Monday, December 31, 2012

Aquila:The Procession Episode 1

Cast:
The Dude - 4th Level Halfling Cleric
Hurricane - 4th Level Demigod Fighter
Tesla - 4th Level Tellurian Psion
Fikrit- 4th Level Human Sorcerer
Becker - 5th Level Human Barbarian
Dann - 4th Level Wood Elf Ranger
Luken - 4th Level Human Paladin

The Dude, having learned that his dear friend Zaius of Parma had passed away in northern Africa, volunteered to return Zaius's body to Praxis, captial city of Lemuria.  By the time he arrived in Lepcis Magna many of Jupiter's Priests were proclaiming Zaius as a Saint, since decomposition had not set in.

The Dude, realizing that a Saint of Jupiter would be a target for the Asgardians in their war against Olympus, contracted the Cloudship Virago for safe passage to Praxis.  Hurricane, Dann, Luken and Tesla were fellow passengers leaving Lepcis Magna and Fikrit and Becker were hands onboard the ship.

Nearly half way to Lemuria a number of Valkrieg, riding Pegasus, attacked the ship.  The Valkrieg were being led by the Geirilla, Koenig.  Koenig offered parley and met with Captain Killius to hear the Geirilla's terms.

However, Killius refuses to hand over the body of Zaius, so Koenig orders his Valkrieg to attack.

While the Dude remains below deck watching over his departed friend, the Virago's crew and it's other passengers beginning defending against the warrior women. 

Telsa is able to stun Koenig and his Valkrieg are made short work of.  Koenig manages to make it below deck and the Dude realizes that his evil soul can escape his Geirilla body and could invade Zaius' body.  The Dude stalls Koenig long enough for Luken to attack him from behind.

However, Koenig merely laughs as he life fades and tells the Dude that, "You are far from victorious."  

And at that moment the Virago is torn asunder as Thor joins the battle and our heroes begin to tumble toward the earth...

Friday, December 28, 2012

Aquila: Geirilla for 13th Age

When Hitler crossed over into Aquila he brought two items: the Spear of Destiny and a special Strata-Gem that held the souls of his inner circle.

The trip across realities and his use of magic to enthrall the Valkrieg ravage his body and he was forced to find a new host for his malevolence.  After much searching he found a band of carnivorous gorillas and was able to capture it's leader and transfer his soul into it's powerful body.  Soon after, he began using the other members of the band as hosts for his inner circle.  And so the Geirillas were born.



Geirilla
4th Level Wreicker                    

Initiative +4

Fists +9 vs PD; 
Hit: 14; Miss: 4

Sword +9 vs AC; 
Hit: 16; Natural Even Roll: 20

AC 18
PD 20
MD 16

HP 60

Icons Hitler (The Orc King); Odin (The Crusader).


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Aquila: Valkrieg for 13th Age

When Hitler crossed over into Aquila, he came upon a tribe of Amazons and slowly used his magic to shape them into an elite unit of vicious soldiers.

One of their first missions was to capture a large flock of Pegasus, creatures prized by Jupiter.  The Fuhrer knew that it would wound Jupiter's pride and remind his enemies of Asgard's sacred Valykrie.  And so the Valkrieg were forged.



Valkrieg 
4th Level Mook                    

Initiative +3

Spear +9 vs AC; 
Hit: 14; Miss: 4

Bow +10 vs AC; 
Hit: 15; Natural Roll 16+: 30

AC 20
PD 18
MD 12

HP 50

Icons Hitler (The Orc King)


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Monday, December 24, 2012

A very manic monday...

Merry Christmas to all!  I hope you enjoy your holidays and wish you safe travels.  We'll be heading to my in-laws this evening and then having my parents over for breakfast on Christmas Morning.

While I could easily voice my frustration with 2012 and my concerns for 2013, I'm truly blessed with a wonderful family and good friends.  And that matters more than anything else.

I'd like to thank everyone who's subscribed to my freshman blog and added me on Google+, your support has been tremendous.

Happy Holidays!!

Friday, December 21, 2012

Ah, Synnabar

Raven C.S.  McCracken is taking another stab at a new edition of Synnabar (a terrible game I truly love).  This Kickstarter is much more modest than the first one.  I'll probably back, because I'm a sucker like that.

The Year of Shadowrun

2013 will be a big year for Shadowrun (assuming Catalyst is through their misfortune and can make their deadlines, I'm not holding my breath though).

Besides the 5th Edition of the classic RPG, we'll see a Shadowrun Returns turn based computer RPG on multiple platforms and an MMO (which I hope will be awesome).

You can read the full announcement here.

#7RPGs

Timothy Brannan posted about Google+ #7RPGs a new meme making the rounds.

The idea is to post your 7 RPGs you have most played or GMed.


1. Champions/Hero System. Probably equal parts 4th & 5th Edition Hero System. I played and ran and co-GM'd it quite a bit.


2. Legend of the Five Rings. At one point my bi-weekly game included up to 20 players. This was the beginning of my 2nd age of gaming


3. DnD. Wether it was ADnD 2E, a smattering of 3.X, 4E or DnD Next. It was also the beginning of my first age of gaming.


4. Feng Shui. I loved running this.


5. TORG. For a bit, TORG was the bomb with my old group.


6. Star Wars RPG (D6 version & Saga Edition). I loved both of these games. I probably lean a little closer to D6.


7. 13th Age. My player's current favorite and the dawn of my third and current age of gaming.

Tuesday, December 18, 2012

I hate the Joker...

Not just for the obvious reasons of being a mass murderer.  Or the customers who walk into my store telling me "how cool" he is (Really?  A psychopath is cool?).

It's really DC's fault (They even have a page dedicated to his body count!  And Batman's.

Over the last 20 years, writers of the Dark Knight have continued trying to trump each other with the amount of carnage and mayhem the Clown Prince of Crime has caused.  And his body count.  And then Batman sends him back to Arkham Asylum, where we all know he's going to escape.

Hell, Batman even protected the Joker when a Gotham crime boss hired Hitman to kill him.

So DC hides behind Batman's Code versus Killing to protect a murdering lunatic.  I guess whatever state Gotham City is in doesn't have the Death Penalty?!

We're not dealing with Batman comics written for kids, at least in the regular DC continuity, anymore.  Having Joker tried for his grisly murders wouldn't be "over the heads" of their audience these days.

No, as far as I'm concerned every time the Joker get outs and kills someone, it's on the Batman's head.  He's complicit in the crimes.  After all, if you put someone in a sanitarium where they have repeatedly broken out, your aiding and abetting his murders.  Isn't the definition of insanity trying the same action and expecting different results?  That really does go to support that Batman and Joker are just different sides of the same coin.

D&D Next: New Playtest Packet

So Wizards has given us another round of playtesting for Christmas.

The new packet takes the Fighter, Cleric, Rogue, Wizard and Monk to Level 20.

Skills are now ranked as dice (d4 to d12) instead of flat bonuses.
[I'm still trying to decide if I like this]

Backgrounds and Specialties have been expanded.  They are clearly stated as optional, as well.

I think all classes has several choices that the player needs to make.

Spells go all the way to 9th Level.

I'm not sure when I'll dive into this, but I hope it's before the end of the year.

Monday, December 17, 2012

State of the Mongoose 2012

Matthew Sprange of Mongoose Publishing gave us another "State of the Mongoose" for 2012.

Matthew isn't pointing at RPG's as being a huge source of profit for the company (although they have to battle a reputation for poorly edited and produced RPG books).

I think anyone who's trying to publish RPG's in the days of PDF, E-Book and Print On Demand is facing an uphill battle and Mongoose needs to look at Kickstarter like other traditional publishers have (White Wolf/Onyx Path, Eden Studios, Pinnacle Entertainment Group).

I wish them luck.

It can be found here.

More Pacific Rim

I saw the Hobbit this weekend and the new trailer for Pacific Rim just increased my desire to see this film!

"Today, we are canceling the apocalypse!"

Friday, December 14, 2012

Aquila: The Procession - An Introduction

It has been over 5 years since Rome has outlawed the worship of Jupiter and turned it's back on Olympus.  Emperor Longinus Faustus, advised by the owl-headed Bardarian and the satyr known only as Lotus, has declared the monotheistic worship of Aten, the official religion of the Empire and begun the persecution of any heretics who chose not to convert.

Jupiter, angered by Faustus's heresy, has raised the continent of Lemuria as a haven for his followers.  He required the help of Neptune and has taken Frigg, goddess of earth as his lover.  Odin's anger is red-hot at Frigg's adultery and Asgard has declared war on Olympus...and Lemuria.

Praxis is the capital of Lemuria, a city caught between it's past with Rome and it's vendetta against Gaul.

It is a time of war and epic deeds.  Where men fight Immortals and the Gods themselves!

13th Age: SAMHAIN Power Amor



This may be in Aquila's future.  Maybe.


SAMHAIN Power Armor 
4th Level Scrapper                    
[Mecha]

Initiative +8

Rail Gun +12 vs AC; 
Hit: 20; Natural Even Miss: 4

Missle Pod +9 vs PD; 
Hit: 30; Natural Roll 16+: 45; Miss: 6

AC 22
PD 18
MD 14

HP 54

Icons Empress Kleah Prozek (The Empress).




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Saturday, December 8, 2012

Prepping a new game of 13th Age

Well, the 13th Age Escalation Edition V6 is available and the next iteration will be the finished product.

I'm prepping for a new 13th Age game now and it looks like I'll have a Sorcerer, Barbarian, Cleric, Fighter or Paladin (player is still unsure) and a Rogue/Ranger (I'll be working with mutliclassing soon).

While I had begun brainstorming for Numenera, higher level abilities weren't pushing my buttons (I'm not worrying, it's only the first draft of the rules).  And as soon as 13th Age was settled on, I found myself really gearing up for it.  I'd really missed running it.

I'm still trying to work out if I want to continue to utilize my Duchy of St. Cuthbert/Jarlsburg setting or move onto something new.

I only had a some brief thoughts on the City of Nucleus, but I might continue working on it for use in 13th Age.  And I'll probably have to do something with Zentradi...


Wednesday, December 5, 2012

Dark Conspiracy is Back!

It's kind of funny, because the one game of Dark Conspiracy I've played was run by a very terrible GM, but I love the game.  I'm a big fan of the old Game Designer's Workshop and this is my favorite of all the games they've published.  I have most of the original books, but missed out on the reprints from about a decade ago.

But it's back and I'm happy to share it with you.

I think I might pick this new PDF up off of DriveThruRPG and Traveller: the New Era at the same time.

Check it out.

Brainstorming for Numenera

I really got a chance today to dig into Monte Cook's Numenera Playtest.  While the "classes" are cool the rest of the game is brilliant.

I'm hoping to do something with it soon and that has led me to brainstorm for it.

Since the game is set a billion years in the future, I feel fairly certain that anything and the kitchen sink will work for it.

Zentradi
Protoculture
Nazis or their equivalent (HYDRA, anyone?)with trained velociraptors
Yetis
Rainbow Bridges
Nucleus, the City on the Pacific Rim
Gate, a small town in trouble
Death Star
Thundarr's Broken Moon
Brainiac
Cylons
Atomic Skull
Latveria
Vandal Savage
Kremlin the Hutt
IG "assassin units"
Kaiju
Zombies
Gamma Bombs
Mongo
Slaan
Mt. Doom
Gorilla City
Kryptonite
Star Child
Necrons

Tuesday, December 4, 2012

Games that I've been reading

Beyond the Supernatural
I have a problem with Palladium Books.  Buying their books that is. I don't care for their system, but I love their games.

Brave New World
Even with it's flaws I think its one heck of a Supers game.  Right on the money for the power level of early Marvel stories, especially the original X-Men.  Hard Magic has me taking a look at this game again.

Numenera
Monte Cook's new game is pretty compelling.  I'd like to playtest it soon.

Star Wars: Edge of the Empire Beta
I bought this at Gen Con, but wasn't a huge fan of Warhammer Fantasy Role Play 3E and am not sure I like the idea of custom dice.  Especially, since their not available to purchase yet.

Angel/Ghosts of Albion
The Unisystem has everything I should love in a game, but if somehow misses the mark for me.  I think it could be a good fit for Hard Magic, as well.

Dragon Age
I really want to find time to try this game out.  I might not be able to do it before Set 3 hits early next year.


Hard Magic - Book I of the Grimnoir Chronicles

I've read Larry Correia's Monster Hunters International and enjoyed it.  My friend, Rob Hall, told me to give Hard Magic a try and I'm glad I did.

Magic is an integral part of this 1930's Earth, but it's expression is very reminiscent of Super Heroes and Marvel Comic's Mutant corner of the universe in expression and environment.

The magically gifted or Actives have amazing powers, but instead of spelltoting, they have very specific gifts and their use is often integrated into daily life.

However, Actives are often feared by the regular populace and their is a great deal of tension between the two groups.

So far the story has been cool and I especially like the quotes that open a chapter that fill in details to the world and give us precious nuggets about how different our worlds are.

Monday, December 3, 2012

Legend of Grimrock

I downloaded Legend of Grimrock because it was on sale from Steam last week.  I'd remembering reading something about it, and when I realized it was an "old school dungeon crawl", I was very, very excited.

I'm pleased to say it's awesome.  I've played it quite a bit this weekend and truly love it.

You run 4 characters (created by choosing between Warrior, Rogue and Mage, and the races of Human, Minotaur, Insectioid and Reptoid) through Grimrock.

One of the neat bits is that Grimrock is where prisoners are sent after being given a death sentence by the Empire.  An airship takes them to the top and if they can survive to the bottom, they've earned their freedom.

I can't recommend the game enough.

Saturday, December 1, 2012

Excuse my dust...

I decided to do some redecorating around the blog.  I'm not sure I like the new look better than the old, but it seemed like change was in order.

I've done some soul searching and hope to get back to my old pace of updates.

I came to realize that quite a bit of my slow down was dealing with the most recent round of gaming drama in August and September.  I think, in many ways, I was slightly depressed by the situation--not by the turn of events but my role in them.

As I've said in the past, I'm at least 50% of any conflict or drama that occurs.

The journey continues.

Monster Monday: Ork City's Chupacabra for Shadowdark

Welcome to Ork City! In the middle of Ork City's Hatt Island is the Park, a wild and dangerous forest filled with all manner of nightmar...