Mad Brew Labs

Doctor Steel

Are You a Mindless Drone?

Tired of being mired in today’s rat race they call society?  Would you like to finally be happy, truly happy?  Tired of being manipulated by fear, war?  Then help Doctor Steel, reality engineer, cast off the shackles of this boring, dreary world and join his cause!  No longer to you need to be a slave to “the man.”

From the time you were forced to go to school and study subjects that bored the hell out of you, you were being prepped to live the rest of your existence as a slave to consumerism and corporate profit margins.  They slowly drained the fun out of life, and it began with boring studies, then they took away recess, and now they have transformed you into a mindless drone.

Break the cycle and fight back, help Dr. Steel with his plans for World Domination!

Who is Doctor Steel?

Dr. Phineas Waldolf Steel is an inventor, visionary, entertainer and future Emperor of the world, with your help.  His vision is more of a world make-over, rather than a world take-over.  His plan is to create a Utopian Playland that encompasses the globe, and all based upon the simple ideology that FUN is the top priority.

Putting the “fun” back in functional is Dr. Steel’s vision. A Utopian Playland incorporates the pleasing aesthetics and entertainment of a theme park with the needs and functionality of a well designed community.

A grand transformation is needed in order to supply the world with such an environment and with that; a new world view must begin to take place. Dr. Steel believes that such a revolution begins with the individual’s perception of reality.

“A Utopian Playland isn’t simply a physical incarnation, it is a psychological one. It is a way of looking at one’s reality. Building a Utopian Playland must begin from within before we march forth towards this grand, new horizon.”

– www.doctorsteel.com

Dr. Steel will make his vision of a Utopian Playground reality once he completes the transition to World Emperor.  He has lots of plans; plans for fun, music, and robots… lots of robots.

How Can I Help?

You can help spread Dr. Steel’s vision of a Utopian Playground by enlisting in his Army of Toy Soldiers and girls may also join the Nurse Division or Toy Scouts.  Dr. Steel envisions living in a world where fun is the top priority. He imagines a landscape filled with endless possibilities based on the ideology that life should be spent doing the things that make us happy.

Dr. Steel’s Army of Toy Soldiers are active supporters of this cause. A Toy Soldier knows that by rejecting fear, embracing inspiration and by uniting in a singular focused vision, that the world can and will be transformed into a Utopian Playland.

By becoming a Toy Soldier you are an integral part of Dr. Steel’s success. You are Dr. Steel’s eyes and ears. You are the legs on which he stands.

Only YOU can help Dr. Steel take over the world, so sign up today and begin making this world a better place!

Enlist Today!

Listening to: Dr. Steel – Dr. Steel – Spaceboy

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This is most likely old news, as I know several blogs covered The Sutlan Game Table: The Ultimate Gaming Aide from Geek Chic that garnered its fair share of attention during GenCon.  I saw it, inspected it, and daydreamed about it.  The table on display at GenCon  was certainly a piece of fine craftsmanship and someone did their homework on what would make a good design.

The Sultan (c) Geek Chic

The caveat? Well, its pricetag.  The Sultan would most likely be the most expensive piece of furniture I would I ever own as it costs $9,650!  I am sure this baby does indeed cost a fortune in materials (I’d approximate $1,500 – $2000) and of course the time and effort to craft by hand.

So I am not knocking the price they are asking.  I may be a hardcore geek, but I am also the consumate do-it-yourselfer.  I am my own mechanic (just re-installed a rebuilt transmission, new clutch, and a lightened flywheel in my Eclipse), my own handyman (repaired a hole in my drywall last week), and soon to be carpenter (if I can convince the wifey to let me spend the money on materials).

The Game Room

This is actually part of a few articles about what I “would like to do” with one of the bonus rooms in my house.  One of the rooms is above my two-car garage, but since it lies in what used to be an attic, it is probably about half the width of the garage, but still have plenty of room.  I have the measurements written down in my notebook, which I seem to have left at work.

I have few goals for my game room.  The first is having a kick-ass table to play my games one.  Some other goals include shelving for all my books, a display case for miniatures, boardgame shelving, and tasteful decoration.  I actually thought about cladding the walls in faux dungeon stone… but that may be too much.

My Table

Before I had ever laid eyes upon The Sultan, I had done some research on what would make a killer game table.  Here is a list of features I wanted:

• Optimal Seating: 6 (the actual number of stations)
• Maximum Seating: 10 (the number you could cram)
• Built-in adjustable lighting (intensity & color)
• Gaming Layers: 3 (tiered layers within the table)
• Wet Erase Surfaces (Plexiglass)
• 1″ Hex , 1″ Square, & 1.5″ Square grids
• Private Messaging (IMFree?)
• Digital Map Projection
• Player Stations/Storage

So I have some general specifications, but to really be able to build this table I think I’ll need to mock up the footprint of a table that will fit comfortably in my bonus room and allow for traffic behind seated players.  Then I’ll want to take those dimensions and use them as the maximum tolerance on the width & length of the table as I model it in AutoCAD.  This way I can solve engineering dilemas and actually create the bill of materials to know exactly how much it would cost (assuming I cut everything right the first time!).

I’ll keep you posted as the CAD drawing develops.  As an aside, CAD is nothing new for me.  I actually made a living doing 3D modeling and drafting for an Aerospace company (we had contracts with GM, Rolls-Royce, and Boeing) while I was going to college and before I became a programmer.

Research Notes

• Pen, Paper, & Pixel – A game table that uses a projector
• The Avenger Game Table – Clean, well designed game table w/ instant messaging
• Agrys’ Game Table – An insane looking table that uses orbs and tube for passing notes
• The Sultan – For $10k this drool inducing table could be yours
• Projection Table Plans – Simple plans for projecting from beneath a table
• Motorola IMFree – Handheld wireless messaging
• Acer Projector – Though I’d probably shop around eBay first, this is cheap

Listening to: Abney Park – Lost Horizons – Airship Pirates

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Steampunk Goggles by Mike Brown

What is Steampunk?

Airships, clockwork contraptions, steam engines, gears, cogs, Victorian fashion, gaslights, and of course, goggles.  All of these trappings hold the flavor of Steampunk.  Defining the exact boundaries of a genre is difficult at best and impossible most any other time.  I usually think of Steampunk as 19th century earth but with anachronistic technology, or rather, modern devices created with 19th century technology.  Usually steam-powered, hence steampunk.  It is what would have happened if the Industrial Revolution went wild.

So we have determined the first root of the word steampunk, but what about the other part?  I tend to believe that the punk is derived from the rebellious, swashbuckling element of the genre.  Adventure.  Defiance.  Many stories of the genre defy established social mores, religious dogma, and government philosophies.  Punk also embodies the do-it-yourself anthem of the Steampunk culture.

Narrative Origins

Steampunk has its roots in speculative fiction with the works of Mary Shelly (Frankenstein: or, The Modern Prometheus, 1818), Jules Verne (Journey to the Center of the Earth, 1864) and H.G. Wells (The TIme Machine, 1895).  Steampunk truly came into its own in the 80s with the works of K.W. Jeter (Morlock Night, 1979 and Infernal Devices, 1987) [who is said to have coined the term Steampunk], Tim Powers (The Anubis Gates, 1983), and James Blaylock (Homunculus, 1986).  But it was 1990′s The Difference Engine by William Gibson and Bruce Sterling that garnered the genre worldwide attention.

Much of the work written under the Steampunk genre are set in the Victorian Era, or some Neo-Victorian world.  However there are also plenty of settings with Wild West, Lovecraftian, and Medieval influences as well.  Many consider Steampunk a derivative of Cyberpunk as the two genres tackle the same social issues and themes.  It is also because of Gibson and Sterling’s significant contribution to genre and the fact that they were masters of the Cyberpunk genre before entering the world of steam.

Visual Themes

Steampunk Watch (C) Eager Beavers

In contempory technlogy, all of the working parts are hidden from view.  No one wants to be bothered with how their car functions, as long as it functions.  In the Steampunk genre, all the mechanical innards are exposed in all their widgety grandness.  This is a subconscious reaction to sleek and invisible of modern devices.  Not that Steampunk cannot be sleek.  It can be sleek and beautiful, but you’ll recognize it as Steampunk immediately.

The cogs, gears, and springs of clockwork automata can be seen turning and whirring, half-hidden behind a riveted boiler plate guard.  Plumbing, conduits, and guages are exposed in a web of copper and brass tubing.  Steampunk design also has influences from the art-deco and gothic movements.

Fashion also plays a vital role in the imagery of the Steampunk genre.  I find it is usually a mixture of Victorian or Edwardian historical fashion, Wild West style, and WWII flight equipment (the GOGGLES!) that has been given a touch of extravagance, flamboyance, and industrialism.

Steam-powered Media

Steampunk has infiltrated every corner of media and entertainment from books to music.  Here are some abridged lists of works categorized by medium:

Animation: Last Exile, Howl’s Moving Castle, Steamboy, Amazing Screw-on Head

Comics: Battle Chasers, League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Steampunk, Girl Genius

Film: The Prestige, Wild Wild West, Golden Compass, Around the World in 80 Days

Music: Abney Park, Voltaire, Vernian Process, Rose Coven, Dr. Steel

Novels: The Difference Engine, Anubis Gates, Whitechapel Gods, Perdido Street Station

Periodicals: Steampunk Magazine, The Willows

Table Top RPGs: Iron Kingdoms, Castle Falkenstein, Deadlands, Unhallowed Metropolis

Television: Adventures of Brisco County, Jr. [w/ Bruce Campbell!], Secret Adventures of Jules Verne

Video Games: Castlevania, Bioshock, Final Fantasy, Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura

Websites: Aether Emporium, Steampunk Workshop, Brass Goggles

This really is just a small sampling, if you would like to see more examples of Steampunk in media and entertainment you should check out Aether Emporium’s extremely exhaustive lists for Roleplay & Gaming; Cinema, Film, & Music; Books & Comics; Art; and Clothing & Costuming.  Aether Emporium really is a one-stop site for all your Steampunk needs.  Alternatively, check out Wikipedia’s List of Steampunk Works.

Steampunk Culture

There is a cultural movement to adopt the Steampunk aesthetic as a lifestyle.  Much like the goth, punk, and industrial counter-cultures, the fans of Steampunk immerse themselves in the trappings of the genre.  Fashion and music take center stage, but many steampunks also use the theme in home decor where these do-it-yourselfers modify modern devices to emulate Steampunk gadgetry.

With any culture, events and conventions are bound to appear to cater the fans.  You have the California Steampunk Convention happening THIS WEEKEND!  The Edwardian Ball is something I think I will be taking my wife to in the near future, it’s inaugural event happens in January.  And of course, SalonCon happened in September.

Steampunk has even made it to MTV (which features the SalonCon).  I’ve included the videos from MTV.com for your view pleasure.  I actually hate MTV, with a passion, but these are worth the watch.  It’s actually the first new stuff I have watched from MTV in like ten years.

[Note: this post was edited because I could not get the embedded MTV videos to validate for anything, I am just going to send you to the source...]

MTV’s expose on Steampunk.

RPG Bloggers Network Steampunks

Well, seeing how I am doing this overview of the Steampunk genre, of course I am a fan.  I am also contributing to the genre with the development of my Steampunk-Horror setting, The Dead Wastes.  The RPGBN is also home to fellow Steampunk setting developer, Stargazer, and his wonderful world of Asecia.  I know Tom from Geek Emporium has a soft spot for Steampunk.  If any readers or fellow bloggers have a love for the genre, feel free to speak up and leave a comment!

Listening to: Dr. Steel – People of Earth – Back and Forth

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[Note: The table below will display better if you install this font, as it was created with Asmor's Monster Maker.]

A figure stands before you jingling like a chime in the wind.  The humanoid shape is buckled from head to toe in black leather with hundreds of ringlets.  Attached to these rings are hundreds more keys, all clanging and bouncing off each other as the figure moves.  Whoever is inside the leather and keyring suit must only be able see and speak through three keyholes that cover its eyes and mouth.  It croaks in a gravelly voice, “The override code must be provided to obtain travel authority.”

The Keymaster is a unique entity that resides in the Hall of Doors , a Nadori complex that time has forgotten.  The Hall of Doors is a nexus of gates that allows one to travel from the Prime directly to any of the other known Dimensions.  The Hall of Doors is the name that legend now gives the Nadori Dimensional Conduit Terminal.  Here the Nadori exerted their influence through the Æther and into other dimensions.

The complex has been abandoned for over a millennium, but the Keymaster has maintained his vigilance over the Hall the entire time.  He guards the locked portals to the other dimensions, and only he knows which keys unlocks the appropriate doors.

He is commanded to deny entrance to anyone who wishes to use the portals but is otherwise not hostile.  The Keymaster cannot be negotiated with, nor tricked into unlocking a portal.  Only through the Keymaster’s destruction or if given the “password”  may one pass.

Tactics

Once pressed into battle, the Keymaster will attempt Teleport to the square where the players are concetrated. Once in position, the Keymaster will execute Looking Beyond the Keyhole, spend an action point, and then execute his Tumbler of Woe power.

Keymaster Lore

A character knows the following information with a successful History check:

DC 15: You have heard of an immortal guardian that protects the Hall of Doors.
DC 20: It is said that the Keymaster can hypnotize you with his accoutrement of keys.
DC 25: The Keymaster is said to be vulnerable to necrotic energies.

Looking through the Keyhole: The keys decorating the figure’s attire begin to spin of their own accord, whipping and wizzing and making an eerie chimelike noise, all the while a strange glow emanates from the keyholes of its face.

Tumbler of Woe: The leather clad humanoid begins to spin like a top, clicking and whirring sounds issue from the figure like an enormous lock being opened.  Suddenly the ringlets shoot forth on silver wires striking everything within range.

Listening to: Soil – Scars – Wide Open

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In Beast: the Ravaging, your beast may belong to an Officium.  Officia are the guilds of battle.  Each Officium is tasked with a role that enables the warmongering hordes of the Beasts to conquer their foes in battle.  From ranged archers to frontline defenders, each Officium dedicates itself to a specific style of combat.  In every horde. each Officium is led by a Taskmaster, who directs the training and deployment of troops under his command.  The Taskmasters report to the Warlord of the horde, which is usually the biggest, meanest son of a beast around.

Membership in an Officium grants access to the specialized Aptitudes of their role in battle.  These Aptitudes allow members to execute extraordinary powers that allows the invoking Beast to ravage his enemies on the field of battle.

Artillery

The Artillery of a horde may consist of boulder throwing Giants, Javelin wielding Kobolds, crossbow wielding goblins, or mix of Beast and ranged weapon.  The role of the Artillery is to pin down enemy units and destroy their vanguard before they can reach the front lines.

Beasts of the Artillery Officium are usually deployed behind Soldiers and Brutes and shower death and destruction upon the enemy.

Brute

The largest and most power specimens of Genos usually find their way to the Brute Officium.  Brutes excel in punishing the enemy with devastating attacks.  However, Brutes are often slow and are thus easy to strike themselves.  Even so, it is a long grind to bring down the hordes’ Brutes.

Beasts of the Brute Officium are usually deployed to shield the leaders, Controllers, and Artillery of the horde.

Controller

Beasts of the Controller Officium are master manipulators of the battlefield.  The method Controllers use to exert their influence over the battlefield may include casting spells or merely employing clever tactics to turn the terrain against the enemy.

Controllers are usually deployed behind front line combatants, but should the need arise, they have no qualms against entering the fray themselves.

Lurker

Lurkers strike from the darkness and quickly withdraw, eliminating the enemy’s commanding officers, controllers, and destroying their moral.  Most Lurkers are deadly assassins that keep to the shadows, however some from this Officium merely disguise themselves as unlikely opponents.

The Lurker Officum is the wildcard for the hordes.  They are deployed anywhere on the battlefield where their services would prove most effective.  This usually means behind enemy lines.

Skirmisher

Skimishers use their speed and maneuverability to flank the enemy.  They move in and out of the melee, distracting and harry their opponents where they are vulnerable.  Mobility is the strength of this Officium.

Skirmishers are deployed on the battlefield to work in concert with Brutes and Soldiers.  They attack once the enemy is engaged with the frontlines.

Soldier

The Beasts of the Soldier Officium are the mainstay of the hordes.  Soldiers make up the bulk of the horde’s fighting force and are usually first to engage the enemy, at least after the enemy has moved through the storm of death rained in by Artillery.

Soldiers are deployed so their numbers are concentrated in the front and center the horde, though tactical minded Warlords often hold large units of Soldiers in reserve to crush their opponents when the oppportunity arises.

Aptitudes

So what cool powers do the Officia have to offer?  Can you smash your enemies with a boulder?  Or cleave them with brute strength?  Well you’ll have to wait until the next installment of Beast: the Ravaging to see.

Listening to: Marilyn Manson - Eat Me, Drink Me - Heart-Shaped Glasses (When the Heart Guides the Hand)

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World of Darkness
Hardcover: 224 pages
Publisher: White Wolf
Date: August 21, 2004
Language: English
ISBN-13: 978-1588464842
Dimensions: 11.1 x 8.6 x 0.8
Weight: 2 pounds

This is obviously not a new product, as it debuted at GenCon ’04, but it is the first book I have taken the opportunity to re-read since I have started the Labs.  After reading it completely (for the second time), I found myself motivated to write my first in-depth review.

The World of Darkness began in 1991 with the release of Vampire: the Masquerade written by Mark Rein•Heigen.  Thirteen years after its initial release, the World of Darkness (WoD) was ended with the Time of Judgment story arc.

I was at the “End of the World of Darkness” party they hosted in the Arts Garden over downtown Indianapolis after the announcement of the Time of Judgment at GenCon ’03.  It was an open bar and we got to chill and hang out with the designers, writers, and staff of White Wolf.  Needless to say, it was awesome and I was plastered.

Then in August of 2004, White Wolf Studios released the new version of the rules, dubbed the Storytelling System with this book.  But before I delve into the miasma of how the new system is different, for better or worse, than the old system, I want to discuss the book from the perspective of someone new to the game.

The Setting

The World of Darkness is set in a dark reflection of our own world, if you saw it through the worn, pitted and scratched mirror that rests in the dusty attic of your grandmother’s house.  It is a modern day version of this world where things are just a shade bleaker and the shadows just a shade darker.  The most interesting thing is that all the imagined things we fear in those dark shadows are real in the World of Darkness.

In the World of Darkness, you play an ordinary mortal who is confronted by the entities hidden within these dark shadows.  As you seek to uncover the answers to the mysteries that you encounter, you really only uncover more questions.  You only hope that one of the answers to your questions doesn’t end your hunt for the truth prematurely.

White Wolf markets the World of Darkness as a storytelling game of gothic-horror, or gothic-punk.  Theme, mood, and plot take precedence over combat and mechanics.  The goal of the Storytelling System is to bring a troupe (as a group of WoD players are called) together and weave a dark and gritty story of supernatural horror.  A designated Storyteller, or ST, moderates the story and the rules are merely there to determine the outcome of critical actions.

Each game session has scenes which compose a chapter or act in a story, and several stories make up a chronicle.  This parallels the more familiar progression of fantasy roleplaying that is composed of encounters, adventures, and campaigns.

However, I believe you could use any [popular] set of RPG rules and use them as directed to tell an excellent story.  The success of storytelling is dependent on the moderator, or Game Master, and the players.  So the question is, what does World of Darkness bring to the table that assists the creation of supernatural thrillers?

I believe the answer to this question is setting.  You may call it what you like: flavor, fluff, flatulence, etc.  But White Wolf excels at embedding their rule books with a significant amount of intriguing short stories.  These writings were very good at capturing my imagination and lead to instant plot hooks.

The first handful of pages are short narratives that usually mimic journal entries or reports and reveal just enough information to hook you, but not enough to spoil the mystery.  Any of these stories could provide the foundation of a horrific story if not a chronicle.

The Rules

The rules of the Storytelling System are fairly streamlined, though they can become sluggish and annoying the more experienced the characters become.  The system needs only one type of die the: pentagonal trapezohedron.  Or in laymen terms, the d10.  Often the Storytelling System is referred to as the d10 System.

It is also called the Dot System, because each trait is measured in dots with values from 1 to 5.  You have several types of traits including nine Attributes, twenty-four Skills, and Merits.  You also have a variable amount of Willpower and Health (6-11) and a maximum of ten dots of Morality.  Attributes and Skills are divided into mental, physical, and social groups and then Attributes are further subdivided into Power, Finesse, and Resistance.

The Storytelling System rules are point-buy, meaning experience is rewarded at the end of each session and each trait has a cost that players spend experience (XP) to purchase.  As a character becomes more experienced, it takes more XP to purchase new traits, but you usually earn XP at the same rate.  This means character advancement slows down as the chronicle progresses.

Depending on the action the character is taking, the player rolls a number of dice equal to the sum of the values of the characters traits involved in said action.  The number of dice is called a dice pool.  For instance, if a player needed to resolve the outcome of his attempt to punch his adversary, he would roll a number of dice equal to his Strength and Brawl.  Dice pools are usually comprised of an Attribute, Skill, and a supernatural trait if he has one.

Each die that rolls a value greater than or equal to 8 is counted as a success.  Five or more success is an exceptional success and therefore gains additional benefits. If any of the dice result in 10, then the player gets to re-roll them until the result is anything other than 10, and add any successes he gets to the results.

If a character has a dice pool of zero or less for a specified action, then he gets to roll a chance die.  Chance dies only succeed on a result of 10. But if a player rolls a 1 on a chance die, then he suffers a dramatic failure, which means bad things will likely happen to him.

I also believe the rules can lend themselves to drama at the table as well.  When you only have few dice to roll and you only have a 30% chance per die to succeed, you can be a little tense.  However, the drama can quickly turn into annoyance with more experienced characters as they have larger dice pools.  It can be a pain in the arse to find fifteen d10s to roll, and having that many dice hit the table at once can break the suspension of disbelief.

And consider this, I know a player that insists on rolling each die one at a time… yeah.

The World of Darkness is also used in the creation of supernatural characters introduced in their own expansions such as Werewolf: the Forsaken, Vampire: the Requiem, and Changeling: the Lost.  These expansions provide templates that are placed upon basic World of Darkness characters.

Grognardia

No game edition is not without its zealots, and the old World of Darkness (OWoD) is not any different.  Many of the complaints found are that White Wolf has done the following:

• Scrapped the Metaplot
• Increased or made the Difficulty static
• Just a re-hash to make more money
• Watered the game down
• Removed [insert favorite clan/tribe/merit/etc. here]

Let’s tackle the Metaplot first.  From the beginning, the World of Darkness that White Wolf envisioned is one that was plummeting quickly in a death spiral to the END.  They had actually built in an inevitable apocalypse.  The vampires had their Gehenna, the werewolves an Apocalypse, mages Ascended… I think it actually took some testicular fortitude to own up to the fate they had stitched into their games.  They actually did, they killed the WoD!

Story wise, they had really painted themselves into a corner with the Metaplot.  The Metaplot was the official background story that unfolded in the rule books and novels.  And there were very obvious inconsistencies with the story.  One problem was that the different supernatural lines were not written to be a shared world, but they eventually bled over.  Another seemed to be that no one was keeping tabs on what was written

I enjoyed the Metaplot as much as anyone else, but as creative as gamers are, do we really need one?  I think not.  Besides, if you still want to hang on to the idea of the Metaplot, create your own, modify the existing rules to fit it (name changing mostly), or keep playing the old rules.  No one is taking away your gorram rulebook!

Now on to the Difficulty of actions, or the result the die must reach (or better) to be considered a success.  In the old World of Darkness, the Difficulty was variable (usually a 6, but ranged nominally from 4-10).  I think the goal here was making the rules streamlined, but nothing is preventing a Storyteller from changing the Difficulty.

The other complaints are not really worth looking at.  If you’re pissed you can no longer play a Tzimisce, then port it over.  The mechanics should work with almost no modification.

The Verdict

4.5/5

The World of Darkness book has a solid, streamlined rule system as well as excellent writing.  I highly recommend this game if you are a fan of the supernatural, horror, or mystery/suspense.  I think everyone should try it once.

I love the classless point-buy advancement because it truly allows a player to customize his character.  There are caveats to classless systems however, as build trends inevitably appear.  However, with a good ST and Troupe, this shouldn’t be a factor.

I only wish they had included stuff from supplements like The Armory in this book.  The tightwad in me wants to see extra mechanics like those included in the core book so I get more for my money.

The Good

• Streamlined rules
• Classless advancement
• Superb writing
• Only need one die
• No Metaplot

The Bad

• Large dice pools
• Classless advancement
• Need more crunch in the core book

Listening to: Misfits – Collection II – Braineaters

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Jonathan @ the Core Mechanic, the instigator of the RPG Blog Carnival, has had another brainchild, an anthology for the best writing of RPG bloggers. If you would like to nominate your own or someone else’s work for inclusion, please fill out this form.  If you would like to help out or find out more details, join the Google Group.  But hurry, because the deadline for submission is December 1st.

One of the goals of the project is to try to get the RPG blogosphere exposed to more gamers, and personally, I will probably be pimping the anthology out at the FLGS.  Perhaps it should make an appearance at some conventions as well…

I think it is an incredible opportunity to have your work published and get some recognition.  I have submitted one article so far and plan on submitting more.  I have also volunteered to do some work on the anthology.  This way not only do I have an opportunity to have my work published, but also acquire some great experience on the other side of publishing.

Listening to: Fear Factory – Obsolete – Shock

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Buried under the ruins of the world of The Dead Wastes are secrets to the manipulation of magic. Many of these are dark secrets better left undiscovered. To the uninitiated, all methods of manipulating arcane energies are commonly referred to as sorcery, but there are many paths of working magic; sorcery is but one method.

The people of Lyrdonia have a deep mistrust, fear, and sometimes hatred of the arcane.  After all, magic caused the collapse of at least one civilization and magic caused the death and destruction that still persists to this day in the Dead Wastes.  Most people feel that no good can come from performing magic and anything touched by magic is corrupt and brings evil upon those involved or even near the event.

The mistrust is well warranted as during the dark period between the fall of the Nadori and the rise of Aurincia, many sinister entities utilized magic to enslave villages and used the innocent to fuel their malicious rituals.  Many of these entities were sorcerers, calling upon the arcane energies of their nefarious heritage to give them power.   Corrupted power.

Paths of Magic

Below is a selection of known and rumored methods of manipulating magic.  There are most certainly older, forgotten sources of arcane power and no doubt new methods will be discovered in the future.

• Alchemical – The science of extracting the phenomenal properties of elements
• Divine – The miracle of channeling the will of the gods
• Eldritch – The power of places gained usually from events that has taken place there
• Psionics – The ability to effect the environment through will alone
• Resonance – Strange effects created through voice, chord, and rhythm
• Ritual – Rites of intricate and involved procedure that often take hours if not days
• Sorcery – Spellcraft gained through blood or pact
• True Name – Undeniable control over things by the knowledge of true names
• Wizardry – An almost mathematical invocation of magic using complex words and symbols
• Witchcraft – Magic gained through the consort of spirits
• Wylder – The power to manipulate the power of nature

Arcane Corruption

Performing magic is not without consequences.  Channeling arcane energies can leave lasting marks upon the user.  Some practitioners of magic assuage this corruption by passing it on to other things, such as the surrounding plantlife or even other people (the virgin sacrifice is a well known legend for a reason).  However, these defilers usually end up attracting worse things than arcane corruption.

Arcane corruption takes many forms, some spellcrafters end up acquiring strange physical features: scales, goat irises, claws, vestigial wings and tails, or even tentacles.  Not all spells cause such disfigurements, but the more potent a spell is coupled with how quickly the spellcaster wants to manifest the power increases the likelyood to accrue arcane corruption.

Listening to: Carcass – Swansong – Black Star

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Welcome to madbrewlabs.com!  So I finally decided to quit mooching on the free, but limited hosting.  I almost self-hosted, but the price is cheaper than keeping a webhost box running 24/7 at my house.  That and I don’t have to worry about maintaining hardware and updating IP addresses.

I’d give you the grand tour of the place, but I think you are more than capable at finding your own way around; however, should you encounter any difficulties or have any comments, suggestions, praise, et cetera, don’t hesitate to place a comment here.

I’ve had about two weeks to tweak the stuff under the hood, and I have customized the heck out of the WordPress engine (most of which you really won’t see) as well as the fine theme that is making your eyes bleed.  I am pretty happy with how things are looking, but I think I want to change how the comments are displaying and brighten them up a bit.  I am also working on a new banner, but given my pace, it may not be seen for another month.

I know it has been pretty quiet as far as content is concerned at the Labs, but I’ve got some stuff in the pipeline and hopefully I will be cranking out stuff on a regular basis.  I have more creatures for the Mad Menagerie whose DNA is currently being modified and tested in the Labs, as well field reports from the Dead Wastes.  I certainly want to cover some more artists but I also want to do some hard reviews of gaming products and novels.

Well, I think I hear a commotion in the Labs, something is breaking beakers and flasks, so I better go get a handle on things.  Enjoy the new site!

Listening to: Alice in Chains – Facelift – Bleed the Freak

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In the World of Dark Fantasy, the monstrous Beasts gather into fierce hordes and descend upon the fringes of civilization.  The hordes send raiding parties to ravage the countryside and test the defenses of the outlying kingdoms of men, dwarves, and elves.  No one is safe.

In Beast: the Ravaging, you become the monster that every villager fears.  Your bestial instinct drives you to prove yourself in battle and reap the spoils of war.  You impose your monstrosity upon everything you see, sometimes even your allies, and the kingdoms of civilization quake in fear at your atrocities.

There are many varieties of Beasts; running the gamut from sniveling goblins to enormous giants.  Beast lorekeepers tell stories that their peoples originate from a cabal of gods that were cast from the heavens because the other gods feared their prowess.

The fallen gods were stripped of their divinity, but all their powers had been extracted.  The Fel, as they were known, were determined to restore themselves as gods once again.  Thus the Fel began raiding villages as well as cities, stealing the virgin priestesses of the enemy gods.  The gods of men, dwarves, and elves.

Only the combined might of the armies of the lesser races was strong enough to slay one of the Fel and force the remaining to retreat to the distant mountains and the caverns under them.  And with them they brought the priestesses they had taken.  Soon the priestesses submitted themselves to the Fel and birthed the mighty races of the world.

The Fel’s children, or genos in the bestial tongue, were warped by the power within their fathers’ blood, bestowing upon them a monstrous countenance.  The Beasts quickly multiplied and not even a generation of men had passed before the Fel descended upon civilization with their horde of Beasts and wrought devastation upon the world.

Satisfied with the carnage and chaos they had sown, the Fel took their most savage and powerful children and marched upon the heavens.  They left the rest of their Genos, or Beasts as man calls them, to wreak havoc on what was left of civilization, promising divinity to those who proved themselves worthy.

This was a thousand years ago.  Today the gods are still besieged by the Fel; their children slavering at the gates of heaven.  The world below has not fared any better, as civilization has never fully recovered, and the hordes still ravage the landscape.

There are six Genos, one for each of the remaining Fel.  Each Genos gains a bonus dot in an Attribute chosen from the two Attributes listed in the Bonus section of its description.  Every Genos also has an Attribute their heritage is lacking in.  Thus increasing dots in the Attribute listed in the Weakness section of the Genos’ description cost twice the amount of Experience Points it normally would.  Finally, each Genos has a unique gift inherent in their lineage.  Each Genos receives gains use of the power listed in the Boon section of its description.

Giant

Giants are the Genos of Volakar the Behemoth.  The spawn of Volakar inherited their sire’s huge mass, and tower over the races at ten to eleven feet tall.  Giants look more less like very ugly humans.  A giant usually fills the position of warlord among the hordes, orchestrating strategies and commanding units of Beasts.

Giants tend to gravitate toward the Brute and Soldier Officium because of their strength and durability.  However, despite their poor dexterity, a fair number of giants find themselves as Artillery, hurling boulders.

• Bonus: Presence or Strength.
• Weakness: Dexterity.
• Boon: Enormous Size, giants have a size of 9; giants can roll 9 again on Intimidate dice pools.

Goblin

Goblins are the Genos of Kromj the Vile.  These Beasts stand about the same height as a dwarf, are devoid of hair, and have inky black, spongey skin like that of a frog.  They have long pointed ears that can be as long as a man’s forearm and also have many rows of sharp pointed teeth and sharp yellow claws.  Goblins are known to lick their claws, transferring their poisonous saliva to them.

Goblins are usually found in the Lurker or Skirmisher Officium due to their mobility.  The Controller Officia also includes its fair share of goblin warlocks.

• Bonus: Dexterity or Intelligence.
• Weakness: Wits.
• Boon: Poisonous, goblin saliva is a toxin that inflicts a point of lethal damage for two rounds after a successful attack; gobins can roll 9 again on Craft dice pools.

Kobold

Kobolds are the Genos of Saladon the Hidden.  These smallish humanoids resemble dog-faced men, albeit with patches of scales.  Most Kobolds are no taller than a man’s waist, but some mongrels have interbred with humans, producing stouter offspring.

Kobold are most attuned with the Officium of Controller or Lurker due to their excellent stealth and powerful shamans.  Yet some find themselves in Artillery because of the same thing; stealth and magic.

• Bonus: Dexterity or Wits.
• Weakness: Resolve.
• Boon: Shifty, once per scene a kobold may shift five feet, putting himself in a better position to attack, he gets five additional dice to his attack pool for that turn; kobolds can roll 9 again on Stealth dice pools.

Ogre

Ogres are the Genos of Kazadli the Tyrant.  The fearsome humanoids are all brutish figures standing just a head taller than a  man.  They are formidable opponents on the battlefield where their charges blast through the enemy ranks.

Ogres are very well suited to the Officium of Brute and Soldier due to the strength and prowess.  Some ogres find themselves excellent Skirmishers, making use of their charge repeatedly.

• Bonus: Composure or Strength.
• Weakness: Presence.
• Boon: Charge, if an ogre is not engaged in melee combat, he may charge and opponent and on a successful attack he knocks the opponent prone and deals two additional bruised damage; ogres can roll 9 again on Athletics dice pools.

Orc

Orcs are the Genos of Marrak the Twisted.  Orcs often serve as captains in the hordes, putting their manipulation skills to use by commanding troops.  These boar-faced Beasts are a fearsome sight on the field of war when their rage overtakes them.

Orcs are endeared to the Brute and Controller Officium due to their Berserk boon and Manipulation skills, but also make good Soldiers.

• Bonus: Manipulation or Stamina.
• Weakness: Composure.
• Boon: Berserk, once per scene an orc may Berserk for a number of turns equal to her stamina which allows her to ignore wound penalties and deal 1 additional lethal damage per successful attack; orcs can roll 9 again on Subterfuge dice pools.

Troll

Trolls are the Genos of Haggard the Hideous.  Trolls are slender but tall green-skinned  thugs with long arms.  They inherited their long, hooked nose and warty complexion from their progenator.  They are renowned for their ability to regenerate wounds that would normally be lethal to most mortals.

Trolls are most always Brutes or Artillery Officium, throwing  their deadly handaxes with zeal.  They can also make a fair Soldier.

• Bonus: Resolve or Stamina.
• Weakness: Intelligence.
• Boon: Regeneration, trolls may spend 1 Atrocity to regenerate 1 lethal wound or 2 bruised wounds; trolls can roll 9 again on Survival dice pools.

Listening to: KMFDM – Tohuvabohu - Spit or Swallow

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