Magic, Inc: Personnel Files

One of the two things I’m taking to Origins Games on Demand is Magic, Inc.: slacker office workers in a supernatural corporation trying to keep their jobs. I posted some departments from it a couple of weeks ago. I've done a f2f playtest with character playbooks and special decks. It went off well and I spotted a few things to tweak. For example, everyone picked Magick as part of their Training & Experience. So I’ll make that a default and add in another pick. Below are some notes on the system and the selections for three of the sample roles: Financial, Reception, and Drone. I’ll talk about Keys & the Personality Profile in another post. Strength & Flaw picks generate special cards which get added to the character’s deck.

SKILLS

• ACCOUNTING: Math, business, and number…stuff.
• AUDIT: Research, investigation, and locating stolen lunches.
• AVOIDANCE: Fleeing, dodging things, and ducking out early.
• GRIND: Willpower, data entry, and overtime.
• IT: Information technology, computers, and floating down here.
• LABWORK: Science, procedures, and domestic chemistry.
• LIES: Deception and budget assessment.
• OFFICE POLITICS: Knowing Magic, Inc
• PILFER: Petty theft, carry-in scavenging, and lockpicking.
• REPAIR: Mechanics, turning on and off, and general fixes.
• ROUGHHOUSE: Fightin’ n such.
• SCARE: Causing terror, intimidation, or popping up unexpectedly.
• SCHMOOZE: Charm, awkward insertions, and talking yourself up.
• SPORTS: Athletics and exercise. Includes fantasy football.
• TRIVIA: Lore, miscellaneous information, and “well, actually”.

CONFLICTS

There are three kinds of damage all measured on a single track, called Suffering:

• Wounds: Physical damage from faceslaps, fireballs, or falling photocopiers.
• Attention: Getting noticed and marked for HR review. Possibly hit with a promotion to a position where you actually have to work.
• Stress: Being yelled at.

CHARACTER CREATION

1. Pick title. This serves as an Aspect.
2. Choose Name.
3. Identify your Demographics
4. Assign 12 checks to skills.
5. Pick three from Training & Experience
6. Pick three from Personality Profile
7. Pick Two Strengths
8. Pick One Flaw
9. Describe the dirt you have on the character to your left

Role: FINANCES

DEMOGRAPHICS (PICK ONE EACH FROM A & B)

A                                             B

Demonic                             Airbender

Mind-Wiped                        Animated Doll

Mirror Universe                  Cat-Person

Mundane                            Human

Psychic                               Luchadore

Variable                              Scarecrow

TRAINING AND EXPERIENCE (PICK THREE)

• Accountant: You have an acute eye for accounts. You can easily pick out patterns and problems in a ludicrously short time.
• Armor of Fear: You can use Scare (Social) as a defense, but only until the first time you’re dealt suffering. You make opponents hesitate, but when someone shows them you’re only…human(?) your advantage vanishes.
• Bad Temper: You do +1 damage when you Yell at Someone.
• Gold Star: You begin with another title you can invoke for an effect. You also start with +1 fate points.
• Mentor: You have a mentor or patron with access to special knowledge. Once per session you may freely invoke your mentor as an aspect in appropriate situations (to represent insight, advice gained from contacting them).
• Magicks: You have a Supernatural Talent. Choose an Aspect for it and two actions it can be used for (Overcome, Create Advantage, Discover, Defend, Attack).

PERSONALITY PROFILE (PICK THREE)

• Key of the Commander: You love being in charge. Gain a point when you come up with a plan and giveorders to make it happen.
• Key of Procedures: Things have rules. People are supposed to stick to the rules. That’s how things should work. Gain a point when you try to correct someone’s violation of a rule.
• Key of Reputation: You’ll make a name for yourself! Gain a point when you brag in in the wrong place to enhance your reputation.
• Key of Soft Touch: You are, at heart, kind and gentle. Gain a point when you show kindness or mercy.
• Key of the Traveler: You love talking about travelling & seeing sights. Gain a point when you drop an offhanded brag about your travels and how it connects to the present situation.
• Key of the Unrequited: You fall into love and infatuation easily and deeply. Gain a point when you fixate on a new person.

STRENGTHS (PICK TWO)

• Executive Material
• Idealist
• Leader
• Prepared

FLAWS (PICK ONE)

• Confrontational
• Gullible
• Obsessive
• Uncoordinated

Role: RECEPTION

DEMOGRAPHICS (PICK ONE EACH FROM A & B)

A                                             B

Celebrity                             Deep One

Demi                                   Gremlin

Enchanted                          Human

Mundane                            Vampire

Paroled                              Werewolf

Prince(ss)                           Zombie

TRAINING AND EXPERIENCE (PICK THREE)

• Eavesdropper: On a successful Audit test to create an advantage or discover via eavesdropping, you can ask one additional question or create one additional aspect (though this doesn’t give you an extra free invocation).
• Heard it Before: You take one less Suffering when someone Yells at You.
• Know the Lingo: You’re excellent at talking with a particular group (name it now or later). You get a +1 any time you try to negotiate or chum up with them.
• Name Tags: When you meet someone new, you can spend a fate point to declare you’ve met them under a different name & identity. Create an aspect to represent your cover story, and you can use Lies for any social checks when interacting with that person.
• Rumormonger: You gain +1 to create an advantage when you plant vicious rumors about someone else.
• Magicks: You have a Supernatural Talent. Choose an Aspect for it and two actions it can be used for (Overcome, Create Advantage, Discover, Defend, Attack).

PERSONALITY PROFILE (PICK THREE)

• Key of the Bad Break-Up: Your significant other left, truly and finally. Gain a point when you make a connection between something in a scene and your ex.
• Key of the Bruiser: You enjoy overpowering others. Gain a point every time you defeat someone solo.
• Key of Curiosity: Gain a point whenever you your curiosity sidetracks you or gets you into trouble.
• Key of the Impostor: You are in often disguise. Gain a point when you perform well enough to fool someone with it.
• Key of the Matchmaker: You like seeing romantic pairings work, though perhaps not your own. Gain a point when you try to set up two (or more) persons (or things).
• Key of the Watercooler: You like rumors & hearsay. Gain a point when you spread gossip about someone you shouldn’t.

STRENGTHS (PICK TWO)

• Lucky
• Quick Thinker
• Recycler
• Studious

FLAWS (PICK ONE)

• Guilty
• Needy
• Self-Absorbed
• Unfocused

Role: DRONE

DEMOGRAPHICS (PICK ONE EACH FROM A & B)

A                                             B

Ancient                               Angel

Enlightened                        Doppelganger

Foreign Exchange              Elf

Glowing                              Frankenstein

Half-Blood                          Ghost

Mundane                            Human

TRAINING AND EXPERIENCE (PICK THREE)

• Alarmist: You’ve run into enough traps and alarms to gain an instinct for avoiding them. You gain +1 to checks to spot and notice them.
• Duck and Cover: You take one less damage when someone Points You Out.
• Giant-Killer: You do +1d damage in conflicts with opponent much larger or important than you.
• Voice of Reason: You’re adept at stepping into a bad situation and dialing it down to something more reasonable (or dial up into more crazy). So long as you are not the direct reason someone is upset, your attempts to calm or incite gain a +1 bonus.
• Without a Trace: By spending a fate point, you can move through cubicle farms and leave no trace. You can also rifle colleagues’ desks and leave them the way you found them.
• Magicks: You have a Supernatural Talent. Choose an Aspect for it and two actions it can be used for (Overcome, Create Advantage, Discover, Defend, Attack).

PERSONALITY PROFILE (PICK THREE)

• Key of Klepto: Other people have nicer things. Gain a point when you riskily steal someone’s stuff or score a big payoff.
• Key of Martyrdom: You thrive on suffering. Gain a point every time you take on someone else’s workload.
• Key of the Nice Girl: Gain a point when you do something nice because that’s what’s expected of you.
• Key of Panic: The pressure’s on. Gain a point every time you take a condition card.
• Key of the Prudent: You avoid combat like the plague. Gain a point when you flee a potentially dangerous situation.
• Key of the Twice Shy: You’ve learned to avoid blame, and credit. Gain a point when you pin your success on someone else.

STRENGTHS (PICK TWO)

• Ambitious
• Bargainer
• Model Employee
• Tester

FLAWS (PICK ONE)

• Careless
• Cursed
• Passive-Aggressive
• Troublemaker

Danger: Unexploded Spell (Part II: On Play)

Last week I posted my backstory and sketches for Danger: Unexploded Spell (DUXS). In it players are bomb disposal technicians in a fantasy city showered with spellbombs. Each night enemy forces carry out aerial assaults. Some of the attacks don't detonate, leaving dangerous traps scattered around the capital. These aren't simple bombs, but complex arcane devices. The game's more London Blitz with spells than any modern analogue. I've written up what this might look like at the table and what I'd have to do to run it.

DAILY LIVES

A DUXS campaign would deal with life and survival in in Crux. Characters would have to worry about resources: food shortages, lack of basic supplies, black markets, and low-grade equipment. They have an allowance and an allotment from the service, but this should just be enough to get by...unless they bunk down in the barrack's dank corners. PCs will have to horse-trade to get what they want. By contrast they may witness nobles, the wealthy, and the highly placed flaunting their access to fine foods and luxuries.

All of that will be underscored by the near-constant nightly bombardment and magical battles above the city. Their living quarters may be damaged or destroyed. Characters might be caught out on assignment during a raid, forcing them to take shelter. They may see bandits and thieves taking advantage of the situation, stealing from those who’ve left their homes. They'll have to balance personal safety, protecting others, and maintaining order.

We'll want to look at how these characters relax. How do they interact with the populace? This is a city under siege, with less stiff upper lip than London had. There’s suspicion throughout the streets of Crux: infiltrators, racial tensions, and general insanity. Some of the populace support the struggle, others have simply resigned themselves. But there’s probably an undercurrent of resentment- and perhaps even revolution. Players might clash with these cells or operations. 

Something I didn’t stress in the backstory document: is the conflict black and white? Are the players supporting the “good” side? Generally that should be the case, though with occasional ambiguity and incompetence. I can imagine some GMs would want to pull out a reveal that they’re actually supporting a corrupt regime. But that feels unfair, undercutting their successes for no real reason. A more complex campaign might revolve around the PCs dealing with bomb disposal while trying to bring about regime change. 

BOMB DISPOSAL

The PC's biggest challenge will be dealing with bombs. These will often (but not always) be the big bad of a session. The trick here will be to strike a balance between narrative, choice, and dicing for results. Disarming shouldn’t be simply be a roll or series of rolls; other elements should elevate that. That means it'll probably require the most work and tweaks. 

I played Ghost Lines again last week. In that game each character has a role, with distinct equipment, tied to rogue ghost removal. A team needs all members to function well. When I sketched out a team-based Monster Hunter game, I wanted to use something like that. It could work pretty well for DUXS. Off the top of my head, I can imagine four roles:

• Excavator: When the spellbombs fall they smash through stone and earth, burying themselves in courtyards, temples, dungeons, and markets. Though they haven’t gone off, they remain a threat and any disturbance could trigger them. The Excavator has trained in clearing debris and getting the team to the bomb or lifting it into the open.
• Analyst: They read the signs and magical signatures in the area. Analysts try to uncover what the spell might do, how potent it could be, and what might trigger it. They possess both arcane and practical knowledge. Through their study of previously disarmed spells they've learned spot physical signs and maker’s marks. Their advice and insight assists other team members.
• Disarmer: They undertake the actual task of rendering the spell bomb inert. Usually that means isolating and clipping the triggering components in the spell. But they may also cut the bomb off from necessary elements, rewrite the way the device sees the world, or even wrestle with the bomb's animating spirits.
• Stabilizer: The support member of the team. The Stabilizer keeps arcane energies even and tempered in an area. They can draw off elements to make the task easier. They hold wild energies in place to enhance the reading of signs. On the other hand they might focus on erecting protections in the area, reducing effects and damage should the team trigger the bomb.

As I mentioned in my other post this week, I used to love the Gamma World tech-use flow charts. I’m wondering if a similar and fun system could be developed for the disarming process. I like the idea of moving through and making choices throughout the challenge. If that’s combined with a roll, then maybe everyone’s support serves as a currency the Disarmer spends to get things right. There could be some additional results between “bomb disarmed” and “bomb goes off.” That's a rough idea and one that would probably mean a crunchier system. 

Bomb disposal scenes won't go easy. I can imagine a host of complications: the location has a set of unusual magic affinities affecting the bomb; part of the spell has gone off with an hidden effect; the bomb lands in a restricted or ritual area; thieves are on site robbing the place; scavengers have taken or are trying to take the bomb; the bomb has strange decoys; the bomb is sentient.

Sessions might also  deal with spells after they've gone off. How do you contain a magical fire? How to you deal with a contagious transformation spell? How do you catch a spell effect on the run? This might use the role talents in a different way or require the group to fall back on other means.

The question is how defined to make this procedure. To go back to Ghost Lines, that game has roles with only a modest definition of what they do: sketchily defined equipment, one or two sentences description of the role, some logical inferences from the bonuses. But the actual process of dispensing a ghost relies on players narratively using these elements, rather than any set process.

Another detail to consider: I'll need to establish a series of basic principles for dealing with bomb disposal. Physical movement and contact obviously risks detonation. But magical interactions and movement should as well. Make sure that’s clear in the fiction.

IN THE MILITARY

Characters also deal with life in the service. This will be tangential and not the center of stories at the table. But peppering sessions with these elements will enrich the setting. That could include questions of competing divisions and departments; conflicting orders; rival branches of the service; reductions in pay or supplies; bad officers; supply officers adulterating goods; changing HQs; issues of honor and behavior; NPCs getting transferred; questions of loyalty.

In the Danger: UXB TV series the demolition team also deals with technological change. The Germans develop new trigger methods, explosive types, and booby traps. The same can happen in DUXS to ratchet up difficulty and add twists. Over the course of the war The Enemy develops new magics and recruits wizards with different skills. Perhaps they hadn't had access to Necromancy, but finally break into an obscure Mage’s Tower (or Lich’s Tomb) and drafts them into service. These less-than-willing spellbomb-creating wizards might include information, warnings, or backdoors in their spells. On the other side, the Demolition Disposal Corps will develop new approaches: spells, relics, procedures. PCs will have to test these in the field. The crazy old hermit sorcerer has created a fool-proof bomb-teleporter, but does it actually work?

INVESTIGATIONS

Just like CSI's investigators crazily go into the field to track down and interview criminals, the PCs could have investigation story lines. Perhaps they trace back evidence of saboteurs in the city when no one will listen to them. Or maybe there’s a conspiracy at the highest level to force a change in city leadership. Or maybe someone’s slowly assembling a bigger bomb, but the PCs aren’t given the resources to follow up. Or perhaps they could discover something about the basic nature of magic itself and the threat this war poses to the world.

System-wise, I don’t think the game needs to call out anything special for this. The same skills or moves used for daily life and disarming should work here.

SYSTEM

To run this face-to-face, I’d probably go with Action Cards. The latest AC version simplifies a few things, adds a clearer success with cost mechanic, and moves a couple of elements away from Fate. But it’s still abstract and relatively easy to reskin. If I wanted to run online, I’d have to use something else (at least until I learn enough computer-y stuff to figure out how to program character decks for something like Roll20).

For that, the easiest approach would be reskinning Ghost Lines. Most of the work would be in redoing the payout & experience mechanics and those could be easily tweaked. I’d probably need to add in one or two more moves as well, but maybe not. Steel tests could represent stress, rather than terror. Alternately I could use Fate, probably Fate Core, with a streamlined skill list (though FAE’s a possibility). Disarming could be a multistage contest versus the trigger. I need to reread Ryan Macklin’s pdf on Fate Contests.

The Magic Question

Magic in DUXS feels mechanical: techniques and regular principles exist for working with magic. Some (many?) interactions happen, but no one knows why. We can tell that if we do this, that happens. Exactly why we're less sure about. The rules change when you deal with sentient magical creatures like caged demons or bound elementals. All of that leads to some questions I have to consider. Is there one form? One source with several different approaches (Evocation, Illusion, etc)? Or is each branch distinct and unique. Are we talking Vancian, Ars Magica, Master of the Five Magics, Face in the Frost or something else? I need to figure out what’s most interesting.

TO RUN THIS I'D NEED TO…

• Figure out the system as I mention above.
• Sketch out the war's backstory a little bit, to offer some reasons for the struggle and the circumstances. Put in lots of names and concepts without spelling them out.
• Come up with details about city neighborhoods- very quick so players can define some of that in play.
• Do the same for factions. Probably ought to look at the latest version of BitD to see how it handles city presentation & factions now.
• Define magic a little more.
• Make a list of military NPCs and gather images.
• Create plot hooks, magical effects, bomb complications- maybe a random chart for generating situations. 

Other suggestions or ideas?

Riding Out Armageddon: Post-Apocalyptic RPGs

I’m pretty sure Gamma World introduced me to post-apocalyptic stories. I loved the gonzo of it and how it sort-of used the same system as D&D. Post-apocalyptic games generally revel in a brutality, a lesson I learned from Gamma World. It was the first game I ever got bullied in by other players. When I got to the table at the game store with my new character the other players told me I had to play an unpowered human. I thought they were kidding; I’d rolled up a cool raccoon mutant. They weren’t. They blasted me the moment the GM introduced my character. I had to walk a half-hour home and explain to my mom why I was back early.

That was a weird conversation.

This week Play on Target looks at Post-Apocalyptic games. It’s a richer genre than I expected. It’s also a risky one. The breakdown of society implies a breakdown in laws, encouraging a kind of sociopathy which might not work for some groups. It’s a genre where you can showcase hopelessness. Or you can demonstrate real hope and change in the face of inhumanity. Anyway, check out the episode if the topic appeals to you.

Play on Target: Post-Apocalypse RPGs

Play on Target Episode Roundup

Below are a few things we didn’t get to in the episode or came to me afterwards.

1. Forgotten Devastations: In the show we inventory Post-Apocalyptic games we’ve played. I managed to forget a couple. In high school our group tried out Paranoia a few times, but never well. Each session started with laughter and ended up with furious players furious. That then bled into the next several non-Paranoia games. So despite cool stuff, Paranoia dropped out of the rotation. I also forgot a more important and recent one. That’s the Fallout campaign Dave ran using our Action Cards homebrew. He knew the setting back and forth. I didn’t, but I still enjoyed playing. His enthusiasm for the background details and general vibe carried me through. It was a rough game, with horrible mutations, addiction, and casual violence. Even when we won at the end, our success only protected a threadbare existence. I’m still not a fan of the Fallout video game, but I’d play a tabletop campaign of it again.

2. Flow Charting: Early Gamma World had a flow-chart mechanic for figuring out how to use ancient relics and technologies. You rolled and moved through the chart until you figured it out, broke it, or blew yourself up. I don’t remember what impact your character’s abilities or choices had. It’s a cool mechanic I’ve only rarely seen duplicated. More games could use that-especially where there’s some control mixed with randomness. (note: there’s a Space Medicine rpg that uses this, but I can’t find the name of it right now. Anyone know?).

3. My Wastelands: As I work post-apocalyptic rpg lists, I found a few I dug and think I could actually run. Rotted Capes offers supers vs. zombies ala the Ex-Heroes series of novels. I like the premise and how it undercuts the heroes’ powers. Those abilities allow them to protect their fragmentary community. At the same time some of their powers work against them in the face of a zombie uprising (like increased metabolism from super-speed). I’d have to use another system to run this. I’m not taken with the Arcanis mechanics. That, however, would require significant retooling, especially if I used something more abstract. Rotted Capes has crunchy mechanics for equipment, rations, breakdown, and survival. They support the tone, so I’d want to adapt those. I also think you could do some interesting stuff with Midnight’s “Sauron Won” premise. I’d want it to feel like a Black Company novel. Midnight’s problem is too much backstory and history. I’d need to craft a consolidated version. Motobushido swings the other direction, with a deliberately open world. I like the idea of samurai-style biker gangs in the wasteland, but I don’t know how that’d go over with my group. It might be fun to run online. Finally Summerland has one of my favorite tropes: an unfathomable event warps the world with strangeness and fantasy. I’m not sure I’d take anything from Summerland beyond the pitch line. Because I’ve avoided reading deeper, I have a bunch of scenarios in my head about how that happened and what that means.

4. CHTORR: But the post-apocalyptic setting I love but couldn’t actually run is War Against the Chtorr. That’s based on an unfinished sci-fi series by Star Trek novelist David Gerrold. I read the series in high school and college. War Against the Chtorr describe an alien invasion terraforming Earth. And we’re clearly losing. It’s a place that feels terrifying and dangerous. Just simple travel across the US becomes a perilouos undertaking. I love the ideas there, though I don’t know how well the novels would stand up to re-reading. Part of the problem lies in having waited twenty years for Gerrold to release the next book. We heard last year volume 5(?) would finally come out, but now it’s been withdrawn. The setting’s stark and deadly and I don’t know if I could pull that off at the table. I’m not sure I could sustain it.

5. Hope. Hope. Hope: You’ll probably have a conversation about tone before beginning a Post-Apocalyptic game. You may even decide On “grimdark.” But even if my group made that pick, I’d have to have some hope front & center. We need some possibility for success or improvement, if only to make failures more bitter. It shouldn’t be false hope; that’s a good way to burn out PCs. The worst games I’ve played in have been built on quicksand, where everything we construct isn’t just vulnerable, it’s inevitable it will be brought down. What’s the point of trying then? I’m not looking for the negadungeon version of a post-apocalyptic game, though I’m sure some would dig that..

6. Behold My Final Form: Some of these post-apocalyptic rpgs have a crazy number of edition and reframings. For example Paranoia has a convoluted publication and it has one editions struck from the rolls for being truly terrible. We’re supposed to see a new edition of Paranoia taken in a radically new direction soon. Mutant’s another rpg which has shift from goofy-gonzo to cyberpunk PA to war-torn worlds to a harder-edge survival. Metamorphosis Alpha, Twilight 2000, the Morrow Project also spring to mind. But the grand-daddy off edition explosion is Gamma World, with (I think) seven editions. They swing wildly from backstory to backstory, system to system, premise to premise. More than any other rpg with multiple editions, Gamma World mutates into a completely new version each time.

7. Take Your Stinking Paws Off Me You Damn Dirty Banana: I mentioned Adventure Time as a not so hidden Post-Apocalyptic setting. I’m a fan of that kind of slow-burn reveal. I still remember losing my mind the first time I saw the ending of Planet of the Apes. Because of that I subscribe to the post-apocalyptic interpretation of Pokémon. I also strongly believe another theory I just heard on the How Did This Get Made podcast. Pixar’s Cars is a sequel to the seminal Steven King horror classic Maximum Overdrive. In the latter, machines come to life. So the former presents the world generations after that. There’s also a more all-encompassing apocalypse theory for Pixar.

8. Days After Tomorrow: You may have seen these before, you may have not. Here are my Histories of Post-Apocalyptic RPGs:

• History of Post-Apocalyptic RPGs (Part One: 1976-1984)
• History of Post-Apocalyptic RPGs (Part Two: 1985-1987)
• History of Post-Apocalyptic RPGs (Part Three: 1988-1990)
• History of Post-Apocalyptic RPGs (Part Four: 1991-1993)
• History of Post-Apocalyptic RPGs (Part Five: 1994-1996)
• History of Post-Apocalyptic RPGs (Part Six: 1997-1999)
• History of Post-Apocalyptic RPGs (Part Seven: 2002-2002)
• History of Post-Apocalyptic RPGs (Part Eight: 2003)
• History of Post-Apocalyptic RPGs (Part Nine: 2004-2005)
• History of Post-Apocalyptic RPGs (Part Ten: 2006)
• History of Post-Apocalyptic RPGs (Part Eleven: 2007)
• History of Post-Apocalyptic RPGs (Part Twelve: 2008)
• History of Post-Apocalyptic RPGs (Part 13: 2009)
• History of Post-Apocalyptic RPGs (Part 14: 2010)
• History of Post-Apocalyptic RPGs (Part 15: 2011)
• History of Post-Apocalyptic RPGs (Part 16: 2012)
• History of Post-Apocalyptic RPGs (Part 17: 2013)
• The Year in Post-Apocalyptic RPGs 2014 

9. PvP: Post-apocalyptic stories often involve unity and betrayal. People become terrible. It makes sense for players to distrust anyone and everyone they meet. But these stories often include inter-party betrayal, breakdown of trust, and abandonment. That’s harder to do at the table without generating non-game tension (see my comments about Paranoia above). On the other hand Apocalypse World wrestles with those issues. We don’t actually get PvP but we do get systems for bonds, debts, and obligations. I’d be curious about how strong that inter-group tension tends to be in AW actual play.

10. I Found a Bullet: Theoretically I like the idea of tracking resources: people, ammo, food, water, etc. Mutant: Year Zero builds that in. But I know in practice I burn out on those systems. Does that mean I need to focus & make those systems better for myself or just give up on them?One approach I’ve used has been a revolving emphasis. I ran a VtM campaign where a niche apocalypse had happened, killing off most of the supernatural factions. The players existed in a dangerous world with all old rules gone. When I wanted to stress resource scarcity, instead of tracking tics I’d bring it up as an issue for a few sessions until they dealt with it. That these issues didn’t wear the players down and they remained an arrow in my quiver for later use. It reminds me of players’ excitement for the settlement system in Fallout 4. While they liked it at first, it became drudgery for many in my group.

11. Kaiju World: I don’t think we’ve seen a post-Kaiju apocalypse setting, but I may be wrong. In this world giant monsters roam the land and humanity desperately hides. As in Cloverfield there’s a whole associated ecosystem of smaller creatures to fear. PCs would undertake the usual scouting and resources hunting. It’s a little like Attack on Titan, but less organized. Actually it might be close to Reign of Fire. You’d have to have some interesting scale mechanics in case players want to bring down a behemoth. Something like Mouse Guard, with the mice trying to fell a bear.

Play on Target: Post-Apocalypse RPGs

Play on Target Episode Roundup

If you like RPG Gaming podcasts, I hope you'll check it out. 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.

Danger: Unexploded Spell (Part I: Backstory)

Magical Bomb Disposal. I started with that. I didn't watch TV with my dad that often. Usually he'd start a show or movie with us and then wander off. So shared programs stuck with me. Danger: UXB was one of those- a British series about bomb disposal technicians in London during the Blitz. It scared the shit out of me. Not like In Search Of,  The Nightstalker, or any other terrifying TV fare I watched on the sly. Danger: UXB was tense and real. 

That came back to when I scrabbled together some pitches several years ago. I had the image of someone surviving in a city under magical siege. Dragon riders, skyships, or other flyers bombed it nightly. The attackers dropped spells and curses, contained in magical foci designed to create maximum chaos and fear on impact. Sometimes they didn't trigger or activated only partially. Then specially trained wizards would have to go in to disarm and dispell then. And often they wouldn't survive. 

Originally I thought about Danger: Unexploded Spell (DUXS) as a novella, maybe a YA novel, or a comic series. So what you've see below is the long-form pitch. Later I crafted a tighter, one-sheet, but this has more of the ideas and concepts. I read a good deal about the life during the Blitz and rewatched Danger: UXB.  At the time I dismissed DUXS as an rpg setting- in good part because I couldn't imagine how to gamify much of it. But I have an idea now. I think DUXS would be cool as something like a Worlds of Adventure for Fate. Anyway, this post covers my original backstory and ideas. In the next post I'll talk about how I'd change and adapt these concepts for tabletop play. 

PROJECT TITLE: Danger: Unexploded Spell

LOGLINE: When Quinn Daymire finds herself diagnosed with magical talent, she's recruited into the army. Put in charge of a rag-tag band, she must undertake the most dangerous assignment: deadly spell disposal!

LIKE: Lord of the Rings meets the London Blitz; A Game of Thrones meets The Hurt Locker

PREMISE: Having lived in comfortable isolation on her late father's estate, the discovery of young Quinn Daymire magical talent shocks her more than anyone else. In a kingdom at war, Quinn finds herself recruited into the Sorcerous Corps. After whirlwind training, she's sent to Crux, the capital and a city under nightly bombardment in the war. Quinn hopes of being sent back home are dashed when she learns her new duties. She will lead a team disposing of unexploded spell bombs.

She finds little help in this task either from her fellow officers or from her own subordinates- a dregs of the service. An accident at her first disposal reveals her aptitude for the deadly task. Her childhood studies give her an edge and gain her a new ally in the shifting elemental, Archwield. Quinn presses on disposing of deadly bombs and beginning build some trust. But when she uncovers a deadly conspiracy, she finds herself drummed out of the service. Will she be able to reveal the plot or will the city itself be engulfed in wild magic?

Quinn Daymire arriving in the fantastic city of Crux. More people have queued up to leave on the skyship than have arrived. In the distance we get the first inklings that the city is under some kind of assault: smoke pillars, flying magical defenses, some of the grand towers damage. Quinn's a teen, dressed in a great coat gifted to her by her mentor. She's confused trying to make her way through the crowds, but still she has time to stop and help a child find its mother. That's what she's grown up doing- managing other people as we'll see.

We learn Quinn’s lived her life in isolation- arising from her history and natural inclination. When asked where her family is, she says she has none. She explains she won't be in Crux long- she'll be returning home so that she can pick her life up where she left it before her recruitment.

Quinn tries to find her way in Crux, capital of the Empire of Hours. Her military uniform nets her a ride on the back of a wagon driven by a pair of talkative enlisted men. This city is far from the village she grew up in, far from the isolated Academy of Magic she spent the last nine months at. Driving through, Quinn sees firsthand the devastation caused by the war. Nightly raids rain fire and spells down on the city. They spot one of the Masks, chosen protectors of the Empire, surveying the damage from a spell bomb. The chaos and crowds of the city make Quinn uncomfortable. She thinks fondly back on the tidy and orderly life she had back home.

Finally Quinn arrives at Sorceress Engineering Taskforce building. An old school, it has clearly been requisitioned for the army. Quinn wanders the halls looking for a guide before finally running into GLORIANA HILLKER, a young enlisted woman with some strange markings on her uniform. She seems pleased and excited to meet Quinn until she realizes the new arrival is a Mage. Suddenly her attitude turns frosty. Brusquely, Gloriana takes her to COMMANDER HARKVRAG'S office. The Commander seems surprised that Quinn's a woman, but dismisses that quickly. He has her new orders.

Quinn's to remain in Crux. She will be heading up a newly vacant post as the Magician in Charge for a Spell disposal team. The Miremallian League has subjected Crux to sorcerous bombing runs for months. Quinn protests. She was told she would be allowed to return home, to do research, help her village. Commander Harkvrag tells her she has no choice.

Still fuming, Quinn meets her attache and number two, SIR TOBIAS CRANK, one of the dog people known as the Aperkitas. Quinn will be in charge of THE LEAD BRIGADE (named after their late Magician). They are, to put it mildly, the dregs of the service recruited to help. A Mage-Knotted Criminal; twin Goblins; a purposeless Revenant; and a handful of red shirted pseudo-toughs. They're less than enthusiastic about their new magician and start a pool almost immediately.

Even as Quinn tries to come to terms with the situation, her teams given deployment orders. Crank drags her along. As they leave, Quinn sees THE SOULFORGE BRIGADE, an all-female team, and their magician, DESPATIR SOULS. Despatir has been injured in his most recent disposal efforts. The Soulforge Brigade, including Gloriana, give Quinn a hard stare. Crank pulls her along- explaining as they ride the basics for unexploded spell demolition. The Brigade clears the area, sets up basic artifact wards, and then sends the magician in. Armed with a Spell Key and a few fragmentary pages of singed notes, Quinn crosses the threshold. She finds a spell bomb, dented but still lovely, like a brass ornamental egg, crashed on the table of a now empty house. She prepares herself.

And the bomb goes off.

As the magic clears Quinn finds herself confronted a magical “thing” calling itself ARCWIELDER This is how some spell-bombs work- containing spirit who, when released, wreaks havoc or summons a potent effect. Arcweilder seems confused, especially since Quinn manages to speak with it- the language of such things has been lost for some time. But Quinn learned those words from her own father, a heretical linguist. The two verbally joust with Arcwielder trying to gain permission to destroy, but Quinn keeps the upper hand- eventually bargaining the beast into her service.

If the “A” story is the plot of the the magical bombs and the risks involved with those, then the B Story revolves around Quinn gaining the grudging admiration of The Lead Brigade. Her team's shocked when Quinn emerges from the house with Arcwielder in tow. Money changes hands back as those who bet on her being dead must return their winnings.

Quinn discovers her talents are unique- but require some careful use. She crosses paths with the handsome, but damaged Despatir, who seems to have secrets of his own. She also finds herself at odds with NYSENKO TURNS, leader of the elite FULCRUM BRIGADE. Turns comes from the highest nobility and sees his place and magic as a birthright. He has a couple of sycophant assistants to help with the most taxing magical problems. Turns dislikes Quinn for her weak and provincial landed gentry background. Such background as well as her gender makes her unworthy of being an officer.

Quinn begins to adapt to the city despite the hostility of her comrades. The Soulforge Brigade resent her- fearing that as a women, she will be switched with their own beloved commander. She begins to discover some of the personalities and problems of her own team. But mostly she's faced with a stream of deadly jobs, trying to keep spells from going off, keeping others under control and adjusting to the nightly raids.

Quinn's called in to bring her unique skills to bear when the Fulcrum Brigade screws up a job. She revels in the opportunity to show up Turns but in doing so creates an even more powerful enemy. She also misses the activity of one of Turns' assistants, and his handling of the disposed bomb. Quinn continues her work, but now has made an enemy of Turns. At the same time she realizes that certain magical items recovered from the disposals have gone missing. For his part, Turns begins a whispering campaign against Quinn. When she goes in to dispose of another bomb, it goes off- destroying Arcwielder, and causing huge damage.

Quinn's called up for her incompetence. Turns reveals the details of Quinn's background- her father's heretical and banned work and the fact that Quinn has used that. She lands in the brig. Quinn knows now she's never going back home to her country house. She may well be executed.

The Lead Brigade stages a break-in using their unique skills. They're aided by Gloriana, who has come to realize that Quinn isn't a threat. Quinn thinks about going with them and escaping, but something's not right. She finds a sign- Arcweilder was not destroyed. She puts two and two together- someone has been engineering things behind the scene for some other purpose. To that end, they needed the magical creature.

Quinn and her team race against time to uncover the plot. They quickly realize that Turns has been an unwitting dupe. One of his assistants has been in the pay of the Miremallian League. They have been dropping in highly magical parts and pieces over the last several months. This allowed them to skirt the main magical interdictions of the Empire of Hours. Now they will assemble the device together to destroy the Great Hall of the Empire and the Queen with it. Quinn and her team rush to the scene. They battle it out and all seems lost- but for Quinn's previous bargains with Arcwielder, the linchpin of the device. The bad guys are defeated and the Empire saved.

The force reinstates Quinn and she returns to her barracks. This time the Lead Brigade has finally arrayed itself in proper uniforms, giving her a measure of respect. Quinn's changed a little- she still has a distance to go, but this is a start.

CHARACTERS

Quinn Daymire: A young woman dragged into the middle of the war. Living in the countryside, she took over responsibilities for her household and village when she was still young- to the consternation of many. Isolated and officious, after he father's death, she ran things and indulged in her reading and studies. When the Sorcerer Testing Service came, she reluctantly took the exam to demonstrate to others that there was nothing to fear. She was as shocked as anyone when the tester announced his results.

Quinn spent nine months in rapid training, learning the basics of magic with others. She had a decent knack for seeing the construction and components of spells and so her masters assigned her to magical engineering. Quinn got through this, assuming she would eventually be allowed to return to her village, perhaps to put those talents to use there. Her remarkable ability to ignore the reality of the situation stood her in good stead until she reached Crux.

Quinn has many obstacles she must overcome. She's used to being in charge- and even if not obeyed cheerfully, then at least being obeyed. She's developed a brusque manner. She's also been isolated and alone for most of her life- even before her father passed, they rarely had company. She's book read but not wise and is about to see the grim details of the world first hand. She also has to deal with the stigma of her father- a linguistic researcher and historian banned for his controversial work. Yet it is precisely that banned work that does give her an edge in bomb disposal- she has learned much about the language and symbols the magical spirits use to communicate amongst themselves.

Sir Tobias Crank: Quinn's second in command. He very much considers himself the wall between the affairs of the officer magician and the enlisted men. He tries to run a tight ship, but he's working with the dregs. He's short, a sort-of cross between a halfling and Scotty Terrier. His people, the Aperkitas, were magically created long ago. They don't understand magic or high-faluting philosophies, but the get what's right in this world.

Arcwielder: A magical creature, cycling through the various elements. It has a role and a mission, but will not speak of them. It finds itself bound by its own relentless curiosity when it meets Quinn. Later it finds itself helping the young mage as she works to protect the city.

Despatir Souls: Souls comes from one of the oldest houses of the Empire, but one which has suffered much in recent generations. Some speak of a curse. Souls could have had his pick of positions based on his line, but decided to come here. He's brooding and distant, even with his own team. Unknown to most his own magics cost him dearly. He's damaged goods, literally and figuratively. Quinn's presence, in the long run, may be the key to his own redemption and transformation.

Nysenko Turns: One of the rich and powerful nobles of the Empire of Hours. He has access to power and wealth, and has used that to give himself a relatively safe position here. The question- never dared asked- is how he got assigned to this posting. After meeting and dealing with him, most conclude that someone in his family wants him scrubbed away. Turns has a testy relationship with Souls- Souls is tied to one of the most notable families, but he ignores Turns and the rules of decorum.

Gloriana Hillker: One of the youngest of the Soulforge Brigade. Like many, she holds an unrequited affection for Despatir. But she's young enough not to realize her feelings are likely doomed. She's excited to have someone her age joining the Brigade and feels as if a trust was betrayed when she learns who Quinn is. She bad talks the newcomer, until realizing late in the game that her reactions have no reality.

Commander Harkvrag: The elder Commander assigned to oversee this particular segment of the spell-disposal units in Crux. He tries to allow things to fall where they may. Most of his time is spent in briefings with the high command and trying to get more resources. He wants a dedicated team of mages working on the problem of evolving spell-triggers, but few will listen to him. He's obsessed with the idea that there's a opposite number to him operating in the Miremallian Empire. He's drawn a picture of what he imagines that enemy looks like.

The Lead Brigade: Each Brigade is named after the previous Magician Officer in charge. In this case, Theophilius Lead lasted two weeks before being blown up. This Brigade has become the dumping ground for problem and non-human men. While there are a number wearing “red-shirts,” a few are notable. Evantoad and Vakuum, twin goblins: the former's a whiny second-guesser and the latter's his vacuous sister who makes up excuses for him. Taskler Cage: a former dashing criminal, now bound by magical knots and gaeses to serve his country. Citizen Box: a undead raised up by a malformed spell to vengeance on his murderer. However Box died from an accident and so his call for vengeance is more aimed at increasing street repairs.

The Soulforge Brigade: The all-female disposal brigade. It has been originally constituted under the auspices of Dame Regan Soulforge. It had an excellent success rate. When Dame Soulforge died, there was talk of disbanding, but the pressing need meant that the newest Magician Officer Despatir Souls took command on a temporary basis. Their continued string of victories has meant that Harkvrag has refrained from changing that set up, despite pressure from many and rumors of improprieties.

The Fulcrum Brigade: Contrary to standard convention, this group has been named after Nysenko Turns' noble line, the House of Fulcrum. This is a spit and polish group, despite the danger. Turns has managed to keep himself above the really dangerous work- by pulling assignments where the devices are known, falling back on controlled demolition instead of disabling, and by having a set of lieutenants who undertake the really dirty work. His team does have a fairly high survival rate as a result of his desire to avoid problems. Despite the discipline, they have the best resources.

WHERE TO NEXT?

This particular story serves as a solid arc setting up the main character and her journey. She's advanced some here- but still has a long way to go. She's taken on a significant adversary, but the war still remains. She's learned something about magic, but questions remain unanswered. She's built trust among her team, but still has to learn more about them. With that in mind, here are some obvious arcs, plot points and developments:

• Exploring the backstory for members of the Lead Brigade.
• Coming to some kind of understanding with the Soulforge Brigade. Quinn's made progress, but has a long way to go.
• Dealing with advances in Spell Bomb technology
• Crazy researchers tagging along
• Life in a city under constant bombing- the difficulty of getting things, how people survive.
• The history of the war- what are the terms, who are the enemies, who are the allies?
• The precise nature of her father's banning- who worked behind the scenes on that.
• Quinn on holiday, returning home and the changes there.
• Turns' problems within his own family.
• The mysterious Masks and their role in the life of the Empire
• Romantic relationships? Uncovering the secrets behind Despatir's life. 

Video: March Blog Round-Up

Another month, another day trying to recall how Adobe Premiere Elements works. There's nothing like teaching yourself software and then using it only intermittently. I need to do more videos clearly.... Anyway I've assembled a video recap of my posts for March. There's a new animation effect, but I need to cut the number of transitions (maybe grouping posts together). I also find even stronger face-washing-out lighting which still manages to leave the blotchiness. Anyway, the experiment continues. Feedback and suggestions welcomed.  

1. Other Nights, Other Agents: Alternate Approaches to NBA 
2. Advancement, Experience & Power Levels 
3. Kami & Katanas: Samurai RPGs (Part Three) 
4. Questlandia: RPGs I Like 
5. On Exalted: Ragara Torrent 
6. Mutants & Masterminds 3e: System Guide for New Players 
7. Unbuilt Campaigns: Mage the Sorcerers Crusade 
8. What's the Deal with RPGGeek? 
9. History of Wild West RPGs: First Fifteen 

Magic, Inc Departmental Listing: Office Spatial Distortion

I've been working on my Magic, Inc game in preparation for Origins. I'm taking a version of it for Games on Demand. I've assembled a special Action Cards version and I sent off for the printed decks yesterday. Our playtest went well and I made system tweaks based on the feedback. 

Magic, Inc's about slacker office workers in a magical corporation trying to keep their jobs. I took a preliminary version of it with me to Metatopia '14. I'll have to write about that weird experience someday. Play to the new & simplified AC version, and I've assembled playbooks based on job titles. I've actually done more work on the random generators for the setting, a toolbox for GMs. Eventually I want playbook approach for adventures, so anyone running it could spend an hour whipping up the details. That might include organization charts for other divisions and offices. With that in mind, I crafted a new generator company departments. The list's below. I already love some of these results and desperately want to put them into play.   

In-House Paradigm Support

Non-Human Management Authority

Fictional Transplant Storage

Eternal Analytics Clearinghouse

Interspatial Sanitation Workgroup

Senior Ransom Affairs

Command for Secret Composition

Associate Musical Services

Question Production Chamber

Radical Coordination Unit

Legal Antithetics Desk

Employee Sorcery Resources

Sorcerous Beliefs Office

Secret Redaction Registry

Metaphorical Finances Center

Martial Competition Center

Auxiliary Dreams Coordination

Changeling Consultation Coven

Public Memories Cabal
Resuurectional Petitions Oversight Board

Conceptual Access Analysis

Future Cleaning Group

Office of Artifical Mobility 
Pantheon Interactions Commission

Executive Possession Repository

Artificial Sorcery Operations

Office of Sorrowful Consultation

Department of Web Encapturement

Supervisory Propheteering Board

Chief Curses Committee

Office of Principal Retcons

Adjunct Solutions Annex

External Warfare Counsel

Coincidental Applications Team

Freelance Discoveries Section

Research Witchcraft Agency

Vice Commerce Division

Internal Horoscopes Bureau

Head Tactics Administration

Restricted Engineering Counsel

Agency for Demonic Directives

Digital Harassment Team

Technical Sympathies Office

Journeyperson Arts Unit

Security Configuration Clearinghouse

Board for Human Rituals

Marketing Exorcism Coordination Team

Forward Ascension Operations

Advanced Implementation Resources

Commercial Runes Section

Office of Funerary Infrastructure

Investor Technology Annex

Animal Doubts Desk

Department of Client-Facing Imagineering

Hermetic Data Services

Forgotten Records Storage

Office of Divine Legitimacies

Divisions for Alchemical Solutions

Center for Standardized Wardings

Assurance Countermeasures Workgroup

Hyper-Dimensional Assessment Registry

Draconic Death Committee

Attending Saints Repository

Office of Financial Transformations

Fairy Programming Command

Corporate Testing Cabal

Plausible Investments Station

Responsive Transport Chamber

Unnatural Branding Central

Destined Fetishes Bureau

Bureau of Thwarted Heroquests

Lead Jargon Mafia

Office of Provisional Apologetics

Administrative Souls Administration

Client-Interposing Consumables Affairs

Mythological Capital Analysis

Preventative Safety Commission

Counter-Factual Controls Authority

Non-Canonical Assassination Team

Clearinghouse for Operational Relics

Identity Transfigurations Operations

Department of Imaginary Conflict Resolution

Social Nature Regulatory Workgroup

Honorary Corruption Chamber

Committee for Temporal Communications

Subordinate Debates Center

Offices of Technical Apologetics

Defensive Prevention Storage

Unholy Extraction Agency

Post-Life Placement Analysis

Customary Assurance Repository

Investigative Mysteries Office

Conjectural Functions Bureau

Creative Decay Board

Interactive Protections Central

Indirect Research Unit

Post-Normal Interventions Group

Department of Spiritual Collections

Terminal Love Annex

Coordinating Poetics Counsel

Quality Regulations Section

Elder Imprisonment Commission

Functionality Metrics Chamber

Enigmatic Divinations Resources

Apprentice Optimization Services

Department of Collaborative Persons

Legacy Judgements Affairs

Dispute Entertainment Division

Digital Alchemy Administration

Office of Dynamic Accounts

Unknown Accountability Cabal

Magical Usability Coordination

Office of Computational Vision

Counsel for Apocalyptic Staffing

Office of Arcane Media

Committee for Necromantic Solutions

Physical Enchantment Registry

Department of Shamanic Agreeance