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RPG Blog Carnival: Life and Death in RPGs… – Pt. 2 – Death

March 10, 2011 in blogs, Gaming, Inspiration, NPCs by Fitz | 7 comments

So last time I focused on life and using a character’s childhood and key events to shape their skills and backgrounds. This time, I want to focus on death from a few angles. (You can read part 1 here and see the RPG Blog Carnival collection on Life and Death in RPGs here.)

First, death doesn’t just happen to the PC or their fellow party members, but to the NPCs and monsters slain along the journey. Especially in fantasy RPGs, it seems every game I’ve played in we focus on “clearing the dungeon” or “eliminating the threat” – but basically we’re talking about killing critters, monsters, and people who get in our way. It’s just accepted as part of the equation.

Unfortunately, computer roleplaying games (CRPGs) have created an environment where you slaughter in-game monsters wholesale and pick up the loot left behind. There’s no conscience or consciousness of killing because they’re pixels on a monitor or TV screen.

When you play in a good campaign, there are costs associated with death. And for those new gamers who come from the CRPG world, it’s often a harsh reality when the morals, ethics, and laws of the world you’re playing in become relevant. Even forgetting the philosophical aspects of death, there are the practical aspects. Kill someone who tried to kill you and then figure out what to do with the body… Kill more than one  and the problem compounds. Eventually those costs come due in tabletop gaming.

Second, the death of your own character can be an interesting experience. I’ve had it happen so quickly after the character was created that it didn’t register and I’ve had it happen in longer campaigns where it was by choice, going out in a blaze of glory, or by happenstance, where I wasn’t ready to let the character go.

In a Battletech campaign, I went through the trouble of not only creating a character and customizing a ‘mech, but finding a miniature for the campaign. (In my gaming experience, buying a miniature for me tends to mean certain doom for the character.) In the first mission, we were doing a HALO entry to take out some target on the planet. I botched my roll and burned up on entry into the atmosphere. End of character and ‘mech. Thank you very much. As I recall I spent the rest of the night reading in a corner and watching the game roll by in my peripheral vision.

Another time in a “3 million and 1″ D&D 2e campaign (high-level characters constructed with 3,000,001 XP), we ran the campaign for a long time and eventually had to go out in a blaze of glory. We stood atop the battlements with a dwarven archer in plate mail (we called him Tin Can or TC for short), who we Hasted a few times and watched as he mowed down part of the army charging the walls. I don’t specifically recall how my wizard died, but I’m sure it was glorious.

But my favorite death story features a Palladium FRPG campaign. I was playing a mage and my friend was playing a ranger. It was just the two of us against the forces of darkness and we had many amazing adventures (including exploring a bit of the Temple of Elemental Evil). The end came when we were ambushed by a wolfen in the mountains. We tried. But this thing was too good and we were too unlucky. We bled out on that mountain pass and I will forever miss that character.

Sometimes a good PC can get under your skin. The best characters bring out parts of yourself you don’t even know are there until you play them. And when one of those characters dies, it’s like losing a little part of yourself.

Ultimately life and death in RPGs comes down to that factor for me. The goal is to roleplay a character to such a level that it’s a part of you and yet apart from you. Good characters should be easy to slip into, like a pair of old slippers worn for years. And when they die, you should feel something. When your companions die, you should feel something. It doesn’t have to be life altering, but the passion needs to connect you in some ethereal way with your alter ego in game.

Great topic for this month’s RPG Blog Carnival. And a big thanks to Campaign Mastery for hosting!

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Immortals’ Wake: Kwelan Outpost of Rivergate

February 8, 2011 in Immortals' Wake, NPCs, Rivergate by Fitz | No comments

As you head west through Rivergate, you will eventually come to the edge of town. Past the final few buildings, you’ll see the Brigade Outpost set about 100 yards away. The outpost itself is little more than a walled courtyard roughly 25 feet wide and long. The walls rise fifteen feet with crenelations and towers at regular intervals.

To enter the outpost, you must cross through a set of reinforced oak doors and then an iron portcullis. Set in the middle of the walls is one large building that serves as barracks, armory, and stable. The relatively small size of the contingent (fifteen to twenty at any given time) uses the fortified outpost as their base as they patrol the area and collect taxes due.

Though Rivergate is on the edge of the Dominion of Kwela, the Brigade keeps an eye on Dominion interests in the region. Those interests include ensuring the safety of travelers along the road, collection of taxes, transport and delivery of tax monies to the capitol, and helping with town security when asked. The Brigade is on good terms with the Reeve Lelas in town, but at odds with the Town Council over use and disbursement of tax money.

Each cart that enters or leaves town is assessed a tax by the Kwelan guards on duty. Two scribes work at the outpost and handle the assessment and collection of taxes owed to the Dominion and the town. Carts may be charged anywhere from 5 sp for a half-full cart to 10 sp for a full cart, with additional costs for weapons shipments. Merchants delivering goods are given a parchment note indicating that taxes have been paid so they only have to be charged once.

All silvers collected are split between the town and Dominion coffers. A vault exists within the outpost that is guarded day and night. Once a month the proceeds are divided and delivered to the Town Council and the Kwelan capital of Volu.

In addition to the collection and disbursement of taxes, the Brigade patrols the roads leading from Rivergate to the crossroads about 50 miles east of the outpost. At any given time there may be one or two patrols along the road on a 3 or 4 day rotation to the inn at the crossroads – The Spinni Inn.

For a list of NPCs, see after the jump…
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NPC Time: Dyn the Dockmaster and Isimi

December 2, 2010 in Immortals' Wake, NPCs by Fitz | 1 comment

Anywhere along the docks of Riverport, if you hear the name Dyn it’s probably accompanied by a swear word. Though he lost the use of his legs years ago, he still manages to know everything going on in his domain.

A sailor by trade, he was carried off a ship twenty years ago and hasn’t walked since. The twin masted Black Pride was coming back from Saesi to the southwest across the Oathys when a wicked storm came upon them. Captain Black tried to outrun it and was caught from behind. Though the ship limped into port, it was missing its captain and several deckhands when all was said and done. Dyn was caught in the rigging when the main mast snapped like a toothpick, but was among the battered survivors.

Dyn’s father, Ro, worked the docks as an old seaman himself, helping keep track of incoming and outgoing vessels. The shipbuilder Cardoori built him a wheelchair of sorts so that Dyn had mobility. Never one to sit still, he helped his father on the docks once he was mobile. He quickly found his way into the illicit world of the smuggler’s trade and found methods to merge the illegal and legal operations more smoothly for all involved.

These days the dockmaster and undisputed ruler of Docktown, Dyn, now seems content providing services for negotiable fees. Shrewd but fair, he and his goons on the docks are much less prone to following the letter of the law if there may be a few gold in it. But there are rumors of lines even Dyn won’t cross, so people tread lightly when transporting certain goods.

Nothing happens in Docktown without Dyn knowing about it. And when you’d least expect it, you can find him in the strangest places hiding in the shadows, watching, and listening. Depending on who you ask, his chair is rumored to fly, levitate, or teleport wherever he wants to go.

Today, Dyn still makes his rounds as often as he can. But as he gets older, his heir apparent – Isami – can be seen as much if not more than Dyn around the docks. Isami serves not only as Dyn’s right-hand man, but is the leader of the group of Goons who have their fingers in every area – loading and unloading, ship crew, boat repair, storage, and so on.

Isami himself has a bit of a checkered past as one of the Siyada tribe of savages from the islands of Saesi. Lost as a child in one of the great storms the Oathys sometimes whips up, he was picked up by a trade vessel in the area. Though he spoke little of the common tongue, whenever asked a question he would nod and say “Is a me,” thus the creation of his name. After a skirmish on board, Isami was kicked off the ship in Riverport and found work among the Goons, advancing quickly after gaining the attention of Dyn.

(The following NPCs are described using WR&M terms)

Dyn

Attributes: Warrior 3, Rogue 5, Mage 2
HP: 9, Fate: 5, Mana: 4, Defense: 8
Skills: Daggers, Lore, Awareness
Talents: Leadership, Henchman
Trappings: Wheelchair, old dagger, dock ledger

Isami

Attributes: Warrior 5, Rogue 4, Mage 1
HP: 11, Fate: 4, Mana, 2, Defense: 8
Skills: Swords, Awareness, Athletics
Talents: Sailing, Leadership, Tough as Nails
Trappings: Scimitar, shark tooth necklace

Typical Goon

Attributes: Warrior 3, Rogue 5, Mage 2
HP: 9, Fate: 5, Mana: 4, Defense: 9
Skills: Daggers, Thievery, Thrown
Talents: Sailing
Trappings: Hooded cloak, dagger, 1d6 throwing stars

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Book Review: D-Jumpers Volume #1: A Gate to Adventure from DVOID Systems

November 2, 2010 in Books, D-Jumpers, Da' Vane, DVOID Systems, Gamemasters, GMing, NPCs, Ouroboros, PCs, Places, plot, Resources, Reviews, supplement, systemless by Fitz | No comments

When Da’ Vane (Christina Freeman) dropped me a note about the first D-Jumpers product from DVOID Systems, I was definitely intrigued. Da’ Vane is another of the folks going through Yax & Johnn Four’s Gamer Lifestyle Project. She started in April 2010 and in six months has released a book with help from Ouroboros I (Sebastian Klement), which is an impressive feat to begin with!

With that in mind, I started to dive into a final copy (minus artwork, which had been delayed) of D-Jumpers Volume #1: A Gate to Adventure… As a fan of cross-genre rules systems, my interest was piqued by the very first paragraph and the question – “Why limit your games to one genre, to one setting, to one world, to one imagination?” This product provides four different encounters in very different worlds – from fantasy and space opera to the great beyond.

Each of these mini-campaigns is presented as “systemless,” which should allow you the freedom to mix/match ideas and concepts but use any rules system from Storyteller and d20 to any other system you like or no system at all (though I’m not sure how that would work, it’s an interesting idea). As you go through each “Encounter,” they’re set up the same way, with an Objective, Hooks, Details, Development, Options, and a Checklist. This makes it easy to hop from one encounter to the next with a known structure.

“Gate Keeper” introduces characters to the multi-world concept of D-Jumpers. The PCs meet an inventor who’s managed to create a tool (i.e. spell or device) allowing adventurers to go to various places to gather critters, items, and information for him. He then can better plan how to take over the weaker worlds and gain more power… Of course, this evil genius doesn’t let the PCs in on his ultimate goal of controlling the multi-verse, so they won’t know what they’re getting themselves into...

→ Read More at Game Knight Reviews here...

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RPG Blog Carnival: NPC Show and Tell…

April 28, 2010 in NPCs by Fitz | 1 comment

I’m coming late to the RPG Blog Carnival this month, but better late than never, right?

Superman II
Image via Wikipedia

NPCs are an area where I either go very deep or very shallow. For example, a common theme I have in running a game is putting an Inn/Tavern in every town and there always happens to be an old man or woman at the desk or available when someone rings the bell.

This old person inevitably was a) cranky, b) hard of hearing, and c) difficult to deal with. So whenever the PCs would try and find a room for the night, they’d have to verbally spar with the desk jockey.

Desk clerk (DC): “Eh?”
PC: “We’d like a room for the night.”
DC: “A broom for flight?”
PC: [speaking up] “A ROOM FOR THE NIGHT.”
DC: “You don’t have to yell… I’m not deaf you know… I have a couple of rooms with one bed in them, but all 5 of you might have to draw straws… or there’s the [mumbles] common room…”

Yes, I like to torment my players. It’s part of the fun of being a GM.

On the flip side of the coin are characters like Lady Dagor, the female knight in charge of the Order of St. Greggor – a group of knights seeking the destruction of all demons in the world of Immortals’ Wake.

In her case, I always had a mental image of Sarah Douglas as Ursa (Zod’s second in command) in Superman II, but a bit shorter and wearing a combination of chain and plate mail. She buries her contempt for civilians well, but holds them somewhere above pond scum in the order of things.

Dagor focuses on two things. Firstly, she studies all the battles between the knights of her order and the Changed demons who control raw elemental energies. She feels she has a better understanding of how her enemy operates than they do in many cases and far more knowledge than many of the organizations also studying the demons (including other church members, the House of the Magus (mages), and the Chasers). This feeling of superior knowledge is both a good and a bad thing.

Secondly, she focuses on strategies for capturing, testing, and killing demons. Using her knowledge of how they operate and many of their tactics, she finds weaknesses to exploit and is constantly instructing those under her command to test such weaknesses vigorously in the field.

Lady Dagor is a stern task master and a good soldier, but also knows how to play the political game. As the first woman in charge of the militant order of the Church of the Mother, she knows she is empowered to do just about anything in the name of the Church. But even with this knowledge, she obeys the letter of the law and will rarely break with church doctrine.

It was her laugh that I settled on first. A haughty, full-bodied laugh that has been practiced and perfected over the years to throw off allies and enemies alike. She has few friends, and only “befriends” people if it is politically or strategically necessary.

But at the bottom of this superiority complex and the haughtiness, she devoutly believes in the teachings of the Mother. What she is doing is right on every level and that gives her the strength to do what she must. Is she evil? Not from her perspective.  But from other people’s perspectives? Yeah, probably.

Some NPCs, like Athena from Zeus’s head, come fully formed in my mind when they appear. Others sneak up on me. And others just pop up like that damn innkeeper. “Eh?”

–Fitz

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