Adding on to SFX Zounds!

I am preparing to run a fantasy RPG using +Joshua Macy's excellent SFX! System Zounds! Now, if you haven’t heard of it before, you can download it for free from DriveThruRPG. He has created a handful of fine games based on different genres: Kapow! For superhero games, Zap! For SciFi games, ARGH! For modern horror games, and Zounds! For fantasy games. These are great fun, easily available for one shots and ongoing campaigns.

I plan on running an ongoing campaign through Google Hangouts. I may need to adjust the timeslot to get more people in the game, but that’s besides the point. I am lucky enough to have Joshua in my circles, so he’ll probably join in, which is always great to have a developer there if you’re looking at changing how things work. They can give you reasons why they did something the way they did or suggestions on how to make your change better. Also, if you have missed something already covered, they can point it out. Already, here I am looking at things that I want to be able to do in my game that isn’t necessarily covered in the book.

Influence and Reputation

To be fair, Reputation is listed as a suggested Asset within the Zounds! Framework on page 28. However, there is no follow up for it. I look at it as allowing characters to use in order to gain favorable outcomes from certain groups. Those groups might be a ruling council of elves or members of the secretive Thieves’ Guild. It might be used in combing powers to carouse, negotiate, or investigate. One thing I consider alongside this is granting XP specifically to be used toward increasing reputation or influence. Influence is pretty much written like rank, although for my own campaign, I’ll define the areas of influence and ranks in more definitive terms. The same can be said for reputation. I’m also considering looking at a way to “damage” either one of these assets. You overextend your influence or you lose face in front of a group that respects you.

Legendary Magic Weapons

What about weapons that level up with the character? Now, SFX! And Zounds! Already make room for doing this easily, permitting characters to spend XP in the form of Boosts on whatever they want really. However, once again, how about specifying XP toward improving special pieces of gear. It would work a lot like Magical Research, but wouldn’t necessarily be that. It might be a warrior meditating with their blade, or a rogue training with their lockpick tools. These are just ideas, but I think they are worth bouncing around.  The concept is not too different from D&D 3.5’s Weapons of Legacy.

Specialized Powers, Gear, and Boosts

SXC.hu

This one is a bit odd. Because Zounds! Is already designed to be quite freeform both in character creation and advancement, it is near impossible to limit a character’s abilities. However, if a character has unlimited options, is it possible to have options that are limited to specific groups. Again, similar to D&D’s 3^rd edition Prestige Classes, is there a way to allow characters to perhaps purchase packages that give some sort of discounted benefits or benefits that are unique to those who have met the proper requirements. It probably all falls under flavor and the Primary Rule of what makes sense and what fits the setting. For example, the Dread Knight package might have a Darkened Blade 6 power that allows them to attack Will instead of Toughness. Anyone else might have a Power that does the same exact thing, but is called something different and should also look different, but it has the same exact effect.

Changing Scopes

In most of the SFX! games, it is recommended that we use different scopes to indicate the overall power level of the game. I think, as with traditional fantasy RPGs, we need to be able to transcend scope a little bit easier. This gives the feel of leveling up like old school RPGs where you go from the peasant to the local hero to the brave knight to the cosmic champion.

These are some basic things I’m eyeballing right now. For those of you who have read or even played in a Zounds! Game so far, what do you think?

Can Daring Comics Pull off a Fate Supers Game?

This morning, I awoke at an odd time and I did what I always do shortly after I wake up. I checked my email. Sitting there, in all its glory, was an announcement from +Rich Knight  that the Kickstarter campaign for the Daring Comics Role-Playing Game had begun. Those who know me know that I have a certain love for supers, RPGs, and the Fate system by Evil Hat Games. I was excited and decided to hop on over to the Kickstarter and have a look.

Now, those who have read my blog before know that I have a tendency to be a bit stingy with my money and harsh on those who ask for it. At the same time, I am the first to sing the praises of those who impress me. It saddens me to say that this particular project failed to do just that. I mean, there were some solid ideas presented along with the project, but there were also several concerns raised.

First, in the very beginning, there is an explanation for why the Kickstarter campaign page lacked the video that many of us have come to expect. It is understandable, really. Apparently, the artist had been paid to put the video together, but delayed and eventually pretty much vanished. It happens. If I had to count the number of artists—particularly comic book and RPG artists—I have seen flake out over the years, I’d be here all night. Okay, but why not have a backup plan? You’re a publisher, you’ve almost assuredly dealt with this before or at least know it’s a risk. You could’ve planned ahead. You could’ve come up with a plan B. You could have put together a video using a slideshow application and a microphone. But, that wasn’t done here. The project needed to get out the door so money could be made. So, what other excuses will we see during production and what other shortcuts will we take in the name of a product getting out the door.

As a writer, I know I am far from perfect. I often say that, as a writer, I’d have a fool for a client if I were to also serve as my own editor. However, there were some editorial issues with the Kickstarter. As a writer, I also hate being told “it could have been better” without anyone offering any specifics. And yes, this blog post could have probably been better, but I’m doing it for free, in my spare time, and not asking for any money. Take, for example, a line right from the announcement on G+: “But we didn't stop there, just as you can expect to see rules for building your own Stunts, we also provide you with the rules for building your own powers, special effects, and limits using the same basic Fate rules.” Why wasn’t “But we didn’t stop there” its own sentence. Okay, maybe I’m being picky and confusion grammar for stylistic choices, but things like that leave an annoying ring in my brain, like most people experience with nails on a chalkboard. “Heroes like you!” is great, but it lacks build up and connection. And, there are certainly more I could point out, but it probably is better to just say “it could have been better.” The Daring team didn’t ask for me to critique or edit every last word, and I’m not trying to pick on them here. Hopefully, they and others will understand I’m really just offering up some constructive criticism here.

And, let’s face it, when you read what they plan on doing, this is a massive project. They’ve spent two years working on it so far and have made adjustments to make it more compatible with the most recent version of Fate. Boasted features of the product include:

• 100 pre-built powers
• More than 100 special effects and limitations
• Full color artwork
• Series and settings creation
• Sample archetypes to enable fast play
• And more

It sure seems to be a massive undertaking. And, it seems to have everything I would expect and/or want from such a project. I’m actually a bit excited about it. But, these initial problems have me a bit concerned. The fact that this project was posted about 7 hours ago and already has more than 30 backers and $2000 under its belt says something to me. And, like Kickstarter advises, I do a little internet sleuthing. Their domain has been around since 2009, although the posts go back as far as late 2011 and refer to the previously successful Kickstarter project World of the Dead for Savage Worlds and this game here. The blog updates have been sporadic—mostly a week or two, but sometimes a month or two between. The Google Plus community had 88 members (now 89, because I do want to follow this). I’m hoping to see more activity here as there are a few earlier posts, but the ones related to the Kickstarter release talk about pricing or the video. The video isn’t considered a big deal. Then why open the Kickstarter page with it?!? And, it can’t be compared to the Fate Core pricing model, but why? I’m absolutely basing the value of this project off of related projects.

That being said, it is a bit pricey. For all they plan on adding, it might be a fair price. Let’s have a look at that. They have gone through the process before and learned at least one or two lessons the ahrd way, but they group seemed to keep people updated throughout the way—something we know not all Kickstarter projects do. There delays from that previous product didn’t seem too bad either. These are both good things.

They were apparently Arbor Productions which apparently made a name for itself, but since changed names. From a business perspective, this sets off warning bells—if the business was doing well, why change it? They boast of publishing close to 70 products, although it seems a number of these were part of the adventure series related to their last Kickstarter. That’s good, because they support stuff instead of run off roughshod from project to project and I can’t speak to the quality of those products because they’re in a line that simply doesn’t interest me or as to whether they should be considered 70 or so different products or really just mostly one big project that was released over time.

Looking over the provided artwork, it is decent. It isn’t anything stellar that reaches out and grabs me, though. For a supers RPG, I think it needs to do just that. And, once money comes in and artists can afford to dedicate more time, I would be hopeful that we’d see the work get better. But, it leads back to the part about the video—why not put the best foot forward right off the bat?

They also provided a brief into by gathering dev notes and putting them into a PDF. This was an interesting read. I seem some of the same stylistic and editorial choices that leave me a bit luke warm. They talk about the campaign scope and creating the setting. I was a bit let down that they didn’t deviate more from standard aspect creation for the super heroes, but that’s a personal choice, really. I dig the rogue gallery overview, but is that going to be too much work and turn off people that love the fast and easy way of Fate? They start using points to do skills and stunts and powers, which takes away the pyramid a bit. I don’t have a problem with this, although I’ve seen a number of people stomp their feet at the mere suggestion of such a thing. Powers definitely get a bit more complex as the discussion goes on, leaving me feeling less like I am looking at a Fate book and more like something from other systems, or at least a cross between the two. I get it, but am not totally sure I like it. To me, it fails to encapsulate Fate.

That was actually the deal breaker for me. I could possibly look past everything else. But, when I realized I was seeing something that was less and less Fate, I realized I have tons of supers RPGs that are not Fate already at my disposal.  It may end up being an awesome game, but I’ll have to wait and see once it is out rather than jumping on the Kickstarter bandwagon. I wish the team all the luck in the world. Not everything is for everyone, though, and I think we can all understand and agree on that.

Yes, And...

Admittedly, I really struggled with coming up with a title for this blog post. I settled on a term that many gamers and GMs love to toss around these days. I can’t count the number of times +Jerrod Gunning  has used it while describing gaming and running styles. He’s also used numerous times in the handful of games I have been luckily enough to join in while he was running. Yes, Jerrod runs a lot of games, but my schedule tends to be a bit goofy. Anyhow, moving right along.

I was fortunate enough to sit in on a play test of D&D Next being run by +Tom Morris . I’ve had the playtest documents and played a few games, but everything had trouble getting off the ground. Tonight, I was a little late to join in the fun myself, but I was invited to sit back and watch. +Cavin DeJordy  was there with his natural impishness—he’s a lot more macabre in game than I remember. Then, +Shoe Skogen  was playing a character that was just downright brutal. +Lloyd Gyan was there with a proper and studious healer. The fray exploded early amongst these and other players.

I realized a few things here. Over the years, I have played an enjoyed a great many games—everything from Dungeons & Dragons Advanced Second Edition to Rifts (yes, I put them next to one another on purpose), Rolemaster, Fate, and so many more. Over time, my tastes have changed somewhat and in some cases, it was really because I didn’t know what I wanted. I found on more than one occasion I found an RPG I didn’t know I loved until I tried it, like asking someone if they enjoy chocolate when they have never had it. +Joshua Macy's SFX is a perfect example of this.

With DnD 3x, I enjoyed feats and skills, but it became clunky. I later experimented with +Mark Knights  running Pathfinder and I finally realized why I moved away from d20. D20 and DnD are built off a single, simple rule, a roll of a d20. However, there are literally hundreds of rules exceptions. Fate Core came out and I enjoyed it, but there was a lot of applications of rules—it was like peeling back an onion. With SFX! everything revolved around “does this makes sense?” Genius!

My point is, I’ve been trying a lot of games out over the past year and I have seen what I live versus what I don’t like. What I have really been doing is testing systems to see what they could and couldn’t do. I really wanted to push the envelope for what I was used to seeing in tabletop games. I wanted the high flying cinematics without having to memorize a thousand rules or find a way to make it work within a system—have it just work out of the box with just a roll or two, without and fudging or modifications. The cool trailers we see for video games—yeah, that’s what I want our characters to do…all…the…time.

Take a look here for a perfect example of what I mean (especially the archer dude near the end):

Watching this game of D&D Next get played, however, I was seeing the exact opposite. Testing out rules, you play a system as designed. You ignore the golden rule of gaming to “use what you want and discard the rest.” I heard more than once that the system simply wasn’t designed to do what the players wanted it to. Players pleaded with the DM for another player to be able to do something just because it would be cool. They worked something out, she did. It was awesome. They tried to encourage it to be more awesome and my take away line for the night was “There are no suplexes in Dungeons & Dragons.”

Meanwhile, I look at games like Fate where people are supposed to have fun making their characters and what their characters do “more awesome.” SFX is build the same way. The difference being in Fate, there are some pretty solidly established ways to do things. In SFX, you determine your desired end result and roll for that, everything else is just window dressing. +Adam Dickstien has a modified version of D&D he’ll hopefully run for me soon that, every time I hear about it, it makes me drool. He says that your characters are supposed to be mythic fantasy heroes. Meanwhile, D&D is often built more around what you can’t do.

At the same time, I heard a lot of meta gaming going on in the D&D Next play test. The healer of the group was trying to figure out how many hit points his companions had so that he could do cool stuff. Fate suffers from this a bit as well, as you make decisions based on Fate points. That’s thinking out of game. As Macy will tell you, just as in SFX, gaming should be done from the character’s perspective. What would they do or what would it make sense for them to do in certain situations? You shouldn’t be worried about this otherwise non-existent arbitrary facets that are included by the rules. Now, I still like to roll, so I’m not a diceless roleplaying guy. I don’t enjoy Gossamer & Shadow or Fiasco. I do, however, enjoy being in the moment and not worry about how many HP or or power points my character has and dealing with some archaic, otherwise intangible currency.

So, “yes, and…” makes a lot more sense to me now than it did way back when. I’m seeing the flaws in the games I grew up with. I still enjoy them for what they are, but I also find myself looking toward what else there could be. I have taken situations and videos to GMs and designers from different games. How would you do this with XYZ system? I get answers like it can’t be done or that you have to either ignore certain rules or follow a laundry list of rules that add so much table rolling, you can easily get lost. Then, I also get answers like “that’s easy, just blah, blah, blah.” So far, however, the only one that has really held true and made sense for me is SFX’s rule of “does it make sense.” Trying to work that into other games now, and I’ll have to see how the players respond to it, because it does require a certain bit of arbitrary ad libbing. And, even I am one who likes codification. It is an interesting conundrum with two diametrically opposing forces needing to play nice with one another.

Homebrew Descriptors for the Numenera RPG

I've really been digging the Numenera role playing game so far. With only 12 descriptors, it almost begs to have new ones written. I talked about this in one of my earlier blog posts, about how--even with guidelines and examples--I wasn't quite sure how close or how far off I was. So, I decided to write some up tonight and share them with the fine folks of Internetlandia and get some feedback

Descriptor: Calculating

You are a methodical, linear thinker. You often find the easiest, most direct method, but you still consider all of the variables. You may take time to act, but you usually end up with better results than others. You might be heralded as a wise man, a problem solver, or an engineer.

Exacting: +2 to Intellect Pool.

Skill: Trained in problem solving, crafts, and one knowledge of choice.

Skill: Trained in skills requiring incredible focus or concentration.

Inability: Initiative tasks are one difficulty higher for you.

Initial Link to the Starting Adventure: From the following list of options, choose how you became involved in the first adventure.

1. You were recruited to help solve a puzzle or mystery.
2. You saved another PC previously by disarming or outsmarting a trap.
3. You have been assigned by a local authority to travel with the party to help keep them out of trouble.
4. One of the PCs bested you in solving a puzzle or riddle previously. You have been working together sense, although you are always trying to prove that your intellect is superior to theirs.

Descriptor: Feral

You have lived apart from others for most of your life. Whether you were a child raised in the wild or a little bit older when you struck out away from society, the outside world is your home now. You may be a brilliant tracker or hunter, but most of all, you are a survivor. Others might seek you out for your familiarity with the untamed lands or you may be seeking a way to reintegrate with civilized peoples.

Inured: +2 to Might Pool.

Skill: You are trained in skills such as survival, hunting, and tracking.

Skill: You are trained in skills with preparing food and working with natural plants.

Inability: Your ability to operate or understand numenera is always one step higher.

Inability: You have been away from society for a long time. The difficulty of any task involving charm, negotiation, persuasion, or deception is increased by one step.

Initial Link to the Starting Adventure: From the following list of options, choose how you became involved in the first adventure.

1. One of the PCs found you in the wild. You became fast friends and you travel together ever since they saved you from near certain death.
2. You saved one of the PC’s lives when they were traveling in the wild. You have traveled together since.
3. One of the PCs has promised to lead you to a home you can only remember bits and pieces of.
4. You left society due to a grave injustice and one of the PCs has agreed to help you right that wrong.

Descriptor: Vicious

You are a harsh individual. You exact the most critical strikes both on the field of battle and off. Those who would dare stand in your way should surely think twice. Most likely you are a warrior, a brigand, maybe a politically motivated individual. You may have an end goal in site or you simply may value others so little that you almost enjoy inflicting pain.

Cruel: You add +1 to damage rolls.

Skill: You have become adept ad reading people in order to find out the most efficient way to inflict harm, granting you trained ability with reading people, motives, and finding weaknesses.

Inability: Your nature often shows through making tasks involving pleasant social interaction and charm one step more difficult.

Additional Equipment: You have an additional Light Weapon.

Initial Link to the Starting Adventure: From the following list of options, choose how you became involved in the first adventure.

1. You have left town to avoid trouble over someone you have harmed in one way or another and found yourself in the company of the party.
2. You are seeking vengeance on someone and find it wiser to travel with the PCs than alone.
3. In a challenge, one of the PCs showed you mercy. You have been intrigued by this and indebted to them ever since.
4. You need money to fund some fiendish endeavor.

So, this is an attempt, I'm interested to hear what others have to say about these descriptors.

Homebrewing the Numenera RPG

Descriptor	Stats	Skills	Special
Charming	+2 Intellect	Pleasant/Positive Social Interaction            Mind Influencing esoteries	Important Contact            Inability Lore, Knowledge, Understanding            Inability Resist Mental Attack            10 extra shins
Clever	+2 Intellect	Trickery            Mental attack defense            Assessing danger, lies, importance, quality, function, or power	Inability Lore, Knowledge, & Understanding            10 extra shins
Graceful	+2 Speed	Balance and careful movement            Physical performing arts            Speed defense	None
Intelligent	+2 Intellect	Knowledge of Choice            Memorizing direct experiences
Learned	+2 Intellect	3 Knowledge of Choice	Inability charm, etiquette, persuasion            2 additional books on topic of choice
Mystical/Mechanical	+2 Intellect	Identifying & understanding Numenera	Sense active numenera            Hedge magic estotery            Inability charm, etiquette, persuasion
Rugged	N/A	Climbing, jumping, running, swimming            Training, riding or placating natural animals            Identifying or using natural plants	Inability charm, etiquette, persuasion, deception            Explorer’s pack or extra if already have one
Stealthy	+2 Speed	Stealth            Trickery            Esoteries or special abilities involving illusion or trickery	Inability movement
Strong	+4 Might	Breaking inanimate objects            Jumping	Extra medium or heavy weapon
Strong-Willed	+4 Intellect	Resist mental effects            Focus/Concentration	Inability Puzzles, problems, memorization, lore
Swift	+4 Speed	Initiative            Running	Inability Balance
Tough	N/A	+1 Armor            +1 Recovery rolls            Might Defense	Extra light weapon

According to the optional rules in the Numenera RPG Core Book, some descriptors offer a +4 to a stat Pool and either two narrow and one broad skill while others have a +2 to stat Pool and either 3 narrow skills or one narrow skill and one broad skill. Additional skills can be added by adding an inability. Add 10 to 15 shins of additional equipment. As we can see, this is a very loose guideline. For example, the Tough character gets an extra light weapon. While I am not sure how the two relate thematically, it is interesting that the guideline recommends that 10 to 15 shins of extra equipment be given out to even things up, but the light weapon typically costs only 3 shins. I believe this is even further thrown out of whack when you consider a descriptor can be replaced with a different race or variable mutant ability.

This can make a bit difficult when trying to come up with new descriptors, which the Numenera RPG almost dares you today, but it can also make it easier. It really depends on your viewpoints. There is a lot of eyeballing here, which is one of the things I didn’t really like about the creation rules for Cortex’s Marvel Super Heroic RPG. Part of that, I have realized is my old school role playing experiences. Without a firmly defined schematic for defining descriptors, it frees those of us who want to homebrew new additions to the game from some more traditional practices of balancing, although it opens up more relying on others’ opinions and playtesting. I plan on creating some of my own descriptors here in the very near future—maybe even tonight. I’m curious how that exercise will work out, but I am also curious to hear others’ thoughts on the whole thing.

Cortex Plus Hacker’s Guide is Out

It has been a little bit since the Kickstarter for Margaret Weis Productions’ Cortex Plus Hacker’s Guide was announced. Today, I awoke to an announcement that the PDF of the book had been released. As a backer, I had also received a coupon in my inbox to download the book from DriveThruRPG for free. I’ve been able to scroll through the book a bit, although I have not yet read it cover to cover. Much of the content was somewhat covered in preview editions I received as a backer, although there is definitely much more meat in the final product. This is a review including my initial impressions of the book, although I won’t be going into too much detail until I have read through it further.

The Layout & Look

I had high hopes for the layout and design of this book. This is especially true since, at one point, the updates were that the initial layout didn’t work so MWP had brought in some “superstar” talent to lay everything our again. There was a period where it should have been three or four weeks to get that done and get the next update, which took closer to two months. The actual release of the book came faster than I expected after that, something like only a week or two. So, that’s great. As with previous MWP products—and a lot of other RPG books on the market—there is some splash color and fonts spread throughout the book along with a graphic border. Unfortunately, it’s not a layered PDF, so that’ll eat a bit more ink to print out. That’s okay, I could live with that, though.

I think what bothers me most was that a portion of the funds raised was to go toward artistic talent. What I have seen here is some decent graphic design in the layout and some icons being added throughout the book. For other spot art, what I have seen looks like nothing more than some photographs, perhaps taken by hired artists or perhaps taken by staff members with photography talents or maybe even purchased from somewhere like iStockPhoto. Now, I don’t mean to knock it. Really, I don’t. However, I like a little bit more art. Perhaps I should have expected photo imagery after reading books like Smallville and Leverage, but those were licensed products, trying to emulate the feel of the source material. The base Cortex book was full of art. Marvel had art, but that was licensed as well from a company where the art often sells the product.

Bottom line, I would have liked to see more line art in the Cortex Hacker’s Guide. I would have preferred a layered PDF. Such is life, though, and it doesn’t totally ruin the product for me.

The Content

This PDF weighs in at 264 pages. It has a table of contents built in, so that’s good. The writing is decent and takes a fun tone, which I think really helps sell the product. I do not feel like I am reading a text book role playing game book. Instead, the exuberance of the creators is shining through in their writing. I think that is great.

The examples given in the final book are more than they were in the preview materials. Simply, there are more of them and they are more colorful—no pun intended. I think that is great. These examples really help to give people an idea of what they can do. Whether they want a dungeon crawl or a cyberpunk super-hero mashup, the tools are readily there to help make the game you have always wanted, with what is a fun system.

I want to take a closer look at each of these sections in more detail at a later time, so keep an eye out for that.

Overall Impressions

I’m really excited that this book is out. I wish the art would’ve been different, but I can live with it for what it is. I also seem to recall their being a rumor that this book would open the doors for some sort of open Cortex license for 3pp, and I don’t see any mention of that in the book on the MWP site. I’ve read some rumors here and there, but it seems it may just be overly emphasized conjecture. So, if you read that and are hoping this book will put you on the path toward creating official 3pp materials for Cortex Plus, I wouldn’t necessarily get your hopes up, as it isn’t the first time the rumor that it would be an option has creeped up and then disappeared.

If you enjoy the Cortex system and want to see what other cool and exciting games you can run along many various lines, it is definitely worth picking up.

RPG Garbage

I’ve taken some time over the last little while to review some games I have had sitting on my HD for quite some time. Some of these were free games. In other cases, they were PDFs I had bought, but never really took a look at. I have to be honest, folks. There is a lot of crap out there.

I am not talking about some people like some games better than other people. I am not talking about how some systems may be better balanced or more functional than others. I am talking about half-written, derivative hunks of junk. Now, don’t get me wrong. I have a lot of that stuff on my hard drive with my name in there as the author. I haven’t been so bold to put it out there on the internet.

I did recently run a test to get a better understanding of the process of self-publishing gaming PDFs through DriveThru RPG when I released OSR Gems. It certainly isn’t the best book out there, but it’s relatively cheap. It was really, for me, a test more than anything else. Do the tools I have meet the standards for publication? What kind of turmoil must I go through to actually post and release the book? Those kinds of things. In all, it wasn’t too bad.

However, as I look around at some of the stuff I’ve picked up over the years, I find that a sizeable chunk is wholly worthless to me. Many contain large sections of portions copy and pasted (and, if I am lucky, reformatted) internet ramblings. A number bring nothing new to the table. Some are as if someone, in some sort of drug induced stupor, decided they wanted to create a role playing game, but didn’t quite know how to do it or where to start.

I’m going to avoid mentioning any names here. Part of the reason is some of these books or projects share a name with successful and beautiful games. That is, they are not associated with that game or the better known versions of it, but they used the same name—this is especially true for some of the fan stuff games freely available on the internet. The other reasons are because (a) maybe the creator was just having a bad day or year and (b) some of this stuff other people may actually enjoy. Frankly, I’m not ready to get into the ripping apart of any specific project bit by bit let alone argue the point with anyone.

Let’s just all agree to a single statement. Some of the stuff you find online (free or for sale) is complete and utter rubbish.

Getting that out of the way, I think there’s reasons for all of it. In many cases, it’s free stuff. Someone was working on a project, wanted to share it. Perhaps the feedback killed the project. Perhaps real life came in and disrupted things. Maybe they got good feedback and decided to take continued development offline and put a more professional spin on things. Maybe the creator or creators were just really that clueless and they thought what they had put together was good. Maybe it was someone trying to make a quick buck in a segmented market. I am sure, between us, we could come up with several more reasons.

Now, why do I bring this up.

Let me let you in on a little secret.

I am afraid of being that guy.

I have a lot of ideas, although I sometimes have difficulty in pinpointing their proper execution. I have a lot of stuff going on in the real world that distracts me. I have 99 problems, but being a successful gaming publisher isn’t one of them, if you get my drift. What if I put out something that bombs? Worse yet, what if I don’t know how horrible it is. The first PDF I put out for OSR last week could have been better. My co-creator suggested a specific look for the images to make it more “old school.” I’d figure we’d give it a try. It was an idea anyhow. So far, it’s the only negative criticism I have gotten, which is not bad, but I haven’t gotten a lot of feedback by any means.

I want to be the guy who puts together and puts out something awesome. That’s part of the reason I have this blog. You, my willing victim…er, audience, give me a lot of feedback and a lot to think on. I think that’s awesome. I write a LOT on a daily basis for work, so teaching myself that writing is still also my passion is another key reason for this blog. I get something back by posting here, so that’s why I do it.

Meanwhile, I take time to consider my next move out there. There are a lot of things I could work on, but I need to find the right one worth putting the time, effort, and other resources into. Now, I’ll come back and touch on that later, because I love the feedback I get here. I wonder if such a supportive and active community would’ve helped prevent some of these other disasters I refer to earlier.

Now, I’m going to come back in awhile and talk about my goals for putting together a good gaming product. These are more overly generalized things that I think need to be there for me to be proud of it. In the meantime, I open the floor to you. Have you guys seen the kind of garbage I am talking about? What do you think when you see it? What are some of the biggest missed opportunities you see in these lackluster attempts?

Hacking the OSR

Okay, maybe I’m a bit late getting on the boat with this one. Maybe it’s because I started gaming in the early 90s when AD&D 2^nd Edition was all the rage, although Palladium’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles & Other Strangeness was my first foray into the wild, wonderful, and wacky world of role playing games. I’ve played a lot of RPGs over the years. Admittedly, even though I could see through the publishers’ tricks, I was always interested in what was new and shiny, although I did always have my old standby games.

Unfortunately, like a lot of gamers, I grew up. I moved away from friends. I got caught up in work, kids, family, and all the other stuff us grownups do. Of course, when we need the escape the most, it is often hardest to pull off. Moving back home, getting on Google Plus and meeting a bunch of gamers, and having finally gotten my wife interested in the hobby, I have been able to come back and enjoy the great escape once more.

Mind you, this post is based on my own, limited experience with OSR. There may be plenty out there that I have not yet seen or read. And, should someone believe I am mischaracterizing OSR, has suggestions at something I should look at, I’m more than happy to hear the feedback and/or take the suggestions.

This whole idea of OSR, which what I can tell is short for Old School Renaissance, and retro-clone games kind of threw me for a loop. People started understanding copyright law a bit better. People started longing for the games the enjoyed in their youth. Others had never left. There are people today still playing the same game and even the same campaign they started some twenty or thirty years ago. New editions of games have been released. Totally new and different games have been published. But, here we have this idea of going back to old school gaming.

I get it…sorta.

Where I am at a loss as someone who likes to tinker with games and hopes to continue publishing my own material is where the lines are. Which ones can we cross and which things are held sacred? When it comes to OSR, we are re-hashing what came before. Most have made no changes, except for specific wording. Many have taken bits and pieces from different versions and weaved them together. But, when does the hack become too much?

OD&D, D&D 1e, even AD&D 2^nd Edition had some substance, but there was hardly much to them. Everything was based on a simple die mechanic. Rolemaster and Palladium were really the same. However, there was always room to create a new skill or OCC/RCC/PCC or whatever for Palladium. There  was always room for a new profession, talent, skill, or table in Rolemaster. With D&D, what could you do? Maybe a new skill, a new race, or a new class or sub-class. All of these things worked on previously established parameters. For the most part, that is what I have seen happening with these new renditions of old material.

With newer games such as Savage Worlds, D&D 3x, Pathfinder, World of Darkness, and others, I have seen a lot of new rules enter the fray. This comes through the publisher’s supplements and 3pp books. It’s on the forums, blogs, and elsewhere.

How are changes or additions taken when considering them in relation to OSR material, though? And, so far, while many games existed back in the day, OSR seems synonymous with old school D&D. What about those other games that have been out for 20 plus years? Is there any OSR love for them?

Street: Chase Zones

Boys and girls, I just can’t stop tonight. I’ve been working not so secretly on Street, my street racing hack for FATE Core. I have a lot of ideas and some great people have been helpful.

This idea came from +Jacob Poss  last night during our discussions. It still needs a bit of work, but I’m trying to wrap my head around it and figure out how it will work. Essentially, Street will make use of a currency called Chase Zones. The GM will set a limit for a given chase.  Short chases should be about 3 zones. Medium, or standard races would be 6 zones. For long races—races that will probably take an entire gaming session—12 zones.

Once the race has begun, it needs to end within that allotment. It can end with a winner or as a tie. Players and NPCs will roll to create advantage and outmaneuver one another during the race.  It works somewhat like a contest, but different. If anyone ever has three or more successes, they win the race by a good clip. Even by one or two successes, if the Chase Zones have been all used up, the winner…well, wins.

By spending a FATE point, a character can lengthen the race. They add a chase zone. Now, this should only be when it makes sense. In a city chase, they might hop on the freeway trying to get away from their opponents.  They may force the race down a narrow canyon in the desert. This gives them the opportunity to win a race they may have otherwise lost or win by much more than they would have otherwise, which can sometimes make a difference. More on that when I get into the other race rules for FATE.

FATE Core: Retconning Advantages

FATE Core gives us a great many options as a role-playing game. Sure, there are a lot of RPGs out there that people like to modify, tweak, and otherwise hack, but FATE Core seems to be designed for it. Those of you who have been unfortunate enough to come along my little place on the internet before may be aware that I am currently working on a FATE hack tentatively titled Street. It’s a racing game, in which I am trying to emulate modern street racing movies that have been so popular, but also older ones including many Burt Reynolds movies, Cannonball Run, Death Race 2000, and more.

I found myself reminiscing about parts in older action shows. It maybe something they have gotten away with totally in more modern shows, although I know I saw it last in the remake of Knight Rider. This is the moment when the chips are down. The bad guys are about the get away. The good guys are about to get creamed. Then, someone comes over the radio and reminds the hero about the upgrade they put in earlier that day. Oh, there is that rocket launcher add-on, super charger, or something else. It kind of comes out of nowhere and it makes all the difference. That change, modification, or addition made earlier in the story that was not revealed until the moment it was needed most.

In FATE Terms, setting up this special gadget or clever plan would be considered creating an advantage. Here, I propose that players be able to retcon advantages. Retcon is the commonly accepted term for  “retroactive continuity.” This is essentially a way to go back and change the story, alter previously established facts.

I have set up the Retcon Advantage like this:

A player may spend 1 FATE point to pause game time. They then narrate what happened previously, off camera, so to speak. They make the roll, which could be a Modding roll to enhance a vehicle, a Family roll to have a pre-established ambush set up, etc.

Simple enough, no? What does everyone out there in Internetlandia think?

FATE Skills for Street Game

I’ve been thinking a lot about the “skills” I want to use in the STREET game I am working on for FATE. I tried to do a cross between skills and approaches. I may come up with some better names for things, but I think this pretty much covers what characters would need as far as that’s concerned in the game. I am pretty sure it is going to have more stunts, especially with stunts coming from cars as well as characters. However, I think this pretty much lays it out. I wish I was cool, so I knew what all the cool street terms were for things nowadays. Heh…

Aggression (attacking)…this may be renamed to Aggro or Rage

Cred (a cross between contact and influence, more street cred you have, more likely it is for people to help you)

Boost (essentially replaces Burglary, also includes planning on committing a crime)

Family (I got a guy…)

Feel (Both for reading people and emotions as well as persuading them that one is being earnest or impressing upon them important concepts).

Grit (willpower, staring down the odds, etc.)

Modding (supercharging, enhancing, and otherwise modifying vehicles)

Moves (the ability to move, athletics, dodge, etc.)

Notice

Stealth

Style (looking good and playing it cool)

I am thinking capping the pyramid at Good (+3), since we're working with fewer skills.

I am certainly more than open to suggestions

FATE Core: Fast & Furious Style

Ah, I don't care what anyone says, Fast & Furious is a movie series I enjoy. Except for the second one--that one I never even made it through the whole thing. And, as +Jacob Poss pointed out, a much better show would probably be with members of the opposite sex racing around all these exotic locations, but we gots what we gots...for now.

Anyhow, many discussion have led to this point. I finally started putting the digital ink to coded paper to work on a bit of a FATE game. Actually, I'm working on two or three simultaneously. But, this one is for a street racing game. There were some clever ideas shared in a brain jam session (not as scrumptious as it might sound to you zombie lovers) last night.

However, I need to refine what I'm doing with skills before sharing it, so this is the beginnings.

Not much there at all, although I am a big fan of setting the aspects to the genre. I'm not sure these aspects work 100%, but they are a start:

Street

There is another world that exists just below the one you know. In this world, power is achieved by those who take it, respect is given to those who have earned it, and currency is a wicked combination of speed and skill.

For some, it is a dangerous past time. They call it illegal street racing, although it has been known as other things in the past. For those who live in the world hidden within the shadows of steel skyscrapers and concrete overpasses, the race is all that matters. They found a place where they belong, where they can call home.

This is a modification for the FATE Core game. I have combined some aspects from both FATE Core and FATE Accelerated Edition published by Evil Hat.

Character Aspects

High Aspect. This is the overreaching character definition. It is the foundation upon which the rest of the character is built. Examples: Undercover cop turned street racing criminal, Gearhead trying to fit in, Champion of the underground circuit

Trouble Aspect. In this life, trouble seems to be the one thing you can never outrun…for long. It follows your characters from race to race, city to city, even continent to continent. What is it that always seems to be pursuing them, throwing a monkey wrench in their plans? Examples: On the run from a controlling family with too much money, Johnny Law has my number, Owe the Yakuza money

Behind the Wheel. What is your character like when they are behind the wheel? Everybody can drive, what makes them so special? Examples: Monster behind the wheel, Virtuoso with a V8, Fast and dangerous

On the Street. This is the reputation your character has earned for themselves in the racing circuit. It might be all hype or it might be 100% accurate. What do people say about your character? Mad man with a bad temper, He lost…once, Takes care of his family.

Philosophy. Everybody has a story behind how they got into the life. This aspect covers the root reason your character melds rubber and asphalt. Why do they race? Do one thing and do it well, I got no place else to go, I live my life a quarter mile at a time.

Skills

What?!? A racing game without a Drive skill?!? That’s right. It is assumed since the game centers around street racing that all the main characters are excellent drivers. Everyone has the driving skill at an apex level. But, that can get kind of boring. Instead, we got rid of the drive skill altogether. Characters will make use of different skills/approaches while driving as well as stunts and extras to pull off some amazing maneuvers. This will be done through a modified content model. But, it is safe to assume, it has wheels, characters can drive it and the only time they worry about wrecking a car is during a contest or when they do it on purpose.

Meanwhile, I have also gone through and changed up the skill list somewhat in an effort to better emulate the genre. This is not all just terminology and semantics, as some things have been completely gutted and redesigned.

But, more on that in a little while…

On Changing Game Rules

It is a personal affront to my good friend, +Jonathan Henry, to mention the “hacking” of games. He has a point. We keep recycling words instead of using words that have worked well in the past or even creating new words. So, I’ll refer to it as modifying game rules here.

As someone who is interested in game design, I have a tendency to look at the rules and wonder how I would do it differently. This is one of those times when “why?” rears its ugly head again, but it seems fitting here. Are you making a change to the roleplaying game system just to be different? Are you adding complexity for complexity’s sake?

I am going somewhere with this. I really am. Bear with me a moment while I give a little bit of background.

For two years, people have been trying to get me to play Savage Worlds. I have invested in the books. I just haven’t had the opportunity to play. This, for some reason, was not a game I wanted to try running straight from the book. I wanted someone to run me through this RPG at least once before I tried to do anything with it. Those suggestions to give Savage Worlds a try got stronger in the Google + RPG communities.

Earlier this week, I had the opportunity to sit down and have a lengthy discussion with +Keith Bailey regarding roleplaying games. Keith has been playing for longer than I have been alive—no, really. He has been in it since the beginning. I don’t think he had the opportunity to purchase the wooden box set for D&D, but he bought the white box just after that. Since then, he has played a LOT of games. He has played in a variety of different campaigns, made rules adjustments that were 20 or so years ahead of their time, and tried just about every flavor of roleplaying game system out there. He seemed to enjoy the games that I enjoyed most. He played a lot of games in the way that I prefer to play them as well. So, when you add his lengthy experience and similar preferences together and he tells me that his recent experiences with Savage Worlds has made it his “go to game” for the time being, at least, it carries some weight.

So, +Robert Brumbelow agrees to run a quick one-shot for us last night. +Jerrod Gunning , a bit of a Savage Worlds sensation joins in along with the aforementioned Jonathan. Jon was a bit under the weather and the game neither supplied clear direction or the freeform, story strong systems Jon has been having a lot of fun with recently. Keith was held up due to real life and weather, so didn’t make it until later in the game. There were some bad rolls in the beginning and the game took some unexpected and unfortunate turns. Were it to carry out, it would’ve turned into an almost TPK game.

But, you know what?

It was fun.

This was the first time in a long while I had to wonder if my character was honestly about to die do to something besides my own blatant stupidity. The rolls were easy to understand, although I asked to verify more than once just to make sure I wasn’t screwing anything up. The company was great. The adventure and combat was there. It had everything that I think of when I think of a great RPG.

So, what does that boil down to?

Well, I read the book. I have skimmed it a few times. I finally finished reading most of it straight through between yesterday and this morning. There were certain things that I thought, while looking at it on paper, that I might want to change. Those things were mostly minor, except for some changes I might make to the use of cards. But, I realized, for what I want to do with a roleplaying game, I do not NEED to make any real changes to Savage Worlds. It was what I need there for a wide variety of games.

I had a great opportunity after the game to speak with both Robert and Jerrod about what I liked and didn’t like at first. And, it wasn’t even so much what I didn’t like, because I really enjoyed myself. It was more a discussion on what was different. They gave me feedback. They answered questions. They provided me their point of view and even pointed out how not everyone agrees with them 100%. That’s wonderful.

So, what it has come down to is me looking at using Savage Worlds as the base for a few games I would love to write. The really cool thing about this is that the rules are just simple enough that I won’t have to spend the next three or four years learning all the little trivial things, yet complex enough to allow for a wide variety of actions and options for characters. I am great at analyzing things. I can balance a checkbook, but anything more with numbers and I can get a bit lost. I am NOT a statistics guy except in very specific areas. Savage Worlds has already done the crunch and the balance for me. With the added support of a Google +, it’ll be relatively easy to bounce ideas off of fellow gamers.

The great thing for me is that I have finally found a system that doesn’t force me to believe I need to reinvent the wheel.

Now, it may not be everyone’s cup of tea. Others might say the same things about a different system. But, this is how I see it and I feel and I am excited to find something that has worked out the way I wanted and needed for it to.