So Many Games... So Little Time (to blog)...

 

Some games I hope to run during 2021...

I keep meaning to update here more... I had a week off earlier in January but spent a lot of it away from my home office taking a much needed break from sitting at a desk staring at computer screens for 8-12 hours a day. (Though I did devour the excellent Raised By Wolves while laying on a couch staring at a TV screen...)

More than needing a break, though, I'm realizing that most of my RPG energy these days is spent on actually running games, something that I did a metric-fuck-ton of during 2020. With alternating 5th Edition D&D games running Saturday Afternoons, games most Thursday evenings, every other Wednesday, a couple of stints running games every other Sunday morning and at least one one-shot game each month plus the one to two games I play in... well, I average two to three games per week most weeks...

While the downside of all this gaming is less blogging, the upside was running a lot of games, including a bunch of games I hadn't run before. Here is a quick break down...

• Call of Cthulhu 7th Edition

• I'd run CoC back in high school, so that would have been back in the 5th edition was still relatively new.. Ending up running several one shots and a short campaign and definitely think it works best in the one shot format. Highlight was running The Lightless Beacon, a free one shot scenario which is where I'd recommend starting if you're interested in running (also conveniently free on Roll20).

• The Quiet Year

• Ran (or facilitated rather, as its GM-less) this post-apocalyptic map game using Roll20 and would definitely give it another whirl. It is on my list of backup games for when my groups are down a few players.

• The Sprawl

• Finally ran a one-shot of the Sprawl, the Powered by the Apocalypse Cyberpunk Game and was pleasantly surprised at how well it worked, even in a one-shot. Many PbtA games really take more than one session to get cooking, but ran a one-shot using the Downtown Dataheist quickstart mission and had a blast.

• tremulus

• also ran the Cthulhu mythos themed PbtA game, tremulus, using the Ebon Eaves scenario and it was fine? Would try it again, but really, what I'm jonesin' to run is the frozen wasteland playset.

• Fiasco!

• Had played the original version, but the revised version that swaps in cards in place of dice was a marked improvement and quite enjoyed running through the Suburbia scenario and looking forward to being able to game in person again to take advantage of having the big boxed set and all the expansion packs.

• The Forest Hymn and Picnic

• I've now run the Last Winter Holiday quick-start adventure included in A Cursory Guidebook To The Forest Hymn & Picnic twice now and each time was a lot of fun, so I cannot wait until the full game is done and I can run a party through a campaign of the Forest Hymn and Picnic...

• Alien the Roleplaying Game

• This was the big one that I went into 2020 determined to run after getting it late in 2019... and run it I did... I ran six separate one shots of Alien, plus the Destroyer of World module as a three session mini-campaign. The system is pretty elegant and cinematic and I fully intend do a fuller review sometime soon.

Iron Edda - Jokilaakso Saga pt. 2

When we left our heroes, they had chased off some unworthy Petruvians and were about to speak with the hermit Toki, who they thought would know where giant bones could be found.

Viking Funeral On Shifty Pond - Antagonist Relations Actual Play Podcast 8

Wait, a Seven of Diamonds but this is the eighth actual play podcast? You'll have to listen to find out...

Once again we descended into the lair of the Ginger Giant and recorded the continuing adventures of the Stonestrike sisters, Ochen and Harry Froggy Hoppington. I put in a shameless plug for my recent "Powered by the Apocalypse Style Looks for Fantasy RPG PCs" article, the PCs give Moth his Viking Funeral send-off on shifty pond. Plus whirl-wind romance, death, betrayal, ventriloquism forgiveness and the return of Thomasina, onion witch extraordinaire. All that and more in Viking Funeral On Shifty Pond - Antagonist Relations Actual Play Podcast 8.

We just Apocalypse Now-style fire bombed a vampire to death, AND IT WAS AWESOME!! 😆#aredandpleasantland #rpg #tabletop #worldofdungeons1979

— LadyChristy (@LadyChristy) February 11, 2017

Powered by the Apocalypse Style Looks for Fantasy RPG PCs

One of the little things from many (but unfortunately not all) Powered by the Apocalypse (PbtA) games that I think makes character creation really shine is the "Look" options. I've actually borrowed this for non-PbtA one shots, like when I ran my Planescape "Soup" one-shot (sample PCs here). While most PbtA playbooks (class write-ups) have only three or four look "slots" with four options each, I wanted to build off that to make a table of look options that could be easily used for non-PbtA fantasy RPG games, either for players wanting to come up with character appearance descriptions or for GMs who want to provide look options for PCs for one-shot games, like I do. The list is mostly based off the look options found in the Dungeon World SRD.

Obviously not every "slot" needs to be filled, if there's not an appropriate Skin/Other option for a character then don't worry about picking one (or providing options). Likewise, while I really enjoy the Voice options, those are probably ones that will often be skipped by players who intend to roleplay their character's voice or who don't want to always be trying to speak in a "booming voice"

Two examples of how to use this chart. First, imagine a player building Matilda Boomhammer, Dwarf cleric of a Thunder God. Flummoxed at how they should describe their PCs appearance they consult the table and pick some things that fit their conception of the PC, ending up with...

• Smoldering Eyes
• Battered Helmet
• Sweet Face
• Battleworn Armor
• Sturdy Body
• Braided Beard
• Calm Voice

Or perhaps a GM is creating characters for an one-shot game and while they are picking stats and powers, they want to leave choices for the players to make to encrourage what might be an otherwise disposable PC to feel like it belongs to that player. One of the PC options is a human wizard, so the GM provides these for the look options...

• Cold eyes, Crazy Eyes, Knowing Eyes, Searing Eyes
• Messy Hair, Pointed Hat, Strange Hair, Tattooed Scalp
• Bony Face, Cruel Face, Plain Face, Striking Face
• Dark Clothes, Flowing Robes, Strange Robes, Worn Robes
• Emaciated Body, Pudgy Body, Knobby Body, Wiry Body
• Nervous Hands, Ritual Scars, Unusual Jewelry, Waxen Skin

Then when a player chooses the human wizard, they don't have to come up with a look from scratch and their choices will get to add some personality to the PC they portray for the one shot, as a human wizard with "cold eyes, a tattooed scalp, a cruel face, dark clothes, an emaciated body and waxen skin" feels very different from a human wizard with "knowing eyes, a pointed hat, flowing robes, a knobby body and nervous hands".

Click here for a printer friendly PDF.

It goes without saying that these are just a starting point and meant as inspiration, if you're using them and find yourself drawn to a description that isn't on the list, you should go for it instead of limiting yourself.

Options with an *Asterisk were put in to help support more unusual races like Tieflings, Minotaurs and Dragonborn

Eyes	Hair/Head	Face	Clothes/Garb	Build	Skin/Other	Voice
Cold Eyes	Bald	Aristocratic Face	Animal Skins	Built Body	Battle Scarred Skin	Booming Voice
Crazy Eyes	Battered Helm	Blunt Face	Battleworn Armor	Bulky Body	Braided Beard	Brittle Voice
Dead Eyes	Braided Hair	Bony Face	Camouflaged Garb	Compact Body	Calloused Skin	Calm Voice
Eager Eyes	Carved Horns*	Boyish Face	Cape	Creepy Body	Flexible Hands	Crackling Voice
Fiery Eyes	Cropped Hair	Broken Face	Ceremonial Garb	Emaciated Body	Flowing Beard	Deep Voice
Glowing Eyes	Dreadlocks	Cruel Face	Common Clothes	Fit Body	Many Piercings	Flat Voice
Hard Eyes	Fancy Hair	Dull Face	Dark Clothes	Flabby Body	Masked Face	Grating Voice
Haunted Eyes	Flowing Hair	Expressive Face	Fancy Clothes	Graceful Body	Nervous Hands	Gravelly Voice
Haunting Eyes	Furry Hood	Flushed Face	Finery	Knobby Body	Pale Skin	Guttural Voice
Joyous Eyes	Hooded Head	Girlish Face	Flowing Robes	Lithe Body	Perfect Skin	Heartwarming Voice
Kind Eyes	Messy Hair	Gorgeous Face	Habit	Long Shanks	Precise Hands	Hoarse Voice
Knowing Eyes	Mohawk	Haggard Face	Mismatched Armor	Mighty Thews	Quick Hands	Lilting Voice
Laughing Eyes	Plumed Helmet	Handsome Face	Polished Armor	Pudgy Body	Ritual Scars	Loud Voice
Sad Eyes	Pointed Hat	Kind Face	Poor Clothes	Rangy Body	Sausage Fingers	Low Voice
Searing Eyes	Pristine Horns*	Lively Face	Practical Leathers	Ravaged Body	Scaly Skin*	Monotonous Voice
Sharp Eyes	Scarred Horns*	Mournful Face	Ragged Clothes	Scrawny Body	Scarred Hands	Penetrating Voice
Shifty Eyes	Shaggy Hair	Plain Face	Scavenger’s Outfit	Sharp Body	Soft Skin	Reedy Voice
Shrouded Eyes	Shorn Hair	Plump Moist Face	Scraps	Stocky Body	Strange Brands	Rich Voice
Smoldering Eyes	Strange Hair	Rugged Face	Silk Clothes	Sturdy Body	Strange Tattoos	Roaring Voice
Tormented Eyes	Styled Hair	Smooth Face	Strange Robes	Supple Body	Tanned Skin	Soft Voice
Warm Eyes	Stylish Cap	Stern Face	Stylish Robes	Thin Body	Unmarred By Decoration	Soothing Voice
Watchful Eyes	Tattooed Scalp	Striking Face	Traveling Clothes	Tiny Body	Unusual Jewelry	Stentorian Voice
Weary Eyes	Tonsure	Strong Face	Weather Inappropriate Clothes	Well-Fed Body	Waxen Skin	Stern Voice
Wild Eyes	Top Knot	Sweet Face	Weathered Hides	Wild Body	Weathered Skin	Sultry Voice
Wise Eyes	Wild Hair	Weathered Face	Worn Robes	Wiry Body	Wrinkled Skin	Whispering Voice

Iron Edda - Jokilaakso Saga pt. 1

After the holdfast creation, we did a short session to kick off my Iron Edda - War of Metal and Bone campaign. You can go back and read the holdfast creation notes and PC introductions here.

Iron Edda - Holdfast Creation, PC Introductions

So, way back on January 11th, I met with my Wednesday group and we had our first session of Iron Edda: World of Metal and Bone. A big part of the first session was Holdfast creation, a bit of collaborative world building where the players had to decide on important matters, or as the book puts it...

The holdfast will be the center of your campaign. Adventures may take you far across the world, but you will always return here, where songs will be sung of your journeys.
Creating your holdfast is a collaborative process. To begin, put a blank piece of paper in the middle of the table. This will be your map of the holdfast and its surrounding area, populated with issues that will drive the campaign.

So each player took a turn, rolling to determine a random category and issue, then they answered the question(s) raised (or at least answered some, re-reading what my group came up with and I see some places where I didn't push hard enough) and drew something on the map to represent the issue. Here's the map we ended up with and the results are below, with the PC introductions below that. I'll post my summary and commentary for the first session elsewhere.

Holdfast creation map with PC runestones.

Party Time - Voltron as Inspiration and other recent Party Building & Character Creation

Or how can a GM trick his players into forming a party that is both this

 and occasionally this...

Thomas insisted that I give the new Netflix reboot of Voltron, Voltron: Legendary Defender, a try, and I'm incredibly glad I did. I have very few memories of the Voltron TV series that aired on American TV in the 80s. I'm certain I saw re-runs in syndication and I had the Voltron figure that combined all 5 lions, though I lost the sword and paladin figures before I started elementary school. Which is to say, I knew Voltron, but didn't have many definite and concrete memories and went into Voltron: Legendary Defender with only hazy memories of what came before.

Now, I won't try to claim that V:LD is high art or ground-breaking for a 'kids show' in the way that I might for Adventure Time, Steven Universe or Over the Garden Wall, but I did find it enjoyable and I'm looking forward to the second season. There's a slow bit in the middle of the series with some rock people and a friend remarked to me that there's a lot of it that revolves around them not being able to or wanting to form Voltron, but what I keep going back too as I think about the show is how it could be an excellent model for a D&D style adventuring party.

RPG Assumptions - A Tale of Two (Powered by the) Apocalypse Games - With Bonus Adventure Fronts!

Last month I ran two games, both Powered by the Apocalypse, in the first, a game of Viking World, I feel like the game ran aground a bit on some player assumptions so for the second, a game of Adventures on Dungeon Planet, I was upfront about the assumptions of the game and as a consequence it went much more smoothly. But the whole thing has had me thinking more about the assumptions that players and game masters bring to games.