Mad Brew Labs

Far West RPG

The Far West is a transmedia project conceived by Gareth-Michael Sharka and his compatriots at Adamant Entertainment. As a transmedia project, it will eventually provide several points of access for audiences including novels, comics, web series, and a tabletop roleplaying game. The roleplaying game was recently funded via Kickstarter and broke the previous hobby game funding record after acquiring over seven hundred backers and amassing nearly fifty thousand dollars!

You’ve Got Shaw Brothers in My Sergio Leone

The setting blends the elements of the Chinese Wuxia and Spaghetti Western genres. Add a completely fictitious setting (this is not the American West or the a Ming Dynasty era China) and some steampunk elements and you’ve got an idea where Adamant Entertainment, the publisher of Far West, is taking the setting.

From the website^[1]:

A fantasy world that’s The Gunslinger meets Storm Riders meets Deadwood meets Afro Samurai meets The Wild Wild West meets Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon meets Django meets Brisco County meets House of Flying Daggers and more.

A fantasy world that’s explored through a constantly-updated website, a tabletop role-playing game, a web series, artwork, fiction, comics and much, much, more. A fantasy world that is shaped by its own fan community.

From what I’ve gleaned from the fabulous vignettes and development articles on the website, the setting consists of the Empire, a heavily developed urban area with very little wild, empty spaces. The heart of the Empire rests on the eastern shore of the Eastern Ocean. As you move farther west, the wild becomes more dominant as law and civilization become more sparse. This, of course, is keeping with its American Frontier influences.

Beyond the core Empire, you have the Periphery, which are Imperial Territories. In the recent past, most of the Periphery rebelled in what is known as the Succession Wars. It wasn’t a concerted effort, and slowly the Empire quelled each territory. Beyond the Periphery is the Frontier, and beyond the Frontier you’re in the Far West.

Odyssey System

The FATE of d20 on this Odyssey

There hasn’t been much discussion about what rules would be powering the Far West. However, I did find buried on the website a single post^[2] explaining at a conceptual level what direction the rules were heading in.

The rules will officially be known as the Odyssey System, which, at its basic level is an integration of FATE^[3] Aspects mechanics into the d20 framework. Of particular note are the modifications of the basic d20 system, which actually reminds me a lot of Mutants & Masterminds^[4] or True20^[5]:

• Classless
  - Mechanics called Backgrounds and Occupations actually give you Areas of Knowledge
• Abilities
  - Ability scores are simply represented as the bonus (i.e. -1, +2, etc.)
  - Spirit is a points pool determined by Wisdom that power Kung Fu and the like
  - Any Ability may have a saving throw… such as a Social saving thrown for Charisma
• Aspects
  - Imported from FATE
  - Based on the traditional Xia virtues: Altruism, Justice, Individualism, Loyalty, Courage, Glory, Poverty
• Skills
  - Eliminated and governed by straight Ability checks
  - Backgrounds, Occupations, and Edges give bonuses
• Edges
  - Combines Feats and Class Talents
• Kung Fu
  - Sort of an expanded Edge
  - Powered by Spirit
  - Purchased with a points-buy system
• Combat
  - Swaps Hit Points for a Toughness system (similar to M&M)
  - Would levels with penalties
  - Initiative bonus is an average of Wisdom and Dexterity
  - Strength applies to melee defense (blocking)
  - Stunt system powered by critical successes

Seasoned Wanderer of the Dust Road

Since I pledged as a backer of the Far West Kickstarter^[6], I’ll be able to follow along with the development of the setting as well as receive a copy of the rules once they are sent to print. So check back here, or visit the official website, for more details if you’re interested in this fantastic mash-up. The work so far really makes me think that Far West will be more than a sum of its parts and will probably be able to stand on its own as a very well done world and game.

Wild West Weeks

• Welcome to Wild West Weeks
• Wild West RPG Database
• Into the Far West
• Aces & Eights: Shattered Frontier
• Deadlands Reloaded
• Red Dead Redemption
• 24 Hour Old West RPG, Part 1
• 24 Hour Old West RPG, Core Mechanics
• 24 Hour Old West RPG, Traits I
• 24 Hour Old West RPG, Traits II
• 24 Hour Old West RPG, Traits III

Listening to: Yoshida Brothers – Tsugaru Shamisen – Morricone

References

[1] Into The Far West website
[2] The Odyssey System
[3] FATE website
[4] Mutants & Masterminds
[5] True20
[6] Far West Kickstarter

Fey Folio: Clans of the Fey Realm

Fey are one of the most under-utilized types of monsters in my experience playing fantasy roleplaying games. Fey are horrific, yet fantastic. They are beguilingly grotesque. These dastardly beautiful creatures are showcased in the Fey Folio: Clans of the Fey Realms from Alluria Publishing. This book, written by Matthew Cicci, received honorable mentions in the Best Monster/Adversary and Best Electronic Book categories of the 2010 ENnie Awards.

My first impression from this 27 page e-book is from the artwork, by Vasilis Zikos. There are a couple of really outstanding pieces, including the Sidhe, Fachen, and Erlking (which is also my favorite monster from the book). The second impression is from the graphic design, I really dig the iconography.

The concepts behind the fey presented in the folio are solid and interesting. For instance, the erlking can only be created from mortals, which are kidnapped by and then subjected to a tortuous rite that transmutes the victim into a new erlking. The author does a good job of reflecting the behavior in the stat block by giving the erlking some unique grappling abilities.

Which brings me to my next impression, Clans of the Fey Realms has a multitude of cool special abilities that make these monsters more than your average dry stat block. Most of the stats look appropriate for the Challenge Rating, but there are a few entries that look pretty powerful for their CR (my favorite fey being an example with a permanent darkness aura and superlative grappling skill).

Monster books are the one supplement I’ll buy from outside the systems I play because the concepts presenting can be used damn near everywhere. Fey Folio wins on two fronts, not only does it present some compelling creatures to throw at your players, it also does it in the Patfinder RPG format, which is the game I find myself currently playing the most. Pick it up from RPGNow! While it’s on sale for 5.25.

Listening to: Fear Factory – Digimortal – Linchpin

[EDIT & WARNING: I simply passed along the following press release because it looked interesting, but Nick Logue has apparently disappeared with the pre-order money and it will probably never see the light of day. I apologize to anyone who feels they got scammed on this book and any part I may have played in directing folks towards it.]

Well, after almost a week of being down, due to massive server difficulties, the Labs is back up and running. While the Labs was suffering from implosion, I received some interesting emails. One is the following Press Release from Nicolas Logue’s Sinister Adventures:

Announcing The Anarchist Gamemaster Cookbook: Recipes for Games That Don’t Suck

The Anarchist Gamemaster Cookbook

Peer into Nicolas Logue?s demented mind and taste his darkest sanity-shattering gamemaster tricks from a decade teaching theater in NYC, China and London. These forbidden fruits come screaming through the interwebs straight to your home gaming table. For use with any game or system.

Anarchist Gamemaster?s Cookbook is packed full of terrifying advice on gamemastery that Nicolas Logue has never dared share before with man or beast. Secrets that will transform novice gamemasters into towering Gods of Gaming and supply even the most grizzled veteran storytellers with new tricks to slip up their sleeve before the next time the dice hit the table.

What do your favorite movies, books and TV shows have in common? Story, Drama and Action! Don?t let the rules rule you. If story matters then the Anarchist Gamemaster?s Cookbook matters to your game.

Put your humanity at risk with lessons including Improv by the Skin of Your Teeth, Murder Death Kill, Ultimate Climaxes (you know what I mean), Fates Worse Than Death, Soundtracks, Romance, Redemption, God Like Powered Player Characters, Why Dragons Should Always Win and more collected here in one master tome.

• New Twists and Sage Advice on?
• Plot
• Setting
• NPCs
• Villains
• Adventure Design
• Pacing
• Cut Scenes and Fade Outs
• Gripping Backstories
• Hooking the Players
• Spotlighting the PCs
• Improv by the Skin of Your Teeth
• Cinematic Action
• The Art of the One Shot
• Epic Length Campaigns
• Ultimate Climaxes (you know what I mean)
• Motivating Your Players?and Their Characters Too
• Suspense
• Soundtracks for Your Game
• Amnesia
• Nightmares
• Drug Addiction
• Flashbacks
• Fear
• Mind Control
• Romance
• Redemption
• Twists and Turns
• Mysteries
• Noir
• Traps
• Wizard?s Duels Done Right
• God Like Powered Player Characters
• Murder Death Kill!…or?Bringing Combat to Life
• Why Dragons Should Always Win and other Fine Truisms of Good Gamemastery

Besides being a veteran game designer and adventure writer for DUNGEONS AND DRAGONS (3&4), DUNGEON magazine, and PATHFINDER, Nicolas Logue is a Professor of World Theater in London, a full instructor with Dueling Arts International, a produced playwright, award winning stage director, and has taught improvisation and acting all over the world. Anarchist Gamemaster?s Cookbook combines Nicolas Logue?s most potent techniques from over a decade in theatre and his demented weekend RPG ramblings into one very extreme tour de force of gamemastery. A must have for any gamemaster of any system, novice or veteran.

ANARCHIST GAMEMASTER COOKBOOK SHIPS IN MARCH 2010. PURCHASE A PRINT COPY AND GET A PDF FREE. PRINT COPIES ARE NOW AVAILABLE FOR A SPECIAL PRE-ORDER PRICE. ORDER NOW FOR ONLY $16.99

Check out the first preview, You?ve Got the Fear: http://tinyurl.com/ybuen2v/

To join our mailing list, visit: http://tinyurl.com/yd3482h/

For more, please visit: http://sinisteradventures.com/

Thoughts About the Book

I have read a handful of books dedicated to Game Mastering, including:

• Master of the Game by Gary Gygax
• Robin’s Laws of Good Game Mastering by Robin Laws
• 1st Edition D&D Dungeon Master’s Guide
• 2nd Edition D&D Dungeon Master’s Guide
• 3rd Edition D&D Dungeon Master’s Guide
• 3rd Edition D&D Dungeon Master’s Guide II
• 4th Edition D&D Dungeon Master’s Guide
• 4th Edition D&D Dungeon Master’s Guide 2

I’ve even thumbed through Hickman’s X-treme Dungeon Mastering book not mention loads of articles about game mastering in magazines and on the web. So when a new book comes along I always wonder if it has something new to say worth investing my money and time.

I think Mr. Logue’s book might actually provide something I think will be worthwhile: his notes on improv. I believe the ability to improvise during  game mastering is the key difference between great GMs and good GMs. So I definitely want to take a look at the Anarchist Gamemaster Cookbook when it releases.

With the XDM, 4e Dungeon Master’s Guide 2, The Anarchist Gamemaster Cookbook, and the upcoming Pathfinder Gamemastery Guide, we appear to be in the  Age of Gamemastering.

Geist: the Sin-Eaters

Geist: the Sin-Eaters is the reimagining of the original World of Darkness game-setting called Wraith: the Oblivion. While the general concept of playing an entity that can operate in both the realm of the dead and the lands of the living are still present along with a smattering of terminology (like caul and [ecto]plasm), that is where the similarity ends. Notice how Geist’s cover has keys, but the old Wraith book had chains and a lock? That is very indicative of the difference between the old and the new.

This is a good thing, because the new setting is pretty damn good in its own right.  The Atomic Array was kind enough to give me a pre-release PDF copy of the Geist core book that will hit the shelves during GenCon. I’ve spent about a week reading and skimming the pages, mostly reading the always excellent short fiction pieces that bookend each chapter.

Premise

In Geist, players take on the role of someone who has died, but came back to life. However, it wasn’t without a price. When the character died a Geist, a spirit of the dead, offered a deal to be returned to life if the person also allowed the Geist within them. This gives the character extraordinary powers, but also causes them to truly become someone other than they were as the process merges the two entities.

Every Geist was sensitive to the supernatural before their death, so they are not wholly unprepared. But now they have been given a new lease on life, strange powers, new motivations, the ability to walk in both worlds, and presented with new challenges. How these characters meet these new challenges with the knowledge of death is what a Geist chronicle is all about.

Sin-Eater Template

Geist Promo Pic

Just as with the other settings in the World of Darkness, Geist offers a new template to add to the basic World of Darkness character that provides some unique new traits. You begin by making creating a basic character per the World of Darkness core book, and then apply the template.

Archetype

An Archetype is a more advanced Virtue/Vice mechanic in that if the character would regain Willpower from actions that are in line with those elements, the character would also regain Plasm (the Geist energy trait) in the same fashion.

Additionally, if the character activates a Manifestation (the Geist supernatural powers, similar to Disciplines or Gifts) in a manner that reflects her archetype, then the cost in Plasm to activate the Manifestation is ignored; of course what is in line with a Geist’s Archetype is up to the Storyteller to determine.

New Advantage: Psyche

Psyche is a measure of the strength of the bond between the Bound (the living person) and the Geist. Mechanically it limits the amount of Plasm a character can have and spend and maximum attribute and advantage scores (much like a Vampire’s Blood Potency trait).

Anchors

Geists with powerful Psyches require Anchors to connect them to lands of the living.  Destroying anchors can have profound effects on Geists as they lose their connections to living world.  It is very much akin to the Fetters of ghosts.

Plasm

Plasm is the fuel that empowers a Sin-eater’s Manifestations and other supernatural abilities (mechanically similar to Blood for a Vampire). Other supernatural abilities include healing and opening Avernian Gates to the underworld.

Synergy

Synergy replaces the standard World of Darkness Morality trait and represents how in tune a Bound is with their Geist. There are of course a new set of “laws” that govern what a “sin” is for Synergy. Example sins include killing other Geists, destroying anchors, and murder.

Merits

Several new Merits make their way into the World of Darkness. The first is Ceremonies, which are just rituals that can be performed to aid a character on his mission.  The next Merit is Haunt, which is a refuge for a Geist to restore Plasm or make it easier to cross over into or out of the underworld. The final Merit is Momento, which are powerful relics that serve as foci for supernatural power.

I hope you enjoyed the small preview, check out the book when it hits the shelves this August.

Want to learn more about Geist: The Sin-Eaters? Read on…

• Atomic Array: Geist: The Sin-Eaters (Atomic Array 027)
• Game Cryer: Review by Chris Perrin
• Flames Rising: Deal with the Dead
• Gnome Stew: Running Geist
• RPG Aggression: Rudis Review
• Atomic Array: Free Demo Quickstart

Drop by White Wolf Publishing today!

Listening to: Skinny Puppy - Rabies – Worlock

Want to learn more about Gestalt? Read on…

• Atomic Array: Episode 019: Gestalt
• Game Cryer: Gestalt Review
• Uncle Bear: Gestalt: A Mythic Supers Setting
• All Games Considered: The Hero Within
• A Butterfly Dreaming: The Pieces of Gestalt
• The Bone Scroll: ‘G’ is for Gestalt

Drop by Black Wyrm Games today!

Listening to: Nine Inch Nails- Starfuckers, Inc. – The Fragile, Right

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The Open Game Table

The Open Game Table: The Anthology of Roleplaying Game Blogs, Volume 1 released today (March 23, 2009).  The OGT collects nearly fifty articles penned last year from over thirty of the RPG blogosphere’s best & brightest.  Yours truly wound up with an article (on designing Pantheons) that was selected for inclusion, a feat that both surprises me and bolsters my confidence.

I watched the Open Game Table come together since Jonathan Jacobs, of The Core Mechanic, made the crazy announcement about his intent publish such a compilation.  I was involved in the review process, where the reviewers read and scored all the submitted articles (except our own).  I must say, the competition was pretty intense, because it was difficult to narrow the submissions down to the few to be selected.  I had a great time reading some excellent articles that I missed and finding blogs I never knew existed!

I was excited to see the fresh art that was being produced for the book from a stable of rising talent and watching the book come together as Jonathan and his retinue of editors chipped away at this masterpiece of creativity.  It was a privilege to be asked my humble opinion of how things looked for suggestions to make it better.

I just finished reading my digital copy of The Open Game Table and I am honored to have been included in the anthology, because this is some fantastic material that people are writing about.  The book provides a lot of articles on everything from mechanics to gaming advice to history, and much of the quality is on par with what you would expect from a major publisher (yet these authors are doing it for the love of the game!).

While a lot of the content is driven by 4^th Edition Dungeon & Dragons, most of the material can be applied to other formats.  I totally recommend that you grab a copy today!  Here is a list of the table of contents:

1. Play Style
2. Game Play
3. Characters & Players
4. Monsters & NPCs
5. Encounters, Settings, and Locations
6. Adventure Design
7. Campaign Setting Design
8. Classes, Action, and Equipment
9. RPG History & Commentary
10. The RPG Toolbox

The Open Game Table: The Anthology of Roleplaying Blogs

You can find The Open Game Table at the following retailers:

Amazon

Lulu Marketplace

Indie Press Revolutions (coming soon!)

Listening to: Static X- Shadow Zone – Destroy All

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Kobold Guide to Game Design, Vol. II

Open Call has closed for the 2009 RPG Superstarcontest hosted by Paizo. I am sure that many contestants are beginning to question the quality of their entries and probably wish they had a look at Kobold Quarterly‘s [Open Design] The Kobold Guide to Game Design, Volume II: How to Pitch, Playtest, & Publish before they submitted their magic items.

I happened to have the opportunity to review a chapter from The Kobold Guide to Game Design, Volume II and was very interested to see what one of the RPG Superstar judges had to say about the design of a magic item.  The chapter I was able to get a sneak peak at was entitled “How NOT to Design a Magic Item.”

I want to give a brief overview of the book before I leak some of the nuggets of magic item design wisdom.  The Kobold Guide to Game Design, Volume II: How to Pitch, Playtest, & Publish is a 96 page the sequel to the first volume that compiled “advice from Wolfgang Baur, Ed Greenwood, and Nicolas Logue on how to think about different genres, how to improve your game as a DM, how to make a setting come alive, and how to use design compression to strengthen your work. ” [1]

Volume two is authored by Wolfgang Baur and Nicolas Logue and promises to help game designers in the areas of freelance, playtesting, and publishing.  Its table of contents lists the following chapters (some of which have also been reviewed by the RPG blogosphere):

• Fortunate Accidents
• Lessons from Playtest
• Talent Won’t Save You
• Design Guidelines: Playtesting
• The Infinite Onion: Creating Play Depth
• Promises, Promises: The Art of the Pitch
• Challenge and Response
• The Mystery of Mysteries
• The Magic Bullet for Publication
• Maps, Monsters, and Bottom-Up Design
• How NOT to Design a Magic Item
• Design That  Matters

The chapter is fairly short, weighing in at a mere five pages, but the advice is sound and points out some things that a burgeoning designer may not take into consideration.  The chapter is written from the perspective of designing a competitive item for any contest, whether its for the RPG Superstar, design tests for industry jobs, or submissions to magazines.

The chapter starts out with the easiest way to destroy your chances, not meeting the format.  When narrowing the field of entries, the easiest method is trashing all the ones that don’t comply to the format.  It could be the greatest item ever created, but no one will know because the judges simply skipped it because of formatting.  Format includes the system guidelines, spelling, and grammar.

I do not want to give away all the advice, but the other topics covered include boring item, spells in a can, swiss army knives, breaking class abilities, the gozo factor, the numbers game, and flavor.  If you plan on doing freelance work, or you plan on winning next year’s RPG Superstar contest, I suggest you consider picking up The Kobold Guide to Game Design, Volume II: How to Pitch, Playtest, & Publish.

Want to read more about The Kobold Guide to Game Design, Volume II? Read on…

• Kobold Quarterly
• Capturing Fantasy
• Chgowiz’s Old Guy RPG Blog
• Critical-Hits
• Musings of the Chatty DM
• The Core Mechanic
• UncleBear

[1] Kobold Quarterly Announcement

Listening to: Rammstein - Herzeleid – Weisses Fleisch

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CthulhuTech by WildFire

It is no secret that the Labs is a fan of Lovecraftian Horror.  What is probably less known in these parts is my extreme dislike of anime.  While there are a few gems out there that I like from the genre, for the most part anime offends my senses.  So I am surprised I actually liked the setting for the new CthulhuTech game by Wildfire.  The setting is a mash-up of the classic eldritch horror of Cthulhu and the giant robot mecha of Japanese animation.

Setting

CthulhuTech launches you more than half a century (2085) into the future where the once hidden threats of ancient evil have now been thrust upon humanity.  The earth is embroiled in a war against the crustacean-insects from Pluto, the Migou, the hordes of alien monsters and cannibals of the Rapine Storm, and the more familiar secret societies that are in service to the Old Ones.

Much of Earth has fallen to these terrifying aliens, but the humans and the Nazzadi (an alien engineered race) meet them on the battlefield with giant robots and arcanotech.  Even the aliens have mecha.

The setting pretty much leaves the door wide open on what kind of game you want to play with it.  The obvious choices of Mecha vs. Monster and traditional “defeat the evil” adventures are there.  But you could also play a game based upon political intrigue within the New Earth Government, investigative games trying to root out the conspiracy perpetrated by the Esoteric Order of Dagon, or even spy/espionage games using the evil Chrysalis Corporation and the guyver-esque symbiotic Tagers.

What is really nice is that the CthulhuTech core book provides two ready-to-run stories.  So you have everything you need but dice to begin playing in one sourcebook.

Mechanics

CthulhuTech uses the Framewerk system for its mechanics.  Framewerk is a cinematic storytelling system that is very reminiscent of White Wolf’s Storyteller system.  It utilizes d10s, dice pools, and a wounding system (though it actually includes hit points too).  The system includes an automatic success mechanic, which potentially reduces the amount of tests that need to be rolled.

Of particular interest is how Framewerk allows players to determine the results of a roll.  You first determine the base, which is the score of the attribute associated with the test.  Then you roll a number of dice equal to the rank of the associated skill.  Then to determine the total you add your base to the highest result of the dice pool roll.

The trick is that Framewerk adds a little Poker to the mix.  You may either add the highest single die roll, or you may add the sum of the highest set of multiples, or you may instead add the sum of a straight.  For example, if you rolled five dice and the results were 10, 8, 8, 7, 6, you could take the 10, take 16 (8+8), or take 21 (8+7+6) and add that score to your base.  If anything could cause confusion or burn time during play, it would be this part of the mechanic, but only until you got used to it.

Another feature that sets Framewerk apart is that you must declare the number of actions your character wants to take during his turn.  A character, if able, can take up to three actions in a turn.  If multiple actions are taken, a Test Penalty of -2 (for two actions) or -4 (for three actions) is applied to the character’s rolls.

Overall, the mechanics look pretty easy, once you get used to the Poker method of determining the result of a dice pool.

Survivor

This game almost didn’t see the light of day.  CthulhuTech was basically dumped  so work could be completed on a licensed property by the first publisher that was lined up to take it on, Eos Press.  Then the company, Osseum Entertainment picked it up, only to have the company close shop.  Then various team had other obligations, such as military deployment.

Finally a business deal was developed with Mongoose Publishing and the book finally went to press, though there were some significant printer issues.  Today there are two additional supplements.  Dark Passions, which details the minor cults of the setting, adds some cult magic, and provides two stories.  The there is Vade Mecum which expands the setting and provides new races, professions, rules, introduces para-psychics, and brings new mecha, tagers, and equipment to the game.  Vade Mecum also provides two more stories.

CthulhuTech recently switched publishers again, this time to Catalyst Game Labs.  But it looks like support won’t end there either as four more books are on their way.

Want to learn more about CthulhuTech? Read on…

• Atomic Array: Episode 013: CthulhuTech RPG
• Critical Hits: When Horror Meets Awesome: CthulhuTech
• Kore Dice: Interview with CthulhuTech’s Mike Vaillancourt
• Stan!: The Stars Will Be Right
• Arcane Underground: The Saga of CthulhuTech (Updated)

Drop by BattleCorps to pick up your copy today!

Listening to: Soilwork - Steelbath Suicide – Skin After Skin

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