This Imaginary Life: Clearly Stating Your Playstyle

On Monday I had the chance to be on This Imaginary Life: A Post-Game Hangout Show. They have an amazing crew; I got to talk with Rich Rogers, John Stavropoulos, and Erik Frankhouse. We cover two topics- clearly stating your playstyle and techniques for running combats with less or no maps. I had a good time doing the show- though I 'll admit to being a little intimidated by such sharp and fast thinkers. I hope I offered some useful advice. Check it out. 

GUMSHOE: A System Guide for New Gamers (Updated)

I put this overview together back in Jan of 2012. I thought I'd update it with some new information and details.

Below is a guide to the various lines of GUMSHOE products, arranged by date of initial publication. I've provided a brief description of the premise and what new ideas this iteration brings. As well, you'll find a link to the core book for the system, reviews for that core book, and links to other products in that line. In the case of Trail of Cthulhu, I've provided a link to the Gamer's Guide to that RPG.

Pelgrane Press has used their GUMSHOE rpg engine across a number of game lines. The mechanics of that system uniquely focuses on mysteries and problem solving. Not a generic system, GUMSHOE instead has a set of base mechanics and ideas tweaked, shifted and added to for each version- aiming to offer the best genre emulation.

System: GUMSHOE 
GUMSHOE is a ability-based system, with characters being defined primarily by the abilities they possess. Characters have two types of abilities: investigative and general.

Investigative abilities include fields of knowledge such as Ballistics, Forensic Anthropology, and Streetwise. These have a rating which serves as a pool for use of that ability. Possessing at least a one rating shows the character has expertise. When a player uses that ability to examine a scene, they do not have to roll. Instead, if there are core clues present which can be found by that means, they locate them. Points may be spent from an investigative ability to gain additional or extra information, at the GM or player's suggestion.

General abilities cover areas where players can risk failure- Athletics, Health and Shooting for example. Use of these abilities is uncertain and success or failure can have a dramatic impact on the story. General abilities also have a rating which represents a pool. To make a test, players roll 1d6. If they wish they may make a spend from the relevant ability's pool and add that to the roll. Players must meet or beat a difficulty set but not revealed by the GM. General ability pools require special circumstances to refresh (end of a story, time in a hospital, etc).

Review: GUMSHOE: RPGs I Like 

GUMSHOE now has an SRD available for gamers and designers. It is available as both an OGL and a CC license product. For more details on this, see this post on the Pelgrane forums. 

The Esoterrorists 
Premise: Players take the role of agents for the Ordo Veritas, a benevolent conspiracy. They battle against the Esoterrorists, a network of radicals and maniacs dedicated to breaking down the membrane between this world and the supernatural outside. They do this by crafting terror and manifesting otherworldly creatures. They operate like a terror network, with a focus on fear and publicity.

System Additions: This book sets up the basic GUMSHOE rules, with expert agents operating in a modern setting. Pelgrane plans to publish a second, revised edition of this game.

Core Book: The Esoterrorists 
Additional Products: The Esoterror Fact Book, Profane Miracles, Albion's Ransom: Little Girl Lost, Six Packed, The Book of Unremitting Horror, The Esoterror Summoning Guide, Albion's Ransom II: Worm of Sixty Winters, and The Love of Money 

Core Book Reviews: The Esoterrorists: RPGs I Like and Review Of The Esoterrorists By Pelgrane Press 

The Esoterrorists (2nd Edition)

Premise: As above, players take the role of agents for the Ordo Veritas, a benevolent conspiracy. They battle against the Esoterrorists, a network of radicals and maniacs dedicated to breaking down the membrane between this world and the supernatural outside. They do this by crafting terror and manifesting otherworldly creatures. They operate like a terror network, with a focus on fear and publicity.

System Additions: I wanted to give the second edition its own entry. This version significantly expands the material. On the rules side the 2nd edition cleans up the presentation and clarifies points. It adds a few new innovations, but keeps things simple and clean. On the campaign side, it massively expands the background, explains the concepts more fully, offers more developed campaign set up, and presents several fully-fleshed scenarios. Everything's very well-done and presented. I would recommend this as a first Gumshoe game if you're working with a group unfamiliar with Call of Cthulhu (in which case, Trail of Cthulhu might be better).

Core Book: The Esoterrorists (2nd Edition)
The Esoterrorists on RPGNow
Additional Products: Products listed above work with this edition.

Fear Itself 
Premise: Players take the role of characters, perhaps victims, in a modern horror setting of slashers, creatures and maniacs. Fear Itself aims to simulate modern pop horror, especially cinematic horror of movies like The Ring, Pulse, and House of Wax.

System Additions: The list of abilities has been modified to reflect the lower relative skills of characters in this setting. The rules also include very basic psychic powers- with dangers associated with those. Characters can start from a list of stereotypes, and/or choose special Risk Factors- drives which explain why the character remains in the story rather than fleeing. Additional rules for stability appear as well.

Core Book: Fear Itself
Fear Itself on RPGNow
Additional Products: The Book of Unremitting Horror, Invasive Procedures

Core Book Review: Fear Itself: RPGs I Like

Trail of Cthulhu 
Premise: Investigators against the Cthulhu Mythos. Adapts the key ideas of Lovecraft's work and the rpg traditions established by Call of Cthulhu into GUMSHOE. ToC notably moves the timeline forward, setting the game generally in the 1930's, rather than 1920's.

System Additions: Retooled ability sets to fit the genre. The rules offer two approaches to campaigns and mechanics, Purist versus Pulp, with the latter offering the players more of a fighting chance. Characters now have Drives which guide their behavior and choose a Occupation to start. Occupations determine starting abilities, credit rating and special talents. Stability has now been paired with Sanity as two distinct abilities. Those rules, including madness mechanics, have been expanded.

The rules offer a significant discussion of the Cthulhu Mythos, followed by an extensive bestiary for creatures from there and elsewhere. Rules for setting-specific magic and tomes appear as well.
Core Book: Trail of Cthulhu
Trail of Cthulhu on RPGNow

Core Book Reviews: Hiking with Cthulhu, Trail of Cthulhu: RPGs I Like, A perfect marriage of setting & rules, and My Profane Thoughts

Trail of Cthulhu: System Guide for New Gamers

Share A Game - Trail of Cthulhu

Mutant City Blues 
Premise: An event ten years ago resulted in 1% of the population gaining super powers. Players take on the role of officers with powers dealing with "heightened" crime and criminals. A predictable structure and pattern to the superpowers allows for investigations based on meta-forensics.

System Additions: An extensive set of super-powers, some of which operate as investigative and some as general abilities. Unlike other superhero games, powers must be chosen along certain lines. These lines make up "The Quade Diagram" a resources for players to figure out which powers associate with which evidence. Other abilities and rules focus on the police procedural nature of the game.

Core Book: Mutant City Blues

Mutant City Blues on RPGNow
Additional Products: Hard Helix, Brief Cases

Core Book Reviews: Mutant City Blues: RPGs I Like

Ashen Stars 
Premise: A far-future sci-fi setting in which players take the roles of "Lasers," freelance law enforcers. These operate in the Bleed, a region of space once controlled by an empire known as the Combine, now left to its own devices. Navigating between disparate planetary cultures and races, the Lasers balance ethics and the need to make a buck. Moves the idea of mysteries forward more broadly to problem-solving.

System Additions: Several alien races with special talents provided. Alien specific abilities and psionics, as well as an ability list tuned to the sci-fi setting. Cyberware and biological implant rules. Extensive systems for spaceship combat. Notes on handling improvised investigations.

Core Book: Ashen Stars

Ashen Stars on RPGNow
Additional Products: Dead Rock Seven,The Justice Trade, Terra Nova. 

Core Book Reviews: Review & A Couple of Thoughts, Ashen Stars - A review, and Stars Like Ash

Lorefinder 
Premise: Not a stand-alone core book, Lorefinder adds elements of GUMSHOE's investigative rules to the Pathfinder system.

System Additions: Character creation within Pathfinder; drives for PCs; and new skills, feats and magic

Core Book: Lorefinder
Lorefinder on RPGNow
Core Book Reviews: Is that GUM on my Pathfinder’s SHOE? Or, can an “old” dog learn new tricks?

Night's Black Agents 
Premise: Players take the role of spies who have been "burned" by their company. The reason: their discovery of a massive vampiric conspiracy behind the scenes. Now the PCs must remain alive while striking back at the monsters.

System Additions: Highly tailored set of abilities for the genre- with new ideas and uses for abilities. Rules for using investigative abilities and general and vice versa. Benefits for high level purchases of general abilities. Role specific talents. Mechanics for trust, contacts, networks and betrayal. Now options for cinematic combat. Chase rules. Vampire and conspiracy construction toolkit.

Core Book: Night's Black Agents

Night's Black Agents on RPGNow

Additional Products: The ZalozhniyQuartet, DoubleTap: The Night's Black Agents Companion

Core Book Reviews: I'm a secret agent there's nowhere you can hide and Tinker, Tailor, Vampire, Spy, The Hite Supremacy

The Gaean Reach
Premise: Based on Jack Vance's science fiction, in particular "The Demon Princes" series of novels. Players become hunters seeking vengeance on the mysterious and elusive Quandos Vorn. They have to seek their quarry through investigation, infiltration, and deception. The game take place in a golden-age sci-fi universe more of imagery than hard technical details.

System Additions: Players use a system of build cards to construct their characters. The group defines the details of why they're pursuing their quarry. The Gaean reach also adds a version of the Taglines system from Skullduggery and the Dying Earth Role Playing Game. This allows players to gain benefits by integrating premade phrases into their play. The basic GUMSHOE system on offer here is relatively light, with some interesting new takes on abilities.

Core Book: The Gaean Reach
The Gaean Reach on RPGNow

TimeWatch

Premise: Players are members of TimeWatch, recruited from across history to fix and maintain the one true timestream. Missions may require the team to head to a particular date to fix an obvious change. On the other hand missions may also be more subtle, requiring the characters to investigate and piece together the specific sabotage.

System Additions: TimeWatch offers a set of character archetypal competencies, for those who don't want to build from scratch. The game offers some interesting time-themed abilities with additional effects (Paradox Prevention for example). Chronal Stability offers an additional damage track. It obviously includes material and rules for handling time travel, reality shifts, and destroying the timeline.

Core Book: Kickstarter backers currently have access to the Jurassic electronic edition of the game. The printed edition is due in November.

Ken Writes About Stuff

A series of short essays by Ken Hite produced monthly by Pelgrane Press. These alternate between discussions of Cthulhu Mythos creatures (odd issues) and deeper looks at places and ideas for GUMSHOE (even issues).

What We Actually Prep: Play on Target Podcast Ep. 25

We continue to press through technical difficulties to bring you another episode of Play of Target. This week we drill down and look at what we actually and really do to prep for a game session. What kinds of tools do we use, how much time do we spend, what do we actually focus on? We discuss what works for us and why. Importantly we address in part how that has changed for us as we’ve gamed more. I’m pretty happy with this show- though we’re still getting some of the sound levels worked out. I think it offers some good and useful advice.

ACTUAL GAME SESSION PREP

Play on Target Episode Round Up

During the show I mention my prep worksheets. One of them is the Episode Worksheet from Ashen Stars which is easily adapted for other games. You can find that here as page four of this set of reference charts from Pelgrane. I’ve also done a generic version you can find here. Another sheet my current version of the Trinity planner (which I’ve talked about in an earlier post). I found this online years ago and I haven’t been able to locate the original source-  give me a heads up if you know. I also mention the “Three Things” sheets I use from time to time. You can see examples of and discussion about those here. Here's a copy of that you can download; I usually fix it font-wise so it fits on two pages. As I mention in the podcast, I try to confine myself to a single prep tool or sheet for any session. Rotating through them hits on different themes. I keep myself moving fast and don’t spend more than an hour on them.

I’ve also been trying out some of the Fate campaign prep tools. The Community Fate Core Extensions page has several I’ve used for other games. Ria Hawk’s Faces sheet is a useful prep tool- especially if you know the game will center on interaction with key NPCs. While I might not use the aspects in play, coming up with them gives me a handle on presenting the character. I also write in a few other related NPCs names and concepts in the far right of the description box. I also dig Ron Frazier’s Scenario Worksheet and I’ve tried used it when I’ve had to come up with a one-shot from whole cloth. It doesn’t exactly do what I want for week to week prep. My new go-to sheet is Sophie Lagace’s Adventure Worksheet. That’s really useful and helps me think about potential scenes- especially for mysteries or sessions where the group has split up. I can draw arrows between the scene boxes to show spossible flows of action. I’m not using it for strict Fate, so I skip the Approaches and Vitals sections. But everything else works because it forces me to boil things down to a good aspect or tag line for what’s happening. I try to distill the essence of what’s important about the scene/conflict. As with my other tools it keeps me from doing too much work.

Going back and rereading the Fate Core discussion of campaign prep has made me think about issues in campaigns. When you’re building a collaborative game in Fate you come up with two issues for the world. These can be current issues (things facing the world right now) or impending issues (future threats which might arise). I like this concept for two reasons. First, it makes me generally define the point of the game. Sometimes in world building I lose sight of that. This brings me back around. I run many campaigns. Some use a collaborative building process (Last Fleet, Relic Hunters), some I build and present to the PCs (Libri Vidicos, OCI), and some fall in the middle (Firstwave, Changeling Lost Vegas). The issue structure doesn’t lock down or railroad the players. They can react and shape the campaign- dealing with the threat, looking for alternatives, ignoring it in favor of short term gain.

Second, Fate says come up with two issues. I initially thought, whoa, that’s too few. But two issues means that I need to define those at the broadest level. Stories and plots can rain down from that. I have to think about how incidents I bring to the table fit with those. I’ve often over-complicated campaigns with too many plot threads and issues, each given the same weight and importance. Eventually I stitch things together, but more often than not I find myself with unresolved interesting bits at the end. I’m not saying this will fix that, but it does give me a decent rubric to organize. Also the focus on two issues may move the game forward- giving the players a clear challenge they can overcome, rather than moving the goalposts. Players need a shot at larger-scale victory. That doesn’t mean just winning a fight, but actually doing something significant to their adversaries- something which shows they have an effect. I’ll point to Sam’s suggestion about players defining their goals at the end of a session. I hadn’t done that, but it seems pretty brilliant. You can shape the issues to how the players see them at the table.

ACTUAL GAME SESSION PREP

Play on Target Episode Round Up

If you like RPG Gaming podcasts, I hope you'll check out Play on Target. We take a focused approach- tackling a single topic each episode. You can subscribe to the show on iTunes or follow the podcast's page at www.playontarget.com.

Near-Future World Building Through Brainstorming

I have three new campaigns this year, two of them new arcs for or returns to previous campaigns. The third, Ocean City Interface, revisits an earlier premise with significant changes. I posted an overview of the campaign earlier (and earlier than that some thoughts on the challenges it presents). Short version: the characters take roles in different worlds, called portals, to solve problems. In between those they act in their near-future real world trying to uncover the nature of these portals. 

We just finished out the first portal arc, Sellsword Company, and next session will be the first in the "real world." This should establish the characters and let me roll out the premise further. This week I sent the group a simple list of 23 Things About City of Ocean to get them in the right mindset. Some of these set up hooks for the character backgrounds, some hints at plots, and some can become aspects later. 

I wanted to confine my world building to one, relatively modest, document. I wrote this up in a couple of hours- cutting myself off when I hit 23 points. I think it should be enough to run from, figure out rules variants, and give interesting flavor for the players. 

1. After the Chronus Incident of 2031, authorities severely restricted and curtailed Tier 3 and above artificial intelligences. This includes controls on self-modifying and procreating technology, and extensive limits on work done in the field.
2. Automation, online delivery, and other shifts severely impacted the labor market. The underground economy has grown- both online and off. More workers have multiple, partial jobs. Some have moved to fully online employment- desperately following micro-tasks for money. Many shops have employees who don’t actually make decisions or perform conventional work. They’re consultants, offering someone to talk with about decisions or to simply to make a shop seem full. Larger-scale manufacturing has shifted to the Corporate Free Zones (CFZs) in City of Ocean (COO). Smaller scale companies exist, but continue to feel the pinch.
3. The bandwidth available in City of Ocean has made it the center of VR and HD Online game production in the world. The rise of popular casual and sim MMOs boosted gaming industry as a whole. Most major game developers have facilities here. Each year COO hosts the OGDC (Online Gaming Developers Conference) which also acts as a trade show for new virtual entertainments
4. City of Ocean has several Corporate Free Zones (CFZ). These are modified free trade zones for Corporate entities. This means limited regulations, taxation, and monitoring within those areas. Corporations can carry out business as they please, so long as they don’t adversely impact surrounding COO zones and territory. CFZs usually have a decent buffer area to allow room for certain kinds of manufacturing. In recent years they’ve also begun to establish residential and commercial zones within the CFZs, creating enclaves. Local authorities, such as police, have to liaison with corporate officers when investigating crimes related to a CFZ.
5. Conspiracy theorists claim that the COO Police maintain a secret, off-the-books, investigative department devoted to cases they want kept out of the public eye. Accounts diverge as to what kinds of things are being covered up: celebrity crimes, high-level corruption, alien infestation, corporate brainwashing, etc.
6. COO has followed the lead of other metropolis and installed massive systems of video surveillance and monitoring. Authorities conceal that such systems lead to almost no crime reduction or increase in arrests. The systems- video, online, and biometric- have led to an ‘arms race’ between authorities and so-called Jammers who spoof monitoring. These range from simple disruptions to blanking out to false images. Crimes committed while using a ‘jamming’ system (loosely defined) carry add-on penalties.
7. Despite the canals and ocean-side location, City of Ocean contains a surprising number of underground areas. Some of these came from an earlier failed attempt at a subway system, some of the paranoia shelter panic of millionaire Nathan Throne in the 1950’s, some from earlier buildings left from the fire of 1928, and some are said to date back to even earlier Native American settlements.
8. Despite the transparency of city government- with nearly all meetings available for viewing and all live transcripts of public officials’ daily work and emails, many believe corruption still exists at the highest levels. Just as hackers and jammers have found ways around surveillance and prevention systems, the amount of money involved has developed creative responses. However this has been countered by online media and agents who have repeatedly exposed such activities. Every month brings some kind of expose- even if it is just of a minor office. Event translators are a growing online profession- sifting through and summarizing documents, meetings, and events.
9. The destruction of several food crops, including bananas, led to several shifts. Conservation agriculture has become a new boutique industry- attempting to maintain lost plants and develop new means of sustaining them. Scientists continue working on ways rebuild bee infrastructures after several near colony collapses in the last decades. Biotech plants and meats have increasingly become an alternative- battling with organic backers  to gain public acceptance.
10. Electronic currency- whether from smart phones or credit cards- has gradually pushed out standard currency. Cash has a stigma to it now- the tool of the old or the criminal. In an effort to crack down on criminal activity, the government has lowered the value of cash transactions which have to be reported. However many have found ways around this- turning to online barter & swap systems, reputation-based service trades, alt currencies like BitCoin, and most importantly Gift Cards- especially refillable ones. Brokers trade in these and have networks of cut outs to load up cards. Even more important has been the trade in items and currency generated in the most popular virtual entertainments and games.
11. Everyone has a computer on them nearly 24/7. In most cases that’s some form of smart phone or connected implant. Ocular computing allows powers users to project directly onto the retina without the need for external devices like glasses. Such users can be identified some their distractedness and unfocused gaze. Most users have some form of wearable computer or device connected to a vocal response system. Some employees and agents must use a company-issued device, which acts as an additional monitoring system.
12. Following some unknown signal, City of Ocean has become the 21^st Century center for new age theorists, retro-cultists, conspiracy theorists, and fringe scientists. Shifting political attitudes in New Mexico drove many out after the millennium, and many resettled here.
13. The mid-21^st Century has seen an increase in the number of artificial animals, called ArtiComs or artificial companions for home use. While the uncanny valley still remains for humans, designers have been able to create lifelike animals. The development of the telemetric field keeps organic animals from reacting negatively to them. Though expensive, such animals have multiple uses. Ranchers and livestock corporations use them to monitor and control animal populations. Cities use them to gather data and act as monitoring devices. Parks and indoor nature facilities keep them as unobtrusive climate controls and troubleshooting devices. Some facilities use them for security. Only the wealthy use them as actual pets.
14. Nearly anything can be sponsored in City of Ocean. The government has spearheaded the movement to allow corporate interests to back, advertise in, and even have a say in nearly every aspect of life- from education, to health care, to public assistance, to city planning. Most of this remains innocuous- advertisements and naming rights. But some aspects of life have become hotly contested, leading to bidding wars and corporate battles.
15. Parallel and connected systems of rapid transit make City of Ocean one of the least congested major cities in the world. Smart phone connections and suggestions help shift the load throughout the city. Select a destination and the central system slots you into the fastest approach which balances load and density. Subways, moving walkways, light rail, buses, water taxis, and automated cars combine to create an amazing system. It is however, one requiring a great deal of upkeep. Crashes and breakdowns can create amazing snarls.
16. The rebirth of City of Ocean began with a commitment to technical infrastructure. Nearly every building is wired, high-speed internet access in considered a personal right, and the system as a whole has been connected together with an eye to increasing efficiency and using data to make decisions about services, power, and daily life.
17. The region around City of Ocean contains some amazing landscapes- from micro-forests to mountains to near-deserts. A good deal of this has been artificially developed. The beaches to the north of the city remain pristine, while those to the south have suffered in the last decades. Authorities have only partially cleaned up the landfall of a portion of the Pacific Ocean garbage island. The city itself hosts a number of large and amazing parks- plus several corporate sponsored environmental habitats.
18. The rise of Technoscopophobia, fear of technological observation, is of particularly concern in City of Ocean, a highly monitored society. Recent years have seen several high profile incidents in which a suffered had a psychotic break and did serious damage to themselves and others.
19. San Diego’s collapse and destruction sent refugees across the state. City of Ocean made a concerted and coordinated effort to bring skilled elites and technicians from there to the city. State authorities also required major California cities take in a certain number of refugees. Many San Diegans came to the city with a profound distrust of accelerated technologies and automated systems. They’ve formed the core of a movement against the city’s expanding systems of control.
20. Sister-city Kyoto has important ties to City of Ocean. In particular family connections between COO’s Oyama International and Kyoto’s Asaka Practical Systems remain strong. COO has a significant and rising Asian population drawn from across the region, but the Japanese-American contingent is particularly well-organized and active.
21. Though practical full-form cloning remains some time off, genetic techniques have been using to treat diseases, modify body-forms, and allow for some amazing physical enhancements. In Vitro tailoring, still seen as an aberration by some, lies in the hands of the wealthiest. Some draw from specialty genetic material. Cloning for supplemental tissues, emergency blood, and replacement limbs ranks higher on the list. Many believe industrial biotech will be the next great breakthrough for humanity.
22. Twain Power Center 3 remains a major source of contention within the city. A revolutionary and expensive Thorium-based Nuclear power facility, many still have concerns about the potential dangers. The Throne Energy Consortium have invested heavily in other power production systems- solar, wind, etc. in an effort to offset these concerns.
23. While the city has sports teams, it has no major franchise. This dates back to the 1980’s when within the span of two years the city ended up stuck with a new basketball arena and a renovated football stadium but no teams. City officials passed ordinances preventing major teams from locating here. Instead COO has turned to minor league teams and franchises including hockey, basketball, football, soccer, and baseball. 

PPSY 311: A Lexicon of Devils

Here's another player-facing handout from my old Unknown Armies-esque City of Ocean campaign. As I mentioned in the last post, it had high weirdness. I actually only began planning and thinking about the campaign after I wrote this piece. Originally I'd thought of it as a weird fiction-experiment, a syllabus from a world with an infestation of demons and debate about what that implied. 

PPSY 311: A Lexicon of Devils

Class Prerequisites: PPSY101: Introduction to Parapsychology; PPSY231: Experimental Methodology; either PPSY263: Case Studies in Parapsychology or PPSY271: Symbolic State Manipulation; or Instructor Approval.

Course Description: The problem of Devils has plagued humanity since the earliest records; the cave paintings of Lascauex include references to at least two of the seventeen archetypes. Archaeologists have uncovered skeletal remains from the earliest periods of humanity showing that the physical effects of Devil Manifestation. Most theological writings deal with Devils in some form or another, usually associating archetypal manifestations with primarchs. Nearly all that the common man on the street knows about devils comes from a tradition of superstition and hearsay, rather than actual science.

The nineteenth and twentieth centuries, however, witnessed a move to realistically assess devils in light of modern knowledge of social science, physics and parapsychology. To that end, this course will explore the major theories concerning devils, their origins, manifestation sources, historical contradictions, symbolic importance, archetypal and primarch differences, and methodology of control.

The most influential theories can be summed up as follows:

Theological: The devils represent a force of evil in opposition to whatever greater force of good (or simply creation) a person follows. Manifestation of a devil must be tied to a particular sin or failing on the part of a person. Alternatively, it represents a divine punishment on a community as a whole. Which of the seventeen archetypes a person manifests depends on the nature of the transgression or sin. This is probably the most influential theory today. Note, however, that there are enough variations on this model (Gnostic, Islamic, Christian Scientist) as to make calling it a single theory laughable.

Historical: The devils existed in prehominid times. Their civilization, known as Mu or more commonly Atlantis, was for the most part destroyed by physical crisis of some kind. From that point forward, the remaining “devils” degenerated and declined. During the middle ages, a small civilization of devils involved themselves in human society with the creation and subsequent collapse of what has come to be called Atlantis Omega. From them on, devils only existed in obscure places as fodder for cryptozoological parapsychologists to uncover in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. This model focuses solely on “primarch” devils, those not manifested in human beings. Indeed, this theory denies any connection between manifested devils and primarchs, which are simply another species.

Atavistic/Genetic: The devils represent a “racial” or genetic memory. The claim is that the DNA of devils from the times of the Atlantis Alpha civilization intermingled with that of humans. The manifestation of a devil and the subsequent psychic abilities and physical changes in a person represent a throwback. The seventeen archetypes are simply bloodlines or ethnic groups from Atlantis Alpha civilization. Yet, the exact genetic cause of these throwbacks remains uncertain. This theory has many highly respected supporters. However, its most dangerous application came in the Nazi Era, making it suspect to many today. The completion of the Human Geneome Project has also been sadly lacking in providing any real evidence for this theory.

Liminal: This theory suggests that the devils are simply an important set of symbolic concepts, developed through history in legend and based on earlier contacts with primarch or “in-the-flesh” devils. From this, the seventeen devil archetypes emerged. When a person undergoes a significant transformation, moving into a “liminal” or “in-between” state, associated with the manifestation of psychic powers, this crisis causes them to fall back on these archetypes to explain the changes happening to them. These stories then reshape and warp their own natural transformation into these “devils.” Supporters of this theory point to the “non-devil” psychics of the last three decades as evidence that acceptance and understanding can prevent transformation into devils. This theory has gained strength in modern times. However, the connection between the archetypes and the devils leads to a “chicken or the egg” question. Much of the evidence for this theory also rests on negative proof and anecdote.

Other Theories: Beyond these theories, we will also look at discredited and fringe ideas including the Fortean “Alien Invader” theory and the argument for the presence of angels.

Throughout this course we will be dealing will issues and beliefs which make run against the grain of what you have been previously taught. You must come to class with an open mind and a willingness to engage in reasoned debate on these topics. If you cannot, then this is not the class for you.

CDC Guide to Demonic Manifestation

Over a decade ago I ran a modified Unknown Armies/weird modern game I called City of Ocean. It was the first extended campaign we used our Action Cards homebrew for. It may well be the weirdest thing I've ever run. I've written about the game before and you can see some of my brainstorming notes here. You can also see a little of my post-mortem after the campaign here. Since I'm using the idea of City of Ocean as a place again in my new campaign, I thought I'd post a couple of bits from the original game. The new one doesn't use any of this stuff (or does it). COO originally took place in a world where "demons" were known of, considered a contagious problem, but still not fully understood. 

Below is a Center for Disease Control webpage from that setting:

IDENTIFYING DEMONIC MANIFESTATIONS

This pages contains brief sketches of the fifteen common demonic manifestations as well as links to pages containing a more thorough discussion. The CDC uses the Mignola-Crane system for demonic identification. NOTE: material here is intended strictly for general use. If you suspect a demonic manifestation, immediately contact your local authorities.

Vampires

AKA: Feeders, Nosferatu, Dracul [Mallleus vampiris]

Traits: Vampires have been traditionally ascribed a number of abilities and vulnerabilities, however these are the exception rather than the rule. Vampires commonly require relatively fresh bodily fluids from a victim. Often Vampires are physically augmented. As a rule, they dislike sunlight and some symbols dependent on the manifestation victim. [Permanent manifestation]

Werewolves

AKA: Lupins, Howlers, Skindancers [Malleus lupus]

Traits: Werewolves is the name given to the larger class of people whose manifestation causes them to change into an exaggerated form of any animal. Predatory mammals are the most common form, but others are known. Werewolves may change back and forth between the two states, but may also remain in the new state. Manifest victims will often take up sympathetic traits to their animal state. [Cyclical manifestation]

Succubi/Incubi

AKA: Seducers, Tempters, Callers [Malleus incubi]

Traits: These demons can possess apparently extraordinary features: beauty, strength, health, voice, etc. They use this illusion in order to seduce their victims. The consequences of this seduction varies from demon to demon (see also STD’s and You). [Cyclical manifestation]

Zombies

AKA: Undead, Corpses, Zvundi [Malleus mortis]

Traits: This manifestation kills the host immediately. The zombie then operates patterned reflexes and stimuli responses. The body no longer responds to biological decay; however many zombies try to mimic old responses such as eating and respiration. They are drawn to the biological responses of living beings, usually with dire consequences. [Permanent manifestation]

Ghouls

AKA: Eaters, Burrowers, Teethheads [Malleus depuli]

Traits: Ghouls invariably manifest a number of physical traits: a second set of teeth, a greenish-gray tint to the skin and a immune system which prevents any wound from healing. Ghouls usually try to feed on living flesh. They also usually patch damage to themselves with grafts and limbs from their victims. [Permanent manifestation]

Screamers

AKA: Mongers, Panics, Whirlwinds [Malleus quiritas]

Traits: Screamers are notoriously hard to follow or detect. They create severe emotional states within an area. The effect can be conscious or unconscious on the part of the demon. Some screamers can create intense physical, telekinetic or pyrotechnic effects in an area. [Cyclical manifestation]

Invunches

AKA: Fear-eaters, Twisteds [Malleus torquitas]

Traits: These beings apparently have a powerful empathic sense. They can effect individuals to create an “altered state” for them. They use this either to destroy a particular victim or disrupt a larger group. Invunches have altered connective tissue in their bodies, allowing them to contort and twist their limbs in a variety of directions. [Permanent manifestation]

Sorcerers

AKA: Warlocks, Cursers [Malleus devoveo]

Traits: These manifestations are always male. They have a wide variety of psychic powers at their disposal. These powers are nearly always shaped by a concept of “cursing” or “punishing” a victim. In many cases, this causes a sympathetic effect in a victim. Sorcerers usually exhibit a set of odd behavior patterns reflecting certain prohibitions and weaknesses. [Permanent manifestation]

Liliths

AKA: Centipedes, Mind Worms [Malleus licentia]

Traits: These manifestations are always female. Liliths possess powers of suggestion bordering on mind control. Liliths burn through the bodies of those they possess, moving on to another host in through contamination. This is the only case where a vector has been established for demonic manifestation with any certainty. [Permanent manifestation]

Homonculi

AKA: Crawlers, Redcaps, Fomor [Malleus homonculi]

Traits: Homoculi are easily identified by their physical traits. Once possessed, a victim loses weight and physically shrinks. The most common size is down to that of a medium dog, but cases have been known of homonculi as small as a mouse. Homonculi manifest a variety of other traits. Some have been known to fasten on to a victim like a lamprey. [Permanent manifestation]

Ahrimani

AKA: Antichrists, Adversaries, Devils, Atlantaens [Malleus tyrannus]

Traits: These demons despise all forms of spirituality, philosophy and worship. Their exact talents remain uncertain, but they have exhibited strong empathic, telepathic and perception altering abilities. The methods for detecting Ahrimani are complicated. However, when angered they manifest a “second self” which can be seen. [Permanent manifestation]

Grendel

AKA: Butchers, Rippers, Chainers [Malleus occisor]

Traits: Grendel show their manifestation only over the course of time, after the consumption of victims. Grendels become larger and more distended the more victims they consume. Some have rendered themselves immobile over time. Grendels excrete pheromones which affect the human nervous system in a variety of ways. This can be counteracted by frequent bathing. Those with personality disorders are the Grendel’s most common victims. [Permanent manifestation]

Haunts

AKA: Ghost, Revanant, Wraith, Spectre [Malleus phasmati]

Traits: Haunts manifest purely as a psychic event tied to a particular manifested victim. Over time a haunt can become more and more powerful, eventually having a nearly physical existence. Haunts can only be conventionally affected by harm to their host. [Cyclical manifestation].

Faradays

AKA: Ah’Pook, Death Cops, Exterminators [Malleus ignotus]

Traits: These demons stop existing in a conventional sense. Their psychic power is tuned to concealing themselves and erasing evidence of their existence. The possess the ability to create powerful apparent changes to reality for a victim. However, the purpose of these changes is uncertain. Faradays kill victims, but usually openly. Their other behavior and purpose remains a mystery [Permanent manifestation?]

Chimera

AKA: Serpents, Banes, Belial [Malleus diabolus]

Traits: The most classic appearing demon, Chimera usually have some kind of horn and change to the skin. The degree to which this occurs varies from manifestation to manifestation. Chimera can possess a variety of abilities. However, they also always possess one “weakness” which may be physical or psychological. [Cyclical manifestation]

What Planescape Means to Me

Last week Andy Kitkowski, translator for Tenra Bansho Zero and Ryuutama, posted a contest on G+. Since he's moving back to Japan he has been divesting himself of rpgs and other books. This time he would be giving away the prize of his collection, a diverse set of Planescape books. He invited anyone who wanted them to write why they wanted them and what they'd use them for. I love Planescape; it remains my favorite TSR setting and one of my favorite rpg settings. I quickly sat down and wrote out a rambling entry/response. I wasn't chosen, but I thought I'd share what I submitted. I've left it unedited so you can see how rough it is. 

I saw your post on the Planescape items. I'm interested and here's why and what I'd like to do...

To explain this I have to go back to Barry dying.

We’d finished a three GURPS fantasy campaign and had moved on to a superhero mini-campaign using Mutants & Masterminds. I’d intended that short series as a filler between stories in the shared world we’d been playing in since ’86. The superhero game went well and we ramped up to the final session. Kenny came by about three in the morning. Barry had been bouncing at a club; he’d taken on extra hours to buy Xmas gifts for his daughter. Normally he did freelance art- he’d done work for Hero and R Talsorian, but he wasn’t great at schedules and companies weren’t great at paying. Barry was a big guy who worked out, half-Thai and frequently mistaken for a Hispanic weight-lifter. He had a hereditary heart problem, as it turned out. He collapsed in the middle of breaking up a brawl.

We kept going, thrown by everything, but we kept playing. Which brought us to Planescape.

I wasn’t sure if I wanted to go back to our shared campaign world. Barry had been with us since nearly the beginning of that. He’d been at the heart of multiple campaigns. So I decided to go with something else I loved- a game & setting Barry (and others) had wanted to play in. I would run a Planescape campaign, but one with a twist. The group would be cross-dimensional mercenaries. I would use The Black Company sourcebook from Green Ronin. Everyone would have two characters just in case. Life would be cheap. They would blaze a trail across worlds. It would be gritty and tough.

Tough I got.

I ran it using D&D 3.5, with just about everything available at the table. I hadn’t run 3.5 before. I’d been a GURPs, Storyteller, Rolemaster, Champions, and Homebrew guy. At first I considered using True20, but at that point only pre-core rules had come out for that. Plus I wanted to see what it was like. So much had been published for it, most of my players had tried some flavor of it, and I knew AD&D- how hard could it be? Hard, really hard. I have real admiration for those GMs who gained system mastery of D&D 3.5. The system seemed to fight me every step of the way. Every session required more prep, mapping, and stat calculation than anything I’d done in years.

Somehow it managed to be a delight. Planescape itself pulled us through. The players loved the setting and the chaos of it. They loved both their primary and secondary characters in the mercenary company- requiring me to switch back and forth between stories. They loved Sigil and the tensions between the factions. They loved the weird planar trips and over-the-top effects. I had all the books and a massive collection of Bloodwars cards to use for illustrations. Despite my terror at the mechanics, it somehow gelled- the wild combats to fight, mysteries to explore, and places to see.

More importantly, they saved Barry. Or rather they saved his character, Basho. See at the end of the fantasy campaign, Barry’s character had sacrificed himself. He leapt into a demon gate to shut it down and kept back the forces of darkness from the world. In the Planescape campaign they found him and brought him to safety. It felt good and something like closure.

You can see in-character write-ups for the first dozen or so episodes of that campaign here under Session Reports (“Sons of the Tower”). 

When I wrapped the campaign’s story after thirteen sessions, I felt pleased. I’d tried to extend my repertoire with 3.5, I’d run a mercenary game, and they’d brought a measure of satisfaction out of tragedy. It was all good, wasn’t it? Yes and no. I was happy with the campaign, but it wasn’t exactly the Planescape game I wanted. For one thing we only saw Sigil in bits and pieces. I love that city and wanted to really play around with the people and personalities there. For another it had been more high fantasy and less the noir tone I wanted- more Invincible Overlord than Lankhmar. Finally the game engine had fought against what I wanted rather than supporting it. That’s likely a matter of my inexperience with it, but it undercut what I wanted.

The strange bit is that we had a perfectly serviceable homebrew we’d begun using by that point. I was just too much of a coward to commit to that. I made a decision- we’d come back to Planescape at some point in the future. I would explore the city, I’d have the tools to make people and organizations come alive, I’d make the setting matter, and I’d show everyone what I loved about it. In the future I’d run the Planescape game in my head.

Then we had the fire.

It started in the basement from old-house wiring. That took out the game room first and then most of the first floor. We lost most of the game books, about half the campaign notes, all of the scenic, and a chunk of the miniatures. Smoke and water destroyed what the fire didn’t actually hit. We survived and thanks to insurance managed to get back into the house about six months later. Some things survived- stuff stored upstairs, minis which had to be cleaned using sonics, and soaked campaign journals that I managed to scan. Most of the next year I spent replacing what game books I could- things I knew we would play first and then other bits & bobs. But not Planescape. The prices were crazy. I tried the pdfs, but they weren’t a fair substitute for the actual products. I hunted for a time, but eventually put that aside in favor of other games.

So what do I want to do?

I want to run a game which explores Sigil, with occasional detours the the Outlands and mysterious trips to dangerous planes to uncover details, rescue lost souls, or loot a precious relic. I want the players tied to the pulse of the city- playing off the battles between factions and organizations. It should be part Fritz Leiber, part Leverage, part Thief, and part multiversal insanity…maybe something more like Grimjack’s Cynosure.

I want to do this using our homebrew this time. We’ve been playing and tinkering with it for the last decade and a half. Essentially it is a card-based rpg, with a strong dash of Fate powering it. A player’s deck acts more as a set of personalized dice more than anything else. When I ran before, big scale objects- like the company, neighborhoods, organizations- were static fixtures. I want to use the tools Fate and other newer rpgs offer to connect players to the setting and those groups. I want to monetize the background- allowing players to buy into plot hooks, political causes, and structures. I plan to use aspects and plot stress to model that. I also want to give the players useful character-facing material- like Robin Laws’ Kaiin Players Guide so that they can select rumors, stories, and places they want to explore.

What would that require? First, some thinking about specific adaptations of the system for the Planescape setting. We’ve done a couple of fantasy campaigns with it before, so that shouldn’t be a problem. Second, outlining how I want to handle interactions and descriptions of groups (i.e. sketched as characters with aspects, etc). Putting together a useful brief shopping list of interesting things players could connect to. In some ways this would echo the background mechanics from Weapons of the Gods. Third, figuring out some interesting ways for players to do some collaborative building. Obviously they can do that for character creation, but can I use the same tools to do a neighborhood or larger relationship network. Fourth, and probably most involved, creating an accessible, interactive, and light set of player-facing materials for the group. I think that can be done in the window given. I’d likely run that for the group I’m running the wuxia game for right now or else online. 

Anyway, I'd forgotten how much I dug that setting until I wrote that out. I'll continue looking around. Maybe if I get regular employment again I'll be able to start hunting things down. Perhaps in the future WotC will do Print on demand for the D&D Classics pdfs- that would be great. More than anything, writing this out reminded me of some good times we'd had- in the face of a tragedy. Last night when I was running M&M online, Carl reminded me that this year in December will be ten years since Barry died.