My love has changed, should I take her back? / Giving Ars Magica another chance

The first game I ever played was _cyberpunk_. It was pretty cool and introduced me to the world of RPGs.
The second game I played was _Ars Magica_. I was terrible at it. I didn't get it. Not really. I treated it in much the same way people treat D&D when they start.
But, God, I loved it.
I loved it so much that I refused to even look at Mage: the Ascension for years, and dismissed the Tremere in Vampire: the Masquerade until Revised Edition.

I played 3rd Ed to begin with, and when I went to University I found that a 4th Edition was out, and began collecting that in earnest.
One of my best friends in the Gaming Society also loved ArM, and amazingly gave me some of his 2nd Edition books.
Mythic Places.
More Mythic Places.
The Order of Hermes.
The Pact of Pasaquine.

I tried running it several times, to varied success. Again, I didn't get it, and failed to explain it properly to the players.

I hope I get it now.
I think its about the Covenant.

When ArM5 came out, I made the (stupid) decision to ditch everything that had gone before and focus entirely upon this new Edition.
It was supposed to be better.
I had faith in David Chart.

Faith I had misplaced.
David Chart is a serious academic, and, in my opinion, has trouble producing 'light' material.
I found ArM5 hard going.
I found it focussed on some elements of the game to the exclusion of others.
The Combat section is dispensed with as rapidly as possible so the book can move onto the 'more important' sections of the game.
There are mathematical formulae at every turn.
It's very dense and in no way welcoming to the casual or new Gamer.
It is a for people who already play Ars Magica.

Recently, though, I have been reading Dark Horse Game Design's blog. He's recently discovered ArM, managed to get past the text and discover the game at its heart.

I am now wondering if I have been too harsh. Have I pushed away a game I love because I don't like its current edition.

God, am I having an Edition Wars moment?

Advice for the citizens of Leicester / Zombie apocalypse survival

How to survive a zombie apocalypse | Stephen Kelly | Comment is free | guardian.co.uk

It looks as though the citizens of Leicester are going to have to rely upon themselves come the impending apocalypse, following the local authorities failure to adequately prepare.
The advice given is not up to the standard set by Max Brooks, but its a good start.

Zombie preparedness / Leicester actually interesting

For those of you checking your bug-out bag is fully stocked and that your escape route to the offshore oil rig is still open, I entreat you to avoid Leicester, England.

The city council has been forced to admit that it is completely unprepared for a zombie apocalypse, following a freedom of information request.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/mobile/uk-england-leicestershire-13713798

This obviously means that all zombie outbreak games must now be set in Leicester.

First combat drop / Advice for new players

I'm currently exploring the possibility of running my first long distance game over the internet.
One of the logistical challenges I have is making sure a couple of new players are fully engaged and involved, and that they get all the guidance they need. One has never played before.
I'm a little concerned about remotely guiding a new player through the first few sessions. I've decided to use Fear Itself as the first game because its a low rules game and uses a d6, which everybody has.
I had looked around the internet for some new player advice, and worryingly came up short.
There's loads of 'getting started' advice for online video games, but nothing for pen & paper RPGs.
WTF, people. For shame.

So, OK, we need to fix this, like yesterday.


Total Party Kill advice for new players

- Stereotypes and stock characters are good. You'll hear a lot of talk as you get into the hobby about how everybody's character is a unique and precious flower amongst the weeds of predictable and dull average characters.
The people that say this are usually elitist ass holes, who are just apeing a character from an obscure book, film or comic.
As a new player, you shouldn't be pressured into creating a dramatically poignant homage to existentialism, rather you should be given the freedom to play Han Solo, Aragorn, Indie or Neo, if that's what you want to play right now.
Stock characters are classic, timeless and easy to portray. You'll be busy enough keeping up with the rules a d action without having to wade through obtuse characterization and motivation.

- Have a flick through the rulebook to get the geist of the setting and system, by all means, but don't for a minute think that you're expected to memorize it.
You'll probably get a good grip on the basics of a game if you read Wikipedia and its official web page.

- Talk to the other players. Hey, have a beer with them before and after. They'll happily give you advice and tell you about their character. This introductory period is the only time in your life you will genuinely be interested in hearing about somebody else's character. Enjoy it. Let their enthusiasm rub off on you. Look forward to the day you have such hoary war stories under your belt and can regale young pups with tales of your glory. Oh yes.

- At the gaming table, caffeine, sugar and trans-fats are your friends. One or two small beers may be good buddies as well, just pace yourself and be sensible.
If you turn up at a session with any combination of: soda, pizza, chips & dip, cookies, donuts, candy and ice cream in enough quantity to share, you will be a king, my friend. A king.
I tells ya.

There's obviously a hell of a lot more in the way of genuinely useful advice out there, and I invite all and sundry to either add it here, or to blog about it yourselves.
We, as a community, need to build up a greater repository of knowledge for those new to and interested in the hobby.

The best advice I have for players new to the hobby

White Wolf have officially confused me / Step back in time to 2000

I have just scoped this news article on the WW site:
http://www.white-wolf.com/old-world-of-darkness/news/masquerade-clanbooks-return-to-print

The thing I find amazing is that these books are for the Vampire Revised edition, which is out of print, and not for the Vampire 20 version coming out later this year.

For why?
Quick buck?

New fantasy wanted / Please assemble naked ladies

Today I said farewell to my Exalted Second Edition Core Rules, as I posted it off to a new home, courtesy of Amazon UK Market Place.
I'll miss it, or, more accurately, I'll continue to miss First Edition, which I ditched when I 'upgraded' to 2nd.
I've already sold my D&D 4th Ed books, because they are slightly less evil than the Necronomicon, and been paid monies for them. Oddly, they are still at my house. Jay - do you actually want them? I have spent the cash.
Finally, I have my Ars Magica 5th Ed for sale, as, once again, it doesn't compare to the previous edition, IMHO.

What this essentially means is that I've ejected all of my Fantasy RPGs, and retained only my Modern, Horror and Sci-fi games.
There is a gap.

I intend to get Pathfinder, but I am slightly dubious - I didn't love D&D 3.5, and I suspect I'm  considering Pathfinder because I hate D&D 4.

So, a question.
Considering that my favoured system is New World of Darkness, and that I dislike rules heavy games like Exalted, yet would prefer something still in print and available through Amazon, what fantasy RPG would you recommend?

Star Wars RPG / Where is it?

It's now been a year since Wizards of the Coasts licence to produce Star Wars RPG materials lapsed, and the support for the frankly exceptional Saga Edition ceased.

I suggest we all spend a moment thinking on that.
Maybe even a minute of silence.

At the time of WotCs announcement, there was much speculation on who would take up the licence, and what would they produce.
As of a Google search ten minutes ago, I have heard nothing.

WTF? This is Star Wars, not some fly-by-night franchise. Are Lucas industries asking for too much cash, or is there really not enough money in the licence?
Sure, whoever gets it will be under pressure to produce a high quality product, and to make money out of it, and the market is tight, but come on.

Star Wars is the original cross over franchise. It enjoys a near unrivalled ability to succeed in multiple media: Film, TV, Computer Game, Toys, Models, Books, Comic Books, Clothing & Accessories, RPGs and novelty items, to name but a few.
To my thinking, RPG products like Star Wars have the ability to interest fans who may not have considered the hobby before.
Star Wars is a gateway game to other systems and genres.
RPG publishers should be falling over themselves to licence it, as whatever system they use for a Star Wars game would allow other games using that system to attract new players.
"Mega-Barbarian 3000. Uses the New Jedi Order system. Order now, only $29.95"
It's sales gold.

So why isn't it happening.
Have I missed something?

Hunter Advanced Armory / Gungnir Sentry Gun

One of the things that struck me about Task Force: VALKYRIE from Hunter: the Vigil is that for all of the high-tech military equipment they have, it all still relies on a functioning human being to use (fire) it.
Now, TF:V has been in existence since the assassination of Lincoln, and has worked up a database of not inconsiderable knowledge on "extra-normal entities", yet
I've not seen anything within their Advanced Armory that acquiesces to the fact that some ENEs can disable an operative just by being in the same room as them.
I'm thinking of Werewolf induced Lunacy, as well as Vampiric Dominate, Majesty and Nightmare, and a Mages Mind Arcanum. Any of these supernatural effects can remove an agent from the fight before they've fired a round, and allow the ENE entry and egress without effective opposition.

My solution? The automated Sentry Guns from Aliens Special Edition. TF:V have the technology to create these, easily.

Gungnir Automated Sentry Gun (00000)
The Gungnir Automated Sentry Gun is an automated machine gun post that can provide fire over a full 180 degrees from its front position.
It uses the Gungnir System to identify and target ENEs, and will fire automatically on any identified.
The system can be operated remotely from a distance of up to one mile, or set to automatic fire. It will only fire upon recognised ENEs, allowing it, in theory, to provide support to TF:V operatives during an encounter.
It is more commonly used to guard strategic positions and field base of operations.
The system itself has helped TF:V teams survive encounters that have disabled agents from a distance, as most ENEs presume they need only deal with the humans present.
The same safeguards present in the portable gun-mounted Gungnir system can cause issues for TF:V agents when using the Sentry Guns, as the servants of monsters - cultists, Slashers, retainers etc - can essentially walk up and knock without being fired upon.
The mounted gun is a Generic GPMG (see page 80 of World of Darkness: Armory) and can fire Etheric Rounds, although these rounds have a +1 Merit cost to the standard.

Looking for the Lost / Hunting Changelings and Fetches

One of the things I've been thinking about recently is how to use a Changelings pre-abduction family and friends in a Changeling: the Lost chronicle.
I suspect that there's a temptation to just play these folks as the innocent dupes of the Fetch, totally unaware of any sinister goings on, and completely shocked and surprised if the 'truth' comes out.
In fact, I imagine they are used as a tool for confrontation, in that they can serve as a dramatic device when supporting the Fetch and rejecting the Changeling.

The thing is, though, that folklore rarely tells its tale from the Changelings perspective, and instead favours the mortal who sees through the glamour and identifies the replacement for what it is - an alien imposter.
The core rules give several examples of this in the flavour text, and then neglects to go into further detail in the Antagonists/Storytelling sections.

I'm thinking that there's a great wealth of drama and story to be had from the friends and family that notice that this person close to them has changed somehow.
I can see a classic psychological horror playing out as they investigate the Fetch, testing its memories and personality, discovering its flaws; maybe it doesn't have a birthmark, or an allergy, or suddenly likes sea food, or has different finger prints. Maybe it understands advanced mathematics, or doesn't know how to speak French anymore.
What do these people do? Nobody believes them. How do they prove that this person is an impostor? Who do they think the Fetch really is? Do they have any theories as to why? Most people won't think of the Fae, and could instead think of any number of conspiracies, including:
Foreign nations
Super science clones
Aliens
Secret societies
If played correctly, the list is near endless, with Arcadia quite near the bottom.

So, what do you do, when you suspect this person you know nd care deeply about has been replaced or changed?
Do you confront them directly? What if they don't even know they're not real?

And then, what if a confrontation leads to violence, and the Fetch is killed, possibly exploding in a shower of twigs and newspaper, or reverting to a wire frame and rag construct in the morgue or during the open casket view?
How do you reconcile that?

I kind of see this as a perfect one shot Mortals game, or the lead in to a Hunter: the Vigil game.
I imagine a number of Hunters would investigate a Fetch, and give the mad assertions of individual friends and family credence.

One last thing. A question. What if the Changeling is just a by-product of the process? What if the Fetch is the goal, a sleeper agent with an implanted agenda even it is unaware of?
Maybe the Fetch is a breeder, or an agent tasked with opening more doors.

If you look closely, you can see the Hedge on the other side of this door...

Plotting Cosmic Dread / Designing a Trail of Cthulhu adventure

As an intellectual exercise I've started writing up a Trail of Cthulhu story idea I've had.
It immediately went through two revisions as I realised it was too complicated and over ambitious, and pared it down to the core concepts.
I really want to do something with monsters, rum-runners and prohibition, so my original idea was to have the players be Feds and investigate some liquor smuggling on the Canadian border, get stranded in a remote hotel during a snowstorm and get caught up in a play off between the Mi-Go and the Cult of Hastur.
It sounded great, but I struggled with working out how to introduce the separate plot elements.
My usual downfall as a GM is to be too ambitious, and then fail to deliver, so it really makes sense to reduce the concept to a simple premise and develop that. I can always include other bits as I go on.
Remember, you can always add, but you can never take away.

So, with this in mind, I threw out the Cult of Hastur, and focused entirely upon the Mi-Go. In a further effort to simplify, and to try to keep the game as Purist as possible, I decided to cleave the structure of the story as close to the structure of The Whisperer in Darkness as possible, although told from the more immediately horrific perspective of Henry Akeley.

This seemed to exclude the originally intended setting of a secluded hotel, so that's been replaced with a Rangers Station instead. More Wrong Turn than The Shining.

So, with this revised story in mind - Federal Agents, whilst investigating a distillary in the Vermont hills, are trapped at a Rangers Station during a blizzard along with some Rum-Runners, and are menaced by the Mi-Go, who are mining nearby.

The next challenge, the one I specifically set myself, was to write a ToC Gumshoe adventure, with Core Clues, Investigative Ability matrices and a coherent narrative thread that leads from the initial set up through to the Horrible Truth.

After a failed attempt to organise my thoughts on paper, I've now turned to a flow chart app on my phone; Thinking Space.
Whilst its still a work in progress, my first 'mind map' is below.

From this base I intend to tie together the intended events, locations and characters with a network of clues.

How this will translate to an actual game is yet to be seen, as the last time I used a flow chart when plotting a game, the results were fairly pedestrian, and involved a fair bit of rail roading, which I'm against.