Sss, says the serpenty sword.
The Game: Swords of the Serpentine
The Publisher: Pelgrane Press
Degree of Familiarity: None with this game; I know Gumshoe pretty well but this is different in a lot of ways
Books Required: Just the one, but it's a doozy
Swords of the Serpentine is an interesting one. It's a Gumshoe game, meaning it uses a system designed for investigative stories, but it's very much meant to play sword-and-sorcery adventures, which wouldn't be especially compatible in my mind. But it's done really well, the setting is compelling, and it definitely deserves the hype I've heard about it.
The game is set in the city of Eversink (though I think there's enough attention paid to the surrounding areas that if you wanted to go into the wilds for a story you could), and there are some echoes of Blades in the Dark inasmuch as there are various factions competing for power. Likewise, sorcery is a thing and it's pretty badass, but when you use it you increase Corruption and you have either let it eat you or eat reality around you. It's a nice implementation of the "magic has a cost" idea. As I think about it, a lot of games that try to pick up on that theme don't make magic commensurately powerful to compensate for the "cost" (there are other examples, but the first thing that comes to mind is the first edition of Mage: The Awakening where Paradox was a complete paper tiger).
Anywayhow, let's get into it. As with many games with intricate settings, it would help to have some idea of the campaign theme, but since it's just me we'll say that my character is seeking his fortune in the city of Eversink. I've made a few magicky characters lately ("lately" is always relative), so how about we avoid sorcery.
The first thing I'm invited to do is pick a profession, out of four (thief, sorcerer, sentinel, and warrior). I think I'll go with warrior and say that my character is trying to become famous - he wants to be the flashy, dazzling, duelist that he grew up hearing stories about (this implies he's from Eversink...oh, or maybe from the outskirts, close enough that his family went into town on market days but not actually in the city). That could eventually put him into a situation like...what's that one episode of The Twilight Zone? "Mr. Denton on Doomsday!" But that's down the road a ways.
(Ooh, it'd be fun to run this game and have the characters be older, experienced and utterly badass characters retelling stories of their youth. Put that in my pocket.)
So next we pick some adjectives (the best RPGs involve parts of speech). I think my guy is naive, fame-hungry (I almost said "ambitious" but that's not quite the vibe I'm looking for), young, naturally skilled, and quick-tempered. Kinda like Chris O'Donnell's character in The Three Musketeers, as I think about it.
Next, Drives. We get these by pretending we're in Conan The Barbarian and answering "what is best in life?" For my character, I think it's to be spoken of in song and story, to stand aside for no one, and for all to know your name and face.
Neat! On to Investigate Abilities! As with many Gumshoe games, you get a pool of points to spend on these dependent on how many players in the group. Well, let's pretend I was playing this in the group currently playing Blades in the Dark (it could happen). That would mean four Heroes, so I'd get 11 points.
Investigative Abilities have a slightly different game function than in other Gumshoe games; they do the normal think of giving you whatever core clues are available that they would apply to, but spending them to affect other parts of the game is also a much bigger deal. As such, if I were to pump 5 points into a give ability, it wouldn't be completely dumb. I don't know that I'll do that, but I could.
Let's see. Going on the assumption that my would-be famous duelist is from a family outside the city - let's say that fishes the river? - it would make sense to give him Servility. I think he needs Charm, too. Probably Taunt, I could see him engaging in game of the Dozens. Maybe a point of Trustworthy? Sure.
And then there are Professional Abilities (still Investigative) under the four professions. I can take any of them, but if I only take points from one category I get an extra point to spend. I dunno, there are some Thief ones I kinda like...
Well, let's have a look. I know I want Wilderness Survival, which fortunately is under Warrior. Spot Frailty is good, but what's interesting is that if I just take one point that applies to Armor (physical damage) or Grit (social damage; you can damage Morale in this game just as easily as Health), but if I have more than 1 point it applies to both. I think Know Monstrosities might be a little outside his experience, although if he's an avid student of local legendry maybe one point. Tactics of Death might be something he'd get later, but again, maybe a point. Let's have a look at how this is shaping up.
Charm 2
Servility 2
Taunt 2
Trustworthy 1
Know Monstrosities 1
Spot Frailty 1
Tactics of Death 1
Wilderness Survival 2
That's 12, and that works because I've only bought Professional Abilities from Warrior. Neat! We'll say Spot Frailty applies to Grit, not Armor.
And then I also get three Build Points for Allegiances. I have two points in factions as Allies, and one as Enemies, so who am I cool with and who'd I piss off? I think Commoners might get a point of Allies, but at the same time, I kinda like his people not actually knowing who he is. Maybe instead I'll put my Allies points into Outlanders and City Watch (I picture his friend in the city watch having a very Roman Dey/Peter Quill relationship - the Watchman thinks I'm kind of a tool but knows I'm not 100% a dick). For Enemies, I'll put that point into Mercenaries - there was this misunderstanding where I offered to do a job for free that the Mercs had been negotiating. They wound up doing it, but I drove down the price. Sorry, guys.
And now, General Abilities! I have 30 points to spend, and then 18 to split between Health and Morale (I really like that system; it's not actually more points than other Gumshoe games, but you don't feel like you have to rob yourself to buy your hit points). My highest ability can't be more than twice my next-highest, meaning if I want something at 10 I have to take something else at 5. Having 1-3 makes me a dabbler, 4-7 makes me trained, 8 or more is expert.
Obviously I want Warfare (which is the catch-all "kill shit" ability). I want Sway, too, which is used to do Morale damage. Maybe a point or two of Stealth (he's a fisherman, not a hunter, you don't sneak up on a fish), but I can see Athletics being a little higher. I feel like I should take some Preparedness, though I don't think it's his forte.
Athletics 8
Preparedness 3
Stealth 5
Sway 7
Warefare 7
That's 30, nice! For the Health/Morale split, I'll go 9 and 9, why complicate things.
And finally (well, almost finally, still need a name) I get at least five pieces of iconic gear. This isn't magical items or badass equipment, this is just the stuff that makes me, me (and it doesn't have to be physical, it can be personality traits).
So my guy has a special red scarf that he wears around his neck (his mother found a length of dyed red fabric that fell off a wagon and made him a scarf). That implies a special relationship with his mother, actually, so I'll say the memory of his mother is part of his iconic gear. He's got a fishhook in his boot (not, like, literally in his boot, but through the leather near the top), and a dazzling smile. One more (at least, though I can take more if I think of them). Heh, I got one. He's got a piece of cloth with charcoal drawings of his symbol. He wants to have an emblem that he wears or draws to indicate it's him, a kind of "Mark of Zorro" thing, but he hasn't decided on the design yet so he's got this piece of fabric with ideas.
And I think that's it! I picture this guy as young (late teens, probably), lean and athletic, naturally good at running/jumping/climbing and pretty good at fighting, but in a fight scene it would seem like a lot of luck. His witty repartee is going to be somewhat unpolished at first; I think with some character advancement he'd learn to read and maybe pick up some Thief and Sentinel abilities.
Anyway, sandy brown hair, blue eyes, the aforementioned dazzling smile, always dirty but never filthy. His name is Armano.
