Post-rapture survival horror / I apologise for this game idea

As I sit here not being caught up by the grace of God, I find myself wondering what a post-rapture world would be like.

As I understand it, anybody left behind is a sinner, and will not be saved, and a good proportion of the population will have been swept up and have vanished whilst a multitude of natural disasters occur across the globe.
The dead may also rise. I'm not too clear on this point.

So, the players would be sinners/non-believers who have to survive the wrath of God in a depleted world.
Society will have totally broken down, with people finding strong religion when its too late or embracing their damnation, both leading to social and physical conflict.
There may also be zombies.
As an additional touch, you could populate the skies with the hovering forms of the blessed, watching the world being destroyed and reborn from their vantage point.
You could also throw in further Christian mythology, and gear up for the last battle between Heaven and Hell, with Angels, Demons and the souls of the damned and the saved.

With its Morality system, Virtues and Vices, the World of Darkness could carry this setting idea quite well.

Gumshoe PDFs / Short post #2

An additional reason for any of you to try out the Gumshoe games published by Pelgrane Press is their PDF Download Guarantee
http://www.pelgranepress.com/?p=4730

Put simply, if you buy a hard copy book from them, you get a digital copy for free. If you buy a hard copy book from one of their associated stores, you get a digital copy for free. If you buy a hard copy book from Amazon et al, then ask them, and they'll give you a digital copy of the books bought to date for free, with the understanding that any future digital copies will only be provided if you buy through the agreed channels.

As a result of this sweet deal, I am now in possession of PDFs of Trail of Cthulhu, The Esoterrorists and Fear Itself. I bought these three books separately through Amazon UK, so am incredibly pleased to get the digital copies as well.

I share because I think its a great offer, and would encourage more people to explore Gumshoe.

Explaining Mage: the Ascension to my wife / Short post #1

This afternoon I explained M:tA to my wife.
It did not go well.
Not because she didn't understand. Not because she couldn't appreciate the concept of consensus defined reality, belief dependant magic systems or a metaphysical war for control of reality.
No. It's because she's smarter and better educated than I am.

I have no idea what Blake's Songs of Innocence and Experience is about, but its inclusion in the conversation put me on a back foot immediately.
Try as I might, my assertions of paradigmatic magic was countered with post industrialization theory.

This is why I don't normally discuss my hobby with her.

Judge a man by his enemies / The quality of antagonists in the World of Darkness

I've recently been thinking about Mage: the Ascension, and how, in my opinion, the setting is stronger than the more recent Mage: the Awakening.

I believe that the system for Awakening is better, with one or two exceptions (like not providing rules for using magic to give mundane actions a little 'push'), but I find the setting a bit... directionless.

Yeah, there's plenty to do, but only if you want to do it. There's not really a driving impetus to do anything.
Sure, you can fight Tremere Liches, or The Seers of the Throne, or get involved in Awakened politics and intrigues, or amass great power, or stand against the Abyss.
But you don't have to.

In Mage: the Ascension, you were in the middle of a war for reality, for the hearts and minds of future generations, a battle of philosophies and ideals, of vision and Passion.
You didn't really have a choice. That was the setting, that was the 'canon' metaplot, right there.

It was an exciting and dangerous idea for a game. You're not fighting to 'save' the world, you're fighting to keep it interesting.
Maybe too interesting, but that's not the point.

I feel that Awakening lacks this immediacy, this drive, this call to action.
It's a big gap.

Then I got to thinking about the Technocracy, the big bad guys of Ascension.
They were well developed, interesting, possibly (probably) right, human and sympathetic.
They were also completely playable, with several supplements published that presented them as legitimate character options.
And people played them. People enjoyed playing them, and not just as villains, or anti-heroes, but as idealist and noble heroes.
You can't really see anybody playing a Seer.

This led me to thinking about the other 'old' World of Darkness games, Vampire: the Masquerade especially.
All of the oWoD games positioned the players on the edge of a battlefront, a dangerous enemy poised to attack a wreck terrible havoc at any moment: the Sabbat, the Wyrm/Black Spiral Dancers, the Technocracy, Autumn People etc.
The metaplot for each of these games moved inexorably closer to a final battle that could destroy the world as we know it.

And the thing was, most of these antagonistic factions were entirely playable.
Like the Sabbat. Like the Technocracy. Like Fomori.
Some people preferred playing these groups, because at least they stood for something.

I think the current World of Darkness is a little too tolerant, and could do with some really aggressive conflict and opposition.

Modern day Mage / Who won the Ascension War

Two things have prompted this post.
The first is a post by Ryan Macklin about an idea for a Mage: the Ascension campaign setting in which the Technocracy have definitively won.
The second is the advent of the Vampire: the Masquerade 20th Anniversary Edition.

Together these two sources got me thinking about how awesome a Mage 20th Anniversary Edition could be, and what could/should change within the setting.
Here are my thoughts:

• The two main factions in the Ascension War have fractured following mixed results. 
• The Virtual Adepts have won, hands down. I have a fucking computer in my pocket right now that allows me to pin point the location of my friends instantly, run complex programs and is, God, I don't know how many more times more powerful than the PC I had when Mage first came out
• The Syndicate nearly won, then got their asses handed to them some three/four years ago with the Global Recession
• I would say that all the other Traditions and Union members have ... faded somewhat. Some are still clinging onto relevance, whilst others are now mere curiosities. 
• There are going to be a shit load of Marauders, as the Traditions and the Technocracy are both severely depleted
• The Nephandi are having a right old time of it, without the meddling intervention of the more restrained magick users
• Paradox slaps down hard like a bitch
• An updated Mage: the Ascension would be the absolute nuts.

Sandbox games / Second pass

A term I've suddenly started hearing banded about the blogging network is 'sandbox', which I find kind of surprising.
To my mind, the term originates from the world of video games, and refers to 'open' game worlds in which you can explore the map freely, with little or no limitations.
I think of Grand Theft Auto and Oblivion when I think of Sandbox games.
I've only recently seen it being applied to pen and paper RPGs, usually as an alternative to the 'traditional' dungeon crawl.
This is what I find surprising.
It may be that I didn't start playing dungeon based games until relatively recently, and started instead with 'open world' games like Cyberpunk, Ars Magica and Vampire: the Masquerade.

Maybe because of this, I've found dungeon based settings hard to rationalize. They basically don't make sense to me.
The environment and ecosystems are illogical and artificial, and the construction of a mega dungeon is not just insane, but logistically impossible.
Surely there has to be a more efficient and cost effective way of hoarding gold / worshipping your evil god than building a monolith of a temple that blocks out the sun then inverting it and buring it under a forbidden mountain.
Although that does sound kinda cool.
I'd do it if I could, and keep all my secret stuff there...

So, anyways, Sandbox.

I've run a few, and messed some of them up big time.

The biggest mistake I've made is not giving the players enough guidance.
I ran a Vampire: the Masquerade game set in the 1950's, and I kind of let the players make their own way.
They stumbled around for ages, and every now and then I threw them a plot bone.
It was very unsatisfactory.

In a previous post I wrote about Grand Theft Auto and how it helped me realise something important about the structure behind a successful game.

That it needs a structure in the first place.
Which is a bit of a no-brainer, really, but an intuitive leap I needed to make.

What I realised was that whilst I was free to run around Liberty City as I pleased, to steal cars, compete in races, find jumps, acquire and evade wanted stars, deal drugs, pimp out girls and callously murder innocents, there was always a plot for me to return to.
I knew that if I got bored, or wanted something surprising and challenging, all I needed to do was go to the mob boss's mansion or hide-out and get a mission.
Simple.

This is what I forgot to include in my earlier games: the opportunity for players to be given a goal or tasks.

In the classic D&D model, this is making contact with the village elders / dodge guy in the tavern / local priest who usually has some jobs they need doing.
In a World of Darkness setting, this is a function your Allies, Contacts, Mentor, Covenant/Tribe/Court etc can provide.

It is also worth remembering that as a GM we can subtly or overtly nudge the players in the direction of the action.
Computer games often have an annoying companion or guide that spends the first act of the game following you around and interrupting play with advice, when all you want to do is get to the killin' asap.
Table top RPGs can sidestep this convention whilst still providing all the necessary guidance and direction a player needs.

Heed the call to Adventure! / Telluric power is a harsh mistress

I've been watching Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skulls today, and I'm halfway through reading Lovecrafts Mountains of Madness.
I am currently overcome with a desire to run a pulp game. Either Trail of Cthulhu or Adventure!

Either would be acceptable, and would no doubt use similar set pieces.

I'm favouring Adventure! as I write, as it is a marvellous system that rewards creativity, description and ingenuity, and allows the players to directly affect the narrative. It's rawrsome. And great fun as well.

Can I use my gun stat? / Combat characters in talky encounters

Being an internationally renowned role-play guru, I am often approached by apostles wishing to bathe in the waters of the well of my RPG wisdom.

Or something

I received this email earlier today:

What do you do when you have a good group of characters that work well together and have a varied mix of skills that they keep using .. but there's one who is usually left out for example : an ex military PTSD Sufferer who is now something of a Conspiracy theorist .. skills wise has a few bits all over The game I'm running is not generally combat led but there is inevitably conflict each week.. in this he takes part .. pulled out a fire extinguisher and started blinding the zombies this week which was cool ..

But I don't get how to get him more involved in the social / mental side of things without leading him by the nose and railroading the adventure
I want them to make their own choices and then if there' consequences .. gotta live with it .. have you any insights ?

My considered reply was:

Tough one. Maybe ask him straight out, how can I get your character more involved in the thinky/talky stuff? That way he feels as though he has input, and that his input matters.
Be sure to tell him that his character kicks add in fights, though, and keep saying its the character, not the player, that you're struggling to engage.

You could ask the other players if they have any ideas how you or they can get the character involved.

You could stage some encounters that focus specifically on the character, maybe triggering a combat flashback or reminding him of a past combat encounter that traumatised him in the first place. He could then roleplay out his characters reactions and fears with the other players or some NPCs.

Other ideas could be to:
Split him off from everybody else, and give him a series of achievable goals that involve negotiating with NPCs. You could even let the other players play the NPCs in question. "You're ex army, you go see if you can get them to lend us a pilot and chopper, and we'll arrange the supplies."

Have an NPC, a woman or child (Newt from Aliens?) attach themselves to the character and follow him around, interacting at every available opportunity.

There's definitely a lot more that could be done to involve and engage this player. I think my friend puts a bit more stock in my GMing ability than I deserve, and I wish I could give him some better advice.

Strange bedfellows / Carthian Democracy story idea for Vampire: the Requiem

Here in the UK we have a coalition government, created when the Conservative party failed to secure a clear majority in parliament and entered into a power sharing deal with the much smaller Liberal Democrats party.
As a result of this, we are due a referendum vote on the 5th May to decide if we, as a country, want to fundamentally alter our democratic process - do we want to change from our current 'first past the post' vote counting system, and move to the multi-vote Alternative Vote system.
This would never have happened if the Conservatives hadn't gotten into bed with the Lib Dems. The Lib Dems are the third runners in a two party system, and have a lot of idealistic and progressive policies that none of the other parties share.
Arguably, they are the Carthian Movement.
OK, probably not, but It's my way into this post.

The Carthian Movement is the newest political group within the Vampire ruling sects, and has a lot of funny, darling ideas, like democracy, equal say, upward mobility, are against feudal rule, rule by elders and rule by divine mandate as well as any other more traditional method of vampiric governance.

So, chronicle idea. The city has recently fallen under Carthian governance, and is a major victory for the Movement. Sweeping reform is in effect. Elysium has moved, the Primogen and Priscus have mostly changed, and the prominent members of the other Covenants have virtually vanished from the public eye.

The received wisdom is that the Carthians have achieved this magnificent coup due to the genius of the new Prince, a virtual neonate with influence in mortal business and politics.
The truth is slightly more complicated...

The new Prince is indeed a genius, and has brokered deals with some of the city's more powerful and influential Kindred which have allowed him to oust the previous incumbent and assume to position of Prince. Without this support, the new Prince would have been ignored at best, or ushered across to the final death at worst.

Now, the elders have upheld their end of the deal, and have no doubt profited greatly from the removal of old allies, but now they know that the new Prince cannot stand without their support, and will keep asking more and more of him until his ability to deliver crumbles, and they can appoint a new Prince.

The Prince is aware of the position he is in, balanced between the public perception of a truly democratic state, and the power plays of the elders he opposes.

The players should be affiliated with the Carthian Movement in some way, or have a vested interest in the smooth running of the city's new political order.
They will be employed by the new Prince to handle the elders and their demand, either granting them their more... reasonable requests or limiting the damages of their excesses.
As the story progresses, they will be called on to act against the elders, reducing their temporal influence or muting their power within Kindred society.
This is a dangerous game for the players, as the elders could crush them, physically, mentally and socially, with a simple act, as could the new Prince.

Eventually they will have a decision to make. Side fully with the new Prince and destroy the elders, side with the elders and topple the new Prince, or act to remove both sides from power and establish something of their own choosing.

Have phone, will geek / Android Apps for the Mobile Gamer

I've had an Android phone for about three months ish now, and whilst it hasn't quite revolutionized my life, it has made gaming on the go somewhat easier.

Here are the apps that turn my pocket into a gaming repository:

Internet Browser. Often overlooked, but the power of todays' mobile browsers is astounding. I read and contribute to forums exclusively from my phone nowadabys, and catch up on all my gaming related news as well.

Adobe PDF Reader. This app just keeps getting better. When I first got my phone, the Adobe app was just about acceptable for reading an 80 page copy of Mage Noir, with a lag as it uploaded. Now it has been updated twice and is much faster, easier to use and better presented. A must for the books you don't want to carry around with you.

NWoDice. A World of Darkness dice roller that is intuitive, quick and well presented. It covers off 8, 9 and10 again and chance die really well.

Dice Bag. A dice roller app. The jury's out on this one. It could be really spiffy, and does present a lot of options, but is kind of clunky to use. It does allow you to roll a full range of dice with modifiers and multiples, and to create your own dice (d11, anybody?).

RpgTracker. A nice little app that allows you to monitor any renewable resource you can think of: Health / Hit Points, magic points, willpower, blood pools, essence, healing surges etc. You name a character, create each stat, assign a max and current score, and then track from there. It even includes a formula field for stats that replenish over time, although I've not figured that one out yet.

Name Generator. This app will randomly generate a number of names for you based on which gender and nationality you select. Apparently it knows the most popular first and second names for each country on the list and works from that. Even includes ancient Greek and Roman names.

Pathfinder Spell Compendium. Allows you to drill down to the full spell text by class and level, or to search on the spell name. Very quick.

Blogger. What I'm using to write this right now. It's not advanced enough to edit posts you've created on a PC, but is very versatile nonetheless. And once you've published a post using the app, you can edit it at a PC as normal.