problems based on its original basic setup. The map was too compressed. All the cool things that happened in my world happened in its history instead of being able to have players confront the cool things. The world is too tamed by stable governments, militaries, organizations, and societies. That leads to other problems like the fact that certain themes I have running through the lore of the world (that I want to build adventures on) don't make sense if the place is too nice.

    The world, which is set up to be similar to a high fantasy one that then takes on (real world) historical fantasy elements, has a big zoom forward in technology with the equivalent of like 1300s technology going straight to 1815 Napoleonic tech and warfare (along with light bits of steampunk like airships). However, the way it's set up now, it didn't really have a satisfying amount of contrast of the old and new written into it because of the current tech and societies were already only a few steps behind the people who got really (relatively) advanced so there's nothing interesting or cool to do with that idea like I originally envisioned it as being. No culture shock or neat scenarios coming out of taking a medieval point of view with access to industrialism and firearms. To bring in a real-world civilization example of the culture shock that's supposed to happen being blunted, imagine historical Japan being reopened by the gunboats of the US and the biggest difference being that instead of being in a sort of Rennaisance level of stasis (and mine is earlier), they're like already almost at the US's level of technology if only a tiny bit behind but are still supposed to be cowed by it. The world was already basically in this... civilized post-Enlightmentesque state where the crazy advances in tech, societal progression, and change almost didn't matter.

    Also, there was a lot of small stuff. The timeline of different elements of the setting didn't match up, neither did the way things were laid out geographically, there was a lack of tension in multiple areas (between nations, between the settled spaces and the wilderness, in society between organizations, cultures, groups, and such) to create stuff one would want to do an RPG adventure for, a lot of locations and cultures were chaff or basically there because I wanted them to be there rather than being fully fleshed out and interesting to dive in. Also part of this was me not wanting to mess with the map maker I was using where if I made big geographical changes then all the stuff not related to the geography got erased.

    That's not to say that all the work I did is going in the trash. I had a lot of stuff I liked that can still be used. It's just going to be used differently with varying degrees of resembling the old stuff. I honestly think I'll be happier with what I made when I'm done but it's just a big project I have to put on hold right now for pressing real-life stuff.

    Kadoken on
  • Dizzy DDizzy D NetherlandsRegistered User regular
    It's (near) Halloween, so time for a bi-annual/tri-annual? game of Call of Cthulhu.

    I did this one once as a one-shot for some friends at work (3-4 years ago) and I've used the same setup now for some other friends.

    The premise: USA, 1920s, a group of strangers all receive an invitation to come to a mansion to receive the inheritance of a previously unknown to them great-uncle that passed away. Once there each of them is asked for a blood sample that will be used to prove whether they are related to the old man or not. The closest relative will get the inheritance.

    Previously I played with a group of 4 players, this time it were 3:
    - Leonard, a British pilot/observer from WWI, now a test-pilot in the US. Suffers from claustrophobia after a plane crash. I gave him his old service weapon.
    - Skip, captain of a fishing boat in Mississippi, during WWI the boat he served on was destroyed by a German submarine, but he miraculously survived. He received a magic spell that allowed him to breathe underwater and make another suffocate (adapter from Breath of the Deep).
    - Quinn, a Louisiana gambler, did nothing during WWI (player was too late to make his character so this was one of the pre-gens I made just in case). He received a magic Gris-Gris that warns him when magic/supernatural is near by becoming warm, and it becomes warmer/hotter the stronger or more dangerous the magic/supernatural is. He received the Gris-Gris during a card game, and the previous owner knocked on his door at night, wanting it back desperately, before screaming and disappearing without a trace forever. (Kinda an in-joke, the player in question was an Eldritch Knight during our DnD campaign, who had Detect Magic as a ritual which he used at every given opportunity (and usually at inopportune moments as well). It also allows me as GM to steer the group in a direction.)

    The party was suspicious of the claims that their blood could be used to determine if they were related to the old man, but none of them were medical trained and their rolls were terrible. I did convince them that some knowledge of genetics and blood types was already common even if DNA itself was still a mystery and they bought it so far (some of the facts are correct, but in game it's a front for a magic ritual).
    So they went along and are now waiting for three days for the result and to claim the inheritance.

    During those days they started to investigate the house and the death of their family member.
    - They concluded that they were all indeed related, even if very distantly.
    - The old man died during a fire in the stable when he was investigating a sick horse which apparently kicked the oil lamp he was using and caused a fire. They found a burned stable with a dead horse in it. (Police removed the actual human body and ruled the incident an accident). They have not caught on to the fact that an oil lamp was used, even though there were multiple, safe electrical lamps inside the house.
    - Staying in the house with them are William, the lawyer/notary, who is basically locked inside his room for most of the game (actually the old man in disguise, wearing a damaged body and hoping to repair it with some spare parts from some healthy, young family members) and Simon, the old butler (actually a non-human servant summoned by the old man) that can't walk stairs. (both are hidden from the Gris-Gris with magical tattoos)
    - Inside the mansion are also a magic mirror that transports people 12 hours into the past, healing them but leaving all knowledge (and infecting the users with bits of an Outer God as the price for time-travel. They have figured out the first two things, but do no realize yet that there is a price to pay). A captured Hound of Tindalos, that once set free, will hunt down any and all time travelers (anybody that went to through the mirror), an ancient tome of forbidden knowledge, a modern tome of forbidden knowledge, some torture and sacrificial chambers and a lot of traces from some mysterious white/green material that they keep running into (and the gambler ingested for some reason... something he will come to regret).

    Nearby is a small town and also a separate mining town and facility. I didn't have a map for the mines, but luckily they did not try to go that way. We did run out of time, so now it's a two-shot and the mines will be an area.
    Inside the town there is:
    - A pub, now a teahouse due to the Prohibition. Serves crab sandwiches, tea and coffee.
    - A library/school, source of knowledge for out party, none of them are very highly educated (or at least educated in some matters that they will need). Also home to an ancient tome of forbidden knowledge that the old man once donated when he was young, but wanted back once he realized the price he would have to pay for his experiments. (The book describes Mind Transfers of the Great Race of Yith, something which would get the old man out his predicament (overuse of the time traveling mirror), but it does not contain the complete ritual)
    - A church (Christian): Nothing much to do here, just establishing the religious rivalries within the town.
    - A church (Starry Wisdom): Source of knowledge on various signs and rituals (also source of jokes: the priests here are high on drugs; "not the good shit, this is the part even the most greedy drug dealer will describe as bad shit". Also part of a vital clue to determine what the mirror is and how it was used.
    - A hospital/morgue: Time to visit the dead body. It's burned alive and over a week old, not much info here.
    - A police station: Not much info here yet.
    - A general store: Get your stuff here. Whadda ya need? Some big hammers and axes and some extra bullets?
    - A post office/telegraph: Nothing here yet.
    - A lawyer/notary (not the one in the mansion): They didn't visit, but once they do, I can point them that it is weird that the old man hired some out of town lawyer.

    Also forests and a lake nearby, home to two crab-fishermen (who know nothing of crab-fishing, but everything about making moonshine and have a deal with the teahouse).
    Plus some regular houses and farms to fill out the town.

    So far, my party has armed themselves with some gardening tools, investigated the shed and scared themselves with the body of a burned horse, found a complex spherical prison for the Hound of Tindalos, but did not see what was inside, nor did they set it free. Also looked inside the study and found a big family chart that gave proof that they were indeed all related, but also that somebody was keeping tabs on them for a long, long time.

    They then went into town and got some idea that the old man was not the easiest to get along with (ex-communicated from the Starry Wisdom Church and in an ongoing violent rivalry with the old librarian for years). Confirmed some details regarding his death, found some other things regarding his death (the burned body had an extra organ, the stableboy that was supposed to be in the stable never had a body found and is missing). They figured out Charlie and Frank were moonshiners instead of fishermen. They then fought an army of mutated killer crabs (pretty easy fight, but none of them have played Call of Cthulhu before, so more of a tutorial).

    They then found the mirror and travelled back in time. They were suspicious of the lawyer (the room he's in, has a secret (and only) entrance to the magic mirror room), but I think they've cleared him for now. They then went into the village and in a carcrash of actions murdered the priest of the Church of Starry Wisdom in broad daylight (note: the church is at the marketplace of the town in front of a) the other church, b) the town's school/library and c) the police station) to steal their ancient tome of forbidden knowledge. I mean, sure, the cult was involved in human sacrifice, but really? (The killing blow was a two-handed hammer to the head of the priest after he was already knocked unconscious).

    The party decided not to travel back through time (because they would lose the book) and went back to the mansion to go to sleep. And I ended with telling them that they all felt physical pain in a different bodypart as they fell asleep, the first sign of using the magic mirror and its price.

    After session talk I tried to figure out how much of the backstory they have pieced together and they are getting there, but are still missing some important clues and still are not putting some pieces together.
    As we've decided at this point to do another session, I will add the mines/mining facility as an extra map (so far I had the town and various floors of the mansion), which will be the original finding place of the mirror.
    This also allows me to correct some errors I made (the document I had all my notes in crashed and become irretrievably corrupted in the first minute of the session... I think I'm cursed myself):
    - I've told them the body in the stable had an extra organ according to the doctor. Why would it have an extra organ if it's not the body of the old man. > I will fix this by having it be a body of one of the servants the old man used to test the mirror before he used it himself.
    - I will have some extra servants of the old man in the mining facility, so the old man does not just have Simon, the useless butler as the people working for him.

    Steam/Origin: davydizzy
  • Dizzy DDizzy D NetherlandsRegistered User regular
    edited October 2020
    In addition to the top post, now it's gone from a one-shot to a two-shot (possibly even more) I have to add some things for our next session in two weeks. I worked on it a little and have some ideas, so feedback would be greatly appreciated:
    New maps will be the Coalmines themselves and the Mining town/facility. It's a company town, so originally I had planned that they wouldn't have access, but now I see opportunity to fix some improvisation-created mistakes. Still don't want to just have them walk up and go "we're the new owners" and get in, so working on some ways around that (well, they did manage to infiltrate the church which I hadn't planned for, I guess they can come up with something).

    Coalmines:
    - I will have an extra combat encounter with them down there, I'm not sure with what exactly though, probably creature of the same type as Simon (using the stats for Moonbeasts for him with some small adjustments), but then an undisguised version (though a Chtonian would be fun (completely overpowered compared to them though)). Maybe a second encounter with the remains of other time-travellers that were send through the mirror as a test and whose bodies were dumped in a mineshaft, not knowing that the human side may have died, but the inhuman parts are immortal.
    - I will have them find the original site of the time-traveling obisidian mirror and if they are clever they can find out that the coal around it are created from the bodies of plant-like sentient beings that used the mirror. I will have other tools around, another opportunity to introduce some fun items.
    Basically a dungeon with 1 or 2 combat encounters, a bit of info and some nice items that I have to figure out (my party is armed as followed right now: 1 person has a revolver and a wood-axe, 1 person has a sledgehammer and 1 person is still walking around with a simple hammer he used as a tool. (His strength sucks! He has no damage bonus. He has no skill with this weapon. He has $80 in cash!! Why hasn't he gone to the general store to buy a gun? Maybe I have to drop some heavy hints next session.)


    Mining Town:
    - 3 of the mining officials will be in cahoots with the old man and all have traveled through the mirror.
    - 1 of those three will be the courier that took the blood samples.
    - There will be a secret lab in the mining town where the blood ritual is performed.
    - If they manage to capture and question one of the mining officials, they can find out some things: they are with the old man, the old man had a fallout with the Church of Starry Wisdom, because they are believers that perform sacrifices. Old man does not believe the Outer Gods care at all about sacrifices and just wants to use them. Once the price for using the mirror becomes clear, they find out that the knowledge of the church can't help them, so they turn to other sources of knowledge and find the Transfer Body Part and Transfer Organ spells (again, adjusted a bit for the narrative) in the tome the investigators found in the mansion during the first session (but they haven't gone back to pick it up again after their first timetravel). (Heavy hints #2: pick up the tome and notebook you found before)

    Stableboy issue: Above I mentioned I wanted him to be one of the test persons, but in my timeline old man has been doing experiments for about 60 years so too long ago. I will solve it like this: Stableboy's extra organ was below his heart according to the doctor/mortician: I'll just add that he got bad luck on the price for using the mirror: bits of body are replaced with Yog-Sothoth's mass. Most of them had a bit in an arm or leg, he got a bit on a palce that caused complications.

    edit: Oh and they killed somebody in the middle of the day and were seen near the scene of the crime (at least two of them, the other (the one that delivered the actual killing blow) was smart enough to take the back entrance and sneak out of town). So there are gonna be consequences for that.

    Dizzy D on
    Steam/Origin: davydizzy
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