Character Creation: Sufficiently Advanced

Last character of 2018. I would like to say that I chose this game based on something in particular, but the truth of the matter is that I spent two hours organization my PDF game folders and then told Michelle to pick a number. The game I would up with is a far-future sci-fi game about folks working for a Patent Office in a universe where ideas and intellectual property are the only real currency. It's an interesting idea, and what the heck, it's a good enough game to end the year on.

The Game: Sufficiently Advanced
The Publisher: Valent Games
Degree of Familiarity: None. I'm reading it (there's a second edition, BTW, but that's not the one I have)
Books Required: Just the one.

In SA, you're playing Inspectors going on missions, which can vary pretty widely in their scope and tone, it looks like. Likewise, in different civilizations the Inspectors have different levels of authority, which is interesting; in one civilization you're like an FBI agent, in another you're just an observer.

First thing I need to do is pick a civilization. Hmm.

Oh, lord. One of the civilizations here was descended from the SCA. The one I was interested in (the Stardwellers) was descended from science fiction geeks. Ugh. OK, I think I'm gonna stick with this one, but I'll pretend I didn't read that goobery shit.

Well, I like this civilization, anyway. They alter their bodies to be more comfortable in zero-g, and they've got some weird modifications to themselves and their tech going on, and that's fun to think about.

So now I do Core Values. I get two from my civilization (Freedom and Diversity, so I guess the boring-ass white-guy side of sci-fi fandom died out, which is good), and then I pick two more (there's a list, but I can make them up). I then set their values at 0 to 10, my choice, which is cool.

Well, let's see. There's a mention of some Stardwellers never setting foot on a planet, and I don't think that's necessarily plausible for an Inspector, but I think my guy lived most of his life without going planetside. His feeling is that human beings tend to skew the atmosphere and ecology of whatever planet they're on, so it's more responsible to create whatever "planets" they want out of asteroids or artificial structures and ruin those (the thinking is that if you make a world, you can break it).

I'm getting a kind of self-righteous vibe, here. Entitlement is a value, so I think I'll pick that, but I also want one that shows off his commitment to letting planets and ecologies develop and change without screwing them up. I'll say "Non-Interference".

For the values (of the Values, can you dig it), they're arranged by what you're willing to do to preserve them. Like, at 6, you're willing to organize and even suffer jail time for others' rights. I'll put Freedom at 6, Diversity at 3, Entitlement at 6, and Non-Interference at 7 (he's very big on the whole "we have enough tech to build our own worlds, stop burning existing ones" thing).

Next up, we have Themes, which look really interesting. But, in order to give them scores, I need to know my Import (which is the number points I have to split between Themes), and I derive that from my Capabilities, which are the next step. Gargh.

Well, skipping ahead to Capabilities, then, I find that everyone has the same five (Biotech, Cognitech, Metatech, Nanotech, and Stringtech), but the ranges are determined by civilization. I'll take 5 in Biotech (I can lift half a ton, regenerate nerves and muscles - the thinking here is that I've got some bio-impacts), 3 in Cognitech, +1 in Metatech, 3 in Nanotech, and 3 in Stringtech.

So that puts my highest Capability at 5, which means my Import is 8, so I have 8 points to split up into my Themes. There are 6, so I can't make it even, but life's like that.

Oh, these get descriptors, too. I'll take Plot Immunity 1, with "Careful" as a descriptor). I don't see this guy as great with Intrigue, either, so I'll keep that at 1 and take Eavesdropper as the descriptor. Empathy, oy. Again, not something I see as this dude's strong point. I'll take it at 1 and take Honest as my descriptor. I'll take 2 in Magnetism - he's convincing and steadfast in his beliefs, and that's attractive (I'll take "Ideological" as my descriptor).

Oh, hang on, I don't have to take a rating in these. Um. Well, I'll skip Romance and take 3 in Comprehension, and take "Intuitive" as my descriptor.

All right! Then I have Professions. As with much of this chargen system, I get to choose my ratings, but the higher the ratings, the older I am. Of course, with my implants I'll live to be 200, so. I get a free Locality Profession at 3, too, because of my civilization. Cool.

So I'll take my Locality 3 as Offworlder (it's one of the civilizations). I'll take Engineer (Biotech) and Research (Biotech) both at 3; my guy is an expert at creating organisms and the biomes they love. I'll take Explorer at 2 and Outdoorsman at 1 (limited experience on-planet, but some) and Spacer at 2 (grew up in zero-g). I start at 10 years old and that's 29 years worth of training, so I'm 39.

I fill in my Reserve scores (twice the given trait), and then that's pretty much it! I need a name and so on, though.

Stardweller names tend to be invented or descriptive. My guy's name is Bestow (his parents were a little more religious than he is). Bestow is in perfect physical health, muscular, lush hair, perfect vision and teeth. He's aggressively human - a lot of Stardwellers have tentacles and other non-human traits, but Bestow figures that it's better to change the environment than oneself (I mean, in extremis; obviously he's got no problem with bio-implants). He's cool and quiet in demeanor, and maybe a little severe, but he's a good listener and he's not unkind, he's just not what you'd call friendly.

And that's it! Happy New Year!

Actual Play: Fall of Magic

Last night we played Fall of Magic. I'd played it once before at Metatopia, though we didn't get to finish that game before it was time to head home. This is part one of two (probably), so here we go!

What you need to know about Fall of Magic, though, is that the setup is always the same; a group of people is following/accompanying the Magus on a journey as magic dies. The game is played with a scroll (you can see a bunch of pictures here); every character has a token that represents them, and you move along the map as the journey continues. There's a lot to it, so I'll do my best to remember all the details I can, but I wasn't taking notes.

Magic is dying, and the Magus is dying with it. We travel to the realm of Umbra where magic was born...

Ravenhall

We start in Ravenhall, home of the Magus. At the bridge, we see River, the Ranger of Mistwood, washing her face in the water. She's killed a grouse, and now goes to deliver it to nearby folks who might need food. She's known in Mistwood, and here, as a provider for those that need help.

At the menagerie, we find Piccolo, the Crab-Singer of Istallia. Piccolo looks about at the animals, musing that the last time they saw real magic, it was a baby phoenix, barely able to open its eyes. Now magic is dying, the magical creatures are fading - but are they dying, or are no new ones being born? Where is that phoenix now? Did it live out its life and rise again from its ashes, or did it fade and cool? Piccolo doesn't know.

In the rose garden, we find Kabu, the Giant of Mistwood. Kabu is too big to enter Ravenhall; he'd bump his head and break things. Kabu is grey-skinned, but his nose is red as the roses, and his eyes are brown as the branches. Kabu doesn't understand much about people - he's used to feeling small amongst the huge trees of Mistwood, but here in Ravenhall he's the biggest thing around. He still feels small, somehow, and he sleeps here in the garden.

At the scrying pool, Harp, a Raven of Ravenhall, reflects. Like all Ravens, she wears a black cloak and acts as a messenger and errand-runner for the Magus, and now she's expected to accompany him...where? She isn't sure, and he won't tell her. She notes that magical creatures are growing smaller, as the magic they contain fades.

Piccolo wanders to rose gardens and bumps into Kabu (literally). Kabu tells them that he intends to follow the Magus, but isn't sure why - it's like geese flying north or south, they just do it. Piccolo doesn't quite understand that, but decides they like this giant, and resolve to tag along.

Oak Hills

The party arrives in the Oak Hills. Summer is ending and the days are long, but getting shorter. The Magus is tired; they're old and frail, and they instruct the party to make camp. 

River begins to do so, clearing away an area for the Magus' tent. Harp helps and, perhaps, feels a moment of discomfort that she isn't setting up the Magus' area, but in the end thanks River for her help. 

Piccolo sits around the fire with the others and offers to tell stories. The group shares stories until the fire dies, and everyone drifts off to sleep.

In the morning, Kabu stands on an eastern hill, hands outstretched, as the sun rises. The sunlight turns his skin from grey to gold, and he absorbs the light to nourish himself for a day. He turns (scattering the birds that have rested on his immense arms) and walks back to the group, noting that his skin is already changing back - the light isn't nourishing him like it used to. 

The party presses on, heading sound to Barley Town. 

Barley Town

The party arrives in Barley Town, and the Barley Lord fixes the them up with accommodations for their stay. Piccolo goes to the Inn of the Axe & Fiddle, and trades a song with the musician playing there - the musician teaches Piccolo a traditional song of the area, and Piccolo teaches the musician and song of Istallia and the sea, thanking spirits for their generosity. 

Harp goes to Oak Island, her home. Her cousin married a year ago today, and, as it tradition here, the one-year anniversary is a reenactment of the wedding. But where the actual wedding is a solemn, nearly silent affair, the reenactment is a raucous party with elaborate dress, music, and dancing. Harp reflects that this is normal, this beautiful, joyous ritual, and if magic dies, at least this remains.

Kabu sleeps near Swine Hill (he's too big to enter the town proper), and dreams of battle - two opposing forces met on this hill and stabbed each other until the hill was stained red. Kabu wakes, distressed, and digs into the hill, unearthing a skeleton clad in armor. He wipes the dirt from it, trying to identify which side the man fought on, but he can't.

River goes to the old abbey, and lights a candle. She remembers her sister and her companions, and she remembers that they died because she fell asleep on watch. She vows that she won't fail her new companions the same way.

Piccolo goes out to a farm, owned by a woman named Mathilda. Mathilda talks with Piccolo and learns that they're traveling with the Magus, and gives her a leather pouch. In it are four objects: a silver pendant with an insignia Piccolo doesn't recognize, a vial of purple-red liquid, a ball of twine, and a turnip. Mathilda tells Piccolo that they'll know when this stuff will be useful. Piccolo is amused, but grateful.

Harp goes to the farmer's market and stocks up on foods and provisions for the journey ahead, although she doesn't know where they're going from here. 

Kabu takes the corpse and goes to the abbey, remembering someone say that one could go to this building to ask questions. He asks the Abbott about the dream, and the abbott says that Swine Hill was the site of a battle long ago. Kabu doesn't understand "battle," though, so the abbott explains it as best he can - Kabu only really understands violence in the context of animals eating each other, and he's a little appalled to learn that all those people killed each other but none of them were eaten. The abbott says that he doesn't really understand battles and war, either, and Kabu leaves, troubled. 

The party reconvenes and, at the Magus' direction, heads north, into Mistwood.

Mistwood

Mistwood is home to both River and Kabu. The party slows, though - a strange fog rises up around the woods. The party makes camp, and Piccolo follows the trail of the Rangers, watching as the mist rises up around them.

Harp helps make camp, and tends to the Magus. The Magus isn't well. They're old and losing some of the alertness they were known for. Harp talks with River about it, and River offers to go out and find herbs to make a poultice to help the Magus recover a bit. 

Kabu, meanwhile, walks through the woods, and comes to a copse of trees that are shorter than the rest of the forest - perhaps an area where a forest fire razed the old trees, and new ones are growing. In the mist, though, the trees look like soldiers, and the dew makes the leaves look like metal. Kabu panics and runs back to the camp, whispering "no battle" to himself. 

River goes out foraging, looking for the herbs, but she is beset by foxes. One of the little bastards grabs the herb she was going for and runs off. River tracks it to a river, but doesn't want to kill the fox if she doesn't have to. She baits a trap, and waits.

Hall of the Woods

The party has moved on. The Magus has their poultice, but they're not always good about applying it. The group has moved north to the Hall of the Woods, where the Gray Rangers receive them. The Magus is giving a place by the fire next to the leader of the Rangers, and the two of them talk quietly about whatever leaders talk about.

Harp, meanwhile, goes out into the woods and finds a stone circle. In, a group of Rangers surround a stag, and then draw their daggers and kill it. The blood seeps into the group, and Harp feels a jolt of magic - magic taken from life. She's glad, in a way, to feel magic again, but she doesn't want to do magic this way.

Kabu walks through the woods and finds a silvery lake. Two Rangers stand in the shallows, arms outstretched in much the same way that Kabu stands in the morning to drink in the light. He copies them, and drinks in moonlight - his skin goes silver, and his teeth become sharper. Moonlight, he muses, tastes strange. 

River finds an altar in the forest, a stump that's been whittled down into the shrine. She feels her desire to protect these people, the Magus included, rekindled, and resolves to guide them. She does, however, think that when this is over, she might return here to the Hall and join her fellow Rangers.

Piccolo stays at the hall, watching the Magus and the Rangers talking. They consider their role as a keeper of old traditions (a Crab-Singer), and how these Rangers are changing their own traditions as magic dies. 

The Magus recovers, and the group moves on east to the Spirit River.

Spirit River

The party arrives at the river, and the Magus is stronger, but just as tight-lipped about their journey as ever. The mist from the woods seems to have followed them, bathing the river in fog.

Kabu drifts on the river. He doesn't get the chance to swim often; few bodies of water are big enough. Giants live a long time, and he doesn't remember his parents much, but he does remember them saying that they used to live underground, under the mountains, and what they used to eat. Kabu shudders, and sips the silvery watery, marveling at the sensation of taste. 

River sits in starlight, thinking again about the death of her sister and her companions. It was wolves, huge wolves that came upon them at night and killed them, while she slept at her post. Never again. 

Piccolo, too, has regrets by starlight, but I don't remember them, sadly (told ya, I didn't take notes). 

Harp goes walking in the tall grass; no one really approaches the ferry over the river from this direction except the Rangers, and they don't leave tracks. She finds blood and animal prints, and one of the Rangers' knives. Apparently the sacrifice-for-magic thing happens out here, too. 

The party goes to move on, and the Magus states that they'll go north to Istallia, but the road is blocked by huge trees. No one remembers a windstorm or anything, but the way is blocked, so they need to go south, to the Mouth of the Deep, and travel through the caverns.

The Mouth of the Deep

The party takes its wagons into the dark, and the Magus casts a spell that makes all of the metal - the bridles on the horses, the weapons the people carry, and even Kabu's teeth - glow bright enough to see. 

River travels the Deep Way, scouting out their progress and trying to find a safe way through the tunnels.

Piccolo find a cavern, a cavern with marble veins in the walls and a high domed ceiling, and a floor far too flat to have occurred naturally. Something made this cavern, and there are noises in the dark.

Harp walks with Piccolo down a hallway off the cavern, and finds tiny alcoves. Piccolo's pendant glows brighter, and the two of them shudder as they notice claw marks on the walls. Piccolo leaves the pendant behind, hoping to appease the unseen Cave Dwellers.

It doesn't work, though. The Cave Dwellers appear, bear-sized humanoid creatures with furry pelts and upturned snouts. Kabu hears the ruckus and emerges into the caverns, picking up a Cave Dweller and speaking to it in its odd language. The Cave Dwellers want meat, and don't much care what it comes from, and so they allow the people to pass unharmed, but the horses don't make it through.

The party does find the passage, though, and emerges at the Hanging City.

The Hanging City

The Hanging City is in the top of a huge, ovoid cavern. The Magus and their company take the hospitality of the Rag-Draggers, the strange, hunched-over people who dwell here. 

Piccolo visits the vertical gardens, and sees a field of flowers that rustle like the waves of the ocean. They're reminded of their home in Istallia, and they take a flower, unable to control the temptation. 

Harp notes how things enter this city - there's a river fed by a waterfall, and refuse from above winds up washing into nets and then being hoisted up into the city. In Ravenhall, this kind of thing would all be done by magic, but magic doesn't seem to be a part of life for the Rag-Draggers. 

Kabu, for his part, gets a job for their stay in the Hanging City. The Kettle Bottom - the deep lake at the bottom of the cavern - is overlaid with nets to catch the aforementioned refuse. Normally people under social censure row out in boats to kill living things caught in the nets and untangle valuable stuff, but Kabu can just walk. He doesn't mind killing, he decides - this isn't battle, because the things he kills are getting put to use. He does wind up smelling awful after doing this job, though.

River visits the Hanging Commons, learning how to fit in amongst these people who live so far away from forests. They don't use magic and they don't live off the land, not the same way, but they're still people and they benefit from River's skill with ropes, at least.

The party rests. Soon they'll need to move on...

Movie #488: Ant-Man & The Wasp

Ant-Man & The Wasp is, of course, the sequel to Ant-Man and the...hundred-twentieth? I think? movie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It stars Paul Rudd, Evangeline Lilly, Michael Peña, Michael Douglas, Michelle Pfeiffer, Hannah John-Kamen, Laurence Fishburne, Walter Goggins, Randall Park, Abbie Ryder Fortson, and there's more but c'mon.

Scott Lang (Rudd) has been under house arrest following a plea deal after his involvement with destroying a German airport in Civil War (I have to imagine Tony Stark quietly pulled some strings for him). His sentence is almost up, and he hasn't been doing any Ant-Man-ing; he's on the outs with Dr. Pym (Douglas) and Hope Van Dyne (Lilly) since he, like, stole the Ant-Man suit and went to Germany.

For their part, Hope and Pym are trying to reach the quantum realm to rescue Janet Van Dyne (Pfeiffer); since Scott got there and returned, they figure it's possible. When the machine is powered up, Scott has a dream about Janet, and they realize that the Scott and Janet are "quantum entangled."

Of course, ain't nothing ever easy - a former colleague of Pym named Bill Foster (Fisburne) and his ward/protege Ava (John-Kamen) are trying to get the lab to harvest quantum energy to fix Ava's molecular issue (it makes her able to phase, but is also killing her), and a black-market-tech dealer (Goggins) figures quantum-anything is the next big thing, and the FBI in the personage of Agent Woo (Park) is keeping a close eye on Lang...

Like a lot of later-phase MCU movies, there's a lot going on, but the script is pretty tight. The various factions all want slightly different things (or the same things for different reasons), and Scott provides a nice anchor for it all. Likewise, they addressed something that I'm glad they did - that Scott didn't ask Hope to join him in Germany, and Hope was hurt by that omission. Actually, the relationship between Scott and Hope is kinda the driving force behind a lot of the conflict (secondarily, the relationship between Hank and Janet, and between Hank and his former colleagues - everyone seems to agree that Hank was kind of a jackass).

And then, of course, in a mid-credits scene we find out that this all happened while shit was going down in Wakanda (it doesn't get mentioned, although actually an undetermined amount of time passes between Scott getting out of house arrest and the Snap, so it's possible that the shit in New York happened during that downtime), the Snap happens, and Janet, Hope, and Pym all vanish...while Scott's in the quantum realm. It sets us up nicely for Endgame, but the movie at large isn't as heavy as Infinity War (which you might notice I haven't bought yet because it's too heavy; I'm gonna wait until spring).

My Grade: A-
Rewatch value: High

Next up: Ex Machina

Character Creation: Urban Shadows

I actually have to go over to mom's and help do some housework, but PbtA games are quick, so I think I have time.

The Game: Urban Shadows
The Publisher: Magpie Games
Degree of Familiarity: Some. I played it once, and I'm pretty familiar with the underlying mechanics.
Books Required: Just the one.

 
Urban Shadows is what the World of Darkness wishes it could have been. It's an urban fantasy game that actually thinks about what it means to be "urban", focuses on community and what different communities mean and how they interact, rather than being, basically, a trad game that uses some fancy terminology and talks about story structure.

(I'm not saying WoD, and Vampire: The Masquerade in particular, wasn't revolutionary for its time. I'm saying that it wasn't what it seemed to want to be, because what it wanted to be didn't exist in 1991 and no one working on it quite knew how to get there. Not to mention I have no idea if it would have sold if it'd been what we now think of as a "story game.")

Interesting little note: Urban Shadows encourages players to strive for diversity - that is, play someone with demographics (race, gender, orientation, etc.) different from their own. The book explicitly says "we trust you." What I find interesting about that is that in some circles, there is a distinct lack of trust in exploratory roleplaying - put on an accent or otherwise try and play a character that's notably different from you, and you might get some side-eye, at best. (I'm aware that being a white dude speaking in AAVE to play a black character is a different issue, thanks.) Anyway, just something that caught my eye.

Anyway, normally the first thing a group would do when playing Urban Shadows is pick a city, but since it's just me, I think I'll keep that generic unless it becomes relevant. Next step would be to pick an Archetype (playbook), so just a sec.

Hrm. I played the Wolf the one time I played this game, so I think I want to steer away from that. Likewise, not feeling Vamp today. I like the Tainted and it'd be fun to make a favor-trader, which seems like it'd be viable. Yeah, sure, let's do that.

So, we start with the usual - name, look, demeanor. I'll say my Tainted is named Kao. His family immigrated from Laos some years back, but what they don't know is that he sold his soul to...something to get them here. I'm torn between having him leave his family and go to [wherever this game is set] to protect them or staying in the same city as them (meaning it's probably California, Wisconsin, or Minnesota if they're Hmong). I think the dramatic potential is probably better with the latter.

Anydangway, I'll take Expensive Clothing for the look, and Paranoid for the demeanor. Kao knows he's still in it.

I get +1 to one of my stats. Blood and Heart start positive, Mind starts -1, Spirit at 0. Hmm. Well, I want to rack up Debt, and it seems like Heart or Mind is the best way to do that, so I'll hedge my bets and put it in Mind.

And then Faction stats. Well, I know I want to put my bonus point into Mortality, because I see Kao as pulling Debts out of mortal folks.

And now, Intro Questions!

• Who are you? I'm Kao, collector of favors and debts.
• How long have you been in the city? I've been here since my family emigrated from Laos, 8 years ago.
• Who would you die for? If I thought I could absolve my debts by dying, I would. 
• What is your daily release? I go into the neighborhood where my family lives and talk with people from my country, speak our language. 
• What do you desperately need? I need to understand exactly what I agreed to. 

Gear! (I hate shopping for gear, but checking things off a list? Sounds great.) I get a house or apartment - apartment, I think - a car, and a smart phone. I also get a weapon of choice. I think I'll go for conceal-ability and take the collapsable baton. 

And now, moves. I get The Devil Inside as a matter of course, which means I have to define my demon form. Smoke around the head, claws on the hands, leathery wings, misty skin, and smoky eyes. I have kind of a smoke theme, that's cool. 

And then I get one more move. I'll take Don't Look At Me; I can mislead with Heart instead of Mind. 

I also have Demonic Jobs; I pick two from a list and when I do those things, I get a Debt to my master. I'll take brokering demonic contracts and collecting souls. 

And that's it, because everything else is either static (like intimacy move) or requires a group (Debts). 

Character Creation: Dystopia Rising

Weird to look at my post list and see three chargen posts in a row, but Michelle's out of town so we're not watching movies, it's Xmas so there's no gaming to write up, and likewise board games. So here we are.

The Game: Dystopia Rising
The Publisher: Eschaton Media
Degree of Familiarity: None.
Books Required: Just the one.

 

So, I am aware that Dystopia Rising, as a LARP, is a Whole Big Thing. I am, however, largely unversed in the ways of LARP (not my thing, thanks, as Big Chris says), and so I am unaware of how this Big Thing works. I'm vaguely aware that there are controversies surrounding the game, I think? But like, if you pressed me I couldn't tell you what they were or why, so I'm just gonna make a character for this tabletop version of the game.

(Like, I know that Onyx Path is making a new tabletop version of the game, but I don't know what led to that or why it needs a new edition.)

Anyway, I've read through much of this book, and it's a post-apocalyptic game keying off a zombie apocalypse plus a nuclear holocaust. We're a few generations into the anarchy that follows, and there's new churches and factions, and also "strains", which are basically your "race" (in the RPG sense). I have some issues with strains as presented.

The in-universe justification is that the nuclear radiation plus the zombie virus altered people and gave them different genetic traits, which, like, OK, that's pretty sci-fi. But one of the strains is the Mericans (that is, Americans), and their genetic - genetic - weakness is culturally insensitivity. Some of the racial traits that the strains get make sense, and some of them just make my teeth hurt. But, as always, I haven't played the game, and games tend to make more sense in context. (I ain't making a Merican, though. For one thing I don't like the strain weakness and for another thing the name sounds too much like "merkin".)

Really I'm supposed to come up with a concept first. I haven't done a whole lot of post-apoc, actually, particularly in this Mad Max kind of style. Of note, too, is that this isn't someone who remembers the time before, this is someone born and raised in this ick.

Well, you might have seen a post on the 'tubes that talks about humans as pursuit predators, and I think I kind of like that. I want to play someone who can follow prey forever, until it's exhausted, and then shoot it. Seems like he'd need foraging and tracking skills, as well as a lot of endurance. That's a pretty good place to start, I think. Gonna resist the urge to name him "Strider" because that's gooby as hell, and instead get weird with his name. He's called D'Macibn, which you might notice is just three ways to say "son of." He must have parents, but he doesn't know them, and as far as he remembers he's from nowhere. And that eats at him (this is a flip on the "loner from nowhere" trope - this is guy is a loner from nowhere but dearly wants to be from somewhere).

Next up, I choose a strain. There are a million of these splats, so lemme see if anything makes a lot of sense. Well, Lascarians aren't bad, but they're more about living underground. Remnants make sense because they're culturally pretty much blank, but I think Rover is the most in-concept for D'macibn. (Would it have killed ya to put these in alphabetical order, guys?)

As a Rover, I get +2 to all Navigation and Scrounging checks, and I don't tire easily. On the minus and nonsensical side, if someone "bests" me I get a -2 to Social checks with them until I can one-up them. Also if I'm off the road for too long I start to get itchy (-1 to Survival). Sounds good.

And now we buy Building Blocks, which are basically Attributes (Agility, Appearance, Brawn, Endurance, Knowledge, Luck, Wiles). I get one free in each, I get 14 points to spend. It's one-for-one up to 5, and then 1-for-2 after that, but I can't go higher than 6 at chargen anyway. I know I want high Endurance, and it feels like Wiles might be good, too. I'll pump Endurance to 5 and Wiles to 4; that's 7 points spent. Putting everything else up to 2 eats 5 of my remaining points. 2 left. Y'know, what the hell. I'll put 'em into Endurance and start with 6.

Next up is Secondary Characteristics. I rather suspect these should go last, but I'll trust the book. Health is (Endurance + Brawn) x2, or 16. Defense is half my Wiles + Agility, or 3. Resolve is half my Knowledge + Wiles; also 3. Infection rating is equal to my lowest Building Block (2), Movement is 4, and then goes up from there depend on how fast I'm going. Fatigue is Endurance + Wiles, or 10 (nice!). Funds is (Luck + Knowledge) x 10, or 40.

And now Skills! I get 20 points, and they cost the same as Building Blocks, though of course I don't start with any dots. I want Athletics, Avoidance, Animal Handling, Awareness, Crafting, Doctoring, Firearms, First Impressions, Navigation, and Scrounging. That's 10, but I don't think I want to spread them evenly. I just want one in Animal Handling, Doctoring, and First Impressions - he's got the basics of that stuff. That means I can have ratings of 3 in 3 of threes Skills and 2 in the rest.

I'll take my 3s in Scrounging (which is what I'd use for tracking), Athletics (long distance, baby), and Avoidance (getting hurt sucks).

And now Advancements and Disadvancementsadvantages. I get 5 points to spend on Advancements (they vary in price), and I can take up to 10 points in Disadvantages to boost these or Skills (Building Blocks are pretty much locked).

Well, Long Haul is obvious (bonus to Survival checks involving long distances). That's 3 points. Iron Stomach (+2 against poison and disease) is 2, and that's in-concept, too.

Now, do I want any Disadvantages? Wait, hang on the, the header calls them Detriments. Eh, what's a few synonyms between friends? Amnesia! Perfect! I'll take Motion Sickness, too, just because it amuses me. Ooh, and Orphaned. I'll just take that at 4, so it'd be very difficult to find what happened to my parents (doubly so because I'm amnesiac).

So that gives me 10 more points to play with. I think I want more Skills, first of all. I'll pump up Scrounging and Firearms to 4. I'll pick up the Deadly Aim Advancement for 4 (no penalty to called shots). That leaves me 3 points. I'll put Athletics and Avoidance up to 4 and First Impressions up to 2.

And that's it, actually. I'm surprised there's not a step for buying gear; it feels like that kind of game. In any case, for D'macibn I'd want sturdy travel clothes and some kind of firearm (doesn't much matter what kind because his usual MO is to exhaust whatever he's hunting and then walk up and shoot it in the head).

Appearance-wise, I think D'macibn is tall and stocky, black hair and a pronounced nose. Facial hair grows in uneven and stubbly, but shaving is a waste of time. His teeth are surprisingly all intact, and he takes that as a point of pride. He wonders if he got his teeth from his mother or father...whoever they were.

Character Creation: RunePunk

Day 2 of continuous chargen! Wooo!

The Game: RunePunk: Steam & Shadow
The Publisher: Reality Blurs
Degree of Familiarity: Never played this particular game, but it's Savage Worlds and I'm pretty familiar with that
Books Required: RunePunk and some form of the Savage Worlds rules

 
Savage Worlds books always look thick and like they'll take a lot to get through, but generally you can read the first chapter and be fine to make a character. In this case, RunePunk gives us a few pages of history and current setup, and then launches into the races.

A brief aside: I'm reading through the book and not terribly impressed with a) the editing (a lot of repeated words and unnecessary verbiage) and b) the amount of information (there's a Church of the Twilight, which sounds really cool, but at no point that I can find are we told what they believe), and I'm all set to kind of dismiss this game...

...but then I keep thinking "this would be really cool to run/play," so I dunno what that says. The game feels like it should be more interesting that it reads, but then, it's a game that says "run me," so I'll call that a win. And the races totally pass the Chupp test, because I had a hard time picking one. So, well done!

Speaking of character creation...

So, this is funny and it shows you what a fuckin' nerd I am, but as I'm reading through I note that the Church of Twilight is dedicated to the worship of Umbriel, Lady of Shadow. And I see the name "Umbriel" and I think of her:

Hail, Atlanta!

Anyway, I want to make a shadowpriest.

Step One: Race. Basically any race can be a shadowpriest, but I like the Andari. They're humans that got exposed to magical (runic) energies or had a bad experience with a "far door" (teleportation gateway - this setting is all over the damn map, lemme tell ya) and wound up slightly out of phase with the world. Honestly, though, the detail I like most about them is that they use human names but add the season in which they were "changed." My character's name is Aldous Blackwinter.

Step Two: Place of Birth. This is relevant because it impacts Common Knowledge. I want Aldous to be a citizen (from one of the districts of ScatterPoint). Specifically, he's from ChalkChain, the district that processes the dead. Most dead people are given anonymous burials, and Aldous' family has been in the business of preparing the dead for four generations. And then one winter, when Aldous was about 18, there was a terrible runestorm and Aldous never really came back, not as he was. He said goodbye to his family and joined the priesthood, driven by an unquenchable feeling that he was destined for deeper mysteries than merely death.

Step Three: Traits. Usual Savage Worlds dealie, although I should note my racial stuff first. I get Mystical Knack (extra Power Points if I take an Arcane Background, which I will), Out of Phase (bonus to Toughness), Perceptive (bonus to Notice checks), and Twilight Sight (I can see in the dark). Over on the minus side, I get Tough on Things (mechanical shit tends to break around me) and Wispy (Vigor is hard to raise, which is stupid because it about negates my Out of Phase Edge, but whatevs).

OK, then, Attributes. Obviously I want Spirit to be high, so I'll buy that up to d8. I'll put Smarts at d6, Strength at d4, Agility at d8, and that leaves Vigor at d4. I can live with that, I guess. Andari are supposed to be skinny.

Over on the Skills end of things, I get the usual 15 points, and not for the first time I rather wish they were listed on the damn character sheet. Well, I use Faith to do magicky things, so I'll bump that to d8. I'll take Guts at d8, too (Aldous fears nothing), and Intimidation at d6 (Andari are spooky). I'll take Knowledge (Rune Lord) at d4 (I can't cast runes, but it feels like I should know them a little), Notice at d6, Persuasion at d8 (Aldous is silver-tongued) and Stealth at d4.

Sigh. Yes, yes, technically secondary abilities (derived traits) happen now, but suppose I take an Edge that changes them? They go at the end. (I say this every time I do a Savage Worlds character and you can't stop me.)

Step Four: Special Abilities. OK, so I need some Hindrances because I don't get a free Edge. I note that I could take two major Hindrances, rather than one major and two minor (or four minor, for that matter). Hmm.

Well, there's an Obligation Hindrance, and since I'm a priest I think that's appropriate. I'll take that a Major. And then look at that, there's one called Scrawny that means I can't carry much. Perfect. That's my Hindrances done.

That gives me 4 points to throw around; Edges are 2 each. Two points right away to Arcane Background (Shadowpriest). And then there are a bunch more than I like. The agony of choice!

Well, as much as I like some of the others (Runic Tattoo especially), Arcane Companion (Shadowborn Avatar) is just too cool. It effectively gives me a second character I can send on errands and fight for me (and it's so much more effective in combat than I am), so that's where I'm going.

As a shadowpriest, I get two powers and 15 Power Points (rather than 10; Mystical Knack, y'see). I'll take Bolt (I need something offensive) and Summon Shadow (I like this "calling up the magical shadows") thing I've got going.

And now I can do derived traits. My pace is 6, my Parry is 4 (oof), my Toughness is 6 (because of my bonus), and my Charisma is 0.

At this point I would do gear, but a) it's boring and b) I don't see Aldous as having much. He has his robes from the priesthood, and his fucking unnerving companion, and that's basically it. But let's think about appearance and personality n' stuff.

Aldous is slightly shorter than average and so thin he has trouble keeping his robes on sometimes. When he casts, though, his robes billow out and get filled with shadows, and his eyes go pure white (as compared to his companion's, which are always pure black). Aldous is soft-spoken and friendly, but he's purely devout and dedicated to the precepts of his church. Sometimes you can catch him glancing skyward as though he's waiting for something, but he refuses to say what. He doesn't seem afraid of it, though - if anything, he seems reverent.

And that's me done!

Character Creation: BASH Ultimate Edition

Home stretch, baby. I need four more characters to hit my goal (52 in a year), and I'm on break. I've got a stack of RPGs next to me (RunePunk, Dystopia Rising, Urban Shadows, and Noumenon, if you're interested), but today I wanted to do something quick and easy.

The Game: BASH Ultimate Edition
The Publisher: Basic Action Games
Degree of Familiarity: Not much. I made a character for an earlier edition here, but I don't think I've ever played BASH.
Books Required: Just the one.

 

So, BASH is designed as a supers game that kids can get into and play. It has some FASERIP in its DNA, which is cool. The first thing I'm invited to do in making a character is to consider scale - are we street level heroes, or teenagers with superpowers, or cosmic beings?

Well, when I do characters in a similar genre (and I have done a bunch of supers characters - 20, depending on how you count it) I like to try and change things up, but man, I have covered a lot of ground. I normally go for less powerful characters because it doesn't take as long, but fuckit, with Captain Marvel coming out in March, maybe it's time to swing for the fences. We'll take the cosmic scale. That gives me 60 points, and it recommends 24 for stats and 36 for powers.

I've got 3 stats to worry about - Brawn, Agility, and Mind (remember, simple system). If I actually spent 24 on stats, and spread it evenly, I'd wind up with 4 in each, because stats are 2 points each. At that point I'd be extremely fast, a super genius, and I'd be able to lift 10s of tons. Guess I should think a little about what kind of hero I'm making.

I think I want my character to be kind of like a Green Lantern in terms of mission, but I don't want him to belong to an army or anything. Instead, he's part of something call the Prism - a race of beings that splits itself into a myriad of separate, autonomous beings to handle cosmic crises in various universes. The Prism operate on a cycle, so there are always a few different sets around, but at the end of a cycle some of them snap back together and "realign," while the others that are finished with their realigning process refract. My hero has been refracted for a while now.

So: Maybe 4s across the board is OK, actually. I think I'll do that. That leaves me 36 points. I could take a Weakness for a few points back, but eh.

Powers, then! Well, right off the bat I want Flight at 5, so that eats 5 points. I also want teleportation across vast distances, but that's a shitload of points (like 9, I think). Hrm. I could just assume that shit like that is "plot device" territory, I suppose. Yeah, that's fine. If I have to travel interstellar distances we assume I have a ship or something. I want immunity to suffocation, poison, fire, cold, and pressure, so that's 5 points. 10 so far. I'll dump 2 into Omni-Linguist (I speak all languages). 3 points into Armor, just to represent that I'm tough. 21 points left. Woof, that's a lot. Um. I need some offense stuff, though. I want some light-based powers. Taking a light-zap is just a Special Attack, so I'll do that. It keys off Mind, and I want some pretty impressive Area, so I'll buy it as a Line (which means I don't also pay for Range; if I were making it a Burst I'd pay for both). If I put 3 into the damage and 3 into Area, that's 6 and that takes me to 15 points.

I'll take Damage Aura; my guy can activate a searing blaze of light that burns anyone that touches him. 3 points, down to 12. I'll go back and spend 2 to boost my Agility to 5, that takes me to 10. I'll put 3 into Deflect, making me even harder to hit and giving me a chance to deflect an attack back on an attacker. That gives me 7 left. I'll take Duplicate at 3 (seems appropriate), which lets me split into 10 duplicates, and that leaves me 4 points.

I'll buy Nullify, letting me turn off other people's powers, and dump my 4 points in.

OK, Skills, then! I get 5 Physical Skills (because I have 5 Agility) and 4 Mental (because 4 Mind), and then I get a Specialty for each one. Well, for Physical I'll take Athletics/Flying, Stealth/Hiding, Perform/Singing (that's a Physical Skill, huh?), Pilot/Evasion (may as well steer into the Captain Marvel thing), and Craftsmanship/Glasswork. For Mental, I'll take Military/Strategy, Humanities/Philosophy, Science/Astrophysics, and Social Science/History.

Advantages/Disadvantages. I have to take disadvantages if I want advantages, so let's see if I need anything. Well, I think the Duty Disadvantage works (to the Prism, obviously), so I need an advantage to balance it out. I'll take Jack-of-all-Trades (reduces the penalty for using Skills I don't have), playing on the idea that I'm the amalgam of a lot of previous incarnations.

Hero Points and Setbacks don't apply, because I spent all my points.

Only thing left, then, is "mental malfunction," which is really just "why I'm a hero," which is odd. Anyway, for my guy it's "shard of the allmighty Prism". Actually, "Shard" is a pretty good hero name.

Shard is pretty badass and would be good in a campaign involving really powerful, Silver Surfer-level heroes zipping around the galaxy preventing Galactus-like threats from happening. I also think there would wind up being a plotline involving other shards, maybe one that goes bad.

In any case, Shard looks human and his form is generally masculine. He wears a white and green outfit, but when he uses his powers any light around him refracts and splits into weird color combinations (like, if he deflects the blast goes violet for a minute, his light-zap is red, etc.). His eyes are pure white and never change, though.

Movie #487: O Brother, Where Art Thou?

O Brother, Where Art Thou? is a...genre is a little hard, here. Historical comedy fantasy myth? It's a Coen brothers film, so there's a start. Stars George Clooney, John Turturro, Tim Blake Nelson, Holly Hunter, John Goodman, Chris Thomas King, Charles Durning, and Wayne Duvall.

1930s, Mississippi. Everett (Clooney), Delmar (Nelson), and Pete (Turturro) have just escaped from a prison chain gang. Ostensibly, this is because the money that Everett stole is hidden in his cabin, but that cabin is going to be at the bottom of a lake because the valley is getting flooded in preparation for a new electric plant. The boys travel across the state, getting into various misadventures, and along the way meet up with Tommy Johnson (King), a young man who sold his soul to the Devil in exchange for mastery of the guitar.

So they wind up cutting a record to make a little side money, and said record blows up when they're busy dodging sirens and lotus-eaters and a KKK cyclops (Goodman). It turns out Everett was lying about the money; he needed to escape to try and prevent his ex Penny (Hunter) from remarrying. In the end, it works out, and the blind sage's predictions come true.

You may have noticed the mythological references, here. That's because this movie is based on the Odyssey. Yep, the one by Homer. And like most skillfully made references, the better you the know the original, the more layered this gets.

But even if you haven't read the Classics, this movie is fantastic. Clooney, Nelson, and Turturro have amazing chemistry, and while their characters are simple, they're also sympathetic and layered. Pete is hungry, brutish, and a bit thick, but he's also loyal and terrified of hanging, to the point that he's willing to risk his life to save Tommy from that fate. Delmar isn't terribly bright, but he's sunny and eternally optimistic, and you can tell that he probably got where he is out of desperation and being taken advantage of. Everett seems like a con man, and maybe he is, but he's purely devoted to getting his family back and he stands up for his friends when the time comes. As I may have mentioned, I like stories about decent people put in hard situations.

And then there's the soundtrack. Holy shit. This is probably my favorite movie soundtrack of all time, and it spawned a concert tour. It's folk, gospel, country, etc., and more to the point, much of the music is diegetic within the movie. My favorite example of that, I think, is the gravediggers (played by real-life gospel group the Fairfield Four) singing "Lonesome Valley" as the main characters prepared to be hanged and Everett prays for salvation. (That scene also contains my favorite line in the movie: "The law? The law is a human institution.")

Anyway, this is one of my favorite movies and if you haven't seen it, you should give it a watch.

My Grade: A
Rewatch value: High

Next up: Ocean's Eleven

Blades in the Dark: In the Navy!

Tuesday was Blades. It now being Thursday, I suppose I should do this write-up, yeah? HERE WE GO.

Last time, which was the better part of a month ago, the scoundrels were preparing for a series of jobs. This time, we jump right in with the whole "let's steal boats from the Grinders" thing.

The crew had hired some Rovers to pilot the boats for them. They fall back on a trick they'd used before and release a possessed goat near the docks, letting the Grinders deal with that while they and the Rovers unmoor the boats and steal them. This works for a bit (more than a bit; there were critical successes and just normal successes aplenty tonight), but eventually the Grinders shoot the goat and start toward the crew.

Cage, eschewing even any semblance of fucking around, fires a cannon at the dock beneath their feet and scatters a bunch of them. Copper and Siren get on boats and start heading away, and One-Eye tosses a smoke bomb as a distraction, but then starts shouting a bunch of Skovic curses at them. That, of course, gets their attention, and they start shooting, but Cage cleverly arranged a kind of magnet-grenade - throw it and it attracts the bullets right back at you! This routes the last of the Grinders, and then the crew with their new fleet make it to a cove that Siren had set up ahead of time, calling on her background as a Leviathan Hunter.

The crew stows the boats, and heads home. Mission accomplished.

A couple of days later, though, the fella who'd helped get the cove ready turns up at the Widdershins hideout, showing Siren what remains of his hand. Seems the Grinders have taken it up themselves to enact a little reprisal. The crew debates how to deal with this, but eventually they decide to just throw a bit of Coin (and rep) away on it. They'll deal with the Grinders later.

For now, though, they have much bigger fish to fry. They're going to take on two jobs back to back. First they're going to transport Penderyn's "conveyance" to the Lighthouse in Whitecrown - simple enough, they think. Then they're going to rob the Master Warden. They decide that their way in is to blackmail someone working in the house into giving them information or access, since it's a lot easier to lean on some poor working stiff. They also spend some time working on the Black Lotus (their ship) so it can hold some gear, allowing them to swap loadout between these jobs.

Next session is going to be interesting.

Board Game: Geeks: The Convention

It's a card game, actually, but y'know.

The Game: Geeks: The Convention

The Publisher: Torchlight Games, and I have no idea if they're still in business because if you Google "torchlight games" you get a bunch of video game stuff

Time: 25+ minutes, depending on how the cards fall

Players: Me, Morgan, Jon, Donovan

Game Play: In Geeks, you're controlling a busload of geeks attending a convention. You start with 8 of them, and through play you lose them to the Bus Depot, at which point they go home. The winner is the last one with a geek in their bus. Easy enough. 

Behold, my bus.

Each geek falls into one of four categories: Annoying, Revolting, Frightening, or Boring. On your turn, you can play a game, an Uh-Oh, or a Geek Break. Geek Breaks generally let you get more geeks from the bus depot, Uh-Oh's usually force one or more players to lose geeks. Games are exactly that. They've got parodies of RPGs on them (Crudlands, Bloodsuck: The Mad Parade, Borehammer) and they fall into the same categories as geeks. To avoid losing a geek to a game, you play a convention card matching the category. 

So, if Borehammer is a Boring game (which it is), then you play a Boring card, or you lose a geek. And then into the mix, these cards often have secondary effects. 

Donovan's bus is longer and skinnier.

Some cards break the flow a bit; Geek Fight lets you basically rock-paper-scissors with the types of geeks, while Dawn makes everyone lose two geeks unless they have the Zotz Cola card. Some cards can "spam" other cards, which not only prevent the spammer from losing geeks but take the turn away from the player. 

Jon and Donovan facing off as the last two players.

Opinions: I've actually played Geeks a lot, but it's been a while. I bought it at a convention a loooong time ago, and it was a standard time-waster for years. Revisiting it now with the benefit of years, I have a couple of thoughts.

First of all, the underlying premise is great. Folks who frequent conventions know that there's a whole bunch of funny stuff that happens there, and there are gamer "types" that you see all the time. That's fine. 

And like, the self-deprecation of the thing (revolting, boring, etc.) is OK. Geeks are just as deserving of that as any other group, and it winds up feeling mostly like it's punching sideways, if not exactly up. There are a few cards that are kinda problematic (some of art featuring women is kinda cheesecake), but it's not as bad as I remembered. 

The instructions could be a little clearer in places; we wound up having to do a little more interpretation than I'd like. This is especially true with regards to how spamming works. We also felt that the symbols denoting geeks by type should have been color-coded or something, because as it is they're tiny face emoji-things, and it's hard to tell them apart.

Overall, though, I think it's a fun game. I think it's also ripe for a revision/update, given that convention dynamics have changed somewhat over the years. 

Jon won, because of course he did. 

Keep? Sure.

Masks One-Shot: Villain Auditions

My brother and sister-in-law and their kids were in town last week, so I ran a Masks one-shot. BEHOLD.

First, the characters:

• Kai played Kiyoshi (Bonsai), the Transformed: Bark from skin, mottled flesh, eyes blink weird, can transmute flesh and grow roots. Grew up in Japan. Bad student, into film and hiking. Was on a camping trip and was cursed by something supernatural or spiritual while trespassing. Gradually turned into Bonsai, family kicked him out, now lives in USA with his friend. Is standoffish but likes people and doesn't want to see people suffer like he did.
• Morgan played Henry Chau, the Nova: No hero name yet (he thinks they sound silly). Typically wears band uniform while hero-ing. Plays oboe. Used his powers on the band bus; attacked by aliens during a solar flare and developed powers, but in the process injured Mr. Sotomeyer. Younger sister Tanya has been supportive and helping him center. Feels good to be powerful and special. Always enjoyed belonging to a group, and the team is replacing band in his life.
• Jon played Fictolakala (Kala), the Outsider: Humanoid, reflective eyes. Has assimilated and wears clothes, but costume/armor appears when he goes into action. From the Deadsol (highly advanced alien race that uses power from a star which is dying) and was sent as an advance scout. Crash-landed here, can't make contact with other scout (always sent in pairs). He is supposed to establish whether this system is appropriate for harvest, but he was treated well and like this place. Wants to join with other supers and perhaps fend off the Deadsol.
• Donovan played Kaito, the Beacon: Also Japanese, emigrated with family around age 8. Father died in a break-in when he was 13. Trained under a hero called Fowl-Man. Now has a pet carrion crow called "the bird" (hasn't named it yet). Mom thinks he shouldn't a hero because of dad's death.

This team came together when Luther Hardhardt (Fowl-Man's nemesis) came after him using next-level tech. Fowl-Man, knowing that he couldn't win this fight himself, called his young protege (Kaito) into the fight, and the ensuing chaos wound up attracting the others. Fowl-Man, who's really a better mentor and trainer than hero, was put into a coma in the process. The fight took place in the Oak Hill neighborhood (lovely brownstones, well-maintained parks), and destroyed most of a city block. The masks weren't sure at first if the others were responsible for the damage - Bonsai is big and dangerous-looking, Henry can't always control his powers, etc. Kala used their telepathy and connected them mentally. Hardhardt was imprisoned afterwards, but this was a weird escalation for him: he's is a crimeboss and was very behind the scenes, but is now apparently coming out and punching shit.

We open today's issue at a football game between the Oak Hill Bandits (the heroes all attend Oak Hill High) and the East City Cougars. The game is just about to start, when the opposing bleachers explode outwards and a huge blue dude stands there in a black t-shirt that says "LOL." He grabs a bench and starts batting football players around and making fun of them. Henry stows his oboe (he's already lost one and his mom got mad), and Kaito is ready to jump into action but then Mr. Sotomeyer, the band leader, starts ushering all the students out and he falls in line out of habit. Kiyoshi slips around to the other (now-destroyed) bleachers and starts helping people out, while Kala tries to telepathically see how to beat this big dude. He sees that this "Troll" is afraid of feeling weak, and links up the other heroes, telling them that they just need to appear stronger than this enemy. Troll flings the bench at Kaito, and Henry creates a barrier in front of him, but the barrier is a rainbow (Henry is still working on fusing the colors into light) and of course this gets a bunch of homophobic slurs from Troll. The bench does bounce off, though.

Kaito gets into the game and pulls out a plasma sword, while Bonsai grows his arms into huge camphor limbs and restrains Troll. Kaito jumps up and Kala catches him, bearing down on the Troll, and Troll stomps his feet in a bit of a tantrum (but in the process loosens Bonsai's hold). The trouble, though, is that Bonsai can just use the ground to root Troll even more firmly, and Kaito strikes Troll as the plasma sword explodes.

Troll shrinks, changing back into a normal-looking guy, and starts wailing about how it isn't fair and these masks aren't supposed to team up. It was just an audition, he cries. This gets the heroes' attention - an audition for whom? Kala interrogates Troll and finds out - Hardhardt. But he's in prison, so how's he coordinating this?

Henry decides he'll march right up to the cops and demand answers about how a crimeboss is able to keep crimebossing from prison, but the cops shut him down pretty effectively (shifting his Labels). He does eventually talk to a detective who's a little more sympathetic, and learns that there have been other minor-league villains out attacking young heroes. Something's going down, and, says the detective, you kids need to be careful.

The heroes get together at a park later on, and start talking about what happened, but Henry and Kaito wind up in a big argument over Kaito's stupid sword being broken, and Henry being called "Care Bear" by the cops. Kala uses their alien tech to reforge the sword, but isn't sure what it'll do now. Kiyoshi and Henry go for a walk and Kiyoshi talks Henry down a bit. Finally, the heroes reconvene and Kaito decides to text Pyro, another mask he knows, to see if she knows anything about this "villain audition" thing. Turns out she does - she's in the hospital with a broken leg. The heroes decide to drop by and see her.

Pyro reveals that a woman with six arms jumped her, and while she beat the woman, part of a building fell on her leg and broke it. The multi-armed woman is in this hospital, too (it caters to super-powered people), in the locked ward. The heroes decide to grill her. Henry distracts the AEGIS agents guarding the ward, and Kaito bypasses security and sneaks in. The woman (Centipede) is manacled, and agrees to talk to Kaito on one condition - her nose really itches, would he scratch it?

Kaito is suspicious, but does it (using the flat of one of his swords). Centipede reveals that Hardhardt put out the word that he was looking for superpowered talent, and beating a mask was a good way to audition. She then thanks him, and Kaito realizes she's activated the EMP on his belt. The pulse shorts her manacles, and she dives for the window ("WHY DOES A PRISON ROOM HAVE A WINDOW!?" Kaito rightly asks), and vanishes into the night.

The other heroes rush in, and Kaito dives out the window after her. They get to the ground level and Bonsai talks to the hedge, and learns that Centipede is right around the corner. There's a quick fight, Kala has the brilliant idea of letting her go, but following her, and they trail her to a building in a seedy section of Halcyon City.

There, Centipede meets with a man in a suit. She tells him of her battle with the heroes, and he thanks her. He makes reference to something called "Thunderhead," and notes that Fowl-Man's little sidekick (Kaito) is making trouble.

Outside, Henry charges up his powers angrily...

(It's possible we'll revisit this at some point, but you know me, I like leaving one-shots on a cliffhanger so the players remember them.)

Character Creation: The Esoterrorists 2nd Edition

Well, I was supposed to running Night's Black Agents today, but that got cancelled due to illness, so I shall instead make a character. It's appropriate, perhaps, that the character is for a Gumshoe game, but that wasn't intentional, I determined the game randomly. So here we go!

The Game: The Esoterrorists 2nd Edition
The Publisher: Pelgrane Press
Degree of Familiarity: None with this games specifically, but I'm pretty familiar with the underlying mechanics and with "members of a secret society protect the world from supernatural evils"
Books Required: Just the one.

 
So, I think that Esoterrorists was the first Gumshoe game, based on the intro to the book written by Simon Rogers. I've talked before about how I think that the premise of the Gumshoe system is sound, even if the reasoning behind it seems a little extreme (to wit, the premise is that if you treat finding clues in an investigative game like any other action - roll to see if you fail and fail means "no" - that the action grinds to a halt). I think that that problem is very much rooted in some deeper issues with what "failure" means in the context of an RPG, but I honestly can't fault the result; it's one of my favorite systems and it absolutely informed Chill 3rd Ed.

This particular game has the players assuming the roles of members of the Ordo Veritatis (which sounds like better Latin than SAVE uses, but that's how the cookie crumbles), a secret organization that operates in unconnected cells to battle the titular Esoterrorists. Magic and the supernatural need a foothold in the belief of the world before they become fixtures, so it's not just about fighting them, it's about keeping them out of the public eye and mind. Sounds good.

So, what kind of investigator would I like to make today? You get recruited into the OV by invitation or just stumbling across the world of the supernatural (but then vetted and psych tested, which is probably good), so I'm not necessarily an occultist by design. Let's see. I think I want to play a criminal of sorts. Reggie Blankenship was running pool hall scams in high school. He got expelled his senior year, got a GED, did a couple of years in college and then got expelled for selling exams and essays. He's done a bunch of minor cons, and was branching into identity theft when he got asked to create a legal identity for some old guy named Ezra. Reggie did some digging and found that Ezra had been creeping around for more than a century, and was all set to make the ID and then bug the fuck out when the OV showed up. Reggie helped lure Ezra into a trap, and then saw the benefit of having a secret organization having his back (legal fees!), so he joined up.

Next step is Investigative Abilities. As usual, I get a number based on how many players in the group, and I'm sure if I were actually playing Reggie there would be at least 5 players, so we'll say I get 20 points.

Well, starting with Academic Abilities, I'll take a point in Law (gotta know it to break it). I get a free point in Occult Studies, so that doesn't count against my 20. I'll take a point in Research, too (Reggie does his homework).

Down under Interpersonal, I'll take Bullshit Detector (duh), Bureaucracy, Cop Talk, Flattery, Flirting, two points in Impersonate, and then one each in Negotiation, Reassurance, and Streetwise. That puts me up to 12 spent, 8 left. Anything down under Technical?

Well, sure. Cryptography, Data Retrieval, Document Analysis, two in Electronic Surveillance, Fingerprinting, and Photography. One left. I'll put it in Languages, that's always useful.

And then 60 points in General Abilities. Yowza. Well, right off the bat, I want a decent rating in Infiltration, so I'll put 10 there (that means I have to put at least 5 in the next-highest). I'll put 8 in Athletics (it pays to be able to run in Reggie's line of work), 8 in Driving (ditto), 4 in Shooting (he knows how guns work), 8 in Surveillance, 9 in Health (plus one for free), 5 in Stability (plus one I get for free), 8 in Filch (duh) and 4 in Preparedness.

And that's pretty much it, actually. I think Reggie is a nicely nondescript fellow - white, average height and build, brown hair, brown eyes. He carries a wedding ring and wears it when it'll help with a con, and while he's not educated in any formal capacity he can fake knowledge of a number of different topics (plus he improvises well).

Interesting to me that this game doesn't use Drive, because it seems like it'd benefit. I think that for Reggie, the full scope of the problem isn't really apparent yet and he's looking to use the OV for whatever benefits he can get before taking off. At some point on his first real mission, shit is going to get very real for him.

Chill: By the Skin of Our Teeth, or, Hammer-Time!

Violence abounds. Let's dig in.

Last time, our intrepid SAVE envoys did some digging into the disappearance of former envoy Vince Jessup, recently released from prison for murders he evidently committed under influence of the Unknown. The envoys' investigation led them to his former cellmate, Franklin Wray, who had been in prison for killing a man named Timothy Fossly. Fossly's uncle, Gregory, had a piece of land out in rural Oregon, and Jessup had apparently said something about going to Oregon, so the envoys decided to drop in on that property to see if Fossly still lived there. It was, as they say, a long shot.

Mohammed, Beth Anne, Jordan, and Blake (joining them after getting done with work) head out to Oregon. Jennifer, remember, had decided to stay behind and act as a point of contact, and BB got hung up visiting his own PO (his player wasn't feeling well). The envoys drive for a goodly portion of the day, and get to the property just as the sun is setting.

The property consists of three buildings - a two-story house, a barn, and a garage. The envoys pull down the badly-maintained gravel drive and survey the area. It's snowing, and it's quiet and still. They decide that Mohammed and Beth Anne will go up and knock; no need to get everyone involved.

They walk up and knock. In the quiet, Beth Anne hears a noise from the basement, a kind of mechanical "crunch" sound. It sounds familiar, but she isn't sure why. An old man answers the door. He's careful at first, but then lets them in and introduces himself as Jack Gordon. Mohammed asks his connection to Greg Fossly; Gordon says Fossly died, he thinks, but he bought this place a couple of years back, through a realtor. Mohammed Senses the Unknown and gets a strong feeling - there's a creature of the Unknown present. He doesn't know if it's Gordon, though.

Mohammed, wishing as always to be the best interrogator he can be, uses Telepathic Empathy on the man, and his breath catches in his throat. Gordon may or may not be a creature of the Unknown, but he wants Beth Anne and Mohammed to suffer and die. He doesn't even want it in an angry way, he wants it in a more visceral, basic-need sort of way. Mohammed, realizing that the characters are a little out of their depth here, thanks Gordon for his time and starts heading back.

He gets in the car and relays this information to the others, but as they're reversing, there's a sickening noise from under the car and it lurches and stalls. Jordan and Blake get out, and see Gordon walking toward them. The envoys grab pistols, just to be on the safe side, but Gordon is all concern when he approaches. Jordan looks under the car, and sees that the axel is completely bent. There's nothing in the driveway that could have done that; that's the work of the Unknown.

Gordon helpfully offers for the envoys to come inside and use the phone. They agree, but keep wary. Mohammed distracts Gordon by talking to him, listening to his stories about being in the Marines in WWII, and comes to the conclusion that these stories are probably true, but not Gordon's - he's telling someone else's life. Mohammed has dealt with inhuman people before, but never someone so truly devoid of emotion or empathy. Gordon reads like a serial killer.

The others look around. On his way in, Blake peeks in the window of the garage, and sees vehicles - one large enough to be a tractor - but not in much detail. He checks the kitchen (where the phone is), and calls AAA. They take a while even figuring out where the envoys are, and then tell Blake it'll be hours before anyone can get out there. He thanks them, silently hoping he'll live that long.

Beth Anne finds a door leading down to the basement. On the inside of the door is a list of initials - some are just ??. The last one on the list is VJ. Two up from that is GF, and a bunch up from that is TF. A victim's list? She photographs it and shows it to Jordan.

Jordan, meanwhile, searches the kitchen and finds a pistol strapped under a cabinet. She takes it, despite not knowing much about firearms - at least if she has it, Gordon doesn't. She also finds a blossom, resembling a thistle, but with an odd scent. She shows it to Beth Anne, who identifies the odor - blood. This isn't a natural plant.

Beth Anne, Blake, and Jordan sneak downstairs and find a workbench, with apparatus for filling shotgun shells (which was that "crunch" that Beth Anne heard earlier; she's a farm girl, she knows how to make ammo). There's also a wall dedicated to hammers - claw hammers, sledge hammers, all kinds.

Upstairs, Mohammed mentions that maybe they should find his friends. "Let's," says Gordon, and focuses on him.

Mohammed falls to the ground, writing in pain. The damage isn't much, but it feels like his ribs, damaged in the last case, are breaking all over again. The others hear him cry out and come running, but Gordon is gone, and the front door is open.

Jordan goes to the door to peer out, and hears a small "crack" from out in the dark. A puff of blood emerges from her back, and she collapses, shot. The others drag her in and help her get steady, and then realize she's pretty badly hurt. She's OK for now, but she needs medical attention. The phone rings, and Mohammed answers - it's AAA for Blake. He puts Blake on, and the woman tells him that it might be morning before a truck can get out there. She can call emergency services for him if he needs that. Blake, figuring that sending an ambulance here is going to get people killed, declines, but gets the number to the nearest hospital (it's two hours away, of course).

The envoys search the house, and find more firearms, but no evidence of dead bodies or anything Unknown. Beth Anne leaves her body and goes out to the garage, and finds a truck (the keys to which Blake found earlier), and a tractor (which clearly doesn't run). She then goes to the barn, and finds its interior is completely overgrown with those weird thistles. They all seem to grow from a couple of patches near the back of the barn. She walks around the outside of the barn and finds a man standing there staring at the house. He turns to look at her, and she realizes he's hollowed out, full of vines, and his eyes are two of those thistle blossoms. He "looks" at her for a moment, then turns to stare at the house.

She walks around back, and finds Gordon hiding, holding a shotgun, watching the back door. He doesn't seem to notice her, but of course she can't do anything to interact with him.

Beth Anne returns to her body and reports the situation. The envoys decide that waiting is a bad idea - sooner or later Gordon will attack. As if to underline the point, the lights go out, as does the heat.

They know where Gordon is now. They decide to hit the garage and burn the obviously-Unknown plants. They figure Blake and Jordan will head out there, and Jordan will use her Line of Defense power to ward the barn - maybe that'll kill the plants outright, maybe not, but it's a start. Mohammed and Beth Anne will watch from the front door, since Gordon will probably come around from the back.

Jordan and Blake head out, and the man that Beth Anne saw tackles them. Jordan draws a circle around it, but gets Blake in there, too, so the creature claws at him, but can't quite gain purchase. He turns a sawed-off shotgun he found on the thing and fires, but it keeps moving.

Meanwhile, there's a thump from above Mohammed and Beth Anne. Mohammed figures that Gordon is on the roof, and runs up. Beth Anne, for her part, succumbs to her Drive ("to be free") and runs to the garage to get the truck working.

Mohammed finds the upstairs window leading to the roof in time to see Gordon fire a rifle (this hits Blake in the shoulder, but of course Mohammed can't see that). He fires at Gordon, but misses, and Gordon points at him and picks him up without touching him, flinging him out the window and into the snow. Mohammed lands well, taking minimal damage, and fires back blindly, but of course he can't see enough to aim.

Gordon shoots Blake again, and Blake panics, bashing the creature repeatedly with a hammer. Jordon, meanwhile, gets into the barn, draws a ward on the wall, and watches as the plants wiggle, trying to get away from it.

And then she just sprays paint thinner around and burns it.

The plant-zombie crumbles, and Blake tries to stand. Gordon fires again, dropping Mohammed, and Beth Anne gets the car rolling and pulls up to them. Blake helps the others into the truck, and they take off, bleeding, injured, into the night.

They make it the two hours to the hospital and claim that they broke down while driving through Oregon and this old guy started shooting, but they (that is, Beth Anne; everyone else is in treatment) don't give the police enough detail to find the place, they hope. They also call the ranch. They need reinforcements. They're going back.

Character Creation: Velvet Glove (ashcan)

Missed last week, but that just means I'm a week behind schedule. I can make that up no problem over Xmas break. Today's our holiday party, so I've got shit to do, but PbtA games are hella quick so HERE WE GO! Don't forget to like and subscribe!

(I feel kinda dirty saying that. And it's pretty meaningless here anyway. Moving on.)

The Game: Velvet Glove (Notebook Edition)
The Publisher: Magpie Games
Degree of Familiarity: None with this game, quite a bit with the underling system
Books Required: Just the one.

 
Velvet Glove asks you to play teenage girls in a gang in the 1970s. Like a lot of PbtA games, it's hella niche. This is a subgenre I'm not terribly familiar with (I've seen a couple of the movies on the recommended viewing list at the end, but they're the more recent ones).

Anyway, like most PbtA games, we start with a playbook. Options are the Gearhead, the Maniac, the Newbie, the Radical, the Stoner, and the Valkyrie. Hmm. I think I'll take the Stoner. Go ask Alice, baby. ("White Rabbit" seems a little cliche here, but I'll run with it.)

The book wants me to pick a name off the list; sure. I'll take Santana. She's 18 (at the high end of the age spectrum). Picking the Look, I'll pick Woman (as opposed to Girl or Ambiguous); tomboy clothes, no makeup (she's allergic to a lot of it), natural hair, and Latinx.

For my gear, I'll take a switchblade and 2 doses of a drug (LSD, I think).

And then for Stats, I get to add one to my array. Hmm. I already know what moves I want, so I think I'll lean in and add one to heart. That gives me -1 Brains, +2 Heart, +0 Muscles, and +1 Pussy (yep).

Speaking of Moves, I want head change (I can get high and know things) and that's the joint (when I set up a party, I can call someone who'll bring good shit).

And then normally I'd do Ties, but y'know, it's just me, so I generally skip this step.

I'll say that the Stoner playbook seems geared mostly to weed, but I see Santana as a fan of hallucinogens, too. Like, I think she's happy to smoke up with her friends and use weed as the party drug, but the other stuff is for doing with people she trusts (or thinks she can trust). I think it'd be fun to get in trouble with that, and if I were playing her, I'd definitely push for our gang to be selling drugs.

And that's it!

Movie #486: Now & Then

Now & Then is a coming-of-age drama starring Rosie O'Donnell, Christina Ricci, Demi Moore, Gaby Hoffmann, Melanie Griffith, Thora Birch, Rita Wilson, Ashleigh Aston Moore, and a bunch of other people basically in cameos. It's pretty awful.

The movie starts with Chrissy (Wilson) getting ready to have a baby, attended by her best friend and OB/GYN Roberta (O'Donnell). Their two other best friends, Samantha (Moore) and Teeny (Griffith), who fled their tiny Indiana town to become a successful author and actress, respectively, also come back for the birth. They all get together and start reminiscing, and then we flash back for the bulk of the movie to 1970, where Chrissy (Moore) is the naive, sheltered girl given confusing and metaphorical sex ed by her mother (Bonnie Hunt); Samantha (Hoffmann) is bookish and weird, likes to have seances, and is coping with her parents' impending divorce; Roberta (Ricci) is tom-boyish and rough, hates her developing body, and is comping with her mother dying in a car wreck when she was small; and Teeny (Birch) is the daughter a couple of swingin' 70s folks, is precociously sexual (or at least wants to be), and wants to be an actress when she grows up.

Kay, so I'm gonna spare you the blow-by-blow of the summer. If you want that, go read the Wiki (it's hella thorough). Suffice to say that the movie isn't long, but it goes on forever. There are myriad events, twists, turns, mysteries, naked boy (like, little boy) butts, near-deaths, and just holy shit this never ends. And then at the end the girls discover that they didn't actually bring an unquiet spirit back to Earth (no, really), go on and "grow up," and then flash back to "now" where the women welcome Chrissy's daughter and vow to see each other more often.

Good lord, if you want a definition of the word "glurge," watch this movie. There are so many false starts (this summer is about when we saved money for a tree house! No, it's about when we solved a mystery! No, it's about when we put a ghost to rest! No, it's about when we fought with the Wormer brothers!), and so many awful lines that seem Really Profound, but also like they came out of a Hallmark card. I've heard this movie described as "Stand By Me" for girls, but holy shit, Stand By Me had a story and it was about growing up and learning about adult shit within the context of that story. This...just throws everything possible into the blend and then pours it out in one syrupy mess.

Good point: The cast is actually pretty good and does the best it can with the dialog.

Last point of annoyance: Melanie Griffith and Thora Birch are completely wasted playing Teeny, who is given no arc and nothing of substance to do, especially as an adult.

My Grade: F
Rewatch Value: IINSIAIFWT

Next up: O Brother Where Art Thou?