Five Inspirations: Serenity

When I see or watch these, I recall Serenity.

Starhawk

Leverage

Saga

Space Alert

Galaxy Truckers

What are your five inspirations for this game?

System Shopped: The Shadow - Lacuna

The Shadow from Wraith: the Oblivion
System Shopped: Lacuna, The Birth of Mystery and the Girl from Blue City
by Tobie Abad

These are two of my favorite games.  

Wraith: The Oblivion is one of the darkest games I have had the pleasure of running.  It is also one of the games where I had mistakenly crossed a line which led to a five-player game getting cancelled within its first session because three of my players were crying (for real) and one was yelling at me (while I was shadowguiding) then called for a time-out.  Admittedly, we were young then and I made the mistake of letting my players play themselves in a game where they all die in the first act.  Yeah, like I said, we were young and foolish.  But man, we still think it was awesome.  Just something we should never do again.

Enter, Jared Sorenson's Lacuna.   I first encountered Lacuna while hunting online for suggestions on what would  be a great game for a solo-session.  A game I was to run with three players had two suddenly rain-check, which left me and my friend still wanting to have a game.  But clearly we wanted something that was new.  Or at least different from the usual fare.  A number of sites I found mentioned Lacuna and when I read the brief intro in the site itself I just realized I had to try it.  I didn't get to buy it that night, but eventually I had three players who wanted to game, and I had enough cash to make a drivethrurpg purchase.  Next thing you know, 24 hours pass and I've run the game TWICE.  Barely a month passes and I've run it for two more groups.  Lacuna is the bomb.

So here's me feeling utterly evil and combining the Shadow of Wraith into Lacuna.

The What?
The Shadow, in Wraith is the dark bitter side of you that wants you to let go.  It is the side of you that deeply wished you did NOT live on as a ghost.   So it whispers.  It screams.  It talks to you.  It gains power as you gain power (aka, yes, it has its own character sheet and gains experience).  It tempts you.  It seduces you.  It tries to get you to die.  Again.

In Wraith, Shadows have certain archetypes on how they act.  Here are some to whet your imagination:  

Abuser, Beast, Bully, Dictator, Innocent, Lover, Martyr, Parent, Perfectionist, Pusher, Teacher, Torturer, Victim.

The Shadow acts in accordance to its archetype.   The Parents scolds you for failing to be worth anything.  The Teacher reminds you everything bad is a lesson you deserve.  The Bully taunts you and goads you to give up.  Even worse, some of them can affect you through other supernatural ways.  And they grow stronger as you get weaker.

Why Lacuna?
Because in Lacuna, the Blue City is filled with so much potential and so much fear, I just could not help but want to add a new layer to the game.  And given the hints of "what's really going on" as stated between the lines in the book (especially in that page).  So given the nature of things, why wouldn't something... from deep inside... start talking?

Best part.  You don't even have to explain its the Shadow.  Given how Lacuna runs, it will be a perfect addition to the madness Lacuna brings.

Callers
Callers have it worse.  Bad enough every Mystery Agent has a voice whispering to them why they shouldn't try to fight to survive.  Or judging them for their actions.  Callers have it worse because whenever they call for Control, they can't tell if its the Spectre answering.  Or maybe they can, but they rather they heard Control.  

The Temptations
The Shadow can offer Shadowdice to the Mystery Agent, whenever it wants to.  Shadowdice are dice that have two uses:  The first is, they can add to any roll save for Access: Logistics and Access: Intelligence even if the Mystery Agent has not reached his Target Heart Rate.  This means, the Mystery Agent is pretty much able to succeed in everything.  These dice DO NOT ADD to the Mystery Agent's Current Heart Rate.

They do, however, reduce the Mystery Agent's Maximum Heart Rate.  And yes, you should not explain this to them, unless that rating has hit the upper limits of the Target Heart Rate.  Yes, the Shadow wants you to go out in a blaze of glory.  It is... kind?

The Thorns
Secondly, the Shadow has powers called Thorns, which allow it to manipulate the world even if it has no physical body.  Samples of thorns include being able to have Hostile Personalities back off, or being able to "gift" the Mystery Agent with a weapon or a tool he desperately needs (provided these are things which the Mystery Agent once owned or had lost in life).    Some can even allow the Mystery Agent to see things he normally cannot.  Or do things he normally cannot.  One Agent might suddenly discover Documents in his pocket to help explain who he is.  Another might discover he actually has become bullet proof somehow.  

These Thorns are gifts the Shadow gives without the Agent asking for them.  As to how it can afford it, or why it would be so willing to do so, the Shadow alone knows.   I'd say more but t███t's beyond your Clearance Level.  A██ Stat█c seems ██ ██ ███████ so I ██████ ███ this ████. ███ ██████  of Lacuna ██ ███ ███ ███████████ ████ █████ into ████ ███████ the ██████ ███████.

█████ ███ S█████s. ████ ███ ████████.

█je██.

E████.

 

¿ǝuo ǝʌɐɥ uǝʌǝ ǝɥs sǝop

˙ʇuǝlıs sllɐɟ ʍopɐɥs ǝɥʇ 'ǝɔuǝsǝɹd ɹǝɥ uı

˙ʍopɐɥs ǝɥʇ ʇɔǝɟɟɐ oʇ sɯǝǝs lɹıƃ ǝnlq ǝɥʇ

Soundtrack Suggestion: Pan's Labyrinth (El Laberinto del Fauno) by Javier Navarrette

Pan's Labyrinth
El Laberinto del Fauno by Javier Navarrette

The soundtrack to Guillermo del Toro's film is a wonderful album of haunting voices and nursery rhyme-like moments which nicely mixes the magical feeling of wonder with the darker shadows of dread.   A perfect match for the film itself which tells the story of a young girl named Ofelia and her frighteningly dreamlike encounters with a faun, its abandoned dark labyrinth, and the many other monsters that man does not see.  Paired to this story is the tale of her stepfather who hunts for rebels while her mother grows steadily ill during the Spanish Civil War of 1944.

The whole album is structured around the main lullaby which gives the tracks a distinct thematic sound.  I will warn storytellers that if your players are too familiar with the movie, they might find the use of tracks from this soundtrack disconcerting in a game (the way other gamers might not enjoy hearing Star War's Imperial March in any non-Star Wars game, especially in a science fiction role-playing game) but I felt the haunting melody was not as invasive as other movies with recognizable themes.  

Favorite tracks of mine include The Moribund Tree and the Toad (El arbol que muere y el sapo) (Track 06) which has a softer take on the lullaby and a nice use of wind instruments and strings, that carefully weave into a stronger narrative almost reminiscent of how music was used in Final Fantasy games.  The Track entitled Not Human (El que no es humano) (Track 11) is a terrifying track that starts out gentle and mysterious until the brass and drums come into play.  Then the melody rises into a terrifying pitch as it shifts from scary into terrifying.  Yes, for those who have seen this movie, this is the track when the Pale Man attacks.  Track 16, The Funeral, (El funeral) is another favorite, with the strong piano dangling hints of the lullaby before rising into a painful swell that almost sounds accusatory in the way it emotionally hits.    Finally, Pan's Labyrinth Lullaby (Nana del laberinto del fauno) (Track 21) cannot be overlooked.  The solo is heartfelt and anguished, and yet shows a glimmer of hope.  While it echoes the 9th track (Mercedes' Lullaby) the lack of a voice makes this track all the more painful and sad.   There's a clear feeling of loss which can be a powerful tool in storytelling.

Pan's Labyrinth OST track suggestions
WTF moment: Three Trails (Track 05), A Book of Blood (Track 08), Not Human (Track 11)
Introspective/calm moment:  Long, Long Time Ago (Track 01), The Refuge (Track 10), The River (Track 12), Pan's Labyrinth (Track 21)
Tense/mystery moment: The Fairy and the Labyrinth (Track 04), Vals of theMandrake (Track 15), Pan and the Full Moon (Track 18)
Combat music: Guerrilleros (Track 07), Deep Forest (Track 14)
Hopeful moment: The Labyrinth (Track 02), The Moribund Tree and the Toad (Track 06), Ofelia (Track 19)
Drama/sad moment: Rose, Dragon (Track 03), Mercedes' Lullaby (Track 09), A Tale (Track 13), The Funeral (Track 16), Mercedes (Track 17), A Princess (Track 20), Pan's Labyrinth (Track 21)

Best Used In: An ABSOLUTE yes for Changeling the Lost.  The music can also be used wonderfully to score any game that involves children who are not exactly having a great time.  These can be games set in the Victorian era, the modern day, or a post-apocalyptic future.  Also wonderful for games that involve the fair-folk clearly.  So whether its a Hellboy-inspired game, a Castle Falkenstein session with the Sidhe, a darker approach to Changeling the Dreaming, or a less "authentic" Raksha session in Exalted, this soundtrack can work.

Lastly, it can work for ghost stories.  Especially about dead kids.
Enjoy!

Game Idea: Side Kick Stories

Side Kick Stories
by Tobie Abad

Sometimes, it can get tiring to be the guy in the spotlight.  Sometimes, it can get boring to always be the lead in the ensemble cast.  Why not try something different by asking your game master to let you play the side kick for a session.   I can already hear some of you readers crying out, "What?  No way!  Why would I let a NPC be in charge of all the drama and deeper decision making?"

Because that's not what is going to happen.

When we talk about sidekicks, we usually see them in the perspective of the super hero or lead hero.  We see Batman and not Robin.  We see Doc Savage and not Monk.  We see Han Solo and not Chewbacca.   But we forget that another popular approach in fiction is to have the sidekicks at times be the focus of the story... or in some cases, be the person who actually makes the hero look good.

Think, for example of  Brain the Dog (Inspector Gadget)
The Inspector is the lead.  He's got all the super-cool gadgets and he's the guy who is given the missions.   But if you study some of the episodes of the cartoon, it is actually Brain the Dog who gets the poor Inspector out of the messes he gets himself in.  Brain is the hero the world never sees.  Brain is the "straight guy" to the humorous bumbling character.  And you'll realize that sidekicks do tend to be more heroic than noticed whenever we have such a bumbling lead hero.


Another example?  Consider Jack Sparrow.  (Pirates of the Caribbean)
He's kooky and crazy with plans that somehow work out in the end.  But he's surrounded by the straight thinking cast of sidekicks who do what they can to help move the plot forward.  Yes, unlike Inspector Gadget, here Jack Sparrow is actually more effective and miraculously efficient (I'd peg him one of the Inspired if we were playing Adventure!) but the sidekicks are not exactly aimless and storyless without him.

Finally, consider Doctor Who.
The good Doctor is hundreds of years old and has had so many regenerations, it isn't hard to see why he needs someone... a companion... to help him stay grounded.  In the many season since Dr. Who was relaunched for the younger generation, we've had a host of companions helping him in his misadventures:  Rose Tyler, Mickey Smith, Donna Noble, Martha Jones, Jack Harkness, Astrid Peth, Sarah Jane Smith, Jackson Lake, Rosita Farisi, Lady Christina de Souza, Adelaide Brooke, Wilfred Mott, Amy Pond, Rory Williams, River Song, Craig Owens and the latest being Clara Oswin Oswald.  Fans of the show will very clearly deny that these characters are boring wall-flowers that don't really make a difference in the story.  More often than not, they're the ones who save the day.

So yeah, the life of a Side Kick isn't necessarily dull and limited to just following orders.  There are lots of pros that you might not have noticed which you might want to try indulging in.

Sidekicks tend to be below the radar
Aliens emerge and land on Cardiff.  Everyone looks for the Doctor.  But no one notices you, standing there near him, with a better sense of who might be an alien in disguise.  Yes, the lead might have the better stats, the greater knowledge base, but think about it:  This really isn't that different from you as the hero asking the GM "What do I know about this?"  Only now, the person you have to ask is another character in the game.  Being the sidekick, however, you get to move around without being noticed as much.  You can do questionable things like break the law or threaten violence which the hero might be unable to do.  You are the wildcard the villains will under estimate.  The one they will assume to be the weakspot.  Until you prove them wrong.

Sidekicks can also get cool stuff for free
You just have to eventually return it.  So when the Galaxy Space Policeman is busy monitoring the Space Police headquarters for possible trouble, he can leave you the keys to the Universal Porsche.  While the Democratic Bronze General is meeting with the President to receive his reward, he might leave you the Headquarter's keys for monitoring purposes.  And that means access to so many other goodies.

In most games, a super hero or other personality needs to purchase the special gadgets, secret sanctum and other benefits they can use.  Sidekicks do not need to buy these things.  But they can get to use them with the hero's consent.  So play a sidekick game and borrow what you need!

Sidekicks are almost always underestimated
And this might be the best thing about playing one.   The hero gets trapped and the sidekicks are held hostage.  Only in this story, the hostages break themselves free and save the day.  Playing the underdog who wins the day can be very fulfilling.  And watching how even after the public still adores the hero is comedic gold.

On the flip side, you can just be the hilarious sidekick, and the hero's the serious one
You get to laugh at the face of danger.  You can to be daringly stupid.  You can throw wild stunts and leave it to the Hero to make sure you survive it in the end.

So try a Sidekick game even just once.  Whether as the squire of the noble knight in a Pathfinder game, or the lowly deckhand in a 7th Sea session, try being the guy the spotlight never sees and have fun with it.  More ways to have fun is always a good thing.

Review: The Shotgun Diaries

Review:  The Shotgun Diaries by John Wick
Rating:  ★★★★

I won't deny that I am a John Wick fanboy.  While most people out there first got introduced to his work in L5R and 7th Sea, I will have to admit, I first heard about him through a gamer friend of mine who showed me some youtube videos that he created (which I think was a Play Dirty episode).  The topic back then was the idea of always saying "Yes" to your players.  And when I watched it, I stared at it with my mouth agape because he was talking about gaming in a way which I always felt was right.

I spoil my players rotten, to be frank.  I tend to let players gain god-like powers, or throw them 30 experience points to spend in a single session.  I give freebies and make them the biggest stars of the show each time.  So know that when The Shotgun Diaries hit my radar, I just found myself shocked to see how Wick was able to come up with a game that was elegantly simple yet accomplished its goal.   And at the same time, not feel guilty if you kill the player characters.  While many zombie games out there focused on giving the players options to come up with character types (scientists, policemen, military types, every day people, etc) The Shotgun Diaries distills the concepts to the very archetypes that one finds in Zombie movies.  And from these archetypes, the players immediately have the freedom to further develop their concepts in any direction.  The only real important factor after all is a) how long you can survive and b) what can you do to stay alive.

Some would call The Shotgun Diaries a lite role-playing game, given it has no system for character development, no long list of skills, advantages and the like.  No charts for weapon types and such.  Not even a clear system for dealing with infection.  But to think those are all needed to be fleshed out for an effective zombie game is the first thing you'll learn to let go of.  In this game, you have the following basic rules:
a) Rules on how to do things you are good at
b) Rules that show why sticking together matters
c) Rules on why a place is a sanctuary from zombies, and the importance of supply
d) Rules on when the sanctuary is no longer safe
and finally
e) Rules on playing the zombies if you want to swing that way too.

In many ways, the Shotgun Diaries succeeds in a similar vein in how the computer game Left4Dead succeeds.   It keeps the fear present and the zombies relentless.  It makes the players WANT to stick together.  But at the same time, given player dynamics, it gets players embracing the risks of doing things alone because they feel they can get the job done sooner and faster that way.   Six-sided dice are used in the game, and players get to narrate resolutions if they succeed in a roll.  Given the lite rules, I don't want to give away the system too much (and risk making buying the book unnecessary).  Then there's the Zombie Clock which gives the game the rising tension.  Like the zombie horde moments in Left4Dead, the clock gains tokens with every few real time minutes, and these tokens can be used to trigger frightening moments such as hordes attacking, or defenses being breached and the like.

At eighteen pages, with two being the cover and the ad in the back, one might think for its price the book is too expensive.  But I've run the game three times within the year of getting the book, and I've had more people requesting for it than I thought possible given it was an indie book.  I've run the game for long time players and even for first time ever players, I've even run it for kids who were below legal age and for a mother of two who has never played role-playing games before, and so far, they've all unanimously loved it.  The familiarity of the genre, and how the system nicely captures it and translate it into a playable thing is just incredible.   I've had players who get the basic system at the start, and are soon screaming and having a scary fun time for the next three hours with me.

And lastly, you have the Diary itself.  As the name of the game implies, the Diary is an important factor in the game as players get to write down a "truth" which has a system effect for the rest of the game.  This could range from affirming one's ability to use certain skills ("I can do headshots"), or certain factors about the zombies which they've learned with the passage of time ("They do not hunt during the day").  But the best part is everyone gets a chance to write in it.  So without really realizing it, all the players are co-writing the story.

So yes, if you're looking for a great zombie thrill of a game, I highly recommend The Shotgun Diaries.
If you're hoping for a long term game, under the vein of The Walking Dead, however, you might be better off with other games that allow you to keep tabs on individuals skills and reward players with options to improve their stats.

You can purchase The Shotgun Diaries here.
It is also available at Drivethrurpg.

Rating Breakdown:
Concept:  Definitely familiar and uses that to its advantage.
Crunch:  Very light, making it perfect for one-shot fun.  But lacking if you want a long term chronicle.
Layout:  Nicely laid out and easy to grasp.  I didn't mind not having that much artwork (or practically none).  But some people might.
My favorite part:  Helpless archetype.  You'd be surprised how many people would LOVE to play this in the game.  And the system for it works perfectly in making the game keep moving forward.
What I wish was better:  I'd love to see a The Shotgun Diaries Chronicles, which expands on the game's current set-up for longer term play.  I'd love to see more archetypes as well, so if I have a group that has less or more than the ideal number it can still work well.   Maybe even rules for dual-archetypes (so in a two-player game, you don't exactly feel the game can't function.)  And lastly, I would love more Zombie Clock options.

Meta-Gaming Isn't Always Bad

Meta-Gaming Isn't Always Bad
by Tobie Abad

I know I am going to get into trouble for this article.

Once upon a time, meta-gaming was a bad bad word when it came to role-playing games.  To meta-game meant to cheat and use knowledge you've learned from reading the books to your advantage.  Such as preparing wooden weapons since you know, once you step past that door in the dungeon, a rust monster is waiting.  Or you have your vampire anarch opt to attack a certain part of the city, even if its the first time you've gone there, because you were able to read that the Prince of the city sleeps there during the day.  Meta-gaming was about declaring actions that was completely inappropriate or unrealistic for your character to do to gain an advantage using knowledge the player knew.

And yes, back then, any moment you have player and character knowledge mingle someone would most likely call you out on meta-gaming and cheating.

But nowadays, there are kinds of meta-gaming I personally feel are quite acceptable.  Gone are the days that all games follow the Meet in Tavern - Explore Dungeon - Return with Loot format.   Nowadays, there are approaches to game play that actually do require some level of metagaming to work properly.  Unthinkable? Not really if you look at gaming styles with a much more discerning eye.

Narrative Games, for instance, tend to follow what is known as the Hero's Journey.  At the most basic level, the Hero's Journey is what Joseph Campbell describes as a basic pattern followed or found in many stories through out history.  In brief, it is when a hero "ventures forth from the world of common day into a region of supernatural wonder: fabulous forces are there encountered and a decisive victory is won:  the hero comes back from this mysterious adventure with the power to bestow boons on his fellow man."   Most game masters and storytellers nowadays use this as a framework in mapping out the flow of the chronicle, since the desire for many is to recreate the feeling and story development of popular works in fiction.

Without meta-gaming, the player in the game can conceivably ignore all the story points and charge forward without any care, crafting his own original narrative.  But as expected, most gamers would find that doing so upsets the narrative flow or simply ends up with the player feeling lost or uncertain where to go.  It is like if Harry Potter was a game you were playing in, and the moment Hagrid and Dumbledore show up, you decide as a player to absolutely never trust them.  While much more skilled game masters might still find a way to introduce a different wise old mentor, others might get flustered with the fact the player is not getting the hint.  Likewise, in a game where the player is an idealized superhero such as Superman or a Jedi Knight, when faced with an opponent, meta-gaming would call for the player to remember he is a "good character" and so simply defeating the opponent and having the authorities deal with him after is the "right thing."  But what if the player is more accustomed to being a vigilante anti-hero type of player with a love for the shades of gray in morality?  That player would then be forced to meta-game, that being to step out of what he's normally inclined to choose in playing his character the way he wants, and focus on the themes of the game and choose a more acceptable action for the sake of keeping things running smoother.

An already often practiced classic example of acceptable meta-gaming is not killing a player character outright, whether it be in player versus player conflict, or when facing enemies in a game that espouses heroism or pulp action.  Instead the player character is beaten, tortured, imprisoned, and anything else but just killed for the sake of being expedient.  How many times have we, as passive viewers in movies, found it stupid that the arch enemy does not just kill the hero once he has the upper hand?  Such choices are actually moments of acceptable meta-gaming, where decisions are made not because the character would actually do it (Seriously, how many super genius villains would not just outright kill the very man who always gets in their way?)  but because the theme and genre require it for the narrative to work.  And more importantly in a role-playing game, for it to be fun for the players involved.

Some would counter that the examples I showed were not moments of meta-gaming but instead were moments where the character's concept required the player to act in a certain way.   But realize unless you're talking about Dungeons and Dragons which espoused an Alignment system, or White Wolf's approach to Nature back during classic Changeling the Dreaming which had bans on how you should act, there really is no strict "rule" on how you should play your character save for how you want him to.  And again, common sense tends to dictate a player character's actions, which rarely go in-line with what the character concept would really opt to do.  Most people, in real life, would run away from conflicts and danger.  In role-playing games, characters rarely run away.  Why?  Because they have to be heroes.  Because they are the stars of the show.  Because if they act like every normal person, and not meta-game and act like the heroes or leads they are expected to be, the game would fall apart.  Players would have characters choose the paths that present less stress.  Less danger.   Less trouble.  If Lord of the Rings was a role-playing game and not a book, the player playing Frodo would have used the ring more often.  (Players love to get away with things, after all.)  Or maybe would have handed it over to the other player with the best stat for resisting temptation. But experienced players will tell you that Frodo (or character concepts similar to Frodo) would mean playing someone willing to sacrifice themselves for the betterment of others... when dramatically appropriate.

It is very rare that people would really choose the more complicated and difficult path.

But such is the requirement now for effective dramatic gaming.  The need to be aware of the narrative flow, its emotional high and lows, and time portraying the character's vices and virtues at the most appropriate points.  In other words, role-playing the character becomes a subtle use of meta-gaming to keep the game running smoother.  To give it a narrative cohesion that is rarely accomplished in table top role-playing games.  The player steps away from being just the character, and starts thinking as a co-author in the narrative aspect.

Many John Wick games actually embrace this to some degree.  In Houses of the Blooded, a player is invited to narrate his own success and failure, and is even reminded that one can narrate a successful roll as a failure, but one which still gives the acting character an advantage.    In Schauermarchen and The Shotgun Diaries, the players are reminded to meta-game and not just role-play, or else you'd have players who just "hide it out" rather than go forth and face the fear.  Playing a coward is a valid concept.  But playing a coward who does nothing but BE a coward in a game,  while true to the concept, is not a fun way to play.  Meta-gaming when to be a coward for dramatically appropriate moments, and still being active enough to have scenes that have narrative sense, would be meta-gaming in an acceptable way.  Maybe you don't always hide or run off, but you do keep one player always in front of you and the other behind you, so you feel safer.  Maybe you accidentally open fire at anyone who startles you, but never actually roll to hit them, since they're just meant to be dramatic moments to reflect your concept.

Meta-gaming.

I'm currently working on Muses, a role-playing game that embraces metagaming fully.  In fact, in that game, I do two unthinkable things:  I explicitly allow player and character knowledge to be mixed.    And I do not let the acting player roll the dice.

Unthinkable, eh?  Tell you more about it once I can.  For those who want a peek though, you can check out the old blog where I stored the concepts of the game.  Lots of system changes have happened, but you can see how crazy that game gets.

So yeah I admit, whenever I read online from people who automatically voice out that any form of meta-gaming is bad, I try not to correct them immediately.  I offer suggestions and opinions when asked, but I do realize that the stigma is still strong.  Meta-gaming had too often been used to merely "beat the system" but now, given the advent of games which allow everyone on the table to have a hand in crafting the narrative, players are starting to see as well that the responsibility in making a game fun and have a cohesive story is not in the hands of the game master or storyteller alone.  It took me some time to realize that, and mind you I started gaming in the early 1980s.  So I'm willing to let others have the time they need to realize that too.

Meta-gaming is not Powergaming.
And yes, I still abhor Powergaming.   Absolutely.

System Shopped: Musou Gauge - Exalted

The Musou Meter from Dynasty Warriors
System Shopped: Exalted
by Tobie Abad

Fans of the smashfest Dynasty Warriors (and similar games such as Sengoku Basara and Samurai Warriors) will recall the presence of what is known as the Musou system. The term Musou is a Japanese word that means "The Only One" or "Prominent" or "Without Equal" and is a direct translation of the Chinese term Wushuang.  In the games, it is a bar known as the Musou Guage underneath the player's hit points that accumulates as you attack and are attacked in battle.  When full, the bar can be expended to unleash special moves that devastate opponents.  There are even variations, such as the True Musou, which can only be unleashed when health is extremely low (or with a signature weapon equipped) and Team or Double Musou, which happens when you activate your Musou attack at the same time a team mate does and is within your vicinity.

Each character has a "unique" musou attack, which can make for wild and varied looks during the game itself.   In the Exalted game, be it first or second edition, the closest thing to a Musou attack is the Combo System, given each Exalted has a set of charms to use, but can only access them within a single turn at the same time when they are placed in a Combo.  Given Exalted's crunchiness, there are already loads of existing systems that are present to represent awesome attacks.

At the most basic, the Musou effects are NEVER subtle.  Anima banners SHOULD flare when they are used, just like any other combo.

Here are some ideas on how to incorporate the Musou idea into your Exalted games:

Version 1:  The Musou Combo
The player can designate a Musou Combo, which follows the same rules as normal combo building.  This combo, however, will not be purchased with Experience points.  Instead, it can only freely be unleashed whenever the player has gathered enough in his Musou Meter.

The Musou Meter fills up one bar for each level of base damage the player character receives.   (Note that base damage is what is tracked, not the actual damage received after soak and armor.) The Musou Meter is twenty bars long, typically (so Exalts with lots of additional health levels through charms as well as defensive charms will be able to better fill up the Musou bar without the risk of getting Incapacitated before it can be used. )   Once the Meter is filled up, the player can declare that his character is using the Musou combo as his action for that turn (again, following normal combo rules).  Activating a Musou combo costs neither essence nor WP, just the Musou Meter's accumulated amount for its most basic use, with additional essence and Will power only being spent if one uses the combo's full extent.    So a combo with a variable multiple-action charm, a single base attack, and two reflexive defenses, when activated allow the single base attack to be used for free.  If during that combo, the player wished to use the additional attacks, and reflexive defenses, he can pay the essence costs for those as normal.

A Musou Combo is a singular kind of combo, which can be "modified" by adding or removing charms at the cost of 1xp per charm modified in such a manner.  A Musou Combo cannot be part of a combo.

Version 2: The Musou Meter
The player can have a Musou Meter, which accumulates bars equal to the amount of actual damage the player receives in combat.  The Meter can have a total of bars equal to double the player's health levels.  Each time the Meter is completely filled the player can consume the meter completely for a single turn where he can activate any charms or combos with "free essence" equal to his actual Peripheral Essence Pool.  This basically means that's one turn where all Essence costs are "ignored" since they do not touch his actual pool. The amount of "free essence" he can spend, however, is still limited by his actual Peripheral Essence Pool maximum, so this avoids having some player claim he can do "infinite" attacks with his infinite pool.    The Musou Meter, however, does not replace the need for Will Power to be spent for Will power costs.

Version 3: Team Musou
The Musou Meter is a meter that gains one bar as it tracks every damage you inflict, as well as every amount of base damage you receive during combat.  The Musou Meter has fifty bars to fill up.  Once filled up, the Musou Meter can be spent in two ways:

First, the Meter can be spent to supercharge one's existing charms or combos.  This simply means during that turn, the essence costs for a charm or combo used in that turn are waived, with the maximum amount waived being equal to the player character's maximum Peripheral Essence Pool.

Secondly, the Meter can be spent at the same time another player character (to a maximum of three player characters) within 4 yards does so.  This activates the Team Musou attack.  All players can then unleash a charm or a combo as above, with the essence costs being waived following the rules above.   In addition, if they are attacking the SAME target that moment, both attacking Exalted have their dice cap maximums doubled for that turn.  Solars can gain (Attribute + Ability) x  2 dice from charms for their attack, for instance.    This is the True Triple Team Musou Attack.    It is said that when someone with Essence Sight watches these Exalts, lighting chains of Essence can be seen between them, as if heralding the coming team assault.


All in all, the idea was to bring the crazy and wild Musou system from video games into the table top game.  Granted, some will feel this isn't appropriate for Exalted.  Others will even question if its additional was necessary, given Exalted is already flashy and fun.  But hey, it was a fun idea to toy with and I feel given how Exalted pushes the meter over 11, why not add something even more crazy dangerous?

Choosing a New Game

Choosing a New Game
by Tobie Abad

It is an inevitability.  Your group either decides you want to try a different game, or you realize you want to try a new system.  There's nothing wrong with wanting to try something different.  There is no harm in exploring a whole new world either.  But many game masters have mentioned concerns in Google Plus on whether or not a formal pitch is necessary to introduce or offer a new game system, or if it can be something just informally thrown forward in the sense of just saying, "Okay guys, starting this weekend, we play this."

Here are my two cents on the topic:

When I find myself having the opportunity to run a whole new game system, or at a point in my gaming group where we have to decide what new game to try, I don't necessarily find myself struggling to create a "pitch" for them to read and decide upon.  Instead, I find myself wanting their input in the decision making process.

by Gruntzookie

I tend to ask the basic things:
1) Is there a game you want to try or a game you want to play again?
2) Is there a mood/theme you want to explore?
3) Are you willing to let me surprise you with a plot? Or do you have a specific direction you want to go towards?
4) Will this be a heroic story narrative, where we know the heroes 90% of the time survive since they carry the plot, or will we accept player character death can happen, and that means create a new character if you die?

In answering those questions, I find my group ends up creating a "joint pitch" so to speak of what the game will be about. 

Players tend to be a very easily satisfied lot, and frankly many of them just want to have fun and not necessarily search for challenges in a game.  But yes, occasionally a game master is blessed with players who like getting challenged and search for chances to play roles that are very different from what they're usually used to.  My suggestion is to recommend to them to stick to what they prefer and to explore and try new roles only during one-shots or limit run sessions.  The last thing you want, after all, is to prep a whole new campaign with a player exploring a new concept, then have that said player tell you two or four games into the story that they just "don't feel it."

But yes, exploring a whole new game system should always be fun, and players should have a say if they want to try it.  My players, for instance, 99% of the time trust me in throwing them a new story that they would love to explore.  But even with such trust, I know I can't just opt to run them a Wraith: the Oblivion game set during the Holocaust nor my humorously action-packed Models game.  I still need to make sure I hit what they find interesting and see if it coincides also with what I want to run.

Because yes Game Masters, Storytellers and Dungeon Masters, it has to ALSO be a game you WANT to run.  You're not paid to run that L5R game if you don't feel like exploring stories concerning Samurai, Ninjas and Ronin.  You are not beholding to run an Exalted game focused on the Lunars if deep down you feel you rather play Weapon of the Gods.  When it comes right down to it, if you and the players don't find a consensus on what to play, then guess what:  don't start a new campaign.  Role-playing games is a collaborative effort.  And it must always be fun for all parties.  If at any point it isn't, then by the gods why are you punishing yourselves playing it?

Role-playing games is about having fun.
If it isn't fun anymore, why torture yourself?

Soundtrack Suggestion: Notes On A Scandal - Philip Glass

Notes On A Scandal
Composed by Philip Glass

I must confess I am a huge fan of Dame Judi Dench and of the actress Cate Blanchett, so when I first heard about this movie coming out I was determined to catch it.  Unfortunately, things being the way they are in the Philippines, I didn't see it in the big screen.  Instead, I caught the movie when it finally was available on DVD.    For those unaware of what the film is about, Notes On A Scandal is a thriller concerning an art teacher played by Blanchett who gets involved with one of her underage students, and how the veteran teacher played by Dame Dench uses this to her advantage in gaining her friendship.  The movie is haunting and disturbing in many levels, with both roles excellently played by the two powerhouse actresses.    You can check the soundtrack here.

The movie soundtrack has 20 tracks in the album, with Philip Glass using an emotive mix of strings and horns with such minimalistic mastery.  A large majority of the album is calm and almost soft, but therein lies the reason this soundtrack has won an Oscar for its composer; the soundtrack expertly thrusts upon its listener the mood befitting a growing psychological tension.

The tracks such as First Day of School (track 01) and Invitation (track 03) have an almost repetitive build-up that disarmingly sounds calm and normal, until you realize the darker tones that linger close to the edge.  Then you have tracks like The Harts (track 04) which remind you of the underlying danger that exists.  Or tracks like The Promise (track 10) which seem more sad and haunting, but progressively become more foreboding.    

Admittedly, one perspective some listeners will have is that many of the tracks sound very similar to each other.  Others might realize these tracks are nicely woven in approach to be a subtle theme that shifts to enhance a scene.

Admittedly, the whole soundtrack is more towards psychological fear and drama than action and magic, so some game masters might not realize the versatility this soundtrack can offer.  I have, in the past, literally just left the soundtrack running in repeat and it worked for an entire game given how the tracks can add just touches of mood without being distracting or overbearing.

Notes On A Scandal track suggestions:
WTF moment: Sheba and Steven (track 09), Sheba's Longing (track 12), It's Your Choice (track 17)
Tense/mystery moment: The Harts (track 04), Discovery (track 05), Stalking (track 07), Someone in your Garden (track 13)
Combat music: Confession (track 06), Someone has Died (track 15)
Hopeful moment:  The History (track 02), Invitation (track 03), Courage (track 08),  A Life Lived Together (track 14), Barbara's Choice (track 18), I Knew Her (track 20)
Drama/sad moment:  First Day of School (track 01), The Promise (track 10), Good Girl (track 11), Betrayal (track 16), Going Home (track 19)

Best Used In: Psychological thrillers, of course.   Games with a seductive bent.  Games that explore darkness and danger that actually stalks its victims where they feel safest.   While the soundtrack works very well for a modern urban setting, the soundtrack can actually work well for games set in a medieval setting if it is used to be a thematic song for a specific group or secret society.    I've used this soundtrack for games such as Changeling the Lost, Changeling the Dreaming, Vampire the Dark Ages, Adventure! and Houses of the Blooded.

Agenda e10 : Adventure - Aberrant - Aeon Trinity

12/28/2012
Agenda
Episode Ten
"Flashpoint"

Adventure - Aberrant - Aeon Trinity

The game session opens with Portman's victory as the first Nova President of the United States. This turns out to be just one of the many historical events that would usher the start of the cascading events leading up to the Aeon Trinity era.

The year is 2008.  Caetus Pax meets with Rayner, asking if Team 2Morrow can have Slider back for an espionage mission.  Given the tenacious alliance between the two groups, Rayner agrees so long as he too has access to whatever information she uncovers in the mission.  Slider eventually uncovers a paper-trail suggesting that Project Utopia may be involved with what seems to be a conspiracy at the Bahrain Rashoud facility with supposed evidence that novas were being sterilized without their knowledge or consent.  She stumbled upon the name Proteus and wonders how it relates to the Aeon Society.

During this meeting, Switchboard is at Africa with Antaeus and other members of Project Utopia.  Through her help, the OpNet is extended to the tiny village which Antaeus had created a whole new forest for, and her meeting with Alex Doan and Mungu Kwasha is, to the very least, a memorable one.

The Quarterback, on the other hand, starts to feel his relationship with Slider grow distant.  Given her secret mission, all he was aware of was that Rayner sent her to handle a mission overseas.  But the growing lack of communications had started to eat into his calm.  And the last call he received from her seemed to suggest that she was in some kind of danger.

Rayner holds auditions for new members and finds a few good novas worth training.  Iris Richards has the ability to cast out invisible force fields.  Kaori Uwisha has the ability to project an indestructible body armor about herself, even up to a thirty foot tall sized being.  Wayne Trucker has the power to control other's minds, and has demonstrated being able to for up to twenty people simultaneously.

More Nova related headlines spread out at the OpNet between 2008 and 2009.  Donald Zeleckis dies  as he prevents an Israeli nuclear missle from obliterating a Syrian City. In Burma, an altruistic if highly Tainted nova devours "the Generals", the nation's oppressive ruling cabal. Instead of the nova taking over the agricultural nation, he/she/it allows Burma the freedom to decide its own future.    Divis Mal makes a major public appearance after Gabriel "the Miracle" Melchoir threatens to unleash a massive biological plague upon the United States from Boulder City, Nevada.  The U.S. military and Team 2Morrow were at a standoff with the bio-terrorist, unwilling to act, and thus Divis Mal took matters into his own hands.  With a single motion, Mal crushes the man to death, then inhales the biotoxins and holds it in as a standing threat.   Divis Mal mutters to the press about how infantile the novas of the world seem and how Project Utopia clearly seems most useless of all.  "They were not even able to stop Slider's death."  Caestus Pax flies to the area to confront him.   The Quarterback, hearing the same remark, tries to fly to follow.

Anticipating trouble, Rayner sends Switchboard to intercept.  But deep down, he is starting to realize Slider's fate might have ended in a very bad way.  Switchboard transmits through the OpNet and appears in the scene in time to see Divis Mal and Caestus Pax trading words.  But when Mal mutters to Pax the name, "Shelby" Pax seems to fall limp and weak.  Mal leaves without a care, and Switchboard learns the source of Pax' fear:  Somehow Divis Mal knows his name.

Switchboard finds the German watching from the nearby shade of trees and realizes this is not the same man who attacked her when she went to visit Candy.  The German offers to help find Candy if Switchboard helps him locate a "mask" owned by an old friend.    Rayner, back at the building, sees an older and more battleworn Mary Rose enter the room.  She tells him the timelines are converging and the paths are narrowing.  "I may be the only Mary Rose left," she admits, "So I might as well warn you.  I am supposed to return here to this very room in 30 years to kill you."  Rayner watches as she fades away again, and ponders on whether time is really that flexible or set in stone.

The Quarterback arrives and Switchboard tries to calm him down.  But unappeased, he flies off to head to the Project Utopia headquarters to get the answers he needs.    Amusingly, Rayner gives Project Utopia a call and thanks to his powerful influence gets the very Director, Justin Laragione on the line.  The Director tells him that they wish to speak with him, to clarify truths from the lies that have been spread about the group.   Rayner tells them he anticipated this, and a car he sent is already waiting for them outside.

Rayner's guests turn out to be Justin Laragione, Margaret Mercer, Phillipa Lavielle and a man named Maxwell Mercer.  The four explain that Jennifer "Slider" Landers is dead, with her body having been found in the rubble of a condo where she was staying in Calcutta.  The building and two square blocks around it had been decimated.  Retrieved footage show Andre Corbin visiting her in the condo, the two having an argument, and in the end, him shooting her out of what seemed to be an act of misplaced passion. Switchboard, present in the meeting, finds her own calculations matching the said narrative, with the only addition of seeing Divis Mal arriving shortly after Corbin's exit, to hear from Slider one last dying statement.  It was Mal's anger and pain that lead to the blocks being decimated.  The sterilization, as it turned out, was a side effect of the medical studies that were being conducted by Project Utopia.  Corbin is currently imprisoned in Project Utopia, to stand trial for his actions.

Quarterback arrives at Utopia to see a bunch of new trainees coming out to stop him.  Two use their powers to cause rain and water to swirl around the man of Iron, while a third uses temperature control to freeze the water into ice.  The Quarterback nearly shatters his own leg off as he breaks the ice with his immense strength and sends a shockwave to force the kids to the ground.  Of the five kids, only four hit the ground.  A fifth seemingly vanishes.  One, still conscious, channels his anger to call a lightning bolt that slams down to strike the Quarterback.  The Quarterback shrugs off the attack and threatens the kids to surrender or things will get worse.  Rayner uses his Voice through the com to force Quarterback to relax.  The Quarterback relents.

While Utopia kindly does not go after Quarterback for his actions, they do get the wrath of the public eye as someone releases the sterilization documents to the press.  Compounding this are events that transpire and further spiral things out of Project Utopia's favor.  Rayner and Quarterback opt to find the Mask which the German asked Switchboard to find, and their trail leads them to an old woman named Samantha Khors, who claims to have been rescued by the Sleepwalker during her childhood years.  The two learn that this woman actually has the Mask, which she claims was handed to her for safe keeping.  Rayner visits the mask, which is in a room of its own shrouded in darkness save for a single spot light.  He hears voices whispering to him, as if telling him to take the mask and wear it.  He takes the past from the post.  The woman in charge of security shows up after Rayner trips the alarms, and both heroes wonder who this old woman with mechanical clothing happens to be.  Dr. Wexler, turns out to be the former Machinatrix, who has devoted herself to watching over the mask since, "It is the only tie I have left remaining of the wonderful time when I was... special."  The old woman seems broken and lost and Rayner decides to buy the whole museum from Samantha Khors, but allow them both to maintain the place.  He does, however, take the mask with him.

Switchboard decides to search for Divis Mal, and sends out a message to Raoul Oziaz, who seems to be the most public figure of the Teragen.  Oziaz replies to her message, offering to meet with her at The Amp Room.  Switchboard arrives, and Oziaz quizzes her on her Taints and on why she wanted to meet with them.  Switchboard throws out a hook, "I know what Divis Mal lost."  Mal, thankfully bites, and has her teleported to his location:  the Moon.  He tells her she can breathe only because he allows her to, and asks her to explain why she is here.  Switchboard tries to relate to Mal, and understand why he is doing what he is doing.  Mal tells her about his mistakes of the past.  Of staying on the sidelines.  Of not taking charge.  And of how that lead to the death of someone he cares about.  And how he is not doing that anymore again.  When Switchboard suggests going home, Mal shakes his head and tells her to look into her calculations on what will happen if he allows her to return home.  She sees a terrible future.  

She sees Corbin in Utopian custody, but then Divis Mal and the Teragen forcing their way to him.  She sees Caestus Pax attempting to stop them but being defeated by Mal in front of a global audience.  She sees Corbin committing suicide out of guilt.  She sees Project Utopia losing more face and control as people see more of the dirty work they've engaged in.  She sees even the Teragen cull their own numbers, when it becomes apparent most if not all Novas are the last generation the world will ever see.  She sees a man called the Impaler and his group of Novas taking over Ukraine.  She sees the Cult of Astaroth, a nova group, summoning a great monstrosity in Mexico.  She sees Earth expanding its population with the Olympus Lunar Base for the United States, and eventually other countries follow suit.   She sees Japan with hits yakuza clans murdered en masse, and eventually in hopes of protecting itself, shutting down its borders from all non-nationals and even executing any novas in their lands deemed to have mental problems.  She sees civil wars break out.  She sees hyper-fusion engines developed, making spacecraft viable.  She sees proposed acts of anti-nova legislation start becoming more frequent, if not successful in being passed and made into law. 

She sees Antaeus quitting Project Utopia.  She sees Taint being deemed fashionable.  She sees the term "aberrant" becoming more prominent as a perjorative.   She sees Baseline-nova relations seriously degrade, as many First World nations begin drawing up and passing increasingly draconian, half-baked and unjust acts of anti-nova legislation. Many independent novas residing in those nations either emigrate to more accepting countries or nova colony worlds or join the Teragen or Aberrants as their individual preferences dictate. Conflicts between novas and nova attacks against the baseline populace reach new levels of both frequency and collateral damage inflicted, due to increasing levels of power and Taint-induced madness among a significant portion of the nova population on Earth. The Aberrant movement and other such factions try to maintain the peace in the face of increasing numbers of novas coming to agree with the more radical facets of Terat philosophy. 

She sees the defeat and death of Caetus Pax in Divis Mal's hands.  She sees how in 2049 the United Nations declares war against the aberrant population - whether that resolution applies to only the Taint-deranged novas or the entire nova race depends on whom one is talking to. The first Aberrant War has begun.

"I cannot allow you, therefore to return home," Divis Mal mutters, "But I do not wish to kill you.  I instead will give you this gift."  Mal touches Switchboard's chest and Switchboard feels an immense surge of power. "You now no longer need to breathe or eat.  You will live here, in the moon.   You will be spared death.  But you must never return home."

Rayner and the Quarterback step out of the museum to see the German waiting for them.  He joins them in the car and gives them an envelope containing where they can find Candy.  She is in a moving island, it seems, a place which Manifest Destiny had commandeered after the loss of his sky fortress.   He warns them that the worst is yet to come and invites them to escape it with him.  Under the waves.  We can be safer.  Both turn the offer down, and the German admits he expected as much.  The German steps into his submarine and vanishes into the depths.  The Quarterback and Rayner expect the worst.  But they have no plans of running away from it.