So, I don't think I mentioned it before, but Tony picked the Vampire game back up a while back and I've been playing that when I can make it. This last session, I think there were 3 new characters introduced, or maybe 2.
I hadn't been able to make the last 2 sessions, so I was a little out of the loop and confused by some of the changes in cast and goals of the coterie. Apparently our Sabbat-search went into overdrive and we've now tracked down where the Bishop hangs. That's cool, but I think we're outgunned, both literally and figuratively. We're taking on the Sabbat in the city pretty much on our own. We have contacts that we can use to aid us, but we never really use them (my character has none of his own). We don't interact with other vampires or other supernatural things to have garnered friends, favors, etc. there. Except for like 3 of us, everyone in the game has only gotten about 20 xp, so it isn't like we're powerful, and we know some of the Sabbat we're hunting are.
On a side note, I'm not really sure what it is about the game, and I'm not saying that it isn't fun. I love Vampire, and I have a blast playing the game, but I never feel like I can focus when I come to play. I think a great deal of it has to do with the fact that I'm on my 3rd character, so I don't really feel like I've got much invested in the game, I guess. Taylor is on his 4th character, two of which he voluntarily dropped. I need to ask him if he feels the same way about the game.
Like I said, though, it's not like I'm not having fun. The characters are all enjoyable to see develop and the roleplay aspect is win, as it should be for a Storyteller game.
Personal reminder to me: Bruni needs a weapon that isn't the internet/Shreknet. Like a gun.
5.22.2010
Scion: Titanic Ultimatum, Part 3
So, Tuesday I ran Scion, and though not much happened, action-wise, the roleplay was pretty top notch, and the characters and character interaction is fleshed out more.
After Henu-Akhet's casket was sent off with Lt. Connolly and his men on their lorry to the expedition warehouse in Cairo to prevent theft, the team kept on about their duties at the dig.
Jack and Ben were doing nothing, Samuel was aiding in removing smaller artifacts from the treasure chamber of the tomb, Sharifa and Saul were resting up from injuries sustained fighting the stone guardians of the tomb while still doing minor tasks. Carter and Jeremy, however, were trying to figure out an item Carter had stolen that he suspected was a relic - an eagle ushabti (mummified eagle) that telepathically screeched when first picked up. At seeing this, Jeremy began to think that the reason the band was at the site in the first place was probably the retrieval of a relic or something like it, and reckoned the real prize was in the casket that they had already sent off.
Discussing this with the others didn't get them far, however, as Saul's Duty virtue held him fast to his orders to stay sentinel at the site, and Sharifa was appalled at the thought of stealing an artifact, no matter if it was key to their being there/coming together. Those things belong in a museum, you know!
When Jeremy couldn't get any further aid, he and Carter headed out at dawn toward Cairo on horses that they had bought (and not cheaply) from some of the fellahin workers still at camp. This proved to not be the best idea, as the two riders were beset by bedouin brigands! Jeremy had been thrown from his steed and was brandishing a stick of dynamite as the raiders began to surround him, and Carter was still on his now-bolting horse when we left off.
Though I wished that there had been a little more initiative taken in the pacing of the game, I feel it was a solid session, with good roleplay throughout. Chris and Jeremy seemed to not do much during the session, but that's just how their characters involved themselves. I like that their are strong personalities cropping up amongst the characters. That does nothing but help the game out. I do wish John had been able to show up. I would have been interested in seeing what his character would have wanted to do.
In case anyone is wondering, I've handed out 11 xp so far.
Cast of Characters
Jack Monici (Hero Scion of D'Artagnan) Eccentric French-American philantropist, invited by the expedition as a V.I.P. when he decided to contribute funds to the effort. Played by Epic.
Carter Sykes (Hero Scion of Kali) English-Indian White-Collar Criminal. Was able to buy his way onto the expedition through various contacts. Hoping to make it rich off the burgeoning Black Market artifact trade. Played by Steve.
Sharifa Petrie (Hero Scion of Bastet) British-Egyptian grand-daughter of Flinders Petrie (father of modern archaeological practices). Working as an understudy under her father at the excavation. Played by Angela.
Saul Archer (Hero Scion of Robin Hood) British Army Captain relegated to security duty for the Oxford expedition. Somewhat resentful of the post. Having to make some tough calls. Played by Taylor.
Samuel Grey (Hero Scion of Badarus) Adopted child of an American archaeologist who is working as an understudy in the expedition. Plucky kid, driven by discovery of all types. Played by Chris S.
Ben Hogan (Hero Scion of the Dagda) Scottish pro-golfer doing the rounds, invited as a V.I.P. to the expedition. Smooth talker, debonair attitude. Staunch critic of the "Empire." Played by John C.
Jeremy Jarvis (Hero Scion of Br'er Rabbit) African-American "demolitions expert" (terrorist) who ducked into Egypt after a job to do a little up-and-up. Working as a "structural analyst" of sorts, for the expedition. Played by David B.
After Henu-Akhet's casket was sent off with Lt. Connolly and his men on their lorry to the expedition warehouse in Cairo to prevent theft, the team kept on about their duties at the dig.
Jack and Ben were doing nothing, Samuel was aiding in removing smaller artifacts from the treasure chamber of the tomb, Sharifa and Saul were resting up from injuries sustained fighting the stone guardians of the tomb while still doing minor tasks. Carter and Jeremy, however, were trying to figure out an item Carter had stolen that he suspected was a relic - an eagle ushabti (mummified eagle) that telepathically screeched when first picked up. At seeing this, Jeremy began to think that the reason the band was at the site in the first place was probably the retrieval of a relic or something like it, and reckoned the real prize was in the casket that they had already sent off.
Discussing this with the others didn't get them far, however, as Saul's Duty virtue held him fast to his orders to stay sentinel at the site, and Sharifa was appalled at the thought of stealing an artifact, no matter if it was key to their being there/coming together. Those things belong in a museum, you know!
When Jeremy couldn't get any further aid, he and Carter headed out at dawn toward Cairo on horses that they had bought (and not cheaply) from some of the fellahin workers still at camp. This proved to not be the best idea, as the two riders were beset by bedouin brigands! Jeremy had been thrown from his steed and was brandishing a stick of dynamite as the raiders began to surround him, and Carter was still on his now-bolting horse when we left off.
Though I wished that there had been a little more initiative taken in the pacing of the game, I feel it was a solid session, with good roleplay throughout. Chris and Jeremy seemed to not do much during the session, but that's just how their characters involved themselves. I like that their are strong personalities cropping up amongst the characters. That does nothing but help the game out. I do wish John had been able to show up. I would have been interested in seeing what his character would have wanted to do.
In case anyone is wondering, I've handed out 11 xp so far.
Cast of Characters
Jack Monici (Hero Scion of D'Artagnan) Eccentric French-American philantropist, invited by the expedition as a V.I.P. when he decided to contribute funds to the effort. Played by Epic.
Carter Sykes (Hero Scion of Kali) English-Indian White-Collar Criminal. Was able to buy his way onto the expedition through various contacts. Hoping to make it rich off the burgeoning Black Market artifact trade. Played by Steve.
Sharifa Petrie (Hero Scion of Bastet) British-Egyptian grand-daughter of Flinders Petrie (father of modern archaeological practices). Working as an understudy under her father at the excavation. Played by Angela.
Saul Archer (Hero Scion of Robin Hood) British Army Captain relegated to security duty for the Oxford expedition. Somewhat resentful of the post. Having to make some tough calls. Played by Taylor.
Samuel Grey (Hero Scion of Badarus) Adopted child of an American archaeologist who is working as an understudy in the expedition. Plucky kid, driven by discovery of all types. Played by Chris S.
Ben Hogan (Hero Scion of the Dagda) Scottish pro-golfer doing the rounds, invited as a V.I.P. to the expedition. Smooth talker, debonair attitude. Staunch critic of the "Empire." Played by John C.
Jeremy Jarvis (Hero Scion of Br'er Rabbit) African-American "demolitions expert" (terrorist) who ducked into Egypt after a job to do a little up-and-up. Working as a "structural analyst" of sorts, for the expedition. Played by David B.
5.15.2010
From One Desert to Another...
So, a couple of months ago, I spoke of how I was unsure of what was happening in my Dark Sun game. As a group, we discussed it, and ultimately that game was put on the backburner, since it didn't appeal to what the majority wanted in a game. I felt that if I continued the game in a way that I didn't really want to run it, that it would be sub-par, so we decided to go with the game that got the 2nd most number of votes when deciding what we could play: Scion.
At the outset, I gave the option of playing a Scion, an Aberrant, or a Scion who was also an Aberrant, using a character creation system that I mocked up. Everyone chose to play Scions, so I let the Aberrant thing slide (at least for now.)
I decided to set the game in Egypt a little before the second World War, in 1935. This for a couple of reasons: One, I had a motley group of (mostly) British civilans, a British/Egyptian, and 2 archaeologists. It just made sense. Secondly, I had some Pulp Egypt products by Griffon Publishing lying around, and I thought what I got from those products would really help get the group into the feel that I was trying to accomplish with the game. Third, I wanted to appeal to Angela. She was the most outspoken against learning a new system, and I wanted to give her character a solid hook to ease her character into the game. (Shameless? Perhaps, but I like giving my players what they want), and finally...I wanted to present a somewhat stable political and socio-economic climate to start the game before the serious stuff (like, oh...the war?) really heats up.
At this point in Egypt's history, Britain has declared them independant, but still were part of the Empire by being a protectorate. The rebellions have quelled for the most part, but the Egyptians haven't gotten rid of the British military presence (and to some extent) rule. There's tension (between the British and natives), there's treasure (via archaeology - Carter had really created a boom 13 years earlier), there's money to be had (selling artifacts, cotton industry, etc.), and there's adventure (Cairo is like a real-life Mos Eisley, the Nazi propaganda machines were reaching Africa).
I started the group off as being involved with an Oxford archaeological expedition under one Prof. Percy Mallory, who had uncovered the tomb of Henu-Akhet, a hero of the time of Ramses II. After Mallory is killed at the unsealing of the tomb, the PCs volunteer to go down and investigate, and there run into animated statues, guardians of the tomb (that combat took forever, but it was a good learning experience for us all.) After defeating the statues, and overcoming a few more obstacles, the group uncovered the burial chamber, and began prep to remove the artifacts.
During this time, there was some developing unrest among the fellahin workers present, who had originally been diplomatically addressed, but become more worried when artifacts were being brought up, saying that there would be curses and otherwise blaming the British for desecrating their ancestors' tombs. After the crowd of natives got more rowdy and there were rocks thrown, etc., Taylor's character gave the order to fire on the mob, bringing down close to a dozen of the workers.
When we left off last session, the outrage at the massacre both within the British in the camp and the natives was unresolved, and much tension was still in the air, and maybe growing. Steve's character had stolen some artifacts when not being observed, and the PCs had just sent off the sarcophagus of the hero in a lorry that had just arrived under orders from the quartermaster of Taylor's regiment. What happens next is anyone's guess, but things are going well.
The only thing I don't like about the game is that Andrew and Paul decided to not play. I like playing alongside both of them.
Cast of Characters
Jack Monici (Hero Scion of D'Artagnan) Eccentric French-American philantropist, invited by the expedition as a V.I.P. when he decided to contribute funds to the effort. Played by Epic.
Carter Sykes (Hero Scion of Kali) English-Indian White-Collar Criminal. Was able to buy his way onto the expedition through various contacts. Hoping to make it rich off the burgeoning Black Market artifact trade. Played by Steve.
Sharifa Petrie (Hero Scion of Bastet) British-Egyptian grand-daughter of Flinders Petrie (father of modern archaeological practices). Working as an understudy under her father at the excavation. Played by Angela.
Saul Archer (Hero Scion of Robin Hood) British Army Captain relegated to security duty for the Oxford expedition. Somewhat resentful of the post. Having to make some tough calls. Played by Taylor.
Samuel Grey (Hero Scion of Badarus) Adopted child of an American archaeologist who is working as an understudy in the expedition. Plucky kid, driven by discovery of all types. Played by Chris S.
Ben Hogan (Hero Scion of the Dagda) Scottish pro-golfer doing the rounds, invited as a V.I.P. to the expedition. Smooth talker, debonair attitude. Staunch critic of the "Empire." Played by John C.
Jeremy Jarvis (Hero Scion of Br'er Rabbit) African-American "demolitions expert" (terrorist) who ducked into Egypt after a job to do a little up-and-up. Working as a "structural analyst" of sorts, for the expedition. Played by David B.
At the outset, I gave the option of playing a Scion, an Aberrant, or a Scion who was also an Aberrant, using a character creation system that I mocked up. Everyone chose to play Scions, so I let the Aberrant thing slide (at least for now.)
I decided to set the game in Egypt a little before the second World War, in 1935. This for a couple of reasons: One, I had a motley group of (mostly) British civilans, a British/Egyptian, and 2 archaeologists. It just made sense. Secondly, I had some Pulp Egypt products by Griffon Publishing lying around, and I thought what I got from those products would really help get the group into the feel that I was trying to accomplish with the game. Third, I wanted to appeal to Angela. She was the most outspoken against learning a new system, and I wanted to give her character a solid hook to ease her character into the game. (Shameless? Perhaps, but I like giving my players what they want), and finally...I wanted to present a somewhat stable political and socio-economic climate to start the game before the serious stuff (like, oh...the war?) really heats up.
At this point in Egypt's history, Britain has declared them independant, but still were part of the Empire by being a protectorate. The rebellions have quelled for the most part, but the Egyptians haven't gotten rid of the British military presence (and to some extent) rule. There's tension (between the British and natives), there's treasure (via archaeology - Carter had really created a boom 13 years earlier), there's money to be had (selling artifacts, cotton industry, etc.), and there's adventure (Cairo is like a real-life Mos Eisley, the Nazi propaganda machines were reaching Africa).
I started the group off as being involved with an Oxford archaeological expedition under one Prof. Percy Mallory, who had uncovered the tomb of Henu-Akhet, a hero of the time of Ramses II. After Mallory is killed at the unsealing of the tomb, the PCs volunteer to go down and investigate, and there run into animated statues, guardians of the tomb (that combat took forever, but it was a good learning experience for us all.) After defeating the statues, and overcoming a few more obstacles, the group uncovered the burial chamber, and began prep to remove the artifacts.
During this time, there was some developing unrest among the fellahin workers present, who had originally been diplomatically addressed, but become more worried when artifacts were being brought up, saying that there would be curses and otherwise blaming the British for desecrating their ancestors' tombs. After the crowd of natives got more rowdy and there were rocks thrown, etc., Taylor's character gave the order to fire on the mob, bringing down close to a dozen of the workers.
When we left off last session, the outrage at the massacre both within the British in the camp and the natives was unresolved, and much tension was still in the air, and maybe growing. Steve's character had stolen some artifacts when not being observed, and the PCs had just sent off the sarcophagus of the hero in a lorry that had just arrived under orders from the quartermaster of Taylor's regiment. What happens next is anyone's guess, but things are going well.
The only thing I don't like about the game is that Andrew and Paul decided to not play. I like playing alongside both of them.
Cast of Characters
Jack Monici (Hero Scion of D'Artagnan) Eccentric French-American philantropist, invited by the expedition as a V.I.P. when he decided to contribute funds to the effort. Played by Epic.
Carter Sykes (Hero Scion of Kali) English-Indian White-Collar Criminal. Was able to buy his way onto the expedition through various contacts. Hoping to make it rich off the burgeoning Black Market artifact trade. Played by Steve.
Sharifa Petrie (Hero Scion of Bastet) British-Egyptian grand-daughter of Flinders Petrie (father of modern archaeological practices). Working as an understudy under her father at the excavation. Played by Angela.
Saul Archer (Hero Scion of Robin Hood) British Army Captain relegated to security duty for the Oxford expedition. Somewhat resentful of the post. Having to make some tough calls. Played by Taylor.
Samuel Grey (Hero Scion of Badarus) Adopted child of an American archaeologist who is working as an understudy in the expedition. Plucky kid, driven by discovery of all types. Played by Chris S.
Ben Hogan (Hero Scion of the Dagda) Scottish pro-golfer doing the rounds, invited as a V.I.P. to the expedition. Smooth talker, debonair attitude. Staunch critic of the "Empire." Played by John C.
Jeremy Jarvis (Hero Scion of Br'er Rabbit) African-American "demolitions expert" (terrorist) who ducked into Egypt after a job to do a little up-and-up. Working as a "structural analyst" of sorts, for the expedition. Played by David B.
A Continuation of A Stolen Idea
Hey folks, I'm back!
So, I read blogs on gaming all the time. In fact, in some ways, that's what I'm doing when I could be posting here. Sad, but true.
Anyway, these things inspire me quite a bit, and sometimes I'm way late on the pick-up of these ideas that have been put out there, because I just stumble upon (or get around to reading) a certain blog.
Well, this morning, I have been working my way through Neitherworld Stories, and came across this post. For those of you who don't care to check the link, I'll explain. In that post, Stuart proposed what he called "Spell Synergies," which allow you to piggyback a spell onto another spell that has a synergy with the one being cast. For those of you who are familiar with Magic: The Gathering, this is pretty much Splicing Into Arcane.
The examples that Stuart gives are things like Bear's Endurance onto a Summon Monster spell, or various divination spells onto Prying Eyes. I've thought of this before, when Chris, Paul, Zack, Richie and I were doing our braintrust thing with 3.x, but we never took it any further, and I'm wondering why.
As it stands, I'm not sure where I want to go with this...there are different things you can do here. Feats (a couple of which have been done), Prestige Class(es), etc., and maybe I'll see what I can come up with on both fronts. Going through the spell lists to find the synergistic spells, like Stuart said, will be the biggest problem, as it will be time consuming, but I devote quite a bit of time to the hobby, anyway.
We'll see...I have that and a few other things stewing in my head, and rough notes scattered here and there on things I want to tackle. I'll eventually get around to them all, I think.
By the way, for those of you in my current game group, Stuart covers 3.x and Storyteller system mostly in his blog, which makes alot of what he says relevant to our current gaming. Might be interesting to you.
So, I read blogs on gaming all the time. In fact, in some ways, that's what I'm doing when I could be posting here. Sad, but true.
Anyway, these things inspire me quite a bit, and sometimes I'm way late on the pick-up of these ideas that have been put out there, because I just stumble upon (or get around to reading) a certain blog.
Well, this morning, I have been working my way through Neitherworld Stories, and came across this post. For those of you who don't care to check the link, I'll explain. In that post, Stuart proposed what he called "Spell Synergies," which allow you to piggyback a spell onto another spell that has a synergy with the one being cast. For those of you who are familiar with Magic: The Gathering, this is pretty much Splicing Into Arcane.
The examples that Stuart gives are things like Bear's Endurance onto a Summon Monster spell, or various divination spells onto Prying Eyes. I've thought of this before, when Chris, Paul, Zack, Richie and I were doing our braintrust thing with 3.x, but we never took it any further, and I'm wondering why.
As it stands, I'm not sure where I want to go with this...there are different things you can do here. Feats (a couple of which have been done), Prestige Class(es), etc., and maybe I'll see what I can come up with on both fronts. Going through the spell lists to find the synergistic spells, like Stuart said, will be the biggest problem, as it will be time consuming, but I devote quite a bit of time to the hobby, anyway.
We'll see...I have that and a few other things stewing in my head, and rough notes scattered here and there on things I want to tackle. I'll eventually get around to them all, I think.
By the way, for those of you in my current game group, Stuart covers 3.x and Storyteller system mostly in his blog, which makes alot of what he says relevant to our current gaming. Might be interesting to you.
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