Tuesday, January 24, 2012

[Atomic Robo] Action. Science. Podcast.


More shameless self-promotion! Mike Lafferty interviewed Fred Hicks, Brian Clevinger, and myself about ARRPG for the BAMF! podcast, which you can check out here.

We covered some interesting stuff, including some of our core design goals for ARRPG (many of which I'm pretty sure I've mentioned here on the ol' blog), and extracted from Brian what I'm going to interpret as an ironclad guarantee that the She-Devils (coming up in Atomic Robo volume 8) will receive a detailed treatment in the book. And naturally we talked about Carl Sagan, because... c'mon. Who doesn't want to play Carl Sagan?

Brian also had some incredibly kind words about The Kerberos Club (FATE Edition). I mean, I already knew he liked it, but now it's on the record.

I listen to a ton of podcasts on a regular basis -- mostly comedy podcasts like Comedy Bang Bang, Superego, and Mike and Tom Eat Snacks -- so it was pretty cool to get to be on one for once. Hopefully I didn't make too much of an ass of myself, but I'll leave that judgment up to you, the viewer (I know you're not a viewer).

Monday, January 23, 2012

[Atomic Robo] It's Sagan-tastic!



Dave Chalker over at Critical Hits interviewed Fred Hicks, Brian Clevinger, and me about ARRPG. In amongst the banter, there's some actual information about the game to be had, so check it out.

We're very excited about Carl Sagan. (And crystals.)

Speaking of Dave, does anyone else out there own the Well of Souls RPG? A friend of mine in junior high was absolutely fanatical about the Well of Souls series and waged a near-ceaseless campaign to get the rest of us in our D&D group to read it. (At least, that's how it seemed at the time. He probably just read it and said, "Hey, I really like these books. You guys should read them." Then we blew it all out of proportion.) When I saw the RPG on eBay a few years ago, I had to get it.

Thursday, January 19, 2012

[Atomic Robo] Paper. Plastic. Dice.


I visited Italy with my family when I was about 10 years old -- i.e., too young to really appreciate it -- but the only phrases I still know how to say in Italian are "What does it cost?" and "fried brains," which means I'm in very good shape if I ever need to know the going rate of fried brains in Milan. (So far it hasn't come up.)

Fortunately, Italian person Paolo Cecchetto of Paper and Plastic speaks English just fine, so I had no trouble answering his questions about ARRPG. Pretty sure I didn't stick my foot in my mouth in there anywhere. Still new to being interviewed, y'know. Anyway, check it out.

(While you're at it, also check out his electronically cataloged RPG collection. S'pretty impressive.)

Friday, January 13, 2012

[Atomic Robo] Suddenly I'm Fame-ish

Evil Hat's announcement of the Atomic Robo RPG has made quite a splash in sort-of mainstream online media outlets' geek-oriented sub-sections (because geek culture's such a thing right now we should probably cover it or something). This has the side effect of exposing strangers' eyes to my name, or something quite like it.

First there's this MTV Geek article from yesterday, wherein my Norwegian twin (need I even specify he's an evil twin?) receives the credit rightfully due to me:
At the helm, Evil Hat will be placing Atomic Robo Brian Clevinger himself alongside Fate system veteran Mike Olsen.
Look, I know I make too much of the "-en"/"-on" thing. It's a peeve of mine. It happens all the time. If Matt Morgan misspelling my last name in an article is the worst thing that happens to me this year, I'll consider myself a lucky man.

Then today there's this mention of ARRPG in CNN.com's Geek Out! section, in which my name appears not once, but twice. Concurrently! (EDIT: No, not concurrently -- consecutively. "Concurrently" would be, like... impossible.)
Evil Hat Productions announced an agreement to produce, publish, and distribute an RPG based on the Eisner-nominated "Atomic Robo" comic book. It will be co-written by "Atomic Robo" scribe Brian Clevinger and "Kerberos Club: Fate Edition" author Mike Olson. Olson also created the "Strange Fate" version of the Fate engine. (via Deadly Fredly)
True story: Shortly after Brian approached me about ARRPG and Fred and Evil Hat got involved, I found myself in a ridiculously hip little comic book store in Silver Lake called Secret Headquarters. Did they have Atomic Robo TPBs? They did! I'd never actually seen one before. "Holy crap!" I said to myself upon perusing vol. 1's back cover. "This thing was nominated for Eisners!" That's how unfortunately in-the-dark I was about Atomic Robo when this began.

I mention that because I feel so lucky to be a part of this thing, and I think it's so awesome to see enthusiasm for it from people like Matt Morgan and whoever it was who decided the ARRPG press release deserved a mention on Geek Out! In fact, that same Geek Out! piece also mentions WotC's announcement of the next iteration of D&D (and the subsequent "geek rage" that followed), but what's the graphic for the story? Not the D&D logo or the WotC logo. Nope. It's this:


How rad is that?

Anyway -- point is, thanks to Atomic Robo, I'm kinda fame-ish now.

Thursday, January 12, 2012

[Anglerre] The Companion Is Out!

You've surely heard about this by now, but The Legends of Anglerre Companion is now available! Print version coming soon! Check out this sweet cover!


Wait, let me zoom in a little so you can see this cool detail.


Hmm... still not quite getting it. Let me try this:


Pretty sweet, huh?

Tuesday, January 10, 2012

[Atomic Robo] Action. Science. Dice.


Woke up this morning to about 20 Twitter notifications in my inbox. "Ah. Fred must've announced Atomic Robo."

So: some backstory on this extremely awesome project about which I have been bursting with excitement on a daily basis for several weeks.

Back in November, Robo writer Brian Clevinger contacted me about turning his and artist Scott Wegener's creation into an RPG. Seems he'd just gotten The Kerberos Club (FATE Edition) and thought it'd be a good fit. Now, I should mention that at that point, embarrassing as it is to admit, I wasn't actually familiar with Atomic Robo, despite having a fairly varied pull list at my FLCS. (This is chiefly because Morgan Ellis, who's been a fan of the book from the beginning, never once bothered to mention it over the past few years I've known him. Seriously, what is up with that?)

Fortunately, Brian sent me a PDF of Vol. 6 #1. My reply: "How can I be involved in this? You had me by page 2."

In the midst of talking about what form that involvement might take and what kind of sandwiches it'd pay --sandwich negotiations are a key part of being an RPG freelancer -- Fred Hicks and Evil Hat got involved, and the Atomic Robo RPG went from being a really cool consulting gig to "OMG am I actually going to be designing a FATE game for Evil Hat?"

Apparently... yes!

If you've read this blog for a while -- or even just read the name of it -- you know I'm a big fan of Evil Hat. Spirit of the Century was a revelation for me. Playing and reading it not only changed the way I thought about RPGs, but also led pretty directly to my first freelance work on Legends of Anglerre. And now I get  to design a game for Evil Hat that's a combination of Buckaroo Banzai, Indiana Jones, Ghostbusters, and Planetary.

There'll be more to talk about later, but I can at least say this right off the bat: It's not going to use Strange FATE. Instead, it's going to use the in-development Fate Core rules to accomplish some of Strange FATE's design goals in terms of custom-built skills. The goal is to make ARRPG a true pick-up-and-play RPG, in which on-the-fly character creation is the default.

So attune your crystals to the blog here, follow me on Twitter, and circle me on Google+ for updates. Excitement!

Monday, January 9, 2012

[Kerberos] The Royal Dinosaurs (and others)

(Cross-posted on ArcDream.com.)

Well! It certainly took longer to follow up that last post than I'd intended. I can blame the holidays, right?

In any event, below is a sampling of dinosaurs that ought to cover nearly every dinosaur-related need for your Kerberos Club (FATE Edition) game. I've included a selection of what are, to me, archetypal dinosaurs. When I think "Dinosaur!" I think of these guys. However, with a little tweaking here and there, they can easily represent a much wider variety of dinosaur species (and/or kaiju, if you want to go that way).

I'm pretty accustomed to building skills in Strange FATE by now, but you know what made this even easier (and more fun) for me? Dustin Swede's totally amazing Custom Skill Generator. Go check that out, because it's awesome.

Anyway -- on to the dinosaurs!

Iguanodon (Adversary)
Biped:
  • Aspects:
    • Bulky Herbivore
    • Toothy Beak
    • Thick Scaly Hide
    • Ungainly Run
  • Skills:
    • Superb (+5): Brawn (E)
    • Great (+4): Prodigious Size (E)
    • Good: (+3): Beak and Claws (E), Alertness
    • Fair (+2): Powerful Legs
  • Unique Skills:
    • Prodigious Size (Resist Damage, Stress Capacity [Health], Resolve; Minor Snag: Resolve trapping only applies to obviously physical threats)
    • Beak and Claws (Strike)
    • Powerful Legs (Move)
  • Tier Benefits:
    • Weapon 1 [Health]
    • Armor 1 [Health]
  • Gifts:
    • Thumb Spike (Deadly x2: Weapon 2 [Health], Aspect: “Thumb Spike”)
  • Stress and Consequences:
    • Health OOO OOO (Armor 1)
    • Composure OOO
Quadruped:
  • Aspects:
    • Gigantic Herbivore
    • Toothy Beak
    • Thick Scaly Hide
    • Slow and Strong
  • Skills:
    • Superb (+5): Brawn (S)
    • Great (+4): Prodigious Size (S)
    • Good: (+3): Beak and Claws (E), Alertness
  • Unique Skills:
    • Prodigious Size (Resist Damage, Stress Capacity [Health], Resolve; Minor Snag: Resolve trapping only applies to obviously physical threats)
    • Beak and Claws (Strike)
    • Powerful Legs (Move)
  • Tier Benefits:
    • Weapon 2 [Health]
    • Armor 2 [Health]
  • Gifts:
    • Thumb Spike (Deadly x2: Weapon 2 [Health], Aspect: “Thumb Spike”)
  • Stress and Consequences:
    • Health OOO OOO (Armor 2)
    • Composure OOO
    • Trifling (P): 
Notes: The paleontological record includes several species of Iguanodon, at least one of which, i. bernissartensis, was native to England, and discovered in the 19th century. The Royal Dinosaurs, many (if not all) of which were brought over from the Brazilian Empire, also include a few Iguanodons. Relatively speaking, it’s one of the more common species of dinosaur a Kerberan might encounter. Two different stats are given here, one for young bipedal Iguanodons, and one for adult quadrupeds. Despite being bipeds, young Iguanodons could only run about as fast as the average adult human, which makes that Fair (+2) Powerful Legs skill a bit of an exaggeration. And adults were even slower (note the lack of a rated skill for movement), albeit stronger and larger -- probably between 30 to 45 meters long, and weighing in at about 3.5 tons. The thumb spike is an interesting case. Odds are pretty good that Iguanodon used it for self-defense, which is why it gets weaponized here. Victorian reconstructions of the species, however, located the spike on the nose, so if you want a more period-authentic (though scientifically inaccurate) version of Iguanodon, feel free to change that Thumb Spike to a Nose Spike. As an herbivore, an Iguanodon won’t hunt down Londoners in the street, but the panic-driven property damage would likely be... significant.

Tyrannosaurus (Adversary)
  • Aspects:
    • Ravenous Thunder Lizard
    • Dagger-Like Teeth
    • Apex Predator
    • Terrifying Roar
    • Keen Eyesight
  • Skills:
    • Fantastic (+6): Thunder Lizard (S)
    • Superb (+5): Apex Predator (E)
    • Great (+4): Powerful Legs
    • Good (+3): Alertness
  • Unique Skills:
    • Thunder Lizard (Resist Damage, Stress Capacity [Health], Physical Force)
    • Apex Predator (Strike, Notice, Stress Capacity [Composure], Menace + Zone, Willpower; Major Snag: Willpower only applies against obviously physical threats, Major Snag: Armor [Composure] only applies against obviously physical sources of Composure stress)
    • Powerful Legs (Move)
  • Gifts:
    • Impact: Thunder Lizard
  • Tier Benefits: 
    • Weapon 2 [Health]
    • Armor 2 [Health]
    • Armor 2 [Composure]
  • Stress and Consequences:
    • Health OOO OOO (Armor 2)
    • Composure OOO OOO (Armor 2)
    • Trifling (P): 
    • Trifling (M): 
Notes: What collection of dinosaurs would be complete without a T. Rex? These same stats can be used to represent any large theropod predator, including Giganotosaurus, Allosaurus, Megalosaurus, and Spinosaurus, without little (or no) variation. The Victorians thought Megalosaurus was a quadruped, so for a little period authenticity, downgrade Powerful Legs to Fair (+2) or below. Despite not being able to run faster than a human (an athletic one, anyway), T. Rex is obviously an attractive candidate species for the Royal Dinosaur Cavalry. If you like your T. Rexes (Rices?) a bit on the faster side -- say, able to keep pace with a horse or automotive -- simply up the Power tier on Powerful Legs from Mundane to Extraordinary. Everyone loves a good chase, right?

Triceratops (Adversary)
  • Aspects:
    • Sturdy Build
    • Deadly Horns
    • Protective Armor Frill
    • Crushing Jaws
  • Skills:
    • Superb (+5): Thunder Lizard (S)
    • Great (+4): Three-Horned Face (E)
    • Good (+3): Alertness
    • Fair (+2): Gallop (E)
  • Unique Skills:
    • Thunder Lizard (Resist Damage, Stress Capacity [Health], Physical Force)
    • Three-Horned Face  (Strike, Parry)
    • Gallop (Move; Minor Snag: No free movement unless charging or chasing)
  • Gifts:
    • Head Frill (Protective x2: Armor 2 [Health], Rugged: +1 Health stress box, Deadly: Weapon 2 [Health]; Minor Snag: Armor only applies to attacks defended against with Three-Horned Face)
    • Theme: +1 to Three-Horned Face after moving at least 1 zone, Ignore penalties to movement from physical zone borders, Use Thunder Lizard instead of Resolve to defend against fear and intimidation
  • Tier Benefits: 
    • Weapon 2 [Health]
    • Armor 2 [Health]
    • Move 1 zone for free when charging or chasing
  • Stress and Consequences:
    • Health OOO OOO O (Armor 2)
    • Composure OOO OOO (Armor 2)
    • Trifling (P): 
Notes: And you can’t have T. Rex without Triceratops horridus. (I can't, anyway.) Nearly 30 feet long, 10 feet tall at the shoulder, and a hefty 13 tons, Triceratops is a living tank. Plus, it can run as fast as a racehorse (making it another excellent unit for the Royal Dinosaur Cavalry). The paleontological record indicates that those sweet-looking head horns and armored frill were probably used more for dominance displays than for combat, but it’s hard to imagine including Triceratops in a game without someone getting gored. With a slight alteration, this can also serve as a rhinoceros -- just rename Three-Horned Face and eliminate that Head Frill Gift, and you’re good to go.

Ornithomimus (Fair Minion)
    • Fair (+2): Physical (E)
    • Average (+1): Mental
  • Aspects: 
    • Speedy Theropod
    • Desperate Sprint
    • Toothless Beak
  • Gifts:
    • Swift Legs (Well-Made: +1 Physical when covering ground, Well-Made: +1 Physical when rolling initiative, +1 Physical when dodging)
  • Fate Point Cost: 2
Notes: Ornithomimus (“bird mimic,” so named for its birdlike footprints) is a relatively small theropod, in that it’s the size of a horse. (Which might also make it suitable for riding....) Think of it like a big, prehistoric road runner.

Apatosaurus (Adversary)
  • Aspects:
    • Earth-Shaking Sauropod of the Jurassic
    • Long, Flexible Neck
    • Whip-Like Tail
    • Complication: Lumbering Beast
  • Skills:
    • Fantastic (+6): Thunder Lizard (A)
    • Superb (+5): Stampede (S)
    • Great (+4): Tail Whip
    • Good (+3): Alertness
    • Fair (+2): Powerful Legs
  • Unique Skills:
    • Thunder Lizard (Resist Damage, Stress Capacity [Health], Physical Force)
    • Stampede (Strike + Zone; Minor Snag: Must follow movement)
    • Tail Whip (Strike + Zone + Ranged [1 zone], Menace + Zone + Ranged [1 zone])
    • Powerful Legs (Move, Minor Complication: Lumbering Beast)
  • Tier Benefits:
    • Weapon 3 [Health]
    • Armor 3 [Health]
    • Remove one Trifling Physical consequence per scene
  • Gifts:
    • Impact: Stampede
    • Theme: +1 to Stampede when moving as a supplementary action, Ignore penalties to Powerful Legs from zone borders, Use Thunder Lizard instead of Resolve to defend against fear/intimidation
  • Stress and Consequences:
    • Health OOO OOO (Armor 3)
    • Composure OOO 
    • Trifling (P): 
    • Trifling (P):
Notes: You may know it as Brontosaurus, but its real name is Apatosaurus. (I know this because my toddler watches Dinosaur Train.) At an average length of 75 feet and weighing some 25 tons, it was one of the largest land animals known to Man. Amazingly -- to me, anyway -- young Apatosaurusi were able to stand up and run on their hind legs; you can easily reflect that mechanically by boosting Powerful Legs from Fair (+2) to Good (+3). These numbers are also good for any similarly sized sauropod, like Diplodicus and Brachiosaurus (or the even-huger Supersaurus). Computer simulations run by modern-day Renaissance man Nathan Myhrvold suggest that Apatosaurus could snap its tail like a whip to create a sound as loud as a cannon -- or, possibly, a sonic boom. Now, there’s some uncertainty about this in the scientific community, but cool trumps science here, so I say let’s use it. Like other large herbivores, the main danger a rampaging Apatosaurus would pose to Victorian London would be its sheer destructive size.

Plesiosaurus (Adversary)
  • Aspects:
    • Long Neck
    • Dagger-Like Teeth
    • Cunning Marine Predator
    • Powerful Flippers
    • Keen Eyesight
  • Skills:
    • Fantastic (+6): Gigantic Reptile (S)
    • Superb (+5): Marine Predator (E)
    • Great (+4): Powerful Flippers (E)
    • Good (+3): Alertness
  • Unique Skills:
    • Gigantic Reptile (Resist Damage, Stress Capacity [Health], Physical Force)
    • Marine Predator (Strike, Notice, Stress Capacity [Composure], Willpower; Major Snag: Willpower only applies against obviously physical threats, Major Snag: Armor [Composure] only applies against obviously physical sources of Composure stress)
    • Powerful Flippers (Move + Unusual: Swimming; Minor Snag: Only in water)
  • Gifts:
    • Impact: Powerful Flippers
  • Tier Benefits: 
    • Weapon 2 [Health]
    • Armor 2 [Health]
    • Armor 2 [Composure]
  • Stress and Consequences:
    • Health OOO OOO (Armor 2)
    • Composure OOO OOO (Armor 2)
    • Trifling (P): 
    • Trifling (M): 
Notes: While Theropods like T. Rex are the apex predators of the land, marine carnivores like Plesiosaurus rule the ocean. The classic Plesiosaur has four flippers, a short body, no tail fin, and a long, flexible neck. The most likely place to find one of these creatures, of course, is just outside Inverness, Scotland, but no doubt the Atlanteans have some means of taming or controlling them. The prospect of a submarine armada of Atlantean-controlled Plesiosaurs ought to put the fear of God into any right-thinking Kerberan. Not all members of Plesiosaurae have that characteristic long neck, but if you really want to differentiate between Elasmosaurus and Pliosaurus, simply drop the “Long Neck” aspect, and you’re good to go.

Pteranodon (Fair Minion)
    • Fair (+2): Physical (E)
    • Average (+1): Mental
  • Aspects:
    • Sharp Beak
    • Power Dive!
    • Burst of Speed
    • Wide Wingspan
  • Gifts: 
    • Theme: Skyborn Predator (Well-Made: +1 Physical with flight, Well-Made: +1 Physical with beak, Deadly x2: Weapon 2 [Health] with beak)
  • Fate Point Cost: 2
Notes: Technically, Pteranodon is a pterasaur, not a dinosaur. Whatever -- your players won’t have time to worry about that when one of these beasts is coming at them like an earth-bound rocket. Pteranodon (or, as the Victorians probably would’ve called it, Ornithochirus) is among the largest flying reptiles, with a wingspan of nearly 20 feet, but its North American cousin Quetzacoatlus dwarfs it at over twice that size, with a wingspan measuring more than 50 feet from tip to tip. On the ground, Pteranodon is a quadruped, and some speculate it could swim, as well. There’s a bit of controversy within the scientific community over just how Pteranodon was able to fly -- the general consensus is that it launched itself into the air with its forelimbs -- but the same can be said of no small number of Kerberans, so it should fit right in.