I'm still heavily engaged in my writing goal of 60,000 words. I'm at about 18,000 which while far from the mark is more than I've ever written before so I'm still pretty excited about it. The story is a cyberpunk theme based on many of the tropes I like most about the Interface Zero True20 setting I picked up a few weeks ago. My theme is really to discover what new levels of humanity may be uncovered as we shed more and more of our biology.
I have the next leg of Adventures of Doom layed out in bubble flow form with a list of encounters and necessary NPC's altho I don't have all details worked out yet. But I could probably run it as is. I'm really working on developing NPC's and motivations so that I sustain the story without so much planning.
The other big time waster is the newly released Wrath of the Lich King expansion for World of Warcraft. Amy started playing again on a PvE server and that suckered me in to racing a character up to 55th level so I could start a Death Knight character. The DK's are just introduced with this expansion and they rock. I've had tons of fun with my new Blood Elf Death Knight that I named... Mildread. I hope my great aunt doesn't mind.
All things considered, life is good.
Game On!
Friday, November 28, 2008
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Sound Shaping: a new Power of Doom
SOUND SHAPING
Fatiguing, Maintenance
The Adept has supernatural control of sounds. Sound Shaping can not function in areas of supernatural silence or in a vacuum, but it does function underwater. Targets with no ability to hear are unaffected by Sound Shaping. Wearing protective ear plugs (or similar) gains +2 on saves versus Sound Shaping.
Eavesdropping: The adept can listen in on conversations (even whispered) conversations at a distance of 120’. The target must be within line of sight. The adept is effectively amplifying the sound to her own location. The conversation can be “turned up” for all to hear or kept soft to whisper level. Eavesdropping requires a Difficult Check of 10 plus situational modifiers. This use of Sound Shaping is not Fatiguing.
Mimic Sound: The adept can recreate any tonal sounds she has experienced in person. This can include the voice patterns of a speaker she has listened to for at least 10 minutes granting a +2 on Disguise checks when attempting to be a specific person. The adept can instantly pick up accents and dialects of languages she knows (+1 on social interaction skills). Animal sounds that have been heard once can be recreated. Virtually any sound can be mimicked—gun shots, door slams, windows breaking, train whistles, etc. Sounds recreated this way can not be so loud as to be damaging. This power functions even when the adept is gagged otherwise unable to speak. The adept can “source” the sounds from any spot within 120’ that is in view. This is effectively an aural illusion which may grant a target a Will save to detect the deception. Mimicking requires a Difficulty Check of 15, however, the result becomes the save DC for the target. Mimicry lasts 1 minuter per adept level. The adept can make another fatigue check to extend the duration. In general, using this power should only grant +/- 2 to any given effect.
Daze: By emitting sharp sounds the adept can daze a target for one round per adept level if the target fails a Fortitude save. The adept must make a DC of 15 Daze a target.
Nauseate: By emitting sub-sonic tones the adept can induce the Sickened condition on the target for 1 round per adept level. The difficulty check for Nauseate is 20.
Silence: The adept can center a 5’ sphere of silence on a person or object. If the subject is unwilling they can resist the effect by making a Will save. The base Difficulty for this effect is 25. The target must be within 60’ of the adept. The adept can increase the area of effect by an additional 5’ radius by adding +5 to the check to a maximum of 15’ radius. Targets caught inside the effect, but not targeted by it receive a Reflex save to get out of the area of the sphere.
Time: Sound Shaping is a Standard Action, only Eavesdropping and Mimic Sound require maintenance.
Fatiguing, Maintenance
The Adept has supernatural control of sounds. Sound Shaping can not function in areas of supernatural silence or in a vacuum, but it does function underwater. Targets with no ability to hear are unaffected by Sound Shaping. Wearing protective ear plugs (or similar) gains +2 on saves versus Sound Shaping.
Eavesdropping: The adept can listen in on conversations (even whispered) conversations at a distance of 120’. The target must be within line of sight. The adept is effectively amplifying the sound to her own location. The conversation can be “turned up” for all to hear or kept soft to whisper level. Eavesdropping requires a Difficult Check of 10 plus situational modifiers. This use of Sound Shaping is not Fatiguing.
Mimic Sound: The adept can recreate any tonal sounds she has experienced in person. This can include the voice patterns of a speaker she has listened to for at least 10 minutes granting a +2 on Disguise checks when attempting to be a specific person. The adept can instantly pick up accents and dialects of languages she knows (+1 on social interaction skills). Animal sounds that have been heard once can be recreated. Virtually any sound can be mimicked—gun shots, door slams, windows breaking, train whistles, etc. Sounds recreated this way can not be so loud as to be damaging. This power functions even when the adept is gagged otherwise unable to speak. The adept can “source” the sounds from any spot within 120’ that is in view. This is effectively an aural illusion which may grant a target a Will save to detect the deception. Mimicking requires a Difficulty Check of 15, however, the result becomes the save DC for the target. Mimicry lasts 1 minuter per adept level. The adept can make another fatigue check to extend the duration. In general, using this power should only grant +/- 2 to any given effect.
Daze: By emitting sharp sounds the adept can daze a target for one round per adept level if the target fails a Fortitude save. The adept must make a DC of 15 Daze a target.
Nauseate: By emitting sub-sonic tones the adept can induce the Sickened condition on the target for 1 round per adept level. The difficulty check for Nauseate is 20.
Silence: The adept can center a 5’ sphere of silence on a person or object. If the subject is unwilling they can resist the effect by making a Will save. The base Difficulty for this effect is 25. The target must be within 60’ of the adept. The adept can increase the area of effect by an additional 5’ radius by adding +5 to the check to a maximum of 15’ radius. Targets caught inside the effect, but not targeted by it receive a Reflex save to get out of the area of the sphere.
Time: Sound Shaping is a Standard Action, only Eavesdropping and Mimic Sound require maintenance.
Monday, November 17, 2008
Raise Sand Golem: a new Power of Doom
RAISE SAND GOLEM
Fatiguing
You can raise servants from the sand to protect you or guard a location.
Mindless: Creation of sand golems requires 100 pounds of sand, grit, gravel or other similar material per golem. Once destroyed, the material can not be re-used. The size and shape of the golems is entirely up to the caster, but can not be larger than human sized. The caster has no awareness of what the golems experience. Inert golems made of fine sand can be sculpted to appear in whatever Medium sized form the caster desires. Regardless of the type you create, you can not make more golems than twice your adept level with a single use of Raise Sand Golem. The golems you create remain under your control indefinitely. No matter how many times you use this power, however, you can control only four times your adept level in levels of mindless golems. If you exceed this, all newly created creatures fall under your control, and any excess from previous castings become uncontrolled. You choose which creatures are released from your control. Golems must be within your line of sight to control. New commands can be issued while the golems are within 60’ of the creator. Damaged golems do not heal over time, but another use of the Raise Sand Golem power will repair all damage.
Intelligent: You craft a single intelligent guardian. Unlike the mindless golem, this creature is not under your control; although, you can use other means, including other powers, to command it. Creating an intelligent golem has a Difficulty of 18. Default intelligence of the creation is INT -2. Each one point of increased intelligence add +2 to the Difficulty. Intelligence can not exceed that of the caster. Only one such creation can be active at any time. The creator must destroy the current golem to create another.
Creation of an intelligent Sand Golem requires 300 lbs of fine sand plus other expensive materials totalling Wealth DC of 28 + 1 per extra point of Intelligence. If you fail this power check to animate a golem, the materials are rendered useless. Once completed, the final result is an intelligent construct of the same level as the creator’s adept level. The golem is functionally a spirit of the earth given free-will by the caster. The foundation of its knowledge is the same as the creator’s. The creator can only give the golem skills the caster possesses. An intelligent Sand Golem can learn 2 Skills + Int bonus (minimum 1). A first level golem gains the Weapon Training feat and one other Feat—gaining one additional Feat every 3 levels. A sand golem may use any equipment normally available to humanoids including arms and armor. It will share the same languages as the caster and speaking to it is required (there is no mental contact). It begins “life” as Friendly to the caster.
Time: One minute for Mindless Sand Golems. One day for Intelligent Sand Golems.
SAND GOLEM (Mindless)
Type: 1st-level construct
Size: Medium
Speed: 30 ft.
Abilities: Str +1, Dex +1, Con —, Int —, Wis +0, Cha –5
Feats: Improved Initiative
Traits: Damage Reduction 2/Bludgeoning, Night Vision, Darkvision (60 ft.),
Immunities
Combat: Attack +1 (Dex), Damage +1 (unarmed) or by weapon,
Defense +1 (Dex), Initiative +5
Saving Throws: Toughness +1, Fortitude —, Reflex +1, Will —
Damage Reduction +2/Bludgeoning: Sand Golems lack flesh or internal organs, making them resistant to cutting and piercing weapons.
Immunities: Sand Golems are immune to poison, sleep, paralysis, disease, and mind-influencing effects (including mind influencing powers). They are not subject to critical hits, non-lethal damage, ability damage, ability drain, or any effect requiring a Fortitude save, unless it works on inanimate objects.
A Sand Golem maintains what ever shape it was given at creation whenever it is “at rest”. This can be virtually any form from an indistinct pile of sand to an ornate sandstone statue. Once activated the Sand Golem forms in to a swirling humanoid shape attacking with hardened punches formed from its own swirling mass. Once the action it was given is completed, it will return to its original state. Sand Golems can not swim, but can walk along the bottoms of still lakes or pools. Rushing water (and high tides) will disperse a sand golem destroying it in 3 rounds. Mindless golems can only accept simple direct commands.
SAND GOLEM (Intelligent)
Type: Variable level construct (as Expert)
Size: Medium
Speed: 30 ft.
Abilities: Str +1, Dex +2, Con —, Int —, Wis +0, Cha +0
Feats: Improved Initiative
Traits: Damage Reduction 4/Bludgeoning, Night Vision, Darkvision (60 ft.),
Immunities
Combat: Attack +1 (Dex), Damage +1 (unarmed) or by weapon,
Defense +2 (Dex), Initiative +6
Saving Throws: Toughness +1, Fortitude —, Reflex +4, Will —
Damage Reduction +4/Bludgeoning: Sand Golems lack flesh or internal organs, making them resistant to cutting and piercing weapons.
Immunities: Sand Golems are immune to poison, sleep, paralysis, disease, and mind-influencing effects (including mind influencing powers). They are not subject to critical hits, non-lethal damage, ability damage, ability drain, or any effect requiring a Fortitude save, unless it works on inanimate objects.
A Sand Golem maintains what ever shape it was given at creation whenever it is “at rest”. This can be virtually any form from an indistinct pile of sand to an ornate sandstone statue. Once activated the Sand Golem forms in to a swirling humanoid shape attacking with hardened punches formed from its own swirling mass. Sand Golems can not swim, but can walk along the bottoms of still lakes or pools. Rushing water (and high tides) will disperse a sand golem destroying it in 3 rounds.
Intelligent sand golems may use arms and armor for which they have training. Sand Golems can not use fire arms or other gear that is sensitive to grit.
Fatiguing
You can raise servants from the sand to protect you or guard a location.
Mindless: Creation of sand golems requires 100 pounds of sand, grit, gravel or other similar material per golem. Once destroyed, the material can not be re-used. The size and shape of the golems is entirely up to the caster, but can not be larger than human sized. The caster has no awareness of what the golems experience. Inert golems made of fine sand can be sculpted to appear in whatever Medium sized form the caster desires. Regardless of the type you create, you can not make more golems than twice your adept level with a single use of Raise Sand Golem. The golems you create remain under your control indefinitely. No matter how many times you use this power, however, you can control only four times your adept level in levels of mindless golems. If you exceed this, all newly created creatures fall under your control, and any excess from previous castings become uncontrolled. You choose which creatures are released from your control. Golems must be within your line of sight to control. New commands can be issued while the golems are within 60’ of the creator. Damaged golems do not heal over time, but another use of the Raise Sand Golem power will repair all damage.
Intelligent: You craft a single intelligent guardian. Unlike the mindless golem, this creature is not under your control; although, you can use other means, including other powers, to command it. Creating an intelligent golem has a Difficulty of 18. Default intelligence of the creation is INT -2. Each one point of increased intelligence add +2 to the Difficulty. Intelligence can not exceed that of the caster. Only one such creation can be active at any time. The creator must destroy the current golem to create another.
Creation of an intelligent Sand Golem requires 300 lbs of fine sand plus other expensive materials totalling Wealth DC of 28 + 1 per extra point of Intelligence. If you fail this power check to animate a golem, the materials are rendered useless. Once completed, the final result is an intelligent construct of the same level as the creator’s adept level. The golem is functionally a spirit of the earth given free-will by the caster. The foundation of its knowledge is the same as the creator’s. The creator can only give the golem skills the caster possesses. An intelligent Sand Golem can learn 2 Skills + Int bonus (minimum 1). A first level golem gains the Weapon Training feat and one other Feat—gaining one additional Feat every 3 levels. A sand golem may use any equipment normally available to humanoids including arms and armor. It will share the same languages as the caster and speaking to it is required (there is no mental contact). It begins “life” as Friendly to the caster.
Time: One minute for Mindless Sand Golems. One day for Intelligent Sand Golems.
SAND GOLEM (Mindless)
Type: 1st-level construct
Size: Medium
Speed: 30 ft.
Abilities: Str +1, Dex +1, Con —, Int —, Wis +0, Cha –5
Feats: Improved Initiative
Traits: Damage Reduction 2/Bludgeoning, Night Vision, Darkvision (60 ft.),
Immunities
Combat: Attack +1 (Dex), Damage +1 (unarmed) or by weapon,
Defense +1 (Dex), Initiative +5
Saving Throws: Toughness +1, Fortitude —, Reflex +1, Will —
Damage Reduction +2/Bludgeoning: Sand Golems lack flesh or internal organs, making them resistant to cutting and piercing weapons.
Immunities: Sand Golems are immune to poison, sleep, paralysis, disease, and mind-influencing effects (including mind influencing powers). They are not subject to critical hits, non-lethal damage, ability damage, ability drain, or any effect requiring a Fortitude save, unless it works on inanimate objects.
A Sand Golem maintains what ever shape it was given at creation whenever it is “at rest”. This can be virtually any form from an indistinct pile of sand to an ornate sandstone statue. Once activated the Sand Golem forms in to a swirling humanoid shape attacking with hardened punches formed from its own swirling mass. Once the action it was given is completed, it will return to its original state. Sand Golems can not swim, but can walk along the bottoms of still lakes or pools. Rushing water (and high tides) will disperse a sand golem destroying it in 3 rounds. Mindless golems can only accept simple direct commands.
SAND GOLEM (Intelligent)
Type: Variable level construct (as Expert)
Size: Medium
Speed: 30 ft.
Abilities: Str +1, Dex +2, Con —, Int —, Wis +0, Cha +0
Feats: Improved Initiative
Traits: Damage Reduction 4/Bludgeoning, Night Vision, Darkvision (60 ft.),
Immunities
Combat: Attack +1 (Dex), Damage +1 (unarmed) or by weapon,
Defense +2 (Dex), Initiative +6
Saving Throws: Toughness +1, Fortitude —, Reflex +4, Will —
Damage Reduction +4/Bludgeoning: Sand Golems lack flesh or internal organs, making them resistant to cutting and piercing weapons.
Immunities: Sand Golems are immune to poison, sleep, paralysis, disease, and mind-influencing effects (including mind influencing powers). They are not subject to critical hits, non-lethal damage, ability damage, ability drain, or any effect requiring a Fortitude save, unless it works on inanimate objects.
A Sand Golem maintains what ever shape it was given at creation whenever it is “at rest”. This can be virtually any form from an indistinct pile of sand to an ornate sandstone statue. Once activated the Sand Golem forms in to a swirling humanoid shape attacking with hardened punches formed from its own swirling mass. Sand Golems can not swim, but can walk along the bottoms of still lakes or pools. Rushing water (and high tides) will disperse a sand golem destroying it in 3 rounds.
Intelligent sand golems may use arms and armor for which they have training. Sand Golems can not use fire arms or other gear that is sensitive to grit.
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Example text...
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Evelyn Drake, a level 1 Expert and level 1 Adept, decides she might need some help entering the Cave of Mystery. On the bank of the nearby stream is plenty of sand. Evy spends two minutes shaping four sand golems in to plain humanoid shapes. She doesn't need them to be particularly sneaky as she is alone on this expedition. If she desired should could have used Craft checks to form the golems in to artistic shapes--for example, stylized dogs, gargoyles, or as 3 chairs around a small table. Once complete she mentally commands the squad to follow her and protect her from any creatures in the cave.
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Being an explorer can sometimes be a lonely road. Evelyn desides to craft an intelligent Sand Golem to be her friend an ally to guard her arcane library. Evy decides that the construct needs to at least have a +1 Intelligence. This raises the cost of the golem to Wealth 31 and the difficulty to DC to 24. Evy is going to need to roll a 20 this check, but she has nothing but time and decides to "take 20" by extending the construction time to 20 days and adding +20 to the Fatigue check. This stretches the young adept to the absolute limit of her powers. The new Sand Golem is created with Str +1 Dex +2 Con- Int +1 Wis +0 Cha +0. It will only be a level 1 Construct. It will automatically possess the Weapons Training Feat and Evy selects the Light Armor Feat. With the extra Int, the golem gets 3 skills each at +4 ranks, but only from skills that Miss Drake knows. She picks Knowledge History at +5, Disable Device at + 5 and Notice at +4. Evy would like to have some one to discuss history with plus the golem could perform research while she is away. Evy believes that "Sandy" could also be useful at disarming traps, since golems are immune to many effects and finally Notice since all guards need to be able to spot things.
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Sandy is created as a free-willed construct begining as Friendly to Evelyn. The two begin a long chat about history. Miss Drake is a gifted student and conversationalist. After a few hours, Sandy and Evy are great friends. Sandy is excited to have a whole library of history to explore. Sandy is not a human intelligence. She has no need for food or shelter. She is aware of her own consciousness and will act to maintain it, but it as an imprint of Evy's skills and spirit, Sandy will be satisfied with life in the library as the ultimate chance to study forever. How will the relationship hold up over time? Only time will tell what may befall such odd friends in Adventures of Doom.
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Adventures of Doom is a True20 pulp setting placed in 1935 near-history. See other posts with AoD tag for more info.
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Adventures of Doom is a True20 pulp setting placed in 1935 near-history. See other posts with AoD tag for more info.
Thursday, November 13, 2008
The Pharaoh’s Heart: An Adventure of Doom
Real History:
Dr. James Henry Breasted was the first American Egyptologist and a professor of the University of Chicago. After 70 years of ground breaking research, Dr. Breasted died on Dec 2nd, 1935. Breasted was in the forefront of the generation of archeologist-historians who broadened the idea of Western Civilization to include the entire Near East in Europe's cultural roots. Breasted coined the term Fertile Crescent to describe the archaeologically important area from Palestine to southern Iraq (inclusive).
AoD History:
James tragically dies in January 1935 after a long illness after returning from a 2 year expedition in Egypt. In his fevered distress the old archaeologist manages to write a six page rambling letter to his friends, Guy and Devon Lareux. The letter is strange and often illegible. But it appears the old man is worried some secret will be lost on his death. He needs the Lareux brothers to recover the secret, but nearly mad Breasted doesn’t mention where or even what the secret is. The letter is postmarked from New York.
Guy and Devon decide to send their agents, Evelyn Drake and Joshua Spectre to find the doctor, unravel the mystery about the secret, and report back to Chicago. Evy manages to secure a favor from the pilots of Chicago Aeronautic Club (CAC) to lend her and Spectre a plane to travel to Big Apple where the duo spend a couple of weeks chasing down various leads to the lost historian. Eventually, Drake finds Mrs. Breasted staying at one of finer Manhattan hotels. They arrange a polite tea where Mrs. Breasted and Miss Drake hit off well. The good doctor is dying and is being kept at a reclusive hospice just outside the city.
After several hours of patient interviewing and visitation, Evy learns that James appears to be concerned about a lost artefact called “The Pharaoh’s Heart” which can only be found by his old friend—a janitor at the University of Chicago where the object has been hidden for some 20 years. James is guilt stricken and seems to be confessing something about a man named Kinkaid who he credits as finding the Heart.
Spectre and Drake return to Chicago to discover that the janitor James spoke of is dead and has been for a number of years. After searching the professor’s office they find a key. After talking with some of the college staff they come to suspect that the janitor had spent a lot of time in the endless steam tunnels under the college. It is quite possible something could be hidden down there.
A search leads them to an old locked door. The key from James’ office fits and the two enter a series of storage rooms obviously unused for at least 20 years. The rooms are full of relatively normal Egyptian artifacts. Evy can tell that while each is authentic, they are not particularly noteworthy. That is, until a pair of matched stone jackal statues come to life and attack Joshua. The fast and fleet footed young ninja quickly kicks the two in rubble. Room after room uncovers more strange and mysterious encounters until they reach the last door.
The last room is laid out in a perfect representation of an Egyptian tomb complete with sarcophagus, statues, scrolls, and chests. One corner of the room is laid out with an odd arrangement of candles and a single statue of Osiris. Miss Drake knows enough about archaeology to know these objects are not like the others and are out of place. While the room contains a number of gold objects, again nothing is particularly unusual aside from being in the basement of a Chicago campus. But the chest at the foot of the coffin reveals the secret. It contains the Pharaoh’s Heart still encrusted with the dirt it was found in. But the real secret isn’t the Heart itself but the accompanying documentation. The Pharaoh’s Heart is dated at 4000 years old and was found in The Temple of Isis located in… Arizona. A staggering find to the intellectual world.
While the two ponder what the full impact of this will be, the tomb opens and a living guardian of sand erupts to attack. The shifting nature of the creature makes edged and ballistic weapons useless, but Josh has come to possess a mysterious ornate knife that seems to be able to hurt the creature. After a tense combat that severely wounds Spectre, Miss Drake lands the final blow disabling the creature. The open tomb reveals the body of Gerald Kinkaid, the lost adversarial colleague of Dr. Breasted who found the Temple of Isis in 1918 and disappeared soon after.
The discovery heralds the awakening of Kinkaid’s “ghost” who tells the pair of his discovery and subsequent betrayal under the college. Using the objects stored from his discoveries he followed an ancient ritual to make him immortal. But the result trapped his mind a small statue of Osiris which is now bound too. Kinkaid is an excitable Scottish soul who agrees to journey with the pair to finally uncover the temple in the remote deserts of the American Southwest. As a twist, no one can perceive the spirit save Evy and Josh.
When the two adventurers return to tell the tale, Guy and Devon are excited by the prospect of more lost treasure. Lareux Procurement could certainly use the cash!
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These notes are taken from a game session of Adventured of Doom; a True20 Pulp RPG setting. See other posts with the AoD tag for more details.
Dr. James Henry Breasted was the first American Egyptologist and a professor of the University of Chicago. After 70 years of ground breaking research, Dr. Breasted died on Dec 2nd, 1935. Breasted was in the forefront of the generation of archeologist-historians who broadened the idea of Western Civilization to include the entire Near East in Europe's cultural roots. Breasted coined the term Fertile Crescent to describe the archaeologically important area from Palestine to southern Iraq (inclusive).
AoD History:
James tragically dies in January 1935 after a long illness after returning from a 2 year expedition in Egypt. In his fevered distress the old archaeologist manages to write a six page rambling letter to his friends, Guy and Devon Lareux. The letter is strange and often illegible. But it appears the old man is worried some secret will be lost on his death. He needs the Lareux brothers to recover the secret, but nearly mad Breasted doesn’t mention where or even what the secret is. The letter is postmarked from New York.
Guy and Devon decide to send their agents, Evelyn Drake and Joshua Spectre to find the doctor, unravel the mystery about the secret, and report back to Chicago. Evy manages to secure a favor from the pilots of Chicago Aeronautic Club (CAC) to lend her and Spectre a plane to travel to Big Apple where the duo spend a couple of weeks chasing down various leads to the lost historian. Eventually, Drake finds Mrs. Breasted staying at one of finer Manhattan hotels. They arrange a polite tea where Mrs. Breasted and Miss Drake hit off well. The good doctor is dying and is being kept at a reclusive hospice just outside the city.
After several hours of patient interviewing and visitation, Evy learns that James appears to be concerned about a lost artefact called “The Pharaoh’s Heart” which can only be found by his old friend—a janitor at the University of Chicago where the object has been hidden for some 20 years. James is guilt stricken and seems to be confessing something about a man named Kinkaid who he credits as finding the Heart.
Spectre and Drake return to Chicago to discover that the janitor James spoke of is dead and has been for a number of years. After searching the professor’s office they find a key. After talking with some of the college staff they come to suspect that the janitor had spent a lot of time in the endless steam tunnels under the college. It is quite possible something could be hidden down there.
A search leads them to an old locked door. The key from James’ office fits and the two enter a series of storage rooms obviously unused for at least 20 years. The rooms are full of relatively normal Egyptian artifacts. Evy can tell that while each is authentic, they are not particularly noteworthy. That is, until a pair of matched stone jackal statues come to life and attack Joshua. The fast and fleet footed young ninja quickly kicks the two in rubble. Room after room uncovers more strange and mysterious encounters until they reach the last door.
The last room is laid out in a perfect representation of an Egyptian tomb complete with sarcophagus, statues, scrolls, and chests. One corner of the room is laid out with an odd arrangement of candles and a single statue of Osiris. Miss Drake knows enough about archaeology to know these objects are not like the others and are out of place. While the room contains a number of gold objects, again nothing is particularly unusual aside from being in the basement of a Chicago campus. But the chest at the foot of the coffin reveals the secret. It contains the Pharaoh’s Heart still encrusted with the dirt it was found in. But the real secret isn’t the Heart itself but the accompanying documentation. The Pharaoh’s Heart is dated at 4000 years old and was found in The Temple of Isis located in… Arizona. A staggering find to the intellectual world.
While the two ponder what the full impact of this will be, the tomb opens and a living guardian of sand erupts to attack. The shifting nature of the creature makes edged and ballistic weapons useless, but Josh has come to possess a mysterious ornate knife that seems to be able to hurt the creature. After a tense combat that severely wounds Spectre, Miss Drake lands the final blow disabling the creature. The open tomb reveals the body of Gerald Kinkaid, the lost adversarial colleague of Dr. Breasted who found the Temple of Isis in 1918 and disappeared soon after.
The discovery heralds the awakening of Kinkaid’s “ghost” who tells the pair of his discovery and subsequent betrayal under the college. Using the objects stored from his discoveries he followed an ancient ritual to make him immortal. But the result trapped his mind a small statue of Osiris which is now bound too. Kinkaid is an excitable Scottish soul who agrees to journey with the pair to finally uncover the temple in the remote deserts of the American Southwest. As a twist, no one can perceive the spirit save Evy and Josh.
When the two adventurers return to tell the tale, Guy and Devon are excited by the prospect of more lost treasure. Lareux Procurement could certainly use the cash!
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These notes are taken from a game session of Adventured of Doom; a True20 Pulp RPG setting. See other posts with the AoD tag for more details.
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
The 3 faces of RPG
I was thinking about this the other day wanted to capture the thoughts. For about any Role Playing Game there is are 3 fundamental styles that give and take in a 3-way triangle in much the same was at Cost <-> Quality <-> Time. For an RPG these elements are Roleplay <-> Simulation <-> Game. These 3 elements exist to some degree in each RPG, but can be seen more clearly in extreme examples. But first a quick definition of what I mean.
Roleplay: This is the aspect of the game that is not a game. The desire of a participant to act out a role. No mechanics are necessary for roleplay--you just make it up based on your idea of the character and the world.
Simulation: This the degree that the RPG attempts to model reality. While all RPG's are fictional, some try very hard to model real-world physics and other real features. RPG's with a strong emphasis on simulation are usually modern military type games, but even pure fantasy games like Dungeons & Dragons attempt to simulate physical combat with complex systems design to estimate chances of success and resulting injuries.
Game: This is like Simulation, but not so much. This is the aspect of an RPG that is not based on reality and makes the RPG play more like a game and less a simulation or a roleplay action. An extreme example is chess. In chess each player is controlling a king's army, but each piece must follow rigid rules about how it moves on a grid. This does not simulate reality in any way and there is no emphasis on playing in character (roleplay).
All 3 elements combine to create a variety of RPG experiences from very rules light (tending to be strong roleplaying) to very rules heavy (tending to be miniature based combat simulations). Whether any particular game is enjoyable will depend entirely on the player's preferences.
I liked the idea of the 3 elements because I think it might be useful in describing games to other potential players. Personally, I like a game with more roleplay and game and less simulation. So if I were reading a review of a game that was rated 10 for Simulation, I might infer that game was designed for a different kind of player.
Nothing all that profound... Just random musing.
Game On!
Roleplay: This is the aspect of the game that is not a game. The desire of a participant to act out a role. No mechanics are necessary for roleplay--you just make it up based on your idea of the character and the world.
Simulation: This the degree that the RPG attempts to model reality. While all RPG's are fictional, some try very hard to model real-world physics and other real features. RPG's with a strong emphasis on simulation are usually modern military type games, but even pure fantasy games like Dungeons & Dragons attempt to simulate physical combat with complex systems design to estimate chances of success and resulting injuries.
Game: This is like Simulation, but not so much. This is the aspect of an RPG that is not based on reality and makes the RPG play more like a game and less a simulation or a roleplay action. An extreme example is chess. In chess each player is controlling a king's army, but each piece must follow rigid rules about how it moves on a grid. This does not simulate reality in any way and there is no emphasis on playing in character (roleplay).
All 3 elements combine to create a variety of RPG experiences from very rules light (tending to be strong roleplaying) to very rules heavy (tending to be miniature based combat simulations). Whether any particular game is enjoyable will depend entirely on the player's preferences.
I liked the idea of the 3 elements because I think it might be useful in describing games to other potential players. Personally, I like a game with more roleplay and game and less simulation. So if I were reading a review of a game that was rated 10 for Simulation, I might infer that game was designed for a different kind of player.
Nothing all that profound... Just random musing.
Game On!
Sunday, November 2, 2008
The Quest for Atlantis: An Adventure of Doom
Atlantis is a legend as old as the art of story telling. It is a concept that has captured the imagination of billions for several thousand years. The history of Atlantis would appears to begin with Plato our earliest documented reference to the lost city of the sea. But something about the idea of Atlantis has resonated with us. Perhaps there was no city named "Atlantis" full of technological wonders and an advanced culture. But what if the rest of it were true? We have many references to lost cultures. Eden, the Land of Nod, Thule, and dozens of others. Could the human race have lost something so long ago that now our stories of it are broken, blurred and scattered?
Science itself is confronted with strange oddities that can not easily be explained. Often these anomalies are boxed up and tucked away to be quietly forgotten. If it can not be explained, well then it probably was a fluke. But the flukes add up and the pile becomes larger. Few have ever considered the sum of all out-of-place artifacts. But in 1935 tensions are rising. Millions are without work and Nationalism is out of control. Any hint of a new power or lost science is quickly (and quietly) investigated by the desperate nations of the world. The Nazis would kill for it. The Brits would do anything to keep it from the Nazis. The Yanks need it to end the Depression. The Vatican would see it destroyed. Russia would bury it and use it in secret. The Empire of the Rising Sun would use it to build the greatest war machine seen in the East. The world would go mad for it.
Perhaps the origins of mankind go back further than anyone would guess. Maybe evolution was only half the story. The other half of story may be buried in the deserts of Egypt, the Temples of the Amazon, or even high Himalayas. The quest for Atlantis is not a search for a lost city beneath the sea, but the search for the lost origin of Man. But the story of Atlantis is often a tale of warning. Uncovering too many secrets too soon might bring down the same destruction that doomed those poor souls so long ago. Who will unlock the secrets? What world power will rise? Who will fall in... Another Adventure of DOOOOM.
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Adventures of Doom is a True20 Pulp RPG set in 1935 and designed for family play. Check other posts with the AoD tag for more.
Science itself is confronted with strange oddities that can not easily be explained. Often these anomalies are boxed up and tucked away to be quietly forgotten. If it can not be explained, well then it probably was a fluke. But the flukes add up and the pile becomes larger. Few have ever considered the sum of all out-of-place artifacts. But in 1935 tensions are rising. Millions are without work and Nationalism is out of control. Any hint of a new power or lost science is quickly (and quietly) investigated by the desperate nations of the world. The Nazis would kill for it. The Brits would do anything to keep it from the Nazis. The Yanks need it to end the Depression. The Vatican would see it destroyed. Russia would bury it and use it in secret. The Empire of the Rising Sun would use it to build the greatest war machine seen in the East. The world would go mad for it.
Perhaps the origins of mankind go back further than anyone would guess. Maybe evolution was only half the story. The other half of story may be buried in the deserts of Egypt, the Temples of the Amazon, or even high Himalayas. The quest for Atlantis is not a search for a lost city beneath the sea, but the search for the lost origin of Man. But the story of Atlantis is often a tale of warning. Uncovering too many secrets too soon might bring down the same destruction that doomed those poor souls so long ago. Who will unlock the secrets? What world power will rise? Who will fall in... Another Adventure of DOOOOM.
.
Adventures of Doom is a True20 Pulp RPG set in 1935 and designed for family play. Check other posts with the AoD tag for more.
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