game and nano2008

cross-posting to the forum:

Abesm WILL run as scheduled during November. Side sessions are very unlikely, and summaries of sessions likely to be pretty short and to the point. I shall try and make all BESM sessions (their may be a conflict; not sure yet). All other games -- and their are some ideas in the works and such -- will be on hold until December. possibly January, since December is a tricksy month for most.

Sparkie is liable to complain :p

cross-game amusement

for those who don't know; players wanted two campaigns to continue. Mine was lolad, ken's was bemu(u). We'd both burned out on them, and someone jokingly suggested we switch worlds. Which we laughed about, and the found made more and more sense.

End result: I am playing his former PC (Cameron) in what is now klolad, and he is playing Drew in abesm.

Hence, this bit of minor amusement...
<kenGM> not many people here use the word wino
<kenGM> :P
<Cameron> I don't think it's too common anymore.
<Cameron> rofl!
<Cameron> I saw the line, and Cameron, and wasabout to type:' Damn,ken, I was about to write that"
<Cameron> and then I recalled *I* am playing Cameron :P
<kenGM> ;P
<kenGM> amazing

Searches that find game1

This may amuse no one else, but here are the top searches for images for the game1 site going by month.

December 2007: wallpaper cthulhu parchment
Jan. 2008: twin blades of azaroth
Feb.2008: fennec foxes keeping warm in cold places
March 2008: pictures of types of freash water turtles
April 2008: velsa dog
May 2008: "austin powers" burrow llama
2 weeks ago: incubus paranormal wheels on suv
1 week ago: redneck pictures of the armpit serenade (This was actually #2, but#1 was a more mundane search of 'unknown armies')

random thoughts on D&D fourth edition

This is just as I go through it...

- Eladrin? Why DO we need 2 races of elves?
- Clerics can follow philosophies... Nietzsche anyone?
- "astral sea"? Really?
- Warlocks rock; they finally gave the sorcerer balls.

Overall, I'm liking the classes a lot. (I still don't see the point to keeping the ranger; and throwing the monk etc. into another book is irksome, money wise.)But on the whole they seem quite nice, with multiple options for a character ensuring, I hope, that things don't get too stale if you have two of the same class in one group.

- Warlords at first level would be damn odd; "Yes, I AM a natural leader. I was king of the hill SIX times and captured the flag for Pelor!"
- The epic levels look like crazy, awesome fun. And finally SOUND epic.

More later.

More:

- Why does it take so long to find out what 2[w] and such are? Glossaries are GOOD to have in the front as references.
- Rituals seem both interesting and fun.
- Also: lots more HP. Which is probably a very good thing.
- Alignment is better; they added 'if you choose one' for one thing.
- However, the gods are not. Most campaigns - the vast majority, I imagine - will either be a) homebrew or b) a different setting. Which means inserting things like Feywild and such are a pain in the arse, to say nothing of wasting space detailing the gods (and only the good ones at that).
- Races: why ARE humans the only one whose flavour text emphasized both the good and evil?

Final thought:

I will NOT be using stupid maps. I don't care if WOTC tries to ram the goddamned things down our throats (like, say, now). When - make this if, at this rate - I run 4e, there will be no maps and gametables and virtual tabletop crap. We never needed it before, and I am not planning to use it now.

Oh, and this should explain enough:
<gemm> this has been what, an hour, hour and a half of trying to find something that works?
<alcar> 'xactly :PO
* alcar can flat out guarentee I won't be using such things when I run 4e
<Chaos`^> fuck it... we'll do it live =p
<gemm> now you can't get a program to work, huh? :P
<Chaos`^> oh
<Chaos`^> i'll get it to work
<Chaos`^> it's just that my windows on this computer is broken
<Chaos`^> so...
<Chaos`^> i'm going to use another computer
<Chaos`^> brb
<gemm> ...
<gemm> I just want to start...
<kentari> wow. :P

Apotheosis: 10 sessions in.

(Technically, 9.5. But what the hell, 10 sounds better.)

At present, we have... a cabal!

Current goal: Defeat Ms. Whitman, the psych teacher who claims to be a Bodhisattva and has survived being beaten with a crowbar, removal of her spine and being dumped into a sewer. She's connected to some other world accessible through a suitcase (at the least) and a mysterious Key they've yet to find or locate. The nature of Ms. Whitman and her goals remains a mystery at present, though she claims to want to either enlighten or kill those who killed her in the first place and seems to have returned with preternatural healing, though whether the spider-thing inside her remains is unknown at present.


Members:

Adella: Avatar of the Flying Woman, psychology student, and has an 'in' with a dealer in rituals and occult rumors and lore. Avatars may lack power in the observable sense, but the universe is on her side -- she's once felt infinity itself watch her,and worked a ritual and had it come true.

Delilah: Physics professor and wife to Marcus. She knows a little of the OU, enough to have her own minor trick and to have seen tenebrae before (she believes they're dark matter, and than quantum physics is a lie -- which makes her teaching it quite an interesting experience). She's worried she's in over her head, but the lure of answers to her questions drives her ever onwards.

Marcus: Del's husband; he's mostly playing it cool and keeping cards close to his chest, owing to run-ins with Sleepers and his wife's memory lapse once. Despite having committed no real crime beyond being a drive for a marijuana pickup while demon-possessed, he's the one member of the cabal the police are currently watching.

Nate: A friend with benefits to Adella (one of many). he's still coming to terms with discovering he wasn't ever human and his mechanomancer grandfather seems to have given up most of his memories that could explain why Nate was made, and how he's the product of cbyermancy. So far he's removed one person's spine - by accident - and is trying as hard as he can to act human.

Talnish - mechanical engineering professor and mechanomancer, who has beaten one person with a crowbar (self defense, he says, but whatever makes you sleep at night...) and buried one body dropped on his property outside the city limits as well as seen his dean turn into a giant pig after eating McDonalds. Somehow he's kept his his professorship, but how long that lasts is anyone's guess...

Apotheosis: some news

Your character can discover this in the radio, via the newspaper, on the net, by TV: doesn't really matter how. (They might not even at all; your choice.)

Radio Free Essex:

"This is DJ Arnold, who has never been a DJ but it sounds pretty sweet, on 999 AM. Essex University is the top of the news for the hour, on the hour. Or under it, as the case may be! The top story -- who am I kidding? it's the only one! -- some psych students weren't able to get into a lecture hall so they had a mass orgy outside. Witnesses reported it, and several joined in because it "felt right" according to one witness who did not want to be named. I'd be more worried about STDS, but hey!

"The teacher for the class remains unaccounted for, but if I was Ms. Whitman, I'd be flattered: most students just leave when the teacher isn't present! One teacher, who asked not to be named (this is sort of theme of the news today) said that, while he welcomed a return of 60s style protest activism, campus-wide orgies were a bit much. Students seem divided according to my unofficial poll. A good 50% think it was drugs, like a date rape one or LSD. 25% think it was a protest, or possibly an art piece, and the rest think it is a sign from Satan about the whore of Bablyon and the end times. Well, I guess we all know who they're talking about, even if oficialdom is remaining mum!

"Now it's time for a break with Right Said Fred, and "I"m Too Sexy For My Campus!"


Wessex TV:

"The top story of the morning is the unexplained sexual activity at the university yesterday afternoon. Opinions range widely, but there has been no official report on the cause of the event, nor why a psych class would engage in that kind of experiments. The head of the psychology department, Dr. Robert Dickinson, stated that Professor Whitman had been under a lot of stress lately and that perhaps her dissertation on William Masters had begun to cloud her judgment.

"He further cited a possibly apocryphal story about her teaching practices coming under question since she was rumored to improve grades for studies who would consent to be subjects in her studies and give in-depth accounts of their sexual experiences to date. This no doubt influenced her other classes and led her to have students believe she would give them all at least a B if they engaged in group sex.

"The police are still investigating the situation and Sergeant Leatherwood only said that they had called in the FBI to check for drugs or contaminants in the local water supply. Asked about the possible sightings of Delaware police cruisers, Leatherwood only said that the county had asked for aid and refused to comment further on the matter."


The Rutherford Daily Independent Standard:

Top Story: UNIVERSITY PROTEST
While officials remain silent, rumors about that yesterday afternoon a mass orgy that took place outside a lecture hall abound. Surprisingly, few pictures of it surfaced, and those that were turned into our office were too grainy to be of use.
When questioned, students claimed "The Man" had taken it from them, but refused to explain further, leading to increased worries about drug abuse and immorality on campus. The police have to far refused to comment, but locals have been picketing the university campus and MAGS, an organization claiming to be Mothers Against Group Sex, has taken up emailing the university to demand an explanation. Until one is forthcoming, the story will likely not die.

Other News
Walter McDermott, a janitor at the university, was found murdered in a room at the Super 8 Motel approximately 3 am last night. The police are not releasing details at this time but are requesting anyone with information to come forward at this time.

Barnes & Noble wishes to apologize for their recent promotion of a new book "The True History of Magick by James Randi". Like their recent 'press releases' of "The Cruel Ones and You by Dr Seuss" and "Shattering of the Glass Family by J D Salinger" and "How I loved My Mother by Sigmund Freud" it seems to be the work of a very bored staff member. Strangely, the only titles that were recognized as actual fakes were "The History of Psychology by Tom Cruise" and "Why Hitler Was a Boddhisatva by the Dalai Lama".

A fire in the Walmart photo lab left one staff member hospitalized but no one else harmed this morning. The company and fire marshal are currently investigating.

In more pleasant news, a remake of the Flying Nun is scheduled to begin filming in one of the ghost towns south of Elysium. Since it's still pre-production there is no word on if they're hiring locals.


On the net:
LOL! Did you hear about Sara and the other students??? That's so awesome!! I wish I'd been there!! I bet someone got pictures!!!!

u r all going to burn in hell!

Obviously, there was no 'orgy'. We are university students, and well aware of safe-sex. It's clear that the university is in cahoots with the government in covering up something important. See: the 'police cars', the amount of junk mail everyone gets, the new Tiki Bar at the south end of campus, and economics departments refusal to have a stated opinion on FDR and the conspiracy to bring down his government as all the proof you need that something Big is going down and our corporate masters wish to hide it from us.

You're so full of it. Everyone knows the CFR is connected to at least 6 deans, and they're the ones who really call the shots. And if you believe that, I have an alien corpse to sell you.

Come on you guys! Lets' not fight! INTERNET ORGY EVERYONE!

Apotheosis: 5 sessions in.

So far things are moving ahead at a brisk clip. People have been put into paintings, Sleepers arrived (Well, he was on vacation, but even so), Holes in the fabric of reality leading Somewhere Else creating magickal briefcases and turning professors into monsters of some kind, a magical Key having been discovered, demonic possession, the murder of said professor by two students, a clockwork, and another professor. Oh, and an orgy on a mundane level, along with Marcus proving his love to Delilah by not having sex with Sara.

Characters So Far

PCs
Adella - Free spirited college student who has, of recently, been able to float in the air after sex.
Marcus - husband to Delilah, a mail-order husband with skills he never wants to use again and a Key whose provenance he doesn't understand
Talnish - mechanical engineering professor and Mechanomancer

NPCs
Delilah - Physics professor and wife to Marcus, locally considered a 'witch'.
Nate - Friend with benefits for Adella who seems to be a post-post modern automaton who was entirely unaware of that until recently.
Sara - Sex-loving room mate to Adella whose life seems to revolve entirely around sex. Also, apparently hunted by Sleepers.

Other Cast
Martin Caidin Sr. - Nate's grandfather. Known to Talnish as a reclusive mechanomancer outside town.
Father Karl Horne - The priest at St. Jude's, the local Catholic church.
Edith Kilmore - the old lady who runs the heritage house and has apparently met Marcus before, though the latter has no memory of it.
Suzy Quimby - the girl who accidentally painted Sara into a painting. hasn't gone insane quite yet.
Ramona Whitman - the former psych prof turned into some kind of 'thing' by the Other Place. Currently deceased.

Minor Cast
Leon Debran - owner of the Bleeding Crow, never seen yet.
The Bartender - surly 20 going on 40 something bartender at the Bleeding Crow.
Milk Delivery Man - a man who delivers milk, with live cow, to Delilah's house.
Paper boy - the pre-dawn paperboy who delivers papers.

Apotheosis Notes

So, we have a mail-order husband of a physics prof and a free-spirited college girl as the PCs (so far).

The town of Elysium, Kansas, is a small university city in the county of Rutherford. 3000 students, 1300 other residents and then assorted staff and such. It's bracketed by ghost towns, like munch of Kansas, and the locals claim the New Deal destroyed it, though there's almost no one left who can provide specifics to that beyond generic bitterness.

Essex University is the centre of the city, for all intents. What this means is the bars are little more lenient with students and the three police officers sometimes let things slide they shouldn't. Sergeant Jerry Letherwood runs the small police station along with constable's Oki Oki and Lance Christensen.

Aside from this, the city has two hotels - a Day's Inn and a Super 8. There's the usual bars, Denny's, Starbucks, McPlaces and so on. Stuff can be added and such as players want.

Unknown Armies campaign idea

Apotheosis

There are so few left, so terribly few. Every few years the old gods put on new faces, ripping them from the flesh of the living, standing over the bones of the dead. These are only metaphors: but the gods change. All things change, or perish. One pursues novelty or clings to habits. Both ends may be destructive. All things change, and move towards their end.

Every year new gods are born, despite all the old gods do and be and every effort of will and desire. Things happen, despite our most feverent prayers, our most profound hopes. The world gives birth to new gods in this age of change and wildness where all the terrible power of old traditions breaks down and in the centre of the world the world discovers that the centre does not hold.


You've heard whispers, or rumours of them. Read graffito visible only under a new moon. Saw the homeless bum who told people The End was coming get bundled off by men in white suits when he tried to tell people the truth, screamed: "You did it!" to everyone he met, weeping whiskey tears all the while.

Something is changing, has changed, is coming. There is something in the air, the hint of a storm, the knowledge that the calm is over. The world is changing. You feel it in your pineal gland, see it in strange news items, read about it in the gossip section of the paper. Somewhere, out there, men who are far more than men are gathering, and men who are terribly less gather as well. Their are armies moving through shadows, down paths known only to small children and cats, and though they are unknown, they are still armies, and there is still a war.

Because the rumours say that we made the gods, and that the universe will remake itself once we've made so many. That they will make a new one. A better one. Or they did yesterday, and there are those who want the old one back -- it doesn't matter, not really. All that matters, all that is known, is that there are over 330 gods walking the world, and that unless we are terrible or clever or very lucky, soon there will be more and there will no longer be a world.


So, this is what popped out of my head for an Unknown Armies campaign. The PCs can be In The Know (as much as anyone is), or only some, or be thrown off the deep end to tread water and drown beautifully. Entirely up to the players, as is the PC.

Standard UA PC (220 points). Each PC has a Dark Secret, something horrible they've done and never want anyone to learn. And a Trigger, which is something Weird you saw (or the first weird thing you saw) that told you the world was even stranger than advertised on cheap talk shows during ratings week.

The PCs should be connect somehow. This can be an ally, an organization, them being neighbours in the same apartment complex -- it's up to you all, but your PCs should know each other before the game, at some level.

Where it's going: This is unknown armies. Surreal urban fantasy, sprinkled with horror. It's about power and consequences, and what you'd do to change the world. It's about having the guts to see the world as it is, not as we desire it to be -- and maybe, just maybe, finding a way to make the desire come true, or learn why it can never be. It's about being as hard as you have to be, as kind as you can afford to be, and doing what has to be done.

Because the heart of the world has a secret, and everyone knows it even if no one can really believe it. And it means everything, and nothing. You find it scrawled in bathrooms, written on your bed sheets when you wake up, replacing texts in a newspaper. Truth so old no one believes it. Magic so old no one understands it.

You Did It.

.... Now what are you going to do about it?

Oppressors: the newscast

Posting this here, to avoid cluttering up site etc. It's the next morning now, in game, and I'm going to assume your PCs find out about/hear/watch this via someone or some way. Nice and simple.

----

The local news network is on the TV, the familiar backdrop behind the desk currently riddled with bullet holes. They've been left as a massage, either by the Haud or by the humans that remain. The news anchor is, currently, an ex-camera man. He's presentable, looks okay in a suit, and has a decent smile. Which is, really, all that's needed.

"This is the news of the hour, on the hour, being repeated every hour. The Haud have graciously allowed the local news network, Choam, to continue running as a Haud news network. Many local networks across the world have been connected together in this manner. Unlike previous news sources, we will not pretend to be fair, nor unbiased. The Haud have -- dealt with those who would refuse; the rest of us wish to live and keep our jobs.

"Here is what the Haud wish to have reported today, the 11th day after their invasion and the destruction of Pluto.." The smiling man taps some papers on the table, then begins:

"Following regrettable losses of lives and breakdown of basic needs due to the suppression of various governments and resistance, the Haud wish it to be known that regular services of food and supplies will begin today into cities. All grocery stores and drug stores are now under Haud control and will be supplied with regular food. Farms and the like producing food are exempt from all taxation and are to contact any local Haud representatives if they require additional aid or manpower. Quotas are no longer to be enforced, and people will get the basics they need, as they need them. Taxes will be thirty percent across the board, payable and usable at the local level to fix the cities and towns damaged in the war for the foreseeable future.

"In practise, the food system should amount to one bag of food per person each day. Attempts to play the system will be met with removal from the system by, ah, death. Attempts to halt the system will result in no food being delivered to the town or city for at least two days. Destroying any outlet - i.e. grocery store and the like - will result in Examples being made."

The smiling face takes a deep breath. "The Haud wish is to be known that they have made, and will continue to make, examples of those who defy. For those who are, ah, slow: if you defy the Haud, the area around you will be slaughtered. There will be no mercy given, no second chances. Attempts to use this to kill your own enemies will lead to your immediate death, along with all family, possibly friends and even co-workers. I -- well, I guess we all know where the Haud stand.

"Ah. Food is being given out until the normal distribution centres resume proper operation via former secret government warehouses the Haud are opening. Err. Apparently the best before dates system was largely a fraud for certain products, which our government would take when they 'expired' and store them. To what end, we may never know. Expect to get a lot of non-perishable items, I imagine?

"Technology is being quarantined by the Haud after various 'incidents' and the Haud will ration out anything on an as-needed basis. A bureaucracy for this purpose is being developed; those who lost jobs due to the Haud invasion may be given preference towards positions in the news system as compensation. Gas and oil reserves are now closed, and electricity generated by power plants will be the only source of power in cities. If it is not enough, cities must find ways to cut down on power usage or appeal to the Haud. Giving up various resources, such as computers and such the Haud can make use of, will result in net benefits for communities.

"The internet will remain down for the foreseeable future, as will normal TV and radio stations as well as the press. Pirate stations and the like will be permitted to a limited degree. All natural resources in the world are going to be used by the Haud for their needs and distributed for ours on an as-needed basis. Attempts to resist this are, plainly, not encouraged. If humanity proves useful, select members of our species will be allowed to join the Haud as soldiers.

"We are to consider this a great honour. That is all.

"This is Leon Chomsky for Choam News, signing off. We will continue to repeat this broadcast until the Haud give further updates."

I'm not quite dead... In fact, I think I'm getting better.

Yeah! So, hi again. It's me. I know I sort of disappeared again for no apparent reason... I wish I could say it was because my life is so busy, but it's really not. I mean, a lot of stuff has happened, like job changes and remodeling a section of my house as a place to gather with my friends and doing that whenever possible... but there really have been plenty of opportunities for me to come at least hang out in #game1 and I simply didn't. I'm sorry about that. But hey! I think I might be back now. So... yeah. What's up, guys? :)

Oppressors: Where it stands

Currently we're 3 sessions in (technically 5). The PCs have one base - the warehouses - while making plans for other eventualities, the Haud had murdered a few hundred people, some allies have come forth, some enemies bit the dust, one superhero driven insane and an actual use found for Ma'Ti.

Some of the weaknesses and the strengths of the Haud have been figured out but, since the PCs have yet to truly act against them,the aliens seem to pretty much be ignoring them. The police, otoh, are not - but they're merely human. And, unrelated to the PCs, the fanatical religious element of the city is linking the Haud to serpents and Satan and preparing actions of their own ...

Fun things so far:
- The potential in making a superhero's daughter into a supervillain is just fun.
- A use being found for Ma'Ti. He wasn't meant to have a real use. He was a walk-on joke.
- The disparate ways in which the PCs gather allies and build their own power bases.

Surprises:
- So far, no one has really done anything out and out Evil.

Oppressrs: Not feeling oppressive enough?

I think everyone is aware of this policy, but just a note via head office anyway:

You can alter your PC as you wish during the first three sessions, baring in mind that they remain generally the same character. I.e. if you realize your PC can't pull their weight in a brawl, you can juggle more points into ACV/DCV and so on. Management is willing to be flexible on this, though removing a power your PC has used will require in-game shenanigans to explain it away.

Oppressors: Some statistics

So, this is the stats with all the current PCs and NPCs (including one major npc who skews the damage maximum royally but was somewhat balanced out by another who basically became "lowest stat, lowest stat, lowest stat" for most everything).

So, without further ado:

Body
Average: 6
Min: 3
Max: 11

Mind
Average: 6
Min: 3
Max: 13

Soul
Average: 5
Min: 3
Max: 11

ACV
Average: 9
Min: 4
Max: 15

DCV
Average: 9
Min: 4
Max: 15

Melee Attack
Average: 12
Min: 4
Max: 20

Melee Defense
Average: 11
Min: 4
Max: 18

Ranged Attack
Average: 12
Min: 6
Max: 20

Ranged Defense
Average: 10
Min: 4
Max: 18

Health
Average: 71
Min: 35
Max: 115

Min. damage
Average: 58
Min: 4
Max: 198

Max. damage
Average: 144 (or 131, if ignoring 2 NPCs with targeted attacks as their max damage)
Min: 5
Max: 465 - which only affects buildings etc. (The one after is 276, for the curious)

On the plus side, this gives me some nice base stats for "generic villain/hero person" :)

Min. damage was generally done as level 5 weapon, no SS involved for those without multiple weapons (or if they had unarmed as an attack already). For those who had such attacks, I used their weakest and highest, since I was lazy. Which means the damage etc. stuff is rather iffy -- I almost didn't bother including it at all. The max. damage includes things like targeted, so is heavily skewed. Ignoring those, the max would be 276.

Comparing the PCs alone to the above averages, the PCs were high on stats (crazily so; average among PCs is 2-5 points over the general average). PCs were just below ACV/DCV, about even with Melee average, just below Ranged, higher than average health and lower than average in damage, though ignoring two NPCs with targeted attacks the PCs come in at just over the average.

Oppressors Rules Clarification

This game counts as Superhuman/Superpowered. The guidelines on page 9 (Max attribute etc.) are just guidelines. You can ignore the maximums, or use them as a 'middle of the road' limit. PCs should be in the minimum level of Superhuman, cf: Min. Combat value of 6, Min. Health 60, Damage multiplier of 5+.

You can ignore skills entirely in this game. If you do use it, Skill Flux can be the best bet. if you do buy specific skills - say, your PC is a biology professor working on making people into zombies - then it makes sense. But otherwise, unless you wish to emphasize something about the character, you're not obligated to use them and we'll just go by background for them if needed.

This is simply because skills never got used in Defenders for the most part. Having them does mean your PC is better at that skill than someone who has it via background, but it's probably not going to crop up all that often.

The only rules being enforced are the ability caps on page 15 (I think it is). The exception, of course, is PCs who are really skilled at X. Only one person will be allowed to scale X (which has to be an actual power; Dynamics need not apply) past the max level by 1-2 levels.