tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-44919336359247807862024-03-13T04:21:59.192-07:00Spirit of the BlankFate for every genre (eventually)!Mike Olsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11547961835994778883noreply@blogger.comBlogger321125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4491933635924780786.post-39647511045165055752023-03-16T10:52:00.000-07:002023-03-16T10:52:37.817-07:00Fate: Best Practices<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIEJ-vByOcuH0dVGOMqm9OrBrsKdfZkjQVIab9a1dpe6zQHh9DiHcahtneDjw6HzZuyd729WVbucA8rX9T_unV5h8L-hMzJ7AsYd1VLIlGZRuL-ylJlV6SmyRaY6sxVOWZ-qdP9YgaVCp5t75iyhhp51HXP16rdH2fU0WYthf1OongSJX1egOdNvFJ/s1600/IMG_6327.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIEJ-vByOcuH0dVGOMqm9OrBrsKdfZkjQVIab9a1dpe6zQHh9DiHcahtneDjw6HzZuyd729WVbucA8rX9T_unV5h8L-hMzJ7AsYd1VLIlGZRuL-ylJlV6SmyRaY6sxVOWZ-qdP9YgaVCp5t75iyhhp51HXP16rdH2fU0WYthf1OongSJX1egOdNvFJ/w400-h300/IMG_6327.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p>In a fit of nostalgia this week, I appeared on a podcast (<a href="https://youtu.be/oQT6yWNZo6E" target="_blank">Mastering Dungeons</a>; long-time listener, first-time guest) talking about Fate, of all things. I was ostensibly there to talk about campaign creation, but I was, uh, all over the place. It brought up a lot of thoughts about Fate in general, some of which made it into the conversation, but many of which stayed on my page of notes (I had notes). And I thought, hey, if I were still blogging regularly, this could make a plausible blog post. So that's what it is now.</p><p>These are just things that, IMO, make Fate really shine.</p><p><b>Play honestly.</b> I talked about this a little on the podcast, but Fate is not a game that's overly concerned with things like balance and action-economy. If you go into it looking for ways to exploit the system, you will find them, and you will make the game less-fun for you and everyone at the table. Play the character your aspects say you are; conversely, give your character aspects that make them a fun, integral part of the story rather than an efficiency-machine. Given Fate's roots in the <a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/1447/Amber" target="_blank">Amber Diceless Roleplaying Game</a> and the goals of its creators, it should come as no surprise -- if I had a nickel for every time I've heard Lenny Balsera say "F#ck balance," I'd have about 35 cents. Let us also heed Ryan Macklin's famous warning that "The math will f#ck you." I may have those attributions reversed, or maybe they've both said them, possibly simultaneously at the Big Bar on 2 at Origins. Regardless, nothing but respect for these two foul-mouthed kings and their massive contributions to our beloved Fate.</p><p><b>Rename skills and approaches.</b> This really only applies if you're making your own campaign, but for a Fate game set in a very particular time and place, I think one of the best things you can do to set the tone is to tailor your game's skills and/or approaches (or whatever your equivalent) to match. Fisticuffs instead of Fight. Skullduggery instead of Deceive. That kind of thing. <i><a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/270927/Til-Dawn-o-A-World-of-Adventure-for-Fate-Core" target="_blank">Til Dawn</a></i>'s approaches -- Chill, Dark, Fabulous, Fierce, Shady, and Technical -- are a great example of this. They don't correspond to FAE's usual Careful, Flashy, et al., but they indelibly lay out what your mindset should be as a player <i>or</i> as a GM. This is a game about futuristic, gender-bending mecha-DJs getting in and out of drama while musically battling it out with other futuristic, gender-bending mecha-DJs on stage. Imagine how much less evocative that'd all be if its approaches weren't so distinctive.</p><p><b>Go hard against the PCs.</b> Don't hold back, GM. If it gets too hot for the player, they can always concede. In fact, make getting them to concede a primary goal, when the story warrants it. To do this, start with overpowering your major NPCs. The PCs have a top skill of Superb (+5)? Cool, this guy has Legendary (+7) Skull-Cracking. The players will frequently have a fate-point advantage over you, and an easy way to compensate for that is by just upping the skills/approaches of your important NPCs. Just keep the focus on offense. A superhuman ability to avoid damage will make for a superhumanly boring badguy. Overpowered antagonists virtually force the PCs to work together, creating advantages for each other and coming up with creative solutions beyond "I guess I hit him again." That dynamic is one of Fate's key strengths, IMO, so lean into it.</p><p><b>"Save your fate points for being awesome."</b> You can't really talk about how to run a great Fate game without invoking (no pun intended) Morgan Ellis, whom I associate closely with these wise words. Setting aside <a href="https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/4491933635924780786/6949026355624623440" target="_blank">the profound life-lesson this phrase represents to me</a>, the idea here is to value what your character can do by spending your fate points on exciting action rather than avoiding the repercussions of someone else's action. Not to say that you should let yourself get taken out of a conflict, but don't pillow-fort and fritter away your precious narrative currency on playing it safe. Take some stress. Take consequences. Hell, take <i>all</i> the consequences, then concede and get more fate points to spend on being awesome later. The one tiny bit of Fate that I think everyone can agree isn't the greatest (how's <i>that</i> for diplomatic?) is that a successful defense doesn't explicitly force the fiction to change. Success with style gets you a boost, and a tie gets the <i>attacker</i> a boost, but there's that little two-shift range in there where kinda nothing happens. We don't like that. So really, there's no reason to not just take a point or two of stress instead. And then you can spend the fate point you saved on being awesome later on.</p><p><b>But <i>do</i> spend your fate points.</b> Sort of a corollary to the above. The worst way to end a session of Fate is with a pile of fate points in front of you. What a waste! You probably earned those fate points with compels and GM-manipulation, so <i>spend them</i> already. One way you can at least limit the hoarder's tendency to hoard is by making the players "discard" fate points down to their refresh at the end of each scene. Or if you want to be more severe, refresh could double as your fate point <i>maximum</i> as well (although that could cause problems of its own, but that'd be a whole other blog post). Point is (again with the unintended puns!), spend 'em if you got 'em. They're not doing anyone any good otherwise. Spend fate points, be awesome.</p><p>I think that's it, and honestly this went way beyond my notes, so it ended up being more thorough than I'd expected. But now I want to hear from you, as seemingly every YouTuber says at the end of a video. What's <i>your</i> advice for getting the most out of Fate? And thanks again to Shawn and Teos of <a href="https://masteringdungeons.podbean.com/" target="_blank">Mastering Dungeons</a> for having me on.</p>Mike Olsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11547961835994778883noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4491933635924780786.post-69490263556246234402021-03-12T19:25:00.002-08:002021-03-12T22:21:47.697-08:00Remembering Morgan Ellis<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Vt_8JZSkAC0/YEwwchEeJ7I/AAAAAAAAYUE/xMzTkYrPX0MaVJ94M0tpH0XtF_obJD4hwCLcBGAsYHQ/image.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="614" data-original-width="643" height="383" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Vt_8JZSkAC0/YEwwchEeJ7I/AAAAAAAAYUE/xMzTkYrPX0MaVJ94M0tpH0XtF_obJD4hwCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h383/image.png" width="400" /></a></div><br />I've been trying to write this for the past 10 days, on and off, so stick with me.<p></p><p>Morgan Ellis, a good friend of mine, died last week unexpectedly. I say "unexpectedly" despite him having been hospitalized since before Christmas, during which time he condition improved and worsened but mostly worsened, because I never, ever expected that it would end like this. It's hard to believe. I know it's real, that he's really gone, but every time I think about what that means for all of us he had to leave behind, my mind recoils.</p><p>It's been forever since I posted on this blog, but Morgan has figured fairly prominently in it. We knew each other through conventions, where we'd show off our Fate hacks to each other. I don't think I'd be a professional in the RPG world if it weren't for us encouraging and pushing each other. We'd make plans in advance of Strategicon to align our schedules so each could play in the other's games. Our mutual enthusiasm fed upon itself, in the very best way. </p><p>The night I learned he'd died, on a Zoom call with many of our mutual friends, I looked way back in my inbox to find the first emails we'd exchanged, and of course they were bouncing Fate ideas back and forth and asking one another what and when they'd be running a the next convention. It may seem unreasonable that someone I only saw a few times a year could end up being such an important person in my life -- I mean, it's not unreasonable to <i>me</i>, and if you're reading this it probably isn't to you either -- and to be honest I didn't realize just how important he was until I was forced to face a world without him in it. And I've been struggling with that ever since, trying to, if not make sense of it, because it doesn't make sense, then to process it in a way that might improve my life in his absence the way he improved it in his presence.</p><p>I think it's this, and it's going to be a little cloying and mawkish, but like I said above, stick with me:</p><p><b>Don't spend your fate points on defense. Save them for being awesome.</b></p><p>This is something Morgan and I said frequently when talking about Fate. Take the stress, take the consequences, whatever -- all of that stuff makes your character more interesting and the game more dramatic. Spending all your resources on protecting yourself makes for a duller game.</p><p>It always seemed like Morgan knew everyone in RPGs, especially in indie games. Every convention -- Strategicon, Big Bad Con, Origins, Gen Con, Comic-Con, and plenty of others I've never attended -- he had connections. Whenever it is we get to go back to Origins, it won't be the same without him in the Big Bar on 2. I didn't see him there a whole lot myself, for reasons I'll go into soon, but if I was looking for him and he wasn't at Games on Demand, it was a pretty good bet he'd be there, in a knot of what I'm going to affectionately call "cool kids."</p><p>I was not. When I'm at a convention I'm constantly driven by the thought that "I should be playing a game now." I build very little in the way of downtime into my schedule, if I can help it. This means I spend very little time <i>socializing</i>, the thing that, for many people, conventions are all about. I'm like, hey, I didn't fly all the way out here to socialize! I can do that at home!</p><p>Except I don't, because at Strategicon, our local convention(s), if there's a hole in my schedule that isn't a meal time, something has gone wrong. I remember the first time I went to Big Bad Con, and all my friends were going out to dinner, and I was like "I think I'm going to stay here in the hotel room and watch Forensic Files."</p><p>So what does all this have to do with anything. Okay. </p><p><b>Morgan did not spend his fate points on defense. He spent them on being awesome. </b></p><p>In the days after his death, social media was full of people mourning him, including many who'd never even met him but knew him by reputation. He was a tireless advocate for the things he loved, and he loved a <i>lot</i> of things. He made his connections one table of players at a time, and those people never forgot him afterward. He leaves behind only a handful of published credits, which is a shame because there was no end to his creativity and ingenuity. I'm so glad he was part of the team for <i>Shadow of the Century</i>, because no one on Earth was more qualified to work on a game about the '80s than he was. </p><p>Morgan was well-known not so much for what he did, but for <i>who he was</i>. That is the mark of a good life. Far too short, tragically, heart-wrenchingly short, but very, very <i>good</i>.</p><p>I will always cherish the memory of the two of us on stage at the ENnies in 2015, accepting an award for <i>Atomic Robo</i>. Two dorks babbling about how great the source material is and how Morgan knew about it for years before I ever got an email from Brian Clevinger. That felt like such an achievement, and I'm so glad he was there to share it with me. </p><p>One time he said "We should figure out a game to play together outside of a convention" and I said "Totally!" and then we never did that. We only saw one movie together (at least it was at the New Beverly), despite both of us loving movies. We lived far enough apart that it wasn't easy to get together, and I felt too needed at home on the weekends to work something out. I was spending my fate points on defense.</p><p>So as broken-up and broken-down as I am about him being gone, I feel like I knew only a sliver of him. But it's a sharp sliver, and it's deep under my skin. Plenty of people knew him better, but I am still stunned, shocked, shaken. </p><p>I don't have a great way to end this, no concluding epiphany. I didn't know how important he was to me until he was gone, and I'll always be grateful he was a part of my life.</p>Mike Olsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11547961835994778883noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4491933635924780786.post-52039119630567182332019-06-11T16:21:00.000-07:002019-06-11T16:21:29.877-07:00[DFAE] Ace Squadron: L'il Tweaks<div style="text-align: center;">
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So those Ace Squadron games a couple weeks ago went well! But it was also clear that I needed to make some tweaks, much to the apparent chagrin of Torra Doza and Buggle, pictured above.</div>
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The prime candidates for tweaking are <b>Hype Fazon </b>and <b>Griff Halloran</b> -- specifically, each of them has a unique condition (<b>Focus Fire </b>and <b>I'm On the Leader</b>, respectively) that were just too much in play, as-written. Each of those conditions makes a powerful thing happen, and that thing's power is inversely proportional to how much they've used their <i>other </i>unique condition. It's no coincidence that they have this in common <i>and </i>that these conditions need to be nerfed.</div>
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Originally, Focus Fire increased the squad's scale with regards to a single target -- one degree for each of Hype's unchecked Command boxes -- and I'm On the Leader gave Griff a bonus to the Weapon rating of his attacks equal to the number of his unchecked Experience boxes. These were cool in play, and I'm sure Griff's player liked having Weapon:11 with his missiles that one time, but they ultimately proved too much.</div>
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So now, I've taken a step back. "Check all your remaining X boxes" is now part of each of those conditions, because I want this to be a late-game thing. I hadn't consciously realized that before, but that's a big part of it. I wanted the players to feel like they were going all-in against a single target, like it was a real <i>commitment</i>.</div>
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However! I've decoupled the effectiveness of those conditions with those other condition tracks, because I noticed something else: The players of those characters didn't want to check Command or Experience boxes, in anticipation of a Big Bad coming along later. They were saving resources I wanted them to spend. So now it's just "Check your remaining Command/Experience boxes," without the "+1 per box checked" bit. The revised Focus Fire increases everyone's scale by 1, and I'm On the Leader now gives Griff's Gunnery and Brutal attacks Weapon:4.</div>
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Honestly, +4 scale for everyone is ridiculous, but +1 scale is still good, so I'm not sad to drop that. Also, I've done some heavy hacking when it comes to scale to try to integrate the scale rules of both <i><b>Tachyon Squadron </b></i>and <i><b>DFAE</b></i>. I'd tell you all about them, but without the Ship Construction Toolkit for <i>TS</i>, it would require too much explanation. But also, my solution is <i>extremely </i>kludgey and I wouldn't want to encourage anyone else to run that nonsense.</div>
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Speaking of running that nonsense, <b>Origins </b>is upon us! I'll be offering <b>Ace Squadron </b>and one of two <b>Danger Patrol </b>hacks at <b>Games on Demand</b>. If you want to see my kludgey solutions (note to self: start a consulting firm) yourself, come on by and bring your generics. Obviously, I'm still way into this <i>Star Wars Resistance </i>game, but I also looked at my two Danger Patrol hacks again the other night -- Dungeon Patrol and Danger Wars -- and I'd be excited to run either of those, too! So it'll be a good time.</div>
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Come check it out!</div>
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Mike Olsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11547961835994778883noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4491933635924780786.post-63656980860042649112019-05-16T08:00:00.000-07:002019-05-16T19:45:18.785-07:00[DFAE] Ace Squadron's Aces<div style="text-align: center;">
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The ships of Ace Squadron, which consists of "aces," all have the word "Ace" in their names. I'm not sure if this is confusing or just appropriate, but it does make for some easy color-coding. </div>
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I mean, <b>Hype </b>is a green Rodian, and his ship is green, and it's called <b><i>Green Ace</i></b>. <b>Griff </b>wears all black, and his ship is black, and it's called <b><i>Black Ace</i></b>. <i>Et cetera</i>.</div>
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Making these ships was fun not only because it's fun to make things (it's true!) but because it was also a test of the ship-construction rules I wrote for <i><b>Tachyon Squadron</b></i>. If you were a Kickstarter backer, you'll be getting that probably sometime this summer. (I'm guessing late summer; it's supposed to be in editing through June, and then there's layout and a couple rounds of last looks, so July or August?)</div>
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Two things must ye know about these ship-construction rules: </div>
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One, <b>balance </b>was not a guiding principle. There's no tradeoff for having a low-quality ship vs. a high-quality ship. This was a mandate from <i>Tachyon Squadron </i>creator <b>Clark Valentine</b>, and I stand behind it. </div>
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Two, every effort -- well, <i>nearly </i>every effort -- wait, let me back that up again -- <i>efforts were made</i> to avoid turning it into a <b>point-buy </b>thing. The guidance in the core book was the primary touchstone, and where more detailed design was needed, more detailed design was produced, but the rules in this supplement don't vary too wildly from what's in the core book to begin with.</div>
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On a very basic level, every ship consists of two factors, <b>scale </b>and <b>quality</b>. The higher the scale, the bigger the ship; the bigger the ship, the more it can hold (as in <b>modular equipment bays</b>) and the harder it is to handle. The higher the quality, the more <b>upgrades </b>it gets. </div>
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There's no change to equipment bays, other than an expansion of what can be put in them -- there's a bunch of new modular equipment from Draconis, the Dominion, and the, uh, less-savory elements of the setting -- so I'm not going to into any detail on that. Upgrades more or less follow the guidelines for designing new ships on page 138, with a couple notable exceptions, such as adding an extra damage-instance box to a damage track or eliminating the implication that equipment bays go hand-in-hand with higher-quality ships (they can't, because that's a function of <i>scale </i>now, not <i>quality</i>).</div>
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All of the Aces -- Green, Red, Blue, Black, and Yellow -- are <b>scale 1 </b>ships of <b>Good (+3)</b> quality. They are <i>significantly </i>better than the standard Average (+1)-quality ship of their scale. If this were a <i>Tachyon Squadron </i>game, it'd be ridiculous how good these ships are. But it's not, and hey, these are the <i>Aces</i>, man! They all have supremely tricked-out ships. That's their whole deal.</div>
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Speaking of which, <b><a href="https://drive.google.com/open?id=1mpoDeup5JMWYiWHzfApZSKXprjzfsPhT" target="_blank">here are their character sheets</a></b>. You'll note that their design is considerably different from the character sheets I posted before. I want to make sure there's no confusion regarding which sheet to use under which circumstances. As a player, I don't think you could reasonably mistake your ship's sheet for your character sheet. I'm constantly worrying about things like this when I make character sheets -- ease of use.</div>
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I think the sheets are pretty self-explanatory, but I'm gonna explain more anyway. Specifically, the character-specific reasons their ships have been designed and statted-out the way they are. The source material doesn't provide a <i>ton </i>of information about these ships, so I've had to make do.</div>
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<b><i>Green Ace</i></b>'s big distinctive feature is those movable wings that can "shift angles for maximum maneuverability while speeding through turns." Given that, it seemed like the most suitable way to represent that was by making the ship especially good at getting on someone's tail or shaking a tail, so that's what we have there. Mechanically, I've treated this is as a piece of modular equipment, but narratively it's obviously not. <i>Ultra-Maneuverable</i> isn't a great aspect, but I'm hoping to think of a better one before <b><a href="http://strategicon.net/" target="_blank">Gamex</a></b>. It'll do.</div>
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<i><b>Red Ace</b></i>'s description is <i>all about </i>the practicalities of its design, which is great for me. "Technologically powerful," "built for precision performance," "delicate balance of speed, acceleration, and power" -- these are all very useful phrases. In contrast to <i>Green Ace</i>, I'm really into Red Ace's aspect (<i>Power. Precision. Performance.</i>) because it sounds like a commercial for a German car. The modular equipment here is straight out of the book, but I think they suit Freya very well. She's more cautious than the rest and more concerned about tactical advantage. She spends most of her time in <i>Red Ace</i> racing, but she's studied for a fight and built a ship to match.</div>
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The thing to remember about <b>Blue Ace </b>is that Torra Doza's over-protective father paid for it, so of course it's the sturdiest ship of the squadron. It has a shield generator booster, three shields, and an Armor rating. It's a Volvo. Captain Doza just wants to keep his little girl safe, but not <i>so </i>much so that she doesn't get to fly combat missions. Complicated relationship, there.</div>
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<b>Black Ace</b> is the opposite. Not only does it only have two shields, but Griff has rigged it so he can redirect power from his shield generator to his propulsion and weapons systems. He's still used to flying a TIE with zero shields; it's a point of pride with him. If you're a good enough pilot, you don't <i>need </i>those shields. Shields are for rookies! He's put all his upgrades into a high Weapon rating and a good targeting computer. The best defense, etc. </div>
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<i>Black Ace </i>is objectively the coolest-looking ship of the five. Nothing game-related; it just needs to be acknowledged.</div>
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<b>Yellow Ace </b>is the weird one, as expected with a ship that can shift its four wings into different configurations. This is reflected mechanically in the ability to swap the ratings of the ship's starfighter skills. At the start of his turn, Bo can pick two skills from Pilot, Gunnery, and Tactics (but not Technology, which is always going to be +3) and swap their ratings. I hope this is interesting in play. I've tried to make it a meaningful choice by limiting the ratings in question to +4, +2, and +1, so you can never have, say, +4 Gunnery and +3 Pilot. That gap from +4 to +2 means that compromises will have to be made. As for the rest of the ship, apparently Bo pushes the envelope so much that he tends to crash <i>Yellow Ace </i>a lot, so he has a couple extra damage instances to help deal with that. Bo's ship is also be difficult to pilot for anyone who isn't used to it (i.e., anyone but Bo), so I threw in a little sorta-stunt to reflect that: anyone else who flies it minimizes a die on all rolls. It doesn't really fit in mechanically as an actual <i>rules </i>component, but it feels right <i>thematically</i>, and ultimately that's why we're here.</div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">(Bo is my favorite.)</span></div>
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You may have noticed that I've basically separated the pilots' <b>spacefaring skills</b> from the actual pilots, and then renamed them to "<i>starfighter </i>skills." Again, that's me being concerned about players having to look back and forth between two pieces of paper, and I figure if I put all the skills they need for space engagements on the ship sheet, there'll be a lot less of that. </div>
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Also, they all have <b>Pilot </b>at +4. They're five of the best pilots around, and they routinely race each other in their downtime, so it didn't feel right for one of them to be objectively better than the others at this stuff. Using the ship-construction rules, I <i>could </i>have bumped that +4 up to a +5, but I didn't want to do that for two reasons: one, +4's already literally Great, and two, they're obviously going to face some pilots who are better than they are (on paper) and I don't want the skill-ratings arms-race to get too ridiculous.</div>
Mike Olsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11547961835994778883noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4491933635924780786.post-37499692078855356072019-05-13T08:00:00.000-07:002019-05-13T13:57:47.709-07:00[DFAE] Ace Squadron Mantles<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Oops, I know I said I was going to offer a sneak preview of <i><b>Tachyon Squadron</b></i>'s ship-construction rules, but there's something else I want to talk about first: <b>mantles</b>.</div>
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In case you're not familiar with <i><b>Dresden Accelerated</b></i>, mantles are the game's primary way of communicating a character's archetype and their general "place" in the setting. Some are pretty broad, like <b>Reporter </b>or <b>Magical Practitioner</b>. Some are much more specific, like <b>Knight of the Cross</b> or <b>Valkyrie</b>. (At least, those latter two seem more specific to <i>me</i>.) Every PC has one -- sometimes they might have mostly one and a bit of another.<br />
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Mantles give you some <b>unique conditions </b>and a couple of <b>core stunts</b>. There are also optional stunts you can buy with refresh, like in most Fate games, but everyone with a given mantle will have its unique conditions and core stunts. And the unique conditions frequently don't work like other conditions, where you check a box to avoid being taken out. Lots of them are a much more proactive resource.<br />
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(Standard conditions are a resource too -- they're things you expend to avoid being taken out -- but we don't tend to think of them that way because you're normally spending them reactively, not proactively. Same with stress. This is one of my needlessly pedantic distinctions. Let's continue.)<br />
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For example, the Reporter's unique conditions are <b>Press Credentials </b>and <b>Off the Air</b>, and its core stunts are <b>Journalist Favors</b>, <b>Word on the Street</b>, and <b>Media Frenzy</b>. Everyone with the Reporter mantle has those conditions and stunts. I think I've made my point about a game that's been out for a long while now that you probably already know about because it's very good.<br />
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Sometimes a mantle will have a unique condition with <i>five </i>boxes, and you can check a box to make a thing happen, and sometimes there'll be an accompanying unique condition with only one box that makes you check all the boxes on that <i>other </i>unique condition when you use it. Some examples of these multi-box, proactive conditions are the <b>One-Percenter</b>'s <b>Wealthy </b>condition and the <b>Changeling</b>'s <b>Called </b>condition.<br />
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And oh man, do I <i>love </i>those. I think you can tell just from looking at <a href="https://drive.google.com/open?id=1de5yEAiNtBsokjujVRjwbbByNlx3MGSp" target="_blank">these character sheets</a>.<br />
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Why do I love these so much? We already have stunts and aspects for making characters distinctive, but mantles offer a third way through strong worldbuilding. They're like a higher high concept. And the conditions in question are a mechanical widget that ties directly into that. If your archetype is <i>this thing</i>, you have <i>this resource </i>available to you. There's usually also some interesting way of recovering those marked conditions, which is more or less another way of letting the player how to behave in character. Not always; sometimes it's just a matter of waiting, like how the One-Percenter recovers one Wealth box at the beginning of a session, but usually it requires purposeful action. This is also a big deal to me.<br />
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Strong bonds between <b>mechanics </b>and <b>setting </b>-- that's like... like you know how people who are sensitive to ASMR find flipping pages and sussurus and whatever else weirdly pleasing and/or gratifying? That's me with a good fusion of mechanics and setting.<br />
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Now, with <b>Ace Squadron</b>, I have the luxury of being able to just come up with a mantle that fits each character without worrying about what those say about the world at large, but I honestly think you could take those mantles, apply to them to <b>Star Wars</b>, and have them fit right in. That wasn't a key concern for me (or any concern, really), but, y'know, it's nice!<br />
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And because I specifically like those five-box conditions, well, every one of the mantles I made for these PCs has one of those. What's funny is I didn't even list the names of their mantles on their character sheets, because this is for a one-shot and I don't want to give the players extraneous information that may confuse things. But for the record, they're these:<br />
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<li><b>Hype Fazon:</b> The Leader</li>
<li><b>Freya Fenris:</b> The Scholar</li>
<li><b>Torra Doza: </b>The Heart</li>
<li><b>Griff Halloran:</b> Ex-Imperial Veteran</li>
<li><b>Bo Keevil: </b>The Daredevil</li>
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Now, you can see that I went off-script a little there for Griff, but for concepting purposes I really wanted to hit the ex-Imperial thing hard and I couldn't think of a more elegant way to do it. The guy has the symbol of the <b>Galactic Empire </b>tattooed on each bicep; you gotta give it to him. Plus everyone else's mantle sort of pays lip service to the five-man band concept, but Griff sets himself apart from them in some ways, so if you squint just right it makes <i>sense </i>that his mantle would diverge from that pattern.</div>
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What was fun after that was coming up with a good name for each mantle's primary unique condition, and then figuring out what it should <i>do</i>. Would it maybe have been wiser to consider that this one-size-fits-all approach might not work for every mantle? I dunno, maybe, but I think it worked out, and besides, trying to distill what each mantle brings to the table in a single word was very informative. Everything else about the mantle had to connect in some way to the name of that condition track. </div>
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I mean, yes, it derives from the name of the mantle too, but the condition names feel more important, because that's what the players will actually interface with -- not the mantle name, which is much more ornamental in this case and doesn't even appear on the sheet.</div>
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You can see for yourself what each mantle's unique conditions are, but I have a whole blog here so I thought I'd talk a little about my reasoning for each of them, because I found the process fun and enlightening.</div>
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<b>The Leader</b>'s main unique condition is <b>Command</b>. I wasn't sure about this one at first, but there's a <i>Star Wars Resistance</i> short in which Hype totally comes up with a plan and tells everyone how to execute it, so whaddya know, he's a leader after all. Hype can mark Command boxes to help ensure that his squadmates successfully execute a plan. This mantle also has a secondary unique condition, <b>Focus Fire</b>, that lets him mark all his remaining Command boxes to give the squad a big advantage against a single target. Hype recovers a Command box when he makes a new plan, which could conceivably be <i>every scene</i>, but I'd rather trust my players to act in good faith and just let that go. Plus this is a one-shot, so everything's a little truncated.</div>
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Oh, that's another thing about these unique conditions: How easily or quickly do they recover? Can't be so easy that marking boxes is meaningless, but -- especially in a one-shot -- it can't be so difficult that the player balks at marking them at all. This was another <i>big </i>source of lonely fun for me making these characters.</div>
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Anyway -- moving on.</div>
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<b>The Scholar</b>'s unique condition is <b>Study</b>. Pretty straightforward. Freya recovers a Study box at the end of a scene in which she absorbs new information or reviews her past performance. I gave it two triggers so the player can be proactive about it. If it was just the thing about absorbing new information, I'd be concerned that the player would twist themselves in knots trying to find some sweet, sweet new information and it'd come off as contrived. Freya's a studious, driven pilot; I can totally buy her reviewing her gun-cam footage to improve her performance.<br />
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Oh! And what does Study <i>do </i>for her? Checking a box gets her a big bonus to overcome or create an advantage when she can bring her erudition to bear, and also she has another stunt called <b>Corrective Pedantry </b>that lets her alter and improve a situation aspect created by a squadmate. I hope that's as funny in play as it is in my head.</div>
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<b>The Heart</b>'s unique condition is <b>Teamwork</b>. Torra Doza's voice actor said in an interview that Torra's all about her friends and family and love and etc. She's less jaded than the other Aces, being the youngest by far at 15, and I like the idea that she's sorta the squadron's resident optimist, always believing in the team to pull through in the end. She's the kind of character who'd probably refer to the Aces as a family at some point, and then Griff or someone would reluctantly grunt agreement. So she's all about that Teamwork, and can check a box to help an Ace who can see or hear her. She recovers a Teamwork box at the end of a scene in which an Ace helps her (mechanically speaking) or in which she spends a fate point (important distinction) to invoke a situation aspect created by another Ace. I.e., her belief in the team (and her special mechanical ability to help them) is stoked by her teammates actually giving <i>back</i>.</div>
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The <b>Ex-Imperial Veteran</b>'s unique condition is <b>Experience</b>. This was probably the first one of these that came to mind -- that or Torra's Teamwork condition -- because it's just so... <i>appropriate</i>. It's 34 ABY and this guy used to fly a TIE fighter for the Empire. He's been around, and that should be his big strength. He can check those boxes not for a straight-up bonus, but to improve the reliability of his performance by maximizing dice. His secondary condition is <b>I'm On the Leader</b>, a blatant homage to another famous Imperial TIE pilot (Darth Vader -- I'm talking about Darth Vader), that makes use of his <i>unmarked </i>boxes against a single enemy. So there's some tension there for Griff's player: check Experience boxes for better results in a variety of situations, or leave them blank to really stick it to one foe later? I look forward to seeing what the player does. </div>
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Oh, and Griff recovers an Experience box at the end of a scene in which his player <i>voluntarily fails </i>a roll. I don't call for extraneous dice rolls when I run Fate, so this should be significant, but if it's not I'll adjust!</div>
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Finally, <b>the Daredevil</b>'s unique condition is <b>Risk</b>. I was going to call this one Stunt, but I figured that could get confusing, and Risk works. I really enjoyed just loading Bo Keevil up with mechanical bits that strongly encourage his player to put him in constant peril. Bo can check a Risk box to get a bonus to overcome or create an advantage in dangerous conditions. More importantly, he recovers a Risk box when he takes damage or chooses to succeed at a cost. Generally speaking, overcome and create an advantage don't intersect with avoiding damage, so taking damage to recover Risk is always an option for his player in combat. I hope that there's sometimes a real choice between marking a box to succeed on an overcome action and <i>not </i>doing that so the player can succeed at a cost to <i>recover </i>a box. </div>
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On a related note, Bo Keevil also has a couple other stunts that encourage foolhardiness: <b>Thrillseeker </b>and <b>Danger Zone</b>. The former gives him access to a new approach, <b>Reckless</b>, at +5 when he's marked a 4-shift damage condition, and the latter lets him mark a Risk box to attempt an action so desperately dangerous as to be virtually impossible otherwise. Will that work in play? Like, shouldn't a good GM just let players try stuff regardless? I see that perspective, but I'm hoping the mere presence of that stunt on Bo's character sheet encourages the player to do some real stupid stuff.</div>
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If you're going to be in the Los Angeles area over Memorial Day Weekend and want to see any of this in action, come to <b><a href="http://strategicon.net/" target="_blank">Gamex</a></b> and get in on it! I'm running this game Saturday and Sunday at 2pm, and while pre-reg is full for both, that just means two out of five seats are taken.</div>
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<b>Next time:</b> The ships, I promise!</div>
Mike Olsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11547961835994778883noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4491933635924780786.post-46419158716059519132019-05-09T08:00:00.000-07:002019-05-16T19:45:02.117-07:00[DFAE] Star Wars Resistance<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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So... it's been more than <b>three years </b>now since I've posted to the ol' blog. Let's just acknowledge that up front and move on with this new entry.<br />
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(Why's it been so long? I kinda haven't had a whole lot to write about, to be honest! A lot of my work in the past few years has been with Evil Hat's <b>Fate Worlds </b>line, mostly as a system developer. Sure, I contributed to <b>Tachyon Squadron</b> -- about which more later -- and <b>Shadow of the Century</b>, but I don't know that I had a lot to say about those games in terms of Fate-hacking, which is ostensibly the topic of this blog. Okay, explanation delivered!)<br />
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I'm running a <b>Star Wars Resistance </b>game called "<b>Ace Squadron</b>" at <a href="http://strategicon.net/" target="_blank"><b>Gamex</b></a> in a couple weeks, in which the players will portray the criminally underused pilots of said squadron. For most of the season I was pretty lukewarm on Resistance -- it's had its ups and downs -- but one consistent flaw of the show, in my eyes, has been that it's almost completely ignored its potentially most-interesting characters: the Aces, pictured above.<br />
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Who are the Aces of Ace Squadron? What's their deal? They're the first line of defense for the <i><b>Colossus</b></i>, the big floating fueling platform that serves as the setting for the series. It's sort of a hive of scum and villainy writ large, a place where pilots and associated tradespersons from all over the galaxy either gather or end up -- it's not entirely clear <i>why </i>most of them are there. It's like a <b><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gitkbTnxT9k" target="_blank">Happy Bottom Riding Club</a> </b>for the <i>Star Wars </i>universe. For whatever reason, <i>this </i>is where anyone who wants to fly faster than anyone else comes to prove themselves. The Aces are the best of these pilots, practically treated as royalty both in recognition of their skill and as compensation for the services they provide.<br />
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HOW IS THE SHOW NOT <i>ABOUT </i>THESE PEOPLE? Anyway.<br />
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Only one-and-a-half of them really get any screentime (<b>Torra Doza</b>'s the one, <b>Hype Fazon</b>'s the half), but the other three, probably the most interesting of them all, are virtual ciphers. You've got an ex-Imperial pilot in a heavily modified old TIE fighter, a Kel-Dor stunt pilot, and... a pale woman with an accent?<br />
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Yeah, the show doesn't do much with them, and you wouldn't even know anything <i>at all </i>about <b>Bo Keevil</b>, the Kel-Dor, from the episodes themselves. You'd have to have watched this not-quite five-minute behind-the-scenes video with the production staff and the Aces' voice cast (most of them, at any rate) to even know <i>that </i>much about Keevil. He doesn't have more than, like, two lines in the entire series thus far!<br />
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And <b>Freya Fenris</b>, the Pale Lady, doesn't fare much better, but at least they invited her voice actor into the studio to get her perspective on the character she plays. If nothing else, it's good to see that the actors have some insight into these characters.<br />
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<i>Anyway again</i>. I'm a sucker for spaceship dogfights and test pilots and everything in that general milieu, partially due to watching <i><b>The Right Stuff </b>a lot </i>as a kid, and reading <b>Chuck Yeager</b>'s autobiography in high school. So naturally I'm drawn to these Aces.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-kYb2BkEgEyo/XNPcXgS2NoI/AAAAAAAARdk/bvc8gl_4ancwbBfoV2_8pom1rMZe-rNngCLcBGAs/s1600/acesbanner.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="168" data-original-width="300" height="224" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-kYb2BkEgEyo/XNPcXgS2NoI/AAAAAAAARdk/bvc8gl_4ancwbBfoV2_8pom1rMZe-rNngCLcBGAs/s400/acesbanner.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
AND THAT BRINGS US TO THIS BLOG POST. As I mentioned before, I'm running a Fate game about these five pilots at Gamex. At first I was going to back to my version of <b><a href="http://spiritoftheblank.blogspot.com/search/label/Faith%20Corps">Faith Corps</a> </b>I'd tweaked for previous <b>Star Wars </b>games, then it hit me like a ton of bricks. <b>Dresden Accelerated</b>!<br />
<br />
I've yet to play DFAE or use it for anything, and this seemed the perfect opportunity. Boy, am I glad I made that choice, because making these characters has reminded me how <i>brilliant </i>this book is. Man. So good. <b>Mantles </b>feel like a puzzle piece that fit into a gap in my brain that I didn't even know was there. Hats off to the whole team on that one.<br />
<br />
Between reading DFAE, making these characters, and <i>zhuzhing</i> their character sheets to within an inch of their lives, I've spent a <i>lot</i> of time in the past week or so on this game. Reminded me of old times! So here I am to post their character sheets. <b><a href="https://drive.google.com/open?id=1de5yEAiNtBsokjujVRjwbbByNlx3MGSp">Get them here! Click here!</a></b><br />
<br />
<b>Next time:</b> The Aces' ships, and a sneak peak at <i>Tachyon Squadron</i>'s starship construction rules! Yes, there'll be a next time!Mike Olsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11547961835994778883noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4491933635924780786.post-71913015089022591702016-12-31T14:36:00.003-08:002019-03-05T11:06:44.033-08:00[Faith Corps] Rebelling Out of 2016<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_6gcAh2IvUA/WGgn5v1FiZI/AAAAAAAAIiM/NDhebTJKCu8oJSH8vcNSrdn5K2hsELRcgCLcB/s1600/vader%2Bon%2Ba%2Btie%2Bfighter.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_6gcAh2IvUA/WGgn5v1FiZI/AAAAAAAAIiM/NDhebTJKCu8oJSH8vcNSrdn5K2hsELRcgCLcB/s400/vader%2Bon%2Ba%2Btie%2Bfighter.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Pictured: January 1, 2017.</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
What's it been, six-plus months?<br />
<br />
Anyway, I'm gearing up to run another <b><i>Star Wars Rebels</i></b> game in February at <a href="http://strategicon.net/" target="_blank"><b>OrcCon</b></a>, and I'm expanding the cast of characters beyond the five members of the <i>Ghost</i> crew I used <a href="http://spiritoftheblank.blogspot.com/2016/05/faith-corps-hey-star-wars.html" target="_blank">last time</a>, so... I thought I'd post them here, because where else am I going to do it?<br />
<br />
There's <a href="https://www.dropbox.com/s/c795fugv06ngmpw/Rex%20PC.pdf?dl=0" target="_blank"><b>Rex</b></a>, former clone captain in the Grand Army of the Republic.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.dropbox.com/s/amvlj35rgdviu25/Ketsu%20PC.pdf?dl=0" target="_blank"><b>Ketsu Onyo</b></a>, former partner of Sabine during their Imperial Academy days and then later their Black Sun bounty-hunting days. (My son gave me Ketsu's ship, the <i><a href="https://www.fantasyflightgames.com/en/products/x-wing/products/shadow-caster-expansion-pack/" target="_blank"><b>Shadow Caster</b></a></i>, for Christmas, which may or may not have been a factor in the inclusion of this character.)<br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.dropbox.com/s/8qyei5gxjz2mlvr/Chopper%20PC.pdf?dl=0" target="_blank"><b>C1-10P, aka "Chopper,"</b></a> the Clone Wars-era astromech for whom the word "cantankerous" seems to have been invented.<br />
<br />
(Have you been keeping up with <i>Rebels</i> this season? It's real good.)<br />
<br />
It was tempting for a bit to try to include a <i><b>Rogue One</b></i> character or two in this scenario, but... I didn't. <b>Jyn</b> doesn't really work as a rebel earlier than, like, a week before the events of Episode IV. <b>Saw</b> was fair game, because he showed up briefly in the <i>last</i> scenario, but -- and this is going to sound a little ridiculous, I know -- there isn't a good picture of him in the style of <i>Rebels</i>, and the depiction of him in <i><b>The Clone Wars</b></i> isn't really consistent IMO with how he's presented in <i>Rogue One</i>. But that'll change soon!<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Jbeuseij9QM/maxresdefault.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Jbeuseij9QM/maxresdefault.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
Plus, I dunno, it felt a little like I'd be doing it <i>just</i> to reference <i>Rogue One</i>, which isn't the best reason. And he wasn't a great fit for this story. I'm a little concerned about him showing up in <i>Rebels</i>, to be honest. I still want him to be an unhinged rebel nutbag in <i>Rogue One</i>; making him a team-player like this... I dunno, I'd pictured his slow descent into extremism and having a robot foot to have been a years-long process rather than a... two-years-long process. He looks better in <i>Rebels</i> than he does at the beginning of <i>Rogue One</i>!<br />
<br />
(Everyone's seen <i>Rogue One</i> by now, right?)<br />
<br />
And for a bit, I was like, "Hey, <b>Chirrut</b> and <b>Baze</b>!" But I got the impression that two years before the Battle of Yavin, they were doing a lot of hanging out on Jedha rather than gallivanting around the galaxy on some damn-fool idealistic crusade. I could've had the story come to them, but I have another one in mind that I like a whole lot. Maybe next time, fellas.<br />
<br />
I also thought about bringing <b>Leia</b> in, for obvious reasons. Maybe I still will. I still have a few weeks to sort all of this out. Besides, as it stands, I have <i>seven</i> PCs for hopefully only five players.<br />
<br />
At any rate,<i> this</i> story takes place between the season 2 finale and the season 3 premiere. So Ezra's darker, Kanan's had that thing happen to him (<i>now</i> I'm worried about spoilers?), the <i>Phantom</i>'s still around, and -- oh, what the heck -- Thrawn hasn't shown up yet.<br />
<br />
In case you're already familiar with the sheets from the <i>Rebels</i> game I ran at <b>Gamex</b> last year, I just want to say that I really their layout, but I had to change things up for this game. Apparently Disney never released any good full-body posed pictures of Ketsu or Old Man Rex like they did with the <i>Ghost</i> crew in season 1, and those art elements were a real focal point of the other sheets. I like these too, though. You probably don't care about this part, but seriously, I think a lot about it. Too much. And I'm only working with Word here, so I'm doing the best I can.<br />
<br />
So! Happy New Year, and may the Force be with all of us.Mike Olsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11547961835994778883noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4491933635924780786.post-54062292836628524182016-06-04T16:26:00.002-07:002016-06-04T16:26:34.266-07:00[Atomic Robo] Funny Story<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-FA6Ccgi_VTk/V1NePGk_dEI/AAAAAAAAHJk/E7AkOb2o4m4wl6SYapsWkQvE6-_4RO52ACLcB/s1600/omega%2Bstunts.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="117" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-FA6Ccgi_VTk/V1NePGk_dEI/AAAAAAAAHJk/E7AkOb2o4m4wl6SYapsWkQvE6-_4RO52ACLcB/s400/omega%2Bstunts.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Oh, Dervil. If only you could protect </i>this<i> geek from mistakes like these.</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Hey, so -- funny story! Apparently a rather bizarre typo made it through the layout process on <i><b>Majestic 12</b></i>, and now it's there forever and ever and <i>ever</i> and there's <i>nothing</i> I can ever do about it and I'll just have to live with it and why would <i>that</i> be a problem anyway when I'm so well-adjusted?<br />
<br />
Here's what happened. All of the sample PCs for <i>Majestic 12</i> (on pages 42-43) were given four of five aspects, with the fifth, or "Omega" aspect, being left blank for the player to fill in themselves. This made it through editing just fine. Somehow, though, in layout, that "Omega" line migrated down to the "Stunts" header just below it. Together they combined to form "<b>Omega Stunts</b>." Which sounds pretty cool, admittedly, but it's not what we meant to put there.<br />
<br />
Now, how did I not notice this in the multiple read-throughs I did of the final text? Dude, I have no idea. I probably gave the headers short shrift, just assuming they were correct, because typically they <i>are</i>, and I'm willing to bet everyone else did the same.<br />
<br />
The upshot is that now the final printed product has these six glaring, glaring errors in them, forever and ever. The odds of <i>Majestic 12</i> getting a second print are probably... not <i>high</i>, let's say. So this is it!<br />
<br />
This may not be a big deal to you -- I bet you're super-understanding, even! -- but needless to say it will haunt my every waking moment, as is evidenced by the fact that I only just found out about this about an hour ago and am now blogging about it.<br />
<br />
I'll do what I can do prevent this sort of thing from happening again, which may or may not involve retreating into the Santa Susana Mountains (which are <i>not</i> local, BTW), playtesting Fate hacks with, I dunno, raccoons (they can hold dice!), and eventually declaring my cave a sovereign nation (Proofreadia).<br />
<br />
(Thanks to <b>Nicholas Arroyo</b> for pointing out this mistake on the <b><a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/evilhat/fate-more-from-bits-to-books/comments" target="_blank">Fate More Kickstarter</a></b> page.)Mike Olsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11547961835994778883noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4491933635924780786.post-82148635835882692042016-05-25T09:00:00.000-07:002019-03-05T11:17:25.271-08:00[Faith Corps] Star Wars: Ships<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://vignette2.wikia.nocookie.net/starwarsrebels/images/7/77/The_ghost_starship.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20131017015412" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://vignette2.wikia.nocookie.net/starwarsrebels/images/7/77/The_ghost_starship.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20131017015412" height="218" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>A typical day for the crew of the </i>Ghost.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
So, spaceships! That's what people want, right? I know I do.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://spiritoftheblank.blogspot.com/2016/05/faith-corps-hey-star-wars.html" target="_blank">As mentioned previously</a>, I have a set of dogfighting rules for <b><a href="http://demonhuntersrpg.com/" target="_blank">Faith Corps</a></b> with which I'm happy, and which have worked well. (Probably why I'm happy with them.) And <a href="http://spiritoftheblank.blogspot.com/search/label/Crimson%20Skies" target="_blank">I'm a sucker for dogfighting</a>, especially in space.<br />
<br />
If you know <i><b>Star Wars Rebels</b></i>, you'll know that there are two main ships in the show: the <i><b><a href="https://www.dropbox.com/s/lf6dy6uoq6twsxo/Ghost.pdf?dl=0" target="_blank">Ghost</a></b></i>, a modified freighter that the crew calls home, and the <b><i><a href="https://www.dropbox.com/s/i30xyabmm7q5jae/Phantom.pdf?dl=0" target="_blank">Phantom</a></i></b>, the little shuttle that docks in the <i>Ghost</i>'s tail and serves as a small starfighter in times of need (so, like, always).<br />
<br />
If you take a look at the linked character sheets for the <i>Ghost</i> and <i>Phantom</i>, above, you'll see they're mostly built like PCs, but not quite.<br />
<br />
For one, they don't have approaches or disciplines -- instead, they have three plain ol' <b>stats</b>. These are <b>Maneuver</b> (how maneuverable the ship is), <b>Speed</b> (how fast its sublight engines are), and <b>Systems</b> (everything from the navicomp to the comms to the targeting computer).<br />
<br />
When a character does something on a ship, if one of these stats applies, add its die (or dice) to the character's chosen approach and discipline. For example, if you're the pilot and defending against a TIE fighter, you'll roll an approach (probably Quick) plus Action plus Maneuver. If you're trying to chase that TIE fighter through an asteroid field before they can clear it and report your presence, you'll roll an approach (maybe Quick, but Careful wouldn't be bad either in a Star Wars-brand Asteroid Field<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">™ </span>where all the asteroids are way bigger than your ship but still float around mere yards apart from one another) plus Action plus Speed. If that doesn't work and you're trying to jam the TIE's comms, you'll roll an approach (Clever, perhaps?) plus Tech plus Systems. You get the idea.<br />
<br />
These two ships have die ratings in all three stats, but that's not always the case. The Gozanti-class cruiser, for example, doesn't have a Maneuver die or a Speed die. They're fairly big and bulky, and, more importantly, they're likely the biggest ship that could appear in this game, so I don't need to account for, say, the maneuverability and speed of Star Destroyers.<br />
<br />
The dogfighting bit is pretty simple. If your Maneuver die is lower than your target's Maneuver die, you need to use a <i>free </i>invocation on an aspect to be able to attack them. The "free" bit is important. Maybe you spend a round getting <i><b>In Position</b></i>, or maybe an allied pilot is your <i><b>Wingman</b></i>, or maybe the co-pilot uses the ship's targeting computer to get <i><b>Locked On</b></i>. (The <i>Ghost </i>and the <i>Phantom</i> can break this rule:<i> </i>Each has a <a href="http://vignette2.wikia.nocookie.net/xwing-miniatures/images/b/b4/Dorsal-turret.png/revision/latest?cb=20151204230143" target="_blank">dorsal turret</a> that, if manned, lets the gunner attack any target regardless of its Maneuver die.)<br />
<br />
(Compared to the dogfighting rules I used for <i><b>Crimson Skies</b></i>, these are barely there, but Star Wars dogfighting really doesn't care about, like, actual dogfighting maneuvers. It's all "Damn it, Wedge, where are you?" and "I can't shake him!" and "Thanks Wedge!" Wedge is heavily involved.)<br />
<br />
I'd previously used defined game terms for ship-mounted weapons -- <b>Accuracy</b>, which adds to the attack roll, and <b>Power</b>, which adds extra damage on a hit -- but here I've dropped those terms in favor of framing that stuff as stunts. It's just one fewer thing to explain at the table. This way, the stunt spells out what to do. So I'd explain what Accuracy and Power are, but hey, look at the ships' weapons-oriented stunts instead.<br />
<br />
As for defense, ships typically have <b>shields</b>, which here are basically free invocations on an aspect called <i><b>Shields</b></i>, but that seemed a little fiddly, plus treating it as an aspect implies that anyone can put more free invocations on it at any time. Instead, each ship has a number of check boxes, something like a stress track. Check a box and add d6 to your defense roll. When you're out of boxes to check, you're out of shields. Someone on board can use Tech to try to get more shields happening, and thus clear boxes, but they can't ever <i>add</i> more boxes.<br />
<br />
Ships also have conditions, pre-defined just like PCs. Actually, this is where the pre-defined conditions-thing started -- with ships. However, anyone on board a ship can voluntarily take a condition to reduce a hit to that ship. This can result in cool things like Hera failing a defense roll while piloting the <i>Ghost</i> and ending up Irritated or Under Pressure. Because hey, just like in the show!<br />
<br />
For NPCs, I build pilots and ships separately, even though those pilots are likely only ever going to act while piloting a ship. This way, I can keep the same three-dice thing the PCs use instead of trying to figure out some other way to achieve dogfighting parity. Big ships have gun emplacements operated by gunners, which gives them multiple attacks a turn and makes them as scary as they ought to be. For the She-Devils game, I attempted to scale things up by letting big ships step down the Power dice of starfighter-scale weapons -- sometimes two steps -- or even just say they're immune to weapons with a Power die of X or less. So they're easy to hit, with their lack of a Maneuver die, but harder to harm. Unless you have an advanced proton torpedo with 2d8 Power or something. I didn't really get to play out a lot of that, so I can't tell you how well it works.<br />
<br />
All the dice business here makes a lot of this a little more difficult to translate to <b><a href="http://www.evilhat.com/home/fate-core/" target="_blank">Fate Core</a></b>. I'm not a fan of huge bonuses to dice rolls in my Fate games, so I'm reluctant to say "Just make it a +1 bonus for a d4, +1 per step above that." But I dunno, that's probably the easiest way to do it without changing a bunch of other stuff.Mike Olsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11547961835994778883noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4491933635924780786.post-80283470132284321402016-05-21T10:05:00.000-07:002019-03-05T11:19:43.771-08:00[Faith Corps] Star Wars: Long-Lasting Conditions<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://cdn.fansided.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/319/files/2016/03/SW-R-F-8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://cdn.fansided.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/319/files/2016/03/SW-R-F-8.jpg" height="207" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>You wouldn't like Ezra when he's angry. Unless you're playing him. </i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Last time I talked about mild conditions, and how I'm using them in this hack of Faith Corps to emulate <i><b>Star Wars Rebels</b></i>. That's great and all, but Faith Corps characters also have <i><b>moderate </b></i>and <i><b>severe </b></i>conditions! Betcha thought I forgot about them! I didn't!<br />
<br />
So if mild conditions are short-term ways that PCs respond to stress (that's why stress is <i>called</i> stress in Fate, y'know), moderate and severe conditions are their long-term responses to more serious stress. In Faith Corps, moderate conditions stick around for the length of a Mission, or maybe a single session. (The book is a little inconsistent on this point.) Severe conditions persist for "five or six" Missions, or maybe just one Mission. (On page 43 it says the former, on page 138, the latter). Either way, <b>I don't care</b>, because I run one-shots! Advantage: Olson!<br />
<br />
This means I don't really have to consider recovery time, or what happens when a condition's recovering, because it's beyond the scope of what I'm doing here. They're both just long-lasting conditions to me -- changes to the character that you'd expect to affect them throughout an episode. (To reiterate, Advantage: Olson.)<br />
<br />
So here are Ezra's three moderate conditions.<br />
<ul>
<li>Afraid</li>
<li>Angry</li>
<li>Conflicted</li>
</ul>
<div>
Each of these is kind of a heightened extension of one or more of his mild conditions. But only kind of, because I didn't really plan it that way. The real intent was just to represent character traits that Ezra typically, but not always, displays in an episode of <i>Rebels</i>. Sometimes he'll be motivated by fear or anger for the better part of an episode. God knows he has enough to be fearful of and/or angry about, but he usually starts out relatively well-adjusted and quippy. Conflicted isn't always a thing, but there have definitely been times when he's spent an episode being torn between two diametrically opposed options, like "Should I be a Jedi, or work for Hondo Ohnaka?" Only a teenager would consider this an actual choice.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Note that since he can only take a maximum of two of those three conditions, he'll never be obliged to be conflicted when there's no source of real conflict for him. Ditto Afraid and Angry, but those are more likely to crop up.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
At any rate, moving on to his severe conditions. Like everyone else, he has his choice of two:</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Vengeful</li>
<li>Injured</li>
</ul>
<div>
Vengeful's a great long-term condition to keep Ezra going for a multi-episode arc. I mean, I won't have multiple-episode arcs -- one-shots! -- but for the thing I'm emulating, it's appropriate. It's also the pinnacle of his implied "Dark Side conditions" track. This is assuming that if he were to really turn to the Dark Side, he'd be an NPC, which works for me. </div>
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
The other severe condition, Injured, is shared by all the PCs. It's not so appropriate as a thing that'll stick around for a series of sessions, but it <i>is</i> appropriate as, basically, the worst and simultaneously least-likely thing to happen to a main character on <i>Rebels</i>. Usually, when one of these characters gets hurt-hurt, like genuinely wounded, it's a big deal. (See the finales of Seasons One <i>and</i> Two.) So it's a big deal here, too.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
For comparison purposes, here are Hera's moderate conditions:</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Tense</li>
<li>Afraid</li>
<li>Worried about __________</li>
</ul>
<div>
Maybe "Tense" isn't the best heightening of her mild conditions of Under Pressure, Irritated, and Flustered, but it feels longer-term to me than any of those. Ditto with "Worried about _____" vs. her mild condition of "Protective of _____." Like, I can see her pulling Kanan aside and saying, "I'm worried about Sabine" in the second act, but not really "I'm protective of Sabine," which feels more in-the-moment to me.</div>
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Here are her severe conditions:</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Despairing</li>
<li>Injured</li>
</ul>
<div>
If severe conditions are "What's the worst thing that can happen to this character that doesn't take them out of the action?", then for Hera I think Despairing is it. She's the one who got this whole <i>Rebels</i> thing started; hope is kind of her thing.</div>
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>BONUS THING:</b></div>
<div>
One of the strengths of these pre-defined conditions is that it gives you another mechanical hook to play with. For example, Ezra has this stunt:</div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<b><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Tempted
by the Dark Side:</span></b><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"> When
you have the <i>Impatient</i>, <i>Afraid</i>, <i>Angry</i>, or <i>Vengeful</i>
conditions, you can invoke those conditions <i>for
free</i> on any roll that includes Jedi, once per condition per scene. For each
of these conditions you invoke this way, the GM takes one destiny die.</span></blockquote>
I like how this might incentivize Ezra's player to take one or more of those conditions. If they really want to follow the Dark Side thing all the way down, they can really commit and take them <i>all</i>.<br />
<br />
Similarly, the <i><b>Ghost</b></i> has this stunt:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<b><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Sensor
Scrambler:</span></b><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"> When
scanned by sensors, as long as it doesn’t have the <i>Damaged Sensor Scrambler</i> condition, the <i>Ghost</i> can appear to be another ship, no roll required.</span></blockquote>
I like how taking that condition has a very specific effect on the story, both mechanically (you lose access to a stunt) and narratively (it just plain doesn't work until someone takes the time to fix it). And this is basically how the <i>Ghost</i>'s sensor scrambler works on the show, which is the point of this whole thing in the first place.Mike Olsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11547961835994778883noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4491933635924780786.post-67814032767256428072016-05-13T11:22:00.001-07:002019-03-05T11:21:47.648-08:00[Faith Corps] Star Wars: Maintaining Tone<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.fanboy.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/rebels.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://www.fanboy.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/rebels.jpg" height="218" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Hera looking irritated. Or maybe under pressure.</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
After playtesting that <a href="http://spiritoftheblank.blogspot.com/2016/05/faith-corps-hey-star-wars.html" target="_blank"><b><i>Star Wars Rebels</i></b> scenario</a> I'm running at the end of the month at <b><a href="http://strategicon.net/" target="_blank">Gamex</a></b>, I've decided to make some minor changes.<br />
<br />
The playtest was fun, and the characters felt right, but I like it when a game's (or, in this case, hack's) mechanics support the tone of the thing we're trying to emulate. Obviously all of us human beings involved in the game are largely responsible for that, but when the game constrains our choices in certain areas such that we have no choice <i>but</i> to maintain tone... I like that. (I tried to take that to a bit of an extreme with the long-languishing <b><a href="http://spiritoftheblank.blogspot.com/2013/12/thrilling-fate-more-playtests.html" target="_blank">Sparks Nevada RPG</a></b> by mechanically incentivizing not just roleplaying, but <i>saying</i> certain things associated with the canon characters.)<br />
<br />
One of these changes is deviating from a recommendation in <i><b><a href="http://demonhuntersrpg.com/" target="_blank">Demon Hunters: A Comedy of Terrors RPG</a></b></i> (for such is our source of <b>Faith Corps</b> mechanics, in much the same way that, for years, <i><b><a href="http://www.evilhat.com/home/spirit-of-the-century-2/" target="_blank">Spirit of the Century</a> </b></i>was our source of Fate -- or, back then, FATE) in a small but important way.<br />
<br />
The <i>Demon Hunters</i> way of handling a mob of minions is to give them a die code for "Mob of X" -- which works great -- plus a few other dice, and then a number of mild conditions. For a small mob, the recommendation is <i>five or six</i> mild conditions. As you might expect, that makes for some <i>super</i>-resilient mooks, way more resilient than I expect the default minions of a <i>Rebels</i> game -- stormtroopers -- to be.<br />
<br />
In play, even <i>three</i> mild conditions was too much, in fact. They just stuck around too long, especially for the in-medias-res intro scene in which I used them. Thus, I'm dropping them down to one or two. Typically in <i>Rebels</i>, stormtroopers are more pressure than major enemy. They're usually used as either an excuse for a relatively brief fight scene, or as a reason to run/give up when they show up in overwhelming numbers. The former case is a 10-minute fight, the latter is a compel. Er, <i>endure</i>. (Endurance, maybe? What's the noun form of "endure" that's equivalent to "compel" used as a noun? We haven't gotten there yet.)<br />
<br />
The other change is more of a thing, and it's this: pre-defining conditions for the PCs. In the heat of the playtest moment, I found myself tossing out <i>really</i> lazy conditions, like "Blasted" and "Oh My, More Blasting." Now, should I be a better GM? <i><b><u>Absolutely.</u></b></i> Boldface, italics, underline, <i>of course I should</i>.<br />
<br />
But later I realized that the <i>reason</i> I was going for those goofy conditions was that I didn't want to stop and think of a good condition in the middle of the action. Plus, the easy, go-to conditions (like "Blasted") aren't really appropriate for <i>Rebels</i>. You don't see the crew of the <i>Ghost</i> getting actually <i>shot</i> a whole lot.<br />
<br />
So! Pre-defined conditions -- more like conditions as presented in the <a href="http://www.evilhat.com/home/fate-system-toolkit/" target="_blank"><i><b>Fate System Toolkit</b></i></a> -- help with that. But defining them on a <i>per-character</i> basis means that you can force every character to react to stress <i>differently</i>, which means the players' choices all fall into the category of "Things That Reinforce Tone."<br />
<br />
The companion alteration to this is to say that mild conditions clear at the end of the scene, <i>a la</i> stress in <a href="http://www.evilhat.com/home/fate-core/" target="_blank"><i>Fate Core</i></a>. What that means is that mild conditions become new aspects with a lifespan of one scene, so you can use them to further characterize a PC without using up character resources like approach/discipline dice, aspects, or stunts to do so. Moderate and severe conditions stick around for longer, so you can use those to show how the events of an episode change the character for the length of that episode (in the case of moderate conditions) or an entire story arc (for severe conditions).<br />
<br />
Every PC can take as many as three mild conditions, like before, but they have <i>five</i> conditions to choose from, so they're not locked into being the same way all the time. And none of these mild conditions involve actual <i>injury</i> (well, except for Zeb) -- they're more about the mental toll the events of the scene are taking.<br />
<br />
For example, <b>Hera Syndulla</b>'s five mild-condition choices are:<br />
<ul>
<li>Under Pressure</li>
<li>Nervous</li>
<li>Irritated</li>
<li>Flustered</li>
<li>Protective of ______________</li>
</ul>
<div>
As the scene goes on, and Hera fails to defend against all those aforesaid stormtroopers' various hails of blaster-fire, the effect might be that she thinks, "I've gotta think of a way out of this -- fast!" Or maybe "<i>How</i> are we going to get out of this?" Or "This is the <i>last</i> thing I needed today!" Or "If I could just have two seconds of peace I could think of a way out of this!" Or "Hey, Kanan's in trouble!"</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
These don't account for every single reaction Hera might have to failing to defend against blaster-fire, but it's a good variety, and they all feel in-character to me. And they reinforce this important but oft-overlooked maxim: <b>Failing to defend against an attack doesn't necessarily mean being physically injured by that attack.</b></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Here are <b>Ezra Bridger</b>'s:</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Overconfident</li>
<li>Mouthy</li>
<li>Impatient</li>
<li>Stubborn</li>
<li>Protective of ______________</li>
</ul>
<div>
Quite a bit different. If Ezra fails to defend against that same blaster-fire, he's more like to think "These guys are chumps!" or quip "Is that the best you bucket-heads can do?" He's liable to worry about his shipmates in the moment too, from time to time, but the big ones to me are Stubborn and Impatient (and, to a lesser degree, Overconfident), because it ties into his emerging Dark Side tendencies. He doesn't walk around with yellow eyes and a black cloak when things are good, but when pressured, he can definitely lean that way. (Probably doesn't help that he's a teenager.)</div>
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I do want to talk about moderate and severe conditions, because they're their own respective beasts, but this is long enough as it is. I'm going to save that for another blog post. Hey, anything that gets me posting more than once a month is fine by me.</div>
Mike Olsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11547961835994778883noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4491933635924780786.post-10060960368834837412016-05-06T18:24:00.000-07:002019-03-05T11:10:13.140-08:00[Faith Corps] Hey, Star Wars!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MGRyUJWyUus/Vy0yNeHak_I/AAAAAAAAG6I/2EokgGu7dfIXyGezcxhvMrD27nE07BUnACLcB/s1600/Rebels-logo-big.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="236" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MGRyUJWyUus/Vy0yNeHak_I/AAAAAAAAG6I/2EokgGu7dfIXyGezcxhvMrD27nE07BUnACLcB/s400/Rebels-logo-big.png" width="400" /></a></div>
Event pre-reg for this year's installment of <b><a href="http://strategicon.net/" target="_blank">Gamex</a></b> opens <b>tomorrow at noon</b>, and one of the games I'll be running there is a highly anticipated (by me) <b>Faith Corps</b> treatment of <i><b>Star Wars Rebels</b></i>.<br />
<br />
Your first question may be, "Mike, what're you, some kinda bag of hammers? How could you misspell '<b><a href="http://www.evilhat.com/home/fate-core/" target="_blank">Fate Core</a></b>' so completely?" Fair question. Rude, but fair.<br />
<br />
Twist answer: <i>I didn't!</i> Faith Corps is the game system that powers the new edition of <b><a href="http://demonhuntersrpg.com/" target="_blank"><i>Demon Hunters: A Comedy of Terrors RPG</i></a></b>. Designed by <b>Cam Banks</b> and <b>Amanda Valentine</b> -- <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Marvel-Heroic-Roleplay-Basic-Game/dp/1936685167" target="_blank">maybe you've heard of them?</a></i> -- it's mostly a blend of <i><b><a href="http://www.evilhat.com/home/fae/" target="_blank">Fate Accelerated Edition</a></b></i> and <b><a href="http://www.margaretweis.com/19-frontpage-articles/74-announcing-cortex-plus-creator-studio" target="_blank">Cortex Plus</a></b> with a little <i><b><a href="http://www.evilhat.com/home/atomic-robo/" target="_blank">Atomic Robo</a></b></i> thrown in. I've used it for a couple of Star Wars games at conventions since last fall, and I'm really digging it. The mechanics are pretty similar to Cortex Plus, with plenty of room to play around with different dice tricks, but it plays almost identically to Fate, so it's been very intuitive for me. (And, y'know, just different enough to trip me up sometimes.) And since it's that close to Fate, well, I figure talking about it on this blog is fair game.<br />
<br />
Anyway, last fall I ran a Faith Corps Star Wars game called <i><b>Rebel Scum</b></i> in which <a href="https://www.dropbox.com/sh/4lrl1sk6ep8yp0w/AACo5VlChM7evqcq_wraHD4za?dl=0" target="_blank">the PCs were Imperial Intelligence</a> in the nascent days of the Alliance to the Restore the Republic. They were tasked with infiltrating a Rebel cell and finding out what they could about the Alliance's plans. What they ended up doing was assassinating Mon Mothma, framing someone else for it (right before convincing a group of Rebels to space him), and assuming leadership of the Rebellion. Take <i>that</i>, canon!<br />
<br />
I followed that up in February <i><b><a href="https://www.dropbox.com/s/op59w33fvncfqsd/She-Devils.pdf?dl=0" target="_blank">She-Devils of the Outer Rim</a></b></i>, a mash-up of <a href="http://www.atomic-robo.com/atomicrobo/v7ch1-cover" target="_blank">volume 7 of <i>Atomic Robo</i></a> with a bunch of EU stuff I'd never heard of before I found it on Wookieepedia. Given the source material, I'd expected and planned for a whole lotta dogfighting -- came up with some simple dogfighting rules and <a href="https://www.dropbox.com/s/xlxyr4yv2phdxj5/Ships.pdf?dl=0" target="_blank">wrote up a bunch of ships</a>, using WEG Star Wars and the X-Wing minis games as general guides -- but they didn't really end up doing much. Point is, I have a set of good, workable, easy dogfighting rules. Plus sweet Star Wars-ized portraits of four She-Devils from <i>Robo</i>, courtesy of <b>Scott Wegener</b>.<br />
<br />
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-aZMV1WnCkko/Vy1AWWUtplI/AAAAAAAAG6g/lAV0dNcIOsQakYqgsATi-BhO2KygxIIigCLcB/s1600/Aez%2527zell.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-aZMV1WnCkko/Vy1AWWUtplI/AAAAAAAAG6g/lAV0dNcIOsQakYqgsATi-BhO2KygxIIigCLcB/s1600/Aez%2527zell.png" /></a><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-clGMjjVgyMU/Vy1AWWCT69I/AAAAAAAAG6Y/29nk_D9MvN8y3m6k3RNCLv270e9WwAtQwCLcB/s1600/Carma.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-clGMjjVgyMU/Vy1AWWCT69I/AAAAAAAAG6Y/29nk_D9MvN8y3m6k3RNCLv270e9WwAtQwCLcB/s1600/Carma.png" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-BSrBYYtJG8Q/Vy1AWUXRwXI/AAAAAAAAG6c/s8OhPBVM0yAUwMIX6y2f5apEHxODpevJwCLcB/s1600/Loren.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-BSrBYYtJG8Q/Vy1AWUXRwXI/AAAAAAAAG6c/s8OhPBVM0yAUwMIX6y2f5apEHxODpevJwCLcB/s1600/Loren.png" /></a><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-CExegP_WVzA/Vy1AWgx50iI/AAAAAAAAG6k/Lx093I3PnZsplsdtg_wpCBqrQM5tAatogCLcB/s1600/Valax.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-CExegP_WVzA/Vy1AWgx50iI/AAAAAAAAG6k/Lx093I3PnZsplsdtg_wpCBqrQM5tAatogCLcB/s1600/Valax.png" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
At the end of the month, at Gamex, I'll be running this <i><b>Star Wars Rebels</b></i> scenario. It's the first time I've really statted up <a href="https://www.dropbox.com/sh/edqpi68houjagd1/AABPVFBbISoda9zKJkzmMQxEa?dl=0" target="_blank">canon Star Wars characters</a> of any kind, let alone such fairly well-known ones, so the pressure's kind of on (in my mind). I managed a playtest of most of it last night with four local gamer-friends, and it went well, so I'm looking forward to the real thing. I'm trying to blend elements from a few different eras of the Star Wars saga; we'll see if it's too much. Of course, by then it'll be too late, but whatever. <b><a href="http://strategicon.net/" target="_blank">Come play it anyway!</a> </b><br />
<br />
(If it goes well, I'll try to run it on-demand at <b>Origins</b> and, assuming I can make it up there, put it on the schedule for <b><a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1157274964/big-bad-con-2016" target="_blank">Big Bad Con</a></b>.)<br />
<br />
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-0WhZqfrGbmM/Vy1CTYyHuUI/AAAAAAAAG6w/QQFPOSyBW2kTTJCyaN2Jq4KH6Xd2nBPywCLcB/s1600/playtestpic.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-0WhZqfrGbmM/Vy1CTYyHuUI/AAAAAAAAG6w/QQFPOSyBW2kTTJCyaN2Jq4KH6Xd2nBPywCLcB/s400/playtestpic.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
Mike Olsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11547961835994778883noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4491933635924780786.post-3771195344822844362016-04-06T14:07:00.000-07:002016-04-06T14:12:10.706-07:00[Atomic Robo] OGL Rules Now Available!<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-P4sGz7x6Fw4/UyfQirWEtYI/AAAAAAAAC5M/vdNj_0YPCFMhGelzUQoL7EjRgi36-Nl1w/s1600/robowriting.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-P4sGz7x6Fw4/UyfQirWEtYI/AAAAAAAAC5M/vdNj_0YPCFMhGelzUQoL7EjRgi36-Nl1w/s400/robowriting.png" width="270" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Yes! It is literally in writing!</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
Thanks to the kindness of the <a href="http://spiritoftheblank.blogspot.com/2016/02/fate-more-get-on-it.html" target="_blank">Fate More Kickstarter backers</a>, many new rules systems from both <i><b>ARRPG</b></i> and <i><b>ARRPG: Majestic 12</b></i> have been OGL-ified (by me!) and are now online! For you! All for you! <a href="http://www.faterpg.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/AtomicSRD-CCBY.html">Right here! Click this link!</a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
These subsystems include:</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li><b>Modes! </b>Modes had previously appeared in the <i><b>Fate System Toolkit</b></i>, but in a rather abbreviated form. The OGL has the full Robo treatment.</li>
<li><b>Custom skills!</b> Point-based skill construction rules, similar in spirit and intent to Strange Fate's custom skills, but much simpler.</li>
<li><b>Stunts and mega-stunts!</b> Ripped from the pages of <i>ARRPG</i>!</li>
<li><b>Brainstorms!</b> Players, take the wheel!</li>
<li><b>Invention!</b> Includes the variant used in <i>Majestic 12</i>!</li>
<li><b>Mission briefings!</b> Sorta like brainstorms, but different! Look, I don't have time to go into it now!</li>
<li><i><b>And nothing more!</b></i></li>
</ul>
<div>
I'm looking forward to seeing what other people might create using this stuff. Fate has always had a strong fan community full of builders and hackers; it's always a pleasure to contribute more toys to the toybox.</div>
</div>
Mike Olsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11547961835994778883noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4491933635924780786.post-63025322520018950942016-02-08T09:46:00.000-08:002016-02-08T09:46:11.133-08:00[Fate More] Get On It!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ZXYIYsTG1sg/VrjGEoXz9GI/AAAAAAAAGOk/wWMbaKGs1TQ/s1600/fatemore.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="251" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ZXYIYsTG1sg/VrjGEoXz9GI/AAAAAAAAGOk/wWMbaKGs1TQ/s400/fatemore.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<div>
Hola, amigos! I know it's been a long time since I rapped atcha, but I've been hecka busy. Or... neglectful. Little of both, probably.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Anyway, I come to you today with an important message about <b><a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/evilhat/fate-more-from-bits-to-books/description">Fate More</a></b>.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
What's Fate More? See, this is the problem.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Fate More is Evil Hat's Kickstarter campaign to publish more Fate material in hard-copy form. Most of this material has already been written and even released in PDF form, so the Kickstarter is basically just about covering the costs of printing and distributing these titles. It's already successfully funded, as you may be aware, but it's entering its final 48 hours and there are some really fantastic stretch goals and "Extras" that may go <i>tragically unfulfilled</i>. And the very thought of that makes the Hulk sad.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.cinemablend.com/images/news_img/71208/hulk_71208.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://www.cinemablend.com/images/news_img/71208/hulk_71208.jpg" height="200" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Or maybe just angry.</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
What's been unlocked so far? <a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/evilhat/fate-more-from-bits-to-books/posts/1485510">ONLY ALL OF THIS</a>:</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li><i><b>Venture City</b></i>, a greatly expanded <i>Venture City Stories</i>. Fate supers!</li>
<li><i><b>Do: Fate of the Flying Temple</b></i>, a standalone FAE take and sorta sequel to <i>Do: Pilgrims of the Flying Temple</i>.</li>
<li><i><b>Young Centurions</b></i>, a FAE prequel to <i>Spirit of the Century</i> featuring young-adult PCs and all that that entails.</li>
<li><i><b>Atomic Robo: Majestic 12</b></i>, a supplement for <i>ARRPG</i> all about playing Majestic 12 agents as the good guys (because they are). Brian Clevinger coughed up a bunch more detail on Robo's world, and I wrote some fun new mechanics for M12 missions and requisitions, then it was edited and laid out -- I'm getting too detailed here. Point is, it exists, and you can get it through this Kickstarter.</li>
</ul>
</div>
<div>
<i>In addition</i>, Evil Hat will release an open-license version of <i>ARRPG</i>'s rules for modes, mega-stunts, and brainstorms. And I guess I'll have something to do with that, too. And if you think that's cool, there are plans to open-license <i>other</i> stuff, including:</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li><i>Venture City</i>'s power-construction rules.</li>
<li><i>War of Ashes</i>' miniatures combat rules -- that I wrote!</li>
<li>Lots of cool new mechanics from various Fate Worlds & Adventures releases -- many of which involved me somehow to varying degrees!</li>
</ul>
<div>
(Forgive me for focusing on stuff I wrote or edited, but it's my blog.)</div>
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Speaking of the Fate Worlds & Adventures line, that's kinda the main thrust of this whole thing -- compiling them into full-color hardcovers. </div>
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The campaign's almost certainly going to hit that $50K stretch goal, which includes two things I worked on (PK Sullivan's <i><b><a href="http://drivethrurpg.com/product/166281/The-Three-Rocketeers--A-World-of-Adventure-for-Fate-Core?src=slider_view">The Three Rocketeers</a></b></i> and Nick Pilon's <i><b><a href="http://drivethrurpg.com/product/161674/Frontier-Spirit--A-World-of-Adventure-for-Fate-Core?src=slider_view">Frontier Spirit</a></b></i>). But it's the third one, at $80K, that I most want to see succeed, because it contains <i><b>Deep Dark Blue</b></i>, which is the closest I've come to actually writing one of these things myself. The actual author is <b>Lore Graham</b>, who created and wrote the bulk of it, but I'm <i>technically</i> credited as a writer, I believe, mostly for my submarine construction and combat rules. So, y'know, for purely selfish reasons, I'd like to be able to hold that in my hands. </div>
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And, uh, so would you! Right? Because it also has <i><b><a href="https://ksr-ugc.imgix.net/assets/005/321/124/a4a203048a23bf520c1853d504843558_original.jpg?v=1454877664&w=639&fit=max&auto=format&q=92&s=0e4809f84b1f5c12897acdb321fade77">Slip</a></b></i>, which has got to be the weirdest of these things I've worked on (in a good way, of course), and <i><b><a href="http://drivethrurpg.com/product/144754/Eagle-Eyes--A-World-of-Adventure-for-Fate-Core">Eagle Eyes</a></b></i> and <i><b><a href="http://drivethrurpg.com/product/168186/House-of-Bards--A-World-of-Adventure-for-Fate-Core?src=slider_view">House of Bards</a></b></i>. Imagine, an entire <i>house</i> of bards!</div>
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(I didn't work on anything in <i>Worlds Rise Up</i>, unfortunately, but it has four cool settings of its own: <i><b><a href="http://drivethrurpg.com/product/148388/Behind-the-Walls--A-World-of-Adventure-for-Fate-Core?src=slider_view">Behind the Walls</a></b></i>, <i><b><a href="http://drivethrurpg.com/product/150022/Sails-Full-of-Stars--A-World-of-Adventure-for-Fate-Core?src=slider_view">Sails Full of Stars</a></b></i>, <i><b><a href="http://drivethrurpg.com/product/150889/Gods-and-Monsters--A-World-of-Adventure-for-Fate-Core?src=slider_view">Gods and Monsters</a></b></i>, and <i><b><a href="http://drivethrurpg.com/product/153980/Nest--A-World-of-Adventure-for-Fate-Core?src=slider_view">Nest</a></b></i>. I wasn't involved with them and don't really know anything significant about them either, but Evil Hat don't make no trash.)</div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-fvWmN983Ju4/UMbFjE_rPkI/AAAAAAAAAic/k24zWD9RtJo/s1600/robo%2Ba%2Blot%2Bto%2Babsorb2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="157" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-fvWmN983Ju4/UMbFjE_rPkI/AAAAAAAAAic/k24zWD9RtJo/s400/robo%2Ba%2Blot%2Bto%2Babsorb2.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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If this is you -- not literally Atomic Robo from 1926, but <i>metaphorically</i> -- <a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/evilhat/fate-more-from-bits-to-books/posts/1485510">Evil Hat explains it a lot more thoroughly in this Kickstarter update</a>. And while you're there, <i><b>back the thing</b></i>! You only have about <b>48 hours left </b>to help bring hard copies of these books (and all that open content) into existence!</div>
Mike Olsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11547961835994778883noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4491933635924780786.post-91121656109645256312015-11-23T08:00:00.000-08:002015-11-23T12:33:50.524-08:00[Atomic Robo] On Modes<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Wow, I really thought I'd posted once in October! I've had a hack I've wanted to blog about for the past six weeks or more.<br />
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Anyway, something more pressing has come up. <a href="https://twitter.com/jdahobbs">Jonathan Hobbs</a> asked on <a href="https://twitter.com/jdahobbs/status/667498855873687552">Twitter</a> for more guidance regarding the creation and implementation of modes in homebrew Fate games. Specifically, <a href="http://rpg.stackexchange.com/questions/60446/how-do-i-work-out-the-skill-modes-for-a-new-fate-game-design">he had these questions</a>:<br />
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<b>How do I identify the key areas of competency to represent? </b><br />
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Well, for <i>ARRPG</i> it was pretty easy, to be honest -- I knew Action and Science had to be in there, because of Action Scientists. Neither of those really covered talking, which is another thing characters in the comic do, seeing as how most of them are human and all. Thus, Banter. And then I had some other standard Fate Core skills left over, like Burglary, Deception, and Stealth -- again, all things humans need to be able to do -- which suggested the need for a fourth mode: Intrigue.</div>
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This is a bigger issue than just this, though. You're really asking "What is my game about?" If it weren't a game about scientists, there wouldn't have been a Science mode. </div>
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<b>What is the impact of a larger or smaller number of modes? </b></div>
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Something Fred Hicks and I realized in the early days of <i>Robo</i>'s development was that with four standard modes, you're really deciding "Which one of these isn't important to me?" Which is great for fast character creation, because your range of choices is very manageable. "She's not good with people" translates easily to not having the Banter mode.</div>
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So I think four's the practical minimum, or you don't have any real choice at chargen. Too many and you're replacing one problem ("Which skills should I pick from this big list of skills?") with another ("Which modes should I pick from this big list of modes?"). It also depends on how many skills you're working with. If your list is, say, 12 skills long, the more modes you have the less relevant and distinctive they'll be.</div>
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<b>How do I determine how many skills should be in these modes, and what is the impact of modes generally having a large number of skills (5-8) vs a small number (3-4)? </b></div>
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I'm going to make a few <i>ARRPG</i> assumptions: PCs have 30 points to spend on this stuff, skills cost points depending on how many applications they have, and the cost of a mode is the total of its skills' costs.</div>
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So assuming all that's in play, the number of skills in a mode is going to be practically limited by their cost. Generally speaking, I think you want to keep the cost of a mode below 10 points. Three 9-point modes still gives you 3 points left over to customize a little bit. Certainly I think it's useful to keep the costs of all of your standard modes at around the same value, so you can pick any given three and not worry about going over your budget.</div>
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Three of <i>Robo</i>'s four standard modes are 9 points each, and the fourth, Science, is weird -- like, <i>literally</i> weird, not game-term weird. That's intentional. It's totally coincidental that each of those three 9-point modes happens to have six skills.</div>
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If you're <i>not</i> working with points and all that jazz, and are just eyeballing them, like the rules for modes in the <i><a href="http://www.evilhat.com/home/fate-system-toolkit/">Fate System Toolkit</a></i> do, then -- well, actually, just seek out the <i>FST</i> if you haven't already, because it already has advice along these lines in it. </div>
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<b>How do I determine if I should want a skill to be in many modes or few modes? </b></div>
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I say start with as few skills in each mode as you think it needs, and then fill in from there. If it only needs three, and you can't think of another that absolutely has to be in there, then keep it at three. If it has more than six or seven, ask yourself if the theme of the mode is too broad.</div>
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For example, I'm pretty sure the Action mode started with Athletics, Combat, and Physique as its core skills. Those are the things I expect a one-dimensional "action hero" to be able to do. Rambo, Indiana Jones, and Brienne of Tarth are different kinds of people, but I think we can agree they all at least have these three skills rated above Mediocre. Then I was like, wait, Robo's a pilot -- where does that fit in if his three modes are Action, Science, and Robot? Certainly it's not an inherent part of Science or Robot, and operating a vehicle seems pretty action-heroic, so Action acquired Vehicles. I think Notice came next, because only Intrigue had it at the time (before Science got it too) and it didn't make sense that anyone who isn't good at sneaking around is equally ungood at <i>spotting</i> someone sneaking around. Last came Provoke, because being intimidating seems like an action-hero thing, too. (Another skill that Robo definitely has that doesn't seem to have a place in either Science or Robot.) As it happens, these six skills came to 9 points, as did the six for Banter and Intrigue.</div>
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Basically, if you can rationalize that everyone with this mode should also have these skills, then that's what skills the mode should have. Can every robot crack wise? Like, does the typical Dalek bother with strong words or witty repartee or really care about people in a social way at all? The answer is obviously EXTERMINATE. So Robot shouldn't contain Provoke, Rapport, or Empathy, even though it isn't unreasonable that a robot could have those skills -- they're just not a product of that robot's robotic nature. But every robot <i>is</i> probably designed in a way that makes at least Athletics, Notice, and Physique relevant to its operation, so those are good candidates for core Robot skills. (I believe I gave the Robot mode in <i>ARRPG</i> Will as well, for two main reasons: to reflect the computer brain it likely has, and also that because I don't like my robots to be easily intimidated.)</div>
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<b>What approaches for mode creation work well, and how should I be attempting to draft these up and piece them together?</b>This... is tough. I mean, I've only used the one approach to doing this, really. Even the one in the <i>FST</i> is more or less the above method (so-called) without the mathematical rigor. I dunno, anyone else have any thoughts on different ways to approach modes?</div>
Mike Olsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11547961835994778883noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4491933635924780786.post-34169406197571233822015-09-30T18:08:00.001-07:002015-10-01T12:18:42.063-07:00[Atomic Robo] Robotoberfest<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Well, it's the last day of Sept, so you know what that means: It's almost time for Atomictoberobofest!</div>
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That's right -- <i>Atomic Robo</i> comes to your town, if you live in Tampa Bay, FL or Fresno, CA <b>or Oakland, CA</b>.</div>
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First up is <a href="http://necronomicon2015.com/"><b>Necronomicon</b></a> in the Sunshine State, where <a href="https://twitter.com/JMCampbell"><b>John Campbell</b></a> will be running some sort of <i>ARRPG</i> game. That's happening next weekend, October 9-11, so if you're around there or are willing to make the trip, go check it out.</div>
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Then I'll be at <b><a href="http://zappcon.com/">ZappCon</a></b> in beautiful Fresno -- where the city motto is "You can get there from here!" -- running some sort of <i>ARRPG</i> game on the morning of Saturday the 17th. The blurb's super-vague, so maybe it'll be a Majestic 12 game, maybe it'll be "Atomic Robo and the Invaders from Mars," maybe it'll be a Robo Force game, I dunno. There's no way <i>to</i> know.</div>
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I'll also be part of a panel on Sunday the 18th at 2:00 pm about family gaming. Because <a href="http://spiritoftheblank.blogspot.com/2015/08/gen-con-2015-self-indulgence.html"><i>ARRPG</i> won a Silver ENnie for Best Family Game at GenCon this year</a>, so it's only logical that I'd be able to speak about family gaming at some length, right? Please come to that panel and see if that's at all a reasonable assumption.</div>
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And if you can't make it to Fresno that weekend but you <i>can</i> make it to Oakland for some reason, it better be because you're going to <a href="http://bigbadcon.com/"><b>Big Bad Con</b></a>.</div>
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<b>UPDATE:</b> Though I can't find them on the schedule itself, there is apparently at least <a href="http://www.bigbadcon.com/events/atomic-robo-and-the-deadly-disco-commissar/">one <i>Atomic Robo</i> game happening at Big Bad Con on Sunday the 18th</a>, as well as <b>Morgan Ellis</b> running <i><b>Shadow of the Century</b></i>, and also there'll be other Fate games, although I see exactly one on the schedule, so I dunno what the story is there. </div>
Mike Olsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11547961835994778883noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4491933635924780786.post-21518024976964170422015-08-14T16:54:00.000-07:002015-08-14T16:54:03.892-07:00[Gen Con 2015] Self-Indulgence<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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It's been two weeks since Gen Con, and since getting back life's been pretty busy with family stuff (yay), work stuff (yay), and one of my kids going back to school (YAAAAAAAY!!!). I'm rapidly running out of time to crow about this -- arguably, I already have -- but I can't just let it go without comment.<br />
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You're probably already aware, but <i><b>Atomic Robo: The Roleplaying Game</b></i> won a <b>Silver ENnie for Best Family Game</b> at Gen Con a few weeks ago! I dunno, I think this is pretty cool.<br />
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Friends kept telling me <i>Robo</i> was going to win this very ENnie (<a href="http://spiritoftheblank.blogspot.com/2015/06/atomic-robo-ennie-noms.html">it was also nominated for Best Game, as you may recall</a>, but the competition there involved <i>D&D</i>, <i>The Strange</i>, <i>Firefly</i>, and <i>Mutant: Year Zero</i>, so we all agreed even Silver was highly unlikely), but I steadfastly went in with zero expectations, so when the award was announced I was genuinely surprised. Not the least of which because there was serious competition in the Family Game category as well -- I wouldn't have been shocked if any of the other nominees had gotten the Silver instead.<br />
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I don't know how much sense I made during my brief acceptance speech. I'd been thinking of and rejecting jokes for it for a couple weeks, so fortunately I didn't step onto the stage with a bunch of material that just had to be heard. But I thanked the judges, the voters, <b>Brian Clevinger</b> and <b>Scott Wegener</b>, my wife and kids, everyone on stage with me (<b>Morgan Ellis</b>, <b>Brian Engard</b>, and <b>Sean Nittner</b>, though I honestly thought <b>John Adamus</b> was standing behind me too), and <b>Adam Jury</b>, but I bet I forgot to thank <b>Evil Hat</b> as an entity, or <b>Fred Hicks</b> for bringing me on board as a freelancer in the first place, or others who helped and whom I forgot in the moment. So I'm doing that now. Thanks!<br />
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Morgan then told everyone that they oughtta check out <a href="http://atomic-robo.com/"><i>Atomic Robo</i> the comic</a>, especially if they want to introduce their kids to comics, then I chimed in to agree, then we got into a brief bit of "Sorry I never told you about <i>Atomic Robo</i>, Mike!" and "Yeah, this guy, he never even told me about <i>Atomic Robo</i>!" and I bet everyone in the audience was like "WTF are these two clowns talking about?" but fortunately we got off the stage right after. Regardless, I'm glad Morgan spoke up.<br />
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Then afterwards I went and played an 11:00pm game of <i>D&D</i>. Mike Mearls and Jeremy Crawford were there, so I congratulated them on their many (many, many) wins, and Jeremy says, "Hey, this guy over here" -- here he jerked a thumb in Mearls' direction -- "he's got the <i>Atomic Robo</i> RPG on his shelf at work!" And Mearls says, "Hey, whatta you gotta go and tell him a thing like that for, ya rube!" Then he went to poke Jeremy in the eyes with two fingers, but Jeremy put his hand up in front of his face to block him, so Mearls just slapped him on the back of the head. I dunno, some of that may not have happened -- it was a crazy night -- but the bit about Mearls having a copy of <i>ARRPG</i> in is office is true, that I rememeber for sure.<br />
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The next day, when I was back there playing <i>D&D</i> again (I played a lot of D&D at Gen Con...), they both signed my <i>PHB</i>, thusly:<br />
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I don't know how well you can read it there, but Mearls wrote "Thanks for playing the #2 best RPG of 2014," implying that <i>ARRPG</i> was the best, which is nice. Then he told Jeremy to write "Atomic Robo is better than D&D," to which Jeremy reacted with genuine doubt. I told him to just write whatever (or just sign his name, which was, y'know, what I thought was going to happen), so he wrote "Isn't <i>D&D</i> kind of OK?" And to think, he was so well-spoken at the ENnies when he accepted all those awards.<br />
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What else happened at Gen Con? I ran two fun games of <b>Majestic 12</b>, one off-books game Wednesday night when we were all too tired to see it through, and another Friday morning that had plenty of energy to the end. Oh, and I went to a <i>fantastic</i> baseball game, probably the funnest thing I did all weekend, but I've found that most Gen Con attendees are surprisingly disinterested in minor-league baseball, so I'll just leave that there.<br />
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Anyway. No joke, the real honor was that <i>ARRPG</i> was nominated for something at <i>all</i>. The medal's icing on the cake. The most important part to me is that people are playing and liking the game. So if you're one of those people and you voted for <i>Atomic Robo</i>, thanks! If you're one of those people but you <i>didn't</i> vote, then you missed an easy opportunity for me to owe you one. If you don't like <i>Atomic Robo</i> in the first place, you seem to have stumbled upon the wrong blog, but take a look around and maybe you'll see something you like.Mike Olsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11547961835994778883noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4491933635924780786.post-83798942965085959902015-07-25T13:42:00.000-07:002015-07-26T02:21:56.692-07:00[GenCon 2015] State of the Hat!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Just a reminder that this is what GenCon looks like.<br />Those people in the front there in the bright light are about to be taken up. </i><br />
<b>DISCLAIMER:</b> NOT INTENDED AS AN ACCURATE DEPICTION OF GENCON.</td></tr>
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Didja see that this year's <a href="https://www.gencon.com/events/83059"><b>State of the Hat</b> panel is Thursday at 10:00am GenCon-time</a>, and also <i>at</i> GenCon? Well, it is. Will <i>you</i> be there? <i>I'll</i> be there. On the panel, I mean. And if I weren't, I'd be there in the audience -- just like you should be! <i>Full circle!</i><br />
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Anyway, what is this thing? It's a panel where <b><a href="https://twitter.com/SeanNittner">Sean Nittner</a></b> gets a bunch of <b><a href="http://evilhat.com/">Evil Hat</a></b> people together to talk about how great the past year has been and how great the coming year's going to be.<br />
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Guests scheduled to appear include:<br />
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<li>Me!</li>
<li>Sean Nittner, like I said!</li>
<li>Morgan Ellis!</li>
<li>Brian Engard!</li>
<li>Sophie Legace via Skype or something, maybe!</li>
<li>Rob Wieland, I think!</li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T-ZojGkYd0E">Woosh!</a></li>
<li>Pamela Walker should be able to make it!</li>
<li>Bill White!</li>
<li>Pretty sure Ken Hite said he'd be there!</li>
<li>Others! I dunno, it's fluid!</li>
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See you there?<br />
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<b>UPDATE:</b> A couple of readers have pointed out that the picture above is only indicative of what the main concourse at the convention center looks like when everyone's waiting for the dealer hall to open in the morning, and not what it looks like at any other hour of the day. I've amended the picture's caption accordingly, lest anyone get the incorrect impression that the crowds at GenCon are routinely that large. I apologize for any confusion or distress the image and accompanying caption may have caused you or your loved ones, and trust that now that the matter has been fully explained, and thus drained of any humor the image and its caption may have held, that you'll be able to plan for GenCon accordingly.</div>
Mike Olsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11547961835994778883noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4491933635924780786.post-34156486020598997972015-06-29T10:06:00.000-07:002015-06-30T17:30:02.881-07:00[Atomic Robo] ENnie Noms!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Just saw that <i><b>Atomic Robo: The Roleplaying Game</b></i> has been <a href="http://www.ennie-awards.com/blog/2015-ennie-award-nominees-and-spotlight-winners/" target="_blank">nominated for <b>ENnie Awards</b></a> in two categories: <b>Best Family Game</b> and <b>Best Game</b>!<br />
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<i>Both</i> are surprises, honestly, but I'm especially surprised (pleasantly!) at the Best Family Game nom. I don't necessarily think of <i>ARRPG</i> as a "family" game, but then again we are talking about a game for which I've occasionally used pictures of action figures as character portraits.<br />
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Anyway, last year, <b><i><a href="http://www.evilhat.com/home/fae/" target="_blank">Fate Accelerated Edition</a></i></b> won a Gold ENnie for Best Family Game -- and <i><b><a href="http://www.evilhat.com/home/fate-core/" target="_blank">Fate Core</a></b></i> won Gold for Best Game -- but to be honest it's just an honor to be nominated. I know that's a cliche, but it's true. There are a lot of great games out there.<br />
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<i>Speaking of which</i>, congrats to all the other nominees! Special biased congrats to the other Fate nominee<strike>s</strike>, <i><a href="http://www.modiphius.net/collections/mindjammer-press/products/mindjammer-the-roleplaying-game-pdf-print-bundle" target="_blank"><b>Mindjammer</b></a></i><strike> and <i><a href="http://www.enworld.org/forum/content.php?2713-Regarding-the-Mass-Effect-ENnies-Nomination#.VZKnohtVhHw" target="_blank"><b>Mass Effect: Fate</b></a></i></strike>. And Evil Hat's edition of <i><b><a href="https://www.evilhat.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=79&products_id=273&zenid=isjgb1jnh766mki09ffaav4pk6" target="_blank">Monster of the Week</a></b></i> is nominated for Best Rules, and <i><b><a href="https://www.evilhat.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=78&products_id=258&zenid=isjgb1jnh766mki09ffaav4pk6" target="_blank">Designers & Dragons</a></b></i> is up for Best Writing <i>and</i> Product of the Year!<br />
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Look, I could go on <b>all day</b> enthusing about this stuff, but <b>I got kids</b> here who demand my attention. It took me like <b>two hours</b> to write this! See you at GenCon.Mike Olsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11547961835994778883noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4491933635924780786.post-29523172898871038892015-06-25T11:03:00.000-07:002015-06-25T11:03:10.453-07:00[FAE] Nemesis Approaches<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://cloudfront.assets.stitcher.com/feedimagesplain328/54339.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://cloudfront.assets.stitcher.com/feedimagesplain328/54339.jpg" height="200" width="200" /></a></div>
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Before we get into these <b>FAE</b>-related ramblings, I want to let you know that <a href="https://rpggamerdad.wordpress.com/2015/06/22/ep-37-the-fate-of-atomic-robo/" target="_blank">I'm on the <b>RPG Gamer Dad</b> podcast</a> this week, talking <i><b>Atomic Robo</b></i> and <b>Fate </b>in general. This was recorded back in... I dunno, a couple months ago, but I don't think there's anything time-sensitive in it that's since been rendered obsolete in the interim. If you like accents, that story of how I ended up involved with <i>Atomic Robo: The Roleplaying Game</i>, or people expressing enthusiasm, you will <i>not</i> want to miss it!<br />
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Okay! Initiate FAE-related ramblings.<br />
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I've been thinking more about FAE in practical terms over the last 12 hours or so, because I realized last night that my current level of interest in <i><b><a href="http://www.cartoonnetwork.com/video/steven-universe/" target="_blank">Steven Universe</a></b></i> means I'm almost certainly going to run a one-shot based on the show in the relatively near future. I know myself well enough by now to realize and embrace this. This is the inception. FAE seems a good fit.<br />
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As it happens, I'd also already planned to run another <i><b>Star Wars</b></i> one-shot of some kind at <b><a href="http://strategicon.net/" target="_blank">Gateway</a></b> to complete my trifecta of "games about people in the <i>Star Wars</i> universe you don't usually hear much about but who could reasonably fit into established canon, such as it is, one way or another" in this, the year of the <i>Star Wars</i>. I've done political-activist droids with <i><b><a href="http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/133493/OVA-The-Anime-RolePlaying-Game?src=hottest_filtered" target="_blank">OVA</a></b></i> and an Ewok hit squad with <i><b><a href="http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/144558/Mini-Six-Bare-Bones-Edition?term=mini+six" target="_blank">Mini-Six</a></b></i>, both of which were largely disappointing system-wise (very likely because of my inexperience with those systems), so it seems natural that for this last one (Rebellion-era Imperial Academy cadets, maybe?) I should return to something I know works well and would suit the source material: FAE.<br />
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Anyway, something I really like about FAE is a thing about which I've seen people complain, and that's spamming your highest-rated approach. Specifically, I like finding <i>narrative reasons</i> to spam your highest-rated approach, and then doing that thing.<br />
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This is not a broken or weak aspect of FAE. On the contrary, it's a strong point. You <i>feel</i> like you're getting away with something because you're almost always adding +3 to every roll, all for the low, low cost of providing colorful descriptions of how Forceful or Flashy or Clever or whatever you're being. But it's that last bit that really matters -- making the story better. It's a trick. You want to play the big strong hero with +3 Forceful? Go ahead and do that! You <i>should</i> be finding Forceful solutions most of the time. It's what you're best at!<br />
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The thing is, it's implicit in this that taking one approach means you're definitely <i>not</i> taking any of the other five. And that may be a problem for you. Forcefully busting down that locked door means you're not doing it Carefully or Sneakily. Someone probably heard that, right? If you're Cleverly picking that lock instead, no one's going to hear you, but you're probably not getting it down Quickly, either.<br />
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Were I to formalize this systematically, I'd call this approach you're not using -- the one that, because you're not using it, is generating a complication for you -- the <b>nemesis approach</b>. I say the GM gets to pick your nemesis approach, both because it's a lot easier and because it just makes sense. It's the GM's job to fill your character's life with drama, so this would seem to fall under that umbrella. It doesn't need anything else number-wise, I think. It's basically just a source of inspiration for the GM and a clear message to the player that using a given approach to solve a problem may make their lives more difficult.<br />
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Furthermore! I'd say that on a success with style, you get to pick a <b><i>complementary </i>approach</b> that applies to the task at hand. You don't get its bonus -- you just get to include that adjective (or adverb, as the case may be) in your problem-solving narrative. Succeed with style on Cleverly picking that lock, and you can do it Quickly too. So whatever other problems may come down the pike as a result of this task, they can't originate from your lack of Cleverness or Quickness. That's actually a pretty powerful thing, really.<br />
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Some time ago I made this graphic for another post on approaches:<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-lGZH7jYv7zM/UobMimVZDgI/AAAAAAAAA2M/o7fUjrO5kdg/s1600/FAE%2BPaired%2BApproaches.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-lGZH7jYv7zM/UobMimVZDgI/AAAAAAAAA2M/o7fUjrO5kdg/s320/FAE%2BPaired%2BApproaches.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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Ignoring all the numbers there, this <i>could</i> be used as a guide for which approaches make good complementary approaches (those connected by a solid line) and which would make good nemesis approaches (those that aren't connected by any lines). It's not 100% foolproof, and it won't suit every situation, but it's something.</div>
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Now, I hear what you're saying, even though <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R4kGn3GsMFo" target="_blank">I have this playing in the background</a> and also my 2-year-old is pushing a chair around the living room for some reason: "Hey, these nemesis approaches sound a lot like compels. Are these compels?" I'd say no. If you're going to use this, everyone has to be on board with the implication that using one approach means possibly suffering the consequences of not using one of the other five. Likewise, the GM needs to be on board with not making the players pay for every damn choice they make. Bring in a nemesis approach when it's interesting and dramatic, or when one player is leaning really heavily on one approach to the exclusion of the others.</div>
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That last bit might make this sound like this is meant to be punitive, but it's not! You're not punishing them for playing the character they made -- you're just telling them, "Look, your character is rad, absolutely, but you can't go through life being this one-note without creating some problems for yourself now and then." I think that's fair. The GM has to be on board with <i>that</i>, too. Be a rabid fan of the PCs and this shouldn't be a problem.</div>
Mike Olsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11547961835994778883noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4491933635924780786.post-1756116150811524572015-05-15T12:22:00.000-07:002015-05-15T12:22:17.141-07:00[GenCon 2015] Atomic Robo Wants You (And Vice-Versa)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-DOV4yBgUq-k/VVZHTNphJSI/AAAAAAAAEuI/GzJWqe3qUFk/s1600/July-Robo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="357" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-DOV4yBgUq-k/VVZHTNphJSI/AAAAAAAAEuI/GzJWqe3qUFk/s400/July-Robo.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Get your wishlist and your sense of disappointment ready, because <b><a href="http://gencon.com/" target="_blank">GenCon event pre-reg</a> opens this Sunday morning!</b><br />
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There are actually quite a few <i><b>Atomic Robo: The Roleplaying Game</b></i> games happening, which is extremely cool to see. In an effort to reduce my usually overstuffed GenCon schedule, I'm only running one of them. It's called <a href="https://www.gencon.com/events/72177" target="_blank"><b>Operation Crossover</b></a>, and it's on <b>Friday the 31st at 10am</b>. It's a Majestic 12 game, using the soon-to-be released Majestic 12 supplement.<br />
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If you've been searching for it in the schedule, you may not have found it. I'm not listed as the GM, and <i>ARRPG</i> isn't listed as the game system. I'm working with GenCon to get those omissions sorted out.<br />
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(I will probably run a game at <b>Games on Demand</b>, too, but I don't know when yet.)<br />
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As for the other <i>Robo</i> games, <a href="https://www.gencon.com/events/search?fri=true&game_system_exact=Atomic+Robo&sat=true&sun=true&thur=true&wed=true" target="_blank">there are these, on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday</a>, which are all <b>$8</b> for some reason (I seriously do not understand why these are <i>double</i> the price they should be, but whatever), and <a href="https://www.gencon.com/events/72175" target="_blank">this Dr. Dinosaur-centric one on Saturday night</a>. I don't <i>think</i> I'll be attending any of these as a player -- for scheduling reasons, not just because those three are overpriced! -- but I dunno, maybe. I definitely won't be at the Saturday night game, because I'll be at the Indianapolis Indians game instead. Tradition! Ish!<br />
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Speaking of <i><b>Atomic Robo</b></i>, you know about <a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/tesladyne/atomic-robo-reprint-regalia" target="_blank">this new Kickstarter to get all of it reprinted in gorgeous hardcovers</a>, right? And that it funded within 12 hours and still has, like, three weeks to go? And that one of the backer rewards is getting yourself name-checked in the comic? <i>And that it's on a freight-train to the stars?</i> Hop aboard! It's the Science Hobo way!Mike Olsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11547961835994778883noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4491933635924780786.post-63765519838070177232015-05-01T11:31:00.000-07:002015-05-01T14:00:12.759-07:00[Gamex 2015] Fate On Demand<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-bJjDZ-FtpHQ/ULRW6uKF3JI/AAAAAAAAAh8/PRrdYkH2fi8/s1600/Fate%2BCore%2BCover.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-bJjDZ-FtpHQ/ULRW6uKF3JI/AAAAAAAAAh8/PRrdYkH2fi8/s1600/Fate%2BCore%2BCover.png" height="192" width="400" /></a></div>
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<b><a href="http://strategicon.net/" target="_blank">Gamex</a></b> is coming up over Memorial Day Weekend. That's just a few weeks! Event pre-reg opens <i>tomorrow</i>, so if you're planning to attend or just thinking about it, here's a roundup of the scheduled Fate games thus far. Not as Fate-heavy as some Strategicons past, but still plenty of variety. And you may notice there's something a little odd about this list of games. <i>Can you guess what it is?</i><br />
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<b>Voyages of the Starship Loki</b> (Friday 2:00pm, GM: JiB)</div>
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<i>Deep in the farthest reaches of the galaxy, far from the security of the Federation a lone Peacemaker class starship explores the unknown parts of the galaxy. These are the voyages of the starship Loki. Will the crew survive the dangers so far from home space? Voyages is a sci-fi game set in a </i>Star Trek<i>-esque future where humans have spread out to explore the galaxy using the Fate Core Rules.</i><br />
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JiB's all Fated-up for Gamex! He's normally a Hero kinda guy, but for this con he's going all-in for Fate. And all it took was years of positive experiences! Anyway, this sounds fun, right?<br />
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<b>Kingsman</b> (Saturday 9:00am, GM: JiB)<br />
<i>Welcome to Kingsman, tailors to the finest of gentlemen for over 100 years. MI6 has reported a potential threat to the crown. Arthur is certain that the government wankers won’t be able to do anything about it, so it’s up to Kingsman to save the realm yet again. Kingsman is a modern super spy game set in London using the Fate Core rules. Can you save the queen and the realm?</i></div>
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Hey, it's that movie everyone liked but me! Regardless, it's a super-solid premise for an RPG -- exactly the sort of thing that appeals to me. Clandestine private paramilitary problem-solving agency, secret history, fancy umbrellas... it's all there. You should be there, too!<br />
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<b>Neon Rose: A Cyberpunk Mystery</b> (Saturday 2:00pm, GM: Patrick Thompson)</div>
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<i>A mystery set in a post-apocalyptic, futuristic world where corporations rule and technology is abundant.</i><br />
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So... <i>cyberpunk</i>, in other words. Patrick, playing it close to the vest! If you like Fate, cyberpunk, mysteries, things held close to vests, or GMs named Patrick, this is the game for you. And if you like <i>all </i>of those things, this is the game you've been waiting for your whole life.<br />
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<b>Spirit of Hyboria</b> (Saturday 2:00pm, GM: Seth Halbeisen)</div>
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<i>Rippling Muscles, dark shadowy cultists, and way too many snakes. What every great struggle in begins with, except for you! Bring you sword, your skill, your subterfuge, your spells. Vanquish the rising tide of evil. Save innocent sacrifices. Barbarians always welcome.</i><br />
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Didja hear about <a href="http://www.modiphius.com/conan.html" target="_blank">that new Conan RPG</a> coming later this year? Well <i>who needs it!</i> Seth's running this thing in just a few weeks! This is a <i>Fate Accelerated Edition</i> game, which seems perfectly suited to Conan to me, and Seth's been running plenty of Fate at Strategicon -- not to mention an ongoing <i><b>Atomic Robo</b></i> campaign at home -- so check it out. Enough talk! *throws dagger*<br />
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<b>Aeon Wave</b> (Saturday 8:00pm, GM: Patrick Thompson)<br />
<i>Discovery of an ancient Martian radio signal known as the Aeon Wave has led to the development of advanced technology called Aeontech. The shift of technological power toppled governments and gave rise to the megacorps who currently wage war over the priceless secrets held within. Hidden in the shadows of the megacorps freelancers battle to save humanity from the fate portended by the Aeon Wave.</i><br />
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<a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1298145716/aeon-wave-a-cyberpunk-scenario-for-fate-core" target="_blank">Did you back this on Kickstarter?</a> Either way, <a href="http://aeonwave.com/" target="_blank">it exists now</a>, so here's your chance to play it.<br />
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<b>[UPDATE] The Wages of Despair</b> (Saturday 8:00pm, GM: Morgan Ellis)<br />
<i>How you ended up on this worthless rock of a planet in the ass end of space is your own tale to tell. Another day paradise living on borrowed time and maxed out credit. But now OrbitOre Interstellar needs to move 80 megatons of unstable Anti-Matter across dangerous, uncharted space. They have a ship, all they need now is a crew. It’s a suicide mission, but a hell of a payday. What else have you got to live for? (Come play Bulldogs! Sci-Fi That Kicks Ass)</i></div>
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See here! Morgan's running not just a Fate game, but a <i><b>Bulldogs! Fate Core</b></i> game. (<a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1034531507/bulldogs-fate-core-edition-sci-fi-that-still-kicks" target="_blank">Did you back <i>that</i>?</a>)<br />
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<b>Vinternacht</b> (Sunday 9:00am, GM: JiB)</div>
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<i>People don’t travel away from Ebbe in the winter. But, then Ulrich was murdered and now none of you are safe. The Jarl’s thugs are searching through the town for you, but you escaped into the forest and climbed the Trollvegge. Now the weather is turning bad and it’s going to be hard enough just to survive the winter night. Vinternacht is a Viking age game using the Fate Core Rules.</i><br />
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JiB's really got a thing for Norse stuff, am I right? Anyway, this sounds like a fun game about camping.<br />
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<b>Aeon Wave</b> (Sunday 2:00pm, GM: Patrick Thompson)<br />
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Kinda the JiB and Patrick show, huh?<br />
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And then there's <b>Games On Demand</b>, running all day Saturday and Sunday. I don't know exactly what'll be on offer there, but odds are Fate games will be happening at least once or twice a day, so if you miss out on everything else somehow, go take advantage of that. RPG coordinator <b>Jim Sandoval</b> really wants Games On Demand to be a big thriving thing at Strategicon, and you can help get it there simply by playing a game on demand.<br />
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Anyway, did you spot the odd thing about this list of games? It's that I'm not on it! Yeah, for the first time in I don't know how long, I'm not running a Fate game at Strategicon. I <i>am</i> running a game -- <b>Star Wars: Blood Moon</b>, Friday night -- but it uses Mini-Six, not Fate. Change is good. Plus I have all of these other games that I don't often get a chance to explore. Plus it's just good to play a variety of games. Okay, I think I've justified that well enough.<br />
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If more Fate games get added, I'll update this list. <strike>Like I bet Morgan's probably planning to run something. </strike>Stay tuned!</div>
Mike Olsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11547961835994778883noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4491933635924780786.post-71188320462719176192015-04-30T23:41:00.000-07:002015-04-30T23:41:51.335-07:00[Atomic Robo] News You Can Use<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-lcDr5gcH-4E/UdpotQ2h0uI/AAAAAAAAAoQ/9WT7-HjQi7c/s1600/robobeat.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-lcDr5gcH-4E/UdpotQ2h0uI/AAAAAAAAAoQ/9WT7-HjQi7c/s1600/robobeat.png" height="217" width="400" /></a></div>
In before May!<br />
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<a href="http://www.theonion.com/personalities/jim-anchower-1020" target="_blank">I know it's been a long time since I rapped at ya</a>, but I've been busy with a variety of things -- many not even gaming-related! But I did want to post about a couple notable recent... things.<br />
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<a href="http://www.telestrations.com/sites/default/files/awards/2011_nominee_origins.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.telestrations.com/sites/default/files/awards/2011_nominee_origins.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></div>
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First off, <i><b>Atomic Robo: The Roleplaying Game</b></i> has been nominated for an <b>Origins Award</b> for <b>Best Role-Playing Game</b>! It's a real honor. Even more of an honor is the crazy list of <i>other</i> nominees: <i><b>Dungeons & Dragons Player's Handbook</b></i>, <i><b>Firefly</b></i>, <i><b>Icons Assembled</b></i>, and <i><b>The Strange</b></i>. As you can see, those range from pretty huge to as huge as they get. Two of them I own and like, one I've only played, and the last I admittedly really know nothing about other than it's from a highly respected, well-known designer and its predecessor cleaned up at the <b>ENnies</b> last year. (Guess which one is which!) Seeing the team behind <i>ARRPG</i> on that list... it's surreal.<br />
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To say that I do not anticipate that <i>ARRPG</i> will win is something of an understatement, but that's fine! It's amazing to see it up there with those other games. If you'd like to help it along, though, <a href="http://www.originsawards.net/origins-awards-voting-form/" target="_blank">go here and vote for it</a>. Or any of the others! They're all great! And there are other things to vote for, too, so vote for those. I... don't really know what this online voting <i>means</i> -- I coulda sworn there was a judging panel or something, and that the fan favorite award was voted on by Origins attendees -- but hey, it can't hurt.<br />
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Second off, what'd you do for International Tabletop Day? (It was April 11th.) Me, I playtested the <b>Sparks Nevada Thrilling Adventure Game</b> for four Thrilling Adventure Hour die-hards, then saw the final monthly Largo show. Bittersweet, but I'm so glad I got to be there.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://nerdist.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/tah175.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://nerdist.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/tah175.jpg" height="179" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Pow. Sniff.</i></td></tr>
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Meanwhile, elsewhere in LA, the man known as the <b>Dungeon Bastard</b>, aka Bill Cavalier, aka Tom Lommel, and <b><a href="http://lyndsaypeters.com/" target="_blank">Lyndsay Peters</a></b>, who has the audacity to face the world without a single alias, let alone two, ran a demo of <i>Atomic Robo</i> at ITT HQ. I wasn't able to attend, but it went well. Pretty cool, that thing happening at that place for that event. The best part? I wasn't even involved! Always gratifying when you discover that someone else likes your work enough to actually use it.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.dungeonbastard.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/inthedojo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://www.dungeonbastard.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/inthedojo.jpg" height="245" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>That bat'leth is a dry-erase surface -- perfect for any Fate game!</i></td></tr>
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What's more, <a href="http://www.dungeonbastard.com/?p=925" target="_blank">Mr. Bastard has kindly put his materials for the game online</a>. It was a little nonstandard, and certainly deviated from one or two standard <i>ARRPG</i> standards and practices, but <i>it worked</i>, so who cares about that. Maybe you can make use of the Bastard's work to run a <i>Robo</i> convention demo of your own! In fact, go do that.<br />
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And that's it for the news, I think! Oh, I ran a <b>Majestic 12</b> playtest at <b><a href="http://www.kingdom-con.com/" target="_blank">Kingdom-Con</a></b> in San Diego last weekend, and it went well. The supplement's mostly done, barring a minor but important change as a result of the aforesaid playtest and some adventure hooks by <b>Brian Clevinger</b> and myself that we thought would be handy. Plus, new modes! New skills! New mechanical bits to make things extra-Majestic! New <b>Scott Wegener</b> art! <i>Tons </i>of background material from Brian that may never make it into <a href="http://atomic-robo.com/" target="_blank">the comic</a>! I'm looking forward to getting it into your hands. (If you don't have hands, we'll work something out.) Should be out in June.<br />
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<b>Coming Up:</b> <a href="http://strategicon.net/" target="_blank">Gamex</a> is happening soon! I'll do my usual roundup of Fate games so you can schedule accordingly.Mike Olsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11547961835994778883noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4491933635924780786.post-53715425872576773632015-03-10T00:04:00.000-07:002015-03-10T00:04:03.134-07:00The Dork Forest!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Hey, I'm on this week's episode of <b><a href="http://tdf.libsyn.com/tdf-277-mike-olson" target="_blank">The Dork Forest with Jackie Kashian</a></b>!<br />
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Are you familiar with this podcast? Every week Jackie has a guest come on and talk about, in great detail, something they're really into -- a.k.a., "dork out." This week it's me, talking about <b>RPGs</b>, <a href="http://dci.org/" target="_blank"><b>drum corps</b></a>, and <a href="http://pbskids.org/" target="_blank"><b>current kids' TV</b></a>.<br />
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This is kind of a big deal for me. I mean, I've been on a few podcasts here and there, and they've been great and I've had fun on every one of them, but The Dork Forest... I mean, <a href="http://www.danagould.com/" target="_blank">Dana Gould</a>'s been a guest on this podcast. <a href="http://buy.thebitterbuddha.com/" target="_blank">Eddie Pepitone</a>. <a href="http://mariabamford.com/" target="_blank">Maria Bamford</a>. <a href="http://gettingonwithju.libsyn.com/" target="_blank">James Urbaniak</a>. <a href="http://www.pardcast.com/" target="_blank">Jimmy Pardo</a>. <a href="http://marylynnstandup.com/" target="_blank">Mary-Lynn Rajskaub</a>. <i><b><a href="http://paulftompkins.com/" target="_blank">Paul F. Tompkins</a></b></i>. If you're a comedy nerd like me, those are big-deal names. So it's a kinda sorta huge honor to be able to say that I have this in common with them.<br />
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And as long as I'm naming names like a comedy nerd, there's <a href="http://jackiekashian.com/" target="_blank">Jackie Kashian</a> herself, who <i>killed</i> on <b><a href="http://teamcoco.com/video/jackie-kashian-02-17-15" target="_blank">Conan</a> </b>the night after we recorded this episode. That was so weird to watch after having had a conversation with her and her husband Andy in their living room just the day before.<br />
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Anyway. It was a real pleasure to meet Jackie and Andy and record this. Thanks to <a href="https://twitter.com/virtualbri" target="_blank">Brian Tatosky</a> for making it happen.<br />
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RPG-wise, I talk about <i><b><a href="http://www.evilhat.com/home/atomic-robo/" target="_blank">Atomic Robo</a></b></i>, <i><b><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Smallville-Roleplaying-Game-Cam-Banks/dp/1931567891" target="_blank">Smallville</a></b></i>, <i><b><a href="http://wizards.com/" target="_blank">D&D</a></b></i>, and <i><b><a href="http://wiseturtle.com/" target="_blank">OVA</a></b></i>, among others -- this was the Monday after <a href="http://strategicon.net/" target="_blank">OrcCon 2015</a>, so <i>OVA</i> was on my mind -- but, the rush of things, didn't mention nearly as many small-press games as I'd wanted to, so just pretend you heard me plug <a href="http://www.bullypulpitgames.com/games/fiasco/" target="_blank"><i>Fiasco</i></a>, <a href="http://dungeon-world.com/" target="_blank"><i>Dungeon World</i></a>, <i><a href="http://www.dog-eared-designs.com/pta.html" target="_blank">Primetime Adventures</a></i>, and many, <i>many</i> more, including your favorite small-press game in the event that it wasn't included in the brief list earlier in this sentence.Mike Olsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11547961835994778883noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4491933635924780786.post-63714323089142040632015-02-10T09:39:00.001-08:002015-02-10T09:39:28.007-08:00[OrcCon 2015] Fate With a Side of Fate<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Hey, <b>OrcCon</b>'s this weekend! And, as usual, there's a whole whack of Fate games happening. Pre-reg for these events has already closed, but the majority still have open seats for sign-up on the day.<br />
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<b>Friday the 13th</b><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">"The Rule of Magic" (Fate Core, GM: JiB)</span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>Crown Jewel of the Free City of Aescerlon, the Schola di Magii rises glittering above the streets of the mighty city, and from there are all real decisions made in Aescerlon. Will you survive the plots and intrigue of the most powerful magical conclave in the world? Schola di Magii is a high fantasy game where magic is the force that gives both power and position but at what cost.</i></blockquote>
I don't know anything about this other than what's in the description, but it's JiB, so it'll be fun and you should get in on that. Is this an established setting, or is it something he made up? I don't know either! Find out!<br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">"Star Wars: The Dark Times" (Fate Core, GM: Morgan Ellis)</span><br />
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<i>It is a dark time in the Galaxy. The Republic has fallen and the evil Galactic Empire has risen. The Jedi have been outlawed and all knowledge of them has faded into legend. But now rebellion against the Empire has begun and civil war threatens to consume the galaxy.</i></blockquote>
Morgan and I were both bitten by the Star Wars bug this OrcCon, thanks to <i><b>Rebels</b></i>. As I've related many times, our first experience with Fate was Colin's Star Wars hack of <i><b>Spirit of the Century</b></i>, back before I knew either of them, so this is a very natural turn of events. I'm not sure what time I can get there on Friday, but hopefully I can make it to this game. If not, <i>you </i>must play in it for me. <br />
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<b>Saturday the 14th</b><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">"Scum and Villainy" (Fate Accelerated, GM: Seth Halbeisen)</span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>A smoky bar, strange music, and rare exotic drugs. This is where you live, when you're not on a ship. Maybe it's your ship, maybe it's someone else's, but it's a ship, and that means freedom to do what you want, where you want, and blast things if you want to. Until the Empire steps in, they piss on everybody's parade. Maybe this is the big score, the one that gets you out of debt for good.</i></blockquote>
More Star Wars Fate! Seth's a Fate mainstay at Strategicon, so between his expertise with the system and a can't-miss premise -- you are Han Solo! -- this is obviously worth playing. Do so!<br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">"Thieves' World" (Fate Core, GM: JiB)</span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>Thieves’ World is a gritty street level fantasy game set in Sanctuary, the location of the Thieves’ World Series of books. Sanctuary is always dangerous, but something dark is moving in the shadows and narrow alleys, something that has even the most hardened of Sanctuary’s denizens afraid. Many people have left or are making plans to leave and those that remain talk of the end of the world.</i></blockquote>
Hey, JiB's back with another Fate thing! If you're not familiar with it, <b>Thieves' World</b> is a very cool setting created by a Robert Lynn Asprin bunch of hippy <b><i>D&D</i></b>-playing authors in the '70s who essentially wanted a shared home for their communally shared fantasy characters. Chaosium produced <a href="https://rpggeek.com/rpgitem/44004/thieves-world" target="_blank">a multi-system boxed set</a> for it back in 1981, but, tragically, Fate was not included because it didn't exist at the time. Thankfully, JiB is here rectifying that error.<br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">"Hana Academy" (2:00 pm, Fate Core, GM: Jesse Butler)</span><br />
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<i>Welcome to Hana Academy! This is a game about relationships and finding yourself in a magical high school setting. You will be playing one of the Gifted, someone apart from the bulk of the student body who will be able to engage with the supernatural elements of the setting. Each of the gifted can be easily identified by their unique symbol, or garland. Midterms approach, will you be ready?</i></blockquote>
I don't know this setting or where it might be from (other than the Elemental Plane of Anime), and I'm not sure I know this particular Jesse, but y'know, that sounds like a thing! Go check it out.<br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">"Funkadelic Dance Off" (2:00 pm, Fate Accelerated, GM: Seth Halbeisen)</span><br />
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<i>It's a meme catastrophe! A wish -mash of 70's bling, 80's indigence, and 90's criminal grit. Everything goes down at the Roxy, where anything that's hip happens, including Sex, Drugs, and Extreme Violence! Pick a meme, and save the day, all while swinging a nunchuck and sipping a Mojito... Lots of bad guys, Ninjas, and you, being awesome. Period.</i></blockquote>
I have no idea what's going on here, but it really sounds like Seth does. Memes! '80s-style poverty, which I'm sure isn't what he intended to say there! Ninjas! "Pick a Meme" sounds like he might be repurposing (or maybe just renaming) approaches in an interesting way. On an unrelated note, it's the second game from him to mention drugs in the description. Is he trying to tell us something? Something about drugs?<br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">"Star Wars: The Dark Times" (8:00 pm, Fate Core, GM: Morgan Ellis)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">"The Kaiju vs. Mecha Power Hour" (8:00 pm, <i>Mecha vs. Kaiju</i>, GM: Ira Traborn)</span><br />
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<i>For you, it's just another day of killing evil kaiju (or other people, whatever). But then something different happened. A pair of twin fairy priestesses calling themselves the Cosmos summon you and other kaiju fighters to their dimension to battle a great evil that they need help with fighting. Can you and your allies face this great evil to save a world not you own, but similar?</i></blockquote>
...so if you didn't get in on the <a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1171175182/mecha-vs-kaiju-a-sci-fi-anime-rpg-for-fate-core" target="_blank"><i><b>Mecha vs. Kaiju</b></i> Kickstarter</a> that wrapped up about a year ago and want to see what it's about, this is the game for you. I don't know this Ira Traborn guy, but he's running a few cool-sounding games (like this one) at OrcCon this year, so good on him.<br />
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<b>Sunday the 15th</b><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">"Carnivale du Malheur" (9:00 am, Fate Core, GM: JiB)</span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>Carnivale is a gothic horror fantasy game set in Ravenloft, the Domain of Dread. As members of the Carnivale you travel the highways and byways of the lands of Barovia. People call you gypsies & worse but you call yourselves Vistani and you have seen things that the townsfolk fear to utter even in the safety of their homes. But, will even the mighty Vistani survive the storm brewing in the mists?</i></blockquote>
Hey JiB! Why do you insist on doing this to yourself? Just run the same game three or four times! This is too much work. He must be doing it for a good reason, though, and that reason is probably "Fate Ravenloft." Play in it! You won't have a <i>malheur</i>. That's the Mike Olson Guarantee*!<br />
<i><span style="font-size: xx-small;">*Not to be construed as a guarantee.</span></i><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">"Operation Crossover" (9:00 am, <i>Atomic Robo: The Roleplaying Game</i>, GM: Me!)</span><br />
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<i>Since 1947, the brave soldier-scientists of Majestic 12 -- that's you -- have toiled in the shadows, waging a secret war against threats the average civilian doesn't want to believe exist. Whether securing rogue Tesla-tech, apprehending dangerous terrorists, or exploring other dimensions, you keep America safe from things that go "ZKZZRAK!" in the night. Today's mission: saving the world. Again.</i></blockquote>
Yes! One of these games is actually run by me! (For the record, I'm running two other games in two other systems this weekend.) This is a playtest of sorts of the Majestic 12 supplement Brian Clevinger and I have been working on. Would you like to see the PCs for it? Well, <a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/8966773/Majestic%2012%20PCs.pdf" target="_blank">here they are anyway.</a><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">"Hana Academy" (2:00 pm, Fate Core, GM: Jesse Butler)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">"The Kaiju vs. Mecha Power Hour" (8:00 pm, <i>Mecha vs. Kaiju</i>, GM: Ira Traborn)</span><br />
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And that's it! Twelve Fate games. Not bad. Come out and play-yee-yay.Mike Olsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11547961835994778883noreply@blogger.com0