So in the end there weren't so many players that I had to run anything.
Oh well, I have some spare character sheets for next time.
Of course I won't be able to find them again by then.
Saturday 31 January 2015
Friday 30 January 2015
Representation
I'm looking forward to the new Ghostbusters. I'm pretty sure it can be better than Ghostbusters 2 at least.
Can we have a female-fronted Crow movie next? Or finally get a damn Black Widow movie already? (How many other SF action horror movies can Scarlett Johannson make while she waits?)
(And now I'm picturing her doing The Crow. Works for me. Although I'd go for Emily Blunt.)
Can we have a female-fronted Crow movie next? Or finally get a damn Black Widow movie already? (How many other SF action horror movies can Scarlett Johannson make while she waits?)
(And now I'm picturing her doing The Crow. Works for me. Although I'd go for Emily Blunt.)
Thursday 29 January 2015
NPCs being helpful, but not too helpful
Okay, slightly more content. Following previous thoughts on helpful NPCs in horror, I considered what the psychic could do. I decided having someone with genuine supernatural power on the PCs' side feels a bit much, out of keeping with a game about people fighting back. So she just gets bad vibes and the occasional might-be-helpful nightmare. And will get them in trouble at some point in the near future.
By comparison Dr. Connelly's new Contact in the city ER will be quite useful at times, because he paid XP for her.
By comparison Dr. Connelly's new Contact in the city ER will be quite useful at times, because he paid XP for her.
Wednesday 28 January 2015
Walk Through The Fire
"Kill it with fire!" doesn't work when it's made of fire.
This week in Walking Alone, the Puny Mortals! found a group of students kidnapped by a demon with a bit of a fire theme going on. Since its stolen body was long dead, they were able to drown it in a drainage tank without moral complications, just practical ones.
This week's special guest star, once he went Flame On. Borrowed from a Walking Dead figure, so expect an ick factor.
This week in Walking Alone, the Puny Mortals! found a group of students kidnapped by a demon with a bit of a fire theme going on. Since its stolen body was long dead, they were able to drown it in a drainage tank without moral complications, just practical ones.
This week's special guest star, once he went Flame On. Borrowed from a Walking Dead figure, so expect an ick factor.
Tuesday 27 January 2015
Possible one-shot idea
Art theft with added curse.
Stealing art from Elysium. That's a bold move. Even if the art isn't cursed.
Me on WOD Happens
Stealing art from Elysium. That's a bold move. Even if the art isn't cursed.
Me on WOD Happens
Monday 26 January 2015
I would go see that show.
New art show, statuary from destroyed churches. Making a point about how even ideas set in stone are transitory. Also, a buffet.
Me on WOD Happens
That kinda works.
Especially if there were a buffet.
Me on WOD Happens
That kinda works.
Especially if there were a buffet.
Saturday 24 January 2015
A solution, of sorts
Have a few adventures I can more-or-less run. Something for Puny Mortals (fighting a cult, borrowing from Walking Alone) and something for vampires (I'll work on that one...).
Also a card game and something for regular groups in case that's all that actually happens.
Also a card game and something for regular groups in case that's all that actually happens.
Don't Go In The House
(Reposting and expanding from LJ since I mentioned it)
"Don't Go In The House" - a World Of Darkness one-shot. "DON'T" for short.
A representative of the owners (looking to sell from a nice safe distance) and a group looking into the possibility of supernatural activity, a la The Haunting Of Hill House.
I didn't go full Cabin In The Woods - the PCs had solid reasons to go in the house. Despite the title.
None of them were good enough to justify staying in the house once everything started, but by then they were inside...
For a convention World Of Darkness game I didn't stay ambiguous about whether there was something strange happening or not. The house itself manifested the PCs' fears.
Naturally, everybody had a big playable fear (fire, the dark, that kind of thing) on their character sheet.
Some of the PCs made it out, Breaking Points tested. Some... didn't.
"Sounds pretty diabolical for you. I approve." Jae
"Don't Go In The House" - a World Of Darkness one-shot. "DON'T" for short.
A representative of the owners (looking to sell from a nice safe distance) and a group looking into the possibility of supernatural activity, a la The Haunting Of Hill House.
I didn't go full Cabin In The Woods - the PCs had solid reasons to go in the house. Despite the title.
None of them were good enough to justify staying in the house once everything started, but by then they were inside...
For a convention World Of Darkness game I didn't stay ambiguous about whether there was something strange happening or not. The house itself manifested the PCs' fears.
Naturally, everybody had a big playable fear (fire, the dark, that kind of thing) on their character sheet.
Some of the PCs made it out, Breaking Points tested. Some... didn't.
"Sounds pretty diabolical for you. I approve." Jae
World Of Darkness One-Shot Games
Looks like we're expected to do one-shots again next weekend due to a games day happening at rather short notice. (But hey, for charity!)
I might have another go at my World Of Darkness Puny Mortals! one-shot "Don't Go In The House" if nothing else occurs to me.
The Vampire games don't seem to make for good one-shots. Do you start with the Embrace to help new players, explain a bunch of the setting, and then, er, do something? Or start with more experienced vampires, dropping a mass of jargon and ideas on them? And either way how do you sum Vampire up in one game? How much action, how much politicking, how much brooding? (I demand some brooding.) And yes, I could do "the Prince has been murdered" again...
Anyway, urgh, Puny Mortals are much much easier. As previously noted, I don't have to worry about any of the PCs being around for another session...
Or I could just mess with people and run Victorian Age Vampire. They're stuck in there looking for games...
I might have another go at my World Of Darkness Puny Mortals! one-shot "Don't Go In The House" if nothing else occurs to me.
The Vampire games don't seem to make for good one-shots. Do you start with the Embrace to help new players, explain a bunch of the setting, and then, er, do something? Or start with more experienced vampires, dropping a mass of jargon and ideas on them? And either way how do you sum Vampire up in one game? How much action, how much politicking, how much brooding? (I demand some brooding.) And yes, I could do "the Prince has been murdered" again...
Anyway, urgh, Puny Mortals are much much easier. As previously noted, I don't have to worry about any of the PCs being around for another session...
Or I could just mess with people and run Victorian Age Vampire. They're stuck in there looking for games...
Wednesday 21 January 2015
Walking Alone Weekly Announcement
Brought in a psychic (one of the people they rescued from the demon's cult) who can help them spot demons in hiding and ghosts. I'm sure that will go great for everybody. For the moment she's helping them look for other missing people. The demon's planning something that needs a lot of victims...
Tuesday 20 January 2015
Monday 19 January 2015
How did I get here?
I didn't actually start with The World Of Darkness. I started with yer basic fantasy RPG.
I played an elf. She had a bow. But not a name.
I liked the idea, but was not hugely wowed by the execution.
(I could probably do more with her now. If nothing else, give her a name. And better miniatures are available.)
And then some years of playing during the summer later, Vampire: The Masquerade came out.
I played an elf. She had a bow. But not a name.
I liked the idea, but was not hugely wowed by the execution.
(I could probably do more with her now. If nothing else, give her a name. And better miniatures are available.)
And then some years of playing during the summer later, Vampire: The Masquerade came out.
I suppose there are worse things to be bad at
Tonight was Other Games with the local games society.
Dr. Lucky died. The werewolves were run out of Miller's Hollow.
I wasn't much help in either case.
Dr. Lucky died. The werewolves were run out of Miller's Hollow.
I wasn't much help in either case.
Sunday 18 January 2015
Hanging out in-game
"Another advantage of vampirism - not having to line up outside clubs." Me on WOD Happens.
Just hanging out in clubs is something vampires do more than most WOD character types - including humans. Chicago By Night gave several pages to the Succubus Club, and then it got a book to itself soon after. (As well as a general book on social scenes named after it, and the real club at Grand Masquerade and By Night conventions.) World Of Darkness online was at one point going to be about 1/3 "the coffeeshop", a social game. Elysium in LARP and tabletop and chat is mostly hanging out (and the occasional presentation to or attempted assassination of the prince) and how long did we spend clubbing and being snarky at our booth at Faust in New Bremen?
Vampires in nightclubs are a thing, of course - and they always have something to do, picking up likely victims.
Having just been out tonight... it's usually more fun to do than play, unless you have something to do in-character.
The most fun hanging out in-game tends to be conversational. So homes, pubs and coffee shops... somewhere you can hear the other PCs. And often, hey, where you're playing for real!
Just hanging out in clubs is something vampires do more than most WOD character types - including humans. Chicago By Night gave several pages to the Succubus Club, and then it got a book to itself soon after. (As well as a general book on social scenes named after it, and the real club at Grand Masquerade and By Night conventions.) World Of Darkness online was at one point going to be about 1/3 "the coffeeshop", a social game. Elysium in LARP and tabletop and chat is mostly hanging out (and the occasional presentation to or attempted assassination of the prince) and how long did we spend clubbing and being snarky at our booth at Faust in New Bremen?
Vampires in nightclubs are a thing, of course - and they always have something to do, picking up likely victims.
Having just been out tonight... it's usually more fun to do than play, unless you have something to do in-character.
The most fun hanging out in-game tends to be conversational. So homes, pubs and coffee shops... somewhere you can hear the other PCs. And often, hey, where you're playing for real!
Alone In The Dark
Friendly NPCs, or the lack thereof, in horror games.
As the name implies, Walking Alone has the PCs pretty isolated. Sarah's brother (and Jim's roommate) Michael is about the only actually friendly NPC we've had, apart from the occasional other person they've rescued. Police and medical personnel are less than helpful. Their most reliable ally is a vampire, who kinda has to have his own agenda really.
So I'm wondering if I should do something about this. Then again, isolation is good for the mood.
So maybe a semi-reliable source of information, who might be psychic. Maybe one of the people they rescued from the cult, so it feels like they've earned the help.
(Edit: A comment!)
As the name implies, Walking Alone has the PCs pretty isolated. Sarah's brother (and Jim's roommate) Michael is about the only actually friendly NPC we've had, apart from the occasional other person they've rescued. Police and medical personnel are less than helpful. Their most reliable ally is a vampire, who kinda has to have his own agenda really.
So I'm wondering if I should do something about this. Then again, isolation is good for the mood.
So maybe a semi-reliable source of information, who might be psychic. Maybe one of the people they rescued from the cult, so it feels like they've earned the help.
(Edit: A comment!)
Thursday 15 January 2015
Thoughts on non-book monsters in Walking Alone
The demons' (and angels') powers are more "paranormal" - mind reading, telekinesis (with added pyrokinesis) and the like. The vampires are sort of similar, picking and choosing from Requiem 2nd edition. And humans can have a few of those too, naturally or through empowering magic, though the Puny Mortals don't.
Humans: living bodies with their own souls.
Vampires: dead bodies with their own souls.
Ghosts: dead souls without bodies.
Demons: living or dead bodies with something else in charge.
Angels: something else without a stolen body.
The special guest werewolves are here a kind of magic, people with a beast spirit as well as a soul.
The time-warping power I've been thinking about to throw one of the Puny Mortals into the past might fit ghosts better than demons.
Humans: living bodies with their own souls.
Vampires: dead bodies with their own souls.
Ghosts: dead souls without bodies.
Demons: living or dead bodies with something else in charge.
Angels: something else without a stolen body.
The special guest werewolves are here a kind of magic, people with a beast spirit as well as a soul.
The time-warping power I've been thinking about to throw one of the Puny Mortals into the past might fit ghosts better than demons.
Walking Alone again
The Puny Mortals! are back for more. Suckers.
Our hero now has her brother back, so we spent some time dealing with that. What he knows (not much) and whether he knows anything about the other missing students and locals (not much) as well as some emotional fallout, not least his tendency to wake screaming in the night and not know why.
Having broken up a demonic cult (following the advice of a vampire) they now have a demon who isn't a big fan of theirs. I don't plan to go full God-Machine here but I might borrow some ideas, like their way of splitting time. Why yes, this might lead to a period costume episode. Ahem.
Our hero now has her brother back, so we spent some time dealing with that. What he knows (not much) and whether he knows anything about the other missing students and locals (not much) as well as some emotional fallout, not least his tendency to wake screaming in the night and not know why.
Having broken up a demonic cult (following the advice of a vampire) they now have a demon who isn't a big fan of theirs. I don't plan to go full God-Machine here but I might borrow some ideas, like their way of splitting time. Why yes, this might lead to a period costume episode. Ahem.
Tuesday 13 January 2015
World Of Darkness: Something Really Obscure
What's the weirdest niche game you ever played in a big setting?
One of the things I miss about Old New Bremen was that the size of the player base meant that some pretty niche games could and did happen. And I don't just mean niche groups with books like Mummy: The Resurrection or Clan Giovanni here, although I had fun with those too. I mean medical drama with added monsters, spoiled blood going missing on the way to proper disposal, highly suspect promotions... Just about every location on that list had its own PCs, from the police department (with its own chat icon) to the hospital to the high school ever so slightly influenced by Buffy to the City Hall rife with corruption.
My main character (you know her name) got absorbed into sort of high society and high Fame through friendship and love, and that was a different view of the setting as well.
I'd happily pick up the Central Hospital chronicle and run it now, if I could get enough keen players. Or the high society Vampires. The tightish focus and different genre clashing with the familiar really made it stand out.
One of the things I miss about Old New Bremen was that the size of the player base meant that some pretty niche games could and did happen. And I don't just mean niche groups with books like Mummy: The Resurrection or Clan Giovanni here, although I had fun with those too. I mean medical drama with added monsters, spoiled blood going missing on the way to proper disposal, highly suspect promotions... Just about every location on that list had its own PCs, from the police department (with its own chat icon) to the hospital to the high school ever so slightly influenced by Buffy to the City Hall rife with corruption.
My main character (you know her name) got absorbed into sort of high society and high Fame through friendship and love, and that was a different view of the setting as well.
I'd happily pick up the Central Hospital chronicle and run it now, if I could get enough keen players. Or the high society Vampires. The tightish focus and different genre clashing with the familiar really made it stand out.
Saturday 10 January 2015
Tabletop Audio
I don't generally use music or background ambient sounds much because I'm too damn quiet at the best of times, but Tabletop Audio would certainly make it easy.
Thursday 8 January 2015
Wraith
Wraith 20 got kickstarted at just under $300,000, and I'll be getting a big scary copy in due time. Despite never having actually STed Wraith, and having played it a grand total of one time.
Ghosts are one of the classics, and the rules cover everything you'd need for them. And then a bunch of other stuff as well. It brings in ideas like the Shadow, your Thanatos instinct being played by someone else at the table, and everything in the underworld being made from ghosts so your coins cry at night. I'm not 100% on the Shadow and I'd definitely lose the crying coins - it just doesn't seem to add much except squickiness.
Sunday 4 January 2015
Victorian Gothic
Pictures from Crimson Peak, Guillermo Del Toro's Victorian Gothic Ghosty Romance movie starring Tom Hiddleston and Mia Wasikowska (so that's half the vampires from Only Lovers Left Alive) as well as Jessica Chastain and Charlie Hunnam (and Doug Jones as a monster) would almost certainly have my attention even if it wasn't all super-Gothic-ed up Victorian.
Bustles! Frock coats! Top hats! Veils!
Between classic novels, 80s Goth and BBC Dickens adaptations, I might not want to live in the late 19th century but I certainly want to play there.
But it seems like the only games anyone around here runs set in the 19th century are about airship pirates. Which are fine, but not what I'm after. I want brooding, people!
When and where would you like to play? Any supplements you've always wanted to use?
Bustles! Frock coats! Top hats! Veils!
Between classic novels, 80s Goth and BBC Dickens adaptations, I might not want to live in the late 19th century but I certainly want to play there.
 |
| I have never had a chance to play this. |
When and where would you like to play? Any supplements you've always wanted to use?
Horror with a recurring cast
Horror series and games have a lot of the same tools as other kinds of horror story - monsters, risk of death, creaking doors, that kind of thing - but they generally can't do the total downer wipeout ending where the heroes' struggles are for nought and the evil wins outright. I could do a story about an evil mirror in my current World of Darkness series but I couldn't do Oculus. That's one scary thing you can't generally do if the characters have to come back next week.
TV shows often get around this by having sympathetic recurring characters killed off instead of the leads, but that can be overdone, and while it can give a feeling of "no-one is safe" it doesn't work if some of the characters obviously are. See The Walking Dead for lots and lots of examples. Or basically any female character in Supernatural. :P
One trick in gaming is to do a one-shot about an unbeatable horror, with one-shot PCs and maybe a system like Dread that encourages awful things happening to them... and then introduce it in the regular game. Mwahahahaaa...
TV shows often get around this by having sympathetic recurring characters killed off instead of the leads, but that can be overdone, and while it can give a feeling of "no-one is safe" it doesn't work if some of the characters obviously are. See The Walking Dead for lots and lots of examples. Or basically any female character in Supernatural. :P
One trick in gaming is to do a one-shot about an unbeatable horror, with one-shot PCs and maybe a system like Dread that encourages awful things happening to them... and then introduce it in the regular game. Mwahahahaaa...
Saturday 3 January 2015
Cheating Monsters
One of the smaller TV Christmas specials here was "The Haunting Of Radcliffe House", aka Altar, in which an artist's ghost in an old house starts to take over the father of a family moving in, and the kids see the ghost of the artist's ritually murdered wife, and things escalate a bit to the point where...
Thursday 1 January 2015
New Year
Happy New Year! Here's hoping this year will be better.
I've done a few Christmas episodes of games, but not for New Year. It doesn't have as many stories and traditions attached, even though it's more significant in a lot of ways.
(The Puny Mortals might have a few drinks. Maybe get stuck in the middle of a street party... and see some monsters moving through it...)
I've done a few Christmas episodes of games, but not for New Year. It doesn't have as many stories and traditions attached, even though it's more significant in a lot of ways.
(The Puny Mortals might have a few drinks. Maybe get stuck in the middle of a street party... and see some monsters moving through it...)
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