tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-202647692024-03-07T08:59:15.795-05:00Runic EmpyreanCarving runes on the inner sky of an empyeran, trying to make meaning and hoping that those from without understand as well.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12777761052036447649noreply@blogger.comBlogger58125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20264769.post-60429701184288781382007-08-23T12:38:00.000-04:002007-08-23T12:39:28.587-04:00This has been moved to: <a href="http://markcausey.wordpress.com/">Empyrean Ex Mortis</a>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12777761052036447649noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20264769.post-44688155999103366442007-05-23T16:55:00.000-04:002007-05-23T16:56:21.481-04:00Final Fantasy Game Elements<span style="font-weight: bold;">6 Elements</span><br />Fire<br />Water<br />Earth<br />Air<br />Light<br />Gravity<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">6 Totems</span><br />Raven<br />Wolf<br />Owl<br />Lynx<br />Frog<br />Stag<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">6 Martial Styles</span><br />Slashing Swords<br />Way of the Fist<br />Leaping Spear<br />Gun and Spell<br />Death Circle Dance<br />Dragon Blade<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">6 Magical Styles</span><br />Crystalline Tattoos<br />Deific Overdrive<br />Mana Leech<br />Avatar Summoner<br />Elementalist<br />Necroliminal TheurgeAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12777761052036447649noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20264769.post-19921201569757273822007-05-14T09:49:00.000-04:002007-05-14T09:52:25.398-04:00Bible of DreamsI had this killer idea for a game concept this morning. That kind of rush is always exciting!<br /><br />It's a concept of a collection of short games, maybe 1-2 hours a piece with the same kind of structure (predesigned scene framing with some randomness) based on the song titles and (sparse) lyrics of Juno Reactor.<br /><br />I was thinking that for any group that completed the series, they could send me their info and I would author a free final scenario for them. We'll see how it works out!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12777761052036447649noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20264769.post-32769128334988656682007-05-11T08:49:00.000-04:002007-05-11T08:50:36.019-04:00Predictive Actual PlayI wrote this last night as I waited for my Econ professor to show up.<br /><br />Predictive Actual Play<br />Final Fantasy Game<br /><br />Mark - "Okay, so last week Eric, you propelled us through the Canyon of Doom."<br />Eric - "Yep! It went pretty well, I think. Saw some good action, and some awesome scenes with Zidane and Mustafa and their developing 'love connection'!<br />Lisa - "Eww! No way! Zidane and Mustafa'll never get together! That fighting between them was purely violence, nothing else!"<br />Eric - "Well, unless someone spends the points to make their Connection Storyline a Decision Point, it'll happen ..."<br />Lisa - "Just wait till I'm Game Director! You'll see!"<br />Matt - "If I don't make it impossible by distracting you my Monster Incursion!"<br />Mark - "True, true. Matt, your Plot has been difficult to ignore, so far. You think the Audience's Attention Span will hold out?"<br />Matt - "Here's hoping!"<br /><br />After this discussion, everyone gets their drinks and stuff in order. It's time to decide who will be in charge of what for the session.<br /><br />Mark - "Okay, we finished up the story arc to Eric's satisfaction last week. That means that Roles are up for bids again. Allocate your bids with your Personal Decks and let's see what happens!"Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12777761052036447649noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20264769.post-19608784136653487592006-11-21T12:48:00.000-05:002006-11-21T12:49:44.462-05:00Hidden LibraryWhilst searching about the ruins, I found a <a href="http://hiplid.blogspot.com/">Hidden Library</a>.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12777761052036447649noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20264769.post-54917363579084263012006-11-17T16:19:00.000-05:002006-11-17T16:20:19.857-05:00Symbolic CrunchRamble that may or not make sense:<br /><br />Two columns of blank squares, the one on the left is six<br />high, the second column is four high. The squares are<br />on even lines (i.e. they line up). The four in the second<br />column start where the third box is on the first column.<br />Both columns end at the same bottom line:<br /><br />[ ]<br />[ ]<br />[ ] [ ]<br />[ ] [ ]<br />[ ] [ ]<br />[ ] [ ]<br /><br />Numbers line the right hand sides of the columns, as such:<br /><br />[ ] 1<br />[ ] 2<br />[ ] 3 [ ] 7<br />[ ] 4 [ ] 8<br />[ ] 5 [ ] 9<br />[ ] 6 [ ] 10<br /><br />There is a grid of twelve symbols, simple but easily<br />distinguishable. They line up, two columns of six each.<br /><br />For instance:<br /><br />X 4<br />O )<br />[ #<br />T /<br />I @<br />_ +<br /><br />These are only for example, an artist would create these<br />symbols and one part of each would "fit" into the other<br />so that if one symbol was being used to "unlock" a lock,<br />the other could be used to mold a "key" that would be<br />able to suffice but not such that the symbol could act<br />as the key. Also, they two symbols could "merge" at that<br />point to become one supersymbol.<br /><br />The symbols would have meaning as described in the game<br />text. A good portion of meanings, actually, as they'd be<br />assigned not only game specific things but, well,<br />symbolic things as well. These symbols will be used as<br />often as possible in a visual and mechanical sense. The<br />point is that, while new, they take on visual meaning,<br />much like Kanji do for Asian languages. Also, you can<br />add meaning in your personal game/campaign for elements<br />not covered in the game text.<br /><br />Take six of the symbols and put them in the first column<br />on the left. Match up the other symbols on 7-10 column<br />for those that link up. This means that two symbols will<br />not have their companion. These actions/spells/feats/<br />traits/stats/what-have-you will be unavailable for that<br />character.<br /><br />Game play will consist of rolling a D6 and a D4. The only<br />way some people will get to do certain actions will be by<br />getting their dice to match up to the symbols on their<br />sheet. Some situations will allow the D4 to be a numeric<br />cog and add to or subtract from the D6.<br /><br />Goals or complications will get their own dice roll and<br />the players will have to act on those meanings to get<br />past them.<br /><br />For instance, if T and / had the meaning of hammer and<br />sword, respectively, and the player took the symbols<br />above in the order they are listed in, the player would<br />have to get at least a 4 (a T) to use the hammer or an<br />8 (a /) to use a sword. Something like that, ya know?<br /><br />More to come.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12777761052036447649noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20264769.post-393155338206630472006-11-14T15:24:00.000-05:002006-11-17T16:21:24.215-05:00MACE!I won second place at MACE! Congratulations to Adam Dray and his first prize winning entry, <a href="http://adamdray.livejournal.com/2006/11/08/">Hellball</a>. I have posted my pics at <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/mark.causey/MACE2006">Picasa Web</a>.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12777761052036447649noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20264769.post-56044065180969350692006-11-09T19:09:00.001-05:002006-11-17T16:21:04.871-05:00Spin Til Dawn: My Game Chef entry!Here is, literally, what I got done before the deadline:<br /><br />Spin til Dawn<br />The game of competitive DJing<br />Dedicated to my wife Claire, who still lets me go see all<br />of my favorite DJs.<br /><br />This is my submission for the 2006 Iron MACE Game Chef<br />competition. It uses the ingredients of:<br /><br />* Artistic competition<br />* No death allowed<br />* Uses playing cards<br /><br />It also uses the secret ingredients of:<br /><br />* Chrysanthemum<br />* Illegal<br />* Inertia<br /><br /><br />Spin til Dawn is a structured roleplaying game. It is<br />set up for three people to play in one session or maybe<br />two short sessions.<br /><br />The setting for this game is a war-torn world where<br />hope is suppressed and obedience to propraganda, called<br />by some the Dark Message, is required.<br /><br />Each person (in addition to other ancillary roles) will<br />play as of one of three greatest DJs ever. You have been<br />chosen by spirits of a forgotten time and given a measure<br />of their power to help you succeed. Each DJ has the drive<br />to bring forth hope in the people and to ultimately summon<br />forth the Chrysanthemum Palace for the greatest party<br />of all time.<br /><br />To play the game, you will need playing cards, poker<br />chips, and an optimistic spirit. This won't be easy!<br /><br />You'll be competing against evil forces hoping to shake<br />off the yoke of war-time oppression. You'll be putting<br />the lives of the people in danger each time you spin.<br />You'll also struggle against the morose inertia inherent<br />in the oppressed. Help them break the cycle!<br /><br />**********<br />CHARACTER GENERATION<br />**********<br /><br />To begin play, everyone should choose who they will be.<br /><br />This is partially an exercise in imagination: your DJ can<br />look like anyone and spin any kind of music. This is also<br />where you and your group can choose to make some choices<br />about the rest of the setting that I haven't defined.<br />Want to play in an alternate history America? Sure, go<br />for it. How about the far future where everyone has been<br />genetically altered in some way. This flavor can drive<br />your descriptions of not only the attendees but will play<br />into scenes that occur before and after each event.<br /><br />Also, there are some mechanics involved. Your DJ will be<br />empowered by a spirit. Decide with each other who will be<br />whom.<br /><br />DJ Blade (Kusanagi)<br />The ancient sword spirit guides your hands and makes your<br />breaks crisp and clean. You are decisive and<br />revolutionary and sometimes a little curt. Your bold<br />choices are considered flamboyant.<br /><br />* You can cut your personal deck (your Music Library) at<br />any time.<br />* Your SUIT is valor (spades).<br /><br />DJ Mirror (Yata)<br />Wise and reflective, the mirror spirit feels at home on<br />the decks, feeling a kinship with the musical discs. You<br />relect others' emotions in your moods and movements and<br />your music tends to mirroring melodies. When deep in<br />thought, your face is blank. Often, you come across as<br />selfish.<br /><br />* You can switch your Records with the closest Mixer at<br />any time and can do so instead of losing that Mixer in a<br />conflict.<br />* Your SUIT is wisdom (diamonds).<br /><br />DJ Jewel (Yasakani)<br />Your ginger touch with the decks is often contrasted with<br />the agressive and raw substance that is your art. You are<br />a beacon to others and attract crowds naturally. Getting<br />to know you pierce your inner armor can be a Herculean<br />task.<br /><br />* You can draw a new personal deck (your Music Library)<br />once per event.<br />* Your SUIT is benevolence (hearts).<br /><br />**********<br />GAME PLAY<br />**********<br />Now that everyone knows who they are, DJ-wise, it's time<br />to explore how the game is played.<br /><br />The game is played out in thirteen scenes. There are two<br />kinds of scenes: EVENTS - weekend long raves that you<br />perform and compete at, and PRELUDES - before the next<br />party, you'll discover what problems the people face.<br />Remember, it's illegal for the people to attend these<br />underground events - they want to be motivated as much<br />as you want to get them motivated! Get to know your crowd.<br /><br />PRELUDES should follow this structure:<br /><br />* Note which DJ or DJs are in the next Event (see SCENE<br />STRUCTURE for the schedule).<br /><br />* Starting with the first DJ, the player to the right will<br />become the NARRATOR and the person to the left will<br />become the WORLD.<br /><br />* PRODUCE a scene and roleplay through it. Continue<br />PRODUCING SCENES until the WORLD feels satisfied that<br />their theme has been successfully explored.<br /><br />* If there is a second DJ in the next Event, repeat with<br />the new DJ, changing roles accordingly.<br /><br />* Finally, if there are two DJs in the next Event, a final<br />scene will be PRODUCED where the two DJs confront each<br />other. The third player will be the NARRATOR.<br /><br />PRODUCING A SCENE {PRELUDE}<br /><br />The WORLD will introduce some aspect of the war and the<br />Dark Message that is affecting the people. The WORLD will<br />then name at least two people that are affected by this.<br />Note, no matter who they name, they will know who the DJ<br />is and attend these kinds of raves (if only rarely or<br />secretively, then so be it). They must be open to hearing<br />what the DJ has to say. The WORLD will then describe who<br />they are, what they do, and how they are connected.<br />The WORLD will collect three poker chips.<br /><br />The NARRATOR will then describe a scene with these<br />people, being sure to give detail to the location and<br />describe what the people are doing and why the are there.<br />It would be best if the NARRATOR started the people in a<br />tense social situation.<br /><br />The DJ will then take three poker chips. The DJ will then<br />describe how they enter the scene. The DJ will then be<br />responsible for diffusing the situation. Remember, they<br />know who the DJ is and is at a minimum a fan of some<br />sort. When the roleplaying reaches a DECISION POINT (as<br />determined by the NARRATOR), both the DJ and the WORLD<br />will bet a number of chips and take a card from the<br />card deck. The DJ and the WORLD will flip and the highest<br />card wins. Whomever wins takes the chips. If the DJ or<br />the WORLD runs out of chips, it is up to the WORLD if<br />there are to be any further scenes PRODUCED. If so, the<br />player with no chips simply bets nothing.<br /><br />If the DJ has acted in accordance with their SUIT and<br />pulls a card with that SUIT, they can either transform<br />their card into a TRUMP (thus winning the DECISION POINT)<br />or receive an extra chip. The DJ should discuss this with<br />the NARRATOR and WORLD to confirm that they agree.<br /><br />The NARRATOR decides who wins on ties. The NARRATOR will<br />describe how the scene ends, based on who won the card<br />flip. Either the DJ diffuses the situation or the<br />situation refuses to be diffused.<br /><br />In the final scene of PRELUDES where there are two DJs,<br />the NARRATOR will describe a scene where the two have met<br />and are enjoying an EVENT from earlier. The NARRATOR will<br />then present them with a tense scene with some of the<br />ravers that threatens to shut down the event or call in<br />the police. Both DJs will roleplay with the NARRATOR<br />until the NARRATOR decides that they have reached a<br />DECISION POINT. Both players will describe how they would<br />diffuse the situation. The NARRATOR will then divvy up<br />three chips between the DJs. The NARRATOR will then<br />describe how the scene ends based on the DJ with the most<br />chips (from the three just divvied up).<br /><br />DJs keep their chips into the next EVENT, where they will<br />be either spent or discarded at the end.<br /><br />PRODUCING A SCENE {EVENT}<br /><br />At the EVENT, however, things are a little different.<br /><br />Roles are assigned as normal, with: one DJ, a<br />WORLD, and a NARRATOR; two DJs and a NARRATOR, or, in the<br />final EVENT, all three DJs.<br /><br />Each DJ must fight against the inertia of the crowd. They<br />live tough lives and the war and the Dark Message of<br />propaganda soak their very existence with pain and<br />suffering. Getting them to the highs necessary to give<br />them the hope to go on will be a monumental task.<br /><br />Each DJ will draw ten cards, five face up (the RECORDS<br />and MIXER) and five in a pile (your MUSIC LIBRARY).<br />Draw them in order and place them as such:<br /><br />Face Up<br />1 2 3 4 5<br />Pile<br />1<br />2<br />3<br />4<br />5<br /><br />Each DJ should know the cards in the MUSIC LIBRARY but<br />shouldn't change their order (there are exceptions later<br />on).<br /><br />Face Up Cards 1 and 5 are the RECORDS and 2, 3, and 4 are<br />the MIXER. Cards from the MUSIC LIBRARY will be switched<br />out with the RECORDS during the EVENT. When this occurs,<br />the RECORDS are put away and not used again for the<br />event. RECORDS can only be replaced by the top card in<br />the MUSIC LIBRARY.<br /><br />The WORLD (if there is one DJ) or the NARRATOR will<br />describe how the Dark Message has made the crowd slow,<br />morose or moribund. The WORLD will draw three cards<br />representing this painful message (or the NARRATOR will<br />draw six, three for each DJ). The DJs will push forward<br />their MIXER cards and line them up. The DJ loses any card<br />that doesn't beat the card in front of it. MIXER cards<br />can only be replaced with sacrificed RECORDS or cards<br />bought by chips. Any one card in the DJs SUIT acts as a<br />TRUMP during a challenge. Each challenge brings out a new<br />RECORD. The DJ must have at least one RECORD spinning at<br />all times.<br /><br />**********<br />SCENE STRUCTURE<br />**********<br />Each scene is named by a corresponding card that also<br />acts as a possible wild card for conflicts during that<br />scene. Starting with Ace, then Deuce, through the numbers<br />and the face cards, ending with King.<br /><br />A 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 J Q K<br />1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12777761052036447649noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20264769.post-14807494515841335772006-10-31T14:27:00.000-05:002006-11-17T16:21:39.008-05:00Saving October From the One Post OnusIf I don't post something today, October will be my second month with only one post.<br /><br />I'm in <a href="http://www.justusproductions.com/ironmace.aspx">Game Chef Iron MACE</a>. I've gone from "What the heck do I do with these <a href="http://www.justusproductions.com/ironmace2.aspx">ingredients</a>?" to "Ooh! This'll work, now to hammer out the details!" to "God, this will never work!"<br /><br />"I'll probably just write a fantasy heartbreaker and get it over with!" I say, half-sarcastically.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12777761052036447649noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20264769.post-48127653354482775892006-10-03T09:22:00.000-04:002006-10-03T09:30:56.735-04:00Envy my PainTwo years ago, I would have envied my pain. Two years ago, I was in one gaming group that I wasn't enjoying gaming with (on the whole; 20 minutes or so of each evening was fun).<br /><br />Now I've got two regularly-meeting awesome groups and opportunities to join a third and some one-shot/playtest action. But I can't completely justify to my wife the two I'm in, much less convince her to let me roam about some more.<br /><br />I'm drowning in game opportunities.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12777761052036447649noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20264769.post-86569621575775621582006-09-18T14:16:00.000-04:002006-09-18T14:17:56.890-04:00Burning Wheel AP - Episode 1 Dead of NightThis is crossposted at <a href="http://burningwheel.org/forum/viewtopic.php?p=28643">Luke's site</a>. I have some of the night recorded (I hit the wrong button at one point) and will add that to my audioblog at some point).<br /><br /><span class="postbody">So, our second session (first roleplaying session) of BW is complete and I wanted to come by and talk about it a bit. It's a time constrained game, with only five game-days allowed as the players vie for the head of the guild as their own.<br /><br />Andy is taking Beliefs that point towards him getting revenge for the guildmaster's murder and redeeming the guild. Rick the bastard wants both the guild and his father's dukedom despite his lineage. Tim, the mad sorcerer, only wants to serve his demonic master and Travis, the forger, has kept his goals to himself for now. Everyone is hedging bets against each other and it is rocking.<br /><br />The four lieutenants stood around the corpse of their leader and it was on. Schemes were flying and ideas working. We have decided that no one knows who killed him and that who did it will be revealed in play. Just when it got slow, bam! One of the characters heard someone in the room. A frightened slave girl had hidden in a closet. She stated that she couldn't see what happened but she was frightened out of her mind. Rick decided that the safest bet was to end her short life there with a knife to the throat. Andy's character reacted poorly if I remember and just then someone approaches the door!<br /><br />It appears that Ilthmar's thieve's guildmaster has arrived at the party below with an entourage. I reveal to another player scrambling through some books that the Lankhmar guildmaster had invited them. Seems he was retiring and was making movements to retire in style. Was this the motive for his murder? We don't know yet.<br /><br />As to the party, they are in a week of celebration in Lankhmar. I weave a tale of how one of the most famous guildmasters in the past had disguised his way out of capture again and again and even successfully impersonated the Emperor at one point. The guildmaster eventually reconciled with the Emperor and the two met in a public gesture to show that the Emperor was himself and the Guildmaster was separate. Thus, it is Day One of our game and Day One in a week of celebration. The most special days are 3-5:<br /><br />Day 3: Chameleon Day - like Hallowe'en and Mardi Gras, except that everyone participates in the festivities all day, and participants come from far and wide - including Hell itself.<br /><br />Day 4: Commoner's Day - Who can tell who is actually running the government? On this day, the commoner's get their own parliament, and if they can decide on anything as a group, it's put into law.<br /><br />Day 5: Gretting Day - A guildmaster will have to meet the Emperor and prove again that the Emperor is himself. Who will be there? Will they survive the public meeting?<br /><br />Anyway, back to the action. Tim, damn him, made me really think about my GM authority. But I rolled with it as he gave me a big in to screw him over. Dude summoned an imp to animate the guildmaster's corpse. Can you believe it? Luckily, he rolled a powerful one and I'll take my revenge on him soon.<br /><br />Andy stepped up and came up with some cool ideas. Together we burnt up a cool story charcoal: The imp is demanding Tim take the Ilthmaran guildmaster's prized possesion and give it to him, and Tim accepts the bargain. What Tim's character doesn't know (but everybody at the table knows) is that the cask contains Tim's demon master's summoning tools!<br /><br />Travis decides that there are too many players involved at this point and through a series of linked tests manages to three of his targeted four targets accidentally murdered: members of the Ilthmaran entourage. The fourth is virtually dead as he lay at the healer's hut with a severely broken leg.I'll have to use this little bugger somehow to complicate Travis' life.<br /><br />Andy is, later on, going through the quarters of the Ilthmar guildmaster (who is completely absent, even the remainder of his entourage included). What he soon finds out is that Tim's imp is there too, sniffing out the cask just as Andy finds it. We left them on the rooftop, as Andy considers his options with the imp tracking him.<br /><br />Travis decides to get a little supernatural back up. He successfully finds a 3/4 blind exorcist that has agreed to work for him. She assures him that Chameleon Day will allow for great results in regards to demons.<br /><br />The final scene we played out was at Rick's house. I decided to go straight for the throat and bring his dad in. As soon as he was in the room his dad orders him to murder the guildmaster and hand over the guild to the Ilthmaran guildmaster. I knew this wasn't going to go well but Rich stepped up a notch and decided to whistle in his guards and attack his own dad! We used some bloody versus and Rich would have killed his father if it weren't for an awesomely successful spell on Tim's part which drew all of the swords out their owners' hands and even screwed with the metal in the door frame. Rich's dad is begging for his life as we end for the night.<br /><br />We have four more game days to play out which may take less than four actual days, but we'll see. I'll keep everyone updated.</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12777761052036447649noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20264769.post-46177879989961564052006-09-18T11:08:00.000-04:002006-09-18T12:35:31.800-04:00Tenra Banshou Zero<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b243/yamadatakeru/rakan.gif"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b243/yamadatakeru/rakan.gif" alt="" border="0" /></a>I got to play <a href="http://www.tenra-rpg.com/">Tenra Banshou Zero</a> yesterday, and I had an awesome time. That wasn't my character that I've got uploaded but I did want to showcase some of the over-the-top art from the game.<br /><br />Remi, Eric, Lisa, Matt and I played residents (whether temporary, permanent, recently arrived or long lived) of a ninja village. That is, the village specialized in its training of ninja in their service to the Regent (daimyou).<br /><br />Eric played Oldclaw, a ninja with a cybernetic arm and eye. His character qualities were patriotism and authority, and he did a good job acting like a right bastard.<br /><br />Lisa played this annelid using ninja (think like you're implanted with gigantic roaches and centipedes!) with issues over what he'd become.<br /><br />Matt played a straight-up powerful ninja, but he was going to betray us at some point.<br /><br />Remi played a Samurai (a soulgem studded person that can hulk out like the image I've got posted (but not necessarily with all the cyber tech)) who had issues with being a warrior and was currently a farmer. You'd think from anime stereotypes that samurai and ninja wouldn't coexist well but it was all good.<br /><br />I played an android (made of wood!) that could wrap illusions around herself to make her look human. I called her a tree geisha for lack of a good translation. She had the secret of her nature to protect and she couldn't kill. I played her as an emotion-phobic young girl that wanted people and things to 'be right'.<br /><br />Remi and I had some great roleplay going on where I challenged all of his issues. Remi called me a bastard! It was TEH AWESOME. Lisa and I had a great scene as well. I really felt like a spotlight hog but I was having so much fun. To those of you reading that played, I do feel bad about it. If our session was longer, though, I'm sure it would have evened out, as I was ready to try pushing towards it; however, I still had machinations in my head for scenes with other characters!<br /><br />Andy did an awesome job rolling with the flow of the game. He wasn't as prepared as he could have been but I was impressed with his handling of everything, specifically teaching us the game. There's so much to learn and it all points back in on itself that you can start at any point very easily. He did a good job with the scenes and concluding acts and all that pacing stuff and he forced us to think a little differently from some traditional gaming with jumping around time-wise and having scenes in the past. Andy is the roxxorz.<br /><br />However, we all agreed that too much thought was put in to making the mooks in the big fight too much like PCs and that the fight slowed things down quite a bit. We all had trouble paying attention while waiting for our turns to come around. Thus, the only problems to be had with the game itself came from a lack of experience running it.<br /><br />As for the game system and mechanics, it has some old school and some kabuki school and it came together well (but damn if it wasn't a mindbender).<br /><br />First, the old school. It only uses d6s (in terms of dice). You have like 8 stats, HP and a wound chart (and some other HP style thing that I never used, MP maybe?) Under all that are skills, which are ranked from 1-5. When you do an action, you roll the number of dice in the stat, and sucesses are culled from the roll based on the skill (e.g. an Agility stat of 7 and Marksman skill of 4 would mean roll 7 dice and successes are any dice coming up 4 or below). There are only certain skills, so no hippy self-defined skills. When you get hit, you split things between your HP and your wound track. It's really neat because you don't get penalties with more grievous wounds but bonuses.<br /><br />Okay, some of the new school. There is a relationship chart that you roll on whenever you want to know how it is you react to someone. If it comes up as completely off from what you expected, you can pay to move it around or the GM can pay you to move it around. It really encourages cool roleplay opportunities, despite it sounding like it hinders you. The qualities are vague but inspiring and you aren't prevented from changing your point of view.<br /><br />The game is split into acts and seem to just note an organic end to the current set of scenes.<br /><br />So, it has this fanmail-like system wherein a player takes some chits (or, in our case, poker chips) and distributes them to people when they do awesome things. The person responsible for this rotates around the group. These chits are called Harmony and they begin the Karma cycle. They're really valuable at the end of acts, but can be spent mid-act for some minor things (thus, the thought always is, can I make it to the end of the act and/or suffer to lose at this point?). The key thing that Harmony is spent on (in my limited opinion) is purchasing the ability to use your character qualities (Fates) to provide a new resource, Kiai. Kiai powers cool meta-options that are general and everyone can use them (not to be confused with other power fueling resources, like Soul-Glo, err Soul Points). Here's the kicker: once spent, the Kiai build to your Karma score. If your Karma score can't be reconciled below 108 by the beginning of the next act, you're freaking screwed. You lose your character, everything they hoped and dreamed for is destroyed by them, and you sit there as an audience for the rest of the game. So now you're in the middle of the act and you're wondering if you should use that kiai cuz it'll screw you over. There are methods of reducing Karma but they provoke great change in your character. And that it awesome cool unto itself. But all of this just scratches the surface of the uses of these cool resources.<br /><br />Well, that's about it. I hope everyone gets a chance to play it once it gets released. It'll blow the water out of other anime games out there, in my opinion, and should be an anime gaming standard from now on.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12777761052036447649noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20264769.post-68948673672883459692006-09-16T21:47:00.000-04:002007-05-11T09:06:37.024-04:00Cthulhu Movie<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b243/yamadatakeru/main.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 400px;" src="http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b243/yamadatakeru/main.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>I've been waiting for <a href="http://www.cthulhuthemovie.com/">this movie</a> for a while now. I, in general, love Lovecraft's work and those that he impressed. They have a <a href="http://cthulhuinpostblog.blogspot.com/">blog</a> now, and it looks like it's soon to be released. I'm happy about that.<br /><br />However, after looking over at <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0478126/">IMDB</a>, I can't help but think that some people are going to be upset that the locale isn't set in New England, but rather in Washington and Seattle.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12777761052036447649noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20264769.post-25161712617353171142006-09-14T11:11:00.000-04:002006-09-14T11:26:06.593-04:00Fallen IdolsSo, recently, I've played two games that are considered hallmark achievements in the Indie RPG community, Dogs in the Vineyard and Burning Wheel.<br /><br />My heart sinks as I realize that I just don't like them. Burning Wheel is great for its <span style="font-style: italic;">principles</span>, i.e., focusing on the problems with D&D style gaming and offering solutions. Dogs has a great mechanic which makes arguments and fights and description fluid and fun.<br /><br />But I'm just not liking them. Burning Wheel is obvious to me: I don't need different systems to handle different events - a solid concept for dealing with all situations is ideal and expected by me at this point. But Dogs, though, Dogs ... I had a hard time last night, because I wanted to talk to Andy about it but I couldn't (and still can't) articulate it very well. Examining my morals sounded like a great idea at first, but now, after playing it, I'm not so sure.<br /><br />I think I'm scared.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12777761052036447649noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20264769.post-78454938878267954032006-09-11T13:42:00.000-04:002006-09-11T13:45:15.132-04:00OdeoOdeo is nice enough to host my audio blog (and they have a much nicer interface!) Hopefully their advertisement won't be too annoying!<br /><br />Look for this image on the bottom right of my blog:<br /><br /><a href="http://odeo.com/channel/124473/view"><img src="http://odeo.com/img/badge-channel-blue.gif" alt="My Odeo Podcast" border="0" height="15" width="80" /></a><br /><br />Also, I realize that if I'm going to be serious about this, I'll have to be a little more serious with this page. I'm going to redo the images to make sure I own them or have permission to use them. So, anyway, look for more changes soon.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12777761052036447649noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20264769.post-48831562105030491212006-09-11T10:39:00.000-04:002006-09-11T10:52:41.386-04:00Infected has infected meSo, yeah, I've been playtesting <a href="http://www.geocities.com/rpgjunkie74/infected.htm">Infected</a> with Eric a couple of times, and I love it. It has a solid premise (zombie movies), enough flexibility for fun variation and room for imagination, awesome rules that have really worked from day one, and I just love it.<br /><br />So much so that I've placed a <a href="http://www.chessex.com/Dice/Custom_Dice_Home.htm">custom order with Chessex</a> for dice that match the rules and am running it at this <a href="http://ncgameday.dhorizon.org/events/view.php?event=14">NC Gameday</a>. I hope my excitement is, well, infectious ...Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12777761052036447649noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20264769.post-27045256534891687562006-09-04T14:30:00.000-04:002006-09-04T14:32:16.410-04:00Audioblog 1Well, until I get something more professional or am willing to cough up money, this is the only way I know to get my audio recordings up.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.archive.org/download/08312006-MMORPG1/08312006-MMORPG1.mp3">Give it a listen!</a><br /><br />Oh, it's a short analysis of what I did and didn't like about FFXI vs. WoW.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12777761052036447649noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20264769.post-29124942705957834672006-09-01T15:28:00.000-04:002006-09-01T15:29:39.864-04:00New LookI've made some changes to the front page. The dust is flying! Come take a look.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12777761052036447649noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20264769.post-1156604786692126402006-08-26T10:16:00.000-04:002006-08-26T11:10:03.103-04:00Episode 38 - Simulated WorldsIn <a href="http://www.thislife.org/pages/archives/archive96.html">episode 38</a> of <a href="http://www.thislife.org/">This American Life</a>, Ira Glass introduces his show with a short segment about Civil War re-enactors. The show is about Americans' obsessions with recreating worlds with ultimate accuracy - perfect fakeries. This short part screams to me as having something profound to relate to games and gaming but I'll be damned if I can articulate it. I've spent a week or so trying to. Please help by listening to it, I've included the highlights below. All comments are paraphrased re-enactors:<br /><br />I prefer to walk in, not drive in.<br />I don't wear underwear.<br />I don't bring bananas. Where would they get bananas in the Civil War?<br />I eat raw meat.<br />Some believe that their impression is more authentic due to having fleas.<br />I had a Chinese man apply to be in my group. There weren't any Chinese men in 100th, I want to keep to Caucasians to stay properly authentic.<br />Vocabulary has developed. Re-enactors are hardcores or farbs.<br />Farbs are "far be it from me", who is anyone less authentic than yourself.<br />People who wear tennis shoes, eye glasses, or cotton instead of wool.<br />This 'takes away from my event'.<br />I'm in this for fun, not in the army. If I want to have an ice chest hidden in a wooden box, that's fine. I draw the line at what the public sees and perceives.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12777761052036447649noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20264769.post-1152729537363987912006-07-12T12:18:00.000-04:002006-07-12T14:38:57.453-04:00Games I'm About to PlaySo, Rick's gonna run some Dogs. I'm highly looking forward to it. I'm gonna have hazel fuckin' eyes!<span style="font-style: italic;"> heh</span> (Inside Joke) I'm looking forward to finding out how this fallout stuff works.<br /><br />And then, I'm gonna run some Burning Wheel! It's gonna be in Lankhmar, but I don't have any ideas yet. I'm probably going to take one of the Fafhrd and Grey Mouser stories I have and retool it. I think it's gonna rawk because I'll take some bright people and put some uber-crunch in front of them and see what happens. It'll help me gauge my crunch levels for my game.<br /><br />Sorry, no picture this time. Next time, I'll have some cool stuff about <span style="font-style: italic;">Iron Wrought</span>, <span style="font-weight: bold;">Mana Born</span>.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12777761052036447649noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20264769.post-1152637613460044752006-07-11T13:00:00.000-04:002006-07-11T14:30:22.476-04:00Games I've Played RecentlySo, I've played two games recently, with two different groups:<br /><br />Shadow of Yesterday with Andy, Rick and Tim and D&D with Eric, Lisa and Ulysses.<br /><br />Shadow of Yesterday has been really <em>really</em> fun. I even sent Clinton an email about how much fun I'd been having, but he hasn't responded. I'm sure he's ultra busy, so it's all good. Shadow of Yesterday gives me what few game exeriences ever have: a sense of constant direction for my character. It's a really neat process:<br /><br />1. Scene is framed.<br />2. I ask myself, "Should I be in this scene?"<br />3. I look at my character sheet. Are there any keys or secrets that fit, are there any characters that I want to become involved in, or are there any secrets or keys that I want to work towards in-game continuity for collecting?<br />4. If yes, I add myself to the scene and start using abilities, getting XP, etc. That's immediate gratification that I love.<br />5. If no, then I sit back, watch other spotlight coolness, and throw some chips in when it gets good.<br /><br />Also, when I want to have a scene framed around me, I can ask for it after a quick look, using nearly the exact same technique, but I also add any Keys I bought off, to see if I can riff of some roleplay of a changed perspective in the character.<br /><br /><hr /><br /><br />D&D has been hacked a little, so it's got some goodness. It has this thing, this resource, it's my free ride to change the narrative or save my ass from death. We have been flip-flopping on task vs conflict resolution, but the slow character growth that comes with D&D is frustrating and it feels like I have all this stuff on my character sheet that I can't use. I'm not in love with that at all. I tend to blur my eyes looking at it.<br /><br />And get this, the only way I have to manage my character class effectively is by use of an <a href="http://http://ninegunchoir.schtuff.com/binder_vestiges_xls?action=binary">Excel spreadsheet</a> that I had to make.<br /><br />Finally, I'm not really even using the abilities I do have, but that's a buy-in issue I'm having. I wonder if the others notice this?<br /><br /><hr /><br />Next Post: Game's I Will Be Playing Soon<br />I may doom myself with this, but I'll try posting that tomorrow.<br />That nameless project I mentioned a while back? How does <em>Iron Wrought</em>, <strong>Mana Born</strong> sound?<br />And, where would I be without an almost obligatory picture? This picture is from an upcoming video game and doesn't have to do with my game, other than as some inspiration.<br /><br /><img src="http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b243/yamadatakeru/asto02.jpg" />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12777761052036447649noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20264769.post-1150850081881249362006-06-20T20:33:00.000-04:002006-06-20T20:34:41.893-04:00WebsiteI'm also spending time working on my <a href="http://runic.empyrean.googlepages.com">website</a>.<br /><br />That is, I'm explaining my post absences.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12777761052036447649noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20264769.post-1149518767722844152006-06-05T10:37:00.000-04:002006-06-05T10:46:13.986-04:00Wizardry<a href="http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b243/yamadatakeru/4406.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b243/yamadatakeru/4406.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />I got to watch Wizardry (recently subtitled by Ureshii) this weekend. It made me feel as old as a wizard by the time I was done. It had this horrible need to try to explain why this dungeon was there and all that (which may just be the fault of the original game). It had this neat thing about competing parties. It explained the spells (which was necessary, which the anime expected you to know).<br /><br />I thought I liked old school sword and spell anime like Lodoss and Bastard! I think I just like sword and spell, and some of the anime are cool and some just suck balls.<br /><br />So uhm yeah this gets 1 out of 5 somethings. It does have all the D&D staples and it really sucks. And not just because it's 15 years old. I liked the animation.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12777761052036447649noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20264769.post-1149474485149874022006-06-04T22:16:00.000-04:002006-06-04T22:28:05.166-04:00I need a name for this projectWhat's grown from my Console RPG project needs a name. I don't know one yet. Here's my latest work:<br /><p>Honor! Loyalty! Sacrifice!<br />These things do define you, now and forever!<br /><br />A world of radiating tribes and crumbling societies, blossoming magic and fossilizing technology, still donning precious <em>etiquettes</em> as <strong>knightly armor</strong>, conjuring <em>illustrated ballads</em> as <strong>thaumaturgical essence</strong>, scabbardng <em>true love</em> as <strong>legendary swords</strong>, sailing <em>invisible castles</em> as <strong>cyclopean airships</strong>.<br /> </p><ul><li><u>Blossoming Mana and Fossilizing Gears<br /></u>Organic versus Mechanical<br /><em>Definition of Natural<br /></em> </li><li><u>Radiating Tribes and Crumbling Societies<br /></u>Family versus Law<br /><em>Sense of Self-Identity<br /></em> </li><li><u>Emerging Khans and Hidden Cults<br /></u>Power of the Person versus Strength of Groups<br /><em>Desire for Power<br /></em> </li><li><u>Religious Façades and Indentured Colleges<br /></u>Faith as a Mask versus Knowledge at Any Cost<br /><em>Fear of the Unknown<br /></em> </li><li><u>Crimes Against Love and the Paragon Rituals<br /></u>Ideals of True Love versus Personal Purity<br /><em>Evaluation of Romantic Values</em><br /> </li><li><u>Gentle Duels and Guerilla Strikes<br /></u>Honor versus Guile<br /><em>Sacredness of Principles</em><br /> </li><li><u>Inherited Lieges and Scion’s Gambits<br /></u>Duty versus Destiny<br /><em>Meaning of Loyalty</em></li></ul><p>More on these items later. I'm tired now.</p>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12777761052036447649noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20264769.post-1148318056185702762006-05-22T12:51:00.000-04:002006-05-22T13:22:03.430-04:00Shift Gears, Blow Steam<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/3842/2026/1600/justiceclan_HOON.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/3842/2026/320/justiceclan_HOON.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/3842/2026/1600/HOKUKAGE1000.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/3842/2026/320/HOKUKAGE1000.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/3842/2026/1600/geisha_war_mech_wings_HOON.sized.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/3842/2026/320/geisha_war_mech_wings_HOON.sized.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><p>So, I've been thinking. Colin has been <a href="http://www.story-games.com/forums/comments.php?DiscussionID=705&page=1">rocking my game concept</a> pretty hard and doing a really good job at it. Maybe I should take a step back and not tie myself to console gaming so much and go a different direction. I've done some research today while in a class that didn't require too much attention. Take a look at these resources I want to explore or keep in mind:</p><p>Comic Books</p><ul><li>Five Fists of Science</li><li>Ironwolf (and Ironwolf in Weird Worlds back issues)</li><li>Robotika</li></ul><p>Video Games</p><ul><li>The Longest Journey/Dreamfall</li><li>Final Fantasy series</li><li>Legacy of Kain series</li></ul><p>Board Games</p><ul><li>Mission: Red Planet</li></ul><p>Books</p><ul><li>Anubis Gates</li><li>Difference Engine</li></ul><p>Movies</p><ul><li>Vidocq</li></ul><p>Key themes I'm still thinking of exploring:</p><p><strong>Sacrifice</strong> - What will you sacrifice as you make choices? No choice should be examined closely without some level of sacrifice on the player's or character's part.</p><p><strong>War</strong> - Before, after, during. Why do we wage war? How does it affect us? How many generations of peace does it take to lose a war mentality, or can it even be lost?</p><p><strong>Relationship with God</strong> - I've laughed at things like this ever since I learned in science that you have to divorce yourself from it for true discussions. Is this true? What power faith? Can the dissonance of faith and science be reconciled?</p><p><strong>Power</strong> - What it is it like to hold power over someone? Why is being powerless such a frightening thing?</p><p></p>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12777761052036447649noreply@blogger.com5