tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25891656670132350642024-03-14T10:16:00.777-04:00Thoul's Paradiseperdustinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05842738630442736894noreply@blogger.comBlogger513125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2589165667013235064.post-87839197687779687322021-08-29T22:14:00.001-04:002021-08-29T22:14:45.019-04:00It's 2021 and the Dream is Dead<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxroXhf4IyHrvx77vLtyOGfsU0NEbIG6P033Y3fxMWNqaynWKRIaMRw7tAgVwFVvjq_ad_N4t_ugjSd397Ae1I7uuOAU7sfYL4DDs1dPQwCh71ZUKfpSU2JoJFGPJarxKtClun_dSK5-E/s500/ug88.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="393" data-original-width="500" height="315" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxroXhf4IyHrvx77vLtyOGfsU0NEbIG6P033Y3fxMWNqaynWKRIaMRw7tAgVwFVvjq_ad_N4t_ugjSd397Ae1I7uuOAU7sfYL4DDs1dPQwCh71ZUKfpSU2JoJFGPJarxKtClun_dSK5-E/w400-h315/ug88.png" width="400" /></a></div><p>So reads the cover caption of Mayfair's <a href="https://rpggeek.com/rpgitem/48825/underground" target="_blank"><i>Underground</i></a>, published in 1993. Taking place in 2021, <i>Underground</i> is unusual in terms of genre; perhaps “dystopian super-hero” might be the best categorization. According to the first chapter, “the world of 2021 is clearly a cold and dreary rat trap dominated by violent men and women who shoot or foreclose first and ask questions later.”</p><p>Writer Ray Winninger has contributed a variety of table-top role-playing game products; most recently, he has an “Additional Design” credit on last year's <i>Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything</i>. However, the first textual matter in the book is a poem by William S. Burroughs. This is a clue to the reader that the game is going to a dark place. In fact, the full page illustration on page 102 focuses on a person about to commit suicide. Yet the game is not without (gallows) humor. Tastee Ghoul, “a chain of fast food restaurants specializing in cannibal cuisine,” has as a motto, “Are you a people person?” Among other topics, <i>Underground</i> is a commentary on consumerism. Here is the ultimate extension of consumerism; the consumer becomes indistinguishable from the product.</p><p>How did such a strange world come to be? In August, 1996, “a life-pod launched from an interstellar starship crash-landed in the Florida Everglades.” The two aliens on-board died as a result. Although the aliens were “totally unlike any creature mankind had ever imagined,” they are also described as “lobster-like.” So, the first point of divergence from our reality is that lobsters cannot be imagined. “The aliens' technology was found to be based entirely around the manipulation of amino acid chains” and this technology held “the clues needed to unlock the mysteries of quantum theory, unified fields, and genetics...”</p><p>Because the U.S. Government did not disclose all aspects of the alien technology to the world, a Second Cold War resulted among the “three major trading blocks: the North American Confederation, headed by the United States; the European Common Market, headed by Neo-Deutschland... and the Far East Collective, headed by mainland China.”</p><p>Also According to the first chapter...</p><p></p><blockquote><i>...technological advances derived from the pod combined with the political situation wrought by the new Cold War to dramatically reshape the world. All across the globe, the gap between the upper and lower classes grew broader, crime and other social ills corrupted large portions of the planet, and multi-national corporations grew larger and more powerful than ever before. Shortly after the turn of the century, warfare evolved into a business as multi-national corporations organized large, technologically sophisticated armies capable of rapid deployment to any hot spot on the planet... Only a few years after the first corporate army took to the battlefield, all three of the major trading blocks were routinely hiring corporate soldiers to intervene in scores of Third World squabbles and conflicts in the hope of protecting and expanding their economic interests...</i></blockquote><p></p><p>One of the so-called militant corporations, Allied Mayhem™ Inc., “learned to modify human genetic tissues, turning test subjects into 'super-men' capable of dominating a modern battlefield.” However, “stabilizing the genetic enhancement process required a living subject with a seriously impaired capacity to replace lost body cells.” Originally, AMI used brain-dead bodies that were cryogenically frozen in the twentieth century but, “Due to their artificial brains, the enhanced soldiers were easy to outsmart and frequently failed to follow all but the simplest orders.”</p><p>In 2014...</p><p></p><blockquote><i>Allied Mayhem began enhancing live volunteers in limited numbers. Although this latest generation of enhanced soldiers was very effective in battle, the new process was ultimately deemed unstable and abandoned. During the many months that AMI scientists spent conquering the cellular regeneration problem, they failed to recognize psychological instability as an even more profound obstacle to the enhancement of live subjects. The first such subjects who awoke to discover that they were suddenly capable of lifting cars, flying, and projecting powerful force fields all lost their grip on reality and went mad. AMI researchers ultimately discovered that such a radical shift in world view was simply too much for a conscious human mind to handle.</i></blockquote><p></p><p>The solution devised by AMI's head of the Genetic Enhancements Division was to have enhancement subjects “spend fourteen months in a sensory deprivation tank wired into” a virtual reality environment based on a super-hero comic book. During this time, “the computer's program enables the subject to relive his or her entire life as it might have occurred in the four-color” comic book setting. In the simulation, the subject acquires enhanced abilities while scientists confers those same enhancements to the subject's physical form. “Once the process is complete and the subject is removed from sensory deprivation,” we learn, “AMI psychologically reconditions the subject to the real world, though a psychological acceptance of his or her newly acquired abilities lingers on within the individual's subconscious mind alongside a faint memory of his or her virtual life.”</p><p>Important highlights of the world of 2021 include:</p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><i>The second cold war has a hidden impact on society</i></li><li><i>The U.S. government closely monitors its citizens</i></li><li><i>The demand for (military) recruits is high</i></li><li><i>Some forms of popular entertainment are becoming propaganda</i></li><li><i>Unskilled veterans returning to the U.S. often turn to crime</i></li><li><i>Foreign affairs are more complex than ever</i></li><li><i>The wars are changing the very nature of mankind</i></li></ul><p>The player characters are super-powered veterans subject to “all sorts of bigotry and prejudice.” With regard to these veterans, “most are neurotic, slightly detached from reality, and prone to extreme mood swings.” Additionally, for some of the veterans, the virtual reality experience instills “a 'comic book' world view and begin to interpret life as a series of struggles between 'heroes' and 'villains.'” Ultimately, “Given the growing alienation of the lower classes and the current climate of predatory corporate practices, a few such [veterans] look upon AMI and the American government as 'master villains' who have betrayed the American way.” Such veterans formed the titular Underground activist group.</p><p><br /></p>perdustinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05842738630442736894noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2589165667013235064.post-45220220135750155802021-07-28T21:29:00.000-04:002021-07-28T21:29:36.539-04:00Pages from Spellbooks (part III)<p>Five years ago, your humble host published two posts (<a href="http://thoulsparadise.blogspot.com/2016/09/pages-from-spellbooks-part-i.html">here</a> and <a href="http://thoulsparadise.blogspot.com/2016/09/pages-from-spellbooks-part-ii.html">here</a>) providing examples of what pages in spellbooks might look like. Below are nine more examples derived from 'real world' sources; however, not all of these sources are associated with magic in the real world. As usual, Thoul's Paradise disclaims any responsibility for circumstances arising from the use or misuse of the following material.</p><p>Spells have to come from somewhere. For a warlock with a “Fiend” patron, perhaps the “Fiend” possesses the body of the warlock and inscribes a new spell in the Book of Shadows. How might such an inscription look? Well, a <a href="https://www.thevintagenews.com/2018/02/11/17th-century-letter-2/">17th century nun</a> was said to have been possessed by the Devil himself. Of course, having possessed a nun, Satan indulged in the scandalous behavior of writing a letter. This is the result. Presumably, a warlock would know how to decipher it but then again, Old Scratch might just be playing a prank. Seriously, can you trust someone known as the Prince of Lies?<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNTSIGUC11AUWwuwP-DHI3sGiZ1t03iEBKC3-xTWZK6mO6yGuOWQdoXs34EF9ro6MbouVfWyEEUCGcc2217B0aTUHwpR3m7ApoD45o3AlrvK2IfTtfWR9y6SA-oNlNS1tOcH1AiGzkfuY/s737/Sister+Maria.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="737" data-original-width="500" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNTSIGUC11AUWwuwP-DHI3sGiZ1t03iEBKC3-xTWZK6mO6yGuOWQdoXs34EF9ro6MbouVfWyEEUCGcc2217B0aTUHwpR3m7ApoD45o3AlrvK2IfTtfWR9y6SA-oNlNS1tOcH1AiGzkfuY/w271-h400/Sister+Maria.png" width="271" /></a></div><p>Speaking of the Devil, the cover of <i><a href="https://www.worldcat.org/title/secrets-of-black-art-the-devils-legacy-to-earths-mortals-or-the-sciences-of-magic-witchcraft-alchemy-demonology-omens-mesmerism-necromancy-etc/oclc/974691304?referer=di&ht=edition">Secrets of Black Art</a></i> makes some bold promises, but does it deliver? If it were legitimate, wouldn't it be <i>Secrets of ye Olde Black Art</i> ? In actuality, the first half of the book is a hodgepodge of topics like mesmerism and folk magic written in the Victorian era. A clever spellcaster might use this cover for his or her actual spellbook; anyone coming across the tome would assume it was useless in terms of genuine magic and disregard it. The second half of the book is a novelty item catalog, which stands to reason given it was published by <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johnson_Smith_Company">a company that sold novelty items</a>. If we assume that <i>Secrets of Black Art</i> somehow imparts magical abilities to its owner, perhaps the 'novelty items' are material components.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha7W57o5y8X5cF7XbEjpF5c5mtW3A-PSj83Qcwg0qAERZbCfO8DYunwleHNE7a8DtQsLC03VHDMR09nkXF_HhwwU7Qsp4uVBt_RL-izW70OdQIIfm6hoLN6latfaI1lmt_8cbAmsclYOs/s626/Secrets+of+Black+Art.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="626" data-original-width="437" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha7W57o5y8X5cF7XbEjpF5c5mtW3A-PSj83Qcwg0qAERZbCfO8DYunwleHNE7a8DtQsLC03VHDMR09nkXF_HhwwU7Qsp4uVBt_RL-izW70OdQIIfm6hoLN6latfaI1lmt_8cbAmsclYOs/w279-h400/Secrets+of+Black+Art.png" width="279" /></a></div><p>Speaking of spell components, when dealing with eldritch energies, every nuance is important. A finger quivering incorrectly may effectuate an undesirable result. (“...hand movements are usually required in order to control and specify the direction, target, area, etc., of the spell effects.” – <i>DMG</i> 1e, p. 40) As such, spellbooks should address somatic components. Here we see notes on thumb rotation – and none of that high-falutin' theory, just honest-to-goodness praxis.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjae9tqHLDcpWN8WT3Vw4AZCwjKojHVzvqAkXrFKnPsaf0PuL3PkJiafmvbORJgcUHnOnJpZEs1XnpsiHD0WrdSSq1x-vh3tV_57fKl9Gngz9KaTM7FNfBhYl9T__hvd3FhGqpEbiqUl9Y/s620/Utriusque+Cosmi.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="620" data-original-width="365" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjae9tqHLDcpWN8WT3Vw4AZCwjKojHVzvqAkXrFKnPsaf0PuL3PkJiafmvbORJgcUHnOnJpZEs1XnpsiHD0WrdSSq1x-vh3tV_57fKl9Gngz9KaTM7FNfBhYl9T__hvd3FhGqpEbiqUl9Y/w235-h400/Utriusque+Cosmi.png" width="235" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">
<p style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Utriusque Cosmi Historia</i></span></span></p><span style="color: #444444;">
</span><style type="text/css"><span style="color: rgb(68, 68, 68);">p { margin-bottom: 0.1in; line-height: 115%; background: transparent }</span></style></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Each spellbook has a “unique system of notation used by the wizard who wrote it.” Not only are spellbooks encrypted, but they must convey abstruse information. Wizards might express such knowledge in imaginative ways.<br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisNik0jYNCC8CNOVNrqtq24A5UxbwAqR38aoyEzRbaEByaI36SWjXnu5UWcyH8jQwqt7L_YPq6zjgyFJ_qyLHwqC3VA0jVzYyEejvkqUUHPdYb7JOUShu5tHc1XKuCwEGag_f-MSbgL_c/s792/Picatrix+Table.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="792" data-original-width="500" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisNik0jYNCC8CNOVNrqtq24A5UxbwAqR38aoyEzRbaEByaI36SWjXnu5UWcyH8jQwqt7L_YPq6zjgyFJ_qyLHwqC3VA0jVzYyEejvkqUUHPdYb7JOUShu5tHc1XKuCwEGag_f-MSbgL_c/w253-h400/Picatrix+Table.png" width="253" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Picatrix</span></span></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p><a href="https://publicdomainreview.org/collection/medieval-pattern-poems-of-rabanus-maurus-9th-century">'Pattern poetry'</a> presents different 'layers' of information to those in the know. This method may be an efficient means for a wizard to encode the various particulars of a spell.<br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_U8alllaBuQ1LyAnEFWxIsZuq_JyNdePOclKHSnMVw5iStIdJEckAPr46wmK4nvZR-wgU5R8HR3Ec4vMjNbipWIp9lediEMsq71_di_b2qFAyLAq7xNUXgAQYQqAJQTYM6Hmgcy-7psw/s661/De+laudibus+sanctae+crucis.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="661" data-original-width="500" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_U8alllaBuQ1LyAnEFWxIsZuq_JyNdePOclKHSnMVw5iStIdJEckAPr46wmK4nvZR-wgU5R8HR3Ec4vMjNbipWIp9lediEMsq71_di_b2qFAyLAq7xNUXgAQYQqAJQTYM6Hmgcy-7psw/w303-h400/De+laudibus+sanctae+crucis.png" width="303" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i><em>De laudibus sanctae crucis</em></i></span></span></p>
<style type="text/css">p { margin-bottom: 0.1in; line-height: 115%; background: transparent }em { font-style: italic }</style></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Esoteric imagery may be a useful way (or perhaps the only way) to impart thaumaturgical concepts.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-JJIqN7Os-XhK1GoJvkG_TChfmEICJvQIfNyAc0CZ_DPbmvyawlInBauzL4Rv_Mkx9byVuP_5ku52jm8QSvBinbJ-rorGJiFaORgomzD5ciS6IQhaAm8HPyPSvy0Q-OHBMJ9xjAZIw5U/s660/cabala.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="660" data-original-width="500" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-JJIqN7Os-XhK1GoJvkG_TChfmEICJvQIfNyAc0CZ_DPbmvyawlInBauzL4Rv_Mkx9byVuP_5ku52jm8QSvBinbJ-rorGJiFaORgomzD5ciS6IQhaAm8HPyPSvy0Q-OHBMJ9xjAZIw5U/w303-h400/cabala.png" width="303" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Cabala, Spiegel derr Kunst und Natur in Alchymia</i></span></span></p>
<style type="text/css">p { margin-bottom: 0.1in; line-height: 115%; background: transparent }</style></td></tr></tbody></table><p>This next page has a hole. Is it due to wear and tear of an adventuring spell caster's lifestyle? Or was the name of an ultramundane entity written on this segment of parchment? An entity so horrific – so abominable – that its very name is rejected by our reality? <br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWHZ8RZ6_DmA01CydiCJATEODUhLk3P0lXLFVr7jyucytvvBJjsznYW1U8ry_RnhvbX28lJE6GQNiQv14-ofqysuLt73pVOYqVfOE2t0HRFmgbOWn7wmdLiMkuFo_Al4CfS_0DrUjOjjw/s706/Ballymote.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="706" data-original-width="500" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWHZ8RZ6_DmA01CydiCJATEODUhLk3P0lXLFVr7jyucytvvBJjsznYW1U8ry_RnhvbX28lJE6GQNiQv14-ofqysuLt73pVOYqVfOE2t0HRFmgbOWn7wmdLiMkuFo_Al4CfS_0DrUjOjjw/w284-h400/Ballymote.png" width="284" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">
<p style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Book of Ballymote</span></span></p><span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">
</span></span><style type="text/css"><span style="color: rgb(68, 68, 68);"><font size="2">p { margin-bottom: 0.1in; line-height: 115%; background: transparent }</font></span></style></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Sometimes spells written in or on items other than spellbooks. Here is how a spell scroll might appear.<br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSPjsSrwwo1Buu-vtNIx2WkvEFvNWmy1Kee_wiiKEsFGd06647OqISxpIwlvakLgrZ4ICFkPOLL0X8jojESyZjzN1hGfl2eaOWVlU0pAEl4YCqRYmrpPn1Zbl-mgLyD4czfS9qcVgLjW0/s639/Ripley+Detail.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="639" data-original-width="500" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSPjsSrwwo1Buu-vtNIx2WkvEFvNWmy1Kee_wiiKEsFGd06647OqISxpIwlvakLgrZ4ICFkPOLL0X8jojESyZjzN1hGfl2eaOWVlU0pAEl4YCqRYmrpPn1Zbl-mgLyD4czfS9qcVgLjW0/w313-h400/Ripley+Detail.png" width="313" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Ripley Scroll (detail)</span></span><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p>In a <a href="http://thoulsparadise.blogspot.com/2014/02/customized-classes-part-iv.html">previous</a> post, we explored the possibility of spells being recorded on alternative media. A lazy wizard might want to forgo a spellbook altogether. Why bother with tediously turning pages when you can just inscribe all of your pertinent spell information on your staff? It will never leave your side; security and convenience both.<br /></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC6IPyLbbyhapkhQHij8VY2xaefum93HWnE1BGNQi5hGEx37mIfiTsEcwtItvthyLlkrp5eNMjwJLJnBb2VuYNkGyY-FrJm7lwGtGSJWo46udqGgv9CcCzgV1808MIec2ehyphenhyphenVkdvUWaSg/s556/Santiago.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="319" data-original-width="556" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC6IPyLbbyhapkhQHij8VY2xaefum93HWnE1BGNQi5hGEx37mIfiTsEcwtItvthyLlkrp5eNMjwJLJnBb2VuYNkGyY-FrJm7lwGtGSJWo46udqGgv9CcCzgV1808MIec2ehyphenhyphenVkdvUWaSg/s16000/Santiago.png" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="http://kohaumotu.org/blog/?page_id=92">Santiago Staff</a> (detail)</span></span><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p><br /></p><p></p>perdustinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05842738630442736894noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2589165667013235064.post-74289882290825186862021-06-27T17:50:00.000-04:002021-06-27T17:50:25.037-04:00Journey to Stonedeep (spoilers)<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOsX2DHsn0CZlj4QIc50pamEgSD1RMxrDq_QitP63kbiTpA0UiU4AMvPHS44S98ACbKQ2L1dPVaRVBil8ULSIwqw7GCpxZD41gnuBo0-x-iYzX5dwg8oT5mRg_Agd9xgAzSXYPKZ53fUY/s489/Quest+2.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="489" data-original-width="350" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOsX2DHsn0CZlj4QIc50pamEgSD1RMxrDq_QitP63kbiTpA0UiU4AMvPHS44S98ACbKQ2L1dPVaRVBil8ULSIwqw7GCpxZD41gnuBo0-x-iYzX5dwg8oT5mRg_Agd9xgAzSXYPKZ53fUY/w286-h400/Quest+2.png" width="286" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Art by Ed Lee<br /></span></i></span></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p>The introductory adventure (or “ready-to-run quest”) provided in 1995's <a href="https://rpggeek.com/rpgitem/44873/everway-visionary-roleplaying" target="_blank"><i>Everway</i> Box Set</a> takes up about half of the 64-page <i>Gamemastering Guide</i>. It is a very good example of what an introductory adventure should be: it provides options for the gamemaster, explains the likely results of those options, describes probable choices the players may make, and the ramifications of those choices. In short, 'Journey to Stonedeep' is not a linear narrative to which the players and gamemaster must conform. However, Jonathan Tweet identifies a best or ideal ending (later called the “ideal climax”).</p><p>Given the focus on cards in <i>Everway</i>, it should come as no surprise that 'Journey to Stonedeep' has six 'quest cards' associated with it. Each quest card has an illustration on one side and relevant information (usually the scores for background characters) on the other. The illustrations are useful for showing the players what a particular scene or background character looks like.</p><p>In terms of background, “a venomous, evil dragon” devastated a realm called Sweetwaters three hundred years ago. The only gate to the realm of Stonedeep is in Sweetwaters. Due to the presence of the dragon in Sweetwaters, spherewalkers have not been able to travel to or from Stonedeep. Recently, “a hero has vanquished the dragon,” and the gate to Stonedeep is accessible once again. Patrons now recruit the player characters “to use the gate, find out how Stonedeep may have changed in three hundred years, and determine the best way to approach those lost neighbors.”</p><p>Once in Sweetwaters, a guide leads the party to the gate to Stonedeep. This takes seven days. The guide will wait two weeks for the party to return, after which, “the guide will leave, and eventually someone will sponsor another expedition to Stonedeep.” The <i>Playing Guide</i> tells us, “Most spherewalks take about a week.” One week to Stonedeep and one week back already accounts for two weeks, so there's not much time to accomplish the goal of the quest.</p><p>Anyway, during the transition from Sweetwaters to Stonedeep, characters with strong Water scores have a vision of the Awakener (shown above). Of course, the characters don't yet know it's the Awakener, they just see the vision:</p><p></p><blockquote><i>You are standing in a field, but you feel ungrounded, and you realize you're having a vision. A dragon hurdles down out of the the sky, crashes into the ground, and bursts into flame. Out of the flame walks a man in armor. He strides forth, stands still, and stares at you. His eyes glow red. Suddenly you see that he is standing on a pile of skulls. “I seek a bride,” he says. The vision vanishes, and you're standing on solid ground.</i></blockquote><p></p><p>Crashing dragon. Glowing red eyes. Pile of skulls. Players are sensitive to clues like these and they might just receive the impression that this is not a nice person. A sidebar provides some additional information:</p><p></p><blockquote><i>The Awakener gets his name from a teaching of Anubis, the god of death. Anubis teaches that dying is “awakening”: the virtuous awaken to the light of a glorious afterlife, while the unworthy awaken in darkness.</i></blockquote><p></p><p>If or how the player characters learn this is not detailed.</p><p>In any event, the party arrives at some ruins in Stonedeep, a realm similar to ancient Egypt. The party soon encounters a damsel in distress; specifically, a woman named Rarity is at the mercy of two (or more) ghouls. Presumably, the party rescues Rarity and, also presumably, return her to the town of Underwood. In this and subsequent scenes she party obtains pertinent information. A priestess of Isis repelled an invasion 250 years ago and became the ruler of Stonedeep, changing the name of the realm to Bonekeep. She remains ruler and is known as “the Ghoul Queen.” We also learn:</p><p></p><blockquote><i>The queen rules the land by turning the dead into vile, half-alive servants that do her bidding without question. The people have grown resigned to her rule.</i></blockquote><p></p><p>Additionally, the party gains some information about the Awakener. His arrival in Bonekeep is imminent. As indicated in the vision, he is looking for a bride. The Ghoul Queen has captured a few beautiful women (like Rarity) and intends to present them to the Awakener under the assumption that he's looking for beauty. She expects the Awakener to provide her with a boon for her efforts.</p><p>Should the party confront him once he arrives, they learn that, “By snapping his fingers, the Awakener can bring death to mortal and undead beings.” Specifically, each snap causes up to twelve beings to lose one point of Earth. Therefore, the Awakener can destroy a dozen average opponents in three narrative turns. Also, he is “unkillable” and has a Fire score of 6. In effect, the party cannot reasonably hope to defeat the Awakener. If the party prevents the Ghoul Queen from presenting the Awakener with a bride, they “will have to track him down and deal with him somehow to keep Bonekeep from being destroyed.” So, absent interference from the Ghoul Queen or the party, the Awakener will destroy the realm. I feel safe in saying this is a bad thing. </p><p>As written, the quest implies that the Ghoul Queen's rule is tyrannical. There are references to peasants being “angry at the Ghoul Queen,” that hers is an “evil reign,” and “there are crimes she committed.“ Granted, 'Ghoul Queen' is not a term of endearment and she has arranged for the abduction of beautiful women for the purpose of giving one of them to the Awakener. However, since the arrival of the (possibly ineffective) party was unanticipated, the Ghoul Queen's plan was the only way to prevent the destruction of Bonekeep. Other than the fact that she takes her subjects “as servants and soldiers when they die,“ there is no evidence presented that she is evil. Remember, the Ghoul Queen saved the realm from invasion and, as another priestess of Isis explains, “as long as the Ghoul Queen rules, no living soldiers have to shed their blood in battle.“ Also, the ghoul servants are morally incorruptible. It's been several generations since the Ghoul Queen became ruler and since the “people have grown resigned to her rule,“ one might suppose that the ghouls have become an accepted part of society. I mean, if creating ghouls is so intolerable, people would cremate their dead or otherwise dispose of corpses to prevent their conversion.</p><p>“The cleverest outcome,“ the text relates, “would be for the heroes... to
convince the Awakener to choose the Ghoul Queen as his bride.“ (So, Jonathan Tweet's concept of an “ideal climax“ involves a Ghoul Queen. I'm not judging, just making an observation.) In terms of storytelling, it makes sense; resolve the quest by using two threats to cancel each other out. This ending also leads to the sixth quest card. However, there's no apparent reason for the Awakener to choose the Ghoul Queen as his bride. Unless the party suggests this option to him, the Awakener will not select the queen. The “best ending“ develops from a player character essentially saying to the Awakener, “Hey bro, why don't you hook up with the Ghoul Queen?“ Why the Awakener would think this is a good idea is not touched upon. No explanation is needed. At the last minute, the player characters “still have a chance to succeed if they can yell to the Awakener and put it in his mind to choose the queen as his bride.“</p><p>As indicated earlier, the assumption is that the Awakener is looking for a 'beautiful' bride. This assumption is incorrect. With regard to suggesting to the Awakener that he should choose the queen, it would make much more sense if the party could discover some bit of lore about what the Awakener actually wants or why choosing the queen is a good idea. Maybe the Ghoul Queen's original name was 'Open Eyes' or something and the party can find this out. Awakener + Open Eyes = perfect match.</p><p>Everway characters do not earn experience. As compensation, for this quest, heroes can get loot from the Ghoul Queen's palace (assuming she departs – one way or another):</p><p></p><blockquote><p><i>Ask each player to invent some item that his or her hero takes from the Ghoul Queen's palace. They may find precious jewels, items with magical abilities, scrolls bearing magical secrets, and so on. (You can change or disallow any item that you think would make the game less fun, such as one that would make a hero too powerful.)</i></p><p><i>Alternately, you can invent an item for each hero, either on the spot or ahead of time. Invest items that the heroes are likely to enjoy.</i></p></blockquote><p></p>perdustinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05842738630442736894noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2589165667013235064.post-73421774933413628722021-05-16T22:26:00.000-04:002021-05-16T22:26:27.156-04:00Pre-Generated Characters in Everway<p><a href="https://rpggeek.com/rpgitem/44873/everway-visionary-roleplaying">Everway</a> provides a dozen pre-generated characters, complete with backgrounds, descriptions of magic and powers, possessions, and even “questions for development.” Without further ado. . .<br /></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>Amber </b></span><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW-cfLM_-csW1nQvNk1RgnthyvDMVElRlhizgviKsfDZ5dvNeXUHLIXGrQcZvQ6mFCceInn1iU_0Rj2yXcgeyUOsCsWoKs7aTsI5my2nRljSZZOqIwhYi7GwuitOlCTNHBbe0naB8kXN0/s209/Amber.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="209" data-original-width="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW-cfLM_-csW1nQvNk1RgnthyvDMVElRlhizgviKsfDZ5dvNeXUHLIXGrQcZvQ6mFCceInn1iU_0Rj2yXcgeyUOsCsWoKs7aTsI5my2nRljSZZOqIwhYi7GwuitOlCTNHBbe0naB8kXN0/s0/Amber.png" /></a></div><p></p><p><span style="color: #3d85c6;"><b>Air: 3</b> (etiquette)</span></p><p><b><span style="color: #cc0000;">Fire: 5</span> </b><span style="color: #cc0000;">(unarmed combat)</span></p><p><b><span style="color: #783f04;">Earth: 6</span> </b><span style="color: #783f04;">(resisting unconsciousness)</span></p><p><b><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Water: 3 </span></b><span style="color: #2b00fe;">(stealth)</span></p><p><b>Motive:</b> Authority</p><p><b>Virtue:</b> Summer</p><p><b>Fault:</b> The Fool – reversed</p><p><b>Fate:</b> Knowledge</p><p>Amber is a weretiger from a village of weretigers. She was exiled after helping humans from other villages and now she travels among the spheres using “her powers to right wrongs, correct the injustice, ad protect the innocent.” Other than being a weretiger, she has the powers of 'Silence of the Hunter' (“When stalking her enemies. . .Only those with special senses or a strong Water scores can sense her”) and 'Resistance to Death Magics' (“Magical abilities that specifically kill instantly only incapacitate Amber. . .”). <br /></p><p style="text-align: right;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chance</span></b><br /></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b></b></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><b></b></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX-rQFComENfjtc7g-WErPqFVOn4OW6Vbc3EYysjO5qT3ir7ObnH5NW10XbK0GDi744YLHCrWZVAcqfeovFeH84jKksVLHA6lofPIyZqtGYBrA3JLJro8pxx02zqdR2UCrlVnGUTI1mUM/s216/Chance.png" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="216" data-original-width="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX-rQFComENfjtc7g-WErPqFVOn4OW6Vbc3EYysjO5qT3ir7ObnH5NW10XbK0GDi744YLHCrWZVAcqfeovFeH84jKksVLHA6lofPIyZqtGYBrA3JLJro8pxx02zqdR2UCrlVnGUTI1mUM/s0/Chance.png" /></a></b></span></div><span style="color: #3d85c6;"><b>Air: 3</b> (military tactics)</span><p></p><p><b><span style="color: #cc0000;">Fire: 6</span> </b><span style="color: #cc0000;">(reacting to danger)</span></p><p><b><span style="color: #783f04;">Earth: 4</span> </b><span style="color: #783f04;">(endurance in combat)</span></p><p><b><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Water: 6 </span></b><span style="color: #2b00fe;">(sensing motives)</span></p><p><b>Motive:</b> Adversity</p><p><b>Virtue:</b> The Peasant</p><p><b>Fault:</b> The Griffin – reversed</p><p><b>Fate:</b> War</p><p>
</p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">Chance inherited some abilities from his father, who was a wandering warrior. He left his village to become a mercenary, but stopped when all the fighting became too much for him. . .” His powers are 'Berserk' (“His strength and endurance increase [in combat], but he becomes completely lost to reason”) and 'Inured to Pain' (“Chance endures physical pain easily”).</p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"> <br /></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Clarity</span></b></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCboUSKU0LiYjcgX-bgUAZQkcLs21no3aG2HQv5qWxZuwpUYe0gAjLcZ4_IqsGRQaH3IzNTUnRQArmpFupPMvRohUKLoo2H3aX6DVbFDGKz0UZAZw_4gmjXIgz9F5CKLoHe_-yvMk4o70/s211/Clarity.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="211" data-original-width="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCboUSKU0LiYjcgX-bgUAZQkcLs21no3aG2HQv5qWxZuwpUYe0gAjLcZ4_IqsGRQaH3IzNTUnRQArmpFupPMvRohUKLoo2H3aX6DVbFDGKz0UZAZw_4gmjXIgz9F5CKLoHe_-yvMk4o70/s0/Clarity.png" /></a></span></b></div><p></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;"><b>Air: 6</b> (poetry)</span></p><p><b><span style="color: #cc0000;">Fire: 4</span> </b><span style="color: #cc0000;">(swordfighting)</span></p><p><b><span style="color: #783f04;">Earth: 3</span> </b><span style="color: #783f04;">(resisting persuasion)</span></p><p><b><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Water: 5 </span></b><span style="color: #2b00fe;">(sensing others' presence)</span></p><p><b>Motive:</b> Wanderlust</p><p><b>Virtue:</b> Inspiration</p><p><b>Fault:</b> The Defender – reversed</p><p><b>Fate:</b> The Smith<br /></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">Growing up, Clarity was an apprentice to a bard. Eventually, she discovered that she was a spherewalker. Now she travels “among the worlds, learning songs and poems and sharing them with others. . .” Her powers are 'Ravenform' (“Clarity can take on the shape of a large raven at will”) and 'Perfect Memory of the Bard' (“Clarity can remember everything that she was trained to perform or learn as a bard”).</p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>Cleft</b></span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ8h335_QIOZnIJlYUT1ngifZ0AQpwrcqcTpbHvwFbJRiN7Fa2Krdj343zffD7xOKiWVNg9uKTjgr0sgguwssqT623vFA_m10u9NfsvQ5HOOMpchKBBl8OLFwa8k19Xz_HrDbTxMTzNAg/s215/Cleft.png" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="215" data-original-width="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ8h335_QIOZnIJlYUT1ngifZ0AQpwrcqcTpbHvwFbJRiN7Fa2Krdj343zffD7xOKiWVNg9uKTjgr0sgguwssqT623vFA_m10u9NfsvQ5HOOMpchKBBl8OLFwa8k19Xz_HrDbTxMTzNAg/s0/Cleft.png" /></a></span></b></div><p></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;"><b>Air: 3</b> (identifying herbs and plants)</span></p><p><b><span style="color: #cc0000;">Fire: 4</span> </b><span style="color: #cc0000;">(hunting)</span></p><p><b><span style="color: #783f04;">Earth: 5</span> </b><span style="color: #783f04;">(resisting bad magic)</span></p><p><b><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Water: 3 </span></b><span style="color: #2b00fe;">(sensing injury and illness)</span></p><p><b>Motive:</b> Mystery</p><p><b>Virtue:</b> The Lion<br /></p><p><b>Fault:</b> The Creator – reversed</p><p><b>Fate:</b> The Peasant<br /></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">Cleft has five points of 'Soil and Stone' magic, appropriately associated with his Earth element. Cleft uses his magic for healing. “His touch can ease pain, stop bleeding, and keeping a wound clean. . .[as well as] cure diseases, neutralize poisons, lift curses, and banish malignant spirits.” Among other capabilities, “With great and constant effort, he can prevent a mortally wounded person from dying and nurse that person back to health.” With his power of 'Earth's Surety', “Cleft is almost impossible to knock down” if he is standing on “living, level earth.”</p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"> </p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Detritus</span></b></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsUXI797QMP2f2YhCxaGmEJSIKzMPVCdouK7iCclYr6WlXBnQ8qzWzS3w_MZrzx-6804VMr-V0mfrZROrXgDE18a3m7GuEabA-kODyJ3hNJmbc3ihyphenhyphen87vVCwQOsfEKQO2GQyA6jrFJop4/s217/Detritus.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="217" data-original-width="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsUXI797QMP2f2YhCxaGmEJSIKzMPVCdouK7iCclYr6WlXBnQ8qzWzS3w_MZrzx-6804VMr-V0mfrZROrXgDE18a3m7GuEabA-kODyJ3hNJmbc3ihyphenhyphen87vVCwQOsfEKQO2GQyA6jrFJop4/s0/Detritus.png" /></a></span></b></div><span style="color: #3d85c6;"><b>Air: 7</b> (ancient lore)</span><p></p><p><b><span style="color: #cc0000;">Fire: 3</span> </b><span style="color: #cc0000;">(jumping)</span></p><p><b><span style="color: #783f04;">Earth: 2</span> </b><span style="color: #783f04;">(walking long distance)</span></p><p><b><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Water: 5 </span></b><span style="color: #2b00fe;">(sensing death)</span></p><p><b>Motive:</b> Knowledge</p><p><b>Virtue:</b> Winter</p><p><b>Fault:</b> Striking the Dragon's Tail<br /></p><p><b>Fate:</b> Spring</p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">Detritus has decided to explore “the spheres for the rest of his life, compiling what he hopes will be a comprehensive book about past civilizations.” His powers are: 'Rune of Lurking Unseen' (Detritus has a stone that allows him to become invisible as long as he doesn't move or make a sound), 'Ancient Gesture of Clarity' (He “can dispel magical illusions”), 'Invulnerable Sphere of Infinite Sound' (“This crystal can. . .make any manner of sound, as loud as thunder or as quiet as [a] mouse's sigh”), and 'Illuminating Clap' (“With a clap, Detritus can illuminate the area around him with a gentle glow”).</p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>Fireson</b></span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b></b></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2g7abXVBdcfLyB8AGW7T3Uhkiu3I1cZqViZNDYxCD3gGmCPGGtwQ7uAr07MV6zuI8Z8zPnOqgCqJFXPffdSnYaCNQF-bkXLtH-HBlltWB0NGz4ZuV9mQ7-z2QK8Q5iUdh2WCfUD1mbEs/s209/Fireson.png" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="209" data-original-width="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2g7abXVBdcfLyB8AGW7T3Uhkiu3I1cZqViZNDYxCD3gGmCPGGtwQ7uAr07MV6zuI8Z8zPnOqgCqJFXPffdSnYaCNQF-bkXLtH-HBlltWB0NGz4ZuV9mQ7-z2QK8Q5iUdh2WCfUD1mbEs/s0/Fireson.png" /></a></span></b></div><span style="color: #3d85c6;"><b>Air: 3</b> (speaking to crowds)</span><p></p><p><b><span style="color: #cc0000;">Fire: 6</span> </b><span style="color: #cc0000;">(fire magic)</span></p><p><b><span style="color: #783f04;">Earth: 3</span> </b><span style="color: #783f04;">(maintaining vigils)</span></p><p><b><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Water: 5 </span></b><span style="color: #2b00fe;">(sensing divine energies)</span></p><p><b>Motive:</b> Adversity</p><p><b>Virtue:</b> The Lion<br /></p><p><b>Fault:</b> Death – reversed</p><p><b>Fate:</b> The Soldier<br /></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">Fireson – Jonathan Tweet's own character – was “banished from his homeland” after he “offended his deity.” Now he “wanders the spheres, hoping for a way to regain his deity's favor. . .” His powers are: 'Priestly Rites' (“Fireson can channel divine energies and the energies of worshipers through powerful rituals”), 'Sweat Fire' (“Fireson can cause flames to come forth from his skin”), and 'Friend to Fire' (Heat “neither pains nor harms him”).</p><br /><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Opal </span></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfJm97oVPs9BCUJjHAND54jUvzWMJeQ-YhNZjrksAhbZlZjPw5c2eA_F1GPC2H9jsn0hTch42YSs5RV_vt8e9scR2au8i8JRbGABAs_5ZNZvqLsgd_b_d7KxiWalh2REuoTsg6khV_DK8/s214/Opal.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfJm97oVPs9BCUJjHAND54jUvzWMJeQ-YhNZjrksAhbZlZjPw5c2eA_F1GPC2H9jsn0hTch42YSs5RV_vt8e9scR2au8i8JRbGABAs_5ZNZvqLsgd_b_d7KxiWalh2REuoTsg6khV_DK8/s214/Opal.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="214" data-original-width="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfJm97oVPs9BCUJjHAND54jUvzWMJeQ-YhNZjrksAhbZlZjPw5c2eA_F1GPC2H9jsn0hTch42YSs5RV_vt8e9scR2au8i8JRbGABAs_5ZNZvqLsgd_b_d7KxiWalh2REuoTsg6khV_DK8/s0/Opal.png" /></a></div><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;"></span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;"><b>Air: 4</b> (speaking well)</span></p><p><b><span style="color: #cc0000;">Fire: 5</span> </b><span style="color: #cc0000;">(climbing)</span></p><p><b><span style="color: #783f04;">Earth: 2</span> </b><span style="color: #783f04;">(enduring pain)</span></p><p><b><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Water: 7 </span></b><span style="color: #2b00fe;">(sensing magic)</span></p><p><b>Motive:</b> Adversity</p><p><b>Virtue:</b> The Phoenix<br /></p><p><b>Fault:</b> The Hermit – reversed</p><p><b>Fate:</b> The Cockatrice</p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">A water priestess was held captive by an evil wizard. The priestess died giving birth to Opal. When Opal grew to adulthood, she beheaded the wizard using a pair of “bird claw gloves.” The gloves allow her to “grasp with great strength and endurance.” Opal also has the power of 'Persuasion' (“Because of her strong intuition about people, she is very effective at manipulating them”).</p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Praises Be</span></b></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtBloNiD_6lSQzUVg-Pi2xYXsx6IHp-KzpvsdxJOTrgx-zdWbFRXjduyVvCSDTOyule8BKHojV6H4LSSshXTCpAdKfs9TI8q4t2iy_4i3kdFL0Y-iSbD5eDrJJdWHDG4WN9OSezeDwvps/s212/Praises.png" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="212" data-original-width="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtBloNiD_6lSQzUVg-Pi2xYXsx6IHp-KzpvsdxJOTrgx-zdWbFRXjduyVvCSDTOyule8BKHojV6H4LSSshXTCpAdKfs9TI8q4t2iy_4i3kdFL0Y-iSbD5eDrJJdWHDG4WN9OSezeDwvps/s0/Praises.png" /></a></span></b></div><p><b><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></b></p><p></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;"><b>Air: 6</b> (authoritative voice)</span></p><p><b><span style="color: #cc0000;">Fire: 2</span> </b><span style="color: #cc0000;">(staff fighting)</span></p><p><b><span style="color: #783f04;">Earth: 3</span> </b><span style="color: #783f04;">(studying long hours)</span></p><p><b><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Water: 3 </span></b><span style="color: #2b00fe;">(</span><span style="color: #2b00fe;"><span style="color: #2b00fe;">sensing magic</span>)</span></p><p><b>Motive:</b> Conquest</p><p><b>Virtue:</b> The Eagle<br /></p><p><b>Fault:</b> The Defender – reversed</p><p><b>Fate:</b> Law</p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">“After defeating his master in a contest of magic, Praises Be. . .set out to explore the universe and test his abilities against the challenges to be found among the infinite spheres.” He has six points of 'Words of Power' magic, associated with his air element. With this magic, he “can compel a spirit to obey him, kill an average person, or force a group of people to back away.” Additionally, he can use his magic to conduct rituals as well as “inscribe objects with magic words. . .” Praises Be also has the power of 'Universal Reading'.</p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Puma</span></b></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEie_ajXj6g8Gp1Iqg_9lIyOgjO1Zga7Nv2rk090BsZbYLNzx6Qa5azEBg6pXxWbJOIl6TYU-pkNr4obSRS1f-SVMt0iXMzz0Z465LRjoOb58UO6yyhxUCqxrTTlG3Jnz91aNAk-5fs6Bqc/s204/Puma.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="204" data-original-width="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEie_ajXj6g8Gp1Iqg_9lIyOgjO1Zga7Nv2rk090BsZbYLNzx6Qa5azEBg6pXxWbJOIl6TYU-pkNr4obSRS1f-SVMt0iXMzz0Z465LRjoOb58UO6yyhxUCqxrTTlG3Jnz91aNAk-5fs6Bqc/s0/Puma.png" /></a></span></b></div><p></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;"><b>Air: 3</b> (storytelling)</span></p><p><b><span style="color: #cc0000;">Fire: 5</span> </b><span style="color: #cc0000;">(archery)</span></p><p><b><span style="color: #783f04;">Earth: 6</span> </b><span style="color: #783f04;">(enduring the elements)</span></p><p><b><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Water: 5 </span></b><span style="color: #2b00fe;">(stealth)</span></p><p><b>Motive:</b> Authority<br /></p><p><b>Virtue:</b> The Defender</p><p><b>Fault:</b> The Dragon – reversed</p><p><b>Fate:</b> The Creator<br /></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">“Puma is a hunter, the only known survivor of an earthquake that killed her people when she was eighteen.” She has the powers of 'Speak to Animals' (“Puma can speak to and understand all animals”) and 'Cat's Leap' (“Puma can jump fifteen feet straight up from a standing position”).</p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Serenity Freemansdaughter</span></b><br /></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;"><b></b></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYe8vZ0jRGO0pitMeHr9G1a5WFZltiVKyr7aY5fVZ6OC5jrccXDCdUTwrQaEDCZigfSF8TzmrrT7RoRYC8dhgHaIu-o1JTg1k-UmRqZ2DYwKs36z-HRkXgnK7fn20qLIei5spqzm3gQ20/s211/Serenity.png" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="211" data-original-width="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYe8vZ0jRGO0pitMeHr9G1a5WFZltiVKyr7aY5fVZ6OC5jrccXDCdUTwrQaEDCZigfSF8TzmrrT7RoRYC8dhgHaIu-o1JTg1k-UmRqZ2DYwKs36z-HRkXgnK7fn20qLIei5spqzm3gQ20/s0/Serenity.png" /></a></b></div><b><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Air: 3</span></b><span style="color: #3d85c6;"> (singing)</span><p></p><p><b><span style="color: #cc0000;">Fire: 5</span> </b><span style="color: #cc0000;">(dancing and partying)</span></p><p><b><span style="color: #783f04;">Earth: 4</span> </b><span style="color: #783f04;">(resisting poisons)</span></p><p><b><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Water: 3 </span></b><span style="color: #2b00fe;">(</span><span style="color: #2b00fe;"><span style="color: #2b00fe;">sensing faerie magic</span>)</span></p><p><b>Motive:</b> Wanderlust</p><p><b>Virtue:</b> Death</p><p><b>Fault:</b> Knowledge – reversed</p><p><b>Fate:</b> The Fish<br /></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">Serenity's maternal grandmother was a troll. She taught Serenity magic and gave her the secret name “Farbright.” Serenity has five points of 'Flux' magic, associated with her fire element. She can use this magic to “transform people and things. . .through her concentrated gaze.” Such transformations are temporary and relatively minor. She also has the 'Troll Friend' power: “Trolls (and other earthy, magic beings) generally take a liking to Serenity.”</p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Shadowblade Dragonseeker of the Clan of the Spirit Mountain</span></b><br /></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;"><b></b></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjlWg_LLQlDpsVx7E0UN9QrdsIaGbigQmMbXQOLEy4cLwGvZwP2oTu6ScG-avHCTW5IquovS_-fndC1VNJLk1S_R8i7zehoROxYTY2XHIriq6XJFXpQNDRUvBzoKShmjGwyPmXDOvYAG4/s209/Shadow.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="209" data-original-width="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjlWg_LLQlDpsVx7E0UN9QrdsIaGbigQmMbXQOLEy4cLwGvZwP2oTu6ScG-avHCTW5IquovS_-fndC1VNJLk1S_R8i7zehoROxYTY2XHIriq6XJFXpQNDRUvBzoKShmjGwyPmXDOvYAG4/s0/Shadow.png" /></a></b></div><span style="color: #3d85c6;"><b>Air: 3</b> (disguise)</span><p></p><p><b><span style="color: #cc0000;">Fire: 5</span> </b><span style="color: #cc0000;">(</span><span style="color: #cc0000;"><span style="color: #cc0000;">swordfighting</span>)</span></p><p><b><span style="color: #783f04;">Earth: 4</span> </b><span style="color: #783f04;">(resisting magic)</span></p><p><b><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Water: 7 </span></b><span style="color: #2b00fe;">(anticipating another's actions)</span></p><p><b>Motive:</b> Mystery</p><p><b>Virtue:</b> The Dragon</p><p><b>Fault:</b> Autumn – reversed</p><p><b>Fate:</b> War</p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">Shadow was “a spy [for] a noble house. . .” who performed “a delicate, dangerous, and ugly deed. . .” Freed from further obligations to the nobles, “Shadow has set out to learn about life's deeper mysteries: beauty, love, family, awe, worship, friendship, and sorrow.” Wearing “shadow gear,” he “can blend into shadows and become invisible.” Shadow is also a 'Weaponsmaster' (He “can use any sort of mundane, handheld weapon without training...”).</p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Whisper Walker</span></b><br /></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;"><b></b></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5LvORWMCXDm55ItQbdBd-3vhZh37x6u8K3lsr4e0us91ac3PefEg_fqGR4cKa6WLO93RcwDMKubhSZnXfoWCFFv0xPoh9l8WRuX-F4Vi2urFoITQbbiCbgtPq4uQY1IAHvDrYmt9X0RY/s209/Whisper.png" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="209" data-original-width="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5LvORWMCXDm55ItQbdBd-3vhZh37x6u8K3lsr4e0us91ac3PefEg_fqGR4cKa6WLO93RcwDMKubhSZnXfoWCFFv0xPoh9l8WRuX-F4Vi2urFoITQbbiCbgtPq4uQY1IAHvDrYmt9X0RY/s0/Whisper.png" /></a></b></div><b><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Air: 3</span></b><span style="color: #3d85c6;"> (historical insight)</span><p></p><p><b><span style="color: #cc0000;">Fire: 4</span> </b><span style="color: #cc0000;">(spirit battles)</span></p><p><b><span style="color: #783f04;">Earth: 4</span> </b><span style="color: #783f04;">(</span><span style="color: #783f04;">“Soul's Wall of Stone</span><span style="color: #783f04;">”)</span></p><p><b><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Water: 5 </span></b><span style="color: #2b00fe;">(speaking with spirits)</span></p><p><b>Motive:</b> Beauty</p><p><b>Virtue:</b> The Hermit<br /></p><p><b>Fault:</b> Drowning in Armor<br /></p><p><b>Fate:</b> The Phoenix</p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">Due to a mishap as a child, Whisper became “sensitive to the world of spirits.” She has four points of 'Open Chalice' magic, associated with her water element. Whisper can use her magic to sense energies and become possessed by spirits. Her “Soul's Wall of Stone” is a “psychic barrier.” Whisper also has a power called 'Vision of the Departed Spirit' (She “can tell by sight whether a person is awake, unconscious, or dreaming”). </p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></p>perdustinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05842738630442736894noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2589165667013235064.post-38985986164282376772021-04-11T21:35:00.000-04:002021-04-12T12:28:12.808-04:00Powers and Magic in Everway<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHgOY0eC2L6Ylyr76j1GZl0lLu82tjbOzczcHD2ORVIJ7hGl3lvekbNzSN1UjNk7XvHEBtoSoBUaUm54Tkx5hfDbPCHdjbQk16hlbkjiXV2uo4qjLrYyZ5BjadJNciD-RuwH6UaStJH7k/s726/Kellar+Levitation.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="726" data-original-width="500" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHgOY0eC2L6Ylyr76j1GZl0lLu82tjbOzczcHD2ORVIJ7hGl3lvekbNzSN1UjNk7XvHEBtoSoBUaUm54Tkx5hfDbPCHdjbQk16hlbkjiXV2uo4qjLrYyZ5BjadJNciD-RuwH6UaStJH7k/w442-h640/Kellar+Levitation.png" width="442" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p>In Everway, all player characters (i.e., “heroes”) are spherewalkers. The <i>Playing Guide</i> asks, “What makes someone a spherewalker?”</p><p></p><blockquote><i>Those who are sensitive to mystical things (in game terms, those who have high Water scores) can open the gates and walk the paths between spheres. A few other people who aren't particularly sensitive also can open and travel the gates. Different people have the ability for different reasons. Those with even a little blood of the deities can usually spherewalk, as can those sent on missions by their deities, those who have been given special gifts by spirits or faeries, those conceived or born at propitious or magical times, and so on. Often no one knows what makes spherewalkers able to travel the gates, not even the spherewalkers themselves.</i></blockquote><p></p><p>Heroes can have “magical, psychic, or unusual Powers.” For the most part, Powers have a cost in elemental points. Therefore, purchasing Powers will limit the hero's combined Element scores. Technically, the Powers Stage occurs before the Elements Stage. The cost of any given Power is determined by three factors: versatile, major, and frequent. Each factor that applies to a power costs one point. If a Power has numerous effects, it is versatile. If a Power “has a big effect, especially on another character,” it is major. A frequent Power is “something that often makes a difference in play.” Example Powers are presented in a number of categories.</p><p>Examples of 'Create Fire' Powers include <b>Throw Fire</b> (2 points; frequent and major) – “The hero can produce fire from his or her hands [and] ...can be formed into balls and thrown” and <b>Mastery of Flame</b> (3 points; frequent, major, and versatile) – “The hero can create heat, light, and flame at will.”</p><p>Examples of 'Healing' Powers include <b>Fast Healing</b> (1 point; frequent) – “The hero recovers from physical wounds seven times as fast as normal” and <b>Instant Healing</b> (2 points; frequent and major) – “no wound lasts for more than a few seconds [but] ...A blow that kills the hero instantly, however is still fatal.”</p><p>Examples of 'Immortality' Powers include <b>Unkillable</b> (2 points; frequent and major) – “The hero cannot be killed, though he or she can still be hampered by wounds, sickened by poison, knocked down by blows, weakened by disease” etc. and <b>Invulnerable</b> (3 points; frequent and twice major) – “The hero cannot be wounded or poisoned by normal means, though he or she can still be struck down by forceful blows, knocked unconscious from lack of air, or killed by hunger or thirst.” As can be seen, the 'major' factor can be doubled, costing an additional point.</p><p>'Invisibility' Powers include <b>Standing Unseen</b> (1 point; frequent) – “The hero can become invisible but must remain still and silent” and <b>Walking Unseen</b> (2 points; frequent and major) – “The hero can become invisible and can move about.”</p><p>Examples of 'Persuasion' Powers include <b>Winning Smile</b> (0 points) – “The hero's smile... helps the hero stand out and may make some people more favorable disposed toward him or her” and <b>Charming Voice</b> (2 points; frequent and major) – “The hero can win the affection of those that he or she can talk to at some length.</p><p>'Priestly Powers' include <b>Priestly Rites</b> (2 points; major and versatile) – “The hero can lead worship services and divine ceremonies to channel energy” and <b>Invocation</b> (3 points; frequent, major, and versatile) – “The priest or priestess, apart from any worshipping congregation, can invoke the power of deities.”</p><p>Examples of 'Shapechange' Powers include<b> Werewolf</b> (2 points; frequent and major) – “The hero can turn into a powerful wolf that is immune to normal (nonsilver and nonmagical) weapons” and <b>Bird Form</b> (2 points; frequent and major) – “The hero can turn into a particular type of bird, such as a crow or hawk.”</p><p>Examples of 'Speech' Powers include<b> Speak to Animals</b> (1 point; frequent) – “The hero can speak to all manner of animals” and <b>Shadow Whispers</b> (1 point; major) – “The hero can speak to the dead.” </p><p>Examples of 'Visions' Powers include<b> Glimpses of the Future</b> (1 point; major) – “During times of stress, the hero gets visions of the future” and <b>Mystic Eye</b> (3 points; frequent, major, and versatile) – “The hero can concentrate to gain visions of the future, of times past, or of distant places.”</p><p>Powers can also be purchased to allow a hero to guide others while spherewalking; to guide a group is a 1-Point Power, to guide “large contingents” is a 2-point Power. Otherwise, a hero needs a high water score to lead others: 6 – one or two people, 7 – a group, 8 or more – “large contingents.” </p><p>It is possible for a Power to “come from some object or creature... [such as] a familiar animal, a wand with magical powers, a flying boat, or the like.” Examples of animal companions include <b>Cat Familiar </b>(2 points; frequent and versatile) – “It can talk to the hero (and only the hero), and it is as intelligent as a child” (Fire = 1, Earth = 2, Air = 2, Water = 5) and <b>Wolf Companion</b> (3 points; frequent, major, and versatile) – “A clever, loyal wolf... It does not have human-like intelligence” (Fire = 4, Earth = 3, Air = 1, Water = 4).</p><p>As <b>Winning Smile</b> suggests, there are zero-point Powers that are neither frequent, major, nor versatile. Other examples of such Powers include <b>Friend to Water</b> (“The hero can breathe water”), <b>Horse Friend</b> (“The hero befriends horses automatically”), and <b>Phantom Musician</b> (“The hero can make a musical instrument play by itself”). Each hero is entitled to one such free Power. Each Power after the hero's free Power costs at least one point, even it if would be a zero-point Power.</p><p>The Magic Stage follows the Elements Stage. Similar to purchasing an element score, to have Magic, a hero spends elemental points to develop a Magic score.</p><p>Of the dozen pre-generated characters, eight characters have purchased Powers,
spending up to three points total. The other four characters have spent four to six points on Magic and have only free Powers. Although I could not find any rule that prohibits a hero from purchasing
Powers as well as Magic, each pre-generated character has either
purchased Powers or Magic, but not both. Presumably, a hero need not spend points either for Powers or Magic, but this is not the case for any of the pre-generated characters.</p><p>There are various 'types' of magic (e.g., paths, schools, arts, styles, and traditions). Each magic-using hero has a single type. The rules provide four example types, but players can “invent” their own. Each type is linked with one of the elements, but a mage cannot have an element <a href="http://thoulsparadise.blogspot.com/2021/02/characters-and-elements-in-everway.html">Specialty</a> that is magical. A hero's Magic score cannot exceed his or her score in the linked element. Additionally, the Magic score of a beginning character cannot exceed seven.</p><p>Examples of what a Magic score indicates are...</p><p><b></b></p><blockquote><p><i><b>1 Apprentice</b>: A beginner, capable of both modest tricks and catastrophic mistakes.</i></p><p><i><b>3 Average Mage</b>: A humble practitioner with some impressive powers in his or her area of specialization, but not one to tackle great magical challenges. A town of a thousand people might have one such mage.</i></p><p><i><b>6 Mighty Mage</b>: The mightiest living mage that most people have ever heard of; a master of magic. A realm of a million people might have one such mage.</i></p></blockquote><p></p><p>The four example magic types are 'Flux' (Fire), 'Soil and Stone' (Earth), 'Words of Power' (Air), and 'Open Chalice' (Water).<br /></p><p>'Flux' regards transformation. Example levels include: 1 – Alter minor features on small objects, such as making a pebble smoother; 3 – Alter minor features, such as aging milk, freshening air, fortifying wine, weakening rope, and rusting metal; 5 – Alter an average hero's features, such as height or race. We learn, “the effects of this magic last only a short time, usually about a day.”</p><p>'Soil and Stone' regards healing and wards. Example levels include: 1 – Aid the ill; 3 – Counter diseases or ward an individual against a particular danger or magic; 5 – Counter curses or let a mortally wounded person recover (slowly). We learn, “this magic works through physical contact, especially with the hands.”</p><p>'Words of Power' magic “uses spoken and written words to affect living things, spirits, and magical forces.” Example levels include: 1 – Command insects by voice or inscribe charms to bring good luck; 3 – Force back wild animals or inscribe charms for various, minor purposes; 5 – Force back an average person with a magic word.</p><p>'Open Chalice' regards empathy and communication. Example levels include: 1 – Sense strong energies; 3 – Call and channel spirits with varied success; 5 – Neutralize petty negative energies or communicate nonverbally with plants or call and channel spirits with facility. We learn that “taste and smell are the physical senses ruled by water, this magic sometimes uses magic drinks, smoke, incense, or other aids.” <br /></p><br />perdustinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05842738630442736894noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2589165667013235064.post-54421621829944175962021-03-20T19:12:00.003-04:002021-03-20T19:12:57.239-04:00City of Wonder<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmFmjqhHX_szXNzI_a7lVPY0_lDtdVyR7kuUUek2p9T3PChDzrta8AgRn2QFZhYIrZEh7e6zsuLKRK8k9-c82Oz0gkvCucUt-NCLX6MaOQ4_3nXXYIZJ-KGXXnKe38iyE2V1PPeXJwhzM/s1000/Wonder+Figures.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="448" data-original-width="1000" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmFmjqhHX_szXNzI_a7lVPY0_lDtdVyR7kuUUek2p9T3PChDzrta8AgRn2QFZhYIrZEh7e6zsuLKRK8k9-c82Oz0gkvCucUt-NCLX6MaOQ4_3nXXYIZJ-KGXXnKe38iyE2V1PPeXJwhzM/w400-h179/Wonder+Figures.png" width="400" /></a></div><p></p><p>Six years ago, your humble host wrote about Chaosium's 1982 <a href="https://thoulsparadise.blogspot.com/2015/04/a-portion-of-wonder.html"><i>Worlds of Wonder</i></a> product. We return to that product because a reader has informed me that he (or she or they) purchased <i>Worlds of Wonder</i> on eBay; however, the 'A Portion of Wonder' pamphlet was missing. This, of course, is unconscionable and I cannot sit idly by while a lone voice cries out in the wilderness. In this post, I provide the requested scan. Some concern was expressed over copyright. I am certain that this is covered by one or more 'fair use' provisions (particularly the 'obscure blog' & 'material that has been out of print for nearly four decades' provisions – but you should consult with a lawyer before relying on said provisions for your own purposes). Anyway, what good are laws when justice has been trampled in the dirt?</p><p>The pamphlet consists of four pages. The front cover briefly describes the city (usually referenced merely as 'Wonder') and supplies a price list. The interior two pages present a map of part of the city (i.e., the Magic World, Superworld, and Future*World sections). The back cover provides a 'Short Guide to the Avenues', with brief descriptions of places shown on the map (e.g., All-Beings Hospital and Piglar Megalessar's Stage Show and School of Cunning).</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWiXewF82lqPd7WMu2CdceLOJyg_BrxHRoNo5A-zhTmvl6uCQBbS1v0ddZskYt8tBGe-iD9drWcLH3kEY22vDfK8hT2-Chglq_56FJ5uHBANXSP94YZLigDfd69EHLXJc0G2llwRua4lk/s1289/Portion+p1.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1289" data-original-width="1000" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWiXewF82lqPd7WMu2CdceLOJyg_BrxHRoNo5A-zhTmvl6uCQBbS1v0ddZskYt8tBGe-iD9drWcLH3kEY22vDfK8hT2-Chglq_56FJ5uHBANXSP94YZLigDfd69EHLXJc0G2llwRua4lk/w497-h640/Portion+p1.png" width="497" /></a></div><p><br /></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxn1UAdu9x6qX_66oWjwu9ilX0bT1cj015WyaYBSWM61gHLBlLMwed7YGQIpYMxK8-M1rQF-HaV4MSb8WkrKwUAQJWHbc2A7c7Sc8EVYenkMDhDiebV8ZGS4u0-ZZ2LQo-5RmCE2cn7vM/s1549/Map+of+Wonder.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1549" data-original-width="1000" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxn1UAdu9x6qX_66oWjwu9ilX0bT1cj015WyaYBSWM61gHLBlLMwed7YGQIpYMxK8-M1rQF-HaV4MSb8WkrKwUAQJWHbc2A7c7Sc8EVYenkMDhDiebV8ZGS4u0-ZZ2LQo-5RmCE2cn7vM/w414-h640/Map+of+Wonder.png" width="414" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Please note the reference to <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_Lane" target="_blank">Apple Lane</a> in the lower left area<br /></td></tr></tbody></table> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpmM_zX5f0sCM422-l-97aKVX_6i1_wMVNg0XKR7ybR6eA4g4jOkcMKul58S6VrR5WcfxoMtFKNe05pKP5S4pNuUijZKaI-lXQJVhmHO2N_K7QZjYFgbFgC1tnDLB6AqUkcVpEnkq1b94/s1308/Portion+p2.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1308" data-original-width="1000" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpmM_zX5f0sCM422-l-97aKVX_6i1_wMVNg0XKR7ybR6eA4g4jOkcMKul58S6VrR5WcfxoMtFKNe05pKP5S4pNuUijZKaI-lXQJVhmHO2N_K7QZjYFgbFgC1tnDLB6AqUkcVpEnkq1b94/w490-h640/Portion+p2.png" width="490" /></a></div>The reader also requested “any suggestion for a multi-genre crossover rpg.” It seems several such games have been published over the years, but it would be inconsiderate of me not to suggest <a href="https://www.chaosium.com/" target="_blank">Chaosium</a>'s own Basic Roleplaying, the natural evolution of <i>Worlds of Wonder</i>. It has a System Reference Document that has been out for almost a year.<br /><p></p>perdustinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05842738630442736894noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2589165667013235064.post-24754639745801373002021-02-28T12:05:00.000-05:002021-02-28T12:05:12.776-05:00Characters and Elements in Everway<p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT4USJpBjkaIbDAda9cml4CzAH3Xtqq-J824WqLVRHN00bK4HTrA2IvYPXPtlbVFUebPu-qtVKIivGCmGvokY-vgb86u545-MNzZ8CpNOlNm0YWHY6l1lA4PuJ4HljRXBuJHXBYHBIPjA/s667/4Humours.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="667" data-original-width="500" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT4USJpBjkaIbDAda9cml4CzAH3Xtqq-J824WqLVRHN00bK4HTrA2IvYPXPtlbVFUebPu-qtVKIivGCmGvokY-vgb86u545-MNzZ8CpNOlNm0YWHY6l1lA4PuJ4HljRXBuJHXBYHBIPjA/s16000/4Humours.png" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: #444444;">From Leonhard Thurneysser’s <i>Quinta Essentia </i>(1574)</span></span></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p><a href="http://thoulsparadise.blogspot.com/2021/01/the-cosmology-of-everway.html">Previously</a>, we examined parts of the Identity Stage of <i>Everway</i> character generation; specifically, the concepts of Virtue, Fault, and Fate. The remaining portion of the Identity Stage is choosing a name for the character, which “is not a trivial matter.” However, “You may choose a name at any point in designing you hero.” Names of <i>Everway</i> characters often “mean something in everyday speech rather than being merely traditional.” Names of the pre-generated characters appear in a chart later in this post. Choosing a Motive is also part of the Identity Stage. Seven Motives are listed, but the reader is invited to “invent your own.”</p><p><span> </span><b>Adversity</b>: “The hero is under some compulsion to walk the spheres.”</p><p><span> </span><b>Authority</b>: “The hero is the hands, the eyes, the mouth, or the sword of some authority, such as a deity, ruler, or holy order.”</p><p><span> </span><b>Beauty</b>: “The hero seeks to share or to experience that which is beautiful: art, music, romance, poetry, aphrodisia, and more.”</p><p><span> </span><b>Conquest</b>: “The hero lives for challenges and loves to exert power.”</p><p><span> </span><b>Knowledge</b>: “The hero seeks knowledge to be found in new realms and new worlds.”</p><p><span> </span><b>Mystery</b>: “The hero seeks no mundane goals but wishes to confront mysteries on other worlds.”</p><p><span> </span><b>Wanderlust</b>: “The hero wanders the spheres with little or no care for a purpose.”</p><p>Stages that follow the Identity Stage involve an allocation of elemental points. Players have twenty elemental points to spend on the Powers, Elements, and Magic of their characters. Elements are the “basic aspects” of a character – what would in other games be called characteristics or attributes. In <i>Everway</i>, these basic aspects correspond roughly with <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=s8YRVbDknyUC&pg=PA45&lpg=PA45&dq=%E2%80%9CTweet+introduced+the+medieval+idea+of+the+four+humors%E2%80%9D&source=bl&ots=_uzzzCSO2n&sig=ACfU3U3DxPwJRXtCurNTjp0Ja5g9sBpROQ&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiJiKfQk-rtAhUCr1kKHXLWDaEQ6AEwAHoECAEQAg#v=onepage&q=%E2%80%9CTweet%20introduced%20the%20medieval%20idea%20of%20the%20four%20humors%E2%80%9D&f=false" target="_blank">the four medieval humors</a>. Rather than have attributes like Phlegm and Yellow Bile, Tweet wisely named these aspects after the four classical elements. Elements have ratings from one to ten, with a one meaning helplessness and a ten meaning a godlike level of ability. Player characters have a minimum rating of two and a maximum rating of nine. We learn, “An average hero's scores are usually between 4 and 5...” An average background character (i.e., non-player character) has only twelve elemental points to allocate, “so a well-balanced average person has a score of 3 for each Element.” The Elements and their meanings are:<br /></p><p></p><blockquote><p><i> Air determines intelligence, speech, thought, logic, analytical ability, oratory, and knowledge. A hero with a strong Air score knows a lot, speaks well, and can figure things out easily.<br /></i></p><p><i> Earth governs a hero's health endurance, fortitude, will, determination, and resilience. Heroes with strong Earth scores can withstand damage, shake off the effects of poison, and resist magic.<br /></i></p><p><i> Fire measures vitality, force, courage, speed, and daring. Heroes with strong Fire scores are energetic and capable in physical activities.</i></p><p><i> Water governs intuition, sensitivity to that which is unseen and unspoken, receptivity, psychic potential, and depth of feeling. Heroes with strong Water scores are good at sensing lies, feeling magic, intuiting hidden emotions, adapting to new social situations, and so on.</i></p></blockquote><p> </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5zIIPBi1nXv3e6gdquDovm02xJ7DUuIDIi1gl8ozeDVxK7A0SNcT31lwO-rqwKsdX0qZjTx4JlD_sMc8T3fo4yWhWu0P31IayTCzMwW693El3GgNkkm2hLBSr2Yh2HLkxQB228gDCMXs/s471/Element+Wheel.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="437" data-original-width="471" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5zIIPBi1nXv3e6gdquDovm02xJ7DUuIDIi1gl8ozeDVxK7A0SNcT31lwO-rqwKsdX0qZjTx4JlD_sMc8T3fo4yWhWu0P31IayTCzMwW693El3GgNkkm2hLBSr2Yh2HLkxQB228gDCMXs/s16000/Element+Wheel.png" /></a></div><p> </p><p>As the above graphic shows, each Element has an opposite Element and combines and contrasts with the remaining two Elements. For example, Air ('thought') opposes Earth ('might'). The combination of Air and Water results in 'Wisdom' (Air associated with “spoken” and Water, “silent”), while the combination of Air and Fire results in 'Energy' (Air associated with “focused” and Fire, “forceful”).</p><p>If a player has a “role” or “career” in mind for his or her character, one or more Elements can be emphasized. As examples...</p><p style="margin-left: 40px; text-align: left;"><b>Earth</b>: farmer or guard</p><p style="margin-left: 40px; text-align: left;"><b>Earth and Water</b>: priest or healer</p><p style="margin-left: 40px; text-align: left;"><b>Water</b>: mystic or artist</p><p style="margin-left: 40px; text-align: left;"><b>Water and Air</b>: physician or poet</p><p style="margin-left: 40px; text-align: left;"><b>Air</b>: scholar or engineer</p><p style="margin-left: 40px; text-align: left;"><b>Air and Fire</b>: leader or messenger</p><p style="margin-left: 40px; text-align: left;"><b>Fire</b>: warrior or acrobat</p><p style="margin-left: 40px; text-align: left;"><b>Fire and Earth</b>: athlete or smith</p><p>Even opposite elements can be combined for certain roles / careers. High Fire and Water scores can represent a scout or dancer. High Air and Earth can represent a magistrate or inquisitor.<br /></p><p></p><p>For each Element, a player character has a Specialty. A Specialty is a particular area of expertise. “Generally,” the rules inform us, “a Specialty allows a hero to perform an act as if the [Element] score were 1 point higher than it is.” Examples include...</p><p><b><span> </span>Air</b>: Smooth-talking, Occult Lore<br /></p><p><b><span> </span>Earth</b>: Resisting Magic, Tireless Stride<br /></p><p><b><span> </span>Fire</b>: Archery, Running<br /></p><p><b><span> </span>Water</b>: Stealth, Tracking</p><p>It's possible for a Specialty to be a “Cross-Specialty,” meaning it can be associated with one Element but affect another. As an example, the rules explain that Archery is a task normally associated with Fire, but “because arrows fly through the air,” Archery could be associated with Air. If a hero has a Fire score of 2, but an Air score of 6 (with an Archery specialty), then that hero “would shoot arrows as well as as a 7-Fire” character. Other Cross-Specialties include Smithing (Fire – Air), Swimming (Water – Fire), and Mining (Earth – Air).</p><p>The <i>Everway</i> boxed set comes with twelve pre-generated characters. As such, Tweet gives us a good amount of insight into his concept of how player characters ought to be. Below is a chart showing the Element scores for the “ready-to-run heroes.“ The characters are ordered by ascending value of their Air scores.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2MZ2sDHnPLp54ZqN1247sIicXO7xAW0pwuYTuzF5Yhg3vbKEGl9oYDjqPqBu1e49YXr1Mfz8DRIFA8oDeKHj5OwyZznFSytOZ4KO-AGw4wUChWA8L2FhBuwjmgmf_98tuFZ_iv-pPLrM/s580/Air+Ascending.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="346" data-original-width="580" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2MZ2sDHnPLp54ZqN1247sIicXO7xAW0pwuYTuzF5Yhg3vbKEGl9oYDjqPqBu1e49YXr1Mfz8DRIFA8oDeKHj5OwyZznFSytOZ4KO-AGw4wUChWA8L2FhBuwjmgmf_98tuFZ_iv-pPLrM/w400-h239/Air+Ascending.png" width="400" /></a></div><p>In terms of averages: Earth = 3.83, Air = 3.92, Fire = 4.5, and Water = 4.75. The 'Wisdom' Elements (Air and Water) have a value range of 3 – 7 while the 'Power' Elements (Fire and Earth) have a value range of only 2 – 6. For fully three-quarters of the characters, Element ranges are within 3 – 6; for one-fourth of the characters, Element ranges are within 3 –5. If the characters are grouped according to which of their Elements has the highest score, each Element would have three characters except Fire, which would have two. (One hero has Fire and Water tied at highest score.)</p><p><br /></p>perdustinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05842738630442736894noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2589165667013235064.post-24150174751957058532021-02-07T22:01:00.001-05:002021-02-07T22:01:11.157-05:00The City and the Setting<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUSSXZwr1-aIXyVp34hetwbgoHzN0_0jVq2AM7D7h7bdmkYdOu8n6i9Jr4Aj3qE0oJ7oXhOGk7aRpiQDMeHGoZAUMMoNKtfNqYmFZi5D76dlkZ51NWq4XJm__yBXl6VgmmzoH2WowwDrk/s500/City+of+Everway.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="343" data-original-width="500" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUSSXZwr1-aIXyVp34hetwbgoHzN0_0jVq2AM7D7h7bdmkYdOu8n6i9Jr4Aj3qE0oJ7oXhOGk7aRpiQDMeHGoZAUMMoNKtfNqYmFZi5D76dlkZ51NWq4XJm__yBXl6VgmmzoH2WowwDrk/s16000/City+of+Everway.png" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Map by <a href="https://amyweberstudio.com/" target="_blank">Amy Weber</a><br /></span></i></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p>The <a href="http://bit.ly/EverwayKS" target="_blank"><i>Everway</i> Kickstarter</a> has surpassed its goal and – as of this writing – the project has about a month left. Readers within this time period are encouraged to check it out.</p><p>Anyway, <i>Everway</i> the game is named after Everway the so-called “City of a Thousand Deities.” Located in the sphere of Fourcorner, Everway is the central city of the the realm of Roundwander and is “home to half a million people.” There are “at least seventy-one gates in Roundwander.” (We learn, “Most spheres have two gates, each leading to a different sphere.”) Like characters, realms have a Virtue, a Fault, a Fate. Realms also have an <a href="http://thoulsparadise.blogspot.com/2021/01/the-cosmology-of-everway.html">Usurper</a>. For Roundwander, these are:</p><p><b></b></p><blockquote><p><i><b>Virtue:</b> Autumn ( </i>plenty<i>). The place is old but still active. It is past its most energetic stage but not yet into winter. Roundwander's Autumn Virtue represents not just “plenty” in terms of quantity, but also in terms of variety. The people of Roundwander present the hundred colors of a forest in fall.</i></p><p><i><b>Fault</b>: Spring – reversed (</i> stagnation<i>). Roundwander is an old, old place, and the habits of a hundred generations are worn into the stone-paved pathways.</i></p><p><i><b>Fate</b>: Cockatrice ( </i>corruption vs. recovery<i>). The influx of new people, new magic, and new ideas could undermine what is good about Roundwander or bring it the new energy it needs to overcome the threat of stagnation.</i></p><p><i><b>Usurper</b>: The Pyramid (</i> order and cooperative effort)<i>. This Usurper represents coming together, working together, balance, order, and progress. Reversed, The Pyramid means dissension, imbalance, conflict, and regress.</i></p></blockquote><p></p><p>The Walker's Pyramid sits in the center of Everway. It consists of seven tiers of blocks “about twenty feet high.” It is “some three hundred feet on a side.” The Walker is a legendary being who supposedly built the pyramid one stone at a time and “is out among the spheres now, searching for the capstone, which will complete the pyramid.” We learn, “No one knows what will happen when the pyramid is completed.” The pyramid is tended by priests and “temples, wandering mystics, and booths that sell magical goods and items for offerings” surround the base.</p><p>Jonathan Tweet's “original idea was to have no background at all” in the game, but included the city-setting for people “who want to create their heroes and quests in a cultural context.” Tweet states that he made the city “big and varied so that you would feel free to add the details that you wish to add.” He also claims, “Heroes can find plots within the city itself, or they can find reasons to explore other realms” or spheres. Additionally...</p><p></p><blockquote><i>...Everway includes a few magical patterns that aren't explicit. You can enjoy Everway without finding out all of its secrets, but they're here for those of you who like a little mystery.</i></blockquote><p></p><p>There are various “centers of interest,” each supporting “a different sort of business and attracts a different sort of visitor.” </p><p><b>Arenas</b>: This is “where gladiators fight and martial families demonstrate their skill and courage.”</p><p><b>Council House</b>: “Centuries ago, the leaders of prominent families formed the Council as a way to relieve the great king of an endless stream of mundane decisions and obligations.“</p><p><b>Court of Fools</b>: “[A] large plaza where entertainers of all types demonstrate their arts. Mixed in among the buffoons and jugglers, one can sometimes find prophets and seers.”</p><p><b>Gaming Houses</b>: This is “where fortunes change hands over the rolls of dice. Other amusements of questionable morality can also be found nearby.”</p><p><b>Gardens</b>: This place contains “various temples to deities of nature and the earth. Exotic animals and plants from other spheres can be found here...”</p><p><b>Houses of Dusk</b>: This is “where the dead are prepared for their final journeys.”</p><p><b>Library of All Worlds</b>: ”[A] collection of large buildings filled with scrolls holding knowledge and wisdom collected from a thousand spheres.”</p><p></p><p><b>Temple of Mercy</b>: ”Here one finds poorhouses, hospitals, orphanages, and temples to deities of fertility and healing.”</p><p>A page in the <i>Playing Guide</i> named 'Sights in Everway' lists various encounters that heroes might have in the 'centers of interest' described above. There might be a “humanoid dragon, a guest of the [Library of All Worlds], teaching the language of the dragons.” Around the Gaming Houses, there may be a “spherewalker getting beaten for getting caught using magic to influence the roll of the dice.”</p><p>No description of the city of Everway would be complete without mention of Strangerside, “home of Strangers ... and Outsiders.” (A 'Stranger' is someone from another realm. An 'Outsider' is someone from another sphere.) Strangerside is to the southeast of the walled portion of Everway, across the Sunset River. (On the map above, north is to the right.) Possible encounters in Strangerside include:</p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><i>A large, two-legged bearlike creature wearing a harness. It's sitting in the shade, swatting flies that buzz about it. It watches passersby with intelligent eyes.</i></li><li><i>Bedraggled refugees from a distant realm who have come here to find champions to bring justice to their homeland.</i></li><li><i>A narrow alley in which several short, light-skinned, brown-haired merchants ply visitors with a bewildering array of small, exotic goods. They refuse beads, insisting on being paid in silver, gold, or (preferably) gems.</i></li></ul><p>“There are nearly a thousand families in Everway,” the <i>Playing Guide</i> tells us, “some with a handful of members, some with over a thousand.” These families “are the central system of ordering society in Everway.” Examples of noteworthy Everway families include: <br /></p><p><b>Crookstaff</b>: “A family renowned for magical ability, secrecy, and strange ways.” </p><p><b>Digger</b>: “Historically, a family of miners. Now, however, they're mostly moneylenders (who still maintain a monopoly on mining).”</p><p><b>Emerald</b>: “The royal family of Roundwander.”</p><p><b>Mask</b>: “A family that, officially, provides amusements and diversions. Unofficially, they are involved in various illicit activities.”</p><p><b>Moondance</b>: “A family of priestesses and cousins who support them. Moondances are found in temples dedicated to many different deities.”</p><p><b>Mudbank</b>: “Leatherworkers. They are responsible for removing dead animals from the streets...”</p><p><b>Snakering</b>: “Courtiers, ambassadors, and functionaries. They were once a powerful family, but now they work at the behest of others.</p><p> </p>perdustinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05842738630442736894noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2589165667013235064.post-42662664277001390732021-01-17T23:08:00.000-05:002021-01-17T23:08:56.306-05:00The Cosmology of Everway<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjADHsCYSh-0VUBtisYY4i8BBqu9FxQbtS72eKsMXmIGZHmZx00hUcgTluyJQ7IpJm2wGQq3dX_g4sZ4OsJk_-2ZcwMixXhU3fZDOrLhct6N3YHfrfD2PjRaEryEqWdvyqOFjwAI3yVNPA/s704/usurper.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="704" data-original-width="500" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjADHsCYSh-0VUBtisYY4i8BBqu9FxQbtS72eKsMXmIGZHmZx00hUcgTluyJQ7IpJm2wGQq3dX_g4sZ4OsJk_-2ZcwMixXhU3fZDOrLhct6N3YHfrfD2PjRaEryEqWdvyqOFjwAI3yVNPA/s16000/usurper.png" /></a></div><p>The setting of <i>Everway</i> consists of innumerable spheres. Each sphere “is an entire world... physically similar to real-life earth, the same size and shape, with cold polar regions, a hot equatorial band, varying seasons, oceans covering most of the surface, and so on.” Spheres are connected to one another by gates. People who use gates to travel among the spheres are called spherewalkers; all player characters are spherewalkers. Otherwise, very few people are spherewalkers. Most people aren't even aware of other spheres.<br /></p><p>There are also realms. A realm is...</p><p></p><blockquote><i>...an area on a sphere in which cosmic forces hold sway, an area with a shared story. It may encompass several kingdoms, city-states, or lands, or it can be a small area. A realm can be as large as a sphere, but usually realms are smaller, so that there are many realms in a sphere.</i></blockquote><p></p><p><i>Everway</i> is expressly a fantasy setting, presenting “a world of warriors, shamans, monks, assassins, unicorns, dragons, goblins, ghosts, temples, castles, shrines, ruins, curses, spells, prayers, and quests.” We are told, “modern or futuristic elements, such as firearms, spaceships, and robots, don't fit.” However, “With your gamemaster's permission, you may play someone from a modern or futuristic sphere, provided that the hero can't return to that sphere and can't use sophisticated, high-tech tools, weapons, or skills.”</p><p>An important <i>Everway</i> game mechanic – as well as an important aspect of the setting – is the Fortune Deck. Consisting of thirty-six cards, a Gamemaster can use the Fortune Deck to guide play. It exists in the setting as a “deck of symbolic cards use to divine the future.” Similar to tarot, each card has a distinct meaning, as well as a contrary, 'reversed' meaning when a card appears upside-down. In <i>Everway</i>, there are three ways to resolve actions: the Law of Karma, the Law of Drama, and the Law of Fortune. The Law of Fortune involves drawing cards from the Fortune Deck. While this represents the only type of random resolution in <i>Everway</i>, interpretation of the cards is subjective.</p><p> We learn, “The deities created the spheres for people to live on, and they made them fit for human life.” At the same time they...</p><p></p><blockquote><p><i>...created the Fortune Deck as a guide for humanity. In its original form, it was a series of thirty-six images laid out in a specific pattern. The images detailed the evolution of the human soul from its manifestation in the world, through various lives or stages, to its eventual, inevitable perfection...</i></p><p><i>...A deity variously identified as any of several deities of chaos or trickery, stole one of the images and then mixed the others together so that the original pattern was disrupted and forgotten...</i></p><p><i>The loss of the thirty-sixth card created a cosmic void, an emptiness that the card used to fill. Sometimes in a realm a lesser force grows to fill this void until it asserts itself as the thirty-sixth force in that realm . . . Such a force is the “usurper force.”</i></p></blockquote><p></p><p>The thirty-sixth card represents this “usurper force.” Sometimes gods are represented in the Fortune Deck, such as Odin in the 'Law' card (below). Different realms use different gods and some realms may not use images of deities at all.</p><p>“You can interpret a fortune card based on many things,” we learn from the <i>Playing Guide</i>, “the card's name, the listed meaning, the card's elemental and planetary correspondences, and the art on the card.” The Fortune Deck can be consulted to decide the result of a specific action, for a yes/no determination, an interpretation of large-scale events, or to improvise details.<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOCP14719lE-jRyKtYn1WpRTzTJbwFXnPKNuxrNi4OTEoNg6D5DM1xEf5KJVFNSt8yOql82U_oBHs1dyOGL9uEkqen3_SUQgEkP-_vga-IUhKnLdARPM_7tYIRFTmHKs3ijArXrtjiSsM/s707/law.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="707" data-original-width="500" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOCP14719lE-jRyKtYn1WpRTzTJbwFXnPKNuxrNi4OTEoNg6D5DM1xEf5KJVFNSt8yOql82U_oBHs1dyOGL9uEkqen3_SUQgEkP-_vga-IUhKnLdARPM_7tYIRFTmHKs3ijArXrtjiSsM/s16000/law.png" /></a></div><p></p><blockquote><p><b><i>Meaning: <span style="color: #990000;">Order</span></i></b></p><p><i>Odin is the Law-Giver. He walks among his people and guides them with wise sayings and rules of conduct. To guide people to that which is right, he uses speech first and force second.</i></p><p><b><i>Reversed: <span style="color: #990000;">Treachery</span></i></b></p><p><i>Just as the wind can change direction, so the law can become a tool for injustice. Treacherous people can use others' faith in law against them, violating laws that others expect them to follow.</i></p><p><b><i>Correspondences</i></b></p><p><i>Odin's ravens, Thought and Memory, represent Law's ties to air, and thus to words and to forethought. Odin's walking stick signifies the card's ties to earth. Earth represents Law's link to that which is stable, orderly, and strong.</i></p></blockquote><p></p><p>In the Identity Stage of character creation, the player chooses different Fortune Deck cards to represents the character's Virtue, Fault, and Fate. A character's Virtue “represents some way in which he or she is particularly gifted.” A character's Fault “is a way in which he or she is particularly weak or vulnerable.” Virtues and Faults can be personal traits, magical gifts/curses, or aspects of fortune. Fate is a character's “current challenge, where the hero is in her life's story.” Each realm can also have a Virtue, Fault, and Fate.</p><p>The Fortune Deck can also be used for divination. The “most common way” to structure a reading is shown below.<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlZVdrz9vGtibYoSZRgZIM9dWs3m33AwJTAbGkZCpcnUoh8GCvEWCaslA-_AL8xZM7qj6yI61dBFtS7LgKdCCrKM59S3Q3bES6hly1z4LIHeDKaxPp9QP3FlCXChDxLc2xpT-E14bd9u8/s500/divining.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="367" data-original-width="500" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlZVdrz9vGtibYoSZRgZIM9dWs3m33AwJTAbGkZCpcnUoh8GCvEWCaslA-_AL8xZM7qj6yI61dBFtS7LgKdCCrKM59S3Q3bES6hly1z4LIHeDKaxPp9QP3FlCXChDxLc2xpT-E14bd9u8/s16000/divining.png" /></a></div>perdustinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05842738630442736894noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2589165667013235064.post-49612177949049321772020-12-27T17:24:00.002-05:002021-02-07T15:35:35.914-05:00Visionary Roleplaying<p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiea_gSv7kKwClPbWk74yeuznly-iTeDSANfZJLbqkQXniRTg_paSRokwZck72z4BM7NaUOwpB2ew1gSUC8QPn4Lg9PR3T10urruh2Ig4wEJbPO_beN6QF1B2vKJutiTU9xjSFVobNEpxo/s723/Gate+Source+Card.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="723" data-original-width="500" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiea_gSv7kKwClPbWk74yeuznly-iTeDSANfZJLbqkQXniRTg_paSRokwZck72z4BM7NaUOwpB2ew1gSUC8QPn4Lg9PR3T10urruh2Ig4wEJbPO_beN6QF1B2vKJutiTU9xjSFVobNEpxo/w443-h640/Gate+Source+Card.png" width="443" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i><span style="color: #444444;">Art by <a href="http://www.janinejohnston.com/original-art/">Janine Johnston</a></span></i></span><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p></p><p>Casting about for my next study after <i>Tabloid!</i> and <i>Pandemonium!</i>, I thought about <a href="https://rpggeek.com/rpgitem/44873/everway-visionary-roleplaying"><i>Everway</i></a>. It's not exactly old school, but it is twenty-five years old. Little did I realize a Kickstarter for a silver anniversary edition is planned for next month by the aptly named <a href="https://www.everway.com/">The Everway Company</a>.</p><p>Designed by Jonathan Tweet, <i>Everway</i> was published by Wizards of the Coast as part of its Alter Ego line of role-playing games. Such a combination of designer and publisher might seem auspicious, but the game's success was rather equivocal. <i>Everway</i> was released in August 1995 and, four months later, WotC discontinued it's line of role-playing games. This seems like some sort of urgent, end-of-the-year budgetary action. (Yet sixteen months after <i>that</i>, WotC acquired the world's most popular role-playing game.)</p><p>Rumor has it that WotC required businesses that sold <i>Magic: The Gathering</i> to also sell <i>Everway</i>, forcing <i>Everway</i> into retail channels that did not want to accommodate role-playing games. A survey included with the game shows the types of establishments WotC thought would carry <i>Everway</i>.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXtOOiybudQoj02gOlmsxO7MwOXIU7BZa-k32gvmisCkJwpRQcBqGmokbp30w9uRnb2Qf70dLAEBDngocI1KzZqQF2qlZp0U2WoueQ1EBmTYA0Y98JgqfIRN4_PUd0mLJ-pF_Z0II1Buc/s500/Where+did+you+purchase.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="307" data-original-width="500" height="245" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXtOOiybudQoj02gOlmsxO7MwOXIU7BZa-k32gvmisCkJwpRQcBqGmokbp30w9uRnb2Qf70dLAEBDngocI1KzZqQF2qlZp0U2WoueQ1EBmTYA0Y98JgqfIRN4_PUd0mLJ-pF_Z0II1Buc/w400-h245/Where+did+you+purchase.png" width="400" /></a></div><p>Were there many “New Age” bookstores that sold <i>Everway</i> ? In any event, the suggested retail price for the <i>Everway</i> set was a pricey $35 (which would be approximately $60 in 2020 terms). The sizable box (9.5" × 13.5" × 2") included:</p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Playing Guide (162 pages)</li><li>Gamemastering Guide (64 pages)</li><li>Guide to the Fortune Deck (14 pages)</li><li>Fortune Deck (consisting of 36 cards)</li><li>Vision Cards (90)</li><li>Quest Cards (6)</li><li>Source Cards (4)</li><li>Blank Character Sheets (12)</li><li>Character Sheets with Pre-Generated Characters (12)</li><li>Maps (2)</li></ul><p>Also included, but not listed on the back of the box, were the aforementioned survey and a plastic tray. The tray was able to hold all cards included in the game, as well as a set of “companion collector” vision cards (sold separately). Honestly, the large box didn't need to be so large. The guide books measure roughly roughly 7" × 9". The character sheets and maps are 8.5" × 11", but they could have been folded in half for the sake of a more compact box.</p><p>Not surprisingly, the company behind <i>Magic: The Gathering</i> made cards an essential part of their <i>Everway</i> role-playing game. Rather than dice, <i>Everway</i> employs a Fortune Deck to determine the outcome of actions in the game. Cards from the Fortune Deck have iconography similar to the Major Arcana of the tarot. (The survey asks, “Do you own tarot cards?” If so, “How many decks do you own? 1-2, 3-5, 6-10, Over 10”) Lacking numerical values, interpretation of the cards is necessarily subjective. Like tarot cards, a Fortune Deck card has both a normal meaning as well as a reversed meaning. For example, 'The Griffin' card has a normal meaning of “valor” and a reversed meaning of “cowardice.”</p><p>Each of the 'source cards' depicts an aspect of the <i>Everway</i> setting with a brief, informative paragraph on the back. Shown at the beginning of this post is the “Gate” source card.</p><p>The 'quest cards' depict aspects of the ready-to-run quest (i.e., introductory adventure) provided in the <i>Gamemastering Guide</i>. Five of the six cards are of non-player characters from that quest. This is helpful in showing players what these characters look like. The backs of the cards indicate the attributes of the characters, convenient for the gamemaster's reference.</p><p>The 'vision cards' distinguish <i>Everway</i> from other role-playing games, both then and now. These cards are instrumental in creating a character as well as recording the character's continuing, in-game story. Creating player characters begins with the Vision Stage, which requires vision cards. According to page 67 of the <i>Playing Guide</i> :</p><p></p><blockquote><p> <i>You use</i> vision cards <i>to develop your hero's background and identity. First, look over the vision cards. Your gamemaster may provide some, as may your fellow players and you may, of course, provide your own. Select five cards that attract you. You need not decide right away what these cards will mean to your hero.</i></p><p><i> When you have selected the cards to use, look them over and invent a hero and that hero's background. You only need a sketchy idea of your hero for now. You can write notes about your hero's background on the back of your hero sheet.</i></p><p><i> Keep your vision cards so that you can show them to other players. You may want to buy special sheets that hold, display, and protect cards like these. You will be getting more vision cards cards as your hero completes quests; your gamemaster gives these cards to you so you can have a visual record of your hero's activities.</i></p></blockquote><p></p><p>A side bar informs us, “If the gamemaster provides your vision cards, be ready to give them back if you stop playing your hero.”</p><p>Each vision card has an image of a person or scene. The back of each card presents questions about the image that encourage interpretations that may be useful in establishing a character's background.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHhTLb767j8ONOnXIL6xIluvbi8tQk4S96QeXFitBq7YqiAOJz9XVcmhClEcnjMMjHE4uVlDexFf-mmrWygL2JasBAI-E0mD_f-6CcMOzHbVjFg0xcE1w78BCK0_KHM_59UXpFTyI9tGs/s500/vision+card+34.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="358" data-original-width="500" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHhTLb767j8ONOnXIL6xIluvbi8tQk4S96QeXFitBq7YqiAOJz9XVcmhClEcnjMMjHE4uVlDexFf-mmrWygL2JasBAI-E0mD_f-6CcMOzHbVjFg0xcE1w78BCK0_KHM_59UXpFTyI9tGs/s16000/vision+card+34.png" /></a></div><p>An important part of the Vision Stage is the “introduction,” wherein the players show one another the vision cards they selected for their respective characters and “describe briefly what these images mean.” Players question one another (as does the gamemaster) general questions about their characters. As I mentioned <a href="http://thoulsparadise.blogspot.com/2012/01/inclusion-and-fifth-edition.html?showComment=1326249321365#c1824464909359381262">previously</a>, this exercise enriches a player's concept of his or her character and allows players to appreciate one another's characters. In this manner, a player character becomes a genuine character as opposed to something that can be reduced to various numbers and a class affiliation. It is this sort of human interaction that can differentiate tabletop role-playing from computer role-playing.</p><p>A side bar on page 68 of the <i>Playing Guide</i> states:</p><p></p><blockquote><i>If you develop a hero alone, leave some details unfinished. When you get a chance, have another player ask you questions about the hero so that you get some input from others before finalizing the hero... You can even talk with another player over the phone or email, though this prevents the other player from seeing your images.</i></blockquote><p></p><p>Liberated from the technological restrictions of the 20th Century, sharing images is no longer an obstacle. In fact, nowadays, physical cards are unnecessary. An app would facilitate the Vision Stage.<br /></p><p>As alluded to above, a separate set of ninety vision cards was available to enhance <i>Everway</i> play. The ninety cards included with the game should be sufficient for most playing groups, but surely additional options would be welcome. These “companion collector” vision cards were sold in booster packs. (Leave it to Wizards of the Coast to shoehorn aspects of a collectible card game into a role-playing game.) This gimmick may have put off gamers that may have otherwise shown an interest in <i>Everway</i>. Such booster packs may have been viable if – in addition to vision cards – they included more source cards, quest cards, and alternate versions of Fortune Deck cards; may have been viable, but probably not.</p><p> </p>perdustinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05842738630442736894noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2589165667013235064.post-8434752582272968342020-12-13T17:43:00.001-05:002020-12-13T17:43:23.525-05:00Introductory Adventures for Tabloid! (spoilers)<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo5_FPenNxQDGr6bk2JZDdaxFjMyGSjVeEbev1GrTOGsX7PK9DBNawDTtnwcGinDrhSGLMYTjpsY3J7v2mQ-cy6Srir7eRjF9ZMRAsSuhy9CUTTCPc5H3vcyuNMl4QNpXQ-9YVy1YEiAs/s531/Tabloid+p63.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="531" data-original-width="500" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo5_FPenNxQDGr6bk2JZDdaxFjMyGSjVeEbev1GrTOGsX7PK9DBNawDTtnwcGinDrhSGLMYTjpsY3J7v2mQ-cy6Srir7eRjF9ZMRAsSuhy9CUTTCPc5H3vcyuNMl4QNpXQ-9YVy1YEiAs/s16000/Tabloid+p63.png" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i>Art by <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newton_Ewell" target="_blank">Newton H.Ewell</a></i></span></span></p>
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a:link { so-language: zxx }</style></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p> </p><p>Interspersed throughout the <i>Tabloid!</i> rulebook are ersatz articles written by some TSR regulars. “The articles are the 'background' of the <b><i>TABLOID! </i></b>world,” we are told. Furthermore, the rules explain: “Use the articles as inspiration for your own adventures – they are there to give you ideas.” The list of articles follows:<br /></p><p>Karen S. Boomgarden</p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-size: medium;">Chainsaw Heals Injured Auras</span></li><li>Renowned Scientist Claims <span style="font-size: medium;">Atlanteans Made Crop Circles</span></li><li><span style="font-size: medium;">Rosicrucians Contacted Aliens!</span> Ancient Link Established by Scientist’s Hoax!</li><li><span style="font-size: medium;">Stonehenge Mystery Creator FOUND!</span></li><li><span style="font-size: medium;">Aliens Prefer College Grads!</span></li><li>Startling Research Reveals <span style="font-size: medium;">Aliens Built Ark!</span> Holy Ark of the Covenant Designed by Visitors from Beyond; New Theory Links Ask to Coso Geode, Nazca Lines and Great Pyramids</li><li><span style="font-size: medium;">Knights of the Crap Tables </span>The King Part of the Secret Cult!</li><li><span style="font-size: medium;">France: UFO Landing Fields? <br /></span></li></ul><p> Anne Brown</p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Shocking Secret Revealed! <span style="font-size: medium;">Docs Turn Backs on Human Torches!</span> Dozens of People Up In Smoke and No One Seems to Care!</li></ul><p> Jeff Grubb</p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Suppressed Manuscript <span style="font-size: medium;">Reveals Shakespeare Was a Woman!</span></li><li><span style="font-size: medium;">Hitler’s Brain-Powered Death Machine</span></li><li>Mad Millionaire Wants to Build<span style="font-size: medium;"> Dinosaur Park in Congo</span></li><li><span style="font-size: medium;">Moon Flag for Sale</span> Minnesota Farmer Hosts World’s Oddest Auction</li></ul><p>
</p><p>Roger E. Moore</p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-size: medium;">The Monster LIVES!</span> Frankenstein’s Creation Discovered at North Pole; Escapes Vowing Vengeance Against Hapless Humanity</li><li><span style="font-size: medium;">Hitler’s Terror Children </span>Cannibal Nazi Vampire Dwarfs Turn Amazon Into Green Hell; Line Dancing, NAFTA Encouraged by Fourth Reich</li><li><span style="font-size: medium;">Ghost Riders Plague Information Superhighway! </span>Spirits Take a Grave View of Cable Placement; “Dead Ends” on the Information Superhighway!</li><li><span style="font-size: medium;">Russians Battled Evil Atomic Space Aliens 30 Years Ago! </span>American Space A-Bomb Tests Created Van Allen Horrors; Cosmonauts, Rockets Attacked By Ruthless Radiation Monsters, Soviets Retaliate With Doomsday Device</li><li><span style="font-size: medium;">The Triangle of Terror </span>Aliens, Atlanteans Battle for Captives off Bermuda Coast! <br /></li><li><span style="font-size: medium;">Giant Piranha “Not a Problem” Says Governor </span>Boaters and fishermen protest handling “of nature gone mad” in Wisconsin lakes & rivers; giant beavers here, too </li></ul><p>(The 'piranha' article quotes a resident of Lake Geneva and references Gamma Lake. Said lake receives run-off from a nearby nuclear power plant, thus mutating its denizens.)</p><p>The articles are one or two pages each, except Moore's 'Russians' article (3 pages) and Brown's article on spontaneous human combustion (4 pages). The headlines tend to take up more than one-half page each. In all, the articles account for 20% of the book's page count. A handful of articles would have been more than sufficient; perhaps a sidebar detailing apparent cases of spontaneous human combustion and another with a list of planes and ships that disappeared in the Bermuda Triangle.</p><p>“The Wedding of the Year” is “the first of two funtabulous, fully authorized and mostly realized <i><b>TABLOID!</b></i> adventures designed specifically to get your <i><b>TABLOID!</b></i> campaign to a running start.” In this adventure, “your favorite actress” marries a “crime boss heir.” The player characters are assigned to obtain photographs of this private event. There are two days before the wedding and most of the six page adventure is a discussion of obstacles the characters face and the results of potential strategies the players may attempt.</p><p>The second adventure, “Faux Pas,” is a more scripted affair. It asks the question, “What's buried in Grant's tomb?” – a play on the riddle <a href="https://www.newspapers.com/clip/36160201/whos-buried-in-grants-tomb-1921/">“Who's buried in Grant's tomb?”</a> The basis of this adventure is that a Canadian professor, Anton Sacka-Weejie, has announced that “Ulysses S. Grant was really a space alien!” The player characters are required to introduce the professor in person. This entails traveling to Yellowknife. The author dedicates a few paragraphs describing how Canadians talk and admitting his ignorance about Yellowknife. The player characters encounter a wendigo which, for purposes of this adventure, is an alien being. “In another adventure,” we learn, “the wendigo might be something else, depending upon the conspiracy involved.” </p><p>Since the player characters only have a P.O. Box address for the professor, “they must go to the post office and bribe some mail clerk into looking the address up.” Suggested complications include: (1) The Canadian Postal Service is on strike – again, (2) Ultra-Patriot is working the desk today, and (3) The entire staff is Quebecois.</p><p>Eventually, once the player characters find the professor, he relates that...</p><p></p><blockquote><i>[T]here is an evil conspiracy of ancient proportions that has been working for centuries to control humanity for its own evil ends. According to him, some time in the 1800's THEY perfected the secrets of cloning and behavioral conditioning. This allowed THEM to clone world leaders and then condition those clones into absolute loyalty to THEIR conspiracy.</i></blockquote><p></p><p>The professor knows this because alien beings told him so. These same aliens “taught THEM the secrets of cloning a long time ago” without realizing “THEY would use these secrets to evil ends.” Said aliens show up and confirm this information. We learn, “Grant was really an alien, planted by the good guys to try to undo some of the damage caused by THEIR clones...” However, the good aliens “don't want their involvement known!”</p><p>No adventure is complete until the players submit the story. To facilitate this, the game provides an “Instant Copy Generator,” a <a href="https://www.madlibs.com/">Mad Libs</a> type template (shown below). “No thought required,” the book assures us.</p><p> <br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjimEVAA7le3wG6_B2LyxVyd_3HexLtHcrYkObYdKdb5Qkq5rQT5nl5xaPloq6i4HEFWlCfZoliEUmKizrtHpwNPyM-NnQznsoCKoaOWkfT3qGzvrRgEt9qazr38CCgVpfLWe6yOeYclhc/s633/Instant+Copy+Generator.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="633" data-original-width="500" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjimEVAA7le3wG6_B2LyxVyd_3HexLtHcrYkObYdKdb5Qkq5rQT5nl5xaPloq6i4HEFWlCfZoliEUmKizrtHpwNPyM-NnQznsoCKoaOWkfT3qGzvrRgEt9qazr38CCgVpfLWe6yOeYclhc/s16000/Instant+Copy+Generator.png" /></a></div><br /> <p></p><p></p>perdustinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05842738630442736894noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2589165667013235064.post-81720195806620262282020-11-16T21:26:00.000-05:002020-11-16T21:26:14.569-05:00Introductory Story for Pandemonium! (spoilers)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaPY-gkXhdldLJ3fg41MagPUdDi6mLm_gc28kb4XSRNdlTrtx80zMvxst7-QSQnmE89iohQGrB_8_0MNI2TPjgaJXqmpgJ8KicJzngp_-CK02UwuGfk7zyO19f7POhkSfnhy-oZ_rvhoo/s629/Elvis+Missing.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="629" data-original-width="500" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaPY-gkXhdldLJ3fg41MagPUdDi6mLm_gc28kb4XSRNdlTrtx80zMvxst7-QSQnmE89iohQGrB_8_0MNI2TPjgaJXqmpgJ8KicJzngp_-CK02UwuGfk7zyO19f7POhkSfnhy-oZ_rvhoo/s16000/Elvis+Missing.png" /></a></div><p></p><p> </p><p>The premise of the <i>Pandemonium!</i> Introductory Story is that Elvis has been missing for three weeks and the player characters are dispatched to his last known sighting. Of course, since it is an Introductory Story, the player characters are just starting their career as tabloid journalists and, just possibly, it may be the Editor's first time running a game. As such, the Story describes the step-by-step process of the player characters entering the home office of the Weekly Weird News and receiving their assignment. Even the car their employer provides the player characters is fulsomely related:</p><p></p><blockquote><i>In the parking lot, parked next to the dumpster, is a 1976 Pinto. The car sports a bilious green paint job, has a few dents in it, and shows signs of rust around the wheel wells... The interior smells of stale cigarette smoke, thinly disguised by an air freshener that looks like a plastic pine tree, which hangs from the rearview mirror. The green vinyl seats are faded and worn, and you can feel the springs pushing up from below.</i></blockquote><p></p><p>There are four “background” pages describing the offices and staff of the Weekly Weird News. “This information may or may not be of use... in this Story,” but would be useful should the introductory Story become the basis of a campaign. In any event, Elvis was last seen in a Milwaukee supermarket. Helpfully, <i>Pandemonium!</i> supplies a “mileage chart” indicating the distance to Milwaukee. We learn, “Describing the entire trip to Milwaukee would be both time consuming and incredibly monotonous.” Instead, an Editor should play out “a handful of short encounters and events designed to give the players something interesting to do until they get to their destination.” <i>Pandemonium!</i> categorizes such encounters as either information, obstacles, or ambience. Of course, nothing proscribes any given encounter from combining more than one category.</p><p>In Milwaukee, player characters have opportunities to cultivate clues and may even be presented with a false lead regarding Spike, teen-aged assistant manager of the supermarket where Elvis was last seen.</p><p></p><blockquote><i>Spike may look and act like a Satanic Cultist, but he's not. This is a false lead intended to throw the</i> [player characters] <i>off the trail. However, he is a member of a weird group of guys who get together to eat potato chips, drink pop, and play a game in which they fantasize about running around in dark dungeons crawling with demons and dragons.</i></blockquote><p></p><p>Ultimately, Elvis may be found in an abandoned garage. He is the captive of Replicants. According to the Encyclopedia Paranormal...</p><p></p><blockquote><p><i>Replicants are artificial life-forms created by Martians. They can be made to resemble ordinary humans or other sentient races, as desired. On the surface, Replicants are indistinguishable from 'normal' individuals, though they tend to speak and act a little like robots.</i></p><p><i>Replicants have no real emotions, though they may be programmed to emulate 'typical' human emotional responses, in which case they will do so badly, and without subtlety. They have no conscience or moral values, and are incapable of independent thought. If cut-off from Martian psychic control, a Replicant will freeze in place, awaiting further commands.</i></p></blockquote><p></p><p>If the player characters rescue Elvis, he can help “kick some Replicant butt.” <i>Pandemonium!</i> emphasizes the King's purported martial arts skills. The Encyclopedia Paranormal goes so far as to present Elvis' <a href="https://www.liveabout.com/what-does-tcb-stand-for-2321461" target="_blank">TCB</a> Oath:<br /></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><i>More self-respect, more respect for fellow man.</i></li><li><i>Respect for fellow students and instructors.</i></li><li><i>Respect for all styles and techniques.</i></li><li><i>Body conditioning, mental conditioning, meditation for calming and stilling the mind and body.</i></li><li><i>Sharpen your skills, increase mental awareness for all those who might choose a new outlook and personal philosophy.</i></li><li><i>Freedom from constipation.</i></li></ul><p>Words to live by.<br /></p><p>So, what's the Martian plot? The player characters do not receive a definitive answer but, if asked, Elvis supposes they wanted to force him to record “some kinda alien record with a buncha subliminal messages hidden in the mix.”</p><p>Should a player character query Elvis as to why he faked his death in 1979, the King replies:</p><p></p><blockquote><i>I'm afraid your security clearance isn't high enough, son. </i> [Or, <i>little lady</i>.] <i>Right now, it's a story that can't be told. Maybe next time...</i></blockquote><p></p><p>The last quarter-page of the Introductory Story is a 'Continuing Stories' section. Should the enterprising Editor choose to run further Stories, this section presents several adventure seeds “that branch out from” the Introductory Story.<br /></p>perdustinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05842738630442736894noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2589165667013235064.post-68369739396667675842020-10-25T22:43:00.000-04:002020-10-25T22:43:21.854-04:00Adventures in Pandemonium!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV3kBxJoqbIAs9k7eh8popz02Wl59ln79-J2QkbRXq4_eJfFousnsSexpOPDbIkgPSkC3t-QdV8sOMkdwAozbq_KL9mLKhY_BZ0HL0z4Apth0jgZqcfMwlluEmTSK0UmmpKgmxjpn9TpI/s536/Pandemonium+Martian.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="536" data-original-width="500" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV3kBxJoqbIAs9k7eh8popz02Wl59ln79-J2QkbRXq4_eJfFousnsSexpOPDbIkgPSkC3t-QdV8sOMkdwAozbq_KL9mLKhY_BZ0HL0z4Apth0jgZqcfMwlluEmTSK0UmmpKgmxjpn9TpI/s16000/Pandemonium+Martian.png" /></a></div><br /><p><i>Pandemonium! </i>provides am “Introductory Scenario” for first time players and Editors of the game. The Story Section advises the Editor:</p><p></p><blockquote><i>After you’ve finished playing this introductory scenario you may want to create more Stories of your own. Optionally, you may want to throw this game out the window, and curse yourself for ever wasting good money on such a ridiculous piece of trash.</i></blockquote><p></p><p>
Presuming the game isn’t defenestrated, <i>Pandemonium!</i> offers the Instant Story Generator. While one may argue about the validity of “Instant,” the Generator provides the Editor with the basic elements of any good Story: <i>What Happened, Where it Happened, Who Did It</i>, and <i>Why</i>.” (emphasis in original) The Instant Story Generator “also helps the Editor create a number of incidents and encounters that could happen to the P.I.s during the course of their investigation...”</p><p>
The Generator consists of four percentile tables:</p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>
<b>Manifestations</b> – The primary focus of the Story; a list of twenty-three possibilities ranging from “Mass Hallucinations” to “Elvis Sighting.”</li><li>
<b>Location</b> – Where the Manifestations transpire; a list of twenty-four places from “New Mexico” to “Nightclub (in city of choice).”</li><li>
<b>Major Phenomena</b> – Source of the Manifestations; a list of nineteen occurrences from “Hoax Perpetrated by Local Publicity Seeker” to “Alien Abductors.”</li><li>
<b>Minor Phenomena</b> – A list of fifty-three incidents from “Mundane Encounter” to “Elvis Sighting in the vicinity (authentic).”</li></ul><p>
There is some overlap among the tables. Using the Generator, an Editor can obtain, for example, “Mass Hallucinations” for both Manifestation and Major Phenomena. Fortunately, <i>Pandemonium!</i> grants “Editorial License” which the game describes as...</p><p></p><blockquote><i>– a colorful euphemism that basically means 'fudging the die rolls until you get what you want.' In other words, Editors should feel free to alter, revise, warp, twist, or if all else fails ignore the Instant Story Generator die results anytime they don't like them.</i></blockquote><p></p><p><i>Pandemonium!</i> contains a sixty-two page section – about one-third of the total page count – called the Encyclopedia Paranormal. Among other details, this section contains entries that provide information about many of the listings in the Instant Story Generator tables. Within the environment of the game, the encyclopedia functions as an item of equipment for player characters. “All sentient inhabitants of the Tabloid World universe recognize the Encyclopedia Paranormal on sight,” we read, “and may think twice before bothering any entity who is so enlightened as to carry a copy on his/her/its person.” This statement is immediately qualified: “Naturally, the authors cannot guarantee that this will be true in all cases.”</p><p>A result of 98 on the Manifestations table indicates “Animal Mutilations Reported.” The Encyclopedia Paranormal has this to say about Animal Mutilations:</p><p></p><blockquote><p><i> Cattle and other types of farm animals are the most common victims of this phenomenon, though household pets or strays may also be affected. Victims typically show evidence of laser-like incisions, and may be missing body parts such as tongues, entrails, and/or reproductive organs. Though the subjects will often be found to have lost a substantial amount of blood, the surrounding area will usually be devoid of bloodstains.</i></p><p><i> These occurrences may be attributed to such Mundane explanations as wild animals, or paranormal sources such as Vampires, Deranged Serial Killers, Satanic Cultists, or UFOs.</i></p></blockquote><p></p><p>A result of 55 on the Location table refers to “Louisianna” (<i>sic</i>), about which the Encyclopedia Paranormal says:</p><p></p><blockquote> <i>Louisianna is another place that gets a bad rap in the tabloids, though not entirely without reason. The bayous and parishes of Louisianna offer a melange of Voodoo cults, Hoodoo (a combination of Voodoo, European witchcraft, and Amerindian magic), Bigfoot kidnappings, Elvis sightings, close encounters with UFOs, and so on. Plus there's the city of New Orleans, and all the weird stuff that happens around Mardi Gras time.</i></blockquote><p></p><p>The listing on the Major Phenomena table for a die roll of 13 is Practical Joke Played by EBEs. According to the Encyclopedia Paranormal:</p><p></p><blockquote><p> <i>EBEs (pronounced EE-beez) are Extraterrestrial Biological Entities who hail from the Betelgeuse galaxy </i>(sic). <i>They are a technologically, if not emotionally, advanced race of beings who span the galaxy in flying saucers. Standing less than four feet in height they are the original 'little green men' of popular folk lore. The old legends of 'faeries' and 'changelings' may be attributed to these mischievous creatures, who've probably been playing humans for saps for thousands of years.</i></p><p><i> EBEs are inveterate practical jokers who love to play pranks on other life-forms. Typical EBE 'jokes' include leaving fake Bigfoot prints in wooded areas, impersonating Elvis, scaring people by faking alien invasions or Abductions, leaving Crop Circles all over the place, creating phony miracles, and so on.</i></p><p><i> EBEs are not evil; they're just a pain in the neck. They will never deliberately cause harm to other life-forms, though frankly, accidents have been known to happen.</i></p><p><i> If threatened, EBEs will defend themselves, using a peculiar type of stun gun that can be made to resemble any sort of harmless object or device – stun guns shaped like bananas, cameras, or pickles are especially popular with EBEs. Once their pranks have been discovered or have had the desired result they will usually hop into their disk-shaped spaceships and head back to Betelgeuse, laughing all the way.</i></p></blockquote><p></p><p>For Minor Phenomena, the Editor should “roll or choose at least 3 entries from this table...” Rolls of 25, 36, and 81 correspond to the following:<br /></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><i>Outbreak of <a href="https://psi-encyclopedia.spr.ac.uk/articles/forteana" target="_blank">Forteana</a> delays the characters.</i></li><li><i>Out of Body Experience: a P.I.'s astral self suddenly flies forth into the Astral Plane, where he or she is approached by a benevolent ghost offering advice.</i></li><li><i>A group of drug-crazed Satanic Cultists, chanting evil rock & roll lyrics, puts a curse on the characters. </i></li></ul>perdustinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05842738630442736894noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2589165667013235064.post-49315109145921216762020-10-04T19:18:00.000-04:002020-10-04T19:18:44.900-04:00Death in Pandemonium!<p></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglcodqMGwfru20vgvIANfBpbBaPYphtmInM_7hyphenhyphenzB0nQ0d3InXNfjod_lXaFYqkE1E5ea82MWL8b-sOkF98XKxJS4kF2jqFvsR19P7M2vmXe1ERDwCYAjebxhkYAJ5A0FhwArc9vd0gB8/s500/7thseal.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="388" data-original-width="500" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglcodqMGwfru20vgvIANfBpbBaPYphtmInM_7hyphenhyphenzB0nQ0d3InXNfjod_lXaFYqkE1E5ea82MWL8b-sOkF98XKxJS4kF2jqFvsR19P7M2vmXe1ERDwCYAjebxhkYAJ5A0FhwArc9vd0gB8/s16000/7thseal.png" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">The Seventh Seal<br /></span></span></td></tr></tbody></table> <p></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">In a <a href="http://thoulsparadise.blogspot.com/2020/09/playing-pandemonium.html" target="_blank">prior post</a>, we
learned that <i>Pandemonium!</i> characters die when any of their
Attributes (Body, Mind, or Spirit) fall to –10 or below. Specifically...</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">When <b>Body</b> is reduced
to -10 or below:</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"></p><blockquote><i>the character lapses
into a coma and faces the potential death of his, her, or its
physical form. Unless the character suffered a severe head injury
the Mind will still function for as long as the character remains
alive, as will the Spirit (though it will be preparing to leave the
body en route to its next incarnation). If the character recovers by
Cheating Death, a Near Death Experience (NDE) will result, after
which the character will return to life. If no recovery occurs, it’s
time to read the Reincarnation rules.</i></blockquote><p></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">When <b>Mind</b> is reduced
to –10 or below:
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"></p><blockquote><i>the character is
unconscious, and in a catatonic state. Autonomic functions
(breathing, circulation, digestion) continue as normal, though the
character will not regain consciousness until Mind Rating is restored
to -9 or greater.</i></blockquote><p></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">When <b>Spirit</b> is
reduced to –10 or below:
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"></p><blockquote><i>the Spirit is
immortal, and cannot die. However, if this occurs the silver cord
that connects the Body and Mind to the Spirit will be severed,
causing the Spirit to leave the Body and drift into a part of the
astral plane known as Limbo. If the character’s Spirit rating is
restored to -9 or greater within 24 hours, the Spirit returns to the
Body. If not, it’s Reincarnation time.</i></blockquote><p></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">We learn in the
Cheating Death section, “Anytime one or more of a
character’s Attributes falls to –10 or below the character must
roll on the Fate Table to determine whether the victim kicks the
bucket for good or makes a miraculous recovery just like they do in
the movies.” The Fate roll is modified by -1 for each Injury Point
below -10. For every five Instant Karma Points spent, the roll is modified
by +1. If the roll is successful, the character will recover. “In
addition,” we learn, “the character earns 5 points of Instant
Karma for undergoing a harrowing Near Death Experience...” Page 33
goes into more detail about Near Death Experiences:</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"></p><blockquote><i>During the NDE, the
individual’s spirit leaves the body and moves toward a radiance
called The Light. This is accompanied by a feeling of great inner
peace and tranquility. If the body survives its injuries, the spirit
must return to it. This ‘spirit journey’ and the resulting
wisdom accrued from the NDE is worth 5 Instant Karma Points.</i></blockquote><p></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">Assuming a character
fails to cheat death, the next step is reincarnation. When using the
E-Z Rules, the player selects another pre-generated character; with
the Very Complicated Rules, a new character is created from scratch. In either instance, “Reincarnated characters retain all the <a href="http://thoulsparadise.blogspot.com/2020/05/strictly-for-enjoyment-of-our-readers.html" target="_blank">Past Lives</a> and Instant Karma points of their previous character –
including the life of the recently deceased character, who now
qualifies for Past Life status.” The player selects “one of the
deceased character’s abilities to serve as the Past Life trait.” Additionally, “Like all Past Life abilities the ability to recall this
Past Life starts at 0, and can be improved by spending Instant Karma
points...” Editors are advised to inform players, “Any player
who deliberately offs his or her character for the sole purpose of
Reincarnating and acquiring additional Past Lives is too
un-Enlightened to be Reincarnated as a Walk-In.”</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">Once the new
character is complete:</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"></p><blockquote><i>Have the Walk-In
arrive on the scene somewhere in the vicinity of the other P.I.s as
soon as it is convenient or expedient to do so. The Walk-In can then
introduce himself, herself, or itself and rejoin the group.</i></blockquote><p></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">Once players are
thoroughly familiar with the game, the Editor may decide “to make
the Reincarnation experience more interesting for the players.” For example, “...the Editor may decide that certain devious
organizations and individuals would take advantage of a P.I.’s
untimely demise and send a false Walk-In to infiltrate and spy upon
the other P.I.s.” As another example, the Editor could…</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"></p><blockquote><i>...make the player
portray the dead P.I.’s disincarnate spirit as he wanders about
looking for a suitable body to walk into. Then he must persuade the
subject to move on and let him take over. There night be tricky
ethical considerations here…</i></blockquote><p></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">With regard to
Walk-Ins, the Minor Phenomena section of “The Encyclopedia
Paranormal” has this to say:<br /></p><p></p><blockquote><i>Walk-Ins are disincarnate entities that hail from the Sixth Dimension, Sirius, or another reality. These spiritforms travel to the earthly plane in astral form, and are invisible to all those who do not possess Clairvoyance or similar paranormal abilities. </i></blockquote><blockquote><i>Upon arrival the Walk-In will begin to search for the body of a corporeal creature such as an animal or human to occupy, so that it can better interact with a physical reality. Once it has found a suitable host the Walk-In requests permission to take control of its Body and Mind. In return for allowing the Walk-In to utilize the host’s physical form, the host’s Spirit is allowed to move on to a higher plane of existence. </i></blockquote><blockquote><i>Most Walk-Ins are highly Enlightened, and only inhabit the physical forms of other entities in order to use them for a higher purpose. They differ from Channeling Spirits in that they prefer to act rather than just talk. P.I.s who kick the bucket in the line of duty usually reincarnate as a type of Walk-In, which beats waiting around for twenty-odd years until a new body can grow to maturity…</i></blockquote><p></p><p>At some point, a
P.I. may want to fake his or her death:<br /></p><blockquote><i>To do so, you must inform the Editor that you want to arrange a Fake Death should the need arise. Your character will need to raise at least $5,000 to cover the requisite bribes that must be handed out to individuals such as coroners, funeral home directors, newspaper reporters, a petty bureaucrat or two, and so forth. You’ll also need a minimum of 25 Instant Karma points to cover the incredible amount of luck and clever planning needed to pull off a stunt like this. </i></blockquote><blockquote><i>Once these preparations have been made the stage is set for a Fake Death. Should your character appear to die during the course of a Story, the hoax begins – the bribes are paid, and the Instant Karma points surrendered. </i></blockquote><blockquote><i>Though it will seem as the your character has kicked the bucket, the death will be a fake. The ‘dead’ character can return to his or her own body whenever you desire, though to get the full effect a phony funeral is a nice touch. </i></blockquote><blockquote><i>There’s only one catch. Upon returning to the land of the living you’ll need to concoct a sensational story that will explain how your character survived, and why the Faked Death was staged.</i></blockquote><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">Editors are
encouraged to incorporate a player’s idea for a Faked Death “into
the reality of their version of the Tabloid World universe.”</p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"> </p>
<p><style type="text/css">
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a:link { so-language: zxx }</style></p>perdustinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05842738630442736894noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2589165667013235064.post-79229797334052204252020-09-26T16:32:00.000-04:002020-09-26T16:32:11.201-04:00A Jamaican Halfling<p>Without further comment, I present a missive originally published in <i>Arak / Son of Thunder</i> #13 (September 1982): <br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7IOu4kWyoWMbTnsuJTTNy0Gd2a-4l1dTVXuGCenkEETYgOqHf-JB5XJLCCoPyah454amHi9gEfxlhvc-Zr-f3T1czIsqmjuX4BnfCck1zY5d6QYaZh9DWL2aQfr3f77n3fz21hjcuXA4/s500/Jamaican+halfling.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="476" data-original-width="500" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7IOu4kWyoWMbTnsuJTTNy0Gd2a-4l1dTVXuGCenkEETYgOqHf-JB5XJLCCoPyah454amHi9gEfxlhvc-Zr-f3T1czIsqmjuX4BnfCck1zY5d6QYaZh9DWL2aQfr3f77n3fz21hjcuXA4/s16000/Jamaican+halfling.png" /></a></div><p></p><p> </p>perdustinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05842738630442736894noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2589165667013235064.post-42808896435394719792020-09-20T20:50:00.000-04:002020-09-20T20:50:39.376-04:00Death in Tabloid!<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG2js9LwyJ0pWIFQ-MKHhU-g3jlZ_ZHwVAomJWQuP4XYkNkwsd72UoUhDc2KBAxLL0LdhbpNBSRxUOX3px0Lj7zlyH3fkgY5OVK7j79ERbreGViVrNhNL_Cm3I28TVxpZE6pevM8Zrx6g/s969/Death.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="969" data-original-width="500" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG2js9LwyJ0pWIFQ-MKHhU-g3jlZ_ZHwVAomJWQuP4XYkNkwsd72UoUhDc2KBAxLL0LdhbpNBSRxUOX3px0Lj7zlyH3fkgY5OVK7j79ERbreGViVrNhNL_Cm3I28TVxpZE6pevM8Zrx6g/w330-h640/Death.png" width="330" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Etrurian Minchiate.</span></span></p><span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">
</span></span><style type="text/css"><span style="color: rgb(68, 68, 68);"><font size="2">
p { margin-bottom: 0.1in; line-height: 115% }
a:link { so-language: zxx }</font></span></style></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p></p><p>The <i>Tabloid!</i> Weapons Table assigns damage amounts to various circumstances, not just weapons. A few examples are provided below.<br /></p><p style="margin-left: 40px; text-align: left;"><b>Chainsaw</b>: 3d6<br /></p><p style="margin-left: 40px; text-align: left;"><b>Chinese water torture</b>: 1d2/hour</p><p style="margin-left: 40px; text-align: left;"><b>Electroshock therapy</b>: 1d4 (But you have a much nicer character)</p><p style="margin-left: 40px; text-align: left;"><b>Mad doctor's operation</b>: 0 (Brain transferred, create a new character) <br /></p><p style="margin-left: 40px; text-align: left;"><b>Paper cut with lemon juice</b>: 1</p><p style="margin-left: 40px; text-align: left;"><b>Processed meat by-products</b>: 1d2 <br /></p><p style="margin-left: 40px; text-align: left;"><b>Radio in tub, portable</b>: 0</p><p style="margin-left: 40px; text-align: left;"><b>Radio in tub, wall socket</b>: 2d10</p><p style="margin-left: 40px; text-align: left;"><b>Rifle</b>: 1d10</p><p style="margin-left: 40px; text-align: left;"><b>Star, exploding neutron</b>: 1d6 × 10³⁰</p><p style="margin-left: 40px; text-align: left;"><b>Straw, in tornado</b>: 1d12</p><p>Any given source of damage has a 'lethality rating' which acts as a <a href="http://thoulsparadise.blogspot.com/2020/07/the-amazing-engine-system.html" target="_blank">success margin rating</a>; if the one's digit of a successful attack roll is equal to or less than the lethality rating, the damage amount is subtracted from the afflicted character's body. Otherwise, damage is subtracted from the character's stamina. A character loses consciousness when his or her stamina points are reduced to zero; a character dies if his or her body points are reduced to zero. Once a character is unconscious, additional attacks automatically cause body damage. Exactly how body points and stamina points are determined varies among the Amazing Engine games, but body points are derived from the Fitness ability and stamina points are derived from the combination of Willpower and Reflexes. For <i>Tabloid!</i>, there are no instructions for determining body and stamina, not even in the character creation example or the character worksheet. However, for another Amazing Engine game, a player character's body points are equal to one-third of Fitness; stamina points are equal to one-third of the sum of Willpower and Reflexes.</p><p>Unlike other Amazing Engine games, weapons (and other sources of damage) in <i>Tabloid!</i> do not have an assigned lethality rating. Instead, any given source of damage has a lethality rating based on how newsworthy a character's death would be should the circumstances turn out to be fatal. To this end, <i>Tabloid!</i> presents a Death-to-Copy Ratio Table; the more attention that a death would garner, the higher the lethality rating of associated damage. A “normal” death (e.g., old age, heart attack, etc.) has a lethality rating of “0.” A death which is 'one for the records books' has a rating of “8.” Each whole number between those extremes represents a distinct level of news item and lethality. For instance, a 'filler bit' death (e.g., eaten by crocodiles, victim of a voodoo curse, etc.) has a rating of “4.” A 'front page news' death (e.g., getting torn apart by Bigfoot, being killed in a mob-style execution, etc.) has a rating of “6.” Evidently, the normal death rating is meant be zero; however, with a rating of zero, damage is not fatal (except in the instance of an unconscious character). This is in conflict with the Amazing Engine damage rules: “Lethality ratings can never be less than 1 or greater than 10 (0 on the die).”</p><p>Zeb Cook provides several examples of deaths that qualify as 'one for the record books', some of which are fictional and some which are not. Among the factual examples, there are people killed by <a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/nation-world/food-items-that-played-a-pivotal-role-in-historical-events/1865-naval-battle-of-the-cheese-uruguay-brazil/slideshow/20826551.cms" target="_blank">cheese</a>, <a href="https://www.history.com/news/great-molasses-flood-science" target="_blank">molasses</a>, and <a href="https://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/HistoryofBritain/The-London-Beer-Flood-of-1814/" target="_blank">beer</a>. We might suppose that drowning damage (1d10/minute) applies to molasses and beer, but guidance for cheese damage is lacking. In any event, we encounter something of a paradox; common ways of dying are less dangerous than more unusual circumstances.</p><p>Editors are encouraged to permit player characters “to heal faster than the rate allowed by the rules [otherwise] ...their wounds are going to become a burden.” This can be accomplished through appropriately tabloid methods: “vitamin therapies, allergen tests, orgone reactors, inhalants, aromatherapy, herbal mojo bags, all-lemon-rind diets, and cortex manipulation groups!” We also learn that...</p><p></p><blockquote><i>With just a touch if creativity, characters almost never have to die. Unless, it'd be hilarious, of course. Then you should stick it to them – just this once.</i></blockquote><p></p><p>Should a player character actually die, the situation need not be permanent. We learn, “There's nothing that says the character's spirit can't hang around for a while.” Existence as such a ghost “lasts until the player gets a chance to create a new character – or gets the old one restored via some unknown means.” As ghosts, player characters...</p><p><i></i></p><blockquote><i>...are limited in what they can do. They can't directly talk to other players, and everything they do is a psychic power. That means they have to manipulate things to get their message across and that means making Psyche checks to accomplish</i> anything.</blockquote>With the consent of the Editor, a dead character can come back to life. However, no character can return without being changed. “Maybe the character has amnesia (retains all skills but gets a new name and no knowledge of the other PCs),” the rules suggest, or “Maybe he or she just loses some skills.” Of course, the mechanism of reincarnation must be considered.<p></p><blockquote><i>So how was the character miraculously returned? Aliens, clones, mad scientists, Atlantean super-science, or just good clean living – you name it. That's the point – getting returned should be an adventure in itself.</i></blockquote><p> </p><p></p><p></p>perdustinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05842738630442736894noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2589165667013235064.post-51458529935736919782020-09-06T22:24:00.000-04:002020-09-06T22:24:18.477-04:00Playing Pandemonium!<p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6Npy4jZdDUjkmiMwHgyzAdBgPKU8onXWo3GpY01W9KhD6zL2-7fyOIQmwqdGFkAey9oVzypr7KBHXZX4z-zMN-4aom4onC6ePsrZt44sldoorW_tKTAZihgzOR2BxZcAXmGy5-q9d-J4/s640/Pandamonium+Ad.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="500" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6Npy4jZdDUjkmiMwHgyzAdBgPKU8onXWo3GpY01W9KhD6zL2-7fyOIQmwqdGFkAey9oVzypr7KBHXZX4z-zMN-4aom4onC6ePsrZt44sldoorW_tKTAZihgzOR2BxZcAXmGy5-q9d-J4/s16000/Pandamonium+Ad.png" /></a></div> <p></p><p>The essential rule mechanic for <a href="https://rpggeek.com/rpgitem/52937/pandemonium" target="_blank"><i>Pandemonium!</i></a> is to roll 1d10, “add the appropriate numerical ability” to create an Action Sum. By consulting the Fate Table, the Action Sum indicates a result. The Fate Table is not especially complex. An Action Sum of six or greater represents success; the higher the number, the greater the success. Conversely, when the Action Sum is less than six, a lower number represents a more profound failure. An Action Sum of one or less indicates a “Total Screw-Up – your inept blundering results in the worst possible consequences.” An Action Sum of ten or greater is an “Excellent result!,” meaning, “Your expertise results in the best possible consequences.”</p><p>In <a href="http://thoulsparadise.blogspot.com/2020/05/strictly-for-enjoyment-of-our-readers.html" target="_blank">May</a>, we learned that <i>Pandemonium!</i> has E-Z Rules and Very Complicated Rules. Under the E-Z Rules, P.I.s have a maximum value of three for attributes, paranormal talents, hobbies, and mundane professions. Additionally, P.I.s can use a maximum of three points of Instant Karma to influence Fate Table die rolls. Under the Very Complicated Rules, these maxima become ten. The Very Complicated Rules also introduce the concept of the Degree of Difficulty Rating (or DDR). The DDR is a numerical value applied to the Action Sum before consulting the Fate Table. A positive DDR represents a circumstance that makes the action easier (e.g., 'Hitting someone from behind' is +1) while a negative DDR represents a circumstance that makes the action more difficult (e.g, 'Climbing a wet slope... while carrying a friend on your back' is –7). The combined DDR for any given action must fall within the range of –10 through +10.</p><p>In <i>Pandemonium!</i>, the term for “gamemaster” is Editor. According to page 7, the terms “El Exigente,” “Grand High Pooba,” and “Enlightened One” are also applicable to Editor. Page 39 supplies the following caution with regard to determining DDR:</p><p></p><blockquote><i>If the Editor makes things too hard for the P.I.s they will quickly get discouraged, and may not tell all of their friends and relatives to buy a copy of this game – in which case the makers of this game will have to send somebody named Knuckles to pay a little visit to your house.</i></blockquote><p></p><p><i>Pandemonium!</i> characters have three attributes:</p><p><b>Body</b> – “Anything of a physical nature, including running, dodging, lifting, climbing, breaking free of physical Restraint, tests of endurance, resisting disease or exposure, etc.”</p><p><b>Mind</b> – “Anything of an intellectual nature, including comprehension, memorization, mental endurance, intuition, mental stability; also includes the ability to process information perceived through the senses...”</p><p><b>Spirit</b> – “Anything of a spiritual nature, including the will to live, spiritual strength and endurance, the ability to resist temptation or coercion, willpower, etc.”</p><p>Body is the attribute used for physical combat, but concepts of combat can be extrapolated to Mind (as in Mind Control) and Spirit (as in Astral Assault). A successful attack inflicts damage equal to the final Action Sum minus five. Damage is subtracted from the applicable attribute. Should any of the attributes be reduced to –10 or below, death will result unless prompt treatment is received.</p><p>Regardless of the applicable attribute there are “three basic types of combat.”</p><p><b>Injure</b> – inflicts damage as described above.</p><p><b>Restrain</b> – attempts to control or restrain the opponent's Body, Mind, or Spirit.</p><p><b>Special Effects</b> – maneuvers “of the type that one generally sees only in the movies, on TV, and in comic books.” Examples include one-shot knock-outs, acrobatic moves, spectacular leaps, creating a diversion, and “running through a hail of bullets or laser beams without suffering so much as a scratch – as long as someone is covering you...”</p><p> </p>perdustinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05842738630442736894noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2589165667013235064.post-91738278470293148072020-08-16T23:15:00.001-04:002020-08-17T09:19:54.698-04:00How To Be A Better Monster<p> </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNCIqPUOSbrdn0rw4ax4CGLdh1LiqVDpKsJQePkH6n_8r0sd_nGe693ES5F4vKbaIb9OXQT_1aZX9AeMTeho_CsfdteFhh6PxlPxm7rJUVv4XyJnJtu-AkGxgAKpZYDcg-AE5XzDe_sFo/s500/Puss+In+Boots.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="404" data-original-width="500" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNCIqPUOSbrdn0rw4ax4CGLdh1LiqVDpKsJQePkH6n_8r0sd_nGe693ES5F4vKbaIb9OXQT_1aZX9AeMTeho_CsfdteFhh6PxlPxm7rJUVv4XyJnJtu-AkGxgAKpZYDcg-AE5XzDe_sFo/d/Puss+In+Boots.png" title="Art by Gustav Dore" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i>Art by <a href="https://www.wikiart.org/en/gustave-dore" target="_blank">Gustave Doré</a></i></span></span></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p>The second edition of <a href="https://rpggeek.com/rpgitem/310630/monsters-monsters-rpg-rules" target="_blank"><i>Monsters! Monsters!</i></a> is now available. Technically, the <a href="https://rpggeek.com/rpgitem/46074/monsters-monsters-2nd-edition" target="_blank"><i>second</i></a> edition was available forty-one years ago. The subject of this post is the second, second edition which – in a more prosaic numbering scheme – would be the third edition. According to the introduction, this version of <i>Monsters! Monsters!</i> (hereinafter <i>M!M!</i> ) stemmed from Ken St. Andre's desire “to get <a href="https://rpggeek.com/rpgitem/46129/toughest-dungeon-world" target="_blank"><i>Toughest Dungeon in the World</i></a> back into print...” Since that adventure was intended for trolls, St. Andre believed it should be reprinted for <i>M!M!</i> rather than as a <i>Tunnels & Trolls</i> product. Of course, the most recent version of <i>M!M!</i> was four decades old. As such, the new <i>Toughest Dungeon</i> should include a set of <i>M!M!</i> mini-rules. Instead, the development of those mini-rules blossomed into a full-fledged product.</p><p>Given that <i>M!M!</i> is compatible with <i>Tunnels & Trolls</i> (hereinafter <i>T&T </i>), the rules are very similar. The differences, however, are interesting. In <i>T&T</i>, the default system for determining primary attribute values is to roll 3d6 for for each attribute in order. In <i>M!M!</i>, players assign rolled values to attributes as they see fit. Because attribute modifiers for monsters are more extreme than the usual <i>T&T</i> player character kindred, assigning attribute values can be especially effective.</p><p>Primary attributes are not described, but Charisma can cause “regular humanoid kindred” to react in different ways depending upon the symbol associated with a monster's Charisma on the “Monster Character Modifier Table” on pages 20 and 21.</p><p style="margin-left: 40px; text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">☠</span></b> = terror (Example monsters include Balrukh, Dragon, and Obsidian Spider)<br /></p><p style="margin-left: 40px; text-align: left;"><b>!</b> = some fear (Example monsters include Yeti, Dire Wolf, and Mummy)<br /></p><p style="margin-left: 40px; text-align: left;"><b>?</b> = indicates surprise or disgust (Example monsters include Living Skeleton, Harpy, and Giant-Slug)<br /></p><p style="margin-left: 40px; text-align: left;">🖤 = awe or liking (Example monsters include Griffin and Unicorn)<br /></p><p></p><p>There are five kindred for use in a “Fast Start” game of <i>M!M!</i> : Flesh Trolls, Dhesiri (Lizardmen), Uruks (Orcs), Hrogrs (Ogres), and Gremlins. Attributes are modified by fixed amounts. For instance, Lizardmen have +10 Strength (STR), +10 Constitution (CON), +4 Dexterity (DEX), +4 Luck (LK), –3 IQ, and –5 Charisma (CHR). For <i>M!M!</i> games that aren't “Fast Start,” there are 49 monsters listed on the “Monster Character Modifier Table.” Attribute modifiers on the table are expressed in multiples. The modifiers for Lizardmen are STR × 1.75, CON × 1.75, DEX × 1, CHR × .75 , IQ × .75, LK × 1, and Wizardry (WIZ) × 1. So, +4 DEX, +4 LK in “Fast Start,” translates as no modifier in the table. Furthermore, the Lizardmen modifiers are different from those in the <i>Deluxe Tunnels & Trolls</i> (<i>dT&T</i> ) Peters-McAllister Chart. According to that chart, Lizard People have LK × .75, WIZ × .75, and CHR × 1.25. The rules do not explain these inconsistencies. This is just one example.<br /></p><p>Each kindred in <i>M!M!</i> as a special ability not necessarily reflected in<i> dT&T</i> . Lizardmen have an amount of armored skin based on their level; Gremlins reduce by 25% the Luck of non-Gremlins within ten feet.</p><p>Monsters can enter “Beast Mode” at will. Although this is described as “berserk,” Beast Mode is handled differently than Berserk Combat in <i>dT&T</i>. In Beast Mode, player characters “no longer use their normal stats but instead use their converted MR and attack twice every combat round.” MR is Mankind Rating (or Monster Rating) and, “A Humanoid's CON = <b>M</b>ankind <b>R</b>ating...” This phrase suggests that non-humanoid MR is derived differently, but this is not addressed in the rules. Beast Mode 'costs' four points of MR for the first round and the cost doubles every round thereafter. Beast Mode lasts until MR is depleted (which causes unconsciousness) or no friend or enemy is present within twenty feet.</p><p>Once character generation and combat is explained, the remainder of the rules fall under a section called “How To Be A Better Monster,” including such things as saving rolls and adventure points. An optional rule called <i>Chaos Factor</i> is also included. <i>Chaos Factor</i> equals a monster's level and “represents the forces in... nature that spread misfortune, bad luck, and ill omens throughout the land.” Once per turn, a monster can add or subtract its <i>Chaos Factor</i> to or from any one roll. Monsters can learn spellcasting, but in so doing they lose their <i>Chaos Factor</i>. Monsters who are not spellcasters really have no need of the Wizardry attribute. Perhaps, instead of a monster's level, <i>Chaos Factor</i> could equal Wizardry.</p><p>Speaking of spells, <i>M!M!</i> offers five pages of spells. Some monsters inherently know certain spells; most Sphinxes know the <i>Divine Disapproval</i> spell and Gorgons know the <i>Medusa</i> spell. Unfortunately, these spells are not described in <i>M!M!</i> It is unrealistic to expect <i>M!M!</i> to include all the <i>dT&T</i> spells, but it should at least include all of the spells it references. After all, the introduction says <i>dT&T</i> “really isn't necessary for you to get into this RPG.”</p><p><a href="https://thoulsparadise.blogspot.com/2014/03/here-there-be-monsters.html">The original <i>M!M!</i></a> described fifty-two monsters. One could use a deck of cards to randomly select a monster. As indicated above, the new version of <i>M!M!</i> describes forty-nine monsters. Why not include three additional monster kindred and asign a card to each? There are various possibilities. The description for Stingaree begins with, “Often confused with the common manticore...“ However, manticores are not among the 49 described kindred. Strangely, manticores are included on an encounter table for the adventure included with <i>M!M! </i> Another encounter table has a Deathfrog: “Large, the size of a rhinocerous [<i>sic</i>], green, warty, with a long prehensile tongue that strikes with the force of a whip, sharp teeth that can bite through iron, and powerful hind legs.” Some monsters from <i>dT&T</i> that could easily have been part of <i>M!M!</i> include Redcaps, Keeraptora (winged humanoids), and Ghouls.<br /></p>perdustinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05842738630442736894noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2589165667013235064.post-52110789505687862882020-08-02T21:35:00.000-04:002020-08-02T21:35:04.558-04:00Comedy in Tabloid! (et al.)<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://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRW2A87wuFZHquo1VViFDUvddLgo2YJZ4Dim3mOawbqQ26_DJ4C224AEeipMk7gY8wAOf-U_bZCE1XcicrETsVeojBDoYYNBgdOfun-SrY7kIqfv27hpyC-VTkhSmmmOp2ZwyHo98UUSc/s1600/Nixon+and+Elvis.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="489" data-original-width="500" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRW2A87wuFZHquo1VViFDUvddLgo2YJZ4Dim3mOawbqQ26_DJ4C224AEeipMk7gY8wAOf-U_bZCE1XcicrETsVeojBDoYYNBgdOfun-SrY7kIqfv27hpyC-VTkhSmmmOp2ZwyHo98UUSc/s1600/Nixon+and+Elvis.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>A public domain photograph of the King which TSR could have used for</i> Tabloid!</span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<i>Tabloid!</i> has a four-page chapter on death called 'The Final Byline,' beginning with the phrase, “Dying Is Easy...” The following chapter, 'Anything for a Laugh,' begins with the conclusion of the aphorism, “Comedy is Hard.” In this two-and-a half-page chapter, designer Zeb Cook attempts to explain how to instill comedy into playing <i>Tabloid!</i><br />
<br />
Cook writes:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>This is not a game where the mighty, brave, or even the cynically mani-pulative profit. In this universe, success goes to those who are willing to risk their characters on the stupidest, most lame-brained, and ill-thought-out plans possible. It's kind of like real life in that way.</i></blockquote>
Thereafter, Cook supplies “a few rules of comedy.”<br />
<br />
<b>1. Get Physical.</b> This rule has two parts. First, “Comedy is action – it's called slapstick.” (Evidently, Cook did not want to address cerebral humor.) For inspiration, Cook recommends that the prospective Editor “watch some cartoons... and some Three Stooges.” (The TSR lawyers may have missed this. Given that they censored B*g B**d, I would have expected them to give the same treatment to the T***e S*****s as well as R**d R****r and W**e E. C****e.) The other part of this rule encourages the Editor to be active during the game. (e.g. “Pretend you're the airplane spinning into a dive.”)<br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>2. Maintain a Manic Pace.</b> Essentially, this means keep the action going and don't let up on the humor. Cook says not to give the players a break. “If they players have time to think,” he comments, “then they won't get themselves into stupid messes.”<br />
<br />
<b>3. Steal Shamelessly.</b> These first five rules actually come Mike Pondsmith's <a href="https://rpggeek.com/rpgitem/57295/teenagers-outer-space-1st-edition"><i>Teenagers from Outer Space</i></a>. We know this because Cook tells us he stole them from said game. Cook also explains that he “stole” the rules with Pondsmith's permission. Of course, having permission defies the notion of stealing, but I suppose Cook wanted to provide an example of incorporating – “stealing” – outside material. Anyway, Editors should take jokes “and give them a whole new spin” to keep players from anticipating the punch line.<br />
<br />
<b>4. Use Running Gags.</b> According to Cook, “every adventure should have at least one or two set-ups that always seem to reoccur.” However, “An important part of a running gag is that it can't always be the same.” Again, this keeps the players on their toes.<br />
<br />
<b>5. Dare to be Stupid.</b> “Your players aren't going to be stupid if you aren't.” I beg to differ.<br />
<br />
<b>6. The Innocent Must Suffer.</b> “It's undeserved stuff happening to any character,” Cook tells us. “If they deserve it,” he continues, “it's a comeuppance” and therefore not funny.<br />
<br />
<b>7. More is Better.</b> “There's no such thing as too much,” Cook says. He advises adding complications to any situation. This echos Rule 4 from Cook's <a href="https://rpggeek.com/rpgitem/57041/bullwinkle-and-rocky-role-playing-party-game"><i>Bullwinkle and Rocky Role Playing Party Game</i></a> ; namely, “The Good, The Bad, and The Funny” or “Bad is Good, the Worse the Better.”<br />
<br />
<b>8. Plot?</b> Cook tells us that plots “give the characters some motivation to do things,” but this should be secondary to fun. “Just throw out the encounter that's not working,” Cook writes, “laugh, and get the characters toward the goal by whatever means.” Cook uses the word “Improvise,” which ought to have been the name of this rule. Contrary to what is said at the beginning of the chapter, Cook reveals the “real secret” is that “Comedy is simple.”<br />
<br />
After these rules, Cook provides a concluding section to the chapter, part of which reads:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>Because this is a silly game, you've got a freedom referees don't get in other games. You don't even have to be consistent. You don't even have to make much sense. By their very nature, silly universes are </i>illogical! <i>That's part of their fun... Just don't worry.</i></blockquote>
Cook presents four words in large, bold font and in capital letters, presumably to emphasize their importance:<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>MAKE IT ALL UP.</b></span></blockquote>
</div>
This should have been a coda to the last rule rather than a separate section called, “Some Other Extremely Useful Advice.” <br />
<br />
I might be inclined to add another rule, <b>Embrace Absurdity</b>. Regardless, humor is subjective and what might be funny to someone might be tasteless to someone else. Back in the nineties, one could still get some comedy mileage from disturbed people going on shooting sprees. Result #10 on the Work table for character generation begins, “Co-worker comes in and plays disgruntled postal worker.” Yet even twenty-five years ago, there were some things that just weren't funny. Result #16 on the Journalism School table for character generation reads in part:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>Killing the neighbor sure livened up a slow news day. With good behavior, character gets out after five years.</i></blockquote>
Yikes.<br />
<br />perdustinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05842738630442736894noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2589165667013235064.post-36912053883846968952020-07-19T20:56:00.003-04:002020-08-02T21:06:56.908-04:00Character Creation in Tabloid!<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://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZ6uRO-eeXXW-AtO4z1PWJ8l4TgMVb7w0y-GLIABcjBH-qBPKWAhKKS-rLm_tbU35UKr69ZHg6C82nAN5mGA92Tije2l3jTO_mb-HQe7HRDwNltwdhbXTt8TLHLXonkliaWCTwJUjTHk0/s1600/tabloid+map.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="594" data-original-width="501" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZ6uRO-eeXXW-AtO4z1PWJ8l4TgMVb7w0y-GLIABcjBH-qBPKWAhKKS-rLm_tbU35UKr69ZHg6C82nAN5mGA92Tije2l3jTO_mb-HQe7HRDwNltwdhbXTt8TLHLXonkliaWCTwJUjTHk0/s1600/tabloid+map.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Cartography by <a href="https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgameartist/13816/dennis-kauth">Dennis Kauth</a></span></i></span></td></tr>
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<br />
Included in the back of the <i>Tabloid!</i> rule book fold-out poster map of “The Real Weird World,” a portion of which is shown above. It's incorrect to call the map a selling point since there's no mention of it in the cover copy. I suppose it was meant to be a source of inspiration, but it just seems like a mistake. If anything, it exemplifies some of the things I find off-putting about the game.<br />
<br />
Apparently Tom Wham was unavailable to draw the map, not that there's anything wrong with Tom Wham. However, having Dennis Kauth draw the map <i>in the style</i> of Tom Wham seems such a waste. Speaking of waste, the map for one of the included scenarios is attributed to Dave Sutherland. If you have Dave Sutherland on tap, why limit his contribution to drawing a house plan?<br />
<br />
Attention to accuracy is somewhat lacking. Roswell is, of course, in New Mexico and Hangar 18 (not 'Hanger') is in Ohio. In the rules, author Dave Cook refers to the <a href="http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/Trilateralism/Trilateralism_overview.html">Trilateral Commission</a> as Trilateralist Commission and Nostradamus as Nostrodamus.<br />
<br />
The map refers to Lake Geneva as the location of a “secret mind control base.” This is interesting given the degree of caution with which TSR's lawyers approach other portions of the game. Elvis is a beloved staple of tabloid journalism (or was in the twentieth century, at least) and any game regarding the tabloids cannot ignore the King. However, <i>Tabloid!</i> scrupulously avoids direct mention of his name. Instead, we get a sequence of asterisks – E***s P*****y. One image of Elvis in the game as a 'censored' block over his eyes and another image is a bust, but with everything above the mouth is cut off. Other entities that get the asterisk treatment include Burt Reynolds, Big Bird, Geraldo Rivera, Michael Jackson, and Satan.<br />
<br />
<i>Tabloid!</i> has no pre-generated characters. In other games, this may be cause for me to complain, but this doesn't pose a problem in<i> Tabloid!</i> There are sufficient examples in the System Guide and the components specific to <i>Tabloid!</i> comprise a clearly described career path mechanic. To begin with, there are “Résumé Steps.” The first step is to select a post-high school option: College, Journalism School (to be “an idealistic reporter – like G*****o R****a”), Work, or the Beach. Each choice is represented by one the remaining steps; however, after the first step, the steps are not followed in order, nor will every step necessarily apply to a given character, and a character may repeat the same step multiple times. Each time a character engages in a step, a year passes.<br />
<br />
A player character in <i>Tabloid!</i> is entitled to a number of skills equal to Intuition / 15 (rounded up) plus Learning / 10 (also rounded up). Skills are divided into seventeen pools called schools. Some examples include the Institute of the Secret Truth, <a href="https://www.wired.com/2014/10/fantastically-wrong-lawsonomy/">Lawson</a>'s Absolute Center of the Universe School, and the G*******d Tour Guide Training Program. Most skills are only available from a given school; however, there are
some skills that are available from more than one school. For instance, Photography is available from both the CIA University of the Air as well as the Forbert School of Celebrity Nude Photography. Unlike the CIA, however, the Forbert School offers the specializations and enhancements of Video Camera, Paparazzi, Darkroom, and Photo Retouching.<br />
<br />
For the College step, the player chooses one of the schools. If a Learning roll is successful, the character enrolls. If the roll fails, the character can try to enroll in another school. If the second attempt fails, the character must go to the Work step. Assuming the character successfully enrolls in a school, the player selects one of the skills from that school's pool. Each time the character engages in the College step, the player rolls 1d10 and adds the number of times the character has taken that step. A roll of ten or more means the character develops a quirk; specifically, the player rolls 1d20 on the quirk table. Possible results include tinfoil user, alcoholic, and paranoid.<br />
<br />
The Journalism School step is similar to the College step, except the character automatically enrolls in the Columbia School of Journalism (and the player selects a skill form that pool). Instead of developing a quirk, a character can acquire “one of those wonderful traits that so endears journalists to the rest of the world.” The 'trait' table requires 1d12 and possible results include irritating whiner, caffeine addict, and one set of clothes.<br />
<br />
With the Work step, the player rolls 1d20 to determine the character's job. If the character engages the Work step more than once, he or she can keep the job or roll for a new job. Most jobs are listed with a school from which the player can select a skill. Each job also has a Savings Account modifier. (In <i>Tabloid!</i>, finances are abstracted into a Resource Rating derived from a character's Savings Account. Characters start with a Savings Account determined by 1d4.) We are informed that, “All of the jobs described below (save one) are real and were held by people the designer knows...” Examples include, Chicken Defroster - Night Shift (School of Hard Knocks), Convention Organizer (Kult College), and Fishmarket Gopher (San Diego Cryptozoological Society). Additionally, in the Work step, at the cost of one point from his or her Savings Account, a character can attend night school and chose a skill from any school.<br />
<br />
For the Beach step, the player selects one skill from either the School of Hard Knocks or Louie di Chang's Dojo and Shooting Range. The character's Savings Account is also reduced by one point.<br />
<br />
The College, Journalism School, Work, and Beach steps each have a 'life event' table. Each time a character engages in a given step, the player rolls 1d20 and the result is checked on the table. Any given result offers a bit of color commentary and describes an effect which may grant an additional skill, require the character to switch to a different step, or cause something else to happen.<br />
<br />
Result number 9 from the Journalism School table reads:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>Playing the D&D® game at work does not count as “reviewing.” Character learns RPG Mind Control skill but takes a pay cut. Lose 1 point of Savings Account and roll again on this table.</i></blockquote>
RPG Mind Control is distinct from Army Mind Control. The description of the RPG Mind Control skill occupies half of a page; Army Mind Control is described in four sentences.<br />
<br />
Result number 5 from the Work table reads:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>The one-armed man did it – really! The cops aren't buying it. Your character barely gets away in time and is now Hunted by the law for a crime someone else committed. Lose 2 from the character's Saving Account but immediately gain Disguise and Survival Instinct. Go to Step 5: The Beach.</i></blockquote>
The process of engaging in the various steps continues until the character fills all of his or her skill slots. However, the last step must be followed to the end; this may mean the character acquires skills in excess of the nominal maximum.<br />
<br />
Some skills are more useful than others, but if they lack utility, at least they are interesting. <i>Tabloid!</i> is likely the only game where Smug Liberalism is a skill (with Secular Humanism as an enhancement). Having the Predictions skill means a character “has studied famous predictions – biblical, astrological, oriental, alchemical, mystical, and whatnot” and can relate them to current events. Additionally, the character “can fashion predictions for every occasion.” Cook provides the following advice for cruel Editors:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>If you really want to have fun with your players, secretly make a skill check for every prediction made. If a success margin of 1 is rolled, secretly make note that the prediction is real. Then use it later to build an adventure for the player characters. Have fun – make them sorry.</i></blockquote>
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p { margin-bottom: 0.1in; line-height: 115% }</style>perdustinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05842738630442736894noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2589165667013235064.post-37677817717591874792020-07-05T20:15:00.002-04:002020-09-20T13:17:16.950-04:00The AMAZING ENGINE System<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEROgTvf8JD5K9OwAXM36Xa06gb14XELXtvFc4qztvrUTZlk2-JHEAaKcnyGfikXX1ze2z8reuj_f9cJKRW_Dn_xwYBPcdgnBlN9buSirfDd6Xg5lJy2Ht_y6dQcUTNAkFbuYhFEzB_fU/s1600/system+guide.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="633" data-original-width="500" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEROgTvf8JD5K9OwAXM36Xa06gb14XELXtvFc4qztvrUTZlk2-JHEAaKcnyGfikXX1ze2z8reuj_f9cJKRW_Dn_xwYBPcdgnBlN9buSirfDd6Xg5lJy2Ht_y6dQcUTNAkFbuYhFEzB_fU/s1600/system+guide.png" /></a></div>
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After an unintended hiatus due to computer issues, your humble host is back. Before we were so rudely interrupted, we were discussing the two 'tabloid journalism' role-playing games from the early 90s. TSR's contribution to the genre – the aptly named <i>Tabloid!</i> – was the last Universe Book for the AMAZING ENGINE<sup>®</sup> system. Therefore, we must understand the AMAZING ENGINE in order to understand <i>Tabloid!</i> According to the <i>System Guide</i> :<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i> ...the AMAZING ENGINE system consists of two parts. The first part is this book, the System Guide. Here one finds the basic rules for creating player characters and having those characters use skills, fight, and move. These rules and procedures are found in all AMAZING ENGINE settings...</i><br />
<i> The second part of the AMAZING ENGINE system are the different settings to play in. Each setting is called a universe and is described in its own book, naturally called Universe Books. Each Universe Book is a complete role-playing game and only requires the System Guide to play. It is not necessary to buy every Universe Book in order to play in the AMAZING ENGINE system...</i></blockquote>
Obviously, a Universe Book cannot be a “complete” role-playing game if it requires something else in order to play. The System Guide – credited to David “Zeb” Cook – provided the essential mechanics of a role-playing system but required a Universe Book to flesh out the rules for any given setting. Eventually, such as in the case of <i>Tabloid!</i>, the System Guide material was included in the Universe Books. While the System Guide as a distinct product was 32 pages, in <i>Tabloid!</i> the material takes up 16 pages. This is can be attributed to a small font and a lack of illustrations.<br />
<br />
In the AMAZING ENGINE system, player characters are primarily defined by four ability pools of two attributes each.<br />
<ul>
<li><b>Physique</b>: Fitness (“bodily strength”) and Reflexes (“reaction speed and hand-eye coordination”)</li>
<li><b>Intellect</b>: Learning (“knowledge in areas requiring long training and study”) and Intuition (“ability to remember random trivia, innate wit, street smarts, comprehension, and worldliness”)</li>
<li><b>Spirit</b>: Psyche (“potential to perceive and manipulate the spiritual and metaphysical world”) and Willpower (“mental fortitude”) </li>
<li><b>Influence</b>: Charm (“rates the characters' personalities and the way others are disposed toward them”) and Position (“a rough rank for characters on the ladder of social advancement”)</li>
</ul>
When a player first generates a character he or she assigns a rank to each ability pool; Rank 1 being the most favored pool and Rank 4 being the least favored. The player then selects four attributes to receive 4d10 each; the remaining four attributes receive 3d10 each. For each attribute, the player rolls the set number of dice and records the total. The player the allocates fifteen points between the two Rank 1 attributes, ten between the Rank 2 attributes, and five between the Rank 3 attributes. The result is the basis of not only the player character, but also the “player core” (infrequently referred to as “character core”).<br />
<br />
The concept of the player core is the AMAZING ENGINE's claim to fame (such as it is). A player can use the player core as the basis of subsequent player characters in other AMAZING ENGINE campaigns, or even the same campaign universe with the Gamemaster's approval and “only if the previous character is dead or permanently retired.” Experience earned by one character can be transferred to a new character based on the same player core. Specifically, when a character earns experience, the player “must immediately assign the xps to either [the] current player character (the one who earned the xps) or to the player core from which that character was created.”<br />
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Aside from experience, a player core consists of the original Rank scheme and, for each ability pool, a dice rating. To determine the dice rating for an ability pool, add the values of the constituent attributes, divide by ten, and round up. This is the number of dice that the player can allocate among the two attributes when generating a new character. For example, a first – or “prime” – character with a Learning of 23 and an Intuition of 28, would mean the player core would have an Intellect dice pool of six. ( [23 + 28] / 10 = 5.1) New characters based on a player core receive seven “free” dice to allocate among the eight attributes.<br />
<br />
The maximum ability value for a beginning character is 50, even after allocation points from the ability pool's Rank. As such, no more than five dice can be assigned to a given attribute and an ability's dice pool cannot exceed ten. Different settings may allow for a base adjustment for ability pools or specific attribute. Such adjustments can cause an attribute's starting value to increase beyond 50. In <i>Tabloid!</i>, “All player characters...add +30 to their attribute scores.”<br />
<br />
To determine if an action (such as skill use) is successful, percentile dice are rolled. A result equal to or less than the applicable attribute value indicates success. Depending upon circumstances, an attribute's value may be modified, making success more or less likely. “A skill check always fails on a roll of 95–00,” we read, “but there is no corresponding chance for automatic success.”<br />
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The AMAZING ENGINE system also incorporates the notion of margin ratings. There are success margin ratings (“noted as S#: S2, S5, etc.”) and failure margin ratings (“noted as F #: F8, F7, etc.”). If a skill roll is successful and the one's digit of the percentile result is less than or equal to the success margin rating, the result is a critical success. Similarly, if a roll is failed, and the one's digit equals or exceeds the failure margin, the result is a critical failure.<br />
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For player characters (as opposed to player cores), experience can be used to permanently increase a player character's attribute value. The experience points necessary to increase an attribute value by one point varies from setting to setting. Regardless, no attribute can be increased beyond a value of 90. Experience points can be used to purchase new skills for a character, also at a rate depending upon setting. Finally, experience can be used to 'tax' an attribute, a temporary increase for the purpose of a single roll in a dire situation. In multiples of five, a player may increase the value of an attribute to a maximum of half of the attribute's normal value. The decision to tax, and the number of experience points to expend, must be determined before the roll is made.<br />
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Karen S. Boomgarden, credited with AMAZING ENGINE “Project Management, System Guide development and editing,” contributed an article to <i>Dragon</i> #195 (July 1993), “The little engine that could: the AMAZING ENGINE™ story.” Most of the article is about <a href="https://rpggeek.com/rpgitem/48752/faerie-queen-country"><i>For Faerie, Queen, & Country</i></a>, the first AMAZING ENGINE Universe Book; however, it begins thus:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i> When the members of my product group first suggested the concept of the AMAZING ENGINE™ system, I was skeptical. A stand-alone rules set, usable with any kind of fantasy or science-fiction setting we could dream up? Complete basic rules in only 32 pages? Whole game settings (with attendant rules modifications and specifics) in only 128 pages? Sure. Right. Oh, and one more
thing: The players earn the experience points, not the characters, and they can take those experience points along to other game settings within the system.</i><br />
<i> It'll never work, I thought.</i></blockquote>
It turns out that her initial assumption was correct. TSR supported the AMAZING ENGINE product line for about a year before giving up on it. The world wasn't ready for such a concept and I guess it still isn't. Nonetheless, the System Guide and the various Universe Book are available at <a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/">Drive Thru RPG</a>.<br />
<br />perdustinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05842738630442736894noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2589165667013235064.post-87839901308837980062020-05-31T22:53:00.000-04:002020-05-31T22:53:00.380-04:00Strictly for the Enjoyment of Our Readers<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://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHuO2j2zTpUE9XXZTUodVz2X0sewGc308sZKcP2f_QYmu1YjOTHLUDN4NIduZm2KAyGoEpnh8SV1zHCeeZ6dCVYd1X3ntfWyuLY_RjpAHv5EUV43fvbarI4F1fau58lKI_YAIvOIbX0aY/s1600/fbi+bat+child.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="553" data-original-width="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHuO2j2zTpUE9XXZTUodVz2X0sewGc308sZKcP2f_QYmu1YjOTHLUDN4NIduZm2KAyGoEpnh8SV1zHCeeZ6dCVYd1X3ntfWyuLY_RjpAHv5EUV43fvbarI4F1fau58lKI_YAIvOIbX0aY/s1600/fbi+bat+child.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">August 31, 1993, edition of the self-proclaimed "World's Only Reliable Newspaper"</span></i></span></td></tr>
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Once upon a time, if a person wanted timely and accurate information, he or she would procure something called a newspaper. Today, people have various, more convenient means of obtaining news but advances in technology aren't the only problems that afflict newspapers. The public's '<a href="https://news.gallup.com/poll/1597/confidence-institutions.aspx">confidence in newspapers</a>' has waned over time. If we look at 1994 (with the lowest 'Great deal/Quite a lot' confidence percentage of the 90s) and compare it to 2019, we see some telling figures. In 1994, the combined 'Very little/None' confidence was 28%; the combined 'Great deal/Quite a lot' confidence was 29%. In 2019, the combined 'Very little/None' confidence was 39% and the combined 'Great deal/Quite a lot' confidence was 23%. If we interpret the 1994 difference as +1 (i.e., 29 – 28) and the 2019 difference as –16 (i.e., 23 – 39); we see a 17 'point' decline in confidence.<br />
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There are two conflicting components in the news media: purpose and product. Purpose is the journalistic goal of responsibly providing news for the benefit of society. On the other hand, product is a combination of profit motive and intentional bias. Previously, purpose outweighed product – at least in the public perception. In our jaded era, where truth has become subjective, it seems that product has encroached upon purpose...<br />
<br />
What? What's that? You don't read Thoul's Paradise for tedious social commentary? You read it for tedious commentary on old school role-playing games? Well, excuse me for attempting an erudite introduction to the next games we are to examine.<br />
<br />
Anyway, the nineties represented the golden age of tabloid journalism, when UFO space aliens, Bigfoot, and Elvis commanded the headlines and people had enough common sense not to take such things seriously. A disclaimer contemporaneous with the issue shown above indicates that the <i>Weekly World News</i> is “a journal of information, opinion, and entertainment... strictly for the enjoyment of our readers.” Eventually, in the twenty-first century, their disclaimer would emphasize that most articles are fictitious and the “reader should suspend belief for the sake of enjoyment.” I don't know how, but the Millennials must be responsible for the decline of the tabloids – Today's tabloids focus on celebrity gossip and weight loss programs. (I'm not concerned with 'online' tabloids; if I don't see it in the check-out lane at the supermarket, it doesn't count.)<br />
<br />
What? Get to the games? Fine... <br />
<br />
1993's <i><a href="https://rpggeek.com/rpgitem/52937/pandemonium">Pandemonium!</a></i> has as its setting the Tabloid World where “everything you've ever read in the tabloids has either happened or is likely to happen...” Of course, many people are “Mundanes” who discount tabloid phenomena. Similarly, the setting of 1994's <a href="https://rpggeek.com/rpgitem/53204/tabloid"><i>Tabloid!</i></a> is “a neat world, just like ours, except – <b><i>EVERYTHING YOU READ IS TRUE!</i></b> ” Yet “normal” people don't believe the truth of the tabloids. Not surprisingly, there are many similarities between the two games. In both games, player characters are reporters working for a tabloid. Also in both games, the official title of the game master is Editor. In <i>Pandemonium!</i> (or PANDEMONIUM as it refers to itself) the player characters are Enlightened (“any sentient entity that is able to perceive, believe in, and have some understanding of paranormal phenomena”) and are called Paranormal Investigators.<br />
<br />
PANDEMONIUM uses the “<b>E-Z Rules System</b>,” but “optional <b>Very Complicated Rules</b> for anal retentive role-players” are provided. The E-Z Rules do not allow for character creation; players must choose among the eleven provided “pre-generated, pre-destined, and ready-to-play <i>Character Cards</i>.” For the reader's edification, these Paranormal Investigators are described below.<br />
<br />
Each character has a Mundane Profession (“the occupation that the character practiced prior to becoming Enlightened and finding work as a Paranormal Investigator”), one or more Hobbies (“talents or avocations that can be practiced and developed in a person's spare time”), one or more Paranormal Talents (“'extra-mundane' (or just plain weird) abilities”), and a Phobia. Also, each Paranormal Investigator has a Past Life. The character can use the abilities of the Past Life by rolling on the Fate Table. “If successful,” we learn, “the Past Life recollection lasts for just ten minutes, then fades from memory until the next time it is used...” For example, a character with Houdini as a Past Life could “escape from any type of restraint, prison cell, or practically any dicey situation...”<br />
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Without further ado...<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Rick Dante</b></span><br />
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Male, Italian-American, Age 22, 6', 175 lbs, brown hair, green eyes; acts cool, smokes too much, hangs out with strange people (mostly musicians), nocturnal by preference<br />
<b>Mundane Profession</b>: R & B Musician (sax player, speaks musician's lingo; familiarity with most types of street drugs, seedy bars, and the dark underside of city night life)<br />
<b>Hobbies</b>: Amateur Detective<br />
<b>Paranormal Talents</b>: High Chemical Tolerance; Magic<br />
<b>Phobia</b>: <a href="https://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=26232">Hydrophobia</a><br />
<b>Past Lives</b>: Bogey<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Celia Brown</b></span><br />
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Female, African-American, Age 20, 5' 8", 130 lbs, brown hair & eyes; excellent physical condition, outgoing, friendly -- flexible and athletic, perceptive<br />
<b>Mundane Profession</b>: Aerobics Instructor (teaches exercise techniques, knows how to treat sprains and bruises, terrific endurance, looks great in tights)<br />
<b>Hobbies</b>: Judo<br />
<b>Paranormal Talents</b>: Mind Reading; Psychic Assault<br />
<b>Phobia</b>: <a href="https://www.fearof.net/fear-of-ghosts-phobia-phasmophobia-or-spectrophobia/">Phasmophobia</a><br />
<b>Past Lives</b>: Joan of Arc<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Henry Yakamoto</b></span><br />
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Male, Japanese-American, Age 25, 5' 7", 150 lbs, black hair & brown eyes – thoughtful, studious, introspective -- as a result is sometimes thought of as a nerd<br />
<b>Mundane Profession</b>: High School Physics Teacher (understands laws of physics as they apply to both the mundane and tabloid world universe -- ability to teach high school kids while retaining sanity)<br />
<b>Hobbies</b>: Computers<br />
<b>Paranormal Talents</b>: Psychokinesis; Cryptozoology<br />
<b>Phobia</b>: <a href="https://www.dictionary.com/browse/altophobia"> Altophobia</a><br />
<b>Past Lives</b>: Albert Einstein<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Joseph Cloudwalker</b></span><br />
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Male, Native American, Age 21, 6' 3", 200 lbs, black hair, brown eyes, good physical condition, lean but strong, good balance -- quiet and softspoken, sometimes moody<br />
<b>Mundane Profession</b>: Construction Worker (experienced welder and riveter, can operate heavy machinery (trucks, crane), has no fear of heights)<br />
<b>Hobbies</b>: Bow Hunting<br />
<b>Paranormal Talents</b>: Dowsing; Magic (Shamanism) [perhaps not the best <a href="https://www.legendsofamerica.com/na-shaman/">descriptor]</a><br />
<b>Phobia</b>: <a href="https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/belonephobia">Belonophobia</a><br />
<b>Past Lives</b>: Geronimo<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Mike Washington</b></span><br />
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Male, African-American, Age 24, 6' 3", 240 lbs, well built, good athlete (former college football player until knee injury), self-assured but never cocky<br />
<b>Mundane Profession</b>: Nightclub DJ & Rapper (streetwise, knows the rap club scene, speaks the language of the inner-city, knowledge of recording studios and sound gear)<br />
<b>Hobbies</b>: Football (Linebacker)<br />
<b>Paranormal Talents</b>: Sixth Sense; Clairaudience<br />
<b>Phobia</b>: <a href="https://www.fearof.net/fear-of-small-spaces-phobia-claustrophobia/">Claustrophobia</a><br />
<b>Past Lives</b>: Joe Louis<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Tracey Novak</b></span><br />
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Female, Polish-American, Age 23, 5' 10", 132 lbs, blonde hair, blue eyes, very attractive, great body, acts a bit dizzy but is quite intelligent, likes to party<br />
<b>Mundane Profession</b>: Professional Model (knows how to use make-up and clothing to enhance looks, good at self-promotion, can hold same pose for hours, knowledge of fashion industry)<br />
<b>Hobbies</b>: Acting<br />
<b>Paranormal Talents</b>: Speak In Tongues; Faith Healing<br />
<b>Phobia</b>: <a href="https://www.fearof.net/fear-of-the-number-13-phobia-triskaidekaphobia/">Triskadeccaphobia</a> [sic]<br />
<b>Past Lives</b>: Marilyn Monroe<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Crawford White</span></b><br />
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Male, WASP, Age 28, 6', 180 lbs, blonde hair, blue eyes -- family was rich until stock market crash; very outgoing, well-mannered, a real socialite<br />
<b>Mundane Profession</b>: Ski Instructor (seasonal job with the side benefit of meeting wealthy women; good skier, knowledge of ski resorts and posh nightclubs; speaks the language of the upper class)<br />
<b>Hobbies</b>: Boating<br />
<b>Paranormal Talents</b>: Retrocognition; Object Reading<br />
<b>Phobia</b>: <a href="https://www.fearof.net/fear-of-work-phobia-ergophobia/">Ergophobia</a><br />
<b>Past Lives</b>: JFK<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Che LaVie</b></span><br />
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Female, French-American, Age 21, 5' 5", 110 lbs, black hair & brown eyes; alternative fashion sense (combination of Seattle grunge and N.Y. punk); emotional termperament [sic], strong-willed<br />
<b>Mundane Profession</b>: Freelance Photographer (knowledge of most photographic techniques, film developing, shooting under less than ideal conditions; can candle temperamental models and subjects)<br />
<b>Hobbies</b>: Ancient Egyptian Mythology<br />
<b>Paranormal Talents</b>: Astral Assault; Spirit Photography<br />
<b>Phobia</b>: <a href="https://www.fearof.net/fear-of-snakes-phobia-ophidiophobia/">Ophiophobia</a> [sic]<br />
<b>Past Lives</b>: Cleopatra<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Ernesto Villa</span></b><br />
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Male, Mexican-American, Age 27, 5' 11", 195 lbs, brown hair & eyes, muscular build; macho temperament when angered, otherwise easy-going, speaks fluent Spanich [sic]<br />
<b>Mundane Profession:</b> Cab Driver (able to drive fast and recklessly, specific knowledge of home town or city streets, able to work long hours without getting drowsy)<br />
<b>Hobbies</b>: Boxing; Automatic Art<br />
<b>Paranormal Talents</b>: Precognition<br />
<b>Phobia</b>: <a href="http://common-phobias.com/ballisto/phobia.htm">Ballistophobia</a><br />
<b>Past Lives</b>: Marco Polo<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Judith Rosenberg</span></b><br />
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Female, German-American, Age 30, 5' 6", 125 lbs, wavy brown hair, brown eyes, 1960’s fashion sense; radical feminist, vegetarian, has Masters [sic] Degree in Women’s Studies<br />
<b>Mundane Profession</b>: Health Food Store Nutrition Advisor (knowledge of harmful and/or weird food additives, vitamins, natural foods; can diagnose nutrition-related maladies and suggest remedies)<br />
<b>Hobbies</b>: Kung Fu<br />
<b>Paranormal Talents</b>: Read Auras; Palm Reading<br />
<b>Phobia</b>: <a href="https://medicalxpress.com/news/2017-04-pharmacophobiawhat.html">Pharmacophobia</a><br />
<b>Past Lives</b>: Madame Blavatsky<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Johnny King</span></b><br />
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Male, Serbian-American, Age 32, 5' 10", 195 lbs, black hair, brown eyes, about 20 lbs overweight, loves junk food & sci-fi movies, somewhat shy when not on stage<br />
<b>Mundane Profession</b>: Elvis Impersonator (able to sing, speak, and act like Elvis; knowledge of the Elvis repertoire, shobiz lingo, and most of the least attractive nightclubs in Las Vegas and Atlantic City)<br />
<b>Hobbies</b>: UFO Watcher<br />
<b>Paranormal Talents</b>: Alien Empathy; Astral Assault<br />
<b>Phobia</b>: <a href="https://www.rightdiagnosis.com/t/teratophobia/intro.htm">Teratophobia</a><br />
<b>Past Lives</b>: Nicola Tesla<br />
<br />perdustinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05842738630442736894noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2589165667013235064.post-15184040964778758022020-05-17T10:53:00.002-04:002020-05-17T10:53:19.915-04:00Super Powers and Skills in Enforcers<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://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLrQMh1seKCMIFncHwEPJ2JVvVkKusYoXtaDn5w-4_tuMwekGxAenrZTOc_Mr7pPzrYgR3CyhyphenhyphenQxYPfglzA2vtgjKxhK8kjJxKbHOMSOXkZeaaB7FRDiyZ4hPx54rpurvbKVBu6zmOx1M/s1600/Enforcers+p16.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="347" data-original-width="500" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLrQMh1seKCMIFncHwEPJ2JVvVkKusYoXtaDn5w-4_tuMwekGxAenrZTOc_Mr7pPzrYgR3CyhyphenhyphenQxYPfglzA2vtgjKxhK8kjJxKbHOMSOXkZeaaB7FRDiyZ4hPx54rpurvbKVBu6zmOx1M/s1600/Enforcers+p16.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Art by Christine Mansfield</span></i></span></td></tr>
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<br />
For a post about super powers, I wanted to present interior artwork from <a href="https://rpggeek.com/rpgitem/49933/enforcers"><i>Enforcers</i> </a>that displayed the use of super powers. Unfortunately, I used the only such artwork for the <a href="https://thoulsparadise.blogspot.com/2020/05/combat-in-enforcers.html">last post</a>. There's somebody falling off a skateboard (p. 64), two guys with weird ears building or repairing some device (p. 43), someone looking at a rabbit (p. 35), a ninja holding a rock (p. 52), but no other display of superpowers. A review of <i>Enforcers</i> in <i>White Wolf Magazine</i> #11 (August 1988) is not appreciative of the artwork: “The interior art will hopefully be replaced in a future third edition.” Ouch.<br />
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One of the selling points of <i>Enforcers</i> is, “A complete magic system.” Actually, the magic system in <a href="https://rpggeek.com/rpgitem/50948/dc-heroes-role-playing-game"><i>DC Heroes Role Playing Game</i></a> does not seem incomplete in comparison. For fifteen creation points an <i>Enforcers</i> character can acquire the 'Magic' power. If so, no other power can be purchased and there is an upper limit for characteristics other than Intelligence and Comliness. With Magic, a beginning character has six spells. Each additional spell costs three creation points earned as experience. Enforcers offers nineteen magic spells; some which are to be expected (such as 'Shield' and 'Scry') and others which are unusual. For instance, the victim of the 'Deathmare' spell...<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>...is instantly teleported through a dimensional gate where he will face his most hated and feared enemy in mortal combat – actually it is a magical construct with his personality and attributes. The GM should roll 1d6 to determine how long the battle may last. If the victim defeats his enemy, he will immediately reappear back into the real world. If there is no victor before the spell runs out, the victim will also reappear. Should his enemy win, the victim's body will reappear.</i></blockquote>
Otherwise, most of the powers can each be a spell. Among the powers excluded from being used as spells, there are Cybernetic Replacement, Mutation, and Invulnerability.<br />
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The 'Animal Powers' super power (not usable as a spell) allows a characters to purchase statistics and powers at half cost. Each animal type has a limited set of statistics and powers which can be purchased thus. For example, the Arachnid set includes: Strength, Agility/Dexterity, Spider Climb, Entanglement, Invulnerability. Each creation point used must come from a weakness which can never be bought off with experience.<br />
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“Willpower is an optional ability score that starts at 0 when a character is created and can only be increased by the spending of creation points,” we read. (Willpower is also not usable as a spell.) This power acts as a back-up saving throw. When a character fails a saving throw, the character can roll against his or her Willpower. If successful, it is as though the original save was successful. This costs an amount of energy equal to the result of the successful Willpower roll.<br />
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Invisibility has a creation point cost of five. However, for seven points a character can have Non-Detection:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>Characters using this power can't be detected by audio, visual or electronic means. All but the strongest of magical means will also fail. Danger sense and detective score will not discover someone using non-detection. This form of invisibility shuts off after the user takes any hostile action.</i></blockquote>
The Energy Ground power allows characters to shunt 95% of energy “to ground.” We learn, “This power on works on 'pure' energy forms – e.g. electricity, lightning, non-magical force fields, power blast, and heat based sources.” Also, “This power will not work against magic, light/laser. cold, or other non-energy attacks.” I guess in the Enforcers universe, light isn't energy and lasers aren't associated with heat.<br />
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Energy Vampire “is more than just an offensive power: it is the ability to absorb life energy from others in order to restore your own!” Like a traditional vampire, an energy vampire can turn into a bat and has no reflection in mirrors. Additionally, an energy vampire takes only half-damage from non-metallic physical attacks (but “<i>double</i> damage from metal based attacks”).<br />
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Lycanthropic Immunity might as well be called Lycanthropy (or better yet <a href="https://www.dictionary.com/browse/zoanthropy">Zoanthropy</a>). With this power, “characters are able to change shape from a normal human into a form that is part animal and part human.” When in (quasi-)animal form, the character “is completely immune to HTH and projectile damage unless the damage is inflicted by a magic or silver weapon.” However, “when an attack they are immune to reduces them below zero hit points...it takes the body a few moments to repair itself to the point where it can function.” Wait, why would a character lose any hit points if he or she is immune to a given attack. At any rate, “Lead bullets may embed themselves in the character, but will cause no damage unless they are not removed by the character before returning to human form.” I strongly suspect it may be possible someone other than the character could remove the bullets. Lastly, “Please note that Lycanthropes MAY NOT be Energy Vampires!”<br />
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Regarding skills, “The player and the GM should reach an agreement on just what skills any given character may have.” The normal number of skills a character may have is three; however, in special situations the GM can allow a beginning character to have up to five skills. After character creation, more skills can be acquired via experience; however, “The maximum number of skills a character can have is 6.” <i>Enforcers</i> describes 42 skills, but the list “is not exhaustive, and entirely new skills can be created if the player and GM agree on the descriptions.” Skills in <i>Enforcers</i> are usually more encompassing than skills in other role-playing games. For instance, the 'Automated Systems' skill allows familiarity “with the complex software and control systems necessary to do such things as spacecraft navigation, environmental control, and nuclear power plant operations.” 'Thief' provides “a 75% chance of accomplishing any activity related to stealing.” Such activities include (but are not limited to): Car Theft, Lock Picking, Wall Climbing, Pickpocketing, Bypassing Alarms, Spotting and Bypassing Surveillance Equipment, Fencing Stolen Merchandise, Pursuit, Evasion, as well as Breaking and Entering.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiHpWw6omDefAA2r08rkQvCMWfatZCKqfhgyKVCxLEhnULiO-rOJb66CREirqORSaJcGpXCIn099SryRwQDFt2P9XOHQUNHZTXbA-b2yPlDxHwWr-oSBVu-Pf066NFU4pX-pao8JoOs7Y/s1600/Enforcers+p25.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="380" data-original-width="500" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiHpWw6omDefAA2r08rkQvCMWfatZCKqfhgyKVCxLEhnULiO-rOJb66CREirqORSaJcGpXCIn099SryRwQDFt2P9XOHQUNHZTXbA-b2yPlDxHwWr-oSBVu-Pf066NFU4pX-pao8JoOs7Y/s1600/Enforcers+p25.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Art by Christine Mansfield</span></i></span></td></tr>
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<br />perdustinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05842738630442736894noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2589165667013235064.post-67189813921059314522020-05-03T13:15:00.000-04:002020-05-03T13:15:29.941-04:00Combat in Enforcers<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://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5sUj-d1gtvvPlmFM0zAcVeTzDzhZngk1GvzbDGhh_1ofRWnn85is9p60UlOai5aCj61Ke0K_MR_lda3DN-zIRf22hUsFcdwkySIcYNoaKhSTLkxVKIF7v1aSwIxw4ORuaKqedpeT1r5M/s1600/Enforcers+p37.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="699" data-original-width="500" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5sUj-d1gtvvPlmFM0zAcVeTzDzhZngk1GvzbDGhh_1ofRWnn85is9p60UlOai5aCj61Ke0K_MR_lda3DN-zIRf22hUsFcdwkySIcYNoaKhSTLkxVKIF7v1aSwIxw4ORuaKqedpeT1r5M/s1600/Enforcers+p37.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Art by Christine Mansfield</span></span></i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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In <i>Enforcers</i>, combat transpires in a series of fifteen second rounds. A round consists of 75 'counts' lasting one-fifth of a second each. A 'Combat Initiative Chart' (shown below) is used to record the characters' initiative scores in a given round. Note that the footer gives “permission to photocopy or cut out only this chart from the book.” No such permission is granted regarding the blank character sheets printed on the inner front and back covers.<br />
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Interestingly, according to Lawrence Schick's <i>Heroic Worlds</i>, 21st Century Games sold a “Delux Initiative Set” for <i>Enforcers</i> (“Plasticized initiative chart, reusable, and three-hole punched for insertion in a binder” – also included a grease pencil); this product is not listed on RPGGeek.com. Anyway...<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>A character’s initiative is calculated by rolling 1d10 and adding this number to the character’s ADX score. If the character has the super power Heightened Reflexes </i>[sic]<i>, this needs to be added as well.</i> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>Once a character’s initiative is determined, the number equal to the character’s initiative should be located and marked on the Initiative Chart with the character’s initials.</i></blockquote>
There is no power with the name Heightened Reflexes; presumably, the author meant Super Reflexes (each level of which adds 10 to initiative).<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>When combat begins, the GM will start in row 1, column 1 of the Initiative Chart and begin counting columns to the right. When the end of one row is reached, the GM will start counting in row 2, column 1 and continue to the right…</i> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>Characters receive offensive actions in the column where their initiative score is plotted, in the row where their initiative score is plotted, and in all rows higher. For example, a character with an initiative score of 35 receives an offensive action in column 11 of rows 1, 2, and 3.</i></blockquote>
This process is reminiscent of the combat system in <i>Villains & Vigilantes</i> (although V&V does not employ a chart): turns last fifteen seconds, initiative is determined by adding 1d10 to Agility, and a character is entitled to an action for every fifteen 'phases' of his or her initiative.<br />
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Let’s see how <i>Enforcers</i> initiative plays out. We have two characters: Sloth-Man (with an ADX of 4) and Captain Hotfoot (with an ADX of 30 and three levels of Super Reflexes). The result of the initiative roll for both characters is 5. For this round of combat, Sloth-Man has an initiative score of 9; the score for Captain Hotfoot is 65. Captain Hotfoot has five offensive actions this round but Sloth-Man has only one.<br />
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Combat begins. We start at row 1, column 1 and begin counting to the right: 15 ...14 ...13 ...12 ...11 ...10 ...9 – Sloth-Man may now commit an offensive action 0.8 seconds before Captain Hotfoot is permitted to do the same this round. [Insert sad trombone]<br />
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Well, the authors stated that <i>Enforcers</i> is “the easiest, fastest, most flexible super-power role-playing game.” They made no claim regarding logic or common sense.<br />
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The amount of damage that a character inflicts in hand-to-hand combat is based on carrying capacity. “Table 5 presents the meleé damage table,” we read, “look up your character's carrying capacity and this will give you the character's meleé DAM#.” This seems reasonable. Given below is the “formula [the authors] used to calculate the values on the meleé damage table.”<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
CC DAM#X = (DAM#X × 100) + (CC DAM#X – 1) + (DAM#X³ × LOG{DAM#X} × 0.7)</div>
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Apparently, the authors put a great deal of thought into this ...or did they? Here is the first portion of Table 5:<br />
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Carrying capacity (in pounds) is determined thus: (STR/10)³ x W* x 25. A person weighing 180 lbs. and possessing a Strength of 11 (i.e., average) has a carrying capacity of 133 lbs. According to the table, that means the person would have a DAM# of 2.<br />
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In <i>Enforcers</i>, there is no table describing meleé weapons. Instead, “Striking weapons do damage based on their weight.” Specifically, we are told, “Find the object's weight on [Table 5], and the DAM# given is amount of damage done by the object.” A crow bar weighs about five pounds, so the DAM# would be 1. This means a normal, unarmed person inflicts twice the amount of damage that a person wielding a crow bar would inflict. [Insert sad trombone] At least, “Objects with sharp edges used as slashing weapons will do triple this amount.”<br />
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A critical hit results when an attack roll is equal to or less than 10% of the attack's adjusted basic chance to hit (ABCTH). Should the ABCTH exceed one hundred, “the maximum legal percentage” is ten percent. To determine hit location, we are advised to “please roll 2d6 and consult the proper column in Table 11.” <br />
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Um, what column would that be? When Table 11 is reprinted in the back of the book, we see that – from left to right – the columns are: front, back, side, and below. Each critical hit has a severity from one to six; determined by rolling 1d6. This suggests six levels of severity; however, such is not the case. There are actually three levels of severity, each having a separate table: light (severity 1 - 3), medium (severity 4 - 5), and extreme (severity 6). For the neck location, the effect of light severity is 2 × normal damage and “target loses next action.” The effect of medium severity is 4 × normal damage and “15% paralyzed otherwise lose next action.” Finally, the effect of extreme severity is 6 × normal damage, “20% dead, 50% paralyzed, [otherwise] target is stunned for rest of round.”<br />
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For an attack, rolling in excess of the 'fumble factor' means the character has fumbled. Fumble factor equals 89 + (ABCTH/10), but a “roll of 00 is always a fumble regardless of the character's fumble factor.” There are three fumble tables, each requiring a roll of 1d10: Hand-To-Hand, Ranged Attack, and Missile Weapon. A roll of '2' on the hand-to-hand table means, “Strained arm, –40% to hit for rest of round.” A roll of '1' on the ranged attack table indicates, “Distracted, save vs. Intelligence on d% or lose next offensive action.” A roll of '3' on the missile weapon table indicates, “Missile arc to [<i>sic</i>] high ...Hits ceiling for normal damage and may hit a random target on the ground.”<br />
<br />perdustinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05842738630442736894noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2589165667013235064.post-946577676101154972020-04-19T11:54:00.002-04:002020-05-02T10:42:42.409-04:00The easiest, fastest, most flexible super-power role-playing gameWell, that's what it says on the back cover of the <i>Enforcers</i> rulebook. Perhaps the authors genuinely believed this. If so, I hope they have since recovered from their substance abuse. It's one thing to say your game is easy, fast, and flexible, but to employ superlatives sets expectations rather high.<br />
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Without a doubt, the authors were well versed in superhero role-playing games popular at the time. They liked some aspects of those games and incorporated them into <i>Enforcers</i>. Some aspects they didn't like and they attempted to design <i>Enforcers</i> in avoidance of these aspects (not necessarily successfully). The rulebook has no Introduction, but an equivalent section called “Concepts Behind Enforcers” provides insight as to what the authors thought was wrong with these games.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>We designed Enforcers with the intent of avoiding the pitfalls most of the super hero systems that have gone before us suffer from. The following is a short list of some of these.</i><br />
<ol>
<li><i>Randomly generated, underpowered player characters that never get any better.</i></li>
<li><i>Complicated character creation schemes that are time-consuming and require a Ph.D. in math to understand.</i></li>
<li><i>Ability scores represented by words like Fantastic, Amazing, Incredible, Humongous (or is it Hughmongoose?)</i></li>
<li><i>Systems that force you to run someone else's creation.</i></li>
<li><i>Combat that moves too slowly and is too complex.</i></li>
</ol>
</blockquote>
Admittedly, each individual “pitfall” was applicable to one or more systems, but no contemporaneous superhero games (let alone “most”) were afflicted with all of these flaws. While “Concepts Behind Enforcers” indicates justifiable criticisms of other games, the back cover lists the selling points of <i>Enforcers</i>.<br />
<ul>
<li><i>Creation point character generation in minutes.</i></li>
<li><i>Fast and easy combat system.</i></li>
<li><i>A complete magic system.</i></li>
<li><i>Create your own super-powers.</i></li>
<li><i>All alignments of characters allowed.</i></li>
<li><i>LOTUS® compatible spread sheet program for online character sheets</i></li>
<li><i>Step-by-step procedures provided for new players.</i></li>
</ul>
Listing a “spread sheet program” as a selling point does little to assure a potential buyer that the system is easy. Given the publication date of 1987, a “program” consisted of printed code that a user was expected to enter manually. Four pages are devoted to this code which, I expect, very few <i>Enforcers</i> players opted to employ. In his <i>Heroic Worlds</i>, Lawrence Schick indicates that an “<i>Enforcers Spread Sheet Disk</i>” was offered as a related product. In the entry for <i>Enforcers</i>, Schick states, “<i>Complexity alert: </i> calculator required, as math formulas figure prominently in the rules.” No other superhero game has such a warning. The game itself recommends use of a calculator:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>While all of the calculations involved in this system are simple, there are quite a few of them involved with initial character setup. You can use this system without a calculator, but it will slow down the action quite a bit if you do.</i></blockquote>
In addition, character creation requires use of what are admittedly “mystic and arcane formulas.” All this would seem to put the lie to the notion of <i>Enforcers</i> being the “easiest” system. Why would the authors put forth such a preposterous claim? I can only speculate.<br />
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Below is the stat block from the <i>Enforcers</i> character sheet.<br />
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To be fair, <i>Enforcers</i> offers charts for some of the calculations.<br />
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The basic statistics for <i>Enforcers</i> characters are Weight, Strength, Constitution, Agility / Dexterity, Intelligence, Comeliness, and Media Rating. All are determined randomly, although the score for Weight can be determined “through an agreement between the player and the GM...” Nonetheless, we are informed, “the GM should go to great lengths to avoid the ‘overweight superhero syndrome.’ ” (In <i>Enforcers</i>, Weight is used in determining Hit Points and affects the calculation of other statistics, much like in <i>Villains and Vigilantes</i>.)<br />
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Other than random determination of basic statistics, <i>Enforcers</i> characters are generated by allocating creation points. The rules inform us, “Fifteen creation points is a good amount to use if you want a low-powered campaign that grows slowly; twenty-five creation points will result in a more moderate rate of growth; and 35 CPs will result in a high-powered campaign that grows quickly right from the start.” However, the first published module, <i>The Knights of Beverly Hills</i>, is intended for characters having forty creation points.<br />
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Creation points may be used to purchase powers and increase basic statistics (other than Weight and Media Rating). Superhero role-playing games typically offer a selection of generic powers which can be modified by various enhancements and limitations. In games like <i>Champions</i> and <i>Superworld</i>, these modifiers are presented as fractions by which the purchase cost of a power is multiplied. <i>Enforcers</i> eschews this mechanic; each power has a set cost. If a character's power is less effective than how it is described in the rulebook, the character receives points in the form of a weakness; if it is more effective, there is an additional cost “set by the GM...” With one noteworthy exception, variations in cost are represented in whole numbers. Only in this respect is <i>Enforcers</i> character generation 'easier' than that of other Superhero role-playing games; a distinction which is hardly worthwhile given the flaws evident in the game.<br />
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Let's take Sound Projection, “a standard offensive power” with a cost of six creation points. As a “a standard offensive power,” the player chooses (1) his or her accuracy with the power and (2) the amount of damage it inflicts. Accuracy is measured as BCTH (Base Chance To Hit) and damage is measured as DAM#. As can be seen on Table 1, a BCTH anywhere from 26 – 75% does not modify the cost. According to the rules, “At the time a power is initially purchased, the BCTH is fixed permanently and can never be altered unless the power is completely retaken a second time.” You want to improve your ability through training, practice, and experience? That's not going to happen in the <i>Enforcers</i> universe! For standard offensive powers, “A character can have a DAM# of up to 10 with no additional cost...” Each additional DAM# 10 (or fraction thereof) costs an extra creation point. (For comparison, a Colt .45 has a DAM# 6.) So, Sound Projection with BCTH 95% and DAM# 20 would cost 7.5 creation points. What are you going to do with one-half of a creation point? I don't know, maybe buy another standard offensive power? Although it's impossible to improve BCTH for an existing power, you can increase DAM# by 3 for every extra creation point spent. Getting a BCTH of 120% for a mere point might seem like a sweet deal; however, a greater BCTH imposes a higher energy cost. That's right, the better a character's aim, the more fatiguing it is to use the power. The 'energy cost per use' formula is:<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
Energy Cost / Use = (DAM# × 3 × BCTH) / 1000</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
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So, each use of our hypothetical Sound Projection power would have an energy cost of six (i.e., 5.7 rounded up).<br />
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What about claims of “Creation point character creation in minutes” and “Step-by-step procedures provided for new players”? Well, it's all relative. The age of the universe can be measured in minutes. Any “Step-by-step procedures” doubtless make perfect sense to the author but may not easily be comprehensible to anyone else. Preparatory to creating a character, <i>Enforcers</i> encourages players to consider various “points” like personality, objectives, and motivation. This is commendable. The rules then go on to explain creation points and basic statistics. So far, so good. The next section is “Optional Statistics, Superpowers, and their Effects.” This is where the problems begin. Actually, the section describes the basic mechanics of <i>Enforcers</i> combat; there's nothing wrong with this, but the section title is misleading. There are no optional statistics presented and the information about superpowers is entirely peripheral. The next two sections are “Super Power Descriptions” and “Weakness Descriptions.” Only then are we treated to “Calculated Statistics and their Effects,” a section which explains Hit Points, Energy Points, and other concepts which ought to have been addressed much earlier. Also, <i>Enforcers</i> commits the unforgivable sin of not providing a sample character. <i>Enforcers</i> 'borrowed' several concepts from <i>Villains and Vigilantes</i>. One concept it did not copy was the inclusion of sample characters in its advertisements. That was clever marketing; you didn't even have to purchase <i>Villains and Vigilantes</i> in order to see a sample character.<br />
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There's one other thing I would like to mention before concluding this post. The first page of text in <i>Enforcers</i> – even before the Table of Contents – has the title “Missed-Information.” In other books, this would be “Errata” and and it would appear at the end because it's unfortunate. About this page the author tells us:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>We are using this opportunity to correct some mistakes that occurred when the book was originally printed. As it was not feasible to correct all of the errors in the text, some of these corrections are given below.</i></blockquote>
Not feasible? As indicated in the <a href="https://thoulsparadise.blogspot.com/2020/04/a-super-powered-science-fiction-role.html">last post</a>, nearly twenty pages had to be removed from this edition. They could remove those pages, but it was “not feasible” to implement some corrections. Even worse, three out of four corrections indicate the wrong page with which they should be associated. “Dr. Jay Christensen” is listed as the book's editor; one wonders in which field of study this person earned his or her doctorate.<br />
<br />perdustinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05842738630442736894noreply@blogger.com2