Atomic Robo RPG!!!!!

I HAVE IT!

-ahem- I have it in PDF that is as the printed version isn't out til June but I decided to be spontaneous and make sure I have it sooner than later by pre-ordering it via Leisure Games in London.

So why do I have the PDF now?  Intelligent publisher / retailer relationships.

A number of years ago a service called Bits & Mortar was set up to enable stores to provide PDF copies of RPGs to customers when they pre-ordered (or indeed bought) the physical product.  To me this is a no brainer service for a retailer to embrace as simply put IT COSTS NOTHING and PROVIDES EXTRA VALUE TO THE CONSUMER.

Sorry for the CAPS but I'm feeling both ranty and excited right now...

Anyway!  I have the Atomic Robo RPG!!!!! Time to read!

And so it begins...

I referred in my visit to Leisure Games in London that the advice given to a customer wasn't handled as I would have like it.

I've been thinking it over since that visit, reviewing the advice given and de-personalising it from the individuals involved and I think I understand a bit more of what didn't work...  The customer had already bought a rulebook for a game but didn't know what to do next.  Rather than invalidating that first purchase the staff member tried to expand on it.  Understandable but maybe the better option would have been to recommend a beginner's set.

Beginner sets for games are a must.  This isn't just about RPGs, although if any format needed them most it would be RPGs.  Why?

Well, RPGs carry a larger commitment of time from 1 player than the others and in many respects are harder to get into than other formats of the hobby.  To reduce that "barrier of entry" the life of the new GM can be made so much easier through a good quality beginner set.

A good quality beginner's set isn't just for people new to the hobby it is also the perfect introduction to a game.  It gives you everything you need to be able to play the game and leave you wanting more.

The best example of this that I've experienced is that Star Wars: Edge Of The Empire Beginner's Set.

There are other beginner sets out there for other games but these tend to be less common than ever before in the RPG market in particular.

Wargame manufacturers are particularly good at producing starter sets in particular 2 player starter sets and CCG companies have "intro packs" as largely standard items.  Why is it then that the RPG publisher tends to not use the beginner set as the gateway to the hobby as much as the other formats?

Prison Break

I've referred to a one-shot scenario I've used for Star Wars on here a few times.

The scenario itself is inspired by an old RPG magazine by the name of Challenge which was published by Games Designers Workshop, a now defunct gaming company.

GDW were the publishers of a number of games over the years but Challenge wasn't solely an in-house magazine as not only publishing scenarios etc for Traveller it also covered games by other publishers like Star Wars.

Issue 49 of Challenge had a scenario in it called "Dandrians Ring" where the player characters had to rescue a defecting Imperial officer and return him to the Rebel Alliance.  The scenario itself was nothing special but what I liked in particular was the prison base - Alpha-Omega Prison.

Now as I said there was nothing special about the scenario but what I did find with it was that it provided a great setting to demonstrate playing in a Star Wars universe.  The setting is perfect for running one-shots and specifically works really well in demonstrating whatever ruleset you are using for Star Wars.

Last few times I've used this location I've ran the scenario in 2 different ways.

Prison Break IN

The party have been brought together by a common goal which brings them to Alpha-Omega Prison.  This common goal usually involves a NPC that they each either have a grudge against or some other reason to want to find the NPC.
All they need to do is get safe passage to the prison, break in and take on the defences of the base, extract the NPC (and perhaps other prisoners) and then get back off again.

Prison Break OUT

The party are all prisoners in the base and are all have a reason for someone to want them gone who has hired a group of bounty hunters to bring them back, alive in some cases.

The base has its power supply disabled as part of the attack which gives the characters a chance to get out of their cells.

In some variations I've had it that one of the PCs was a spy for the bad guy and in others I've had it that only one of the PCs was the true target but the characters don't know who that is.

In many respects these are very simple scenarios but alongside that simplicity comes lots of options on how the scenario plays out.

Both can also be used as kickoff scenarios for campaigns as there is potential for the characters to become a team and along the way make some joint enemies.  As I begin to pull together my plans for EotE I am looking to use this location in the campaign at some point.

Are there any specific locations (big or small) that you've used over and over again in one-shots or indeed built whole campaigns around?

Horror & Me

So it's Friday the 13th and other than trying to make sure nothing disastrous strikes today I also wanted to touch on Horror in games and my views on it.

As a genre Horror covers a multitude of things whether that be the splat fest of a slasher movie to something that bit more psychological.

As a gamer and general "geek culture" fan I've never been interested in horror as a genre and in many respects I don't understand why.
I enjoy a good mystery and I also enjoy intrigue in my games but the atmosphere that I think horror needs is often lost on me.
RPG wise I've tried to play and indeed run games like Call Of Cthulhu, Unknown Armies and I've previously mentioned that I own but have never ran the d20 based RPG - The End.
Cthulhu is almost iconic (some would say overly used as such) but having tried both the 1920s era and the X-Files style Delta Green setting I concluded that I couldn't generate the correct environment either through my GMing style or some other factor.
Unknown Armies I managed to run a few games with it but these really only scratched the surface of what UA is about as again I couldn't dig into the setting enough to make the scenarios work.

So why is that? Well the only real conclusion I have managed to come to is that I just don't "get" horror and in some respects I wonder if it's actually a harder genre of game to run to ensure that the atmosphere within the game works.
Now this isn't just for RPGs. Board games like Arkham Horror also just don't click with me. Mechanically I can enjoy the game but the experience is perhaps diluted because of this lack of connection with Horror. The card game Gloom works but that's probably more down to it's comedic elements and being almost Tim Burton esque in it's content.

So am I that bothered? Not really but at the same time I do wonder what I'm missing out on...

The RPG Experience

I've referred to this in a previous post about RPGs as that style of play choice which exists between a campaign and the "one and done" scenario.

What makes that choice for you and what are the reasons to choose one over another?

Campaign Play

This exists in a number of formats but the core of campaign play is the setting and that there is a plot far wider than that played out in the gaming sessions themselves.
Campaigns involve many sessions of linked-play similar in many respects to the chapters in a book, the episodes in a TV show or the issues of a comic book.
A key reason to opt for campaign play is not simply to develop the story but also to develop those characters who contribute to the story.

One And Done

As I've said previously I've used the one-shot scenario to demonstrate a RPG but also at conventions to explore a particular element of storytelling or indeed showcase a specific mechanic in a game.
The Polar Light scenario referred to in Character Motivations was built on a fairly simple premise but was written to explore how the characters would react as the plot developed.  As I've said before the scenario has been different each time I've ran it.
The Star Wars EotE scenario I ran for Free RPG Day is designed to cover as many bases as possible mechanically.  It also explores how characters react to the situation but that's more of a bi-product of the situation (a post for another time perhaps) as the objective of that scenario is to use as many rules as possible so that the players experience the system fully.

Which one is the right one for you?

As ever that has to be a personal choice but I find both formats equally rewarding.
Few things in playing RPGs is more worthwhile than Campaign Play, particularly when the characters are really driving the story and where the GM has to adapt and change that story as a direct result of their actions.
Similarly playing one-shot scenarios or simply playing a few games of something else outside that Campaign can add to your overall RPG experience.  Plus those one-shots may develop into ideas for future campaigns...

How I develop my ideas.

In this 2nd Chapter I find myself having ideas for scenarios and settings for RPGs.  This used to happen a lot during the early parts of the 1st Chapter although the frequency reduced towards the end to the point of nothing being produced.

Thankfully I now have ideas and in-particular of late setting ideas.  The one that seems to be sticking with me just now is one that I may use either as a campaign premise or as a location for a D&D Next game that I'm looking at running (more on that in a future post).

Without breaking any metagaming rules for my players I am going to share the process I went through to develop one of those settings here.  Some of this relates to new learnings (or perhaps more accurately re-learnings) I've had from reading the Game Master "self help" book Never Unprepared.  I highly recommend this book to anyone who currently is running or plans to run games in the future.  I plan to pick up the companion book on campaign development, Odyssey, when I find a copy in print.

An idea can come to you in a variety of ways and given that inspiration is not always a resource you can channel it's important to take note of the core of the idea when it comes to you so that you can explore it further.

This particular idea had 3 specific triggers -

Krull: I hadn't seen it recently or anything but I gto to thinking how the "Black Fortress" aka mountain that moves could be an interesting device in a fantasy campaign.
Stargate Atlantis: Again hadn't seen it recently but the "hidden city" especially when combined with the "Black Fortress" from Krull could be used in a variety of ways.
The 3rd trigger wasn't a movie but was based on things like standing stones and Tiberium from the Command & Conquer computer games.  An object that could hold mystical / spiritual power.

From those 3 elements I came up with the following -

Location - Grallis is an island in the middle of the Barlaxo Sea and it sits approximately 3 weeks sail from the mainland of Duthallia and as such it tends to operate separately.  The last time there was any regular contact was during the Pyreon War some 120 years ago.  A war that destroyed the only Astara Stone on Grallis.

Brief History - Astara Stones are thought to have been the tools of the gods according to the lore of Grallis and Duthallia. Huge rock / crystalline formations which look like the blades of tools but all of them so vast that no man or creature known to roam the land could wield it.
They are a source of magic (arcane and divine) and when in close proximity they were said to increase the potency of any spell.  Whilst a lot of this is lore it was also found that warrior wizards and warrior clerics of various factions sought out to destroy or capture those remaining Astara Stones to ensure their dominance.
The inhabitants of Grallis were largely innocent bystanders during the Pyreon War with the majority of the chaos happening on Duthallia.  One of the side effects of the destruction of the Astara Stone on Grallis though was to make the weather / seasons more unpredictable.  Whilst this caused significant problems during the first 20-30 years after the war the way of life on Grallis adjusted to their new world.
Those from Grallis who participated in the war were primarily involved in the defence of the Astara Stone, which was named Khalas-Grallia.  These defenders couldn’t stop the horde from Duthallia and ultimately Khalas-Grallia was destroyed.  The remains of the stone are where the village of Khalas-Ormin now sits.

Location Premise - The quiet village of Khalas-Ormin sits on the Eastern shores of the Ormenia region of Grallis is wakened from its slumber by the unexpected arrival of a new land mass off the Eastern coast…
The new land mass is home to a group Marid, "water djinni", and a group of Dao, "earth djinni". The djnni are acting as servants to Slarkrethel, the Kraken Wizard.  Slarkrethel wants the power of the Astara stones for himself and manipulates the tectonic plates across the world to create landmasses to create islands when necessary.  Slarkrethel believes that with the aid of the djinni that he can control the Astara stone on Grallis to further his own plans.  The stone itself whilst thought destroyed is in fact regenerating.  Indeed all of the stones that were destroyed are regenerating…
The only change noticed by the inhabitants over the last few weeks has been minor changes in the weather and some seismic disturbance.  Minor for now that is.  Fishermen also start to report spotting unusual sea life in the days and weeks before the arrival of the island. Once it does arrive however things change and Slarkrethel will execute his plan.

So.  From 3 basic triggers I decided upon an island that had some sort mystical rock of power albeit thought destroyed.  Reason for the setting to exist is that the power is not destroyed and obviously someone wants that power which leads to the arrival of some big-bad Water beastie.